New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[SimonAce]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

In the 2020's the USA, looking both to renew its international prestige and for new economic opportunities builds a Mass Driver Space Launch System and starts to colonise the moon. With American aid, Australia also builds a similar launch system. China and Russia, after agressive and violent espionage steal the technology from the USA and Australia and build their own launch systems.

By 2035 the Scamble for the solar system is on. Will it soon be "no peace beyond orbit?"

Basically, nearly the same technology as today with only what might reasonably be added in fifteen years. The launch system being the exception. A grim and gritty space opera/wild west mash-up.

I like it but unless there is a huge amount of cultural difference is the between Mass Driver Earth and our world you might want to move this to 2040 or so and the scrabble happening in the 2060's

I mean ignoring the recent viral unpleasantness for a second, its almost 2021 now after all and we are hugely behind the tech curve and the social one as well. No way could we do this in less than a decade.

[SimonAce]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Since, as this article says, they are making new dimensions in the laboratory now in 2020, let's try this idea.

A highly talented grad student in 2025 decided to see if he could create a dimension she could put a molecule through. People had moved electrons through these artificial dimensions why not a molecule. She succeeded and got more ambitious. By 2030 she could move dust grain-sized objects through artificial dimensions. The race is on to create a functional teleporter.

The winner will have the greatest tool both for war and peacetime prosperity ever made.

Basically, a technothriller than can jump into being just about anything else you want.

That science is probably pure bunk but it makes for some good gaming. Problem is that t such science is incredibly slow and the "technothriller" aspect would be make a computer hacking roll that is if she didn't just post her findings on GitHub in the first place.

[SimonAce]

Since I am always critiquing others I ought to put up an idea myself.

Back in 2017 scientists created negative mass via cooling rubidium atoms.

In this settings it turns out that its much easier to do this than expected and with several materials and many labs and individuals begin to make negative mass units which when paired with regular matter create a reactionless grav thruster,

Attempts to control it fail and within a few years, a few years reactionless drives become commonplace allowing fort all manner of shenanigans ranging from grav cannons, flying cars all the way potential doomsday rock strikes.

The world is a few years off from a space race and possibly a race to the stars and the nations of the world are not happy about it either.

Players can be explorers, prospectors members of the police trying to prevent terrorist use of the tech or just run it as a social game where they try to range venture capital.

[AlexanderHowl]

A few things. One, negative mass would produce inertialess reactionless drives. Two, it has nothing to do with gravity control. Three, it would be phenomenally expensive, at least 10x as much as conventional technologies, so it would not be quite that widespread. Four, the article is talking about a negative mass effect, not permanent negative mass, so it would take substantial amount of energy to maintain.

In the example given, it might justify the development of an inertialess standard reactionless drive. Of course, this would still be a revolutionary technology, but it would not result in a space opera world. For that, you would likely need something else.

[DaltonS]

I find these ideas fascinating so I'd like to throw in my own two bits. This is the result of some 3 AM insomniac grumblings so bear with me.

I have always considered the slow death of the space race during the 1970s rather tragic. What if the Apollo program found something on the moon valuable enough to keep it going? An unexpected mineral with strange super-science properties? Remnants of advanced alien technologies? It really doesn't matter what (I'll leave it to your imagination) but it can only be found on the Moon (at least initially) and must be desirable enough to justify a continued and expanded space program. The Soviets would quickly notice the change in American policy and revitalize their own space program to find out what was going on. It's 1980, the Americans have had a permanent lunar settlement for at least a year, the Soviet's settlement is currently under construction nearby and the international community is exerting considerable pressure on the two parties to permit and facilitate the establishment of an international base between them. So far it has all been very peaceful and civilized (at least publicly) but a big breakthrough by anyone could change the game completely.

Dalton “Good fences make good neighbors?” Spence

[SimonAce]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

A few things. One, negative mass would produce inertialess reactionless drives. Two, it has nothing to do with gravity control. Three, it would be phenomenally expensive, at least 10x as much as conventional technologies, so it would not be quite that widespread. Four, the article is talking about a negative mass effect, not permanent negative mass, so it would take substantial amount of energy to maintain.

In the example given, it might justify the development of an inertialess standard reactionless drive. Of course, this would still be a revolutionary technology, but it would not result in a space opera world. For that, you would likely need something else.

