Wackiness in World Generation - Your Take On This Chestnut?

[far-trader]

I'd be more inclined to go for that one if the place didn't have such a high population AND higher tech than the surrounding area. Thing is, for me, Veil's got every reason to be king of the hill of this subsector and maybe the neighboring one - but it's not.

Doesn't seem too odd to me (not knowing the wider background and such)...

The TL being higher than most or all is no problem imo. The Military Industrial Complex is always ahead of the public there.

And the population follows from it being THE center for defense of the subsector (or more). It's not all MIC though. There's all the support the MIC needs from the civilian ranks.

I think Veil would be the king of the hill for these reasons. That's kind of how I saw it developing. Early on it would have been a grand idea full of hope and promise. Once built it might be more of a sleeping giant that no one wants to disturb. And at some point it may just wake from that sleep, look around and figure out it IS the boss and start to act like it.

But that's just my take

 

[Mithras]

Perhaps its a Guantanamo Bay... that took over Cuba.

A place for high tech development, research etc. that now dominates the system, but is technically subordinate to the world out-subsector.

Or the world out-subsector shipped millions of criminals in to do its asteroid mining - a terrifying no-air Gulag. The government sent in a super-heavy military presence to keep it all in line, your concentration camp SS. Again, lots of Werner von Braun inventions and advances created a stunning military elite there, on the broken backs of the asteroid miners. That was 100 years ago, now.

What's happened since? Is there still a war? Still the need for all this technology? Or are the billions the modern day Australians/Israelis - once convicts or POWs now free citizens...?

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I think Mithras has a great idea! A reverse of the "positive incentive" I posited - and neatly done.

 

[jawillroy]

Mithras, that is a good one!

One thing that the UPP does seem to do - at least for me - is create the sense of a fixed situation. What a lot of these ideas bring up is FLUX - that Veil used to be captive government last we checked, or that it almost isn't a captive government, or we think it is but it isn't really... refreshing.

 

[Pere Ubu]

A lil' thread necromancy....

I was reading over the archive of posts here (being a new member), came across this one and had to add my .02 Creds...

What I envision for Veil is a central "cluster" of asteroids, linked together by struts and tubeways into one large habitat, parked in one of the Trojan points of the local gas giant. TL "C" allows the construction of grav belts and assumes a long experience with gravitics techology, so - the inhabitants of the asteroid cluster have found a way to use hovering grav-platforms to gather suitable foods from the abundant life in the clouds of the gas giant.

I agree it's a "captive government" on its way out of that status - Veilians were originally political exiles from a nearby system (a la Australians) who have since developed a love for their rough frontier-style life and are agressively isolationist. The Naval base they took over from the original owners and now use it as little more than insurance that they will indeed remain independent - they have no interest in the rest of the subsector.

Law Level 6 represents good practice in a fragile environment like the asteroid cluster - firearms banned, except for shotguns which of course are only good at short range to begin with and are reserved for the local security forces.

 

[tbeard1999]

Veil, A-000966-C Naval base & Gas giant present, Non-Agricultural, Industrial.

Technologically and size-wise the most powerful world in the region, and it's a captive government. AND it's an overpopulated asteroid belt, dependent on planetary trade for its food.

Now, I have a notion how I'm working this one, and I'll bring it later if folks want, BUT I'm curious to see what you fellas come up with... BARRING the deus-ex-machina of "The Imperium stepped in and took over."

There's something about me that keeps me from just re-rolling it without trying to play it out, you know?

Maybe an exploited, collapsed power like China in the 18th and 19th centuries. The various smaller states run it by a puppet government that answers to their representatives.

It has huge population, potentially high tech, industrial potential, etc., so the major subsector powers use their temporary military advantage to keep it down.

Maybe it is a lost colony that failed to develop some key tech -- jump drive, energy weapons, reactionless drives -- which prevented it from becoming an interstellar power. Maybe it was so balkanized that it couldn't unify in the face of less advanced conquerors.

 

[Marchand]

How about a "mother lode" system - maybe the inner rocky worlds broke up leaving lots of valuable heavy metals floating around and easily accessible. Neighbouring powers fought several wars over this incredibly valuable real estate without a clear victor emerging. Ultimately, to stop the carnage, they formed a single, joint colonial authority to administer it and allocate contracts to mining corporations by tender. (A bit like how New York and New Jersey decided eventually to form a single port authority?) Veil is probably the most economically and socially liberal polity in the subsector, attracting colonists from all over and allowing them to prosper.

