Velvet Generation
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velvetgeneration.bsky.social
Velvet Generation
@velvetgeneration.bsky.social
15 followers 4 following 7 posts
The tabletop RPG of rock & revolution
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velvetgeneration.bsky.social
This sounds familiar...
The Gloom The Ministries arose in reaction to the global conflicts and horror that characterized the first half of the 21st century on Earth. One of the initial causes of this chaos was the rapidly warming climate of the planet. Land capable of supporting human life becoming desert or flooding with seawater exacerbated existing tensions and made bad situations worse around the globe. At the time, scientists and activists knew very well what steps could be taken to ease back from catastrophe. Doing so, however, would have disrupted the wealth and privilege of too many members of various ruling classes, so these recommendations largely fell upon uninterested ears. Rather than gradually scaling back on its causes, humanity survived the impending disaster through a series of drastic, large-scale engineering projects to radically cool the climate. These projects were each dreamed up separately by individuals in command of unimaginable wealth and technology. These people sidestepped the world’s decision-making bodies by simply not asking permission to take action. They also sidestepped a good deal of research into what side effects their projects might have on communities already reeling from decades of warming, or how the projects themselves would interact with one another. The result was planetary salvation from one very large crisis and the spawning of countless small ones. Some of these projects’ worst effects have faded over time, but one that’s still very present in 2073 is commonly called the Gloom: a vast screen of self- replicating nanotech drones scattered in the Earth’s upper atmosphere to deflect heat and light from the sun. This screen is less than a millimeter thick and surrounds the entire planet, becoming more or less opaque as the planet’s temperature requires. Perpetual near-total darkness was the norm in the years immediately following the Gloom’s deployment, but as the climate has cooled, the visual effect from the ground has become more like a perpetually overcast day. Some day, it may not be needed at all, but it’s unclear whether the Gloom’s designers bothered to create a way to turn it off.
April 28, 2025 at 2:29 PM