DC's Multiverses.

[dto]

I have a conception of a Multiverse model, somewhat similar to Hypertime and the "snowflake" analogy seen in the "Planetary" series.

Imagine a CD-ROM with an infinite diameter and essentially no thickness.

Instead of the etched spiral, upon this CD-ROM is an ever-branching fractal "snowflake", continuously spreading from a common centerpoint.  Each of the infinite branches symbolize an Alternate Timeline of a particular Parallel Earth, with the "nodes" representing key moments in history where these Alternate Timelines diverge.

Now imagine an infinite stack of these CD-ROMs, each representing one Parallel Earth (and all its possible timelines).  All these CD-ROMs share a common center (the Dawn of Time), and they rotate around this spindle at varying speeds and directions.

These CD-ROMs are organized according to similarity -- that is, DC Earths are all clustered together, and the same goes for Marvel, etc.  But the Anagram and DC/Marvel "Crossover" Earths lie between these two groups.

Since these CD-ROMs are rotating, there are times when two or more nodes on adjacent disks "line up".  At these convergences it is "relatively" easy to "leap" from one Earth to another. (Remember that the annual meeting of the Justice League and Justice Society usually took place when Earth-1/Earth-2 were in closest alignment.)  Trying to "jump" at other times might be more difficult, or could conceivably land you on the intended Earth's ALTERNATE timeline.  

This method is also limited in that one can't travel very "far" between Parallel Earths, which is why DC/Marvel crossovers are rare.  But travelling back to the common center (the Dawn of Time), one could access ALL of the parallel Earths at the beginning of their existence and follow any branching Timeline to the desired destination.  Needless to say, a good  road map is essential.   :wink:

And there's one more way to travel between Parallel Earths.  Imagine each of the CD-ROMs are separated by an infinitely thin layer of "oil" which surges and flows around everything.  Entering this "sea" is extremely dangerous (such as "The Bleed"), but one could navigate to any Parallel Earth and their Alternate Timelines.  

Just my idea...