The Campaign Builder's Guild

From the Tough Guide to the Alliance, a very informal guide on the inhabited systems.

Orbiting on the hot edge of its near-Sol-like star, Paradise has earned its name. The world has very little in seasonal variations and the poles even manage to remain, according to the Paradise tourism board's netsites, 'pleasantly cool all year round'. About 90% of the surface are covered in water. Perhaps the only danger to travellers is frequent storms that occasionally batter coastal areas and are a danger to anyone visiting the equatorial Boiling Seas.

The other draw to Paradise, beyond being able to say that one went jacket-less at the North Pole and watching a sea bubble and give off steam, is the largest reef known to man, covering an entire hemisphere. It is, of course, not made out of polyps and other things that make up reefs back on Earth, but it is similar enough in diversity and is made up of animals close enough to their Earth-analogue to be classified as a reef by scientists.

As such, much of the ocean of this planet has been classified as a Nature Preserve, meaning that its inhabitants have their emissions closely regulated by the Colonisation Service, operating out of the local Police Service base.

This is fine for the planet's owners, known publicly as the Paradise Entertainment Group, as they would like tourists to continue coming so see the majesty of the Paradise Reef. They own all of the planet's attractions, from theme parks and casinos and nearly every permanent resident is their employee. The biggest theme is based on popular images of '˜Elves' (extinct species 205) and '˜Dwarves' (extinct species 206), mostly based on the fact that there is a plethora of second era ships scattered throughout the system, leading some to believe this was the site of a battle. Most wrecks have already cleared the system, going as fast as they were when they were destroyed, but some are still around, mostly crashed into planets. Any ships that hit the water have been covered up by hundreds of years of silt and life. Any that hit inland was luckier, as life has yet to penetrate that far to a significant degree. As such there are 3 mostly intact wrecks on Paradise, two presumably from X-Species 205 and the other from 206, based purely on sizes. On the worst off, a 205 ship, it is believed that it was also the last to hit the planet. Carbonisation marks on the walls suggests that the crew were vaporised after the radiators were detached. The ship crashing near the ocean meant most of the metal is corroded from storms, making the ship off-limits to the public.

The second ship, another 205 one, probably made a safe landing, at least a survivable one. If hitting the ground (or perhaps a hit from the battle) hadn't cracked opened a fission reactor, creating a dead-zone several miles in diameter. Heavily protected remote-operated drones have found in the remains several disfigured skeletons, giving us some idea, at least, that 205 had endoskeletons. Naturally, the ship is off limits, but one can pilot a drone to take a look around, in the safety of a facility far outside the danger zone.

The final ship was, when the planet was settled, only structurally unsound. Some simple, concealable modifications made it safe enough for walk around. It is a popular attraction, with mock-ups of how we think everything worked. This ship is also important in an archaeological sense, as researchers found remains of 206, still in their suits, sat up against the hull, as if they just stopped and waited to die. The specimens gave some insight into their anatomy, most significantly that they were based on long chains of hydrocarbons, and the suits were so they could interact in oxygen-rich atmospheres without the worry of catching on fire, and to keep them cool.
Journal of Business Service Agent Katherine Bell

00.00.18.04.2150* '" Arrived in the Paradise system from the Sputnik Keyhole. From the viewing port** I could see the star's sister, Paradise B. The captain announces that we have another two weeks before we reach Paradise itself.

[note]*Times are in mm.hh.dd.MM.YYYY. Keeping a universal time across space is impossible and unnecessary. However, there is a Ship Time that ships must keep to, with 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 28 days in a month, 13 months in a year. This leads to 364 days a year. Frequent travellers prefer to keep to this time. Planet-side clocks usually only have local time, calculated from whenever the colony ship left its home and slowly changing to reflect the actual passing of time from the planet. However, Earth dates are still kept to, so religious holidays can be observed. Keeping and observing time is more an art than a science. Time dilation and other factors have caused many frequent travellers to keep their own time, meaning day and night are distinct from the times when one is awake and when one is asleep.
**Spaceships do not have windows. Instead, cameras are positioned around the hull, allowing anyone to view anything from any side of the ship. If you're the sole person viewing a camera, you even get to move it around. If not, people take it turns, the length depending on how much you paid for your ticket, and how many people there are in line.
***Bloodhounds are non-volitional robots designed for espionage, both physical and digital. They range in size and function, depending on their purpose. Most of the Bloodhounds used by Agent Bell would be small enough to get around ventilation shafts, and would use contragravity to make sure they don't make a noise.[/note]

31.18.03.05.2150 '" Arrival in orbit.

00.19.03.05.2150 '" The liner touches down. My objective is to investigate the Paradise Entertainment Group, after an employee, [Under Protection Due To Business Service vs. Paradise Entertainment Group, 2151] cited that the company was in strict violation of many Alliance laws, such as health and safety and labour laws. [Pronoun Redacted] also said that there was something else, but [redacted] had no hard evidence beyond hearsay.

00.07.04.05.2150 '" The hotel room, one on the low-end scale, is a definite improvement from the cabin I've had to live in for the last few weeks. It has a lot of naval décor, with ship's wheels and local art of the sea. The view is somewhat disappointing, facing large amusement park that doesn't seem to stop for the night. I've activated the Bloodhounds***, telling them to mainly focus on the closest thing to a main building here '" known as the Fungineer Building, a large, garishly coloured tower.

03.13.04.05.2150 '" I'm having lunch in the family friendly Paradise Town. At one end is the aforementioned amusement park, and this place is considered an extension. It is disturbingly Earth-like in architecture, evoking an old Americana feeling. The wood alone must have cost hundreds of thousands. There must also be gravity plates below the road, as I am not feeling any lighter from the .81 gravity. Two things come to mind about the employees here. First of all is security. Effectively the police here, they are far more armed than necessary. Also, they look like they're on enhancing drugs. Even now, one's eyeing me suspiciously, as type on this laptop. Their powder blue uniform makes them look non-threatening though. The other employees have a distant look about them that looks familiar. Their smiles are creepy.

53.17.04.05.2150 '" There seem to be three mascots of Paradise. The first is a cartoon representation of a local animal, the mole crab. The other two are stylised versions of Species 205 and 206, known affectionately as Lizardmen and Gnomes. The latter two are seen around the park, having mock battles for the enjoyment of the crowds. I must say that this place must hire a lot of vertically challenged actors. The Lizardmen's scales look awfully realistic.

11.21.04.05.2150 '" I am now on The Strip, a more-adult orientated place, with casinos, clubs and other diversions. I've noticed network connection here is very weak. Even when I can connect, nearly everything is blocked. I've had to use my laptop's own database to figure out where I've seen the employee's expressions before: the 2076 Methylsporophine drug trials. It was developed as an anti-depressant. Testing was discontinued after it was found it didn't make people happy '" it just made them look happy, by pulling the face muscles. Even in death. Security seems to be in greater numbers here. I've seen powder blue vans carry drunken revellers off, supposedly to the medical centre at the Fungineer Building.

