July 2008

The Outquisition is a term coined by Cory Doctorow for a networked group that works to aid people in a post-apocalyptic scenario:

the Outquisition; the opposite of the Inquisition — missionaries who come to your town to remind you of how awesome it can all be, leave behind a bunch of rad, life-improving systems and tools, and generally get on with the business of being happy, well-fed and peaceful.

Cory tossed around these ideas along with Alex Steffen from WorldChanging, and in response some other folks have launched Outquisition.org.

Imagine these folks like this passing out free textbooks, running holistic programs for kids, creating local knowledge management systems, launching microfinance projects, mobilebanking and complementary currencies. Helping rural landowners apply climate foresight and farm biodiversity. Building cheap, smart, quality housing for displaced people (not to mention better refugee camps), or an Open Architecture Network for cheap informal rehabs of run-down suburban housing. Hacking together DIY windmills and ad hoc smart grids, communication systems, water treatment systems — and getting really good at adaptive reuses of outdated infrastructure. In other words, these folks would be redistributing the future at a furious clip

Eclipse Phase Contributor Bio

Real Name: Rob Boyle
Firewall Codename: Sprite
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Original Space Colonist / Anarchist
Previous Experience: Shadowrun, Fourth Edition, and numerous other Shadowrun and other game titles (full list here)

About Me: I’m a dad and game designer by day and a powernoise DJ, martial arts teacher, and dodgeball player by night. I have worked in the tabletop RPG industry as a writer, editor, and developer for over ten years now. I have been employed by FASA and FanPro and freelance for Catalyst Game Labs and other companies. I co-founded Posthuman Studios as a creator-owned enterprise. I consider myself an anarchist and transhumanist and have spent many years agitating for social change.

Transhumanist Interests: I look towards accelerating technologies as a means of empowering people, instigating radical social upheaval, and countering oppression, injustice, and control. I plan to live forever, and I plan to have fun doing it.

Eclipse Phase Contributions: I co-created the Eclipse Phase concept with Brian Cross and have overseen the entire project as lead developer. I’ve had my hands in all parts of the book, especially Game Concepts and Character Creation.

Favorite Thing About Eclipse Phase: That it portrays a future that is simultaneously cautious but hopeful. The post-apocalyptic flavor and existential risks emphasize that transhumanity walks on a cliff’s edge, but defeating death, creating new social models, exploring space, and other aspects of the game show that the future is still full of possibilities.

• UFOs coming soon.
• The Griefer Future (now with Advanced Griefing)
• 3-in-1 mass spectrometer detects bio agents, chem, and bombs
• Security uses for microwave audio
• Building bionic humans

These and other links can be found at http://del.icio.us/infomorph

This illustration from Alex Eckman-Lawn shows the interior of an O’Neill cylinder habitat. If you’re unfamiliar with how these large space habitats works, it might seem confusing, but it’s actually pretty fascinating. The hab is a hollow cylinder, sort of like a soda can, spun along its long axis. This provides gravity to the human settlements that are on the interior, on the curving walls. On the inside, there is no horizon because the walls rise up on either side above you, meeting overhead. Parts of the cylinder are windows, allowing solar light into the interior as it rotates. The interior landscape would be sculpted, allowing for “rural” recreational areas and crop growth in addition to urban settlements