[GURPS Fenspace] Infinite Worlds databox

[M Fnord]

Still a WIP, but submitted for your comments anyway.

---

Gernsback-2, 2013

Current Affairs
With the aid of the miracle substance handwavium, science-fiction and fantasy fans begin colonizing the solar system.
Divergence Point
2006; "Overfan" creates/discovers handwavium and begins to distribute it along open-source backchannels.
Major Civilizations
Western (multipolar), Chinese (empire), Indic (unitary)
Great Powers
Unites States of America (representative democracy, CR4), European Union (representative democracy, CR3), People's Republic of China (oligarchy, CR5), Russian Federation (representative democracy, CR5), Republic of Japan (representative democracy, CR4), Republic of India (representative democracy, CR4), Fenspace (representative democracy, CR1), Commonwealth of Australia (representative democracy, CR3)
Worldline Data
TL: 8 (Fen technology, TL8^)
Mana Level: indeterminate
Quantum: 6
Infinity Class: Z3
Centrum Zone: Red
Outworld Operations
(full text here eventually. To sum up:
* First scouted four years ago (2009 local time).
* Infinity has samples of handwavium, hasn't gotten any further than Fenspace researchers figuring it out; most operations involve trying to get more & different strains of the goop for further research; some vague worries that fen will figure out parachronics by accident (see ref: Duane Peters & His Black Box of Fun and Excitement).
* Centrum is seriously weirded out by handwavium; attempts to "rationalize" the worldline by co-opting the fen are hit & miss at the best (technocratic meritocracy is popular among fen, but factions are either too prickly or too small to work with); currently trying to get sympathizers into TSAB & related 'Danelaw agencies.
* The Time Nazis haven't shown up, thankfully.)---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

---

The Time Nazis haven't shown up, thankfully

---

And probably won't, considering that they usually have access only to Q3. (Barring unusual chronobahns, of course.)
We might want to mention that Infinity has heard rumours of parachronics in "Fenspace", but any leads they've been able to follow end at negative results. This allows for things like Duane's Yellow Clearance Black Box of Fun and Excitement and the Girls Girls Girls stagger I'm writing, both of which are being kept under as tight a wrap as can be managed.
Alternately... Considering where Operation Great Justice was operating from for over a year, there's no doubt an Infinity agent somewhere on Stellvia just to keep tabs on the conflict. Thus, the chance that the Girls' arrival a week after the SOS-dan leave the station can be kept secret from Infinity is practically zero. And won't that worry the folks back on Homeline...
Which works better?

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

---

And won't that worry the folks back on Homeline...

---

Especially since the girls seem to open up gates at will without conveyor technology, and are probably terribly happy to leave the spell schematics with any reasonably nice spellcaster who asks for them...
Oh god. Wait until Infinity meets Willow Rosenberg... yeesh. The double threat -- capable of understanding both tech and magic worldjumping...
I just love the idea of a sad-sack Infinity clean-up crew trailing along behind the girls and really not having a fun time -- and finally tracking them down to a world which will probably get catalogued as Krypton-2... where they're promptly detected, detained, questioned, fed a good hot meal and then dropped off on the doorstep of the Infinity headquarters with instructions to call first next time.

Fnord, I love this and can't wait to see it when you finish fleshing it out.

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[M Fnord]

*Finally* got back around to fiddling with this. Comments, etc. welcome, forgive the wiki markup, etc.

