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Jovian Chronicles


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#1 Sigmar

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Posted 20 October 2007 - 12:37 AM

RPG Name: Jovian Chronicles
RPG Description: space opera with war and such
RPG Era: Future(2210 A.D.)
RPG Plot: Warning! long read!

In 1977, Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill was the first to propose practical solutions to the inherent problems in designing, building and maintaining giant space stations that could house thousands of people. He used the phrase "planetary chauvinism," first coined by Isaac Asimov, to describe Mankind's inability to see the possibilities that existed outside of the atmosphere. Space, O'Neill contended, could become our new home, solving problems of both pollution and overpopulation. Many praised his work, but his ideas were judged to be impractical and economically unfeasible.

Pollution was an endemic problem in the last years of the 20th Century, with entire regions condemned because of industrial accidents. Ecologically friendly alternatives in the fields of power generation and heavy manufacturing were needed to reduce the strain on the environment. In August 1997, a small corporation released a second generation solar cell that had ten times the efficiency of any previous design. A mere six months later, NASA officials, together with private corporations, were proposing the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) project to Congress, to be implemented over the next twenty years. Plans for a permanent space station to house the array's maintenance and construction workers and their equipment was already in the works. The high cost of sending material and elements up into space led to talks about a lunar base and an ore-launching massdriver later that year. Both would be shipped to the Moon in sections during the late 2010s using technologies developed from the old Apollo program and the more recent Space Shuttle, which led to the first true Heavy Launch Vehicles (HLV).

Although the development of efficient launch systems significantly reduced the cost of putting material in orbit, the cost per kilogram was still considered too high. The orbital elevator concept was one of the options studied as a solution. Preliminary studies by NASA and European Space Agency teams soon showed that such a device would be nearly impossible to build. The project took an entirely new direction when it was proposed that the orbit of the anchoring space station be lowered and the tether stopped just above the mesosphere, reducing the system's overall length and making its construction possible. The new system was dubbed a skyhook. Although the anchor would be traveling at hypersonic velocity relative to the ground, specialized shuttles could be built to reach it using existing technology.

Use of the skyhook enabled the expansion of both the existing space stations and the primitive lunar settlement. By the end of the second decade of the 21st century, many factories and habitats were ringing the planet, while the Moon Base thrived and became a small city dedicated to supplying the raw material needed for space construction.

Return to Space (2020-2030)

The new wave of interest in the conquest of space brought back the half-forgotten project to explore and even colonize Mars. In particular, the existing space facilities made it easy to launch a single stage Earth to Mars mission. Using the experience gained from the 2024 lunar base project -- the vehicles used for the Mars Direct mission were very similar to those used to colonize the Moon in the late 2010s -- the first mission to Mars left in early 2027, well ahead of the futurists' projections. The return module was already on Mars, having softlanded two years earlier on a base prepared by robot probes in the early '20s. By the time the first crew left, four other Mars Direct spacecraft were underway, ready to spearhead the construction of the first permanent human city on Mars.

The increased level of prosperity on Earth, fueled by newly available space resources, helped slow down the rate of growth as families required less and less children to ensure their future. The population continued to grow at an exponential rate in poorer regions of the globe, however; new lands were cleared, rain forests destroyed and soils exhausted by repeated farming with inadequate methods. The first permanent orbital settlement projects were seriously proposed at this time, both to take up part of the population growth and to house the construction crew required to build the massive second generation SPS arrays and orbital factories. In November 2030, the L-5 construction site of Island One, an O'Neill-type colony cylinder, was formally declared open.

Depression (2070-2210)

By the second half of the 21st century, the biosphere of planet Earth was in sorry shape: pollution was out of control, particularly in the newly industrialized third-world countries eager to "catch up"; widespread droughts and floods were battering the cities; and the ozone layer was catastrophically depleted. Programs limiting the production of ozone-depleting gases and the development of new, non-polluting energy sources were only slowing down the problems caused by Mankind's insatiable need for energy.

