You will notice we dont have the usual “State-room”. 

230706-06 Life Pod Ideas.blend  231104 LifePod 1DT with IVA suit 00.blend 

230704 CE VEHICLE DESIGN SYSTEM

* transparency is for Visualization – the Pod is not transparent 

In the context of Traveller TRPG and Cepheus Engine, particularly concerning the staterooms in ships, I’ve introduced a concept called the Lifepod system. This system integrates life support, a bed, a fresher (bathroom), and an escape pod into one comprehensive solution. The idea is to provide a safe and efficient means of survival in case of emergencies.

Each Lifepod serves as an individual escape pod, and its capacity is designed to accommodate an average family of up to 320kg, which is roughly equivalent to three or more adults. This design choice is inspired by my experiences in the Philippines, a country frequently affected by earthquakes. It’s crucial for me that in moments of vulnerability, such as during a disaster, families can stay together and safe.

The cost-effectiveness of the Lifepod system is another aspect I’ve considered. With a price tag of 150k Cr, it prompts the question: what exactly are we paying for in a traditional 500k Cr stateroom? The Lifepod’s life support system includes water and air filtration, waste processing, and other essential functions, all of which are critical for survival. Much of the additional cost in a standard stateroom likely goes towards non-essential amenities.

As someone involved in construction, manufacturing, quality management, and IT, I’ve always advocated for simplicity and efficiency. This approach extends to ship design in Traveller TRPG. By focusing on the essentials and reducing complexity, maintenance becomes more straightforward, ultimately enhancing the ship’s functionality and safety.

While these ideas may seem unconventional, they are rooted in practical experience. In my professional life, I’ve seen the benefits of embracing open-source solutions, like Linux, and streamlining IT systems. It’s about challenging the status quo, fixing what others have given up on, and creating more sustainable and efficient systems. Although it can feel isolating to go against common wisdom, the results have been rewarding for me and my company.

Air Recyclers and Filters:

• Circulation: Air recyclers are essential for circulating air within the stateroom and life pod. They ensure that the air is continuously moving, which is crucial in a zero-gravity environment where natural convection doesn’t occur. Strategically placed fans and drones are used to facilitate this air movement.
• Filtration: The air recycling system includes filters that remove particles, pollutants, and other harmful elements from the air, ensuring that the atmosphere remains clean and breathable.
• Carbon Dioxide Removal: Carbon dioxide produced by occupants is removed from the air. The carbon is sequestered and stored along with other waste products, while the oxygen is freed up for breathing. In cases of oxygen deficiency, reserves can be supplemented by extracting oxygen from stored water.

Water Recycling:

• Techniques: Water is recycled using various methods, including reverse osmosis, filtration, and distillation. These processes ensure that water is purified and made safe for consumption and other uses.
• Storage: The life pod incorporates water storage within its walls, maintaining it in both frozen and liquid states. This serves the dual purpose of providing a water supply and offering radiation shielding.
• Usage: Water is extensively used for human consumption, equipment cleaning, and personal hygiene. The life pods are equipped with a portable bath system, which is a flexible bag that envelops the user, allowing water to run through for bathing. Some vacuum suits also have a hygiene feature that enables bathing within the suit.
• Skin Biomes: To reduce the need for conventional bathing, some occupants may opt for skin cultures that maintain a symbiotic relationship with the human body. These biomes help in conditioning and refreshing the skin. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are used to support the growth and health of these biomes.

Housekeeping:

• The life pod’s housekeeping system is designed to maintain cleanliness and order within the confined space. This includes the management of waste, the upkeep of equipment, and the general tidiness of the living area.

Housekeeping Tools:

• Drones: The Lifepod is equipped with various drones that assist in housekeeping tasks. These drones are designed to be efficient and autonomous, capable of detecting spills, waste, and potential human errors. They can vacuum and clean surfaces without the need for constant human supervision.
• Vacuum Hoses. several vacuum hoses are used to collect waste, debris, and liquids. 
• Seaweed Towels: Towels made from genetically modified seaweed are produced within the Lifepod using biological wastes. These towels are not only sustainable but also edible, serving as an emergency food source with some carbohydrates and protein, despite being mostly cellulose.
• Surfaces: The interior surfaces of the Lifepod are designed to be non-stick and easy to clean. Any stained or damaged surfaces can be quickly repaired using onboard fabricators or 3D printers.

