The first section is on Technology in the time of Emperor Prosek and Triax. The second is a very illustrious look at magic and psionics. The third section is still in the research stages, but it will detail dimensions (as in height, width, length, time) versus dimensions (as in alternate realities). I will also attempt to explain what the word infinite really means so that the common person can understand it. You may notice that some of these modifications are completely deviant from the rules as they are stated in Rifts. I have changed a number of the rules to my liking. The reason being, I don't like the rules that are already there. The second reason is that I have to try to at least come close to reality if possible. Sure I could come up with some alchemical component that was pumped into robot vehicles core that forced it to stabilize, but that's pretty damn unlikely, so I have to work with gyroscopic stabilizers, fluid balance sensors and other technologies. So I took the liberty of changing whatever I wanted to make it all work. Lastly, I'm assuming this to be an alternate Earth (which it is of course). Therefore, my Rifts Earth may be very different from someone else's Rifts Earth, which is very different from Kevin's personal concept of Rifts Earth, they are all different, therefore I felt it was my duty to personalize it to me. Of course, I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't want others to use it. It is here for anyone who likes it in part and full.
I'd like to start with a few of the things you should be aware of that are always assumed to be true.
There are no Fission reactors on Rifts Earth. All nuclear power is Plasma Fusion. This helps kill the argument that with all of these power plants walking around, how come the Earth isn't completely irradiated.
Magnetic fields are self supportive, that is the containment housing is powered by the reaction it is containing.
90% of all MDC materials on Rifts Earth is non-metallic.
Concrete and rock is never MDC. It just has massive amounts of SDC and a decent AR.
All cybernetic material is non-metallic. A testing period of no less than ten days is required for genetic matching of any cybernetic to reduce the risks of rejection.
Radar systems do not sense anything below 300' (100m)
Radios travel on wide band. Due to atmospheric interference, short wave is impossible.
There are no satellite communications, weather stations, or uplinks, that means that there is no communication at ranges greater then 1000 miles wireless, or about 2000 miles ground wire.
Computer systems are not as high speed as they could be, development has been spent more on micronization and implementation.
After the end of the world's first nuclear conflict, areas of South America are uninhabitable (much to the folly of CJ Carella)
Section 1:
As the humans and other life forms of Rifts try to claw there way through life in a hostile environment, a number of "necessity" inventions have brought about a new breed of technology. The days of crew served and team work combat was past. There was a requirement that each and every man could fight and destroy the new super powerful nemesis. Luckily, they did not have to start from scratch. Many old, abandoned, or forgotten archives of high tech military equipment allowed them to take shortcuts on some things.
This first section is on High Tech Weaponry and Mega Damage Armors.
Since the early stages of man's development, we have used projectiles for hunting and safety. Therefore, the first thing I will discuss is:
Rail Guns (AKA Gauss Guns)
The Rail Guns in Rifts were relatively accurate in a number of ways. They require a massive power source, are incredibly heavy and awkward, and had a mean recoil. Of course, as the supplements came, these standards went down a great deal. These are the fixes for most of these inaccuracies.
In theory, a rail gun uses a electrically charged coil to produce a magnetic field. This field will accelerate a suspended ferrous projectile to near the speed of light.
On Rifts Earth it works a little differently. Early tests with rail guns found that when the projectile was released that it would not have quite reached the theoretical velocity. The velocity was still extremely high. As high as one percent lightspeed (about three million meters per second). This had some unfortunate side effects. Range was greatly increased over other modern projectiles. This was of great concern. Where the round would end up if it should penetrate the target or should miss altogether? These speeds were far beyond escape velocities so most would just keep going until they left Earth and then float off into space. At the time of these experiments new space stations were being built and the thought of a stray round hitting a station was unmentionable. Another nasty side effect was the immense recoil. Rail guns had to be secured to the Earth. Even giant battleships and aircraft carriers would be over-turned by a rail gun's recoil. A small research and development team solved this problem by using a semi conductive coil and proper placement of resistors. This slowed the projectiles speed to about three times the speed of sound (10,000 meters per second) which was easily twice as fast as any projectile ever produced. The projectile was now more manageable and could even be used in infantry situations.
Rail Gun Specs
1) All Rail Guns must have a fusion pack in order to function (at least 15 pounds, but can be extremely small (4"x 8"x 8").
2) A Rail Gun with a port can function on E-clips, but each shot is the equivalent to 10 full strength blasts from most energy weapons. (i.e. a long E-clip would sustain 3 bursts from a Rail Gun).
