11-23-2020, 08:06 PM | #2041 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
The Oni System was colonized by Japanese immigrants over 3,000 years ago. In addition to three terraformed terrestrial planets that were seeded with Earthlife, the Oni System possesses five dense asteroid belts and five gas giants. The colonists embraced the principles of isolationism, so they were untouched by the Dark Age that plunged the rest of Human Space into chaos for two thousand years.
Recently though, a few of the neighboring systems have recovered FTL capabilities and have been established trade networks with the local systems and, when the inhabitants are nonexistent or primitive, they have conquered the system. A dozen petty empires have evolved in recent decades that surround the Oni System, and it is only because the Oni System maintained the old technology that they have not been able to conquer the system. The Oni System is a TL12 enclave surrounded by TL10 neighbors. Since its safety depends on its technological superiority, it forbids any trade with outsiders. Anyone who violates the ban finds themselves transformed into sapient pigs by metamorphic viruses, doomed to spend the rest of their existence rooting around in the wilderness preserves of the two terrestrial worlds with the memories of their human lives. Last edited by AlexanderHowl; 11-23-2020 at 08:17 PM. |
11-24-2020, 03:51 AM | #2042 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
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11-24-2020, 07:26 AM | #2043 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
I was imagining that the characters would be infiltrators sent from the Oni System to the nearby petty empires to spy on them and to sabotage any efforts to invade the Oni System. With TL12 biotechnology, the characters would have an array of methods through which they could neutralize potential threats, though they would be mostly cut off from the Oni System. Among their weapons are metamorphic viruses that are capable of transforming humans into nonhumans, as the inhabitants of the Oni System prefer to avoid killing people.
There is one exception to the trade ban that exists, maintained by the nobility that rules the Oni System. Beyond the hyperspace barrier of the Oni System exists an ancient space station, called Tengu Station, where outsiders may trade artistic works for the biological creations of the gene smiths of the Oni System. The nobility of the Oni System maintains Tengu Station to facilitate espionage and to recruit concubines for their pleasure. Human biological sapients may offer themselves as concubines to the nobility of the Oni System through Tengu Station. After a quarter century of service, they will find themselves back on the station, without a memory of their service and not a day older, but they will have a substantial amount of resources deposited in their names in the vaults of Tengu Station. At the very least, they will have enough to give them Wealth (Wealthy) and Independent Income 5 at TL10. Some of them never return to Tengu Station though, having proved themselves exceptional enough to have been granted citizenship by the nobility of the Oni System. |
11-25-2020, 04:43 PM | #2044 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
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On the other hand, all medical services are paid for by taxes. Part of those taxes are livelong requirements to be in a certified exercise program. Everybody has access to broadband, and people access most entertainment media through their computers. Similarly, people access bureaucracy through their home computers as well. Voting is also run through computers. The national government funds the arts very generously. All North American cities (and more than 95% of North Americans live in fortified cities) have live theatre, music, and similar venues. New North American films debute weekly and films from other lands (mainly Indonesia, Taiwan, and Australia, although Japan and New Zealand produce well-respected films) are also widely available. The visual arts are highly popular, gallery showings are well attended. This means artists of all kinds are among the most widely traveled people in this society and great choices for PCs. More later,
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Per Ardua Per Astra! Ancora Imparo Last edited by Astromancer; 05-31-2022 at 02:33 PM. |
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11-25-2020, 06:27 PM | #2045 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
Just out of curiosity, why don't they have cultured meat? I mean, there are around a dozen companies that are presumably coming online next year with commercially available cultured meat (and even more companies in the pipeline), though they may be delayed by the pandemic. Since they figured out the plant-based growing medium, the only thing that they really need the animals for is to periodically renew the cell stock.
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11-25-2020, 07:21 PM | #2046 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
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I've done more study, Vat grown meat is likely to be on the market in five to ten years. So revise the setting, they have plenty of vat meat.
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Per Ardua Per Astra! Ancora Imparo Last edited by Astromancer; 12-04-2020 at 05:58 PM. |
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11-28-2020, 04:26 PM | #2047 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
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Zombies at first led to a religious revival but after two generations of urban life (which in the modern West tends toward secular worldviews) the North America of 2090 is less religious than it has ever been. Social tolerance, which is vital to survival in the fortified cities, is a strongly promoted virtue. This has often been bad for conservative religious groups. The Papacy fled Italy ahead of it's being wiped out by the Zombie plague. At present, the Papal Court is located on the island of Luzon in the suburbs of Manila. The Coptic Pope fled to Sydney Australia. The Patriarch got to Honolulu. The Ecumenical Movement is fairly well developed but neither Protestants, Catholics, nor Orthodox, see much growth in their numbers. Islam is the religion with the most followers at this time. Although Indonesia always followed a mild form of Islam, Wahabism disturbed and offended non-Muslin Indonesians, and modern Islam in Indonesia is subdued. Buddhism and Hinduism are both surviving in Indonesia. Buddhism seems to be the only religious faith that actually growing in North America. more later
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11-30-2020, 07:43 AM | #2048 |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
GURPS Infinity Wars
What if no one was trying to be subtle in Infinite Worlds? Imagine if Homeline, Reich-5, and the Cabal were rolling over and absorbing timelines the way Centrum does (I may not be remembering that right). Maybe Infinite Worlds turns into a kind of "parachronic opera" rather than the "cross-time espionage" it is right now. Apologies if this isn't fully-baked (or even baked at all).
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11-30-2020, 07:21 PM | #2049 |
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
I don't mean to be annoying, but I think there's another thread for this.
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12-01-2020, 04:33 AM | #2050 |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds
This was the first one I could find.
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