Pyramid 4-006 Sci-Fi - Tech II
Pyramid 4-006 Sci-Fi - Tech II
Contents
In This Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Exotic Social Communication . . . . . . . . . 28
By Rory Fansler
Today’s Tomorrow,
Tomorrow’s Yesterday . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Neo-Tortuga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
By Sean Punch By Matt Riggsby
GURPS System Design z STEVE JACKSON Editorial Assistance, Production Artist, President/Editor-in-Chief z STEVE JACKSON
GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH & Prepress Checker z NIKOLA VRTIS Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED
GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH Page Design z PHIL REED Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE
Production Manager z SABRINA GONZALEZ & JUSTIN DE WITT Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO
Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON Project Manager z DARRYLL SILVA
Cover Art: alexmonge • Cartography: Matt Riggsby • Additional Material: Jason “PK” Levine and Sean Punch
Interior Art: alexmonge (p. 49), Design Projects (p. 15), GrandeDuc (p. 12), Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games (p. 7),
Tithi Luadthong (pp. 18, 22, 30, 38, 42, 44, 47), Patrik Ruzic (pp. 24, 25), and svekloid (pp. 33, 51)
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By the book, we’re in what GURPS calls TL8 (the “Digital Justifiable Future-Tech
Age”). Still by the book, TL9 (the “Microtech Age”) begins in
These things have been in the news, or follow from what
a few years. Yet also by the book, tech levels don’t turn over
technologists are working on today. They make for cool
sharply at some date, like numbers on a (TL7) flip clock – they
Action stories! Some also suit less cinematic adventures set in
fade in.
the TL8-9 transition.
The TL8-9 fade is interesting because we’re living through
On top of all this, anything listed as TL8 in High-Tech
it! It’s the fuzzy boundary separating the familiar from future-
and that has an improved but not radically different TL9
tech – and on the far side lies science fiction. Stories often rely
version in Ultra-Tech may have advanced to TL9, if the GM
on this fuzziness for coolness and “wow factor.” Let’s explore
agrees. That usually makes it similar to high-quality TL8 gear,
the possibilities.
which doesn’t rate special notes. Examples are communica-
tors (including “bugs”), navigation systems, and sensors that
Putting the “Tech” in use radio, IR, visible light, or sound; computers, media, and
networks of existing types; tanks, hovercraft, and vertols; and
“Technothriller” tools and everyday items.
Technothrillers mostly involve technology from GURPS Air Cars (UT225-226): Ambitious innovators are working
High-Tech in GURPS Action-type situations. However, on these. Results to date have been mixed – scale back Han-
they raid GURPS Ultra-Tech for cutting-edge and secret dling, Move, and/or Range, or greatly inflate the price.
tech – especially in cinematic adventures, like those of a cer- Articulated Weapon Harnesses (UT150-151): With work
tain 007. Villains seem to order infernal machines from that ongoing on exoskeletons for soldiers, these accessories
catalog, too. aren’t outlandish, though they’d be expensive niche items.
Indeed, many things that TL8 innovators are developing The shoulder servomount (UT151-152) pushes the limits – it
now hail from the early end of Ultra-Tech. They’re imperfect could be engineered, but current guns are so loud that firing
(Not Quite There Yet, p. 5), but with refinement, they’ll bring one right next to your ear would inflict (hopefully) tempo-
us closer to TL9. Meanwhile, in terms of New Inventions rary Deafness.
(pp. B473-474): Anyone trying to replicate or reverse-engineer Artificial Intelligences (UT25): Simple AI exists. Voli-
such a thing has the ‑5 for “one TL above the inventor’s” – but tional AI that could exterminate us and take over hasn’t
if it’s discussed in learned journals or even the news, also add emerged – yet – but one as smart as an average person (IQ
+2 for “already exists but you don’t have a model,” which 10) could in theory run on a fast TL8 megacomputer that
access to the prototype raises to +5. costs at least $200 million and fills a secret base or an intel-
What follows are thoughts on specific technologies for ligence agency’s basement.
transitional TL8-9 campaigns. As the author is not an inter- Augmented Reality (UT56-57): Real-life systems haven’t
national man of mystery – and left the academy (where they lived up to the hype. One that works as Ultra-Tech describes
laughed at him) in 1995 – these lists aren’t authoritative. To would be cool spy-tech (and not unduly powerful).
save space, “Ultra-Tech, p. 00” is abbreviated “UT00.”
Futuristic technology is a staple feature of the superhero it’s lost, stolen, or destroyed, and they don’t have backup copies,
genre, whether developed by super-scientists and inspired they need to make replacement equipment out of available parts
engineers, issued as special equipment to super-agents who and materials.” (True enough, except that some characters may
are trying to contain superpowered menaces, or forming stan- have external sources for such gear, and so won’t have to build
dard personal gear for the occasional visiting alien or time replacements themselves.) However, Supers doesn’t really
traveler. Much of the time, in GURPS terms, such equipment consider what sorts of High TL gear an individual might own,
is treated as some kind of advantage with gadget limitations, or what sort of groups or individuals might be able to supply
which is sensible given that superhero and supervillain high or maintain such gear. This article addresses these questions.
tech tends to have spectacular and unique effects and a tenu-
Appropriate Technology
ous relationship at best to any kind of plausibility. Sometimes,
though, super-tech functions more like equipment, being
passed between characters, manufactured in bulk, or having Assuming that a supers campaign is set in a world broadly
effects not really worth representing as GURPS character like this one, with a baseline TL of 8, GURPS Ultra-Tech is
advantages. In other words, this is supposed to be somewhat the appropriate reference supplement, as it has comprehen-
plausible tech of a kind that might see widespread use in the sive lists of equipment for TL9 and above. The rest of this arti-
setting’s future. cle assumes that readers have access to Ultra-Tech as well as
Supers. However, these resources work only up to a point.
The fact is, “conventional” superhero stories are rarely
exactly hard science fiction. As the name hints, they make
Tony Stark was able extensive use of what GURPS calls superscience. In large part,
this relates to the question of what looks good on a four-color
comic-book page or in lush CGI on a movie screen. While
to build this in a cave! real-world technological progress often moves in the direc-
tion of lighter weight, efficiency, and precision (not least when
With a box of scraps! it comes to weapons), comics-style tech produces flashing
lights, bigger explosions, weird-looking gadgets, and opportu-
– Obadiah Stane, nities for personal heroism. For example, Ultra-Tech assumes
that TL9 will bring slightly lighter, more powerful projectile
The Outsiders
To shake things up (err . . . more than they were already
shaken), outsiders barge in. The outsiders are assumed to
be a threat roughly comparable to the PCs (on the easier
side); that is, a conflict – fisticuffs or firefight – is quite fea-
sible, but not necessarily a slam dunk for the heroes.
