The things they carried

[Spenser TR]

The title is a nod to Tim O'Brien's stories about his time as a US GI in Vietnam, where he describes characters and events by describing the objects people carried. I am also fascinated by the serious gear list Pete Vernon just updated.

So I started thinking... if I were travelling the subsector for a long while, what would I be carrying?

Let's put some edges around this. Here are some assumptions I'm working with:

• I have a TAS/Explorer's Club membership (because why not)
• I'm am comfortable, able to afford this kind of travelling
• I'm imagining a reasonable facsimile of myself as the character travelling
• My goal is to move about and "see the subsector" for at least 2 years
• I'm touring any subsector I want, during peacetime
• I can bring up to .5dTon of stuff with me

My first pass at "the things I carried"

A durable bag - something along the lines of a far future version of the Kelty Redwing 50 tactical. I think that bag is resistant to weather, sudden depressurization, and is as secure as a high TL bag can be.

Handcomp - I’m imagining being in the Clement Sector, so a handcomp and not a mobile comm for me. The comp would be loaded up with the usual suspects - games, entertainment, a persona program (you know, just to talk to and bounce ideas off of), translate, local databases of worlds I’d visited, and so on. Nothing crazy.

I’d have an eardot to compliment my personal network "constellation" - a tiny bit of cybertech implated so I could hear comms or whatever in my head and talk under my breath and be heard by whomever I was linked to, like Baxter (see below).

Tablet computer - as high-end as I could manage, with Intellect and other assorted software, backups of all my handcomp files.

Shemagh - truly a bit of kit with a thousand uses.

Nanodrone - something palm-sized and somewhat durable my tablet could control, so I could get great footage of the places I visited and leave on all the public servers I logged onto as part of my travel journal.

Base layer - in my own travels here on Earth, a merino wool (or better) baselayer is invaluable. Sometimes the cold sneaks up on you and with the right layers and shell you’re good for a pretty wide range of temps.

Expedition footgear - These are rugged low-rise boots that are fine for hiking or walking around the arcology. I’d also carry a pair of crushable “church shoes” for those few dress up situations, and flip flops for my time aboard ship.

ID card - The kind that can load whatever IDs, membership cards, medical data, transferable credits, and whatnot I want, send the data to readers, and all those far future ID things.

Credit wafers - Probably just me being silly, but I’d have a couple wafers with transferable value (in the Clement Sector that’s Hub Federation Credits) secreted in my gear so losing my bag or another single piece of kit didn’t ruin me financially.

Sunglasses - Because of course. These would be linked to the handcomp and the tablet

Toiletry bag - I could buy most of the supplies as I went but having a few things on hand can be invaluable. My small medkit goes into this toiletry kit.

A solid carabiner - To hang that bag from. Random, I know.

Paperback - This also sounds random and I can have a million paperback novels on the tablet, but just like the carabiner I’ve always carried a paperback with me as I’ve traveled on Earth, so why not. When I finish I leave it somewhere and pick up a new one.

Traveller’s belt - a simple medium-width belt I could hide items in that also holds a short ceramic blade. I can imagine never needing it, but you know the old saying - better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. One of those credit wafers would be in there.

Hoodie/shell combo - in the far future, my hoodie and shell are amazing in that they can change color or pattern, help act as an antenna for my gear that links to the world net, be that extra amount of memory storage, self-cleaning, and help to monitor my biosigns and health. You know, all the usual features of higher TL clothing. As I mentioned with the baselayer, I’d be all about layers and combos with the few items of clothing I’d bring. One buttondown, one pair of jeans, necessary socks and undies, some merino tshirts. A ball cap from either my time back in the service, or my time as a volunteer medic.

uplifted cat - again, because I’m travelling around the Clement Sector and such companions are a thing. My uplifted cat (Baxter) can’t speak with an audible voice, but is wired via vet mindcomp to link with me and anyone he chooses. Maybe I don’t tell everyone he’s uplifted, and I feel like he’d be great companionship on my travels, as well as a great way to keep sharp senses attuned for trouble or mischief. Of course he'd have the supplies he'd need and become accustomed to. Mostly this means his own collapsable dishes for food and water, and a mat to lay on.

waterbottle - the one I have here on earth shines a UV light to kill bad stuff, so I can only imagine what my waterbottle of the far future can do.

