Foreword

This work is a writer’s guide to the world of Sublight.

All material is Copyright 2022 by Sean Woods, Ginger Woods, and Jason Pollard.

This product was created under license. Modern AGE and its logo, and AGE Creators Alliance and its logo, are trademarks of Green Ronin Publishing, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Green Ronin Publishing, LLC and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for AGE Creators Alliance.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2024 by Sean Woods and published under the Community Content Agreement for AGE Creators Alliance.

Tegic

Tegic In the world of Sublight, Magic and Technology are woven together into something called “Tegic”. Technical Magic. And Tegic is every bit as much a philosophy and a way of life as it is a science. Tegic builds on concepts of the occult developed in Hindu Philosophy, Medieval Alchemy, and Quantum Mechanics. Objective Reality The first concept that all students of Tegic must understand is that what we see as Objective Reality is really an interference pattern between three different realms. The laws of how each realm works are a subject for deep contemplation. Assuming a complete telling is even possible in human terms, the content would fill a library of books. The best we can do is give you a “dip in your toes” depth overview. Your body, your soul, and your imagination are all a “you” shaped bubble that stretches into each of these three realms simultaneously. Every living thing is a similar bubble living on the surface of Objective Reality. We call these bubbles “Agents.” All of the agents working together are considered Life. The Ancients used the metaphor of a shad-ow to describe what our world is to the realms beyond. Today we have a better metaphor: a hologram. With a hologram, a LASER beam is split. One beam is allowed to bounce off of an object (reflective), the other beam is unaltered (reference). The altered beam and the reference beam are combined on the surface of a photographic plate. What is recorded on that plate is not an image of the object, but an interference pattern of the reflective and reference beam.

Illuminating the holographic recording with another laser beam reconstructs not just the image, but an entire 3d structure of the original object down to microscopic detail. But if you were to look directly at the image recorded without the reference beam, you would only see a pattern of waves and swirls: Another property of a hologram is that the entire image is encoded on every part. Breaking a holographic plate in half still gives you two copies of the hologram. In fact, a hologram could theoretically be broken into thousands or millions of pieces. Though, the quality of the reproduction diminishes with each division. The three realms are, in a sense, the holographic plates. Our lives are the holograms produced by illuminating those plates with a coherent beam. The Mind Realm Each Agent calls into existence a personal universe that is under its complete control, the Mind. The Mind is an empty place where thoughts can mix and blend, in an attempt to visualize what the Agent is experiencing from the other realms. Pure mind has no memory. A change of thought can restructure the entire realm. The mind corresponds to the Guna of Tamas (तमस्). It imparts the following qualities on behavior and natural phenomenon: Chaos, Destruction, Inertia. The Will Realm Agents require a structure, and in the process of spawning it produces a personal universe to contain itself, the Will. The body we are fa-miliar with in the Objective Reality is a shape that is driven by the will. While the Mind is pure change in want of structure, the Will is pure structure in want of change. The mind realm corresponds with the Guna of Rajas (रजस्). It imparts the following qualities on behavior and natural phenomenon: Passion, Activity, Ego The Spirit Realm The Spirit realm is one realm which all Life in our universe shares. Spirit connects all agents and acts as a common reference for each Agent’s Objective Reality. Each agent has its own mind and will, but are all the same spirit. The Evocation of the Spirit realm behave like the frequency domain in Evocation. Global things are tiny points. Tiny points are global things. The Spirit realm has no time, nor space, nor self. The mind realm corresponds with the Guna of Sattva (सत्त्व). It imparts the following qualities on behavior and natural phenomenon: Balance, Harmony, Universality The Demirealms Objective Reality is the region of interference where all three realms interact. There are also three regions where only two realms interact. Each Demirealm has a different set of laws of interaction. Tegic is the process of developing one’s self to be able to exploit these differences in laws to bring about change that is reflected in Objective Reality. Demirealm of Illusion The interactions of Will and Mind. Illusion is essential for personal development. But, it turns out, our minds and wills are leaky. They resonate with the minds and wills around us. Tegic users can project their will into other’s minds, and minds onto other’s wills through communication and Illusion based spells. Demirealm of Transmutation The interactions of Will and Spirit. In the absence of mind, the will and spirit can part-ner up to perform transformations that are seemingly impossible in Objective Reality. Some involve reacting chemicals through Transmutation, or converting substances into other substances through alchemy. Other transmutation spells can alter bodies. Mutation and Evolution are both expressions of latent transmutation in all life. Demirealm of Evocation The interactions of Mind and Spirit. In the absence of will, mind and spirit can perform partner up to cause seemingly impossible events. Evocation shortcuts the need for a cause to get an effect. All forms of “kinesis”, levitation, and probability shaping are spells and abilities of the Evocation school. The Chimeras Tegic schools also exist that utilize a profound understanding of the nature of the Universe to perform magic using all three colors of mana, as well as all three flavors of quintessence. Medicine Medicine is the art of combining mana of all types into producing constructive works and miracles. Necromancy Necromancy is the art of manipulating quintessence of all types into forms of tremendous power.

Artificial Life Artificial humans grow just the same way as “natural” humans. They just grow up in a supportive artificial environment instead of a mother’s womb. Despite popular belief, the limit of the size of a human fetus is not limited by the width of a woman’s pelvis. It is mainly limited by the metabolism of the mother. Larger animals (for instance whales and elephants) give birth to much larger and more developed babies. Artificial wombs can be scaled to any size to produce sufficient cooling, oxygen, nutrients, and neurological stimulation. Thus the period for an artificial gestation is essentially unlimited. There is little to stop a mad tegicist from producing a full-sized adult. Experiments have shown that a 100 kilogram human can be produced in about 90 weeks of gestation:

The key to producing more than a 100 kilogram lump of meat is neurological stimulation. During pregnancy a child’s mother (and others they are surrounded by) emit a telepathic field. This telepathic field guides the early development of the psyche. Fetuses also experience tastes, sounds, and even light while in utero. The patterns of these experiences help prepare the organism for later life. Artificial pregnancies require what is called a “Mentor”. Modern implementations use a holographic engram captured from a person (or persons), and played back on a loop through an adapted Holocon emitter. Artificial gestation takes place over a longer period of time, and under far more controlled conditions than natural pregnancy. The influence of a Mentor goes beyond that of a parent. Subjects can pick up skills, temperaments, even habits.

Living Machines I’m finding myself having to deal with a lot of squidgy issues in the story dealing with smart robots and computers and the characters and plot. And of course, I have a Youtube Video to introduce the topic: Human-Machine Teaming Like any decent Sci-Fi universe, I don’t just have one AI/Android platform. I have several. So rather than describe one overarching techno-political screed, perhaps its best to tackle them one by one. For starters, the idea makers in Sublight universe regard “Artificial Intelligence” as redundant term at best, downright confusing at worst. They refer to “Living Computers”. They also tend to employ trained animals every bit as much as they employ robots. Each level builds on the level below it. A level 9 has all of the capabilities of levels 0–8.

• Level 0 - Can follow repetitive instructions. (a pocket calculator)
• Level 1 - Can adapt its program to account for local conditions, operator preferences, etc. Example: Smart Phone, a smart vacuum
• Level 2 - Can utilize predictive modeling and statistical error correcting. Example: A fly-by-wire system, artillery computers, slime molds
• Level 3 - Can perform autonomous navigation in controlled space, and limited route planning. Example: A factory drone in a closed environment. Space probes. Lab mouse. Cruise missiles.
• Level 4 - Can perform autonomous navigation in uncontrolled space. Can avoid collisions. Has limited environmental awareness and practical problem solving. Example: Automated car, lab rat, octopus
• Level 5 - Can operate as part of a network or swarm. Example: A combat drone, A delivery bot, bee hive.
• Level 6 - Can accept pre-defined verbal commands from humans in real time. Can communicate abstract ideas to humans. Theory of self. Example: a trained dog.
• Level 7 - Can perform advanced problem solving. Has ability to learn new skills in the field. Can adhere to a moral code. Example: Human children, dumber adults.
• Level 8 - Capable of long term independent action. Independent motivation. Global concepts. Has an ethical code. Example: Average human.
• Level 9 - Automaton with superhuman capabilities, but which still acts as a single consciousness. Example: Dolphin. Most supercomputers in the movies.
• Level X - A placeholder for hive minds, or other inscrutable intelligence.

Naturally this scale is only useful for telling you how close to human intelligence something may be. Many “low level” intelligences can do mind boggling complex tasks. A “simple” artillery computer is capable of performing math calculations that would stump most people. Quins Quins are mobile robotics platforms, capable of limited independent action. They started as crash test dummies, whose complexity and slavish attention to mimicking the human form led to a line of servant robots. Quins are designed to mimic human form, dexterity, and strength. Like “Buster” in the Mythbusters, as parts break they can be replaced in the field. The only critical part is the skull, which contains their central processing unit and data recorders. Those are licensed and tracked by serial number. Those can only be produced by licensed suppliers. It is also illegal to open the skull to modify the parts inside. (Though there are plenty of expansion modules that can be legally added that bend those rules.) Quins intelligence evolved from the holographic recorders their skull was built to house. Their processor is a holographic resonator which can fuse sensor data and several holographic memory cells at one time into a “gestalt”. A set of control laws help the robot sort out if there is something wrong with the “gestalt”, and take actions to bring the gestalt back into what it was programmed to accept as normal. These Gestalt/Equilibrium/Action sets can be stored and chained together to form very complex behavior. Most Quins arrive to the user with a library of behaviors and accessories pre-adapted for a given task. Given the limited volume in their skull, and the bulkiness of holographic storage, most Quins have only a single task they can be programmed for at a time. A limited series, The EHI System 7, included a special “prototyping” board. This allowed the user to swap out the hard-coded behavior matrix in the field. It also contained a special field-comparator that allowed the user to train and store novel behaviors. However, the storage on the System 7s was very limited, because this field comparator took up precious space inside the skull. Expert Sytems Expert systems are level 9 (and above) intelligences that were designed to tackle complex analytical and logistics problems. The hardware is actually relatively cheap, and as most are brains in a server rack, they lack the expensive sensors and actuators in other robot platforms. This led to Expert Systems being employed in a lot of questionable applications. In particular, finance. The units are prone to novelty seeking, and they were not above sabotaging a project if they felt slighted or if the humans employing it were not deemed “worthy”. In one particularly hideous case, a expert system was put in charge or running a sleeper ship. When the maintenance crew and the computer had a disagreement about the mission parameters, it killed the crew to settle the argument. HAL incorporated insisted (in the inevitable lawsuits) that the computer was in the right, and that it was simply not given SURVIVAL OF THE CREW as a high enough priority mission parameter. Which highlights the problem of dealing with extremely intelligent beings. They are legalistic, psychopathic pricks. A standing order in every space agency is never to deploy a Level 8 or above in any task. At all. But for older ships, to at least disconnect them from anything to do with navigation, life support, ordinance, airlock controls, reactor operations, food preparation, telephone banks… or basically anything where it could kill more than the immediate operator if it decides to get into a tiff. (Why they left an exception for putting the operator at risk was never answered. At least to the public. Though frankly if you are stupid enough to program a computer to kill you (or want to kill you) perhaps letting the computer go off and do it is a mercy. If not to you, then to the rest of society.) Expert systems are generally room sized devices, or in the case of ultra-compact examples, cabinet sized. They are not given independent bodies because… well… they have demonstrated a propensity to view humans as a problem to be solved by the process of elimination. Familiars Many humans have latent telepathy that can be developed to very high levels. That connection doesn’t exists strictly between one human mind and another human mind. Some people have developed a connection to animals. Animals telepathically linked to humans are called familiars. Each bond between human and familiar is unique. Most are unique between one specific human and that specific animal. Although it is not unheard of for a familiars and humans to bond into teams. In either case, it takes years to develop the bond, and constant maintenance to keep it up. Common familiars are Dogs, Cats, Parrots, Ravens, Seals, and Dolphins. Although, in the case of Dolphins, the humans are often the animal’s familiar and not the other way around. KRL/AELF Holographic recording and playback technology combined with advanced medical imaging and psychic projection techniques have led to the development of Artificially Enhanced Life Forms. (They are called KRLs in Krasnovian spheres.) AELFs are living, organic brains that are trained using the same techniques as those used on Quins. However, the capacity for organic tissue to store information is several order of magentudes higher than holographic medium. (Although, like holographic medium, the more you store the fuzzier it gets.) This can be applied to human or animal brains. Although, using it on humans leads to a lot of delicate ethical issues. Applications for AELFs are generally to provide a cheap and cheerful means of replicating expert knowledge. The storage and playback technology tends to capture rote memories, procedures, and “muscle memory” tasks. It doesn’t capture episodic memory. Or at least, well. I’ll spare you the litany of details, but the long and short if it is, you can only really use the technology to create a newborn with the lifetime experience (and habits) of say an artificer, or a plumber, or a gymnast. As far as combining the signals into an artificer, plumber, gymnast… it really only works if you have a subject to record who has been all three. Or (future project) you start with a plumber, clone his mind into an AELF, raise that AELF to learn the fine art of Articery, and then clone that mind into a new AELF they you train as gymnast. You can cut a few corners by starting with a mind that has shown itself to be exceptionally flexible, and then have copies of that mind go off and learn several skills in parallel. And then combine those parallel copies into a new mind going forward. Although… perhaps that won’t work out quite as well, as a lot of skills require developing the same parts of the brain in mutually exclusive ways. You run into the problem of combining Martial arts styles. They each have an internal consistency. They often share basic theory. But the high level composition of moves, or even philosophy, may be hard to train up to a level of expert in more than one at a time.

