The Expanse | Hard Sci-Fi OOC

[ThreeEyes]

The Expanse
OOC

Ancient History

2015:
The Higgs Boson is witnessed, recorded, and the environment under which it can be measured has been identified. Through this the basic framework for FTL(faster-than-light) travel is laid.

2023:
After short years of dispute, study, and a host of remarkable breakthroughs in bringing together quantum physics and General Relativity the first theoretical model of a FTL engine, 'Project Hephaestus', is devised in just eight years and socked into a fast-moving project track by Fortune 20 up-and-comer SystemaCorp, Inc. With plans to build this engine and a prototype space ship with which to harness it, the company launches a multi-billion dollar space station/shipyard project, with the help of numerous space-based business grants and private investment, called Verladeplatz 1. With this space station set to be completed in just under two years, the company hopes to begin utilizing zero-gravity as a way to build a big and comprehensive sort of interstellar colony ship. With an immediate patent and trademark on the equations and dimensions used for their theoretical model, the company prevents competitors from immediately taking advantage of their scientists.

2030:
With setbacks including a hole in the design of the FTL engine itself, a few severe problems in implementing centrifugal gravity for the station, and some technical issues that required research into providing more effective oxygen recycling units, it is finally finished and put into active use with a staff of 328 employees and contractors. All living arrangements are accounted for, including repeated instruction on the harshness of zero gravity work and living, as well as the harm unobstructed radiation from the sun can cause- though the station itself is well-shielded and, except for main work areas, fitted with the ability to produce its own artificial gravity with a drive making use of centrifugal force. Employees work in six month and one year contracts, with shuttles home ferrying the traffic provided by SystemaCorp; the off-time of these employees is, in order, six months partial-paid and ten months full-paid. Obviously, this means that there is a partial staff change every half year.

2036:
Even with six years of straight work the FTL drive is only mostly complete. The work on the ship has produced an impressive looking set of internals, with no outer shielding- a behemoth of 3.4km in length floating in a giant zero-gravity hangar enclosure to prevent damage.


In this future the population has swelled to 10.2 billion, well above the projection of ~9 billion. As this is the future limited "transhuman" technologies will be included in the RP. Kurzweil's prediction for sentient AI in 2029 will not have been realized, though AI will exist in the setting. The use of international credits through eBanking will have replaced bill money in most of the world. Affordable personal computers(of much smaller size and greater capacity than what we know) will be available(in their many facets) to probably ~65% of Earth's population. Additionally, breakthroughs in medicine, like thru-shot or intravenous cures for Cancer and AIDS, limb replacement, a lifted ban on stem cell research leading to breakthroughs in grafting, etc. Lifespans are elongated by use and discovery of age-defying drugs(which you can do research on yourself, if you'd like), as well as limited implant "wet-work" like implanted communications devices, ocular cameras utilizing nanotechnology for the blind, and hearing mechanisms for the functionally deaf. Limited stuff, but useful nonetheless.

Culturally, it's easily considered that life in 2036 will be much different than what we know. (WIP)

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Verladeplatz 1

The proud vacuum of SystemaCorp's vast assets and, Nature willing, the gamble that catapults humanity into the vast unknown. It's not surprising that the station and its parent company garnered explosive media attention after plans were announced that construction had already begun on the proprietary, experimental rockets designed to carry the payloads of equipment and materials needed for the station into low Earth orbit. When they were complete(a full year ahead of schedule) the $750mil project produced a set of three re-entry craft. After discussions with the ESA it is agreed that the ships will take of and return at the Guiana Space Center.

Once it is constructed the station sits about 55km out from Earth. Its living areas, small laboratories, and recreational compliments create a gleaming white series of laterally joined, self-contained segments about .4km long which mostly utilize centrifugal artificial gravity units. Four slightly larger hangar spaces numbered 1-4, which make up work yards, branch off at equidistant intervals along the sides of the station. At one end of the station is the Main Yard, a monolithic shipyard of 5km x 4km x 3.5km. The yards are mounted with an immodest set of solar panels that charge a massive set of batteries within the station. The insides of the hangars are largely plain, often simply the naked insides of the reinforced alloy shell. The one exception is Work Area 3, the third hangar, which is kept strictly off-limits to most employees.