3) The amount of energy required does not increase with the size of the Rail Gun (NG-101 takes as much juice as a NG-202).
4) Rail Gun rounds are always either rod, disk, or shard shaped, and must be fed from an enclosed belt. Feed is done through a small magnetic field attracting the rounds into the main chamber (at which point they are fired by the coil's field). They could be ball or ring shaped, but this wouldn't make a very good projectile.
5) Most Rail Guns require a tripod mount and are crew served, or must be wielded by characters of at least PS 30 (PS 20 if robotic or PS 16 if supernatural). Triax has low power Rail Guns which are an exception to the rule.
6) Most Rail Guns achieve velocities of about mach 2.5 to mach 3 (the Glitter Boy can achieve up to mach 4.5).
7) All Rail Guns produce a sonic boom, but due to the sizes of the projectile, its harmless (about the sound of a .50 caliber round) The Glitter Boy is the sole exception. It's sonic boom is easily twice that of a modern day tank and can cause serious hearing damage.
8) Rail Guns require a Weapons Engineer for major repairs, while minor repairs can be done with basic mechanics.
9) Rail Guns cannot be used underwater, but when fired from the surface, the projectiles range is approx. half the original range. In space, triple the range of Rail Gun projectiles.
Laser Weaponry
I have completely discarded the current concept that Palladium uses for its laser systems. All that follows is new rules and concepts. Lasers are feasible weapons as far as the Rifts version is concerned, but I decided to modify them so that they fit the rules better. (Have you ever asked yourself "If lasers make no noise, have no kick, have no concussive projectile, and only do damage from the amplified light, then why do they have a minus for hitting with a burst, still do damage to highly reflective surfaces, and cause knock-downs?")
In theory, Lasers are photon streams excited through a chemical medium that become superheated beams of light. They require massive power sources as well as a chemical component. The array inside a laser is extremely fragile and even with the advent of nano tech and mega damage materials, I don't believe that they could be handled as an infantry weapon.
On Rifts Earth, laser technology took a big turn. Photon beams where produced by a series of high amplification constricting lenses. The beam was intensely hot (around 4000 degrees Kelvin) and could sear through any known material given the time. The beam had two major flaws that had to be fixed before it could feasibly be used as a weapon. The first was that the beam was short lived. It would lose intensity centimeters after leaving the barrel and would completely diffuse within eight to twelve meters. The second problem was that the beam was defeated with smoke and highly reflective surfaces. The solution was discovered by accident. An incredible breakthrough in light amplification was found by placing photon packets onto an electro-magnetic carrier wave. The wave "glued" the photon packs together which increased range a hundred fold. The carrier also produced a concussive force that alone had the force of a single rail gun round. But when the superheated photon packets hit the target, they would weaken the structure millionths of nanoseconds before the concussive wave hit. The damage that these weapons could produce was incredible.
Laser Stats
1) Laser weapons require an electrical power source such as an e-clip or robot power plant.
2) Lasers are fragile. Explosions, collisions, concussions, or any other massive jarring can cause a malfunction.
3) Lasers can commonly be set to different damage capabilities.
4) Lasers are the most accurate Rifts Earth Weapon.
5) Laser beams travel at about 80% lightspeed, so they are effectively invisible.
6) Reflective surfaces suffer half damage due to the concussive blast.
7) Laser weapons have a light recoil (similar to a modern carbine)
8) Laser weapons require a Weapons Engineer for major repairs, while simple repairs can be done with electrical engineering.
9) Blue Green lasers only reach temps of about 2500 degrees Kelvin, but they are not distorted by water.
10) Lasers are no longer effected by smoke.
11) When a Laser weapon fires, the superheated photon packet sears the atmosphere which causes a fizzing sound.
Ion Weaponry
There seems to be almost no ion developement in the Palladium Megaverse. There is some theory in the MIO Compendium, but it seems to deal with ion propulsion and not ion weaponry. I have taken the liberty to develope them on my own.
In theory, an ion beam is a stream of excited electrically charged ions. Unfortunately these ions follow the path of least resistance through an atmosphere. This very seldom is where the end of an ion cannons barrel is pointed. Something else must clear the path so to speak. Ion cannons require more than just a power source, they also need a source of ions.