During the 2080s, the social and environmental pressures caused the collapse of several nations. Civil wars, epidemics and balkanization provoked a major exodus toward space and the colonies. Whole populations pooled their life savings to buy a patch of land on a colony somewhere in the Solar System in the hopes of improving their living conditions. In early 2081, the provisional Terran government, an evolution of the United Nations council, took refuge in orbit. To reflect this change, the council officially took on the name of United Solar Nations. The inhabitants of Mars declared their independence in the summer of 2085. During this time, the terraforming of Venus was progressing, and the financing corporations were establishing temporary orbital settlements to prepare entire prefabricated factory units for the construction of future arcologies. By 2086, corporate technical personnel were being shuttled in from Earth's orbital colonies at a rate of several thousand per month.

By the 2090s, the governments of Earth had lost any remaining authority they might have had over the space colonies. The fall of the last superpowers and the subsequent loss of their spacefaring capacities isolated Earth from the rest of Mankind. The period from 2120 to 2180 is often referred to as the "Tough Times." With Earth in disarray, each settlement was more concerned about its immediate survival than politics or trade: the new Venus colony was busy trying to become autonomous, there was intermittent civil war on Mars and the Jovian settlements struggled to survive the harsh conditions of their environment. Jupiter's Trojan asteroids were dismantled and used to build new colony cylinders to house the growing Jovian population, but limited living space remained an endemic problem. It was not unknown for an entire extended family of eight to share a single room.

Meanwhile, the period of civil conflict and unrest on Earth had degenerated into outright war. A league of small nations had banded together under one flag and were methodically taking over as many territories as possible. The Unification War, as the conflict came to be known, ended in 2182. On January 1st, 2184, the Central Earth Government and Administration was founded by the victors. Although they did not control the entire planet, CEGA did rule North America, Europe and large parts of Africa and Asia.

New Beginning and Alien Contact (2185-2210)

The resolution of the troubles on Earth signaled the end of a dark period for all. Contact between settlements slowly resumed. It was thought to be the beginning of a new age of peace and prosperity -- the events of 2210 would shatter that illusion.

In the early 2200s, Terran scientist Doctor Agram Peyarje developed a "cyberlinkage" system for partial thought-control of machinery and vehicles. CEGA agents quickly realized that it could be used for military purposes and conscripted him. Fearful of the imperialistic views of CEGA, the scientist contacted Jovian operatives and requested political asylum. At about the same time, living creatures were discovered in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Although the two events seemed unconnected at first, they would later prove to be the starting point of a new era for humanity.

Jovian Armed Forces pilots were sent to Venus, where the scientist was attending a seminar, and helped Dr. Peyarje escape. They were however discovered and pursued across the solar system by CEGA and Venusian forces. From the Moon to Jupiter, they left in their path a trail of destruction. By the time the group reached Jovian territory, an entire battle fleet was at their heels. By then, a plot to destroy ElysŽe, the capital-station of the Jovian Confederation, was uncovered. After what would later be known as the Battle of Elysee, the station was saved, an entire CEGA battle fleet was destroyed and one of the JAF's commanding officers, the very man who directed the Peyarje mission, was arrested as a traitor.

The months following the Battle were tumultuous, to say the least. CEGA officially declared its fleet to have gone rogue, while a witch hunt started to find the people responsible for the whole affair. The true culprits are safely out of sight, however, and a new, troubled age has just begun...

A month after the battle. signels of unknown origin, have been intercepted by the jovians to investagate. after a few weeks of studying the message, it was confirmed it was of alien origin beyond the sol system, but they were too late to encounter this. for a fleet of warships had been detected somewhere in the asteroid belt. attempts to find the alien fleet had failed many times, but the aliens reason to hidden themselves are yet unknown, but reports had come in of numerous raids of unkown vessels, possibly the E.T's making their appearence. but they are out there, and they will be entering the war very soon.

RPG Leader(s): Me(and anyone that would like to help out)

Edited by Sigmar, 20 October 2007 - 03:17 AM.


#2 Byakuya Kuchiki

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Posted 20 October 2007 - 03:13 AM

Sounds like you thought this one out. Seems very good, it'll go up the same time as Copaman's, so the 26th(?) if I'm correct. Next thursday to be precise.

Edit: Online Date Expectancy: Thursday, October 25 2007.

Update:
Jovian Chronicles has been set up.
You can now visit their forums here!

Edited by Solinx, 06 November 2007 - 05:53 PM.

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#3 Sigmar

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Posted 20 October 2007 - 03:16 AM

Alright then, sounds good to me.




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