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Triton

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  1. PPS--

     

    In the world of Cyberpunk, we might imagine parliamentary victories of the National Union Party or a fictional right-wing political party with Neo-Zionist beliefs who is dedicated to the ideal of a "Greater Israel" and the annexation of the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza strip.) Perhaps going so far as reconstituting the Land of Canaan (modern-day Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan and Syria). The government in power may believe that it is impossible for Arabs and Jews to live together in peace and the Arab attitude toward Israel has its roots in antisemitism.

     

    IMPORTANT:

     

    The previous and following paragraphs do not reflect my political views or beliefs nor should they be implied, or interpreted, as advocacy for the establishment of Greater Israel or Neo-Canaan or the philosophy of Neo-Zionism. Nor am I anti-semtic, pro-Palestinian, or pro-Arab. This is a fictional setting for the Cyberpunk role-playing game based on history and speculation.

     

    See "The Future of the Past in Israel":

    http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472115419-ch8.pdf

     

    They consider Arabs in Israel to be a fifth column and pose a demographic threat. From their point of view, the only solution to achieve peace is "deterrence and retaliation." Perhaps the deportation of Palestinians and Arabs residing within Greater Israel or the reconstituted Land of Canaan.

     

    The United States would continue to give financial and military assistance to this Greater Israel. Perhaps United States troops and equipment or United States-based Private Military Companies (PMCs) supplementing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

  2. Post script:

     

    For the most part, I believe that the canon Cyberpunk timeline is dated reflecting the late 1980s and extreme to be totally unbelievable in places.

     

    1997

     

    Mideast meltdown. Tensions in middle east escalate to nuclear exchange. Iran, Iraq, Libya, Chad, and the Arab Emirates reduced to radioactive slag. World oil supply drops by half. U.S. military assets in the region are devastated. Moslem tribesmen flee into Western China, away from irradiated bomb impact sites. Other Islamic refugees swarm to the Islamic countries of SEA, compounding population problems.

     

    I am thinking that a nuclear exchange involving Iran, Iraq, Libya, Chad, and the [united] Arab Emirates reducing these nations to "radioactive slag" would have global environmental and health implications. It would significantly change the world as we know it.

     

    In light of the "Arab Spring" of December 17, 2010 to the present, I am thinking that the "Mideast Meltdown" is more of a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests erupting into civil war rather than wars between nations. I am imagining far limited use of WMDs, perhaps more use of chemical and biological rather than nuclear to quell civil unrest. I am thinking that these uprisings and rebellions in the Middle East result in destruction of the oil infrastructure of these nations disrupting global supplies of oil. Civil unrest in these countries making repair or rebuilding of the oil infrastructure difficult or impossible. Refugees could just be trying to escape the civil wars rather than resorting to irradiating most of the Middle East or imagining that the entire Middle East is a sheet of glass from sand fused by the heat of a nuclear blasts.

     

    Perhaps the use of nuclear weapons is perpetrated by Jihadist terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda, against the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia or other regimes in the Middle East.

  3. It's important to keep foremost in your mind that Cyberpunk is a fictional setting and the goal is to create an interesting environment for science fiction/fantasy role-playing. Cyberpunk is not alternate history or a political or technology forecast. Nor is it creating a world that the author wishes to come to pass or is a vehicle to express political views held by the author.

     

    Certainly, research can make the fictional setting much more plausible or realistic. A fictional nation may be created that holds views or has taken actions that you personally view as morally reprehensible or personally offensive.

     

    To distance this fictional Jewish nation from the real State of Israel, I would recommend renaming it to the State of Zion, State of Judea, or something similar. Making it clear to readers that this is a fictional nation.

     

    Perhaps using a historical Zionist flag for this fictional Jewish state or creating a new one for a Cyberpunk campaign would also be recommended.

     

    Historical flags may be found here:

    http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/il%7Dzion.html

  4. International Space Police Force (ISPF) similar to the BBC television series Star Cops?

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Cops

     

    Keep in mind too that the year is 2020. Or in my Third Millennium campaign it is 2037. I don't believe that the situation is analogous to Firefly's Wild West. Think more of private contractors working for big corporations or governments or employees of big corporations or big government. The infrastructure requirements are just too great that there would only be a handful of players with the capital required to purchase launch vehicles, work shacks, and the other hardware necessary to exploit space.

