Table Of Content

Stock #37-2618 C ONTENTS COVER ART INTERIOR ART BobStevlic GregHyland JupiterImages NikolaVrtis FROM THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SHORES BEYOND THE NIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . 4 I T byKellyPedersen N HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE UNWANTED KIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 I byJ.EdwardTremlett SSUE RUINS AND MORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 COLD HORIZON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Thismonth’sPyramidturnsaneyetowardthefinalfrontier, byMarkGellis withthetopicofSpaceExploration. Our first destination is an alternate history where Earth SECONDHAND SPACE EXPLORATION: hasbeguntocolonizethemoon,Mars,andVenusinShores THE POWER OF PROBES . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Beyond the Night. Explorers race to discover the exciting byAndyVetromile possibilities the solar system offers – including offworld alienartifactsthatcantakehumanity’stechtothenextlevel! LOOTING YOUR LIFE POD’S LOCKER. . . . . 35 This setting can be incorporated into the larger GURPS byKenSpencer Infinite Worlds framework or used on its own for space- probingsuspense. RANDOM THOUGHT TABLE: Not all discoveries are pleasant, as Close Encounters of the IN AN INFINITELY MUNDANE UnwantedKindwillreveal.Thesefivemysteriousanddangerous COSMOS, THE ONLY IMPOSSIBILITY encounters–suitableforanyspace-faringsystem–canformthe IS BOREDOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 basisforanexcitingadventureoranalteredcampaign. Whenyou’redonecolonizingthemainmoonsandplanets byStevenMarsh,PyramidEditor of the solar system, set your sights on the Kuiper Belt and ODDS AND ENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 beyondinColdHorizon.Carveoutacometandcallithome! featuringMurphy’sRules When you can live on a comet, “a snowball’s chance in hell” suddenlygetsalotmorelikely.Whatproblemsandopportuni- ABOUT GURPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 tiesawait?Whatkindsofrealisticsci-ficampaignsarepossi- ble? Plus, to get you started, it includes a deep space station presentedinGURPSSpaceshipsstats! Theexplorationofspacedoesn’tmeanjustastronautsand away teams; sometimes the best tool for the job is a probe. Discover a thorough examination of thepossibilities and pit- falls of indirect celestial searches in Secondhand Space Exploration, which includes much food for thought and a handfulofadventureideas.Remember:Youcan’tspell“prob- lem”withouta“probe”... Article Colors When things go wrong, you want to know that you can count on your life pod to support you until help arrives. Each article is color-coded to help you find your Looting Your Life Pod’s Locker itemizes exactly what’s favoritesections. included in five different models of life pods, presented in GURPSUltra-Techterms. PaleBlue:InThisIssue Roundingouttheissue,RuinsandMoreoffersaneasy-to- Brown:InEveryIssue(letters,humor,editorial,etc.) use way to abstract xenoarchaeological efforts, Random DarkBlue:GURPSFeatures Thought Table looks at how the mundane can be magical in Purple:OtherFeatures space, and Murphy’s Rules provides its usual popular para- chuteofnitpickingpratfalls...literally,thismonth! Editor-in-Chief(cid:2)STEVEJACKSON GURPSLineEditor(cid:2)SEANPUNCH PageDesign(cid:2)PHILREEDand ChiefOperatingOfficer(cid:2)PHILIPREED EditorialAssistance(cid:2)JASON“PK”LEVINE JUSTINDEWITT ArtDirector(cid:2)WILLSCHOONOVER ProductionArtist(cid:2)NIKOLAVRTIS MarketingDirector(cid:2)PAULCHAPMAN e23Manager(cid:2)STEVENMARSH PrepressCheckers(cid:2)WILLSCHOONOVERand DirectorofSales(cid:2)ROSSJEPSON MONICASTEPHENS P M 2 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL F ROM THE E DITOR T E , the articles still made sense even if you only picked up one O AN XPLORER issue!).AsPyramidcontinues,we’reexperimentingabitmore SUCCESS IS BRINGING with ideas that let you utilize your back-issue library – while stillmakingsurearticlesstandontheirown,ofcourse! B U , ACK THE NKNOWN Of course, sometimes it’s hard for explorers to know how successfultheywere;Columbusbelievedthathehadfounda W B RAPPED IN A OW new way to India, with long-reaching consequences. So how successful we were with either of these two aspects is up for Behold,theSpaceExplorationissueofPyramid–thethird youtodecide.Andyoucandothatbymakingsureto... in our trilogy of exploration-themed issues! Now that our three-packhasended,it’stimetoreflectabitonit.Thistrilogy wassomethingofanexperimentonacoupleoffronts. WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW First, its topic was more broad and “loose” than many Remember:You are the “sponsors” for our exploratory previous themes; really, a huge percentage of adventurers efforts!Wealwayswelcomecommentsabouthowclosewe’ve in all ages could probably put “explorer” on their come to meeting your expectations. Please feel free to send Feudal/Federal/Federation Income Tax forms. (Can you tell letters and comments to [email protected], or post thatAprilistaxmonthhereintheStates?)Sinceit’salooser onlineonourforumsatforums.sjgames.com.Andifyou’d theme, hopefully it’ll find a wider audience. Even if your liketoexploresomewritingofyourownandtrycontributing heroes aren’t flag-planting frontiersmen, some of the mate- to Pyramid, please check out our Writer’s Guidelines at rialhereshouldstillproveuseful! sjgames.com/pyramid/writing.htmlformoreinformation! Second, we had our first “crossover” articles – the Pele worldtrilogy(althoughwetookgreatpainstomakesurethat Pyramid,GURPS,Warehouse23,andtheall-seeingpyramidareregisteredtrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.e23,andthenamesofallproducts publishedbySteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated,orusedunderlicense. Pyramidiscopyright©2010bySteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.Someart©2010JupiterImagesCorporation.Allrightsreserved. Submissionofyourphotos,letters,humor,captions,andmarginaliaconstitutespermissiontoSteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedtousetheminallmedia. AllsuchsubmissionsbecomethepropertyofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedandwillnotbereturned. Thescanning,uploading,anddistributionofthismaterialviatheInternetorviaanyothermeanswithoutthepermissionofthepublisherisillegal,andpunishablebylaw.Please purchaseonlyauthorizedelectroniceditions,anddonotparticipateinorencouragetheelectronicpiracyofcopyrightedmaterials.Yoursupportoftheauthors’rightsisappreciated. P M 3 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL S HORES B EYOND THE N IGHT K P BY ELLY EDERSEN “Knowledge is power” is a truism. Knowing more than constructions scattered over the globe. Now, the great pow- youropponentscanleadtovictory,ifit’stherightknowledge. ersoftheworldjourneythroughthesolarsystemwithreac- Oftentheinformationthatyoudidn’tevenknowexistedcan tionlessdrivesandforcescreens.Thecompetitiontoseewho provethemostuseful.Curiosityhasthusbeenasurvivaltrait canfindandexploitthemostalienrelicsonthenewfrontier throughouthistory.OnHomeline(GURPSInfiniteWorlds), worldsisfierce.Meanwhile,theInfinityPatrolandCentrum the race to space was driven by this principle. Neither side are along for the ride, as Pele-3’s space exploration takes intheColdWarwaswillingtoallowtheiropponentstolearn themtotrulyunfamiliarworlds. more than themselves about rocketry or the engineering of space vehicles, lest the opposition gain too great an upper I W NFINITE ORLDS hand.Onlyonceitbecameclearthattheadvantageofspace was not terribly significant (and national pride had been LikePele-1inAnAgeofSails(Pyramid#3/16)andPele-2in assuaged)didthespaceracepeterout. TheMap’sDarkSpaces(Pyramid#3/17),Pele-3isdesignedas On Pele-3, though, it hasn’t stopped. The civilizations of anewtimelinefortheInfiniteWorldssetting.Aswithmany this alternate timeline, inspired to swifter progress through activitiesonotherworlds,Homelinekeepsitsactivitieslow- increased contact between the great cultures of the Old key. Thus, the GMcan easily remove Infinite Worlds refer- World, developed their technology faster than Homeline, ences without changing the flavor, turning this world into a ultimately finding a boost through mysterious pre-human locationforadventurebyitself. P -3 ELE Pele-3isatimelinewhereOldWorldcountriesenteredthe A DRIFT ON THE age of exploration and colonization on even footing, with China and India extending their power and influence at the SEA OF HISTORY sametimeasEurope.Thegreaterwealthandculturalinterac- tion have spurred faster technological development; Pele-3 is Pele-3’s divergence from Homeline technically happened inthemiddleofTL9whenHomelinewasonlyTL8,withthe about 5,000,000 years ago. The magma plume under the solarsystembeingexploredbythecompetingnationsofEarth. Pacific plate that produced the Hawaiian archipelago on As humans range outward, they are discovering alien struc- HomelinewasbothbroaderandmuchmoreactiveonPele-3. tures,apparentlyleftbythesamebeingsthatcreatedtheruins This increased volcanic activity created not the familiar on Earth and thus gave humanity the secrets of space travel Hawaiianchain,butasinglelargeisland.Thisnewlandmass, (see pp. 8-9). Scientists and engineers, military and business about200mileswide,extendsapproximately500mileswest- interests–allarelookingforthenextbreakthroughtobehad northwest from the location that corresponds to Homeline’s fromtheremainsofthealiencivilization,andtheboldexplor- Big Island to beyond Kauai. The increased volcanic activity erswhosearchforthemarechartingthenewhorizon! faded200,000yearsago. OffworldersmightuseavisittoPeletojustifypickingupadvancedtech.Don’tloseyourparachronics... P M 4 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL This new land did not significantly affect human his- tory until much more recently, when the Polynesian cul- Pele-3, 2000 turediscovereditaround500A.D.ThePolynesiansfound the enlarged Hawaii a lush, thriving place to call home, and an excellent platform from which to dominate the Current Affairs westernPacific.TheHawaiianempirewasaloosecollec- ThenationsofEarthareexpandingoutwardintothesolar tion of independent islands linked by trade routes and system using recently developed reactionless drive technol- tribute agreements, but it sufficed to spread Polynesian ogy,searchingforalienartifactsandknowledge. culturemorethanonHomeline.By1000,Polynesiansail- ingandnavigationtechnologyhadreachedtheshoresof Divergence Point easternAsiaandsoonspreadtoIndia. Asian cultures, influenced by Polynesia, developed 5,000,000B.C.;largerPacificmagmaplumecreatesmuch