Diamond Dust - Survival After the Frozen End

[Riddle78]

Armageddon happens when,simultaneously,a polar shift,an incalculably massive solar flare,and a close pass from a Mars-sized comet leaving a layer of dust in the atmosphere,causes a new ice age,and permanently knocks out all current technology,while,for reasons unknown,youth are developing minor reality-warping powers. In the frozen,shattered remains of society,what will you do to survive? What lines will you cross? What will you hold sacred?


And,most importantly...


Is there a future? Be it for you,or the world at large?

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​

This RP concept sorta just... Smacked me while I was chatting. As I develop the idea,I'll put those developments here. If you all have ideas to help develop this,then by all means,share them here. I just had to get it on paper (so to speak) before I forgot it.


UPDATE ONE: The Events.


What follows is a list of the events that led to the Earth's current state,in order of occurrence.


-Polar Shift: The most radical event. The shift in Earth's magnetic poles caused enormous disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere,having an overall effect of dropping the planet's average temperature by about thirty degrees. The event is still ongoing,so it's more like a Polar Flux.


-Solar Flare: While incalculably enormous,the solar flare did not reach Earth. At least,not physically. It was,however,coupled with an equally incalculably huge burst of electromagnetic and microwave radiation. Somehow,these waves bypassed the radiation shielding on all of Earth's electronics,and delivered a permanent EMP-like effect,permanently disabling anything with wires or power cells.


-Comet: This event is what keeps the planet in its current state; The comet,the size of Mars,ripped past Earth; A mere fifty thousand kilometers. This brief,yet intense,gravitational invasion caused a huge amount of particles to be pulled into orbit,as well as causing untold tidal catastrophes,before getting frozen by the Polar Flux. Furthermore,the satellites in Earth's delicate orbit were ripped from their place; The satellites closest to the comet were dragged off with it. Those on the other side of the planet were brought crashing down to the surface. Furthermore,due to the powerful gravity being exerted on it,Luna was shattered,though the people on Earth would never see it by this point; It is a combination of the particles raised from Earth,the particles left behind from the comet,and the remains of the moon that keep most of the sun's radiation from reaching the surface,thus perpetuating the ice age,even long after the Polar Flux ends.


People have taken to calling the comet the "Morningstar Comet".

 

[ScarletHood]

Since we're talkin bout powerful youths, it would be natural for some sort hierarchy to be formed? For instance, one group could be aiming to help others, and fix the world up, whilst another is bent on taking advantage of their powers, therefore trying to form some sort of dictatorship. Maybe a third group....I'll remember what it was later...

 

[Atom]

Mutated crazy ass hard to kill creatures. Nuff said.

 

[Rynmaru]

Well to start off, I think you should clarify your powers a little more. People like to know exactly what they are getting into when they sign up for a Role Play. Do these reality warping powers have limits, or a type of path they need to follow? Do you have any ideas in what direction you will be taking that?


Also, you mentioned that the three things that set the Armageddon into motion were a polar shift, a solar flare, and a comet leaving dust particles. I'm not big on science, but wouldn't the solar flare alone cause part of the earth to be scorched and marred, or is that not a thing? I was thinking, that maybe you make it so that certain areas of the earth were subject to different parts of the causation, thus changing the powers they would have received or the type of "Evolution" that they under went. You could even use the polar shift / Solar flare / Particles as a reason for the Role Players to get together, seeing as certain parts of the world could have been flooded or burned really badly, and maybe the frozen part of the world is the only really inhabitable part of the world that is left (weather it be america, Europe, or other)


Perhaps the Solar flare light bouncing off the particles created by the comet (which could have contained some alien rock or something) caused the switch in the human DNA that caused the powers to be produced? Or the polar switch caused the metal in the bodies of the people to be moved around a little and that caused something in the brain to change and all us to use more than 10% of our brain at any given time? A couple of things come to mind when I think of WHY the powers came about, and I cann see you've got this going in the right direction.

 

[Riddle78]

The events I sorta just pulled out of my ass,to be honest,working on hypotheses I've heard about them in the past. They each have an impact on the Armageddon as a whole...


