GURPS 4th "Hyperion Falling"
So, some background fluff and (at the bottom, if you don't care to look at the fluff) the crunchy nuggets.
Pretty much an interest check.
World News Tonight (April 24, 2087) - Dr. Andre Beaumont, director of the European Space Agency's Hawking II probe mission to Saturn, announced today that contact had been lost with the Hawking II Saturn probe. Data transmission from the probe ceased yesterday at 2 pm GMT. All attempts to re-establish contact have failed, though Dr. Beaumont indicated that efforts to contact the Hawking II are ongoing...
World News Tonight (April 30, 2087) - Sources close to the White House have indicated that the Hawking II may have transmitted some very disturbing images before contact was lost. No details are available, but scientists at the Brazilian Traslunar Observatory have reported seeing odd, so-called "anomalies," in the orbit of Hyperion, one of Saturn's moons, and also the location of the Hawking II probe before it ceased transmission...
World News Tonight (May 11, 2087) - High level diplomatic conferences involving most of the nations of the world, seeking to decide the meaning and importance of the Hawking II images, and the instability in the orbit of Hyperion, Saturn's moon. Scientists world-wide demand the launch of more probes to Saturn immediately to further study the events in progress, or possibly retasking drones currently involved in surveys in the asteroid belt.
World News Tonight (May 27th, 2087) - The General Assembly of the United Nations today voted to demand that all national governments be given access to the raw Hawking II data. Some say this is merely a pro forma show of frustration by nations that have little to no government access to space. In other news, executives of Space X, Arianespace, and Obayashi Global met today with officials from several national space agencies.
World News Tonight (July 24th, 2087) - Plans for a manned mission to Saturn were finalized today. Orbital factories have been ordered retasked to assist with the project, and resources have been diverted from the ongoing Space Cities Initiative to speed the building of the spacecraft for the mission. Existing designs used by government and industrial concerns lack the range and endurance necessary for a voyage to Saturn. In related news, space stock indexes world-wide rose an average of 24% following the announcement.
Something hinky is going on at Saturn, and the best and brightest (or craziest) are needed for the multi-year mission to investigate!
Hyperion Falling is conceived as a 4th edition GURPS game, set at TL9, without superscience. The plan is to stick reasonably close to scientific plausibiliy, as far as possible without shooting the game down. Characters will be 250 points, members of a multi-national space mission, seeking to solve a mystery that might just hide a threat to the human race. Access to at least the the 4th ed GURPS Basic book is a must. Other useful books would be Ultra-Tech, Space, and Starships.
