New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Azoth-8 has a feature that should be mentioned. It's got a lot of spies. Remember that the USSR hasn't hit the limits of authoritarian growth in this world. In Homeline the USSR hit the limits of authoritarian growth in 1960, and experienced no real economic growth until the end of the Soviet period and Russia today has in fact has a smaller economy now than in 1991. But supercheap power generation and other alchemical technologies in Azoth-8 has delayed the limit's effect. Still the West and the Third World are outgrowing the USSR in this setting.

The massive investment in spies is to steal key technologies from the West and to prevent, if possible, the West from benefitting from it's Techno-Alchemical edge. This is more important in Azoth-8 as Alchemical discoviers are far more individual that scientific ones. Secrets can be perminantly stolen.

So this setting has a very 1960's superspy edge to it. On the Dan Dare/Captain Kirk front, the Russians and the Chinese replace the Klingons and the Romulans. None of this is one for one, Alchemical Sci Fi is Doctor Who territory, but it is part of the setting chrome.

[Astromancer]

Has any one minded Alternative 3 as the basis for a new reality? The whole idea of a secret Space Program can be either deeply sinister or just the background for a sort of Stargate game. I recently read The Secret Space Age a whole book written by a believer in this sort of conspiracy.

[Astromancer]

A few more notes on Azoth-8.

The present day technologies (Azoth-8's present day) allow a ship to be a sealed system for about 18 months. The absolute limit that a ship can travel from Earth and then return safely is about 27 lyrs. As a practical matter, no one is going much beyond 24lyrs. at this time. As there are fifty-four stars and brown dwarfs within that radius, there's plenty to explore. The next major goal is to plant bases and colonies capable of refitting and maintaining ships to allow further and longer exploration. Epsilon Eridani has bases for several diffent nations including the USA, the UK, and the USSR. Tau Ceti has both colonies and bases for every nation involved in interstellar exploration. Gilese 832 has America's furthest out base. No base is yet fully ready to do serious ship maintenance, but the day is coming.

The USA moved to electric cars during and right after WWII, largely because the government saw the need for a massive battery industry. The USA has been off Fossil fuels since the late 1940's. Most other societies have followed their example because electricity in Azoth-8 is both prestigious and very cheap. Local conspiracy theorists say that the move was made because some one needed the oil and coal. Who that someone is varies with the conspiracy theorist speaking. Azoth-8 is far less polluted that Earth of 1970 and has vastly less lead in it's environment.

Mars has multiple settlements on it. Rumors of ancient ruins constantly crops up as do rumors of government cover-ups. Terraforming projects are underway. The local Alchemical biotech is normally functions as about TL7+1, the terraforming biotech seems to function at TL7+2. Mars doesn't have a breathable atmosphere but there are small amounts of open water on the surface from time to time.

Carl Sagan is heading a project to explore terraforming Venus. Homeline is watching this project carefully.

The cultural scene on Azoth-8 is very psychedelic/mod. There is no Vietnam war. Civil Rights are progressing somewhat faster than on Homeline. The Sexual revolution, Feminism, and Gay Rights, are also on schedule or somewhat more advanced than on Homeline in 1970. The music scene is every bit as crowded and impressive as it was on Homeline in 1970 and world music sounds are coming in as a major influence very early lead by Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and a large group of talented musicians which Homeline can show all died in most parallels because of either the Vietnam war or less advanced medicine.

Literature is more popular on Azoth-8. Being well read is socially important in a way that it wasn't in Homeline's 1970. Like the characters in ST: OS, the people of Azoth-8 take literature and history seriously. Most Homeline scholars note that the Enlightenment values that suggested that bringing culture to the people was an important part of Enlightenment still hold on Azoth-8. Intellectuals must still believe that people are better for being part of the culture and that scientific truth has a moral worth. A viewpoint that faded out in Homeline's 1970's.

The Hollywood studio system hasn't fallen apart in Azoth-8 but independent films are thriving. This means that the movie culture of this parallel is wildly impressive with a large group of stars unknown on other parallels. Of special note, Keye Luke is playing Charlie Chan in a series of films that takes the wit, charm, and soft-sell anti-racism of the old Charlie Chan films, and both maintains the high quality of comedy-mystery and adds more progressivism as well as much more fun. Luke dedicated the first film to Warner Oland. Both genre films and high-art films are doing excellent business.