-Polar Shift: The most radical event. The shift in Earth's magnetic poles caused enormous disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere,having an overall effect of dropping the planet's average temperature by about thirty degrees. The event is still ongoing,so it's more like a Polar Flux.


-Solar Flare: While incalculably enormous,the solar flare did not reach Earth. At least,not physically. It was,however,coupled with an equally incalculably huge burst of electromagnetic and microwave radiation. Somehow,these waves bypassed the radiation shielding on all of Earth's electronics,and delivered a permanent EMP-like effect,permanently disabling anything with wires or power cells.


-Comet: This event is what keeps the planet in its current state; The comet,the size of Mars,ripped past Earth; A mere fifty thousand kilometers. This brief,yet intense,gravitational invasion caused a huge amount of particles to be pulled into orbit,as well as causing untold tidal catastrophes,before getting frozen by the Polar Flux. Furthermore,the satellites in Earth's delicate orbit were ripped from their place; The satellites closest to the comet were dragged off with it. Those on the other side of the planet were brought crashing down to the surface. Furthermore,due to the powerful gravity being exerted on it,Luna was shattered,though the people on Earth would never see it by this point; It is a combination of the particles raised from Earth,the particles left behind from the comet,and the remains of the moon that keep most of the sun's radiation from reaching the surface,thus perpetuating the ice age,even long after the Polar Flux ends.


As for the origin of the powers... I'm intentionally leaving it unanswered. The "Why" of the powers isn't going to be a focus.

 

[Dusky]

I agree that some clarification on powers would be good. Even if you don't intend on explaining the "why" you should probably consider it and put it in your personal notes for cohesion's sake. A healthy system of magic, sci-fi superpower-y or otherwise, has a fair amount of specification, limits and boundaries, etc, and I think it's generally a good idea to give some justification for those boundaries in a narrative element for immersion's sake. The radiation sounds plausible, for sci-fi purposes.


Building off what others have said still further...


Consider politics. Technological breakdown and hostile environments make communication and travel nigh impossible, so capitals are going to have trouble exerting their influence. Cue anarchy, crime, etc etc etc. What other effects do you think this dramatic shift might have?


Consider wildlife. It's not at all equipped to handle an ice age. It'd be different if said ice age came on gradually, but as it is, lots of species are going to die off, especially the flora, or at the very least be bottlenecked. What else do you see happening?


Consider gravity. Gravity is inherently magnetic, so what effect might all these variations have on it?


Further questions... Plot? Any? At the very least you need something to move the players forward, that they feel like they can act upon and change.


All of that said, I don't usually care for sci-fi, much less apocalyptic RP, but you had me at the cosmic rearrangement.

 

[Blumenkranz]

Consider gravity. Gravity is inherently magnetic

Actually, the Earth's magnetic field is caused by the activity of its core, thanks to a phenomenon explained by the Dynamo theory.

The Earth's magnetic field is believed to be generated by electric currents in the conductive material of its core, created by convection currents due to heat escaping from the core.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_magnetic_field#Physical_origin

 

[Dusky]

Hm. All good information, but... Does this somehow contradict the idea that gravity is a matter of electromagnetics? Push-pull, etc? If anything I'm just seeing confirmation.

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

Gravity is a wholly separate fundamental force from the electromagnetic. So are the strong and weak forces, but those operate on the scale of atomic nuclei and are less intuitive. Like the electromagnetic force, gravity seems to propagate at the speed of light, but from all objects with a mass. Its hypothetical carriers are tentatively called gravitons. The electromagnetic force propagates from objects with a charge, including charged subatomic particles, and is carried by photons.


 
None of this withstands applied phlebotinium, of course, so @Alad V, I hear shades of Chrono Trigger in your apocalypse of choice.

 

[Dusky]

Ah, damn and blast. Must have gotten info all mixed up in my head; I do that a lot. Well, I'm no scientist and I never shall be. I took some college level Biology and that's about it... I'll leave the science to you folks and just shut my trap now - my other questions were the important ones. xD

 

[Blumenkranz]

Hm. All good information, but... Does this somehow contradict the idea that gravity is a matter of electromagnetics? Push-pull, etc? If anything I'm just seeing confirmation.

Gravity is not electromagnetic, although it is true both do more or less the same and can be calculated with similar equations.


