Killer Cyborg wrote:cornholioprime wrote:The Arch IS the Rift, and the Rift is the Arch.
It's the melding of the two that makes the Devil's Gate indestructible.
(Rifts: Aftermath, page 97.)
Hm.
I thought that the Arch periodically opened up Rifts in it, that it wasn't one continuous rift as the Aftermath passage implies.
What other books have addressed the Arch?
Greetings and Salutations. Well, upon Killer Cyborg's request, I started to look into the question of where else it might be mentioned. Well, there are three books I can find (besides Aftermath). A few quotes (just for fun) ...
Aftermath; page 97 wrote:The Devil's Gate, located across the Mississipi River ...
[snip]
... during the Great Cataclysm, a dimensional portal opened up and permanently fused with the Gateway Arch.
[snip]
... the Devil's Gate remains a doorway to other worlds to this day.
This paragraph (and the next) can be found similarly in Aftermath, Rifts main book (original), and RUE. There might be a few minor differences, but mostly thet same (if not exactly).
Note: That's two of the other references right there.
Here, it mentions it's permanently fused, but also mentions that it's a gateway to
worlds. That's plural, so more than one world and might help indicate it not being one continuous rift, but periodically. Also, while it mentions the portal is permanently fused with the archway, it doesn't really say it's constantly active (maybe it's locked to a single location and just occasionally opens?). I'll come back to this topic (and Aftermath) in just a moment. But first ...
Rifts Book of Magic; page 142 wrote:Re-Open Gateway
[snip]
The Re-Open Gateway spell enables the sorcerer to "re-open" an already existing and active, or permanent, dimensional portal. This includes ... [snip] ... the Devil's Gate in St. Louis, and The Monster's Rift in Calgary ...
Now this one mentions re-opening, which means it has to close (right?). Of course, it also mentions it has to be an
active or
permanent portal so ...
Note: This is the last book I mentioned. The spell can also be found in Federation of Magic (original edition), it's original source I believe, and probably any other place the spell is found.
Aftermath; page 97 wrote:During the early days of the Siege on Tolkeen
[snip]
RCSG Scientists desperately try to figure out ways to channel and disperse the ley line energy if not actually close the permanent Rift.
Now here it mentions "permanent Rift." That's singular. It also mentions that it's a rift ... which to me makes it clearer that this is a rift that's always open (I think?). While a dimensional portal is basically a rift, something about saying a dimensional portal fused to an object just comes off like it might be more open to interpretation (at least to me).
Aftermath; page 97-98 wrote:The Devil's Gate is believed to be connected to 42 different worlds which teh portal regularly cycles through ...
Connected with the previous versions, this line leads me to believe the following ...
There's always
a rift open in the archway (one, singular).
Where that rift leads changes periodically to various worlds (multiple worlds, and probably at no set intervals, though the latter is unsupported).
Re-Open Gateway always a mage to change the destination of the rift to the last location.
Random thought: With proper planning, a mage could properly control the Devil's Gateway, unless it's changing like every minute. But, if it's changing like every day or every few days (sometimes maybe a few hours, but usually longer), then using Re-Open Gateway could help to keep the Devil's Gate on a friendly territory. This would involve planning and some exploring. Even if you can't
see through the rift (and I suspect you can), you can still use other methods to monitor things. Once you find a world you don't view as a threat, you can do things like set up a remote camera on the other side. Have someone monitor the camera. Once the feed is cut, cast "Re-Open Gateway." The portal changes back to the world you think is best, and your camera feed re-established. Since you're on a nexus, PPE is easy to re-charge (and/or gather for the spell).
Anyways, just some information. If you think I've come to any of the wrong conclusions, feel free to let me know. If I missed any quotes that change things (or even support this), feel free to add them. Though I think that's all for now. Thank you for your time and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys for now.