Maintenance:

• Supplies: According to the Cepheus Engine SRD (p.109), one man-day of supplies costs 90 Cr. This cost is broken down as follows: 50% for life support (filters, cartridges, waste disposal, replacement cultures, nutrients, and common consumable spare parts), 25% for food and drinks (mostly concentrates and starter cultures), and 25% for personal care items (medicines, toiletries, and various hygiene products).
• Weekly Costs: For a crew of four adults, a week’s worth of supplies would amount to approximately 2,520 Cr. Of this, 1,260 Cr would be allocated for life support maintenance, ensuring that the air and water recycling systems are functioning optimally and that the living quarters remain clean and habitable. Some life support supplies are serviced in a month (x4) or a quarter (x12). 

By integrating these housekeeping and maintenance features, the Lifepod system in the Cepheus Engine provides a self-sustaining and efficient living environment for space travelers, minimizing the need for external resupply and reducing the workload on the crew.

Escape Pod Use:

The Lifepod is equipped with explosive locks strategically placed around its structure. In the event of a critical explosion on the ship, these locks are designed to quickly detach the Lifepod, propelling it away from the epicenter of the explosion and the resulting debris field. This action, guided by the inverse square law, significantly increases the survival rate of the pod’s occupants by reducing their exposure to the blast and debris.

The Drug ‘Fast’:

As detailed in the Cepheus Engine SRD (p.71), the drug Fast, costing 100 Cr, plays a crucial role in the Lifepod’s survival strategy. By slowing down the metabolism of the passengers by 60 times, Fast allows the Lifepod’s life support system to reduce its resource consumption correspondingly. This extends the operational endurance of the pod by 60 times, enabling it to sustain a family for up to 4 years or 6000 man-days. During this period, passengers are kept in a suspended state and fed intravenously with starches and nutrients cultivated within the Lifepod.

Social Considerations:

In a sci-fi setting characterized by massive human expansion beyond the Sol system, safety regulations often prioritize the accommodation of children and families, recognizing them as common social units. While adults may not always be the primary focus of safety measures, it is typically children who are most vulnerable in emergency situations.

Tragic Outcomes:

Unfortunately, the use of Lifepods in dire circumstances can lead to heart-wrenching tragedies. There have been instances where parents sacrifice their own nutrients to ensure the survival of their children. In more macabre scenarios, desperate parents may resort to consuming their children to survive.

We have made our designs available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA) license. This decision allows for greater collaboration and innovation within our community, as users are now free to modify, distribute, and build upon our work, as long as they credit the original source and share their creations under the same license.

Our commitment to openness extends to providing our ship models in Blender format. Blender is a free and open-source 3D modeling software that enables users to inspect, challenge, and improve upon our designs. This level of accessibility and transparency is crucial for fostering a collaborative environment where everyone can contribute to the evolution of Mneme Space Combat.

We believe that this move not only enriches our game but also offers a valuable learning experience for players. By engaging with our open-source designs, players can gain practical knowledge and skills that extend beyond the game. This aligns with our philosophy of “Game in the Brain,” where we see gaming as a tool for personal and professional growth.

We encourage our community to embrace this opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and learn together with Mneme Space Combat.

