New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

If you want to make things worse, have the New Madrid Fault kick off a Richter 9.5 earthquake as the seal level rise hits its designated peak.

That would devastate the Midwest and force refugees from conservative communities where their families have lived for at least a century into the more liberal urban regions.

It would also trigger a global recession as U.S. investment money got pulled back to fund the reconstruction at home. Moreover, the investors would simply decline to fund reconstruction of many poor rural town, making displacement permanent for a demographic already inclined toward apocalyptic world-views.

I like this better than the Yellowstone idea. The USA would come back after a period of crisis. The USA being out of the picture and struggling at home would make it darker over much of the Earth with only the cheap fusion power ( see the post were I started this idea) and similar tech as good news.

Although many would call it the beginning of a new Dark Age there would still be hope during a crisis.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Okay, a sci-fi setting ... a twisted version of an old novel I read many years ago ...

In the 15th century, a bunch of aliens kidnapped thousands of assorted humans from across the world, enough to set up a breeding population. They were taught a common language so they could communicate and the rudiments of science. Then they were given a planet, basic supplies, and a deadline to produce a fighting force.

The aliens of the galaxy were forbidden by treaty from going to war directly, as their technology was too powerful. At the same time, they really did not like or trust each other. So they took primitive races and used them as janissaries, colonist-soldiers. While they would start out primitive, their education in basics meant the janissaries would advance quickly, and since it would be their own advancements, no one could say that their alien patrons were giving them advanced help.

So the humans bred and evolved on their new planet, sending out mercenaries to alien worlds. They developed their own culture, their language evolved, and Earth faded into the realm of myth and legend.

Then, surprisingly, one of the janissary-races surpased their patrons and established a Galactic Empire. The empire forbade war - period. The janissary-colonies, whose only export was military forces, were out of a job.

The new Empire offered reparation to the janissaries. About ten percent of the human colony accepted, so they were transported back to earth to an uninhabited land mass.

Or they thought it was uninhabited. Their servey records were centuries old and of low quality to begin with. New Zealand had plenty of inhabitants. Fortunately the space-humans had a cultural inclination to building arcologies on easily-defended mountaintops, so there is little in the way of land conflict. The colonists also brought their own tech base, which is a bit in advance of earth's.

So now there is a TL9 militaristic human culture colonizing New Zealand. But what era should they colonize? As they left earth in the 15th century, any time from the 18th century onwards is good. And their culture and economy is geared to offering mercenary services ...

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Okay, a sci-fi setting ... a twisted version of an old novel I read many years ago ...

In the 15th century, a bunch of aliens kidnapped thousands of assorted humans from across the world, enough to set up a breeding population. They were taught a common language so they could communicate and the rudiments of science. Then they were given a planet, basic supplies, and a deadline to produce a fighting force.

The aliens of the galaxy were forbidden by treaty from going to war directly, as their technology was too powerful. At the same time, they really did not like or trust each other. So they took primitive races and used them as janissaries, colonist-soldiers. While they would start out primitive, their education in basics meant the janissaries would advance quickly, and since it would be their own advancements, no one could say that their alien patrons were giving them advanced help.

So the humans bred and evolved on their new planet, sending out mercenaries to alien worlds. They developed their own culture, their language evolved, and Earth faded into the realm of myth and legend.

Then, surprisingly, one of the janissary-races surpased their patrons and established a Galactic Empire. The empire forbade war - period. The janissary-colonies, whose only export was military forces, were out of a job.

The new Empire offered reparation to the janissaries. About ten percent of the human colony accepted, so they were transported back to earth to an uninhabited land mass.

Or they thought it was uninhabited. Their servey records were centuries old and of low quality to begin with. New Zealand had plenty of inhabitants. Fortunately the space-humans had a cultural inclination to building arcologies on easily-defended mountaintops, so there is little in the way of land conflict. The colonists also brought their own tech base, which is a bit in advance of earth's.

So now there is a TL9 militaristic human culture colonizing New Zealand. But what era should they colonize? As they left earth in the 15th century, any time from the 18th century onwards is good. And their culture and economy is geared to offering mercenary services ...

Lovely bit of chaos. Suitible for a whole campaign and I could really see it as a part of a supers campaign too. The returned humans could be a great source of supers or the explanation for exotic weapons or martial arts. Also the returning humans might have learned psionics or even magic while in deep space exile.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Lovely bit of chaos. Suitible for a whole campaign and I could really see it as a part of a supers campaign too. The returned humans could be a great source of supers or the explanation for exotic weapons or martial arts. Also the returning humans might have learned psionics or even magic while in deep space exile.

I was thinking that in a TL 4 or 5 world, a TL 9 cyborg soldier in combat armor would be monster enough, no need to gild the lily.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

An early FTL drive went wrong with a fleet of colony ships entering into a transwarp field together. Examination of the Data shows that, due to freak circumstances, instead of blowing up, the fleet traveled backwards in TIME!

A few weeks later scout ships from the Commonweal of Worlds contacts Earth. The colonists survived and seem to have been split by the accident into three groups. The Commonweal (an Alliance of egalitarian democracies), the Imperium of Lawful worlds (an Empire like the Empire at the start of the novel Dune, and like that novel backed by powerful corporate interests), and the Tridominium of the Faithful (a theocracy). The Commonweal alone recognizes the right of other governments to exist.

Assume that Earth and the solar system are a reasonable take on Transhuman Space in the year 2130 with FTL drives added. The Commonweal, the Imperium, and the Tridominium are all advanced TL12^ societies. Although how widely spread through society the technology is varies form society to society.

Psionics are known and used in each culture beyond the Solar System.

Basically THS meets Space Opera. Parahuman Jedi anyone?

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

(SNIP)

Basically THS meets Space Opera. Parahuman Jedi anyone?

For a potential take on this, check out the thread on Traveller and THS. I'm on my phone, so the forum seach doesn't work, or I'd post the link.

Basically, if the Space Opera society is a traditional "safe-tech" one, then the THS Sol system surrenders, breaks down the invader tech while using memetic science to understand its culture, and in a hundred years (or less) replaces the existing ruling elite.

[doctorevilbrain]

"Memetic science" is an oxymoron, if I've ever heard one. I'd say it's only slightly more of a science than Astrology.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain

"Memetic science" is an oxymoron, if I've ever heard one. I'd say it's only slightly more of a science than Astrology.

In the Transhuman Space setting they have real and provably functional Memetic Science.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

For a potential take on this, check out the thread on Traveller and THS. I'm on my phone, so the forum seach doesn't work, or I'd post the link.

Basically, if the Space Opera society is a traditional "safe-tech" one, then the THS Sol system surrenders, breaks down the invader tech while using memetic science to understand its culture, and in a hundred years (or less) replaces the existing ruling elite.

Actually all of the space opera cultures came out of theTHS setting. They're all Transhuman Stars settings. Or Posthumans. Bene Gesserit anyone?

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

In the Transhuman Space setting they have real and provably functional Memetic Science.

Right. In that setting, the Sapient AIs can examine the functionality of their own cognition (they just analyze the files). That insight, combined with the understanding of neurology that comes with a high-biotech setting, made memetics into a hard science.

It is specifically not mind-control super-science, but it does allow for the rational analysis of how cultural and societal ideas get adopted by the minds of its constituent members, and the slow manipulation of the ideas held by significantly large segments of a target population.

Now, then, combine that with traditional space opera psionics, and you could have something truly horrific -- or a civilization consisting of people consistently and reliably sane.