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[OOC] Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded] Page 17
- Post-Apocalyptic
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Here is my WIP sheet for you guys to get a feel for the FSA. sorry for hold ups, Only a few sections to be completed, for now are blank until they are fully complete. but I present to you the FSA so far.
Planet Name and Description: Arinar is a large Gaia world with several medium land masses, one exceptionally large land mass where the capital of Destera is located and odd islands dotted around vast oceans. The lands mostly sport good forestry but also some arid areas along the usual poles you would see on earth but larger on scale. The lands also have quite a bit of mountainous regions and plenty of beautiful waterfalls; it would be the perfect holiday destinations for tourists if the much heavier gravity of the planet wouldn’t kill you.
Arinar has three moons orbiting her, the large moon of Nefreya which has been colonized and her two smaller sister moons of Nefrane and Oseros.
Example of Midgarian structures.
Terra Nova is an Earth-like world with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Active and stable hydrosphere. Great landmasses are separated by oceans, with large climate variations depending on latitude and precipitation. Terra Nova has rings often dubbed ‘The rings of Terra’ around the planet along with a single moon called Prospero. Terrans have been careful with city development making sure to avoid pollutions and noise that could affect the environment, avoiding the mistakes of their ancestors.
Many clean large cities exist along with some rather unique phenomena locations have been left in their natural state. Terrans have made sure to keep these unique terrain locations safe.
Example of a Terran city.
One of the Natural wonders of Terra Nova.
History: (What happened after your Colony landed? This can be as brief or detailed as you like.)
Culture and Society: Demographics, as with many aspects of the Alliance, are a widely mixed variety. The two colony ships were made of early colonists, coming from a wide range of diversity; Japanese, Americans, British, French, Chinese, Russians, Germans, and Indians cultures are often overrepresented in the Alliance. Many of these cultures stem from the wide variety of original Earth cultures, though nearly every single continent has developed their own unique mix of cultures or new practices entirely stemming from their experiences.
Alliance culture is bounded by capitalism, however. Planets within the nation are prevented from achieving cultures of notable totalitarian or tribal status by the laws that govern the Alliance, though some peoples do choose to live closer to a tribal lifestyle of their own accord. Alliance culture is particularly connected with the Xeno members thanks to open communication, trade, and borders, a wealth of technology, and little censorship. This fuels diversity throughout the regions on the Alliance and the government encourages a “One Humanity” mind-set for Terrans to prevent racial strife.
Krentasians were very a territorial species, and they reacted aggressively against any threats to their homes, which in the past led to the development of truly impressive firefighting and repair technologies. Given their physical capabilities, as well as generally aggressive instincts, their species made for formidable troops, Worthy of note was that the Krentasians were almost completely incapable of swimming unassisted due to their low body fat, a result of their high metabolism and they don’t drink beer, which is quite toxic to them.
There was no real need for a militia force once it was integrated into the Alliances forces. However, early many realized that the training provided a sense of unity, help curb and channel young Krentasian energy and instincts, and formed a foundation of teamwork that could be turned toward tasks such as disaster relief. Every Krentasian underwent basic training, stressing co-operation and constructive tasks. This practice also helped mitigate the predatory instincts of the Krentasians, as well as the 'youthful energy' that could otherwise lead to mischief.
Their culture had developed a deep appreciation for beauty, which was expressed in many ways: study and contemplation of nature, producing works of art that mirrored nature, and, most commonly, surrounding themselves with beauty and comfort. Krentasians were known to find beauty in nearly any aspect of nature, including such destructive ones as lightning storms. Jewellery was also seen as a form of beauty through which they could express themselves well. Given the coloration of their fur, gold was rarely used, though bronze, steel, iron, titanium, and similar metals were in wide use. Mated pairs traditionally wore matching anklets similar in function to the Human wedding ring tradition. Most Krentasian jewellery contained gemstones, with red and blue being the preferred colours.
