Obligatory Firefly Post

How Wash would bring back Firefly

I think Alan Tudyk has a great idea about how to bring it back. The BIG question is how far forward is it set? Say 10-12 years? 15 or more? I think that might be pushing it. What is the thing that sent Mal "into hiding?" Was it Alliance attention as backlash to the Miranda reveal in Serenity? What would Mal look like - is he still soldierly and clean shaven? What kind of jobs still have him aiming to misbehave, but really small time compared to the earlier episodes? A good joke would be to have him being known as the guy to go to if you love wobblie headed geisha dolls. And since it's been established that Jayne is a superb tracker, he could be the grizzly and super shaggy dog that finds Mal. I like to think that the Miranda experience, or seeing Book die, really serves as his Han Solo-like hero awakening and he's now all in. 

Inara is off doing her thing. Is she even still alive? I don't think fans would take too kindly to yet another character dying. Kaylee and Simon could have a whole passel of critters underfoot. Is Zoe living relatively nearby to Mal? Maybe she's the only one that has any kind of clandestine contact with him - they have to tread very carefully because the Alliance is after them both. I don't know about River. It's really hard to wrap my head around her being not crazy anymore. Maybe she's stuck around with Simon and Kaylee. Sadly Wash and Book are (obviously) still dead. That brings me to....

What's Adam Baldwin's one worry about bringing back Firefly
I have read some of the comics - shamefully I've probably missed a few - and I don't recall Zoe being pregnant. But as I was reading this article that very thought occurred to me. Why couldn't you introduce a Wash Jr in the future? Why couldn't you have Alan Tudyk cameo in some flashbacks? I think I read somewhere about there being a competition between Wash and Mr Universe....something about Mr Universe getting the highest scores in flight school by cheating and Wash actually being the better, nay the best, pilot. I'd like to see more of that. I think a great gag would be to have Wash just starting to grow his mustache.

Joss Whedon explains how to (unrealistically) bring Firefly back


I'll admit I've scribbled more than a few pages of fan fic. And all the constant chatter of "what ifs" and "how would theys" really get the imagination going.

Superium

I had this idea a while ago, but it was just sitting unused in the back of my mind. 

Supreme + imperium = Superium or Supreme + dominion = Superion

Not just an empire. It's comprised of several empires. The Imperator is the supreme ruler of the Superium, with "lesser" emperors governing each domain.

I didn't know where else to take this draft.....until Astrographer posted about Galactic Empires. And that is just the first link in a spectacular post loaded with useful information.

Mind blowing stuff, all of it!

It got me to thinking 'if the reach of the intergalactic government is too broad to be more than marginally effective, how do you get around that and rein it in?' Easy - reign it in. The Imperator chooses not successors, but co-rulers. The Roman Caesars didn't necessarily pass their title onto family members, as would a monarch or feudal lord, they would select who was to reign when they were gone. That is of course an over-simplification. Politicians are known for scheming more than doing any actual good for the empire.

My idea is that the Imperator's "chosen ones" are given whole sectors of the galaxy to run as they see fit. They are more powerful that the emperors, but just below the power of the one who chose them. They must still answer to him. Therefore, they must do what they can to maintain their area, or else be stripped of their title and holdings. But there's nothing saying they wouldn't try to forge an inheritance that names them the new Imperator once the current is.... removed. The lingering question is "how many?" That depends on how much I, or you, choose to devote to the politics of it all. 2 or 3 under the Imperator would improve efficacy, while more than say 5 or 6 wouldn't give them much more power than the regional emperors. You decide how many based on how large the Superium is.

N.O.A.H.

I had an idea dawn on me while studying for finals. It wasn't even inspired by Earth Science. Oddly it was whilst I reviewed Cold War America for my American History class. Maybe my subconscious was really interested in Sputnik and the Space Race.

Anyway, here's what I came up with:
N.O.A.H. which stands for New Earth (or maybe Neo-geo) Outreach for the Advancement of Humanity.

Basically it's a massive "generation" craft that acts as a flying farm, laboratory, smelter, and factory. It has a large crew of flight personnel, scientists, and "givers". They are called givers because they knew when they signed up they were giving their lives to care for those in cryo-stasis and maintain the ship/project while aware of the fact that they will never see the destination. Many of the givers are scientists and doctors that oversee the precious cargo of live samples to be used once landfall is made. The "cargo" in hibernation will be reactivated to see to the routine jobs once they're within 1-2 years of the destination. Once they arrive the ship itself will act as shelter and a base of operations to establish the colony. The living quarters will all be within the ship that is prepped for defense should their be any sentient threats on the planet. Exploration probes and discovery parties will be launched from the ship to better understand the planet before the farm domes (greenhouses and stables) are put in place.