But one or another corporation, or cartel, may be gaining undue influence over the relatively underpaid Veil Authority officials, and free-prospector type roid jumpers are getting PO'd as they get muscled out of the juiciest claims by the Cartel...

 

[Maccat]

Maybe it's the "prize" of the subsector/sector...

The captive approach: The navy is in control (that population and A port and TL heck could be a depot. maybe the population as workers/navy personnel... BIG navy. and/or the population largely ship-based) The navy base is the controlling power, it is the navy of one of the other worlds. Something about particle accelerators in vaccuum comes to mind...

The colony approach: is the main industrial base for another world, where all the belters went! umm... they could be non-human as well.

Population is *sophonts*. TL C can do robots, Solomani example of 'construction robots'. Maybe it's a HUGE system-wide mining operation, with goods goin' outsystem. Another option would be a cache of 2nd Imperium (or 1st? nah) Naval vessels with automated/robotic crews, the ships placed in ordinary? If using HG, crew sizes can get quite big for a fleet. Or maybe the ships were there, and people just moved into a bunch of em. Then again a highly capable automated class A star port sounds like a good prize.

Or it was a nest of pirates and belters, raiding food, capturing people (slaves) during the course of the long night, forcing them to toil tunneling out ore, converted to habitats afterwards. Population increased normally thereafter. Eventually some (other) world brought PA ships to shut them down and 'take control'. Tensions simmer between the Naval presence, Pirate 'fringe' element, and the main body of survivng ex-slave workers.

But with that population, port, and tech level the whole system sounds ripe to be a Naval Depot rather than a base. Question would be whose?

 

[Gallowglacht]

The Veil archipelago was settled generations ago by belters from world X. The asteroids were rich but conditions were dangerous, with high levels of radiation, making it an unpopular posting for work, but the income became vital to X as the economic climate suffered and the costs of founding were high. High unemployment and a teetering economy led to a program where corporations would fund surgery needed to let potential employees survive and prosper in Veil.

The courts later found corporate and government individuals guilty or extorsion, mutilation blackmail and human trafficing, after documents released under freedom of information legislation were leaked showing shady practices in "recruiting" people and the fact that early candidates were drugged and biologically altered to "enjoy" their new living conditions. By this stage 30 years had passed, as had the economic crisis that justified these actions. The inhabitatants of Veil had begun raising their next generation and had made the system profitable. It is popularly assumed that the name "Veil" was coined in reference to this conspiracy, but the name is actually unrelated.

X's new government made moves for a fairer deal to the people of Veil. This made them popular with a younger generation who felt guilty about what their parents generation had done. However removing the drugs from the belters systems led to illness, their new biology would make X's gravity uncomfortable and dangerous and they rather enjoyed their existence and the unique culture they had developed. In the end new trade agreement were agreed and X promised supplies of drugs and luxuries and help raise the standard of education and living conditions of Veil and allowed more freedoms.

Veil continued to grow. The belters made thousands of small habitats throughout the belts with varying gravities, interiors and designs. They became mildly insular, shaping their private homes to their like and became a centre of art, culture and learning. They are fascinated by contact with inhabitants of X and any produce from there, but show no interest in visiting it. Trade between the world fueled both economies, but Veils population and technology outpaced X's despite the fact that the people of Veil show little interest in the practical uses of their technology, more enjoying the discovery.

The Veil Archipelago remains one of the most fascinating and mysterious regions local space. They will not deal with outsiders, except representatives of X. While they are happy to share Art and Literature the variety is dizzying, they seem to find demographic details boring and are reluctant to volunteer these details. Given the history the government of X are loath to spy or experiment on them. All dealings are dealt with as formal gift givings. Veil has met any mining or production figures asked of it and comply with any official requests from X, who have little idea what would happen if they pushed a matter the belters were uncomfortable with. X is growing a little concerned about its ability to meet Veil requests for art and luxuries and again is unsure of what would happen if it told the archipelago it could not meet their needs.

For the moment the people of Veil seem content with their lot in life. They display no territorial ambitions or interest in the outside world. For some on X, Veil is the magic Goose that lays golden eggs. They are thankfull for it, but are not sure how to deal with it without risking their economy. They are rich through their dealings with it, appear to be in control but are unable to use this influence to spread their influence to surrounding space without risking it all. Their hands are also tied by the sheer size of their economic ties to veil. Their potential rivals are also unsure of how to proceed. They have no idea how Veil would react to their muscelling in on X's operations on/control of Veil, or even any actions against X.

Essentially Veil holds the balence of power in this area, seemingly without ambition or even knowledge of this fact. The prize is huge, but without understand it's people, so are the risks involved.