Thoughts and questions on the Empress Wave

[dalthor]

Not much T-time these days, but was thinking about the Wave and T5.

I have one system planning to put a significant percentage of their population into hibernation of one form or another. Another group is working on a planetary-sized psi-shield. A third plans to cold sleep their population, and one highly ambitious group is wondering about the viability of a PLANETARY-sized Jump drive [[ which isn't working too well in any way, shape or form. ]]

Many systems and/or Sectors are simply waiting on the results of multiple experiments, innovations, and all that. Of course, Doomsayers, proselytizers, religions and the like are preying on anybody gullible enough to believe their line of thinking.

I have some truly exotic processes planned, and have also asked my few remaining players with what they think.

In general, I seem to recall that certain anti-psi devices can block it, and there may be other technical means. As noted above, I'm working on handling it via several mechanisms in my campaign (IMC), but was looking for OTU specifics, if any.

Here are the general questions I have under consideration --

0) How much lead time do we [[ Sectors, systems, governments, etc. ]] have, i.e., how accurately is progress charted, and how far ahead of the wave is notification?

1) Does it still take about a month to pass?

2) Does Slow Drug help mitigate the effects?

3) What about cold sleep, coma, and similar effects?

4) What happens, or what are the effects, if you jump through the wave?

5) How much public information is available? [[ IMC this is highly related to the Government level, but there are many ways to gather information...]]

6) How are you handling the wave, the hysteria, the truth, and all that?

Curious minds want to know.

Edster

 

[BackworldTraveller]

The wave has varied over time, place and timeline and as far as I am concerned it is one of the least endearing factors of Traveller. In its worst form , it destroys all societies and so frightens and reforms individuals that all change their basic natures thereafter for at least half a millennia causing basic economic, social, cultural and psychological logic to be suspended and institutes a universal, monolithic "planet of the hats" pastoral culture (or not) even across distances out of contact and thus culturally isolated.

You can jump the wave in all its forms. The Zhodani Core expeditions did so several times before actually finding it
It travelled at the speed of light then, later, at 1 parsec per year
It affects Psionics, Psionics and other sophonts, Those plus animals, Those plus animals and plants depending on which concept is viewed as current
Its effects are transient; or genetically damaging
It lasts a month or longer in its direct effects
Cold Sleep appears (per subsequent articles) to have worked
Comas may work, but the associated life-support medical staff are dubious during that period
No idea what various drugs might do. Probably not good.

Public information appears to have been restricted by all the empires. The Zhodani clearly panic and go all secret squirrel. All the Imperial groups also do so. Vargr don't seem to tell anyone (despite the large variety of Vargr philosophies). Nor do the Droyne (despite its being an existential threat for Psions). Nor the K'Kree. The Imperials seem to have taken their common sense and thrown it out of the window in the preceding century. The Virus didn't seem to care (or did it?).

It is, in my opinion, to traveller's Imperial history what Chicxulub was to the pterodactyls.
So far, nothing as grand as the Birds has (yet) emerged to replace that loss.

I deal with the wave by assuming that there is information leak forward of the wave and that there are hundreds of different plans - central and local - combinative and contradictory - practical and as-mad-as-a-hat-full-of-badgers - that are implemented to avert, avoid, sit out, ignore (pick one) the wave.

Two things seem obvious:
Little shipping need be lost unless the captain's an idiot or it's mobbed by idiots or whatever
Small, Rich colonies are unlikely to be lost unless...see above.

 

[Jame]

I'm not 100% sure where it comes from and I doubt I'll ever use it.

 

[TJP]

I remember reading about the mystery of the Empress Wave back in the day and wondering what it could be. When I finally got to learn what it was, I was really disappointed. IMHO, it is the worst idea in the OTU. (Now days it kinda/sorta reminds me of the Halo ring effect from the Halo games.)

IMTU, I have rewritten the Empress Wave as a Zhodani code name for a device (probably of Ancients' origin), and its effect, that they found during their Core Expeditions. It generates a strong, localized (c. 10 km radius max.) psionic field allowing e.g. the incapacitation of psionically active persons or jamming psionics. Something the Zho's greatly fear and want to keep a secret, as it could easily be weaponized against them. Granted, this is not much better than the original idea, but at least it is not a galaxy spanning psi wave of destruction and madness. Yeah, I'm still grumpy about it...

