Re: Second Wave Solarpunk

This post was originally a Discord reply to the Planets & Monsters post, Second Wave Solarpunk. and then I realized thanks to Seraphina's Short Blog Manifesto that I should just post this on my own, very infrequently used blog.

Planets & Monsters writes:

[Solarpunk] slaps trees on skyscrapers instead of wondering how society might have to change to get into ecological balance. It isn't looking to imagine new ways of living outside the capitalist mode of production. 

Bingo. The major failure of solarpunk fiction (and the greater aesthetic form), is in failing to present new, anticapitalist economic pathways, and instead buying wholeheartedly into the messianic techbro mindset that "tech will save us," which it cannot. Only we as people can help each other. We might use tech to assist, but it must be a human endeavor.

Science fiction that imagines a better future doesn't imagine a world without conflict, it imagines what new conflicts will be there, or what conflicts that exist today have taken new form in the future.  

What Planet & Monsters writes about here is the basis for the critical utopia genre, as Tom Moylan calls it in his seminal work Demand the Impossible (1986). 

Planet & Monsters is not looking for Second Wave Solarpunk, but for the critical utopia. A genre that takes in the true, face value of the challenges of modern and future civilization and presents a better way of life in the path forward. It's hard, many failures occur along the way, and life is not the idyllic perfect society, but one of struggle and constant fighting for a better life. Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed and especially Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy are perfect examples of this genre.

Kim Stanely Robinson (KSR) has based his whole writing career on writing utopian fiction, and I think his books are more "solarpunk" than anything else lauded as such. I still find it striking how the dichotomy of futures between The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge reflects our modern times, and these were written in the 80s. The latter is a major solarpunk book, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who has actually read it (but I haven't been asking around for the past few years either, granted).

KSR collected an anthology that hits at the utopian heart of that solarpunk's arrow missed, Future Primitive: The New Ecotopias. I grabbed this from my university library in 2010, and I'm not sure it's widely available. This book was how I discovered Terry Bisson & Gene Wolfe. I read it shortly after reading Le Guin's Planets of Exile & Illusion for the first time.

Anywho, great post from Planets & Monsters that let me relive my uni days of studying utopianism. 

5MW RPG: Sectors, Serpents, and Gameplay Phases

Sectors contain one or many Systems. Systems consist of one or more stars, brown dwarfs, or black holes, and their orbiting bodies which always includes at least one World.

WIP player-facing Starmap for 5MW RPG

Sectors

Sectors are groups of Systems connected through hyperspace. Systems within the same Sector are not necessarily physical astronomical neighbors, but are spacetime is folded such as the Jumps required between them are “shorter” in practice. Sectors are depicted in game as hex map segments called Sector Segments.

Sector Segments take sizes between a single System up to ten Systems. Avatars construct their own starmaps in 5MW, placing their Sector Segments on a larger, empty hexmap, weaving their own tapestry of Sectors as they explore the 5 Million Worlds.

The idea here is that the frontier is always unknown, and that folks can build their own independent Sectors to plug-and-play as needed.

Systems

Star systems—whether a solitary star, multiple star system, brown dwarf or black hole—is called a System. Systems are often named [Star]-Sys or [World]-Sys, e.g. Spindle-Sys, Breq-Sys, etc. This abbreviation is common, e.g. in-Sys travel, out-Sys trading, etc.

Each Sys contains at least one World and one Ansible. A System, its Worlds, and other major orbital bodies are represented on a System Map: 

From the Mothership Search & Rescue Campaign post 

Worlds

A World is an orbital body where people live. This may be a planet, moon, asteroid, space station, superstructure, etc. Depending on their Form, some Avatars may need to make a Body Save against World Shock when visiting certain Worlds.

World Maps can be acquired through a World’s organization, or a close orbit scan with consent from the World’s peoples.

World Shock

Ecologies and 

Ansibles

Ansibles are the single ubiquitous remnant of the Serpents: superluminal communication nodes. From an Ansible, any Sys can communicate with another Ansible within its network in real time. Fully functional Ansibles can even use the Uplink to travel between systems, uploading the Mind and printing a new body at the System destination. Most Ansibles, however, are either derelict, thought lost, or controlled by a World’s power to disseminate or control information across the Sector.

Serpents & Serpentware

Extremely few in the 5 Million Worlds know what Serpents were/are, but their proximity to the Avatars is widespread, whether as myth, spacer tales, or historical or archaeological “fact”. Many cultures blame Serpents for the constant disappearances of large-scale Artificial Minds, Hive Minds, and other forms of superintelligence.

