So, I was bored tonight and I was just messing around in Photoshop, as I often do on lazy thursday nights. I wound up creating something weird, yet... Interesting (maybe?).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/RHO1/geocross1.png)
[spoiler=Big Image](http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/334/3/d/geo_cross_by_elemental_elf-d5mor5s.png)[/spoiler]
I really like what I made and it got me thinking - is there a campaign setting in here?
First off, let's deconstruct what I made. That red ball is Mars. There are two impressively large, interlocking rings surrounding the Red Planet. When I was creating a title for the picture, the word Geo-Cross came to mind. The name evokes a sense of wonder and excitement in me (not sure why). The title is done in pink, with sort of a rainbow-ish, oil-spill backdrop. Perhaps this says something about the setting? Pink isn't dark and gritty, at least not usually. The color could be used as a contrast, as if the name is the only highpoint in the setting... But I rather like this being a cheery setting. Space should be cheery, right? Everything is so grimdark and gritty these days. There's no hope or wonderment any more. I want hope and wonderment, I like those. However, not everything can be hopeful or wondrous, that would be boring. If there's no conflict, there is no reason to write about place.
Let's go back to the rings. Who built them? Where did the material come from? Why build them in the first place? That is no small undertaking, to say the least. Mars is still red, why has it not been terraformed? Are these ring-like constructs places where people live, or do they serve some other purpose? Well from a story standpoint, the rings are the most visually interesting bit. If the focus is not on them, then why do they exist? So, obviously, people live on/in these rings.
But that leads me back to an previously asked question - who built them and why? To say humans would seem trite. So aliens? But why? Perhaps these are bases on which to invade Earth? No, that's oldhat. Perhaps aliens built them as a demonstration of their power. Now that's interesting. Aliens come millions of light-years to our solar system and take on the monumental task of constructing two massive rings around an uninhabited planet. Perhaps this is how these aliens claim territory? Like planting a flag. That is an intriguing thought. But, did they stick around? To say yes would be boring. So they left. They came here to the middle of no where, planted their flag and left. Did they contact Earth? No, we're cavemen to them. They spurn us like ants. So, the aliens come, construct the rings and leave. How long did it take? If it takes decades, then Humans would have gotten their stuff together and launched an expedition. Even in a few years, I think humans could have managed an expedition. So a year. Long enough to be fully noticed but short enough to avoid unwanted interaction.
So now humans are left looking at this mind-bogglingly large construct. What do they do? Go there, obviously. But what happens? It kills them? No. It welcomes them? Heck no. It does nothing. Yeah. It does nothing. It exists for the sole purpose of claiming territory, or at least that's what humanity's best guess is. What do we do once we're there. Explore. But what do they explore? Two hulking metal rings? Perhaps but it needs a spin. Maybe innerds of each ring house a gigantic, pulsating fusion reactor. Limitless energy now is at humanity's finger tips. Humans send more ships. These ships come with colonists. These colonists tap into the energy source and... Live there? No. They thrive there. A massive exodus occurs, billions leave Earth for... Geo-Cross. Over decades humanity colonizes both rings, creating massive domed cities on the outer-shell, and stalagmite-like cities inside. Population booms. Limitless possibilities granted to them by an inexhaustible energy source. Within a century, more people live on Geo-Cross than do on Earth.
What does this mean for humanity? People see Geo-Cross as a gift from the benevolent aliens. Geo-Cross is both the present and future of Humanity. But Earthlings disagree. They see it as meddling in powerful aliens' affairs. Better to remain unnoticed ants than unwanted pests. Earth becomes marginalized, while Geo-Cross becomes humanity's adopted homeland.
Unfortunately, I need sleep now. I shall ponder this further.
Quote from: Elemental_Elf
So, I was bored tonight and I was just messing around in Photoshop, as I often do on lazy thursday nights. I wound up creating something weird, yet... Interesting (maybe?).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/RHO1/geocross1.png)
[spoiler=Big Image](http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/334/3/d/geo_cross_by_elemental_elf-d5mor5s.png)[/spoiler]
I really like what I made and it got me thinking - is there a campaign setting in here?