10.22.04.05.2150 '" The Bloodhounds have found something. On the other side of the Fungineer Building, out of sight from any attraction, is a large city of pre-fabricated buildings. It looks to be where the employees live. Security guards seem to get the better housing. Sanitary conditions are vile '" it puts one in the mind of a slum on Earth. There is only one hospital, near the close end of the city, with easy access for the security guards and their families.

17.06.05.05.2150 '" I was awoken by more footage from a Bloodhound. According to what they found in the system, yesterday, only around the corner from where I was eating, man was picked up. Turns out he's wanted by the Police Service for skipping a child molestation charge on Oasis. He was taking pictures of children in their warm-weather clothing when he got picked up. The Bloodhounds found where he was. I have footage of security beating and torturing him. This man may be a monster and, in my opinion, deserves it, but he is still protected by the right to only be imprisoned. I noticed a heavily pregnant woman being led away, in the opposite direction to the medical centre. I've told the Bloodhounds to follow the next woman being led away, as there seem to be many heavily pregnant women locked in the cells.

31.14.05.05.2150 '" The Boiling Sea is quite interesting, and everything appears to be safe. We saw some real mole crabs on the flight. Not as cute as the cartoon would make you think.

25.22.05.05.2150 '" This is great. A live feed of where these women go. Turns out there is an extra room not in the public plans. OK, here we'¦Oh god'¦it's [The Following Is Redacted Pending The Outcome Of Business Service vs. Paradise Entertainment Group, 2151]
25.04.2151

Paradise Entertainment Group Found Guilty of Caste Building

It what has been labelled the court case of the decade; the Paradise Entertainment Group has been found guilty of Caste Building. Since colonisation in 2129, the PEG has been breeding abnormally short variants, as well as scaly variants for use in their park, entertaining tourists as X-species 206 and 205 respectively. The Business Service was first alerted when an woman known only as '˜Citizen Z' '˜escaped' to Earth, where she claimed that she was forcefully impregnated with one of the variants as she had broke the laws of her planet. 'Fortunately for me, I guess, the baby died in the womb, so they through out of the holding pen. All the girls that don't take their meds or speak out against the Group get taken away, to make entertainers.' When asked how she got to Earth, she said, 'I found an independent passenger liner captain '" I told him my story, and the story of thousands before me. He said it was the best he could do.' The PEG is also coming under fire for skirting labour and drug safety laws, as investigators found Methylsporophine mixed in with the employee's regular diet, as well as a similar drug in visitor's food, to make them feel happier.
The Business Service says that the massive fine given to the PEG will go toward rehabilitating the variant races, which will include phasing out an engineered drug dependency and dealing with their 4 year maturity. Several of the high-ranking members of the PEG have also been jailed.
It is unknown what will happen to the resort planet, as it is currently under temporary Colonisation Service control, though it is likely another vacation company will pick it up.

[ic=Survey Service Report]
Paradise
Spectral Class: G6V
Mass: 0.9 sol
Radius: 0.8398 sol
Luminosity: 0.55 sol

Paradise c
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.14 AU

Paradise r
Asteroid Belt
Distance: 0.29 AU

Pardise d
Standard (Garden)
Distance: 0.56 AU
Radius: 5,931.6702 km
Gravity: 0.81 G
Orbit Period: 161.23 days
Rotation: 23.8 hours
Mean Temperature: 320 K (Tropical Climate)
Atmosphere: 0.96 (Breathable)
Water/Ice Index: 90.56%
Volcanic Activity: Light
Tectonic Activity: Light
Resource Value: Poor
Habitability Value: 7
Affinity Score: 6
Population: 205,000
Technology Level: 10
Starport: Class III
Installations: Nature Preserve, Patrol Base (PR 3)

Paradise e
Tiny (Rock)
Distance: 0.99 AU

Paradise f
Standard (Ice)
Distance: 1.68 AU

Paradise g
Tiny (Rock)
Distance: 2.77 AU

Paradise h
Tiny (Ice)
Distance: 14.61 AU

Paradise i
Tiny (Ice)
Distance: 22.14 AU

Paradise B
Spectral Class: M0V
Mass: 0.51 sol
Radius: 0.7268 sol
Luminosity: 0.091 sol
Distance: 493.65 AU

Paradise s
Asteroid Belt
Distance: 0.14 AU

Paradise j
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.29 AU

Paradise k
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.44 AU

Paradise l
Tiny (Rock)
Distance : 0.78 AU

Paradise m
Tiny (Ice)
Distance: 1.32 AU

Paradise t
Asteroid Belt
Distance: 2.3 AU

Paradise n
Standard (Hadean)
Distance: 4.17 AU

Paradise o
Tiny (Ice)
Distance: 6.11 AU

Paradise p
Standard (Hadean)
Distance: 10.52

Paradise q
Standard (Hadean)
Distance: 15.69 AU
[/ic]

From the Tough Guide to the Alliance, a very informal guide on the inhabited systems.

Hel was once upon a time a large A-class star, but that was, if the current size of the somewhat small planetary nebula and the current distance of several gas giants well outside the system are an accurate indication, just under 5 and a half billion years ago. It is currently a white dwarf, with no planets, save for a tiny ball of rock and ice, believed to be an orphan from another close-by white dwarf. In fact, most of the nearby stars are white dwarves.

On the face of it, Hel looks like a useless system. It is a dead star orbited by a dead planet, one side facing a feeble sun, distinguishable from the others simply because it is bigger. The other side is barely a few degrees above absolute zero. But, if the old habitation domes that nearly encompass the whole planet are anything to go by, species of the past used the planet the same way humans do today '" as a way station.

The planet is home to a near constant 6400 people. It is generally seen a place where people work '" there are no maternity wards in the planet's hospitals. Most of its inhabitants are transients, off to travel to adjacent stars, while the rest is made up of people to serve those people, and to make sure a dome doesn't blow.

BAS Media Amalgamated's Tourism Department once owned Hel, but after the Business Service liquidated the company for tax evasion and fraud, a small core of engineers took up the mantle of leadership. The Engineers of Hel are a peculiar lot. Beyond some xenolinguists, they are the only ones who have deciphered centuries-old warning labels, last used decades ago during the fourth era, even if the translations are thought to be rather loose and it was done through, sometimes fatal, trial and error. They try to keep the populace, transient or not, restricted to domes they know are safe.

