Alternate Earth: A Champions Campaign Setting
Summary
Alternate Earth (AltEarth) is in many ways very similar to the real world, circa 2006. However, as outlined here, there are significant ways in which the society, technology, history, and even laws of nature are different on AltEarth.
Comic Book Physics
The effect of exposure to radiation, chemicals, and other substances hazardous to humans are far less predictable on AltEarth. For example, exposure to high doses of radiation does, in most cases, cause cancer. In some cases, however, it results in strange powers and mutations.
Perhaps because the gravity on AltEarth is a little bit less than in the real world, when heroes and villains slug it out they tend to knock each other back more than an equal and opposite reaction would predict.
Anti-matter, indestructible metals, and other substances/energies not know to the real world are also present in the world of AltEarth.
Other dimensions exist, though dimensional travel is mostly beyond human technology.
There are also very many, perhaps infinitely many, universes; consequenlty, the universe occupied by AltEarth is actually a Multiverse.
Jovians, Mutants, and other Supers
In 1905, astronomers of AltEarth observed an anomalous celestial event (ACE), a strange and massive warping of space near the planet Jupiter. A cone of cosmic radiation poured from the ACE, bathing much of the solar system, including AltEarth, in an unknown energy.
As inexplicably as it began, the anomaly disappeared. Astrophysicists later theorized that the ACE was an unstable wormhole leading to a distant part of the galaxy that "bloomed" briefly, and then collapsed in on itself.
Soon after the ACE, the first truly super-powered beings began appearing (albeit in small numbers) on AltEarth. They were dubbed "Jovians" by the popular press. Most of the more powerful supers were drawn into the Great War; many perished. By the outbreak of WWII in 1939, the majority of the most visible surviving supers had retired. Some of their descendents, however, displayed superhuman abilities and became involved in the conflict, in some cases taking on the alter egos of the previous generation. Also in WWII, Germany, Britain, Russia, and the U.S. pursued super-soldier projects with the goal of inducing superhuman mutation.
In the latter half of the twentieth century, many more mutants appeared. Historians attribute this rise in mutation to the effects of pollution and the spread of radiation from tests of nuclear and anti-matter bombs.
In 1986, in Detroit, a chain reaction in an experimental anti-matter reactor resulted in the disintegration of most of the city and the spread of cosmic radiation throughout the United States and Canada. The prevalence of mutants and mutant offspring in these countries has since increased dramatically.
Today, there is approximately one superhuman for every one million people on AltEarth--or about 6,000 altogether. Although statistics on mutants and supers are notoriously difficult to gather, it is estimated that superhuman mutants are most populous in the United States (where there is approximately one super to every 500 thousand normals) and Canada (where the ratio is estimated to be closer to one super to every 200 thousand normals). Most experts estimate that only about 40% of the world's 6,000 superhumans are powerful enough to become costumed heroes (or villains) and actually do so, yielding a world population of no more than about 2,400 costumed superhumans. This roughly tallies with the best efforts to date to obtain a "cape count."
Technology
Technology on AltEarth is more advanced than in the real world. The invention of computing technology in the early nineteenth century had a profound impact on the development of scientific and technical knowledge on AltEarth. Advances in fields of knowledge relying on computation (mathematics, physics, social science, etc.) were accelerated by the early availability of analytical machines capable of performing pre-programmed calculations submitted on punched cards.
Further, since their appearance at the beginning of the last century, scientifically-oriented supers (especially those with supra-human intellects) began to make significant contributions to mankind's technical knowledge. The development of energy projection technology, for example, was greatly aided by the availability and participation of supers capable of producing and controlling energy at will
Some examples of twenty-first century technology on AltEarth include:
Outer Space.