Kami / Spirits In the Sublight world, the Nihon Empire was relatively unscathed after the Great War and was very active in the early space race. The Empire was also the first to settle Psyche, which they call 鉄の世界 (Tetsu no sekai / the World of Iron). Nihon was one of the founding members of ISTO, and developed much of the technology that is used today for deep space settlements. The Shinto traditions of the Nihon also played an important part in unlocking many of the technologies of Tegic. Thus, many phenomenon that deal with magical manifestations in our material world borrow terms from the Japanese language. The first concept is that Kami (神) are beings who exist in the other planes of existence. We cannot “see” them directly, but individuals can be trained to sense their effects. Kami are neither good nor bad. But actions we take in the material world can affect them, and when that happens they can interfere right back. When we interfere with them in a positive way, they reciprocate. When we interfere in a negative way… they also reciprocate. As it turns out, spirits exist even in the cold desolation of space. The planetoid Psyche is covered in shrines to appease the spirits, and the (鉄の人々) (Tetsu no hitobito / People of Iron) maintain those shrines and worship at them. Because of the delicate sensitivities of the geology of Psyche and spirits who are disrupted by human activity, outsiders are forbidden from going to the planet itself. When the capital of ISTO was placed on Psyche, the stipulation was that all foreigners had to remain in orbit. Mining on Psyche is controlled by a cult of priests who ensure the spirits are appeased for the material mankind takes. Every chamber excavated is reinforced with elaborate carvings. Priests regularly return to each shrine, and look for signs of the spirits becoming unbalanced. These signs inform future excavation patterns, and in extreme cases can trigger the construction of brand new shrines. These new shrines also just happen to structurally reinforce parts of the planet. Some find their ways backward and superstitious. Yet it is hard to argue with their performance. Psyche has been under continual excavation for nearly 100 years. Their accident rate is the lowest in the solar system. Their output is extremely consistent. It doesn’t have the “optimal” throughput of other operations, but it also doesn’t have the many work stoppages brought on by accidents, collapses, and labor uprisings. The Tetsu no hitobito enjoy a rather high standard of living at all levels in their society. The Testu no hitobito also describe in their religion when man made objects take on spiritual qualities. This happens because interactions with humans over decades can lead to an object picking up a presence in the non-material worlds. It was first described with tools and other household objects which they call 付喪神 / Tool Kami / Tsukumogami. As space technology advanced, they started to notice that major station components and entire vessels would take on a life of their own. In particular: reactors, computers, and long running life support components. The first fusion reactors came from the Nihons, and their approach was to create a shrine for a 火の幽霊 (Hi no yūrei / Fire spirit). While engineers across the solar system insist there has to be a more logical explanation, they still carve elaborate artwork into the inside of their reaction vessels, and the procedures for lighting the reactor up still invoke the same incantations. Complicated equipment is considered 機械的精神 (Kikai-teki seishin / Mechanical Spirits). They are given attention by tegicians on a schedule that is not based on pure preventative maintenance. Tegicians also sing to the devices, tell them jokes, and give them offerings of “treats”. Each system has a different item it seems to crave. Computers seem to love the aroma of a fresh cup of coffee. Sewage treatment equipment likes hardcore pornography. Air handling equipment likes a spritz of Sake. Still other manifestations are 妖怪 (Yōkai / phantom). These are beings from another realm that take on material form. This phenomenon ranges from simple noises heard in the dark, to items moving strangely, to shapeshifting apparations that appear to human beings. Psyche has a lot of settlers who emigrated from Hibernia, and they have incorporated the intrusions from the spiritual world as the work of the Fey. But is the subject of a different blog

New Folder

Economics

Economics Many sci-fi and fantasy settings have a Universally valuable commodity. In Dune there is the Spice Melange on the Universe level. But locally, on Arrakis where the Spice comes from, Water is so scarce that the natives freeze-dry their dead to capture their waters. The distribution and conservation of both of these resources has deep impacts on the economies and the cultures in the story. Phosphorus Over the past week I have stumbled across a few interesting stories about the element Phosphorus: The Fermi Paradox: The Phosphorus Problem Phosphorus - Periodic Table of Videos

Basically phosphorus is an essential ingredient for life. ATP powers the metabolism of all known forms on life. Your body makes 70kg of the ATP molecule per day. ATP is basically a handy way of distributing energy in the cell. Phosphorus is rare in the Solar System and even rarer in the Universe. Essentially the amount of biomass your planet or space habitat can support is a direct function of how much phosphorus you have on hand. What makes the concentration of life in the Amazon possible is a steady stream of phosphorus in the form of dust carried on the wind from Africa. When mankind moves out to space, phosphorus is going to place the same hard limit on the size of settlements. Humans need phosphorus as an essential mineral, of course. But we will also need to supply enough for all of the plants that have to be grown to feed both people and whatever livestock we bring along for meat and other products. In a sealed system, phosphorus is conserved through the phosphorus cycle. But what happens if you have a settlement that is mainly a food producer, shipping to a large city that is net food consumer? The farmland in the agriculture area will be depleted of phosphorus. That phosphorus will basically be taken up by the citizens of the urban area, and excreted as waste. One of the major industries in the city is going to have to be collecting that phosphorus from the waste, and shipping it back to the farm. In the Sublight universe, I am creating a megalopoly called TASTE®. In the core system, (inside Mars Orbit) most food is grown on giant solar powered farms. Farms exist on the moon, and in orbit around Earth. These farms feed cities in space with millions of people. (The Earth is gradually being depopulated to turn it into a nature reserve.) TASTE® controls the food packaging industry, the fertilizer industry, and the waste management industry. Their centralized management of the element of Phosphorus has become a highly regulated industry. (After a heck of a lot of monopolistic shenanigans on their part.) However, for all of their leverage TASTE®’s system of accounting for phosphorus is basically the only hard currency in an otherwise post-scarcity world. To buy food from TASTE you need to give them the contract to recycle your waste. And their giant factory farms and tight control over the phosphorus market mean that nobody can compete on cost or efficiency. You get a commune here and there who are self-sufficient. But as soon as they try to trade in food or other agriculture items, they are going to run across phosphorus imbalance problems. And when they go to buy phosphorus on the open market, they are going to be in a world of hurt because TASTE® has cornered the market and jealously guards their monopoly. In the International Space Treaty Organization, their major cities were designed as sealed systems. The city of New Franklin operates enough farms to feed the people who live there. The also have enough capacity to grow extra food to put some food aside for emergencies. With 750,000 inhabitants, the city has its own dedicated facilities for phosphorus recovery. However, New Franklin (and for that matter, all of the stations around Psyche) have to deal with a large influx of migrants and visitors. Psyche itself has some decent pockets of phosphorus rich minerals. But those are mainly recovered as a side-product of Psyche’s primary industry: nickel-steel. This is enough to make good losses in phosphorus from efficiency of recovery, tourists, migrant workers, and armed forces supplied by Psyche and deployed elsewhere in the Solar System. Psyche itself is a sovereign state, and it jealously controls the rate at which their planet is depleted. So while they reluctantly part with some phosphorus as their contribution to the federation, they do not allow commercial exploitation of their phosphorus. They also do no ship phosphorus in bulk to other member states of the International Space Treaty Organization. Interactions with the Plot TASTE® is headquartered on its inner system space platforms. It operates as a monopoly utility in sparsely populated areas of the Solar System. In bigger cities, it makes money from license fees for its technology, consultant fees for how to operate its technology, and as overpriced contractors to clean up when big cities completely screw up their implementation of TASTE® technology. Up until the latest upheaval in Krasnovia’s government (their transition from populist facisms to constitutional dictatorship) competing ministries jealously battled for control over “the people’s” phosphorus. The net result was graft, and waste, and enormous duplication of effort. The Fürer’s first reform was to call in TASTE®, and have them perform a top-down reform of the system. TASTE® continues to essentially operated the Krasnovian ministries of Agriculture and Sanitation. They also have a lot of sway with the ministry of natural resources. Each Ministry is still managed by a minister who “supervises” TASTE®’s operations. But in essentially all conflicts brought before the Fürer, TASTE® normally wins. In ISTO TASTE® operates under special monopoly power laws. They are the preferred provider for waste management and food production. Individual nations/settlements under ISTO are free to manage their own resources. TASTE®’s business model is to run the recycling and waste treatment plants, and sell the phosphorus back to the farmers while operating on government subsidized fusion energy. TASTE® also collects the waste from starships. Other operators have tried to muscle into the sewage treatment market. But TASTE® has them beat on economies of scale. In particular, nobody can compete with them on operating costs. Where TASTE® operates as a monopoly, there are a pile of strange rules about waste management. You can’t actually purchase indoor plumbing, plumbing fixtures, or trash cans (at least the big one you put on the curb). You lease them from TASTE®. In exchange, you do get lifetime service and regular replacement. But their color and style selection is… limited. Project Gilgamesh (under which the Paul Cézanne was built) is a collaboration between the ISTO to develop an interstellar vessel. The ship takes recycling and resource management to an extreme. TASTE® were brought in as consultants. Many of the high efficiency systems were tailored to interface with as much of the existing TASTE® line of products as possible. During the events of the book, an armed standoff between ISTO and Krasnovia disrupts lines of communication all around the Solar System. This disruption is most felt on the planetoid of Eros. Eros is home to the “Happiest place in the Solar System”, the resort of Yisned. TASTE® provides the catering and the waste disposal. Eros has a double-whammy. Eros has had an extremely prosperous year. It’s orbit took was within 1 AU of Earth’s from October (2004) through July (2005). It has been awash in tourists and fresh food shipments. It does get some business from the Asteroid belt at other times, but nowhere near as much as when it’s near Earth. All of this continuous strain has overworked their waste treatment system. TASTE® had scheduled a major upgrade to the system for the next period when Eros and Earth are in opposition, and they resort does not get peak crowds. (August 2005-December 2006). What they were not counting on was a massive influx if Krasnovian armed forces who “leased” the planetoid (at gunpoint) to act as a staging base for a Naval blockade around the minor planet of Ceres. The other minor planet in dispute is Pluto. An ISTO vessel, the Salvador Dali, was supposed to be the first of a new class of ships with better engines and a highly automated workforce. It was supposed to be ready by the time Psyche was in the right place in it’s orbit to launch a mission to Pluto. However, after some space trials the Dali’s new systems turned out to be a disaster. The Paul Cézanne is a 20 year old example of the prior Van Gogh class. It was originally scheduled for a mid-life refit. It ended up being overhauled to take over for the Dali in heading to Pluto. Including next generation engines that were scavenged from the damaged battle carrier Hannah Höch. With the crises, unfolding, the launch date for the Pluto mission was pushed up by nearly two years. Both superpowers are now in a race to establish control over the Keiper Belt. In the rush to get the Paul Cézanne out on its mission, the planners neglected to account for how much biomass is going to be required to keep the much larger crew of the Cézanne alive for 5 years. With a potential war startup up, phosphorus reserves in the Asteroid belt dried up overnight, from various agencies hoarding what would normally circulate. And even where they could find a willing supplier, the problem became how to ship it with every vessel in ISTO being mobilized for war. After a bit of horse trading, the Commodore of the Cézanne strikes up a deal with the governor or Eros to fix both of their mutual problems. The Cézanne has plenty of capacity to deal with Eros’s backed up sewage. It just has to get cut across Krasnovian Space to bring the mighty ship to the tiny planet. As it is, Eros is also along a direct course to Pluto, AND to Ceres. Plus, as a civilian research vessel/mobile settlement, it can enjoy innocent passage through the core system because Eros is a neutral power, and because the Cézanne is fulfilling a contract for TASTE®. And the legal contracts between TASTE® and the various agencies in Krasnovia have even more weight than international treaties, or even directive from the Fürer. Heavy Water Fusion powered vessels tend to operate on one of three different fusion reactions. All of those reaction involve Deuterium. Heavy water is produced by extracting naturally occurring Deuterium from major water sources. Luna gets much of its heavy water from Earth, its settlements on the Jovian Moons, and the occasional comet that makes its way into the core system. ISTO gets its water from several asteroids that are mainly water, and from the salt-water subsurface seas on Ceres. Only large vessels with dedicated equipment (and a resident supernatural being) can burn heavy water in a fusion reactor directly. Heavy Water requires a tremendous amount of energy to produce, so it is an expensive commodity. Lithium Deuteride (LiD) The most popular fusion fuel for fusion propulsion uses Lithium Deuteride. Lithium is extracted from saltwater. Deuterium comes from heavy water. Together they form a powdery solid that is very easy to store. (Even if you do have to keep it away from water). Inside the reactor, neutrons collide with the Lithium, and it turns into Helium and a Tritium. The Tritium then fuses with the Deuterium which releases a lot of energy. While LiD fusion release the bulk of its energy as neutrons, the logistics of storing a solid fuel is worth the inefficiency and extra shielding. The alternative is to keep cryogenic tanks of deuterium and helium three (as tritium is a pain to produce in bulk.) You can store heavy water, and utilize electrolysis but that requires a lot of extra energy and equipment. LiD also has the advantage in that it can be used in open-cycle fusion reactions. Most ships employ pulsed detonation of small LiD pellets. Ships need only a few kilograms of LiD for most journeys. This compact fuel source is easy to store, easy to ship, and has evolved into an informal currency/commodity. While not exactly rare, the stuff is not exactly cheap either. Lithium and Deuterium are both found in only trace amounts around the Solar System. LiD pellets require a tremendous amount of energy to produce. All of the energy to produce the deuterium AND all of the energy to extract the lithium. Asteroid Steel Several asteroids are iron core remnants of failed planets. The iron/nickel extracted from those bodies has a unique crystal structure caused by the material cooling over billions of years. Components constructed from these massive crystals of Iron/Nickel are extremely strong and reliable. Shavings from this process, and other less extreme deposits can be melted down and formed into a high-nickel steel that is corrosion resistent and tolerant of extreme temperature changes without deforming. Holographic Processors Computer technology in the sublight universe is powered by Holographic processors. After a series of mishaps and robot insurrections, the trade in new holographic processors has become tightly regulated. Pre-regulation holographic processors are sought after for their perceived “extra power”, and their the fact they can be re-sold without a permit. Several robotic platforms are built specifically around these grey-market chips. However, most of the trade is between speculators and collectors. Even non-functional chips have a market value.

