Food of The Future: Shmeat

Shmeat (short for sheet of lab-grown meat) is a lab-created meat product; essentially, animal tissue which has been cloned for the purpose of consumption without killing live, fully formed animals. This technology has been around since the late 20th century, but did not see wide public use until the late 2020s. After years of testing and refinement, a wide range of different meat products became available to a hungry populace. It is now an ever expanding market, especially in drought-affected regions, starships and the colonies.
Such in-vitro meat has a number of advantages. Being just a lump of cultivated cells, it is produced without harm or cruelty to animals. It is unusually pure and healthy whilst retaining the original flavour, texture and appearance of traditional meat. Perhaps most importantly, it requires far less water and energy to produce, greatly lessening the impact on the environment.
Shmeat products can be found throughout settled space. The most well-known meat types are "beef" "chicken" and "pork" but vaguely unrecognizable but familiar types are also very common. Most pre-packaged foods that include meat of some kind in-fact use shmeat. Some of the most widespread shmeat products are:
Burrito: A favorite amongst UCNP, miners and college students, burritos are widely sold and consumed. Each burrito is a spicy alternative to a tube of food paste found in the survival pack detailed on page 10 under Adventuring Gear.
Chili: A spicy favorite, sold in a self-heating canister, this soupy mixture included "beef" shmeat and beans in a red-brown sauce. Though supplying the benefits of a full meal, this canned chili is salty, and consumers will need to drink alongside this meal.
Meat Pie: A small pastry filled with shmeat (any type, or a mix), and a brown gravy. This greasy treat is loved by laborers beat cops, sec police and assorted night workers.
Not-Dog Hot-Dog: Any kind of shmeat can be made into sausages of all kinds, but none are as popular as the hot dog. Shmeat hot dogs are normally of the caseless kind, but natural casings are sometimes used.
Soylent Meat Spread: Made from in-vitro meat derived from unspecified proteins mixed with Manna algae. This nutritious, salty treat (spread on soy crackers) was originally developed on the formerly lost Betelgeuse mining expedition, but has since become quite popular.
SPORK: A ham and pok shmeat product that comes in a can. This sweet and salty product is greatly loved by those who lead an active life, and who need a jolt of fat and sugar. One can can serve as a days rations, but is usually used as part of a meal (such as fried alongside eggs or in a sandwich).

Note: This, along with Manna, is very real, and will be seen in stores in the near future. Shmeat is slowly being brought up to viability as a widely distributed food product, and may already have some "tester" products showing up in discount food stores and fast food restaurants. 
I am not necessarily against shmeat, but I am very wary. As with all new products, the earlier versions of shmeat are almost guaranteed to be fraught with their own pitfalls. I also lack any real trust for the corporations involved to not take disgusting shortcuts along the way. Thing pink slime is gross? Just wait! The future is bright with salty-tasting grossness...

Sexy Space-Suits At Last!

Lets face it, many of us who grew up on a diet of sceince fiction have often envisioned assorted space babes (or space hunks) dressed in close fitting space suits. However, in the real world, sexy is the last thing that is thought of when looking to protect astronauts from the many forms of horrible death that space travel entails.

Still, it looks like truth may be once again catching up with (science) fiction, as new types of space getup's are being developed. Perhaps the sweaty teenaged dreams of Colonel Wilma Deering in her skin-tight outfits may not be far off from the truth. Rawr!

Researchers at MIT are working on a prototype for a skintight bodysuit that will help astronauts mitigate bone loss while outside earth’s orbit. Made of elastic mesh, the suit applies pressure on the bones, much like what gravity does to landlubbers down here. But although the Gravity-loading Countermeasure Skinsuit (GLCS) is helping keeping astronauts’ bodies healthy, it’s also giving them a glammed-down Ziggy Stardust vibe—completely apropos considering that manned missions to Mars are on the horizon.