Organizations such as NASA have frequently solicited the help of superhumans for help with research projects, or to get vehicles and other equipment into space quickly and safely. Since 1996, UNTIL has had a fully-functioning space station, GATEWAY, orbiting AltEarth. Although its primary purpose is to remain alert for signs of alien invasion or like threats, it is also a research facility and a dock for humans' prototype Faster-Than-Light (FTL) vehicle, the Intrepid. In 2001, the Intrepid FTL craft began its journey to Proxima Centauri, traveling at twice the speed of light and arriving in the system just six months ago.
Medicine and Genetics.
Advances in these fields have eliminated or diminished the impact of many diseases (at least in the wealthy nations of the global North). Cybernetic technology first used for powered armor and similar super-technology has been adapted to devices that allow people with spinal injuries to walk again, and people with neurological disorders to function without significant impairment. Advances in some cutting edge techniques (e.g., limb and organ regeneration) have been blocked by religious conservatives, who continue to wield considerable political power and authority.
The existence of animal-human hybrids was revealed to the world in the nineteenth century with the discovery of the island laboratory of notorious Victorian physician Dr. Moreau. The grandson of Dr. Moreau secretly continued his research until the team of British supers known as the London Watch in 1985 raided his lab and uncovered his plans to produce an army of animal-human hybrids. Although his lab was destroyed, Moreau himself escaped. Among those beings rescued by the Watch was Dr. Silverback, a gorilla granted superhuman intelligence by Professor Moreau's experiments.
The first human clones were revealed to the world in 1993 when the supervillian team Eurostar launched an invasion of Poland with an army of cloned soldiers created by Teleios, the Perfect Man. Teleios's existence was revealed to the world in the aftermath of the thwarted attack.
Power and Pollution.
Internal combustion vehicles and manufacturing are cleaner and more environmentally friendly than in the real world; most cars have hybrid electric-combustion engines. Power from nuclear fission is generally safer and in wide use. Despite the Detroit disaster of 1986 and its association with the awe-inspiring destructive power of anti-matter bombs, technologically advanced nations have continued to pursue energy production through controlled anti-matter reactions. In 1990, an international coalition of governments and corporations launched the Orbital Solar Energy Collector (OSEC), a satellite with massive solar panels that collects energy from the sun without being disrupted by AltEarth's weather patterns. Accord to a regular schedule, the OSEC platform beams collected energy in the form of microwaves to specially-designed power plants throughout its orbital path; one of these plants is located in the heroes’ home, Millennium City.
Computers and Robotics.
In the early nineteenth century, Charles Babbage and his colleague Ada Lovelace invented the Difference Engine, a steam-powered proto-computer. Eventually difference engines were supplanted by electronic devices. Today, in the wealthiest countries virtually everyone has access to portable, tablet-sized or smaller computers, some featuring holographic displays and connected to a wireless network that nearly covers the globe. These devices are lightweight, fast, high-memory, and extremely user-friendly.
Robotics is also much more advanced than in the real world. Many of the most advanced factories no longer use humans on the assembly line, but simply rely on human engineers to ensure that the "autofactory" is running smoothly. Some companies have also begun to launch prototypes for intelligent (though not sentient) robots with commercial and military applications. Tachyon Systems, for example, was recently awarded a government contract to provide Stronghold (a U.S. super-max prison designed to contain superhumans) with a robotic security force to supplement its human guards. Continued trade relations with the Cynoids (see below) are also likely to advance the fields of computing and robotics considerably over the next century.
Close Encounters and Off-Worlders
The public of AltEarth is currently aware of the undersea civilization of the Atlanteans as well as three alien civilizations: the Nomos, the Celestials, and the Cynoid.
Atlanteans
Under circumstances not known to land-dwellers, the island of Atlantis sank beneath the waves and disappeared in 30,000 B.C. The Atlanteans of today are blue-skinned, web-fingered water-breathers. Atlanteans have a long history of xenophobia-terraphobia, and have mostly hidden their presence from the human and superhuman inhabitants of AltEarth. Despite occasional appearances, they usually only reveal themselves when they believe their underwater domain is threatened.