The most-likely assumption for their motivation is a
mere robbery, but it can be literally any reason a group of
armed goons would come to a place in looking for trouble.
Some possibilities include wanting to:
• Steal something specific (especially if the setting is a
museum, hospital, or the like).
• Kidnap someone important (who’s also at the location).
• Hunker down from being on the run from some out-
side police or security force (more mayhem incoming).
The outsiders don’t have any knowledge of the “count-
down to doom” that faces the heroes (and everyone else)
. . . although it is possible to tie together the strands, if
desired. For example, maybe the outsiders have been hired
by one of the zealot’s families, to forcibly kidnap the zealot
to deprogram them from the cult they’ve joined. But that
might be a bridge too far . . .
About three years ago, a disguised Infinity satellite orbit- The eastern half of the town is taken up by three apart-
ing Taft-5 (GURPS Infinite Worlds: Worlds of Horror, p. 20) ment blocks, nicknamed “Sever” (“North”), “Yug” (“South”),
detected a burst of parachronic radiation outside Arkhangelsk and “Vostok” (“East”). Almost all of the town’s residents live
while performing a passive oz particle survey on the planet in one of these three buildings. A larger-than-life stone bust
below. A quick incursion by a Patrol recon team determined of Vladimir Lenin dominates the square on the western end
that the disturbance centered on a small Russian mining set- of town, immediately across from the miners’ hall, the pub-
tlement named Palyatnik (Палятник in Russian). Based on lic library, and the school. The hospital, bar, post office, and
the team’s observations and the parachronic data collected machine shop form a north-south line through the middle
on the ground, Infinity scientists concluded the town was of town.
likely to be a shiftrealm (GURPS Infinite Worlds, p. 79). On the far north side of Palyatnik, a shooting range faces
A former FSB agent turned Patrolman named Sergei west. Its armory holds 80 well-maintained AK-47s, a few
Mikhailovich Marashev was selected to map the path of service pistols and training rifles, and a lot of ammunition.
Palyatnik through the continuum. He was given a cover iden- Members of a volunteer civil defense corps led by Ivan Sokolov
tity as Dr. Vladimir Pavlovich Ulitsov, a seismologist sent from (see Key Townspeople, p. 17) have been trained as soldiers and
Moscow to monitor geological activity around the mine. The will arm themselves in an emergency.
seismographs he brought with him were actually disguised The Alexey Stakhanov Miners’ Hall is the newest build-
parachronic survey equipment. ing in the town and easily the most imposing. A meeting hall
Marashev successfully inserted himself into the town and adorned with a large portrait of Lenin occupies most of the
established a solid relationship with the locals. The reports first floor. Staircases at the wings of the main hall lead up to
Marashev sent of the town’s periodic jumps through the the second floor, which is taken up by classrooms, offices, and
quanta to various isolated sites in Ukraine, Belarus, and a small library filled with technical manuals for a variety of
Russia on different worlds proved invaluable to Infinity mining machinery.
researchers. After a few successful jumps, however, reports The mine complex lies about half a mile away from the
became garbled. The parachronic coordinates for the last northeast corner of town. It includes an administrative center,
jump were corrupted, and contact with Marashev was lost a coal power plant, a storage facility and small depot, and the
after that. mine itself.
A Patrol team on Lenin-4 (Infinite Worlds, p. 132) recently
rediscovered Palyatnik by accident just over 60 miles (about
100 kilometers) north of Omsk. Based on its parachronic
background radiation, it is believed that the town will make
Communism is Soviet power plus
its next jump within a few days. The PCs have been selected the electrification of the whole country.
on short notice to infiltrate Palyatnik. Their mission is to
investigate Marashev’s disappearance, bring him back alive if
– Vladimir Lenin
possible, and discover why he lost contact with Infinity.
This is a mission designed for a party from Homeline
operating in the Infinite Worlds setting. Ideally at least one
PC will be fluent in Russian for this mission. If fewer than
The Approach
The investigators drive into town from Omsk in a Soviet-
two party members are, a Russian Patrolman named Alexi made army truck. As the truck gets close to Palyatnik, it leaves
Alexandrovich Zarkov will be added to the team to act as a paved roads behind and takes a winding path cut through
guide and interpreter. Some experience with or knowledge dense forest.
of psychic phenomena is also helpful for this assignment, The shiftrealm extends about one and a half miles from the
though it is not required. center of town in every direction. A Naturalist or Geology roll
can be used to spot the exact border. The entrance to the town
The Town is marked by a sign and a faded mural depicting three Soviet
miners conferring with a scientist underneath a large hammer
Palyatnik is home to about 500 people, most of whom work and sickle.
in and around the mine. The roads in the town are paved but When the group first rolls into Palyatnik, the sky is over-
deteriorating, and the buildings are mostly brutalist concrete cast and no one is visible on the streets. A column of smoke
structures of the style that was popular in the USSR in the can be seen to the northeast of the town; this is the exhaust
late 1950s. from the coal plant that powers both the mine and the town.
Cover IDs
The Investigation A group made up of natives of the Eastern Bloc can
On the next day, the investigators have a number of choose from any number of plausible cover stories. Estab-
options for getting more information about what’s going lishing a proper cover identity will be difficult for a group
on in the town. All locks in Palyatnik are based on the made up mostly of Westerners. The residents of Palyatnik
same early-TL7 Soviet designs. An average TL8 lockpicker don’t bear citizens of Western countries any particular ill-
should receive +2 or more to defeat them. will, but most haven’t seen anyone from outside the USSR
If the PCs return to Marashev’s office, anyone trained since the end of the War, and they will be suspicious of for-
in Electronics Operation/TL8 (Parachronic) can determine eign visitors.
without a skill roll that the anti-tampering measures on For a mostly Western group, Infinity will prepare the fol-
his parachronic equipment have been tripped, leaving only lowing cover story: the United States or another Western
the surface functionality as TL7 seismic detection equip- nation has agreed to a joint mining venture with the USSR
ment intact. Properly formatted parachronic coordinates and wants to scout Palyatnik as a potential site to expand
are visible on a few of the documents strewn around the and modernize operations. It isn’t perfect, but a convincing
office, but the math is mostly gibberish. Searching the performance by either Zarkov or a Russian PC (disguised as
office reveals a collection of handwritten journals hidden Soviet army officers) and some official-looking documenta-
in a locked desk drawer. These contain the agent’s notes tion are enough to prevent too many awkward questions.
on Palyatnik’s parachronic characteristics, and later on When using this cover, Western PCs should present them-
Marashev’s state of mind. It appears the town suffers some selves as investors or low-level government officials from
kind of reset after each jump, and Marashev began to for- their home countries.
get more and more about the details of his assignment and
eventually his life.