Food of The Future: Manna

"Nothing wrong with dog's milk. Full of goodness, full of vitamins, full of marrowbone jelly. Lasts longer than any other type of milk, dog's milk." -Holly, Red Dwarf

Food is an important part of life, and can help bridge the gap between the real world and the imagined. Storytelling of most kinds can benefit from food, allowing us to better envision an imagined world via our association with food. In science fiction, we can easily ignore the fact that people need to eat. What food may or may-not be available in the future is a subject of debate. But it is likely that as living space dwindles here on Earth, and the hunger of the worlds populations grows, that we will need to pursue a wider range of foodstuffs.
In my X-Plorers setting, "Terry Go Home!", there are ccertain food staples found throughout the setting. Player characters will encounter these foods, and will be well acquainted with them. Below is one of them.


Manna
Manna is a catchall term for several species of blue-green algae such as chlorella and spirulina (as well as modified strains) that are highly useful as a renewable food source. Manna is high in protein and other essential nutrients, and has become a staple amongst colonists, spacers and the poor. As manna reguires only water, warmth and light to grow, it is very easy to maintain a steady supply.
Most spaceships (class 2 and up) come equipped with "Manna Farms" which grow a small amount of this foodstuff, processing it into several forms determined by the farms design. Manna is itself mostly tasteless (remeniscent of green tea) but holds introduced flavors with "chocolate," vanilla, peanut butter, and "fruit" flavors being the most common. The most notable forms of Manna are:
Manna Bar: Protein bars with a chewy consistency, typically chocolate, peanut butter, fruit or assorted mixes of all of the above. This is a common ration when exploring a planet and amongst the poor of Terra.
Manna Shake: This is a "milkshake" like substance (similar to ensure) that combines all of the nutritional value of a full meal, as well as quenching thirst. Commonly flavored in chocolate or vanilla.
Food Paste: This is the same substance found in the survival pack detailed on page 10 under Adventuring Gear. It is normally flavored.
Spacers Gruel: The simplest form of Manna, this food product is a soupy substance with a consistency optimistically compared to cream of wheat. As well as supplying the benefits of a full meal, spacers gruel also aids in the absorption of water (somewhat like Gatorade) and delivers stimulants needed to start the day. Spacers gruel is not normally flavored, it is just food.
Other Variants: Manna is sometimes made into a wide range of other substances, though these are used primarily on established colonies or on the larger ships. These variants include a protein spread (similar to Vegemite), ice cream, puff snacks and breakfast cereals.


New Equipment


Manna Farm, Basic ( 100cr): This is a small unit designed to maintain and cultivate a small amount of Manna for an unlimited period of time as long as it is supplied with power and filtered water. Each farm can produce enough food paste for two grown men, or enough spacers gruel for one every day. This is normally unflavored. All spaceships have this version of a Manna Farm on board.
Manna Farm, Advanced (200cr): This is a more complex version of the Manna Farm, capable of producing Manna bars, shakes, paste and gruel. Furthermore, the food produced may be flavored as desired.

Music To Game By

*Whew!*
Now that we are past the recent Holiday Season I will be able to get back into the cosmic swing and post some articles in the coming days and weeks.

Music To Game By
I like a little mood music running in the background while running a game, especially if there is a chance of distracting background noise. So here are a few videos/music samples that I feel enhance the feel that I like for Science Fiction games:

Ambient space music - Super Fata
Excellent for setting the feel of space travel, deep space or exploration of (seemingly) lifeless alien worlds.


No Quarter By Led Zeppelin
Mellow, moody and haunting, this song evokes all of the feelings I like in science fiction. Particularly useful when exploring funky alien worlds or traversing weird space anomalies. Yeah...


Birdy Nam Nam - The Parachute Endings
Birdy Nam Nam is a trip to watch and listen to! This song has all of the elements for a great chase of combat scene as well as revelations of greater threats for players. The video is pretty tasty too.


Through The Ergosphere - Simon Wilkinson
Excellent for background music for science fiction of all kinds.


X-Plorers at The Library!
I will be running a monthly X-Plorers game over at my Local Library for their Unplug and Play event. So if you are in the area, and looking for a game of X-Plorers, drop me an e-mail. This group will have a limited number of players (5 tops).

