Where does Firefly take place?

POSTED BY: Hans
UPDATED: Sunday, July 2, 2006 05:23
VIEWED: 62435
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CPTBUCK25

Friday, October 10, 2003 9:42 PM

One thing to remember is that we still have no idea how the ships main drive really works. We know she has a pair of drives that look at least related to modern-day jet engines. But the main drive that they use off-planet is still a mystery. the only things we really know about it is that it takes fuel of some kind and that it turns, oh and it does REALLY bad things when used in atmosphere. It could be that this main drive that makes the firefly glow is, at least partly, a FTL drive.

ALIENZOOKEEPER

Friday, October 10, 2003 11:50 PM

Hypothesis #1. Firefly is set in a single solar system (not Earth's) with many planets and moons in the system.

Hypothesis #2. Firefly takes place over many solar systems.

I like hypothesis one for several reasons- it sets Firefly apart from almost every other SF show set in outer space. Also, a solar system is a big place. Counting up all the moons & planets in our solar system, there are about a hundred (check out 95 Worlds & Counting, if it reruns on Discovery or TLC) Sure the terraforming engineering is impossible for us to imagine, but the characters on the show take artificial gravity & a more or less reliable life support system tied to their main engine for granted.

Anyway, kudos for Joss making us work for it & not force-feeding us technobable. It's almost a year since the show 'went on hiatus' & people are still talking about what it means. I have my own opinion-

"Human beings can live anywhere there is mass & energy"- Robert Anson Heinlein

vincent the alien zookeeper
(No aliens? What do you mean, no aliens!?)

LUXLUCRE

Saturday, October 11, 2003 1:46 AM

I'm going to throw out my theory viz-a-viz the question of the spacial system in Firefly one stellar system or a number of close solar systems.
I first posted this message to the GURPS Firefly Yahoo group on Feb 9, 2003 ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GURPS-Firefly)

I think it resonable that they are talking about a single star system, and would go further in postulating that the sun may likely be a blue star, since they are the hottest and consequently have the largest habitable zone for planets.

Check this site: http://www.angelfire.com/on2/daviddarling/habzone.htm

Here are the important bits, In my opinion:
====================================
habitable zone (HZ): An imaginary spherical shell surrounding a star throughout which the surface temperatures of any planets present might be conducive to the origin and development of life as we know it. Also referred to as the ecosphere.

The HZ of a highly luminous star would in principle be very wide, its inner margin beginning perhaps several hundred million km out [Comment: Let's say the orbit of Mars] and stretching to a distance of a billion km or more [Comment: around the orbit of Jupiter].
However, this promising scenario is spoiled by the fact that massive, bright stars are much more short-lived than their smaller, dimmer cousins. In the case of the giant O stars and B stars, these very massive objects race through their life-cycles in only a few tens of millions of years-too quickly to allow even primitive life-forms to emerge.
========================================

The last speculation is moot in any case, seeing as we are actively terraforming planets, not waiting for them to develop life on their own. I seems to me that the habitable zone around a hot white or blue (O or B) sun would give us plenty of space to establish hundreds of planets that would support life, with no fear of their orbits crashing into each other.

ZAPHODB

Saturday, October 11, 2003 3:46 AM

The whole thing about FTL vs One System is an interesting debate. But, since only 13 episodes aired, who knows what Joss had up his sleeve regarding the background of this 'verse. Maybe the world-building was the next thing on his agenda.

DRAKON

Saturday, October 11, 2003 8:43 AM

The whole "rim/core" planet thing I think is being misunderstood. It does not mean physically, but politically. Core planets, like Ariel and Persephone are where the government is. Out on the rim is another way of saying "frontier"

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

TUDYKSGAGREEL

Saturday, October 11, 2003 2:52 PM

it cant be a single solar system if it was then most of the planets would be ice worlds, i mean pluto is hardly a sauna cos its too far from the sun

MANIACNUMBERONE

Saturday, October 11, 2003 5:34 PM

...only if you assume that a single solar system has only one sun. We must allow for multiple suns in a single system.

UTHER55

Sunday, October 12, 2003 10:17 PM

I think I'm more likely to believe in advanced terraforming science than any kind of FTL or the like; at least, from the feel of the show so far.

Uther55

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HANS

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 11:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by IamJacksUsername:
Actually, Book says "Puts you about, eight sectors away from your jurisdiction?" in The message (I checked), so there's no evidence for FTL travel.

I haven't seen the episode yet, and was going by the script posted on this site, where he did say "solar systems". If this was changed for the episode during shooting then I'd be very happy, as it takes away the strongest evidence in favour of the "many systems" theory, and the fact that the producers cared enough to change it implies that that the "single system" theory is closer to reality.

(Has anyone actually seen this episode? I thought it was one of the unaired episodes...I know they haven't reached it yet on the Space reruns. Was it shown in the UK?)

HANS

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 12:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LuxLucre:
I'm going to throw out my theory viz-a-viz the question of the spacial system in Firefly one stellar system or a number of close solar systems.
I first posted this message to the GURPS Firefly Yahoo group on Feb 9, 2003 ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GURPS-Firefly)

I think it resonable that they are talking about a single star system, and would go further in postulating that the sun may likely be a blue star, since they are the hottest and consequently have the largest habitable zone for planets.

Check this site: http://www.angelfire.com/on2/daviddarling/habzone.htm

Thanks for the great research! It seems that a system big enough to have the requisite number of worlds in the life zone is rare, but maybe not impossible.

We also don't know enough about terraforming to know how far from the life zone a world can be before it's impossible to transform. Maybe a heavy enough greenhouse effect can keep a planet outside the LZ warm enough for life? Combined with nanomachines released into the atmosphere, soil, and water, plus maybe some industrial sized processors, plus maybe some orbital mirrors for extra heat and light...who knows?

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