Introduction to the Setting of the Larp

Description

Ask everyone to reassemble in the groups in which they did the tour (Terra, Orea-PC, Orea-GPC). The following script can be read aloud to give everyone an introduction to the larp.

Sirius 11F84: The Colours of Light tells of Earth’s first contact with the Interstellar Association about one hundred years in the future. A delegation of humanity travels to the planet New-Orea to undergo a test for admission to the Association. Here the “Terrans” encounter an extraterrestrial, utopian civilisation whose behaviour and ways of communication are so different that problems and misunderstandings arise.

The larp is about those frustrating misunderstandings in another world that take you out of your comfort zone. The larp wants to inspire you to see the world through different eyes and broaden your horizons.

The Setting

In a not-too-near and not-too-distant future: Earth (or, better, Terra) is in a phase of relative stability that one would almost call world peace. The remaining superpowers annihilated each other in the last so-called fossil war, creating a space for new paths. Representatives of the Global South, above all Ecuador and Bhutan, advanced a political-economic transformation away from the growth imperative (“degrowth”) and towards sustainability and regionalisation. The United Nations emerged strengthened in this development to eventually take on the role of a global, democratically legitimised executive authority. Most of the larger nation-states merged into smaller regions (e.g., former provinces, prefectures, or federal states), which in turn merged into continental organisations (such as the former European Union or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

During regionalisation, territories found recognition as individual states that do not follow a classical definition of “nation” but are controlled by corporations. Out of this mixture of a majority of growth-critical and sustainability-oriented democracies and a minority of growth-oriented and non-democratic so-called corporaties, a very dynamic political and economic patchwork emerged, which nevertheless comes together under the Charter of the (reformed) United Nations. The transformation did not go smoothly, so to this day, the period known as the hunger riots is a time of horror for many. A consequence of this unrest is that no nation or region can maintain military forces. Democracies and corporaties have local jurisdictions and police-like units for internal security if they deem them necessary. Laws that transcend customs and culture, such as criminal law, were and are enacted as annexes to the United Nations Charter and apply everywhere.

At the same time, the United Nations executive authority has pulled together all existing armed forces and destroyed many weapons. The “citizen as soldier” ideal remains on paper but has not been translated into universal conscription. With increasing interest in space travel and the colonisation of neighbouring planets, some military resources were absorbed into this new challenge.

It was mainly the corporaties that pushed various Mars missions in search of energy sources to establish branches there. Relying on external scientific expertise from the democracies and the old space programmes, all parties kept their heads down, and the Mars alliance merged almost smoothly into the United Nations. These renamed themselves the United Nations & Mars after the first generation of humans had lived on the neighbouring planet.

The Test

During mining operations near the Martian settlement of Neo-Herten, a kind of artefact was encountered; a crystalline object that could neither be damaged nor opened. Numerous experiments were carried out until, by chance, something in the object was activated. A message was delivered to humanity that by finding the artefact, they had demonstrated a level of civilisation that warranted first contact by the Interstellar Association.

Instructions were transmitted, and a date was set for reception talks (by the Interstellar Association…). Because Earth was no longer considered an undeveloped planet, many aliens who were already living in secret on Terra revealed themselves. Others stopped by to take a look at the potential new member and its population. These visits clarified that the scheduled talks were more of a test in which Terra was to show itself from its best side. At the same time, the humans learned about the enigmatic Oreans, who, as a species, currently held the presidency of the Interstellar Association and were thus responsible for the test. The place for the test — New Orea — was a newly created planet or a planet prepared only for humans in the dual star system Sirius, the home of the Oreans.

The United Nations & Mars have selected the best of the best from various fields to send as a delegation to New Orea. What awaits them there remained hidden — as did information about their hosts, the Oreans.

Equipped with what little knowledge could be gathered in advance and the authority to speak for Earth, the Terran delegation sets out with anticipation and unease. What if they fail the test?

At the other end of the solar system, an Orean delegation prepares to find out whether humanity should be accepted. The artefact could have been better hidden on Uranus after all. Some Oreans are reluctant, and others want to finish the test quickly. The curious ones, however, are excited about this young species with all its faults and achievements.

Character-Roles

Your characters belong to one of these two groups, the Terrans and the Oreans. The Terran characters are all player characters. The character descriptions give you a framework and incentives to play. Do not be afraid to add to and change them. Use what you like and develop your characters as the story progresses. If in doubt, come and talk to us about things you find difficult. This can be especially the case with the Oreans, so ask anytime if something is unclear. There are also a handful of GPC among the Oreans who should get some more information or take an action at some point. Otherwise, however, play these characters like any other PC.

Episodes and Conflict

The larp is played in several episodes and thus offers a little rest in-between for the organisers and participants. Between the three episodes, there will be workshops for calibration and character development. We will start with the final scene in order to experience how the ending (happy ending) came about in the course of the game (so-called Fate Play).
This means that conflict and emotional outbursts are, of course, welcome, but escalation should never go so far that no solution can be found. There will be no deaths.