The Symphony of the Endless

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Dakarne
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The Symphony of the Endless

Post by Dakarne »

Now you might be wondering what this is; it is in fact the result of several months' very sketchy planning towards the end of creating a science fiction universe. The exact details are a little less coherent than I'd like them to be, but I am going to be as precise as I can. I've made a very liberating decision in this world to not use the single most commonly-used race in science fiction.

The year is 1803, and the Napoleonic Wars have just begun, but they have very little bearing upon the universe at large. No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being blatantly ignored by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were only ever occasionally studied, perhaps almost as disinterestedly as a man with a microscope might study the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Humanity's existence, and petty warfare, was considered pointless and empty by those who cared to observe. The universe is, and always has been, a larger place than man could possibly fathom, and greater intelligences have already begun exploring this infinite void in vessels of greater speed than a modern scientist would consider to be possible. For humanity's role in this is merely to read (a/n: and to write), but it is not the role of humanity to be involved.

At least, not yet. Perhaps in a few thousand years, when they've had a chance to grow up.

Now, before we begin putting things into more specific terms, there are a series of influences that went into the creation of this. The number isn't as large as the number of influences that went into my fantasy worlds, since I don't usually do sci-fi. In fact, it might be accurate enough to say that this is more than a little bit uncharacteristic for me. The specific influences are mostly centred around a series of computer games, and one series of novels. Homeworld, Halo, Mass Effect and the Culture novels are my primary influences, with a major amount of influence coming from literature and classical music (you can't have sci-fi without classical music), and also the general big name sci-fi approaches. Sometimes this is merely 'how not to...' (Star Trek mostly falls into that category) but the influence is there.

The primary races I have decided upon so far are as follows;
  1. The Solus; humanoid race with a few major differences. They are my main, protagonist species, somewhat inspired by humans, but are to humans as sharks are to dolphins. Similar-shaped (a side-effect of convergent evolution; they evolved on an Earth-like planet in similar conditions), but are in fact quite different. They are about equal to something like the Galactic Empire, technologically, with a few other additional features such as teleport devices and. Currently, the majority of their polity is based around the Solus Ring, which encircles the distant star of New Solus.
  2. The Eridani; from one of the systems of the same name. They technically started out as saurian humanoids but were replaced by their own artificial creations who took over after a particularly nasty solar flare wiped away the atmosphere of their planet. The artificial creations aren't what you'd call robots, however, but more artificial life in a general sense; sort of synthesised life. They sometimes have android forms which are similar to their creators.
  3. The Zetans; are essentially the 'greys' but actually coming in various colours of yellow, green, grey and blue. They are from a low gravity world, and are thus taller and thinner than human stock, and tend to clone themselves a lot. They are usually indifferent to other species, and are what you might call extremely technologically advanced. May or may not have some presence in the Andromeda Galaxy.
  4. The Nemeses; very coldly aggressive humanoid species known for being so completely alien and technologically advanced that not much is known about them other than that they are slowly looking to expand their hold on the galaxy. Also known for abduction and experimentation upon various individuals. They vaguely resemble smaller versions of the Zetans when encountered outside of their powered armour. Are in fact offshoots.
  5. The Nordain; based off of the Nordic Alien hypotheses. They are known for frequently observing undeveloped planets, having something of a cultural fondness for them. They are about equal, technologically, to the Solus, and are in fact very similar to them in appearance. They may or may not actually be a cultural offshoot similar to the Nemeses from the Zetans. They are known for being Nomadic, having no fixed home but instead are often seen on independently travelling worldships.
  6. The Hive; small swarm/hive-like race with four arms and two legs. They are somewhere between bees and wasps appearance-wise, except that they are much larger, their wings may not be large enough for flight and their colouration is more a dark reddish brown. Their eyes are somewhat compound, and they are individually intelligent but have a swarm-like mentality which ultimately leads to them taking on a communist mentality to 'protect the hive'. They aren't expansionist or xenophobic, however, but react to serious threats without so much as a thought in the direction of mercy.
  7. Homo-Sapiens; uninvolved, primitive species from a backwater planet in a backwater star-system. Are only of note due to being sapient, and on the verge of reaching the point where they might make something of themselves. They also have a peculiar similarity to the Nordain and Solus. Balanced out by the fact that they are simultaneously always on the verge of wiping themselves from the face of existence. They're only included on this list because they're an egocentric species and would have complained otherwise.
There are also a few secondary species worth mentioning;
  1. The Ancients or The Elders; they are a distant, mysterious species believed to possibly be extinct. Others believe that they survived as nearly imperceptibly godlike transdimensional beings.
  2. Arachnids; a dwindling, nomadic race of sentient spider-like beings, originating from a dead, barren planet in the same solar system as the Homo Sapiens' own planet.
  3. Polarans; they are a similar species to the Nordain and Solus, but are less advanced technologically and have less political influence on a galactic scale. The Polaris system is currently a protectorate of the Solus Commonwealth.
  4. Andromedans; they are not a distinct race per se, but there are numerous species encountered which have come from Andromeda. The Zetans, and their cultural offshoot the Nemeses, have the most contact with them.
    1. The Kathanul; a species of multi-limbed and tentacled individuals known for being particularly isolationist
    2. The Chlorophae; a species of sentient plants known for their heavy amount of merging of biotechnology and conventional technology.
    3. The Technocratic Conglomeration; a group of artificial life-forms similar to the Eridani. They are known for being far more violent and expansionist, however.
Technology is something I have yet to explore fully, but expect soft sci-fi with teleporters, faster-than-light travel, laser weapons and other such. I'm aiming for what you might call a Space Opera with this. Psionics are not involved to any major degree, though the Zetans are implied to be telepathic or at least communicate via technologically-aided mental communication.

