Transhuman Space

Transhuman Space is a role-playing game published by Steve Jackson Games as parts of the "Powered by GURPS" (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the Solar System. The pursuit of transhumanism is now in full swing, as more and more people struggle to reach a fully posthuman state.

Synopsis

The game assumes that no cataclysm - natural or human-induced - swept Earth in 21st century. Instead, constant developments in information technology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and nuclear physics generally improved condition of the average human life. Plagues of 20th century (like cancer or AIDS) have been suppressed, the ozone layer is being restored and Earth's ecosystems are recovering. Thanks to modern medicine humans live biblical timespans surrounded by various artificially intelligent helper applications and robots (cybershells), sensory experience broadcasts (future TV) and cyberspace telepresence. Thanks to cheap and clean fusion energy humanity has power to fuel all these wonders, restore and transform its home planet and finally settle on other heavenly bodies.

Human genetic engineering has advanced to the point that anyone--single individuals, homosexual couples, groups of three or more--can reproduce. The embryos can be allowed to be developed naturally, or they can undergo three levels of tinkering: genefixing, which corrects defects; upgrades, which boost natural abilities (Ishtar Upgrades are slightly more attractive than usual, Metanoia Upgrades are more intelligent, etc.); and full transition to parahuman status (Nyx Parahumans only need a few hours of sleep per week, Aquamorphs can live underwater, etc.) Another type of human genetic engineering, far more controversial, is the creation of bioroids, fully sentient slave races.

What if your better-than-human body gets damaged, though? No problem, you can upload yourself, recording the contents of your brain on a computer disk. Now you're a ghost, a type of infomorph, and very easily confused with sentient artificial intelligence. Any informorph, regardless of its origin, can be plugged into a cybershell, or a biological body, or bioshell. And if you're feeling like spitting in the face of Earth laws, you can make multiple copies of yourself, or xoxes, and scatter them throughout the system, exponentially increasing the odds that at least one of you will live for centuries more, if not forever.

This is also a time of space colonization. First, humanity (namely China followed by USA and others) colonized Mars in a fashion resembling that outlined in the Mars Direct project. The Moon, Lagrangian points, inner planets and asteroids soon followed. In the late 21st century even some of Saturn's moons have been settled as a base for that planet's Helium-3 scooping operations.

This is no utopia however as several problems arise from this otherwise beneficial developments. The Generation gap has became a chasm as lifespans increase. No longer does the elite fear death and no longer can young hope to replace them. While it seemed that outworld colonies would offer accommodation and work for those young ones, they are being replaced by genetically tailored bioroids and AI-powered cybershells. The concept of humanity is no longer clear in a world where even some animals speak of their rights and the dead haunt the both cyberspace and reality (in form of neural implants in bioshell).

And of course wonders of high science aren't universally shared - some countries merely struggle with informatization while others suffer from nanoplagues, defective drugs, implants and software tested on their populace. In some poor countries high-tech tyrants oppress their backward people. And in outer space all sort of modern crime thrives, barely suppressed by military forces.

Incredibly detailed information on technology, politics and culture combine to create a gameworld of immense richness. You can play soldiers, entrepreneurs, spies, colonists, scientists, and even ordinary folks swept up in events beyond their control.

Books

• Transhuman Space (core rules)
• Broken Dreams (areas of poverty, crime and oppression)
• Deep Beyond (the Asteroid Belt and beyond)
• Fifth Wave (the many nations of the homeworld)
• High Frontier (Earth orbit and the Moon)
• In the Well (Mercury, Venus and Mars)
• Personnel Files (non-player characters)
• Spacecraft of the Solar System (self-explanatory)
• Toxic Memes (strange ideas and popular fads)
• Under Pressure (submarine habitats on Earth and elsewhere)

See also: Hard science fiction, Orion's Arm

External links

• Transhuman Space (http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/transhuman/) Official web sitepl:Transhuman Space