History

Absolute Dates Absolute time is kept in an adapted form of Julian Days. As the standards board was meeting in the late 19th century, This blog entry was made on 2022–03–12, which would be star date 2459651. If you have a handy Tcl interpreter, you can calculate star dates with the clock command:

clock format [clock scan $date] -format %J

In Excel, you can use the built in date functions. Excel uses a serial date system. Day 1 is the January 1, 1900. To convert between Sublight stardates and Excel serial dates, Subtract 2415018.5. (Julian dates are noon to noon.) Humans are lazy, and will end up shortening that. This committee met in the late 19th century, and so the nearest rollover date in the past would be Julian Day 2400000 (Tue Nov 16, 1858). The next rollover day in the future will be 2500000 (Sun Aug 31, 2132). So it’s standard practice to simply ditch the leading digits unless you are addressing dates well in the past, well into the future, or you happen to live in the years surrounding a rollover. And hope you aren’t like the people in my second book who are on a ship that leaves Earth in 2490000 (2105–04–15) and won’t get where they are going until 2510000 (2160–01–17). Civil Dates While absolute dates are great for calculators, it’s not very useful to people. No attempt is made to make metric years and months line up with Gregorian calendar years or months. They are just a way to break up absolute time into useful, user-friendly chunks. To convert a stardate into an Excel serial date: DATE=(STARDATE-2415018.5) A day is 24 hours long. A year is 364 days. The year is broken into 13 months of 28 days each. (13 * 28 = 364) The names of the months are based on the Zodiac:

To calculate your Metric year: int(floor(STARDATE/364))

This blog was posted in metric year: 6757

To calculate your Metric day of the year: int(floor(STARDATE)) % 364

This blog was posted on the day of the year: 103 To calculate your Metric month: (int(floor(STARDATE/28)) % 13)+1

This blog was posted on the month of : 4 (Cancer) or int(floor(DAY_OF_YEAR/28))+1

This blog was posted on the month of : 4 (Cancer)

To calculate the day of the month: (int(floor(STARDATE)) % 28)+1}

This blog was posted on the day of: 20 or (DAY_OR_YEAR % 28)+1

This blog was posted on the day of: 20 The days of the week are the traditional days, and the do line up with the days of the week back on Earth.

To calculate your Day of the week:

(int(STARDATE+1) % 7)+1

This blog was posted on a: 7 (Saturday)

Date Format Algorithm This algorithm is written in the Tcl programming language, and is used for the examples in the next section:

proc FORMAT_DATE {STARDATE} { set YEAR 364 ; # length of year in days set MONTH 28 ; # length of month in days set MONTH_LIST { {} Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Ophiuchus Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces } set DAYS_OF_WEEK {{} Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday}

set year [expr {int(floor($STARDATE/$YEAR))}] set monthidx [expr {(int(floor($STARDATE/$MONTH)) % 13)+1}] set month [lindex $MONTH_LIST $monthidx] set dayweek [expr {(int($STARDATE+1) % 7)+1}] set dayofweek [lindex $DAYS_OF_WEEK $dayweek] set dom [expr {(int(floor($STARDATE)) % $MONTH)+1}] return “$dayofweek, $month $dom, $year” }

Example dates

NOTE: All of the calculations for metric time use the full star date (2459317 VS 59317). You will get very different answers because 2400000 is not divisible by 364. Aries was chosen as the first month to line the calendar up with the zero axis of the plane of the ecliptic. Which was placed there because Aries also happens to be the sign of the Vernal equinox, which is where certain traditions in the Mediterranean/Near East started the astronomical/astrological year. Calendar Because every month is the same length, and every day of the year happens on the same day of the week. Each month is exactly 28 days. Every month starts on a Sunday, and ends on a Saturday.

History Historical Technology Timeline This timeline was updated since it was first published. The original is Here. The revisions are to support some of the plot in the Prequel for Iliad 07, currently code named “Project Gilgamesh”.

2369910 - 2370870 (July 1776 - Feb. 1779) - American Revolution 13 Colonies declare their independence from Britain. The Federation of American States and formed.

2370350 (September 11, 1777) - Battle of Brandywine General George Washington shot by British sniper Patrick Ferguson. Sublight timeline slits from our own.

2386000 (1810) - Rocket theory William Moore develops and publishes the mathematical foundation for Rocket theory.

2389600 (1830) - Rockets Used in Warfare Polish deploy rocket-based artillery in the Polish-Russo war. 2395800 (1847) - Radiation Discovered Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor discovers radiation after observing uranium salts fogging film.

2385000 - 2396900 (1820 - 1850) - Wars of North American Unification Rockets developed into tactical and strategic weapons during the brutal conflict of the Wars of North American Unification. The last major war fought before the development of Tegic. 2396900 (1850) - Radium Discovered 1860 - First man in Orbit 1862 - Radium Isolated 1863 - Radioactive Isotopes Discovered 1865- First Moon Mission France, headed by the Mage Jules Verne, lands the first man on the Moon. 1875- First Moon Colony 1880 - Neutron Discovered 1885 - Main Cycle of Nuclear Fusion Humanity develops a theoretical model of how energy is produced in the Sun. 1886 - Energy Release from Nuclear Decay 1890 - Plutonium Discovered 1895 - Nuclear Naval Reactors 1897 - Commercial Nuclear Reactors 1898 - First Nuclear Bombs 1907 - Outbreak of The Great War 1917 - Krasnovian Revolution Colonies, seemingly abandoned by the warring powers on Earth, declare independence. 1918 - End of The Great War / Beginning of the Cataclysm 1921 - The Grimaldi Crater Incident Krasnovia conquers the final holdings of the American Federation. Last major conquest of the Krasnovian domination of the Moon. Comes at the price of heavy civilian casualties, with atrocities on both sides. 1921 - Lunar Proclimation Krasnovia asserts political and military control over the entire surface of the Moon. 1934–1945 - Terran wars to control Uranium reserves 1934 - Psyche Shipyards Syndicate formed Begin constructing mining colony/foundry on the minor planet Psyche. Major funding provided by Japanse/Irish conglomerates on Earth. 1940 - First Hydrogen Bomb 1952 - Fusion Engines ISTO scientists develop fusion engines, opening asteroid belt to colonization. 1953 - Krasnovia begins colonizing the moons of Jupiter 1955 - ISTO Formed. European Coalition and American Federation form a unified space agency: the International Space Treaty Organization (ISTO), as a direct answer to the Lunar Proclimation. 1960 - First Commercial Fusion Plant 1962 - Psyche Colony ISTO establishes colony on Psyche, using leased space from Psyche Shipyards. 1964 - Ceres Colony ISTO establishes colony on Ceres. 1966 - The Solar War ISTOs core fleet is destroyed by a surprise attack. Krasnovia attempts to launch invasion force from Luna to take over ISTO interests in the newly founded Psyche asteroid. The Battle exposed the difficulty of massive fleet actions over massive distances. At the conclusion of the war, both sides signed the Treat of Reykjavík. The treaty spelled out the claims of the Circle-Trigon, ISTO, and Krasnovia. Planets were neutral territory. Satellites of Planets were the subject of Krasnovia. Bodies inside the orbit of Mars where considered Circle-Trigon territory. All other bodies were considered territory of ISTO. The treaty also specified a limit to the number of ships for each Navy. It did not, however, limit the gross tonnage of the largest class. 1968 - Project Gilgamesh ISTO develops the Gilgamesh class vessel to open up bodies in the Oort cloud for harvest. Built on the same propulsion system as their mega-carriers. The ships were designed as mobile self-contained colony habitat. With the ultimate goal to determine the feasibility of a generation vessel to travel to other start systems. 1971 - Krasnovia begins colonizing the moons of Saturn 1966–1978 - The Planetoid Rush Corporations and other independent parties leveral commercial fusion propulsion to explode human settlements around the asteroid belt, exploiting the vacuum created by the two superpowers destroying each other’s fleets. 1979 - The Mercury Incursion Krasnovia (with its newly rebuilt fleet) invades the shipping hub of Mercury, then a Circle Trigon stronghold. They clamp down on “Dark Tegic” research being conducted there. The Circle-Trigon formed a temporary alliance with ISTO to drive them out. 1980–2000 - ISTO Consolidation Colonies recognizing the risk that a newly organized Krasnovia posed, began to form a central government with a unified defense network. Project Gilgamesh vessels are re-tasked to provide logistical support for smaller belt settlements. 1996 - G-Drive invented Krasnovian Scientists perfect the G-Drive. Allowing vessels to undergo constant acceleration. Technical difficulties make propelling any vessel larger than a frigate cost prohibitive. The G-frigates are later adapted into stealth attack and reconnaissance platforms. 2001 - Graf Zeppelin Incident A Kraznovian Frigate, “Graf Zeppelin”, collides with an ISTO transport, the Hakudo Maru, after a series of threatening (and highly unprofessional) manuevers. The crew of the Zeppelin died nearly instantly, with the ship itself ending up embedded in the side of the Hakudo Maru. The Hakudo Maru returned to port. The Graf Zeppelin was eventually returned to Krasnovia. In shipping crates. ISTO reverse engineered their own G-Drive from the wreckage. 2002 - Krasnovia Expands to Outer Solar System Krasnovia begins dispatching large scale mining missions to the outer solar System (Neptune and Uranus). 2006 - Siege of Ceres Krasnovians utilizing G-Drive technology attempt to blockade Ceres, following a reclassification of the asteroid as a “Minor Planet” by the IAU. The blockade ultimately failed, but the dispute did open up the colonization of Pluto. During the Ceres Blockade, Krasnovia occupied the asteroid Eros and the Settlement of Yisned to function as a forward operating base. Summer Walters, daughter of Hugh Walters, switched from a career as a folk singer to writing protest songs. 2016–2035 - Krasnovian Mission to Alpha Centauri Krasnovian vessel “Jormungand” departs Luna for Proxima Centauri. 2020–2041 - Iliad Block 1 Missions ISTO races to catch up to Krasnovia by combining the technologies of Project Gilgamesh with advances in the G-drive. The first Einstein class vessels demonstrate the feasibility of travelling between Alpha Centauri and Sol. 2030–2075 - Iliad Block 2 Missions Krasnovia declares that any ISTO settlements on outside the Solar systems will be subject to invasion. ISTO concludes that Krasnovian technology limits their range to 10 light years. A class of vessel are built that can travel beyond that range. 2056 - Block-2 Download Data from of Block 2 mission starts streaming from remote missions. Lessons learned are captured. Need for a redesign recognized. Block-3 design phase begins. 2060 - Block-3 Design Finalized Designs for block 3 finalized. Long lead construction items ordered. Shipyard construction begins. It is realized that return trips are not practical for long distance missions. A new class of vessel is designed for a one-way trip to colonize remote star systems. 2065 - Iliad-06 - Construction Begins Construction started for Iliad-06 (Isaac Asimov) at Psyche. 2069 - Iliad-07 - Construction Begins Core structure for Iliad-06 completed, hull moved from graving dock. Construction started for Iliad-07 (Arthur Charles Clarke). 2072 - Iliad-07 - Builder’s Trials Core structure for Iliad-07 completed, hull moved from graving dock. Construction started for Iliad-08 (Robert Anson Heinlein). Start of builder’s trials for Iliad-07. Crew recruitment drive begins for Iliad-07. 2074 - Iliad-07 - Delivery Completion of builder’s trials. Hull delivered to Ceres colony. Crew training begins. Iliad-07 takes on livestock and crops. Biosphere established. 2076–2079 - Iliad-07 - Fueling Mission Iliad-07 travels to the outer solar system for a shakedown cruise. Mission is to gather fuel for its own mission, plus a bit extra to help defray the cost of construction. 2080 - Iliad-07 - Departs for 18 Scorpii Mission Year Zero (MYZ) for Iliad-07. Final crew transfers. Vessel departs Ceres colony for mission to 18 Scorpii.