Governance and Politics: The Federated Systems Alliance (FSA or SA) is a political and economic alliance comprising of currently three species working together. The Midgarian Confederation, Terra Nova Republics and Krentasian Empire. The Alliance is a federal type of government.
The government of the Federated Systems Alliance is a representative democratic republic with powers centralized in the federal government with member worlds still retaining their form of government and laws unless superseded by those of the federal government. Members of the advisory board and the FSA Council work as groups, individuals, or as part of a committee to write, propose, debate, and ratify legislation. The president, as the head of state and head of government, signs the legislation into law or veto’s the legislation while also having the authority over the military (for short periods) and over executive actions among other duties. Members of the Alliance High Courts serve as the moral compass of the Alliance and often provide interpretations of the Alliance charter or hear cases against the Federal government or high-profile cases referred up to the High Courts.
The central government – or core government – is situated in the government complex in Elysium, Terra Nova. Other major government facilities are located on the central world’s of each region, usually housing the regional government led by that area’s Vice President and the locally elected Governor.
Technology Overview: (What have your people invented? Or have they forgotten anything?)
Military Overview: (This is the space to talk about any offensive capabilities you have. Given that most of these Colonies have been essentially stranded by themselves for three centuries, I don't imagine anyone has a large "conquer other planets" level fleet yet. But maybe your Colony has been in civil war for a hundred years, and has built up an impressive military in that time. Or maybe they even had to fend off a genuine alien invasion.)
Additional Info: (Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)
Nation Name:
Government Form:
federal Government.
Demographics:
The Midgarians are a humanoid simultaneous hermaphrodite species, they have an endoskeleton, lips, teeth which is similar to that of humans. They have two luminescent eyes with glowing irises, eyelids and tear ducts; this means the eyesight of a Midgarian is pretty standard during the daylight, they are able to see normally during extreme darkness or night. This 'night vision' does come at a cost, however, their focus on distant objects can be slower than that of a normal human as their pupils do not dilate. they also have five fingers, one of which is a thumb along with five toes on each foot, The Species reach approximately 5'6 to 5'10 on average and weighting 158 to 170lbs on average.
In appearance, however, the Midgarians are distinctly feminine, at least to other humanoid races. They have a slender feminine build with slight muscular tones and curves, their skin colour is usually purple, blue or pale grey which is of a smooth leathery texture. Generally, Midgarians reach maturity around the age of 22 years old with a lifespan approximately 300 years, Midgarian facial structure and hair actually makes them close to humans in physical appearance. Their physical strength is similar to humans within their own natural gravity of their home world, however; Arinar's gravitational pull is many times greater than the planetary average., a Midgarian possess elevated strength and resilience in environments with an Earth-like or similar gravity, with some human's often joking they have super-strength, their skin iss very durable, resilient enough even to stop bullets from piercing vital organs.
Midgarian's have a complex endocrine system, having several more hormones and chemicals than humans. Although internally, Midgarian's have less glands than the human endocrine system, The Midgarian system produces a greater variety of hormones for each gland present. The most notable of these hormones is the calming chemical known as Relaxitin, which is released from the Midgarian equivalent of the adrenal glands when severely stressed. Relaxitin attaches to the areas of the brain that produces stress, causing the cells to calm and release dopamine, creating an effect similar to the effect of THC in humans.
Unlike most other organisms, The Midgarian's have a specialized desalination gland, located about 3 centimetres from the mouth, allowing them to drink both salt water and freshwater. When salt water is ingested, the gland produces several enzymes that remove the salt from the water. The removed salt molecules are then transported by the blood to the skin, where it is then released from the body, much like sweating in humans. While the species has a robust cellular regenerative system, they do not heal faster than other species. Midgarian blood also differs from most other species as it is a blueish purple colour, this is due to the trace amount of Cobalt in their blood instead of Iron.