		1DT Life POD, part of any Stateroom. Used as the bed and fresher.			-8.0 SP		148,488 Cr
CHASSIS	5	Closed Vehicle	1	12.0 SP	12.0 SP	6,250 Cr	6,250 Cr
		Vacuum Environmental Seal	1	-3.0 SP	-3.0 SP	120,000 Cr	120,000 Cr
ARMOR		Titanium: Armor 4	1	-0.2 SP	-0.2 SP	208 Cr	208 Cr
V-DRIVE	B	Thust, GRAV TL9, 500kph, Agility+0	1	-0.4 SP	-0.4 SP	400 Cr	400 Cr
PPLANT	B	Early Fusion, TL9	1	-0.3 SP	-0.3 SP	300 Cr	300 Cr
FUEL TANK		Fuel Tank (2 weeks)	2	-0.9 SP	-1.8 SP	40 Cr	80 Cr
CONTROLS		Basic	1	0.0 SP	0.0 SP	0 Cr	0 Cr
COMMS		Class IV	1	-0.1 SP	-0.1 SP	4,000 Cr	4,000 Cr
COMMS		Class IV, Laser	1	-0.1 SP	-0.1 SP	12,000 Cr	12,000 Cr
COMPUTER		Model 1	1	0.0 SP	0.0 SP	500 Cr	500 Cr
ACCOM.		Seat, Cramped (3 Seats)	3	-4.0 SP	-12.0 SP	1,000 Cr	3,000 Cr
ACCOM.		Life Support, Basic (100 mandays)	0.5	-3.0 SP	-1.5 SP	3,500 Cr	1,750 Cr
CARGO		Cargo Hold (0.6 Spaces, 150 kg)	0.6	-1.0 SP	-0.6 SP		0 Cr
		2DT Life POD, part of any Stateroom. Used as the bed and fresher.			0.0 SP		285,078 Cr
CHASSIS	6	Closed Vehicle	1	24.0 SP	24.0 SP	6,250 Cr	6,250 Cr
		Vacuum Environmental Seal	1	-3.0 SP	-3.0 SP	240,000 Cr	240,000 Cr
ARMOR		Titanium: Armor 4	1	-0.4 SP	-0.4 SP	208 Cr	208 Cr
V-DRIVE	B	Thust, GRAV TL9, Station Keeping, Agility+0	0	-0.4 SP	0.0 SP	400 Cr	0 Cr
PPLANT	B	Early Fusion, TL9	1	-0.3 SP	-0.3 SP	300 Cr	300 Cr
FUEL TANK		Fuel Tank (8 weeks)	8	-0.9 SP	-7.2 SP	40 Cr	320 Cr
CONTROLS		Basic	1	0.0 SP	0.0 SP	0 Cr	0 Cr
COMMS		Class IV	1	-0.1 SP	-0.1 SP	4,000 Cr	4,000 Cr
COMMS		Class IV, Laser	1	-0.1 SP	-0.1 SP	12,000 Cr	12,000 Cr
COMPUTER		Model 1	1	0.0 SP	0.0 SP	500 Cr	500 Cr
ACCOM.		Seat, Standard	4	-2.0 SP	-8.0 SP	1,000 Cr	4,000 Cr
ACCOM.		Life Support, Extended (450 mandays)	1	-3.0 SP	-3.0 SP	17,500 Cr	17,500 Cr
CARGO		Cargo Hold (1.9 Spaces, 475 kg)	1.9	-1.0 SP	-1.9 SP		0 Cr

MGT2E	TL9 LIFEPOD				0.2 Space	$127,000			1.5 DT
SECTION	COMPONENT	QTY	SPACE	UNIT COST	QTY*SPACE	QTY*COST	NOTES	DTONS/SPACE	QTY*DT
	LIGHT GRAV	3	1 Space	$30,000	3.0 Space	$90,000		0.5	1.5 DT
ENVIRONMENT	Life Support per person, Long term	3	0 Space	$10,000	-0.6 Space	$30,000
ENVIRONMENT	Speed, Decrease	3		-$3,000	0.8 Space	-$9,000	Level 2 speed (20-50kph)
ENVIRONMENT	Vacuum Protection	1	0 Space	$10,000	0.0 Space	$10,000
ELECTRONICS	Comm, Improved 500K km	1	0 Space	$600	0.0 Space	$600
ELECTRONICS	Sensors, Basic	1	0 Space	$5,000	0.0 Space	$5,000
CREW	Bunk per person	4	1 Space	$100	-2.0 Space	$400
CONTROL	Control, Basic	1	0 Space		0.0 Space	$0
CREW	Basic Seating	1	1 Space	$0	-1.0 Space	$0
CONTROL	Autopilot, Basic	1	0 Space	$2,000	0.0 Space	$2,000

Mneme Dimensions 

You will notice our ships have floors of 0.75m squares. This is because to transition between the current traveller into a more flexible and usable metric system – we had to use a compromise of 0.75m squares. A 1DT cube is 3m deep (4 x 0.75m) x 2.25m high (3 x 0.75m) and 2.25m wide (3 x 0.75m).