Empress Wave

[mike wightman]

The GATU has no rebellion, so no reason to release virus, but the Empress Wave should still be a thing.

Has this ever been discussed in depth anywhere?

 

[Scratches]

Yes, the 1248 material covers it in great detail.

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/New_Era_1248_Sourcebook_1:_Out_Of_The_Darkness

You can get it at FFE, it's on the TNE Extended Canon CD. Good reading.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I just skimmed thru GT: Alien Races 1 and did not see any mention of "unkown" internal tensions or about the Empress Wave directly. Based on the info from TNE and 1248, I posted a mapping of when sectors would begin to feel the effects of the Wave:

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Empress_Wave

While spread in a more or less circular/spherical manner, by the time it is reaching Charted Space makes it a flat line. I worked out the years forwards and back from when it reaches the Spinward Marches.

Other perhaps less important but interesting Lorenverse questions are:
Is Project Longbow around?
If so
While Dulinor was getting blown up, was "the real Strephon" on Capitol or at the Longbow site?

 

[whulorigan]

Here's another thought. I know this is in the GURPS:Traveller forum, but:

How would the Empress Wave have affected the various other Galactic Regions according to the T5 Galactic Map.

http://www.travellermap.com/?options=58363&x=-252.981&y=6143.889&scale=0.0234375

How would it have impacted Galaxy-wide history prior to the Galaxiad era?

 

[aramis]

The GATU has no rebellion, so no reason to release virus, but the Empress Wave should still be a thing.

Has this ever been discussed in depth anywhere?

Virus could release itself - the GATU doesn't (as far as I've heard) say Virus isn't being developed.

Here's another thought. I know this is in the GURPS:Traveller forum, but:

How would the Empress Wave have affected the various other Galactic Regions according to the T5 Galactic Map.

http://www.travellermap.com/?options=58363&x=-252.981&y=6143.889&scale=0.0234375

How would it have impacted Galaxy-wide history prior to the Galaxiad era?

As for the empress wave and the others... Are we certain it's spherical? (I've not read 1248.) If it's not, that's 50KPC from the strongest canonical known point (the ~4000Pc from the rest of the known space coreward end of the Zhodani Core Expeditions)... roughly 15K to 20K Pc from the center (and

While the other big places are ≥30,000 Pc away from there.

So, if it's a sphere centered near that 15K Pc from center, then it's not going to hit them for a while. It may be too weak to affect them by then.

If it's a sphere centered near the galactic core, then they're likely to be suffering it about the same time as the Imperial space.

As I recall, it affects psions worse than non-psions. So how it would affect them would be determined by their rates of psionics, and where the origin is, and it's propagation methods.

I expect Galaxiad will have sometheing more.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

As to sizes and such...

As for the empress wave and the others... Are we certain it's spherical? (I've not read 1248.) If it's not, that's 50KPC from the strongest canonical known point (the ~4000Pc from the rest of the known space coreward end of the Zhodani Core Expeditions)... roughly 15K to 20K Pc from the center (and

While the other big places are ≥30,000 Pc away from there.

Perhaps not spherical, but certainly round. The info more or less corresponds to the Zhodani exodus mentioned in TNE and the Mongoose Zhodani Alien Module.

Today, in 1248, the Empress Wavefront is over 130 lightyears (more than 40 parsecs) closer. It passed into what had been Imperial space in 1205, along a line roughly equivalent to the Coreward boundaries of the Spinward Marches, Deneb, Corridor, Vland, Lishun and Antares sectors. At this vast distance from the Core, the curve of the Wavefront is fairly small, so Imperial cartographers tend to assume a straight wavefront. This is not strictly accurate, but the waveform is not uniform anyway. There are localized ‘fore-ripples’ and areas of weaker and stronger radiation caused by superposition of harmonics in the wave. A rough line is the best that can be plotted on such a huge scale.
In 1248, the Wavefront is 13 parsecs into what had been the territory of the Third Imperium. It is 5 parsecs Coreward of Vland in the sector of that name, and 4 from Rhylanor in the Spinward Marches. It has passed through the Regina system. It will reach Deneb in less than 15 years. The Empress Wavefront is 48 years from Capital and 53 from Usdiki. - 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness A Sourcebook for Traveller p.121

Related is the the Seventh Core Expedition:

Less than 400 parsecs down the route, the expedition received reports of turmoil on settled worlds coreward along the expedition’s path. When lead elements arrived in the Prinjobliedl sector in 753, they were forced to assist various worlds suffering from a variety of perplexing problems. Recognising that this required major mental health resources, the expedition commander dispatched a fast squadron back to the Consulate for assistance. The problem escalated in 760, when expedition ships refuelling in a system suddenly experienced similar issues on board their vessels...
...What was also odd was the returning data from the Seventh Core Expedition as it proceeded coreward, reporting that the problems disappeared about 2,000 parsecs coreward along the route.
Much worse was the data indicating that whatever this phenomenon was, it was travelling backwards along the route towards Zhdant at the rate of approximately one parsec a year. Thus it could be estimated that sometime in 1183, this phenomenon would strike Zhdant, ripping apart the very heart of the Consulate. This ‘effect’ was named the Fienzhatshtiavl (literally, ‘Yonder chilling thought’).
To prevent panic, the Qlomdlabr chose to suppress this information and use the resources remaining for the expeditions to evacuate Nobles in the path. Qlomdlabr-approved researchers worked to find a way to identify and detect the phenomenon, to ensure the safety of rescue efforts and to support continued study of the effect. As of 1105, the Fienzhatshtiavl extends halfway across Viajlefliez, Bleblqansh, Driasera, Dalchie Jdatl, Chit
Botshti, Anzsidiadl and Zheranzanj sectors, continuing its rimward march unabated. - Mongoose Alien Module 4: Zhodani p.70

The Wave is a coming....

 

[Nathan Brazil]

The big reveal of the Empress Wave, story wise, was done in the Out of Darkness book. The originators (more humans) of the Wave called themselves the Yaskoydri after, you guessed it, Yaskodray, were sent to the Core to observe stellar phenomenon some 300,000 years ago. It is also implied that the device which prompted the Core Expeditions was a communication device used to communicate with them in real time, though the Zhodani cannot use it properly.

I highly recommend you get the book. I encourage you to get it for the story if nothing else. There are other big reveals as well. My favorite part is the K'Kree becoming the most powerful force in Charted Space. That book is the reason I call them My Little Ponies of Death. Should not say more. Spoilers...

Oh, and Avery Aella Alkhalikoi, Emperor-Elect of the 4th Imperium...

 

[mike wightman]

Thanks for the contributions.

I have my own explanation for what the empress wave is for MTU (never liked the Yaskoydri idea).

I know they are laying the groundwork for it in MgT I just wondered if it had ever come up in GT anywhere.