greater willingness to sail beyond their familiar shores. largerHawaii. Increasedtradeandculturalcontactdrovetheformation Major Civilizations ofexpansive,outward-lookingsocietiesinbothChinaand India.Apan-Indianempireroseandfell,leavingthesuc- Western (multipolar), Orthodox (empire with satellite cessorstateswithavisionofaunifiedsubcontinent,and states),Chinese(multipolar),Indian(bipolar). a desire to expand that pushed them northwest into Central Asia and west to Africa. The Wanyou Dynasty, Great Powers whichretookChinafromtheMongols,expandeditshege- Deccan Confederacy (democracy, CR3), English Empire monyintoCentralAsiaandthroughKoreaandJapan.To (democracy, CR4), Huachichil (dictatorship, CR5), the south and east, ethnic Chinese, descendants of the MitteleuropeanRepublic(democracy,CR4),RussianEmpire dynasty who had been expelled by the Mongols, were (oligarchy,CR5),WestAfricanUnion(democracy,CR3). forming states of their own, most notably in Lu Daoyu (HomelinePhilippines)andonHawaiiitself. Worldline Data In1481,anexplorerfromLuDaoyumadethemostsig- TL:9^(supersciencereactionlessdrivesandforcefields) nificant sea voyage in Pele-3’s history, discovering a new ManaLevel:Nomana world to the east of Asia. Colonists from Lu Daoyu and Quantum:6 Hawaii settled this new frontier, but they soon became InfinityClass:Z4 locked in conflict with the other recent arrival: the CentrumZone:Red Spanish Empire. Native tribes and city-states became prizes and strategic objectives. The Native Americans tried to catch up to the technology of the two great civi- lizations,whiledoingtheirbesttosurvivetheconflict. deepininhospitableterrain:thedepthsofjungles,thepeaksof In the early 1600s, in Kuangdi (Homeline Australia), a highmountains,theburningheartsofdeserts,andbeneaththe ChineseinventorcreatedthenextrevolutionforPele-3:steam oceanwaves.Nationsacrosstheworldsoughtouttheseruinsas power. The new technology swept the globe, advancing how further discoveries of technological wonders within the sites humanity traveled, farmed, worked, and played. New steam- cametolight.Everypowerhopedtobetheonetodecipherthe poweredvehiclesspedthemarchoftheDeccanConfederacy, secretsoftheancientstructuresandutilizetheirpower. the southernmost of the Indian states, as it colonized Sub- Thefirststatetounlockthemysterydidindeedgainpower- SaharanAfrica.Steampoweralsohelpedbreakthebackofthe ful tools. The great breakthrough happened in 1780, in the complacentandcorruptWanyouDynasty.Itsreplacement,the NativeAmerican-ruledcountryofHuachichil(Coahuila,Mexico GaoyangDynasty,hailedfromtheJapaneseprovinces. onHomeline).Huachichilhadbeentheoriginatoroftheinter- Steampowerruledthe world fora centuryanda half.By nalcombustionengine.Itparleyeditstechnologicaladvantage 1750,theindustrialerawasinfullflowerandthemechanized into hegemony over much of what (on Homeline) would be age began, with the appearance of internal combustion northernMexicoandtheAmericanSouthwest.Huachichilwas enginesandpoweredflight. fortunatetofindseveraloftheancientsitesinthedeepdeserts and high mountains. With the advantage of many sources to W examineandcapablescholarsandengineers,Huachichileven- ONDERS OF THE tually deciphered the first elements of the strange script and ANCIENT WORLD reverse-engineeredsomeofthesimplerdevices. The discoveries were “shocking.” Taking apart the strange In1745,anIndianexplorerlocatedamysterioussetofstruc- devices revealed volumes of new knowledge about circuits, tures in Africa, obviously older than the most ancient human capacitors, batteries, and other fundamentals of electrical civilizationsbutinastateofexcellentpreservation.Theinvesti- devices. Within a decade, Huachichil was able to upgrade its gatorfoundstrangewritingandartifactswithin.Inthenextsev- steam-poweredtechnologytothisnewparadigm,withpower eralyears,similarruinswerefoundallovertheworld,always generatorssupplyinglightandheat. GiventheexistenceofunusualalienartifactsacrossthePeleworlds,it’squitepossiblethatsomeonemightactivate somethingmysteriousonPele-2,andawaken“inthefuture”–onPele-3!Thiscanserveallkindsofplotpossibilities... P M 5 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL Huachichil–withanappetiteforconquestalreadywhetted feudalsystemwithanetworkofstate-runfarmsandfactories. by success with the internal combustion engine – went on Upward mobility depended on managerial success. By 1810, another spree, pushing further into Central America. By the Russiawasaforcetoreckonwith,anditbegantocontemplate time an alliance of Native American, Chinese, and Spanish expansion. The rest of Europe had been advancing as fast as forces stopped them, the Huachichilean armies had gobbled Russia,makingmilitaryadventurismtherelookunprofitable, up several city-states in central Mexico and were the undis- but Central Asia and the Middle East were mostly under the putedmastersofthenorth.HuachichilbecamethefirstNative controlofsmallcity-statesandquarrellingkingdoms.Thefinal American state to seriously challenge the Old World powers impetuswasprovidedbyanewdiscoveryintheUrals.Aruin militarily,andtheworldtooknote. revealed there gave the Russians a new medical advance: a Of course, the technology could not stay exclusively in treatment that greatly accelerated healing from wounds and Huachichil’shandsforlong.Evenbeforetheconquestsbegan, infections (treat this as Ascepaline – see GURPS Bio-Tech, spieshadbeenbusilystealingknowledgeandequipment.The p.152),allowingcasualtiesofbattletobequicklyreturnedto Mexican War demonstrated to all nations the crucial impor- the front. In 1811, Russia launched a major new offensive tance of unlocking the ruins’ secrets. Researchers used againsttheancientcitiesofAsia. Huachichil’s translations as the basis for other deciphering At first, Russia’s advance was unchecked. Its soldiers attempts, and new scientific and engineering principles marched through the Caucasus, across the Dardanelles into emergedfromsitesacrosstheglobe. Turkey,andthenthroughtheMiddleEast.By1820,theoilfields England became the next nation to take advantage of the ofbothGeorgiaandArabiawerefirmlyinRussiancontrol.Then newknowledge.TheEnglishCrownhadlongbeeninconflict theRussiansturnedeast,andtheirleadersbegancontemplating with France over New World territories. In 1815, England enteringChineseandIndianterritory,lulledbyoldmythsofeth- beganawartocontrolallofeasternNorthAmerica,besieging nicsuperiority.However,astheRussianforcesmovedeastward, Frenchshippingwithanewweapon:thesubmarine.Thiswar asufficientlystrongopposingenemyforcemobilized. alsosawthefirstsignificantuseofaircraftinamilitaryrole. Neither China nor India had been idle in the past century. TheFrenchdesperatelytriedtoupgradetheirownmilitaryto TheGaoyangDynastyhadbeenmodernizingasaggressivelyas keep pace, but these efforts proved too little, too late. They Russia,anditsarmieshadbeenkeptsharpandwelltraineddue wereforcedtosignawaythemajorityoftheirNewWorldter- to the constant conflict with the south Chinese states. ritoriesafterhalfadecadeoffighting.Thenewlandsthatwere Meanwhile, Delhi – the premier state in northern India – had nowopentoEnglandintheheartofNorthAmericawereonly beenpreparingitsownpushintoCentralAsiainsearchofoil sparselymappedorsettled,butEnglishexplorers–manyfly- reserves.BoththerajaofDelhiandtheGaoyangemperorhad ing long-range reconnaissance planes developed in the war – nointentionofseeinganupstartEuropeanstatewithdelusions werequicklyclaimingasmuchastheycould. ofgrandeurconquerAsia–bothconsideredthattheirjob! Indiawasthefirsttomove,astheCentralAsiancity-states invoked old defensive treaties. Forces of the raja marched westwardandmettheRussiansinthecentralhillsofIranin It is my great desire to reform my 1825.Thefightingwassomeofthefiercesteveryetseen.Both subjects, and yet I am ashamed to sideswereequippedwiththehighestmilitarytechnologyavail- able: aircraft, internal-combustion land vehicles both small confess that I am unable to reform and large, explosives, radio, and deadly automatic weapons. myself. The war bogged down in the rough terrain, a stalemate that claimed first thousands, then tens of thousands, and finally – Peter the Great millionsoflives. Atthesametime,tothenorth,ChineseandRussianforces wereclashinginafarmoremobilewar.TheGaoyangDynasty had explored and claimed the eastern reaches of Siberia, THE TIGER, THE attempting to locate ancient sites, but few of its citizens had settled there. Nevertheless, the Chinese empire would not D , T B RAGON AND HE EAR countenancetheRussian’sobviousterritorialambitionsthere, andwhenRussianforcescrossedtheUrals,Chinamobilizedto TheOldWorldwasnotimmunetoconflictssparkedbynew meetthem.TheSiberianfrontwasvastandundermannedon technologies. The next great war would involve all three cen- both sides, with Russia’s forces mostly tied up in Iran front, ters of civilization: Europe, China, and India. By 1810, the andtheGaoyangunabletodiverttoomanytroopsawayfrom Russian Empire was eyeing the east greedily. Peter the Great theirownborders,lestthecitiesofsouthernChinatakeadvan- had started the empire on a path to modernization in the tage.TheSiberianWarwasPele-3’sfirstexperiencewithtruly 1700s, which proceeded even faster than on Homeline. Peter mechanized warfare, and the strategies and tactics of mobile andtheemperorswhofollowedhimcompletelyeliminatedthe combatwerelargelydevelopedthere. oldRussiannobilityoverthecourseofacentury,replacingthe CentrumhasbeenlessinterestedintheotherPeleworldsthanithasPele-3.Adventurerswhoputinsubstantial investigativeeffortsontheotherworldsmightlearnenoughinformationaboutthecross-worldweirdnesstogivethema definitiveedge... P M 6 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL TheAsianWardraggedonforadecade,untilRussiafinally tively self-governing for too long to be easily subdued. The suedforpeace.ItagreedtoabandonallclaimstoAsiaeastof DeccanConfederacyyieldedtointernationalpressureandfor- theUralsandtheCaspianSea,andtheMiddleEasternterrito- mallyacknowledgedthewesterncoloniesasindependent. ries were given nominal independence, although Russia still The success of the African independence movement claimedthemas“protectorates.”TheCentralAsiancitieswere inflamed democratic political sentiment worldwide. The largely incorporated into Delhi’s sphere of influence, while Chinese colonies in the New World and Australia became China retained Siberia, although it continued to do little to hotbeds of revolutionary feeling. By 1870, the Hawaiian exploitthevastterritory. ChinesestateinNorthAmericahadafullrepresentativegov- ernment,withtheemperoraconstitutionalfigurehead,while