EarthShine

[Numbers]

Genre; Sci Fi

 

Background

 

 

 

It is the year 2279. The end of the decade draws near, and for the human race, it has been a largely successful one. The dream of space travel has taken two steps closer to man’s grasp, with the invention of the Van Allen MAgnetic Dynamos- VAMADs- that significantly reduce the amount of fuel required to move a spacecraft into orbit. Billions of dollars have gone into research projects benefiting astronomy, NASA has gained more recruitment applications than any other decade in history; and then there was Irid-1089.

 

In 2278, a relatively unknown scientist discovered the presence of a single pillar of solid iridium on the dark side of the moon. How it had escaped observation over 200 years of man’s dabbling with the Great Black Beyond is unknown, but it sparked controversy across the globe.

 

This year, NASA intended to move the pillar from its resting place on the lunar surface down to Earth for study. However, before they could, a blast of beta radiation was emitted from the column. Luckily, no one was severely affected by the radiation, and it went smoothly from there.

 

The pillar had numerous scratches on its surface in a linear fashion. Scientists failed to work out any sort of message from them, and so the hype about alien messages died down fairly quickly.

 

Then in October of 2279, NASA received a letter from someone claiming to have worked out a message from a picture of the pillar. They immediately brought them to NASA and began work on the code, which seemed to be a set of identification numbers and names from an alien civilisation. It resembled the texts written on the sides of space shuttles, and proved the existence of alien races.

 

November. There has been little progress with the message, but one night, there was a huge explosion in the warehouse containing the column. Investigations found that there had been a chamber inside the pillar. It seems there might have been something held within the pillar. Also, there was another message, but also a small computer built into one side. Twelve men working around the clock finally cracked the code on December 17th, 2279.

 

The message on the inside of the pillar translated as a set of instructions. It spoke of harvesting iron, gold and calcium from various planets with large natural satellites. It detailed how to deal with any hostile native species on the planet.

 

And it ordered the crashing of a moon into the planet’s surface.

 

This would almost certainly demolish the planet, making an asteroid field from which metals could be gathered. It would also mean the end of the world and the death of humanity.

 

And on that day, December 17th, 2279, an armada literally materialised around the Earth.

 

The next morning, the media was going crazy about the appearance of life apart from our own. Few noticed the smaller side story that the warehouse containing the iridium pillar, the adjoining laboratories and small, nearby army outpost had disappeared.

 

 

You wake up outside the research lab, surrounded by glass and some rubble. However, despite the 8 AM alarm on your watch going off, it is almost pitch black. A ray of sunlight pours in through a distant window and lights up the cargo hold of the alien ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Classes

 

Astronomer Scientist

 

 

 

 

-You are the scientist who discovered Irid-1089. Your observational skills are immense. However, you are also worried about the assassinations. You do not work directly for NASA, but they are running out of scientists, and it is likely that the killer would move onto the satellite organisations.

 

-Your advantage is that you will notice things in the environment that others will not, and so basic rooms will be easier for you to search and notice key objects. This makes you an excellent reconnaissance unit. You will also be able to use most scientific devices. You were one of the scientists who worked on the computer in the pillar and so have an understanding of the alien technology. However, your memory is not great, and you will not be able to remember small details from objects that you have seen in previous hours. You are also an enthusiastic marksman, and have frequently outgunned many US Soldiers, winning you many drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US Army Officer (Lieutenant Colonel)

 

 

 

 

-You are an officer in the US Army, and was one of the men who retrieved Irid-1089 from the Moon last year. You were chosen for your strength and stamina, which outstrip the considerable accolades that average astronauts hold. Your observational skills are relatively good, although you are more of a tactician than a strategist. The puzzles you are most able to solve may involve physical movement of objects into patterns, or the deployment of forces within alien starships. You are also a hand to hand specialist, but your shooting skills are oddly below average, despite your rank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Child Prodigy

 

 

 

 

-You are the person who cracked the code of the alien messages. As a result, you can easily read the script of these aliens. You are also brilliant at puzzles; the intellectual puzzles you face will be much easier than the ones that other characters may face. However, due to your relatively young age, you are not brilliant in terms of athletic ability. You are a decent sprinter, but lack the brute strength that US officers have, for example, and as a seventeen year old, you have little to no experience with firearms. You also have a photographic memory, but can sometimes fail to notice objects that may be important. Once they are pointed out to you, you will remember them perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

Character Sheet

 

 

Type (Scientist, Officer, Prodigy):

 

Name :

 

Home town/Country :

 

Hair Colour :

 

Eye Colour :

 

Any additional personality/appearance information (optional) :

 

 

 

 

You will have noticed in the character descriptions, no doubt, that a perfect team will consist of each of the skills each type brings. This means that when you are together, things will be extremely easy to do. However, a lot of time, you will be in vast areas, and it makes sense to split up. Once you first meet, you will each have a cellphone, so as to be able to easily contact each other.

 

Also, bear in mind that there must be at least three players, one of each class, but despite the use of the singular forms throughout, there can be more players if more than three want to join.

 

Right, the use of the rules;

 

The Minimum post length; I'm obliged to use about 4 lines of text for each IC post. This might be hard to do in such a puzzle based RP, so I will allow more than one action as an attempt to complete a puzzle, that is, you can offer different solutions which would be tried in the order you suggest them. Should there be an effect from the first solutions, then I will notify you in game. If it has literally no effect upon the next action, as in, there was only a colour change in the paint or something like that, then your second attempt will go through. You can depict actions within the post, as every detail is important, which would help the post length.

 

Dialogue must be done within speech marks. It makes little sense to do otherwise.

 

Having varied characters will influence what happens to you. Having a short tempered person may actually cause you to inadvertently escape being crushed by a falling object, for example. Try not to bring in characters that have already been done. We don't need a Yusei, or a Sora, or an Ichigo aboard an alien spacecraft because a) it would be silly, and b) you aren't likely to be able to do what they do.

 

In certain places, I will contact you via PM concerning something that happens. This is likely to be an answer to a description question. It is your job to relay that information to your colleagues if you so wish, as what they see and what you see will almost always be different. This must be done through speech.

 

Yeah, this will be a lot more complex than your regular RPGs, but I am confident that it will work.