Re: [OFFICIAL] Background thoughts...

> > >One of the things that I would like to see is an explaination of
how big
> >human space is, i.e. how many inhabited planets there are etc.
> 
> Well, this is something I've always resisted tying down too closely,
> because if we ever to an "exhaustive" planets/colonies list and/or a
map
> then it really limits players' and scenario writers' possibilities for
> introducing their own settings. My own preference is that there are a
> handful of Inner Colonies (10-20 systems at the most) the majority of
which
> are settled by several different nations - there is a LOT of room on
one
> planet, look at the one we've got now! Moving outward we have the
> Outworlds, which are more numerous (assuming human-explored space to
be an
> expanding sphere) but mostly will have only very small settlements,
usually
> from one nation, corporation or whatever. Most systems reasonably
close to
> Sol will have some kind of settlement, on orbital stations if there is
no
> remotely-habitable world insystem. The few real "garden worlds" will,
I
> think, be quite heavily colonised because they will be quite rare;
less
> habitable real-estate may have only a few tiny scientific or mining
bases.
> Corporations, fringe groups, political/religious refugees etc. may all
have
> their own little settlements, which might be in remote regions of the
Inner
> Colony worlds or may be true outposts of humanity on the Outworlds.
> 
> Jon (GZG)
> 
Well if I remember rightly you can travel a light year in a day?  
So if you spent an entire year in Hyperspace you could get out to 365 
light years from earth.  Now this doesn't take into account how far 
you can travel before refuelling.  To refuel of course requires 
colonies or bases properly equipped.  Or perhaps with fusion power 
maybe all you need is a certain amount of water.   In any case we 
could assume that no ship travels for an entire year in Hyperspace.  
Perhaps we should halve the time allowed.  Then we are talking about 
approximately 150-200 light year sphere  of exploration for humanity. 
 Of course they may well have explored beyond this but perhaps we 
could regard this as the core of humanitys expansion.  The distances 
involved and the time required to travel from one side	of the sphere 
of the other would mean that you would need sector fleets to patrol 
areas of space.  These are only vague ramblings so if anyone would 
care to refine and correct any errors in my thinking feel free.
----------------------
Niall Gilsenan,
DIT, Cathal Brugha St,
Dublin, Ireland.