The Negative Paradox

This is an adventure designed for Modiphius’ Star Trek Adventures tabletop roleplaying game. It was created to be run in The Original Series era, but it should be adaptable to any era in which the party is the crew of a starship.

Adventure Summary

The players’ ship comes out of warp around Beta Nebulon III, an uninhabited Class M planet, to resupply an outpost of Federation colonists.

At least one crew member on board the ship has a friend or family member on the Beta Nebulon III colony. Who is it?

When the players’ ship assumes orbit, instead of a small colony on the surface, they find a bustling, active, pre-warp civilization. The ship’s antimatter pods begin to drain, and the crew of the ship begins to experience physical symptoms of a biological affliction as well.

If answers are not found soon, the ship’s orbit will decay and it will crash into the planet’s surface. Additionally, the crew will succumb within days to a mysterious disease, and the fate of colonists on the Federation outpost will remain unknown.

Directives

Resupply colony on Beta Nebulon III with vitamins, medicines, and other supplies.

(once they learn the colony is gone, this becomes a new directive:)

Discover the fate of the Beta Nebulon III colonists and rescue them if possible.

Adventure Begins

The ship comes out of warp and assumes standard orbit around the planet Beta Nebulon III.

The Communications Officer attempts to contact the colony, but receives no response.

A few approaches immediately suggest themselves:

• Away Team
• Medical Investigation
• Engineering Investigation
• Science Investigation

1. Away Team

To contact this planet directly as a starship would violate the Prime Directive. It can be done, but a more regulation approach would be to beam to the planet’s surface and attempt to hide the crew’s nature as space travellers.

It’s possible to use sensors to determine a concentration of population and to beam down into a city (unseen). If they asked the locals any questions, the locals will direct them to the society’s leaders.

An examination of the city with tricorders shows that it’s hundreds of years old, but that some of the structures contain aspects far older. The city is built on the ruins of ancient buildings, with sophisticated metal alloys not present anywhere else.

A cultural investigation of the largest city can discover the following answers:

• civilization is built on ruins of ancient technology
• population is affected by biological affliction (but at lower levels, they’ve been building up immunity to the trace radiation emitted by their satellites over years and their biology is slightly different)
• majority faction believes they were meant to die in an apocalypse
• fringe faction believes they were meant to build monoliths to rescue themselves from the apocalypse
• the monoliths were built and the planet was saved
• majority faction now blames their illness on punishment for avoiding the apocalypse
• majority faction is on high alert, fringe members are now enemies of the state
• nobody here has heard of the Federation, the outpost, or its colonists.

If the away team investigates one of the giant monoliths on the outskirts of the city, they can discover the following answers:

• the monoliths are stone structures, hundreds of feet tall
• large enough to be visible from space
• authorities arrive and attempt to arrest the away team as criminal members of the fringe faction
• if the arrest is successful, they’re taken to the main city where the authorities will interview them

Polonians

Delandra (like all natives of Beta Nebulon III), is a Polonian. They are humanoid, visually similar to humans.

Delandra is a mature adult woman, who carries herself with grace and poise. She is a member of the majority faction on the planet, called the Truists. They are opposed by a smaller fringe group called the Horadics.

Delandra has a husband, Libran, who is a member of the ruling council. She has a son named Novus, whom she suspects of being a criminal in the Horadics.

Truists

• Delandra, wife of Libran mother to Novus
• Libran, husband of Dalendra father to Novus
• Ionar, middle-aged female, council member
• Shandrus, male council member

Horadics

• Novus, son of Dalendra and Libran husband to Mona
• Mona, wife of Novus
• Gendar, second in command
• Dr. Selnira, doctor/scientist

Polonian Civilization

Technologically, they are a pre-warp civilization, but they have very little in the way of machinery or automation. They have no cars or automatic vehicles, but only carts and carriages. A further analysis would show they have only enough carts and carriages to maintain a low level of commerce between the various groups. Each population center seems more or less self-sustaining.

The Polonians have few shops, and no currency. Theirs is a communal society, where people work together to promote the welfare of the entire populace.

Their structures are beautiful, and it’s clear from a cursory scan on the ground that the Polonians have sophisticated mathematics and architecture knowledge. They simply have few machines and no computers.

There are some signs of recent seismic activity or other disturbance, in the form of some damaged buildings, broken paved areas, and the like.

