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
Background
Port Sandor Times Logo
(Illustration by Ahkâm)
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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.
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Imperial Conservatory of Terro-human Civilization
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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.
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Galaxy's Forge illustration by Mike McGuirk, 2001.
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Galaxy's Forge, a Fourth Century, AE, Volund setting by Mike McGuirk.
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"Sword and Atom" symbol of Gram
(Served by the H. Beam Piper Memorial)
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"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).
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Norton-Piper Sector Subsectors
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Mankind to the Stars, a Piper-inspired Traveller® role-playing game setting by Dale Ridder, 2013.
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Role-playing Games
The Spinward Marches, GDW, 1979
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Traveller Supplement 3: The Spinward Marches: this 1979 role-playing game campaign supplement by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) (now Far Future Enterprises) introduced the Traveller™ Sword Worlds subsector campaign setting based upon Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.
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Sword Worlds, Steve Jackson Games, 2004
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GURPS Traveller™ Sword Worlds: The Day After Ragnarok, role-playing game campaign sourcebook based Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.
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Transmissions from Piper, Rogue Games, 2009
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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:
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Sword Worlds, Mongoose, 2011
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Mongoose Traveller™ The Third Imperium: Sword Worlds, role-playing game campaign sourcebook based Piper's Sword-Worlds from Space Viking.
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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:
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:
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:
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Canon Claim
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Developer
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Date of Claim
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Uller Uprising / "Ullr Uprising"
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Tom Rogers
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September 2001
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"Oomphel in the Sky"
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Tom Rogers
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January 2002
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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
Omnilingual illustration by Dave Windett.
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Omnilingual, a "modernized" retelling of Piper's original yarn by John Cowan, 2009 (archive).
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Terry Mancour
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Terry Mancour's sequels to Piper's Space Viking:
• Prince of Tanith, 2011
• Princess Valerie's War, 2011
• Trask's Odyssey, 2012?
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Illustration by Leo and Diane Dillon from "Graveyard of Dreams," Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1958.
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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.
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Illustration (excerpt) by Robert Jones from "Operation R.S.V.P.," Amazing Stories, January 1951.
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"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.
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Illustration (excerpt) by Art Bernklau from "Oomphel in the Sky," Analog Science Fact — Science Fiction, November 1960.
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"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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