--

Gear crate - something durable and secure that travels with me, not quite the size of a steamer trunk. It stays in the hold and goes into a locker when I’m in port or wandering around planetside.

I can imagine keeping the following things in the crate that I’d want to have on hand, but probably wouldn’t need constant access to:

Pistol, hoster, mags and ammo - in some places it’s legal and even necessary, some other places not so much. I don’t plan on shooting anyone or being shot at, but just like the blade… better to have one on hand that I’m familiar with.

Filter mask - I wouldn’t spend too much time on planets with tainted air, but better to have one than to rent one. Yuck.

Diplo armor - something concealable under that hoodie would be just fine.

A black sportcoat - because you never know when you’re going to be invited to the embassy.

Tailored vacc suit - almost ostentatious, but mostly because I can’t get into the idea of wearing something from the ship’s locker, something rented, or something I’m not intimately familiar with.

Another credit wafer

A backup ID
--

What's on your list? What would be the things you carried as you wandered the subsector?

 

[kilemall]

The personal vacc suit, or at least an in-hull pressure suit, is a must have, doubly so if you are hiring out as a spacer. The pros will laugh and/or cast aspersions on your UPP resume skill credentials with no suit.


Water bottle should at a minimum process urine and/or body sweat into drinkable water, might be a separate cup/catheter attachment to suits.


Future sunglasses should be a discrete binocular/image enhancer- maybe not even able to look through directly without moving aside all the gear, otherwise more a visual array processor. Or two sets, one low tech and one high tech, spare goes in the trunk.


ID card should have all medical on it, advanced medtech will probably need complete current DNA to do the voodoo they do so well.


A little bit of liquor and candy and storable meat in the trunk, less to feed indulgences or survival although they might loom large in some scenarios, more for carousing/trading/making necessary friends.

 

[Spenser TR]

...A little bit of liquor and candy and storable meat in the trunk, less to feed indulgences or survival although they might loom large in some scenarios, more for carousing/trading/making necessary friends.

Indeed to all, but especially to this. How could I forget the bottle of Laphroaig kept in the trunk? As well as an Aww Shoot! kit that could be pillaged should a quick need arise.

 

[Straybow]

As a former Scout I'm really not that picky. I've been places you wouldn't want to go, eaten things you wouldn't want to step on if you saw it on the sidewalk. I can appreciate the finer things, but those attachments can be your downfall. Never get comfortable.

I got lucky many times over, in the marketplace and in other ways. Teamed up with a Navy guy I'd met in service. Ditched the old wedgy once we managed to earn enough for something more practical. My buddies mostly run the merc end of things, and I do intel.

Don't believe the cliché. We don't sit around in tropical leisurewear, like some old Earth television character. I wear standard shipboard fatigues, and I keep them pressed properly. I do have an extensive wardrobe in a locker in the hold, so I can look like I belong most places.

If you meet me out there you won't know it. I'm forgettably ordinary in character. I'm watching, and you don't realize it. I have a half dozen cams and sniffers hidden in my clothing, and I'll review every second and I won't likely miss a clue.

I feel naked without my lockpicking and slicing tools. I prefer to have a good knife on my belt and a few hidden companions. Blades are quiet and unobtrusive. I have a few guns and use them when necessary, but don't expect fancy shooting. I have small caches of every kind of money known, hidden in every ship, in permanent lockers at dozens of ports, in coded bank accounts (heaven help me if I start getting forgetful of those numbers), and in the form of IOUs from a few parties who shall remain nameless. It's not blackmail, but they know I know stuff.


Time will come for me to retire from that kind of work. Just not yet.

 

[RandyB]

As a former Scout I'm really not that picky. I've been places you wouldn't want to go, eaten things you wouldn't want to step on if you saw it on the sidewalk. I can appreciate the finer things, but those attachments can be your downfall. Never get comfortable.

I got lucky many times over, in the marketplace and in other ways. Teamed up with a Navy guy I'd met in service. Ditched the old wedgy once we managed to earn enough for something more practical. My buddies mostly run the merc end of things, and I do intel.