[ic=SIS Alert]
Anti-government rebels have been detected in Night Side Dome 33. Travellers to the planet are advised to be cautious.[/ic]

[ic=Survey Service Report]
Hel
Age: 7.7 billion
Spectral Class: D
Mass: 1.15 sol
Luminosity: 0.001

Hel b
Tiny (Ice)
Distance: 0.14 AU
Radius: 2,296.1304 km
Gravity: 0.14G
Orbital Period: 17.84 Earth Days
Rotation: 428.16 hours
Mean Temperature: 114 K (Frozen) (Day Side 137 K, Night Side 11 K)
Atmosphere: None
Volcanic Activity: Light
Tectonic Activity: None
Resource Value: Average
Habitability Value: 0
Affinity Score: 0
Population: 6,400
Technology Level: 10
Installations: Archaeological Research Facility, Rebel Base
[/ic]
A primer on space travel:

Around the same time the keyholes (more on them below) were discovered, an astonishing discovery was widely reported. Amateur experiments with various elements had come up with an alloy that could apparently manipulate gravity. Many experts at the time commented that it would go the same way as the Dean Drive, Cold Fusion or Artificial Life '" the creators would be stingy with the details and when they were finally released in the interest of peer review, they wouldn't work. The inventors gave out the composition almost immediately, allowing others to see for themselves. Surprisingly it worked.

Thick, paving slab-sized (and about the same weight, making it near impractical for armour, despite how useful that could be) plates attracted objects towards the top, and repelled objects from the bottom. And that was just at low currents. This has done wanders for space travel. Expensive reaction mass is no longer needed to lift off, as the ship can be repelled from the planet's gravity.

It has also created reactionless drives. At the very least, fuel tanks no longer take up space. Gravity plates create a '˜bubble' of space-time, where the gravity behind the ship is greater than that in front, pushing the ship forward, giving smooth acceleration. However, the ship is in freefall, so artificial gravity is still needed. The current top thrust of a ship is 3G per ton, with gravity plates taking up 30% of the mass of the ship, but 0.5-1G is far more common, taking up on 5-10%. As the drive is dependent on space-time warped by the gravity of a large object, like a star, it can only function near a star (about 75 AU in a Sol-sized star). It has been theorised that, if a ship is allowed to accelerate from one side of a system to go off in another, it will stop accelerating, but it will keep going at whatever speed it got up to (about .1194 c if done in Sol at the maximum 3G) and it cannot decelerate in that time. The effect of this is that, if the target system isn't large enough, the ship will overshoot the system. Of course, this could be solved with using a greater decelerating thrust. In any case, people simply aren't interested. Why travel for 40 years when another star is only a month away?

[ooc]It was either this or attracting and pushing off dust particles thousands of times second. I knew above all I didn't want a closed system.
[/ooc]

However the fact that most places can be months away, even if space travel is relatively cheap (about as expensive as a transcontinental flight) has been found to be psychologically trying. Just something about being away from the planet that their ancestors spent their entire lives on, whist also being in a confined space with literally nothing outside for maybe tens of thousands of miles, made some people jittery. This was OK for professionals '" they could be trained to deal with the stress of being in an enclosed space for months. But with people that, even a year before reactionless drives were discovered, could not even dream to travel into space now doing so, the Health and Safety Service decided that a passenger ship should stop whenever it can. This is to let passengers have some breathing room, even if it is just for an hour. This has allowed places like Hel to survive beyond an obscure research and communications outpost.

The Keyholes

As mentioned in the first post, these are micro wormholes that don't collapse when someone tries to fly through them, and remain fairly stable at a few micrometers across (allowing radio waves through). They are usually found around the outer limit of where planets can orbit (around 40 times the solar mass in AU). Ships are fitted with a weak laser to expand the keyhole. Travel is near instantaneous.

The destination on the other side of the keyhole seems to be random. Detection of pulsars has shown that all of the stars are still in the Milky Way, but are all over the place. Some are even on the other side of the galaxy, allowing astronomers access to billions of new stars.

There seems to be a pattern in how many keyholes a (primary) star has. A-class stars have 6, F-class 5, G-class 4, K-class 3 and M-class 2. Although this is by no means a hard rule. Whether Brown Dwarves would have 1 or B- or O-class would have 7 or 8. Of course, it is far more likely to find those as stellar remnants '" neutron stars or black holes. While this would be great for the scientific community, it would not be for travellers.

From the Tough Guide to the Alliance, a very informal guide on the inhabited systems.

Titan is yet another orange dwarf, but this time it is a solitary star. It is younger than Sol by about 400 million years. Out of the 9 planets that orbit the star, 8 of them are gas giants, the closest orbiting just 0.25 AU away from the star. As such, there is always a danger in the system that one will be exposed to the radiation of a giant's magnetic field. The sole planet that isn't a giant was, at the time of its discovery in the early 2120s, the biggest discovery made so far in human history '" exosolar life.

The planet became known as Oasis '" an area of life in a system of deadly radiation. But it is far from perfect. The planet is only just over half the size of Earth '" but it has the same density, so it also has half gravity. The planet lies on the edge of its star's habitable zone, and its thin atmosphere is near useless for keeping in the star's heat, leaving most of the planet quite chilly, although bearable. Another fact about its atmosphere that it has traces of sulphur dioxide, at about 8e-6%. Geologically the planet is lifeless, with only the physical echoes of extinct volcanoes left '" remnants of a more violent age. Because of its rather small size, many are of the belief that Oasis was terraformed early in the first era, and its designers had found a way to keep the change permanent.

However, in the warmest areas, around the equator, life is thriving. It appears to be quite early on in development, with amphibian-analogues having just come out of the water. They are water-based, like Terrestrial life, but the similarities end there. The dominant vertebrates are radial, with 5 sides, like a starfish. The maximum number of limbs seems to be 5 '" only one set of limbs.

There is no governing body of Oasis' 215,000 inhabitants, but everyone participates in making laws as an Athenian Democracy. The result is something quite moderate '" Oasis is not a great shaker of boats. Beyond the want of seeing the planet where the first exosolar life was found, there is not much else to see here.

But Oasis was the first planet to really need to develop Pantropic Humans '" Alliance law states that macroscopic-life-bearing worlds cannot be terraformed (microscopic-life-bearing worlds can, but the existing must be gengineered), meaning the people of Oasis had to change. However, embryos cost more than the average yearly salary, so many parents get embryos that have cut some corners, or do not conform to the baseline completely.

[ooc]Engineered humans are one of the few places players can use the racial template rules, other than uplifted animals robots, using the traits available from Bio Tech as guideline, but for those that don't have that, its just supernatural traits that are forbidden.
Keep in mind the cost when creating your personal template '" it may not mean anything for your own Wealth level, but it will indicate your parents'.
[/ooc]

[note]The majority of engineered humans are Pantropics, and they are usually designed so they can work in a large variety of planets. The most common engineered trait is Improved G-Tolerance '" gravity plates are really only placed down in urban areas, and most people want to be able to move about their planet unhindered, or not suffer when experiencing 1G on a ship.

The next most common is the result of vanity of well-off parents '" their children have faults taken away at birth, but each child is '˜hand-crafted' so to speak, so there isn't any template to choose from. Some of these dangerously skirt the '˜Forgone' Law.

