Beyond Frontier

[Nomadic]

What's this? Stick around and maybe you'll find out.


Post-Nationalism and the New Cultural Paradigm

The expansion started as most human ventures do, not with a violent change but a subtle shift. Of course as we lay out the whole of human history we can easily mark these new cultural paradigms. In the brief flash of existence that marks a single generation however, the human mind finds a solidness, a surety that things will always be this way. Yet even here there are small cultural changes. New technologies and philosophies shape the world of man from year to year and in this slow grind we found ourselves inexorably drawn outwards. The industrial revolution gave birth to both the rise of national identity and liberal philosophy. Such shifting beliefs were forged in the fires of industry, which wrought necessary change in the face of the changing landscape. Culture does not exist in a vacuum, it is the results of these environmental factors which shape society. Much as the industrial revolution shaped us then, the technological revolution is shaping us now.

It started in the mid twentieth century with the birth of the modern computer, followed a spare few generations later by the invention of the internet. It was in this that we conquered a new frontier. Physical barriers had long limited humanity's ability to communicate. Inhospitable terrain, oceans, the sheer distances between cities, they all served to limit the dissemination of knowledge. Under this reality man had grown into numerous tribes. City states, feudal territories, and later nation states all divided by culture and language. Each had developed apart and with the creation of this planetary information network each had suddenly been thrust back together. The world shrank, culture started to intermingle. The availability of information brought a deep cultural change. We thought this was it. The links would grow stronger and Earth would blur together and soon we would cast off the ghost of nationalism that had once united us only to threaten our existence with senseless war. In some senses we were right. The internet weakened the connections shared in national heritage in favor of those shared in like ideals and the human condition itself. It was in some ways unfortunate when the expansion began in earnest and a basic law of nature shattered the idea of a humanity united in one cause. Where once mountains had served as physical and cultural evolutionary dividers, now the very speed of light encouraged human factionalization. In the decades and centuries that followed our first tentative steps into space we matured and learned as never before, yet in some ways we became more divided than we had ever been.


The Space Age

The mid-twentieth century played host to a space race between the two superpowers of the time. The USA and USSR used space exploration as a mixture of technological intimidation and national bragging rights. Each constantly sought to one up the other in an ever growing race to the stars. This culminated in the USA's Apollo missions in which man succeeded in landing on our nearest neighbor. The moon landing however, served as an inhibitor on the space race. Public interest in space decreased in favor of domestic troubles. Coupled with crumbling soviet power the US saw little reason to continue investing in the space program. The space race had been the child of global cold war and now with the ending of hostilities little continued save for token acts of space exploration. When the US shuttle program ended some thought it signaled the death rattle of human space exploration. Yet still some hopeful people remained, and oddly enough it was this waning of government backed space exploration that fed the creation of a new creature, the extraterran private sector.

These early business ventures were actually partnerships with government organizations. Companies with names like Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences were founded to fill the government gap. By ferrying men, tools, and supplies into space for a fraction of the cost of the space agencies the commercial sector allowed for a restart of what had been considered a space age false start. Such companies could maintain the everyday support of near earth research, allowing giants like NASA to focus outwards. The early 21st century saw an explosion of unmanned interplanetary missions as humanity looked to better understand it's own solar system. As this data accumulated the private sector began to realize there was more money to be found in space than just through the support of government agencies. There were plans to mine asteroids or tap planetary resources. Technology hadn't quite yet reached that point, but the growing realization was that the first ones to stake claim on space would be setting themselves on the path to incredible wealth. When it did happen the sudden influx of mass amounts of natural resources and the fresh access to raw materials outside Earth's gravity well marked yet another shift. The colonial expansion had begun.


Early Colonial Expansion

The original colonization was the practical result of attempts to harvest resources beyond Earth. Early on almost all of this was done using robots. Opposed to humans robots were easier to launch, cheaper to maintain, and more resistant to the dangers of space. The first mining operations involved directing small asteroids into lunar orbit, extracting raw materials, and sending them to earth for processing. Competition exploded with dozens of companies popping up almost overnight. In the ever growing search they moved farther out into the solar system. At a point these mining concerns found themselves overextended. Robots were amazing for mining, but when they broke down far beyond Earth, fixing them wasn't viable, and replacing the increasingly complex machinery was becoming costly. It was here that the first pioneers were born.

The same robotics system that had been used to strip mine asteroids was repurposed for the creation of extraterrestrial structures. These per-fabricated space stations served as waypoints for fleets of drones that examined, towed, and harvested asteroids while the engineers housed within tended to the robotic workers. The easy access to raw materials allowed for the use of simple fabrication systems. Water could be harvested locally, food grown, air and fuel produced, basic tools machined, all on site. The early colonies still relied on Earth for more complex materials, yet they enjoyed a level of self-reliance that hadn't been possible mere decades before. It was from here that the scientific community quickly followed. Researches flooded outwards using this space based harvesting and production to bootstrap projects once thought well within the realm of science fiction. Further hubs popped up in a frenzied leapfrogging of investors, scientists, and engineers swapping money and resources in a rapid push out into the solar system. These were followed first by eccentric millionaires and later by more common people, looking to experience their first "space vacation". When such vacations proved popular people began contemplating what it would mean to call something beyond Earth their home.