Away Team — Arash City Center

Starfleet has a protocol covering contact with civilized species, which involves beaming down near a center of government and contacting important individuals in authority.

If the away team beams down to the center of Arash, the largest city, where the government is located, they’ll meet Delandra, leader of this planet’s government council.

If the away team introduce themselves and act civilized, Delandra would take them to meet the Polonian ruling council, in a large building in Arash.

They’d exchange information — the Polonians act surprised but not shocked if the away team says they come from “over the ocean” or something like that.

As the Truists tell it, they have lived in peace for hundreds of years because of the teachings of their ancestors, passed down to them from before the beginning of time.

It is the duty of every Polonian to be a caretaker of their planet until the time of the coming apocalypse, which will deliver the planet and all its inhabitants into the beyond, where they will be rewarded for their vigilance. Their scripture teaches the Polonians to live simply, to use resources in moderation, and to shun technology wherever possible.

The society is on high alert, because Horadic rebels have shifted the stars and prevented the great event from happening. Now the people are being punished for their insolence, through disease and weakness which is growing worse over time.

A Rebel Prisoner

At a certain point, a Truist guard will arrive, with a Horadic prisoner in their custody. It is Novus, the son of Delandra and Libran.

Mona, Novus’s wife, is also a Horadic, but she is free. It may happen that Mona seeks out the crew and asks them for help in freeing Novus.

The guards bring Novus into the council chamber, and Delandra and Libran will be saddened that what they’ve suspected is true. Novus will tell them they don’t understand the teachings of the ancestors and their people weren’t meant to die.

The crew would be able to speak with Novus and Delandra and any others they wish to at this point, before Novus is taken away.

Away Team — Monolith

If the away team were to beam down near one of the enormous monoliths which feature prominently around the city, they might encounter Novus’ group of Horadic rebels.

• Mona, leader in Novus’ absence
• Gendar, tall brutish man, second in command
• Dr. Selnira, beautiful redhead woman, medical doctor and scientist
• Vo, young eager female rebel
• Herdan, young eager male rebel

Mona would be wary of the away team. Gendar would be aggressive and threaten them. Mona would need some social interaction to be convinced to trust the crew members.

If the characters succeed in gaining Mona’s trust, she’d tell them their version of Polonian history:

Polonian society has lived in peace for thousands of years due to the teachings of their ancestors. They live simply, and shun technology and massive consumption.

A controversial aspect of their ancestors’ teachings provides designs for large monoliths, to be built at various points on the surface of the planet. The Horadics believe these monoliths were a signal to the ancestors that their society was ready to be saved.

Over hundreds of years, the Horadics worked together to generate resources to build these giant monoliths. The Truist government disapproved, but didn’t believe anything would come of it, so they didn’t interfere.

The monoliths were complete, and, two months ago, the sky went white, there were massive waves around the planet, and everyone was knocked unconscious. When they woke, everything seemed normal, except the stars in the sky were different than before.

Recently, the Polonians have begun to notice that their health is declining. They’re becoming slowly weaker over time. Dr. Selnira has no explanation for it.

Some Horadics fear that the Truists are right, and they are being punished for avoiding their destiny. But they can’t believe the ancestors would tell them to do this if it weren’t meant to be done.

The Horadics have a hideout deep in a cave system, unknown to the Truists. Within that cave, they have some partially-damaged ancient tablets which taught them about the monoliths they were to build.

The Truists have seen these tablets, but they disagree about their meaning, because some of the symbols can no longer be read. A Starfleet crew would be able to use their computers to scan and extrapolate the content of these tablets, to restore the missing sections.

This might entail a device, wielded by a specialist Supporting Character.

2. Medical Investigation

All crew members have a Complication: “Berthold Radiation”, which makes all Tasks 1 step more difficult, due to a feeling of weakness.

The Doctor can perform a Reason + Medicine Task, assisted by the ship’s Computers + Medicine, with a Difficulty of 2. Success reveals the following:

• affliction weakening the crew comes from Berthold radiation on a previously unknown wavelength
• stimulants can provide temporary relief, but will not work forever

3. Engineering Investigation

The ship has a Complication: “Berthold Radiation”, which makes using the warp and impulse drives impossible. It is 1 step more difficult to use ship’s weapons and transporters.