As a simultaneous hermaphrodite species, as each individual possess both male and female reproductive organs with the latter being a similar internal reproductive biology to a female human. As a result, there are no gender differences, or gender-based issues which could be common to other cultures. Each individual has a smooth scalar prehensile tail hidden away in their body’s lower back, which acts as the male reproductive organ at the tip. This tail on average is about a meter long, sometimes longer. At will, though usually easier when sexually aroused, they may “grow” the tail out of their body but they prefer not to. Although it may seem that a Midgarian may reproduce without a mate having both a male and female reproductive organs, in reality it doesn't work as they have a protective mechanism against self-fertilization.
Terrans and Humans are physiologically almost identical since they are exactly the same species, However, there are a couple of physiological difference; Terrans are a bit more sensitive to bright light. Also the development of gene-based therapies significantly extended a Terrans life, the regeneration treatments extends their life by over a century. During the early years of colonization an Ideology was formed. A decision was made to call themselves Terrans, seeing themselves different from the rest of humanity from their past, often witnessing slavery and fascists movements of those times.
A new better form of humanity had to learn from the lessons of old Terra, Terran descendants of the old world had to not do a repeat of the same human mistakes that were endemic to it. As a society this ideology developed from the issues that the first ark had and the impact of those events that occurred from it. Terrans view this connection with Terra after the second ark’s help brought a chance of saving this new colony which became appropriately named Terra Nova. This caused a deeper connection to the saving of old terra, and the chance for a better future where Terrans work hard to reject the mistakes of the past and do to better of themselves for a brighter future.
Krentasians are an upright, bipedal beings with manipulative hands descended from a felinoid life form. There are two sexes, male (Krentan) and female (Krentas). The most notable external difference was the slightly increased size of the male, though specimens of both genders tended to be lithe for their size due to a higher volume of muscle than most mammals. Fur covered their bodies, most times a solid colour or shades of a similar tone. While most ranged between grey, sandy and golden, black fur was not uncommon, and white was quite rare but not unheard of. In almost all Krentasians, the eyes were a golden colour and provided excellent night vision. However, in those with black fur, green eyes were observed, and white furred Krentasians tended toward light, almost clear-blue eyes.
Krentasians shed in small amounts throughout the year, since their original world's orbit was less elliptical than most and maintained a near constant season, lacking the winter that would require thicker fur and subsequent shedding. As a result of this temperate to hot climate, Krentasians had a lower tolerance for colder climates. Their feline ancestry showed in their facial structure, the fur covering their bodies, long and agile tails, and their voices, which resembled the purring of Terran felines. When agitated, Krentasian fur 'bristled' in a manner akin to that of a Terran cat. There was very little that a Krentasian could do to control this bristling response, and it took place with nearly all the fur on the body.
Krentasians stand one to two meters tall, similar to, but often lither, than the average humanoid. However, they are more agile and dexterous than their size suggested. There legs could store quite a bit of potential energy in the 'crouch' that was the resting state. This gave the Krentasians the ability to spring quickly into action, granting them a significant ability to accelerate from a rest state. The power of those legs also granted them an impressive leaping ability of up to 7 meters. Due to the way in which steps were taken, a gradual absorbing of the weight, their species has incredibly silent footsteps. Krentasians are excellent sprinters (many able to reach 40 kilometres per hour for short bursts), but left them little endurance for long distance running. They tended to lack the endurance for extended exertion, though this shortcoming could be overcome with an extensive regimen of exercise and a specialized diet.
As a by-product of the Krentasian reliance on a tail to aid in balance, most coped with damage to one inner-ear, though loss of the tail or micro-gravity conditions can lead disorientation and nausea. Their long tails, generally accepted as one of the key features allowing them to achieve a bipedal form. The tail functioned as a minor aid to balance, but Krentasians who lost them seemed capable of physically compensating for the loss. Scientists assumed that the tail was once a key component of communication, but once actual speech developed, it was no longer needed as much (though the tails certainly provided a gauge of emotion, as did the positions of the ears). Krentasians required a minimum of four hours of rest per day; however, whenever possible they tried to get 10 hours.