The Olympian Trail

-coming soon-


Mars, Titan, and Beyond

-coming soon-

[Nomadic]

[ic=Sacrifice]
The universe understands.

Not in the way a person understands, no it does not function on the same level as the human mind. The human mind is a realm of abstractions. It converts the electro-chemical morass of our bodies into concepts that it can grasp. For the brain these concepts feel very real. To the human mind the number 2 or the belief in justice are both deeply concrete. This perception has been the foundation of human society since the dawn of conscious thought and will likely continue as long as sentience exists. Yet are these things real? Or are abstractions just rough grasping at a system that defies all attempts to bring order to perceived chaos? Regardless, the universe doesn't understand abstract thought. Nevertheless, it does understand. It understands actions.

In the microscopic void beneath sight two atoms collide. The universe knows this one well. There is electromagnetism initially preventing them from merging together while conservation of momentum then forces them apart. A nanometer away two more particles interact, and then two more, and then even more. This particular sand grain sized space suddenly begins to boil with movement. There is an explosion of interaction, the telltale heat as atoms are confined to ever tighter spaces. Each new atom collides with the mass adding energy; velocity continues to increase. Then something else happens that the universe understands. Two atoms smash into each other and pass through an electromagnetic loophole, closer and closer together they press in the fraction of a second. Two atoms of hydrogen squished together by the incredible pressure and heat overcome the repulsion just enough for the strong nuclear force to reach out and slam them together. There is an immense release of raw energy alongside the release of several new particles. Out of the midst of it all a lone helium atom shoots, immune to the existential angst that might plague a human in similar circumstances. It doesn't know anything about philosophy. What it does know is momentum, which is even now taking it towards an ever less dense point in space. In this moment the universe understands something else. The universe understands sacrifice. Indeed it is the one human concept that it can find some real common ground on. Granted, it wouldn't bother to sit down over a cup of coffee to discuss the merits of it with you. Still, it does understand. And it always responds. The vessel in this moment sacrifices a lone atom to the void and in return the universe imparts an atoms worth of thrust back onto the vessel. The vessel sacrifices ten particles and it receives ten particles worth of thrust. A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, ten million, ten billion... This great atomic engine casts atoms to the emptiness like some insane Aztec priest hungry for godly approval. The gods answer.

Thrust shudders against the superstructure. The ship slows and on readout screens within human beings view the shortening curve of a hyperbola. The shape shrinks as the ship begins to transit into an orbit. But, just before the two arms of the orbital plane can snap across infinity to embrace the planet below there is a new sound, a frightening sound. It is not loud, quite the opposite, it is the sound of silence. In the bottom of the ship the nuclear furnace has shut off. There is speech as the humans discuss abstract concepts like emergency, restart, and failure. The universe hasn't the foggiest idea what they mean at radio contact or no reception. It doesn't comprehend hope or despair as the ship slingshots back out into the outer solar system nor grasp the impact of uttered prayers.

The universe doesn't understand mercy or second chances.

The universe understands sacrifice.
[/ic]

[Nomadic]

Ideas to Expand on
- Colonial Culture
- Communication
- Computers/AI
- Space Travel
--- Orbital Mechanics/Terminology
--- Propulsion
--- Life Support
--- General Ship Design (G2O(ground to orbit) vs O2O(orbit to orbit))
- Living in the Colonies
- The Different Colonies
--- NE Asteroids/Luna
--- Space Stations
--- Trojan Asteroids/Asteroid Belt
--- Jovian System (Ganymede/Callisto)
--- Cronian System (Enceladus/Titan)
--- Mars
--- Outer Solar System (Triton, Pluto/Charon, Kuiper Belt/High Ecc Asteroids&Comets)
- Other Technological Developments
- Governmental Structure (post-nationalism, corporatism, regulation of space/treaties)
- Conflicts

[Cheomesh]

Ok, I'll watch where this goes.

...wait, I am LIVING where this goes.

M

[Xathan]

Been ages since we had some new Nomadic stuff - cant wait to see whic directed you decided to take from the Irc conversation.

[Steerpike]

I'm getting a sort of gritty, highly political anthropocentric space opera vibe.  Yah?

[Nomadic]

I'm getting a sort of gritty, highly political anthropocentric space opera vibe.  Yah?

Right now sort of, though as I continue the history into the future you can expect a shift as culture adapts to the new realities. Though I'd say yes there will be strong political connections throughout this whole thing. I want to explore how near future tech and space colonization will shape us. I don't plan to make it a setting but I do think it could serve as a good framework for anyone who wanted to create a near future space setting.

