Quote:
Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert
As I've pointed out elsewhere, I am currently in the process of brainstorming for a proposal for a Germany sourcebook for Transhuman Space. I think I have hit on a major issue which could serve as a useful source of conflict (and thus, adventures) for Transhuman Space campaigns in Germany. My line of reasoning goes this:
- As of 2100, SAIs are still fairly rare. But as both hardware and software continue to get cheaper, it is possible (even likely) that eventually SAIs are going to be the majority of sapients in the Solar System.
- There are currently only two major regions which permit SAIs to be citizens: The EU and the Islamic Caliphate. Of the two, the EU is more powerful by far.
- Germany is the most powerful, in absolute terms the most prosperous, and (after Turkey) the second most populous nation in the European Union. Thus, it is likely that it has the single largest number of SAI citizens in the world. It is also likely that other EU nations - and the EU as a whole - either follows the German lead or is strongly influenced by EU policy decisions on the matter.
Thus, as more people and more nations contemplate whether to give SAIs more rights, it is likely that the German model will be studied very closely by them. If Germany gives SAIs more power and more freedom (and just because they are citizens it doesn't mean that SAIs in Germany are as free and powerful as they potentially could be) and it works out well for Germany, then it might attract more emulators. Conversely, if Germany tightens restrictions on SAIs (because of scandals or toxic memes), then people elsewhere will be more easily convinced that granting SAIs more rights is not such a good idea after all.
And the more powerful factions who deeply care about the status of SAIs one way or another will certainly recognize this. Thus, Germany in 2100 will certainly be the focus of many, many memetic campaigns revolving around SAI rights and freedoms. And therein lies the potential for plenty of high-stakes adventuring.
What are your thoughts on this?
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You may want some sort of 'social combat rules' in place here. Much of the action for such a situation will be political, legal and social. Resolving some seriously complex issues will likely need equally serious abstraction.
Edit: In fact such a ruleset would likely help sell the sourcebook to the Powers that Be. GURPS wouldn't be hurt by such an optional system.