The Maze

The so-called Apotheosis Maze is an ancient structure of great power. It sits on an all but lifeless world on the seldom-traveled fringe of civilized space, yet still it draws visitors willing to accept it’s wordless challenge: Find the path through and perhaps attain godhood.

The maze covers nearly 20,000 m2. From a distance, it appears to be made of marble. Closer inspection reveals the material has an iridescent, oil-slick sheen when the light hits it right. Scanning reveals it to be much more than simple stone: There are patterns in its structure at the picometer (and possibly smaller) level: circuits repeating. The maze has a psionic presence, too--like faint, whispering voices in an adjacent room.

It’s said that no known weapon can damage the maze’s structure. It is uncertain whether anyone has ever actually tried. The guardians of the maze move quickly to stop any visitor who attempts violence against them or the maze. They wield quantum weapons, that are powerless cubes outside of their hands.

The guardians are tall, robed humanoids with enlarged craniums and skin as black as starless space. There are always three, though perhaps not always the same three. Their primary task seems to be to decide who may walk the maze from the supplicants present. They never allow more than five in, but the number varies; they often select fewer. Those they choose must divest themselves of weapons, equipment, and uplinks, and don simple robes before entering the maze.

Despite the fact that the maze is open to the sky, no one has ever been observed traversing it. It would appear that the maze's interior exists elsewhere. The vast majority of those who enter the maze never emerge. In fact, there is no recorded instance of anyone emerging--but many stories exist. All the stories suggest sophont beings who walk the maze transcend in some way--perhaps even to godhood. The hyehoon faithful believe their Mother Creator, Anat Morao, walked the maze before ascending into heaven where she continues to watch over her children. Some versions of Instrumentality doctrine mention attempts to walk the maze, either praising or condemning them. A conspiracy meme during the Radiant Polity held that the first psi mutant (an immortal being of immense power, supposedly) was born of a pregnant mother who had walked the maze.

The legends keep people trying. Some attempt to hedge their bets by finding a map of the maze. Such maps surface from time to time--and people have killed to get them--but as far as is known, they've all turned out to be fakes. A rumor current among spacers is that there’s a mendicant on a backwater world called Oriax, who carries the map (perhaps unknowingly) in his brain, but few have been able to locate the planet much less any miraculous vagrant.

Ready for a Mall-Crawl?

This has been a good week for free stuff. Today, let me direct your attention to an offering from Justin, the chronicler of A Field Guide to Doomsday. Justin has served up The Ruins of Woebrook. It's either a stinging critique of 21st Century American consumerism disguised as an adventure module or an excuse for mall-inspired encounters with creative, punningly named mutant monsters: You decide!

The Cinnaman gives it two stick-sweet thumbs up/

A Strange Stars Appendix N

The Strange Stars setting I’ve been working is on is a combination of several different things I like in science fiction. I would call it: far future transhuman(ish) space opera. Far future sort of explains itself; it only has weird connections to the world of today.  It’s space opera, because its an adventure setting set in space (though more of the picaresque Jack Vance or Harry Harrison variety, than the “planet-wrecking" of Edmond Hamilton).
Unlike traditional, space opera whose basic form was laid out decades ago, I do want to take into account the effects of technology on human society--and humanity itself. This isn’t a new idea either really; there’s plenty of fiction in this vein and a few rpgs--though most of the rpgs seem to go for a smaller scope or harder science than space opera. I want Dune plus the stuff in Transhuman Space. The “ish” is because this sort of stuff is always going to take a bit of a backseat to the space opera.
I want both of these wrapped in the now even stranger visions of the future from the late 60s to the early 80s, shown on the covers of science fiction paperbacks, and in the Terran Trade Authority books. I want it to be populated by people like might show up in the pages of Heavy Metal in the works of Moebius, Caza, and Druillet, and in the disco-era stylings of the 70s sci-fi comics of Starlin, Cockrum, and Chaykin.

So here are some specific inspirations, broken up into where their influence is felt:

Human & Alien Cultures:
Wayne Barlowe. Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials.
David Brin. Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin’s Uplift Universe.
CJ Cherryh.Chanur’s Venture. (particularly the appendix on species of the Compact)
Frank Herbert. Dune.
Willis McNelly. The Dune Encyclopedia.
Jack Vance. “The Moon Moth” and other short stories, Planet of Adventure

David Zindell. Neverness.

Technology & Societies:

Tony Daniel. Metaplanetary.

Greg Egan. Diaspora.

David L. Pulver, et al. GURPS Transhuman Space and its supplements.

Hannu Rajaniemi. The Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince.

Karl Schroeder. Permanence.

John C. Wright. The Golden Age Trilogy: The Golden Age, Phoenix Exultant, and The Golden Transcendence.

Visual Inspirations:

Howard Chaykin. The adventures of characters Cody Starbuck (appearing in various places), Ironwolf (Weird Worlds #8-10), and Monark Starstalker (Marvel Premiere #32).

Jim Starlin. His Warlock stories (Strange Tales #178-181, and the various graphic novels and series related to the Dreadstar saga.

Steven Cowley (writer). Terran Trade Authority books.

Heavy Metal (magazine). particularly the works of Philippe Druillet (Lone Sloane 66, Salammbô), Moebius, Caza, and Enki Bilal (Exterminator 17).

Legion of Super-Heroes in the 1970s, particularly the designs of Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell, and a bit of Giffen's "Five Years Later" run beginning in 1989.