     

    Traveller 2300, 2300 AD, or 2320 AD would be more of a Firefly setting. I just cannot imagine that space stations in Earth orbit or on the moon or Mars could become independent. They are just in their infancy. Further, I just cannot see people wanting to spend their entire lives on a space station, moon, or Mars colony in this early era of expansion and exploitation. I just don't agree that there is going to be a Captain Mal Reynolds owning space ship Serenity carrying loads across the solar system in 2020/2037.

  5. Interesting that you should mention Golden Dawn, Destecado. Golden Dawn, or Chrysi Avgi, won seven percent of the popular vote in the Greece national elections held on May 6, 2012 giving it 21 seats in the parliament. Scholars and the media have described the group as neo-Nazi and fascist. The group has been responsible for carrying out acts of violence and hate crimes against immigrants, political opponents, homosexuals, and ethnic minorities. The group has also been involved in soccer hooliganism.

     

    The most interesting symbol that the group uses is the Greek maeandros on its flag. The meandros is also known as the Greek meander, Greek fret, or Greek key design.

     

    Perhaps any of the following flags could be used by the military junta controlling Greece, replacing the blue and white "sea flag" adopted in 1978 and different from the Regime of the Colonels flag. The flag certainly looks fascist without using the swastika (hooked cross) or celtic cross (sun wheel).

     

    Maybe could be used in a new version of Eurosource: Plus or for my Third Millennium campaign setting.

     

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    Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_%28Greece%29

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meandros

    http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_flag#Cu..._flag_of_Greece

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regime_of_the_Colonels

  6. There is nothing wriong with exploring deviatations from the canon cyberpunk timeline. This forum has many such "variations" on the cyberpunk theme. It may help, however, to identify your threads as belonging to a specific alternate timeline, to avoid confusion. BTW, do you have a name for your alternate version of the timeline?

     

    The current name for the alternate timeline, or apocryphal timeline, is Third Millennium until such time as I can think of a better name. ;) Though I am imagining a different timeline between 1987 through 2000 as well.

     

    For example, repeal of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States occurs in 1987-88. Ronald Reagan then runs for a third presidential term in 1988 and wins the presidency. The United States Invasion of Panama occurs between December 20, 1989 and January 31, 1990.

     

    Reagan, an outspoken opponent of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, sends United States troops to secure the Panama Canal. President Reagan then addresses the nation advocating that Congress declare the Torrijos-Carter Treaty null and void. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Senator Jess Helms of North Carolina introduce a resolution in the Senate to declare the Torrijos-Carter Treaty null and void. The resolution passes in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. In 1990, the Panama Canal Zone is re-established as an un-incorporated territory of the United States of America.

     

    Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Zone

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/193rd_Infantr...nited_States%29

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Just_Cause

     

     

    As for the East African Federation, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) could continue to operate as a terrorist group within the East African Federation, South Sudan, the Congo, and the Central African Republic.

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army

     

    Source:

  7. I guess I have been watching too much Primeval and Walking With Prehistoric Beasts, but I was thinking about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). There has been discussion about genetically engineering a wholly mammoth from wholly mammoth cells from hair and skin found on a body preserved in ice. I wonder if in the world of Cyperpunk that there is effort to genetically engineer extinct species of plants and animals and let them live again. There is probably continued genetic engineering of existing plants and animals.

     

    Chromebook 4 presents some animals, but I believe that it would be pretty cool if there was Hyaenodon patrolling a research lab.

     

    More information:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyaenodon

     

    There could also be extinct species brought back as exotic pets or genetic modification of existing species.

     

    Shall we brainstorm what plants and animals we would want to bring back in the Cyberpunk world?

  8. BIO-SUIT SYSTEM

     

    The Bio-Suit was a novel approach to spacesuit design that used biomedical breakthroughs in skin replacement and materials to replace the bulky conventional "balloon" spacesuit with a 'second skin' approach to provide light weight, flexibility, and comfort in all extraterrestrial environments. It provided life support through use of mechanical counter-pressure applied to the entire body through a tight-fitting suit, excepting a helmet for the head. The inner layer of the Bio-Suit could be sprayed on, and disposed of, together with dirt and dust, after each EVA. The external layers would include embedded "wearable technologies" that would be tailored to the environment and mission.

