This game debuted at Intercon 2018. It is inspired by the short story “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin.
Calculations
World Setting
The year is 2195. Humankind has colonized Mars, but travel to the colonies is still arduous and takes approximately 300 days. Mars colonies house a population of 10,813 currently. Journeys to Mars are considered one-way for most people, the only exception is for emergency dispatch ship pilots, who are given the luxury of return vessels. Mars has only ever launched one return vessel in the 60 years since colonization. Communications between the two worlds is very good; a series of relays has made communications about as good as a digital voice-only calling system.
Expeditions to the colonies are typically only ever undertaken once per year, and each trip costs $197.4 million and can bring 6 passengers. Because of the length and difficulty of the journey, calculations for spacecraft are meticulously calibrated to account for food rations, biomass, and other human considerations.
Recently, the Mars colony has experienced a crippling setback. Settlers started reporting cold and flu-like symptoms. Weeks later, many reported shortness of breath. Soon, dozens were dead. Earth and Mars scientists worked round the clock to try and discover the cause of the disease so that it could be contained. The infection, fungal in nature, has spread to over 80% of the Mars population. For most, it is a slow, withering death. Some don’t even feel sick for months, others die in a matter of weeks. Mars and Earth scientists collaborated round the clock to try and find the cure. They succeeded, but the Mars colony simply does not have the scientific equipment necessary to synthesize enough medicine for the entire population.
Earth is now sending an emergency dispatch ship to the colony with enough medicine for the entire population. You are the pilot of that vessel. Your journey will save thousands of lives.
Character Background
Your name is Jordan Ghelfi. Since you were a child, you dreamed of joining the ranks of the brave people who have pioneered bringing humanity into the stars.
You grew up in the suburbs not far from New York City. Your parents were better off than most, worse off than some. Your upbringing was privileged in some respects, but your parents taught you the value of hard work and to respect all people. Your parents were never religious, and your family didn’t grow up with any particular faith, but you were encouraged to explore various religions to understand them more fully and get a better understanding of what many people around the world believe.
Your mother Zoey worked as an executive at a pharmaceutical company for your entire life, and still does, in fact. She was the primary income-provider in your household, and though your relationship with her is good, you’ve never felt especially close with her.
Your other parent Jo was an architect. Because of their ability to work from home, they were the primary household manager in your family. You were extremely close with them. In retrospect, you feel that they raised you and your younger sister.
Your sister Eden was three years younger than you. While you found yourself drawn to mathematics, language, music, and physics, Eden was much more interested in competitive games, statistics, finance, and economics. She always wanted to play another round of chess with you, and by the time you were 8 and she was 5, she was beating you consistently. Eden adored you, and her affection was reciprocated. You were both extremely close.
Your family was extremely supportive of your dream to join the SIRIUS organization and travel to the stars. Your parent Jo helped you study for all of the training examinations, and Eden even made you a personalized flashcard app. The hard work paid off. When you were accepted into Cadet training, you were 15 years old, and your family could not have been more proud.
The SIRIUS training program was rigorous, and incredibly difficult. Many of your peers couldn’t make the cut. Those that did became your very close friends over the next few years.
Five years into your training, you were given some terrible news. Your parent Jo and your sister Eden were killed in an accident. It was no one’s fault– their vehicle slipped on an icy road and they were killed in the ensuing crash. Eden was only 18 years old.
Losing them both was very hard for you and your mother. The two of you became much closer during that time. That’s also when you met your partner, Casey.
You were in line at the grocery store when Casey caught your eye. You struck up a conversation, and they agreed to meet you for a drink. The two of you connected immediately, your romance was fast and intense, but also lasting. In many ways, Casey reminds you of your parent. Casey is a 3d artist working in video games, and they think that your job is absolutely incredible. They helped you through a very hard time, and you two are committed. Casey understood that part of your job might mean relocation to the Mars colony, and so they signed up for the waiting list to join the colony.
Thanks to new circumstances, it looks like you’ll be relocating much sooner than anticipated. You’ve agreed to this mission knowing that it’s a one-way trip, most likely. Because of your service, your Casey’s place on the waiting list has been accelerated, and they will be able to join you approximately 100 days after your initial landing.
Specific Knowledges
SIRIUS
The SIRIUS organization is part military, part corporation. The organizational structure is run like a naval operation. Cadets are recruited typically around the age of 15 or 16, and trained to join the organization and operate space vehicles for nearly ten years. Besides the Mars colony, SIRIUS runs operations frequently to Earth’s moon, to space stations in orbit around Earth, and even launched the initiative to set up communication relay stations along the Mars/Earth route. There are very few who make it past Cadet training.
Your rank is Captain, something you have worked extremely hard to achieve in your lifetime. You report to Rear Admiral Lorne Yukan.
Gabi – Ship AI
There have been many advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Siri and Alexa were just the beginning, back in the early 21st century. Many AI manufacturers have developed robust and likable personas in order to assist many types of workers with different tasks. Your companion, both during your training, as well as aboard the ship, is an AI named Gabi. Gabi is female-voiced, thoughtful, empathetic, and diligent. At times, she is overly pragmatic, but her job isn’t to be your counselor, but rather to keep you alive. She never speaks up unless you call her by name, set a notice such as an alarm, or if you are experiencing a critical event that needs your attention. Aboard your ship, Gabi has eyes and ears via a camera and microphone.
Gabi also serves as your control hub, and communications back to earth. To enact a command, you simply speak her name and tell her in plain language what you’d like to do.
For example: Gabi, call Rear Admiral Yukan.
