Solar Storms

"And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3: 4-5 (KJV)

Half a million years ago, humanity learned the secret of fire. Setting themselves apart from the animals that surrounded them, mankind took its first step out from under the oppressive thumb of Nature.

Seventy thousand years ago, humanity learned to speak. Though they were able to communicate before, no longer were they limited to nasal grunts and clicks of the tongue. From Africa, they conquered the Earth.

Twelve thousand years ago, humanity learned to harvest. Where once there were thousands, in time, there would be billions.

Six thousand years ago, humanity learned to write. Where once the knowledge of previous generations had to be endlessly repeated, it could now be seen for all eternity.

Not so many decades past, humanity unlocked the power within the atom. For good, and for ill, even the most ignorant amongst the masses could not help but respect the smallest of things.

In the dawning decades of the 21st century, humanity laid bare the secrets of aging, and Science found for mankind the Fountain of Youth. The secrets of fusion were finally unlocked, and the first artificial sapiences were created.

During the 22nd century, humanity began to leave Earth, and conquered the Solar System. Probes visited nearby stars, and missions were launched to colonize those terrestrial worlds found orbiting them.

The developments of the 23rd century are difficult to so curtly summarize. Tachyons and new, exotic forms of matter were discovered, enabling mankind in ways only theorized before.

But some things went beyond theory.

During their unceasing quest to conquer the light barrier, humanity cheated. The mobius patterns seemed to defy the second law of thermodynamics, offering no explanation for their capabilities. Most were small, and fragile, but they were something else.

They were life.

It was decades before humans became aware of just what they had done. Before their intervention, the multiverses... megaverses... whatever, were happily colliding away, self-immolating, only to be reborn anew, with no such thing as a memory of their previous state.

But then humans brought a piece of this immolation, this rebirth, into their own realm, and began to bend it to their will.

This delicate flicker threatened to become an inferno that would sweep the Galaxy, and beyond, in a massive storm.

Such presumption of divinity did not go unnoticed in the infinite expanse. Forces numerous, ancient and mighty arrayed themselves against the nascent power, seeking to end the people of Sol and claim humanity's unique discoveries for their own.

Though their sun no longer adds its light to the Milky Way, many humans have survived the Purge, scattering across the Galaxy in a great diaspora.

Millennia later, though there are many ashes, some glowing embers of the human spirit remain.

Time passes, and even the seemingly immortal descendants of humanity flow from one generation to the next. Wars are forgotten, records are lost, people - and their species - change.

In the Void, a few remember, and continue the ancient search for their dark star. Should they find it, and lift the shroud that surrounds it, Sol's light will grace the Universe once more.

Should this happen, the embers will once more alight in flames, and none are so certain that the Solar Storms can be stopped a second time.

There are others who remember.

The Game

Solar Storms is a science-fantasy setting and role-playing game, with largely transhuman and gnostic elements, using a custom role-playing system that I plan to design in the near future.

I hope you enjoy your time here.

It's been nearly two years since I began this project, and I think I have the shell ready. What I need now is criticism, so, if that's your thing, please contact me (Xeriar), through the forums or other means, and fire away. The Overview is a good place to start, it functions as a less structured timeline (which isn't complete). See Questions for a list of answers to common game questions. Right now, though, this is a setting, so I'm focusing on fleshing that out first.