NationStates Post-Modern Tech Community Thread

[Vistora]

Liquid metal-cooled? That's a component of the IFR's design, is it not? Considering your level of advancement, I would expect that the IFR would be within your purview.

We just use tokamak-style magnetic confinement D-T fusion for about 85% of our grid. The rest is wind, solar, and a few other renewable sources that exist moreso for research than power provision.

Yes, liquid metal-cooled reactors. Amongst the lines of FLiBe, IFR, fast neutron and such. I generally term it as liquid-metal cooled reactor considering different designs have different usages. A fast neutron design would be useful for a submarine but not so for civilian which demands separate requirements. If all, I chose liquid metal cooled-reactor for its safety benefit, i.e no Chernobyl meltdown for example. Then because generic liquid metal cooled reactors are perfectly MT (Alfa's reactor comes into mind and so is MSR Experiment).

My answer is in terms on telling a transitional phase considering the switch wouldn't happen immediately as tech progresses. There might be some old tech there and there as newer ones get introduced. As for level of advancement, I don't really classify Haishan to be measurable in such metrics or whatever since it's not useful to me.

As for tokamak so you went big risk, big power, big fusion eh. I bet on polywell fusor since it's several times cheaper than the lines of JET/ITER. Then there's also Lockheed Martin's CFR but its consistent operation feasibility is questionable for now.

Ehe, I changed it to stellarator after remembering that I had decided it was the better option of the two. Polywells seemed to have a lot of trouble reaching net energy production, especially on a large scale, while the CFR was just too nebulous to base much off of, as you mentioned.

[Haishan]

An uncharacteristically short post on my part, but I decided to bring out some of my more 'soft' PMT ideas there.

A soft PMT indeed, considering a hot orbital drop will likely alert a competent State's ADMS that it looked like thousands of low observable atomic warheads are heading its way. There's also an issue of trying to penetrate through PMT-level ABM defenses but I presume it was side-stepped for the RP. The post however reminds me of SUSTAIN and FIRST concept. A good post nevertheless for sake of the RP.

[The Macabees]

A soft PMT indeed, considering a hot orbital drop will likely alert a competent State's ADMS that it looked like thousands of low observable atomic warheads are heading its way. There's also an issue of trying to penetrate through PMT-level ABM defenses but I presume it was side-stepped for the RP. The post however reminds me of SUSTAIN and FIRST concept. A good post nevertheless for sake of the RP.

Well, I can't RP his defenses.

Edit: Fwiw, I'm expecting 90% losses or just about.

Edit 2: Also, think in a PMT setting how often things are entering and leaving the atmosphere, including rockets. In a world where orbital traffic is picked up, I think the signals for a nuclear strike are more ambiguous, or you have to figure out a different way of seeing them coming.

[Post War America]

An uncharacteristically short post on my part, but I decided to bring out some of my more 'soft' PMT ideas there.

That's a short post? Dayum son, how do you write that much.

[The Macabees]

That's a short post? Dayum son, how do you write that much.

Sometimes I feel that my posts are too long, so now I'm working on providing just the right amount of information. And, of course, everyone has their tastes, and both short- and long-form RP can be appealing.

I read a lot of fantasy and science-fiction literature, so one thing I try to learn from these authors is how they're able to build their world by adding details that are also relevant to the characters being tracked. For example, your post could be something as simple as:

Captain Hurst jumped out of the C-130 and parachuted towards the ground below.

That might summarize the plot of your post perfectly, and it communicates the crucial idea, but it's devoid of the details that make the RP as a whole interesting. You can use the opportunity to build more of the world the characters are in. For example:

Captain Hurst jumped out of the C-130 and parachuted towards the ground below.

Dark green forests spanned nearly to each horizon, broken up only by the occasional town, each with a beautiful stone church which rose towards the heavens with their tall bell towers. Small highways, most no wider than a couple of lanes, crisscrossed the landscape. There was a large clearing a little north of Hurst's position and from it floated a curtain of orange-colored gas, and in that direction the captain headed in preparation for his landing. As he got closer and closer to the ground, Hurst was able to make out more detail across the terrain. The enemy had come prepared.

