Setting Jam: Hyperbolic Trajectory

PTTG · 11-30-2024, 08:51 AM

For some grounding, homesteading on Mars is a pretty big pull for our given technology level. We've already established that fast access to the outer solar system is only barely reaching deployment now, and previous efforts relied on multi-year transfers.

It gets easier with shipments that take only months and cost less (while still being higher than, say, air freight), but basic things like air, water, food, and so on are not practical for a frontier family to handle alone. Then there's things like radiation shielding and microcircuit manufacturing which are easier to justify with subtle technology.

Now, if these are groups of a few thousand people, several of them already independently wealthy, it get easier. But now it's not really "freehold," it's a cult of personality or ideology, or just a company town. If you are 100% dependent on your boss for air, radiation protection, and electricity, it doesn't really matter if you "own" the land you're on.

There's a few ways to fit these pieces together.
1: Homesteads aren't practical, but people are trying anyway, and the law of small numbers is helping. There's like 6 surviving smallhold homesteads so far, and each of them has a different extenuating circumstance. One is supported by mass fan donations from Earth as they livestream their lives. One is a reality show full of celebrities. One is more of a retirement community attached to a pre-existing international mars research base. One is actually a legit extended family living in a pressurized cave and whom all have Luck and Serendipity. Another is the family of an Earth millionare, but they've only been on Mars for a few months and there are already problems. And so far, there's been three that failed after touchdown, two of them with no survivors.

2: "Freehold" is a financial myth, and most of efforts involve hundreds or thousands of people pooling resources, usually as part of a political or ideological movement. Good intentions or not, many who go to Mars end up indentured or indoctrinated.

3: There's a lot more automation than previously assumed in this setting; enough so that a skilled hobbyist can 3d-print an EVA helmet in a few hours and a nuclear reactor in a couple weeks. And there's advanced tech to refine materials from regolith.

4: Mars is somehow way more valuable and/or hospitable than we suspect today. Alien artifacts, life forms, or exotic mineral concentrations, and maybe it's way easier to find water too.

5: Humans can grow just fine in low-gravity, and there's a lot of experience from Lunar colonies.

Probably, all of the above. Which, in the end, gives us more adventure hooks and seeds.

aaak out of time. I'm actually in the process of moving... will continue later.

11-30-2024, 08:51 AM	#27
PTTG Join Date: Feb 2011	Re: Setting Jam: Hyperbolic Trajectory For some grounding, homesteading on Mars is a pretty big pull for our given technology level. We've already established that fast access to the outer solar system is only barely reaching deployment now, and previous efforts relied on multi-year transfers. It gets easier with shipments that take only months and cost less (while still being higher than, say, air freight), but basic things like air, water, food, and so on are not practical for a frontier family to handle alone. Then there's things like radiation shielding and microcircuit manufacturing which are easier to justify with subtle technology. Now, if these are groups of a few thousand people, several of them already independently wealthy, it get easier. But now it's not really "freehold," it's a cult of personality or ideology, or just a company town. If you are 100% dependent on your boss for air, radiation protection, and electricity, it doesn't really matter if you "own" the land you're on. There's a few ways to fit these pieces together. 1: Homesteads aren't practical, but people are trying anyway, and the law of small numbers is helping. There's like 6 surviving smallhold homesteads so far, and each of them has a different extenuating circumstance. One is supported by mass fan donations from Earth as they livestream their lives. One is a reality show full of celebrities. One is more of a retirement community attached to a pre-existing international mars research base. One is actually a legit extended family living in a pressurized cave and whom all have Luck and Serendipity. Another is the family of an Earth millionare, but they've only been on Mars for a few months and there are already problems. And so far, there's been three that failed after touchdown, two of them with no survivors. 2: "Freehold" is a financial myth, and most of efforts involve hundreds or thousands of people pooling resources, usually as part of a political or ideological movement. Good intentions or not, many who go to Mars end up indentured or indoctrinated. 3: There's a lot more automation than previously assumed in this setting; enough so that a skilled hobbyist can 3d-print an EVA helmet in a few hours and a nuclear reactor in a couple weeks. And there's advanced tech to refine materials from regolith. 4: Mars is somehow way more valuable and/or hospitable than we suspect today. Alien artifacts, life forms, or exotic mineral concentrations, and maybe it's way easier to find water too. 5: Humans can grow just fine in low-gravity, and there's a lot of experience from Lunar colonies. Probably, all of the above. Which, in the end, gives us more adventure hooks and seeds. aaak out of time. I'm actually in the process of moving... will continue later.