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« Show all entries for FEBRUARY 2004
Thursday, 05 February 2004 05:28:24
From 2004 to 2517… The first bit Once again, we have to make some assumptions. This time it’s about technology and how fast we will progress. Traveller has a pretty well defined set of Technology Levels ranging from 0 (stone age) to 21 (Star Trekish). The rules were originally designed with Tech Level 15 as the highest level in the game, but lower levels are also possible game settings. The idea is that the core will be at a higher level then outer systems (kind of like Firefly). Right now, in 2004, we are on the edge of Tech Level 7 (deep space probes) and 8 (Space Shuttles and orbital stations). Basically, we have moved from TL5 around 1900, to Tech Level 6 in the middle of the century, to Tech level 7 now. That’s a rate of 1 Tech Level every 50 years. So, let’s just keep that rate of progress as we build the future history for Firefly. There only place where there is a real disagreement between Firefly and Traveller Tech Levels is in terraforming (which Traveller says is TL16, but Firefly needs a lot earlier). (Note, there is a lot of different fields of technology and tech levels, so this is a gross oversimplification, but there just isn’t space to go through every form of technology, and that’s not really necessary here to build the back story.) So, here is a rough timeline for Firefly meshed with the Traveller TLs 2004-TL7 2050- TL8 Initial experimentation with Jump drive leads to in system jumps in Sol system 2100- TL9 Jump 1 and Stutterwarp achieved. Initial exploration of near star systems. 30-20-10 solution for future colonization established. 2150- TL10 Terraforming begins in near star systems. 2200- TL11 Jump 2 achieved. Terraforming successful in near star systems. First stage (agricultural development) of colonization begins. 2250- TL12 Jump 3 achieved. Second stage (urbanization and raw material exploitation) colonization on near star systems. 2300- TL13 Jump 4 achieved. Third stage (industrialization) colonization on near star systems. 2350- TL 14 Jump 5 achieved. Magnetic field crisis on Earth (this is a real issue, as the Earth’s magnetic field is weakening significantly and quickly, but scientist think it will not effect life here for about a millennium, so I’m assuming it happens three times faster for dramatic reasons). 2350-2450 The Exodus. Roughly half of Earth’s population is evacuated from the planet. War devastates the population that remains. By 2450 Solar wind has made Earth mostly uninhabitable. Crash program of terraforming begins to create permanent homes for refugees from Earth. Most Earth refugees are living in large temporary camps. 2450 TL15 Jump 6 achieved. Beginning of “The Golden Age.” The core worlds grow rapidly with massive supply of cheap labor. General co-operation pervades, the Alliance takes form. Crash terraforming campaign continues. 2500-2517 Unrest leading to the Unification War. The Alliance wins, establishing dual sovereignty over human space. Okay, so this gives a framework to flesh out. There are still some issues to be addressed. How did the two current spheres (Sino and Anglo) come into being? Why don’t they seem to be well integrated (there is clearly a lot of cultural cross over, but few Chinese in the Anglosphere)? What were the tensions that lead to the Unification War? Why not terraform in the Sol system? That’s the meat (at least some of it) to put on this skeleton. Next, Exploration and Terraforming of the near systems.
Thursday, 05 February 2004 13:03:20
I was searching for a site where I can learn to read Chinese and came across one created by the University of Hong Kong that was really good. Check it out:
Thursday, 05 February 2004 15:31:13
"Why do you watch Firefly?" I’ve been asked this question more than once, most recently by a fellow browncoat in England who was trying to convert a painfully skeptical friend. My answers were all superficial - space-going western, horses, guns, spaceships blah blah blah. I don’t know why I couldn’t put my finger on the real reason, probably because I've been in mourning so long for this show that I couldn't rationalize it all. It took a recent posting to really get me to touch on my true reason for my unwavering devotion to Firefly. Since it formulated during the course of conversation, I’m adding the appropriate quotes. [quote]Originally posted by Ghoulman: [b]What is Firefly about? It's about the characters. There are nine main characters on the little 'boat' called Serenity. Each one a full glass of personality. Each one with a different motive, reason, and outlook on life out 'in the black'. Though they aren't a part of any organization or serve the authorities, they are silently commited to this life. It's never really stated but each character has had his or her moment of choice - each chose Serenity.[/quote][/b]I told Goulman that his ruminatin' is pretty much bang on. Firefly is about the characters - where they each are in their stage of life and how they react to their environment. Each chose Serenity for different reasons, and each will do whatever they have to in order to defend their choice. In the end that probably means becoming something of a family whether they chose to let that happen or not. They had already begun to rely on each other for the different pieces that each character uniquely provides. And it would be amazing to be able to see how far all those character dynamics will go. [quote]Originally posted by BrownCoat1: [b](Guess this is how some people act over soap operas; can't wait until they get their next fix)[/quote][/b]Having been bitten by the soap opera spider once upon a time, I understood this feeling. But it's the same for people who are devoted to Babylon5, or FarScape, or Deep Space 9, or Angel, and sometimes even Stargate. I've lived from week to week with all of these, living in fear for the moment when they would come to an end. Firefly grabbed me the same way, and when it was over *sniff* I went on the Internet looking for something to fill the void left behind. FFF.net has done a lot to help that feeling of emptiness, but it's not quite the same. I wouldn't be here quite as much as I am if the show was still on, because everything I need would be right where it's supposed to be, touching my heart again from week to week. The Firefly crew was created in such a way that you feel like you know them instantly. It's absurd, I know, but in a way I think we all have come to think of them in the same way we think of the friends we've made as adults - as part of an extended family. Firefly has made us live for 10 characters (let's not forget Serenity), and all it took was 10 episodes to pull us all in. Now THAT is quality TV, and that's why I remain a fan - a browncoat. Because these are stories that deserve to be finished. [i]How’s that, Spacebug?[/i]
Thursday, 05 February 2004 16:05:00
I was recently in a conversation with person who regarded "Firefly" as something she scraped off the bottom of her shoe because it was a TV series. I love all science fiction, no matter what form it takes. Some people just cannot be helped. :banghead: