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Paul
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 447
Location: Chicago
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 Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 6:22 pm Post subject: Harrimann Confederacy |
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The Harrimann Confederacy was founded after the War of Humanity by people disaffected by both the Empire and the Alliance. The Harrimann systems have a booming economy and great technology, which they offer to anyone who can pay for it. They have a small, but highly advanced military, and no enemies, except for the pirates. Most advanced human research takes place in the Harrimann Confederacy, and then trickles down to the Empire, the Alliance, and the other systems.
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Differentiation is an integral part of calculus. |
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redshift9
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 21
Location: Carrboro, NC, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 4:52 am Post subject: |
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(Disclaimer: this is how I personally imagine the Harrimann Confederacy. I sound as if I'm describing them with authority, but I don't have any. It's just easier to write without a lot of "maybes" and "what ifs".)
The history of the Harrimann Confederacy might best be summarized with two words: "happy accident". The forming of the Alliance disappointed many of those with a more revolutionary spirit - to them, it seemed like the Alliance was merely setting itself on a course to recreate the conditions that started the war to begin with, despite what seemed like genuine good intentions on the part of the Alliance leaders. Some thought it was only a matter of time before some of the Alliance worlds started to feel neglected, and the cycle would start again... but what was there to do about it? Nothing, apparently.
The worlds which hadn't joined the Alliance didn't have much to offer. None of them were particularly advanced in the area of technology, which would be vital in order to maintain freedom against large, potential enemies like the New Prussians, Alliance and the Empire. Some of the worlds had good income, but it was usually from a single natural resource - hardly sound financial footing. If the resource runs out, or if another world is found that can offer the same thing, your entire economy goes into the toilet overnight.
Word gradually circulated, and people were surprised to discover how many people felt the same way they did - dissatisfied. Over time, informal discussions and coffee shop debates somehow coalesced into a rough plan. Even less likely, that plan actually became action, and thousands of oddballs, dreamers, and rejects set course for an uninhabited planet that seemed like it wouldn't suck too bad. The various news agencies had caught wind of this long before, and it was largely considered to be the most amusing mass suicide in history.
Six months later, the media was baffled to report that the colonists had managed to not kill themselves. Six months after that, when "the Harrimann colonists" (named after Benjamin "Shoebox" Harrimann, who owned a dilapidated freighter and made dozens of trips to ferry the first generation of colonists to their new home, before the beast broke down for good and was unable to leave orbit) celebrated their first anniversary, the jokes had almost completely stopped, and people were beginning to take the Harrimann colonists seriously.
Everyone who had wanted to go with the first bunch, but didn't quite have the nerve, started packing. It's true that the first wave of colonists had more than it's share of... unique personalities, but at the same time, there was also a large number of technicians, engineers, and people who can only be described as unappreciated geniuses. Subsequent arrivals brought more of the same. Sculptors, professors, musicians, physicists, authors, engineers, surfers, architects... everyone who wasn't happy with what the rest of humanity had built, and who wanted to be a part of something genuinely new. The strangeness of the first wave of colonists had the double effect of attracting more of the same, who had somehow made things work, and scaring away the dull bureaucrats and middle-management types who would only have screwed things up.
The scientists and researchers were among the first to thrive. Free of restrictions and red tape, they found themselves in an environment where creative thought and the free exchange of ideas were seen to be just as important as food and water. Other worlds slowly realized what an intellectual goldmine the Harrimann colony had become, and the colony's first major source of income was born: research contracts. Offworld businesses, universities, and governments began sending advanced equipment and money. In exchange, they got better, faster solutions to problems that their own researchers couldn't handle effectively. Like the planet's initial colonization, this success fed on itself. Researchers on other worlds wanted to move here, and those that could, did. Other worlds, having fewer minds available at home, relied on the Harrimann colony more and more.
Virtually every artistic endeavor that took root on the Harrimann colony flourished just as thoroughly. Over the years, the Harrimann Confederacy has spawned countless artistic movements, as well as redefining, or even creating, entire branches of art.