The '˜Foregone' law takes its name from '˜no child shall have its future be a forgone conclusion'. The law lines out that humans should not be designed to do specific occupations, and particularly not to over-specialise to extent that the individual's freedom to move around and function is impeded. However, this law does not affect everybody. Many states, mostly those on either extreme of the extent of government control, do not use this law, but most do.

Unlike what many millennial thinkers believed would happen, engineered humans, uplifted animals and sapient AI were not oppressed, cast down into the lowest social class or suffer some great ennui as to whether they are human or not. The first two were taken care of when most of them were products of rich people. The third was cleared up when Doctor Rajish Singh came before the US Senate and explained, using a picture of the Planet Express staff from Futurama, that there were 4 humans in the picture, but 7 people. Modified lifeforms, sapient AI (those which are self-aware and can learn '" more on them another time) and intelligent aliens may not be human, they are people (not that that means everyone treats them like people).
[/note]

[ic=Animal Encounter]
Periscope

The most likely creature one is likely to spot when visiting Oasis is the Periscope, so named as it looks like a submarine's periscope as it swims, with its eyes out of the water. Like all the creatures of Oasis, it has five sides, all five here being used as combination arms and legs.

It is the most likely creature to be seen, and possibly the most remembered, for two reasons. The first is most mobile life is still below the waves, and the second is because it is over 9.5 meters high, and weighs 7200 kg in its own gravity. It is also incredibly stupid and acts entirely on instinct and seems to be incapable of learning. This has lead to these creatures wandering into Oasis' outlying settlements on their instinctive routes to find food, which consists mostly of plant matter that they find.

Periscopes live in coastal tropical forests, where food is plentiful. As mentioned above, their feet are dextrous enough to pick at plants and bring up to their mouth, which exists on the bottom of the creature. The arrangement of its mouth is not too dissimilar to that of a squid's '" all five jaws are essentially disconnected teeth that grind the food. Strong oesophagus muscles push the mush upward to the digestive system. Largely liquid or viscous waste comes out the same way it went in, from a different canal.

The animal has two organs that could charitably be called brains. The one at the base of the creature, near the legs, controls the legs and monitors its acute sense of touch and smell, which is its main form of identifying food. Its olfactory organs are situated at the end of it limbs. And the other end is the brain that monitors its eyes and ears. Its radial shape gives it full 360° vision and sound, with five eyes and ears, which are very good. Also at the top of the head is a vocalisation organ. In males, this is an elaborate bony horn system, sounding like a horn. Female organs are subtler, using only a clicking sound.

Periscopes have been the subjects of much interest. Specimens have been genetically engineered to be at least as smart as unmodified horses, and much stronger than elephants, so they can be used as hardy draft animals.[/ic]

[ic=Survey Service Report]
Titan
Age: 4.2 billion years
Spectral Class: K6V
Mass: 0.6 sol
Radius: 0.6892 sol
Luminosity: 0.137 sol

Titan b
Large Gas Giant
Distance: 0.25 AU

Titan c/Oasis
Standard (Garden)
Distance: 0.45 AU
Radius: 3,507.977
Gravity: 0.55G
Orbital Period: 142.35 days
Rotation: 63.1 hours
Mean Temperature: 266K (Chilly)
Atmosphere: 0.68 atm (Breathable, Sulphur Compounds)
Water/Ice Index: 72.24
Volcanic Activity: None
Tectonic Activity: None
Resource Value: Average
Habitability Value: 6
Affinity Score: 6
Population: 215,000
Technology Level: 10
Starport: Class III
Installations: None

Titan d
Small Gas Giant
Distance: 0.67 AU

Titan e
Large Gas Giant
Distance: 1.25 AU

Titan f
Large Gas Giant
Distance: 2.13
1 Moon: Tiny (Sulphur)

Titan g
Medium Gas Giant
Distance: 3.72 AU
1 Moon: Tiny (Sulphur)

Titan h
Medium Gas Giant
Distance: 5.45 AU
1 Moon: Tiny (Sulphur)

Titan i
Medium Gas Giant
Distance: 9.13 AU
4 Moons: Small (Hadean), Tiny (Ice), Tiny (Ice), Small (Hadean)

Titan j
Small Gas Giant
Distance: 16.7 AU
3 Moons: Tiny (Sulphur), Tiny (Ice), Tiny (Ice)
[/ic]

Quote from: Light DragonWelcome to the CBG!
So as far as system goes, this is set in GURPS, correct?

Yes, it was made using the GURPS Space world building guide.

Quote from: Light Dragonre: The archaeological eras. The rise and fall of the spacefaring civilizations is interesting. Did you base that idea on anything in particular?

Mostly on ancient aliens, the '˜monsters' seen in the medieval period and, of course, the good-old grey aliens. But what is important to consider is that they didn't influence humans much, beyond some very inaccurate drawings and descriptions. The rising and falling is mainly based on the Mesoamerican kingdoms just disappearing '" at least, according to my Horrible Histories Aztecs book (which I acknowledge might not be 100% accurate).

Quote from: Light DragonThe only negative feedback I have is that I wonder a bit about the era that ended around the 1500s... given that telescopes can see redshift and blueshift, I would think that some of the explosions may have been picked up by astronomers as much as 50 or 60 years later, depending on distance. Also, the eras seem a bit short, but then again the aliens don't seem particularly 'enlightened' compared to Star Trek Species and thus appear more likely to quickly obliterate themselves. Very interesting take on space-history, however!

Hmm, that's interesting to know. It might go some way to explain why space exploration in this world never stalled the way I feel it did in ours. Perhaps a known increase in the possibility of life out there ('This object is constantly accelerating '" I don't think it's natural') kept the wonder invoked by space travel in the populace. I always envisioned the commercialisation of space came much earlier than it did here (in the 1980s, picking up in the 90s, instead of the 2010s), so this might go someway to explain it. 2011 in Infinite Horizons might not look that different to how it is now, but various technologies might be a bit older; if one is rich, one can take trips to Low Earth orbit; and international semi-regular trips are made to the Moon, but there is no permanent base yet.

Quote from: Light Dragonalso re: title... you may want to change it to "Infinite".

Thanks.
From the Tough Guide to the Alliance, a very informal guide on the inhabited systems.

Newton and Sputnik share many similarities: they are both old K-class stars, and have companions. While Sputnik's companion orbits close in, Newton B (a brown dwarf) orbits at over 100 AU way, allowing more planets to form. Newton has nine planets, including four gas giants, with 18 major moons between them.

The only planet settled is the third planet, Newton e or just Newton. It is about three quarters the size of Earth, with a similar gravity. When explorers arrived, they found that only less than half the world was covered with water and some large extinction event had occurred in the past, leaving the planet with no oxygen in its atmosphere from the lack of respiring animals.

Naturally, the planet was terraformed. The water coverage has been brought up from 47% to 70%, which has made the planet 13 Kelvin cooler. The last major obstacle is to reduce CO2 levels in the now breathable atmosphere, something that is hoped to happen in the next few years.

