Starrunners Lore-Builders’ Guide

Version 0.7.2 (Maintainer: Starrunners’ Council) v0.7.2 (2026-10-10): Numbers audit: post-2316 jump-energy coefficient with E_min floor, ε = 2×10⁻⁴, t = E/P recharge, exit-frame and range-per-charge rules.

This document serves as a meta-framework and foundational guide for all contributors—human or AI—developing new material for the Starrunners science fiction setting. Adherence to these guidelines will ensure that new additions integrate seamlessly with established canon, maintaining the integrity of the universe’s engineering, timeline, and distinctive tone.

1. MISSION STATEMENT

• Tell exhilarating stories (human-, machine-, and xeno-centric) within a Mohs Hardness Scale 5-6 science fiction universe.
• Technology should feel used, often jury-rigged or field-modified, reflecting a practical, lived-in future rather than pristine, showroom perfection.
• Celebrate agency and ingenuity: humans, machines, and xeno-entities are all capable of independent thought and action.
• Explore and respect the plausible consequences—social, economic, and ethical—that arise from every technological leap or major historical event.

2. CANON HIERARCHY

The Starrunners canon is structured in tiers to manage contributions and resolve potential conflicts:

• Tier 0: Core Physics Axioms
  • Fundamental principles of the universe, including: Causality; General and Special Relativity; Chronology Protection (the physical law itself; the Rapidity-Gate is the engineered sensor that lets crews abort before the law vetoes a bubble violently). These are immutable.
• Tier 1: Published Foundational Lore
  • Approved and finalized “Tech Wiki” pages (e.g., starship systems, station technologies, FTL mechanics), detailed historical timelines (e.g., the Wildcode Crisis), and core setting documents.
• Tier 2: Approved Sourcebooks & Expanded Universe Material
  • Official guides detailing factions, political entities, specific planetary systems, major campaigns, and established character backstories.
• Tier 3: Adventures, Serials & Licensed Fiction
  • Narrative works such as game modules, short stories, and novels. These may explore the boundaries of established lore but must not break Tier 0 or Tier 1 rules. Minor, justifiable bends of Tier 2 are permissible with review.
• Tier 4: Community & Fan Contributions
  • Content created by the wider community. Such material is considered “beta-canon” or “non-canon” until formally reviewed and approved by the Starrunners’ Council for promotion to a higher tier.

Guiding Principle: When adding or modifying lore, contributors must reference the highest canon tier their element directly interacts with and must never contradict a higher tier.

3. HARDNESS & NUMERICAL CONSISTENCY

Maintaining the setting’s “hard SF” feel requires attention to scientific plausibility and numerical rigor.

3.1 Acceptable Speculative Leaps

• Limit one major speculative leap (i.e., a significant deviation from currently understood physics or a highly advanced, unproven concept) per major technological subsystem. Examples include the CID warp drive or the Negative-Energy Confinement Lattice (NECL). The CID/NECL leap covers both the negative-energy confinement and the metastable jump-energy store (charged false-vacuum droplets); ordinary superconducting storage serves only as a trigger buffer.
• All other technological elements should demonstrably descend from or be plausible extrapolations of real-world research and development circa 2020–2050.

3.2 Quantification & Units

• Provide at least one grounding equation, a key performance parameter (e.g., efficiency, capacity, strength), or a defining power/mass/energy figure for any new technology or significant object.
• Default to SI units (meters, kilograms, seconds, Joules, Watts, etc.). If other units are necessary for flavor or context, clearly provide the SI conversion.
• Aim for 2–3 significant digits in numerical values (e.g., exhaust velocity of 5.5 × 10⁶ m s⁻¹, not 5,482,912.3 m s⁻¹) to maintain realism without excessive precision.

3.3 Consistency Checklist (Self-Audit Before Submission) ✅ Energy Balance: Do energy inputs (reactor power, fuel consumption) plausibly account for outputs (thrust, waste heat, system operation)? ✅ Mass Budgets: Do declared masses for ships, stations, or components close to a reasonable total (aim for ±10% variance from derived sums unless justified)? ✅ Development Timelines: Do timelines for technological breakthroughs or large-scale manufacturing allow for realistic research, development, prototyping, and production lead times? ✅ Wildcode Compliance: Does any computational asset stay under the wildcode threshold (<20 MW power draw AND <20 Gb s⁻¹ I/O bandwidth) for open, non-Wildcode-immune systems? (The legal per-channel cap of 10 Gb s⁻¹ is the separate grey line; see Section 6.) Systems exceeding these limits must be justified as Blue-Fire/HSA sealed cores or operate under other established immunity protocols.