An Engineering investigation is a Control + Engineering (or Daring + Engineering) Task, with a Difficulty of 1. The investigation reveals:

• antimatter power drain comes from Berthold radiation on a previously unknown wavelength

If they spend Momentum to Obtain Information, they learn:

• the Berthold radiation permeates the area around this planet, but doesn’t seem to extend beyond it
• sensors needed recalibrating to detect the Berthold radiation
• power drain can be slowed, but not stopped, through engineering tasks
• the ship’s orbit is decaying and it will crash in days

Slow the Power Drain

It is an Extended Task (p90) to slow the antimatter power drain.

Task Name: Slow the Power Drain Work: 12 Magnitude: 3 Resistance: 1 Base Difficulty: 2

Perform a Task to add Work to the Extended Task. If the Task is successful, roll 2 CD + CD equal to the Discipline used. The total rolled (minus the Extended Task’s Resistance) is the amount of Work done.

If 5 Work are created at one time, this is a Breakthrough. The Magnitude indicates how many Breakthroughs are needed.

If any Work is created while the Work Track is full, this is also a Breakthrough.

See STA p90 for Extended Tasks.

4. Science Investigation

The planet of Beta Nebulon III has a location Complication: “Berthold radiation”, which applies the same complication to any ships or creatures in its vicinity.

Planet Scan

To scan the planet is a Reason + Science Task, assisted by the ship’s Sensors + Science, with a Difficulty of 1.

Sensors show:

• the planet has a humanoid population of roughly 20 million people
• spread out over one main continent, with a number of uninhabited smaller continents and islands
• general topography is consistent with previous scans of Beta Nebulon III

If they spend Momentum to Obtain Information, the scan reveals:

• 12 massive stone monoliths, 2 km or more in diameter, encircle the city
• remains of structures of refined metal alloys lie below the planet’s surface

Berthold Rays

To scan the solar system is a Reason + Science Task, assisted by the ship’s Sensors + Science, with a Difficulty of 2.

The scan reveals:

• the moons are orbiting satellites
• Berthold radiation on a previously unknown wavelength coming from satellites

If they spend Momentum to Obtain Information, the scan reveals:

• one satellite has space inside it, with computers

If they beam aboard the control satellite, they find banks of ancient computers inside.

A scan with tricorders is a Reason + Science Task, with a Difficulty of 2:

• satellites could be destroyed to remove the Berthold radiation
• this control center sends signals to all the artificial satellites

If they spend Momentum to Obtain Information, they learn:

• the satellites contain records of the previous civilization
• satellites could possibly be controlled or interfaced with remotely
• satellites could be used to shift objects into other dimensions

Solutions

In the investigation phase, the crew is attempting to discover a few things:

• the Federation colony is in another dimension, shifted by orbiting satellites
• the sun in the other dimension will go nova in days, if not hours
• the majority faction believes they deserved to die in the apocalypse
• the fringe faction created monoliths, designed to save the planet from the apocalypse

Once they do, there are a variety of approaches they can take:

Destroy the Satellites. They could destroy the satellites orbiting the planet, which would shift the planet back into its native dimension and return the Federation colonists to our universe. This would save the ship, its crew, and the colonists, but it would doom the natives to death when their sun goes nova.

Civilization Suicide. If the majority faction knew the satellites could be destroyed, they would allow and encourage this to happen, so they could perish with honor in the apocalypse, as they believe their religion teaches. This would mean the loss and destruction of an ancient civilization, against the wishes of many of the minority on the planet.

Rescue Mission. They could investigate the satellites and find a way to shift their ship into the other dimension. This would put them in orbit around the planet with the research colonists, but the sun is on the verge of going nova, with flares and ion storms affecting the ship. In a race against time, they could rescue the colonists from the surface and shift back into our universe before the sun explodes.

Repair the Satellites. They could investigate the satellites and find a way to modify them such that it keeps the planet shifted into our universe without emitting harmful Berthold radiation. This would save the planet and the ship and its crew, but on its own would leave the Federation colonists in the other dimension to die.

Discovering the Truth

If the party scans the planetoids in orbit around the planet, they will learn that the moons are, in fact, artificial satellites of highly-advanced construction, and that the satellites are leaking Berthold radiation.

One of the satellites is larger than the rest, and contains machinery, computers, and a hollow space inside which can support life.

If they beam aboard, they will discover banks of computers and a central console featuring an opaque white sphere.

The sphere contains the computerized intelligence responsible for maintaining the satellite network over thousands of years.