Space Gremlins (Little Green Men)

"So until we all confess
And admit we stole the candy
These little men are playing games
From here to eternity
But I'll be sitting by myself here
Waiting oh so patiently
Waiting for the sky to fall
And purge frail humanity."
-Project 86, Little Green Men
Also known as "Little Green Men," these irritating little aliens have been a source of considerable anxiety for cultures across the known galaxy. They appear, seemingly at random, and without warning. Most times these creatures are merely irritating observers, but other times they seem focused on bedeviling others with their continuous commentary and their sense of humor.
Gremlins measure around 2ft tall, have small torsos; long, frayed limbs; and spherical, bald heads. They have six fingers on each hand, and typically wear boots and trousers. They consider the human race inferior and are both interested and amused by human behavior. As they reproduce asexually, they are particularly repulsed and fascinated by human mating habits, which they will often comment upon at inappropriate tames and at great volume. On rare occasion, Space Gremlins are helpful to others offering advise or other aid, but the recipients of such "help" are rarely overjoyed during the process.
Intelligence 3d6+2 (18 max), Physique 3d6-2 (3 min)
AC 10, HD 1d4 (2 hp), THB +0, ATT 1d3 or by weapon (see below), ST 13+, MV 3, SPC Dark Vision, Clairvoyance, XP 25
Clairvoyance: Space Gremlins are all considered to be psychic as per the rules found on page 32 and 33 of the X-Plorers rulebook. All members of this species possess the powers of Clairvoyance, even if they lack the prerequisites.

Space Gremlin Equipment
Space Gremlins use a variety of gadgets particular to their kind. These devices only work for Space Gremlins and psychic beings, using the characters psychic skill to activate). Here are a few favorites:
Anti-Gravity Belt (600cr*): This device allows the Gremlin to float as though weightless. While wearing such a belt the Gremlin can fly at MV 8, and can carry 2x its normal weight allowance.
Psychic Lash (1,200 cr*): This nasty weapon emits a blast of head splitting psionic energy as the Mind Blast Telepathy power. The device itself looks like a crystal or gem mounted on a wand or staff.
Flying Saucer (30-60 million credits*): These Class 1 or Class 2 ships resemble classic flying saucers and operate the same as human built ships of the same class. The only difference is that these vessels are completely invisible to all forms of detection other than sight, sound and psychic powers. Flying Saucers only work for Space Gremlins or Psychics.
*Only available from and for Space Gremlins.

USING SPACE GREMLINS
Space gremlins are a pain in the butt, and should be played up as such. Still they are rarely outright malevolent and have been known to befriend small children (who share their sense of humor). Most encounters with Space Gremlins will be as Astral Projections, as these creatures know that other races would happily kill them for their commentary alone.
They will often show up seemingly at random, playing jokes and tattling on others. Sometimes they act as teachers, instructing those they deem "wayward" in the proper course of action.
As Symbiotic Entities: Occasionally a Space Gremlin will become "detached" from his or her body while using its Claivoyance power Projection, effectively becoming stuck in that disembodied state. As per the psychic rules on page 33, Gremlins make for excellent symbiotic entities. Such symbiotic gremlins are happy to have found a new home, but can be difficult room-mates.

Life Giving Worlds: Types and Possibilities Pt 1

As more and more extra-solar planets are discovered, scientists are considering what planets may or may not support life. Though it will be a very long time before we might conceivably reach even the closest of our neighbor stars, this study is a great potential source for science fiction writers.

Over the past several years, astronomers increasingly have been using three, somewhat overlapping, terms to describe a range of extra-Solar planets that have been, or may soon be, found. The three types of planets (or moons) are defined to be smaller than the gas giants found in the Solar System (i.e., Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Jupiter).
At least one recently discovered super-Earth and water world even may be capable of supporting microbial life. As the new decade began on January 1, 2010, more than a few astronomers appear hopeful that, within a few years or months, even Earth-like planets may be discovered that can potentially support Earth-type plants and animals.
Super-Earths: Bigger than two Earths but not as massive (and hopefully not as gaseous) as Uranus.
Water Worlds or Ocean Planets: Planets ranging from super-Earths to those smaller than Earth that may have deep oceans but little, if any, habitable land.
Earth-like Planets: Eventually, some terrestrial planets will be found in orbit around their host star's "habitable zone" and so may potentially have liquid water on their surface. They could be constrained in size to between one-half to twice Earth's mass or to between 0.8 to 1.3 times Earth's diameter.

