Transhuman Space/Avatar

[Cyclone]

Let's suppose an alternate Transhuman Space, where humanity notices the presence of biomarkers on a moon of Alpha Centauri Ab (a gas giant), at some appropriate point in the timeline.

Realistically, this would greatly accelerate interest in extrasolar exploration, given the possibility of life on another planet, relatively "reasonably" close by. Let's say it accelerates the equivalent of Starswarm enough that by 2080, one or more such projects have completed, and the THS powers are aware of the broad outlines of this alien world: it is Pandora, a world dominated by hexapodal life (and the strangely-humanoid Na'vi), with a thicker atmosphere and lower gravity than Earth, though the atmosphere is unbreathable by humans due to the presence of high quantities of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere. These probes also revealed the presence of unobtanium on the planet. Like in the movie's universe, we'll say that unobtanium cannot be produced by human industrial processes available to the THS powers.

Given the presence of an entire alien biosphere as well as an extremely valuable room temperature superconductor on the planet's surface, the planet will naturally be of great interest to all the Earth powers. What happens next?

[Fred Brackin]

Probably China and the TransPacific Alliance destroy each other (and a lot of other stuff) with the Starstream accelerator technology.

Or maybe it's the Red Duncanites who destroy anyone who might inhibit their freedom.

Anyway, "re-enact the movie" is pretty low on everyone's list of things to do.

[Cyclone]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Probably China and the TransPacific Alliance destroy each other (and a lot of other stuff) with the Starstream accelerator technology.

Or maybe it's the Red Duncanites who destroy anyone who might inhibit their freedom.

In general, THS does not appear to assume that access to world destroying weapons lead to the world actually being destroyed, thus, for example, nukes not being used during the Pacific War. So let us continue with that assumption rather than abandoning it in service of functionally dismissing the scenario.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Anyway, "re-enact the movie" is pretty low on everyone's list of things to do.

The movie plot is contrived at best and silly at worst, as the human motivations and methods don't really make much sense. So obviously they will not re-enact the movie. However, I think it's quite reasonable to assume that if we discovered alien life in the neighboring solar system, as well as extremely valuable natural resources, we would go visit them.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Cyclone

Iar. So let us continue with that assumption rather than abandoning it in service of functionally dismissing the scenario.

I might want to dismiss the scenario. The people of Transhuman Space's Solar System are quite busy creating their own aliens and it's not like they're going to be able to colonize Alpha C's planet.

Even some purely capitalistically motivated types can't make any money off it in a reasonable time frame.

There might be some lunatics who want to conquer the newly discovered thing in the name of their genotype. Or at least plaster their genotype al over it similar to the way dogs treat fire hydrants. Hopefully the token sane people eeping the Starstream Accelerator from being used as a weapon (and it would make a really good weapon) will prevent them from spraying gene-carrying nanites all over the place.

There's also the peculiar question of why this didn't get discovered until 2080. In our timeline we'd be discovering a planet with O2 in its' atmosphere at Alpha C approximately now. It's what the Webb was built for. In TS they'd have discovered 10 years before us.

We also know what they'd do if there was a habitable planet in range. It's called the DarkTree Colonization Fleet and little Tisbeth Sung-Morten (a Camazotz Parahuman) is headed to Darktree so she can fly.

Sorry but a lot of attempts to add something "Big!/New!/Strange!" to the setting run into this. Soembody else as already beat them to the punch. The place is a veritable explosion of looney energy.

[Cyclone]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

I might want to dismiss the scenario. The people of Transhuman Space's Solar System are quite busy creating their own aliens and it's not like they're going to be able to colonize Alpha C's planet.

Even some purely capitalistically motivated types can't make any money off it in a reasonable time frame.

There might be some lunatics who want to conquer the newly discovered thing in the name of their genotype. Or at least plaster their genotype al over it similar to the way dogs treat fire hydrants. Hopefully the token sane people eeping the Starstream Accelerator from being used as a weapon (and it would make a really good weapon) will prevent them from spraying gene-carrying nanites all over the place.

There's also the peculiar question of why this didn't get discovered until 2080. In our timeline we'd be discovering a planet with O2 in its' atmosphere at Alpha C approximately now. It's what the Webb was built for. In TS they'd have discovered 10 years before us.

I didn't say that it was discovered in 2080 - I said that their probes arrived in 2080, after there were biomarkers detected! In fact, I specifically said, "this would greatly accelerate interest in extrasolar exploration." If the Starswarm project had actually been followed through on and used to colonize Alpha Centauri, THS humanity would first arrive in Alpha Centauri around 2120-5, with NAI probes. At the canonical present day, THS humanity does not have the meaningful capacity to reach Alpha Centauri.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

We also know what they'd do if there was a habitable planet in range. It's called the DarkTree Colonization Fleet and little Tisbeth Sung-Morten (a Camazotz Parahuman) is headed to Darktree so she can fly.

Sorry but a lot of attempts to add something "Big!/New!/Strange!" to the setting run into this. Soembody else as already beat them to the punch. The place is a veritable explosion of looney energy.

Even assuming Darktree exists in Transhuman Space (and isn't just something for Bio-Tech or further down the timeline), it is probably 61 Virginis, the canonically habitable world, which is more than six times as far from Earth as Alpha Centauri, and definitely well outside of humanity's reach in any reasonable timespan. If humanity sent a Starswarm-style project to 61 Virginis today, then a lightspeed signal sent on arrival would get here around 2162.

Additionally, there is presumably no intelligent life there, whereas we know Pandora has not one, not two, but at least three native intelligent species (Na'vi, tulkun, Eywa).

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Cyclone

Even assuming Darktree exists in Transhuman Space (and isn't just something for Bio-Tech or further down the timeline), it is probably 61 Virginis, the canonically habitable world, which is more than six times as far from Earth as Alpha Centauri, a).

I can't get to most of my books right now but in playtest material there was a Darktree expedition and it wasn't to 61 Virginis. It was to a previously undiscovered dwarf star even closer than Proxima Centauri. Camazotz certainly are canon.

Look, there's no need to be hostile. It's not like I'm calling your first born child ugly. As a GM what you want to have happen, happens. I can only suggest logical problems that should be overcome. I see significant numbers of those to the point that I tend to doubt your statement about greatly increasing interest in extrasolar exploration. Such interest in canon TS is probably already about as high as it can get.

Also, I'm not quite sure what you think "biomarkers" are. An O2 containing atmosphere is already proof of life as we know it.