Welcome to Orion's Arm
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Welcome to Orion's Arm |
Welcome
to the Orion’s Arm Universe Project!
What is the
Orion’s Arm Universe Project you might ask? That is an excellent question, and
in a nutshell here is your answer:
The Orion’s Arm Universe Project
(also known as OAUP, OA and Orion’s Arm) is:
Why are we here?
The answer to that question can be found in our Statement of
Purpose:
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
Our purpose is to promote and inspire writers,
artists and thinkers. To create a vision of the future that is plausible at
every level, internally consistent, and abides by the accepted facts and
theories in the physical, biological, and social sciences. We embrace
speculative ideas like Drexlerian assemblers, mind uploading, posthuman
intelligence, magnetic monopoles, wormholes, warp bubbles and the technologies
and developments that will make all this possible.
To quote Arthur C. Clarke's Second Law:
The
only way to explore the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past
them into the impossible.
Our task is to create an ever evolving universe that
is interesting, inspiring and provocative - to theorize on a future that may, or
may not, come to be.
In order to meet this goal we have established
certain ground rules:
·
Matter cannot travel faster than
light
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Matter and energy are
conserved
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No evolved humanoid aliens have
been discovered
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Technology will change the nature
of social issues
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A logical explanation for even
the most fantastic elements within the setting must be
provided
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Space is vast – expect the same
challenges to have many different solutions, or as we say - Diversity!
Diversity! Diversity!
Orion's Arm is a work in progress, a space opera setting like no
other. It spans the next ten thousand years of galactic history, from the near
future of interplanetary colonization to the far future where the galaxy is
ruled by vast ascended intelligences. It incorporates hard science, and the
"soft" or social sciences, as well as mythological
and archetypal themes, as the gods of the collective psyche incarnate in
unforeseen new forms.
The OAUP is a big place with nearly a decade of
history and hundreds of contributors. Most likely you will encounter new
concepts and terminology throughout the site. We have provided links on this
page to a number of helpful resources to get you acquainted with all of them.
First and foremost we ask that you read the Terms, Copyright, and Submission
Guidelines as these cover the legalities of your stay with us. Once you are
familiar with our terms, please take the time to review the Illustrated
Backstory and Orion’s Arm Primer. These tools were specially designed to aid
newcomers in understanding the Orion’s Arm universe and the basics of the
concepts within. We also highly suggest getting familiar with the OA Canon and
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) pages. Once you have the basics down there is
the Encyclopaedia Galactica, where you can find any of the worldbuilding
material in the Orion’s Arm universe. Enjoy the stories, art and ideas you find
here at Orion’s Arm, and should you find in your journey that something is
missing, or you have something to contribute, please join us at one of our many
discussion groups. When that time comes don’t forget to review the How to
Contribute and Netiquette pages.
Like all good art, this project is ever growing, and
will therefore never be complete. We invite you to join us on this journey of
imagination; after all it looks like we’ve barely gotten
started.
Above all else… have fun.
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Illustrated Backstory:
a brief illustrated overview/summary of the setting - from the information age to ten thousand years in the future. |
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Orion's Arm Primer
a short but comprehensive introduction to the Orion's Arm universe. |
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FAQs
Questions and criticisms answered. The FAQs page is always being added to, so if you don't see your question or critique answered here here, please be sure to let us know! |
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Terms, Copyright and Submissions Guide The Orion's Arm Universe Project is a collaborative effort, and the subject of rights and copyrights is an important one. Please read this guide carefully before continuing your visit to, or participation in, The Orion’s Arm Universe Project: |
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Glossary:
And of course, to explain all these strange and funny terms you encounter in these pages (well, some of them anyway), there is the glossary. |
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Discussion Groups &
Projects:
Additional Links:
