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Development of the Terro-human Future History

"I don't know what plans you have for a next story project, but the world-picture you've been building up in the Sword Worlds stories, or Space Viking stories, or whatever you designate the series, offers some lovely possibilities."
— John W. Campbell, Letter to H. Beam Piper


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There are a variety of commercial products and informal efforts which are based upon or expand on Piper's Terro-human Future History setting.

Expansions | Background | Role-playing Games | Development Claims | Other Writing



Expansions

Image - Fuzzy Bones by Michael Whelan

Cover illustration by Michael Whelan


Since Piper's death several authors have written or co-written officially-sanctioned works which expand — or reimagine — Piper's Terro-human Future History, including William Tuning, Ardath Mayhar, Michael Kurland, and John Scalzi.


Image - John F. Carr

John F. Carr (image served by Amazon.com)


Piper biographer and editor John F. Carr's Terro-human Future History sequels, including collaborations with Dietmar Wehr and Mike Robertson.

Image - Wolfgang Diehr

Wolfgang Diehr (image served by Pequod Press)


Wolfgang Diehr's sequels to Piper's Fuzzy novels:



Background

Image - Wolf icon

Port Sandor Times Logo
(Illustration by Ahkâm)


Port Sandor Times, based at Port Sandor on Fenris, the Port Sandor Times News Service is a colonial news service which reaches many worlds across the Federation. Established on Fenris in 458 A.E., the Port Sandpo Times has off-world bureaus on Terra, Odin, Isis, Baldur, Osiris, Marduk, Ishtar, Vishnu and Aton.


Image - Imperial Conservatory of Terro-human Civilization

Imperial Conservatory of Terro-human Civilization


The Terro-human History Project, launched in 1360 A.E., is a research enterprise sponsored by the Imperial Conservatory of Terro-human Civilization at the Imperial University at Asgard on Odin.  The Project's Scholars-in-Residence produce monographs which examine elements of Terro-human history in detail.


Galaxy's Forge by Michael McGuirk

Galaxy's Forge illustration by Mike McGuirk, 2001.


Galaxy's Forge, a Fourth Century, AE, Volund setting by Mike McGuirk.


Image - Sword and Atom symbol of Gram

"Sword and Atom" symbol of Gram
(Served by the H. Beam Piper Memorial)


"Knights of Gram and Tanith," John Anderson's essay describing the noble orders of Gram and Tanith in the Space Viking era, 2009 (served by the H. Beam Piper Memorial).

Image - Norton-Piper Sector Subsectors

Norton-Piper Sector Subsectors


Mankind to the Stars, a Piper-inspired Traveller® role-playing game setting by Dale Ridder, 2013.



Role-playing Games

Image - Traveller Supplement 3: The Spinward Marches, GDW, 1979

The Spinward Marches, GDW, 1979


Traveller Supplement 3: The Spinward Marches: this 1979 role-playing game campaign supplement by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) (now Far Future Enterprises) introduced the TravellerSword Worlds subsector campaign setting based upon Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.

Traveller's Sword Worlds

Sword Worlds, Steve Jackson Games, 2004


GURPS TravellerSword Worlds: The Day After Ragnarok, role-playing game campaign sourcebook based Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.

Transmissions from Piper cover illustration

Transmissions from Piper, Rogue Games, 2009


Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper, John Appel, Vaclav G. Ujcik, and Greg Videll, Rogue Games, 2009.  A science-fiction role-playing game supplement based upon Piper's Terro-human Future History stories "Naudsonce" and "Ministry of Disturbance" (plus the Paratime yarn "Last Enemy").  Includes:


The Third Imperium Sword Worlds

Sword Worlds, Mongoose, 2011


Mongoose TravellerThe Third Imperium: Sword Worlds, role-playing game campaign sourcebook based Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.


Terro-human Future History Development Claims

"Should we do more exploring and claim some more of these places, or should we come home right away and start recruiting, and then come back with a large party . . . and explore and make further claims as we have time?"

— Conn Maxwell (H. Beam Piper), Junkyard Planet


Modeled after the Traveller Mailing List (TML) Landgrab, Piper Development Claims are personal, non-commercial efforts to develop the worlds and future history of H. Beam Piper's fictional Terro-human Future History.  Each background developer should report on the claimed world (or future historical century) in great detail.  The exact level of detail and degree of compliance with official canon is open to interpretation.  Each background developer should survey his or her claim (including gathering the relevant canonical information) and submit a Developer's Report to the Piper Mailing List.

There are some key guidelines for any development effort.  The first is captured in "Olson's Rule":

"Agreed that [Piper's Paratime and Terro-human Future History (TFH) yarns] could all fit together.  Does that mean that they do?  If you intend the definition of inclusion within Piper's future history to be 'one [which] would have little trouble fitting into the TFH as pre-30 Days War stories' then you've gotten too broad. . . .

"I think you need something a little more positive than mere non-contradiction."

While Mark was speaking specifically here about including Paratime yarns in the Terro-human Future History canon, the point holds for any development of Piper's work: there must be some explicit, non-generic (e.g. not simply a shared reference to a common place such as, say, "Mars") connection in any two Piper works for them to be considered to be part of the same, distinct setting.

A second key guideline is captured in "Newton's Rule":

"Perhaps, in keeping with the spirit of the Landgrab, and so that we can both stimulate creativity and remain careful about what Piper actually wrote, we should separate material into "Canon" and "Apocrypha"—with the latter segments being so titled to represent the fact that the author is not revealing but extending. . . ."

Steve's "Canon" and "Apocrypha" distinction should serve as a basic structuring element of any development effort.

The claims made thus far include:

World Claim

Developer

Date of Claim

Fafnir

William Taylor

July 2001

Gimli

David Johnson

July 2001

Poictesme

Dietmar Wehr

October 2008

Sarpanitum (now The Last Space Viking)

Mike Robertson

July 2007

Vishnu (now The Last Space Viking)

Mike Robertson

July 2007

Volund

Mike McGuirk

February 2001

Zarathustra (now Fuzzy Ergo Sum)

Wolf Diehr

June 2004


In addition to development claims to the worlds of Piper's Terro-human Future History others have expressed an interest in developing specific centuries of the TFH "Atomic Era."  Here are those claims:

Atomic Era Century Claim

Developer

Date of Claim

First Century, AE

Steve Newton

August 2001

Second Century, AE

David Johnson

June 2002

Tenth Century, AE

Dietmar Wehr

October 2008


At the suggestion of Piper fan Tom Rogers, Piper Development Claims have been expanded to encompass the process of comparing various editions of Piper's work for consistency and differences in order to expand and clarify the canonical material used for development.  Developers in this area choose a given work and report on their comparison of the various editions.  The claims made so far include:

Canon Claim

Developer

Date of Claim

Uller Uprising / "Ullr Uprising"

Tom Rogers

September 2001

"Oomphel in the Sky"

Tom Rogers

January 2002

If you wish to participate, stake your cliam on the Piper Mailing List.  If none oppose you, or if you prevail in an ensuing discussion, you too may become a background developer.

Background developers may lay their claim and/or provide links to their Developer's Report by posting an announcement to the Piper Mailing List.  Developers may have their Developer's Report hosted at here Zarthani.net by sending a request to the Zarthani.net Development Claims Bureau.



Other Piper-related Writing

Omnilingualm a retelling by John Cowan

Omnilingual illustration by Dave Windett.


Omnilingual, a "modernized" retelling of Piper's original yarn by John Cowan, 2009 (archive).


Image - Terry Mancour

Terry Mancour


Terry Mancour's sequels to Piper's Space Viking:

Prince of Tanith, 2011

Princess Valerie's War, 2011

Trask's Odyssey, 2012?


Junkyard of Empire by H. Beam Piper and David Johnson

Illustration by Leo and Diane Dillon from "Graveyard of Dreams," Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1958.


Junkyard of Empire, a retelling of Piper's "Graveyard of Dreams," by David Johnson, 2012.

The original "Graveyard of Dreams," first published in Galaxy Science Fiction in February 1958, became the first three chapters of the novel Junkyard Planet, published in 1963 (later reissued as The Cosmic Computer).  This retelling makes changes to better align the story with contemporary sensibilities and to deepen the connections with the Terro-human Future History.


Operation Please Respond by H. Beam Piper and David Johnson

Illustration (excerpt) by Robert Jones from "Operation R.S.V.P.," Amazing Stories, January 1951.


"Operation Please Respond, a retelling of Piper's "Operation R.S.V.P." as a Terro-human Future History story, by David Johnson, 2017.

This retelling adds annotations and makes extensive changes to reframe the story as a Terro-human Future History yarn.


Junkyard of Empire by H. Beam Piper and David Johnson

Illustration (excerpt) by Art Bernklau from "Oomphel in the Sky," Analog Science Fact — Science Fiction, November 1960.


"The Terran Spiritual and Magical Assistance Agency," a retelling of Piper's "Oomphel in the Sky," by David Johnson, 2020.

This retelling adds annotations and makes minor changes to better align the story with contemporary sensibilities and to deepen the connections with the Terro-human Future History.



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