Heya folks

I've recently shelved my fantasy novel due to a lack of coherence in my ideas. I've been all but obsessing over this story for nearly 8 months and what started as a concrete stories has been torn asunder by an onslaught of ideas. Sadly not all fit and only by letting it simmer for sometime will I come up with a solution.

As such, I've elected to tackle a second concept I was mauling over, this one sci-fi. I started by laying out a fictional space-exploration timeline. The idea is that by 2030, humans will make a significant breakthrough in the form of a new, faster shuttle engine known as the Tesla Core Drive, enabling them to make great strides by 2200.

I thought I'd share the timeline with you folks. It might give a basic idea of the setting, but overall, I figured some space-savvy folks might love to chip in on ideas. To give some more meat to the timeline. Space is such a fascinating topic for both fiction and science, so I figured it might be fun to have outsiders' opinions. Somethings might be somewhat irrelevant for the moment (like Psy-Tech) but overall, I'm wondering if the overall timeframe and the speed at which humans colonize Mars, Luna and the Jupiter moons is realistic at all.

Here it is.


NEBULA BLACK : SHATTER POINT : TIMELINE


2026
- First Luna Settlement founded as a joint project by international space agencies.

2032
- First manned exploration mission to Mars successful

2033
- Tesla Drive Cores are invented
- Probe mission to Europa and Calypso (Moons of Jupiter)

2036
- Deep Space Shuttle prototype created
- International Space Station is dismantled, equipment relocated to Luna-based lab.

2040
- Following critical success, second manned mission to Mars outfitted with Tesla Drive Core
- MIR2 Space Station launched into martian orbit, mission crew to populate station and be resupplied every 18 months
- Luna-based colony established, Earth-Luna shuttle routes are opened to monthly traffic

2042
- Psy-Tech Implants invented

2048
- Psy-Tech Implants are legalized within controlled environments (Military/Police Corps)

2060
- First Martian Settlement established
- Military Carrier-class and Predator-class vessels created in Luna-based facilities
- Mankind Protection Front (MPF) founded as international space military agency

2084
- Terraforming efforts begin on Mars

2085
- Biodomes are created on Mars due to terraforming machinery critical failure
- Mars colony established within the safety of Biodomes

2099
- First manned exploration mission to Calypso and Europa

2112
- World War III errupts on Earth, disrupting Earth-based space exploration

2117
- Treaty of Terra signed, WWIII ends
- International Space Agencies prioritize Mars and Luna colonial development over further exploration of solar system planets and moons

2131
- Ranger-class space station schematics invented on MIR2, forwarded to Mars-based lab

2150
- 10 Ranger-class mobile space stations are built and launched to ferry between Mars, Luna and Earth

2200
- By 2200, four million humans live in space

2201
- Jupiter recon missions resumed
- Second manned mission to Calypso and Europa (Moons of Jupiter)

2211
- Colonial mission is launched to Calypso and Europa
- First Encounter with other sentient beings (later known as Shades)
- Colonial mission annihilated
- First Encounter Wars begin

2216
- Earth is ravaged by rogue alien attack
- Billions of human are killed in the assault
- Survivors are captured and enslaved

2217
- Manking Protection Front (MPF) destroy enemy mothership
- Earthbound aliens are left stranded, but continue to control and defend the planet
- Space-stranded humans strive to survive despite lackluster technology and numbers
- Lunar colonies are abandoned, humans relocate to martian colonies and mobile space stations to ensure safety from earthbound alien attacks.
- By 2217, only three million free humans remain in the universe

2361
- Calypso and Europa are colonized

2383
- James Bishops is born on Mars

2402
- Mars-based colonies are attacked by earthbound aliens
- Attackers are driven back by the Mankind Protection Front (MPF)

2408
- Events of Shatter Point

The time window between first encounter and destroying the alien mothership seems quite small, especially if the aliens managed to completely overpower earth so swiftly.

You could extend the span between the start of the war and earth being attacked by about 5 years of mild skirmishes, this would make the later ability to defeat the enemy mothership more plausible (because you have 5 years of intelligence to work with).

That would make good sense. I'm going to alter those dates to reflect your point.

I tried to keep the timeline within a few centuries of ours, because I intend for mankind to have lackluster technology. I don't want them to wield star-wars-like laser rifles. While there will be some laser weaponry, I intend to use conventional bullet-based guns. I don't want there to be a full millenia worth of technological advance.

You could read some Alastair Reynolds for ideas, his books are very hard sci fi and tend to be set in the next few centuries. He goes for plausible technology, with interstellar travel taking decades at near-light speed (he only uses faster-than-light on very rare occasions).

Galactic North would be a good choice because it's a collection of short stories beginning with a Mars-colonisation era, then moving into Europa then eventually 50,000 years from now. Most of his books are set in the same universe, known as the 'Revelation Space' universe after the first book. Pushing Ice is another good one, though it's not in the same universe.

Sweet, I will indeed try to get my hands on some of his books.

I'm actually not all that well-versed in terms of space-faring science fiction, outside of Star Wars and Firefly, and a minimum of Star Trek, so its going to be good to touch on it.

I want to portray humanity's desperate struggle for survival if they were left stranded away from Earth before their technology truly allowed them interstellar travel. For example, while attempts were made to terraform Mars, the machinery faced critical failure and biodomes were instead erected.

