Centrum is a socialist technocratic meritocracy; the government provides all employment and handles the economy, which is bolstered by the massive resources acquired from other worldlines. They believe other worlds should be aiming to follow their example and have a dedicated program of supporting political and economic groups that reflect their own values—stability, meritocracy and an unconscious prejudice against non-English speakers. They view the mix of competing government agencies and private companies from Homeline as dangerously reminiscent of the period prior to their own "Final War". Centrum Beta One of the most important parallel Earths from the Infinity Patrol's point of view, Centrum Beta appears to be an exact copy of the home parallel of Centrum - except that the "current year" is only 1895. Understanding Centrum Beta as it is now might give the Infinity Patrol the key to understanding and besting Centrum proper. Deadly Settings Also known generally as "Reality Vanish", there are at least 41 parachronic coordinate settings where people or objects sent into them never return. These are assumed to be worlds where the laws of physics are sufficiently different from that of our own universe to kill visitors and/or cripple their equipment (see Rustic under Puzzle Worlds, below). Dixie-1 In this world, William Walker succeeded in conquering Nicaragua in 1856; during the American Civil War this provided a way around the Union blockade for the Confederacy that ultimately ensured their victory. In revenge for British support of the rebels, the United States invaded and annexed most of Canada; meanwhile the Southrons reintroduced their "peculiar institution" into Central America and the Caribbean at gunpoint. Today ("current year" 1993) the U.S.A. and C.S.A. watch each other warily across an armed border that stretches to the Pacific, while India, the Chinese republics and their neighbors expand their economies at the expense of the moribund European monarchies that never fell after 1918. (See American Civil War alternate histories). Ezcalli Here the Columbian Exchange occurred two thousand years early, when a Carthaginian fleet was blown across the Atlantic to discover the New World. This premature contact gave the Native American civilizations time to recover from the shock of new diseases and adopt the newcomers' technology; in addition, the early introduction of maize and the potato to the Old World eventually reduced Rome's ability to control its subjects through Egyptian grain. The Empire ended with Nero, and the patchwork of European