The technologies available at tech levels 10 through 12 itself slightly to incorporate the ideas in the paragraph into
offer wonders beyond the ken of modern humanity. Portable your memories and cognition.
fusion. Malleable force fields. On-demand genetic reprogram- If a different set of the same type of atoms were arranged
ming. Things present-day people can’t even imagine. Such in an identical way, that set of atoms would – in theory – also
marvels appear to the eyes of our TL8-9 society as, like the be conscious, sentient, and carry your memories. Continuity
man says, indistinguishable from magic. of experience is unlikely, but there would be no way for that
Also like magic, science at the edges of what we do know clone brain to realize this.
gets pretty weird. Given enough time, a set of atoms could randomly end
Submitted for your approval: five edge-case scientific con- up arranged in a pattern identical to someone’s brain right
cepts that go beyond the futuristic and well into the down- now – such as yours. That set of atoms would have your
right bizarre. Each is a real scientific theory put forward in the memories and personality. It may or may not be attached
modern age, accompanied by some ways to incorporate them to a randomly formed body, but its sensory inputs would be
into GURPS games. identical to yours. It would perceive itself as having a body
just like it perceived itself to have had all of your
past experiences.
That brain, a random collection of atoms that
. . . your sense of self is just a thinks it’s been alive for years and exists within a
body on Earth (or wherever), is a Boltzmann brain.
statistical fluctuation.
Where Can We Go With This?
– Paul Ratner, “Are you The temptation exists to create a twist end-
a Boltzmann Brain?” ing for an adventure or campaign where some
or all of the player characters are revealed to be
Boltzmann brains sharing a hallucination, but
let’s be honest. That’s unimaginative when we see
Boltzmann Brains something similar on TV, and it doesn’t do much within the
adventure itself.
In case living in the Matrix just isn’t weird enough.
Boltzmann brains become more interesting when used as
Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann published this a plot point. The idea that memories can be reconstructed by
thought experiment about spontaneous generation of con- assembling atoms just so can have serious repercussions for
sciousness in 1896. It was one of ideas about how conscious many campaigns. Alternatively, play with some of the things
life evolved in a universe that trends, overall, away from order. a functioning Boltzmann brain implies about infinity, con-
It was not taken seriously at the time, but in 2022, the idea sciousness, and the nature of life. These sorts of big-picture
enjoyed something of a comeback when several cosmologists themes are much more interesting than a trapdoor reveal at
made it mildly famous in a variety of podcasts, forums, and the end of a game.
similar online media.
Adventure Seed
What’s This All About? In a far-future, high-tech-level campaign, a terrorist leader
has learned how to mass-produce Boltzmann brains to order.
Your mind as you read this consists of approximately 1.4
This person has begun hiring out these services to criminals,
× 1026 atoms, all arranged in a specific pattern. That pattern
other terrorist groups, and less-than-scrupulous governments,
is responsible for the physical structure of your brain, how
allowing for interrogations without capturing an actual indi-
it interacts with the rest of your body, your personality, all of
vidual. The player characters, threatened by this for any num-
your stored memories, and your perception of the universe
ber of reasons, must not only stop these activities but also
around you. If it were in any other pattern, something would
make sure the technology is lost forever.
be different. As you read this article, that pattern is rearranging
Meet the Artifactuals! negotiate if there are unusual circumstances). The corporation
sees that both sides profit from this arrangement; Artifactuals
At their core, the Artifactual Corporation – colloquially, are generally highly skilled and have enough resources that
the Artifactuals – has corporatized the concept of hunting for even half of a search is profitable to them. (“Half of something
alien artifacts. Formed a century or so ago, they are consid- is better than all of nothing,” as the CEO famously quipped).
ered one of the more wide-reaching (if not the premier) corpo- Meanwhile, the rights holders find themselves reap significant
ration that does such. Their record is impeccable, amassing an rewards for no real effort on their part. However, not all rights
awe-inspiring assortment of strange art, weapons, technology, holders are willing to give up control over discoveries; many
and more from myriad planets. have the resources to do excavations themselves, but what
The Artifactuals have proven so successful for a few rea- they lack is the expertise. That leads to . . .
sons. First, they were one of the earliest businesses that saw • Expert consultants. The Artifactual Corporation is happy
the potential of interstellar exploration; getting in on the to hire out individuals or small teams to rights holders, pro-
“ground floor” of the infinite cosmos is great for prospects. viding their skills and knowledge in exchange for a nontrivial
Second, they have a better track record than others with dis- fee. However, for rights holders with the wherewithal to do
coveries because they hired some of the most-skilled minds most of the work, the fees for Artifactual lore and abilities are
in the galaxy and developed proprietary techniques that help quite affordable and potentially leave all a site’s findings avail-
them to reduce the number of fruitless searches, ensuring able to the hirer.
greater profits and increased reputation.
In all cases, Artifactuals seem driven out
This reputation often feeds on itself;
of professional and intellectual pride. While
if someone wants the best chance
not cheap, they are generally considered
at finding artifacts on a new world,
worth it for those seeking to maximize the
they call the Artifactuals. Finally,
discovery and retrieval of alien artifacts.
their success has afforded them the
The best Artifactual employees seem driven
resources to devote more to larger
by a desire to explore and happily work with
efforts; success begets success, and
whoever has an interesting job, but even
their knowledge and resources are
average associates still have considerable
nothing to sneer at.
corporate pride.
Artifact or Artifiction? In fact, the biggest asset the company has is the ability to
make convincing fakes. They obviously can’t make real lost,
Those who might be players in a campaign with Artifactuals alien technology, but they are exceptional at making items
may want to stop reading now. If you’re a GM (or don’t mind that seem like they could work, were they not damaged,
having secrets of the cosmos revealed), please continue. incomplete, or incomprehensible. (“It seems to be a matter
The Artifactual Corporation does a lot of good, and is replicator. Although we haven’t invented those yet, this one
exceptionally skilled at what they do. seems to be powered by an element we don’t have or haven’t
However, what they do is – in fact – a lie. found. We must keep exploring!”)
Why are they doing this?
Deception? In My Corporation?! That’s up to the GM. Here are some suggestions.
