What is Futility's End?
From FEInfobase
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What is FE?
The answer to that question comes in several parts. First, FE is Futility’s End, a Star Trek simming, or RPG group of some five or so games. Second, FE is a group of writers working together to tell stories of the darker side of Trek, relying on a strong internal continuity and the encouragement of innovative ideas by co-operation and creative discussion.
This is a Star Trek for the modern world of entertainment; not the high-octane, idealistic world of J.J. Abrams’ bright vision, but the world which brought us Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. A world of human struggles and human flaws meeting the fantastic and overwhelming.
Futility’s End could be described as ‘post-apocalyptic Star Trek’. The age of the idealism written about by Roddenberry is shattered; to keep it alive is a struggle against threats to survival, comfort, and happiness. Morals and principles are no longer shielded by a happy utopia, but tried and tested against the darkest corners of the galaxy. Some remember the days of humanity’s greatness, and have seen that greatness fall. For others it is nothing more than a bedtime story of bygone days and all they know is the battle to survive, whatever the cost.
In some short years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, an unthinkable event occurred that would change the galaxy forever: the Borg returned, an armada at their back, to conquer the Alpha Quadrant.
The war lasted twenty years, a long twenty years which decimated civilisation. The Borg took planet after planet, driving the Klingons and Romulans out of their own empires and forcing them to ally themselves with the Federation in a mighty union the likes of which had never been seen before, not even at the height of the Dominion War.
This alliance fought hard against the Borg, but was inevitably driven back. The assimilation of some planets was confirmed, but for far more, contact was simply lost, their assimilation presumed and hope for them abandoned. And as the days grew darker, the Federation’s alliance became more desperate. Methods that would never have been considered in brighter times became standard practice in the pursuit of survival. Soldiers were left to die when saving them was not resource-effective, draconian law enforcement practices were employed to maintain internal security so as not to detract from the war effort, and even unleashing a plague on the Borg to destroy them became a mainstream consideration for Federation scientists.
Some say that the price of victory was the galaxy’s soul. But victory was declared eventually. After many long campaigns, the Borg had the remnant of the Alpha Quadrant driven back as far as they could go, barricaded up in the heart of the galaxy: Earth. The remaining fleet was gathered, an armada of survivors making a valiant last stand against the incoming Collective.
The Battle of Sol lasted three days at the twilight of the twenty-fourth century, but when the dust settled, the Federation and its allies remained – battered and bruised, but alive – and the Borg were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were all wiped out in the final battle. Perhaps they withdrew for their own sinister purpose. Whatever the reason, the war was over. It was time for peace.
It is now eleven years after the end of the conflict, and the galaxy, which learned how to survive a war, is not yet accustomed to surviving a peace. Massive stretches of the Alpha Quadrant remain unknown, communication not yet re-established, the fate of thousands of planets a mystery. The Federation hardly dares venture out of the core worlds for fear of what threat lurks beyond. Earth, once a utopia, now suffers from the overcrowding of many displaced species making it their new home, and the consequent pollution seeping into the atmosphere.
This is a time when loyalty is valued over free speech, for such a liberty could threaten the government’s stability, leaving it open to an attack from whatever enemy, old or new, that might be lurking out there. The Federation has just come out of a civil war when its own government sought to reject free and democratic elections. But even in the face of liberty’s victory, stability has not been won as the Klingons and Romulans have rejected the alliance, and gone to seek out their homeworlds. Resources are stretched thin, causing a downsizing in Starfleet and encouraging enterprising individuals and organizations to go forth into unknown space and brave war-torn planets to reclaim – or steal – their wealth.
And so it comes down to choices. Will the people of the Federation return to the principles they once held so dear, or will they continue to trade them for security against unknown dangers? Will the spirit of exploration hold Starfleet steady, or will they turn into thugs enforcing the peace, or even pillaging those weaker than them? Will the survivors learn to co-exist in this new, dangerous galaxy, or will they turn on each other in a scrabble for supremacy?
But Futility’s End is also more than just a Star Trek setting for role-playing. We seek to be a fully integrated community, co-operating on a wide scale to tell in-depth, mature stories of our dystopian future. With strong communicative ties between individual games, we present a dynamic universe that is ever-changing, with plots that can affect stories on a wide scale. One ship’s mission may affect parts of the galaxy which will echo back to a completely different game, and there are often ongoing events in the wider universe, political shenanigans and tragic occurrences that take place outside of any game but still reflect on the universe. As such, we heavily encourage independent fiction rather than solely limiting galactic developments to taking place in a game, to better serve an ever-changing universe.
We want you to write about the world you just rediscovered. We want you to write about what happened to that ship in the War. We want you to write about surviving in the new Federation. We want you to write about the latest threat in the galaxy. We want you to write about the political clashes on Earth. We want you to write about criminals in this darker universe. We want you to write about your character’s everyday life.
We want you to write. That is FE.
What's Next?
So you want to be involved? But you're not sure how?
It's not as difficult as you might think. A broad familiarity with the setting is helpful, but nobody expects you to have memorised the entirety of the Infobase. The explanation above, if you think it's given you a solid introduction to the themes and styles of Futility's End, ought to suffice for any budding new member. If you want to know more, then checking out the articles back here would be a good place to start.
Next, we would recommend taking a look at the list of games we have. We offer a wide variety of styles, both in thematic approach to the setting and in simple play styles. There's something to tempt most people who find FE an intriguing prospect in the first place. Read their Infobase pages. Find their sections on the forum and check out some samples of their writing. And then get in touch with the appropriate GM for how you can get involved!
That brings us to the next step: Creating a character background.