One thing that players will discover is that the giant space station is also used for weapons testing in space. Ergo, players will find weapons caches of electromagnetic projectiles in both small arms and anti-vehicle variety. Who knows what else lies in the manifold labs of the 'Platz?




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Where You Come In

On October 25th a set of alarms sound as an explosion occurs in one of the laboratory blocks. Word quickly spreads, as the emergency intercom system briefly buzzes to life and is subsequently cut, that unidentified terrorists have stormed the facility from a transport space craft and begun moving through the monstrously-sized station taking hostages, laboratory equipment, and research documentation from computers.


There's no real motivation at first, so players will be left a whole lot of slack when creating their characters. Obviously all characters should be SystemaCorp employees, contractors, or guests on the station at the time of the attack.


Character Skeleton:

Name:

Age:

Job Title:

Appearance: Preferably typed, with or without an image.

Background: One or two paragraphs is fine.

[tavi]

i'll get a character up ASAP

[Evil_pigeon]

Is this okay? This took far longer the write than it should, you had to name the space station in german didn't you :/ Made me spend ages looking stuff up. Didn't even know east germany had a computer industry.

Name: Eccard Feldkamp

Gender: Male

Age: 76

Nationality: German

Job Title: Professor, Project lead: Articulatory Synthesis (Broadly; Artificially replicating human voice, responses and speech patterns)

Appearance: Stick thin, erratic and unkempt, Eccard Feldkamp practically embodies the stereotypical mad scientist. This impression of the hunched old man with his piercing blue eyes isn't exactly helped by the frequency with which his profession might allow opportunities to screech "IT'S ALIVE" and cackle loudly whilst standing in rooms buzzing with electricity. In many ways, the stereotype is really quite accurate; a solitary programmer, whose antisocial tendancies have resulted in him being left alone so long that he's started to talk to himself and, as if that wasn't enough, the Professor is growing senile in his old age, continually forgetting things.

The only thing that seems to keep the Doctor going is his assistant, Daisy, with whom he maintains constant contact through a battered and outdated old computer, so big that it actually has to be wrapped about his wrist.

Whilst evidently not in prime physical condition, Eccard is spry enough for his age thanks to various articial bone and limb replacements: Noticably an artificial leg and mismatched shoulders that suggests early, comparatively primitive work on his back and upper spine - much more obviously difiguring than sleek, modern efforts.

Background: Eccard was born into a world with a vastly different set of worries to the present. An East German, Eccard spent the first 29 years of his life under the Soviet Union's thumb. Recognised from an early age as a talented mathematician, Eccard's education eventually lead him to a position developing technology for VEB Robotron, a major computer manufacturer in East Germany.

In the years following German reunification an the collapse of the Soviet Union, Professor Feldkamp found his career going from strength to strength, spending several years developing early voice technology for Siemens before retiring to a cushy academic position where he continued his research. This lifetime of research eventually paid off for Eccard when he was headhunted by SystemaCorp to head a project aiming to develop a truly reliable translator - models exist but none that can be relied upon for more than the general gist of what someone is trying to tell you.

Eccard Feldkamp has been seriously injured twice in his life, the first time was at the hands of the Soviets; that cost him a leg. He was just 3 years old: An escape attempt, by his family not long after the Wall's construction. The second time cost him a wife, as well as a large chunk of torso - car crash, nothing particularly exciting.

He's been alone now for just over 20 years, trying to persuade computers to talk back to him.

[tavi]

i assume that we are starting in 2036 as that is the last year on your history?