T L F Lu Dayou’s American colonies declared independence and HE IGHT OF REEDOM establishedmore-or-lessdemocraticstates. On Pele-3, the heartland of democracy was not Western Europe but southern India. The Deccan Confederacy had P S EACE AND TABILITY begunasanallianceofcity-statesattemptingtoholdofftheir northernneighbors.Eachmajorcitysentarepresentativeto Thenext110years,from1870to1980,wererelativelyrelax- the Confederation’s central Sabha (“meeting”) to determine ing.Thegrandconflictsofthepastwereapparentlypavedover, policy. Initially, members of the Kashtriya warrior caste or with advancing technology and social organization bringing Brahmin priestly caste served as the rulers of most cities. morewealthandsafetytoeveryone.Duringthisperiod,scien- However, as the Deccan cities became more and more tistsandengineersbusilydevelopedtheirownadvancements focusedoncommercialventures,theVaishyacaste–thetra- andexploitedthetechnologyfromtheruins.Thefirstatomic ditionalmerchants–becamemoreprominent.By1650,most detonation in 1845 effectively began TL7, and new advances of the Deccan Confederacy was ruled by local sabhas, mod- quicklyspread.Despitethathorrificfirstuseofnuclearenergy, eledonthegreatSabha.Initially,theelectorateconsistedof Pele-3 never developed the same level of distrust regarding the Kashtriyas, Brahmins, and those Vaishyas who met a atomicpowerasHomeline,withnoColdWartofuelparanoia. minimumpropertyrequirement.Overthecourseofthenext Nuclearpowerplantsbecamegenerallyacceptedastheenergy century and a half, the franchise was extended again and generator of choice, followed by renewable sources. Pele-3’s again, first to more Vaishyas, then to the farmer/laborer period of widespread industrialization was cleaner than caste, the Shudras. By 1800, every male in the Deccan Homeline’s. Confederacycouldvote. By 1895, the general level of technology was TL8. Digital This democratic largesse was not nearly so evident in the computersandnetworksprovokedtheirusualradicalchanges Confederacy’s African colonies. To be granted a seat at the inhowpeoplelivedandworked,althoughPele-3’sglobalnet- Sabha,newmembersneededtopayalarge“independence”fee works remained far more fragmented then Homeline’s. to its controlling district. The Sabha based this fee on how Networksareamorespecializedaffair,designedtofulfillsome much the new region had brought financially to its former particularfunction,andindividualssubscribeonlytotheserv- ruler.Africansubjectscouldnotvoteinlocalgovernmentsin icestheyneedorwant. India,nordidtheyhavethemoneytopurchasetheirindepend- In contrast, computer hardware progressed even faster ence;thecorporationsthatownedthecoloniessqueezedevery thaninHomeline.Aportablemulti-purposedevice,capableof pennytheycould.OnlyinSouthAfrica,whereenoughprivate wirelessly linking to whatever networks a user subscribed to citizenshadstruckitrichinthediamondfields,wereanynew andperformingavarietyoffunctions,wasrealizedwithin15 sabhasfounded. years of the invention of the integrated circuit. West Africa Thisstateofaffairscausedconstantunrest,andthetension becameahotbedofcomputerdevelopmentandstillretainsa had reached the breaking point in 1820. The Sub-Saharan reputation for high quality hardware and software engineer- coloniesdeclaredtheirindependenceenmasse.Theycreated ing. Ndakarou (Homeline Dakar) is the Silicon Valley and theirownlocalsabhas,institutinganationalAfricanSabhato SeattleofPele-3. coordinate the conflict they knew was coming. War did, indeed, arrive. The Deccan Confederacy was unwilling to allowsuchavastterritorytowalkawaywithoutafight.For Hack to the Future over 15 years, Confederacy forces tried to resubjugate Africa again, while the colonists waged a guerilla war to Because of the lack of interconnectivity between net- remain free. Finally, by 1837, the Deccan government had worksonPele-3,hackingonthisworldismuchmoredif- had enough. They began an intensive bombing campaign, ficult;the oddsofone networkbeinglinkedtoanyother which culminated in the destruction of Nilagiri Parvata are significantly smaller. Apply a -4 or larger penalty to (Homeline Addis Ababa) in 1845. The final attack used a ComputerHackingorotherelectronicintrusionrollsifan discovery extrapolated from new ruins: the atomic bomb. attemptismadefromaninappropriatenetwork. The eastern African colonies grudgingly surrendered. The coloniestothewestofLakeChad,however,hadbeeneffec- ThosewhowantmoredetailedinformationabouttheearlyhistoryofPele-3(ofwhichPele-1andPele-2aresomehow echoes),checkoutAnAgeofSailsfromPyramid#3/16:HistoricalExplorationfortheveryearlyhistoryandTheMap’s DarkSpacesfromPyramid#3/17:ModernExplorationformorerecenttimes. P M 7 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL Just think – one day, the heavens will be the new frontier without laws and guns and just as people have crossed the prairie in covered wagons, they may cross the great prairie of space to the moon and look beyond. I wonder if then, perhaps, the moon, too, will change for us. – Johnny Ringo #1.34 Theadventofseriousgeneticengineeringproducedmajor agitationforrepresentationalgovernment.Theadministration agriculturalboomsinseveralpreviouslymarginalregions,par- reacted with an alternating series of crackdowns and small ticularlythedryareasofAfricaandtheCentralAsiansteppe. changes,butby1940,itbecameclearthatthesituationwasno It also produced large-scale aquaculture, particularly in the longertenable.Thelastemperorvoluntarilyabdicatedinfavor BayofBengalandtheSouthChinaSea. of a newly elected parliament, and the “Empire of China” By1950,Pele-3hadmovedintoTL9,whereitremains.This became the “Republic of China.” The new government based developmentisprimarilyachangeindegreethaninkind.More its political systems loosely on the Mitteleuropean Republic, robotsdomanuallabor,morevehiclesareautomated,andhand- thusmovingforwardintodemocracy. heldandsmallercomputersareubiquitous.Fissionhaslargely Unfortunately, the “bright new era” that was promised to been replaced with fusion, and high-efficiency fuel cells have theChinesepeoplefailedtoemerge.Regionalfactionsbegan supplanted the internal-combustion engine. The only com- toagitateformoreautonomyalmostatonce.Asaresult,wary pletelynewdevelopmenthasbeeneffectivehumangeneticengi- foreign investors avoided the struggling new state. This, in neering. Most nations have allowed genetic manipulation to turn, slowed economic growth and increased the populace’s preventheritabledisease,andsimplecosmeticalterationsare dissatisfaction with the central government, creating a feed- usuallypermitted,althoughoftenregulated.Deeperchangesto backloop.Chinacontinuedtowrestlewithincreasinginternal thehumangenomeremainextremelycontroversial.Cloning– problemsthroughoutthisperiod. evenoftransplantorgans–isheavilystigmatized,andgenetic engineering to create new features in humans or higher ani- N F EW RONTIER mals is almost unheard of. Only a few extremely lenient regions,suchastheFreeCitiesofsouthernChina,permitit. Theeraofstabilityandslowprogressbrokedown20years Thecenturyofpeacewasnotentirelywithoutdisruptions. ago.Itwasin1980thatanewruinwasdiscovered,thefirstto Several new political players emerged, and some old states beunearthedin93years...andthissitewasdifferentfromall sufferedsetbacksorevenoutrightdissolution.Themostsig- thathadcomebefore.AdelaideMarcon,anarcheologistfrom nificant new arrivals were in Europe and Central America. the Mitteleuropean Republic, located a site in the Sahara ThevariousstatesofGermany,Italy,andSwitzerlandunified desertthatwasdifferentinalmosteverypossibleway.Allruins into the Mitteleuropean Republic, in order to compete with discoveredpreviouslyhadrevealed,atbest,high-TL8levelsof theEnglish,French,andSpanishempireseconomicallyand development.Devicesanddecipheredtextshadprovedhelpful politically. The Republic began as a loose federation, but its inadvancinghumantechnology,butnotradicallyso,andno centralgovernmentgainedpoweruntilitbecameastrongly evidenceoftheoriginsofthebuildershadeverbeenfound– united and centralized nation. The Central American states, onlytechnicalworks.TheSaharasitewassimultaneouslythe led by the Chinese nation of Po Mao (Homeline Acapulco), first to have technology higher than TL8, the first to give a formed an economic and defensive alliance, as a bulwark strong indication of where the builders came from, and the againsttheambitionsofHuachichil.Huachichilitselfcontin- largestsiteeveruncovered(overfoursquaremiles). ued to expand northward, and a large section of the Great Thenewlydiscoveredlocation–dubbedthe“Spaceport”by PlainsofcentralNorthAmericaisunderitseffectivecontrol, the international press – seemingly proved with certainty that despiteEnglishclaims. the builders of the ruins had not come from Earth. Vehicles While these new groups formed, the Chinese Empire obviously capable of traveling into space still sat in various evolved.AlthoughtheGaoyangDynastyhadalwaysbeenadept hangars, and information gleaned from the accompanying atkeepingupwithdevelopmentsintechnologyandinnovating records indicated that there had been frequently visited loca- itsown,theimperialbureaucracywasconsiderablypoorerat tionsinthesolarsystembesidesEarth.Inadditiontothiswealth keeping abreast of political changes. The worldwide wave of of information, the vessels themselves provided a windfall of democratic reforms in the 1800s swept up the Chinese peas- technology. Their computer and power systems were roughly antry and could not be stopped, despite the empire’s best equivalent to Pele-3’s existing designs, but the ships incorpo- efforts.Startingin1900,theGaoyangfacedgreaterandgreater rated drives that were only barely comprehensible at first. AdditionalinformationonthestateofscienceonHomelinecanbefoundintheHomelineTLsection(p.23)ofGURPS InfiniteWorlds.Inanutshell,“Homelinescientistsarelazythieves.” P M 8 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL When scientists succeeded in reverse-engineering the ancient smaller nations were either piggybacking on the existing vessels,theydiscoveredthatthebuilders–nowbygeneralcon- colonies or making plans to form their own. Mars revealed sensus considered aliens – had possessed reactionlesspropul- manymorealienremnantsthanthemoon.Huachichilcolonists sion,aswellastheabilitytoprojectfieldsofforcethatcould intheVallesMarinerisregionuncoveredalong-buriedcity,far manipulate matter and energy. These new technologies larger than any ruin ever encountered on Earth. Dubbed the allowedhumanstodeveloptrulypracticalinterplanetaryves- “Archive”foritslargestoreofblueprintsandastrometricdata,it