Now I want to add in a key feature of the setting to give it some flavor. I'm going back and forth between several ideas and I'm really just looking for input. Here are the ideas I'm kicking around:
1) First Contact - Humanities first encounter with an alien species. My primary idea for this is the introduction of a synthetic race of beings first, who ally with humanity, followed soon after by the arrival of the creators of the synthetic race who would be aggressive and imperialistic.
2) FX - The introduction of some form of FX. Possibly psionic power or magic. Or maybe something of an original design. I'm less inclined to this option as I don't want pseudo-jedi running around.
3) Civil War - A war between outlying colonies and the earth based governments. I like this option but it seems a bit bland, being just another war setting in space.
I realize none of these ideas are really original but they are all I've come up with. I'm more than open to suggestions or ideas.
The faster of light technology would mean instead of it taking months to travel between the colonies, which could spark some tension between the colonies and the homeworld over not getting the technology for faster travel. Which could lead to civil war.
Which can also lead to new alien contacts. Heck, could have the outter colonies side with the creators of the synthetic race who separate from the homeworld. Then there's a civil war PLUS a war between aliens.
The FX one, you can look into the Eylsium Setting by Skrittiblak for influence. Or you can take a more technologicaly method of FX like abilities.. Such as very subtle cybernetics and nanite colonies with a little more flexibility in their abilities. Like an energy expulsion nanite colony. They can allow the user to fire plasma balls or lightning from their hands. But these same nanites can be used to do other similar effects of other spells in the same energy type.
So plasma/fire nanites would allow them to launch fire balls, create a blade of flame, or a fire shield to protect the user against cold and fire attacks.
This can also lead to cult like groups who try to use mental and physical training to enhance their ability to control their nanites. Or groups who think it is against god's or other religious faction's view of how humanity should be. But that's if you want to bring religion into the mix, which can have mix results.
I'm working on a history for a new sci-fi setting I'm developing and I'm looking for ways to give it its own unique flavor. So far I've been keeping it fairly based in reality. The history so far spans several hundred years of slow human expansion to the stars, establishing colonies on other planets within our solar system.
Now I want to add in a key feature of the setting to give it some flavor. I'm going back and forth between several ideas and I'm really just looking for input. Here are the ideas I'm kicking around:
1) First Contact - Humanities first encounter with an alien species. My primary idea for this is the introduction of a synthetic race of beings first, who ally with humanity, followed soon after by the arrival of the creators of the synthetic race who would be aggressive and imperialistic.
2) FX - The introduction of some form of FX. Possibly psionic power or magic. Or maybe something of an original design. I'm less inclined to this option as I don't want pseudo-jedi running around.
3) Civil War - A war between outlying colonies and the earth based governments. I like this option but it seems a bit bland, being just another war setting in space.
I realize none of these ideas are really original but they are all I've come up with. I'm more than open to suggestions or ideas.
INTERPLANETARY COLONIZATION
COLONIZING THE MOON AND MARS: If you crunch the numbers, you get the awesome realization that it costs a lot to put things in space. I calculated it for Lunar and Martian colonization. The most efficient means of colonizing other worlds is to send women, and send the male contribution as sperm in a freezer. It would require hourly launches of a single stage Vehicle as great in diameter as the Space shuttle Fuel tank is long to serve as a habitat on the lunar surface for 12 female colonists with a zero failure rate of launches every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year for 100 years to put 10 million women on the moon at a cost of 2 billion-billion dollars.
SPACE STATIONS
BABYLON 5: A billion tons of metal, with 1 million population. With an existing systems launch cost at 50 billion dollars per 50 tons, That is 20 million launches of 50 tones of metal for construction. At 52 x 7 for daily launches (364) that is still 54,945 years...just to orbit the construction material. Even if each fifty ton part was an identical heaxagonal autonomous machine/block that could position itself in place so that the space cylinder could be built up piece by piece.