Although there are many within the Artifactual Corpo-
ration who are completely legitimate, the bulk of what the
Money Makes the Worlds Go Round
company does is completely bogus. They do not find artifacts Perhaps the easiest and most banal explanation is also the
nearly as much as they plant, fabricate, or deceive about most logical: money.
artifacts. Perhaps the truth is that there just aren’t enough alien
The reason the company is so successful – especially com- artifacts in the cosmos to support a real company. This could
pared to other outfits trying to do the same thing – is that they make counterfeiting lucrative, even if a nontrivial percentage
are unscrupulous about lying about their discoveries. For of the artifacts in the cosmos are ultimately found by others.
every team that is out “finding” artifacts, there are many more In this case, the Artifactuals are tilting the scales to ensure
other teams out “planting” artifacts. Eventually, many teams that they’re coming out ahead. They make an effort to have the
that are “finding” artifacts are (unwittingly or not) merely dis- “best” (most valuable fake artifacts) “found” by them, get a cut
covering items that had been planted by other teams. of any supplemental finds on the other “good” finds out there,
and leave the so-so discoveries to everyone else.
Communication is an important part of social interaction, Sound for stealthy or private communication at up to 100
and the methods of communication can shape an entire cul- yards, and Sonar Comm for underwater broadcasting (both
ture. Humans primarily communicate audibly and visually, in Powers, p. 81). Races with Discriminatory Hearing (with
but what about a culture that uses something different? Profiling), high IQ, or Eidetic Memory might develop more
sophisticated languages. Perfect Pitch (Enhanced Senses,
Exotic Communication
Other, special senses might be used to convey informa- +50% for detailed answers. Mind Reading lets others read sur-
tion. Telecommunication is an excellent fit here; it also can face memories; rely on Mind Probe to learn deeper thoughts.
be used to build traits similar to Cable Jack [5] (Ultra-Tech, A culture with a hive mind tends to be cooperative, some-
p. 31). Signals [15] (Template Toolkit 2, pp. 44-45) offers times including self-sacrifice for the greater whole. Secrets
some other physical ways to communicate that don’t rely are nearly impossible to keep, though perhaps individuals
on sound. Detect provides reception but not transmission use Mind Shield to create moments of privacy. Collabora-
or understanding (Powers, p. 47). Although Scanning Sense tion is astoundingly easy, allowing coordination of troops
includes both, the communication capability is very limited. and other logistics as well as fast scientific advancement.
A new Discriminatory Sense could be created for a specific However, lack of competition could impair development,
Scanning Sense to help with comprehension and interpreta- especially in the absence of external threats. For a player
tion, probably costing 15 points. Empathy offers a sense of the character race, this would be one of the most expensive
emotional subtext, while Intuition helps make the right inter- communication options.
pretation. Medium allows communication with someone in a
Relevant Traits: Mind Reading (Racial, -20%) [24]; Mindlink
different reality; suggested variations (Powers, p. 59) include
[5/level]; Racial Memory [15 or 40]; Telesend [30]; Telesend
cyberspace, dreams, or parallel universes.
(Broadcast, +50%; Racial, -20%) [39].
Telepathy
Telepathy can be an effective communication method.
Abilities related to this power (see p. B257) typically work
over very long distances and can have high bandwidth
through modifiers such as Burst (Powers, p. 81), +30%/
level; Sensie (Powers, p. 82) +80%; and Video (p. B91)
+40%, depending on the specific advantage chosen. Though
telepathy may be how some hive minds communicate, it
can also be individual to individual.
Effective communication requires both Mind Reading
(p. B69) and Telesend (p. B91), as Telesend only allows
transmission. Relying only on Telesend would be like send-
ing a letter in the mail (except much faster); the sender
needs to wait for the recipient to respond. Thus, a race that
can send thoughts but not read minds is not too different
from humans having to speak to communicate; the biggest
benefits over sound include silent reports, longer distances,
and clarity. For sending to a group, add Broadcast, +40%
to Telesend.
Mind Reading may have Telecommunication, -20% to
allow for a race that can readily communicate with each
other but not read minds. Add Racial, -20% if they can
only communicate with their own and related species.
In the lore of the Solar Patrol, New Port Royal (GURPS These sections are enclosed with nets and light partitions to
Tales of the Solar Patrol, p. 21) is the legendary haven for keep large pieces of debris from floating away and damaging
pirates, a safe port where they can trade, drink, refit, and head the station or other ships.
out in search of new plunder. Of course, nobody’s ever found
it, or at least nobody trustworthy. But while New Port Royal The Town
may or may not exist, at least one modest pirate haven does:
The consistently occupied portions of the asteroid are built
Neo-Tortuga.
into tunnels dug into the rock. These spaces are a combination
Neo-Tortuga is a rocky cup-shaped asteroid about three-
of natural voids (the processes which formed the asteroid left
quarters of a mile long and across, with a large hollow in the
many bubble-like spaces), wartime bunkers, and new exca-
center. The walls are about 150 yards thick. The asteroid was
vation. Most spaces are small rooms and narrow corridors,
used as an observation post during the Solar War, with a small
with some larger spaces used as taverns and similar common
installation just inside the rim. Jovian bombardment further
areas. Many of the main passages resemble crowded alleys,
cratered the rough surface and deepened the depression inside
with small shops and rooms used as residences lining “streets”
it. Small forces battled back and forth, taking it, holding it,
wide enough for several people to walk abreast but no vehi-
and eventually losing it. It changed hands four times before it
cle larger than a wheelbarrow. Chains of electric cars draw-
was finally abandoned at the end of the war.
ing power off the mains form the central trolley line. The line
Around 2025, a few veterans-turned-pirates looking for
quickly moves people and cargo between the entrances to the
refuges in the asteroid belt remembered the place and started
main passages.
using it as a hideout. Successive crews fixed up the remnants
Neo-Tortuga supports around 1,200 long-term residents,
of old outposts and set up facilities to make life a little easier,
about as many visiting pirates at any given moment, and
like power sources and rudimentary repair facilities. Within
can probably host two or three times that in the short
a decade, the asteroid had developed substantial accommo-
term. Life support is decentralized, made of a patchwork
dations, ship- and cargo-handling facilities, and if not per-
of air scrubbers, algae tubes, and other gear salvaged from
manent, then at least long-term residents. It now serves as a
plundered spaceships. They often work well, though the air
center for pirate activity. They can sell plunder, get both their
may smell odd from time to time. Most of Neo-Tortuga is
ships and themselves patched up after a fight, look for new
equipped with artificial gravity, which pulls towards the cen-
opportunities, exchange rumors, drink, and brawl, if only for
ter of the asteroid.
a little while.
Visiting
To visit Neo-Tortuga, one must know two
things: where it is and what the password
is; both change now and again. Ships must
transmit the password before they get within
laser range or risk being fired on.