Newton is currently home to 440,000 people. In its 24-year history it has been split into 7 major factions that are only now in a relatively stable level of piece.

The most populous nation is also the oldest, and the most powerful. The state of Newton is a technocracy, but has drifted from a world where people are moderately free to one where people that can only be described as mad scientists rule entire communities for their experiments. No travellers are allowed in the state, outsiders kept to a '˜Quarantine Zone', set up after a particularly nasty epidemic was said to have originated from outsiders. It is not the place of this publication put forward rumours, but epidemiologists have stated the disease was much more likely to have come from within the state.

Before Newton devolved into a totalitarian state, it did make the planet marginally more habitable, which attracted a second wave of colonists, making the state of Pythagoras, a representative democracy. After Newton's Schism (see below), Newton attacked Pythagoras, which was eventually repelled, mostly after heavy sanctions was put on the offending state. But Pythagoras' spaceport was destroyed, and there has only been a token effort in rebuilding it, leading to an isolationist people.

Newton's Schism was a disagreement between some of the rulers of Newton. They all disagreed on the amount of control the government had over its people. So, a significant chunk seceded, creating the state of Hawking, taking with it a lot of top factories, leaving Newton's economy crippled (the attack on Pythagoras was really to get the economy moving again, but industry never really returned to its former levels). Travellers should be warned that the state is run by the Civil Service, under the guidance of the rules set down by the engineers and scientists that are the effective heads of state so expect some bureaucracy.

But not even Hawking was free from splitting. Not long after the Schism, some tried to break away again. They ultimately succeeded, but they couldn't get the spaceport or the big factories. As such, the state of Sagan may be a freer place than Newton or Hawking but its spaceport is rather below standard. This is probably the friendliest state to outsiders, and they are always willing to recycle old ships.

After the war with Newton, part of Pythagoras broke away, unhappy with the state's isolationist attitude. They created Aristotle, and managed to set themselves up as a proper state, with a spaceport. But the Worker's Rebellion (see below), while they kept their spaceport and enough factories to leave it as a competent spaceport, but at the price of the rest of the industry suffering. However, it gets many immigrants from those that want to live as we did in the pre-interplanetary era.

But Newton suffered as well after the war; as yet more of the state broke away, this time unhappy with the unpopular war, creating Einstein. They are rather bitter Newton still sits on top of one of the larger mineral deposits on the planet, but they got some of the bigger factories. Visitors can move freely around the state, but be advised that subversive behaviour will lead to imprisonment.

Finally, there is the youngest nation on the planet. In the mid-2140s, workers in the factories of Aristotle rebelled, riled by military leaders. With most of its military command structure gone, Aristotle was helpless. They did plea to get Defence Service help went to the Alliance Council, but they received some Diplomatic Service members to negotiate peace, backed by Police Service agents, instead. In the end, neither state got what they wanted. Aristotle got the spaceport, but barely any factories. The newly formed People's Democratic Republic of Aristotle got most of the factories, but no spaceport. Which didn't really matter, as the PDRA now had an industry sufficient enough to build their own, without sacrificing modern goods going to the masses. The government is a socialist junta, where the populace votes to see which party member they want representing them.

All seven factions have seats on the Alliance Council, something that angers all of them. Although the Council has no unanimous verdict over which it would support in the case of war, and they wouldn't care anyway, seeing it is an internal matter until it disrupts matter in another system. But the most likely candidates would be Sagan and Aristotle, as they are friendliest to outsiders, and the closest factions on the planet.

[note]Here is a quick and simple timeline:
2126 '" The colony of Newton was started.
2136 '" After the atmosphere is now breathable, a new wave of colonists arrived, establishing Pythagoras.
2137 '" Newton's Schism, Hawking established.
2138 '" Newton attacks Pythagoras.
2139 '" After months of fighting, economic pressure is put on Newton to stop. It does by the middle of the year.
2140 '" Sagan splits from Hawking.
2141 '" Aristotle splits from Pythagoras.
2142 '" Einstein splits from Newton
2143 '" First signs of rebellion in the Aristotle military.
2144 '" The factory workers protest poor pay, the military approach them with an offer.
2145 '" Official beginning of the Worker's Rebellion
2146 '" Diplomatic Service agents dispatched to Aristotle to solve the problem.
2147 '" The People's Democratic Republic of Aristotle properly established.
2150 '" Present Day.[/note]

[ic=Joint Police, Security and Intelligence, Defence Services Report of Newton (2.1.3) Date {REDACTED}.{REDACTED}.2150]
Compilers: [REDACTED], [REDACTED], Agent [REDACTED]

State Newton
Population: 130,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 6
Technology Level: 10 (Delayed)
- Class III Spaceport
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- Size 1 Police Service Base. Covers southern hemisphere
- Insurgent Training Camp. Target Pythagoras. SIS Threat Level 2

State Pythagoras
Population: 60,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 4
Technology Level: 10 (Delayed)
- Class I Spaceport
- Alliance Colonial Office
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- Insurgent Camp. SIS Threat Level 1. Based in tropical region, they seem to want Pythagoras to rejoin with Aristotle.

State Hawking
Population: 50,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 4
Technology Level: 10
- Class III Spaceport
- Alliance Colonial Office
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- Size 4 Police Service Base. Was the main base before the Schism, now covers northern hemisphere.

State Sagan
Population: 50,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 3
Technology Level: 10 (Delayed)
- Class II Spaceport
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- HAHP Genetics Research Facility. Refer addendum [REDACTED]-3 for notes.

State Aristotle
Population: 50,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 3
Technology Level: 8
- Class III Spaceport
- Osris Criminal Group Main Base. SIS Threat Level 2
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- Size 2 Defence Service Base
- Known Pirate Base. SIS Threat Level 1
- Linkovich Industrial Consolidated Research Facility. Refer addendum [REDACTED]-12 for notes.
- Insurgent Training Camp. SIS Threat Level 1. Target seems to be the PDRA.
- Size 1 Exploration and Survey Service Base

State Einstein
Population: 50,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 5
Technology Level: 10
- Class III Spaceport
- Alliance Owned Research Station
- Size 4 Defence Service Base
- Kova Amalgamated Research Facility. Refer addendum [REDACTED]-17 for notes.
- Size 3 Exploration and Survey Service Base

State People's Democratic Republic of Aristotle
Population: 50,000
Control Rating (Arthur Blair Scale): 4
Technology Level: 10 (Delayed)
- Class III Spaceport
- Black Market
- Astral Sprit Criminal Group Main Base. SIS Threat Level 3
- [REDACTED] Research Station

Final Note: Yes, there are a lot of criminal elements on this world. But we shouldn't withdraw our own elements. Some of that stuff is important, both to the states and us.[/ic]

[ic=Survey Service Report]

