Pulpers

Also known as Golden Agers

An extremely loose faction, in which the members identify with their subfaction more than the faction as a whole, the Pulpers are distinguished by their love of one or more of the classic “pulp”-style fiction series. Many Fen treat the Pulper faction as a grouping of convenience rather than a “true” faction.

Some subfactions of Pulpers are recognizable even to the layman, and are listed below. Other subfactions are nearly indistinguishable from each other.

Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information

The most visible subfaction of the Pulpers in Fenspace, the Blue Blazers have their own writeup.

Barsoomians

Fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars romances and similar works, the Barsoomians are fond of chivalry, swordfighting, and wearing very little clothing, but prefer to live their fantasies on the ground instead of joining the Space Pirates. There aren’t very many Barsoomians, but they’re responsible for one of the most recognizable symbols of Fen presence in the Solar System: the city of Helium, just beside the Valles Marineris on Mars. (They expect the Mars Terraforming Project to turn the Mariner Valley into a giant canal, completing their favored setting.)

Lensmen

Fans of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series. They believe that, while all men may have been created equal, they don’t stay that way – intelligence, drive, and force of will cause people to separate into distinct groups, and the most successful have a duty to defend, protect, and lead the rest of humanity. Military service is important to the Lensmen, and biomods that produce telepathic abilities are their still-unattained Holy Grail.

Lensmen hold themselves separate from the other Golden Agers.

The Quartermass Institute

While the rest of fendom gleefully go out into space, the Quartermass Institute grimly watch for signs of the inevitable alien invasion and stand ready to defend humanity – at all costs. They depend solely on hardtech, as they believe that handwavium may be a plot by the unseen aliens to weaken humanity as a prelude to their inevitable genocidal feast.