The Star Thugs Universe

The first thing to point out is that Star Thugs does not take place in The Future. It takes place now. Earthlings still drive cars and surf the internet and complain about the latest Republican and/or Democrat to obtain office. The year in which Star Thugs takes place is the same year as real life. The only difference is that “real life” is the story of what Earth-born Terrans do from one day to the next. Star Thugs is a game about what the rest of the universe happens to be doing.

If you’ve guessed that the Terran governments keep the existence of alien life secret from the teeming throngs of humanity, you’re right. Mostly. What you’d be wrong about, if anything, would be their reasons for doing so. The truth is that the cover-up of aliens is not a conspiracy; it’s honest pragmatism. It’s not that the government is afraid that it will lose it’s stranglehold on artificial morality or power or oil prices or whatnot. It’s not that they think we humans can’t handle the truth. The Honest-to-God reason that the government keeps the existence of alien life hidden is simply this: Space is full of freaks.

Most aliens aren’t all that different from humans. They’re no smarter, no wiser, and no nicer. Some are good, some are bad. Some are smart, some are stupid. If this were the only concern, Earth would see no problem with embracing the galaxy with open arms. The problem is, while aliens are as broad and diverse as humans, they still have their ghettos, their red-light districts, and their places where no sane or ethical person would ever want to live.

Earth is right in the middle of one of these regions.

Sure, the Earthlings would love the Aphallissi, or the Arcturans, or even the the Reticuli. The problem is, they aren’t the ones who live near Earth. Earth’s neighbors are races like the Smileys, the Narxblosh, the Zarigians, and a number of other races who are, by most people’s honest estimation, an entire species of violent assholes.

Earth has nothing to gain by making first contact with those people. If anything, it would sour humanity on the whole concept of alien life in general. So, the Men in Black (Of course they’re the Men in Black) keep the whole situation secret.

Mostly.

What you wouldn’t guess is that Earth does have contact with the outside galaxy, and interstellar development has a huge impact on people’s lives. The internet wasn’t invented on Earth--we just stole it. The internet actually exists in space, is very similar to ours, and was actually invented just a few years earlier. Interstellar computing isn’t so far off from our own, either, and alien television isn’t terribly unlike Earth’s. Many Earthling business and marketing tricks were derived from alien techniques, too. Even a few of our restaurants have suspiciously similar counterparts out in space. What’s more, plenty of humans on Earth know about the rest of the galaxy. More than you’d probably believe. They just don’t blab about it because, frankly, they’d just be embarrassed.

All this means that intergalactic culture is practically an extension of modern Earth culture, because Earth culture is practically an extension of alien culture. Aliens may not have had a lot in common with 15th century England, but they’ve got a lot in common with 21st century America. Space is full of assholes, pikeys, lawyers, wage slaves, goths, salesmen, and angry parents. It’s full of fast food restaurants, bad television, cookie-cutter politicians, and tons and tons and tons of porn.

There are also a lot of differences which come from being a more mature and diverse galactic society. Most of Earth’s outside influence comes from the Narxblosh and the Reticuli, meaning it reflects their particular styles. There are many things that the rest of the galaxy does differently and a lot of other things they do the same way. As a new GM, think of space as you think of 21st century humanity. There’s no giant megacorps controlling the galaxy; there’s just a lot who would like to. There’s no giant interstellar war embroiling the universe; there’s just bitching about taxes. There’s no shadow government implanting chips into people’s minds and turning them into greenish food when they die; there’s just people who rant about it on the internet.

There are also real dangers. Sure, the guy across the room may not be a soulless cyborg enforcer, but it still hurts when he shoots you in the head. Sure, that giant Gigums may not have acid for blood, but it still sucks when it eats you. While living on Earth may just be a matter of finding a job that doesn’t elicit suicide, life in the rest of space is anything but boring.