---

====== Gernsback-2, 2014 ======
The following information is designed for those brave, foolhardy souls who want to incorporate Fenspace into a **//[[www.sjgames.com/gurps/boo...lds/|GURPS Infinite Worlds]//** campaign. This is designed as //a// reference frame, not necessarily //the// reference frame. As always, your milage may vary.
===== Current Affairs =====
With the aid of the miracle substance //handwavium//, science-fiction and fantasy fans begin colonizing the solar system.
===== Divergence Point =====
2006; "Overfan" creates/discovers handwavium and begins to distribute it along open-source backchannels.
===== Major Civilizations =====
Western (multipolar), Chinese (empire), Indic (unitary)
===== Great Powers =====
* United States of America (representative democracy, CR4)
* European Union (representative democracy, CR3)
* People's Republic of China (oligarchy, CR5)
* Russian Federation (representative "democracy," CR5)
* Republic of Japan (representative democracy, CR4)
* Republic of India (representative democracy, CR4)
* //Fenspace (representative democracy, CR1)//
* //Commonwealth of Australia (representative democracy, CR3)//
===== Worldline Data =====
* **TL:** 8 (Fen technology, TL8^)
* **Mana Level:** indeterminate((One for the record books; no other worldline has ever registered as "indeterminate mana." Paralabs blames handwavium, which frankly makes as much sense as any other explanation.))
* **Quantum:** 6
* **Infinity Class:** Z3
* **Centrum Zone:** Red
===== Outworld Operations =====
Infinity's primary mission in Gernsback-2 is the acquisition and study of handwavium. The miracle substance that keeps offworld life running has obvious properties that would make it invaluable on Homeline and to Infinity... if they only knew how it worked. Paralabs researchers first acquired a sample four years ago, but so far haven't managed to get any further than the best Gernsback-2 scientists. According to Infinty office gossip, at least one conveyor has been handwaved, but nobody knows the results of the experiment.
Most I-Cop work revolves around getting handwavium samples, along with samples of handwaved equipment, back to Paralabs. This is a relatively simple job, leaving the agents-in-place plenty of time to worry about other things, like what Centrum's up to or keeping the Secret.
Centrum, for their part, is torn between greed and fear when it comes to Gernsback-2. Like Infinity, they can see the promise inherent in handwavium and daughter technologies, but they also see a world that's perhaps even //more// screwed up than Secundus gaining access to dangerous toys with no supervision. The obvious solution - co-opting the governments and bringing them into Centrum, like on Gernsback-1 - is not quite that easy. Of all the nations in Gernsback-2, Fenspace itself is the best candidate for subversion; technocratic meritocracy is a strong draw for many fen. Unfortunately for the Uplift Service, the fen factions have enough ideological divisions that co-opting //all// or Fenspace, or even //most// of the factions would require more men and materiel than the I.S. can safely provide and maintain operations against Infinity.
As for the Secret, it's still safe... for the moment. Paralabs researchers are reasonably confident that handwavium by itself can't create parachronic technology, but rumors still filter through Fenspace that //somebody// has managed it. Both Infinity and Centrum have swept the major fen enclaves looking for parachronic emissions and come up empty, but the rumor remains strong. An incident on the Lagrange station //Stellvia// last year, when a pack of world-jumpers appeared on the station's main concourse and stayed for several days((The fact that they didn't shoot at the station inhabitants, nor were shot at implying that the jumpers weren't from Reich-5.)) suggests to both sides that the Secret may not stay that way for long, parachronics be damned.
All in all, Gernsback-2 is a very vexing place to be an I-Cop.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

---

According to Infinty office gossip, at least one conveyor has been handwaved, but nobody knows the results of the experiment.

---

OOC: Did I mention what the Epsilon Blade looks like? (checks the wiki entry) Yep, so I did. (Okay, it isn't actually the 'waved conveyor... but it looks like one.)

---

Unfortunately for the Uplift Service, the fen factions have enough ideological divisions that co-opting //all// or Fenspace, or even //most// of the factions would require more men and materiel than the I.S. can safely provide and maintain operations against Infinity.

---

There's also the problem that many of the more influential factions, such as the Soviet Air Force and Grover's Corners, are sufficiently small and close-knit to resist infiltration and co-opting.

---

Paralabs researchers are reasonably confident that handwavium by itself can't create parachronic technology, but rumors still filter through Fenspace that //somebody// has managed it.

---

Unfortunately, they have insufficient manpower available to track down and investigate the person usually cited as having accomplished this feat - a man known only as "The Professor".

