I've got a new idea. While thinking about the Ringworld, it occured to me that you could replace the shadow squares with a Dyson Sphere that has a radius equal to the orbit of Mercury. Instead of 10 shadow squares, you have 10 windows equal to the gaps between in the Dyson Sphere, to let light reach the ringworld.
The Dyson Sphere has another function, its a giant computer powered by the Sun. The inner surface contains photovoltaics, outside of that are computer circuits and information storage for a gigantic computer of astronomical proportions. The computer runs a simulation of the Earth orbiting its Sun with 6 billion+ simulated humans thinking its the year 2005. The computer simulates everything on this simulated Earth down to atomic level using vast parallel processors. Also in this simulated world there are gates matching counterpart gates located on the ringworld. When a simulated human enters one of these gates in the simulation, the computer transfers that person's molecular information to a real gate on the ringworld and nanotechnology within the real gate constructs a real human based on the simulated date from the Cyber-Sphere. The real gate works the other way too. A real person who enters the real gate in the ringworld is rapidly broken down atom by atom before he even realizes it, and is turned into a human simulation run in the Stellar Cyber-Sphere. Most of the Denizens of the simulated Earth aren't aware of the existance of these gates and are blissfully unaware that they are living in a computer simulated historical recreation, but a few have discovered these gates and make repeated visits to the ringworld.
This is a good device for transfering D20 Modern characters to the Traveller setting with certain modifications in the transition.
The Dyson Sphere has another function, its a giant computer powered by the Sun. The inner surface contains photovoltaics, outside of that are computer circuits and information storage for a gigantic computer of astronomical proportions. The computer runs a simulation of the Earth orbiting its Sun with 6 billion+ simulated humans thinking its the year 2005. The computer simulates everything on this simulated Earth down to atomic level using vast parallel processors. Also in this simulated world there are gates matching counterpart gates located on the ringworld. When a simulated human enters one of these gates in the simulation, the computer transfers that person's molecular information to a real gate on the ringworld and nanotechnology within the real gate constructs a real human based on the simulated date from the Cyber-Sphere. The real gate works the other way too. A real person who enters the real gate in the ringworld is rapidly broken down atom by atom before he even realizes it, and is turned into a human simulation run in the Stellar Cyber-Sphere. Most of the Denizens of the simulated Earth aren't aware of the existance of these gates and are blissfully unaware that they are living in a computer simulated historical recreation, but a few have discovered these gates and make repeated visits to the ringworld.
This is a good device for transfering D20 Modern characters to the Traveller setting with certain modifications in the transition.