You can talk about i. defenses; ii. what the country/buildings/peope look like; iii. your character: what is he dessed in?; etc.

Think in terms of who? what? where? why? how? But all shared through the perspective of the character you're tracking. You can talk about more than the setting, too. The best novels to read are always the ones that are able to impart the characters' emotions onto you, the reader. Is Captain Hurst, in the example above, nervous? If so, why? Is he afraid of dying because he'd leave behind a wife and kids? Does he have men he feels responsible for? All of this influence his actions, and if you do it right then you are putting the reader in the character's shoes.

And, of course, you can subtly flower the language by adding similes and metaphors. There's definitely a line between too much flower (best exemplified by the common misuse of a thesaurus) and too little. George R. R. Martin is a good example of a writer who approaches that upper limit of flower in a very, very good way. Of course, like with all writing, how flowery language should be is a subjective preference. There are professional writers who don't like to use metaphors and rather just be straightforward, and that's okay. In your case, think of your audience and what your audience wants to read. That ought to be your guide.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Ghant's method of accomplishing all of this. Check out this post, for example. I highly recommend reading his stuff, because he's a great influence.

[Post War America]

Well I meant where are you getting the time, though some of these tips were things I didn't know so thanks.

[The Macabees]

Well I meant where are you getting the time, though some of these tips were things I didn't know so thanks.

Excuse my lecturing. Sometimes I get carried away.

I'm probably one of the slowest posters there are on NS. But, I try to write a paragraph or two a day, that way in about 5 days I'm done with the post.

[Haishan]

Well, I can't RP his defenses.

Edit: Fwiw, I'm expecting 90% losses or just about.

Edit 2: Also, think in a PMT setting how often things are entering and leaving the atmosphere, including rockets. In a world where orbital traffic is picked up, I think the signals for a nuclear strike are more ambiguous, or you have to figure out a different way of seeing them coming.

As far as I know, it's done by observing the object trajectory, speed, hotness, mass and exhaust plume. That's how it's done IRL, with AEW assets able to tell what kind of object it is after the said object finishes boost phase. For an example of atomic strike, ICBMs use powerful boosters (short time of flight requirement), have certain trajectory maneuver to them (at least until mid course) and of course have certain mass to them (lighter than most SLVs).

Re-entry nuclear strike weapons have certain identifiable characteristics that sets them out from ordinary launches and a competent ABM defenses will be able to guess most launches. Then there's also space launch needed to be notified to airmen nearby and so an unplanned launch sounds interesting out of sudden.

TLDR, signals for nuclear strikes are discernible for a competent defender particularly shortly after boost phase of said object, late mid course phase and during terminal re-entry. Not many space objects share unique characteristics with a nuclear weapon. However it's true that trying to track said object during mid course might be problematic considering amount of space traffic but if the defender is smart, he/she could keep track on the recently launched object until it starts terminal phase.

These scenarios are alot of "if" and made to demonstrate that tracking an atomic strike isn't an impossible task if not somewhat difficult. Tracking a hot orbital drop should be almost similar considering an atomic strike is several times faster than the former. Nevertheless I did imply these assertions wouldn't apply to your post. Otherwise there wouldn't be any cool story to write about.

[The Macabees]

What about in a world where you have multiple countries sending daily traffic into orbit, including traffic that has a similar trajectory of an ICBM, similar mass, etc? I'm certain ICBMs are still distinguishable.Edit: That wasn't sarcasm, btw. Just poorly phrased. I agree with you that you could identify and track and ICBM.

But, if ICBMs and their warheads are so obvious, then you'd think that a bunch of soldiers of different mass, with a different trajectory [edit 2: and different speed, since those soldiers started at a different Vs] are not very likely to be mistaken as ICBMs or their warheads, especially in a PMT setting where ICBM tracking is to some degree much more specific and targeted.

[Haishan]

What about in a world where you have multiple countries sending daily traffic into orbit, including traffic that has a similar trajectory of an ICBM, similar mass, etc? I'm certain ICBMs are still distinguishable.Edit: That wasn't sarcasm, btw. Just poorly phrased. I agree with you that you could identify and track and ICBM.

