Added. The original FB post thread:
"Aaron Wolk
Any intervention by the orbitals might renew rifts earths interest in space exploration.
I don't know if the orbitals would risk more than covert action.
Patrick Mastrobuono
Well it's been Well it's been 30 years since Rifts started that storyline. In universe it might be time to shake things up. Especially since the Republicans might be doing that as well
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/tongue.gif)
But yeah keeping it covert would be the standard, the orbital st…See More
Aaron Wolk
I absolutely agree it's been too long since the orbital story began but I think it's down to the desperate shortage of raw materials in the early days. Coupled with limited population and knowledge base. They had to invent survival tech and work improving their orbitals before worrying about earth. Progress took a long time.
And when they finally had time to consider earths condition they probably freaked out and said Nope! #Anywherebutearth
Personally I think it'd be cool to see the orbitals expand into the solar system colonizing planets and establishing a solar nation while earth is on a slow burn.
They'd have to leave monitorships in orbit to make certain the earth freaks stayed in quarantine and very rarely an elite covert team might be sent to obtain resources and new tech as well as intel.
Other than that I don't know how much contact the orbitals would want with earth.
Mike Leonard
Mutants in Orbit as a crossover book was largely a TMNT&OS supplement. Pretty sure it’s fallen off Kev’s radar.
Kenneth McComber
Mike Leonard actually it was more Rifts than TMNT
Patrick Mastrobuono
Yeah that's what I was afraid of.
Kenneth McComber
I actually liked what they did in Mutants in Orbit. But I’ve never seen say a book was no longer canon so I’m sure it’s stands
Brian Hite
Well, unless some communication is established with the surface, they’ll look at the minion war as simply the most recent demon war, like the one between the NGR and Gargoyle Empire, Coalition and Tolkeen, Geoforont and The Celestial Kingdom vs. the Yama Kings and so forth. Only if the Minion war spilled out in to the moon or mars might the orbital community get involved realistically.
Patrick Mastrobuono
It could, that's what I'm saying, since this a significant incursion that could take over the planet (or universe as has been hinted at in the books) so to prevent that they'd start intervening.
Terry Tumahai
They need to put out a map of OUR shattered solar system, and an UPDATED rifts space source book or world book to show who are the new players in our system and the new threats that have taken system as their own.
Arthur Cherry
Always hated the mutants in orbit stuff and have never considered them a part of the Rifts Earth dimension. In our Earth, orbital space is owned by the Lunar Archie and his sat army. Last order contain earth. Stations died years ago due to lack of viability.
Aaron Wolk
Lunar Archie would be cool.
How would he overcome his limited creativity issue?
Patrick Mastrobuono
Eh, that's sounds good. One dimension, good villain. Good for a movie (made in the 70's?) But I think that would diminish the human ingenuity angle. And game wise, you need a diverse setting with different factions to give players something to explore.
Another angle? How about Lunar Archie is in control, keeping the human population on ice indefinitely. Like the Republican army right now. Or they're jacked into the Matrix. This time on the moon. Waiting to be released in better conditions?
Arthur Cherry
As per my own cannon there was a world wide "Archie" project, north america (robotics/artificial life) SA (Human-mutant genome project), Europe (psy-netics) Asia (geo-front tech), Lunar Archie and a few others that never really got past proto-type phase.
So far only the NA Archie has exceeded its programming, they were meant to work in concert with one another like different parts of the brain, meaning the Lunar Archie is still of limited function untill something changes"