The Colony that was Lost​

Adrian slowly paced through the history museum. The Confluence History of Space museum was the largest museum in the capital and had exhibits tracing the colonies’ first tragic misjump, through to about 10 years ago. Typically, it would be bustling with school groups and families, but Adrian had asked his guards to lock down the building. He needed the peace and quiet to think, and perhaps, the specters of the colonies’ past would give him some inspiration on how to deal with the current problems. Adrian walked into the first exhibit hall, titled Our New Home, and began to look around. The hall seemed focused on the colonies’ immediate solar system, with the iconic painting of the view from their emergence painted beautifully across the back wall. He walked closer to the mural and looked at the solar system it depicted.

[] - System 1 - A yellow sun, orbited by twenty-four different planets. Nine rocky planets, five gas giants, and ten dwarf planets. They were lucky to have three planets within the habitable zone. -2pts [] - System 2 - A yellow sun orbited by eighteen different planets. Seven rocky planets, ten gas giants, and one dwarf planet. They were lucky to have two different planets within the habitable zone. -1pts [] - System 3 - A yellow sun orbited by eight different planets. Two rocky planets, five gas giants, and one dwarf planet. They were lucky one of the planets was in the habitable zone. -0pts

It really was a beautiful painting, he marveled. The artist had even captured the uniqueness of their new home well.

[] - The Nebula was captured in all its beautiful hues. (The solar system was surrounded for many light-years by a beautiful gaseous nebula. It blocked all advanced sensor data going out and presumably going in. A few of the scientists had even theorized about uses for the gas.) -1pt

[] - The Asteroid belt glistened like a pearl-studded belt draped around a cosmic goddess’s waist. (The solar system contains an asteroid belt that contains many icy and rocky asteroids. It has the potential to provide nearly unlimited access to minerals and water, potentially some exotic or rare minerals.) -1pt

[] - The black hole was rendered as a dark presence lurking behind the brightly glittering sun. (The solar system orbits a black hole. The presence of such a stellar phenomenon has caused many in the science departments to question many of the readings they are getting about such a dangerous object.) -1pt

[] - The space whales were rendered in stunning accuracy, as they seemed to play among the stars. (The solar system is home to a colony of spaceship-sized alien megafauna. They seem to be peaceful, but they are large and curious creatures who almost wrecked your ship when you flew too close on entry.) +1pt

[] - The space dragon held a position of significance, just below the sun, showing off its iridescent scales. (The solar system is home to a young moon-sized space leviathan. It is territorial and aggressive. Now that you are landed, it doesn’t seem to care very much about you, but if you were to return to space, it most certainly would care.) +2pts

Finally, after studying the rest of the mural, Adrian turned his gaze to the small blue-and-green ball that had been selected as their home and smiled. The world was nearly perfect for habitation from space. Nitrogen, oxygen atmosphere, plenty of water, and lots of greenery. What was the problem? No one could foresee exactly what the issues would be until they landed and began to set up their colony.

Adrian stepped away from the mural and walked through the door into the next room, creatively titled New Terra.

The room showcased the initial colonial efforts and their first discoveries on the planet. Now, twenty years on, only a few areas of the world remained curiosities or caused problems for the colonial government.

[] - Like the crystal deposits. Growing out of the ground across the planet, massive spires of crystal grew up into the air, shining with reflected light. They also grew deep beneath the earth, carving caves from the stone. (Unique crystalline materials.) -1pt

[] - like the exotic deserts. The deserts covered a relatively small percentage of the planet, even compared to other deserts. The problem stemmed from the exotic particulates mixed into the sand. The particles were highly reactive, releasing vast amounts of energy when disturbed. Even though the government had posted warnings and guards around the closest peripheries, people still tried to access the ‘spice’. (Access to energy-rich dust) -1pt

[] - like the Underdark. The revelation that the planet had a ‘hollow earth’ situation was a surprise to everyone. Immediately, the government began trying to block off as many cave entrances as could be easily accessed to keep crazy ‘cavers’ from dying in a hundred tiny crevices. (Access to a massive global cave network that goes for miles below ground) -1pt

[] - Like the alien relic cache. When the cache was first discovered, it was immediately hushed up. Now, only the colony leaders and the scientists who found it know about it. The cache contained several alien documents and preserved civilian technologies. (Access to alien civilian tech.) -1pt [] - Like the ancient battlefield. The fact that two ancient alien races had fought and died here without picking up their dead or military vehicles had interesting implications. (Access to an alien battlefield) -1pt