selsoftheirown. provided humans with their first comprehensive look at the Previous to this great discovery, the nations of Pele-3 had aliens’technologyandgavehintstootherlocationsthroughout hadlittleinterestinexploringthesolarsystem.Therehadbeen the solar system. Soon everyone scrambled to uncover more no internationally prestigious “space race” to fire the public Martian sites. The revelation of a massive complex buried consciousness with dreams of extraplanetary conquest or beneaththewesternslopesofOlympusMonstriggeredthefirst colonies; rocketry programs mostly restricted themselves to wartobefoughtoffEarth.In1992,aHuachichileanexpedition lifting utility satellites into orbit. Pele-3 had lagged behind uncoveredtheentrancetothesubterraneancitynicknamedthe Homelineinitsknowledgeofthesolarsystem,withonlyafew “Labyrinth” for its intricate network of passages. It contained scatteredunmannedprobeseverbeingsentbeyondthemoon. numerousnewaliendevices,includingfusion-poweredvehicles Thisallchangedwiththenewdiscoveries.Suddenly,humans thatcouldrevolutionizetravel. hadthetechnologytoeffectivelyexplorespace,which created an urgent motivation to do so. The major states rushed to implement interplanetary explo- Other Peles rationfleets,aseverypoweronceagainrealizedthat the first to discover the secrets of the vanished race Infinityknowsofthreeothertimelineswhereincreasedvol- wouldgainthegreatestadvantage. canismhasledtoalargerHawaiianisland,allgiventhe“Pele” Themoonwasthefirsttarget.TheMitteleuropean designation.Pele-1andPele-2,alongwithPele-3,formacurious Republic, with its technological edge, led the way. anomaly within Homeline’s understanding of transtemporal TheyestablishedabaseinTychoCraterinlate1982, physics.Pele-1andPele-2seemtobeechoesofPele-3,similarto neartheancientsiteofanotherinterplanetaryspace- the echoes of Homeline that are found on Quantum 6, but not port.Russia,England,andHuachichilfollowedsuit, obviouslyconnectedtoHomeline. settingupbasesacrossthelunarsurfaceandhunting Pele-1 (Q6, current year 1550) is undergoing its first great fornewaliensites.By1986,allthesignificantpowers wave of exploration, as China, Europe, and India begin to of Earth had established a lunar presence, both to spread out into the New World and Africa. (For more details exploreandasjumping-offpointsfortherestofthe about Pele-1, see An Age of Sails, in Pyramid #3/16: Historical system. Although tensions between the space-faring Exploration.) nations grew, they did not erupt into open warfare Pele-2 (Q6, current year 1750), meanwhile, has just discov- over the moon. This was partly due to the rarity of eredtheexistenceofthealiensitesscatteredthroughtheworld’s alienremainsonEarth’ssatellite,butmostlybecause wastelands, and a new frenzy for exploring terra incognita has noneofthegreatpowerswantedtoseeabattlefought swept the world. (For more information about Pele-2, see The soclosetohome. Map’sDarkSpaces,inPyramid#3/17:ModernExploration.) Despitethelackofinternationalconflict,thecolo- Pele-4(Q4,200,000B.C.)istheonlyPeleworldthatisn’tobvi- nizationofthemoonultimatelyledtotheendofone ously tied into the Pele echo system. The increased volcanism majornation.TheRepublicofChinahadbeentotter- buildingtheHawaiianislandsuphasjustceasedonthistimeline, ing almost since its beginning. The national govern- and Infinity agents stationed there are anxiously watching the ment sank a great deal of political and economic skiesincasethealiensareduetoarriveonthistimelineaswell. capital into its moonbase program, raising expecta- tionsofvastnewaliensitesthatwouldgrantawealth of technology. Unfortunately, ruins were particularly sparseinChina’sterritorialclaims,althoughprobablyevenan UnfortunatelyforHuachichil,theentrancetotheLabyrinth average number of alien discovers would have disappointed was within Deccan Confederacy territory. The Confederacy theChinesepublic.Theboondoggleofthefailedmoonbaseini- rapidly became aware of the Huachichilean incursion and tiative brought down the Chinese government in 1986, and demanded that all technology be turned over to them. thentherepublicitselfin1987,asitsvariousregionsvotedto Huachichil refused, and both sides mobilized. The resulting separate. The territory on the moon was cast adrift, and the warwasshortbutpainful.In1994,fusionbombsdevastated desperatecolonistscreatedthesolarsystem’sfirstextraplane- Huachichil’s main colony center, killing thousands and crip- tarynation:theChineseLunarFreeState. plingtheHuachichileanMartianadministration.However,the Beyond the moon, Mars was the next goal. By 1990, the Deccan victory rang hollow, since the Labyrinth had been DeccanConfederacy,theWestAfricanUnion,Mitteleuropa,and bombedandmostlycollapsedearlyinthefighting.Almostno HuachichilhadallclaimedsectionsoftheRedPlanet.Several alienartifactssurvived. TheultimateresolutiontothemysteryofPele-4isleftentirelytotheGM–althoughiftheheroes’involvementwiththe threePeletimelineshasbeenelaborateandinvolved,amorespectacularresolutionisprobablyjustifiedfromadramatic standpoint. P M 9 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL WhilebattlewagedonMars,otherstateslookedtowardthe except on the Peles. However, Pele-3 does have two dangers sunratherthanaway.AlthoughEnglandandRussialedinthe thankeepPatroladministratorsawakeatnight. earlier expansion by establishing lunar bases, they had been First, their scientists are extremely skilled at reverse-engi- effectivelyshut out of the Martian rushwhile theyfocused on neeringbizarretechnologyfromeventhesmallestfragments. searching for lunar artifacts. Both nations needed another Theslightesttraceofparachronicequipmentcouldleadthem avenuetoregaintheiredge.Startingin1993,theyeachsenta tofunctionalconveyorswithinmonths. numberofexpeditionsintotheinnersolarsystem.Theempires’ Second,Infinityhasgoodevidencefromtheothertwomain hopesinfindingnewaliensitesweredisappointed;Venusand Pele timelines that the beings from Pele-1, Pele-2, and Pele-3 Mercury seem to be barren of any signs of prior habitation. arenotmerelyechoesofoneanother,butasinglecivilization However,theinnerworldshavenotprovedatotalloss.Mercury thatsomehowspannedthreetimelines,possiblywithtechnol- revealedextensivemineraldeposits,anditisanticipatedthatthe ogy that allowed them to artificially establish the parallels as planetwillbecomeamajorindustrialcenter(oncetheinherent echoesofeachother.Thatlevelofparachronicdevelopmentis difficultiesofoperatingthereareresolved). beyond anything Infinity considered even theoretically possi- Meanwhile, Venus supplied perhaps the largest surprise ble.ThegovernmentsofHomelineareterrifiedthatthealiens yet. Astronomers had long known that planet was totally willturnupsomewherealive.Thatwouldbeadisasterasfar shrouded in dense clouds and assumed its close position to asHomelineisconcerned. thesunmeantitwaslockedinaferociousgreenhouseeffect, AlmostallHomelinersonthisworldareinvolvedwithspace too hot for human life. The first expeditions proved this missions.ThePatroltriestoinfiltrateeveryjourneyofsignifi- entirely false. A primitive yet thriving ecosystem existed in cance and has agents scattered throughout the off-world theVenusianclouds,moderatingtheheatoftheatmosphere colonies,withstrictorderstosabotageanydiscoverythateven andreflectingagreatdealofenergybackintospace.Infact, hintsatparachronics. Venus seems poised to become fit for habitation – its vast Centrum,meanwhile,considersthisthebestprospectofall quantities of water vapor in the air have reached the point thePeletimelines.Theworldishigh-techenoughthatitwould wheretheyarecondensingandrainingdowninvaststorms, be a valuable economic addition to Centrum’s cross-time filling a previously dry landscape with seas and rivers. Both empire, and Interworld has a more optimistic attitude toward EnglandandRussiahaveestablishedcoloniesonthesurface. theparachronictechnologyofthealiens.Theideaofbeingable They are now looking into accelerating the conversion of todolarge-scaletimelineengineeringmakesInterworldagents Venusintoalivableworld. salivate,andCentranscientistshavealreadyworkedoutseveral theoreticalmodelsthatcouldexplainthealiens’abilities.Their O O agentsintheoff-worldcolonieshaveorderstolookforanysigns UTWORLD PERATIONS ofparachronictechnologyandretrieveit,whiledenyingittothe Infinity treads most lightly on this timeline of any of the natives.Centrumalsofeelsthatanumberofthenationsofthis Peles(seep.9).Theusualproblemsoftechnologyhigherthan timeline are ripe for subversion. In particular, they like the Homeline are all in force. Of course, Pele-3 doesn’t have stronglymeritocraticEnglishEmpireandthetechnology-heavy Shikaku-Mon’scontingentofhobbyistspiesorCaliph’spurely WestAfricanUnionandMitteleuropeanRepublic.Theyalsosee terrifying level of ultra-technology. Pele-3 is close enough to thefragmentedChinaasfertilegroundforbuildinganewpup- Homelinethatmostscienceiscomprehensible,anditisagood pet-statefromthegroundup.CentranagentsarebusyonPele- candidate for stealing designs from, although the stranger 3,anditsometimesseems(tooverstretchedPatrolmen,anyway) principles of ruin-based technology have proven inapplicable thattheyhavethreetimestheagentsinplaceasInfinity. A F DVENTURES IN THE UTURE Likeitsalternate-timelinecounterparts,muchoftheadven- The Deccan Confederacy is the wealthiest state on Earth, turepotentialofPele-3focusesonvarioustypesofexploration. anditscitizensarenotoriousforconsideringitthemostcul- However,onPele-3,theskyisn’tthelimit–it’sanewfrontier! tured,artistic,andmorallyuprightaswell.Propagandaaside, the Confederacy is certainly prosperous and its citizens are S W A largelycontent.EastAfricaisstillwithintheDeccanstate,now MALL ORLD AFTER LL grantedfullrepresentationingovernment.Tothenorth,Delhi Althoughhumanityisrapidlyexpandingintospace,Earth hasbeenfallingundertheeconomicswayoftheConfederacy isstillthehomeof99%ofthesolarsystem’spopulation,andit aswell,andthereisamovementtowardpoliticalunity.Deccan isbynomeansaplacidbackwater.Oldconflictsarestillplayed culture is still strongly Indian, although Chinese and African outonthehomeworld,andnewbattlesarebroughttherefrom influences are obvious. The population is fairly secular, but thecolonies. bothBuddhismandHinduismremainviabletraditions. GURPSTalesoftheSolarPatrol(availableone23)isasettingwithasimilarstyleoftechnology.TheGMandplayers mayfinditausefulsourceforcharacterconcepts,settingdetails,andadventureideas. P M 10 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL

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Pyramid. Space Exploration PDF