Newton System
Age: 8.1 billion years
Spectral Class: K5V
Mass: 0.65 sol
Radius: 0.7189 Sol
Luminosity: 0.17 sol

Newton c
Tiny (Rock)
Distance: 0.11 AU

Newton d
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.3 AU

Newton e
Standard (Terraformed)
Distance: 0.52 AU
Radius: 4,847.3664 km
Gravity: 0.78 G
Orbital Period: 169.76 days
Rotation: 87.1 hours
Mean Temp: 270 K (Chilly)
Atmosphere: 1.16 atm (Breathable, High Carbon Dioxide)
Water/Ice Index: 70%
Volcanic Activity: Light
Tectonic Activity: None
Resource Value: Average
Habitability Value: +7
Affinity Score: +7
Population: 440,000
Tech level: Varies (See PSIDS Report)
Starport: Varies (See PSIDS Report)
Installations: Varies (See PSIDS Report)

Newton f
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.86 AU

Newton g
Small (Rock)
Distance: 1.42 AU

Newton h
Large Gas Giant
Distance: 2.38 AU
4 Moons: Tiny (Sulphur), Tiny (Ice), Small (Ice), Tiny (Ice)

Newton i
Medium Gas Giant
Distance: 4.09 AU
3 Moons: Tiny (Sulphur), Small (Ice), Tiny (Ice)

Newton j
Small Gas Giant
Distance: 7.58 AU
4 Moons: Tiny (Ice), Tiny (Ice), Small (Hadean), Tiny (Ice)

Newton k
Medium Gas Giant
Distance: 12.01 AU
6 Moons: Tiny (Ice), Small (Hadean), Tiny (Ice), Standard (Hadean), Tiny (Ice), Standard (Hadean)

Newton B
Spectral Class: L
Mass: 0.04 sol
Radius: 0.1262 sol
Luminosity: 0.00065 sol
Distance: 108.6 AU[/ic]

Sputnik

From the Tough Guide to the Alliance, a very informal guide on the inhabited systems.

It is often remarked what a disappointment the very first system explored '" and inhabited '" by humans is. Indeed, on the surface, it seems to be that way. Sputnik, named after the first human object in space, is a dim K-class star, orbited by an even dimmer red dwarf. The companion's position close to the star meant no gas giants ever formed in the system. What there is includes two Mars-sized planets, tidally locked to the star (for Sputnik is a billion years older than Sol and both planets orbit within 1 AU) and an asteroid belt, orbiting on average over twice as close as Mercury does.

Neither rocky planet has presented much interest to settlers '" the Survey Service has declared that neither planet would be simple to terraform, as the tidal locking complicates an already complicated process. Plus, there is not much in the way of mineral wealth on these geologically dead worlds. The only point of interest is on the planet in the system's thin habitable zone. It is a large artefact, which is predicted to be from the first or second era (so, before the fall of the Romans), judging from similar artefacts found on other worlds.

All human habitation in the system centres on the Asteroid Belt that orbits quite close to the star. It seems previous eras had a similar idea '" about a thousand (most likely more) rocks are believed to have once been inhabited, compared to the mere hundred that humans inhabit.

Possibly because of its perceived unattractiveness, not many governments sponsored colonisation efforts to Sputnik. However, one corporation, ABA Unlimited, a successful asteroid mining company already, saw the profit in not only the very abundant resources offered by the field, but the recognition that would come with having the very first exosolar colony.

The Sputnik Rocks is currently home to 14,000 people, most in rocks that were hollowed out centuries ago, but have been refitted and turned into miniature villages. Most of the population work for ABA Unlimited, or one of its affiliates and/or partners in the venture, such as CSM Communications or Neshiem Industrial Multinational. Nanoapp Global and Vanlaere Amalgamated operate fairly large research facilities in some rocks, mostly for micro-gravity testing.

Visitors to Sputnik are advised to pay attention to local travel reports '" some rocks may have Militant Unionists hiding out in them, and they are not above forced donations to the cause. It would also be advisable to stick to the more affluent rocks, of which are less than what ABA would like to admit.

The state is quite controlling '" any visiting journalists should be aware that their submissions will be looked over by the local PR department, and may be edited for a more favourable representation of ABA.

[note]The XSS (Exploration and Servey Service) names major objects in a similar way astonomical societies do today: The Primary star is always 'A'. And companion stars are from 'B' onwards, all in capitals. Then the planets, from the innermost orbit out, and finally the Asteroid Belts[/note]

[ic=Sputnik System Information, courtesy of the Exploration and Survey Service]
Age: 5.6 billion years
Spectral Class: K6V
Mass: 0.6 sol
Radius: 0.715 sol
Luminosity: 0.14 sol

Sputnik Rocks (Sputnik e)
Asteroid Belt
Distance: 0.17 AU
Belt Width: 1.8M km
Resources Value: Very Abundant (+2)
Habitability Value: +0
Affinity Score: +2
Political: Planetary Alliance
Population: 14,000

Sputnik c
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.33 AU

Sputnik d
Small (Rock)
Distance: 0.55 AU

Sputnik B
Spectral Class: M1V
Mass: 0.45 sol
Radius: 0.6867 sol
Luminosity: 0.071 sol
Distance: 4.11 AU
[/ic]


The Archeological Eras

Any ruins found are dated based on eras; judged from similarities in architecture, aesthetics, markings, and if any information about the surrounding stars is available and datable. It seems that later eras usually had no qualms about inhabiting the ruins from an earlier era, which can make archaeology hard.

The first era is placed in pre human-times. Out of the four eras, it is probably the best-recorded time, with either a species or cult of some sort that recorded events in detail, making long tapestries that have survived millennia. The Records show a galaxy where empires rise and fall, the cult surviving by remaining neutral. More likely, say some; is that the cult was reborn again and again. However, the records prefer to tell a story instead of any concrete facts '" we don't know where the Crash of X-Species 124 took place, save for a system with five stars (we think), but we know it happened because either a Prince or Admiral betrayed his race to X-Species 133. Sometime around the appearance of humans in Europe, the records cease.

Thus began the first known '˜Silent Era' '" a time where there is apparently no intelligent species travelling the wormholes (at least, that we found).

The second era probably began during the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The era is dominated by what appears as a localised border skirmish between X-Species 205, tall with elongated heads housing a sound-making organ, and X-Species 206, shorter and almost always clad head to tow in some sort of covering. 205 dominated the '˜north' as it appears on standard galactic maps and 206 dominated the '˜south'. Earth was positioned on the border. Most ship debris comes from this era. No battles were ever fought on Earth, but both factions almost technologically uplifted humans as allies, but the central governments seemed to have stepped in at the last moment and put a stop to it. Sometime toward the end of the Roman Empire, the two Empires left the area, 206 a few decades before 205. And so began another Silent Era.

