New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[jason taylor]

Britainnica 3 is a neutral zone in the Infinite War. Both Centrum and Infinity see the local government as reasonably congenial to their respective ideologies, in a strange agreement: Centrum approves of the order and tradition, while Infinity approves of the REASONABLE respect for human rights. In any case the Imperial government is in on The Secret (it discovered it when several Russian mafioso were captured selling weapons to terrorists and placed under rigorous interrogation by MI5). Her Imperial Majesties government however has not developed a conveyor of it's own and does not wish to antagonize either faction by doing so.

The world is used for such purposes as prisoner exchange, negotiations about matters both sides agree on and the like. There are even clubs where agents of both factions are known to attend.

Beneath this truce there is a game of intrigue going on. While it was agreed not to molest Britainica 3 itself, there are other matters of strategic relevance such as undiscovered portals that could lead to as yet unreachable Quanta.

[PTTG]

Sounds like a fine place for that universal pub to be. Presumably owned and operated by a retired cabalist.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Sounds like a fine place for that universal pub to be. Presumably owned and operated by a retired cabalist.

That would be a great place for at least one aspect of the Horatio Club most certainly. And the retired cabalist is a great idea.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

In any case the Imperial government is in on The Secret (it discovered it when several Russian mafioso were captured selling weapons to terrorists and placed under rigorous interrogation by MI5).

That would be the Metropolitan Police Detective Branch, or CID from 1878, or Special Irish Branch, from 1883, or Special Branch from 1886.

The first ancestor of MI5 was the Secret Service Bureau, formed by the Admiralty and the War Office in 1909, well after Her Majesty's death.

[ronwit]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Strange Dawn

A question, have you mapped this out? I am wondering whether you have placed certain chunks of the world ?stasis locked? where they might be cut off from the rest of the world and almost everyone starves.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by ronwit

A question, have you mapped this out? I am wondering whether you have placed certain chunks of the world ?stasis locked? where they might be cut off from the rest of the world and almost everyone starves.

A map like that would be for the war. Except for Europe, all the rest of the world is out of Stasis.

Now, much of the Middle East (Mainly Egypt, the Sudan, and Southwest Asia) came out of Stasis when the areas around them were in stasis and the northwestern quarter of the Indian Ocean was a no go zone. A super drought caused mass starvation. The nations in that area (except for Israel that figured out how to escape to America) lost more than 90% of their populations.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Strange Dawn

Are you the person who is going to explain the lights on the dark of the moon?

They don't need much explanation,
they're moonbases.

How is that possible? They weren't there yesterday!

Your yesterday was different than mine.

That can't be.

Europe was held in a stasis field by extradimensional aliens.

Quit quoting old Doctor Who plots. This isn't a fantasy.

You might wish it was. Europe has been held in stasis for sixty years.

More later...

Peru: Peru is having a cultural moment. The literature, music, visual arts and cuisine of Peru are about as culturally dominant as France in the mid 19th century. Only Fashion (where Taiwan and the Southern Coastal Cities of China are all conquering) and films (where Hollywood has had a massive revival) aren't their thing. Peru is a blend of Barbarella and Jetsons. Although some crackpot are trying to revive the Shinning Path.

Ecuador: Ecuador is stagnant and dull at the coast and doesn't bother with its interior. Thus wannabe rebels and revolutionaries hideout in eastern Ecuador. It's a kind of pathetic yet dangerous blend of Mad Max and the Jetsons.

Columbia: Peaceful and highly prosperous. The United States, Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, and Columbia, are an economic team. Throughly industrialized and looking to bring in Brazil, Nigeria, and Indonesia into the system. Columbia is a blend of Barbarella and the Jetsons.

Venezuela : Still a basket case, but slowly on the mend. Venezuela is a sad blend of Mad Max and the Jetsons. As large areas of this nation are lawless there are violent gangs striving to keep it that way.

Guyana: The War of conquest Venezuela wanted to take Guyana's oil fields never happened. The Venezuelans had no navy or air force and still don't, any the land between the populated areas of the two nations are separated by forests, swamps, and rugged hills that no known army could cross without heavy losses. So nothing could happen. Guyana is a mildly prosperous backwater. But it's a stopping point on going to other more dangerous places.

Suriname : Quiet and stable. However it has become a major New Age center lately which brings in a strange and unstable crowd.

