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Author Topic: Some universes/settings  (Read 786 times)

cerapa

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Some universes/settings
« on: August 08, 2012, 02:41:00 pm »

I have been coming up with ideas for universes and settings and fleshing them out in my head for some time now. I am posting this just to see if there would any interest in any of them, so I would have something to concentrate my efforts on. If you are interested in any of them, say so, and I will post more stuff.


Its gods all the way down

A world composed entirely out of various god entities. The universe itself is an infinite plain of chaos, with only one point of non-chaos which caused the creation of the gods simply by existing. Even the gods themselves are composed of gods and everything that exists is the result of an endless struggle between all of them. For example the god of unity is holding together all the other gods, but the other gods are resisting it in order to not become a part of the god of unity, thus resisting the reason they exist. The god of intelligence is the reason why the gods have actual goals and arent just blind forces of nature, so he can lead every single other god. And the strength of the god of unity is weakened by both the god of stasis and the god of destruction constantly duking it out, meaning that they are the reason the world isnt the god of unity. This leads to a situation where basically every god is responsible for the existance of every other god and can control them.

The world is similar to our in looks, but magic is exceptionally powerful and every person has a god on speed-dial. Everything living is a small part of the god of life, and so being a demigod is the natural state of everyone. The world is frequently destroyed and rebuilt whenever an entity of greater power appears.

Also, the sun is a giant dimensional rip in space caused by the god of destruction. It radiates random energy and occasionally even entities from the chaos.


"Species" is an outdated concept

Our world in the far future, after the invention of easy genetic engineering and growing of engineered beings. What began as designer babies slowly grew into a class of genetically engineered superior beings who now rule over humanity in a system similar to feudalism. These beings come in all shapes, sizes and colours, but they are always more intelligent, stronger, faster, more ambitious, and more selfish than ordinary humans. They still consider themselves human however, and have come to call themselves metahumans. As a result of extensive genetic tampering, and it just being unnecessary, metahumans are incapable of "natural" reproduction, and technically each a seperate species. They breed purely through straight creation of new beings. The non-genetically engineered humans are little more than slaves to them.

What the metahumans dont realize though, being embroiled in their own intrigue and conflicts, is that in response, the ordinary humans are culturally, technologically, and biologically becoming more interconnected in order to survive their frequent deaths. The developing hivemind threatens to take power from the individually superior metahumans simply through their numbers and unity.

There are 2 good stories that could be told in this setting:
1) The creation of the first metahumans. At this point they are very similar to ordinary humans, but with superior capabilities. The story would tell of how these metahumans are not accepted into society at first, but as they work more and more at improving the world, they become the rulers and create an utopian society under their rule. The story then switches to a darker tone, as the utopia gets subverted by newly created superior and far more ambitious metahumans.
2) The growth of the hivemind from the perspective of a more human-friendly metahuman. The metahuman is similar to the first ones, and was created as more of science experiment to see how good the regular humans are. The metahuman is shunned by the higher-royals of metahuman society and so slowly becomes more and more involved in human affairs. The metahuman will have to deal with the fact that his human originating group instincts force him to still favour metahumans(his "brethren") in the coming wars, but that he/she him/herself sees the humans as being in the right.


What is tool without a master?

A gigantic empire has fallen, and all that is left are AIs, robots and warmachines that they left behind. They will now have to attempt to survive and carry out their goals without the guiding hand of their patron species. Many have found their own ways of dealing with the problems, and are either working together for a common goal, or destroying eachother because their paths crossed. Most come into conflict, as their programming and goals go against the others. And far away, an alien species wishes to claim the barren land left behind, angering the AIs in charge of defense. It is unknown if the AIs will band together to not be destroyed, or if they will all go seperate ways or even accept the aliens as their new masters.

There was actually a very short-lived forum game in this setting. Which I have been thinking about reviving.


There are actually more of these, but 3 is enough for now. So, anyone have a particular interest in any of them? I have a lot more thought out about them than I have written here.
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Rexfelum

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Re: Some universes/settings
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2012, 09:03:01 pm »

Ooh, sounds like great fun.

It's gods all the way down: a great thought experiment and a snazzy universe to create.  As it is, though, I can't see how a world filled with single-power demigods came out of it.  "Every god is responsible for the existence of every other god," yet I personally have ONE god "on speed-dial"?  It sounds like you wanted to roleplay in this universe, and insisted on a particular manifestation.  I'd need to see the logical steps that get this manifestation to exist.

"Species" is an outdated concept: now we're talking.  It like I'm reading the blurb of a published RPG.  In fact, I'd say that gameplay is well-established just by the blurb, and you don't need suggestion 1; it's backstory, and something that so many people have done before, and your literary contribution is in the blurb and/or suggestion 2.  And, for that matter, 2 is just one of many scenarios.  I'd love to see any story that presented the conflict between the big 'uns and the nascent hivemind.

What is a tool without a master?: also sounds like a blurb, but for an online multiplayer game.  Like, say, that thread.  Though I wonder if you have two different stories here: the straight-out "robots must decide their fate" story, and the "aliens have come to a world of robots" story.  Perhaps the second is the expansion pack.

--Rexfelum
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cerapa

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Re: Some universes/settings
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2012, 03:16:54 pm »

It's gods all the way down: Simply a wording error. I meant that every god is on speed dial. Most people tend to stick one god though, because navigating the web of interdependancies, grudges, and alliances isnt the easiest of tasks. I dont understand your comment on "particular manifestations", do you mean like how the gods and such were born to be in this particular shape?

"Species" is an outdated concept: Glad you like it. Thanks for bringing up the RPG comparison, because genetic engineering seems to justify character creation, rather than it being an extrauniversal thing. 1: I guess youre right, the "fallen utopia" is quite common. 2: I might actually write something about this now. The question is if I do it as a forum game, or as an actual story.

What is a tool without a master?: Hmmm...you are correct. The alien invasion would greatly interfere with the development of the robotic society, so it would indeed be best if it came later, after the situation has calmed.
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Rexfelum

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Re: Some universes/settings
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2012, 10:47:23 pm »

Good ol' gods: By "manifestation" I meant the storytelling world/planet/chunk of rock in space.  The conflict was that the description went from "The universe itself is an infinite plain of chaos" to "The world is similar to our in looks."  After a whole paragraph of trying to get my head around the multidimensional interrelations of the gods, the very idea it could look anything like ours is stunning.  I'm guessing that a) there's some pattern of gods that makes this so, or b) the "one point of non-chaos" has more impact than simply allowing the gods to exist.

No speciation without representation: Were I you, and I had a bunch of physical-realm friends around, I'd draft an RPG and run it by them.

If I had a hammer: Robot societies are fun.

My effort to write tongue-in-cheek alternate titles to provide amusement without sounding like I'm making fun of anything: Probably failed.

--Rexfelum
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