Toward Zenith
Toward Zenith
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A sci-fi worldbuilding project
A sci-fi worldbuilding project
Toward Zenith is a science fiction worldbuilding project set within a fictional universe, accounting for over 350 years of exploration and discovery after the invention of faster-than-light travel, as well as two centuries leading up to it. Within this universe, a type of chemistry that differs from our own permits the existence of wildly exotic and divergent types of matter which drive the exploration of space.
Click here to read short stories set within Toward Zenith, or browse various setting topics below.
Established civilization inhabits a generationally-expanding sphere approximately 160 lightyears in diameter, centered on humanity’s home system. On the periphery, unknown exotic resources and their potential for exploitation drive an information-based economy of exploration. People inhabit all regions of space, from close-stellar orbits to the interstellar void. Bio-engineering allows people to adapt themselves to exotic environments.
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Travel between planets and moons within a single system is achieved in large part with torchships, subject to the laws of physics and orbital dynamics.
Interstellar travel between different star systems is achieved with the faster-than-light warp drive, a resource-intensive technology that can only operate between certain L1 and L2 points, or within interstellar space.
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Inter-system communication uses standard lasers subject to light lag delay.
Faster-than-light communications use stationary warp transmitters, utilizing a property of subspace where warp drives create ripples through spacetime that propagate at speeds far in excess of light speed. The transmission process is slow and cumbersome, but nevertheless forms the backbone of interstellar civilization.
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Cohesive governing bodies spanning many systems are rare. The abundance and distribution of resources across the vast reaches of space, along with the accommodating expansion rate, results in smaller-scale government and culture groups which tend to become more isolated if spread across numerous planets or stars. People nevertheless maintain social interactions across space using the uninet, enhanced by virtual reality and neural interfaces.
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An extended form of chemistry allows for a third dimension of the periodic table, where exotic particles bound to atoms lead to elements with properties divergent from their normal forms. These special atoms are called variants, and may have valuable traits that outperform their standard counterparts. Often too difficult or uneconomic to synthesize, useful variants are instead harvested from wherever they naturally occur. In some cases, a sought-after variant may be known from only one or several planets or asteroid fields, due to very particular formation requirements.
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Numerous domains of alien life have been discovered, in familiar and aggressively hostile environments alike. Most known alien life consists of only simple cellular organisms, while macroscopic life is relatively rare.
Only one instance of sentient alien life is known to exist, a civilization that was apparently in the process of colonizing a galaxy over 7 billion years ago. As the civilization is not evident elsewhere, its present-day status is unknown.
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The devastating capabilities of even the most basic of weapons or weaponizable technologies have the potential to completely overcome the most effective and advanced defensive systems. Additionally, human population groups are generally sparse, with resources abundant and scattered. As such warfare itself is a rare occurrence, though a variety of offensive and defensive military technology is commonplace throughout society to ensure an effective deterrence.
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