On the other hand, it allowed me time to think of a new idea for a roleplaying game:
The Otherrealm.
Name's a work in progress, since I'd need to make sure that name's not already taken (which I suspect it would be especially given I think my spellcheck recognized it as a word which is utterly bizarre), but basically:
The Otherrealm is a realm where matter, energy, and thought blend together into one. In the future, the world has learned to harvest this: unlimited power, which everything runs on. Quick teleportation to anywhere a person can think of. Storage of objects, or even simply compression of mass on objects making them much lighter than normal. The ability to create matter from energy, allowing for the creation of things such as food.
The like. The Otherrealm has revolutionized society, but humanity's problems don't just magically disappear because they have access to this wondrous technology. Wars still happen. While travel to other planets is now possible, and even the ability to some extent terraform a planet (it's not quite unlimited) hasn't stopped humanity from dividing itself.
Furthermore, because the otherrealm represents a combination of matter, energy, and thought, those that travel through it risk being trapped in there by is features: bizarre architechture. Leftover items which were stored and never rematerialized. And most dangerous of all, monstrous thoughts, echoes called "ghosts", given physical form. These mostly stay in the otherrealm, but can occasionally bleed into the real world at any moment in any spot where the otherrealm is being harvested.
As a result, there are in fact...thought police. People whose jobs it is to prevent people from thinking of thoughts that could be given that harmful form.
The RPG would be a free world, where people could take on any role they wished, from mercenary to soldier to police officer to citizen to adventurer to pioneer.
The stats they would use would be:
Connection: Basically a combination of charisma and luck, this is a person's natural ability to influence their environment subconsciously by using the otherrealm. The higher the stat, the more persuasive they are and the better chances they have at succeeding at tasks, especially ones which are difficult.
Othersense: Basically a combination of every 'magical' stat--instinct, wisdom, intelligence, all rolled up into one. This is how well a person can use the otherrealm consciously and deliberately, to directly influence their environment. All abilities which use the otherrealm use this, so it's effectively the "mana" stat, for a "mage" build.
Natural Talent: Basically a combination of every 'physical' stat--health, endurance, strength, even speed, all rolled up into one. If something does not use the otherworld, by default it will use natural talent as a determining factor. Natural talent is how strong, how fast, how able to block/evade/dodge/counter physical attacks a person can do, the like. It's basically the stat for a "warrior" build.
Upon character creation, a player would roll a 1d6 for each stat. They would additionally be given 6 points to allocate freely to their character. From there, character creation gets a little more inventive, with them defining what sort of otherrealm abilities the character naturally has, and what kinds of equipment utilizing the otherrealm the character has, as to give a scope of what the character is able of doing.
Unfortunately, it's at this stage that I lose the coherency behind the idea, as I am unable to define those things.
Ah well.
The idea behind the RPG is neat, at least.