I'm interested in comments on this adventure concept, especially ways to flesh it out and make it better.
STAR TREK ADVENTURE CONCEPT: PERFECTION
By Allen Shock
The ship comes upon a planet that has not been surveyed in over 300 years. Their instruments at first register a high-level of background radiation but then seem to readjust and say that the world is fine. There are signs of an advanced civilization present, and a message is received welcoming the Federation to the system. On the way in, the crew finds the hulk of a spacecraft, pre-warp in system travel only; it has obviously been in a major battle of some kind. It’s records are completely slagged, Sensors can date the ship to about 150 years ago.
Upon arrival, the characters are met by a number of people who are members of the planetary council. They all seem very friendly. The characters are given a tour of a very modern city at a level of technology just below that of 22nd century Earth. The planet seems like a paradise; no crime, no disease, no poverty, Everyone flourishes.
The first sign of trouble occurs when one of the crew takes sick under mysterious circumstances. Beamed back up to the ship for treatment, the crewmember will be found to be suffering from radiation poisoning. (This crewmember took some rads in an Engineering accident but nothing serious; he has gotten sick first as a result, however.) This is at odds with every sensor reading which says the planet is safe; except for the very first ones that a crewmember will have to struggle to remember.
At this point, a member of the ruling council will approach the characters. She will seem very upset and ask to speak with them privately. She will tell them all is not as it seems, and that she cannot condone what the council is allowing to happen. At that point, armed guards will break in and apprehend the characters and the council member. They will be taken before the council, who will accuse them of sedition and treason. As the characters watch the council member will be taken away to be executed, while the characters will be imprisoned again.
By this time the characters are now not feeling good. One of the characters will receive a kind of mental “dump” from the dying council member-an image of a blasted radioactive landscape where deformed survivors forage for food, and a psionic elite rule. The words “it’s all a lie” are the last thing the character receives.
What Is Really Going On: The planet was wracked by warfare and destroyed itself roughly 150 years after it was surveyed. Nuclear War with weapons so powerful that the radiation in many places is still above safety level for most species. The survivors developed resistance to this, and some of them developed powerful telepathic powers. To disguise what has happened to their world, they project a powerful illusion using psionic amplifiers that the world is quite intact. They don’t even discourage visitors; counting instead on the lethal radiation to kill them off before they can find the truth.
One clue that the characters might pick up on is the technology level; it is exactly the same as when surveyed in the year 2077 by Vulcans. It has not advanced one bit.
The characters must escape their confinement and somehow return to their ship. They may also choose to either try to persuade the people on the council to accept Federation help in decontaminating their world, mark the world as off-limits, or even (depending on the era and adherence to the Prime Directive) overthrow the psionic council (there are only 24 people with psi powers on the world) and destroy the psionic amplifiers, which are advanced technology that the natives will not be able to rebuild.
Thanks :)
Allen
