Miscellaneous Terran question-and-answer thread

[VictorValor]

Does Humanity have widespread use of cybernetic implants? What about genetic modification?

[Arioch]

Does Humanity have widespread use of cybernetic implants? What about genetic modification?

If you mean mechanical prostheses, I think they will be available and used in certain circumstances, but I think that with 150 years of advances, medical science will be able to more effectively (and probably more cheaply) repair damaged or defective body parts with your own real tissues.

If you mean computer implants, I think they will exist, but will be rare and limited in capability. The problem is in the interface; the human nervous system is decentralized, and doesn't have a central data "bus" to jack in to. Such implants exist today, but they are incredibly difficult for the human brain to learn how to use, requiring months or years of rigorous training/therapy to achieve not-very-satisfactory results.

Genetic modification of plants and animals used in foods and medicines is common today, and will be ubiquitous in 2160. Genetic modification or cloning of humans, however, will probably be illegal or strictly controlled in most Earth countries.

[Random Person]

And sticking them in children, whose brains are more "plastic", has moral issues.

[VictorValor]

Let me rephrase the question: Do we have cyborgs?

[Arioch]

Let me rephrase the question: Do we have cyborgs?

Yes (depending on your definition of "cyborg"), but they aren't common.

[Jakelope13]

Do humans still use rockets to send things from planets into orbit, or do we use orbital elevators/cannons?

Have we figured out how to make power armor?

And what kind of hand-weapons do we use? Like, projectile weapons, or do we have energy weapons (lasers, or plasma) as well?

[Arioch]

Do humans still use rockets to send things from planets into orbit, or do we use orbital elevators/cannons?

It would be a combination of methods. There will probably be several orbital elevators, and a variety of craft with high-efficiency thrusters to get payloads of different sizes into orbit.

Have we figured out how to make power armor?

Powered armor is possible to make, but not practical to use. If you want an armored robotic fighting monster, fine... but there's absolutely no reason to physically put a human body in it. It can be autonomous or controlled remotely (or you can put living cyborg bits in it, as the Umiak do... but that is something that I don't think that most human nations of the period find ethically acceptable).

And what kind of hand-weapons do we use? Like, projectile weapons, or do we have energy weapons (lasers, or plasma) as well?

Most human small arms will still be kinetic projectile weapons. They will have a few lasers and other specialty weapons for unusual situations (like fighting aboard a space environment), but in most cases slugthrowers work just fine.

[Jakelope13]

With the advances in technology, has Earth become replete in Megacities (multiple skyscrapers large enough to house entire towns within themselves) or are there still large stretches of untouched landscape?

Are there any monarchies on the other worlds? For that matter, are they, like Earth, made up of multiple 'nations,' or is each one a single entity?

Have there been any 'lost' colonies? Ones that were sent out, but were never heard from again? Or have the colony ships only been sent out to the closer worlds that can be inhabited by humans?

[Arioch]

With the advances in technology, has Earth become replete in Megacities (multiple skyscrapers large enough to house entire towns within themselves) or are there still large stretches of untouched landscape?

Many of the large cities have become much larger, some with arcology-type megastructures, but there are still plenty of places on Earth that retain natural landscapes.

Are there any monarchies on the other worlds? For that matter, are they, like Earth, made up of multiple 'nations,' or is each one a single entity?

All of the six worlds have multiple nations with a variety of governments. I can imagine a few small colonies founded by super-rich individuals who made themselves kings. There will surely be corporate-sponsored colonies that hold strict control over their inhabitants and concentrate power in a few or even one person, but they probably won't use the titles or trappings of royalty.

Have there been any 'lost' colonies? Ones that were sent out, but were never heard from again? Or have the colony ships only been sent out to the closer worlds that can be inhabited by humans?

None of these worlds have breathable air, food, water, or shelter, so I don't think it's very likely that a single lost ship could establish a colony that would survive for more than a few months. I think a real colony would require many ships' worth of people, equipment and supplies to found, as well as a continuous stream of support for many years to keep going.

[Jakelope13]

Since the development of spaceflight, have any new kinds of events sprung up? Like, space racing, or some kind of zero-gee sport, possibly akin to the Battle School skirmishes from Ender's Game?

Although Earth has been host to many planet-bound mines and mineral extraction methods, are any of the other worlds also using these methods to gather resources, or are they mining asteroids instead?

