PDA

View Full Version : Story/Novel idea = The Rocketship and the Pistoleer



Sanis Prent
Sep 19th, 2005, 11:20:02 PM
I've really wanted to be able to tell the story of Sanis & company, but in a way that is separate from the Star Wars universe. This will be to set that sort of thing up. Its pretty simple - this is a space/western, same as what I've created in RP. Feel free to help me grind out some of the detail and generally participate in the creative process:

Summary:

Five hundred years in the future, the story of the adventures of Ionian adventurer Sanis Prent, his rocketship Layla, and the crew that accompanies him on his travels through the Terran solar system and beyond.

Major Factions:

The Democratic Republic of Earth

An ironic title for the unified government that presides over the Human Race, as there is little democracy involved, and Earth is uninhabited in the wake of atomic war centuries ago. Predominately controlled by the Chinese provinces that won World War 3, the DRE rules the Terran Solar System from the sprawling Martian city of Cydonia.

Other factions of Humans exist on the various worlds, moons, and asteroids of the Terran system, but the Chinese Coalition alone holds enough voting sway to decide policy.

In the recent years of unprecedented interstellar commerce and communion, the DRE has entered into a mercantile position with the technologically advanced Sirian Empire, and is becoming a loosely-run colony of the Sirians, who are far more interested in profiting from human trade than outright military control.

The Sirian Empire:

A race of alien life hailing from the nearest star system to Earth. It should be known that the Sirians' call themselves, and their home system by a different name, which most humans struggle pronouncing. The name Sirian is simply the most common human designation of the first alien race to make confirmed contact with them.

The Sirians resemble the humans, but with some aspects of a lineage likely taken from feline apex predators. Their society is readily warlike, but they have found a far greater calling as interstellar merchants, sailing immense solar sail galleons to nearby star systems to force open trade talks. They are a matriarchal society, but tend to keep their internal affairs private from human court intrigue.

The Sirians are one of two major powers in this corner of the galaxy, next to the enigmatic Ia. A Sirian Viceroy and other dignitaries live on Mars, and it is not uncommon to see Sirian sailing ships in the Terran system, both trading with humans as well as protecting them, but more importantly, protecting Sirian interests in human territory.

The Sirians have been at war with the Ia for the past century.

The Ia:

The Human race knows almost nothing about the Ia, even though the Ia have been infiltrating the Humans for perhaps a millennium or more. The Ia, or Greys, have been accused by a few individuals throughout the centuries of clandestine spying, abductions, and perverse experimentation. There has never been a direct confrontation with the race, and the name was only recently divined from the Sirian Trade Viceroy.

As advanced as Sirian weaponry and solar sailing ships are, the Ia seem to possess even stranger technology, bending space-time with their strange flying saucer spaceships to facilitate seemingly instant travel.

The Mutants:

Not a faction in itself, mutants are Earth's forgotten people. The generations that survived and remained on an irradiated Post-WW3 Earth, mutants have had to come to grips with changes within themselves and each other. They are human, but now they are something else. Some are macabre. Some hold abilities that are wondrous and incredible. Though the radioactive spirits on Earth have begun to fade into nothingness, the mutants are far from safe. They face strife and discrimination throughout the Terran system, and even on the homeworld itself, as humanity once again begins to settle planet Earth once more...

(more to come later)

Sanis Prent
Sep 20th, 2005, 09:32:23 PM
Planets of the Terran Solar system:

Mercury:

Ever since the Gold Rush of 2402, Mercury has been one of the hot spots (literally!) of the human frontier expansion. With daring pioneers tunneling from the dark side of the planet to hidden veins of gold located on the light side, bustling boom towns soon sprouted out of space dust. Towns such as Midway, Sunset Gap, and Last Chance dot along the thin stretch of ground that separates the light and dark hemispheres of this world. Such towns are as interested in debauchery and vice as they are in precious metal speculation.

Venus:

One of the two globally-terraformed worlds in the Solar System, Venus is a breadbasket of cosmic proportions. The massive vinyards, fruit groves, and grain fields on the planet also help to consume the high levels of carbon dioxide, thus cooling the world. Massive orbital solar shades also provide such a service. Even so, the continent-sized farming holds on the planet are confined above the tropic lines. The equator is an arid, stifling desert. In between the deserts and the farms lie sprawling cities and metropolitan areas.

Earth:

Like a fading snapshot found in an attic, the Earth looks much as it did on July 17th, 2082, when China and the United Continents of America fought the 22 minute long World War III. Nearly every major population center was vaporized to it's foundations, and what lied beyond was forced to choke on the fallout for nearly five hundred years. Very little life survived, but life did survive here.

Now, the specter of radioactive holocaust is fading from the warzone, and for the first time in nearly half a millenium, humans are thinking of home.

The Moon:

Known simply as "The Moon" (whereas other moons hold more specific names), this planetoid orbiting Earth has become a key center of industrial production. The DRE's naval headquarters is stationed on the moon, as are a great many large capacity starports. Due to the low gravitational constant, it is an ideal port of call for large deep space shipping.

Mars:

Mars is, quite simply, the crown jewel of the Democratic Republic of Earth. The first planet colonized in man's conquest of space, as well as the first planet terraformed, Mars was created in Earth's image. Now, the Red Planet of yesterday is a distant memory, replaced by such massive Metropoles as Cydonia, the capital of the DRE. The seats of all human power reside on Mars, as do those of the Sirian colonial government.

