Ive had an idea in my head for a bit for a sci-fi setting that youve just reminded me of, where humans have sent out a number of colony ships to the closest hundred or so nearby stars- and almost all of the ones that have succeed have been crewed by cults, very dedicated religious groups and similar, or at least very dogmatic and extreme ideologies, because those had been the kind of group to be willing to spend all the money to create a starship with no real possibility of profit from it, had the zeal and skill at propaganda to instill a singular sense of mission across several generations, and had the desire to create their own society away from everyone else in order to make everyone there follow their rules. It then would have created a bit of a problem where, several generations down the line when this colonization wave has resulted in fairly large and powerful civilizations around the nearby stars, a sizable fraction have ended up seeing their journey as some kind of semi-mythical exodus from some kind of lost homeland that they’ve assigned religious importance too, and sent crusades back to the solar system to reclaim, putting them into conflict with both the people still living around Sol and all the other factions doing the exact same thing at roughly the same time, only ending when their own colonies of offshoot groups and exiles start doing the same thing to them and distracting them from being able to send crusader fleets.
Vaguely reminds me of a backstory for a stardrifter campaign I homebrewed. (My universe, stardrifter rules.)
Basically, earth history was that scienctists and academic types fled in the first Terran exodus. These became super advanced, called “solarians” though eventually also splitting offshoots on other worlds all of which were connected by jump portal (basically star gates in function but they moved a sphere one way, rather than a gate you walk through)
The second group were zealots that stayed behind becoming dumber and regressing, surviving a nuclear winter, until getting out to the stars and meeting the solarians, whose tech they steal but never actually understand. Arcana being the religion they follow literally using solarians tech as magic.
Shitnhappens back on earth driving humans away and wiping all life. from it as a galactic civil war happens across a few eons or so.
Eventually, a new humanoid-ish race evolves again that was in the middle of their Bronze Age when some solarians exiled come back and introduce religion in the hopes of creating super soldiers.
Things change and the setting of the actual campaign is analogous to contemporary technology…. When Stellarian assholes show up preaching the good word Arcana
I’ve come to the conclusion that aliens would probably have more in common with the the thiest extremists. You know the ones…
A society advanced enough to go to another star… would be able to learn everything they wanted to, about us, without coming into the system.
More pointedly, they’d realize we’re fucking psychos that nuked ourselves. Multiple times.
There’s three motivations, I think, that would justify aliens coming:
Bonus reason: they’re Space Mormons and we refuse so they become genocidal maniacs thst enslave the handful of survivors.
Ive had an idea in my head for a bit for a sci-fi setting that youve just reminded me of, where humans have sent out a number of colony ships to the closest hundred or so nearby stars- and almost all of the ones that have succeed have been crewed by cults, very dedicated religious groups and similar, or at least very dogmatic and extreme ideologies, because those had been the kind of group to be willing to spend all the money to create a starship with no real possibility of profit from it, had the zeal and skill at propaganda to instill a singular sense of mission across several generations, and had the desire to create their own society away from everyone else in order to make everyone there follow their rules. It then would have created a bit of a problem where, several generations down the line when this colonization wave has resulted in fairly large and powerful civilizations around the nearby stars, a sizable fraction have ended up seeing their journey as some kind of semi-mythical exodus from some kind of lost homeland that they’ve assigned religious importance too, and sent crusades back to the solar system to reclaim, putting them into conflict with both the people still living around Sol and all the other factions doing the exact same thing at roughly the same time, only ending when their own colonies of offshoot groups and exiles start doing the same thing to them and distracting them from being able to send crusader fleets.
It does rather mirror the founding story of the united states
That could be an interesting setting.
War of Theseus.
Vaguely reminds me of a backstory for a stardrifter campaign I homebrewed. (My universe, stardrifter rules.)
Basically, earth history was that scienctists and academic types fled in the first Terran exodus. These became super advanced, called “solarians” though eventually also splitting offshoots on other worlds all of which were connected by jump portal (basically star gates in function but they moved a sphere one way, rather than a gate you walk through)
The second group were zealots that stayed behind becoming dumber and regressing, surviving a nuclear winter, until getting out to the stars and meeting the solarians, whose tech they steal but never actually understand. Arcana being the religion they follow literally using solarians tech as magic.
Shitnhappens back on earth driving humans away and wiping all life. from it as a galactic civil war happens across a few eons or so.
Eventually, a new humanoid-ish race evolves again that was in the middle of their Bronze Age when some solarians exiled come back and introduce religion in the hopes of creating super soldiers.
Things change and the setting of the actual campaign is analogous to contemporary technology…. When Stellarian assholes show up preaching the good word Arcana
At which point did they begin the genophage?
I read that last one as “Space Morons” at first, and tbf they probably exist and may stop in one day.
Given how prevalent religion is in human history, I wonder how many would convert(?) and join the Space Mormons.
Lots.
Though some would convert for political power