But, if ICBMs and their warheads are so obvious, then you'd think that a bunch of soldiers of different mass, with a different trajectory are not very likely to be mistaken as ICBMs or their warheads, especially in a PMT setting where ICBM tracking is to some degree much more specific and targeted.

I suppose my way of answering is also convoluted as it focused on why hiding a strategic or space launch is difficult short of the other party incompetence to detect and track it in time. To address your point, yes those hot dropped soldiers will look rather different....once they start the re-entry process.

Before they do that, there is a short time-gap which they can be confused with a low observable atomic warhead particularly their mass (there are also lightweight, low yield atomic warhead), trajectory (similarity to FOBS, assuming PMT sensors able to track FOBS), and re-entry angle (atomic warhead that want to do evasive ABM maneuvers).

Again this is a question of "if"; a trigger happy defender wouldn't wait for those soldiers to be discerned as something else. If all, those same soldiers can also be mistaken as space debris from the original SLV so it's now a question on how the other party going to respond to it.

In other words, I perceive that a hot orbital drop is not that practical as it cannot be easily distinguished from a strategic strike and thus might prompt a full ABM response. But for story purposes, sure go ahead. It's cool as fuck.

[The Macabees]

I see your point, but this is where my original response comes in. There might be a lot of "large debris" — not necessarily debris, but just one example of what I'm talking about is mercantile cargo where it's not necessary or economical to use large spacecraft, and instead they can drop cargo in [modified, PMT] crates — with a very similar signature. And so, even if they're not mistaken as 'debris', the connection isn't obviously an ICBM warhead. Especially when there's no evidence of an ICBM missile, or when two thousand of them all of a sudden pop up on their radars. They might assume something else entirely, and I think it'd be more likely actually.

I do agree it's not really a practical jump. Well, actually, it might not be practical, but I don't think it's too impractical. What I mean is this. The threat is obvious. There's no doubt Scand's IADS will respond and will tear my men to shreds. Like I said, I expect a 90 percent casualty rate. Here's the thing. There are few other ways I can get a special group of soldiers into his countries in the numbers I need, and despite the ridiculous casualty rate I will get > 200 special ops soldiers in his country asap able to collect intelligence while the main invasion is undergoing preparations. So yea, obviously it's a suicide mission; but, given the context, maybe it's not entirely farfetched, just a little.

[The Macabees]

Open Question:

What has influenced your flavor of PMT?

[Vistora]

Open Question:

What has influenced your flavor of PMT?

For me, it was the considerable challenge of creating a highly realistic setting that extended past the typical MT+20 archetype. The creation of technology that is both scientifically viable and sufficiently advanced is very fun in and of itself, but for my wider canon as a whole I decided to try my hand at a little prognostication, extrapolating modern social, cultural, and political trends to a setting 135 years in the future.

[The Macabees]

You've inspired me to explore cyberpunk themes more. One of the threads of an RP I'm in has to do with a country with a vassal government, with a radiation-heavy surface from nuclear war and vast underground cities. A cyberpunk RP in that setting would be cool. Btw, just in case you're a book lover: signed leatherbound of Neuromancer.

[Vistora]

You've inspired me to explore cyberpunk themes more. One of the threads of an RP I'm in has to do with a country with a vassal government, with a radiation-heavy surface from nuclear war and vast underground cities. A cyberpunk RP in that setting would be cool. Btw, just in case you're a book lover: signed leatherbound of Neuromancer.

Aye, Neuromancer's a cyberpunk classic

I do, however, have it on e-book, and I have neither the sentiment nor the finances to re-buy something I already have for the sake of a signature. Thank you nonetheless.

And yes, that setting does sound very classically cyberpunk, what with the devastated world and likely overpopulated settlements drenched in squalor and misery. It certainly has a lot of potential. To be honest, I've been somewhat hungering for the chance to write in a classic cyberpunk setting, as the majority of writing I do takes place in my own canon, which is post-cyberpunk.