Don't believe the cliché. We don't sit around in tropical leisurewear, like some old Earth television character. I wear standard shipboard fatigues, and I keep them pressed properly. I do have an extensive wardrobe in a locker in the hold, so I can look like I belong most places.

If you meet me out there you won't know it. I'm forgettably ordinary in character. I'm watching, and you don't realize it. I have a half dozen cams and sniffers hidden in my clothing, and I'll review every second and I won't likely miss a clue.

I feel naked without my lockpicking and slicing tools. I prefer to have a good knife on my belt and a few hidden companions. Blades are quiet and unobtrusive. I have a few guns and use them when necessary, but don't expect fancy shooting. I have small caches of every kind of money known, hidden in every ship, in permanent lockers at dozens of ports, in coded bank accounts (heaven help me if I start getting forgetful of those numbers), and in the form of IOUs from a few parties who shall remain nameless. It's not blackmail, but they know I know stuff.


Time will come for me to retire from that kind of work. Just not yet.

That's a Scout.

 

[coliver988]

That's a Scout.

more like That's a Scout who is now a spy.

 

[Grav_Moped]

more like That's a Scout who is now a spy.

Aren't they all?

 

[Enoki]

Douglas Adams was wrong.

The most important item to carry is an umbrella. Make it a high tech one that can double as a dish antenna. Make if of some material that is ultra durable. Great for protection against sun, radiation (make it an absorber or shield of sorts), poor weather, and if made durable enough it's a club as a weapon (assuming a compact sort rather than the long version with a sword in it).

If brightly colored it is a signaling device. With the right high tech material it could be reasonably bullet / puncture resistant too. The uses are nearly endless.

Always know where your umbrella is. Your towel is worthless...

 

[McPerth]

Something I always like to have with me (and my Traveller characters too) is a multi-use pocket knife (swiss style).

Also some light source (a torch) and an inertial compass or equivalent are useful gadgets who take little space (can be carried on your pocket).

 

[coliver988]

and I can see a handcomp device similar to today's smartphone. While it may not be able to connect to a lot of systems (in MTU Imperial worlds TL7+ generally have an Imperial standard GPS system at the least, and may start having a standardized comm system. Or may not, depending on plot and government. Mostly plot )

Basic functions would be encyclopia/knowledge base, light, emergency location transmitter, clock/alarm system, basic intelligence / user agent (much better than Siri/Cortana/Google but similar in intent), mail/comm system when synched at starports class C+ or so at least if not at the rest of the world, camera (2D, 3D, still motion), perhaps some basic tricorder-like capabilities, durable, waterproof, vacuum proof, at least heavily radiation proof. Need to dig up my notes on the "everything watch" I created back in college in the early 80s: I anticipated smart watches. It got expensive if you added all the options.

But also a basic EDC (every day carry) knife, bandana or three, gum (helps to adjust your ears when atmosphere changes, and helps if you are hungry or thirsty, and can be convenient to cover camera lenses and things of that nature), cap with visor (still love those caps I think Spenser made a while back!). Small carry bag w/universal water bottle (works like a dehumidifier and can suck out moisture from the air and purify it), spare power packs for the stuff that needs it that has a solar charging system (and wondering how that would work across multiple spectrums...that is worthy of its own post I think). and of course some spare clothes.

And a physical book as well. The little library of the Imperium can always use different books.

 

[Straybow]

more like That's a Scout who is now a spy.

No spy. Just intel. There is a difference.


I'm recalling a scifi story of a scout sent to a planet to determine if they were militaristic. There had been a general collapse, and in bringing isolated worlds back into the spacefaring society they needed to know what the culture of those worlds really were like.

In the story the service had lost an agent on this world. They suspected the locals had discovered the agent's true mission. The hero of the story had to figure out what was going on. That isn't espienage, really. Not trying to find specific tech or info, but a much broader look at things. This and that just don't seem right somehow...

 

[Grav_Moped]

Sort of like open-source intelligence [wikipedia] but with the IISS as the customer.