Krentasian eyes are capable of dilating widely to grant the race expanded vision in lower light. They could see functionally in 20 percent of the light required by a human. The irises contracted in a ‘V’ shape, decreasing ocular response time and allowing them to adapt from low-light to bright light conditions quickly. Additionally, where Humans had visual receptors placed evenly in the inner eye, Krentasian receptors were concentrated on a more defined horizontal axis. This allowed a high degree of visual acuity, enabling them to catch movement and details on their horizontal plane at greater range, and with greater clarity and accuracy than humans.
Krentasian ear structures enabled them to hear in ranges far beyond the human baseline. While they were no better than Humans at hearing in low range bands, their high-end aural sensitivity extended to four times that of Humanity, they could hear tones up to two full octaves higher. In addition, they could rotate their cup-shaped ears for better auditory focus, and in fact could directionally locate sounds to within 20 centimetres in any direction without physically looking.
The Krentasian sense of hearing was incredibly acute, able to hear in a higher pitched range far in excess of humans. Their eyes were geared toward low light levels; as a result, they had slightly less colour acuity than non-nocturnal. They were, however, able to operate in near darkness. Their sense of smell is quite well-developed almost matching a Terran canine.
The first true, sentient artificial intelligence to be created on Terra Nova. Known as “Aditya,” the Artificial Intelligence adopted a female gender – a novel concept not previously considered in early computational models for her computer core. The new A.I. would go on to revolutionizes theories on artificial intelligence and their characteristics. Despite centuries of fear from their ancestors that Old Terra would be destroyed by the arrival of artificial intelligence, “Aditya’s” genesis had a positive impact on Terran life in the City of Gracemeria. There, the fledgling Artificial Intelligence helped city leaders to improve transportation, solve economic issues, and improve the city’s overall efficiency. “Aditya’s” framework became the baseline for future artificial intelligence in the years to come, and remnants of her matrix are found in almost all artificial intelligence in existence within the FSA. More importantly, her existence paved the way for the explosion of artificial intelligence and the birth of a new species that would take a century to earn rights equivalent their Terran creators.
An Android body was soon constructed; it is an advanced technological humanoid construct used to house an artificial intelligence or a limited intelligence. There are a massive number of uses for androids, ranging from industrial to social to military to a combination of all three. Androids are constructed out of a wide range of materials because of the complexity of their construction. The main material used in androids' skeletons are nickel-cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys, because of the extremely high tensile strength, low weight, and the relative abundance of the materials needed to make the alloy.
The skeleton is the core of the android, and is what provides androids with their enormous strength and durability. There are also polymers and many exotic alloys used for joints and artificial musculature, as they are very durable and have the flexibility and conductivity that allow for extremely high information transfer rate, and also provide better electrical conductivity. Depending on what use an android is being designed for, the spine is either reinforced or streamlined, to either provide enhanced strength for industrial jobs, or to make an android appear more humanoid.
The skin and hair of an android usually are comprised of, once again, polymers, and nanobots. Polymers are used because they have a wide range of tolerances for stress, temperature, and other extremes, and because of that they are an ideal material for an exterior cover. Nanobots are used to repair the polymer as it slowly ages and degrades over time, and are also for cosmetic uses, helping to create hair and change its colour, and to also make skin appear more lifelike by adding and maintaining details such as follicles, pores, and small imperfections so that the polymers appear like real skin.
As implied by the name, artificial life is typically created through sophisticated computer programming and massive amounts of hardware. Additionally, some higher forms of artificial intelligence are able to reproduce themselves, either through self-replication or by combining their own programming information with data from one or more other artificially intelligent entities to create an entirely new intelligence. Artificial life constitutes a sizeable minority of the population in the Known Worlds. Under Alliance law, all machines and programs that pass a standardized set of intelligence tests are afforded full rights and citizenship. Artificial Intelligence's can feel many human emotions, like love, hate, sadness and joy. It has been said that the rate of insanity among Artificial Intelligences is far less than the organic population.
