That’s not what I’ve seen. The stories I’m familiar with usually involve defending those things where they already exist, not establishing them. Even in cases where that needs established, as often as not, they’re usually protecting someone else who embodies that ideal.
I’m sure there are stories similar to what you’ve described, but I don’t see that in the stories I’m familiar with.
It’s always seemed strange to me that earth never made any sort of meaningfull technological progress despite having access to a galaxy full of new tech.
This actually seemed reasonable to me - if alien tech is anything like ours, we lack the parts to make the parts to make the parts to make the tech, so we can’t mass produce any of it yet. And we’re a bit of a backwater - what resources we do have of galactic interest (vibranium, maybe?) isn’t for sale. So we make do with what scraps do find their way to earth.
Stories don’t need to be told, humans need to tell stories. That’s what makes us human, and is how we spread ideas like honor, justice, and even civilization itself.
Hero stories reinforce all of these ideas, and others besides.
I’ve been trying to avoid soap labelled antibacterial for this reason, and it’s tricky to even find any that’s not labelled antibacterial.
Been wondering if they don’t just slap the label on any soap, because it could be considered antibacterial by its nature. Apparently not?
My players ran across some Imperial guardsmen killing off skeletons, only for the orcs accompanying them to protest that they were destroying “registered cultural artifacts!” The orcs didn’t have much, and they would leave their bones to their children to help them eke out a meager existence.
Some of those solo games can be played with multiple players and no GM, too!
But not the stem!
Hah, my first time, I had one of the bandits yell “Sammy!” to another, a name I just grabbed on impulse. Sammy was also one of the PC’s names…
For a Supers game, I’ve been wanting to play a dragon - just start the game with a chunk of the downtown business district for my hoard, run it with enlightened self-interest (high wages, free healthcare, etc), and go after any supervillains that might threaten my modern “hoard” (which might include the people!)
The idea is that he’d be trying to transition himself from an avatar of fear and flame into something humanity might celebrate, or even venerate - after all, he’s seen that humanity tends to wipe out things that terrify it!
To speak more to the point - Geordi is asked by his doctor a few times (by different doctors) why he didn’t upgrade to a more modern prosthetic. He preferred the visor.
Eventually, in the movies, he did switch - presumably his new implants finally had feature parity with the visor. Or he got tired of the visor popping off…
GURPS has a specific disadvantage that is essentially this.