IMTU (and probably OTU) it's the reason for Detached Duty.
(It's also a nice handle to get the player with the DD Scout character to write up a synopsis of the week's gaming session in the form of a report.)

 

[McPerth]

Coincidences (or Christmas magic?)

Something I always like to have with me (and my Traveller characters too) is a multi-use pocket knife (swiss style).

Also some light source (a torch) and an inertial compass or equivalent are useful gadgets who take little space (can be carried on your pocket).

Just a few hours after I posted this, a patient come to the ER I work at.

As I assisted him he said me "the Wise Men have came to you" and handed me a small package envolved blue plastic.

After finishing assistieng him I opened it: it contained a small (about 8-10 cm) folded gadget (aking a pocket knife) that has a small torch, knife, saw, can/bottle opener and nor mal and star screwdriver.

It had no compass though :rofl:...

 

[Timerover51]

Just a few hours after I posted this, a patient come to the ER I work at.

As I assisted him he said me "the Wise Men have came to you" and handed me a small package envolved blue plastic.

After finishing assistieng him I opened it: it contained a small (about 8-10 cm) folded gadget (aking a pocket knife) that has a small torch, knife, saw, can/bottle opener and nor mal and star screwdriver.

It had no compass though :rofl:...

Clearly another forum member.

 

[BRover]

Yeah--definitely need a Swiss Army Knife/Swisstool/Leatherman or two along!

 

[Condottiere]

The Sun rises in the east, and moss grows on the north side of a tree.

 

[Spenser TR]

The Sun rises in the east, and moss grows on the north side of a tree.

Well... on Terra, anyway. The moss thing at least :rofl:

I had multitool listed but for some reason I can't explain I took it out. Back on the list it goes; it's a good suggestion that fits my original parameters.

 

[JimCook]

In the northern hemisphere

Well... on Terra, anyway. The moss thing at least :rofl:

Moss grows on the north side of a tree in the northern hemisphere on Terra. The sun shines on the southern side of trees which tends to evaporate the water that the moss prefers.

You do wonder how many things we have learned about earth will apply to other planets.

 

[Enoki]

and I can see a handcomp device similar to today's smartphone. While it may not be able to connect to a lot of systems (in MTU Imperial worlds TL7+ generally have an Imperial standard GPS system at the least, and may start having a standardized comm system. Or may not, depending on plot and government. Mostly plot )

Basic functions would be encyclopia/knowledge base, light, emergency location transmitter, clock/alarm system, basic intelligence / user agent (much better than Siri/Cortana/Google but similar in intent), mail/comm system when synched at starports class C+ or so at least if not at the rest of the world, camera (2D, 3D, still motion), perhaps some basic tricorder-like capabilities, durable, waterproof, vacuum proof, at least heavily radiation proof. Need to dig up my notes on the "everything watch" I created back in college in the early 80s: I anticipated smart watches. It got expensive if you added all the options.

But also a basic EDC (every day carry) knife, bandana or three, gum (helps to adjust your ears when atmosphere changes, and helps if you are hungry or thirsty, and can be convenient to cover camera lenses and things of that nature), cap with visor (still love those caps I think Spenser made a while back!). Small carry bag w/universal water bottle (works like a dehumidifier and can suck out moisture from the air and purify it), spare power packs for the stuff that needs it that has a solar charging system (and wondering how that would work across multiple spectrums...that is worthy of its own post I think). and of course some spare clothes.

And a physical book as well. The little library of the Imperium can always use different books.

I use in games something I call a "Perscomm." This is a roughly smart phone sized device that is a pretty powerful computer that can connect to most standard networks starting at about TL 7 or 8 and up. It also acts as a phone where these have some ability to connect wirelessly, otherwise it can connect to radio receivers (within a variable range), or can be hard connected to a phone system on lower tech worlds.
If the players have a ship in orbit it can act as a satellite link.

The perscomm is a much more versatile and powerful version of a smart phone combined with a powerful portable computer. You can also wear a set of glasses that give data visually and audibly to the wearer (at higher TL these can be made invisible or nearly so using the equivalent of cloaking technology of various sorts so it doesn't look like you are wearing them).

 

[Condottiere]