French Guiana : Like other sections of France Outremare, French Guiana had to figure out survival without France. Basically, the USA took over and hired Quebecers to administer the territory. The big drama now is the return of France and reconnecting after decades of separation.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Strange Dawn

Are you the person who is going to explain the lights on the dark of the moon?

They don't need much explanation,
they're moonbases.

How is that possible? They weren't there yesterday!

Your yesterday was different than mine.

That can't be.

Europe was held in a stasis field by extradimensional aliens.

Quit quoting old Doctor Who plots. This isn't a fantasy.

You might wish it was. Europe has been held in stasis for sixty years.

More later...

Central America: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras, are all quietly prosperous. Panama, which was attacked early in the war to destroy the canal, is still a basket case but showing signs of recovery. The local criminal gangs are doing everything they can do derail any recovery because a recovery would close them down. The Panama Canal was never reopened, an emergency canal linking Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific and improvements to make the San Jaun river navigatable replaced the older canal. This new passage has been widened and improved.

Environmental activists are still royally ticked about it but can't get it closed now.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Strange Dawn

Are you the person who is going to explain the lights on the dark of the moon?

They don't need much explanation,
they're moonbases.

How is that possible? They weren't there yesterday!

Your yesterday was different than mine.

That can't be.

Europe was held in a stasis field by extradimensional aliens.

Quit quoting old Doctor Who plots. This isn't a fantasy.

You might wish it was. Europe has been held in stasis for sixty years.

More later...

The Caribbean: The Chaos of the war brought the threat of economic collapse and famine to the Caribbean. With Europe and Latin America in stasis and the United States, Mexico and Canada under attack from unknowable aliens the Caribbean had to do anything to survive.

Placing themselves in association with the United States was a survival move. The US government extended the people of the Caribbean "US citizenship for the duration." It was something done by Executive Order from the hidden offices under the Greenbrier Hotel. Just a simple way to organize relief and population movement, a temporary thing. But temporary things can suddenly become permanent.

Only Cuba and Haiti reclaimed their independence. The general assertion was that being part of the United States of America gave them the real substance of independence. They are still sentimental about their past as nations or parts of other nations, but they are mainly satisfied.

Cuba, both as a Trust Mandate (the Cubans declared "Anything the League of Nations could do Cuba can do for itself.") and a fully independent ally of the US Cuba has industrialized. Haiti is following a similar path and is enjoying stability.

The Caribbean as a whole has a strong Jetsons quality with Barbarella vibes.

Mexico: The United States of Mexico (to give them their actual name) is a wealthy stable society. The scars of the war are still visible but they are treated as a badge of honor.

Although the geography and general blend of tropical, desert, and mountainous terrain, plus the total lack of navigable rivers, keeps Mexico somewhat less wealthy than the USA, the wealth gap is far smaller and generally not an issue.

Because Mexico is south of the Continental US many space ports are placed on the mountains of Mexico.

Mexico has a Jetsons and Barbarella feel to it.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Strange Dawn

Are you the person who is going to explain the lights on the dark of the moon?

They don't need much explanation,
they're moonbases.

How is that possible? They weren't there yesterday!

Your yesterday was different than mine.

That can't be.

Europe was held in a stasis field by extradimensional aliens.

Quit quoting old Doctor Who plots. This isn't a fantasy.

You might wish it was. Europe has been held in stasis for sixty years.

More later...

Pakistan: Pakistan came out of Stasis in the early 2030s. They were almost immediately attacked by the Aliens. Not understanding anything of what was happening they loudly declared War on India, Israel, and the USA. Israel was shattered at the time, the USA was busy elsewhere and India decided letting the Pakistanis stew in their own folly and forbidding the US to help them was the best strategy.

Luckily the government of India relented. Still Pakistan remains broken, a submissive client state of India. The place still swarms with violent militants but they have no way of organizing themselves to do anything beyond making the locals poor and helpless.

Pakistan is profoundly Mad Max.

Iran: Shattered by the brutal droughts and famines caused by the stasis fields Iran is healing better than expected. The Islamist hunta that ruled Iran so long is only an ugly memory. Traditional Iranian culture is reasserting itself.

Iran still looks pretty Mad Max especially with its neighbors. Still, there are many areas where it very Barbarella with Persian charm and style.

Azerbaijan: They came out of Stasis late and missed most of the war. They've done well in the recovery and are stable and prosperous.

Still, every troublemaker in the area choses to travel through Azerbaijan because it's a great place to rest and heal. So mainly Barbarella with scary flashes of Mad Max.