[extropy-chat] The Shared Futuristic World of Orion's Arm

[Bret Kulakovich]

This is really wonderful. I think that people being able to imagine  
themselves in a 'prequel' space to really far-out science fiction  
helps them metabolize and then realize actual improvement in science.  
It's a bridge to the future that can entice as well as educate. It  
makes me think of Alpha Centauri in some ways, excepting the RTS  
versus RPG paradigm.

I hope they are sticking with some nice manual mechanics to get those  
ships moving. There are several good ways to bring that into gameplay  
both in UI and fun factor that no one has tried to tap. Easier on  
paper, to be sure, but people don't  want to take risks in games  
these days.

I look forward to their progress.


]3ret




On Aug 18, 2005, at 2:40 PM, Amara Graps wrote:

> From Boing-Boing, we have what looks like a creative group effort to
> imaginatively build the world we want.
>
>
> http://www.orionsarm.com/
> {begin quote}
> Orion's Arm: CC-licensed, post-Singularity shared world
> Orion's Arm is a Creative Commons-licensed hard sf/post-Singularity
> shared world where lots of fan writers are collaborating to build a
> world and then write stories in it. There also seems to be some RPG
> adaptation activity and illustration. The storyline is a pretty
> thoroughgoing post-Singularity thinggum with lots of opportunity  
> for fun
> noodling.
>
>     Our goal is to create a dramatic far-future universe that is
>     internally consistent and abides as much as possible with the
>     accepted facts and theories in the physical, biological, and  
> social
>     sciences. Thus matter cannot travel faster than light, matter and
>     energy are conserved, no evolved humanoid aliens have been
>     discovered, future ultratech social issues are likely to be very
>     different to those of today, and so on. We embrace speculative  
> ideas
>     like drexlerian assemblers, mind uploads, posthuman intelligences,
>     femtotech, magnetic monopoles, wormholes, as it is proposed that
>     future sciences, technologies, and developments will make these
>     possible. And we attempt a logical explanation for even the most
>     fantastic-seeming elements in OA. We aim to paint a future that is
>     plausible at every level, from the scientific to the social to the
>     psychological...
>
>     Somewhere between the years 2020 and 2050 researchers would  
> develop
>     the technology of Direct Neural Interface, allowing human minds to
>     link with their computers. They would advance genetic  
> engineering to
>     the point of the first optional improvements or 'tweaks' to the
>     human genome as well as create the first 'provolved' animals
>     engineered for human level intelligence. The dream of  
> nanotechnology
>     would start to be realized, as nano-scale manufacture became a
>     viable industry. And, using a combination of nanotech created
>     advanced materials, robotics, and tele-operated devices,  
> development
>     of a truly viable and self-sustaining space infrastructure  
> began in
>     earnest. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in the year 2040
>     researchers created the first human equivalent, or turinggrade,
>     artificial intelligence. The future would never be the same again.
> {end quote}
>
> -- 
>
> ********************************************************************
> Amara Graps, PhD          email: amara at amara.com
> Computational Physics     vita:  ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
> Multiplex Answers         URL:   http://www.amara.com/
> ********************************************************************
> "Don't let me catch anyone talking about the Universe in my
> department. " ---Ernest Rutherford
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