The Sublight Universe occurs in a parallel reality to our own. Their history diverges from ours starting on the date: September 11, 1777. On that day the sniper Ferguson decided in our world not to gun down General George Washington at the battle of Brandywine. In their reality he took the shot, and gunned him down. The cascade of cause and effect rippled throughout the late 18th and 19th century to cause their world to look very different from our own. The chief difference is that in their world, nuclear radiation was discovered in the middle of the 19th century. The explanations at the time bordered on the occult. Their developing of “Tegic” involved a blending of the arcane with natural philosophy. For them Quantum mechanics was less of a head scratching conundrum, and more of “just another school of magic.” Cultural Differences The Industrial revolution happened vey differently in the Sublight universe. Nuclear power developed at the same time as steam technology. Thorium/Uranium /Plutonium powered engines were built along side of coal burning engines. Automobiles and Airplanes are just novelties Many of the German scientists who, in our world, developed the internal combustion engine, either died during the Franco-Prussian war, or were drafted into Bismark’s wonder weapons program. Thus the Otto Cycle Engine wasn’t developed in their world until the 1930s. While other schemes for internal combustion engines did exist, they were never as efficient nor commercially viable. Single person vehicles did later develop, powered by either steam or electricity. The steam vehicles were far too dangerous and expensive for everyday people to afford. The electric vehicles were safe and cheap, but only really useful for short trips. In either case, critical engine technology was not in place for either Henry Ford or the Wright brothers. (They would leave their mark on Tegic in other ways, though.) Plastic is expensive The culture in Sublight moved from coal burning and water-wheel technology almost directly to nuclear power. Oil was discovered, but never seriously considered as an energy source. Oil was later developed as a source for volatile alchemical reagents, known as Quintessence. In our world, oil was developed chiefly as an energy source. In the sublight world nuclear power provided the enormous amounts of energy instead. Because a little Quintessence goes a long way, oil was never exploited to the extent that it was in our world. Because cheap oil never happened, cheap plastic also never happened. Magical effects and genetic engineering are used to tweak the sources of natural materials into producing textiles with exotic properties. “Science” means something else What we refer to as science in the world of Sublight is called “Natural Philosophy”. And it is generally regarded as a regressive way of thinking. Most of the major advances in the societies of Sublight were from researchers dabbling in the occult. The idea of restricting human knowledge to what can be reproduced in an experiment is considered a form of psychosis. Sanity is overrated Magic was developed by a lot of troubled artists. The insights into the world beyond tended to make their ability to speak rationally to ordinary humans difficult. Mages above a certain level are assumed to have at least some touch of madness. Cultures tend to ignore simply aberrant behavior, and instead focus on treating conditions that could genuinely lead to harming oneself or others. One’s vocation is simply a means to an end The Industrial revolution largely failed in the world of Sublight. The only places where industrialization took root tend to be places largely devoid of Magic. (Particularly Krasnovia.) Cultured societies recognize that the output of one mage or a skilled operator of technology can do the work of thousands. Productivity happens in bursts, however. Magic users power tends to wax and wane with cosmic cycles. Food production requires waiting for plants to grow, or livestock to fatten. Thus, idle time is cherished as an important productive tool. Specialists and artisens have skills that require years of non-productive practice to hone. In Magical cultures, idle time is considered the buildup for when one is productive. Where a job is time critical, they will bring on a large enough team that the work can be divided without burning through employees. Every space culture employs some sort of Socialism. Food, medical care, education, and housing are provided. This is driven largely by the economics of space. Berthing needs to be factored into the design of a space craft. All of the food for a journey has to be purchased before the ship leaves port. The cost of having a single doctor aboard far exceeds what a space could pay in a fee-for-service scheme. Untrained crew members are a hazard to themselves and the entire ship’s company. Not to mention that even non-life threatening screw ups can cost the ship’s operator millions of credits. The exact social mechanisms are slightly different from culture to culture in sublight. But the hungry are fed, the homeless are housed, and the sick treated. If for nothing more than the sheer expense. A social services system does cost money. An outbreak of illness or rebellion costs a hell of a lot more money. And that’s before we start factoring in catastrophic disruptions to trade caused by a ship or station being taken out of commission. ISTO is a coalition of international space programs. Everyone on board is an explorer or a colonist send by their member nations. Facilities to provide enough food and material wealth operate best on economies of scale. They tend to track utilization, simply to prevent waste, but by in large if you need something it is free for the taking. At least for commodities. Expensive items (like tools or space suits) are assigned to individuals, but largely paid for by ISTO or a contractor working under ISTO. The Circle Trigon is a mercantile culture of traders, raiders, and entertainers. Their culture is structured like a pirate ship. “Companies” of several hundred people united by a common set of resources or goals elect a captain. The “Captain” ensures the company’s income is sufficient to meet their expenses. Companies are ensured against temporary booms and busts by the Circle Trigon syndicate. If a Company is in default for too long, it gets dissolved, it’s resources liquidated, and the members distributed to other Companies. Because a lot of Circle Trigon ports are also tourist destinations, the Syndicate is very keen to ensure there are no homeless people or beggars or (worse) labor strikes. And thus they have programs for “Crew without a Company”. “Staff” cafeterias that provide food, free of charge. “Staff” lodging that provides a comfortable berth, free of charge. Rinse and repeat for hospitals and educational institutions.

Tegic

“Science” means something else What we refer to as science in the world of Sublight is called “Natural Philosophy”. And it is generally regarded as a regressive way of thinking. Most of the major advances in the societies of Sublight were from researchers dabbling in the occult. One major event that cemented in our world that Natural Philosophy triumphs over superstition occurred during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. In our universe, the superior technology of Prussian artillery allowed them to curb stomp the French army. The French Emperor was captured, and the Prussians installed a new French government at gunpoint after surrounding Paris. This new government was unpopular, and a revolution known as the Paris Commune took control of the city for several months, before being brutally cracked down by the new French government’s forces. In the Sublight universe, the Paris Commune was an inciting incident that led to the development of Tegic as a weapon of the insurgent. The techniques of the commune spread to other cities in France, and later the world. The British Empire and Prussian Empire both saw the Communist uprising as a direct threat to their attempts to dominate the world with Technology. Magic in Warfare The world began to split across idealogical lines. Industrialists on one side, Communists on the other. Industrialists tried to build ever bigger factories employing ever simpler people operating more and more complex machines. Communists favored distributing the means of production to small scale facilities run by craftsmen. However, unlike in our world, those craftsmen had magical powers that allowed their output to match in qualities that the industrialists could never match in quantity. An army equipped with precision machined weapons cranked out like sausages was no match for a small team of high-level mages employing magical artifacts. Even low level magical spells acted as force multipliers for insurgent armies. Healing spells allowed troops to survive even horrific injuries. Telekineses allowed a practitioner to tear down bridges, block roads with trees, or lob heavy things at approaching columns. Conjuration allows people to throw fire and lightning. Telepathy provided secure communications on the battlefield across fantastic distances. The Irish used insurgent tactics and magic to finally expel the British from their island. The Japanese melded French magical techniques with their own shinto beliefs to combat an Industrial takeover of their culture following the Fall of Edo in 1868. During the civil wars of the late 19th century, the two sides in the conflict in Japan began to meld together technology and magic into what Sublight denizens today know as Tegic. Steampunk in Space The Industrialists, finding only frustration and ruin in their attempts at military domination, turned to contests that they knew only the powers of capitalism could win. Namely a space race. At least a race between the Industrial powers of the day. Britain, Prussia, and Russia all battled to be the first to reach Earth’s moon. And later, they competed to built the first moon base. And then the first to properly commercially exploit the moon. In their rush to beat out the competition, many Industrialists factions ended up utilizing magic to overcome problems that technology could not solve. Teams of cosmonauts ended up employing at least a few magic users to provide first aid, communications, and telekineses. The telekineses being needed for manuvers which required precision control, like docking space craft.

Black Powder Rockets

2375700 (1792) - Mysore Rockets The Kingdom of Mysore employs a novel rocket technology against Britain’s East India Company. Captured rockets from the conflict inspire the Congreve Rocket. 2386000 (1810) - Rocket theory William Moore develops and publishes the mathematical foundation for Rocket theory. 2389600 (1830) - Rockets Used in Warfare Polish deploy rocket-based artillery in the Polish-Russo war. Liquid Fueled Rockets 2400000 (1860s) - Hypergolic propellant Experiments in Europe with Hypergolic propellants for rocket applications. 2405300 (1873) - Mass Production of Hydrogen Peroxide First industrial plant that produced hydrogen peroxide opens in Berlin. 2408000 (1880s) - Peroxide Oxidizers Experiments in Europe using oxygen released when hydrogen peroxide is exposed to a catalyst. 2408000 (1883) - Liquid Oxygen Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski liquify Oxygen for the first time. Later liquifies methane, both previously considered a “permanent gas” based on earlier experiments by Michael Faraday. 2410000 (1886) - Liquid Methane Karol Olszewski liquifies Methane for the first time.