Population:
Approximately 3 Billion
Terran 45%
Midgarian 30%
Krentasian 16%
A.I 9%
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Federated Systems Alliance.
Government Form:
federal Government.
Demographics:
The Midgarians are a humanoid simultaneous hermaphrodite species, they have an endoskeleton, lips, teeth which is similar to that of humans. They have two luminescent eyes with glowing irises, eyelids and tear ducts; this means the eyesight of a Midgarian is pretty standard during the daylight, they are able to see normally during extreme darkness or night. This 'night vision' does come at a cost, however, their focus on distant objects can be slower than that of a normal human as their pupils do not dilate. they also have five fingers, one of which is a thumb along with five toes on each foot, The Species reach approximately 5'6 to 5'10 on average and weighting 158 to 170lbs on average.
In appearance, however, the Midgarians are distinctly feminine, at least to other humanoid races. They have a slender feminine build with slight muscular tones and curves, their skin colour is usually purple, blue or pale grey which is of a smooth leathery texture. Generally, Midgarians reach maturity around the age of 22 years old with a lifespan approximately 300 years, Midgarian facial structure and hair actually makes them close to humans in physical appearance. Their physical strength is similar to humans within their own natural gravity of their home world, however; Arinar's gravitational pull is many times greater than the planetary average., a Midgarian possess elevated strength and resilience in environments with an Earth-like or similar gravity, with some human's often joking they have super-strength, their skin iss very durable, resilient enough even to stop bullets from piercing vital organs.
Midgarian's have a complex endocrine system, having several more hormones and chemicals than humans. Although internally, Midgarian's have less glands than the human endocrine system, The Midgarian system produces a greater variety of hormones for each gland present. The most notable of these hormones is the calming chemical known as Relaxitin, which is released from the Midgarian equivalent of the adrenal glands when severely stressed. Relaxitin attaches to the areas of the brain that produces stress, causing the cells to calm and release dopamine, creating an effect similar to the effect of THC in humans.
Unlike most other organisms, The Midgarian's have a specialized desalination gland, located about 3 centimetres from the mouth, allowing them to drink both salt water and freshwater. When salt water is ingested, the gland produces several enzymes that remove the salt from the water. The removed salt molecules are then transported by the blood to the skin, where it is then released from the body, much like sweating in humans. While the species has a robust cellular regenerative system, they do not heal faster than other species. Midgarian blood also differs from most other species as it is a blueish purple colour, this is due to the trace amount of Cobalt in their blood instead of Iron.
As a simultaneous hermaphrodite species, as each individual possess both male and female reproductive organs with the latter being a similar internal reproductive biology to a female human. As a result, there are no gender differences, or gender-based issues which could be common to other cultures. Each individual has a smooth scalar prehensile tail hidden away in their body’s lower back, which acts as the male reproductive organ at the tip. This tail on average is about a meter long, sometimes longer. At will, though usually easier when sexually aroused, they may “grow” the tail out of their body but they prefer not to. Although it may seem that a Midgarian may reproduce without a mate having both a male and female reproductive organs, in reality it doesn't work as they have a protective mechanism against self-fertilization.
Terrans and Humans are physiologically almost identical since they are exactly the same species, However, there are a couple of physiological difference; Terrans are a bit more sensitive to bright light. Also the development of gene-based therapies significantly extended a Terrans life, the regeneration treatments extends their life by over a century. During the early years of colonization an Ideology was formed. A decision was made to call themselves Terrans, seeing themselves different from the rest of humanity from their past, often witnessing slavery and fascists movements of those times.
A new better form of humanity had to learn from the lessons of old Terra, Terran descendants of the old world had to not do a repeat of the same human mistakes that were endemic to it. As a society this ideology developed from the issues that the first ark had and the impact of those events that occurred from it. Terrans view this connection with Terra after the second ark’s help brought a chance of saving this new colony which became appropriately named Terra Nova. This caused a deeper connection to the saving of old terra, and the chance for a better future where Terrans work hard to reject the mistakes of the past and do to better of themselves for a brighter future.