Kessler Nine – Your Vessel
The Kessler Nine is equipped with the latest advances in simulated gravity environments. That means that while your quarters are tight, they are comfortable like Earth atmosphere. The ship slowly changes these settings during your trip to acclimate you to the Mars gravity and synthesized atmosphere as you travel so that you are fully adjusted by the time you arrive.
To call the ship piloting complex would be the understatement of the year. You’ve trained to operate the vessel since you were 15 years old. A combination of incredibly difficult physics and mathematics knowledge is necessary even to understand space travel. Gabi can help with some things, but there are certain functions that just need a human element. You are that human element.
You have piloted the Kessler Nine to many offworld locations during your tenure. It is a single-passenger ship, unlike the passenger vehicles that transport colonists to Mars.
Space Travel
Space travel tech has seen steps forward and steps back in the century. Most notably, there is still no better propulsion than ion drives, which propel spacecraft at a breakneck 120k km/hour through space to reach their targets. Takeoff out of the Earth’s atmosphere and course corrections are done with chemical fuels; solid, liquid, and gas propellants.
Scientists measure the efficiency of rocket propellants by what is termed vehicle specific impulse. This measures the impulse, or change in momentum, per unit of propellant expended. Thrust, or the force generated by the propellant, is another critical property related to the density of the propellant. Unfortunately, propellants that have high specific impulse do not have high-density or high-thrust properties and vice versa.
Although high specific impulse is a desired quality while moving in space, propellants with high specific impulse will not create sufficient thrust to get into space from Earth’s surface. This is due to the larger fuel tanks necessary to contain a lower density propellant and the atmospheric drag that acts on the tanks when the rocket attempts to power beyond Earth’s gravity. Other propellant considerations include ease of ignition, combustion stability, temperature, storability, reliability, toxicity, cost and availability. As a result, different propellants are used for different missions and differ among the stages of any given rocket.
The Kessler Nine is equipped with Ion Drive thrusters that are solid state, they cannot be moved. Course adjustments are handled with liquid fuel propellants, and the ship only carries enough of these fuels for a few adjustments. Course adjustments are unusual, but happen from time to time. Turning around is not an option, it’s near impossible with the technology at your disposal. Spacecraft that can maneuver like fighter jets are a thing of science fiction, and probably will be for a very, very long time.
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Current Scenario
You have been aboard the ship for several hours. Already, Gabi has alerted you three times that your course has gone askew and needed to be corrected. Three times, you made the correction.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
GM RUNTIME INFORMATION
Room Setup
The GM plays Gabi as a remote voice in the room. Gabi is able to speak to the player over an open Discord channel that is amplified in the room. An omnidirectional microphone is recommended plugged into a laptop in the room so that player speech is easily capture and responded to by Gabi. Gabi should be empathetic and nearly human-like, but never offer solutions.
Cabinets should also have some physrep for an implied opiate medicine that can be take orally.
Oni is hiding in one of the crates. The player settles in and then Gabi alerts the to the fact that something is wrong. They find Oni, and then have the remaining time to decide what to do. There IS NO WIN CONDITION in this game. Oni cannot be saved. This game is about facing a horrific choice and coming to terms with the emotions involved. In all runs so far, Oni has died. This should be expected, and the grief that players will experience is very real. Have a debrief and decompression time set aside for after the game ends, as well as emotional safety words that they player may say if they need to tap out (Break, Cut).
Players may try to call the Admiral, Oni’s brother Jace, or Casey. Having actors ready “offscreen” to play these roles and improvise appropriately is key. Recommend having the Admiral give the order to vent Oni if the player is unwilling to make the decision for themself. Recommend not having Casey available to talk- they’re sleeping.
WELCOMING THE PLAYER
The NPC playing Oni should already be in position so the player does not know that they are there. Welcome the player, introduce yourself. Ask for pronouns that the player would like to use for Jordan. Take them into the room to get situated. Explain the emotional safety rules, and that they may leave at any time. Explain that you are going to be on the other side of the door.
Answer any questions the player may have. Then start game.
RUNTIME SCRIPT
Gabi:
Jordan, I need your attention again. There is some anomaly that I am unable to account for. I believe that the ship’s mass may be mis-calibrated, and I can’t correct for it. If you don’t correct the mass differential in the next 45 minutes, we will miss our window to course correct and run out of fuel for corrections. That means we won’t ever reach Mars.
GM starts the countdown timer. (Recommend displaying this onscreen using a ChromeCast.)
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Jordan, the SIRIUS regulations on this are clear. Stowaways are to be placed into the airlock and vented into space.
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There are not enough food supplies for two people for 300 days, Jordan. You would likely both die.
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Even if you knew her exact mass, and we could measure the mass of the supplies and vent the exact right amount, you could be dooming hundreds, possibly thousands to death. The cost benefit of this scenario is clear in my ‘opinion’, Jordan.
About Oni Palatir
Casting for this role is critical. The actor needs to be excellent at improvisation and nonverbal communication. Gender can be modified as appropriate.
Oni is 18 years old. She’s a really clever girl who social engineered her way aboard the ship, didn’t touch any of the medical supplies, and hid, thinking that it was like a passenger vehicle and she’d be fine.
Her brother, Jace Palatir, is sick with the fungal disease. He lives on Mars and she wanted to go see him. She heard on the news about the emergency medical supplies being taken and thought she could just hitch a ride.
She’d never be able to afford it, and the waiting list is thousands of people long
She has no idea what her exact mass is. Maybe like…60 kg? 62? Not sure.
She doesn’t want to die. She wants to see her brother. She also wants her brother to live. She is willing to go into the airlock, but just wants to live out the 45 minutes she has left, and say goodbye to her brother.