The Moons

[beejazz]

Okay, this thread is going to have to be a little different than alot of the Beejazz's Science Fiction Theater work so far. Normally I pretty much post my ideas fully formed and try to redirect discussion to the main thread. Here, I've got some vague stuff I want to tie together, I need some pretty in-depth discussion, and anything "fully formed" will have to come later.

As you might have noticed, I started with my strong suit on this one and worked top down. Now that I've hit ground level, some ideas have trickled in from above, but this level needs its own stuff.

I'd like to start with the third moon. I mentioned bits about it in strange sky, and I think a little came up in player options and mutants and psychics.

This moon is probably the one closest to a cyberpunk alternate Earth. Specific stuff I've mentioned so far includes goblin refugees/evacuees trying to get a fresh start in life after their planet's surface was made uninhabitable by biochemical warfare, subterranean communities of frogs having their "lands" encroached on by the cities above, a decline in the human birthrate, many humans requiring medications to live, and the presence of a religious group called the Host.

In addition to fleshing out how these things interact with more day to day life, I need to detail things like geography, government, and the criminal and corporate sectors of life.

I was thinking that the moon would be covered mostly with three big governments controlling what used to be smaller countries, European Union or Imperial style. I was thinking that one would be a monarchy/empire style government that subjigated a number of existing countries, who are now resentful of their status. Another would maybe be some sort of dysfunctional union of individual countries. Lastly would be some sort of barely regulated corporate setup... plutocracy and hegemony and all that stuff.

Thoughts on implimenting... any of this?

[beejazz]

Okay, my specific thoughts:

Empire: The empire is probably the one guilty of encroaching onto frog territory, and has pissed them off quite alot. Also, some constituent nations are probably unhappy with imperial rule. Also, I don't plan on just calling it "the Empire." That's a little too... Star Wars. And Foundation.

Union:The Union probably houses the biggest evacuee settlements, and there's got to be some conflict over them. Also, the constituent governments are constantly bickering over something. Not sure what, but something I want to think about. Lastly, I need to think of a name. Union of what?

Plutocracy: How this is governed is a bit nebulous to me. I'm more or less going with what I see as typical cyberpunk. In any case, detailing the major corporations is important. All I've got so far is the idea that one of these should be a pharmaceutical company... the one that produces the life-sustaining meds many mutants need. So I need details on corporations, how the government works, and how the plutocracy interacts with (and, equally important, defends against) the other two groups.

[Numinous]

Union:The Union probably houses the biggest evacuee settlements, and there's got to be some conflict over them. Also, the constituent governments are constantly bickering over something. Not sure what, but something I want to think about. Lastly, I need to think of a name. Union of what?

The Union of independent states wuld make some nice irony.

Also, for your pharmaceutical gov't.  The rulers would want to maintain control, and so they should use a system of credits that makes rebellion pointless, as all fortune would disappear without the government to give it value.  Maybe a kind of twisted socialist state where all property is owned by the ruling class?

[beejazz]

Well, for the plutocratic thing, I was thinking more along the lines of one or more governments that are beholden to a number of corporations. Essentially, the government collects taxes and pays the corporations to handle everything. War? Spend treasury funds towards a mercenary company. Sewer failures? Ditto for someone into plumbing.

If people rebel against one government, it loses its corporate support and dies. A new one fills the power vacuum within a week with the same corporations behind it. Essentially, any government is just a dummy beholden to the same group of corporations.

The specifics are rough, like how new governments come into power and such, or what happens in a war.

[beejazz]

Some stuff just clicked for me on the first moon.

Two bits: giant bugs and lots of fungus. Enormous pillars of stone dot the deserts. I figured this from early on. But now I know what these pillars are: essencially they are petrified fungus.

And I know a bit now about the bats, and how they get by; many of them are trilobite-herders. Big buffalo/cockroach/pillbug things. Like herd animals. Only they taste like artificial crabmeat (as land animals, they're a little rubbery compared to shellfish).

[Ravenspath]

subterranean communities of frogs having their "lands" encroached on by the cities above, a decline in the human birthrate, many humans requiring medications to live

Friday[/u] by Heinlein. He has lots of different governments and corporations all fighting in that story. It may give you some further ideas.

[beejazz]

Nah, the surface is uninhabitable on the second moon, not the third. Which is why goblins are fleeing the second into settlements on the third.

In terms of birthrate decline, it depends partly on how dark I (or GMs) want to go. A population in decline has a very dark feel to it. Especially seeing as the decline comes from a greater number of genetic transcription errors, after the surfacing of the Mutter gene. Medication is more case-by-case, as the specific transcription errors and genetic disorders vary from individual to individual. And medications would probably be pretty valuable, even without limited resources. People that need them die without. Or just suffer strange illness. So price gouging, by patents or price-setting with competitors, is common.

Corporations at war seems pretty sweet. The simple fact that one corporation spans multiple govts means that embargoes and such can get nasty and convoluted. Which is a good thing.

And thanks for the suggestion. Heinlein is an awesome writer.

[Ravenspath]

Could you list the basics of each moon or did I miss a thread somewhere else? I think having all the basic info in one post would be helpful to see how they moons are inter-related and easier to post ideas about them.

I have a feeling there is a parent thread about your world that I have missed and lots of the info I am about to ask for is there. Can you point me there please?

[beejazz]

Uh... I think that the moons were first summed up in strange sky, but I could be wrong.

I'll dig up the link for you real quick.

http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?27243

Sorry for the inconvenience. It'll all be one thread when I get enough stuff done and start the second iteration.

[Ravenspath]

Thanks! No need to rush to put it on one thread. I just realized that I had to be missing something that was posted somewhere else. I think if you just interlink that it should be enough.