SPACE WHEEL: This is basically a Torus of 360 Modules equivelent in size and weight to Nuclear Subs put in orbit. Costing 500 billion? per module to construct and launch, that is a space station with living conditions of a nuclear sub (providing shielding) and built over 12 years and launched in a single year for orbital assembly.
INTERSTELLAR COLONIZATION
The Most efficient method would be to send an automated vessel that would on arrival grow Human clones and adapt them to the environment. This is why your idea of a Synthetic life form for first contact is the most realistic and viable. If you can download a conciousness from the data files you have a colonizer. If you send a vessel where the locals must be smart enough to use the machinery to activate it, and must allow the locals to raise your clones from babies and educate them in their culture...
kronos182, thanks for your input. You've given me a few things to think about. I'm not really interested in adding full magic-like FX to the setting. As I've said I want to avoid the pseudo-jedi syndrome. But the nanites idea is interesting, I may put some more thought into it.
taradusis, Megacorps! How did I overlook to emergence of the mega corporations?
I'll have to think on this.Why is there always someone who has to crunch the numbers and tell us all exactly how impossible space colonization is? Not to be rude but honestly, who cares? This is science FICTION. While some of the base ideas are grounded in reality, most of it is pure pancy developed to be entertaining. I'm not looking to create the next uber-real Star Trek setting where everything has to be explained through legitimate science.
kronos182, thanks for your input. You've given me a few things to think about. I'm not really interested in adding full magic-like FX to the setting. As I've said I want to avoid the pseudo-jedi syndrome. But the nanites idea is interesting, I may put some more thought into it.
taradusis, Megacorps! How did I overlook to emergence of the mega corporations? I'll have to think on this.
I didnt say it was impossible...I said it was time consuming, costly and would burn your earthly resources. Sure it can be done, it takes recognition of a Lunar (or Martian) State by the nations of Earth, the loaning of 2 billion-billion dollars to the Lunar (or Martian) State to self colonize, 2 billion-billion dollars in Collonization Contracts to the Global Space Industry (and massive criminal fraud on the part of contractors and officials - just look at the BP oil incident). The Earth Governments are selfish, territorial and resource and power hungry (just look at the USA). Even if the Lunar (or martian) Commonwealth was able to self colonize it would have a period where earth nations were putting 'agents' into the colonist program whose job was terrorism and treason on behalf of their state.
Considering the need for Genetic diversity in all those female colonists, 1/6 would be chinese, 1/6 Indian, 1/6 other Asian, 2/6 African, 1/6 Euro-American (NATO block). So you have all manor of cultural imperitives including religious and political agendas. On A colony vessel of 12 crew that is 6 Asian, 4 African, and 2 'NATO' crew members.
METHODS OF TRAVEL
String theory tells us the distance between two points is change in possibility. This means it is wuite possible to travel to anywhere - unfortunatly, you have at this moment no means of determining the destination. A/0=/A. This means that disingaging from a known point in our universe (A) by dividing it by zero (null interaction), gets you to /A (anywhere but here). Unfortunatly /A is not a fixed location...so the Destination is Random (or determined from Superposition - the moment when both points are the same point).
I live near plymouth mass. which got it's start as a religous colony for the Puritans. Suppose the Un granted the larger religions the right to form colonies? Sunni,Shiite,Catholic,Methodist,Baptist,Hasidic,Mormon,Scientology and Wiccan would all make interesting colonies. And if a colony world wants to be left in peace but a valuable resource is found,infidels could flood in. Tension between religions is common as well,would the UN have sense to seperate the religions and not do something like drop several diverse religions on one world? Suppose one religous world goes on a crusade to convert a neighbor? Suppose settlers lose their faith. People born in plymouth tended to found new towns to get away from harsh church elders.
THE FERTILITY PLAGUE
There has been an increase in women having miscarriages and some alarmists say that this could be the begining of a Fertility Plague. If women were to lose 90% of their first pregnancies and 50 % of succeding pregnanies this would have a profund effect on society. The most common cause for the Fertility Plague is probably trace chemicals in food that are harmless by themselves but when combined over time act as an abortificient.