one of the best scifi fanfic Quests there is in my opinion
Words: 59k+
Link: https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/k2-effect.108469/
New Restart Quest link: https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/dyson-effect-mass-effect-hard-sci-fi-quest.120097/
(An ambitious humanity works to establish itself in a Mass Effect universe where everyone got serious about the business of colonizing the galaxy.)
2200 CE
Sol System
2200 CE
The sun no longer shines on the universe. It has not been destroyed. A black hole has not devoured that life giving star. No, the answer is simpler. Trillions of satellites, each one little more than foil on a set of trusses, orbit the star and quite literally blot out the sun. Rather than be lost to the whims of the universe the entirety of the Sun's light is now collected and stored. All to fuel the energy needs of humanity.
The very last solar collector slides into place at precisely 12:00 AM January 1st 2200 CE Earth time. Billions of people around the solar system celebrate its arrival with system wide parties and the new year is widely being touted as the dawn of a new age. Of course this is ignoring the fact that the one solar collector makes a miniscule difference in the output of the swarm. Humanity had long since been using the sun's power to fuel their works in the system. Orbital rings have already been constructed around Earth and Mars. There is talk of terraforming Venus and igniting Jupiter. It seems there is no limit to humanity's ambition now that they have tamed a star.
With all this hubbub most people ignore the work of a small and somewhat neglected team of archeologists patiently digging away under the red dunes of mars. In an alien outpost they work to translate ancient documents, and in one of the universe's cosmic jokes they finally finish deciphering the controls for one of the outpost's ancient starships just as the last solar collector comes online.
Humanity has captured one star. Now it has the key to the wider galaxy.
Or it would if anyone cared. Largely however they don't, automation and self replicating machines have completed the dyson swarm far far faster than the population could keep up. The vast majority of humans are too happy living in their personal space habitats and keeping track of the immortality project to really be all that enthused about moving to different systems where they would have to start from scratch.
That neglected team of scientists on Mars belongs to the Prometheus Institute. A group of far thinkers who acknowledge that even the current massive glut of resources will not last forever, and that controlling a single system is not enough for a multitude of resources.
Of course everything is relative. The Institute may be unpopular and underfunded, but humanity is rich. The Institute has access to a mere millionth of the sun's output, but that alone is enough to fuel vast endeavors and grand fleets. The real limitation is only their ability to find people willing to aid their goals, and determining what those goals should be.
[ ] Plan (Write In)
Example Plan
[ ] Plan Xenoarcheologist
-[ ] 300 EU: Refurbish the alien ships
-[ ] 300 EU: Decipher alien database
-[ ] 300 EU: Disassemble one ship for its exotic matter core and research it
-[ ] 100 EU: Work on recruiting more personnel for the Institute.