On 15 November, 1920 the behemoth flagship Fayoo'tak'tal of the Martian Hegemony descended slowly and in an impossible silence out of the clouds to hover a few feet above the gray waves of Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
The golden skinned Paxt Pactaxi, brother of the Emperor of Mars stepped onto the surface of the water, his cloven feet kept dry through the presence of a barely visible walk of force shielding. With a deep throat click and a buzz of satisfaction Paxt Pactaxi gestured his delegation forward and walked the few hundred yards to the grounds of the newly formed League of Nations. That was the day that "the infinite complacency of men, came to abrupt end," as Orson Wells dryly observed some years later. "That November morning marked the ending of the familiar world where men gave little regard to the stars or even the planets within our own solar system as a source of danger, the thought of a power dwelling beyond the firmament regarded as fanciful or an absurdity."
The Martians walked into the first full meeting of the League of Nations and every head turned. The small delegation of impossibly thin and tall other world diplomats moved gracefully to the front and spoke clearly and deliberately in Mandarin that they hoped to join the League as the first peaceful ally of the gathered governments of the planet Earth.
Rocketship Empires 2036
One possible variation is the Rocketship Empires universe far enough into the future that the setting becomes just slightly more believably science fiction in orientation. In this era the Martians have all but died out completely and utterly. The strength of that once great and ancient alien race was fast fading when they reached down to planet Earth and helped mankind into the stars. Now the varied human governments in somewhat evolved forms must face their destiny as the inheritors of Martian territory, worlds and technologies on their own. The great danger at the edge of what was once Hegemony space and is now Terran space must be confronted by men but so must at least a dozen alien civilizations.
This version of the setting could still come with a heavy amount of 1930's and 1940's pulp themes, music and styles but also mixed in with later era influences. What would the British Star Empire look like if it continued to expand? Maybe the Federal Territories and the old United States is completely swallowed up by corporations. Possibly the humans are so busy exploring and expanding, fighting and surviving in space that WWII in space never happens or at least it is delayed until a much later time allowing for things to evolve into a different state altogether.
Just pondering and thinking out loud while I continue to work on scratch paper here on rules and such. Its possible I might decide to not present a Rocketship Empires 2036 version of the setting. I will have to really think about it and how it would work and look.
No comments:
Post a Comment