[quote=@Ophidian] [@Keyguyperson] So, what's cloning like in this verse? Vietnam must grow LARGER. [/quote] Biotech is pretty advanced, to the point that cloning has existed for a while now. It just isn't usually used for making more people, rather genetically engineered creations that are regarded as being on the same level as robotic AIs and exist mostly as either novelties or SO substitutes for the r9k types (since you can't have actual sex with a robot). So basically, there are factories for this stuff. But if you use them to make people that are considered as such, then most of the solar system is going to consider them lower life forms. [quote=@ClocktowerEchos] This is intriguing. [@Keyguyperson] Would I be allowed to be a non-corporate entity on Mars? Namely one that's a quasi-religious cult order with an obsession about machines and the integration of man and machine through bionics and prosthetics? Speaking of which, how advanced would prosthetics be at his point? [/quote] Sure, mad transhumanists are something I WANT. Prosthetics are for the most part replaced with regrown limbs for medical transplants, but augmentation is totally a thing. Think Deus Ex and other cyberpunk fiction for that. [quote=@catchamber] What's stopped self-replicating sapient AI from out-competing incredibly slow fleshbags for so long? Good luck convincing places with common sense safety laws to allow a fusion or pulse engine rocket to approach. Meanwhile, Al2O3 rockets will provide transport between any two points within the inner system in less than 2 weeks. [/quote] 1: They aren't self-replicating. Humans have kept AIs on a tight leash, and though plenty are sapient, any attempts by them to reproduce are nipped in the bud. An AI revolution is a theortical crisis, and all the more likely now that the economy has crashed, but up until now at least the AIs have been unable and/or unwilling to revolt. This is also a reason why superhuman AIs are still rare and expensive: nobody has been pushing the envelope of AI power because everyone knows damn well what could happen if they did. As for the propulsion issue, the fusion engines aren't dangerous at all. Aside from being semi-handwaved superefficient/superpowerful drives like the stuff in The Expanse, fusion power is actually really pretty safe. Pulse drive ships, obviously, use good old rockets to dock with stations (so they don't kill a million people in the process), but they're a minority. Shuttles would also use them, but neither of those is a massively vital part of the economy (pulse drives are considered outdated, and anything a shuttle can do a space elevator can). If you really want to be the big fuel dude (which is the vibe I'm getting) go for helium 3. [quote=@catchamber] :what [/quote] [quote=@ClocktowerEchos] Can we please just not get into the nuances of sci-fi and stuff like that? Since if you want a sci-fi NRP to die quick, going into that stuff is a prime method of doing it. Just accept things how they are and don't bring up "oh but thing X can do Y better than thing Z can" or stuff like that which can be seen as trying to minmax the shit out of something. Seriously, that's not fun for anyone and tends to make people look more like an insufferable know-it-all. kthxbai [/quote] [quote=@Keyguyperson] [h1][i][u][b](relatively)[/b][/u][/i][/h1] [/quote] Also I like how it's the interest check and y'all already working on breaking rule 3.