The novel will mix space survival themes and post-apocalyptic earth themes as a group of mercenaries are sent to a ravaged earth to unleash a virus that will wipe out the aliens (and all earthborn humans who were exposed to the aliens) and allow humanity to reclaim their near-dead world. Maybe that is totally cliché and corny. I don't really know, hehe. Still, I intend for the plot to be moraly ambiguous and place the fate of humans in the hands of a usually ruthless protagonist.

Mind you, I've no studies in physics and astronomy like some of the more respected sci-fi writers do. Nor am I an english major. Hell I'm french first language. So I don't expect to be some great renowned author. I just wanna write because I love writing.

Pushing Ice isn't so much about the survival of humanity, but it is about a group of humans who get stranded away from home (with literally no hope of return) and struggle for even the most basic essentials. The storyline doesn't stick with that theme for too long, but it's worth reading anyway.

I will. I'm currently looking up if there are any librairies near my place that might hold some of his books in english. Its always a struggle here in quebec. XD Otherwise I'll see if Amazon.ca happens to sell them.

I think you should pick what themes or morals you want to deal with before you craft the story, so that it feels more cohesive. So that the beginning means just as much as the end. That's just one of my pet peeves about books, and why I don't really read casual fiction anymore. I got burned too many times by getting to the end of the book and thinking "so what?" and having thought about nothing valuable at any point in the book. You know what I mean...you finish a book and the only things that mattered in the book only applied to the fiction of the book.

I know that really is not the kind of advice you were looking for, but I felt like saying it.

For instance: what caused WWIII on earth, and how does it apply to the rest of the humans, both at that time and at the time your story takes place? You say it disrupts earth-based exploration, but what about the people already out in space? Do they maintain loyalties to earth-based factions, and if so, why does/doesn't it spread into a...First Interplanetary War, or something? How does the MPF fit into that? This all could have pretty serious implications to how humans and the MPF deal with the aliens, and it's that kind of rich and meaningful history that will not only make your story more interesting, but will also make it easier to write. You won't be pulling things out of thin air, but will have a source of natural progressions of events that leave you only filling in the blanks with characters.

Actually that's sound advice, but believe me that is part of the planning. And its also in large part what caused me to shelf my fantasy plotline for the moment.

Its fun and all to worry about characters dying and what their quest will lead to, but in the end its just not enough. There needs to recurring themes and morals that make you think to one extent or another. That is one of the things that currently work better with my sci-fi theme. I am currently planning some moraly ambiguous themes and events in my novel that I hope will get the reader thinking, "What would I have done? This had to be the better choice. No... maybe this?"

I'm an amateur in all levels of writing, but what I have is imagination and passion. And I'm lucky enough to know published authors like Christie Golden, who are giving me advice and are reviewing my work.

Yeah, I saw what you said about morally ambiguous events, and I love that. That's what got me thinking about it in the first place.

That's a great example, and something I actually had somewhat discarded. I was using WW3 as mostly a point in history that slowed space exploration. While I have some of the answers (example, whether space colonies retained loyalties to earth-based countries), I had not thought of an impact it might have in the future. As you keenly point out, it is very likely that it did impact human behavior.

Is it called Shatterpoint? Because there's already a book with that name.

Shatter Point is the temporary project title, yes.

I'll have to look up this other book then.


Edit : Oh just did, its a Star Wars book. I'm not too worried about it, at least for now.

Looks hella generic.

Well yea, the timeline itself is gonna look rather generic. Its the story that I want to tell that I hope will stand out.

The majority of this will not make it into the novel in any case. There likely wont be a mention of MIR2 or when ships were created, nor when Tesla Core Drives were invented or Psytech Implants legalized. There is of course going to be some background, but I created the timeline mostly to situate my story and ensure that colonization of Mars, Luna and the moons of Jupiter were at least potentially realistic.

I want blueprints for this tesla core.

What about the singularity

the technological singularity?

how about communications? do they still use radio(or whatever) as the primary means of communicating over large distances? how do they account for lag in that case? have they invented a lag free communication system? how long before mars even finds out war broke out?

RAH had a couple ideas on this, one of which was the use of psychic twins. you communicated between two bodies by having on twin in one place, and the other where you were and you talked through them. communication was instantaneous.

Asimov or Card, i dont remember which, had something called an Ansible, which enabled FTL communicaton.

I think it was Card, because I've never read Asimov and I know what you're talking about.

In the Ender's series, the Ansible allows communication over vast distances. They basically split a particle, and when one half vibrates, the other one does too.

Depending on the current positions of the planets in their orbits, Mars is at least 3 light minutes from Earth and at most 22. So, not too long at all.

Card didn't even the ansible. He stole the name from Ursulla L Quinn, but his own admission, and even lampshades this fact in the novel length version of Ender's Game.

well, now i feel dumb

Isn't this somewhat close to the current quantum mechanical understanding of atomic entanglement? or am I off by years, quantum science moves fast.

Not really since quantum entanglement can't ever be used for communication.

You should read Firestar + sequels by Michael Flynn, they're my hands-down favorite science fiction novels. They basically start in the "now" and move to near-future space exploration as you're talking about. He approaches the story from a number of different viewpoint characters and he details not only the tech advances required for space exploration but also the social and economic challenges. They are a little slow but definitely worth the read.