Now Is Not the Time to Worry About the Users (2)
"To speak of conquering the galaxies of the far outer universe — have we not yet even properly mapped our own galaxy?"
Granted, it looks reasonable enough on the surface, but Chicken Curry's proclamations had always carried a strong whiff of irresponsibility beneath their cool-headed veneer.
When that smug, try-hard post went up, the gallery users — who at the time still had some embers of hope smoldering in them — collectively flipped out in a giant chorus of protest. And yet, if you stripped away the noise, most of those objections boiled down to the purest flavor of copium: 'So what you're really saying is that if our luck is bad enough, we'll run into each other anyway!'
No, the statement itself isn't completely wrong — and honestly, if you consider that our galaxy holds up to 400 billion stars, the number of star systems only goes up, never down.
But here's the thing: can every single planet in the galaxy actually serve the same role as 'Earth,' the way the ones we've settled on do now? I'd say no.
Even back in reality, our own solar system — counting everything down to dwarf planets, thirteen worlds in total — had exactly one habitable planet. Earth. Just the one.
Factor in the Goldilocks zone and the number of planets we actually need to get our hands on drops to half or less, so yeah, I think the odds improve meaningfully. Yep.
The comparatively rational crowd, for their part, drew on honest-to-god common knowledge about the 'real' universe to push back. And so, as newbies like me — who made up the overwhelming majority of the gallery and were as green as sprouts — were nodding along going 'Huh, that actually makes sense...!', the veterans, who unlike us had every scrap of the setting memorized, pointed out one very significant flaw in the 'rational opposition' camp, user F=mc2 included.
There's something the newbies have completely wrong, so let me nail this down once and for all.
According to the setting, this galaxy was already fully unified and dominated by the Demonia Empire once upon a time, before the 'Great Rebellion' splintered its power every which way.
But there's a piece of lore the newbies don't know about, so listen up.
First off, you all know that the Demonia Empire finished 'completely' conquering this galaxy and was planning an invasion of the outer-universe galaxies. That much is common knowledge.
And right there, a hidden piece of setting comes into play.
What is it? It's that the Demonia Empire went and ran terraforming on the hundred-billion-plus star systems of this galaxy with absolutely punishing intensity. Relentlessly. On everything.
Thanks to that, the comprehensive report published just before the Great Rebellion stated that over 85% of all planets in the galaxy had become human-habitable worlds.
For the record, that figure excludes planets home to silicon-based lifeforms — separate from the carbon-based life we normally think of — which are fundamentally incompatible with 'terraforming' in the first place, as well as worlds inhabited by exotic elemental-based lifeforms beyond even silicon.
Throw those in, and over 90% of planets count as 'inhabited.' That's what I'm telling you.
What does that mean?
With up to 400 billion stars, and star systems averaging somewhere between 5 and 30 planets each — at its peak, the Demonia Empire had civilized and put to use more than 85% of a full 7 trillion planets.
Sure, it was a setting that only worked because it was a game. But now it's reality, so... do I really need to say more?
In other words, exactly as Chicken Curry said: if users want to meet other users, they genuinely need a one-in-a-million shot. Yep.
"...Seeing it laid out like this, it really is an insane level of worldbuilding. Now I get why something that calls itself SF somehow turned into fusion-punk."
Yes. Truly.
The Demonia Empire, the nation to which we users currently swore allegiance, had spent its golden years enthusiastically kneading this entire galaxy like putty between its fingers. What's more, it had been formally certified as an honorary member of the Manly Men's Club for actually following through on terraforming seven trillion planets — a feat no other brain-broken universe in fiction had ever dared attempt.
And so, watching every single condition the other newbie users had waved around and clung to evaporate into irrelevance, I could feel the true scale of this place sinking into my bones: good grief, this setting is obscenely, absurdly huge.
I mean, sure, I'd heard of universes where empires could juggle whole galaxies like this and traipse around wherever they pleased. But for my pure, SF-faithful little brain and its humble common sense, going that far was simply too much to accept.
So no more thinking about it — I'll just calmly accept the situation as it is! And with that resolution tucked warmly into my chest, I let the matter rest.
And finally, on the subject of 'information leaks' — the thing users had been sweating over the most — the veterans' reaction turned out to be downright cynical.
Look, I check through them from time to time myself.
And setting aside a tiny handful of certified imbeciles, the verification shots and info posts most users put up contain nothing worth worrying about.
Let's see. Take ScienceNoob as our test case — she's gotten memed as the living incarnation of information leaks, after all.
She's posted every kind of verification shot imaginable plus constant live status updates, and everyone's going "isn't that dangerous?"
But if you told me to hunt her down based purely on the information she's leaked? I'd hesitate.
Why?
For starters, what she's leaked is her own appearance, the name of her star system, which numbered planet of that system she lives on.
Plus what rewards she got, what her specialty is, how smart her subordinates are, and roughly how much military power her neck of the woods commands. That's the extent of it.
And the single most important thing — coordinate data — is nowhere in any of it.
The only space image that even hints at coordinates was taken from her transport ship while marching on her capital, and thanks to all the other ships crowding the frame, the stars are blocked out entirely. Triangulation is impossible.
And her current military power? Technology level?
The Demonia Empire will keep pumping out additional support as things develop anyway.
Along the way she'll be absorbing all of that, and the details will keep shifting. Information about a situation where she's only got the basic starter kit, like right now, means absolutely nothing.
Now, if you happen to be a user living right next to ScienceNoob, different story, I suppose.
But among the hundred-billion-plus star systems, how many of the — what was it, up to 150,000 — users do you think are actually parked near her?
Look, I'm not professionally trained in this stuff, so I've gone around in circles repeating myself, but whatever. Point stands.
So relax, keep grinding the gallery, and go post your lewd pics, damn it.
"Mmmmmm."
Not to mention that, out of nowhere, I'd gotten summoned into the spotlight and used as a punching bag for everyone's amusement — which did odd things to my mood, I'll admit.
But the bottom line was that leaks weren't actually a problem, and knowing that, I let out a long breath of relief.
And so, worry well and truly shelved, I surrendered myself to a glorious, honeyed sleep and its blissful cocoon of slumber — ready to greet tomorrow as another vigorous, productive day.