     

    Existing space suits used hard fiberglass or metal and soft fabric components. Mobility was obtained by pleats that opened as joints bent and rotational bearings. These suits, all derived from the very fist purpose-designed spacesuits of the 1960's, were heavy, bulky, restricted astronaut mobility, and required extensive special training and exhausting joint torque force to work in. A modern Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) suit, first studied by NASA in 1971 as the Space Activity Suit (SA), would eliminate these difficulties. The Bio-Suit study did not identify a specific design, but rather identified candidate technologies for the suit layers and the embedded information systems. These included:

    • Electric Alloy Mesh Concept, using a seamless Shape Memory Alloy mesh to generate voltage-controlled mechanical counter-pressure. Pressure would be distributed by a viscous thermal-regulating gel layer. The gel layer moderated the high temperature of the SMA later and protected the body against impacts the skin directly, wicking away perspiration and absorbing body heat.

    • Thermal Gel Suit Concept, using "smart" polymer gels which expanded at a threshold temperature to create mechanical counter-pressure. The smart gel was trapped in a quilted layer beneath a stretchless restraint layer. The restraint layer prevented outward expansion of the gel, directing the pressure inwards against the body.

    • Electric Gel Suit, using "smart polymer gels which expanded in an electric field to create mechanical counter-pressure. The smart gel was trapped in a quilted layer, between metallized fabric layers, beneath a stretch-less restraint layer. Opposite charges applied to the metallized layers produced a small electric field sufficient to stimulated the expanding smart gel.

    • Stretch Alloy Band Suit Concept, using the super elastic properties of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) to allow the suit's volume to expand enough for donning. Charge would then applied to the SMA band which pulled together the seam of a uni-directional stretch fabric layer, which was able to stretch longitudinally in order to allow flexion at the joints.

    • Electric Alloy Zipper Suits, using shape memory alloy strips to aid and control the application of mechanical counter pressure while manually zipping together seams in a uni-directional stretch fabric layer.

    • Electric Alloy Remote Zipper Suit concept, as the previous concept, but instead of being zipped manually, tightened all at once by digital controls at the shoulders. This system assured uniformity of mechanical counter-pressure and ease of operation.
    The study also looked at various alternatives for thermal control:
    • Absorb concept, which would collect perspiration in a removable component within the suit, either a highly absorptive fabric layer similar to long underwear, or desiccant packs at critical locations.

    • Vent-to-Atmosphere concept, which controlled perspiration by venting moisture directly to the outside environment. A selective, semi-permeable organic layer closest to the skin allowed perspiration to pass through at a moderate rate. Subsequent layers of the suit, including the mechanical counter-pressure layer, were also semi-permeable. The openings in the membranes were large enough to allow the suit to breath, but small enough to prevent unwanted fluid loss.

    • Transport concept, using a layer of tiny tubes to channel perspiration away from the body to a remote collection point. These tubes might be manufactured or perhaps organic such as the aquaporin network in plant membranes. A partial vacuum at the collection end might moved perspiration through the tubes, or perhaps work would be done by tiny piezoelectric pumps powered by energy harvested from body motion.
    An advanced possibility was that the suit layers could be sprayed directly on the astronaut's skins prior to EVA. Electrospinlacing, involving charging and projecting of tiny fibers of polymer directly onto the skin, could be used. Melt blowing of liquefied polymer could be used to apply thin elastic layers. Application could be made directly to the skin, or to advanced 3D forms generated by laser scanning. Wearable computers, smart gels and conductive materials could be embedded between polymer layers.

     

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  9. Alternative Boeing TSTO concept from 1979. The company estimated each 10,000-megawatt solar power satellite would require about 800 launches, at about $18 million per flight [1979 $]. The gross liftoff weight was 5000t, including a 200t+ payload, 2932t of oxygen propellant, 544t of methane fuel for the booster and 171t of hydrogen fuel for the orbiter, which had a landing weight of 250t.

     

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    This alternative Boeing design from 1977-78 had a core diameter of 15.24m. The total length was 140.7 meters and the kerosene/LOX booster's wingspan was 60.5m. The 76.3-meter long orbiter used hydrogen+oxygen fuel. The liftoff weight was about 9500t and the payload capability was 381t.