 

[mike wightman]

We have never found out what the original Empress Wave was.
We know from interviews what the intent behind the wave was and the effects it would have, but not what it is and who created it.
The wave as detailed by MJD are his own ideas, and the current FTL version that exists in the MgT ATU, not to mention MWM's OTU retcon, is different again.

If there is one question I would like answered by Frank Chadwick and Dave Nilsen it is "what is the Empress Wave, who created it, how, and for what purpose?"

IMTU I stick with the original lightspeed wave and the effects detailed by DN, with a personal spin on it taken from T5.

 

[whulorigan]

If there is one question I would like answered by Frank Chadwick and Dave Nilsen it is "what is the Empress Wave, who created it, how, and for what purpose?"

IIRC from the Nilsen interview, didn't he suggest that it might be a naturally-occurring semi-periodic phenomenon? (Of course in his view the Wave primarily affected Psions [at least in a bad way] - it didn't "flatten" everything else).

 

[mike wightman]

I don't recall and cannot find in my transcripts of the interview where he said it is a natural phenomenon, and from his answers the wave didn't primarily affect psions it affected everyone, it was only psions that ran a risk of permanent trauma or death though.

In the meta game it was meant to do three things:
1 - more clearly define the link between psionics and extradimensional space such as jump space (and the intelligences that reside there)
2 - re-introduce psionics, to make it more playable
3 - give a reason for the Zhodani exodus to the Regency.

 

[BackworldTraveller]

Given the existential threat that the wave represents, you'd have thought somewhere would have made preparations to avoid the effects. The 3I seems to have made the assumption that it was all too much and all you can do is put together some stores in the basement and kiss your (name a body part) goodbye.

The Zhodani exodus is all in the wrong direction - like out-swimming a wave.

 

[Timerover51]

We have never found out what the original Empress Wave was.
We know from interviews what the intent behind the wave was and the effects it would have, but not what it is and who created it.
The wave as detailed by MJD are his own ideas, and the current FTL version that exists in the MgT ATU, not to mention MWM's OTU retcon, is different again.

If there is one question I would like answered by Frank Chadwick and Dave Nilsen it is "what is the Empress Wave, who created it, how, and for what purpose?"

IMTU I stick with the original lightspeed wave and the effects detailed by DN, with a personal spin on it taken from T5.

As I do not know anything about it, or what its origins are, I simply ignore it, and continue to march in my own direction.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Given the existential threat that the wave represents, you'd have thought somewhere would have made preparations to avoid the effects. The 3I seems to have made the assumption that it was all too much and all you can do is put together some stores in the basement and kiss your (name a body part) goodbye.

The Zhodani exodus is all in the wrong direction - like out-swimming a wave.

The Joes really ought to have some way to deal with it -- it's been sweeping through their space for a while, and if there's any way it could be worked around they'd have done it. This suggests either that it can't be dealt with, or they have dealt with it in some way that the Imperium doesn't have visibility into.

I dislike it though, as I likewise dislike the other Deus Irae ex Machina catastrophes inflicted on the Imperium and Charted Space as a whole in the latter part of the OTU's history -- I think they're just not necessary from a campaign perspective. The OTU has multiple "broken Imperium" eras that could be used instead of breaking the third one. Yeah, you can't re-use your Golden Age characters (at least not directly) in them, but if you're running a new setting anyhow...

 

[mike wightman]

The easiest way for the Zhodani to deal with it is to load all the intendents and nobles onto ships and jump back over the wavefront, let it crash into a planet full of proles and then pick up the pieces - lots of new intendents.

 

[kilemall]

On reflection, looks like a doomsday ruin Grandfather’s pet project weapon to me.

 

[mike wightman]

My headcanon has it as a weapon aimed at Grandfather due to his meddling in the past

Although I do have a much nastier idea too

 

[BackworldTraveller]

So how has a high-tech society managed to evolve in the region of the galaxy (the core) from which the wave originates? Why did it suicide some time between IY-2000 and IY-1000 (Given wave speed and radius)? Why has the definition of the wave's immediate effects varied so much over 40 years? Why, does no one build an empire for half a millenia after it passes? Do the wave-breaks cause diffraction patterns or reflections?

 

[mike wightman]

What makes you think it suicided?
Your dates suggest you subscribe to the retconned FTL wave rather than the original which is even older.

The Zhodani are unaware of the wave and its affects until their latest core expeditions, which suggests there are no noticeable anomalies with regards to alien civilisation density.