On Rifts Earth, ion beams were originally used for space flight. As with most great inventions, it's destructive potential was discovered on accident. During a series of experiments designed to make ion propulsion more effecient, researchers found that by effectively "rifling" the electron beam, they could cause the beam to not only move in a straight line, but it was extremely accurate and traveled great distances before dispersing. The weapon was highly destructive impacting with a dense "Electric Fist". This worked fantastically for heavy weapon systems that could fire the nickle-cadium fuel cells and nuclear power sources. Heavy ion cannons became commonplace as battle tank main guns and medium range warship guns. With the age of micronization beginning to heat up, and the discovery of the Antimony VI battery, the ion cannon began to see experimentation as heavy infantry weapons. During these experimentations, it was found that if antimony was injected into a hydrogen chamber, then the power requirements for the ion cannon could be drastically reduced and the amount of antimony needed was so minute, that a small injection of antimony gas would last for thousands of shots. With the problem of fuel and power solved, the manufacture of ion small arms exploded. They are one of the most stable, reliable, and destructive weapon systems available.
Ion Blaster Stats
1) Ion Blasters require require an electrical power source such as an e-clip or robot power plant.
2) The Antimony VI fuel cell is built into the weapon during manufacture, and will probably last longer than the weapon.
3) Ion Blasters are one of the most cost effective energy weapons available.
4) Ion Blasters are reliable and tough, in addition, basic electronics can repair all but the most serious damage.
5) Ion Blasters have a moderate recoil, similar to a modern shotgun.
6) Water will disperse an Ion Beam instantly, steam reduces range and damage by half.
7) An Ion Blaster, when fired, sounds like a tesla coil as the beam electrifies the air around it.
8) The kinetic properties of an Ion Beam allow it to do knockdowns on targets, even if the are immune to energy.
Mega-Damage Material
The concept of "Mega-Damage" is somewhat difficult to swallow. The idea that some materials can be hurt by something and that others can't. For simplicity, I've decided that all MDC material is, for the most part, hybrid metallic cermics.
In theory, the concept of "bullet-proof" has been widely sought. The advent of Kevlar was our first real leap forward in lightweight armors and new composites are discovered often. In order for an armor to be useful, it has to be lightweight, easy to manufacture, and at least partially repairable. It's feasible, to a degree, that a discovery some molecular bonding technique could allow us to manufacture items incapable of being damaged by as much as a .50 Caliber slug. But it isn't very likely.
On Rifts Earth, the age of micronization brought about many revolutions in super dense, lightweight materials. By taking a super dense metal, such as nickle or uranium, and mapping its molecular pattern, scientists discovered that they could emulate this pattern with ceramics and then lace it with the metal. The ceramic maintained all of it's own properties such as rigidity and lightness, while absorbing the super tensile strength of the metal it emulated. MDC Material was born. Further study has now shown that even uraniums patterns could be improved upon so that the strengths increased greatly.
MDC Material Stats
1) MDC Material is created through a process of laboratory and factory procedures, only highly advanced cultures have the capability to manufacture it.
2) MDC Material is ceramic, so it doesnt bend, twist, or dent. Instead, it flakes away (ablative).
3) MDC Material can be repaired by patching the flaked material with unbaked ceramic and then tempering.
4) MDC Material is non-conductive.
5) Some heavy war machines use a fully metallic armor, but this is extremely uncommon.
6) Due to tempering, MDC Material resists heat and flame.
Body Armor
Full suit armor would be uncomfortable, bulky, unwieldy, difficult to see out of, and most likely claustraphobic. Most men don't even like to wear their gas masks in today's military. If the armor was made so that it could in someway compensate for these things, it would be the ideal infantry weapon (a dead man can't fight).
In theory, full body armor is more trouble than benefit. The loss of mobility and flexibility would be debilitating. In addition, being confined in a little metal suit could easily induce claustrophobia. The only way that full body armor would be useful was if it could compensate for its pitfalls. For instance, if it could enhance vision so as to make a soldier more deadly with a rifle or could blend into the environment. That, plus it's protective capabilities might convince armies to use it. Half suits are much more likely.
On Rifts Earth, the concept of wearing armor is ingrained into each individual mind from a young age. Police wear armor, soldiers wear armor, even their leaders wear armor. Much was put into the research. Many philanthropists funded and sponsored these experiments, saving a life was a good idea to them. Micronization of computer systems also meant that the the pitfalls of wearing full armor was reduced by climate control, HUD i the helmets, and universal translators. It is to the point now that a man can spend up to 24 hours in his armor and it not be a problem.
Body Armor Stats 1)