       TRAVELLER Digest 48

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) RICE Paper #AWP-00039: Trin
 by alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>
  2) Re: Alvin...
 by James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
  3) Guns - worlds of confusion for your players
 by chrisb@MPGN.COM (Christopher Beattie)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Sep 1994 19:03:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RICE Paper #AWP-00039: Trin
Message-ID: <Pine.3.05.1.9409211758.A5533-d100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


RICE Paper #AWP-00039: Trin

Trin (Trin's Veil: Spinward Marches/3235)
A894984-F N Hi In Cp 701Re M0V
ACF-8  811-9Y99-1G Re2
g=.9511 day=64:20:31.58 year=43d 5:28:50.96/16d 2:59:12.16
atmos=2.11, controlled weather
temp=-16 (7/lat 4 to -45) (season 11 to -31, 40 deg lat)
daily temp range 17
Ores, Radio, Crystal, Comp; AgriProd; Parts, Durab, Consum; Recordings, S/W 
Conservative/Advancing, Passive/Neutral, Discordant/Xenophobic
Legal 4-03520, Tech FE-FFFGE-FFFF-GF-H

Trin Lives.

That is the first thing that hit's you as you come out of jump, and hear
the enormous amount of radio traffic that all busy ports have.  Freighters
and scouts, yachts and warships, all of the typical retinue of a major
port is here.

Only as you near the white orb of Trin - with it's thin, sky blue belt - can
you spot the carnage.  Several large impact craters which dot the northern
hemisphere.  Black scar marks, which pepper hundred's of square kilometers
of the Von Herrio Glacers.  Above all, the orbiting hulk of dead cities,
once home to 800 million people, now fly in a twisted, ghastly dance over the
fair world of Trin. 

Docking at New Sorrom Highport, the visitor is accosted with rules and
regulations.  While necessary in the Quarrentine Zone, the rigour and
harshness of the Navy seem more apparent here than anywhere else. 

The actual starport itself is ample for any need or service.  The
inhabitants of high ports are famous for living a world apart from the
folks dirtside, and the 80 million inhabitants of New Sorrom is no
different.  The famous Trin friendliness, patriotism and love of travel
still flurishes here, but is slowly giving way to the Trin Survival
Movements.
The local Naval base, home of the 207th fleet, is known as the last one
to see a major action against piracy, in 1159.

Non-Trin starships can land only at Sorrom Down.  It is a must to apply
for a permit before going dirtside, as _any_ unauthorized craft will be
blown out of the sky.  Without warning.  Fortunately, the Authorization
procedure is quite simple: merely a battery of tests to insure that your
ship and equuipment is Virus-free.  Moreover, they will install a
"Slaver", that will insure that your ship will be dock under the control
of Sorrow Down, not the pilot.

At Sorrow Down, the local government will board your craft as soon as you
dock.  Before the HEPlaR is cooled, armed Investigators will be onboard, 
combing every electonic gadget, computer, wrist comp, and every piece of
every lot of cargo onboard.  
 
If any non-Trin ship is caught carrying Infected merchandise, the ship is
seized: only Noble influence can get it back.  If they are caught SMUGGLING
merchandise (Infected or not), the entire crew is shot, on the spot.  The
penalties are less harsh for Trin citizens: simply a massive fine and
"personality reshaping", respectively.

O.K., so you pass inspection. It will still prove impossible to sell
electonic
merchandise to anyone but another trader.  Even harmless goods from
anyplace but Trin's neighbour, Hazel (Trin's Veil 3236: C645747-5) will be
viewed with suspicion.  Three billion died because of a batch of Infected
scribble tablets, after all. 

About the only thing on your side is that you can defend your cargo and
person from any Survivalist attack: There are no weaponry laws.  None.  
You probably won't need to draw your weapon, though: the days of the Night
Hits, when Survivalists and the Union of Merchants & Traders would attack
each
other with fusion rifles have been dead for 20 years.  Just make a good
acquantiance with the Union, and pay your dues, and the Union will look
after your ship and cargo.