4. TONE & THEMES

The Starrunners universe has a distinct feel that should be reflected in all contributions:

• “Analog-Heroic”: Emphasize tactile interfaces (switches, dials, physical readouts), manual skill (eyeball navigation, hands-on repair), and the craftsmanship of guilds or experienced individuals.
• Limited & Specialized AI: Artificial intelligence is limited to human-level or narrower, with the possibility of superhuman or superintelligent AI viewed with suspicion due to the historical Wildcode Crisis.
• Cautious Frontier Optimism: Humanity is exploring and expanding, but this optimism is tempered by the collective memory of technological hubris (epitomized by the Grey Crash) and the ever-present potential for unforeseen consequences.
• Sources of Conflict: Plausible conflict arises from struggles over compute tonnage licences, resource choke-points (e.g., NECL-grade borophene and dark-shop throughput; Helium-3 is abundant from gas-giant skimming and is not a choke-point), divergent colonial cultures, ideological clashes, and the lingering threat of wildcode or other technological hazards.

5. FTL & ASTROGATION RULES

Faster-than-light travel via the Coherent-Induced-metric Displacement (CID) drive is a cornerstone of the setting and subject to specific rules:

5.1 CID Bubble Effective Velocities: * Operational Range: 5 c (minimum viable) to 100 c (theoretical maximum for “hero ships” or specialized military craft). Above ~30c the heat battery grows past ~22% of ship mass (f ≈ 0.0072 ⋅ v_eff[c], Section 5.3); a 100c hull would need ~72%, so such ships are exotic one-offs. * Typical Service Range: 10 c to 30 c for most civilian and commercial star-runners.

5.2 Jump Energy Requirement: * E_jump ≈ max( E_min , 3.6 × 10¹⁴ J ⋅ m_kt ⋅ (v_eff / 10c) ) * Where m_kt is the ship’s mass in kilotons (1 kt = 1,000,000 kg). * Where v_eff / 10c is the dimensionless ratio of the effective FTL velocity to 10 c. * E_min ≈ 2.0 × 10¹⁴ J is the energy of the smallest stable superluminal envelope (a shell of about 60 m). It binds for a 0.7 kt courier below about 7.9 c, and explains why ~0.7 kt is the smallest practical starship and why there are no cheap FTL missiles. Sub-light test envelopes (e.g., the 2254 demonstration) are exempt. * This is the post-2316 coefficient, following the squeezed-vacuum Q-factor breakthrough. The older value, 3.6 × 10¹⁷ J, survives as the pre-2316 figure (1,000× costlier). * E_jump does not depend on jump distance. * Example: a 0.7 kt courier at 12c needs 3.6 × 10¹⁴ ⋅ 0.7 ⋅ 1.2 ≈ 3.0 × 10¹⁴ J (≈72 kt TNT-equivalent held in the NECL), which equals the canon nucleation pulse (100 PW for 3 ms).

5.3 FTL Waste Heat Fraction: * ε ≈ 2 × 10⁻⁴ (i.e., 0.02% of E_jump becomes waste heat aboard that must be managed). Adjustments to this fraction for new drive variants require strong justification. * Justification: with a heat battery storing ~1 MJ/kg effective, the battery fraction of ship mass is f ≈ 0.0072 ⋅ v_eff[c]. The courier’s 150 t battery (21% of 700 t) therefore covers the typical 10–30 c service range (rated to ~30c, 1.5 × 10¹¹ J). * Timing: Q = ε ⋅ E_jump is deposited aboard during the ~30 s merge, as radiation from the collapsing envelope wall into the battery’s absorber cartridges (part of the CID leap). Nothing can be vented while inside the envelope, so the heat battery must hold all of Q (courier: 6.0 × 10¹⁰ J at 12c, 40% of capacity). After the merge the heat is radiated over hours or, in emergencies, vented as coolant mass. * Energy ledger: ≈99.98% of E_jump is radiated as gravitational waves at nucleation and merge. This is harmless (strain ~10⁻¹⁵ at 1 km) but detectable system-wide by gravitational-wave sensors (the basis of jump detection). A fraction ε becomes heat aboard, and ~9 × 10⁻⁶ is released at the arrival point (courier ≈ 2.7 GJ), mostly inductive and non-ionizing. There is no distance term.

5.4 FTL Drive Recharge Time Guideline: * t_recharge = E_jump / P_charge * Where P_charge is the electrical power the ship’s fusion plant dedicates to loading the NECL charge store. Example: a courier (3.0 × 10¹⁴ J) charged at ~20 GW_e (Brightwing in power mode) needs ≈4.2 h.