The third era was a lot like the first, in that there was a multitude of keyhole-fairing species. Instead of a large number of nations that simply didn't care about Earth (like in the first), there seems to be either a strong federation or alliance uniting the species that didn't allow anyone to visit Earth (now in the medieval era). One interesting find was found near Earth, and it appears to be a pile of reports of criminals visiting Earth, mostly for fun, it seems. If we allow our ancestors some artistic licence, many criminals looked a lot like devils and other monsters from around that time.

The third era ended sometime in the 1500s, probably coincidentally in line when telescopes were being widely used on Earth.
The fourth era began during the Industrial Revolution. Many researchers were quite surprised when the majority race (with a number of client races) at the time resembled the grey aliens from 20th Century alien abduction stories. They were even more surprised when they found that they only visited Earth six or so times (although that number could increase), and never contacted human governments. They also didn't expand particularly far beyond Earth '" there are a lot of fourth era artefacts '˜west' of Earth, but very few in the '˜east'. It appears that the Solar System was interdicted in the 80s or 90s '" no X-Species 299 (as the grey aliens are formally called) or their affiliates were allowed to enter the Solar System. It is suspected that the state didn't have a technological uplift policy, or thought the idea abhorrent, as similar interdiction orders have been found elsewhere, which would mean all client races would have the capabilities to use the keyholes themselves. Like the three eras before it, this one had to end, and did so, quite slowly (or maybe because we can see the protracted decline in greater detail), with the last 299 colony that we have found abandoned sometime in 2050.

The last Silent Era ended in 2120 (possibly the shortest silent era at 70 years), when humans opened the Sol-Sputnik keyhole for the first time.

The two eras we known the most about are the first and fourth. The first, because of the meticulous record keeping that went on and the fourth because the records haven't decayed to irretrievable levels.

[ooc]Hi, first post and world. This is mostly for my own benefit '" if I don't get things '˜out there', I tend to begin to self-doubt and either leave it or start over. As such, I have no idea what iteration of this setting is, because around the 11th I just stopped making new folders.
The idea behind this is a sandbox. A GM can allow his players to have freedom, either trading, exploring or whatever. It's mainly for GURPS, and as such I will be mostly using terms from there.
There isn't much planning behind this. Most of it is random.[/ooc]

The year is 2150. For the past 25 years, humanity has been expanding throughout the stars, using the Keyholes '" self-sustaining wormholes that exist on the edges of star systems that allow instantaneous travel to the system on the other side, which may be quite close, or on the other side of the galaxy. The 26 systems that are inhabited form the Planetary Alliance.

Origin

The Planetary Alliance began when the United Nations was dismantled in the 2070s, and was rebuilt with new powers and jurisdictions. All international and interplanetary organisations would either be taken over by officials within the Alliance, or be regulated by them. This continued even when the Keyholes were discovered in 2120.

Government

A council of delegates from each member world governs the Alliance. Systems with multiple governments send multiple delegates. Technically, no member is more powerful than any other is, but that doesn't stop powers being coercive.

The Alliance Council normally only creates laws affecting the relationships of members, and seldom interfering in internal affairs. A 2/3 majority of the Council must agree to a measure for it to be brought into law (unless it is a '˜Majority Action', where decisiveness is needed). A system may disregard any law by becoming an associate member '" giving up the vote and voice in greater freedom of policy, but retaining the protection of the Police and Defence Service. Or a system could secede, which gives entire freedom, but leaves one open to invasion from other members, or another outside force. But neither of those things has happened yet. The Alliance Council also acts as a mediator between worlds.

Politically, the Alliance is somewhat chaotic. Bribery is common, and the Police Service has been sent in to stop a war between systems on more than one occasion. There is always a fear that one day, their efforts will fail, and there will be a full on war between members of the council, with the Alliance Navy not mobilising until a majority action is decided.

Military

Each system contains its own System Defence Forces, both Navy and Army, which each submits a small percentage of ships to the neutral Alliance Navy, which is more or less a punishment post, given how unpopular it is.

Alliance Naval operations are usually limited to patrols, seeing as war has never been officially declared. Unless the Alliance or the system government allows it, Navy patrols are usually limited to the outer edges of systems.

System Defence Forces are strictly limited to their own systems '" a SDF ship in another system creates a lot of tension, and will not be looked on favourably if a tribunal is called up later. In wartime, the Navy has the ability to requisition any available ship from any SDF.

There is no dedicated Alliance Army; the only soldiers are the marines. In wartime, armies and transports may be requisitioned and posted anywhere, under the command of a temporary Alliance General, but the opportunity has not yet arisen.

Law and Order

There is one Alliance-wide police force, higher than any system police force. This is the Police Service. They are made up of teams of elite individuals. They have full judicial and legal powers, as well as being legally immune, on worlds and in space, where jurisdiction can be tricky. Anybody charged by the Police Service will be tried in the system-neutral Alliance court.

Laws and customs can vary wildly from system to system. If travelling to another system and one isn't a Police Service Officer, read up on local laws, unless you want to wait in prison until your embassy can get around to freeing oneself. It is illegal for a system to punish a foreign criminal any harsher than simple imprisonment until they can be extradited.

The main targets of Police Service are terrorists and pirates. '˜Terrorists' is a broad term, ranging from a mad man to a planetary government who has broken Alliance law. Pirates include drugs smugglers as well as the offensive version. Other targets for Police Service are runaways '" as system police forces have no jurisdiction in other systems, they rely on the Police Service to bring them back.

Just as laws and customs are different, so are border controls and what is and isn't allowed in system, and how rigorously that is applied. Of course, in times after a disaster, they tend to be less forgiving and more thorough.

Taxes on the individual rarely contribute higher than system level. Funds for the Coalition comes from fines, tariffs, and contributions from member states.

As mentioned above, terrorist groups exist, each with their own agenda. It is said that if all the terrorist groups banded together, the united group would be a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, they are all fragmented, and can rarely agree on anything above the fall of the Coalition.

Below are several important services.

Diplomatic Service

The Diplomatic Service acts as ambassadors to the planet they are on '" it would be costly to send diplomats to every planet. They also operate neutral embassies, for extradition purposes and to make sure foreign prisoners are not mistreated. Their final job is to make sure there is no interference with aliens of lower technology, either from scientists or businessmen.

Trading Service

The Trading Service technically controls spaceports and acts as border patrol, operating under the laws of the system they are in. They also check a ship's licensing and other trade laws.

Hireling Regulatory Service

The HRS sets out the rules and offers licenses to bounty hunters and mercenary groups. They have their own small task force to investigate rogues, and can call in the Police Service if they are needed. The HRS is the easiest place to find out if a group is right for a job. They also handle any disputes relating to bounty hunters or mercenaries, be it between employers, or within the organisation itself.