     

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  10. Boeing investigated large two-stage vertical takeoff, horizontal landing (VTHL TSTO) heavy-lift reusable launch vehicles for 380-420-ton payloads in the mid-1970s. The company's "reference vehicle" from 1976 was used as a baseline for NASA's early Solar Power Satellite (SPS) technology assessments. Its gross liftoff mass was 11,000 tons and the payload capability was 420 ton. The specific transportation cost was $44/kg.

     

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  11. http://colonialchrome.co.uk/

     

    This is a great source for the potential lay-out of space craft. It is a Star Wars based sight however the guy that does the deck plans has an extensive background in such things and does the plans in a methodical and 'realistic' way.

     

     

    /resume lurk

     

     

    Thanks, ironmargin, for the link. It does give me ideas of how to create some spacecraft interiors.

     

    The Space Shuttle Block II design rendered by John Frassanito & Associates is more in line with what I am thinking about. According to e-mails I exchanged with conceptual artist Marc Daoson, John Frassanito & Associates rendered hundreds of designs for a space shuttle replacement. I am not certain if this design was intended to be used as a replacement for the space shuttle Challenger, was intended to replace all the space shuttle orbiters, or increase the size of the space shuttle fleet.

     

    I guess that this could be a rendering of the NASA Shuttle II from Deep Space.

     

     

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    Perhaps On Plumes of Flame or Highrider would be a better title for this supplement or sourcebook.

     

  12. I don't really think a sourcebook laying out a big new space setting for CP Deep Space has that much mass appeal because everyone still playing CP probably does their own thing anyway these days, but any setting details should remember that conditions in space are simply different and create new and strange social conditions - I'm a big fan of that sub-genre of science fiction (one which crossed over an awful lot with Cyberpunk) that dealt with specific social adaptations to space living: I can think of a dozen or so books that all deal with that issue in some different and strange fashion.

     

    Fictional title or author suggestions?

     

    From a GMing point of view I do feel that there was one big thing Deep Space lacked and that was internal details of space stations and space ships. Little but important things like how airlocks worked, what habitat interiors looked like, what the inside or outer layer of a moonbase might look like. It's easy to make up the details of a house in Shanghai or Dar Es Salaam or whatever because they all fit the same basic pattern wherever but space stations are their own thing. Something dealing with the internal structure of space habitats in more detail would be great. Something for Asteroid mines as well: i've been reading a lot of "belter" fiction lately and it's a great setting with loads of inspirational material!

     

    We should explore these ideas further in this topic.

     

    It would also really help me run one of my recurring fantasies, which is the cyberpunk "search and rescue" game. There's a famous Traveller adventure on that theme called One Crowded Hour which I must find some day and try to adapt. It might also be good for any updated version of that sourcebook to adapt the rules for "Vacuum Cleaning" in THS: High Frontier and material from the manga/anime Planetes to make a fun scavenger game.

     

    Very interesting idea that we should work into the source book. I am not familiar with Trans-Human Space: High Frontier, the Trans-Human Space RPG, or the "Vacuum Cleaning" rules.

     

    Though I have watched a couple of episodes of Planetes. I just had a vision of space-suited high school student picking up space debris as a notional Youth Space Ecology Corps. J/K

     

    A section on running boarding actions would be wonderful as well - one day it would be great to run something like the space assault sections in Greg Bear's novel Eon.

     

    I was thinking about that too. One of the reason why I started the discussion about which branch of the military would handle space assault and what its name would be. No Space Marines or United States Colonial Marines (USCM) please.

     

  13. For those of you who were wondering which names were considered for NASA space shuttle orbiters:

     

    With credit to Valerie Neal, here is the list per a May 26, 1978 memo from the Associate Administrator for Space Transportation Systems (John Yardley) to the Director, Public Affairs on the subject: Recommended Orbiter Names.

     

    Recommendations by an ad hoc committee on names for Space Shuttle Orbiters; chose "names having significant relationship to the heritage of the United States or to the Shuttle's mission of exploration."

     

    Recommended List of Orbiter Names

    (In descending order of preference)

    • Constitution
    • Constitution
    • Independence
    • America
    • Constellation
    • Enterprise [reserved for possible 5th orbiter, to carry on OV-101's name]
    • Discoverer
    • Endeavour
    • Liberty
    • Freedom
    • Eagle
    • Kitty Hawk
    • Pathfinder
    • Adventurer
    • Prospector
    • Peace
  14. I am looking at revising the Cyberpunk 2020 source book Deep Space. I have tentatively titled it Fire and Ice: The Conquest of Space Source Book. Although Fire and Ice has often been used as a title, I was inspired by watching a video of the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. The fire from the ignited F-1 rocket engines and the pieces of ice condensation falling from the cold liquid oxygen tanks.