Serpents were/are capable of creating technology beyond the ability of any culture in 5MW Space to fabricate, and left remnants of these feats behind: superstructures and Serpentware, as well as two loose orders: the Serpent’s Lance and the Avatars.

Serpentware

While reproducing Serpentware is nigh-impossible, those with the necessary Skills and resources can repair and maintain this technology. Repairs of superstructure habitats, and the teaching of these methods, is common work for Avatars.

Other Serpentware ranges from personal equipment to starship components.

Serpentware Repairs

Serpentware almost always exists as part of a larger technological system. If Serpentware needs repairing, other Serpent ruins are very likely to be within the same System. Salvaging without permission is frowned upon, but sometimes skipped in pressing crises. Usable salvage for fixing Serpentware is counted in units called Remnants.

When maintenance requires newly fabricated components, an Avatar must use a Serpent Forge. Such incredible replication machines are found within superstructures, and very infrequently anywhere else.

Chrysalis

A Chrysalis is Serpentware whose main function is an advanced cryopod for unshielded Jumps through hyperspace. Their advanced functions include: healing pod, downloading a Mind, bio-print new bodies, and collecting a library of Forms for the Avatars to change between. A Chrysalis requires expending Exotic Matter to perform a single advanced function, and must have a hardwire connection to an Ansible.

Personal Serpentware

Highly advanced cyberware, bioware, personal protection, and other equipment also exists throughout the 5 Million Worlds. Yet Serpentware rarely exists in a vacuum; it serves its location, and holds importance to the peoples of its World. Such treasures belong to the World and its cultures, not those who find them. How the Avatars handle such encounters is important for their reputation.

Serpent’s Lance

Hunters who seek Avatars who have broken the Code, their promise to help. Members of the Lance are often former Avatars, with advanced starships and Serpentware. The Lance is not immune to corruption or transmuted belief systems.

Call of the Avatar

Avatars are mediators, liberators, merchants, explorers, and troubleshooters. They answer the Call of the Avatar to fight for peace, resolve crises, and help the peoples of the 5 Million Worlds. This is the Avatar’s pledge. Breaking this pledge may attract the ire of the Serpent’s Lance; Following this pledge may attract the ire of local Sector powers. The lives and adventure of Avatars tend to follow this pattern:

Starfaring Phase

The Avatars choose where to travel. They may begin with a small Sector map, or must find an Ansible to discover local hyperlanes.

In order to Jump to another system, Avatars must have a Jump Drive or better.* Out of respect for privacy and local traffic safety, Jump Points tend to be on the polar stellar axis of a System. Jumping elsewhere in a System is possible, with the relevant Skills, but often attracts major disfavor with space-faring locals.

Avatars may spend one unit of Exotic Matter and two weeks per light year, if they have a vessel capable of such stocking capacity, and the Warden is so inclined to build out a Realspace star map.

Avatars may begin with a small starship capable of superluminal travel called a Wedge.

Wedge

1. Airlock with Docking Sleeve.
2. Lander Bay. Contains one Lander Pod to travel to and from Worlds without their own travel infrastructure.
3. Bridge. Piloting, Comms, Sensors.
4. Commons. Bunks and central living space.
5. Cryobay. 10 cryopods.
6. Engines. Jump-I Drive for hyperspace travel (expends one unit of Exotic Matter per single hex Jump), and Loop-I Drive for in-system superluminal travel (expends one unit of Exotic Matter per three in-Sys uses).

Contact Phase

While contacting the peoples of a World when entering a System is technically optional, it is the done thing. Space pirates and warlords never call ahead, so Contact is common courtesy, and achieved across two steps: Ansible Ping and World Ping.

1) Ansible Ping

Avatars may attempt to ping the local System’s Ansible. If the Ansible is online, the Avatars can contact those who run the Ansible, even if only the Ansible's Virtual Intelligence that remains. If the Ansible is offline, they may skip to the World Ping and attempt to discover the Ansible’s location in the Looping Phase.

2) World Ping

Avatars may attempt to directly ping a local System’s Worlds. This may be necessary to contact peoples who do not control their Ansible, whether due to power or technological struggles. Such communications can be more easily hidden or obfuscated.

If neither pings yields results or the Avatars skip Contact, move into the Looping Phase.

Looping Phase

During the Looping Phase, the Avatars’ starship enters the standard stellar orbit. Except under unusual circumstances, a starship’s sensors can deliver a System map. Detailed information on planetary bodies, or World maps may require travelling to the orbital body.

