Favourite Sci-Fi Utopias?

[Narsil]

Failing the Culture (and to change topic from the dreaded IoM in a utopia discussion); The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

One-in-a-million chance of force-using aside... Star Wars is a nice place, a really nice place. It's got so many bloody nice places to visit, Naboo, Dantooine, Corellia, Post-Yuuzhan Vong Coruscant, Yavin IV, Endor, etc. I'm a Warsie at heart, and I always will be.

[Elheru Aran]

Lovely, so what happens to Guardsmen after they finish their term of service assuming they survive.

If they finished conquering a world, sometimes they're permitted to retire there. This is a win-win situation for the Imperium-- if they *don't* retire, the Imperium retains an experienced trooper. If they retire, instant colonist, already indoctrinated into the Imperial Cult and faithful to the decisions of the Administratium.

Of course, it's rare enough that an Imperial Guardsman will survive out his term of service that those who do are very often kept in the service by salary increases and the like...

[Cpl Kendall]

I just ordered 15 Hours off of Amazon, hopefully it will provide me with more insight into the life of a Guardsmen.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Guardsman are often executed after the war is won for seeing the forces of chaos or a chaos space marine.
Some sources have Space marines mind wiped after fighting Demons but that seems rather extreme.
Theres another story about an inquisitor who just thought about the former owner of a table who had worshiped chaos while playing with the groovs on the table and was possesed by a demon.
Chaos is catchy and nasty, and the Countermeasures are even worse.

[Stofsk]

Guardsman are often executed after the war is won for seeing the forces of chaos or a chaos space marine.

How grotesque.

[SirNitram]

The 'Execute or mind-wipe' is older fluff, and appears contradicted heavily these days. As in, Cadia doesn't execute entire regiments on a regular basis, and Marines can develop their skills against Chaos.

As for which utopia? Adventure! sounds good, as does following the Void Engineers in the metaplot ending known as Judgement.

[Josh]

Make no mistake, though, the lives of Guardsmen suck. Imagine the fucks who ran WWI- French, Nivelle, etc.

Now imagine that they are the standard, for millennia. The Imperium has a never-ending surplus of human flesh, and is quite willing to expend it for its objectives. The upper echelons are precisely the sort of generals who regard low casualty rates as a sign of lack of effort.

Cynical Cat has some excellent fic that does a great job of depicting Imperial attitudes about the care, treatment, and usage of Guardsmen. I need to catch up on it.

[Stofsk]

The more I think about it, the more I can't think of anything better than the Edenists. You're born a telepath, you communicate with every person in the habitat, the bitek habitat itself has a personality that is an amalgamation of all the dead Edenists who 'upload' themselves (for lack of a better term) upon dying, and it always watches you. Crime is nonexistent, lying and dishonesty is eradicated, and there's no need for drugs and so on because sex is accepted and people are very liberal with it. It's a total democracy - telepathic consensus is a logical use for those powers, there's no corruption because the habitat's personality runs everything. They're atheists, well-adjusted, and have no fear of death.

Sigh.

[frigidmagi]

It's true, one man's heaven is another man's hell. I can't imagine anything more terrorifying on a personal level than having the entire world running around inside my skull. I'm alone in my head and I like it that way. Also I can't bring myself to believe that these habitat personalities would be so free and kind, yeah I know that's how they are in the books but I have trouble buying it. On top of everything else I'm not an athiest and have no desire to be one... ever.

Not trying to knock anyone's choice, I just thought the differences were interesting.

[Stofsk]

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

As far as telepathic communities go, I think Edenism is one of the better ones out there. Certainly better than the Gestapo Psi Corps. Though the Psi Corps did have character.

[frigidmagi]

The Corp is Mother! The Corp is Father!

[The Grim Squeaker]

Make no mistake, though, the lives of Guardsmen suck. Imagine the fucks who ran WWI- French, Nivelle, etc.

Now imagine that they are the standard, for millennia. The Imperium has a never-ending surplus of human flesh, and is quite willing to expend it for its objectives. The upper echelons are precisely the sort of generals who regard low casualty rates as a sign of lack of effort.

Heh, Guardsmen and the cost of their training are less valuable than their lasguns [same things used by jungle tribes that can be recharged by putting it in a campfire].
The avergae life expectancy of a guard is 15 hours [as pointed out in the novel of the saem name]

[Cpl Kendall]

The avergae life expectancy of a guard is 15 hours [as pointed out in the novel of the saem name]

Actually I just finished that book and I got the impression that it only applied to rienforcements to that particular planet. And only because of the conditions there. Three major Ork attacks a day and what not.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Actually I just finished that book and I got the impression that it only applied to rienforcements to that particular planet. And only because of the conditions there. Three major Ork attacks a day and what not.

True, there are planets that have far worse conditions after all (Deathworlds , Cadia during a crusade, Tyranid invasions and what not)