Gravity is believed to be caused by distortions in spacetime, according to relativity, or by gravitons, according to more modern theories. Electromagnetism is more similar to the latter, being the result of particle fuckery, but they don't use the same particles.

 

[Riddle78]

First note: I edited in the particulars of Armageddon to the original post. Just a copy/paste of my original elucidation,so anyone who's already familiar with the thread aren't missing anything.


Second: I think I cracked the nut on the reality warping. No,the "why" of it is still a blank. The focus of the RP is on survival and change,not the powers themselves.


Observed Habits and Particulars of Shapers





Foreword: These past few months have been a frozen Hell. Nothing works. I'm writing this down with pen and paper,for God's sake. However,I've noticed young individuals,aged ten to twenty,developing what can only be described as supernatural abilities,and they all seem to be based on the same general principle; Forcing reality to obey their whim. I have dubbed these individuals "Shapers",due to their ability to shape reality.


The Mind: The ability to Shape,based on interviews and observations,is purely a mental feat. Many Shapers adopt a habit,be it a simple gesture,a word,or maybe something more elaborate,as a way to focus themselves,but some do it merely with a thought. Although every individual explained it differently,past all of the allegory and supposition is a single common thread; Whatever the Shaper imagines,happens,within the limits of their perception of reality,and what they believe Shaping is capable of. If this is true,Shapers possess potentially limitless potential,however,their own human and immature minds keep them from doing much more than minor rewrites.


Transience: It appears,based on observations,demonstrations,and tests,that all of a Shaper's creations are temporary. How long they last varies wildly,seemingly based on the Shaper that spawned them to begin with. The Shaper can keep their creations in existence with only minimal mental upkeep,but should the Shaper lose consciousness,then all of their creations cease to exist. External factors play a role in the lifespan of a creation; Any distraction could easily cause a Shaper to forget to keep their creations in existence,and the creations themselves seem to only be able to take a certain amount of punishment before they evaporate against the will of the Shaper. The fortitude of a creation is dependent largely on the Shaper that spawned it,and the physical properties that are assigned to it.


Factual: Anything a Shaper creates is real,for all to experience. Shapers seem to be unable to create hallucinations for individuals; The closest they can manage are actual sounds,smells,and images,observable by all. This means that Shaping is purely a physical event.


The Limits: Despite being able to rewrite reality to their whims,Shapers are inherently limited. While a Shaper can create a portable fusion reactor,if they believe it could possibly work,a Shaper cannot create what they themselves believe to be impossible. As such,I hypothesize that a Shaper's ability is directly tied to their own imagination and capacity for lateral thought. Following this hypothesis,a Shaper does not need to know the particulars on how an object functions in order to create it; They merely have to honestly believe that it will. Furthermore,while Shapers seem to be able to Shape food and water,it seems to provide no nutritional value; Likely explanations are that it either evaporates shortly after consumption,forgotten,or evaporates then the Shaper loses consciousness for any reason,such as going to sleep. Or,it's simpler than that; Shaped food and drink carry zero nutritional value.


Conclusion: Shapers are reality warpers,and are exclusively aged ten to twenty years of age. This phenomenon is only a couple of months old,and it is unknown if it is permanent,temporary,or if it'll evolve with time. Further observation required.


-Doctor Nigel Hermann,pHd of Mental Health & Development.

 

[Hunnyhelp]

(This information has been in my brain for some time, from old documentaries and Youtube, I am most likely wrong with a lot of things)


First of all, I know this isn't a science roleplay, but let me clarify on some things.


A: The Solar Flare wouldn't even have to be that big, just normal radiation from the sun while our magnetic field goes out for a second would cause electronics to be shut off.


B: Devices have radiation coating? They don't need too, they have something called Earth's Magnetic field, which from what I understand is horribly messed up atm.


C: That comet would have to be going very fast to collide with Earth. Due to Earth falling in the classifications of a planet it would collide with a planet of that size and destroy everything.


D: If somehow the planet was able to get past Earth, it would have to be much father, but the damage would still be a bit worse than you described, most likely we would also lose our moon. Not dependent if it got shattered into the planet or if the planet was far enough to only move it a meter away.