[]- Like the small vault. The vault itself wasn’t anything special, and looked as if humans had built it a few years ago. The wrinkle came when they tried to open the door. An AI secured the door. Some sort of computer intelligence would keep changing the systems and subsystems, even the code itself, to stop them from hacking the door. (Access to a vault protected by an AI containing ‘Unknown’) -1pt

[] - Like the behemoths. The behemoths were native to the planet and, unlike most other organisms, grew to the size of a basic habitat, if not larger. The colonial government had to expend significant resources to control them. (Access to giant beasts) -1pt

[] - Like the fungal forest. The discovery of the ‘Fungi’ that covered twenty-five percent of the planet’s surface was awe-inspiring. The giant stalks grew taller than a grown man. The ‘roots’ of the fungi seemed to carry messages between them and could grow at a rapid pace. They even carved out caverns below where smaller fungi grew. (Access to Giant Fungi) -1pt

[] - Like the giant worms. It was still being debated whether they were more like the Graboids or the Dune worms. So far, the worms had demonstrated behaviors from both. They were easily disturbed by construction and would eat the smaller fauna. It wasn’t known what the maximum size they could achieve was, or the maximum depth they could dig. (Access to giant worms) -1pt

[] - Like the rampant volcanism. The planet had seemed so peaceful from orbit. Now, twenty years on, the colony had developed effective protection against volcanic eruptions. With a large eruption at least once a year and many more minor eruptions monthly, the world was constantly changing. At least it brought new minerals regularly. (Access to fresh mineral deposits and volcanoes. Lots of volcanoes) +1pt

[] - Like the radioactive wasteland. The fact that almost half of the planet was uninhabitable because of nuclear fallout was shocking. That a race of spacefaring aliens had come and nuked the planet until nothing was living on half of it was shocking. Made you wonder why they had done this? (Lose access to half the planet) +2pt

[] - Like the poisonous lifeforms. They were lucky that in the initial phases of colonization, they had access to preserved food aboard the colony ship. If they hadn’t, no one would be alive right now. Because, as it turned out, every single macro organism was toxic to humans. The ‘plants’ and the ‘animals’ couldn’t be farmed, because they couldn’t be eaten at all. The pittance of farming supplies had to be shepherded very carefully to avoid any famine. (The world is toxic, no eating) +3pt

Still, the problems wouldn’t have been as bad if they had been able to do what they had planned from the beginning. Instead of a simple year-long journey and then a simple colonization, they had been thrown halfway across the galaxy, to an unknown planet in an unknown star system. They had been well prepared for their original destination, after all, they were…

[] - High energy enthusiasts. A significant portion of the colony’s scientists had degrees in advanced energy sciences. Nuclear, electrical, thermal, you name it, they knew about it. They even brought a prototype fusion reactor for the new colony. (access to fusion reactors, and gain +5 to energy science rolls) -1pt

[] - FTL enjoyers. When a group of scientists got together with a prototype ship and planned to try to achieve a new sublight velocity, the only thing the government had said was, "Want to make it a colony ship?" and that was history. You do have advanced theoretical models that indicate it could be possible to achieve faster-than-light speed, if only you could step outside those pesky laws of reality. (gain advanced theoretical knowledge of FTL, and an advanced jumpdrive.) -1pt

[] - Deep space scientists. The colony had an outsized complement of scientists with experience living in spacecraft and on space stations. They had so much knowledge that they could just tell when something was going finicky in the spacetime continuum. (gain +10 to rolls dealing with gravity or deep space) -1pt

[] - Explorers! Many of our passengers brought their own private spacecraft so they could leave the colony ship periodically and see the local sights of whatever star system we happened to be in. (Gain fleet of scouts. Gain +5 to exploratory rolls) -1pt

[] - Citizen Soldiers. Most of our colonists have military or planetary militia experience. (We don’t lose morale for long wars. +5 to military rolls, and +5 to combat rolls) -1pt

[] - Body sculptures. The vast majority of the passengers within the colony ship had eagerly embraced the varieties of human+. Some were cybernetic, and others were genetically modified, and a third group had both. (gain access to governmental modification programs, through cybernetics or genetics.) -1pt

[] - 0g Workers. A significant portion of our colony ship was dedicated to an orbital foundry and factory, and the workers needed to run it. (gain an orbital foundry. +5 to construction rolls) -1pt

[] - Weapon specialists. Our colony had an outsized complement of gun crazy colonists. As a result, the colony ship was armed, as was every single colonist—or at least the ability to, with all the guns in the armory. (+10 to weaponry rolls) -1pt