Neo-Tortuga’s traffic control, styling itself
“Crow’s Nest,” instructs the visiting captain
where to go. This may require a holding pat-
tern if the docks are full, or directions on
how close to get to the opening. Tugs are sent
out to tow the ship into position.
Docking nominally costs $3,000, with an
additional $1,000 a day for the space plus
additional fees for fuel and services. How-
ever, the amount is inevitably subject to
negotiation, bickering, and the occasional
fist fight.
Life on Board
Life on Neo-Tortuga is rarely comfortable,
but it’s far beyond the reach of any authorities. It’s
full of empty rooms, and with power and plumbing lines all Points of Interest
over the place, it’s not too hard to find a place to stay if one Neo-Tortuga is full of colorful characters and encounters
wishes to do so. This far out from the sun, there’s no mean- around every corner, but these are the places (and some of the
ingful day or night, and visiting crews are all on their own people) visitors are most likely to see. The map on p. 35 shows
clocks anyway. Thus, Neo-Tortuga is essentially a town that the locations of these points of interest.
Blueprint
The blueprint on p. 35 shows an “unrolled” view of the town A Life of Adventure
level of Neo-Tortuga, indicating notable locations and connec- A raid on Neo-Tortuga by the Solar Patrol is always
tions; smaller passageways and chambers are not show, but a possibility, but the asteroid can be used for a wide
permeate the entire level. The long direction is the circum- range of more subtle and complex adventures.
ference of town level. In three dimensional space, it curves at
about 10° per 100 yards and the top and bottom edges meet. Spies
As a place where the disreputable can freely meet
the unacceptable, Neo-Tortuga is believed to be a market
for passing information. Some is mere industrial espionage.
Drunken Sprocket However, there are deeper concerns as well. Criminal conspir-
The largest and most popular tavern on Neo-Tortuga is acies deal in information with an eye toward passing danger-
run by Park Ha-Neul, known as “One-Eyed Park.” At their ous contraband and harming rivals or law enforcement. Some
advanced age, they mostly just preside over the establishment exchanges involve nascent revolutionary movements. And it’s
and let the employees do the work. The proprietor claims to rumored that some secrets are being passed to agents of the
have been stationed on Neo-Tortuga during the Solar War Overlord of Jupiter or the Red Hive! Undercover agents of the
and to have suggested to Baron Black to use it as a hideout; Patrol must root out these spies.
nobody’s been able to prove they’re lying.
I don’t know who he was or where he came from. There building that would become known as the Temple Grail . . .
hadn’t been a ship arrive in months. But there he was, shining and, within it, the Grail itself.
and glowing like something out of a kid’s book. He faced those The first encounter with the Grail did not go well for the
bandits with just a sword and took them all down. Didn’t ask for men. Both where driven by greed, and the Grail fled the
any payment beyond some food and a place to rest. He stayed for Temple, leaving them with a burning desire to find it again.
a few days, helping us rebuild or spending time meditating. Then They discovered that the systems within the Temple could be
one day, he was gone. I never saw him again. used to produce protective garments that could access a gal-
– Aldous Crenley, Mine Foreman Crassius Lithium Mines axy-spanning network of subspace corridors connecting many
personal report SD 3560-1 of the planets of the galaxy. The two men then set out on a
quest to recover the Grail, although for very different reasons.
There are stories told in the most remote parts of known
After three years, sometimes traveling together sometimes
space, of mysterious warriors in what looks like ancient
by themselves, they came upon the Grail on an uninhab-
armor. These knights arrive when most needed, overcome
ited planet. In that time, Creel had changed from the bitter
insurmountable odds, and then leave as mysteriously as they
greed-obsessed person he had been; the path the Grail had
arrived. The truth about them is even stranger than the tales.
led him on had taught him the value of compassion and self-
The Neon Knights – known to themselves as Questing
lessness. Conversely, Buchannan had – if anything – become
Knights or Grail Knights – are a small band of warriors
greedier; he knew that the technology he and Creel had found
intended to be either helpful NPCs or playable characters in
was merely a fraction of the power its creators had access to,
a TL10 science-fiction game. Each has access to several items
and he believed the Grail would give him the knowledge to
of technology beyond current understanding . . . and they are
control the universe. He had also realized the Grail was con-
tight-lipped about where they got it.
tinuing to hide from him, and he hoped to use his old partner
to capture it for him. When they found the Grail, Buchannan
History of the Knights allowed Creel to approach it first; Creel did so and communed
with it. In doing so, Creel realized what his old friend was
The Knights were formed almost 100 years ago when two planning and the two men fought. Creel – empowered by the
human prospectors – Jan Creel and Elphias Buchannan – had knowledge and power the Grail had given him – won. He took
a FTL accident, which left them stranded far from the known both Buchannan and the Grail back to the Temple.
galaxy. While trying to make their way back to known space,
they discovered what would become known as the home of the
Temple Grail. Eager to scavenge what technology they could,
they took their ship down to explore. They quickly found the
Organization
of the Knights
After returning the Grail to the Temple, Creel had
a newfound understanding of the universe and the
What’s in a Name? role of intelligent life within it. The creators of the
Grail had been active in the galaxy millions of years
The Knights generally refer to themselves as either Questing
before the current races, and had left the Grail to help
Knights or Grail Knights, but the stories about them have spread
those that came after them to achieve harmony with
everywhere and use a variety of names, including Neon Knights
themselves and the universe. Creel decided that he
and Mystery Knights. Unfortunately, due to the actions of some
would use the technology available to him to spread
Questing Knights, some of the stories do not paint the Knights in
the knowledge the Grail offered. He was also keenly
the best light. In these tales, they are often referred to as Death
aware that this knowledge came at a price: To truly
Knights or Blood Knights.
understand the Grail, the person must redeem them-
If a Grail Knight finds themselves called any of these names,
selves first. Thus, he came up with a plan. He started
they accept it without correction. If there is time, they explain
by modifying the armor Buchannan had worn. The
what their true goals are, and they try to repair any damage to
suit already had an AI controlling its functions, and
their reputation from the actions of less level-headed Knights.
it was given a goal of helping its wearer become
For some Questing Knights, being called a “Death Knight” leads
worthy of the Grail. Once this was done, Creel sent
to loss of temper and violence . . . perpetuating the stereotype.
the Grail and Buchannan out into the galaxy again,
while Creel went looking for new recruits.
