New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

To pull this back away from reality, and into science fiction, I'd say that any theft of a spacecraft would deserve a military response, because the potential for destruction is so high. Moreover, military craft of all sorts tend to have capabilities that civilian vessels can't even begin to match.

I think the essential requirement of piracy is that capable ships are cheap - so they're enormously numerous (and hence hard to keep track of), it costs more to really secure or defend them than to replace them, and cheap enough the barriers to entry are low (i.e. people who don't have much to lose and hence aren't too scared off by high risk can afford them, or at least can't sell them for enough they *would* have something to lose). Nobody builds a private destroyer or submarine to go pirating, but if conditions allow guys in a rowboat to capture ships that lack defenses more expensive than rowboats are...

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by malloyd

I think the essential requirement of piracy is that capable ships are cheap - so they're enormously numerous (and hence hard to keep track of), it costs more to really secure or defend them than to replace them, and cheap enough the barriers to entry are low (i.e. people who don't have much to lose and hence aren't too scared off by high risk can afford them, or at least can't sell them for enough they *would* have something to lose). Nobody builds a private destroyer or submarine to go pirating, but if conditions allow guys in a rowboat to capture ships that lack defenses more expensive than rowboats are...

Whether or not space piracy can work depends on the setting, right? In The Expanse, it can work because the solar system is split into at least three factions hostile to one another, the pirates all come from various splinter groups within one of those factions, and the other two factions perceive one another as the greater threat.

That chaotic situation means terrorism can and does work, also, especially with the implausible space-stealth technology that setting includes.

In Traveller, it can work because there are a whole lot of empty systems along most jump routes, and merchant vessels sometimes have to stop at gas giants to scoop hydrogen.

In 2300 AD it's also possible (though the expense of the ships means it happens only seldom), because the 7.7 ly hard limit means ships have to stop for a day, or so, along the route to discharge the stutterwarp's tantalum coils. In that setting, any commerce raiders are much more likely to be privateers, operating on behalf of a colony in a proxy-war with the colony of a rival of the great state sponsor.

For piracy to work, commerce must move through areas with no governance, where attackers can operate without much fear of interference from competent military forces. Those same conditions also support terrorists -- Osama bin Laden didn't set up shop in his home country of Saudi Arabia; he set up in effectively-lawless Afghanistan, and then moved to northern Pakistan where he enjoyed the tacit support of the local governors.

If you want space piracy, you need to include both lawless regions and reasons for trade to move through them.

[Astromancer]

The Time Wars

The old history is only poorly known and understood, the history before the Time Wars. Supposedly a culture called "The West" was wiped from history by cultures jealous of their wealth. Some say those called "The West" lived in a utopia where slavery was banned and people lived without kings or state priesthoods, others say it was a den of soul dead thieves, it can't be known. No one really even knows what they where "West" of.

The "West" used to have a systematic way of learning about the natural world. Luckily the gods defend us from such blasphemies now. We have their technologies but not the godless path of "Science." There are supposed to be warlocks called "scientists" trying to rediscover the blasphemy called science, but we burn those. But the technology we still have, even if we can't use it as well.

Basically, this world is a TL5 world with remnants of TL12^ scattered around. The culture is highly unstable mainly because there is a limited form of Time Travel available. Sending assassins back to kill your foe when they were either weak or vulnerable is the norm.

The Priesthoods are ancient highly reactionary groups that claim the will of the Gods guide them. Because they are old and highly reactionary killing off individual leaders normally has little effect on their policies. They generally loathe science and most forms of non-religious scholarship and art.

The powerful generally have access to a form of time travel, it is expensive and limited. The length of time traveled, either backwards or forwards is limited to 29.4571 years. Why that should be is unknown. It is called the limit of Saturn, but no one knows who or what Saturn is.

Note: People seem to have an absolute point in time. No one knows how that works. It is known that people used to be able to get around that but that skill is lost. So people can move back or forth only from their absolute point in time. So multiple jumps backwards or forwards don't work.

Monarchies, being based on the rule of one person, monarchy meaning the rule of one, are highly vulnerable to assassins from the future. Thus monarchs keep their heirs a secret. Most kings go masked or constantly hide from all sight. There are public monarchs and secret hidden rulers. Conspiracy theory is rife and overwhelming.

More later...

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The Time Wars

This setting is meant to be dark and baroque. Think of Jack Vance's Dying Earth or his Last Castle, Gene Wolf's The Book of the New Sun, or M. John Harrison's Viriconium, dark corrupt societies with little compassion or respect for others. The setting is mainly for tricksters and thugs.