---------- Post added at 04:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 PM ----------

Name: Jason Skortle

Age: 47

Job Title: Assistant Particle Physics Researcher

Appearance: 6ft tall, skinny but not stick like, short straight brown hair, brown eyes, wears glasses. pretty average looking, no distinctive features except his Irish accent

Background: He was Born in Ireland in 1988 and moved to Scotland after he left high school to attend university studying physics and mathematics. after graduating he moved again, this time to Switzerland to work at CERN and was working there when the Higgs Boson was finally witnessed in 2015. he continued to work as an assistant on various FTL projects until he was approached by SystemaCorp with the opportunity to work in space on their new space station 'Verladeplatz 1'

~~~~~~~~~~~~

hope this is ok, i know its short but i think he will make a good character despite his uneventful past

[The Veteran Geek]

I hope it's okay that I am applying.

Though a couple of things you have written are grinding at me. Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Physics are the same thing. What would be actually shocking and major stop forward would be the combining of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Perhaps even the proof for string theory would be a huge bound forward, considering this is a theory that has the ability to possibly combine QM and GR. Also, there are spaces suits currently being put into concept that are not bulky and will act as a second skin while protecting you. Dava Newman - Bio Suit


Name: Odette "Lady Godiva" Renalt

Age: 29

Job Title: Doctor (MD)

Personality: She is quiet, though she loves conversation. Her voice is smooth like velvet, dark like coffee, soft and warm as a summer breeze. She smiles rarely with her face, but there is a calming, gentle aura about her that makes people trust her implicitly. Her actions, like her voice, are slow and smooth. She does nothing with out purpose, no extra movements beyond what is necessary.

She has a soft spot for children, with a motherly sort of need/desire. She takes care of all around her. She is a lady through and through. Odette never does anything that a young woman should not. She is skilled in embroidery, piano, reading (being a highly educated young lady), polite conversation, flower arranging, gardening, dancing, etc. She is proper in every sense of the word.

She is slow to anger, and once she has hit that point it comes out like a raging storm, destroying all in its path until it quenches itself out. It is a cold, freezing sort of anger, which transform her eyes into a snow storm and her words into icicles.

Her nick-name comes from her belief in the good of all people. Lady Godiva paraded the street in only her long hair to prove that the saxons were good and would not look upon her. Odette puts the same amount of trust in all those she comes into contact with. She treats them with the appropriate kindness of her station, doing what ever she can for the poor or unfortunate.

Appearance: A dainty little thing. She is small in stature, but has plenty of curve to make up for it. Not fat, simply a gal with a little meat on her bones. Her skin is alabaster pale, with eyes a soft shade of green. Her hair is long, wavy, and very red. A thick set of red eyebrows sit above her eyes. Her nose is straight and pointed, and her jaw a delicate curve. Her lips are plump and pink. She has abnormally long fingers, slender and spidery. Her body is perfectly proportioned besides.

Background: She was born into a family of very rich scientists. It was her great, great grandmother who figured out how to rearrange DNA to bring out the best possible physical attributes in a human being, as well as causing strange colors in hair, eyes, and skin. She set up her own little company where the very rich came to have the DNA of their unborn children changed. Eventually they were able to change DNA structures in even adults, though these were weaker and often needed multiple appointments.

Great Great Grandmother did the same for her own children, and down the line. The business was very successful, marketing to even the middle class. It was the ultimate form of plastic surgery. They bought up the more traditional forms of PS as well and business was booming.

Odette was born into high society. Her father was doting on her, partially from his guilt for being away so very often. And her mother was much more interested in her wine bottle than her own daughter. (Mother also blamed Father for Odette's abnormally long fingers. She has developed a complex about them.) Odette became used to loneliness, which turned her into a quiet and obedient daughter. She strove for her mother's love and this was the only way of which she was aware.

She was a very smart child. Her IQ was high, bordering on genius level. She would come home with a good report card and her mother would pat her on the head, the only form of love she ever received from the woman. Her father was full of hugs and kisses and gifts... and then he was gone the next day for weeks at a time.

Odette was a devourer of knowledge. She had a sort of morbidity in that she loved the human body... inside (quite literally) and out. It also extended to the mind. As she got older she knew what she wanted to do. At the age of 18 she went for her MD at a 10 year school.