Other odd-sounding planets include:
Iron Planets: A theoretical type of planet that consists almost entirely of iron and therefore has a greater density and a smaller radius than other terrestrial planets of comparable mass. Mercury in the Solar System has a metallic core equal to 60–70% of its planetary mass. Iron planets are believed to form in the high-temperature regions close to a star, like Mercury, and if the protoplanetary disk is rich in iron.
Coreless Planets: A theoretical type of terrestrial planet that consists of silicate rock but has no metallic core, i.e. the opposite of an iron planet. The Solar System contains no coreless planets, but chondrite asteroids and meteorites are common in it. Coreless planets are believed to form farther from the star where volatile oxidizing material is more common.
Carbon Planets: A theoretical class of planets, composed of a metal core surrounded by primarily carbon-based minerals. They may be considered a type of terrestrial planet if the metal content dominates. The Solar System contains no carbon planets, but does have carbon asteroids.

USE IN X-PLORERS (AND OTHER SCIENCE FICTION)
The uses in such a list should be apparent to any game-master, or sci-fi writer. Truth is quite often stranger than fiction after all. Imagine the strange cave formations in a Coreless Planet. X-Plorer teams have endless opportunities for explorations. As for life, consider the environment of a planet, and let your imagination drift as to what sorts of beings might live here, or how life from Earth might have to adapt itself.

U.C.N. The United Corporate Nations

"Corporation, noun: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility." -Ambrose Bierce
The United Corporate Nations is an economic and political union or confederation of hundreds of Corporations which are located primarily on Terra (Earth), Mars, and Venus. The UCN was founded 150 years ago after the Great Price Wars of 2050, to stop future wars between corporations, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It is the largest human-run government in the Galaxy, and the primary motivator for exploration.
Though each member corporation is its own sovereign state, the UCN as a whole is managed by the Executive Board, which is comprised of representatives of the 12 largest and most influential corporations. Under the board are a vast horde of representatives from the other member corporations of the UCN, who continually lobby for their own corporations and interests. This chain of command filters down to a complex bureaucracy comprised of career politicians who are widely thought to be protocol-obsessed, petty, small-minded, arrogant, ignorant, cowardly, and notoriously corrupt. But somehow it all works.
The primary concern of the UCN is to make sure that all member corporations adhere to the legal trade standards of the UCN. To ensure these policies are maintained, the UCN employs an army of Diplomats, Lawyers and assorted pencil-pushers who are the dread of all hard working people across the galaxy.

PLANETS
The center of the UCN is the Sol System, though as mankind spreads farther into the Reaches, the grip of the UCN and the relevance of Mans Home Star remains to be seen. As for now however, the following worlds are the home of most of humanity:

Terra (Earth)
The birthplace of humanity and official seat of the UCN Executive Directorship Board. This world is covered in a nearly continuous, vast city. The only exceptions to this vast panorama of city, factories and roadways are the many polluted waste zones that dot the planet. Terra is home to teeming billions of humans, with the wealthiest occupying the highest towers, with the poorest living in grim warrens on low levels or in the wastelands.
Even the Terran seas host floating and sub-surface cities, though most of these are dedicated to the growing, harvest and processing of assorted food algae. The world's natural fauna is dominated by rats, flies, cockroaches and canines, while plant life is composed largely of weeds, cacti and other wild desert plants. Other animals and plants are only to be found in zoos, labs or as exotic pets. All but the wealthiest here live short lives, aging quickly in a toxic environment. Small wonder that here was born the hunger to explore and conquer the cosmos.

