Whenever a character uses tools or abilities that are beyond the axiom limits of a realm or their own reality, or are dependent on World Laws from a different cosm, she creates a “Contradiction.“ In a Mixed Zone, the action must exceed the axioms of both realities.

Reality ignores Contradictions most of the time, but eventually it notices and causes the actor to “disconnect“ from his own reality. In game terms, determining if reality notices the Contradiction and disconnects the character is called a “Contradiction check.“

Contradiction checks are usually part of a normal skill test. Disconnection occurs if the user rolls a 1 or a 1–4, depending on the nature of the Contradiction:

• One Case: A roll of 1 causes disconnection when the tool or ability is higher than the character or the land, but not both.
• Four Case: A roll of 1–4 causes disconnection when the tool or ability is higher than both the character and the land.

A "Surge" is a momentary flash of reality attempting to reconcile all the contradictory things within the zone. When Surge comes up on the Conflict Line of the Drama Deck, any character who is not of that reality or has something foreign to that reality on his person must make a Contradiction check.

This is a single d20 roll, using the worst of his Contradictions (One Case or Four Case). It’s not associated with a skill in this instance—it’s a straight die roll. Those who roll a 1 (or 1–4) disconnect. Any other result has no effect.