[] - Robotics savants. A significant portion of the colonial population has experience with robotics, and many even brought robot helpers from home. (We have dedicated labor robots. +5 to robotics rolls) -1pt

[] - Exobiologists. Many of our scientists had specialized in the study of alien flora and fauna despite the limited sample size. (gain +10 to rolls against aliens) -1pt

[] - Cloners. A few of our colonists ran a business as cloners and were making their way off-planet because of the limitations imposed on them by the current government. They were willing to put their knowledge at our government’s disposal, for a small fee, of course. (Gain access to cloning tech for animals, and research for humans.) -1pt

[] - AI bros. A few of our scientists have experimented with artificial intelligence so much that the colony ship now has a VI. (+10 to rolls dealing with AI) -1pt

Still, that hadn’t prepared them for the shocking experience that had thrown all their plans off the rails. It wasn’t commemorated in the museum, nor anywhere else on the planet. The only mentions of it were in the passengers’ personal journals, which described the harrowing experience. Most people were content to leave it as it was. Unremembered and forgotten by the following generations. But Adrian was not.

He could still remember being a ten-year-old boy, watching with terror as reality warped around him. It all began simply. The ship was moving along, with Adrian watching out of the front viewport. Suddenly, alarms blared, and the captain’s voice called over the intercom. But Adrian didn’t remember what the captain said in those frantic moments because he was too transfixed by what he was seeing outside the colony ship.

[] - A glowing hole in space, drawing in everything around itself. Was it a micro-blackhole? A wormhole? Or was it magic beyond mortal understanding?

[] - The standard colors of a jump, except inverted, and going backwards? No one knows what happened with the jump drive, but everyone agrees that they jumped much farther than they meant to that day.

[] - A gaping chasm in reality, where the colors from the other side burned against reality. When the ship was finally spat back out into reality, people claimed to have seen things moving around the ship, as if studying them.

[] - A massive alien artifact glowing with unknown power. With a flash, the ship would be hurtled to who knows where. And most aggravating of all, far more smoothly than they could jump themselves.

The ship had arrived in their current solar system, damaged, and out of fuel. They were just lucky to find a habitable planet waiting for them. They barely had time to locate and travel towards the chosen planet before the ship began to fall apart. They had landed quickly and started setting up the colony, which led them to discover the uniqueness of their planet.

Adrian shook away the thoughts of the past. They weren’t helping him. He had a problem to deal with. Just as the colony had nearly died twenty years ago, so too was it now perched on a razor’s edge. A calamity had struck the colony, decimating the population and infrastructure.

[] - A civil war. Half of the colony had turned on the other, driven by rising tensions between two of the earliest factions. Instead of talking the problem out, they had fought, and in doing so had destroyed 10% of the colony’s buildings, including about 50% of all military and essential production buildings. The war had finally ended with a catastrophic death toll of forty percent of the population. 0pts

[] - An asteroid storm. A rain of rock and ice from the skies had destroyed forty percent of all the buildings in the colony. We were fortunate; most people had a basement, because otherwise our ten percent death toll would be much higher. Though we do now have access to a lot of easily mineable space material. +1pt

[] - Extreme volcanic activity. What else do you call half of the volcanoes on the planet blowing their tops simultaneously? The unfortunate timing led to the destruction and death of twenty-five percent of the colony. Still, we do now have a vast amount of fertile ground and swathes of new minerals to exploit. +1pt

[] - An alien fighter battle. When two alien fighters appeared overhead, shooting at each other, it was bad. When they began taking out any satellite or orbital station that they could see, it got worse. Finally, when they both crashed into each other over the main colony building it became a calamity. All space assets were destroyed, and twenty-five percent of the colony’s infrastructure was gone. To top it all off, fifteen percent of the population had been killed in the aerial duel of destruction. +2pt

[] - A breeding plague. When the colony first landed, the colonists were attacked by a vicious predator. In their hurry to become safe again, they had hunted it to extinction for many miles surrounding the colony. That was a mistake. It hunted a very particular type of creature. Rapid reproducer and a quick grower, with beastly attitudes, like modern boars. Without its natural predator, this creature quickly outgrew its native habitat and began encroaching on the settlement. At first, just one or two, then five. Then twenty, then one hundred. Soon, it became a massive threat to the colony, particularly the food stocks. By the end of the culling, the creatures had destroyed twenty percent of the colony’s infrastructure and killed almost fifteen percent of the population. +1pt