In a Campaign
Questing and Grail Knights can be found through- Alien Knights
out the galaxy. They are driven by their Vow or Sense While the Grail is a human myth, other race’s histories
of Duty, and their methods can vary wildly. As such, have similar stories. The Kronin (GURPS Aliens, p. 68) have
they can be allies or enemies, depending on how their tales of the Cup of Honor, which returns the Honor to a war-
goals intersect with those of the protagonists. Some rior no matter what their failings. The Gormelites (GURPS
Questing Knights have no problems destroying a set- Aliens, p. 80) talk of the Bleeding Skull of K’rath, which gives
tlement if they believe it hides secrets to the location of the drinker the ability to shrug off any wound. The Sparri-
the Grail. Others look for chances to prove their worth, als (GURPS Aliens: Sparrials) speak of the Cup of Many
believing that if they can show their strength in com- Scents, the aromas from which give wisdom, long life, and
bat, they will draw the Grail to them. If a Grail Knight the strength of purpose to lead. As such, many species beyond
recruited a Questing Knight, the Questing Knight is humanity can be found in the Knights’ ranks.
more likely to understand that only by putting their
negative feelings and actions behind them can they
find what they seek. Infinite Knights
While the Knights have their own method of By swapping the armor’s ability to travel between planets
transportation, nothing stops them from using more with a similar ability to dimension jump, the Neon Knights
normal means. A Questing Knight who refuses to can easily be added to a GURPS Infinite Worlds campaign.
improve may be denied their normal suit’s abilities Currently, no one outside of the Knights knows the location
(see Knightly Raiment, p. 37) and need to get around of the parallel with the Grail Temple. Even if questioned – a
like everyone else, or their Guide might decide that Knight couldn’t tell them. Their Guide will not release this
companions who have their own transportation would information and will self-destruct if it looks as though it’s
be helpful in the current quest. A Grail Knight often going to be captured and dissected.
travels with others, either because they are evaluat- The Patrol has heard stories of the Grail Knights and
ing them as potential recruits or because they enjoy would like to examine their armor, as the technology is far
the companionship. In both cases, the player and GM beyond anything they currently can access. However, ISWAT
should discuss the reasons the Knight has chosen to operatives have worked with Knights in the past, and Director
team up with the rest of the party. Most Knights are Skorzeny has given orders to stay on their good sides.
solitary, though sometimes they band together against Centrum currently views the Knights as a threat, as their
a galaxy-threatening event. actions have been known to throw the work of the Uplift
Service out of whack. They would also be very interested
Adventure Ideas in taking apart a Knight’s armor to find out more about its
• The party finds a dying person, old and badly parachronic travel capabilities.
wounded. He tells them his name is Elphias Buchannan The Knights and the Cabal do not get along. The Knight’s
and asks them to find a Grail Knight to take him home. armor works in parallels where high technology generally
He tells them he found the Grail but was betrayed by doesn’t, threatening the Cabal’s dominance in such areas.
his companions, who stole his armor while the Grail And, although the Cabal would also quite like to own the
fled. Elphias has only a vague idea for how to find the Grail, having a group of heavily armed and armored fanatics
Knights. The party must decide what to do with this looking for it is not in their plans.
information and request. The SS Raven Division has been trying to discover more
• While visiting a mining colony on an airless moon, about the Knights with a view to forming an alliance with
the party hears rumors of plant life nearby. Investigat- them. However, a Knight’s Sense of Duty would probably
ing the area, they find a writhing mass of purple vines, cause them to have issues with this.
at the center of which is the Grail. It imparts several With the disparity between the Knight’s equipment and
visions of places it will be (or has been) and then disap- that generally available to the factions in the setting, a cam-
pear. After it’s gone, the vines continue to grow across paign with a small party of Knights traveling between paral-
the moon; they drain energy and soon begin to attack lels doing good, fighting various threats, and searching for
the colony, looking for food. Assuming the party stays the holy grail has the potential to be a fun slugfest. Adding a
to help – possibly forced to if their ship is disabled – a Knight to an ISWAT team is also a possibility if he can con-
mysterious figure in glowing armor arrives. She refers vince the Guide that it’s for the greater good.
to herself as a Questing Knight; she does what she can
Space is cold, endless, and hungry. It’s also very fickle. Not passed the Pluto-1 beacon, at which point the ship dropped a
everything that goes out comes back, and not everything lost signal-amplification buoy off every fifth year, as planned.
out there stays gone either. For the next 10 years, everything was textbook perfect.
There are countless tales of galactic Mary Celestes, floating Many valuable insights and discoveries regarding trans-Nep-
between systems – spaceships thought lost or destroyed that tunian space, brain activity in long-term cryosleep, and AI
mysteriously reappear. A lucky few might get near such a mys- functioning were made. Jim made reliable reports and seemed
tery, maybe even step aboard briefly; others might be luckier to be doing fine. In fact, he was “growing” in maturity.
still to capture one for salvage. But depending on what strange Then one day, after an hour of unusually ratty data, Jim
fate befell the ships, the luckiest might be those who only see made a surprising pronouncement: “The mission is lost.
them from afar. Please be kind.” The Lovell’s telemetry ceased. The engineers
Here is a systemless look at three such vessels. Their known at Europa tried to remote restart the ship, but nothing hap-
(or rumored) histories are given, along with broad descrip- pened. With no chance of launching a rescue, the mission was
tions, what is generally known to have happened, and a few considered a failure.
possibilities for what really took place on board. Exact dates The final report faulted the AI, with the dockside cybernet-
are not given so as to allow the GM more freedom at placing icists sharing the blame. They’d noticed slow changes in Jim’s
these derelicts within a particular campaign timeframe. tone, but they had put that down to emotional growth and not
reported it up the chain. In time, the Swigert would succeed
Lovell where the Lovell failed, using faster engines and a seasoned,
“fully mature” AI.
Intended to be the first occupied vessel to navigate to the The first permanent way station before the Oort was
Oort cloud’s inner edge, the loss of the Lovell set the Great named after Model. For several years thereafter, trans-Nep-
Leap Outward back by a few decades. tunian probes in that quadrant were programmed to look for
The ship was an Elcano-class exploratory vessel, specially the Lovell, but they only found the two buoys. Departing ships
designed to carry extra scientific modules and fuel. The mis- heading for certain stars occasionally pick up a “blip” in that
sion required only 14 souls, who would spend most of the 40 area, but salvage ships always return disappointed.
year round trip in cryonic preservation. The Lovell’s AI (“Jim”)
had mission oversight and maintained near-constant commu- The Ship
nication with Jupiter Station.