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

---

many of the more influential factions, such as the Soviet Air Force and Grover's Corners

---

We're one of the more influential factions? Wow. I had no idea...
Fnord, it looks great. Has this gone into the Wiki yet, because I'd like to point a few friends from the SJG crowd at it.

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[robkelk]

---

We're one of the more influential factions? Wow. I had no idea...

---

It's that whole "biomass equals wealth" thing - people will come to you for fresh food, and they will want to stay on your good side so that you'll do business with them.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Kokuten]

---

and they will want to stay on your good side so that you'll do business with them.

---

Which goes a long way towards keeping any dystopia tendencies under control.. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[ECSNorway]

Hm. Not a GURPS person - what do the CR's stand for?--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[M Fnord]

Control Rating. Basically how tight government control is over the population, running from CR 0 (anarchy) to CR 6 (totalitarian).---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Bob Schroeck]

---

It's that whole "biomass equals wealth" thing

---

Right. I keep forgetting the implications of that. Whew.

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[ECSNorway]

---

Control Rating. Basically how tight government control is over the population, running from CR 0 (anarchy) to CR 6 (totalitarian).

---

In that case, the entry has the USA and EU switched.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[M Fnord]

---

In that case, the entry has the USA and EU switched.

---

...I'm going to chalk that one up to me living on Earth-1, you living on Earth-2, and then ignore it in the interests of keeping the peace.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

---

In that case, the entry has the USA and EU switched.

---

Not by my reckoning. (The last time I looked, there weren't video surveillance cameras throughout downtown Washington, the way there are in downtown London, for one example.)

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[ECSNorway]

---

Not by my reckoning. (The last time I looked, there weren't video surveillance cameras throughout downtown Washington, the way there are in downtown London, for one example.)

---

Nor were there plans to add speakers to the nonexistant cameras in Washington so that police watching from afar could chide offenders directly, as there are in London.
Nor has the US allowed tens of thousands of people to die from loss of electricity in a heat wave as France has.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[M Fnord]

This argument ends now.
I don't have the time, energy nor inclination to hear prattle about Virtuous Libertarian America versus the Evil Socialist Eurabia Nanny-State Europe. The CRs remain as is. That's official, that's final, and if you don't like it sack up and cope. Or generate a bunch of drama and flounce off. Right now, in this time and place, I don't give a shit either way.
The Commisar Has Spoken.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Foxboy]

Agreed, plus, remember, a lot of the folks who would resist tightening of restrictions of personal liberties are up in the black, away from protesting the crypto-fascist leanings of a scared Congress and President.
So the existing CRs are valid.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[M Fnord]

*whimper*
Damn you, Evil Stevie! Don't tempt me like that. %(---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Cobalt Greywalker]

*twitch*
A cruel twist of fate indeed...

[Bob Schroeck]

If the rights issues wouldn't completely cripple the effort before it started -- and I'm just talking about getting everyone here to sign on, forget about the IP from all the original sources -- it would indeed be tempting project.-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[M Fnord]

Suppose it's for the best, anyway... I shudder to think what dividing the royalties up fifteen-twenty ways would leave per individual.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

And then there's the question of who gets how much. Comrade Fnord came up with the idea, and WireGeek's provided more stories and nifty ideas than anyone else if I recall correctly - you two should get more than one share, right?
And my share would be tied up in licencing fees, I'm sure... Yeah, let's not go down that road.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Sirrocco]

What about offering it free? I seem to recall that e23 does offer some books free.
(on the other hand, I have no real idea of the sweat involved in turning out a book like that, so that may well not be *worth* it for anyone, even if it was feasible.)

[M Fnord]

Honestly, if we're going to offer it free then the best bet is to just keep plugging away at Fenwiki like we are. All the information that would be in an e23 book is there, or will be eventually, and with the wiki format we don't have to worry about stuff like layout, image dpi or any of the other billion fiddly things that come with press production.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[ECSNorway]

Besides, this way we don't have to deal with an external editor overruling us on important bits. Or on those vitally unimportant little arguments, like the utter stupidity of the CR settings Fnord insists on for EU and USA.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.