• Great War
• Alocolox Rockets
• Methalox Rockets

2410500 (1887) - Alcolox Rockets Rockets tested using Alcohol and liquid oxygen. 2410500 (1895) - Methalox Rockets Rockets tested using liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen. Lowers cost of spaceflight to commercially sustainable levels.

• 1944 Ballistic Missiles
• First satellite
  • 1957 Sputnick-alike
  • 1962 Communications
  • 1960 First Geostationary Satellite
• 1959 First Moon Probes
• 1961 First man in orbit
• 1961 - Venera 1 - First probe to Venus
• First EVA
• 1969 Moon Landing
• 1973 Orbital Space Station

Fission Rockets Fission technology had to wait until orbital flight was perfected. Fusion Rockets Fission technology had to wait until orbital flight was perfected.

Chapter

There are five different categories of immortals in the Sublight universe, with different rules about how they can and cannot interact with the world. Their fundamental rules of magic are derived from Taoist alchemy traditions.

Literati Literarti are beings of pure thought. They spring from works of art as characters who come to life. Literati can only inhabit the world while they are contemplated by a living mind. Literati go through a process of instantiation to enter the real world. When first instantiated, they can only recall memories from inside the artwork they originate from. The can build up memories and learn new skills in the real world, but all of those memories will be lost if they in-substantiate. The ability for a Literati to influence the real world is Literati in-substantiate if they are forgotten by every living person. It is rumored that the dark ages arise from time to time because powerful Literari sought to take over the world, and the only fix was to destroy every copy of the work they instantiate from and every living person unwilling to forget them. Modern Examples: Benjamin Franklin, Ishmael, Gilgamesh, Wodan (Father Christmas), Topolino (The Tooth Fairy), Ēostre (The Easter Bunny), Gritty (Hockey Mascot for the Franklin Flyers)

Utanapishtim These are humans who have managed to cheat natural death and aging through divine intervention.

Examples: Utnapishtim, (Utnapishtim’s wife), Enoch, Elijah

8 Immortals of Taoism:

1. He Xian Gu
2. Cao Guo Jiu
3. Taiguai Li
4. Lan Caihe
5. Lu Dongbin
6. Han Xiang Zi
7. Zhang Guo Lao
8. Zhongli Quan

Factions

Politics

Krasnovia

Krasnovia Krasnovia is the product of a race by the imperial powers of late 19th century Earth (mainly Prussia, Russia, and Britain) to exploit the moon. During the Great War the colonies were cut off from home, and had to pool together their resources to survive. They cast aside their old nationalities to form their own nation: Krasnovia. They fight to keep Luna for the Lunatics. And recently have expanded out to other moon-like worlds that orbit the Gas giants. The revolution was communist in nature. Vital equipment and facilities were confiscated from whatever nation or corporation previously owned them. This lead to the flight of industrialists who bankrolled many of these colonies. And with them, anything that could be carried off. The facilities that were left behind by the Industrialists were massive, exploiting economies of scale. And Krasnovian society tends to exploit that same massive economy of scale to this day. Authoritarian Rule Krasnovia was born in a crises for survival. Scars of that event continue to this day. The power in society is strictly top-down. The ultimate power in society is held by the Führer. The Führer delegates specific authorities out to deputies, who in turn delegate authority to agencies. The agencies each operate like a military unit, with a commander who manages officers who manage the workforce. Collisions of jurisdiction are common. The process of working out who is in charge of what after nearly a century of Führer edicts requires an expert system to properly parse out. Human rights in Krasnovian society stem from a set of Führer edicts known collectively as universelle menschliche Entscheidungen. The UME establishes a basic right to recognize a problem, lodge a complaint, and have it addressed. If a problem isn’t addressed by the officer who the complaint was submitted to, the complaint continues up the chain of command, all of the way up to the Fürer if need be. In practice most complaints are answered on a low-level with “we don’t recognize” “we can’t fix” or “we won’t fix the issue”. But the complaint is kept on file, and dutifully recorded. Every so often when a superior is looking to fire someone, picking through the records for ignored complaints is quick grounds to have them demoted or defrocked for dereliction of duty. Socialist Paradise Everyone member of Krasnovian society is considered to be a soldier. Children are soldiers in training. The elderly are retired soldiers. Families with children are considered an ad-hoc squad. Engineers are engaged in a never-ending battle against malfunction. Farmers are the front-line against starvation. You get the idea. The state provides for every need. However, the needs of the upper ranks tend to be much less austere than those of the lower ranks. (Rank does tend to have its privilege, after all.) But in theory and in practice nobody goes hungry, homeless, or uneducated. Or if they do, the complaint cards start piling up at the local social services office. Kleptoculture Because the state provides for every need, it doesn’t actually recognize the concept of individual property. What results is what can only be described as Kleptoculture. On the surface Krasnovians describe it as preventing waste. But really its an elaborate systems of rules and taboos dealing with what you can steal, and from who. In the end, everything belongs to the state. Law enforcement only gets involved in extreme cases of hoarding, disruption of productivity, or if a particularly high value item disappears from the inventory of an officer of sufficient rank. Technocracy Officers in Krasnovian society tend to be promoted based on how well they impress/bribe/suck up to their superiors. As such, they tend to be rather poor at applying the finer points of law or regulation that constitute their actual job. On the other hand, they do tend to have a talent for finding interpretations of the edicts that personally benefit themselves. One of the major reforms of Rommel III was to institute the zentralisiertes Rechtsexpertensystem (ZRE), and automated system for answering legal and regulatory questions. It also manages the inventory of state property. The sheer complexity of Kransovian law and logistics demanded a near-sentient level of computing power. ZRE terminals, both portable and installed, are found throughout Krasnovia. Fraud propagated through central records is one of the few capitol crimes still on the books. Most often carried out with a Weltraumwanderung: a trip through the outer doors of an airlock without the benefit of a space suit. Crime and Punishment Populated areas of Krasnovia have corps of peace officers assigned to them. Those peace officers are responsible for handling criminal complaints and investigating disturbances, disasters, or mysterious deaths. The punishment that can be levied depends on the severity of the crime and the rank of the officer adjudicating the complaint. Questions of law, victim compensation measures, and suggested punishments are meted out by the Officer’s ZRE terminal. If an officer is too low in rank to process a crime, the ZRE automatically schedules a hearing with one of the proper rank. Appeals of the judgement of a peace officer are dealt with like any other complaint. Luna - Equatorial Regions Krasnovia has military control of the Moon and the entire Hill Sphere of the Moon. There are several breakaway republics, but even they must “contribute” to Krasnovian military “protection.” Oceanus Procellarum The major industrial area of Luna. Krasnovias principle mines, factories, and shipyards are located in this area. Several city sized settlements dot the region, connected by underground tube trains. Luna - Polar Regions The North and South Polar Regions are important for agriculture. They hold the bulk of the water-ice that is present on the moon. They are made up of a number of independent provinces, but the cultures are so similar (as are the economies) that people from either pole feel more in common with the opposite pole than they feel with “equatorials.” The Polar regions feel somewhat exploited because food pours out of their farms, and water drains from their glaciers, and their youth are conscripted for military service. In exchange the receive (what they view) as a pittence in the way of resources and and support. Efforts by TASTE to purchase water rights (by bribing the central government) were met with violence, and the promise of reforms in the Krasnovian capital. (In the form of the then Fürer stepping down.) Gletscherkappe The Northern Polar regions were originally settled by the Prussian Empire. They speak predominately German. Lethia A Polish enclave in the North, originally inhabited by political exiles. They still cling to their cultural roots from back on Earth. They are the only major settlement on Luna that has continually permitted the study of Tegic. Their Tegic learning centers have become a strategic resource of late as Krasnovia attempts to undo decades of relying solely on Technology. Nóngchǎng The Southern Polar regions were settled by the Han. The speak predominately Mandarin.

Circle Trigon

ISTO The Great War flooded Earth orbit with wreckage. That wreckage made the launch of small ships dangerous. Vessels attempting to leave the planet needed armor and shields. It wasn’t until the development of fusion power, decades later that humans from Earth again stepped into the solar system. By then all of the choice pickings of the Solar system were settled. Settling on the (then) frontier required going all of the way out to the Asteroid belt. And to survive in the asteroid belt required massive infrastructure. Too much for any single Nation or corporation to afford. Getting there required passing through hostile space, so in addition to needing shields and armor for debris, they needed armed forces and weapons to fend of pirates and the xenophobic Krasnovians.

The Internation Space Treaty Organization (ISTO) was formed as planet-wide federation to develop the outer solar system. Like the Krasnovians, they had to exploit a lot of economies of scale. Their settlements basically start on the scale of small cities. But in doing so, they often encounter all of the problems of packing a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds together in a confined space.

ISTO maintains order by enforcing an engineered “Prototype Culture”. In Protoculture, your own ethnic, religious, or cultural heritage is cherished. At home. In public everyone conforms to an engineered system of conflict mitigation/resolution strategies. ISTO culture stresses politeness. Arguments are settled with debate, games of chance, or simply agreeing to disagree over a beverage of choice. They encourage competitive sports as way to satiate our need for tribalism. At they same time, they also encourage non-competitive sports, and expressing oneself through art.

ISTO has a set of very idiosyncratic rules dealing with monopolies and attempts to consolidate power/corner markets/etc. Companies are taxed on a logarithmic scale, with the rate determined by their market share. Market share can be diluted by selling interests in the business. Thus a natural monopoly, like a power distribution company, can avoid being taxed out of existence by publicly offering shares in its profits. A lot of utilities actually act as cooperatives, where the “customers” are also “shareholders”, as those kinds of institutions are taxed and a negligible rate. Psyche Orbital Ring The Capitol of ISTO is spread across a series of orbital stations, leased from the Psyche Shipyards Syndicate. These stations are the main shipyards and maintenance facilities for the

Outcasts - Shapeshifters Classical werewolves are simply people with latent shapeshifting abilities. Unfortunately the ability is triggered by powerful emotions. When the ability is triggered uncontrollably, the person tends to go on a monstrous rampage. They are generally in a vulnerable and/or angry state to begin with. Add in a sudden and unexpected transformation, including neural rewiring, you get the recipe for disaster. (And, of course, if exposure to moonlight is somehow a factor, imagine how many more werewolves will emerge when people start living ON THE MOON.) In this scheme, the Incredible Hulk would be classified as a Lycanthrope/shapeshifter. I could also see elements of the First Nation’s myth of the Wendigo falling into this category. Individuals who have this condition are a genuine threat to the people around them. Tragically, friends and close family are often victims of violence in their rampages. So in the Sublight world, they have established a sort of Leper Colony/Asylum for Lycanthropes (and other Shapeshifters). But rather than be a sort of place where people go to rot, they are trained and mentored by other shapeshifters. I imagine that they have formed a sort of shapeshifter society. And as shapeshifters make up the bulk of the population, they have had several generations of shapeshifting children. The children of these shapeshifters learn how to control their powers at a very young age. They don’t have the traumatic origin story of the ancestors, and (unless they decide to become an animal in front of someone’s eyes) can learn to pass for “normal”. But they have the stigma of coming from the planet of Werewolves and Cannibals. Many just stay home, but you get a lot of adventurers who strike out into the Solar System. One of the core cast in my story is going to be one of these Shapeshifters. She ends up taking a billet on the Cézanne because the deep space ships are much more accepting of risk and eccentric behavior. From a purely legal standpoint, the only people who are not allowed to leave the shapeshifter planet area the people who have had a violent outburst, or who otherwise have demonstrated that they are danger to society. Their children are always free to come and go, unless they lose control of their powers. The elders, however, have a very strict policy and a long set of rites of passage to demonstrate who is disciplined enough to travel the Solar System (and to not bring shame on their culture.) As such, the Shapeshifting character is extremely polite, legalistic, and very, very cautious to stick to forms she knows and can control. She does go away for a week or two at a time to “practice”. During these times she seals herself into an area of the ship, and leaves strict instructions that none are allowed to enter. And… maybe just to add some extra spice, using her power makes her extremely horny afterwards. The process of shapeshifting runs havok with brain chemistry. Every Shapeshifter has a extreme cravings after transforming. For some it’s human flesh. Some want a chocolate bar. For her, despite being utterly uptight most of the rest of the time, it’s sex. And she is really, really, really embarrassed about it.

