Double Exposure
GM Notes
A Tale from the Time of New Worlds for 5 players
by Jeff and Jordan Diewald
Tale Materials
The Tale requires the following characters:
| Characters | ||||
| Name | Species | Race | Summary | |
| 3.01 | Science Officer Brackett | Hardware | Vonda | Chief Scientist of the Fleet Science Ship Octavia; sentient android |
| 3.02 | Despot Keer-û | Wetware | Ryak-Ř | Officer in Storm Cellar #3 of the Iron Bender's Fire Along the River Between the Golden Mountain Ridges |
| 3.03 | Commander Leguin | Hardware | Vonda | Commander, in charge of the Fleet Science Ship Octavia; sentient android |
| 3.04 | Despot Vannov-û | Wetware | Ryak-Ř | Officer in Storm Cellar #1 of the Iron Bender's Fire Along the River Between the Golden Mountain Ridges |
| 3.05 | Despot Zhekkot-Ā | Wetware | Ryak-Ř | Officer in Storm Cellar #2 of the Iron Bender's Fire Along the River Between the Golden Mountain Ridges |
The Tale requires the following materials:
| Component | Copies | Copies to: |
| The Ryak-Ř's Tale | 3 | Despot Keer-û, Despot Vannov-û, Despot Zhekkot-Ā |
| The Octavia's Tale | 2 | Science Officer Brackett, Commander LeGuin |
Framing Text (Read Before the Tale)
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but what do you do when those desperate measures are about to fail, with a finality that destroys everything you are and you represent? The Deep Dark is unforgiving, with its radiations and emissions, exposing every frailty. What else might be revealed in the depths of infinity, when you face another glimpse into your despair? What happens during "Double Exposure?"
Location of the Tale
A thin space in a bubble of dust, irradiated by the emissions of a nearby gamma ray source.
Props
None
GM Notes
IMPORTANT NOTE: The two Octavia characters are only allowed to talk via text, using Emojis. This should be what they use to introduce themselves. They should be otherwise anonymous.
This needs:
- Dimmable lights for all participants, especially the three Ryak-Ř
- Independent chat for two of the players (Science Officer Brackett and Commander LeGuin)
- Global chat for all of the players
- Optionally, a way for two of the displays to show an arbitrary image (Science Officer Brackett and Commander Leguin)
Ideally, the two Fleet officers would have their microphones muted and a Fleet insignia image displayed on the Ryak-Ř screens.
Safety Concerns
Choosing the potential deaths of anonymous people.
Use of red/yellow/green colored indicators.
References
This was actually inspired by Silent Running. The Iron Bender's Fire Along the River Between the Golden Mountain Ridges translates into the Valley Forge from the movie.
Science Officer Brackett and Commander Leguin are named for Leigh Brackett and Ursula LeGuin. They are Vonda, as in Vonda McIntyre, flying on the Octavia Butler. All are references to famous female science fiction authors you should read.
Ann Leckie wrote the amazing Ancillary novels. She totally deserves to have a section of space named after her. Read her novels, too.
The Ryak-Ř are named after famous fictional second in command officers, though we changed the spelling significantly.