Are there Colonial Marines in the TCA, used in either ground-based invasions or ship-boarding actions, or do the members of the TCA have individual standing armies that can have units assigned to shipboard duties?

A very important question: Since it appears that, on the Bellarmine at least, humans have developed a type of artificial gravity that doesn't rely on rotation, does that mean that we finally have developed flying cars?

[Karst45]

A very important question: Since it appears that, on the Bellarmine at least, humans have developed a type of artificial gravity that doesn't rely on rotation, does that mean that we finally have developed flying cars?

Considering how stupide some driver are, and how unskilled MOST driver are. having flying cars is just looking for problem


I can only see that usefull for population security (firefighter, police, Paramedic)

[Arioch]

Since the development of spaceflight, have any new kinds of events sprung up? Like, space racing, or some kind of zero-gee sport, possibly akin to the Battle School skirmishes from Ender's Game?

I suspect there's almost every kind of event you can image.

Although Earth has been host to many planet-bound mines and mineral extraction methods, are any of the other worlds also using these methods to gather resources, or are they mining asteroids instead?

There are probably rare minerals that are cost-effective to mine on asteroids, and so I can see such mining being commonplace.

Are there Colonial Marines in the TCA, used in either ground-based invasions or ship-boarding actions, or do the members of the TCA have individual standing armies that can have units assigned to shipboard duties?

Both. But the Colonial Marines have never invaded anybody.

A very important question: Since it appears that, on the Bellarmine at least, humans have developed a type of artificial gravity that doesn't rely on rotation, does that mean that we finally have developed flying cars?

Sure, flying cars exist, but as with small aircraft today, the primary reason they're not commonly used is safety. As with other aircraft, flying cars will have to be licensed and carefully controlled, so most people won't have them. However, flying cabs and buses will probably be more common.

[CptWinters]

Both. But the Colonial Marines have never invaded anybody.

I am inordinately pleased that they are called "Colonial Marines."

[fredgiblet]

Is Disney still making a Star Wars movie every year like the plans they've announced?

[Arioch]

Is Disney still making a Star Wars movie every year like the plans they've announced?

No.

Unless they already have pipelined several movies in the style of a Lord of the Rings release (which seems unlikely given that the announcement of Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm was just last year), I don't see how quality Star Wars-scale movies can be made every year. It's not hard to infer that they won't be quality movies.

[Jakelope13]

Considering how stupide some driver are, and how unskilled MOST driver are. having flying cars is just looking for problem

I had always thought that, by the time flying vehicles were available for public use, self-driving cars would have become a standard. In that case, people would own and be able to operate flying cars, but all manner of regulations and safety systems would be in place to prevent a mid-air collision in a metropolitan area.

[Arioch]

I had always thought that, by the time flying vehicles were available for public use, self-driving cars would have become a standard. In that case, people would own and be able to operate flying cars, but all manner of regulations and safety systems would be in place to prevent a mid-air collision in a metropolitan area.

I think that's true to a certain extent, but I think people may have too much faith in the reliability of automated systems. Being a programmer and seeing over and over again the endless unexpected ways that systems can fail, I get nervous when people talk about self-driving vehicles. But in any event there is still the concern over the destruction that a flying car driver could do deliberately, together with traffic density concerns (I don't think Jetsons-style air highways will work), that I think would lead to such vehicles being strictly controlled, especially in dense urban areas. Perhaps in the countryside it would be more common to find them in private ownership.

[discord]

actually it's quite simple, 'magnetic marker' probably a RFID based system in the roads of cities would allow for pretty safe autodriving, do NOT try and make the car smart enough to drive safely, make the environment a hell of a lot simpler for it instead...the more complex the code the easier it is to break.

why RFID? well, given that most probably the future car will be electric just the magnetic field of the engines should be enough to power the damned things, add a roadmap for the car and you are golden.

[Arioch]

Following the road is not the problem. Avoiding collisions with the other cars is the problem.

[Siber]

I think people may have too much faith in the reliability of automated systems. Being a programmer and seeing over and over again the endless unexpected ways that systems can fail, I get nervous when people talk about self-driving vehicles.

I'd point out that a self-driving car doesn't have to be perfect, it has to be as good as or better than the average licensed human driver, something that's decidedly flawed in it's own right and rather harder to improve.