If you are a member of the Regency Navy or the Quarrentine Service, it
would be wise to leave your uniforms in your cabins.  The Trin blame those
groups, especially the Quarentine Service, for the Rape of Trin.  While
physical violence is not out of the question, the Trin - especially the
old-timers - are more likely to spit on your shoes or make obsence remarks.  

About the only place where foreginer's are welcomed is at Leormen's Point, an
undersea settlement of 25 million refugees of the Aslan Incursion.  The
locals, Akimen and Glistenites, remain favourably disposed to traders
since their religion insists on hospitality to strangers from the stars.  
Even here, though, don't expect anyone to ask to borrow your handicomp. 

Trin culture tends to revolve around the themes of Survival and
Rebuilding.  The young, especially, are considered the responsibility and
the future of the entire community.  They tend to be spoiled shamelessly,
and have a rather high view of themselves.  Trin art also emphasises the
theme of rebuilding from the ruins, and many refugees of the Wilds admit
to a attraction to the entransing LightDances and mournful, graceful
Thinsong of modern Trin art. Indeed, the upper classes all strive to
patronize the best of Trin art, as prestige is measured in the number of
notable artistic works you can own.    

Even though the Trin are vehmenently anti-foreigner, they still have a
soft spot for nobility, and retain a strong sentimental attachment to the
Regency government, especially to Norris and his heirs.  And unlike many
Infected worlds, Trin have retained their technology, using it to create
the best anti-Viral programs in the sector rather than retreat into a
anti-technological never-neverland.

Still, these are but candles in the dark, and as long as Trin focuses on
nursing their wounds, they cannot truly give local trade and subsector
government the leadership needed for the New Era. 
 


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Sep 94 20:46:48 PDT
From: James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Alvin...
Message-ID: <9409220346.AA04751@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

RE: REAL High-tech societies & Strange games

Alvin Plummer <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca> asks:

> I'm looking for SF books and any ideas on how a real high-tech society
>would operate, under these conditions:
>
> People have routine microchip implants in their head.  Depending on
>cost, they can update their chip info regularly.  This provides, say, the
>contents of the Encyclopedia Brittania.  More importantly, they can USE
>this information with ease. 
>...

 Without all the "Cyberpunk" baggage, this is a sparse area of SF. There
have been a few short stories in Analog over the years about the effects
of such technology on humanity, but they don't address your question.
 A few published works come to mind, however, as well as a few things not
yet published beyond magazines:

   _Eon_, by Greg Bear, and its sequel _Eternity_, briefly depict a
   culture with a lot of computing power at the mental 'fingertips'.
   This culture also uses 'biosculpting'.

   _Marooned_in_Realtime_, by Vernor Vinge, also shows occasional glimpses
   of implanted computers' impact on humanity.

   the Confederacy series by L. Neil Smith, particularly near its end,
   has such technology. (As an aside, Smith's aliens make this series
   a must for Trav players, IMHO)

   "Starmind", by Spider & Jeanne Robinson, has _just_ finished being
   serialized in Analog (four parts in August thru November 1994 issues).
   It features, among other things, AI-level PDAs. I expect this to
   appear in book form before too long, as it is the third installment
   in the Stardance cycle, for which the Robinsons have collected many
   awards.

   _Aristoi_, by one of the Cyberpunk authors whose name I can't remember,
   does a lot with implanted computers, nanotech, and FTL.

   _Denner's_Wreck_, by Lawrence Watt-Evans, also has implanted computers
   and external PDAs.


 Also, Alvin rises to Jim Kelleher's baiting, and asks:

> (...and James M. Kelleher, just _how_ strange is Kundert's group?)

 Ah, notoriety!

 I should perhaps point out that Mr. Kelleher started the campaign.
I only recently took over the running of things. The campaign has
had its share of low comedy, high comedy, and in-jokes from day one.

 The players are, aside from age disparity, fairly typical of mature
RPG groups.  What Jim is talking about is the collection of characters.

 Oh, you want details?