The artificial intelligence can reveal the truth to the party in a variety of ways:

• It could take control of a crew member’s body and use them as a vessel to communicate. The sphere and the crew member’s eyes glow white, and the computer’s voice speaks through the crew member, echoing through the chamber.
• It could speak on its own, with the sphere glowing and pulsing as it speaks.

However it communicates with the party, the computer is a simple intelligence which does not make value judgments or decisions on its own. It tells the party that its creators built the satellites thousands of years ago to shift the planet into another dimension through a technique it calls “dimensional interchange”.

If they ask it questions, it can elaborate and give them as much of the background information as you wish. If complications are rolled on Tasks, the computer could consider the party hostile and stop answering their questions unless they can convince it they are friendly.

Dimensional Interchange Device

If the party communicates peacefully with the computer, it will reveal to them the dimensional interchange device which it used to shift the planet into our dimension.

With an engineering Task, it is possible to take this device onto the players’ ship and connect it to their engines. This would allow the ship itself to shift into the parallel dimension and rescue the colonists just before the sun in that dimension goes supernova.

The task of rescuing the colonists could be as complex or as simple as you wish. It could be a Timed Challenge, requiring multiple piloting Tasks, or a single Task to shift into the other dimension and a single Task (using Success at a Cost) to shift back into our dimension.

At the Gamemaster’s discretion, the dimensional interchange device itself can’t be reliably used after this — it burns out, blows up, or is otherwise disabled, preventing the players from simply taking it with them and shifting their ship into another dimension anytime they wish.

Aftermath

How the party concludes the adventure is up to them. There are a few obvious possibilities:

• Tell the Polonians the truth. The party might take Delandra or Novus or other Polonians on board the control satellite, and show them the truth about their planet’s history.
• Simply Leave. After saving the colonists, the party could simply leave. If they have repaired the satellites, then the Berthold radiation is gone and the Polonians are no longer threatened by radiation sickness.

How the Polonians respond or progress is up to the Gamemaster, based on how the party has interacted with them during the adventure.

Background

The ancient inhabitants of the planet Beta Nebulon III were all about perfecting technology and using the resources around them. They built machines that could draw energy directly from the sun, which powered their planet for generations.

They learned that their machines had damaged the sun irreversibly, and it was destined to go nova if they continued.

The people decided to sacrifice what was left of their own society, to prepare a new generation which can begin life with better principles and more harmony. They created a virus which would revert their population back to a stone age level of understanding, and built great monuments containing coded instructions in the form of religious teachings.

These teachings instructed the people to use moderation in consumption, to never take their resources and planet for granted, and to be wary of increasing their technology too far beyond their means.

The teachings also encoded the fact that a planetary apocalypse would occur, but that when signs started to appear, the people should build massive monoliths in specific shapes and sizes. This would protect the people from the apocalypse.

In truth, the ancestors had developed a way to save their planet, by shifting it to swap places with a planet in another dimension. Satellites in orbit around the planet, disguised as small moons, observe the planet’s surface and activate the shifting effect when the giant monoliths are built.

Over thousands of years, the people evolved their understanding from stone age to a pre-warp level of technology. Their religion evolved over time as well, with the majority of the population believing the apocalypse was coming and they should embrace it, as something they deserve for the sins of their ancestors.

A fringe group believes the apocalypse is coming, but that the monoliths should be built, to save the people. The fringe believes that technology should not be feared, but embraced, and used to help people and explore the galaxy. This is considered a heretical view by the majority.

Several hundred years ago, the predicted signs of the apocalypse began to appear, in changes in weather pattern and the appearance of the sun. The fringe group acquired enough followers to fund and build the required monoliths, in some cases stealing money and resources, and even using terrorist tactics like bombing, to drive home their message to the majority.

When the monoliths were complete, the orbiting satellites activated. This shifted this planet into the Prime universe, trading places with our version of the planet. On our version of the planet, the only inhabitants were the members of the Federation colony, now stranded in the other dimension with a sun about to go nova. This was several months ago.

The satellites have degenerated over thousands of years. Activating the shifting effect caused their machinery to malfunction, emitting a Berthold radiation harmful to ships and people. The majority on the planet believe their sickness is punishment for having avoided the apocalypse. The fringe believes that even if it is a punishment, it’s an undeserved one.

Here is a ZIP file containing stats for the NPCS you might meet. In my own first play-through, these weren’t even needed because the party interacted with them exclusively through conversation.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ebubftshuoeawko/The%20Negative%20Paradox%20NPCs.zip?dl=0