To answer Dave's question concisely: Hard Times is a Traveller
book designed to sketch out, in a general way, the collapse of
the Third Imperium in the years following the Rebellion's main
armed movements. It's not bad, and if taken to extremes could have
created an environment similar to the one GDW is proposing for
the new rules system (TNE, "Traveller: The New Era") to be released
this fall, without having to postulate a supercomputervirus that
selectively destroys some things and not others all over the IMperium.
Pfagh! Speak no more to me on this, thou worthy. It likes me not.
BTW, the Grant stories Parts 1 through 7 are mine, based on the odd
misadventures of Captain Khagariilian Grant and the crew of the IMSS
Serendipity (*CRASH*) uh, IMSS Inexplicable (*KA-WHOOMF*) er, IMSS
Torch, as they get themselves into and out of all sorts of trouble
while trying to earn an honest buck on the Solomani Rim. Parts 8 and
beyond require more time than I have right now to do, but I hope to at
least get them out of their current Adventure on Terra before drawing
the series to a close. The metaplot after the Terra incident,
involving the tradewar that destroyed Grant's old company, isn't
suitable for a writeup here, and the game was put on hiatus at the end
of that plotline so I could write my thesis. However, we plan to
resume play this summer after I'm done, which will provide more grist
for the mill. I will repost Parts 1 through 7 to refresh people's
memories before posting any new material. How much I post at a time
will probably be regulated by James. (Hi James. And thanks for the
anniversary card. Hugs from Suzanne and me to Glennis and you for YOUR
next anniversary. |-> )
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Mike Metlay
[email removed]
[address removed]