Encyclopaedia of the Galactic Echo
Encyclopaedia of the Galactic Echo
Everything you need to know about the Far Future…
Copyright Simon Coates 2014
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
www.galactic-echo.com
Foreword by Simon Coates
Welcome to the Galactic Echo!
Six years ago I got the idea about writing stories about a possible reality that could happen in the far future. It seemed like a bit of fun at the time, so I sat down and thought about the sort of things that might be happening then. Will we be living amongst aliens? Will we be living in outer space? Or would we be fighting robots? Who knows? And what would I call it…
What I wanted to do is create something a bit different to the usual science fiction out there. So, I wanted to 'keep it real', and focus on things that really could happen, rather than a future that would be highly unlikely or a total nightmare (do you want aliens to invade Earth with an objective of exterminating us? No neither do I!). So, I did quite a bit of research, looking at population growth models, reading up about what futurologists and others have predicted - rejecting around 95% of what they think, of course - and then, using a certain degree of artistic licence, finally coming up with ideas about what I wanted my stories to be about. And yes it has been a ball.
The Galactic Echo is a fiction concept of what life might be like in the far future, around the late 23rd/early 24th century. The stories that are produced take concepts from this potential future, so this book is essentially a guidebook about what life might be like, so that the stories make more sense. To be specific, this guidebook is written as if it is the very late 23rd century, in the year 2298. The reason why it is this date is because one of the books, The Diary of Silas Volante, is written as a sporting contest in the year 2299, therefore by having this book written before this year means it doesn't give the game away for that book (I do make it difficult for myself sometimes!). The books in general are written as if they are based at the beginning of the 24th century, so this guidebook gives a general background to them, so you will be able to understand the stories better. It is stated that the Galactic Echo is 'Tales from the 24th Century', so for all you pedants out there, I hope that explains that (and yes I am one myself!). In this book you will be introduced to some of the things that go on in this possible future existence, and written as if they are real and that the far future is actually happening now – this is really important to bear in mind when reading this book otherwise it would read very odd…
This book is a general guide to a possible future, and from there the various stories are based. See this guidebook as the foundation of the stories, thereby setting in stone the ideas and concepts of what is happening at that time. So for example, the first book published was 'The Diary of Silas Volante', a year in the life of a Formula X racing pilot. You can read all about Formula X here, how the sport came into being, the history including significant people right up to the time that the diary is based in, giving you a basic grounding for the story itself, so the book will be understood better. Another book is 'Bike Racing into the Red', which is about a racing cyclist who takes on the challenge of the huge 240 mile hill climb up Olympus Mons - in this guidebook, there are details about Olympus Mons along with an event preview for this epic event.
So, the general idea of the Galactic Echo is of what life might be like in the late 23rd / early part of the 24th century. Of course, it is impossible to predict what will actually happen, but what the Galactic Echo is about, is to look at a possible future reality, of what might really happen at that time. Obviously, as a science fiction concept this is nothing new; however what is a little different with the Galactic Echo is that it is based on a possible future reality that not only could actually happen, but is a future that people would probably want, something that seems to be missing from current science fiction ideas. As an example, it seems that similar science fiction concepts and franchises focus on two main avenues:
- A future that focuses on concepts that are very unlikely, or use technology that seems impossible to us at the present day – or at the very least ideas that even today’s most pre-eminent scientists do not know are even theoretically possible, such as a warp drive in the starships in Star Trek, for example, or time travel with Dr Who.
- A future that we most certainly would not want – such as robots taking over the world and threatening to exterminate humans in Terminator, or alien invasions in War of the Worlds and Independence Day.
Of course, the sci-fi franchises named above are absolutely fantastic in their own right, it certainly wouldn’t be right to criticise them! The idea for the Galactic Echo is to offer something that is not like them, and unique in its own right. And yes a bit quirky as well. There didn't seem much point in basing the idea on something that has gone before. So for example the following ideas feature:
- A population of humans of around 40 billion, achieved by researching population models and a bit of artistic licence. It sounds ‘about right’ (yeah, good enough for me, thank you).
Living on the Moon and Mars – the suggestion here is that we will be living on these terrestrial objects by the 24th century, it is a nice idea, and something that certain countries are looking at as a possible future reality – so let’s have that one in. It certainly makes the stories more interesting.
- Commercially available space travel – yes this is a big thing. Whether it will really ever happen is debateable, but if we lived on Mars and the Moon it would have to be possible – and affordable. So for instance a return journey to the Moon would cost the equivalent amount as we spend today on a short one-hour flight in an aeroplane. This sort of transport would have to be available to the average person, rather than being only accessible to a few select astronauts with billions of dollars of government funding.
- Humans live to over 200 years old. It is certain that in the 24th century we will have found cures for illnesses and disease that are fatal to us today – so certain that we will be living longer in the future than we do now. So an age of 200 is maybe possible?
