Rationalizing a Firefly - Serenity type setting

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by RyanW

That's not nearly as tough as everybody makes it out to be. Joss just missed the obvious: It isn't a single system.

The basic problem seems to be that, like many TV-SF writers, Josh wasn't too clear on astrodynamics and didn't realise that he could get advice on it. Like Terry Nation in the 1960s who didn't know the difference between a solar system and a galaxy, he just wrote more or less what other people had written.

The "all one solar system" stuff only comes in in the film, and stinks of desperate retcon. Treat it as RyanW says, a Traveller-style polity of several solar systems, and it pretty much works.

[shawnhcorey]

But planets in systems with more than one star are possible, but very rare.

[thrash]

Originally Posted by shawnhcorey

But planets in systems with more than one star are possible, but very rare.

That's not the issue, though. The issue is: how many terraformable worlds can you have in one system?

Even with multiple stars, each with its own suite of planets, resonance effects will limit the number of worlds per habitable zone to two or three at most -- call it a dozen or so, max. Swap all of the planets in a habitable zone for a super-Jovian gas giant, and you might eke out a couple more habitable moons. There's just no way to get 70+ habitable planets and moons around five stars.

Hey, I know: what if the 'Verse is a failed or abandoned Dyson Swarm?

[shawnhcorey]

Originally Posted by thrash

That's not the issue, though. The issue is: how many terraformable worlds can you have in one system?

Nobody knows. Since extrasolar planets have been discovered, all rules about planet formation have been thrown out.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

The "all one solar system" stuff only comes in in the film, and stinks of desperate retcon..

Nope. Book's opening monologue from the series:

Originally Posted by Book

"After the Earth was used up, we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying."

[Irish Wolf]

It's still not rational as a single system, not with "hundreds" of planets. I could buy short-hop FTL in, say, a globular cluster, but not one stellar system with more than about five or six terraformable worlds.

[pfharlock]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

The basic problem seems to be that, like many TV-SF writers, Josh wasn't too clear on astrodynamics and didn't realise that he could get advice on it. Like Terry Nation in the 1960s who didn't know the difference between a solar system and a galaxy, he just wrote more or less what other people had written.

The "all one solar system" stuff only comes in in the film, and stinks of desperate retcon. Treat it as RyanW says, a Traveller-style polity of several solar systems, and it pretty much works.

Or, some sniveling editor who didn't understand the ridiculousness of the statement got his hands on part of the dialogue, and then once it was said it was cannon.

I doubt that's the way it was originally written, (at least I like to think that's the way it came about).

I try to ignore that statement when watching the series/movie and then my brain can buy it again.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

(And I am not even going to try to make sense of the “dozens of planets and hundreds of moons” suitable for terraforming part.)

Given this part of the very first post, I think I'll refrain from further comment about the bizarre planetary arrangement, terraforming, and so on.

I'm not sure if I can give much in the way of useful feedback about things like history, politics, trade, and so on without some understanding of the technology and resources available in the setting, though....

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Given this part of the very first post, I think I'll refrain from further comment about the bizarre planetary arrangement, terraforming, and so on.

I'm not sure if I can give much in the way of useful feedback about things like history, politics, trade, and so on without some understanding of the technology and resources available in the setting, though....

Well they have instant-terraforming super-science but nothing else that would implied by that godlike capability. Other than that, the core is a pretty typical TL 10, while the fringe is schizotech with late 19th century firearms coexisting with lasers, stunners, forcefield windows, maglev monorails, 20th century atvs, horse drawn transport whatever. Primitive locally produced stuff, and really over priced core tech.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

late 19th century firearms

What makes you think the firearms are 19th century designs? Mal's pistol makes a weird whining "power up" kind of noise that certainly doesn't come from a regular revolver. Might just be retro looks, though there's also a large amount of "form follows function" in a pistol.