     

    Thoughts and idea on revising the Cyberpunk 2020 source book Deep Space?

     

    It seems that the growth of protein crystals, improved semiconductor wafer manufacturing, and micro-encapsulation have not been compelling reasons to invest the billions, or trillions, of dollars necessary to create a space transportation system (STS) infrastructure, space stations, moon station(s), or moon bases.

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_manufacturing

     

     

    The Reagan Administration's "Pioneering the Space Frontier" and the George W Bush's Administration's "Vision for Space Exploration" and other initiatives have failed to generate popular political or public support for space exploration and development.

     

    After watching the BBC Horizon documentary "Moon for Sale" on the Discovery Channel, I have been thinking that space infrastructure might be built for lunar Helium-3 mining. Current prices for Helium-3 are at $20,000 per liter.

     

    Current uses for Helium-3, or tralphium, include cryogenics (Helium-3 refrigerator), nuclear weapons detection, and medical lung imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pulmonary diseases.

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3

     

    The most optimistic use of Helium-3 is in nuclear fusion electrical powerplants. Helium-3 and deuterium are combined to form Helium-4 and a high energy proton. Protons, as positively charged particles, can be converted directly into electricity, through use of solid-state conversion materials as well as other techniques. Potential conversion efficiencies of 70% may be possible, as there is no need to convert proton energy to heat in order to drive a turbine-powered electrical generator.

     

    There have been many claims about the capabilities of Helium-3 power plants. According to proponents, fusion power plants operating on deuterium and helium-3 would offer lower capital and operating costs than their competitors due to less technical complexity, higher conversion efficiency, smaller size, the absence of radioactive fuel, no air or water pollution, and only low-level radioactive waste disposal requirements.

     

    The Challenge of Mining He-3 on the Lunar Surface

    i.neep.wisc.edu/pdf/wcsar9311-2.pdf

     

    Helium-3 is very rare on Earth and supplies are created by nuclear weapons production or dismantling. It is believed to exist in abundance on the moon. a space shuttle load could power the entire United States for a year.

     

    Source:

    http://www.wired.com/science/space/news/20...currentPage=all

     

    Materials on the Moon's surface contain Helium-3 at concentrations on the order of between 1.4 and 15 ppb in sunlit areas, and may contain concentrations as much as 50 ppb in permanently shadowed regions A number of people, starting with Gerald Kulcinski in 1986, have proposed to explore the moon, mine lunar regolith and use the Helium-3 for fusion. Because of the low concentrations of helium-3, any mining equipment would need to process extremely large amounts of regolith (over 150 million tonnes of regolith to obtain one ton of Helium-3), and some proposals have suggested that Helium-3 extraction be piggybacked onto a larger mining and development operation.

     

    The primary objective of Indian Space Research Organization's first lunar probe called Chandrayaan-I, launched on October 22, 2008, was reported in some sources to be mapping the Moon's surface for Helium-3-containing minerals.

     

    Cosmochemist and geochemist Ouyang Ziyuan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences who is now in charge of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has already stated on many occasions that one of the main goals of the program would be the mining of Helium-3, from which operation "each year three space shuttle missions could bring enough fuel for all human beings across the world."which is an extreme overstatement however, as one payload to GTO of current spacecraft designs is less than 4 tonnes. To "bring enough fuel for all human beings across the world", more than one Space Shuttle load (and the processing of 4 million tonnes of regolith) per week would be necessary,

     

    In January 2006, the Russian space company RKK Energiya announced that it considers lunar helium-3 a potential economic resource to be mined by 2020, if funding can be found.

     

    Mining gas giants for Helium-3 has also been proposed. The British Interplanetary Society's hypothetical Project Daedalus interstellar probe design was fueled by Helium-3 mines in the atmosphere of Jupiter, for example. Jupiter's high gravity makes this a less energetically favorable operation than extracting Helium-3 from the other gas giants of the solar system, however.

     

    To the best of memory, Cyberpunk 2020 does not mention Helium-3 and deuterium nuclear fusion power plants as a source of electricity. But I was thinking that Helium-3 might be the the reason for the future conquest of space.