[Haishan]

Open Question:

What has influenced your flavor of PMT?

I'm not sure whether Haishan can be established as 100% PMT but it's primarily driven by current IRL research, priority for State survival and national doctrine, to offset superpowers in GD ala American's Offset Strategy. Lyras makes a good bogeyman to drive advancement in Haishan. At least all those big powers will know that, stepping on Haishan will be an awful and painful experience. The focus on State survival will, in turn affect Haize society although I'm still working on that part.

[The Macabees]

And yes, that setting does sound very classically cyberpunk, what with the devastated world and likely overpopulated settlements drenched in squalor and misery. It certainly has a lot of potential. To be honest, I've been somewhat hungering for the chance to write in a classic cyberpunk setting, as the majority of writing I do takes place in my own canon, which is post-cyberpunk.

I've been developing a story idea:

Lucius Green is a 22-year old New Imperial who grew up during a period of political turmoil. More recently, the Ajax — king — of Dasch has been ordered to surrender authority of the city-state to the government of Harsdad. Having rejected the order, Dasch is now under siege by Macabean soldiers. Lucius is homeless, his family having disowned him after having robbed them to pay for his drug addiction. Destitute, and especially so given that the city has devolved to rations due to the besiegers' stranglehold on imports, Lucius is recruited by the Free Dasch Authority (FDA), which is a criminal organization that distributes food, water, drugs, and pretty much everything in shortage at black market prices. The RP follows this story, and then one of his 'supervisors' meets Lucius' quasi-girlfriend and sleeps with her. In a fit of jealousy, Lucius murders his 'supervisor.' Then the story transitions that plot, where the FDA is tracking Lucius down and he's using every tool at his disposal to get off the grid and avoid his fate.

Would you be interested in an RP like this?

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These are just character notes, just to put them down somewhere for the time being.

Lucius Gregory Green

• Nickname: Lou (family); Ray (friends)
• Location: Dasch
• Gender: Male
• Date of Birth: 2005 (Díenstadi Calendar)
• Relationship Status: Ambigious sexual relationship with Angie McFarrow
• Children: 1 son, estranged; baby momma no longer in communication, and he has no 'visitation rights' — Lucius doesn't even know what city his son lives in
• Parents: Charles Green (58) and Matilda Donbas (49)
• Siblings: 2 — Anita Green (27) and Córdoba Green (19)
• Description:
  • Height: 5' 10"
  • Build: Thin, but out of shape
  • Hair: Brown
  • Eyes: Light Brown, borderline Hazel
  • Skin: Pale, white
  • Dinstinguishable features: A large scar on lower part of inside thigh, caused by an accident when Lucius was 14 years old.
  • Faith: Atheist
  • Background:
  • Personality:
  • Goals:

[Vistora]

And yes, that setting does sound very classically cyberpunk, what with the devastated world and likely overpopulated settlements drenched in squalor and misery. It certainly has a lot of potential. To be honest, I've been somewhat hungering for the chance to write in a classic cyberpunk setting, as the majority of writing I do takes place in my own canon, which is post-cyberpunk.

I've been developing a story idea:

Lucius Green is a 22-year old New Imperial who grew up during a period of political turmoil. More recently, the Ajax — king — of Dasch has been ordered to surrender authority of the city-state to the government of Harsdad. Having rejected the order, Dasch is now under siege by Macabean soldiers. Lucius is homeless, his family having disowned him after having robbed them to pay for his drug addiction. Destitute, and especially so given that the city has devolved to rations due to the besiegers' stranglehold on imports, Lucius is recruited by the Free Dasch Authority (FDA), which is a criminal organization that distributes food, water, drugs, and pretty much everything in shortage at black market prices. The RP follows this story, and then one of his 'supervisors' meets Lucius' quasi-girlfriend and sleeps with her. In a fit of jealousy, Lucius murders his 'supervisor.' Then the story transitions that plot, where the FDA is tracking Lucius down and he's using every tool at his disposal to get off the grid and avoid his fate.

Would you be interested in an RP like this?