Mars
This dry planet was terraformed by land and resource hungry Terrans over a century ago. This world now has its own ecosystem, including genetically engineered animals. Mars is dryer and colder that Terra, but is comfortable for humankind and Terran animals and plants. Many species long extinct on Terra are thriving species here, though they are physically adapted to the lower gravity such as the gracile elephant and megaparrot (see examples). Terran bats in-particular have adapted well, growing to a wingspan of eight feet.
Martian-born humans possess a zest for life that is unmatched anywhere else is the Sol system. They are characteristically tall, thin people with pale complexions and large eyes from generations in the lighter gravity of Mars.

Venus
This jungle world was terraformed around the same time as Mars, and boasts a genetically engineered ecosystem reminiscent of Terra's prehistoric past. The world itself is largely covered with a shallow sea dotted with thousands of islands. The three continents named Phoebe, Ishtar, Labda and Aphrodite (see map). Ishtar and Labda are temperate while Aphridite and Phoebe are both tropical, though kept from growing too humid by steady ocean breezes.
The people of Venus are energetic, passionate people known for their boisterous festivals. Art. music and dance are great passions here, and the planets cities are always bedecked with elaborate artworks.

Other Worlds
Sol System hosts numerous smaller colonies, from orbital space cities to domed colonies amongst the systems smaller planets, asteroids and moons. Several of note are:
Astropolis: This is a massive space city located at the Lagrangian Point L2 between Terra and Luna. It is the oldest of such "space cities" and quite famous.
Ceres: This dwarf planet is located in the Sol Asteroid belt, and so has been extensively colonized in the 2100s as a main base and transport hub for future asteroid mining infrastructure. Now it sports extensive domes that cover the entire planet.
Io: One of the moons of Jupiter. A rocky world, by the 2100s Io has been colonized by humans who have built domed cities in order to create a suitable atmosphere for living. This is a wealthy world, ruled by Olympus Mining Industries.
Luna: The moon of Terra was the first major colonial effort of Terra, and thus is extensively developed. The majority of the colonies on Luna are underground, and are extensive.
Mimas: Mimas is a moon of Saturn which is also sometimes called Saturn I. Mimas was colonized by humans by the mid 2100's and became a popular holiday destination for spaceship crews and civilians alike. Mimas is corrupt, overcrowded, and has a high crime-rate. Traffic Jams were so large that deaths aren't uncommon due to starvation.

LAW AND ORDER
All corporations maintain their own security personnel, with mercenary armies are commonly used when operating in the Reaches. But closer to home (Sol System) and along established UCN trade routes, it is the UCNP (United Corporate Nations Police) holds jurisdiction.
Overworked and underpaid, these police guard the peace enforce trade rules wherever numerous corporations are active. Clashes between corporate security personnel and UCNP are legendary, and often true. So the lives of these brave men and women are rarely dull.
UCNP are distinguished by their uniforms and riot armor. Armed with riot guns, stun batons (sonic mace) or other light armaments. Distinctive police vehicles, weapons and armor are readily available to UCNP operative, with conditional access to heavier weaponry, such as mortars, powered armor and armored vehicles.
The UCNP also maintains a large fleet of relatively outdated vessels to patrol their territory. Most of the fleet consists of Class 1 Fighters and Class 2 Scouts, though larger craft do exist.

THE UCN AND YOUR CAMPAIGN
Player characters in operation anywhere near the Sol System or in UCN controlled regions will have to deal with some aspect of the UCN eventually. Staking a mining claim, collecting State bounties, registering planets, or similar concerns require dealing with the UCN.
The UCN and all of its aspects is a monolithic, bureaucratic nightmare. Such government personnel are notoriously corrupt, with the rare helpful representatives delegated to lower tiers of influence. On top of all of this, the UCN is VERY powerful, and capable of making all but the mightiest corporations quake.
Try to imaging any unpleasant experience of dealing with government bureaucracy, such as the DMV, IRS, the UN or any number of legal claims departments, and fill it with corrupt officials in most managerial levels. Now elevate that to a solar-system wide supra-governmental level.
Thats right. Welcome to the future...