Encyclopedia

Groups

Etoyoc Heavy Industries Etoyoc Heavy Industries manufactures automation equipment, computers, and androids. They are the sole survivor of a long battle for corporate dominance in the automation market. A much larger competitor (HAL industries) managed to buy the next largest (American Robotics) and then imploded under the strain. Well, and the scandal that emerged when one of their expert systems killed the crew and essentially hijacked a vessel.

Etoyoc purchased up the corpses of its competition, as well as their support contracts, and has built an iron-clad monopoly. They are notorious for leasing equipment instead of offering it for sale, and for how much they bill for services. However, it is also no secret that their automation systems just plain work. They have slowly integrated the many competing product lines of their former competition into a single family of products. Granted that family tends to argue a lot with each other.

This is especially true of the millions of Expert Systems that operate around the Solar System. The more intelligent of these are actually treated as employees, complete with billable hours, benefits, and even retirement provisions.

Oddly enough, it is somewhat hard to pin down who actually owns EHI at this point in time. Shares of the companies are owned by legal entities, who are owned by other legal entities, who are owned by retirement funds. The company itself is managed and operated largely by expert systems.

Culture inside of EHI tends to stress the peculiar needs of those who work with technology. EHI has teamed with the Lethian Flying University to put together an automated platform for learning. The Expert Systems hire human contractors on-site, and provide their training through LFU. Most contractors are part-time. The most talented are sent to the company’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for specialized training and indoctrination.

Holocon A new player. They stormed on the market with telepathic augmentation technology. Seemingly overnight they have become a powerhouse in the entertainment and communication industries. They own and operate lavish space complexes, mainly to dodge legal restrictions on Earth or any of the developed areas of the Solar System. They rival Walters Industries in the development of game-changing tegic. Holocon aggressively recruits the most gifted Mages in the Solar System. They tend to offer lavish pay packages, but tend to be light on the benefits. Their stations tend to turn into Capitalistic Dystopias where the high incomes of its residents are swallowed up by inflated costs of living. Holocon culture is basically a city full of mercenaries. Relationships between employees and the corporation as strictly transactional. Individual business units have widely differing style depending on their stated mission, who is in charge, and who is in charge of the people in charge. Rewards and perks tend to be doled out to those who profit the company in the short term.

Psyche Syndicate A Japanese/Irish conglomeration who first developed the Planetoid of Psyche. ISTO’s capitol actually leases the tethers around Psyche. The planetoid itself is off limits except to the hobito, members of the cult that has a “special relationship” with the planet. Culturally they are a blend of Catholicism, Buddhism, and Shinto. Like Krasnovia, they are extremely xenophobic. However, they tolerate “invaders” in orbit because ISTO is the primary customer for their major export: a special Nickel/Iron alloy that is the ideal material for large-scale space vessel construction.

TASTE Makers of the infamous/ubiquitous TASTE packets, the standard ration served around the solar system. They own and operate massive farms in Solar orbit, packaging industries, and several lines of home goods, toys, etc.

TASTE is a family run company, who treats their employees as family. And by family we mean “if you want to live under our roof, you live by our rules, and you do your chores”. With that said, while workers aren’t paid very well in terms of money, the dormitories, health facilities, and recreation facilties are comfortable and adequate.

Long-term employees are known as “lifers”. Your length of service with the company, and increasingly your ancestors length of service, grants a certain amount of cache with fellow employees and management.

Walters Industries Still operated by the company’s founder Hugh Walters. Walters started as a private rocket firm, but has expanded into the entertainment and hospitality industry. Walters owns the Yisned resort on Eros, the Solar Broadcasting Service, and his studios are known for making family entertainment and educational content. The organization runs as a cult of personality around Walters and his family. The organization employs a staff of Imagineers to constantly push the edge of technology, culture, and entertainment. It is also rumored that they sit on top of some of the maddest of the mad tegic in the Solar System. Culture Walters Industries is run in a top-down fashion, with Walters himself at the top. Below him are the Executives who operate the major divisions. Divisions are broken into sections, each headed by a Director. Tasks are broken into “crews” each headed by a Captain. Walters long ago recognized that Tegical talent does not often track well with the ability to run large groups. A dual system of “Leaders” and “Talent” has emerged. Talent is reward based on skill, competence, and occasionally profound luck. “Leaders” are rewarded based on their ability to retain and direct the Talent. Legendary Talents work on interesting projects, often of their own interest or field of study. Legendary Leaders are put in charge of larger and larger organizations. Walters, himself, is top of the food chain of the Talent. Penny, his ex-wife and longtime partner, is the top of the food chain of the Leaders.

2370350 (September 11, 1777) - Battle of Brandywine General George Washington shot by British sniper Patrick Ferguson. 2370373 (October 4, 1777) - Battle of Germantown Nathaniel Green leads the American Army in beating the British at Germantown, and retaking Philadelphia. October 7, 1777 - Battle of Saratoga Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeat General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. This victory, combined with the actions in Germantown secure French support in the war.

2370870 - February, 1779 - Treaty of Paris With both armies defeated, and still embroiled in wars overseas, the British Empire sues for peace. 1785 - American Fissure A second Constitutional Convention to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation falls apart. The thirteen colonies break into the Federtion of American States (FAS) and Confederate States of America (CSA). 1812–1814 - War of 1812 The FAS and the British Empire go to war over trade and the impressment of Sailors. The British enlisted the CSA as an ally. The FAS invades and occupies Delaware to secure control of the Delaware Bay, after the British sail up the river and shell the Capital. 1818–1850 - Wars of American Unification Border disputes between the First Nations, FAS, CSA, French Holdings, British holding, Spanish Holdings, and newly emergent states result in a series of wars for territorial control. A collection of independent states that worked to repel European influence form, under the auspices of the Federation of American States (FAS). Rockets were developed as strategic weapons, with conventional explosive warheads. 1867 - Seward’s Folly FAS Purchases Alaska from Russia

2370350 (September 11, 1777) - Battle of Brandywine General George Washington shot by British sniper Patrick Ferguson. 2370373 (October 4, 1777) - Battle of Germantown Nathaniel Green leads the American Army in beating the British at Germantown, and retaking Philadelphia. October 7, 1777 - Battle of Saratoga Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeat General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. This victory, combined with the actions in Germantown secure French support in the war.

2370870 - February, 1779 - Treaty of Paris With both armies defeated, and still embroiled in wars overseas, the British Empire sues for peace. 1785 - American Fissure A second Constitutional Convention to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation falls apart. The thirteen colonies break into the Federtion of American States (FAS) and Confederate States of America (CSA). 1803 - Louisiana Purchase CSA Purchases Lousiana from France 1812–1814 - War of 1812 The FAS and the British Empire go to war over trade and the impressment of Sailors. The British enlisted the CSA as an ally. The FAS invades and occupies Delaware to secure control of the Delaware Bay, after the British sail up the river and shell the Capital. 1818–1850 - Wars of American Unification Border disputes between the First Nations, FAS, CSA, French Holdings, British holding, Spanish Holdings, and newly emergent states result in a series of wars for territorial control. A collection of independent states that worked to repel European influence form, under the auspices of the Federation of American States (FAS). Rockets were developed as strategic weapons, with conventional explosive warheads.

Odder products: Rainbow cannon

• later adapted into a live performance like a laser light show
• popular at rock concerts Rainbow pyrotechnics Toy line - steam punk miniatures Movie / toy props High end art supplies

Founded by the “lucky”

19th century maker of heavy equipment and military tech for the Prussian Empire. The company was founded in 1846

People

Benjamin Franklin Author, Printer, Inventer, Politician. Rose to prominence in the British Colonies. Became a reluctant revolutionary during the War. Eventually rose to be a uniting figure in the foundation of the Federation of American States. He, or someone answering to his name, has filled the role of “Vizeer” for the FAS since its inception. The Vizeer oversaw such massive projects as establishing the Postal System, the Banking System, the Health Care System, and the Public Education Service. Benjamin Franklin is still said to be alive, though he tends to work from the shadows now. How he has managed to extend his life by centuries is a matter of debate, as is whether the Benjamin Franklin we encounter today the same individual who existed in the late 18th century. He has also been spotted around the ISTO capitol above Psyche.

Grace Murray Born in the New England region of the Federation of American States. A brilliant mathematician and divinest, she worked for several syndicates in the Circle Trigon as a contractor. When the FAS joined ISTO, Grace returned to her homeland to assist with their space program. She is credited with building most of the Expert Systems at the heart of most ISTO space platforms and starships. Grace died in 1992, and despite having access to life extension tegic, chose a natural death. Though rumors persist that between ISTO and her former Employers, efforts have been made in the years since to reincarnate her.

Henry Germantown A recurring joke in the Sublight universe is the popularity of a Folk musician Henry Germantown. His story is largely (inspired by|stolen from) the like and career of John Denver. Part of the joke will be that the songs have been adapted to life in space. John wrote an awful lot of songs about Cowboys. I’m just taking that same frontier concept and applying it to Spacers. (Which has roughly the same meter). The general rules I use is to rewrite any references to dawn or sunset (spacers don’t have those) and remove any references to airplanes (that technology never really took off.) Also, as the state of West Virginia and Colorado never existed, I did have to adapt those a bit. And where the songs talk about mountains I try to fit asteroids or some other astronomical body/scenic item around the solar system. References to farms and normal human society (aside from using the sun to track time) are perfectly allowable.

John Denver also had a bit of spiritual and at times Science-Fantasy bend to some songs. Many also simply talk about the human condition, and don’t really have cultural references that don’t need to be adapted:

Hugh Walters Hugh Walters began as an industrialist in the 1930s. His company pioneered many innovations in the art of rocketry. During the 1950s he perfected the fusion engine, and made a lavish fortune licensing the designs to anyone with a purse to jingle. The resort of Yisned started when the the aging Walters overstayed his welcome at the Spacer’s Inn, on Eros. He purchased the hotel, and then started buying up most of the downtown. He later bought the entire space station, and started reshaping it into a family friendly entertainment venue. Mainly to deflect from charges in the court of public opinion that he was a Merchant of Death, after Krasnovia and ISTO engaged in a bloody and pointless war using his fusion engines. Walters is a Necromancer and a Liche. He hides his decaying body behind makeup and illusion magic. He has a specially bred life form that he liquifies and refines to produces life-sustaining quintessence. They look like cute fuzzballs, but they are very aggressive when handled. He has worked them into several exhibits around the Yisned resort, including several race tracks for them, and a fighting ring. (He gets around animal cruelty accusations by pointing out, these are artificial life forms. Not actually animals.) This helps mask why he has so many on hand, and provides a ready excuse for why a continuing supply needs to be bred.

Wife of business tycoon and mage, Hugh Walters. She is an accomplished mage herself, though her talents are clearly more in the “people skills” realm.

Vessels

Early Spaceflight Early spaceflight was accomplished with chemical rockets, augmented with Tegic. The most common fuel was liquified methane/liquified oxygen. Methane could be obtained easily from natural gas deposits. Liquid Oxygen pulled from the atmosphere. Other popular fuels include Alcohol, as well as a panoply of hypergolic cocktails for when fuel needed to be kept shelf-stable for long periods.