Boys noticed Odette... but Odette did not notice them. She was aware of them, but in in a sexual way. In fact, the girl was very asexual. Her mind was on her studies, there was no time for fooling around.

After graduation she got a job with SystemaCorp. Little known to her it was through her parents gratuitous donations that she was hired with less then a year's experience in the field.


----

I apologize if the history jumps around a little. Also, the personality is there more for my benefit. If I don't write her out I won't know where I'm going.

[ThreeEyes]

Edited the setting a bit to fix the misnomer and deleted the line about less bulky space suits. Should've figured that super-thin designs were already on the line, what with all the work that's been done with meta-materials.

Additionally, provided some cultural information about the times.

[The Veteran Geek]

Okay, Sorry If I was being rude. I just love me some science! And I hope my bio is not too horrible. :P

[AYoungWarthog]

Name: Daniel Ruben

Gender: Male

Age: 39

Nationality: German

Job Title: Owner of Private Security Company based in München, Germany. He is a wealthy billionaire and former German Special Forces Soldier. Today he is not only the owner of the Security on the Verladeplatz, he is the head of the Security detail in the civilian suites on the massive space station.

Appearance: Ever since the time he was born in Stuttgart, Germany he heard people sazing how handsome he was. Nearing the age of forty, he is starting to find that very hard to believe. However, it is a definite fact, nobody can deny that Daniel is a handsome individual. Light gray-blue eyes and his luxurious brown hair, which is normally combed back, give him the look of a snobby rich man though they are set upon the face of a man who seems to be ten years younger than he really is. With a light tan and slight stubble of facial hair he is well-groomed and well-acclimated to his life of being a risk taker. A slight scar left brow from his service in the Deutsch Armee is barely visible. His lightly muscled stalkishly built frame is almost always dressed in the finest, custom made attire money can buy as well.

Background: Ever since Daniel was born he has had a fascination with literature. When he turned eighteen and graduated from his Gymnasium, he went off to München (Munich) where he studied English and German literature to become a teacher of both languages. However, when he was twenty, fate would’ve had it differently. A small conflict involving Germany, America, and smaller Middle Eastern Countries drew Daniel into the service do to the reinstated German draft. Serving in the German Special Forces he soon found that language was only his second love. Though, he was a writer in his free time, he was a killer on Germany’s. Becoming a tech specialist as well as a small arms specialist he gained the rank of Lieutenant in the Deutsch Armee before returning home where he started a private Military and Security Contracting Firm. Schwarzer Lotus Unternehmen, or Black Lotus Company, became one of the most popular military companies in the world, next to the American Black Water. When Systemacorp took a major contracting deal to build Earth’s first FTL vessel, they Schwarzer Lotus snagged the deal to protect and serve with their new armor and weapons specially designed using technology that Daniel calls, Electroguass.

LR-4 Viper Assault Rifle
Official Name: Leopard Rifle Model 4 Viper Carbine

The Viper is a state-of-the-art assault weapon that comes standard with a two hundred round clip, advanced electrogauss technology, and a state-of-the-art touchscreen scope that shows ammo count, fire rate, and can be changed to thermal and night-vision optics.

Common Name: LR-4, Viper

Ammunition: The LR-4 Viper Carbine uses a small, two ounce titanium needle encased in cobalt. The Cobalt is melted off by the static charge which generates extreme heats while still allowing the needle to be thrown magnetically by the coils of the Electrogauss weapon.

Magazine Capacity: The LR-4 Viper’s magazine contains two hundred rounds.

Price: An LR-4 Viper without any add-ons is priced roughly around 3,500₠

Designer: Schwarzer Lotus

Manufacture: Schwarzer Lotus

When the trigger was squeezed an electromagnetic piston swung down to attach to the iron casing and move it into the chamber before turning off and swing back down to be in place for the next round. Once in the chamber a series of coils, wrapped extremely tight and at close intervals along the inside of the barrel powers in session; the first coil powered the shard down the barrel to the second coil which forced it to the third and so on, allowing the round to reach unheard of speeds. Some shards were recorded at being able to leave the barrel travelling at nearly twenty kilometers per second.