The Asteroid Belt:

Separating Inner Sol from Outer Sol, the belt is a largely unchartered area of space, often chosen as the hiding place of bandits and other criminals. While there are humans who seek their livelihoods within the belt, they do so at their own peril, from asteroids and other humans alike.

Jupiter

The planet Jupiter itself is uninhabited, but nearly all of the gas giant's sixteen moons are populated by Humans in some way. Known as a center for freelance shipping, the settlers of Jupiter have a kind of hearty independence that seems alien to their counterparts of Inner Sol. Such a settler, Sanis Prent, is a native of the volcanic moon of Io.

Saturn

Similar to Jupiter, the eighteen moons of Saturn are a haven for humans who would rather get on with their lives than be governed by the DRE. Additionally, enterprising pilots on Saturn's moons have established a lucrative tourism business, providing tourists excellent opportunities to set out on excursions through Saturn's rings.

Uranus & Neptune:

The moons of these gas giants are settled by the fringe of the frontiersmen, setting out as far as they can reach while still keeping a foothold on home. Indeed, without the technologies of the Sirians or the Ia, this is precisely as far as humankind can travel. There are numerous way stations also built on these moons, serving as a waypoint for all starships entering and leaving the Solar System. Not suprisingly, the Sirians maintain these way stations in a manner of their own choosing.

Pluto:

Destroyed in the year 2280 by what most scientists will conclude was a particuarly large comet. No evidence has yet been found to support that such a comet ever existed, however.

Lilaena De'Ville
Sep 20th, 2005, 10:48:59 PM
Just something of a question: Wouldn't any 'veins of gold' on Mercury be... uh, rivers?

Sanis Prent
Sep 20th, 2005, 10:53:24 PM
Not if they're underground :)

Khendon Sevon
Sep 20th, 2005, 10:55:39 PM
Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Just something of a question: Wouldn't any 'veins of gold' on Mercury be... uh, rivers?

Mercury’s sunny-side has a temperature of 427 degrees Celsius while its night-time side is roughly -183 degrees Celsius. Mind you, these are surface temperatures. They do not represent or indicate the temperature underneath the surface (generally conditions underneath the surface layer are cooler unless close to an underground heat source).

(yay for google on the numbers).

Telan Desaria
Sep 21st, 2005, 12:15:54 PM
Sounds very interesting. Need a DRE npc? - contact me. Id love to help.

Sanis Prent
Sep 21st, 2005, 01:29:09 PM
This isn't a roleplay. Thanks for the offer though.

Morgan Evanar
Sep 21st, 2005, 01:42:15 PM
Venus could have outcasts forraging in the desert.

Lilaena De'Ville
Sep 21st, 2005, 06:35:14 PM
You did post it in RP Discussion. :)

Kale
Sep 21st, 2005, 07:05:24 PM
Towns such as Midway, Sunset Gap, and Last Chance dot along the thin stretch of ground that separates the light and dark hemispheres of this world.

Mercury's rotational period is not the same as its orbital period; therefore the termination line between the light and dark hemispheres moves. The only way these towns could remain in the relatively temperate twilight regions is if they move, too. Alternately, they could be constructed underground for insulation, or simply have big ol' radiation shields.

Incidentally, the rotational period, 59 days, is almost exactly 2/3 of its orbital period, 88 days. And if you work out the angles, you find that means that any given point on Mercury faces the sun directly once every two orbital periods (once every 176 days).

http://www.mira.org/fts0/planets/092/text/txt001x.htm

Nifty ideas so far, I'm liking it. :)

Sanis Prent
Sep 22nd, 2005, 07:37:17 AM
Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
You did post it in RP Discussion. :)

Which also serves as a discussion for storytelling, which also includes fanfictions, which are a different element from roleplaying.

Also, I posted Story/Novel in the thread title. I can draw a picture and use shadow puppets next time I guess :)

Lilaena De'Ville
Sep 22nd, 2005, 03:21:35 PM
Indonesian shadow puppets! I demand it!

I do like the idea a lot. You'll be using your own characters for it, yes? If I see a wide-eyed naive but not innocent type female character in it... James is my intellectual property! Daani is too, now that I think of it. At least half mine. :mad:mneh

Sanis Prent
Sep 22nd, 2005, 03:57:25 PM
I'll stick to home cooking exclusively unless somebody is just incredibly altruistic and allows me to use their stuff for inspiration. It's cool either way for me.

Dasquian Belargic
Feb 13th, 2010, 10:48:17 AM
Thread necro I know, but did you ever do anything with this?

Sanis Prent
Feb 13th, 2010, 11:08:29 AM
No, sadly. I sort of half-assed around with the idea and my last iteration was to actually make the Sirians a pre-industrial race and make the humans the space travelers and sort of do some wild west themes.

Alas, then Avatar came out and sort of squashed the whole concept for me.

I'm still sort of in the air on it and if I ever get real time to think it out, I may write something.

Dasquian Belargic
Feb 13th, 2010, 11:30:48 AM
That's a pity. It seemed like a great idea.

Sanis Prent
Feb 13th, 2010, 11:44:58 AM
The kernel of it's still very current in my mind and if I find a decent bit of inspiration, I still may very well write about it. I just don't want to fop about with something that seems so similar to something else.

Dasquian Belargic
Feb 14th, 2010, 04:31:53 AM
It doesn't sound that much similar to Avatar to me, and I would imagine your writing style would produce something with a totally different 'feel' to it anyhow.