All power is masked and conspiratorial in this setting. Any individual who becomes known becomes a target. People keep their heads down and if they seek power, they do so in the shadows. As the only way to hold power is a combo of lies and secrecy the whole society is somewhat insane. I don't mean zany, I mean sick. Insanity is necessary in this setting, the secrets and lies can only be lived with if you are insane. The insanity is what fills the gap between the secrets and the lies.

The thoughtless selfish cruelty the society of this setting is the natural side effect of all this warped society.

The state priesthoods strive to restrict literacy to religious uses only. Some literacy is allowed out of practicality Semi-Literacy is the norm for anyone above status zero. Any character who isn't a member of the State Priesthoods must take a Secret at least equal to the value of the status and skills that require full Literacy to a limit of Thirty points. Individuals of status zero or below face the death penalty for any ability to read.

More later...

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Starsky

This is a dangerous, Restricted world. The "Starsky" designation refers to the old TV show, Starsky and Hutch. The local year is 1978.

This appears to be a normal echo timeline. But the laws of probability are skewed. It can be described as a "TV Cop Show World".

Basicall, any dimensional traveler - any traveler - will, within 24 hours of arrival, be accused of a crime that he didn't commit and be the subject of a criminal investigation. There are no exceptions. And unless there's some unusual person involved - a nortoriously nonconformist police officer, a private investigator, an eccentric amateur investigator - the traveler is likely to be convicted of the crime, if not murdered. (And yes, there will be a car chase.)

Parachronic travelers to Starsky will be accompanied by a guide who has spent years developing a reputation as an eccentric amateur investigator, to insure their safety. (And yes the guide has a cool high-performance car.)

Researchers have a lot of fun investigating the distorted laws of probability of this reality. Unaccompanied travelers are advised to avoid all human contact on this world. (Or at least get a cool muscle car.)

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Starsky

This is a dangerous, Restricted world. The "Starsky" designation refers to the old TV show, Starsky and Hutch. The local year is 1978.

This appears to be a normal echo timeline. But the laws of probability are skewed. It can be described as a "TV Cop Show World".

Basicall, any dimensional traveler - any traveler - will, within 24 hours of arrival, be accused of a crime that he didn't commit and be the subject of a criminal investigation. There are no exceptions. And unless there's some unusual person involved - a nortoriously nonconformist police officer, a private investigator, an eccentric amateur investigator - the traveler is likely to be convicted of the crime, if not murdered. (And yes, there will be a car chase.)

Parachronic travelers to Starsky will be accompanied by a guide who has spent years developing a reputation as an eccentric amateur investigator, to insure their safety. (And yes the guide has a cool high-performance car.)

Researchers have a lot of fun investigating the distorted laws of probability of this reality. Unaccompanied travelers are advised to avoid all human contact on this world. (Or at least get a cool muscle car.)

Fun idea, but it isn't on the right thread.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Oopsie. I shall repost on Weird Parallels.

[Astromancer]

The Orphans

This is a simple post-apocalyptic idea. Allow the development of a circumlunar infrastructure and a cluster of O'Neill cylinders or other Space Habitat to taste. The space habitats are working on a program of independence from planetary imports. Mainly to make them less expensive and to make the phases in extraplanetary settlement more practical. The Moon has multiple bases and functions as the mine for the Space Habitats.

In my scenario, the USA, the EU, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil, are the overwhelming majority of the population and backing of the circumlunar settlements. They pool resources and work together. China and Russia have token representation, they don't work with the main group. India, Iran, and some African countries were just joining the main group. They have little population in the settlements yet, but many cultural workers, from cooks to musicians, are already in place.

Basically, someone has released bioagents into the atmosphere. Earth's population has crashed. A strict quarantine prevented the plague from getting up beyond Earth orbit.

The settlements must now A) finish becoming economically and industrially independent. B) Come up with a stable form of Government. And C) secure a long term future for humanity.

You could also run the scenario ahead 150 years and have groups of Lunar Astronauts seek to explore Earth and find any survivors.

[AlexanderHowl]

Impossible without sources of nitrogen or phosphorus. You need Titan for the former and the Asteroid Belt for the latter. Without either being established already, the orbital habitats burn (in the case of too little nitrogen) and starve (in the case of too little phosphorus).

[(E)]

Nitrogen and phosphates are present on the moon. The quantities available are not known in any great detail. Probably low nitrogen (100ppm?) But for phosphorus there is mining KREEP