First off, let's deconstruct what I made. That red ball is Mars. There are two impressively large, interlocking rings surrounding the Red Planet. When I was creating a title for the picture, the word Geo-Cross came to mind. The name evokes a sense of wonder and excitement in me (not sure why). The title is done in pink, with sort of a rainbow-ish, oil-spill backdrop. Perhaps this says something about the setting? Pink isn't dark and gritty, at least not usually. The color could be used as a contrast, as if the name is the only highpoint in the setting... But I rather like this being a cheery setting. Space should be cheery, right? Everything is so grimdark and gritty these days. There's no hope or wonderment any more. I want hope and wonderment, I like those. However, not everything can be hopeful or wondrous, that would be boring. If there's no conflict, there is no reason to write about place.
Let's go back to the rings. Who built them? Where did the material come from? Why build them in the first place? That is no small undertaking, to say the least. Mars is still red, why has it not been terraformed? Are these ring-like constructs places where people live, or do they serve some other purpose? Well from a story standpoint, the rings are the most visually interesting bit. If the focus is not on them, then why do they exist? So, obviously, people live on/in these rings.
But that leads me back to an previously asked question - who built them and why? To say humans would seem trite. So aliens? But why? Perhaps these are bases on which to invade Earth? No, that's oldhat. Perhaps aliens built them as a demonstration of their power. Now that's interesting. Aliens come millions of light-years to our solar system and take on the monumental task of constructing two massive rings around an uninhabited planet. Perhaps this is how these aliens claim territory? Like planting a flag. That is an intriguing thought. But, did they stick around? To say yes would be boring. So they left. They came here to the middle of no where, planted their flag and left. Did they contact Earth? No, we're cavemen to them. They spurn us like ants. So, the aliens come, construct the rings and leave. How long did it take? If it takes decades, then Humans would have gotten their stuff together and launched an expedition. Even in a few years, I think humans could have managed an expedition. So a year. Long enough to be fully noticed but short enough to avoid unwanted interaction.
So now humans are left looking at this mind-bogglingly large construct. What do they do? Go there, obviously. But what happens? It kills them? No. It welcomes them? Heck no. It does nothing. Yeah. It does nothing. It exists for the sole purpose of claiming territory, or at least that's what humanity's best guess is. What do we do once we're there. Explore. But what do they explore? Two hulking metal rings? Perhaps but it needs a spin. Maybe innerds of each ring house a gigantic, pulsating fusion reactor. Limitless energy now is at humanity's finger tips. Humans send more ships. These ships come with colonists. These colonists tap into the energy source and... Live there? No. They thrive there. A massive exodus occurs, billions leave Earth for... Geo-Cross. Over decades humanity colonizes both rings, creating massive domed cities on the outer-shell, and stalagmite-like cities inside. Population booms. Limitless possibilities granted to them by an inexhaustible energy source. Within a century, more people live on Geo-Cross than do on Earth.
What does this mean for humanity? People see Geo-Cross as a gift from the benevolent aliens. Geo-Cross is both the present and future of Humanity. But Earthlings disagree. They see it as meddling in powerful aliens' affairs. Better to remain unnoticed ants than unwanted pests. Earth becomes marginalized, while Geo-Cross becomes humanity's adopted homeland.
Unfortunately, I need sleep now. I shall ponder this further.
Okay first off, I agree with what you're saying about down beat stuff nowadays. You get down with your light hearted side! I honestly think we need more of that nowadays.
As for why the rings are there, I could see several reasons for their existence too. Maybe they're a little bit of both a home ship for humans, and a terraforming machine. For some reason I keep thinking back to that one anime by Katsuhiro Otomo. The one about the moon colony?