Star Wars, particularly Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Warlord Wednesday: When the Gods Make War

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"When the Gods Make War"

Warlord Annual #6 (1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Pablo Marcos

Synopsis: It turns out the aliens Morgan tangled with in issue #121 were mining a previously unknown element that can increase the killing power of Apokolips’s forces. Desaad has named it “Darkseidium” to suck up to his master. Darkseid has gathered the forces of Apokolips for a a full scale invasion of Skartaris to acquire the element.

The New God Lightray has been held captive by Desaad. A couple of careless guards allow him the opportunity to escape after accidentally filling him in on the invasion plans. Lightray flies back to New Genesis and shares what he has learned with the other New Gods. Highfather, their leader,dispatches Lonar to Skartaris to join forces with the Warlord. When Lonar swoops do on his space horse, Morgan is wary at first but the New God convinces him they’re on the same side.

In Kiro, Tara has located Y’Smalla, the woman who's been masquerading as her, but before she can get revenge Desaad shows up. He tells Y’Smalla about the impending invasion and gives her orders to assassinate Machiste.

In Shamballah, Morgan and Lonar are marshaling the troops for the assault. They don’t have to wait long.

All across Skartaris, the gods wage war against humanity!

To be continued...

Things to Notice:

• This is the last Warlord Annual of this series and the last one period, to date.
• This issue features pinups by Gil Kane and Dan Jurgens. 

Where it Comes From:
The guest stars and villians in this annual spring from the mind of Jack Kirby, a cosmology that is often referred to as the "Fourth World." The concept made it's debut in Jimmy Olsen in 1970 and blossomed into four interrelating titles. Essentially, it told the story of the conflict between the new gods from New Genesis and their foes on the world of Apokolips. Kirby's titles only lasted until 1973. In 1977, an attempt was made to revive the series, but it died almost as soon as it was begun due to the "DC Implosion." By the time of this annual, however, the characters and their conflict had been integrated into the wider DC Universe--as had Warlord with the events of recent issues.

Of Space Ages & Sorcery

The gestalt mind of Hereticwerks, aided and abetted by the equally outré intellects of Needles and Porky, have unleashed upon the unsuspecting blogosphere Space-Age Sorcery. It's 27 pages of enough weird science fantasy spells (and a few evocative tables) to fill a campaign, easy. It's so dense with cool not even light escapes its surface. I'm probably exaggerating a bit, there--but this is a unabashed plug not an unbiased review.

Anyway, check it out for yourself here and see if I'm wrong.

Oh, and for those of you that have been following my Strange Stars posts, here's a doc with some of the more esoteric terminology I've been using.

The Pleasure Domes of Erato

During the time of the Archaic Oikumene, the most famous of the so-called “pleasure worlds” was Erato. Called the “New Venus” (the original Venus having been a much less hospitable planet around Old Sol), it was home to a collection of resorts and parks catering to every imaginable sensual pleasure. The domes were themed by passion or interest and provided a variety of different environments from lush gardens to freefall. The bioroid staff, in a myriad of forms, catered to every taste.

Then came the Great Collapse. For a few generations, the last visitors to Erato and the humanoid administrators lived an end-of-the-world party in high decadence: then the bioroids took over. They developed a society of their own, closed off their world to the rest of space.

Sometime near the end of the Radiant Polity era, Erato was re-contacted, and reemerged as a purveyor of pleasure. As before, it offer a variety of experiences in a discrete setting--but this this time under the control of the bioroids themselves. They’re an eclectic bunch: androids, gynoids, and a number of combinations thereof, with a myriad of modifications to primary and secondary sexual characteristics, sexual performance, and biochemistry. The facilities are less expansive than in days past (as many are given over to expanded living areas, storage, and manufacturing for the bioroids), but current visitors don’t seem disappointed.

Ever seeking to expand their market share, the Eratoans have began to generate members of their race with new uses. Bioroids with idiopathic poison biochemistry or weaponized genitalia command a high price on the black market as assassins.

Engineers

No. Appearing:1-4

AC: 4

Hit Dice: 1

Saving Throw: Warrior 1

Attack Bonus: +0

Damage: by weapon, or 1d4

Movement: 20’

Skill Bonus: +4

Morale: 7

The Engineers [mnadnzat; mnaat sing.] are a cybernetic species and citizens of the Vokun Empire, responsible for much of the Empire’s technology. Though they are essential to the Empire’s function, the vokun keep them under close control due to their fear of artificial intelligence.

Appearance and Biology: Engineers vaguely resemble isopods of ancient Earth, but with more human faces. The average 1.2 m tall and have eight limbs, but typically ambulate bipedally. Either of their upper pairs of limbs may be used as manipulators, though the first pair is shorter and more dexterous. Though they have an internal skeleton, they also possess thick plates of carapace that extend the length of their bodies. This carapace has an iridescent sheen as it has a coating of metalofullerene. The integument of Engineers comes in several different colors that may denoted their caste.

Engineers as a species have integrated with their technology. All adult Engineers have metaganglia providing conscious control of many aspects of their bodies' functioning and linking them to their spimes and noosphere. If an Engineer’s body is badly damaged, they can download their minds into another from a remote backup.

Other than having a sense of their species as a whole, Engineers do not recognize kinship, nor do they form pair bonds. Mating is a casual affair with no real associated emotion. Young are born in communal nurseries and are pre-sapient. They crawl around Engineer ships, directed by signals from adults, just another tool. Those that survive the second instar are “uplifted” to full sophont status by infection with the appropriate nanites.

Psychology: Engineers are somewhat literal-minded and pedantic, though they're fairly gregarious when their is a topic of conversation that interests them. They are adverse physical confrontation and danger, often to the point of cowardice from the perspective of other species. When they feel endangered they attempt to roll themselves up as much as possible. They make poor fighters, but their aptitude for technology makes them excellent technicians and (of course) engineers.