Basic story:
-Hal Thompson, a young human cartographer is eager to explore US 2286 (an uncharted star about 17 light years from Orion’s Belt). Despite ridicule from his colleagues, he is convinced that this little star is a gold-mine of priceless information:

1) It has an impressive spectrum of color, which changes on a predictable basis. No other star changes color so frequently or consistently.

2) this spectrum of light and heat might mean that the star system of US 2286 supports a wider variety of life than on the Solar system. Of the 20 planets orbiting US 2286, at least three probably support life (As of the year 54671, Earth is still the only inhabitable planet on the Solar System).

3) its location is close to the star system where Krypton was (Superman’s home)

* Hal ultimately believes that US 2286 has inhabitants much like Kal-El (superman) and if humans can’t become Supermen (and Superwomen), then they can at least make an alliance with them.

Young, athletic PhD student of cartography steps into Professor Bigby’s office to plead for assistance in applying for a Lotson grant to teleport to US (Uncharted Star) 2286

“It’s essential for my thesis and will crack open our obscure understanding of our own galaxy.”

1. “I understand, son, but it’s too dangerous. Either wait til it’s finished, travel by light-speed ship, or choose a different location, like the Pillars of Creation.”

Hal and his companions could try to travel to  US expecting to explore and map it, but are unpleasantly surprised by chaos of hot, sharp rocks and asteriods in its place. Their ship almost gets annihalted in the process. That’s because they foolishly teleported straight there, a place that was previously uncharted territory.

They ignored intergalactic law and ISCA regulations by refusing to take options 1) or 2) as described in Further Information beloew. They’re able to land on an asteroid that’s big enough, calm enough, and cool enough to set up camp, but they’re in big trouble now. How will they get back home? Not to mention the lawsuits and penalties they face when they get back.

Hal and his colleagues are shocked to see the ruins of civilizations on planets 1 and 2. Planets 3 and 4 are hanging in there, but they are continue turning each other into space dust or scrambling each other’s molecules (the more ruthless inhabitants throw their enemies into orc snot, making them reek forever).

Planet 8 is a beacon of tranquility.  They are indeed Supermen and Superwomen, but they have chosen to stay out of the war between planets 3 and 4.

When planet 4 threatens to attack planet 8, planet 8 decides to take action: either bring peace to planets 4 and 3, or inhabit another galaxy entirely.

Hal, in the process,  the cartographer of US 2286, priginally insists on passive observertion of this war. But as his feelings for Kel-May (a young, beautiful daughter of one of the elders of planet 8) grow, he feels compelled to chronicle this war and participate somehow.

His involvement will not be like Dances with Wolves or Avatar (in both movies a foreign man completely incorporates himself into the society and single-handedly saves them). I want it to be realistic: he will come to love and appreciate the people of planet 8 and will be anxious to be involved in the intense peace negotiations. But ultimately, the outcome is out of his hands.

Planet 8’s inhabitants are like Superman, but they are not invincible like he is: like Elves, they can live forever as long as they are not killed.

Their culture is also one of peace and self-defense. They go to planet 4 only to speak calmly to them. And when the guns are pointed towards them, the planet 8-ians destroy their guns (using laser vision and other means) but never harm the people. This is a spectacular approach because planet 8-ians can be killed.

As planet 8’s efforts for peace fail, they decide to fly as a planetary community to another star system.

Hal does not have the money or permission to follow Kel-May to her new home. But he can’t erase his feelings for her like a bad map. He’ll remember her beautiful face during the whole 17 light-yr long journey.

Thus the dilemma: go back home, publish his research and secure his place on Earth’s society (including money and shelter), or abandon his life-long dreams and live a life of tranquility with Kel-May (thus incurring the wrath of ISCA, which hates romantic involvement with native inhabitants and expels cartogrophers from ISCA if they become romantically involved with native inhabitants)?

Further Information

Travellers commissioned by Intergalactic Space Catogropher’s Association (ISCA) to explore and map the universe.

1,000 years from now, space traveller’s will find a simpler way to transport than what we have been using. Instead of thrusting ourselves in the direction we want to go, we recreate ourselves in another location and our dissolved in the originally location.

You have to be careful about this, though, because this would only work in well-charted territories--the computers need to know where to send your copied matter. Unfamiliar territory would risk scrambling of matter or loss of matter entirely.

