But _Firefly_ wasn't an influence on Traveller (or not until comparatively
recently). I'm not sure how much of an influence James Schmitz's
_Federation of the Hub_ was, but if _Firefly_ is worth mention, then
Schmitz is, as well, along with a goodly number of other works that weren't
mentioned.

But that's an entirely 'nother discussion, worth a separate essay or twelve
on its own.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:20:15 -0400, Jeffrey Schwartz - schwartz.jeffrey at
gmail.com (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote to Freelance
Traveller:

>Would suggest adding "Firefly" to the list of fictional works.
>The quickest way I've been able to describe Traveller to new players is:
> "Ever seen Firefly?"
>"Ever seen or read Dune?"
>"Now imagine if Firefly were part of the Dune universe. You've got the
>Imperium as this huge government, with big megacorporations running the
>large ships, but there are still small ships doing the small jobs and
>barely making ends meet."
>
>On Sat, Aug 15, 2026 at 4:49?AM Dom Mooney - dom.mooney at gmail.com (via
>tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
>> I wrote this a while ago for some new players who’d never experienced the
>> Charted Space setting (or Traveller for that matter). Just tidied it up to
>> share. Is there anything you’d add to this?
>>
>> # ASSUMPTIONS IN TRAVELLER
>>
>> Traveller’s setting - Charted Space - is based upon the kind of SF
>> pioneered by Isaac Azimov in the Foundation trilogy, Andre Norton in the
>> Solar Queen books, EC Tubb and the Dumarest saga with lashings of Star Wars
>> (which was released the same year), Herbert, Heinlein, and many more. The
>> setting has subtly developed as new and different waves of science fiction
>> have washed over it.
>>
>> It is space opera with a veneer of hard SF.
>>
>> It is not the only setting that you can use; the tools in the game are
>> quite flexible, as has been shown with 2300AD, Judge Dredd, and the
>> forthcoming games of Pioneer and Dark Conspiracy. However, it is the
>> default.
>>
>> The key features of the setting are:
>>
>> ## 1) FTL - Faster than Light - travel
>>
>> This uses the 'Jump Drive'. Fueled with liquid hydrogen, the jumpdrive
>> sends a ship into jumpspace, where it cannot be contacted. The ship stays
>> in jump until it reaches the exit point plotted or it intersects with a
>> large mass. A jump always takes a similar time; 168h +/- 10% (a week).
>>
>> Jump drives are rated with a number. This represents the maximum number of
>> parsecs a ship can travel in a single jump. A parsec is 3.27 light years.
>>
>> Jumping near gravitational masses can cause a catastrophic mis-jump. Ships
>> fail to emerge from jumpspace, or emerge many parsecs away from their
>> destination, and sometimes in the future. The ship is surrounded by a
>> jump-bubble when in jump space. The effect of the jump bubble is
>> potentially harmful to humans exposed to it. Cases of madness have been
>> reported.
>>
>> ## 2) Communication is limited to the speed of jump
>> Like the age of sail, messages are carried by ships. There is no FTL
>> communication like subspace radio in Star Trek. Ships and agents operate
>> independently as a result; you can’t call Starfleet for backup.
>>
>> ## 3) Power is cheap and high efficiency
>> Fusion power is common and can be quite small. It is certainly seen as
>> safe.
>>
>> ## 4) There is no conscious AI
>> Computer technology is less well developed and AI pretty much unknown
>> unlike settings like Iain M Banks' Culture or Neal Asher's Polity. The
>> Imperium actively suppresses such technological innovation, but maintains
>> research into the technology and has deployed it (for example when
>> experimenting on creating much more heavily automated starships). Conscious
>> AI eventually escapes into the wild, having been weaponised, and brings
>> about the final destruction of the Imperium as ‘Virus’.
>>
>> ## 5) There are multiple Polities, many of them Human
>> By default, the game is set in the Third Imperium, a feudal empire that
>> controls the space between stars but allows each world to govern as it
>> chooses, so long as Imperial laws are not broken. The Imperium is
>> surrounded by multiple other polities, several of which are human, but
>> there are also alien polities.
>>
>> ## 6) The Ancients dominated the region previously and had technology far
>> in advance of that used in current times.
>> Several hundred thousand years ago, an extremely advanced culture
>> developed and tampered with the future of the species in the region. They
>> destroyed themselves in a cataclysmic war and are the subject of
>> speculation and exploration.
>>
>> ## 7) Psionics exist
>> Psionic powers exist and different polities take different approaches to
>> them. The Imperium suppresses psionics officially, but it is at the heart
>> of the Zhodani Consulate’s culture and a cause of distrust between the two
>> polities. Of course, the Imperium also maintains research in this space
>> despite its ban on the techniques.
>>
>> ## 8) Feudalism Exists
>> The Third Imperium is a feudal state, with nobles responsible to the
>> Emperor for the systems they are granted as fiefs. The systems themselves
>> can be representative democracies, theocracies and more, so long as they
>> acknowledge the control of the Imperium and its ownership of the space
>> between stars. It could (and has) been argued in the past that the Solomani
>> Confederation (despite its one party state) is a more democratic society
>> than the Third Imperium. Social standing is important if you want to
>> influence and change how things are done.
>>
>> ## 9) Mercantilism dominates
>> The Third Imperium’s expansion was built as much upon trade & stability as
>> it was with force. Trade demands stability, and stability requires peace.
>> The writers for the Milieu Zero Traveller setting explicitly modelled the
>> expansion upon the way that the East India Company operated; exploitation
>> and violence. This upset quite a few people when it was released (as ‘not
>> being realistic’) but it was officially signed off as canon. Although there
>> are mega corporations that span the Imperium and beyond, there is also the
>> space for small free traders making a living in the gaps the mega
>> corporations leave.
>>
>> These are the key features of Charted Space, specifically around the
>> default Third Imperium setting. If you explored further around other
>> polities and deeper into space (for example, the Zhodani Core Expeditions,
>> the Solomani Rim Expeditions or the epic Deepnight Revelation mission) then
>> you will find differences and exceptions to this, which is one of the
>> reasons that I love the setting as much as the simple mechanics.
>>
>> If you’re a Traveller fan, what other bits have I missed?
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> for iOS.
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