Interstellar Utopianism

Starting in the 22^nd century, intentionally created interstellar colonies became a way for various groups to run "socio-political experiments," testing novel ways of living. Since no Faster Than Light (FTL) travel or communication existed in the 22^nd century and particle physics hit a seemingly unsurmountable barrier, it was thought that any colony established in another star system would be guaranteed to be free from all the political powers residing in the Solar System.

Many starships were of the Ouroboros-class: designed for the autonomous establishment of new colonies. Those that could pool together the funds would have a vessel carrying some 311 adults in suspended animation, over eight thousand frozen embryos, and an AI smart enough to help manage both the starship and operate the machines necessary for building a new colony for the first generation of humanity in one's preferred star system.

Historical Background

When European civilization began its conquest of the Americas, several groups travelled to the Americas in the hope of being able to live and worship according to their ideals. Some of the earliest colonies were founded in the 1670s, with some of them becoming parts of the United States of America. However, the vast majority of these "utopian communities" failed within a decade of being founded in the Americas.

With the colonization of our Solar System under way during the mid-22^nd century, even Neptune's moons were too close to Earth, being only a few light-hours away (a mere week away by fusion rocket propulsion). To build a society that Earth could never touch, one had to go interstellar distances.

With the speed of light as an absolute barrier to all forms of rocket propulsion and means of communication, those that could purchase a starship and colonize another star system would be light-years away from Earth. Political freedom was assured. This became possible in the mid-22^nd century, with the invention of pulsed fusion rocket engines and the ability to store hydrogen propellant as dense metallic hydrogen.

Ouroboros Starship

The Ouroboros starship is about the size of a ballistic missile submarine from Earth. Aside from the four pulsed plasma fusion engines, the vessel is composed of fourteen modules. Two of the modules are where six decks of crew and equipment is stored, largely in one kind of stasis or another. The remaining twelve modules hold fuel and propellant, using deuterium (Hydrogen-2) and tritium (Hydrogen-3) as fusion fuels and metallic hydrogen as propellant. Metallic hydrogen is especially useful given its low atomic weight (thus greater velocity per particle) and its much greater density than liquid hydrogen (ten times denser).

Utopian Factions & Colonies

The various utopian factions disagreed on many aspects of society and ethics, but they all agreed that how humans lived in the Solar System was "barbaric" or "dehumanizing," for one reason or another. These factions believed that communities properly supervised would allow humans to develop into the best versions of humanity. An Ancient Greek term from ethical theories, eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία)—a term meaning human "flourishing" or "well-being," guided each of these factions, each faction interpreting what eudaimonia meant for humanity in different ways.

Wolf 359

Main Articles: Ice Planet in the Wolf 359 Star System

To Be Completed . . .

Epsilon Eridani

Main Articles: Spyrius in the Epsilon Eridani Star System

To Be Completed . . .

Tau Ceti

Main Articles: Futuron in the Tau Ceti Star System

To Be Completed . . .