Psychohistory experiments

[McPerth]

I don't use to be thread necromancer, but I was just reviewing TD 20 and in its page 27, the history of world R'bak (Reft 1314 B387777-3) made me remember this old thread (and the other ones refereing to the same history).

While not exactly what asked, I guess it might do. Time ago the space habits lost contact with the planet and the planet receeded to barbarism, now rebuilding its civilization and observed from the space hábitats that have the starport (and whose TL is not specified). I guess the space habitats would be Academy's if adapted.

Yet, its TL is lower that what you asked (3) and is quite unreachable by usual ships (having to cross a J7 gap to reach the Imperium).

 

[Carlobrand]

... and is quite unreachable by usual ships (havin to cross a J7 gap to reach the Imperium).

Most freighters can pull that off by carrying hydrogen in the cargo bay - demountable tanks. They're unlikely to try it, but a university could commission a ship to get there that way if it felt there was something to look at. Return trip's a problem unless there's a gas giant or they're willing to go ice mining.

 

[McPerth]

Most freighters can pull that off by carrying hydrogen in the cargo bay - demountable tanks. They're unlikely to try it, but a university could commission a ship to get there that way if it felt there was something to look at. Return trip's a problem unless there's a gas giant or they're willing to go ice mining.

It has GG.

In any case I see in the Traveller map it has been changed (its UWP there is X587777-2. Still red zone, though)

 

[Ulsyus]

But what sort of experiments? They will have to be kept secret from the locals (so as not to contaminate the results, of course). This is a rich, powerful institution, but funds are still going to be finite. That and the need for discretion will limit the scope. So if you were an institute scholar eager to get a research project of your very own, what schemes would you submit to the Planning Board?

Hans

Identification of genetic predisposition to the commission of sex offences, then modifying the population to remove that set of alleles in order to determine if changes to culture can then be introduced to eliminate over time that crime category from Imperial space.

Just a thought. Social good and all that. Surely no-one would object to that? It's for the good of the Imperium!

 

[RandyB]

Identification of genetic predisposition to the commission of sex offences, then modifying the population to remove that set of alleles in order to determine if changes to culture can then be introduced to eliminate over time that crime category from Imperial space.

Just a thought. Social good and all that. Surely no-one would object to that? It's for the good of the Imperium!

Until it becomes "removal of the Y chromosome"...

 

[Ulsyus]

A society may head in that direction, going to reproduction by cloning or such and reducing sex from a necessary function to only recreational. That's a pretty significant cultural drift away from what is currently the human norm though.

Could be a world somewhere in the 3I though...

 

[Enoki]

A society may head in that direction, going to reproduction by cloning or such and reducing sex from a necessary function to only recreational. That's a pretty significant cultural drift away from what is currently the human norm though.

Could be a world somewhere in the 3I though...

Worse would be an androgynous society that has eliminated sex and uses artificial means to reproduce. There is literally no difference between any member of society and they work like ants in a colony. Something like Philip Farmer described in one of the Well of Souls series, among other sci fi.

 

[Murphy]

A society may head in that direction, going to reproduction by cloning or such and reducing sex from a necessary function to only recreational.

There's a book about such a planet in L.M.Bujold's Barrayar series, "Ethan of Athos". It works surprisingly well in that book, except for contact with outside world, which is when hilarity ensues.

 

[Ulsyus]

There's a book about such a planet in L.M.Bujold's Barrayar series, "Ethan of Athos". It works surprisingly well in that book, except for contact with outside world, which is when hilarity ensues.

Got it, but it's the only one of hers that I haven't read. Kept getting distracted by Banks and later Abercrombe...

Cherryh's "Cyteen" and "Regenesis" are interesting for the concepts they introduce that have to do with breeding a population

 

[Timerover51]

A society may head in that direction, going to reproduction by cloning or such and reducing sex from a necessary function to only recreational. That's a pretty significant cultural drift away from what is currently the human norm though.

Could be a world somewhere in the 3I though...

Go read A. C. Clarke's The City and the Stars. The Wikipedia has a fairly good description of it.

 

[Ulsyus]

The inhabitants of the first city described in the novel would be the equivalents of Relicts, found in the B³ on p119.

 

[McPerth]

I don't see most of your suggestions as psicohistory experiments, but genetic/cromosomic ones (though they have their sociological implications).

 

[RandyB]

I don't see most of your suggestions as psicohistory experiments, but genetic/cromosomic ones (though they have their sociological implications).

Think of a psychohistorical experiment that created a cultural belief that expressed itself in the genetic/chromosomal work.

Clear as mud?

 

[Ulsyus]

I don't see most of your suggestions as psicohistory experiments, but genetic/cromosomic ones (though they have their sociological implications).

Just for clarification then, define psychohistory.

 

[rancke]

Just for clarification then, define psychohistory.

Psychohistory.


Hans

 

[Ulsyus]

Would one world be big enough to test upon? Would they only be looking at the impact of varying a single significant element of the society in question?

 

[McPerth]

Would one world be big enough to test upon? Would they only be looking at the impact of varying a single significant element of the society in question?

That's a good question...

The principles of the psicohistory say they need so many people as for the individual to have no real effect on it, only big trends. How much is this?

Did the imperium fail in its main psicohistory experiment because they draw the basis on too low populations before trying it?

 

[rancke]

Would one world be big enough to test upon? Would they only be looking at the impact of varying a single significant element of the society in question?

Does it matter? The Imperial Academy of the Arts and Sciences (my non-canon academic juggernaut) saw a chance to get an entire world to play with. A source of projects and the associated funding and publishing opportunities. They managed, through who knows what herculean lobbying efforts, to get this world wrested away from the Scouts. And then they proceeded to play with it. And it was all justifiable becuae it was For Science! They may have tried to get their grubby paws on more worlds. They may even have succeeded (if I ever finish the campaign and gets it published, I'll carefully not say anything one way or another; why ruin things for anyone who wants a similar but different setup?) Personally, I think not. There won't be all that many suitable worlds available, the Scouts will be even more hostile than before and can point out that IAAS already has one world and is being greedy. And the academy has probnably used up a lot of favors already. The Academy may even get a Chancellor whose conscience hasn't atrophied completely.

As long as the world remains at TL3, it will be relatively simple to keep a good number of societies pretty much isolated from each other, so I don't see that as a hindrance. I do plan on using the increased contact caused by TL5 transportation to give the PCs clues. For example, one of them will be a twin kidnapped and transported halfway across the world (leaving behind his brother -- it's a nature/nurture experiment) who will run into a sailor or a diplomat from his home country who turns out to be his brother.


Hans

 

[Ulsyus]

Given that psychohistory was originally conceived as requiring herculaen population numbers to be effective, what if the players discovered a report to this effect and were able to discern that the world was being used for an unacceptable type of testing/experimentation and that the psychohistory was just a front?

 

[rancke]

Given that psychohistory was originally conceived as requiring herculaen population numbers to be effective, what if the players discovered a report to this effect and were able to discern that the world was being used for an unacceptable type of testing/experimentation and that the psychohistory was just a front?

I don't understand your question. The player characters aren't going to get their hands on any such document, and if they did, what could they do about it (assuming it was in a form that they could read, which is pretty unlikely)?


Hans