[] - A Dimensional issue. The whole solar system and accompanying celestial phenomena had been pulled into a crack in reality, leaking green and purple flame. They had stayed in this off-putting dimension, filled with strange colors and sounds, for ten days before they had been unceremoniously spat back out into real space. The dimension had destroyed the colony. Half the colony died. Most through suicide from the ‘dreams’, and the ‘whispers’ that they heard, but others from the silence, and others from the noise. Still another thirty percent was bedridden, unconscious, and who knew when they would wake up. Finally, thirty percent of all the infrastructure had been destroyed as the planet had passed through the crack in reality twice. But power whispered. (between 1% and 10% will awaken their psychic potential. Dice roll) +2pts

[] - A Disease. The alien pathogen had spread quickly. Most people were infected by the end of the month, and most were bedridden by the end of the second month. It is estimated that ten percent have already died. How many more will follow? ( between 10% and 75% will die. Will roll dice.) +3pt

He was the only person in a leadership position left. Head of the scientific conclave, he had been in his lab for most of the time and hadn’t even come out till yesterday. Finding out that he was the most senior of the leaders left had been a shock. Being given emergency powers and command over the small colonial military had been nerve-racking. Still, he had done his best. Organizing what relief he could, giving emergency orders, and making sure the services that were still working kept working, he had spent every moment he could setting everything up so he could have an hour to himself. He had to plan on rebuilding the government, and if that meant starting from scratch, so be it. The first question would be the most important.

Did he see himself leading this colony into the future? Did he even want to be in charge? Or should he pass the torch on to someone younger?

[] - Yes, Adrian puts himself in charge of the new government.

[] - No, Adrian passes the leadership position on to someone else. [] - Write in - who?

Now that that was settled, what kind of government did Adrian think the colony would need going forward?

[] - A Democracy. People vote, and things happen. Someone famous once said, "Democracy is the process by which the people get what they want, good and hard." [] - Write in - Particular flavors, laws, customs, etc.

[] - An oligarchy. A small group of people controls all power and decision-making. "We create our oligarchs and fight for their right to oppress us." [] - Write in - Particular flavors, laws, customs, etc.

[] - A dictatorship. One person having control of the government for life. The following person is then elected. "If this were a dictatorship it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I’m the dictator." [] - Write in - Particular flavors, laws, customs, etc.

[] - An imperial system. One person rules for life; their biological child is next in line for the throne. "We are one with the Emperor, our souls are joined in his will. Praise the Emperor whose sacrifice is life as ours is death. Hail his name the Master of Humanity…" [] - Write in - Particular flavors, laws, customs, etc.

You have 3pts to start with. (The colony starts with 10 pop)

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Thanks for reading. Please tell me what you think and ask any clarifying questions you need. This is a kitchen-sink space-opera start. Please vote by plan. Voting will open in 8 hours, when I am awake again. In the meantime, discuss any ideas you have about the government and the solar system.

Below are the basic rules I will be using for population and dice rolls.

1pop = 100k

Every 2 pops produces 0.3 pop every 25 years (Average global household has 2.3 kids. 2 replace their parents when they die, growing population by .3). We start with 10 pop. In twenty-five years, that grows to 11.5 pop.

Every pop produces 1d100 of research, every 25 years. Plus bonuses. Generally, the DC to beat will be 100. (example: we are researching a laser upgrade, and decide to use 3d100 to beat the dc100. Roll, and get 40, 73, and 73 for a total of 186, plus a bonus of 5 from a trait we have. Great, we learned this new tech.)

Every pop produces 1d100 of construction every 25 years. Plus bonuses. A spaceship-sized object will start at DC100 and go up from there. (Example: we want to make a space station. The basic orbital platform had a DC of 200. We choose to roll 4d100. Roll and get 68,1,6, and 57 for a total of 132, plus 5 from a trait we have = 137. We didn’t beat the DC, but progress will be banked till we decide to try again. We did get a nat1 on a roll, so something terrible did happen to some of the construction crew, but meh, this is an example.)

Every pop produces 1d20 of military every 25 years. Plus bonuses. That d20 represents a battalion of soldiers. (Example: we have three battalions vs an enemy’s five battalions. We would roll 3, 15, and 4. Ohh, not good. The enemy rolls 11, 14, 16, 13, 4. But we have bonuses! +5 to military! So those become 8, 20, and 9. Slightly better. 11 beats 9, leaving 2. 20 destroys 14, and since it is a crit roll again, 10+5=15, loses to 16, leaving 1. 13 beats 8, leaving 5. We did okay. Took out 1, and weakened three more. If we had more soldiers, we could have won.)