40 Pages·2010·3.685 MB·English
by  Steve Jackson
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Stock #37-2618 C ONTENTS COVER ART INTERIOR ART BobStevlic GregHyland JupiterImages NikolaVrtis FROM THE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SHORES BEYOND THE NIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . 4 I T byKellyPedersen N HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE UNWANTED KIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 I byJ.EdwardTremlett SSUE RUINS AND MORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 COLD HORIZON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Thismonth’sPyramidturnsaneyetowardthefinalfrontier, byMarkGellis withthetopicofSpaceExploration. Our first destination is an alternate history where Earth SECONDHAND SPACE EXPLORATION: hasbeguntocolonizethemoon,Mars,andVenusinShores THE POWER OF PROBES . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Beyond the Night. Explorers race to discover the exciting byAndyVetromile possibilities the solar system offers – including offworld alienartifactsthatcantakehumanity’stechtothenextlevel! LOOTING YOUR LIFE POD’S LOCKER. . . . . 35 This setting can be incorporated into the larger GURPS byKenSpencer Infinite Worlds framework or used on its own for space- probingsuspense. RANDOM THOUGHT TABLE: Not all discoveries are pleasant, as Close Encounters of the IN AN INFINITELY MUNDANE UnwantedKindwillreveal.Thesefivemysteriousanddangerous COSMOS, THE ONLY IMPOSSIBILITY encounters–suitableforanyspace-faringsystem–canformthe IS BOREDOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 basisforanexcitingadventureoranalteredcampaign. Whenyou’redonecolonizingthemainmoonsandplanets byStevenMarsh,PyramidEditor of the solar system, set your sights on the Kuiper Belt and ODDS AND ENDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 beyondinColdHorizon.Carveoutacometandcallithome! featuringMurphy’sRules When you can live on a comet, “a snowball’s chance in hell” suddenlygetsalotmorelikely.Whatproblemsandopportuni- ABOUT GURPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 tiesawait?Whatkindsofrealisticsci-ficampaignsarepossi- ble? Plus, to get you started, it includes a deep space station presentedinGURPSSpaceshipsstats! Theexplorationofspacedoesn’tmeanjustastronautsand away teams; sometimes the best tool for the job is a probe. Discover a thorough examination of thepossibilities and pit- falls of indirect celestial searches in Secondhand Space Exploration, which includes much food for thought and a handfulofadventureideas.Remember:Youcan’tspell“prob- lem”withouta“probe”... Article Colors When things go wrong, you want to know that you can count on your life pod to support you until help arrives. Each article is color-coded to help you find your Looting Your Life Pod’s Locker itemizes exactly what’s favoritesections. included in five different models of life pods, presented in GURPSUltra-Techterms. PaleBlue:InThisIssue Roundingouttheissue,RuinsandMoreoffersaneasy-to- Brown:InEveryIssue(letters,humor,editorial,etc.) use way to abstract xenoarchaeological efforts, Random DarkBlue:GURPSFeatures Thought Table looks at how the mundane can be magical in Purple:OtherFeatures space, and Murphy’s Rules provides its usual popular para- chuteofnitpickingpratfalls...literally,thismonth! Editor-in-Chief(cid:2)STEVEJACKSON GURPSLineEditor(cid:2)SEANPUNCH PageDesign(cid:2)PHILREEDand ChiefOperatingOfficer(cid:2)PHILIPREED EditorialAssistance(cid:2)JASON“PK”LEVINE JUSTINDEWITT ArtDirector(cid:2)WILLSCHOONOVER ProductionArtist(cid:2)NIKOLAVRTIS MarketingDirector(cid:2)PAULCHAPMAN e23Manager(cid:2)STEVENMARSH PrepressCheckers(cid:2)WILLSCHOONOVERand DirectorofSales(cid:2)ROSSJEPSON MONICASTEPHENS P M 2 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL F ROM THE E DITOR T E , the articles still made sense even if you only picked up one O AN XPLORER issue!).AsPyramidcontinues,we’reexperimentingabitmore SUCCESS IS BRINGING with ideas that let you utilize your back-issue library – while stillmakingsurearticlesstandontheirown,ofcourse! B U , ACK THE NKNOWN Of course, sometimes it’s hard for explorers to know how successfultheywere;Columbusbelievedthathehadfounda W B RAPPED IN A OW new way to India, with long-reaching consequences. So how successful we were with either of these two aspects is up for Behold,theSpaceExplorationissueofPyramid–thethird youtodecide.Andyoucandothatbymakingsureto... in our trilogy of exploration-themed issues! Now that our three-packhasended,it’stimetoreflectabitonit.Thistrilogy wassomethingofanexperimentonacoupleoffronts. WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW First, its topic was more broad and “loose” than many Remember:You are the “sponsors” for our exploratory previous themes; really, a huge percentage of adventurers efforts!Wealwayswelcomecommentsabouthowclosewe’ve in all ages could probably put “explorer” on their come to meeting your expectations. Please feel free to send Feudal/Federal/Federation Income Tax forms. (Can you tell letters and comments to [email protected], or post thatAprilistaxmonthhereintheStates?)Sinceit’salooser onlineonourforumsatforums.sjgames.com.Andifyou’d theme, hopefully it’ll find a wider audience. Even if your liketoexploresomewritingofyourownandtrycontributing heroes aren’t flag-planting frontiersmen, some of the mate- to Pyramid, please check out our Writer’s Guidelines at rialhereshouldstillproveuseful! sjgames.com/pyramid/writing.htmlformoreinformation! Second, we had our first “crossover” articles – the Pele worldtrilogy(althoughwetookgreatpainstomakesurethat Pyramid,GURPS,Warehouse23,andtheall-seeingpyramidareregisteredtrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.e23,andthenamesofallproducts publishedbySteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated,orusedunderlicense. Pyramidiscopyright©2010bySteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.Someart©2010JupiterImagesCorporation.Allrightsreserved. Submissionofyourphotos,letters,humor,captions,andmarginaliaconstitutespermissiontoSteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedtousetheminallmedia. AllsuchsubmissionsbecomethepropertyofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedandwillnotbereturned. Thescanning,uploading,anddistributionofthismaterialviatheInternetorviaanyothermeanswithoutthepermissionofthepublisherisillegal,andpunishablebylaw.Please purchaseonlyauthorizedelectroniceditions,anddonotparticipateinorencouragetheelectronicpiracyofcopyrightedmaterials.Yoursupportoftheauthors’rightsisappreciated. P M 3 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL S HORES B EYOND THE N IGHT K P BY ELLY EDERSEN “Knowledge is power” is a truism. Knowing more than constructions scattered over the globe. Now, the great pow- youropponentscanleadtovictory,ifit’stherightknowledge. ersoftheworldjourneythroughthesolarsystemwithreac- Oftentheinformationthatyoudidn’tevenknowexistedcan tionlessdrivesandforcescreens.Thecompetitiontoseewho provethemostuseful.Curiosityhasthusbeenasurvivaltrait canfindandexploitthemostalienrelicsonthenewfrontier throughouthistory.OnHomeline(GURPSInfiniteWorlds), worldsisfierce.Meanwhile,theInfinityPatrolandCentrum the race to space was driven by this principle. Neither side are along for the ride, as Pele-3’s space exploration takes intheColdWarwaswillingtoallowtheiropponentstolearn themtotrulyunfamiliarworlds. more than themselves about rocketry or the engineering of space vehicles, lest the opposition gain too great an upper I W NFINITE ORLDS hand.Onlyonceitbecameclearthattheadvantageofspace was not terribly significant (and national pride had been LikePele-1inAnAgeofSails(Pyramid#3/16)andPele-2in assuaged)didthespaceracepeterout. TheMap’sDarkSpaces(Pyramid#3/17),Pele-3isdesignedas On Pele-3, though, it hasn’t stopped. The civilizations of anewtimelinefortheInfiniteWorldssetting.Aswithmany this alternate timeline, inspired to swifter progress through activitiesonotherworlds,Homelinekeepsitsactivitieslow- increased contact between the great cultures of the Old key. Thus, the GMcan easily remove Infinite Worlds refer- World, developed their technology faster than Homeline, ences without changing the flavor, turning this world into a ultimately finding a boost through mysterious pre-human locationforadventurebyitself. P -3 ELE Pele-3isatimelinewhereOldWorldcountriesenteredthe A DRIFT ON THE age of exploration and colonization on even footing, with China and India extending their power and influence at the SEA OF HISTORY sametimeasEurope.Thegreaterwealthandculturalinterac- tion have spurred faster technological development; Pele-3 is Pele-3’s divergence from Homeline technically happened inthemiddleofTL9whenHomelinewasonlyTL8,withthe about 5,000,000 years ago. The magma plume under the solarsystembeingexploredbythecompetingnationsofEarth. Pacific plate that produced the Hawaiian archipelago on As humans range outward, they are discovering alien struc- HomelinewasbothbroaderandmuchmoreactiveonPele-3. tures,apparentlyleftbythesamebeingsthatcreatedtheruins This increased volcanic activity created not the familiar on Earth and thus gave humanity the secrets of space travel Hawaiianchain,butasinglelargeisland.Thisnewlandmass, (see pp. 8-9). Scientists and engineers, military and business about200mileswide,extendsapproximately500mileswest- interests–allarelookingforthenextbreakthroughtobehad northwest from the location that corresponds to Homeline’s fromtheremainsofthealiencivilization,andtheboldexplor- Big Island to beyond Kauai. The increased volcanic activity erswhosearchforthemarechartingthenewhorizon! faded200,000yearsago. OffworldersmightuseavisittoPeletojustifypickingupadvancedtech.Don’tloseyourparachronics... P M 4 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL This new land did not significantly affect human his- tory until much more recently, when the Polynesian cul- Pele-3, 2000 turediscovereditaround500A.D.ThePolynesiansfound the enlarged Hawaii a lush, thriving place to call home, and an excellent platform from which to dominate the Current Affairs westernPacific.TheHawaiianempirewasaloosecollec- ThenationsofEarthareexpandingoutwardintothesolar tion of independent islands linked by trade routes and system using recently developed reactionless drive technol- tribute agreements, but it sufficed to spread Polynesian ogy,searchingforalienartifactsandknowledge. culturemorethanonHomeline.By1000,Polynesiansail- ingandnavigationtechnologyhadreachedtheshoresof Divergence Point easternAsiaandsoonspreadtoIndia. Asian