In the USA Asian cooking, particularly Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese, are highly popular. Mexican, Indian, Native American, Eastern European, Caribbean, and Indonesian, restaurants are all catching on as well. French and Italian remain popular.

[warellis]

Sounds a little Sueish. The world line I mean.

As for ships having a limit of 18 months, does that mean a round trip of 54 light years (27 light years to and from somewhere) would take 18 months to complete?

[PTTG]

Sounds about right. Presumably probes could be sent much farther, and determined one-way settlers could get about twice that distance.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by warellis

Sounds a little Sueish. The world line I mean.

As for ships having a limit of 18 months, does that mean a round trip of 54 light years (27 light years to and from somewhere) would take 18 months to complete?

You have that right, about the light years they can safely travel. As for being sueish, If you're going to have interstellar adventures in a world that combines themes from Star Trek, 60's Superspy adventures, and sixties pop culture generally, you need some capacity and ability for the setting.

Note: You've got a much stronger USSR than our world ever faced. New alchemic technologies could radically reorder society quickly and traumatically. Psionics could get dangerously out of hand. And you could run into Aliens at any moment. Sure, the setting has it's ups, but the possibilities of adventure are there too.

Do all adventures require a post-apocalyptic wasteland?

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Sounds about right. Presumably probes could be sent much farther, and determined one-way settlers could get about twice that distance.

That's right. Adventure depends on the old "Give them enough rope..." business. Probes can lead to mysteries out just beyond the frontier. Which would fit a certain style of 1960's European Sci Fi movie. Star Trek is the most beloved sixties Sci Fi TV, and for good reason, but there were other styles of Sci Fi out there.

[Astromancer]

Try this one Ogre-3 is a Q6 post-apocalyptic parallel were a plague destroyed civilization. What the plague did was caused more than 70% of all children to be born totally lacking empathy of any kind. It's a world of sociopaths. Strangely enough majority of the children who were not turned into sociopaths have both the Empathy and Intuition advantages. The local year is one year behind Homeline and Centrum.

Most of the world is bleak and ruinous. Bands of brutal raiders often dressed in truly bazaar clothing, roam the countryside pointlessly destroying things and engaged in mindless competitions, often forcing captives into gladiatorial combat. Those who minds aren't damaged by the plague live in small hidden communities which are often very pleasant in a quiet way. The "Ogres" (the sociopathic plague victims) often raid these communities looking for women and children. Because the Ogres are totally sociopathic, they aren't able to raise enough children to replace their numbers.

Both Homeline and Centrum want to understand the plague. It seems to have been a successful (at a hideous cost) Proteus Virus. Those children born of two survivors with both the Empathy and Intuition advantages, seem to be far more intelligent than normal as well as having both the Empathy and Intuition advantages. If either Centruum or Homeline can figure out have to have the advantages without the costs, the whole war for reality changes radically.

Note: The Ogre tag is for worlds where a new or modified life form is a major threat to humanity.

[Astromancer]

Further note on Ogre-3.

The plague struck about thirty years ago. Society didn't collapse all at once and thus enclaves of non-Socio-paths had time to form. However many of these enclaves were betrayed from within.

The oldest of the second generation children is about 12, most are under 7 years of age.

The templates for each altered types is as follows.

Ogre No Empathy Restricted Traits, (No Genetic Defects 0, as per TransHuman Space)

Enhanced 1st Gen Empathy, Intuition Restricted Traits, (No Genetic Defects 0, No Mental Defects 0, as per TransHuman Space)

Enhanced 2nd Gen IQ+2,Empathy, Intuition Restricted Traits, (No Genetic Defects, No Mental Defects, No Unattractive, 0, as per TransHuman Space)

further changes in later generations are left to the individual Gamemaster. I see the 2nd Gen as the final product of the plague virus.

[PTTG]

Interesting. Kind of a variant Gotha timeline... if you wanted to fit it into that metafiction, the "good" mutations could be the result of an intentional counter-disease.

One way or the other, I think it would be most interesting to explore the during-collapse years. A small but significant portion of the population consists of sleepers or something, and the PCs are trying to deal with the constantly increasing rouge maniacs, all while having to deal with the political side of things.