Re: [SGII] Psi Powers in Stargrunt

At 10:21 PM 9/8/98 -0500, you wrote:
>You wrote: 
>
>>	Now the Terrans, on the other hand....	My inspiration for the 
>Terran >Espers is a book entitled "Dream Baby", by (I think) Bruce 
>McAllister, >which details the military use of psychics during the 
>Vietnam War.  Yes, >it's fiction....  Anyway, McAllister's view of 
>psychic powers is that they >are generally very passive (clairvoyance, 
>heightened reaction time, >precognition), and are a survival mechanism 
>triggered by deep stress. >Combat, in other words.  An additional 
>source of inspiration was the very >brief use of Espers by Heinlein 
>during "Starship Troopers", which gives us >a picture of Espers as an 
>intelligence gathering tool--and a fragile tool, >at that.
>
>It also reminds me of the usage of Sensitives in RAH's Future History 
>(particularly the story If This Goes On--) as being really, really 
>secure radios, but generally not fully functional humans.  "Crowded in 
>behind me was a psychoperator and his crew of sensitives, eight women 
>and a neurotic fourteen-year-old-boy." They operated by establishing a 
>'channel' between them and a sensitive elsewhere, which was usually 
>aided by hypnotics and possibly drugs.  Good rules, can't wait to see 
>the Imperial Thoughtcasters.  :)  They of course wouldn't show in my 
>normal background, but might make for an interesting change of pace, 
>esp with the alien rules someone else posted.
>
>John M. Atkinson
>

You don't need to change the Imperials to make them alien.  Not at all!
Here's how I see it:

The Imperials are...old.  Very old.  And very, very decadent.  They are
not
human, (save in a curious biological sense), and do not think or act as
human beings do.  The entire society has long since passed the point of
mere decadence, really, and has entered into a state of total madness.
Ever known a really bitter old man?  The kind of guy who knows damned
well
that he is not as strong, not as smart, and not nearly as feared or
respected as he was when he was in his prime?  The kind of guy who will
not
admit this decline to anyone, himself included?  Give this old guy a
really
big shotgun, a bad case of the DTs, and a rusty old Bowie knife, and you
pretty much have the Imperium as I see it.

The Imperium as a whole has been slowly but surely gearing themselves up
for a really spectacular racial suicide, while never conciously becoming
aware of this fact.  They have passed their prime; they no longer really
WANT to live.  They are just going through the motions.  Old habits die
hard....

How many Imperial citizens does it take to change a lightbulb (Keeping
in
mind that the lightbulb in question has been burning for over a thousand
years now)?

None.  He just resigns himself to sitting in the dark for the rest of
his
life.

Assault weapons have become ridiculously inaccurate, forcing their users
to
get right on top of their foe if they wish to succeed in shooting him.
Uniforms and personal armor is painted in garish colors and patterns,
making it EASIER for the enemy to see their target.  And shoot him.

And their tanks?  They are designed to MAZIMIZE the chance that an
incoming
shot will be a kill.  Flat sides, concave angles, exposed tracks...all
combine to make even a close miss potentially deadly.  The typical
Imperial
grunt is expected to be dead within six months of beginning active
service.

And the Terrans?  The Terrans are the loaded gun, the cyanide capsule.
After less than two decades of contact, the Terrans have already managed
to
assimilate (and improve) Imperial technology, through
reverse-engineering
captured and smuggled materials.  As matters currently stand, the
Imperium's only real advantage lies in their superior numbers.	And the
Imperium has become very used to throwing armed bodies at problems until
they go away.

And now they are ready to start throwing them at Earth.

I am in the midst of trying to write a piece of fiction to explain all
of
this in a slightly more coherent fashion; success has been mixed thus
far.
I've finished the first half, but the second is proving more difficult
to
articulate than I had originally thought.  When/if it gets finished, I
will
post it on my web page.

And of course, I have plans for the Orks, Eldar, and Tyrannids, too....

John Crimmins
johncrim@voicenet.com