One exception to this was the attack on Florida in 1968 by the Steel Shark, an Atlantean rebel and supervillian, who temporarily seized control of the Atlantean army. Another was during the invasion of the aquatic aliens known as the Nomos, in 1977, when Atlanteans (including some Atlantean supers) fought alongside humans to defend AltEarth.
Nomos
A scout ship of the Nomos, an aquatic, cephalopodic species, first made contact with AltEarth in 1974. Diplomatic meetings with the Nomos--militaristic zealots who believe they are direct descendants of an omnipotent "Old One"--fell apart when AltEarth negotiators refused to accept annexation into the Nomos empire. The Nomos returned three years later with an invasion force to crush the infidels. A force of superhumans (that included many supervillians), allied with Atlanteans drove the Nomos off. Some suspect that remnants of the Nomos invasion force lie in wait in the deep sea trenches of AltEarth, awaiting another opportunity for conquest.
Celestials
In 2001, after AltEarth's first successful test of a manned Faster-Than-Light (FTL) vehicle, aliens calling themselves "the Celestials" sent ambassadors to the planet. The Celestials are a blue-skinned humanoid race with large craniums and eyes; their homeworld is a low-gravity world, so on AltEarth they are physically weak. They are of unparalleled intellect and moderate psionic abilities, possessing technology far beyond that of even the Nomos. Physically, the Celestials . A major force in galactic governance, the Celestials are attempting to guide AltEarth governments and financial institutions through a process of global consolidation with the goal of gaining entry, in a century or two, to galactic institutions. The Celestials maintain an embassy on AltEarth's moon, as its lower gravity is more like their homeworld and more suitable to their frail bodies.
Cynoids
In 2002, a trade mission of Cynoids visited AltEarth. The mission resulted in an agreement establishing the beginnings of an interstellar trade route. Although their bodies appear purely mechanical, the Cynoids are actually cyborgs. Excelling in all fields involving computation, but particularly financial matters, the Cynoid have decided to begin economic relations with this planet of fledgling interstellar travelers. The Cynoids look at a purely organic species with a kindly sense of superiority. They control the forms their intellects are housed in, unlike organic beings, who the Cynoid see as determined by their biology. Recognizing the sovereignty of AltEarthling's over the solar system, the Cynoids have also reached an agreement to mine the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Impact of Alien Contact
Altough the Nomos invasion had a major impact on AltEarth in the late 1970s, the would-be conquerors appear never to have returned. Due to the recency of contact, the slow pace of inter-species trade and diplomatic negotiations, and the relative unimportance of AltEarth in the sector, neither the Celestials nor the Cynoids have, to this point, wrought major changes to life on AltEarth (aside from, of course, blowing everyone's minds).
Magic and the Supernatural
AltEarth was, at one time, a highly magical world. Magical energy ebbs and flows on AltEarth according to cycles only discernable to the most advanced practitioners. Prior to 1900, the level of ambient magical energy on AltEarth was quite low for several centuries. It began to rise again in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1938, it had risen to the point that a group of mystics working for the Nazis, the Reichsarnt fur die Sicherung volkischer Kulturguter (Reich's Office for the Safety and Security of National Cultural Items, or RSvKg), were able to use arcane artifacts in rituals that forced the level of ambient magic higher still. Their intent was to magically propel Germany to world dominance.
Still, very few beings on AltEarth have the knowledge or lineage required to manipulate magical energy. Most people in technologically advanced nations still believe magic to be a form of superstition, ultimately incompatible with a modern, scientific worldview; they are willing to go to great lengths to rationalize magical events. Although their accounts are seldom given any credence, some individuals have had contact with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other legendary magical creatures.
Time Travel
The return of Sentry from the Age of Destroyer has demonstrated that time travel is possible. It is, however, beyond the technological capabilities of AltEarth circa 2006. Current theories of time travel suggest, however, that there is not a single timeline, but rather that AltEarth is one universe of a Multiverse.
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