- No aliens; why would there be? Life has been on Earth for millions of years and in that time there is no evidence that we have ever been visited by an intelligent race of creatures from another planet - yet. Sorry I don't believe in conspiracies!
And so on and so forth. The ideas above have been developed in this guidebook, thereby laying the foundations for the stories produced. Hope you enjoy this book, and if you have any comments about the ideas written about in here please email me, address at the end of this foreword. Look out for the advertisements for various companies and organisations that exist in this future reality, which have been inserted at various points that add a bit of colour. I think they are pretty cool. Everything from spaceship dealers to auction houses, and loads more in-between.
Oh yes before we begin, you might be wondering where the name Galactic Echo comes from. Well, when I got the idea for this, the first thing I did was offer it as a newspaper, reporting on events of the 24th century as if they were real and happening now. In North East England there is a newspaper called the Northern Echo, so using this name, and altering it for an audience across the solar system (which it would have, if we lived on Mars), the name came up. It sounds kind of quirky and sci-fi, I like it, so there you go.
And remember – f
rom now on, from this page onwards, you will be transported into the late 23rd century. This book describes this time as if it is actually real. Enjoy the journey.
Welcome to the Galactic Echo. Welcome to the future.
Simon Coates
Founder, Galactic Echo
November 2014
www.galactic-echo.com
editor@galactic-echo.com
++++IMPORTANT MESSAGE+++
From now on, this book is written as if the late 23rd century is actually happening, so that events that 'happened' in the middle of the 22nd century are written in the past tense!
So, get comfortable, sit back and enjoy what it has to offer…
Table of Contents
Introduction – Approaching the 24th Century
A Brief History
Government
Life on Earth
Life on the Moon
Life on Mars
Life on a Spacestation
General Spacestation Notes
Type 5 Spacestation Notes
Economics and Currency
Domestic Power
23rd Century Household Pets
Holidays
Antiques and Collectibles
The Mars Terraforming Project
Wildlife on Mars and the Moon
SecMars, the Mars Timing System
IronO - The Mars Metal
Healthcare
The Full Brain Transplant
Formula X Spaceship Racing
Solar Marathon
The Palatia-Sonnar X1 Speed Project
Spaceship test - 2298 Solar Racing Horizon Formula X Race Ship
Other Sports : Targetball, Football, Hoverball
The Olympus Mons Cycling Hill Climb
Olympus Mons Hill Climb Event Preview
Transport in Space - the Public Highway
The Spaceship Industry – Personal Spaceships
Classic Spaceships
Preparing for Long Distance Space Journeys
Comparison of a Formula X ship to a Public Spaceship
Spaceship test - Gilbern Golden Dragon
Significant People in History
Important Organisations and Companies
Employment in 2298: Entertainment & Leisure
Food industry
Healthcare
Service Industry
Transport
Glossary
Introduction – Approaching the 24th Century
Sometimes, to wonder where we are going in our never-ending journey through life, it is worth just stopping for a moment and to look back to where we were, just a few centuries ago. Indeed, people from that time would be absolutely in awe as to what we have achieved today – from the amazing engineering achievements of making Mars and the Moon habitable, to astounding advancements in healthcare, meaning it is entirely feasible for us to live to over 200 years old. It is sometimes good to stop to think and wonder where we might be in one or two hundred years from now. Some predictions are probably quite easy to make, but no doubt there will be certain aspects of what we do then that cannot be predicted today. And of course certain achievements are as impossible now as they were then, despite huge progress in the fields of science and technology. For example, science fiction writers have for many centuries written of people travelling through space in amazing spaceships faster than the speed of light, and of contacting alien civilisations. This of course today is as remote a reality as it was then… however living on Mars, which was only imagined in science fiction then, is now a reality.
The space race, which was widely acknowledged to be the pinnacle of human achievement during the industrial age of the 20th century, resulted in Neil Armstrong being the first human setting foot on the Moon, and was probably our finest achievement of that time. It is amazing to think that travelling to the Moon and back, which cost the equivalent of billions of credits then, can now be achieved by anyone on a modest budget by purchasing a spaceship designed for public use today. And it is nice to see the same spirit of that adventure living on today, with the now ‘classic’ Earth to Moon race as part of the Formula X racing season. One wonders what Mr Armstrong would have thought of that!
Life today, as it has done for centuries, has many challenges. As we adapt and change the way we do things, life for us humans evolves. In leisure, for example, a thrill seeker might have parachuted off a mountain face in the 21st century… today, that same person may well find themselves strapped into a Formula X racer, about to start a spaceship race. And someone who built bridges on Earth in the eighteenth century might today be a gravity engineer on one of our massive spacestations, orbiting Earth.
As we approach a new century, it is always nice to look back to the various aspects of our lives which have evolved over the centuries, as it is certain that many of you out there look forward to this next era in our existence.