Travel like that would make it easier to go from one end of the universe to the other and map it. It would also free the restriction on observation that our current telescopes have: the speed of light. Our telescopes can only see light that is millions of years old, so our mapping (though fascinating and insightful) is outdated and does not portray all the right places.

The way that technology works is circular: it’s used to chart new territory, but the computers need to have a lot of information on the destination. There are two ways around this: 1) send people to the closest, well-documented territory 2) wait patiently for ships to travel there by light-speed ships (the old-fashioned way) and chart the new territory.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

Option 1) means that you can travel to the proximity of your destination right away. But the nearest well-charted destination may be still be light years away, with unkown dangers between the drop-off point and the final destination.

Option 2) may mean that it will take years for people to travel to the territory with new technology, but it means that a trail will be blazed, and teleportation will become safer and more direct.

But that newer, simpler way of travelling will require equipment that is expensive and time-consuming to set up, at least for the first couple thousand years. That means that intergalactic mapmaking will be painfully slow for a long time, and only a privileged few will get to do the actual travel.

Once humans get a handle on the technology, though, more people will be able to participate in mapmaking, and greater numbers of high-accuracy maps will become available.

They will also have technology that will help humans stay young longer. Though it won’t stop the aging process completely, it will help keep cartographers in good shape for longer, enabling them to map the universe.

Intergalactic diplomatic complications could also arise, as cartographers land on various planets to try and learn the languages and cultures of other planets. They may inadvertently start wars or get themselves killed, especially as these planets get used to the shock of international travellers.

After a couple centuries, inhabitants of these planets will tolerate the presence of these travelers and even take advantage of the economic benefits the travellers bring (tourism will exist in the future).

However, they’ll still be uncomfortable and resentful towards these travelers, whom they see as burocratic, greedy, and ignorant, who want to gather “cultural information” quickly and run away.

The cartographers don’t help, they just draw maps; by the way, the first cartographers don’t even show the maps to the native inhabitants of the planets, cuasing more resentment among the natives.

Eventually the native inhabitants will feel kindly to the cartographers because the cartographers bring intergalactic fame to these previously obscure peoples. The fame boosts the economy and vastly upgrades the standard of living.

Light-speed ships used to be equivalent to speed and new technology. Now it’s equivalent to slow and outdated (like a tortoise).

Old-fashioned lightspeed is used for more obscure territories, where the general public is either unaware or unaxious to chart those territories, or where funding is insufficient. Light-speed is slower, but it is tried and true, safer, and cheaper. It may take 30-40 years to chart a territory of 5 cubic lightyears, but the wait is worth it. Nobody dies or gets their atoms scrambled.

Newer, high-tech teleportation is swifter, but it is more dangerous and more expensive. Billions of dollars of research are spent each year improving teleportation, but there are still a great number of risks. Many cartographers die, dissappear, or are scrambled each year in teleportation accidents (both in space and in the lab). With teleportation, it can take as little as 1 year (but usually 5-10) to chart a territory of 5 cubic lightyears.

Popular destinations: orion’s belt, milky way. Less popular: leo, cancer. Computers already know where these stars are located, but the problem is finding out if these stars still exist, and what dangers surround each star: asteroids, radioactive space dust, black holes, and hostile alien monkeys.

The ISCA has put out an advertisement in Cenatauri, the Milky Way’s most prestigious newscast (inhabitants of other galaxies use it, too).

[Oh, I got it: teleport technology uses technology similar to that used for streaming video and audio across the galaxy]

    Opening for Grants to Chart Unexplored Territory

Thanks to a generous grant from the late Tryon Lotson, the ISCA will grant scholarships of 25,000 crons each to an additional 25 cartographers.

Applicants must:

- have at least 5 years experience in interplanetary cartography (intergalactic cartography experience not necessary).
- submit an essay on which area they intend to chart (including the host galaxy, neighboring planets, etc.) and other relevant information, such as which educational institution (if any) they will represent
- Be of appropriate age (see chart below)

Humans: 19-40 yrs
Romulans: 30-190 yrs.
Wookies: 100- 450 yrs.
Droids: Varies depending on model. Consult grant department for age range on your model.
Zombies will not be considered for Lotson grants. However, zombies may apply for other grants at www.isca.org/grants/zombies

Send all applications to ISCA Grant Department.

ISCA
[end of grant template]