cultures, influenced by Polynesia, developed 5,000,000B.C.;largerPacificmagmaplumecreatesmuch greater willingness to sail beyond their familiar shores. largerHawaii. Increasedtradeandculturalcontactdrovetheformation Major Civilizations ofexpansive,outward-lookingsocietiesinbothChinaand India.Apan-Indianempireroseandfell,leavingthesuc- Western (multipolar), Orthodox (empire with satellite cessorstateswithavisionofaunifiedsubcontinent,and states),Chinese(multipolar),Indian(bipolar). a desire to expand that pushed them northwest into Central Asia and west to Africa. The Wanyou Dynasty, Great Powers whichretookChinafromtheMongols,expandeditshege- Deccan Confederacy (democracy, CR3), English Empire monyintoCentralAsiaandthroughKoreaandJapan.To (democracy, CR4), Huachichil (dictatorship, CR5), the south and east, ethnic Chinese, descendants of the MitteleuropeanRepublic(democracy,CR4),RussianEmpire dynasty who had been expelled by the Mongols, were (oligarchy,CR5),WestAfricanUnion(democracy,CR3). forming states of their own, most notably in Lu Daoyu (HomelinePhilippines)andonHawaiiitself. Worldline Data In1481,anexplorerfromLuDaoyumadethemostsig- TL:9^(supersciencereactionlessdrivesandforcefields) nificant sea voyage in Pele-3’s history, discovering a new ManaLevel:Nomana world to the east of Asia. Colonists from Lu Daoyu and Quantum:6 Hawaii settled this new frontier, but they soon became InfinityClass:Z4 locked in conflict with the other recent arrival: the CentrumZone:Red Spanish Empire. Native tribes and city-states became prizes and strategic objectives. The Native Americans tried to catch up to the technology of the two great civi- lizations,whiledoingtheirbesttosurvivetheconflict. deepininhospitableterrain:thedepthsofjungles,thepeaksof In the early 1600s, in Kuangdi (Homeline Australia), a highmountains,theburningheartsofdeserts,andbeneaththe ChineseinventorcreatedthenextrevolutionforPele-3:steam oceanwaves.Nationsacrosstheworldsoughtouttheseruinsas power. The new technology swept the globe, advancing how further discoveries of technological wonders within the sites humanity traveled, farmed, worked, and played. New steam- cametolight.Everypowerhopedtobetheonetodecipherthe poweredvehiclesspedthemarchoftheDeccanConfederacy, secretsoftheancientstructuresandutilizetheirpower. the southernmost of the Indian states, as it colonized Sub- Thefirststatetounlockthemysterydidindeedgainpower- SaharanAfrica.Steampoweralsohelpedbreakthebackofthe ful tools. The great breakthrough happened in 1780, in the complacentandcorruptWanyouDynasty.Itsreplacement,the NativeAmerican-ruledcountryofHuachichil(Coahuila,Mexico GaoyangDynasty,hailedfromtheJapaneseprovinces. onHomeline).Huachichilhadbeentheoriginatoroftheinter- Steampowerruledthe world fora centuryanda half.By nalcombustionengine.Itparleyeditstechnologicaladvantage 1750,theindustrialerawasinfullflowerandthemechanized into hegemony over much of what (on Homeline) would be age began, with the appearance of internal combustion northernMexicoandtheAmericanSouthwest.Huachichilwas enginesandpoweredflight. fortunatetofindseveraloftheancientsitesinthedeepdeserts and high mountains. With the advantage of many sources to W examineandcapablescholarsandengineers,Huachichileven- ONDERS OF THE tually deciphered the first elements of the strange script and ANCIENT WORLD reverse-engineeredsomeofthesimplerdevices. The discoveries were “shocking.” Taking apart the strange In1745,anIndianexplorerlocatedamysterioussetofstruc- devices revealed volumes of new knowledge about circuits, tures in Africa, obviously older than the most ancient human capacitors, batteries, and other fundamentals of electrical civilizationsbutinastateofexcellentpreservation.Theinvesti- devices. Within a decade, Huachichil was able to upgrade its gatorfoundstrangewritingandartifactswithin.Inthenextsev- steam-poweredtechnologytothisnewparadigm,withpower eralyears,similarruinswerefoundallovertheworld,always generatorssupplyinglightandheat. GiventheexistenceofunusualalienartifactsacrossthePeleworlds,it’squitepossiblethatsomeonemightactivate somethingmysteriousonPele-2,andawaken“inthefuture”–onPele-3!Thiscanserveallkindsofplotpossibilities... P M 5 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL Huachichil–withanappetiteforconquestalreadywhetted feudalsystemwithanetworkofstate-runfarmsandfactories. by success with the internal combustion engine – went on Upward mobility depended on managerial success. By 1810, another spree, pushing further into Central America. By the Russiawasaforcetoreckonwith,anditbegantocontemplate time an alliance of Native American, Chinese, and Spanish expansion. The rest of Europe had been advancing as fast as forces stopped them, the Huachichilean armies had gobbled Russia,makingmilitaryadventurismtherelookunprofitable, up several city-states in central Mexico and were the undis- but Central Asia and the Middle East were mostly under the putedmastersofthenorth.HuachichilbecamethefirstNative controlofsmallcity-statesandquarrellingkingdoms.Thefinal American state to seriously challenge the Old World powers impetuswasprovidedbyanewdiscoveryintheUrals.Aruin militarily,andtheworldtooknote. revealed there gave the Russians a new medical advance: a Of course, the technology could not stay exclusively in treatment that greatly accelerated healing from wounds and Huachichil’shandsforlong.Evenbeforetheconquestsbegan, infections (treat this as Ascepaline – see GURPS Bio-Tech, spieshadbeenbusilystealingknowledgeandequipment.The p.152),allowingcasualtiesofbattletobequicklyreturnedto Mexican War demonstrated to all nations the crucial impor- the front. In 1811, Russia launched a major new offensive tance of unlocking the ruins’ secrets. Researchers used againsttheancientcitiesofAsia. Huachichil’s translations as the basis for other deciphering At first, Russia’s advance was unchecked. Its soldiers attempts, and new scientific and engineering principles marched through the Caucasus, across the Dardanelles into emergedfromsitesacrosstheglobe. Turkey,andthenthroughtheMiddleEast.By1820,theoilfields England became the next nation to take advantage of the ofbothGeorgiaandArabiawerefirmlyinRussiancontrol.Then newknowledge.TheEnglishCrownhadlongbeeninconflict theRussiansturnedeast,andtheirleadersbegancontemplating with France over New World territories. In 1815, England enteringChineseandIndianterritory,lulledbyoldmythsofeth- beganawartocontrolallofeasternNorthAmerica,besieging nicsuperiority.However,astheRussianforcesmovedeastward, Frenchshippingwithanewweapon:thesubmarine.Thiswar asufficientlystrongopposingenemyforcemobilized. alsosawthefirstsignificantuseofaircraftinamilitaryrole. Neither China nor India had been idle in the past century. TheFrenchdesperatelytriedtoupgradetheirownmilitaryto TheGaoyangDynastyhadbeenmodernizingasaggressivelyas keep pace, but these efforts proved too little, too late. They Russia,anditsarmieshadbeenkeptsharpandwelltraineddue wereforcedtosignawaythemajorityoftheirNewWorldter- to the constant conflict with the south Chinese states. ritoriesafterhalfadecadeoffighting.Thenewlandsthatwere Meanwhile, Delhi – the premier state in northern India – had nowopentoEnglandintheheartofNorthAmericawereonly beenpreparingitsownpushintoCentralAsiainsearchofoil sparselymappedorsettled,butEnglishexplorers–manyfly- reserves.BoththerajaofDelhiandtheGaoyangemperorhad ing long-range reconnaissance planes developed in the war – nointentionofseeinganupstartEuropeanstatewithdelusions werequicklyclaimingasmuchastheycould. ofgrandeurconquerAsia–bothconsideredthattheirjob! Indiawasthefirsttomove,astheCentralAsiancity-states invoked old defensive treaties. Forces of the raja marched westwardandmettheRussiansinthecentralhillsofIranin It is my great desire to reform my 1825.Thefightingwassomeofthefiercesteveryetseen.Both subjects, and yet I am ashamed to sideswereequippedwiththehighestmilitarytechnologyavail- able: aircraft, internal-combustion land vehicles both small confess that I am unable to reform and large, explosives, radio, and deadly automatic weapons. myself. The war bogged down in the rough terrain, a stalemate that claimed first thousands, then tens of thousands, and finally – Peter the Great millionsoflives. Atthesametime,tothenorth,ChineseandRussianforces wereclashinginafarmoremobilewar.TheGaoyangDynasty had explored and claimed the eastern reaches of Siberia, THE TIGER, THE attempting to locate ancient sites, but few of its citizens had settled there. Nevertheless, the Chinese empire would not D , T B RAGON AND HE EAR countenancetheRussian’sobviousterritorialambitionsthere, andwhenRussianforcescrossedtheUrals,Chinamobilizedto TheOldWorldwasnotimmunetoconflictssparkedbynew meetthem.TheSiberianfrontwasvastandundermannedon technologies. The next great war would involve all three cen- both sides, with Russia’s forces mostly tied up in Iran front, ters of civilization: Europe, China, and India. By 1810, the andtheGaoyangunabletodiverttoomanytroopsawayfrom Russian Empire was eyeing the east greedily. Peter the Great theirownborders,lestthecitiesofsouthernChinatakeadvan- had started the empire on a path to modernization in the tage.TheSiberianWarwasPele-3’sfirstexperiencewithtruly 1700s, which proceeded even faster than on Homeline. Peter mechanized warfare, and the strategies and tactics of mobile andtheemperorswhofollowedhimcompletelyeliminatedthe combatwerelargelydevelopedthere. oldRussiannobilityoverthecourseofacentury,replacingthe CentrumhasbeenlessinterestedintheotherPeleworldsthanithasPele-3.Adventurerswhoputinsubstantial investigativeeffortsontheotherworldsmightlearnenoughinformationaboutthecross-worldweirdnesstogivethema definitiveedge... P M 6 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL TheAsianWardraggedonforadecade,untilRussiafinally tively self-governing for too long to be easily subdued. The suedforpeace.ItagreedtoabandonallclaimstoAsiaeastof DeccanConfederacyyieldedtointernationalpressureandfor- theUralsandtheCaspianSea,andtheMiddleEasternterrito- mallyacknowledgedthewesterncoloniesasindependent. ries were given nominal independence, although Russia still The success of the African independence movement claimedthemas“protectorates.”TheCentralAsiancitieswere inflamed democratic political sentiment worldwide. The largely incorporated into Delhi’s sphere of influence, while Chinese colonies in the New World and Australia became China retained Siberia, although it continued to do little to hotbeds of revolutionary feeling. By 1870, the Hawaiian