The Republic of Heaven

As we all know, in HDM there are many worlds. Infinite worlds, all so close together. And windows let you travel between them. These windows are not easy to see, faint suggestions of a change in light. Will had to focus hard to catch a glimpse of the one under the hornbeam trees, and only if you looked straight into it could you tell that there was something different on the other side.

But what about cases where the other side looks the same as yours?

Let's go back to the infinite worlds concept. A new one is made every time something happens that could've happened differently. For instance, if I rolled a six-sided die and got a three, there would be five new worlds where a different number came up. And another where I didn't roll a die at all, and so on. Everything in these new worlds would be the same as the world they spawned from up until the point where I rolled the die.

Now what if there was a window, a natural window, that appeared without my noticing it shortly after I rolled the die? What if I turned and walked right through it, and I thought I was still in my own world? (For argument's sake we'll say that on the other side the me that was in the room of the new world had already left by this point.) What if I was walking around in a whole new world, but I didn't know it, because everything was the same except the number I rolled?

Anyway, I know there are lots of holes in this theory (like daemons getting sick and me meeting myself, etc) and it's just the beginning of a bigger concept, but I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on it anyway.

(And as for the poll question, that's assuming Xaphania hadn't closed all the windows.)

I'm sure it could happen... Actually, I'm not really sure at all. You may run into yourself in the alternate world which would cause problems.

You should read "All The Myriad Ways" by Larry Niven. There's two short stories in that collection that explore the idea you're thinking of, "Widening of the Bands" and another I think is called "A Foggy Night". Both are entertaining but I think "Widening of the Bands" is the better of the two.

I'm sure you could wander through without having noticed. The other world might be exactly the same as yours except one dice was rolled differently (read The Science of his dark materials).

You might even be dazed like Lyra was after she was hit by the van, if you were you probably wouldn't notice.

I believe that John Parry didn't notice himself walking through at first, he only found out later i think.

Yes, he found out when he discovered a village or camp place.