As with the E&D stuff, I must note that this is written around a story, and some aspects may be subject to non-inclusion from being posted here. I have yet to decide on a good name for the 'verse, as well, and that's something I'll spend a while on.
Last edited by Dakarne on Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:50 am, edited 11 times in total.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Mobius 1 »

I'd hit it.

This would be interesting it's one of the few OZ verses where humans are not only not the focus, but not even off the planet yet or even at present day. That alone makes this idea rather unique (Sindelin, even if it is since defunct, was one of the few verses without humans, as was Per's Descendantverse) among the OZ.
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Dakarne »

It mostly stems from my distinct and overwhelming hatred for the 'humans are special' cliché. They're only in any way special here because they may be another spacefaring race in another few thousand years, and they're not unique in that one; I'm formulating another species which is in fact a little bit closer to that goal. There are another few species I'm thinking of introducing on top of that, with their own say in galactic affairs.

I know that I want at least one race of insectoid aliens.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Dakarne »

I've added another species; the Nordain, and I've removed the three-sexes feature from the Solus. Instead, I'll have them be born intersex and (via strange alien biology) assume a proper gender over their first ten years of life. It's also possible for them to change gender very easily via use of technological methods.

I'm still working on the ideas for what I've provisionally called The Hive.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Destructionator »

A few notes on sex (sex and gender are different; sex is what gametes it produces, gender is social role and behaviour):

Several organisms are both male and female, such as plants. Forget picking one; just be both!

Some are neither, but these organisms obviously don't reproduce sexually (if they reproduce at all). This can happen in humans.

Brain structure (which greatly contributes to gender), physical structure, and the sex cells produced don't necessarily match up. However, mismatches aren't the most common case in any organism I'm aware of. (Duh, you say, since it would be defined differently if it was most common, but it doesn't even approach 50/50 in any species I know about.)


For structure and behavior, it isn't black and white: there can be individuals (in humans), or perhaps a whole set in aliens that don't completely fit in either category. Could be some exhibiting mild or strong features of the opposite sex/gender, could be displaying none, or any random combination really.