Two neutrally charged electromagnetic rods placed along the outside of the barrel also forced the round to spiral down the barrel, never allowing it to make contact with the metal as well as giving it a static charge, super heating it to nearly five thousand degrees. Most rounds impacted with the kinetic force of a nuclear explosion and had the penetrating power to pierce titanium. However, the armor that most soldiers wore could stop the force and damage of the round, sometimes two or three times, using hydraulic pistons along the inside of the armor plates to make it flex with the energy.

Black Lotus Combat Armor
Official Name: Paladin Combat Armor

Common Name: Paladin Armor

Weight: 12kg (Roughly 30lbs)

Technology: Climate Control Vents, Voice Speakers on the Shoulders, Holographic HUD in the mirror (Shows vital rates, cross-com camera, visor magnification sight, as well as allowing thermal and night vision optics), shock absorption to protect from the rounds fired by enemy weapons, and air filtration to allow a closed circuit recyclable air supply.

Material: Carbonflex fiber (Diamond Hard Flexible Fibers), fiberglass, titanium alloy

The Paladin Armor is capable of stopping small arms fire for short periods but damage to the Carbonflex fibers the armor is made from are weakened from constant impacts. It is the systematic armor suit worn by every Lotus soldier.

Designer: Schwarzer Lotus

Manufacture: Schwarzer Lotus

Price: 26,000₠

---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 PM ----------

I just thought, since you've got some scientists and stuff. Obviously there'll be some security too. So I thought playing as a character with a gun might give me a little bit of an edge even if my character doesn't understand Quantum Physics or Medicine like the others, he understands the politics of the gun. And has a small security team with Electroguass weapons. Though I'd imagine they were the first hostages or first casualties of the terrorist boarding of the station.

[ThreeEyes]

@ Evil pigeon: Well done! I like the originality, you're good.

@ tavi: If you could, would you expand a bit more on your character's history and perhaps add a touch of personality or something to the description? So as to give me a bit more feel for your character, of course. Also, I have one sort-of-concern-question: you don't often capitalize your sentences? :o

@ The Veteran Geek: Ah, you didn't seem too rude. Haha. And I like your profile too, you're in.

@ AYoungWarthog: You put a lot of work into your character, you write well, and I like that, but unfortunately I've got just a couple of nitpicks that are more setting-related than anything. Although there's definitely room for a retired KSK Leutnant(assuming that rank as opposed to its senior position), especially considering that the angle I'm pushing for SystemaCorp is a really ambitious western European company.

It would be reasonable that SystemaCorp might lease out a job to a third party security firm(and that said firm might be European), but within this setting that firm's use would probably be in providing a few experts to oversee and aid in weapon testing inside the station's experimental weapons lab, Work Area 3.

There are very limited civilian capacities on the station and security is almost nonexistent save some paid civilian personnel with non-lethals and security monitoring equipment. The most important security measures on the station will be both internal and digital.

If you wouldn't mind reworking your character to fit these setting traits and find a reason for the founder, and I presume CEO, of a contracting firm to be on-station instead of just dispatching a small team of advisors, please. Then again, heheh, it could be one of any number of reasons so I hope you don't stress too much on that point. I hope you don't mind these small qualms, and I definitely don't mean to say your character is poorly written.



Posting my own character and the IC soon.

[AYoungWarthog]

Edit to Background
After returning home from the Middle East at the age of twenty-four Daniel left the Deutsch Armee only to return to college. Even though he already held a Bachelors Degree in both English and German literature, he continued his education while working with his firm from the ground up. Over the next fourteen years he obtained three more degrees, one of them being a doctorate. These degrees are in Psychology (Ph.D), Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (M.S.), and a Professional Degree in Weapons Technology. When Systemacorp began taking investments, Daniel snapped to the chance and invested forty-eight million euros to the cause. This massive investment allowed him to bring seven of his best men with him onto the station where he now owns his own suite, a small laboratory and sleeping area. Though the Black Lotus members aboard the station our armed for combat with their armor and rifles, as well as pistols that work the same way as their popular LR-4s, they are not the security force most people believe. They are contracted by Systemacorp to work as a protection group on the station as well as minor security operations around the facility in case of any issue that may arrive; however, they are mainly researching the effects of space and confinement on the modern soldier as well as testing how well their equipment handles the conditions while attempting to advance the technology in their armor and weapons as to perfect the technology for Earth's remaining modern countries to use in their own military forces.



Is that good?