I might be, depending primarily on the details of the setting in question. Can you give me a brief overview of the canon as a whole?

[Post War America]

Open Question:

What has influenced your flavor of PMT?

Ultimately, my flavor of PMT, as it stands since my reduxing of canon as the Commonwealth (as opposed to the couple of iterations I've had beforehand) was influenced primarily by three factors. The first of these were trends carried over and modified from existing PMT elements in my prior canons (namely that I want to add as much rule of cool as possible without the wankery that FT tends to have). The second was my increasing fascination with biotechnology (though I lack the mind to actually dive into the field properly). The last came from my presence in Mystria, which added a fantasy element (most notably the addition of nonhuman races and magic).

[The Macabees]

I might be, depending primarily on the details of the setting in question. Can you give me a brief overview of the canon as a whole?

I can go on for days, so I'll keep it as short as I can and you can ask me to fill in whatever you need me to.

Here is a map for reference: http://i.imgur.com/XYaS8ey.png

New Empire (also known as the United City States up to 2017 and from 2027 on; map) was an old nation that fell into decay in the second decade of the 21st century (I say Díenstadi Calendar, but that's just an easy way to allow that year to jive with different timelines). It had just entered the War of Golden Succession, a large war that started out as a simple internal war of secession in the Golden Throne (which is 'The Macabees' on the linked map, but actually much smaller than it currently is). However, the war was costly, both financially and in terms of human life, and it actually caused quite a few of the "old guard" of GD to collapse. This includes New Empire, which saw the fracturing of the republican government that had united the 200 or so city-states.

Between ~2017 and 2026, New Empire lost much of its eastern and southeastern territories to foreign expansion. The rest of it, while remaining separate independent city-states, was overseen by three countries' peacekeepers (Stevid, Morrdh, and Imbrinium). Around 2024, all of those countries went to war with each other, and in that disruption the Golden Throne was able to negotiate the replacement of all those nations' peacekeepers with its own. It used that as an opportunity reunite the remaining city-states (much of which was RPd here).

In 2027, that new government is in its infancy. Much of the power still resides in the different city-states, but the Golden Throne has helped to overcome that by devising a national constitution that redistributes the wealth of the capital-state to the large players. There are 200+ individual cities, all of which are considered separate city-states under the constitution, but in reality nine (IIRC) dominate over the rest. The majority of them have agreed to the constitution, largely because the capital-state (Berliston) agreed to pump money to several of those dominating city-states. An isolated case, however, is that of Hardsdad, which was the major weight against Berliston. The head of its council, Roger Penhouse, was offered the title of Satrap, a representative of the Golden Throne that has limited veto power over the bicameral legislature (a cost that New Empire accepts - whether voluntarily is up to interpretation [lol] - in return for protection by the Golden Throne and the promise of a large inflow of capital). Hardsdad was also allowed the incorporation of Dasch and its vassal city-states.

Dasch, however, was one of the few city-states that had devolved back into an autocracy, ruled by Anax Cyril. It was a fascist utopia, with a convoluted code of law that oppressed in both the economic and personal spheres. Upon ratification of the new constitution by the majority of the city-states (all the ones the Golden Throne needed, the rest it would coax into agreement) the Anax was ordered to abdicate in favor of the new republic. Cyril refused, and now the Golden Throne lays siege to the city of Harsdad - an interesting proposition when the city is subterranean and your use of the surface is quite limited, due to intense levels of radiation from their century-or-so-passed nuclear civil war.

Inside the city, the people of Dasch starve. Food is becoming increasingly rare, and people are now down to their pets and the rats they catch. There is a growing black market, which is rampant with prostitution, gambling, drugs, and fighting sports. The siege is doing its part, but Dasch has been porn since much before the collapse of the UCS. It was always a poor state, but the collapse dropped it down a level, and the siege has dropped it another one. Legitimate business is difficult, because the laws make it so difficult to survive as an entrepreneur or business owner. It's the politically aligned that carve their monopolies across industries, even if it's the preferred tailor of the local mayor. Civilian technology is limited, although computers can be found through the black market. Lucius has a laptop that he stole, the bottom saying 'assembled in Sidi Rezegh' (a province of the Golden Throne). It's enough to have allowed him to learn how to program, and subsequently he also learned how to hack. Popular urban areas see their buildings decorated with display panels that broadcast what the Anax allows, much of which is propaganda. Each home is promised a display, but all programming is propapandistic.

