[Space/Thaumatology] Stargate: Fantasy - Worldbuilding thread

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Just as a note, "Five Eyes" meant nothing to me so I googled it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

It stil doesn't really suggest anything to me about how it'd actually work. Te real organization might not have more resources of its' own than Interpol.

This doesn't keep Interol from ahvign agnets in fiction (especially TV shows) but it leaves you just making stuff up most of the time.

The Five Eyes isn't really an organization as such. It's a network of intelligence agencies. So if it Stargate Command was overseen by the Five Eyes what that would mean is that its top authority is a committee with five members each from the intelligence community of one of the member countries. Operational personnel would similarly be drawn from the intelligence communities of each member.

The fact that it is set up in that way says that these stargates are probably single destination portals, there are a bunch of them on Earth and they were discovered in the territory of other Five Eyes members before any were discovered in the United States and that it is an ongoing project to try to covertly secure as many of them as possible

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The fact that it is set up in that way says that these stargates are probably single destination portals, there are a bunch of them on Earth and they were discovered in the territory of other Five Eyes members before any were discovered in the United States and that it is an ongoing project to try to covertly secure as many of them as possible

It seems to me it could also be the case that one or more of the intelligence agencies found the Stargate, and shared information with the others about it. This resulted in a joint effort to try to figure the device out. Alternatively, it could be that only one of them was working on it up until they managed to get it working, then the others wanted access as well (or were asked to assist, given the Goa'uld are a threat to the Earth as a whole), and a joint program was set up.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The Five Eyes isn't really an organization as such. It's a network of intelligence agencies.

Right, so it's Interpol for spies.

Who the secret heads are isn't actually very important at the PC level. The players need to know what Skills and backgrounds to give their characters. To find physcially fit personnel to venture into terra incognita with no more than the equipment they can carry on their backs there will probably be a lot of ex-military anyway.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Right, so it's Interpol for spies.

But without France, India, or anyone else who doesn't speak English fluently. Its pretty small. Unless you're trying to maximize coverage of the earth's land area, in which case its pretty large. Which is somewhat suggestive.

Who the secret heads are isn't actually very important at the PC level. The players need to know what Skills and backgrounds to give their characters. To find physcially fit personnel to venture into terra incognita with no more than the equipment they can carry on their backs there will probably be a lot of ex-military anyway.

Exactly. Five Eyes gives a very interesting cross-section of what possible back grounds are or are not, as well as what cross-department rivalry looks like.

[Prince Charon]

Stargate Command Question II

Where is the nexus that this Stargate is powered by? (This will affect how the Stargate Programme is put together, since the host country will have more influence than they otherwise would. I'm still listing options in the USA, since that may be what the group wants, but having it in another nation might be more interesting.)

1. A disused missile silo attached to the Cheyenne Mountain complex (so, still using NORAD as a cover).

2. Somewhere in Area 51 (they muse be doing something there).

3. Dulce Base (which could make the whole thing more complicated).

4. Beneath Stonehenge, Avebury, or another significant ancient site in Wiltshire.

5. In an 'abandoned' castle in the Scottish Highlands.

6. A base in Newfoundland, near L'Anse aux Meadows.

7. Below Uluru/Ayer's Rock, Australia.

8. Under a mountain in the Southern Alps, New Zealand.

9. Something else (please specify).

Please remember to include the number(s) of your preferred option(s) when you vote.

*******

Answer: Insufficient consensus, go to Question III.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Stargate Command Question II

9: Puerto Rico, at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle - the Ley Line nexus on Earth actually line up decently well with Sanderson's Vile Vortices, and this is the most conveniently-located Vortex (Australia and New Zealand argue for it to be moved to the Vortex located between them, which could become a plot point).

[adm]

6.
I like Newfoundland. British at the end of WWII, Canadian after 1949, very close to the US. I think it would having it be in a "minor" country that is not the US, or UK*, would be interesting politically.

To be fair, the UK has not truly been a major power since the Empire collapsed, but the still would have the attitude.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Varyon

9: Puerto Rico, at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle - the Ley Line nexus on Earth actually line up decently well with Sanderson's Vile Vortices, and this is the most conveniently-located Vortex (Australia and New Zealand argue for it to be moved to the Vortex located between them, which could become a plot point).

Puerto Rico would put you close to the Arecibo radio observatory. Of course that would be more interesting if the bad guys had spaceships but perhaps Arecibo is now secretly doing pioneering work in radio astrology.

[TGLS]

I'll pick 6 too.

--

If you're considering near the Bermuda Triangle, why not go in the Bermuda Triangle, with the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by TGLS

If you're considering near the Bermuda Triangle, why not go in the Bermuda Triangle, with the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands

I wanted somewhere that was in or very near the Bermuda Triangle (or, rather, the region of the Vile Vortex it's part of) and was territory for one of the 5-EYES nations, without needing to do any research beyond just looking at a map. I saw Puerto Rico, knew it was a US territory, and figured it was the best option. Looking things up a bit, the Bahamas wouldn't work because they aren't part of 5-EYES; the Turks and Caicos Islands would work (they are UK territories), but part of me feels that it should be a territory close to its associated 5-EYES nation, and the Caribbean is pretty distant from the UK but basically just right next door to the USA. But, yeah, the Turks and Caicos Islands could probably work.