  Due to a marvelously serendipitous double-20 (one from the engineer,
the other from the Astrogator) while rolling to enter jump, the PCs
ship has visited a non-space which collects "misjumps" from everywhere,
including other SF universes.  They managed to return to the Marches
with "samples" (106 of them, still walking, talking, and in some cases,
shooting) and have since adopted several as PCs. Because Otherspace
was a violent place, most of the refugees are fairly martial types from
fairly martial universes.  The ship now numbers (from WH40K) a Space
Marine, an Eldar Howling Banshee, and a Squat among its crew. Keep in
mind that this crew had a Racoonid and a little-green-man-from-Mars
BEFORE this misjump, and you can see where things are going. Explaining
law levels to the Marine (a Grey Knight Terminator, for those of you
who sling the lingo) was particularly amusing.

 Past highlights include keeping a psioni-phobic passenger from knowing
that we had an ex-patriot Zhodani as our security chief, while (at the
same time) trying to teach the Zhodani enough to blend into the
Imperium; having our chief engineer (the little green man) go nuts over
the antics of an Artifact-wearing racoonid who tended to make doors
in whatever bulkhead he needed to go through; and having the rest of us
go nuts over the antics of the Chief Engineer (bowling balls and karo
syrup... don't ask for details).

 That strange enough for you?


James Kundert <j.kundert@genie.geis.com>
              <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster, much faster than Light.
She departed one day in a relative way,
And returned on the previous Night.
   --Albert & the Heart of Gold

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 22 Sep 1994 10:34:26
From: chrisb@MPGN.COM (Christopher Beattie)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Guns - worlds of confusion for your players
Message-ID: <chrisb.221.000A933F@mpgn.com>

"Well,  at  least they won't take away our guns," the  tired
traveler  said as they started to leave the starport,  "I've
checked the planet's rating and they allow guns here."  With
that they approached the security post.

"I'm  sorry,  but you will have to leave your  guns  at  the
locker,"  the  security guard barked in his  usual  monotone
voice.

"But,  the  law level," replied the traveler in a tired  and
dazed look, "OK, what's the problem this time?"

Tired of the same old, not related to this news group,  guns
discussion?   I  am,  although I will admit  it  started  me
thinking  about  it in a Traveler sort of way.   The  issue,
when  you  look at it, broke down into culture.   And  isn't
that  one  of the more interesting aspects of the  universe,
jumping  into  different  worlds with  completely  different
cultures  and morals than you expect.  Where "common  sense"
might just get you into trouble.  So I've come up with a few
mind teasing reasons why the guards won't let you bring your
weapons into a world that allows weapons in the first place.

Reason  #1:  Import/Export:   You  can  purchase  and  carry
firearms  on  this world, but because of a general  paranoia
about foreign competition you can not bring your own weapons
from  the starport because they fear you will sell them  and
make  a  profit.  Thus you have to go deep into the city  to
the local gun store and buy your firearms at highly inflated
prices.

Reason  #2: Technology:  You can purchase and carry firearms
on  this  world, but not just any primitive  firearm.   This
high level tech world requires all its firearms to adhere to
strict   government  standards,  including  their   patented
devices  that alert the authorities whenever the  weapon  is
fired,  (oh  and  tampering  with  the  device  is  strictly
forbidden) giving the guns location and ID.

Reason  #3:  Primitive Technology:  Sometimes  in  a  modern
society,  carrying  swords is deemed  "inappropriate"  while
carrying  automatic  pistols is OK.   Extended  a  few  tech
levels, this might create a society where laser weapons  are
OK,  but  slug weapons are considered to "primitive"  to  be
seen and used in public.

Well,  as a famous fictional person once said, "Three  times
pays for all."  I'm sure you can come up with better ways to
confuse, restrict, and give otherwise grief to your players.

Of  course  that doesn't say anything about attitudes,  just
because the law allows guns doesn't mean the law enforcement
agencies like them, or the religious groups, and so forth.


|[[[]]][[[]]][[[]]][[[]]]|Christopher Beattie |Tantalus Incorporated|
|  []     [] []  [][]  []|Tantalus @ Key West |        P.O. Box 2310|
|  []   []   []  [][[[]]]|Development Division|   Key West, FL 33045|
|  []  [[[]]][[[]]][] [] |chrisb@mpgn.com     |Phone: (305) 293-8100|
|Disclamer:My opinions are mine, not Tantalus.|  Fax: (305) 292-7835|

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 48
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