     

    That aerospace companies may have dusted off their plans for the cancelled M-1 rocket engine and the one-million pound to orbit launch vehicles like the later Nova launch vehicle:

     

    Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-1_%28rocket_engine%29

    http://www.gravityassist.com/IAF1/Ref.%201-47.pdf

    http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/nova.htm

    http://www.astronautix.com/graphics/n/novamm.gif

     

    I have been thinking of naming these launch vehicles Cronus, named for the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky in Greek mythology. (Not to be confused with the personification of time.) (I don't believe that NASA would name a launch vehicle Uranus because of the common mispronunciation).

     

    Or the single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) reusable launch systems designed by Philip Bono at Douglas Aircraft Company--Hyperion, Rombus, ICARUS, Daedalus.

     

    Thoughts? Any other ideas for revising Deep Space? Addition of realistic fictional vehicles from art, novels, or film?

  15. Interesting, Master Drow. I agree that they have a cool logo.

     

    1st Space Brigade, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado – consists of 1st Space Battalion, 117th Space Battalion (Colorado Army National Guard) and 53rd Signal Battalion (SATCON)

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States...Defense_Command

     

     

    Interesting article:

    http://www.smdc-armyforces.army.mil/Pic_Ar...2_Article_6.pdf

     

  16. Sorry, it appears that I missed your responses Master Drow and Destecado.

     

    That area seems to be fond of a Germanic state. And if you look at how the EU is currently you could see a situation where Germany absorbs a smaller country like Greece and absorbs their debt too. This would economically stabilize the region and strengthen the EU as a whole. Probably won't happen any time soon, the whole Hitler thing is still too fresh, but it is a possibility.

    Rinse and repeat with several other failing countries and you could see a 4th germanic empire arise.

     

    You bring up a very interesting scenario Master Drow. Perhaps something that we might see. What happens in our real timeline if Greece decides to default on its foreign obligations to German and French banks and decides to leave the Eurozone and perhaps return to the drachma? Are the German and French banks going to take a haircut? Or are they going to go in and overthrow the Greek government and put in place a regime that is supportive of the interests of German and French banks ? Will Ireland and Portugal soon follow? Italy?

     

    What are the implications for the NATO Alliance if members of the alliance initiate military action on the other?

     

    Are we seeing the beginning of the end for the European Union or perhaps see the beginning of a monolithic European Union even more dominated by German and French interests?

     

    The Turks are pretty adamant in their attitudes towards an independent Kurdish state. in the real world Turkey has threatened to invade Northern Iraq if the Iraqi Kurds attempt to secede from Iraq and create their own independent Kurdistan. They have massed troops on the border between the two countries and have even crossed over to attack Kurdish separatist camps operating in Iraq.

     

    One of the reasons that the Turks did not become involved in the Greek invasion of Macedonia in our timeline is because of their own problems at home. Fighting for the rights and freedom of an oppressed ethnic group abroad (Macedonians) while suppressing such groups at home would be a losing proposition. Given the influx of refugees into the region, Turkey may try even harder to suppress ethnic separatists.

     

    I agree that Turkey would send in troops into the ethnic Kurd regions of Iraq to prevent secession of ethnic Kurds. It might make an interesting role-playing campaign if their was a war in the region. Kurdish independence would not come easily.

     

    That's very true that a nation cannot fight for the rights of an ethic group in another country while it suppresses dissent of that ethnic group within its borders.

  17. You're missing a few. Marine Recon, Special Forces (aka Green Berets), Specials Forces Detachment Delta (aka Delta Force), Air Force Search and Rescue. Underwater Demotions Teams. I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting as well. My guess is that it would be the domain of the Air Force since their vehicles are the ones getting them there in the first place as well as the need for specialized troops to operating in that threat environment. While calling them "Space Marines" would be hilarious I'm sure the armor would be hard to use in the constricted confines of a space habitat. Since the term Astronaut is already in use my guess is it would be something like Special Response Force Astronaut or Aerospace Operator. Knowing the real military it would be some cobbled together acronym that spells SPACE or NINJA or UBER...

     

    My intention wasn't to list all the names of United States Special Forces Units, but to point out that the obvious names for an elite Air Force space combat unit were already taken. I like the term Aerospace Operator rather than Special Response Force Astronaut.

