C’mon. Useless old piece of… So recently I’ve watched through a sci-fi series that
is actually on Netflix, that of Cowboy Bebop, which of course is based on the 1998 Anime
of the same name. This series pretty closely follows the original setting, which is our
Solar system, in the year 2071. This is not a review of the series itself, merely a primer
on the background lore of the show without plot spoilers, but I will be talking about
some events in the past that are alluded to, such as what the hell happened to Earth?
The technology of the Cowboy Bebop future is a mixed bag. While there have been great
strides and advances in almost every field, futuristic tech such as force fields, energy
weapons and genetic modification are rare due to their cost. This means that on most
worlds, you’ll occasionally see science fiction elements such as these, the most common
being space vehicles and holograms, bumping shoulders with the near-modern day firearms,
cars and construction techniques. While flying from moon to moon is possible
in a spacecraft it still takes a time and interplanetary travel takes months of flight.
Or at least it would, if it wasn’t for the Gate Public Corporation which pioneered the
development of Hyperspace Gates. A Gate is a series of rings, lined up to form a hyperspace
lane and positioned in a stable orbit around one of our planets. A Gate connects to a partnered
one orbiting another planet or planetoid, and propels a vessel into a hyperspace realm
where faster than light travel is possible. This corridor that is formed cannot be veered
from without some serious tech behind it, and generally you’d not want to as trying
to exit the corridor mid-flight would result in destruction, of the ship. Think mass relays
from Mass Effect, although they’re not identical in principle. Rumour has it however, that
there exist unauthorised and off-the-books gates, constructed but forgotten about. These,
if they existed, would be referred to as “Dark Gates” and would technically be completely
illegal, so it’s a good job they don’t exist and are most definitely not used as
smuggling routes. In 2071, the Gates are effectively manned
by security patrols and toll booths. Failure to produce a toll meant no travel, and the
gate operators could simply shut down a gate, or even suspend a vessel from exiting hyperspace
should there be a security issue. Additionally, unauthorised approaching of a gate may result
in warnings before deadly force us authorised. Such security is not without reason however.
Aside from maintaining the monetary interest, gate technology is one of the biggest achievements
of humans and messing with it can cause things to go horribly wrong, as it did in the past.
In 2022, a disaster hit Earth, when the first Astral Gate constructed exploded taking with
it a large chunk of Luna. The rocky debris from the event rained down on Earth over the
next few decades, destroying cities in meteor showers and crippling the planet, throwing
up clouds of impact dust and these showers continue even into the current year of the
shows. 4.7 Billion people were killed across the entire event and those who survived generally
only did so because they made it off world, or they remain with a vigilant eye on the
sky. It is still inhabited, although many consider
it dying as the wreaked planet continues to trap solar heat and burn up, its once rich
biomes now withering away, year by year. It has since had a new Astral Gate created, but
is considered a dead end of a world, shrouded in debris, dust and its once great cities
are mostly abandoned to ruin and a once unifying central government no longer holds sway over
its colony worlds. Most worlds have their own governing body now, and most of the largest
and most influential entities are corporations. In the cracks of this political and business
landscape, organised crime flourishes to pick up the remnants and sometimes, even hold more
sway than a government over certain territories. As humans spread out across the solar system,
they brought with them their diverse cultures, languages and peoples, settling across multiple
worlds in mash of different origins. Almost every location where mankind settled became
a diverse pot peoples from all backgrounds. Humans were not the only species to make it
off Earth however, as all the worlds settled within the system lacked life of their own,
so Earth’s flora and fauna was brought with us to populate those worlds.
In the shows, worlds that are too small to cling on to an atmosphere have their habitable
zones shrouded by atmospheric barriers that allow fast moving ships to pass through, but
not gases. How the gravity is created on these worlds is not known, but on ships and stations,
centrifugal force is in play. Mars’ thin atmosphere makes it difficult
to completely terraform (so far), but it is the the highest population world. Its thin
atmosphere provides little chance for life, but within numerous craters, colony cities
have been constructed, using the walls to establish their borders. Each crater contains
an Atmospheric Farm which chucks out a manufactured and breathable atmosphere, allowing for life
to persist sheltered around these domes of breathable air.
Venus too was now an inhabited planet, with its poisonous, pressurised and lethally hot
atmosphere now replaced with a breathable one, albeit one with a high helium concentration.
However, its long scarred, rocky surface remains barren and desert-like. Instead, cities are
constructed in floating platforms above the rock, which are form more habitable and life
clings to these, converting the remaining carbon-dioxide to oxygen. However, these specialised
plants, maybe remnants of the terraforming efforts, do produce a spore that can be dangerous
to humans. So called Venus sickness can render a person blind.
Moving through the Asteroid belt now and many of these rocks have pressurised stations on
them, complete with artificial gravity caused by their spin. Unlike the planets, most of
these can only support a single city or town. We then get to the Gas Giants of our solar
system, and while these remain uninhabited, their many moons show great potential. Ganymede
has a population of 8 million and was terraformed by melting its surface ice to reveal a deep
salt-water ocean. It is now effectively a water-covered planetoid with a thriving fishing
industry. Incidentally, the Bebop ship itself, home of the crew of bounty hunters the show
follows, is a converted fishing trawler, hence the literal boat shaped front of the vessel,
and its preference for water-landings. The Moon, Calisto is wet and cold while Europa
has similar atmosphere controlled settlements as found on Mars.
Io is basically a barren desert, its violent geology seemingly tamed somewhat. Aside from
this, there is little else going for it. Titan, the largest moon of Saturn is notable
pretty much for the fact that it has been rendered habitable, and was the sight of a
large battle between Mars and some other belligerent around the early to mid-2060s.
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all have settlements on them too, Pluto is in fact host to a maximum
security prison, but apart from that, not much else is referenced.
Thank you for watching this video on the solar system as envisioned in Cowboy Bebop. Whether
you’re watching the original or checking out the adaptation, while the storylines diverge
slightly, the universe in which they are both set remains pretty much the same. So, go ahead
and enjoy either one, I’ve been Ric and well… see you later, space co- ah c’mon.