A Perspective of 200 Years of Change

jedion357's picture
jedion357
November 21, 2012 - 5:22am
Timeline ends at FY111 which has an artificial feel of a certain level of tech being prevelant over the course of the whole timeline without much innovation. I typically handle that by making the AD equipment list the fairly strict equipment list for the earliest time I will run an adventure in and then allow for all the stuff from Zebs, Dragon mags, SFman, and FE to be introduced over time.

If I understand where you are going with this project then I think that we are talking about a 200 year jump in tech. We can talk about what tech on Earth looked like 200 years ago but I think that what we really should talk about is what tech looked like 60 years ago vs today and how fast that change has occurred and then apply that to 200 years in the future.

Personally, I think a comment in Genesis is prescient here, when mankind begain to build the Tower of Bable God said that he would confuse the languages lest nothing be restrained from man. We now live in a day where there are a shrinking number of languages and some universal trade languages are evolving. Gobalization is having massive impacts on us. and technology is making it so that "nothing will be restrained from us"

Look at it this way: What are the attributes of God? Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotentance, and others that are significant like Holiness and All Wise which is not covered by Omniscience and assundry others. technology like the internet is making so that any individual can begin to approach omniscience or all knowing because all or any knowledge available is at their finger tips. Sure its not perfect but its closer to omniscience than man was 200 years ago and in light of the rapid change of the past 60 years where will it be in 200?

Sooner or latter someone will solve an engineering holy grail of a gravity engine and figure a way to generate electricity from gravity- free and limitless fuel with no pollution- it will put all power (omnipotence) at mans finger tips- not on the same scale as God but getting closer to it than man ever has been before. Same begins to apply to omnipresence where matter transmission is possible- it begins to allow a man to simulate omnipresence.

I've thought long on this because I think the implications for our world, if there is a God and he is a jealous God as is stated in the Old Testament, then I think the prophecies of an end of the world or Armeggedon  must be correct because I dont see God being very tollerant of a bunch of 'gods' running around who lack anything close to his holiness and morality because power corrupts and greater power begins to corrupt greatly.

Now I didn't start this thread to preach but I think any future to the SF setting 200 years past FY111 will be so far advance technologically that we will need to talk about technology in magical terms but we will need to talk about society it will not have a 1980's overlay of public morality that worked its way in the Alpha Dawn game. I think the setting of that future will have very stark divisions of haves and have nots and that the haves will be arrogant, narcisistic, godlings and the have nots will live in abject poverty on the underside.

I think what the shiny side of that society will look like is what is portrayed in John Ringo's The Council War series and in particular what is shown in the openning of the book "There Will  Be Dragons" such that the power and tech available to mankind is that if you want to have your body remade to be that of a mermaid so you can swim in the sea you can and later you can have it changed back. A girl goes to a party on the eve of the war (which cuts off everyone's access to all power) and decides to go as a dragon after the start of the war she must remain a dragon with all its liabilities like a massive appetite so she enlists on the good guys side just to get fed, one guy actually considered having a mod done to his digestive system that would let him eat iron and shit nails so that he could be the living embodiement of a USMC drill sgt. but the doctor talked him out of it. People play in fantasy realms and at fantasy to divert themselves because they have no reason to work. At least until the war cuts everyone off from power access.

Anyway I wanted to put a few ideas out there. FY 311 should be a society with AI that is self aware and evolving and humanity that is crazy with modifying its body and stark divisions of poor and rich. and people bereft of a moral center.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!
Comments:

bossmoss's picture
bossmoss
November 21, 2012 - 6:53am
In my own SF campaign, I extrapolated what direction I thought the Frontier might take years down the road, based on the direction it took within the timeframe we know about.

Computers would be one obvious change.  Just in the time span between AD and "Dark Side of the Moon", you have huge mainframes evolving into "hand computers".  Then of course, there are the infamous bodycomps after that.  What would be the next inevitable step?  And the next after that?  This is different path than our computers took.  Would there ever be anything approximating the internet?  If there were, I think the Osakar would have a hand in it in some way.  Their natural skill in communications makes it likely that they would develop such a thing.

Zebulon's Guide gives us several hints about the direction technology might take.  Bap booths, for example.  Body-gene & body-jump boxes.  Lifespans might increase even further, into the 300s or 400s and beyond.

The boundaries of the Frontier itself would get pushed back.  Everything on the map, from the Rim & Volturnus to the Notui & Mhemne homeworlds would become part of civilized space.  All worlds within that area would be colonized, settled, and fully exploited.  There would be few wild places left.  To find new territory would require expanding ever-outward, beyond the Vast Expanse. 

What would become of the Sathar?  Would they still be a threat, or would they be a thing of the past?  What of the Zuraqqor and Clikks?

Over such a long period of time, it is likely that the more primitive species would gradually become more advanced.  You might have scientists or doctors who would be Heliopes, Ul-Mor or Notui, and would see such species in Spacefleet.

Mechanons would control a wider area, and be far more advanced than most Frontier species.  They would naturally develop technology at a faster rate, and quickly outpace everyone else.  Would they be allies?  Enemies?  What about the recovered Eorna species?  Have they colonized other worlds as well?  Did they keep their high-tech edge?

OnceFarOff's picture
OnceFarOff
December 8, 2012 - 8:33am
I'm mulling over the same issues of TL advancement from a slightly different angle. As my campaign setting will very soon be splitting into two main "theaters": the Frontier and the Verge - I have been considering not having the technology be similar in both settings. For one reason, two separate groups could develop at different rates. Another is that from the human-centric point of view and using Jedion's frontier timeline, the human colonization process as the ships were separated from each other in Theseus and White Light, as well as being cut off from earth would result in an extended period of time getting society stable, rather than pursiung technological advancements. The eventual contact between the Alternity setting and the Frontier setting would result in a massive tech explosion similar to the Mhemne encountering the frontier.

But back on topic - I would think that the technology responsible for artificial gravity would be of utmost importance to the frontier setting. It would solve so many logistical problems. In the early stages, it could be developed to make asteroid mining/bases more usable with large AG generators, that could eventually be scaled down to something that would fit on space stations, then capital ships, followed by smaller ones. Freighters would get them last as always.

Another technology that would be heavily pursued would be a way to safely reduce interstellar travel time. Maintaining the SF setting flavor of a second per light year in the void, the time needed is expressed in the calculations and the lining up of the ship before the jump. Perhaps some sort of interstellar markers along the main jump routes that would serve to expidite the process. Using subspace communications and AI computer interlocks they could reduce the calculation and prep time needed for jumps along regular UPF charted routes? 2-3 ly per day at 1g would be doable if not for all those pesky calculations...


AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 6, 2013 - 1:55pm
I am currrently working on a new article for the frontier explorer that will take place around FY 200. things are pretty slow to change in many areas of the frontier but the more central core areas such as Prengular will see more rapid and sweeping changes. This story and article will start to lead up to what I was preparing for this projcect. I originally was going to set in FY311 and realized that I had advanced the timeline too far for this story and brought only 100 years in the future.

TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
October 1, 2013 - 2:03pm
Wow! We've seen double posts before but that posted 21 times.  I've deleted the extras.
Ad Astra Per Ardua!
My blog - Expanding Frontier
Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site
Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine
Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
October 6, 2013 - 1:56pm
damn cell phones

jedion357's picture
jedion357
October 6, 2013 - 7:35pm
AZ_GAMER wrote:
damn cell phones

LOL, smart phones are not so smart.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!