Defence Service

Much of what the Defence Service, or Alliance Navy, does is described above. There are very few ships dedicated solely to the Navy, usually gifts from a system or confiscated from pirates, though pirate vessels are usually kept around for target practise. All ships are in use, as ships seen as '˜waiting around' wastes money, so conscripted ships are out on patrol. The Defence Service operates a few bases and shipyards across the Alliance, but its central location is the Sun Tzu station orbiting Earth. War games and mock battles take place usually at distant B stars, as well as some secret locations. During peacetime (which hasn't technically ended yet), the Navy helps out with science missions, carrying aid to disaster sites and supporting young colonies, until they get their own SDF forces up.

[note]There is a Standardised Alliance Uniform Code, dictating what colours must be worn not only by Alliance Service members (like the Defence, Exploration and Police Services), but SDF naval crew as well (although the demand is relaxed for these). This does not bind private ships, although the higher-end cruise liners do copy the same colours for the staff, as it makes them look sharp and the customers know who is what.
Yellow: Engineering and Tech Support
Green: Bridge Crew (Pilot or Pilots in small ships)
Blue: Medical
White: Either Marine (on naval ships) or ship security (on private ships). These are usually the only people on board that are allowed to carry a weapon on board, and are trained to fight in Vacuum Suits and 0G.

The other two uniforms in the SAUC are not worn often:
Black: Soldiers, mostly on transports and carriers, their proper uniforms in storage. Otherwise they wear red.
Red: Civilians. Will usually have some indication of their job on the sleeve, like the news channel they work for if they work as a journalist, the Police Service Emblem if they are a PSO or their rank and unit insignia if they are a soldier on leave. Temporary dignitaries merely wear sashes while on board over their suits.[/note]

Colonisation Service

Keeps information about all colonies. Whenever a colony ship is sent out, the CS knows about it. They are technically in charge until the colony is declared self sufficient, which takes several months, but not more than a year. Although the CS doesn't construct colony ships (that is left to governments and rich corporations), they supply the engineers and soldiers to act as rangers. They'll also give suggestions where appropriate landing sites are. They are the authority that can declare an area, planet or even a whole system off limits to colonisation. They also regulate terraforming.

Police Service

They are responsible for all law enforcement above planetary '" below them are the system police forces. They combat pirates and smugglers that slip past customs; they make sure ships and space stations are up to the Health and Safety Service's code and answer distress signals. The Police Service do not have much in the way of spaceships '" the most powerful ship in the Police Service fleet is little more than a frigate. As well as bases at most starports, where many Police Service have field training, there are many separate bases where major operations are launched, although though these are usually just large ships. Becoming a Police Service Officer involves being chosen by the Police Service by being outstanding in one's area; enhancing one's skills and training in others at the nearest Police base; having field training at a starport, being a ranger, protecting scientists, etc; then finally becoming a fully fledged PSO. They usually operate as a team of one to six people with some level of autonomy.

Communication Service

This service maintains communication throughout the Coalition, including planetnets and all direct communication. They also offer free cargo services, which is useful for confidential messages that would otherwise be in the unsecured direct communication broadcasts.

[note]On most planets, communication is quick and easy. In systems, there is, naturally, lag due to the distances, but communication is fairly easy. A person on Earth can't play a MMO with somebody on Mars, but they can send a message to somewhere in the Solar System and expect a reply within 24 hours. Even worse is interstellar communication. While the keyholes are big enough for radio transmissions to go through, the bandwidth most of the time is quite low, and there are usually higher priority messages ahead of yours. Luckily, that bandwidth increases when a ship comes through the keyhole.
Say one wants to email a friend two systems away. The message is sent to an ansible near the keyhole. There it will get in line depending how urgent it is. If the ansible detects a ship passing through, it will send as much information through to the ansible on the other side of the keyhole. At the very least in the system there will be a communication outpost manned by the Communication Service that will route your message to the right place.

Because the passing of information can be quite slow, many news outlets have invested in fast ships that go on routes around the Alliance, updating news from its data banks as well as picking up reports from journalists.

Quantum entanglement is also used for interstellar communication, but it is reserved for emergencies only, as each particle can only send so much information and they are expensive to replace.[/note]

Security and Intelligence Service

Each system has their own ways of spying on other systems, their own citizens and counterespionage. The SIS focuses on '˜outside' influences, which would be terrorist cells and other governments (if there were any); making sure system security and intelligence agencies don't overstep any boundaries; and countering espionage against the Coalition.

Business Service

The Business Service makes sure the economy keeps working. It checks business licenses; it makes sure nobody is being exploited, it monitors dealings, tax data and adverts. It has the power to send in Police Service. They especially take a keen interest in '˜caste building', where humans are genetically engineered for certain jobs. This is frowned upon, despite being not technically being illegal (the Alliance can't dictate what parents do), because it definitely leans on the child's liberty to pick their own occupation and biological machines can be created for more or less the same cost and do the job much more diligently. Usually in these situations, they find that most parents are coerced, sometimes violently, to have these specialised babies, who will then be taken away and indoctrinated to become a good worker.

Exploration and Survey Service

This Service has not had many changes since its inception in the late 21st century. To stop claim jumping and wars being fought over whom found what first; the neutral, international Exploration Service was set up. They are always the first people to land on a planet in a new system. The teams spend months collecting all relevant data on a planet, before sending it to the Survey Branch and Colonisation Service. They will work in tandem for weeks, deciding on an appropriate course of action. Unless the planet has an intelligent species, it will most likely get sent to governments claiming it as '˜ripe for colonisation'. Before colonists arrive, there may be a Survey team sent there, to begin researching anything of interest, and to find out how humans cope with living on the planet.

Survey outposts may be the only human presence on a planet, if it has no economic benefit to anybody else, acting with the Communication Service to run communication stations.

Technology

In GURPS terms, the world is TL 10^, with some limitations, like no TL 9^ items, some 10^ items haven't been invented yet (mostly those that are less advanced versions of what would mostly appear at TL 11) and no psi-tech.

Other than that, a lot of things are available. This is definitely a transhuman setting, to those that can afford it. The most common kind of genetic engineering is pantropic humans '" the terraforming of life-bearing worlds is prohibited, so people change themselves. Uplifting is uncommon due to the expense '" intelligent animals are usually social creatures, so more than one must always be uplifted. Human-level artificial intelligences also exist, but they must be cultivated like children.

Aliens

Life will be not uncommon in this setting, but it will mostly be unintelligent. If there is intelligent life, it will only very rarely be humanoid.

There are alien precursor sites on almost every planet, the best preserved on tiny rock balls that have no atmosphere to decay the structure. It seems as though states using the keyholes balloon and bust, disappearing without much of a trace, much like the Mesoamerican nations. The last ones in the immediate area seem to have disappeared sometime in the 20th Century, leaving the area empty of interstellar travellers. We have found very little technology of use so far. All of the machines use dialects that may not have been spoken for centuries. We have found evidence that many states in the area knew of Earth, and visited to check up on human development every so often. But the latest state stopped when their efforts stopped being the ravings of some farmer who claims demons took him and probed him, and started becoming close to the truth.

[ooc]So, most of the posts are going to be about the worlds...[/ooc]