I can envision that on a smaller scale as a mining complex around a mineral- or metal-rich asteroid, so perhaps it's a huge version of the same thing - a sort of planetary strip mine? I guess that's the exact opposite of Newb Again's idea, since it'd be raping the planet instead of terraforming it. The rings could even be alien in origin and completely automated. They affect the planet, so they are relevant to the store yet uninhabited. Perhaps the real story is in what they are doing, and possibly who made them and why. If that's not enough, the makers could be willing to return to repair their machine, should anything happen to it.
Why would the aliens want to strip mine Mars? Why Mars and not Earth or Venus or Luna? Provocative question. Mars has the potential for geothermal activity, as well as still being close to the sun (thus providing solar energy) as well as being a fairly hospitable and easily visited world. Venus' atmosphere could prove too difficult for the aliens' goals, Mercury has a hot/cold dynamic, Earth is too watery, Luna is too close to the cavemen, Jupiter pumps out radiation, while the other gas giant's moons are too far away. Interesting.
For Oxygen breathers, the Martian atmosphere is deadly but... For a plant-like alien, Mars might look some what hospitable. It's atmosphere is composed of Carbon-Dioxide, which is what Plants breath. Hmm, perhaps the aliens are very slowly terraforming the world to be something amazing and beautiful but completely devoted to their unique physiology. With technology as advanced as they would have to have (to come millions of light years to our solar system and construct planet-sized rings in less than a year) and being more plant-like (which I see as being more long viewed, rather than short), perhaps this is a process that will take hundreds, if not thousands of years. They come to solar systems, begin terraforming planets, leave for hundreds of years and return to their garden world.
I like the plant angle. Maybe these rings are partially organic or crystalline in nature. That could help explain how quickly they created the rings. However, the rings still required vast quantities of mineral from Mars, which left the planet scarred. Perhaps the Rings are still growing, like a living creature? Thus the strip mining continues, being carried out by stalwart machines.
One of the biggest obstacles to colonizing Mars is the fact that it lacks a magnetic field, thus allowing cosmic rays to scorch the planet's surface. Perhaps the Rings tap into Martian Geo-Thermal Energy (as well as Solar energy) to create an artificial magnetosphere? If that were true, then why wouldn't humans live on Mars' surface? The energy being generated by the rings is unbelievable by Human standards. Humans come to the rings and realize they can tap into this energy source (much like stealing your neighbor's cable). Why live on dusty old Mars when you can live in a place with limitless energy?
Perhaps the fields generated by the rings at the rings are so strong they'd kill a human being, so they can't inhabit the rings themselves. Further out, they act like a magnetosphere, but at the rings, they are just too intense and tend to fry brains.
Quote from: Humabout
Perhaps the fields generated by the rings at the rings are so strong they'd kill a human being, so they can't inhabit the rings themselves. Further out, they act like a magnetosphere, but at the rings, they are just too intense and tend to fry brains.
Then how would yo go to Mars? So,essentially, they're just Deadly Sculptures? Hmm, not sure I like that idea.
Perhaps people don't colonize the Rings, maybe they're too intense/crazy/weird/dangerous. Maybe humans live in domes on Mars? They tap into/steal power from the ring's planetary power diodes. Maybe humans colonized Mars shortly after the aliens left. Now, years later, the Rings' terraforming processes has begun introducing xeno-life to the planet. Perhaps new and wondrous creatures are being created, released and then re-absorbed by the rings? Macro-bacteria, cloud-squid, city-sized biome tortoises. Humans survive on the fringes of Mars, baring witness to the might of Geo-Cross' Xenoforming.
How is it xenoforming mars? What changes are occurring? Is the new atmospheric composition particularly toxic to humans or even corrosive? What about the climate? Is mars warming or cooling as a result? Any geological changes? Mars is currently dead, techtonically speaking. Perhaps the deathsculpture is reinducing a spin to the planet's core, heating things up internally, generating a magnetosphere, and causing earthquakes, erruptions, and the like as the dead planet springs back to life?