5.5 In-Bubble Maneuvering (Bubble Steering): * Course corrections while within the FTL bubble are limited to approximately ≤0.1 AU of lateral deviation per light-year of travel. Major strategic turns or course changes must be performed at sub-light speeds between jumps.

5.6 Chronology Protection: * Chronology protection is the physical law: no FTL bubble solution that would lead to a Closed Timelike Curve (CTC) can persist. The Rapidity-Gate is the engineered sensor that detects incipient CTC solutions so the crew can abort before physics vetoes the bubble violently (cf. the torpedo misfire). The Gate can fail; the axiom cannot. No time travel plots are permitted. This is a Tier 0 axiom.

5.7 Slide Exit Frame: * The ship emerges at rest in the local rest frame of the dominant gravitating body at the exit point. The crew cannot select the exit frame, which prevents relativistic-kill-vehicle exploits. The momentum and energy exchange is part of the CID leap and is not drawn from E_jump. * FTL Interface Ports sit in orbit near major hubs, sited where matching to orbit is cheap (≤ ~10 km/s). Operations keep a 5 km hush-zone; habitats keep a standoff of ≥ ~400 km for courier-class ports and ≥ ~2,000 km for capital-class ports.

5.8 Range per Charge: * Range is set by the coherence time of the NECL droplets, not by energy: range ∝ v_eff ⋅ T_coh. Courier-grade stacks sustain ~0.5 yr of ship-time, i.e., 6 ly at 12c. Capital-class stacks (Atlas) manage 10 ly at 17c (T_coh ≈ 0.59 yr).

6. COMPUTE & WILDCODE SAFETY PROTOCOLS

The legacy of the Wildcode Crisis imposes strict limitations on computational systems:

• Any open, non-sealed computational system (i.e., one not employing Blue-Fire/HSA or equivalent future-proofed immunity) must operate below the wildcode threshold of 20 MW total power draw AND maintain I/O bandwidth below 20 Gb s⁻¹ to prevent wildcode replication. This threshold is physics and is fixed; the c.2231 “drift” projections are in-universe speculation, not canon.
• The grey line is something different: the legal cap of 10 Gb s⁻¹ per channel, set below the physical threshold. Use the two terms consistently.
• Large-scale datacenters, supercomputers, or high-performance computing clusters exist only as Blue-Fire/Hard-Seal Architecture (HSA) sealed cores or similarly certified immune systems.
• Characters needing to move petabyte-scale data typically rely on physical courier transport of crystal memory rods or highly specialized, secure, point-to-point microwormhole links (if FTL comms are detailed). Standard network transfers for such volumes are impractical and unsafe.
• “Wild pockets” of evolving greycode in derelict digital ecosystems remain a persistent background hazard. Utilize this element responsibly as a plot device, not as a ubiquitous threat that undermines established safety protocols.

7. CONTRIBUTION WORKFLOW

To ensure quality and consistency, please follow this workflow for new lore contributions:

0. Optional Pre-Pitch (Recommended for Major Additions):

• Post a concise concept outline in the #lore-drafts forum (or designated discussion channel) for quick sanity checks and community feedback, especially if your idea significantly impacts Tier 0-2 lore (e.g., new fundamental physics, major historical revisions, galaxy-spanning factions).

1. Drafting:

• Create your new lore content using the Lore Page Template (see Section 8).

2. Self-Audit:

• Rigorously review your draft against the Consistency Checklist (Section 3.3) and other relevant guidelines in this document.

3. Tagging:

• Clearly tag each new significant piece of information within your draft using bracketed keywords. Examples: [NEW-TECH], [NEW-WORLD], [NEW-PLANET], [NEW-FACTION], [NEW-CHARACTER], [NEW-EVENT], [PLOT-DEVICE].

4. Submission:

• Submit your draft as a “pull request” to the canonical lore repository (or via the designated AI contribution interface). Clearly cite which Canon Tier(s) your contribution primarily affects or modifies.

5. Review & Approval:

• The submission must be approved by two peer reviewers or one designated member of the Starrunners’ Council before it can be merged and promoted to the relevant Canon Tier. Reviewers will assess for consistency, plausibility, adherence to guidelines, and overall quality.

8. LORE PAGE TEMPLATE

# <Page Title>  [[Optional Inter-Wiki Link if Applicable]]

**Category:** `[TECHNOLOGY / CULTURE / HISTORICAL EVENT / CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY / LOCATION GAZETTEER / FACTION DOSSIER / ETC.]`

### 1.  Summary (Elevator Pitch)
A single, concise paragraph (typically 2-4 sentences) summarizing the core concept or subject of this page.