     

     

    I would'nt bet against the military already having some folks trained i n this type of warfare. It wasn't so long ago that our major competition in the world of space exploration was the russians, and honestly it wouldn't surprise me if the soviets had their own zero g troops as well.

     

    I would wager that not only would the air force be involved but you would also have some specialists from NASA as well. If for no other reason to test things in Zero g and compare what works against what didn't.

     

    I don't know though. I have never seen anything in print to suggest that we or the Russians have these type of troops, but I would imagine in about 50 years we will.

     

    Maybe part of the Russian Air Force or Russian Strategic Rocket Forces?

     

     

    G-Force... :D

     

    Micro-Gravity Combat Operator? LEO-Sec? 102 Spaceborne Infantry?

     

    Orbital Operations Contractor (COO), Orbital Ops Detachment (OOD), Orbital Assault, Orbi-Sec, Black-Sky Force, Militarised Extra Vehicular Operations, Space-mobile Operations Group (SMOG?)...

     

     

    Any of them work?

     

    Certainly gives me ideas of how to flesh this unit out. :)

     

     

    Wikipedia to the rescue again. I was doing research and found a page on the United States Air Force Security Forces:

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States...Security_Forces

     

    Reading through the article I found out about the Strategic Air Command's Elite Guard or "Blue Berets":

     

    Source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Air...and_Elite_Guard

    http://www.saceliteguard.com/

     

     

    What if there was an Air Force Space Command Elite Guard or "Blue Berets"?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Space_Command

     

    Or maybe just imagine United States Air Force Security Forces Elite Guard or "Blue Berets."

     

    I really like the name "Blue Berets".

     

    Thank you all for your participation. You have given me a lot more ideas to consider. Thanks.

  18. In Near Orbit, if memory serves, the United States Air Force is the branch of the United States military that is very active in space. With scramjet technologies, a series of low and high orbit fighters, laser sats, spy sats, and other space superiority weapons.

     

    But what about space combat operations in Zero-G and Low-G environments such as near orbit, O'Neal colonies, and moonbase(s) that are owned by the United States or corporate entities of the United States?

     

    Does the United States Air Force have a force of elite troops trained for combat in Zero-G or Low-G combat? Such as the SEAL Teams of the United States Navy? Under Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)?

     

    What might these troops be called? The United States Army already uses the term Rangers and Pathfinders and the Marine Corps already uses the term Marines.

     

    What might one call the United States Air Force SPECOPS team(s) trained for combat in space?

     

    I presume that they could be deployed from the three space shuttles operated by the United States Air Force. I imagine that they are named after the revolutionary war warships or ships of the continental navy. Thinking Constitution, Constellation, and Intrepid. Remember that Freedom was the original name of what became the International Space Station (ISS).

     

    I am thinking that the names Enterprise and Ranger would be used by NASA for Block II space shuttles or other space vehicles.

     

    Kitty Hawk, Valley Forge, could be names for United States Air Force space vehicles.

     

    I also presume that we could add cyberspace-warfare to the responsibilities of the United States Air Force.

     

    The emphasis on space operations may have been one of the reasons why it relinquished responsibility for the Close Air Support (CAS) role to the United States Army and perhaps some of the air transport as well. I imagine that in the Cyberpunk universe, the United States Air Force, United States Army, and United States Navy may have re-negotiated the Key West Agreement of 1948.

     

    I could see the United States Air Force throwing a tantrum if the SEALS now stood for SEa Air Land and Space. How United States Air Force Trailblazer Units?

  19. Isn't it spelled drug trafficking with a k?

     

    I imagine that it is close to the Island of Vilena ruled by General Garza. ;) By the way, does anyone have a decent graphic of the fictional Vilena flag from the motion picture The Expendables?

     

    Which reminds me of the list of fictional countries on Wikipedia:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_countries

     

    Since most of us are not familiar with the numerous islands in the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean, I presume that fictional islands can also be created in a Cyberpunk campaign.

     

    The same being true in the Indonesia archipelago with its 17,500 islands.

     

    Since I cannot draw for the life of me, there is also the "Fictional Flags" section of the Flags of the World web site:

    http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fic.html#africa

     

    There is also "A Flag" topic at the Alternate History Discussion Boards:

    http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion...ead.php?t=29233

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