The most favored also tend to be the wealthiest, and they drive luxurious cars that follow the latest fashion trends in the Golden Throne, Stevid, or Lamoni. These are the owners of the two large city chemical manufacturers, the monopoly mining company, and the hundreds of other oligarchs. Many are also upper middle class - teachers (sanctioned by the Anax), lawyers, judges, et cetera -, where Lucius' parents belong to the bottom-most layer of that class. Charles Green is a mid-level manager at the mining monopoly. While even the favored have suffered from the continued decline of the economy, the rest of the population is destitute. They live on scraps. Crime is rampant, security is brutal, and every day is a struggle to live. Yet, propaganda is continuously fed to all citizens through both the public displays and those at home. Lucius sees through it, and he responds to it through his drug addictions and his homelessness.

[The Macabees]

The second was my increasing fascination with biotechnology (though I lack the mind to actually dive into the field properly).

What kind of biotechnology does your government and/or people use?

[Post War America]

The second was my increasing fascination with biotechnology (though I lack the mind to actually dive into the field properly).

What kind of biotechnology does your government and/or people use?

A mixture of cybernetics and genescreening/therapy mostly. The gene therapy is generally used to manipulate the development of people before they are born. Gene therapy is generally the province of the state which uses it on most every fetus while it is still in the womb (and in an effort to prevent "designer baby" syndrome where the well-to-do can genetically enforce their higher status). Genetic manipulation tends to provide a greater result than cybernetics, and is almost always more stable (causing fewer problems with the physiology and psyche of the augmented) However, according to our internal logics, a purely genetic means of augmentation would not work on a being that has finished its prebirth development. Cybernetics are generally much more easily implanted in adults, and often cheaper than gene therapy, but are less effective than gene manipulation, and do sometimes cause physiological (biorejection) and psychological (a phenomena known as Cyberpsychosis) problems with the augmented. The field of cybernetics is mostly the province of the various biotech firms as opposed to the state. Lastly there is a third category, called Nanoviruses, which utilize a cybernetic vehicle (nanobots), to deliver a genetic modification (a specialized carrier virus with mutant genes to splice into the user). Nanoviruses are generally used to make genetic or mixed genetic/structural changes to the prospective augment mid-life. Additionally, the fairly safe assumptions about advancing medical technology (designer drugs, better facilities, cancer treatments etc.) are also in effect.

[UniversalCommons]

The second was my increasing fascination with biotechnology (though I lack the mind to actually dive into the field properly).

What kind of biotechnology does your government and/or people use?

Gene therapy for hemophilia and other genetic based diseases. Gene therapy for cancer and other neurodegenerative diseases. Ancestral gene mapping if the person wants to know their genetic history. Industrial biotechnology for the production of spilk (very strong silk), industrial cloning vats for producing bioceramics including nacre and mother of pearl, industrial tissue vats for growing matching organs from your own body, cultured meat production for beef and chicken, gene engineering for dogs to produce better guard dogs, and biometric technologies for security. Genetic histories for commonly preventable diseases to help people make decisions about their health. Also, genetic screening for the possibility of future birth defects in children. Having children is the persons choice.

We also maintain seedbanks for heirloom plants and do genetic mapping of crops and livestock to plan for superior natural breeding of farm products including biofuels,

[The Macabees]

Very interesting stuff. How have you guys used that biotech in RPs?

[Post War America]

Very interesting stuff. How have you guys used that biotech in RPs?

I've personally not had much chance to properly play up any of my PMT elements... mostly because I tend to get shoehorned into MT RPs for lack of PMT ones of any quality that aren't region only and/or otherwise closed to me. Well except for one, but that only had one big element of muh biotech (A Vat-grown human body hosting an artificial intelligence).