### 2.  Data Block / Key Parameters
(Use tables for structured data; omit if not applicable, e.g., for pure narrative entries)

| Symbol/Parameter | Meaning/Description         | Typical Value(s) / Range |
|------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------|
| …                |                             |                          |
| …                |                             |                          |

**Relevant Equations (if any):**
*   `Equation 1...`
*   `Equation 2...`

### 3.  Narrative Detail & Context
A prose section (generally ≤300 words, can be longer for complex topics if approved) providing descriptive color, background information, operational details, and in-universe context.

### 4.  Canon Hooks & Integration
*   Explain how this new lore **builds upon, interacts with, or modifies existing Canon Tiers 0-2**. Clearly state any dependencies on, or precedents drawn from, established lore.
*   Outline potential **ripple-effects or consequences** this new element might have on other aspects of the setting.
*   Suggest 2-3 brief **story seeds or plot hooks** that could arise from this lore.

### 5.  Sources, Inspirations & Version History
*   (Optional) Links to real-world scientific papers, articles, or inspirational material.
*   Internal version history for this specific lore page (e.g., "v0.1 - Initial draft by [Author]," "v0.2 - Revised based on reviewer feedback").

9. NAMING CONVENTIONS

Consistency in naming helps solidify the setting’s identity:

• Starships: Typically Mythological Figure/Creature/Constellation or Evocative Animal/Natural Phenomenon + an optional functional suffix or Greek letter (e.g., IKV Chimera, Starrunner Brightwing Beta, UES Titan’s Fist).
• Stations & Settlements: Generally Location + Purpose/Number (e.g., “L4-Foundry-Three,” “Epsilon Eridani Relay Station Alpha,” “Mars Polaris Research Outpost”).
• Factions & Organizations: Often two-word evocative labels or descriptive titles (e.g., “Grey Syndics,” “Solaris Colonial Authority,” “Keepers of the Blue Fire”).
• Units & Measures: Use SI prefixes (kilo-, mega-, giga-, tera-, peta-) and avoid US customary units in technical descriptions.

10. STYLE SHEET

• Headings: Use Markdown headings H1 (#) for page titles, H2 (##) for major sections, and H3 (###) for sub-sections. Avoid deeper nesting (H4+) for general readability.
• Mathematics:
  • Inline mathematical expressions: $ E = mc^2 $.
  • Display (block) mathematical expressions: $$ \Delta x_ \text{max} \approx 0.1 \text{ AU} \cdot (L / \text{ly}) $$.
  • If the target display medium lacks LaTeX support, use clear ASCII representations or pre-rendered images where necessary.
• Emphasis: Use bold for the first use of a key term or proper noun specific to the Starrunners universe. Use italics for emphasis or foreign/archaic terms.
• Lists: Keep bullet points and numbered list items concise, ideally <80 characters per line where practical, to ensure readability on narrower screens.

11. FREQUENT PITFALLS (Common Mistakes to Avoid)

✗ Granting an AI character or system unrestricted access to non-Blue-Fire/HSA compute cores exceeding the 20 MW / 20 Gb s⁻¹ wildcode threshold. ✗ Designing powerful energy systems (reactors, engines, weapons) without adequately accounting for waste heat generation and rejection, as well as wider implications (i.e. reactionless drives, which inevitably permit cheap planet-cracking superweapons). ✗ Hand-waving FTL logistics: jump energy requirements, fuel consumption for sublight maneuvers, and recharge times still apply and have consequences for mission planning. ✗ Introducing “total-wipe” weapons or planet-destroying capabilities without demonstrating how their effects are constrained by or compatible with Chronology Protection principles (e.g., Rapidity-Gate physics preventing runaway causal paradoxes). ✗ Overlooking the cultural impact and ingrained caution regarding AI and HPC stemming from the Wildcode Crisis.

12. CONTACT & VERSION CONTROL

• Canonical Lore Repository: git://starrunners/starrunners-wiki (or as specified by Starrunners’ Council)
• Issue Tracker & Discussion Labels: physics-query, culture-dev, timeline-conflict, numbers-check, editorial-pass, new-proposal, wildcode-implications.

The next major review gate for this guide (targeting v0.8) is scheduled after ten significant new lore pages are merged or three calendar months have passed, whichever occurs sooner.

Welcome aboard, runner—now plot a course, mind the grey code in the dark, and help us build worlds worth exploring.