Home Blogs Font RPG: Welcome Station 72 TTRPGs
In the far future, ten thousand years from now, possibly longer, humanity has stagnated. We have learned, to the best of our knowledge, we are alone in the universe. We travel through the galaxy expanding our civilisation in response to our needs.
Most believe the jump drive — predicated on each jump ship travelling far enough from the gravity of a system's star to operate — was the greatest development of our species. That it's what's allowed us to thrive. Many of that 'most' have been working to find humanity's next great development. People have been doing this work for generations and generations, for the thousands of years since the jump drive provided for a society capable of supporting a comfortable life for everyone. Some believe there is no 'next greatest development' to come. They don't believe working for these developments is futile; even if there's little chance of a truly life-changing discovery striving for better is what humanity does; it is the purpose of living.
There are others, however, who believe humanity's next great development is within humanity itself. That the next greatest development won't be in technology, or navigation, but will be in how humanity views itself. A few of these people form the leaders of each outpost, planet, space station and welcome station.
What those leaders know, and the people recruited to maybe someday lead are beginning to understand, is humanity's true danger is itself.
Humanity has faced all manner of conflict. The greatest conflict humanity faces is 'want.' Wanting more, demanding more, endlessly seeking more. They know humanity is best served by maintaining its peaceful contentedness based on its needs and not its wants or demands. In this distant future everyone can have what they need with a little effort and determination. Wants are considered far more carefully.
Each community, be it the welcome stations as import points for the jump ships transporting the materials the rest of humanity is in need of, the outposts within the solar system which exist simply to support life and all life's purposes, or the planets which have been terraformed, slowly, to support the extremes of humanity's delving into philosophy, science, self-examination, leadership and spirituality all have their own layers of rules and organisation particular to them; rules that change over generations based on what that society needs in the moment. The only constant is people's needs are addressed and people are comfortable.
These rules don't always appear fair, certainly not to people outside that particular society, but each society is broadly happy with their way of life. And, of course, if the society itself sees the need to change their rules then they can simply change them. However, figuring out they have the power to change the rules might not be obvious to individuals, and it might not even be obvious to everyone in the society such changes are needed, or even desired.
Welcome Station 72 is a place for playing a group of people who feel — or are learning — their society on the distant edges just beyond the solar system does need to change, and are willing to put in the effort to change it.
The question the leaders of Welcome Station 72 may ask, should this group of people become apparent to them, is whether the changes this group desires are actually needed, and further, what the cost of such change would be.
Is the potential upset to the balance the society on Welcome Station 72 has achieved worth risking even for a change that might benefit it greatly, long term?
Is disturbing a mostly contented society worth it even should it lead to the greatest development in humanity since the jump drive; the development that brought the satisfaction of every need, and a long-lasting peace? Is stability worth sacrificing for growth?