Genetics are also pretty random. There are several systems for determining sex in there, and of course, in some cases, they simply don't work, or copies incorrectly. For example, XY females is possible in humans. Or XXY males. Or XXY females. Or XX males. You get the idea. Naturally, the X and Y thing is in humans; other animals do it differently (for example, several species of birds have male as the duplicated one, and the bizarre chromosome (I forget what they are called) makes a female).


And, of course, this is separate from sexual attraction, which is similarly convoluted.


Sex, attraction, and gender are really some of the places that can be most fun in toying with alien biology. And everything here happens on Earth; hell, most of it can happen in humans - who knows what could happen on alien planets.
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Re: The Eternity Saga

Post by Dakarne »

I have decided upon a provisional name; The Eternity Saga (which I've edited the title to portray).

I have also edited-in a bit of information on the Hive.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: The Symphony of the Endless

Post by Dakarne »

I've settled on a final title; Symphony of the Endless, and I've got a post to make about some technology. Specifically, I've got a post to make about the big technological question of Faster-Than-Light propulsion.

Warp Drives
A simplistic form of faster-than-light propulsion involving the warping of spacetime via the use of dark energy and dark matter in order to facilitate the effect of moving faster-than-light. This is a basic form of faster-than-light travel and is not considered very effective or efficient, and a hallmark of a truly technologically advanced society is that they use far more effective methods. This method often suffers from inducing large amounts of time dilation at higher speeds. The Polarans used this method prior to becoming protectorates of the Solus, and the Hive still utilises it on their older ships.

Hyperspace Drives
This is a more effective method of propulsion, which allows for ships to travel faster-than-light by submerging the vessel in hyperspace and utilising the different laws of physics to take a short-cut through the universe. Hyperspace is the most commonly used method by the more highly advanced societies. It is known to be much faster for far less energy than Warp Drives. The Solus, Nordain, Hive, Nemeses and Eridani make most use of this system. The Zetans often use this as a backup method for their own system.

Wormhole Drives
This is possibly one of the most singularly efficient methods of propulsion, utterly ignoring weight and instead being more defined by size and distance. This method is difficult to achieve on a larger scale over long distances, with most of the usual approaches using wormholes being relegated to simple small-scale teleportation devices. It is known that the Ancients/Elders and the Zetans use this method for propulsion, with several other groups such as the Solus and Nordain using this method for small-scale teleportation. It is theorised that it might be possible to use wormholes to create a closed timelike curve (travel through time), but so far there has been very little success with such a thing. It is thought that the Ancients/Elders may have achieved time travel, however.
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'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Ford Prefect »

Mobius 1 wrote:as was Per's Descendantverse
The Descendants is a very unusual case. In any case, it's always nice to see this sort of approach to sci-fi. It's perhaps unfortunate that a fair amount of races in this case are similar to humans in appearance. It's not such a big deal though - Iain M. Banks gets away with it, after all. I must say, though, I have something of an interest in the Eridani, especially with regards to what they're actually like.
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Re: The Vanguard, or Dakarne does Sci-Fi

Post by Dakarne »

Ford Prefect wrote:The Descendants is a very unusual case. In any case, it's always nice to see this sort of approach to sci-fi. It's perhaps unfortunate that a fair amount of races in this case are similar to humans in appearance. It's not such a big deal though - Iain M. Banks gets away with it, after all. I must say, though, I have something of an interest in the Eridani, especially with regards to what they're actually like.
The Original Eridani or the Current Eridani? The Original Eridani are a little extinct, though the Current Eridani are sort-of individualistic, though based around a society of biotechnological research so that they might eventually bring back their predecessors or create a restored version. They're potentially the smartest of the prominent races, but haven't quite gotten there yet technologically due to focusing on their medical and biological technologies as opposed to their weaponry and other such.
Image
'For the moment, mortal, they find the thought of killing me more desirable than that of killing you.'
'And what are their chances?'
'The answer to that is evident in how long they've been hesitating, wouldn't you think, mortal?'

-Anomander Rake and Ganoes Paran in Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
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