The New Official Traveller Universe (NOTU)

[Ulsyus]

It memory engram recording is possible, then there's most likely technology to detect this and take action. Say, set off a device that immolates the subject. We then get into the realm of measure and countermeasure, compartmentalisation and a pile of other stuff to do with security intelligence and management. I'm most interested in the effect the availability of the technology has.

In MTU diplomats will be certified and as such identified as carrying countermeasures around in their heads. Should one turn up with a head missing, or with what appears to be theirs but without a memory or the countermeasures in place, then that'll be a sign that tampering had taken place, and there's then a diplomatic incident. Alternatively or in addition, diplomats are only told as much as they need to know, so would be of limited value for exploitation. Agents go in accepting that they'll have things embedded in their heads that will prevent them from being recorded by way of terminal outcome, but again are only given limited compartments to ensure that if their countermeasures were overcome then their exploitation would only be of limited value. Plus the other side would give away what it knows about agents and networks. Great at the end of an operation, but dangerous if a state/corp/group only knows a certain amount and their aim is to find out more rather than have the thing go to ground.

Except... for those diplomats that subscribe to the concept that the Relict is not really them and that they've died. Which, additionally, adds pathos to the event and fuel to the fire that the incident could become.

 

[epicenter00]

So, the year is 300. Porfiria is on the throne. Cutting edge medical science has just come up with forcegrown clones and memory upload. What happens next? How does that influence the history of the Third Imperium?

In contrast to a lot of posters here, I posit it's possible that may not actually change much at all. In fact, the change might make the OOTU work better; the idea of ancient conservative beings ruling over a vast empire makes certain facets about the OOTU easier to stomach.

I've always thought it was stupid that nobles don't use anagathics because there's a "strong public bias" against it. This makes no sense to me for a variety of reasons, mostly that there might be a public bias against it, but that'd only last a few generations before the shortlifes all die out and their grandkids are unlikely to care because it's been that way since the day they were born. Regardless, it's doubtful that even if there was a "public bias" against it, it'd be anything that would result in nobles facing a vast public revolt. At a fundamental level, the situation is similar with forcegrown clones and memory upload - in both cases, a certain group of people are able to access vastly increased functional lifetimes.

Depending on how available (cheap) the technology is, the entire Imperium starts living longer, starting at the top and gradually trickling downwards as the technology becomes more available. But what does that really change in the Imperium?

Perhaps early on, in order to make things more acceptable to the shortlifes, Emperors and Empresses do not rule forever, nor do nobles. Instead, even if they are hale and sound, after a certain age, they ritually abdicate the throne and retire, perhaps taking up residence in the various other palaces on Capital. Imperial culture on Capital becomes even more inward looking as new Emperors and Empresses have to deal with their ancestors interfering with things, even as others have no interest in power anymore and simply want to be left along to pursue their hobbies (some perhaps even leave Capital). A lot of a ruling Emperor or Empress' time is spent playing off and creating alliances with his or her ancestors. The eventual original goal was for the Emperor or Empress to become a Vilani-style Shadow Emperor (a handy way to hide an immortal) but perhaps before then the Imperial leadership simply get set in their ways.

It becomes more resistant to change; it becomes more static. Even if a situation is far from best, the Imperial leadership starts very much striving to to keep it the way it is because that is what is familiar (and therefore easier to deal with). Worlds with less-than-ideal governments, primitive worlds, and so on are simply kept that way. Local wars are accepted, not only as "social stress valves" but they're seen as a kind of ... entertainment ... to keep populations distracted. By carefully limiting the kinds of technology (ie; "Good War / Bad War") being used in conflicts, as well as the scope and length of local conflicts under some control, with the threat of intervention, they can keep things like local technological innovation under control.

New technologies beyond what they have threaten to upset the apple-cart, so new technologies face increased resistance to being developed and deployed; technological development starts to creep to a halt, new ideas and inventions increasingly find it difficult to get capital funding; in fact basic research would be clamped down upon in favor of the study of history and sciences without direct connection to invention and innovation become "the place" for the best and brightest to be. The Imperium's technological develop starts to slow ... the difference between TLs becomes less and less. The Fifth Frontier War starts to show some disturbing trends - the Zhodani are no longer so technologically behind the Third Imperium. This isn't because research is getting harder, it's because the Imperium simply isn't developing technology at the rate it used to.

The Imperial culture in Core starts to identify closely with Vilani, identifying with the ritual, their slower, more predictable pace of life, and control of technology. All of these things become quite comfortable to the Imperial elites. This would eventually lead to the Solomani Rim War, when Imperial nobles, regardless of their supposed "race" become more and more Vilani (or perhaps some sort of romanticized Vilani), leading to a break with the Solomani back home.

 

[whulorigan]

Anagathics & Clones/Relicts

What if, for the sake of the discussion, we explore a derivative line of thought. Suppose we "relax" the cultural stipulation against Nobles using anagathics (I always thought that was an illogical rule as well), just for the sake of argument, and transfer that stigma to the use of relicts/clones (or at the very least argue that the relict/clone is not considered a legal inheritor of Imperial Title under Imperial High Law). Perhaps it is an "anathema" derived from some heretofore unspecified events during the latter days of the Rule of Man that the Vilani remember with loathing (since the Solomani were well advanced in the biological sciences as compared to the Vilani). Perhaps said events even contributed to the collapse of the RoM.

What if the use of anagathics is detrimental to the effective decantation of clones and relicts? Perhaps such clones/relicts are not "faithful" to the original in some way? Enough to invalidate them as a true successive copy (e.g. anagathics interferes with the replication of the genetics and/or neurological patterns; INT and EDU are altered/lessened; memory transfer is not faithful, etc) due to the consequences of the anagathics regimen?

Now said Noble must choose between:

1) Using anagathics (which in actual practice can only realistically extend life up to a certain degree, IIRC) and NOT being able to produce a relict/clone that is considered to be a continuation of himself (and in fact may have mental handicaps and/or physiological problems);

2) Forgoing anagathics in order to have a relict/clone available as Life Insurance, but without Imperial Rights of Inheritance.​