Elcano-class ships were best described as pistons with
The commander was Bryan Model, who had led three
long, spiky shafts, spun to allow for Earth-normal gravity at
other cryosleep-expeditions and spearheaded the effort to
the extremities. The Lovell’s wide, cylindrical head had five lev-
realize this mission. Second in command was Myrna Estevez,
els, each possessing six wedge-like modules around a partially
who had previously served with Model. Chief engineer, and
pressurized central tube. All modules could be jettisoned, and
third in command, was Yuri Levenko – highly regarded but
habitation modules could connect to form a “lifeboat.”
headstrong. Dr. Karla Nelson was likewise well-regarded, but
The central tube’s front end was the main docking port.
not the first choice; the intended physician died two months
The engine and main power plant were in the rear, fed by
before final training, and Nelson was the best replacement.
external fuel tanks running along the modules. Solar panels
The remaining 10 were three engineers and seven scientists,
and antennae projected between the tanks at regular intervals.
who had all competed to be selected.
The top level was command and control, computers, com-
munications and sensors, two executive two-person habi-
The Saga tats, and the medlab. The next down contained two standard
The Lovell launched from Europa Dock 3 and spent the first five-person habitats, two laboratory/work modules, a recre-
week escaping Jupiter’s gravity. After that, they entered cryos- ation/gathering module, and Jim’s “brain.” The third had three
leep, the drive was engaged, and their 19-year trip out began. cryosleep berths and three cargo holds, the fourth was the sec-
Communication was relayed back to Europa until the Lovell ondary power plant and five scientific modules, and the fifth
was all extra fuel.
Microsocieties are a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction. The Strengths: Qualities that contribute to the group’s success
best-known archetypes are colonies of cagey survivalists and and continued survival after the apocalypse. These can bene-
gangs of violent marauders – probably because they’re plau- fit adventurers aligned with the faction, or penalize efforts to
sible. When we’re feeling cynical, most of us fear that when oppose them in the domain where they’re strongest.
push comes to shove, many people would either hole up and Weaknesses: Issues that could work against the faction,
point weapons at everybody else, or go wild. even cause it to disintegrate. These shouldn’t be immediately
This is also a winning formula for exciting stories! Raiders obvious – learning such flaws ought to be an adventure in
try to pillage the fruits of the settlers’ labor, causing the col- itself!
onists to treat everybody else as an enemy. This creates ten-
sion, and tension drives adventure: Heroes might be promised
food and other survival needs by settled types – or weapons by AR 15th
marauders – to turn mercenary. They may simply be mistaken When things went south, the “preppers” were ready! They
for hated rivals and attacked. had food, medicine, tools, and other survival necessities stock-
However, it’s interesting if post-apocalyptic drifters occa- piled – often in bunkers. Many were preoccupied with guns
sionally interact with groups that don’t fall cleanly on either and ammunition. Among those people, the AR-15 (GURPS
side of this divide, or that defy categorization. Here are seven High-Tech, p. 117) was a very popular rifle.
examples to adapt to a GURPS After the End or similar cam- Once it became clear that there’d be no replacing certain
paign. Beyond use as encounters, these might serve as origins resources, many preppers got even stricter about caring for
for adventurers – though the GM may insist that PCs be out- firearms and rationing ammo. With the passage of years, one
casts from (or at least have no special “in” with) factions with such group adopted this code as a social philosophy, the AR-15
extreme views or above-average tech. from a militia flag becoming its symbol. The meaning of “AR-
Each group’s description includes this info: 15” was eventually lost – mutated into “AR 15th” and adopted
Structure: How the microsociety oper- as the colony’s name. In their mythology, that’s
ates and lives – especially, how it dif- the name of not a rifle but a military unit in
fers from setting norms. Any political the “Army of Order,” which will someday
or economic concepts named are only return for them.
weakly related to the rules on pp. B509- The AR 15th mostly resemble other sur-
510 and GURPS Realm Management, vivalist settlements, except that they have a
pp. 14-22. In those terms, these groups religious reverence for rifles (and not just
would fall somewhere between “anar- AR-15s!) – similar to the cross symbolism
chy” and “clan/tribal” politically, and sometimes associated with swords in the
be “traditional” economically, the latter Middle Ages. They’ve kept a surprisingly
modified with “subsistence” if settled, large number of guns functional, and have
“slave” if violent, and/or “unsustain- large stores of ammo. That would make
able” if they rely on picking the bones of them a force to be reckoned with, except
the pre-apocalyptic world. that they view their weapons as sacred
Resources: Anything to which these relics, for use only in dire emergencies.
people have above-average access in the Thus, they sit atop a priceless arsenal they
setting. Adventurers might barter for rarely touch.
such things, steal them, or be promised Those who cross the AR 15th soon learn
them as payment or bribes. that the group’s beliefs encourage them
Forces: What kind of resistance to break out their firepower against ene-
adventurers will face if they attack this mies their leaders identify as the “Army of
faction, steal from them, or enter their Chaos.” Provoking conflict with them means
turf uninvited. a religious war and a hail of bullets . . .
Divine Fire or rival gangs. Some live outside society, and are accustomed
to nights on the side of the road and days living as they please.
Hostility toward the beliefs and practices of minority Yet they have their codes and respect a certain style of life.
religious sects sometimes leads such groups to isolate them- And they’re organized.
selves. Genuine doomsday cults are often survivalists to This was the origin of the Motorcycle Furies. They repre-
begin with. However, most such factions are offshoots of sent what’s left after years of outlaw gangs shifting alliances
real-world faiths. and fighting one another, unchecked by pesky lawmen or
Not Divine Fire. polite society. More important, they’re among the few with the
Divine Fire didn’t even start out as a religious movement. knowhow and spare parts to keep motorbikes running.
It was a secluded outdoor festival (like Burning Man, but Anybody thinking of crossing the Furies should know:
more obscure) built around vaguely New Age values. Its Their tradition of marauding dates to decades before the
founders adopted fire as their symbol because it made for apocalypse, when even organized police struggled to contain
flashy nighttime spectacles. To go with this, they appropri- them. They take what they want. About the only way to strike
ated a miscellany of traditional beliefs about fire deities: a deal with them is to be a biker and show them you’re as
Agni, Brigit, Loki, Ogun, Pele, Vesta, . . . you name it. tough as they are.
The apocalypse came during one of their festivals. By
Structure: Pack led by the strongest, always on the move.
rights, a bunch of people partying in the wilds shouldn’t have
They don’t hunt, gather, plant, etc. – they take. Within what-
stood a chance. What saved them was having lots of camping
ever they currently deem their territory, they usually attack
gear and supplies – and being forgotten in the chaos.
on sight.