With success came the threat of piracy, or worse. It was decided that the best policy would be to do more, with less. With the intellectual resources at the Harrimann Confederacy's disposal, it would be easier to create a small, highly advanced military force than try to deal with a worst-case-scenario by matching the invaders ship to ship. In addition to deterring enemies with the superiority of their weapons, the HCs military is recognized for what it is: a purely defensive force. While strong enough to repel all but the most dedicated attack, the HC fleet is not large enough to start an invasion without leaving their own worlds virtually undefended.
Living in freedom and safety, at the forefront of culture and learning, the Harrimann Confederacy is an example of humanity at it's best. |
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Game Mogul
Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 241
Location: Neenerneener Land
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 5:21 am Post subject: |
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First of all, thanks for not trying to offend anyone, but don´t worry about disclamers - we´re not a bunch of relativists picking out your every word 
Second of all, very nice job on these descriptions. It looks like you put a lot of effort into it. Are you a writter? Well, I mean in the sense of being a creative writter. I´m wondering because these seem an awful lot like stories.
However, some things irked me a little. The “oddballs“ etc. seemed a lot like hippies from and “free-thinkers“ from the 60s. Their movement didn´t work too well (except that it´s permeated almost every aspect of modern life - but that´s antoher story  ). Also, an army that matches one-to-one with any other single army isn´t that great - what if, say, two planets form an alliance against you - you wouldn´t have time to shove (still a non-draft military) more cadets through training and, no matter how good your technology is, you wouldn´t have the resources or time to build the necessary weapons. Everyone living in perfect harmony wouldn´t last long - every time it´s been tried it has failed. Now, what we could do is make it where half way through the game there´s another rift in this colony which begins another revolutionary war. That´s more realistic anyway because that´s how it always ends up. Don´t get me wrong, it would be nice to be happy with one another, but it just can´t happen. It seems too unrealistic.
Good work,
-Mogul
P.S. I really did like it (a lot), but people always tell me that I tend to point out negative things the most. Don´t get discouraged with my replies - it´s called “contructive criticism“, meaning “pointing out problems to construct a better product“.
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redshift9
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 21
Location: Carrboro, NC, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I'll drop the disclaimers. I just didn't want it to seem like I was trying to take over plot development - I only found this game three days ago!
Thanks for the compliments. I haven't actually written a story in about ten years, but I was okay at it when I did (always had some trouble with dialogue, though). Also, in college, my friends and I talked for years about a science fiction cartoon we wanted to make, and we spent a lot of time doing exactly this sort of thing - creating races, and trying to come up with nifty ideas. When I looked over the Story Ideas forum, I jumped right on it, especially since most of it has been untouched for months!
Your criticism is constructive, thoughtful, and appreciated. The guys and I would bounce stuff off each other all the time, constantly polishing (and sometimes shooting down) each other's ideas. I'm used to this sort of thing. Collaboration is good!
I'm not sure how to portray the "oddball" element. Based on the parameters I'm starting with, I think they're going to be some colorful personalities. We're dealing with people who aren't satisfied with the Alliance, Empire, or any of the other colonies, so they aren't your average folks. With dozens(?) of governments to choose from, and hundreds of worlds, they still don't like what they see. It seems like the HC would have been founded by people determined to prove that humanity can do better, some adventurers who were attracted to the idea of starting from scratch... and others who just didn't feel like they belonged anywhere else, so they gave the HC a try Now that I think about it some more, there'd be a good helping of criminals looking to take advantage of the situation, too. The thing about the 60's made me laugh. I see what you mean. I like the idea of them being a bit strange, but no, this ain't Planet Woodstock. 
I just finished reading "A Beautiful Mind", about the mathematician John Nash. Something that's discussed in the book are the "ideal" conditions for scientific research and creativity. Researchers need to be encouraged to follow whatever interests them, and to talk and meet with their peers with minimal restrictions. They should be interfered with as little as possible. Highly intelligent people are always eccentric, and the more brilliant you are, the stranger you're "allowed" to be. Since the HC leads humanity in research and development, the government would need to understand this.