A limited number of children is allowed on the ship and within the colony until it is established enough to harvest its own supplies. All personnel are kept sterile via an antibiotic drug in their foodstuffs. This also keeps them from contracting any life-threatening illness en route. They must lay out a plan and calculate whether a child can be raised and properly supported. They then submit an appeal, which is either approved or denied. If denied, they must wait 12-18 months at which time they can try again. If approved, they are given a fertility drug that cancels the antibiotic. They remain on this treatment and are "quarantined" for no less than 90 days. They are quarantined to be kept safe from disease or injury which could threaten their ability to produce offspring. The quarantine is not a plastic bubble or tiny cell, instead it is a portion of the ship which they must reside in. Failure to remain within this area demonstrates lack of cooperation/compliance with policy. If they are found to be lacking mental fortitude deemed necessary to commit to raising a child, they are given a strong dose of abortive drugs that chemically sterilize them. Any future participation in breeding to produce life is essentially voided.

If they pass quarantine, samples are taken from both parents, tested rigorously to validate fertility, and to predict/prevent any defects. The new humans of the new population must be completely without "setbacks". Another control the ship places on breeding is that part of the appeal process is to determine what purpose or role the child is being bred for. They are not simply to use up air and resources, they must contribute something to the colony. Therefore, they are genetically engineered for a specific role, such as intellect for a heady job like science and medicine, or greater physicality for work and exploration. Yes, much "grunt" work will be done with various droids, bots, and machines but physical strength is still preferred for certain jobs.

Just For Fun Space Map

Image used with permission from Stratomunchkin

I was cruising DeviantArt and came across this awesomely inspiring pic. Next thing I knew I was fiddling with names and a backstory. It's nothing major (all I did was add some letters) and vaguely Latin names. I can't put my finger on what exactly made me favorite this piece...I just like the spread of it.

White = suns. Blue = named constellations. Yellow = worlds, some are inhabited, others not so much.

The Greats

Talk about having some catching up to do. In the past couple weeks I have decided to read the great science fiction authors: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, and H.G. Wells.

I'm sure there are others that folks would recommend, and I'd love to hear the suggestions. Whether you're sorting by top 5, top 10, or whatever the above names are bound to be on that list somewhere. I am not ruling out, nor mean no offense/disrespect to other greats like: Robert Heinlein, Douglas Adams, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, or even the late great Jules Verne. From what little exposure I have had to reading sci-fi in school my taste simply leans more towards the former list.

I think it was in 8th grade that we read Harrison Bergeron and it just stuck with me. I have some recollection of All Summer in a Day and Farenheit 451 as well. I know some would call it blasphemous to say I loved the movie "I, Robot" although I know it's not the original script for the screenplay. As for Orson Scott Card I have not read any of his stories, but I do have a sci-fi and fantasy writing guide of his and it gives me hope that he writes with much the same thought, voice, and style that I do...that is, on the rare instances that I do anything more than jot notes/ideas on notebook paper.

Mind Blowing Future

Nils from Enderra.com provided several links, one of which was to BBC Future. I have just read several of the articles, watched the videos, and liked them on Facebook.

I had a headache brewing before I read them, and now it is a cemented reality based on the mind blowing possibilities for an ever increasing technological future.
 
BBC Future: Will Men and Machines Merge?

This one alone is incredibly plain in its statement of how far we've come and how quickly we'll get to where we're going. Watch the video. Be amazed at how simply and calmly Ray Kurzweil explains how computers are leaps and bounds cheaper and more powerful now than they were a couple decades ago. Think of the tablets and iphones that even ten years ago seemed like Gene Roddenberry fiction. And look how mundane and commonplace they are today.

Ray Kurzweil implies that the future will be a peaceful place of free information at the speed of thought. I think the idea of self aware AI and a singularity with humanity is terrifying. But maybe I've just seen I, Robot and Terminator 2 a few too many times.

Destination Exploration

After my last post I figured "Why not just join DeviantART?" So I did. And since I was already browsing sci-fi concepts it only made sense to tag angelitoon's gallery as the first of many favorites to come.

With his permission, I thought I'd give you a taste of what's in store

These are a few pieces I put together in Illustrator because, to me, they felt very relative to one another.

The building concepts (lower left) totally remind me of the Mega City One super towers from the remake of Judge Dredd. I especially like 2, 4, 8, 12, and 13 - I think it's the balconies that intrigue me. As for the upper left concepts, some look like buildings and others looks like huge cruiser ships. D in particular looks like a monstrous battleship that would patrol the skies of the upper atmosphere, hence why I included the color pic. This is almost exactly what I had pictured in my head before I even flipped to that image in his gallery.

The black and white landscape thumbnails help to tie everything together. Imagine which buildings fit in which environment and what crafts occupy the airspace. Is there only one terrestrial planet in the system, or are many worlds inhabited? Based on the landforms, imagine what the atmospheric composition is. Have at it.

Many thanks to angelitoon for graciously sharing!