Good points all. This is why I specifically stated the effect was easier thus allowing for a sane level of energy consumption.

Also Atomic Rockets which inspired the idea notes this bit from Dr. Robert Forward about how this material could be usedf it existed which it might.

Now that we have learned how to control our working material, the simplest antigravity machine that we can make is to form the negative matter into a dense disc and lay it on a good strong floor. If the disc is dense enough and thick enough, then the repulsive gravity field on both sides of the disc will be one Earth gravity. That negative gravity field from the disc would then cancel the gravity field of the Earth. In the region above the disc, the gravity attraction would be zero and you could float there in free fall. (and in a space ship in free fall, such a disc in the ceiling would provide Terra normal gravity by repelling you downward)

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

The planet Halia was settled by a lost colony ship that misjumped and blew-out its interstellar drive. Society collapsed soon after the basic terraforming of the planet. The present-day culture of the planet has reached TL4. The continents on this world are divided by long deep gulfs and bays. Often it's easier and far shorter for people on the same continent to sail across the sea to reach each other than travel by land. The planet's climate is overwhelmingly Oceanic Climate or Mediterranian, depending on which side of a given mountain chain you are.

Recently, a university in a major trade entrepot (New Rhodes) has learned how to activate ancient memory banks from the ship. Using the data from the history of technology sections, the city of New Rhodes has transitioned to tech level 5. (Think of the city going from the technology of 1550 to that of 1750) Everyone else is scrambling to catch up. Meanwhile, New Rhodes is focused on going farther faster.


This is an altered Swashbucklers setting with the Tech Level moving quickly and erratically forward.

[DaltonS]

You haven't defined Halia's general political structure or New Rhodes' place in it. Is it part of a Maritime empire or a independent city state? How well is the past remembered? Do they think the new knowledge is magic? Has the source of it been kept secret? What we have is a couple of names, some tech levels and a little geography. This "seed" needs a little more detail please.

Dalton “Not a Guardian of the Ancient Oracle” Spence

[AlexanderHowl]

In 2500 AD, explorers from the Terran Federation penetrated the Horsehead Nebula and found a MB megastructure in a star system hidden from detection by the nebula. With a total mass of 40 Jupiters (SM+54), the MB proved to be quite capable of defending itself, as it disabled the explorer fleet before sending the Terran Federation a warning. The warning was 'Leave us alone, do not journey further into our territory, or we will exterminate you.' The fact that the warning was delivered by a SM+24 spaceship that deposited the explorer fleet in the Sol System was not lost on the Terran Federation government.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by DaltonS

You haven't defined Halia's general political structure or New Rhodes' place in it. Is it part of a Maritime empire or a independent city state? How well is the past remembered? Do they think the new knowledge is magic? Has the source of it been kept secret? What we have is a couple of names, some tech levels and a little geography. This "seed" needs a little more detail please.

Dalton “Not a Guardian of the Ancient Oracle” Spence

Valid points. Planet Halia has three large continents and relatively few islands, but these continents are spread out like the fronds of a fern plant, a very battered and irregular fern plant, but hey. These long peninsulas are separated by deep wide bays and gulfs. Each peninsula tends to have a mountainous spine. Thus most of the planet is ruled by city-states because the geography of the planet isn't particularly conducive to large land-based empires and kingdoms.

New Rhodes has a sea bourne empire much like Venice at the height of her Empire. However, although New Rhodes was rich and prosperous, unlike Venice, New Rhodes had multiple competitors on or near her level and a few city-states that were clearly ahead in terms of power, wealth, prestige, and technology. New Rhodes has leap-frogged from mid-b list to the front of the pack.

The new knowledge is known to be from the deep past. The educated, a slightly larger group than on the Earth of 1550, know the history but in the same way, the average American High School kid who passed history with a B does. Foggy on the details doesn't begin to cover it. They also know the new knowledge isn't magic. The common people know only legends of Earth. Much like the ordinary people of Europe in 1550, they make little or no distinction between magic on one hand and technology and mathematics on the other. As literacy grows, and the elites know they need the common folk able to read and do sums, the distinction grows. But as in our world, that doesn't limit superstition.

The particular means of accessing the source has been kept secret. Many other places have the same resource, it's the fact that the University at New Rhodes can tap the resource that makes the difference and everyone knows that.

Did I cover what you wanted?