exploitthevastterritory. ChinesestateinNorthAmericahadafullrepresentativegov- ernment,withtheemperoraconstitutionalfigurehead,while T L F Lu Dayou’s American colonies declared independence and HE IGHT OF REEDOM establishedmore-or-lessdemocraticstates. On Pele-3, the heartland of democracy was not Western Europe but southern India. The Deccan Confederacy had P S EACE AND TABILITY begunasanallianceofcity-statesattemptingtoholdofftheir northernneighbors.Eachmajorcitysentarepresentativeto Thenext110years,from1870to1980,wererelativelyrelax- the Confederation’s central Sabha (“meeting”) to determine ing.Thegrandconflictsofthepastwereapparentlypavedover, policy. Initially, members of the Kashtriya warrior caste or with advancing technology and social organization bringing Brahmin priestly caste served as the rulers of most cities. morewealthandsafetytoeveryone.Duringthisperiod,scien- However, as the Deccan cities became more and more tistsandengineersbusilydevelopedtheirownadvancements focusedoncommercialventures,theVaishyacaste–thetra- andexploitedthetechnologyfromtheruins.Thefirstatomic ditionalmerchants–becamemoreprominent.By1650,most detonation in 1845 effectively began TL7, and new advances of the Deccan Confederacy was ruled by local sabhas, mod- quicklyspread.Despitethathorrificfirstuseofnuclearenergy, eledonthegreatSabha.Initially,theelectorateconsistedof Pele-3 never developed the same level of distrust regarding the Kashtriyas, Brahmins, and those Vaishyas who met a atomicpowerasHomeline,withnoColdWartofuelparanoia. minimumpropertyrequirement.Overthecourseofthenext Nuclearpowerplantsbecamegenerallyacceptedastheenergy century and a half, the franchise was extended again and generator of choice, followed by renewable sources. Pele-3’s again, first to more Vaishyas, then to the farmer/laborer period of widespread industrialization was cleaner than caste, the Shudras. By 1800, every male in the Deccan Homeline’s. Confederacycouldvote. By 1895, the general level of technology was TL8. Digital This democratic largesse was not nearly so evident in the computersandnetworksprovokedtheirusualradicalchanges Confederacy’s African colonies. To be granted a seat at the inhowpeoplelivedandworked,althoughPele-3’sglobalnet- Sabha,newmembersneededtopayalarge“independence”fee works remained far more fragmented then Homeline’s. to its controlling district. The Sabha based this fee on how Networksareamorespecializedaffair,designedtofulfillsome much the new region had brought financially to its former particularfunction,andindividualssubscribeonlytotheserv- ruler.Africansubjectscouldnotvoteinlocalgovernmentsin icestheyneedorwant. India,nordidtheyhavethemoneytopurchasetheirindepend- In contrast, computer hardware progressed even faster ence;thecorporationsthatownedthecoloniessqueezedevery thaninHomeline.Aportablemulti-purposedevice,capableof pennytheycould.OnlyinSouthAfrica,whereenoughprivate wirelessly linking to whatever networks a user subscribed to citizenshadstruckitrichinthediamondfields,wereanynew andperformingavarietyoffunctions,wasrealizedwithin15 sabhasfounded. years of the invention of the integrated circuit. West Africa Thisstateofaffairscausedconstantunrest,andthetension becameahotbedofcomputerdevelopmentandstillretainsa had reached the breaking point in 1820. The Sub-Saharan reputation for high quality hardware and software engineer- coloniesdeclaredtheirindependenceenmasse.Theycreated ing. Ndakarou (Homeline Dakar) is the Silicon Valley and theirownlocalsabhas,institutinganationalAfricanSabhato SeattleofPele-3. coordinate the conflict they knew was coming. War did, indeed, arrive. The Deccan Confederacy was unwilling to allowsuchavastterritorytowalkawaywithoutafight.For Hack to the Future over 15 years, Confederacy forces tried to resubjugate Africa again, while the colonists waged a guerilla war to Because of the lack of interconnectivity between net- remain free. Finally, by 1837, the Deccan government had worksonPele-3,hackingonthisworldismuchmoredif- had enough. They began an intensive bombing campaign, ficult;the oddsofone networkbeinglinkedtoanyother which culminated in the destruction of Nilagiri Parvata are significantly smaller. Apply a -4 or larger penalty to (Homeline Addis Ababa) in 1845. The final attack used a ComputerHackingorotherelectronicintrusionrollsifan discovery extrapolated from new ruins: the atomic bomb. attemptismadefromaninappropriatenetwork. The eastern African colonies grudgingly surrendered. The coloniestothewestofLakeChad,however,hadbeeneffec- ThosewhowantmoredetailedinformationabouttheearlyhistoryofPele-3(ofwhichPele-1andPele-2aresomehow echoes),checkoutAnAgeofSailsfromPyramid#3/16:HistoricalExplorationfortheveryearlyhistoryandTheMap’s DarkSpacesfromPyramid#3/17:ModernExplorationformorerecenttimes. P M 7 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL Just think – one day, the heavens will be the new frontier without laws and guns and just as people have crossed the prairie in covered wagons, they may cross the great prairie of space to the moon and look beyond. I wonder if then, perhaps, the moon, too, will change for us. – Johnny Ringo #1.34 Theadventofseriousgeneticengineeringproducedmajor agitationforrepresentationalgovernment.Theadministration agriculturalboomsinseveralpreviouslymarginalregions,par- reacted with an alternating series of crackdowns and small ticularlythedryareasofAfricaandtheCentralAsiansteppe. changes,butby1940,itbecameclearthatthesituationwasno It also produced large-scale aquaculture, particularly in the longertenable.Thelastemperorvoluntarilyabdicatedinfavor BayofBengalandtheSouthChinaSea. of a newly elected parliament, and the “Empire of China” By1950,Pele-3hadmovedintoTL9,whereitremains.This became the “Republic of China.” The new government based developmentisprimarilyachangeindegreethaninkind.More its political systems loosely on the Mitteleuropean Republic, robotsdomanuallabor,morevehiclesareautomated,andhand- thusmovingforwardintodemocracy. heldandsmallercomputersareubiquitous.Fissionhaslargely Unfortunately, the “bright new era” that was promised to been replaced with fusion, and high-efficiency fuel cells have theChinesepeoplefailedtoemerge.Regionalfactionsbegan supplanted the internal-combustion engine. The only com- toagitateformoreautonomyalmostatonce.Asaresult,wary pletelynewdevelopmenthasbeeneffectivehumangeneticengi- foreign investors avoided the struggling new state. This, in neering. Most nations have allowed genetic manipulation to turn, slowed economic growth and increased the populace’s preventheritabledisease,andsimplecosmeticalterationsare dissatisfaction with the central government, creating a feed- usuallypermitted,althoughoftenregulated.Deeperchangesto backloop.Chinacontinuedtowrestlewithincreasinginternal thehumangenomeremainextremelycontroversial.Cloning– problemsthroughoutthisperiod. evenoftransplantorgans–isheavilystigmatized,andgenetic engineering to create new features in humans or higher ani- N F EW RONTIER mals is almost unheard of. Only a few extremely lenient regions,suchastheFreeCitiesofsouthernChina,permitit. Theeraofstabilityandslowprogressbrokedown20years Thecenturyofpeacewasnotentirelywithoutdisruptions. ago.Itwasin1980thatanewruinwasdiscovered,thefirstto Several new political players emerged, and some old states beunearthedin93years...andthissitewasdifferentfromall sufferedsetbacksorevenoutrightdissolution.Themostsig- thathadcomebefore.AdelaideMarcon,anarcheologistfrom nificant new arrivals were in Europe and Central America. the Mitteleuropean Republic, located a site in the Sahara ThevariousstatesofGermany,Italy,andSwitzerlandunified desertthatwasdifferentinalmosteverypossibleway.Allruins into the Mitteleuropean Republic, in order to compete with discoveredpreviouslyhadrevealed,atbest,high-TL8levelsof theEnglish,French,andSpanishempireseconomicallyand development.Devicesanddecipheredtextshadprovedhelpful politically. The Republic began as a loose federation, but its inadvancinghumantechnology,butnotradicallyso,andno centralgovernmentgainedpoweruntilitbecameastrongly evidenceoftheoriginsofthebuildershadeverbeenfound– united and centralized nation. The Central American states, onlytechnicalworks.TheSaharasitewassimultaneouslythe led by the Chinese nation of Po Mao (Homeline Acapulco), first to have technology higher than TL8, the first to give a formed an economic and defensive alliance, as a bulwark strong indication of where the builders came from, and the againsttheambitionsofHuachichil.Huachichilitselfcontin- largestsiteeveruncovered(overfoursquaremiles). ued to expand northward, and a large section of the Great Thenewlydiscoveredlocation–dubbedthe“Spaceport”by PlainsofcentralNorthAmericaisunderitseffectivecontrol, the international press – seemingly proved with certainty that despiteEnglishclaims. the builders of the ruins had not come from Earth. Vehicles While these new groups formed, the Chinese Empire obviously capable of traveling into space still sat in various evolved.AlthoughtheGaoyangDynastyhadalwaysbeenadept hangars, and information gleaned from the accompanying atkeepingupwithdevelopmentsintechnologyandinnovating records indicated that there had been frequently visited loca- itsown,theimperialbureaucracywasconsiderablypoorerat tionsinthesolarsystembesidesEarth.Inadditiontothiswealth keeping abreast of political changes. The worldwide wave of of information, the vessels themselves provided a windfall of democratic reforms in the 1800s swept up the Chinese peas- technology. Their computer and power systems were roughly antry and could not be stopped, despite the empire’s best equivalent to Pele-3’s existing designs, but the ships incorpo- efforts.Startingin1900,theGaoyangfacedgreaterandgreater rated drives that were only barely comprehensible at first. AdditionalinformationonthestateofscienceonHomelinecanbefoundintheHomelineTLsection(p.23)ofGURPS InfiniteWorlds.Inanutshell,“Homelinescientistsarelazythieves.” P M 8 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL When scientists succeeded in reverse-engineering the ancient smaller nations were either piggybacking on the existing vessels,theydiscoveredthatthebuilders–nowbygeneralcon- colonies or making plans to form their own. Mars revealed sensus considered aliens – had possessed reactionlesspropul- manymorealienremnantsthanthemoon.Huachichilcolonists sion,aswellastheabilitytoprojectfieldsofforcethatcould intheVallesMarinerisregionuncoveredalong-buriedcity,far manipulate matter and energy. These new technologies larger than any ruin ever encountered on Earth. Dubbed the