E: Our satellites still in orbit after the Solar Flare. No. Most would fall back to Earth due to the fact of them no longer able to keep themselves stable and that the Polar Shift would've probably already goupled them up, because you know, magnets play a huge role in our satellites orbits.


F: The gravity of such a planet would rip out our atmosphere making the temperature drop below the survivable range.


G: The gravity of such a planet would send the Earth towards the Sun, especially if it was that close and fast (to not be collide with the Earth)


H: Debris would be a big deal, but enough of Earth would have to be ripped out to make it impossible to live on for that much.


I: We would most likely live underground. Simple facts, the solar flare radiation would kill everybody above.


Since this is a roleplay, feel free to ignore that. Anything else I have to say is to give a link to what a Polar Flux is. Most don't know. Great idea, terrible science, but good idea. I like the fact you don't specify what the powers are, to let the roleplayers decide, but clarify what the boundaries are unless it's Advanced (people there are special)...

 

[Dusky]

Regarding eating their creations - if it's a matter of the food disappearing inside them, should that not have negative effects on them as the food has been digested and its molecules re-purposed in other parts of the body? Could be breaking important enzymes, etc etc etc. I guess it depends on how fast digestion is and how soon it disappears, which are particulars I know little of.

 

[Riddle78]

@Dusky


The section on Shapers is all from an in-universe perspective. Hermann has no means to do anything more than naked-eye observations,due to the solar flare royally fucking up technology. And as a mental health specialist,he didn't really think of that possibility,and I doubt that if he did,he'd keep his lunch down. On a related note,he hasn't met a mentally unwell Shaper,either. I have answers for both scenarios; They'll be revealed either when Nigel meets them,or when the players meet them.

 

[DreadfulDragon]

I feel you should explain how the croos and food situation is because well it's basically another ice age so food would probably scarce. This has probably come up but are there places where people have banded together because in an apocalypse there probably would be stragglers and "civilizations", as for the Solar Flare I feel you should say which star died and it would be a big one from what you are saying. The polar flux would be caused from say the moon not existing and for the comet it just passed by and skimmed the surface of the planet? Also from how this is going the amount of radiation and other things going on the atmosphere would be different thus making the air harder to breath and probably more scarce. The solar flare would burn parts of the planet if it got into orbit. And if pieces of the comet hit and stayed on ground level toxic gases would be flowing through the air; if I recall correctly high doses of mercury are in comets and meteors. So that would probably kill people off. As for the powers it could just be due to the mass amounts of radiation.


 
Scratch that it is just solar radiation from passing the sun.... By which is still very bad for humans anyways also maybe you can say where the meteor came from. It would give the rp a bigger look, it looks good and everything but it still needs stuff to make it pop; so add in depth stories on the three different things. Oooo or you can make it a chain reaction thing that say the comet hit the moon crushing it and part of the comet sending the shards to earth, the comet shards would break down the atmosphere enough for a solar flare of any size to get to earth and the moons destruction would screw with the planets temperature say a polar flux and then the solar flare would just be from a close star to the planet that finally died after millions to billions of years of existence

 

[Bob Brawler]

I just got two questions,


one. What is the timeline past future present and how long has it passed since the thing started


Two. I mean with the description of the powers you gave what would stop a 10 yearold kid from making a time machine from his favorite show "Medic who'.... Admit it, it was funny.

 

[Hunnyhelp]

[QUOTE="Alad V]@Dusky
The section on Shapers is all from an in-universe perspective. Hermann has no means to do anything more than naked-eye observations,due to the solar flare royally fucking up technology. And as a mental health specialist,he didn't really think of that possibility,and I doubt that if he did,he'd keep his lunch down. On a related note,he hasn't met a mentally unwell Shaper,either. I have answers for both scenarios; They'll be revealed either when Nigel meets them,or when the players meet them.

[/QUOTE]
C: I meant not to impact to Earth, that thing was pretty big and not that far away (in space terms the least)


D: OH, fifty thousand kilometers, I thought it was 50 km, still a km is not that much in space Juptier is 139,822 km across. So not the entire solar system...

 

[Riddle78]

https://www.rpnation.com/threads/diamond-dust-the-reality-of-ice.116500/


Ladies and gentlemen,we begin.