The Next Best Theorem

I have a theory about most every Sci-Fi universe, let's call it "The Next Best Theorem":

"In any Sci-Fi universe, the level of technology will increase to a point where the universe is ruined."

 Oh yeah, I am being sarcastic here, but I have seen this too many times to count. Star Trek is one, where the pseudo-science throughout the series increased to a level of absurdity, with ships being held together by force fields. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with that, but the 'next best thing' keeps going on and on, and pretty soon, the original reasons you liked the concept in the first place become lost in the shuffle of technobabble and high-space concepts.

Star Wars, at least in the expanded universe, suffered from the same. In some ways, the prequels were a tech-up to the universe, even though they happened earlier in history. The original movies felt like World War II in space; and the prequels ventured into super-science, mass cloning, do-it-all nanites, CG action robots, and so many other super-science concepts never seen in the first three movies.

In Sci-Fi roleplaying games, campaigns often fall victim to the same thing. Players can be engineers or scientists, and they can do what else...invent! The mad scientist takes over, and the ship captain of course needs shields that can deflect a little more than something off-the-shelf, and the next super wonder artifact is sitting on the next planet waiting to be discovered. Oh, imagine the power it would give us! The referee responds by up-teching the bad guys, making even more unimaginable threats, and escalating to match the player's power level. After all, the player's ship is the best in the galaxy right?

After a while, the original bad guys look tame, the old ships feel clunky, and the new even-badder-than-baddies show up to reign supreme. Why you loved the original concept is lost in a wash of new stuff, and to catch attention, it has to be more slick, more over the top, and even cooler than before. Outrageous and new trump made the Sci-Fi concept fun in the first place. Witness Prometheous, the (supposed) prequel to Alien. The original Alien had monochrome CRTs and primitive spacesuit technology, the prequel had floating holograms and skin-tight suits. The clunky charm of the original Alien movie was lost in wowza-tech.

It is a vicious circle, and a phenomena matched in fantasy games by an ever-increasing magic and power level. In Sci-Fi, it is especially difficult, because part of the premise of the game is science and technology. We live in a world where technology changes every month, and the next best thing has already made what you have obsolete. Sci-Fi roleplaying too tragically mirrors this, and many rules systems don't handle this rapid level of power escalation and technological advancement.

Some games, such as Traveller, are pretty much cemented into a particular technology level, even at the maximum level the game supports. But still, the urge to find a starship with Jump-7 exists, and the super-science race begins again. In a way, technological escalation is a part of the genre; and then again, many Sci-Fi rules systems don't support this concept.