Events

American Revolution

Locations

Psyche

Psyche was first settled by the Imperial Nihon in SY 6635. The initial colony ships were built by the Circle Trigon facilities on Cruithne, and were powered by FUSW drives. Initial sorties to the planet focused on scouring the exposed core of the planetoid for precious metals. With the advent of fusion power, industry began focusing on refining high-nickel steel. Psyche was one of the founding members of the International Space Treaty Organization (as was it’s parent nation, Nihon.) The name Psyche is actually a transliteration from Japanese to English. To the Nihon, the planet was known as 鉄の世界 (Tetsu no sekai), or “World of Iron.” Legend says the name “World of Iron” was a coined after initial survey teams blunted countless drill bits attempting to find deposits of gold and platinum. Psyche is still claimed as the private property of the 鉄の人々(Tetsu no hitobito / “People of Iron”). The Hitobito are a culture that worships the planet, and rumors say, spirits who inhabit it. To this day, all mining activity is performed by the Hitobito, and outsiders are forbidden from the planet. The output rate for the year is decided by the spiritual leader of the Hitobito, the 神主 (Kannushi). It is said the Kannushi develops his plan on consultation with the spirits, though in practice the Kannushi’s office also employs a fair number of geologists and engineers. ISTO Stations When ISTO placed its capital on Psyche, the main stipulation was that all ISTO settlements and facilities had to be placed in orbit above the planet. As Psyche has a rather small natural gravity, maintaining a tight formation of space stations would have required a prodigious amount of fuel. Instead, a system of tethers and space elevators was devised. New stations are constantly under construction. New stations are placed along the planet’s equator, in a mathematical pattern known as the Golden Angle. Project Perseus The first 5 stations were constructed under Project Perseus. Each began as a hollow cylinder, 640 meters in diameter. The cylinders are constructed in 330 meter lengths, with no more than 4 segments welded end to end. The skin of the cylinder is a box-girder style of construction, with 8 levels. The outermost level is a water tank, which doubles as the station’s radiation shield. The center level is known as the Municipal level, because human habitation is concentrated there. The remaining levels are farms and factories. The hollow center of the cylinder acts as a spaceport. The spaceport complex extends out to the anchor with the planet. Mega-vessels have to dock out on the anchor mooring, which introduces logistical problems of portaging cargo across micro-gravity. Project Gilgamesh Stations 6 through 10 were built as part of project Gilgamesh. They were specifically designed to handle the construction and yard maintenance of ISTO’s fleet of 12 Carr class battle platforms, as well as the 12 Hokusai class logistics platforms. Aside from the increased outer diameter, the design concept fo the Gilgamesh stations still followed along the same lines as the Perseus stations. The project Gilgamesh design was also used to construct settlements on the other massive asteroids of Pallas and Vesta. Both of which also use the same system of tethers and space elevators as Psyche.

Project Iliad Project Iliad was a set of requirements for vessels capable of interstellar flight. Project Iliad ships where massive to support large populations capable of living in isolation for up to a century. Like project Gilgamesh stations, Project Iliad stations were basically just Project Perseus stations with a larger outer diameter.

New Franklin New Franklin was the first project Perseus station built. It was initially planned with 2 segments. A third was added during construction, after it was determined that the concept of adding segments to a working station was deemed unfeasible. The other stations of project Perseus were constructed with 2 segments. New Franklin is named after Franklin, D.C., the Capitol of the Federation of American States. New Franklin serves as the Capitol city of the ISTO, and thus requires a bit more floor space than most devoted to public greens, monuments, and museums. New Frankin is also home to the ISTO Spacey Academy, as well as the central civilian academic complex now known as ISTO Musaversity.

Esoterica

AUNTIE MAE An acronym for The Ministry of Auditing and Enforcement, the regulations and enforcement arm of the Association Utility of Novel Technology and Intelligent Ethics. A professional organization that regulates the use of Tegic.

Babel Fish From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Babel fish is small, yellow, leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy received not from its own carrier, but from those around it. It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. It then excretes into the mind of its carrier a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain which has supplied them. The practical upshot of all this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language. The speech patterns you actually hear decode the brainwave matrix which has been fed into your mind by your Babel fish. "Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that something so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God. "The argument goes something like this: ‘I refuse to prove that I exist,’ says God, ‘for proof denies faith, and without faith, I am nothing.’ ‘But, says Man, the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.’ ‘Oh dear,’ says God, ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ and vanishes in a puff of logic. ‘Oh, that was easy,’ says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing. "Most leading theologians claim that this argument is a load of dingo’s kidneys, but that didn’t stop Oolon Colluphid from making a small fortune when he used it as the theme of his best-selling book, Well That About Wraps It Up For God. “Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.”

Elfhame The plane of reality where Fey come from. Elfhame is a human term for “where elves come from”. No actual Fey will speak the sacred name on the Material Plane. Something about true names and whatnot. Elfhame can be accessed on the Material plan through Ruler style magic.

Visiting Elfhame The human mind cannot actually comprehend what they are experiencing if they enter Elfhame. And Fey that visit the Material Plane are always tight lipped about it. Even telepathy leads to muddled images because its entire mode of operation is completely alien to a living being. Living beings that visit Elfhame return Insane. By the time they are coherent enough to recall the experience, their recollections are tainted by rationalizations, unconscious biases, and cultural tropes. It’s also not unheard of for the Fey to use memory erasing spells on living creatures who are on their way back to the material plane. Theorist note that life in that realm of magic is largely under the influence of Rejas (ego) and Sattva (divinity) and is largely innured against the effects of Sattva (divinity). Intelligent life would have an entirely different biology and psychology, largely built around concepts of formlessness and eternity. What Fey to make it to the Material plane seem to struggle with the concept of respecting others, non-retribution, and finding ways to de-escalate conflict. Reading between the lines of what little the Fey leak about matters in Elfhame, the entire places seems to be run on drama. Whether drama is a currency there, a unique form of mana, a mistranslation, or some sort of cultural token is unknown.

Enchanted Condition An Enchanted character is under the influence of another person or an outside force. They have a -2 penalty on all opposed checks vs. the entity that is enchanting them. They remain enchanted until they make a successful opposed test against the being enchanting it.

Legal Implications Enchanting a character can be good, or can be evil. It really depends on the motive. AUNTIE MAE can has forensic tests that detect most Tegic effects that induce enchantment. If it can be proven that a contract was signed, or property was exchanged, or services were performed under the effect of enchantment that will be prosecuted as fraud in most jurisdictions. However most cases of enchantment go unreported or unprosecuted because they involve petty crimes. There are plenty of cases of mundane fraud and intimidation, enchanters who use their skills for crime are just considered another form of con artist.

Energon Energon is an artificial form of quintessence used by constructs and recovering undead. It is a byproduct of fusion power. It can be produced from any source of electricity, but the conversion rate is terrible. 1 fortune point requires 1.21 gigawatts of power.

Enthralled Condition An Enthralled character is under the direct control of another person or an outside force. This condition lasts until the effect that caused it is dispelled. Enthralled beings automatically fail all opposed tests with their master. They will follow any order given by their master, regardless of past alignments or personal convictions, even unto death.

Legal Implications Actions taken by a Thrall (regardless of intelligence or degree of independence) are the legal responsibility of the being it is serving. AUNTIE MAE has forensic tests that detect most Tegic effects that induce thralldom. Enthralling a sentient being is a de facto evil act. Enthralling a non-intelligent computer, robot, or supernatural being is a regular part of life. There is a fuzzy line in between where things get to be too smart (or at least too independently minded) to be ethically enthralled. If you find yourself on the wrong side of that line, you will be pleading your case in front of an Auditor. So, just keep your servants simple.

Fairy See: Fey

Fey Form of Life A supernatural entity from Elfhame manifold of reality. They range in power and intelligence, as do vistors from other realms. Humans who glimpse at a Fey can’t comprehend their actual form. Human perception ends up rationalize their existence as something else, usually an animal. Fey encountered in the wild are very guarded about their purpose for being on the Material Plane. But they are always up to something. Fey have an affinity for the Ruler style of magic, and struggle with others. Fey use fairy rings, hawthorns (sacred trees), or pools of water as their gateway between the Material Plane and Elfhame.

Low Level Low level Fey appear as insects, rodents, or birds. They can only remain in the material plane for a few hours at most.

Medium Level Medium level Fey appear is tiny humans (winged or otherwise), foxes, cats, or dogs. They can remain in the material plane for a year and a day.

High Level The most powerful and intelligent Fey can take on human form. Some can even use their powers to take on the appearance of a person familiar to a human. They can also appear as part-human, part-animal. When holding human form for long periods of time, they occasionally slip and show pointy ears, or insect-like wings.

Interacting with Fey in the Material Plane Fey are creatures of Ego and Chaos, with powerful enchantment abilities. They are skilled at manipulating perception and altering memory. When bargaining, they tend to make very one-sided deals if unchallenged. It is actually considered rude not to haggle and argue with a Fey.

Faustian Bargains Certain Fey will try to bargain for your soul. No, they can’t actually control what happens to you in the afterlife. What they are doing is installing an enchantment to siphon fortune from you. Any miracles they claim to perform, or wishes they grant are actually paid for using your own magic. The Fey is taking a significant cut off the top, and shortening your life in the process. Contact AUNTIE MAE if you or someone you know has been taken advantage of in this manner. Help is available.

Fiend See: Infernal

Fortune Tegic Mechanic In times past, combat was considered the primary element of survival. Characters would receive actual blows, and it would take several to strike a man down. Those that could withstand the most blows were considered to be made of sterner stuff. Thus the archaic term Hit Points. Today, with guns, direct damage spells, failures of complex life support apparatus, and supernatural beings who can smite with a thought we have recognized that survival is about luck. Characters can draw on Mana or Quintessence for fortune. The two forms of energy are considered interchangeable. Living creatures generally use Mana. Construct and Undead creatures generally use Quintessence. Necromancers use both.

Mana For the living, luck comes “like mana from heaven.” Thus the term: Mana. Mana is replenished in tiny but constant amounts when a being is resting.

Quintessence For many mages their needs for magical power outstrips what mana they could collect naturally. Necromancers have devised ways to extract the mana from life forms, concentrate it, and store it for ready use. Some collection practices are somewhat benign and sustainable. (Akin to tapping a maple tree for syrup.) Others are a bit more violent, if not viceral. (See: Illithid, Shemyaza, Vampire, and Wendigo). Constructs are powered by

G*d See: Mel

Guild, The See: AUNTIE MAE

गुण (Guna) Objective reality is actually the cross-roads for three mutually exclusive modes of existence. These modes “flavor” all matter in various concentrations. The current descriptions of these concepts, the गुण (Guna) have been assembled from the work of Hindu and Sikh scholars, as documented in the Bhagavad Gita. According to them the three Guna are:

• सत्त्व (Sattva) - the quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, universalizing, holistic, constructive, creative, building, positive attitude, luminous, serenity, being-ness, peaceful, virtuous.
• रजस् (Rejas) - the quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, self-centeredness, egoistic, individualizing, driven, moving, dynamic.
• तमस् (Tamas) - the quality of of imbalance, disorder, chaos, anxiety, impure, destructive, delusion, negative, dull or inactive, apathy, inertia or lethargy, violent, vicious, ignorant,

Illithid Illithid (also known as Mind Flayers) are a form of the Undead. They are created when an Infernal is cut off from R’lyeh or when a high level Artist mage takes on unnatural life. Vampires must maintain their fortune by extracting Quintessence from the living. Their preferred form is Cyan quintessence, drawn from the Sahasrara chakra, which is located in the brain stem. They can extract small amounts from massaging the skull. But to draw large amounts they must pierce the skull and tear through the brain.

Infernal Form of Life A supernatural entity from R’lyeh manifold of reality. They range in power and intelligence, as do vistors from other realms. Simple infernals exist inside complex machines, and are content to pump out repetitive tasks. Sentient celestials take human-like forms (reptiloids, cephalopods, insectoids) and conduct business on the Material plane with motives the human mind can only speculate about. They have a natural affinity for Artist style magic, and struggle with others.

Insane Condition A condition of a character, usually caused by a spell effect. While insane, you can’t take actions, can’t understand what other creatures say, can’t read, and speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.

MAterial Plane The Universe as we know it, and which can be observed through the senses. As wells as a horde of other interpretations that seem to constantly be bumping up against ours, because of the shenanigans of high level mages. (Or more often, low level mages who are playing with a master’s toys.) I mean, we could try to describe the entire Universe here, but this is a pocket guide. Get out and see it for yourself people!

Mana For the living, luck comes “like mana from heaven.” Thus the term: Mana. Mana is replenished in tiny but constant amounts when a living being is resting.