The organizers were strange, not stupid. They immedi-
Resources: Motorcycles, with the tools and parts to keep
ately set about converting the temporary encampment into a
them running decades after the last factory closed. Most of
longer-term settlement. The worse things got, the more per-
the bikes are adapted to run on alcohol, which they must be
manent this became.
distilling somewhere. Rumor tells of tankers full of it, pulling
Now, generations down the road, nobody remembers
portable stills from raid site to raid site.
much of this. The Divine Fire hunt, gather, do their best with
Forces: Motorcycle “cavalry” with melee and thrown weap-
crafts and farming, . . . and worship fire. Fire warms and
ons. Some use lances and sabers like actual cavalry; others
cooks – and burns enemies and cleanses evil. These aren’t
favor chains, barbed-wire bats, and similar stereotypical
your parents’ happy-go-lucky neo-hippies, but a disturbing
marauder-gang weapons. Leaders have and use handguns and
cult that tosses its foes into flames and burns them at the
shotguns.
stake. If there’s a volcano nearby, rest assured that they’re
Strengths: Mobility well beyond the usual for the setting.
using it, too.
Savagery.
Structure: Tribe with strong religious beliefs, but not a the- Weaknesses: Code of honor that – while violent and uncivi-
ocracy. Extreme egalitarian, communitarian values preclude lized – could be “played” to lure their leader into a dominance
genuine leadership. duel or the gang into a showdown. Also: savagery.
Resources: If it has to do with fire, they have plenty – fire-
Sky People
wood, charcoal, pitch, etc. If anybody possesses refined fuel
in the setting, it’s them; ditto fire-starters like matches and
road flares. In a campaign with plentiful high-tech arma- When you visualize the apocalypse, there are things you
ments, add incendiary weapons. can’t imagine surviving for long because they depend on too
Forces: A rabble distressingly well-armed with fire and much else: utility grids, factories, electronics, etc. Among
unnervingly skilled in its use as a weapon. Expect burning these are aircraft – fussy machines that spend as much time in
arrows and spears, flaming pitch, etc. If permitted to retreat maintenance as in the skies.
from direct conflict, they will – only to return later for some The Sky People – a name applied to them, not used by
nighttime arson. them – beg to differ.
Between the beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation laser eye surgery, cell phones, print-on-demand tech-
and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 11 years pass. During that nology . . . (Is it too self-serving to say how cool it is that
time, significant technological advances are basically non- the GURPS On Demand program – sjgames.com/gurps/
existent; you could watch the first episodes of The Next ondemand – exists? As someone who scrambled too often to
Generation and the last episodes of Deep Space Nine, and the find out-of-print books to build my library in the 1990s, the
day-to-day tech is pretty much the same (barring time-travel ability to get them at the click of a mouse would blow my
shenanigans, of course). young-adult mind . . .)
Star Wars as a franchise has a similar stagnation in Yet futuristic settings tend to get stuck in the mud, and
their tech, with fundamental (admittedly iconic) technology multiple decades can pass without any seemingly meaning-
unchanged over hundreds of years. About the only big tech- ful innovations or tech that affects day-to-day folks.
nological advances come from asking the fundamental ques- Normally this would be the time when we’d take the
tion: “What if damage, but bigger?” opportunity to encourage futuristic gaming tables to advance
From the perspective of an audience and the creative technology to be as weird and innovative as their real-world
forces behind these properties, this makes total sense. World- modern-ish counterparts. Instead, let’s look at some ways we
building and advancing a timeline is expensive and takes a can make this stagnation make sense.
fair bit of effort, for (generally) negative payoff. The joys of
a TV series come from visiting with familiar characters and
settings, and any resources that would be devoted to making The Frontier Is Here
the world different have a chance at alienating the audiences. Many science-fiction settings take place in what one
From a modern perspective, this is weird. Technology would think of as “the frontier,” exploring worlds in the far
since the modern era has advanced at a rapid clip. Consider reaches of known space. One reason that innovation might
that – if we stretch backward the 11 years of the Next be kept to a minimum in such circumstances is that going
Generation/DS9 timeline to our own reality – you’re looking with what is known reduces the chances of problems com-
at a world either before or in the earliest days of the iPad, ing from tech that hasn’t remained in use for a long time.
3D printing, voice-command (such as Alexa and Siri), and Those who are in a tin can flying to another star probably
cryptocurrency. Whether or not these are all good advances doesn’t want to trust their lives to the 24th-century equiva-
(rants supplied on request), the fact is that these have all lent of Microsoft Bob.
changed the world in ways big and small. If you had a story Similarly, tested technology has a lot easier chance at
set in 2008 and a sequel set today, the latter could have being understood and mendable by folks in limited situa-
someone using voice-commands on their tablet computer to tions. Sure, flip-switch tech may seem antiquated, but it’s
pause their 3D printer so they can check on their crypto- a lot easier to kludge a fix using multi-purpose wires and
currency . . . and it would be near-incomprehensible if that spare parts than needing to replace an entire one-piece
story dropped in a 2008 person’s lap. touch-screen digitizer panel when it dies, taking all controls
The past decade or so has seemed – to your humble edi- with it.
tor’s eyes – a relatively tame one, at least as far as technol- In this case, it might be assumed that technology is
ogy and innovations. Compare (say) 1979’s tech with 1990’s advancing . . . just not where the heroes are. This can open
tech, or any random bit of kit from 1987 with a Windows some interesting gaming possibilities when the explorers are
98 machine hooked up to the Internet, and it truly feels reunited with the world they left behind. At the end of a five-
like a decade is a long time for tech to remain stagnant in year journey, “home” could have new forms of tech, enter-
a fictional setting. Computers, ATMs, soft contact lenses, tainment, and ways of engagement.
There Is a Season That is, the advances that have been made are the end of
the road as far as science goes in the setting, at least for
This article assumes a cosmos where tech is big developments. This is most likely due to limitations of
“neglected” due to inertia or oversight from the devel- the universe itself. For example, for a while it seemed like
opers (or GM). However, it’s entirely possible that such Moore’s law – the observation that the number of transis-
lack-of-motivation is intentional – or, at least, part of tors in a chip seemed to double every two years – was an
the larger story of society or the world that the GM is immutable fact of the universe. However, in recent years,
trying to craft. For example, maybe the GM wants to this progress has slowed, and there’s discussion about
describe a cycle of innovation, refinement, adaption, a future where Moore’s law just doesn’t apply. When sub-
and stagnation in the cosmos, and humanity is just atomic particles are just too chunky to squeeze any faster
between stages at the time of the campaign. through bits of magical flattened sand, the end of the road
GURPS Future History is particularly invalu- might be near.
able to chart out the implications of such decisions In a specific campaign, maybe there haven’t been any
and outlooks, especially its section on Cycles (Future improvements to hyperspace speeds or weapon-penetrative
History, pp. 21-24). abilities because they’re as good as they can get – at least,
in that area of progress. On Earth, we’ve had countless