Jupiter Sovereign is themed around alchemy, and while I don't aim for it to be necessarily a learning tool, it has roots in it beyond just window dressing.

One of the things about alchemy (or, rather, Hermeticism, the most prominent European alchemy) is that it was not just a science as we would think of it.

Of course, alchemy was never a science by empirical standards, but it never tried to be. Isaac Newton, for example, changed the scientific world by changing our understanding of physics, which will become important in a moment.

Alchemy is tied to mysticism, and its relationship with Christianity complicated its history through the middle ages, which are also the times that we see some of the most interesting works.

What this means is that alchemy looked at the value of things, rather than measurable characteristics.

Now, this is a major reason why we don't have any examples of successful alchemists, but it explains why they kept at it for thousands of years.

Alchemists believed in an immanent world: that is to say one in which divine forces guided everything. Their definition of matter was experiential, rather than experimental.

Alchemy for Psionics

One of the reasons why I landed on alchemy as a major setting element is that it gives a layer of mystical interpretation to the universe.

It is a symbolic framework that can be used to communicate things that don't exist, which might otherwise be a problem. That's not insurmountable, but I think that part of getting into a character is understanding what they are doing.

It also gives an opportunity to work with defined elements of the psionic universe, as they have a natural existing framework to be slotted into.

Alchemy for Transhumanism

I think, however, that the transhuman elements of the setting are helped by using alchemy too.

There are a lot of rational and empirical examples of transhumanism that are really well done, and a lot of them blend in symbols from classical traditions, they're sort of a second layer supporting a scientific approach.

With the lighter ruleset I think that the empirical approach is difficult, but I also think that it proves less than desirable.

With any speculative fiction, you want to have some wiggle room for errors. Not because it really matters if you're right, but because you have to get past suspension of disbelief.

Alchemical language is about meaning and symbols, and if there's one thing I've learned in my study of storytelling it is that archetypal elements are good, but getting bogged down in details isn't.

By approaching alchemical and archetypal design goals rather than strictly empirically defined simulations, the characters in Jupiter Sovereign should still carry meaning.