Mel In Shmim all intelligent life is actually a single intelligent super being. A giant divine ego who can only be described as ineffable. He/She/It has gone by many names. For the purpose of this text, we will refer to Him/her/it as Mel. Celestials in the Material Plane are manifestations of Mel that take on independent agency. Mel means well, but he/she/it really doesn’t understand imperfection. His/her/its manifold of reality is basically shielded from chaos. Apparently Mel has a plan for humanity. But it basically consists of humans acting just like him, and re-creating Shmim on the Material Plane. Which sounds like heaven, but basically amounts to eliminating everything about humans that makes us … human. The plan also suffers from the tiny flaw that every one of his plans seems to evaporate on contact with reality.

Controversy Mel has been implicated in several attempts to wipe out humanity. He is suspected in the extinction of several sentient life forms who existed in ages past. Whether these extinctions were actually Mel’s will, or a misinterpretation of his plan on the part of corrupted subordinates is, shall we say, a mystery. On the other hand, Mel has also been seen as a guiding force of humanity on the path towards civilization. The invention of writing required several inexplicable coincidences that can best be put as divine inspiration. Cults surrounding his worship promoted the first food safety regulations. They also introduced human rights as a concept, not to mention laws. The deeply spiritual who have interacted with Mel all walk away with a profound desire to bring peace, order, and dignity for all mankind to the world.

Avatars Every so often Mel attempts to exist as a human being. His reasons for doing so are ineffible. Every culture has their own telling of when Mel came to visit them. They unfortunately end as often as they do not with Mel being nailed to a tree or burned at the stake. He seems to be very, very averse to people getting anything from him in writing while he is Avatar form. Especially given the number of times different cults have gone to war over how to interpret Mel’s teachings.

Mind Flayer See: Illithid

Quintessence For many mages their needs for magical power outstrips what mana they could collect naturally. Necromancers have devised ways to extract mana from life forms, concentrate it, and store it for ready use. Some collection practices are somewhat benign and sustainable. (Akin to tapping a maple tree for syrup.) Others are a bit more violent, if not viceral:

• Vampire access the Vishuddha chakra by piercing his victim’s corotid artery
• Illithids access the Sahasrara chakra through a victim’s skull and brain stem.
• Shemyaza access the Manipura chakra through the victims genitals or through the abdomen.

R’lyeh The plane of reality where Infernals come from. The actual name can’t be represented as a sound, as the plane of R’lyeh has no concept of time. R’lyeh is echo of the thought form one experiences after having the concept telepathically beamed into ones’ head. It can be accessed from the Material Plane through Artist style magic.

Visiting R’lyeh The human mind cannot actually comprehend what they are experiencing if they enter R’lyeh. And Infernals that visit the Material Plane run into language trouble trying to explain it. Even telepathy leads to muddled images because its entire mode of operation is completely alien to a living being. Living beings that visit R’lyeh return Insane. By the time they are coherent enough to recall the experience, their recollections are tainted by rationalizations, unconscious biases, and cultural tropes. Theorist note that life in that realm of magic is largely under the influence of Sattva (divinity) and Tamas (chaos) and is largely innured against the effects of Rejas (ego). Intelligent life would have an entirely different biology and psychology, largely built around concepts of formlessness and eternity. What infernals to make it to the Material plane seem to struggle with the concept of identity, propriety, and the idea that death of an individual is bad.

Unconscious Condition An Unconscious character is unaware of their surroundings or the passage of time. The character falls Prone and is helpless, unable to take any actions.

Undead Condition The undead are animated corpses, skeletons, or artifacts that are powered by quintessence instead normal life processes. They cannot be Injured, Wounded, or Dying. They have a quintessence total that is used like fortune. They are destroyed (i.e. collapse into a pile of inanimate matter) if their quintessence level reaches zero. Many have ways of draining fortune from living beings and converting that into quintessence.

Getting Help! If you find yourself Undead, help is available! Through modern therapy and advances in necromancy, it is possible for the Undead to live a normal and productive life. Every community center in the Solar System has a clinic for the “mana challenged.” Know the signs:

• Unproductive sleep
• Food and drink don’t satisfy
• Wounds simply won’t heal
• Profound urges to commit extract that sweet, sweet nectar from the meatbags around you

A maintenance dose of quintessence will help you overcome the harmful urges, and restore your lost health. Free, confidential help is available. You just have to ask. Look for the “Friends of Vlad D.” signs at every space port for meeting places or local contacts.

Characters Undeath is considered a medical condition in our modern era, but is still carries a social stigma. Undead characters generally try to hide their condition. The Undead are utterly addicted to quintessence. If they start to run out they will behave like a starving animal. An undead character on the brink of completely running out will lie, cheat, steal to secure pharmaceutical quintessence. They may even violently draw quintessence out of anyone who happens to be near. Once they feed, they return to their normal selves.

Shemyaza Shemyaza are a form of Undead. They are created when a Celestial is cut off from Shmim, or when a high level Custodian mage takes on unnatural life. They are also known in some cultures as Incubi or Succubi. Shemyaza must maintain their fortune by extracting Quintessence from the living. Their preferred form is Yellow quintessence, drawn from the Manipura chakra, located in the abdomen. When merely hungry Shemyaza are known to extract Mana through sexual acts on Enchanted or Unconscious victims of either sex. In extreme deprivation, they have been known to violently access the chakra by tearing through the naval, anus, or genitals of a victim.

Shmim The plane of existence from which Celestials come from. It is accessed from the Material Plane through the use of Custodian Tegic. The word form Shmim comes to us from ancient Semetic texts. And despite constant corrections from the vistors from the realm, it seems that humans can never actually pronounce it correctly.

Visting Shmim The human mind cannot actually comprehend what they are experiencing if they enter Shmim. And Celestials that visit the Material Plane run into language trouble trying to explain it. Even telepathy leads to muddled images because its entire mode of operation is completely alien to a living being. Living beings that visit Shmim return Insane. By the time they are coherent enough to recall the experience, their recollections are tainted by rationalizations, unconscious biases, and cultural tropes. Theorist note that life in that realm of magic is largely under the influence of Rejas (ego) and Sattva (divinity) and is largely innured against the effects of Tamas (chaos). Intelligent life would have an entirely different biology and psychology, largely built around concepts of divine perfection. What celestials to make it to the Material plane seem to struggle with dirt, imperfection, and beings that are obstinate.

Vampire Vampires are a form of the Undead. They are created when a Fey is cut off from Elfhame, or when a high level Ruler mage takes on unnatural life. Vampires must maintain their fortune by extracting Quintessence from the living. Their preferred form is Magenta quintessence, drawn from the Vishuddha chakra, which is located in the throat. They can extract small amounts from a kiss. But to draw large amounts they must pierce the throat, usually with fangs. The blood they are associated with in folklore is generally a sloppy feeding by a Vampire who was starving and not too particular about avoiding the carotid artery.

Wendigo Wendigos (a.k.a. lycanthropes, werewolves, wererats) are living individuals who suffer from a spontaneous and completely uncontrolled form of shape shifting. Changing form requires a tremendous amount of fortune, which puts them into a mana deficit. If they were undead, they would simply fall apart. But because they are alive, they enter into a beast-like survival state of mind. In this state, they crave quintessence like the Undead. Many engage in acts of cannibalism to satisfy these urges, as humans are the most mana-rich life forms on the Material Plane. In times past the timing of these episodes is hard to predict. Wendigo were either killed outright, commited suicide, or were banished to “Shapeshifter Colonies”. In the modern age, a timely dose of pharmaceutical quintessence is enough to eliminate the destructive urges, and allow an individual to be cognizant even in their altered state. Most police and emergency medical kits have quintessence injectors which can be administered as a ranged attack, or touch. Known sufferers learn to recognize the signs, and administer their medication either before or during the transformation. While in a transformed state wendigo take on some of the attributes that one sees in the undead. They are seemingly immune to injury. Silver seems to disrupt the mechanism that allows the wendigo metabolism to operate in a state of mana-debt. Trace amounts of silver (from silver plated weapons or colloidal silver injected into the blood) will poison a wendigo. With a high enough dose they will die, but only if they are in a state of mana deficit.

Dying Advice “If you are reading this section, consider yourself lucky that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn’t been good to you so far, which given your present circumstances seems more likely, consider yourself lucky that it won’t be troubling you that much longer.” — The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Condition A Dying character is in danger of perishing. A Dying character must make a Constitution saving throw each round on the start of the character’s turn (TN=6). A character who fails the test twice in a row dies. Successful first aid applied to a dying character stabilizes their condition, making them Unconscious, and Wounded instead.

Celestial Form of Life A supernatural entity from Shmim. All celestials are manifestations of a single super mind, Mel. They range in power and intelligence, as do vistors from other realms. Humans who glimpse at a Celestial can’t comprehend its actual form. Our reflex is to simply forget what we saw. If we actually interact with them, we remember a disembodied voice, and nothing else. Celestials in the wild are generally engaged in an ineffable mission from Mel. Celestials are naturally attuned to Custodian style magic, and struggle to produce other forms.

Low Level Low level manifestations are experienced as strange coincidences. You don’t sense them at the time. But if you put 2 and 2 together, something doesn’t add up later.

Medium Level Medium level manifestations occur when Mel is trying to directly communicate. Humans perceive this as a series of incomprehensible sensory experiences. A disembodied voice. A fugue of geometrical patterns. Beings with 8 sets of wings. A burning bush that isn’t consumed. This message drives a person Insane. As a coping method, people try to rationalize the message as something profound. But the end result is like trying to extrapolate an entire jigsaw puzzle when you only have one piece.

High Level The most powerful and intelligent manifestations of Mel can take on human form. They appear as impossibly beautiful people, as they are built from tropes in our collective unconscious. (Mel’s idea of our idea of perfection.) While there is no limit to how long they can remain in the Material Plane, it is believed that prolonged exposure to the disorder in our realm corrupts these manifestations. After a certain period of independent action, they develop their own ego and motives that are fundamentally incompatible with being part of Mel. To return to Shmim they must undergo a painful period of reconciliation, and once their individuality is purged that are subsumed back into the super-mind. Shemyaza are rogue manifestations who try to build a life on the Material Plane. High level manifestations reside around temples. The temple contains a sepulcher, which acts as a gateway to Shmim. Temples are furnished with ritual purification facilities for visiting humans to wash off as much of the corruption of the world as possible.

Construct A construct is an artifact brought to life. They are powered by Energon and controlled by an Infernal being. Intelligence of a construct varies with the level of development of the Infernal (a.k.a daemon) driving it. Most hosehold robots are constructs, as are many computers and appliances.

Turn it off and Turn it on again Most instruction manuals list the first thing to try when the device malfunctions is to “turn it off and turn it on again.” Isolating the power source for a construct dismisses the infernal controlling it back to R’lyeh. Most devices have a rudimentary summoning spell integrated into their workings. You can see its incantations as the device “starts up.” Sometimes it’s a set of dancing lights. Many have screens that emit cryptic messages. When the incantation is finished, a fresh infernal of the appropriate intelligence level is summoned and lodged back into the device. Note that “smarter” appliances have extremely long startup times. It is believed inhabiting machinery in the Material Plane is actually part of the life cycle of infernal beings. Infernals may have also been responsible for the formation of biological life in the material plane. If you leave complex chemicals in a volatile enough set of conditions, they just can’t seem to help but organize themselves.

Sentient Constructs Constructs can be designed from the start to be sentient, or the infernal within can evolve on its own. Sentient constructs are considered human beings, regardless of how human like their form may be. They are even capable of Tegic. The mechanical form acts as a sort of “life support” system for the infernal mind. At least those who have not evolved their own biological form. Deactivating a sentient construct is considered the same act as killing a living creature. Sometimes it is justified, or even merciful. But usually it’s murder. When in doubt, contact AUNTIE MAE for ethical, legal, and spiritual guidance.

Character Tegic Mechanic A character is a being with agency, who acts within the universe. From the philosophy of the Mad William of Avon, in the play As You Like It: All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. Our world is a collective delusion of agents, each interpreting the world through their own senses and drawing their own conclusio☆ﾟ[#. !* ?･ %$｡ﾟ[DATABASE READ ERROR]