If the Avatars chose to skip both pings, and the System has the means to initiate Contact, they attempt to ping the Avatars during the Looping Phase. Avatars enter Contact at Disadvantage.

In-Sys Travel

Looping the Sys, Avatars may travel between orbits, collect Matter, and explore Worlds using the starship’s Loop Drive. Travelling between any two regions, regardless of distance, requires two weeks and expends one use of Exotic Matter on the starship’s Loop Drive.

Looping on Mundane momentum does not expend Exotic Matter, and takes much longer.

With a comfortable starship, Avatars may Expend Limit on projects while Looping (pg. xx).

Travelling within a System depends on the infrastructure, regulations, and other local factors. Mostly, Avatar starships have free reign to travel across the system, but in certain cases they may be required to dock their starship and use local travel infrastructure, or perform special jobs or duties to extract Matter from the System.

Whether using a World’s infrastructure or their Landing Pod, Avatars may visit a Worlds to answer the Call.

The Call Phase

This is the adventure phase of the game, and makes up for most of the play. What happens depends on the World, its Peoples, the nature of the Call, and how the Avatars choose to resolve the issue.

Five Dangerous Xenos

Statted Xenos from my in-universe Mothership zine, SEEN ON THE VOID'S EDGE #043, for your gaming usage.

One day, I’d like to update this zine into a rebel conspiracy alien hunter’s guide. Give each creature its own adventure, kind of similar to Distress Signals. Add more creatures, planets, spacer settler problems.

Too many project ideas, too little time! 

Art by yours truly.

Thumbhead

C: 65 Maul 3d10, I: 65, W: 4(30).
Dactyl Crush: Body Save or take 1 Wound (Blunt).

• Named for the nest of the digit-like eyestalks that sprout from its wide-based body. Over two dozen many-knuckled fingers sprout from its circular underside, and another whirl of manipulator finger-limbs fidget nervously under its massive mouth of jagged molar-canines.

• An adept hunter of its forests, climbing and digging and running for its prey: creatures with much more sensitive senses than humans. Smart enough not to ignore an easy meal. Repulsed by Androids, avoiding them unless they pose a threat.

Eye-Horse

C: 40 Kick 2d10, I: 35, AP: 5, W: 2(20).
Loving Stare: Sanity Save, or a rush of adoration fills your brain or Logic Core. Justify your adoration to your fellow crewmembers, and bring this majestic creature a delicious gift. Suffocate: Body Save, or its tendril-hair wraps around limbs and snakes into open orifices. STR Check[-] to escape (See PSG, Oxygen pg. 33.1)

• Moose-sized. Travel in small herds of 1d10+5. When faced with predators, they arrange in a pattern to stare all together. They do not harm any who come bearing gifts of fruit or other herbivorous foodstuffs.

Meltoid

C: 34 Melt 1 Wound (Fire/Chemical), I: 56, W: 7(10).

• Nasty, stinky gastropod-like creatures. Vary greatly in size and form. These carnivorous creatures pirate their prey’s DNA to create slug-analogues, like deformed copies. Black orbs grow in irregulat places across their bodies, their fecal eggs.

• When taking the first Wound, it splits into two W: 3(10) Meltoids. On second Wound they split into two W: 1(10) Meltoids. On final Wound, they burst in a gush of acid, scattering their fecal eggs. Body Save, or 2d10 DMG (as Flamethrower, but it’s Acid).

“James”

C: 66 Slash 3d10, Fire Breath (as Flamethrower), Tail Gore 1 Wound (Bleeding) I: 66, DR: 5, AP: 10, W: 1(80).
Deploy Wings: Blown to the ground, prone.
Grab & Fuck up: Body Save, or grabbed. If flying, this fucker’ll drop you.

• Nearly 4 meters tall. Cyborg wingspan of 12 meters. Multifaceted scales reflect laser fire. Takes double DMG from rocket fire.

Drummer

C: 55 Concussive Blast 6d10, I: 50, DR: 2, AP: 7, W: 5(20).

• A smidge smaller than an Indian elephant, with a lower backside and wider face. Its back is covered in a tear-proof carapace—protection from flying predators. Similarities between xeno ruins and the Drummer’s physiology leads exobiologists and sophontologists to posit them as relatives to the extinct civilization.

• The Drummer’s face is capable of extremely powerful sonic propulsion, common to many creatures on its world. With each Wound lost, its Concussive Blast loses 1d10 in DMG.