Right now it's alot of history writeups though once I get through those I plan on doing bits on culture, politics, and technology. For now enjoy the latest edit (about the space age).

[Humabout]

This sounds awesome man!  Cant wait to read more.  Is this that setting you keep mentioning bouncing around your head?

[Xathan]

I'm assuming this is the order of colonization:

--- NE Asteroids/Luna
--- Space Stations
--- Trojan Asteroids/Asteroid Belt
--- Jovian System (Ganymede/Callisto)
--- Cronian System (Enceladus/Titan)
--- Mars
--- Outer Solar System (Triton, Pluto/Charon, Kuiper Belt/High Ecc Asteroids&Comets)

If so, that's very interesting that we make it to the Jovian/Cronian systems before Mars. I'm curious as to why that's the case; the first idea that springs to mind is that we colonies on Luna/NE Asteroids, it was easier to skip to the Asteroid Belt as opposed to colonizing a whole new world and then having to deal with its gravity well, but that's the only thing that occurs to me. And I'm very, very curious to what the Kuiper Belt and similarly distant objects look like for colonization, especially if we start colonizing various Oort cloud bodies - which I can only see being done as a stepping stone for reaching the Alpha Proximus system and the newly discovered planet(s) there.

[Nomadic]

Well I don't want to give too much away but it has to do with gravity and atmosphere affecting costs to launch into orbit + availability of resources + a few other things all conspiring to make the moons of jupiter and saturn colonization targets in favor of mars (which does get colonized later). As to extra-solar targets I'm still not sure if I want to pursue that. I may do an expansion to this thing later that pushes it out to post-ftl society and also examines what that might be like. I want to start with just the sol system though as it can serve as the foundation for all sorts of things beyond.

[Humabout]

Someone has been using a certain spreadsheet haven't they?  I am curious how plan on dealing with some of the crazier delta v costs for the outer solar system, let alone the kuipper/Oort bodies.  How hard science are you looking to do your engines and commas?  Does info travel at c? How does this affect things? I'm also curious how the selling of icy comets from the outer system to the inner system colonies affects earths hold on them.

[Nomadic]

Someone has been using a certain spreadsheet haven't they?  I am curious how plan on dealing with some of the crazier delta v costs for the outer solar system, let alone the kuipper/Oort bodies.  How hard science are you looking to do your engines and commas?  Does info travel at c? How does this affect things? I'm also curious how the selling of icy comets from the outer system to the inner system colonies affects earths hold on them.

This actually isn't a setting, it's a layman's extrapolation based on what I happen to know. You can probably glean a lot of my plans from just that fact. So in short, science will be rock hard (or as close as I can get it), communication will be at C, engines will likely be an evolution through chemical > nuclear > am with some odder ones thrown in (sails, ground based propulsion, etc). Those second two will likely include at least some pulse propulsion (which may found the basis for any interstellar stuff I work on) because I'm a sucker for the idea. Your last two bits are actually something I've already started to work on and you can see some hints of it in the writeup (the growing self-sufficiency of colonies, the hints at astronomical distances breaking the internet's growth towards cultural singularity, etc).

[Humabout]

Do you see ai as needing anything special, or can it exist on modern computers?  How do you see computers changing?  Considering that even with the rapid advancement of computers and data storage today, programs still tend to eat up the same percentage of power/space because of feature bloat, do you see advances in personal computing really having an impact on life other than as a more integrated feature of life?

[Xathan]

I really like the fact that you're using the hard limit on communication speeds of C not just as a "oh, and this exists" but actually a driving point of one of the setting's core concepts. However, if light is still the limit of communication and it's only limit...it still means only a few hours for pluto. It's not until we get out to the far kuplier belt objects that things really slow down. How heavily populated is the kuplier belt? In fact, how heavily populated is space in general? Also, how much terraforming has happened?

BTW, do you have any plans for Venus? There are some crazy sounding but ultimately solid ideas for colonizing it - well, its upper atmosphere - out there. :P

As to extra-solar targets I'm still not sure if I want to pursue that. I may do an expansion to this thing later that pushes it out to post-ftl society and also examines what that might be like. I want to start with just the sol system though as it can serve as the foundation for all sorts of things beyond.

Oh, absolutely, I was just spit-balling as to "why would we populate the Oort cloud," and then "Uh, water" was pointed out and I felt kinda silly for missing that. ;)

[Nomadic]

Do you see ai as needing anything special, or can it exist on modern computers?  How do you see computers changing?  Considering that even with the rapid advancement of computers and data storage today, programs still tend to eat up the same percentage of power/space because of feature bloat, do you see advances in personal computing really having an impact on life other than as a more integrated feature of life?

I see AI as being more an issue of computing power combined with further study into learning algorithms and other ways of imparting intelligence into digital constructs. It's something I want to touch on. I do see computers having an impact on life, more than that I see them integrating and merging with life (we're beginning to see that even in the modern world).

As an aside I re-organized the posts up above. I also added a short story.