Sigma

Introduction

As part of a storytelling exercise, the goal was to create a fantasy and the universe that goes with it. That’s why I created a small planet, Sigma. Here is an excerpt.

Universe

For millions of years, men have conquered space, expanding their empire more and more, blindly travelling from galaxies to galaxies, ever further, discovering ever more secrets, ever more novelties. But when they reached the ends of the universe, when they had understood everything, seen everything, explored everything, they could only look behind them to see their work. Despite the infinite knowledge they had accumulated, their defects had not disappeared.

Then for thousands of years, they turned back, retreating to the main sectors and siphoning off all the resources of the planets they had colonized in the past. Gradually, disasters multiplied. Over the millennia, secrets have been lost, knowledge has disappeared and even this history has been forgotten. In this troubled hour for humanity, the so-called last planet still inhabited Sigma, seems only a thread away from sinking like its sisters before it.

Planet Sigma

The planet Sigma is composed of four zones all adjacent to each other.

• The gigantic mountain chain of the Great Mechanism.
• The expanses of canyons and plateaus, called Rihzome.
• The unstable swamps, also known as Sigma’s “test area”.
• The Bios islets, lush forests around the only usable water point on the planet.

Cities and populations

Each of the four zones has its own big city and population.

• The City of the Cogs : It’s the most populated city in Sigma. Workers are engineers, technicians or workers in factories. Even if a small core of wealthy businessmen have built empires, the majority of people live in poverty and working in terrible conditions.
• The city of Colonia : The population is represented by the middle class living in ultra-high towers. The workers mainly work as computer scientists, electronics engineers or workers in robotics, artificial intelligence and automation. The vast majority of Sigma’s businessmen and politicians have settled here.
• The city of Orbital : It is the least populated area of this planet, most of the people who live here are physicists or chemists who spend their lives trying to discover all the secrets of the universe. They use the Unstable Swamps as their playground.
• The Bios islets : In the islets, the inhabitants, who are quite poor, are organized into small communities autonomous. They are all geneticists, biologists or farmers. There is a militia responsible for protecting the islets.

Context and rumours

The first and only Sigma law is :

“It’s all about mathematics, physics, chemistry or genetics and nothing can go against scientific supremacy.”

The three largest factions have always had a desire to control the planet in order to impose their rules and research. Knowing that it’s the weakest faction that allows the other three to survive, it’s a target of choice for total control. The only thing that prevents one of the other three factions from annexing it, is the risk of creating an open war with an alliance of the other two.

From Sigma‘s single law follows a strict prohibition of all other disciplines. Despite this, rumours are spreading about a group of resistance fighters, they would call themselves the “Magicians”. They claim to be open-minded. They regularly recite poems in public places, exhibit theatre or artworks.

Game systems

There is three different game systems in this universe. The first is about scientific evolution, the second one works with the planet’s environment and the third represents public opinion on the different factions of the planet.