They've got all of these extremely different groups of people, and yet the HC is incredibly successful - but I misunderstood the HCs size, which is absolutely critical. I just looked at the map a little while ago, which I hadn't examined closely last night. Now I understand what we're dealing with - the HC has 20 systems, and the Alliance and Empire each have 30. Somehow I got the idea that the HC was less than ten systems, and their enemies were all several times larger. I even thought the NPs were bigger than the HC! This mistake is what led me to the "utopia" scenario. If the HC was doing so well against other governments that were so much larger, a near-ideal society seemed like the only answer. Now that I realize their largest potential enemy is only 1/3 larger than they are, we can easily make the the HC society more realistic. I'm with you, Mogul - perfect worlds just don't happen. The HC needs to be very free and democratic, and a booming economy usually means a happy population, but I'm glad we can bring this "utopia" back into the realm of believability.
With the one-to-one thing, I wasn't thinking about the HC vs. a single planet's army. I was thinking about the HC going one-to-one against the Empire or Alliance, and we run into my proportion mistake again. I thought the HC would be trying to defend itself against an empire 3 or 4 times it's size. Yikes! Their technology would have to be insane, or everyone would have to be in the military - and the HC doesn't sound like a military society. Now, we've got a military that is simply smaller but more effective than average. Perfectly reasonable for a society with good hardware and plenty of cash.
The civil war idea is interesting. It's a shame, but it's definitely possible that things could get violent when you've got so many people with so many different ways of thinking. Hopefully it would be short and non-devastating. I can see a war, but I don't think these people would be inclined to be particularly savage to one another.
Hmmm... here's something I just thought of. By the time the first settlers arrive on the planet that will become the capital world of the HC, colonization has become routine. It's handled almost exclusively by governments and corporations. The HC, on the other hand, was founded by anyone who could get there on their own (or grab a ride with Shoebox).
A lot of things were handled at the last minute, and problems were solved as they arose. Things weren't anywhere near as carefully thought out and organized as a typical colonization. This gave the criminal element an unprecedented opportunity to get a foothold before the first colony ship was even finished loading it's cargo. (I'm thinking Mafia style crime here. We can't blame everything on pirates, and crime on land is nothing like piracy in space, although of course there are connections). Maybe this could be part of the civil war - gangs fighting for dominance, before finally being defeated by the government and citizens. |
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Game Mogul
Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 241
Location: Neenerneener Land
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| Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:36 am Post subject: |
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Much better - sounds a lot more plausible. Really good work. When you were talking about ecentric scientists, it made me think of Richard P. Feynman (1908-1988) - arguably the most briliant physicist of the 20th century. If you haven't already, check out Surely Your Joking Mister Feyman, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, and his lectures. Now, most of his books are just funny, ecentric stories about his life. However, when he talks about physics he really talks about physics.
Hope you find him interesting,
-Mogul
P.S. Thanks for agreeing with me, I like it when I'm right (no, I'm just joking ).[/i]
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"Never sneak up on a turtle while he's welding" |
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Paul
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 447
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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Very good, I like your development! As to the size issue, I had intended the Harrimann planets to be less densely populated, so the other empires would still outweigh them significantly, maybe the Alliance and the Empire have populations about twice as big as the Confederacy.
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Differentiation is an integral part of calculus. |
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redshift9
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 21
Location: Carrboro, NC, USA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, guys. I'm having a lot of fun. I'm not a programmer, and when it comes to art, I'm a lot better with a pencil and paper than I am with Photoshop. I've always wanted to be involved with a project like this, but I didn't think I'd ever get the chance!
The Alliance and the Empire are each twice as big, eh? That makes the HC easier to invade than I thought in my second post, but it still makes sense that they don't have any enemies - everyone benefits from their discoveries. Nobody wants to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, but they wouldn't mind owning it themselves... hence the cutting-edge war fleet, just in case.
How do you guys feel about Shoebox Harrimann? Yeah, I know it's corny. But... this is a time where colonizing a world is about as adventurous as moving furniture from one room to another. I really like the image of a guy (or a gal!) spending months in a tired old freighter, making countless trips, trying to ferry as many colonists as possible before the ship's engines finally die for good. |
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Paul
Joined: 17 Apr 2004
Posts: 447
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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Shoebox works for me I hadn't really come up with a bio for the name behind the confederacy.
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Differentiation is an integral part of calculus. |
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