allowedhumanstodeveloptrulypracticalinterplanetaryves- “Archive”foritslargestoreofblueprintsandastrometricdata,it selsoftheirown. provided humans with their first comprehensive look at the Previous to this great discovery, the nations of Pele-3 had aliens’technologyandgavehintstootherlocationsthroughout hadlittleinterestinexploringthesolarsystem.Therehadbeen the solar system. Soon everyone scrambled to uncover more no internationally prestigious “space race” to fire the public Martian sites. The revelation of a massive complex buried consciousness with dreams of extraplanetary conquest or beneaththewesternslopesofOlympusMonstriggeredthefirst colonies; rocketry programs mostly restricted themselves to wartobefoughtoffEarth.In1992,aHuachichileanexpedition lifting utility satellites into orbit. Pele-3 had lagged behind uncoveredtheentrancetothesubterraneancitynicknamedthe Homelineinitsknowledgeofthesolarsystem,withonlyafew “Labyrinth” for its intricate network of passages. It contained scatteredunmannedprobeseverbeingsentbeyondthemoon. numerousnewaliendevices,includingfusion-poweredvehicles Thisallchangedwiththenewdiscoveries.Suddenly,humans thatcouldrevolutionizetravel. hadthetechnologytoeffectivelyexplorespace,which created an urgent motivation to do so. The major states rushed to implement interplanetary explo- Other Peles rationfleets,aseverypoweronceagainrealizedthat the first to discover the secrets of the vanished race Infinityknowsofthreeothertimelineswhereincreasedvol- wouldgainthegreatestadvantage. canismhasledtoalargerHawaiianisland,allgiventhe“Pele” Themoonwasthefirsttarget.TheMitteleuropean designation.Pele-1andPele-2,alongwithPele-3,formacurious Republic, with its technological edge, led the way. anomaly within Homeline’s understanding of transtemporal TheyestablishedabaseinTychoCraterinlate1982, physics.Pele-1andPele-2seemtobeechoesofPele-3,similarto neartheancientsiteofanotherinterplanetaryspace- the echoes of Homeline that are found on Quantum 6, but not port.Russia,England,andHuachichilfollowedsuit, obviouslyconnectedtoHomeline. settingupbasesacrossthelunarsurfaceandhunting Pele-1 (Q6, current year 1550) is undergoing its first great fornewaliensites.By1986,allthesignificantpowers wave of exploration, as China, Europe, and India begin to of Earth had established a lunar presence, both to spread out into the New World and Africa. (For more details exploreandasjumping-offpointsfortherestofthe about Pele-1, see An Age of Sails, in Pyramid #3/16: Historical system. Although tensions between the space-faring Exploration.) nations grew, they did not erupt into open warfare Pele-2 (Q6, current year 1750), meanwhile, has just discov- over the moon. This was partly due to the rarity of eredtheexistenceofthealiensitesscatteredthroughtheworld’s alienremainsonEarth’ssatellite,butmostlybecause wastelands, and a new frenzy for exploring terra incognita has noneofthegreatpowerswantedtoseeabattlefought swept the world. (For more information about Pele-2, see The soclosetohome. Map’sDarkSpaces,inPyramid#3/17:ModernExploration.) Despitethelackofinternationalconflict,thecolo- Pele-4(Q4,200,000B.C.)istheonlyPeleworldthatisn’tobvi- nizationofthemoonultimatelyledtotheendofone ously tied into the Pele echo system. The increased volcanism majornation.TheRepublicofChinahadbeentotter- buildingtheHawaiianislandsuphasjustceasedonthistimeline, ing almost since its beginning. The national govern- and Infinity agents stationed there are anxiously watching the ment sank a great deal of political and economic skiesincasethealiensareduetoarriveonthistimelineaswell. capital into its moonbase program, raising expecta- tionsofvastnewaliensitesthatwouldgrantawealth of technology. Unfortunately, ruins were particularly sparseinChina’sterritorialclaims,althoughprobablyevenan UnfortunatelyforHuachichil,theentrancetotheLabyrinth average number of alien discovers would have disappointed was within Deccan Confederacy territory. The Confederacy theChinesepublic.Theboondoggleofthefailedmoonbaseini- rapidly became aware of the Huachichilean incursion and tiative brought down the Chinese government in 1986, and demanded that all technology be turned over to them. thentherepublicitselfin1987,asitsvariousregionsvotedto Huachichil refused, and both sides mobilized. The resulting separate. The territory on the moon was cast adrift, and the warwasshortbutpainful.In1994,fusionbombsdevastated desperatecolonistscreatedthesolarsystem’sfirstextraplane- Huachichil’s main colony center, killing thousands and crip- tarynation:theChineseLunarFreeState. plingtheHuachichileanMartianadministration.However,the Beyond the moon, Mars was the next goal. By 1990, the Deccan victory rang hollow, since the Labyrinth had been DeccanConfederacy,theWestAfricanUnion,Mitteleuropa,and bombedandmostlycollapsedearlyinthefighting.Almostno HuachichilhadallclaimedsectionsoftheRedPlanet.Several alienartifactssurvived. TheultimateresolutiontothemysteryofPele-4isleftentirelytotheGM–althoughiftheheroes’involvementwiththe threePeletimelineshasbeenelaborateandinvolved,amorespectacularresolutionisprobablyjustifiedfromadramatic standpoint. P M 9 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL WhilebattlewagedonMars,otherstateslookedtowardthe except on the Peles. However, Pele-3 does have two dangers sunratherthanaway.AlthoughEnglandandRussialedinthe thankeepPatroladministratorsawakeatnight. earlier expansion by establishing lunar bases, they had been First, their scientists are extremely skilled at reverse-engi- effectivelyshut out of the Martian rushwhile theyfocused on neeringbizarretechnologyfromeventhesmallestfragments. searching for lunar artifacts. Both nations needed another Theslightesttraceofparachronicequipmentcouldleadthem avenuetoregaintheiredge.Startingin1993,theyeachsenta tofunctionalconveyorswithinmonths. numberofexpeditionsintotheinnersolarsystem.Theempires’ Second,Infinityhasgoodevidencefromtheothertwomain hopesinfindingnewaliensitesweredisappointed;Venusand Pele timelines that the beings from Pele-1, Pele-2, and Pele-3 Mercury seem to be barren of any signs of prior habitation. arenotmerelyechoesofoneanother,butasinglecivilization However,theinnerworldshavenotprovedatotalloss.Mercury thatsomehowspannedthreetimelines,possiblywithtechnol- revealedextensivemineraldeposits,anditisanticipatedthatthe ogy that allowed them to artificially establish the parallels as planetwillbecomeamajorindustrialcenter(oncetheinherent echoesofeachother.Thatlevelofparachronicdevelopmentis difficultiesofoperatingthereareresolved). beyond anything Infinity considered even theoretically possi- Meanwhile, Venus supplied perhaps the largest surprise ble.ThegovernmentsofHomelineareterrifiedthatthealiens yet. Astronomers had long known that planet was totally willturnupsomewherealive.Thatwouldbeadisasterasfar shrouded in dense clouds and assumed its close position to asHomelineisconcerned. thesunmeantitwaslockedinaferociousgreenhouseeffect, AlmostallHomelinersonthisworldareinvolvedwithspace too hot for human life. The first expeditions proved this missions.ThePatroltriestoinfiltrateeveryjourneyofsignifi- entirely false. A primitive yet thriving ecosystem existed in cance and has agents scattered throughout the off-world theVenusianclouds,moderatingtheheatoftheatmosphere colonies,withstrictorderstosabotageanydiscoverythateven andreflectingagreatdealofenergybackintospace.Infact, hintsatparachronics. Venus seems poised to become fit for habitation – its vast Centrum,meanwhile,considersthisthebestprospectofall quantities of water vapor in the air have reached the point thePeletimelines.Theworldishigh-techenoughthatitwould wheretheyarecondensingandrainingdowninvaststorms, be a valuable economic addition to Centrum’s cross-time filling a previously dry landscape with seas and rivers. Both empire, and Interworld has a more optimistic attitude toward EnglandandRussiahaveestablishedcoloniesonthesurface. theparachronictechnologyofthealiens.Theideaofbeingable They are now looking into accelerating the conversion of todolarge-scaletimelineengineeringmakesInterworldagents Venusintoalivableworld. salivate,andCentranscientistshavealreadyworkedoutseveral theoreticalmodelsthatcouldexplainthealiens’abilities.Their O O agentsintheoff-worldcolonieshaveorderstolookforanysigns UTWORLD PERATIONS ofparachronictechnologyandretrieveit,whiledenyingittothe Infinity treads most lightly on this timeline of any of the natives.Centrumalsofeelsthatanumberofthenationsofthis Peles(seep.9).Theusualproblemsoftechnologyhigherthan timeline are ripe for subversion. In particular, they like the Homeline are all in force. Of course, Pele-3 doesn’t have stronglymeritocraticEnglishEmpireandthetechnology-heavy Shikaku-Mon’scontingentofhobbyistspiesorCaliph’spurely WestAfricanUnionandMitteleuropeanRepublic.Theyalsosee terrifying level of ultra-technology. Pele-3 is close enough to thefragmentedChinaasfertilegroundforbuildinganewpup- Homelinethatmostscienceiscomprehensible,anditisagood pet-statefromthegroundup.CentranagentsarebusyonPele- candidate for stealing designs from, although the stranger 3,anditsometimesseems(tooverstretchedPatrolmen,anyway) principles of ruin-based technology have proven inapplicable thattheyhavethreetimestheagentsinplaceasInfinity. A F DVENTURES IN THE UTURE Likeitsalternate-timelinecounterparts,muchoftheadven- The Deccan Confederacy is the wealthiest state on Earth, turepotentialofPele-3focusesonvarioustypesofexploration. anditscitizensarenotoriousforconsideringitthemostcul- However,onPele-3,theskyisn’tthelimit–it’sanewfrontier! tured,artistic,andmorallyuprightaswell.Propagandaaside, the Confederacy is certainly prosperous and its citizens are S W A largelycontent.EastAfricaisstillwithintheDeccanstate,now MALL ORLD AFTER LL grantedfullrepresentationingovernment.Tothenorth,Delhi Althoughhumanityisrapidlyexpandingintospace,Earth hasbeenfallingundertheeconomicswayoftheConfederacy isstillthehomeof99%ofthesolarsystem’spopulation,andit aswell,andthereisamovementtowardpoliticalunity.Deccan isbynomeansaplacidbackwater.Oldconflictsarestillplayed culture is still strongly Indian, although Chinese and African outonthehomeworld,andnewbattlesarebroughttherefrom influences are obvious. The population is fairly secular, but thecolonies. bothBuddhismandHinduismremainviabletraditions. GURPSTalesoftheSolarPatrol(availableone23)isasettingwithasimilarstyleoftechnology.TheGMandplayers mayfinditausefulsourceforcharacterconcepts,settingdetails,andadventureideas. P M 10 A 2010 YRAMID AGAZINE PRIL

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