Krentasians are an upright, bipedal beings with manipulative hands descended from a felinoid life form. There are two sexes, male (Krentan) and female (Krentas). The most notable external difference was the slightly increased size of the male, though specimens of both genders tended to be lithe for their size due to a higher volume of muscle than most mammals. Fur covered their bodies, most times a solid colour or shades of a similar tone. While most ranged between grey, sandy and golden, black fur was not uncommon, and white was quite rare but not unheard of. In almost all Krentasians, the eyes were a golden colour and provided excellent night vision. However, in those with black fur, green eyes were observed, and white furred Krentasians tended toward light, almost clear-blue eyes.
Krentasians shed in small amounts throughout the year, since their original world's orbit was less elliptical than most and maintained a near constant season, lacking the winter that would require thicker fur and subsequent shedding. As a result of this temperate to hot climate, Krentasians had a lower tolerance for colder climates. Their feline ancestry showed in their facial structure, the fur covering their bodies, long and agile tails, and their voices, which resembled the purring of Terran felines. When agitated, Krentasian fur 'bristled' in a manner akin to that of a Terran cat. There was very little that a Krentasian could do to control this bristling response, and it took place with nearly all the fur on the body.
Krentasians stand one to two meters tall, similar to, but often lither, than the average humanoid. However, they are more agile and dexterous than their size suggested. There legs could store quite a bit of potential energy in the 'crouch' that was the resting state. This gave the Krentasians the ability to spring quickly into action, granting them a significant ability to accelerate from a rest state. The power of those legs also granted them an impressive leaping ability of up to 7 meters. Due to the way in which steps were taken, a gradual absorbing of the weight, their species has incredibly silent footsteps. Krentasians are excellent sprinters (many able to reach 40 kilometres per hour for short bursts), but left them little endurance for long distance running. They tended to lack the endurance for extended exertion, though this shortcoming could be overcome with an extensive regimen of exercise and a specialized diet.
As a by-product of the Krentasian reliance on a tail to aid in balance, most coped with damage to one inner-ear, though loss of the tail or micro-gravity conditions can lead disorientation and nausea. Their long tails, generally accepted as one of the key features allowing them to achieve a bipedal form. The tail functioned as a minor aid to balance, but Krentasians who lost them seemed capable of physically compensating for the loss. Scientists assumed that the tail was once a key component of communication, but once actual speech developed, it was no longer needed as much (though the tails certainly provided a gauge of emotion, as did the positions of the ears). Krentasians required a minimum of four hours of rest per day; however, whenever possible they tried to get 10 hours.
Krentasian eyes are capable of dilating widely to grant the race expanded vision in lower light. They could see functionally in 20 percent of the light required by a human. The irises contracted in a ‘V’ shape, decreasing ocular response time and allowing them to adapt from low-light to bright light conditions quickly. Additionally, where Humans had visual receptors placed evenly in the inner eye, Krentasian receptors were concentrated on a more defined horizontal axis. This allowed a high degree of visual acuity, enabling them to catch movement and details on their horizontal plane at greater range, and with greater clarity and accuracy than humans.
Krentasian ear structures enabled them to hear in ranges far beyond the human baseline. While they were no better than Humans at hearing in low range bands, their high-end aural sensitivity extended to four times that of Humanity, they could hear tones up to two full octaves higher. In addition, they could rotate their cup-shaped ears for better auditory focus, and in fact could directionally locate sounds to within 20 centimetres in any direction without physically looking.
The Krentasian sense of hearing was incredibly acute, able to hear in a higher pitched range far in excess of humans. Their eyes were geared toward low light levels; as a result, they had slightly less colour acuity than non-nocturnal. They were, however, able to operate in near darkness. Their sense of smell is quite well-developed almost matching a Terran canine.
The first true, sentient artificial intelligence to be created on Terra Nova. Known as “Aditya,” the Artificial Intelligence adopted a female gender – a novel concept not previously considered in early computational models for her computer core. The new A.I. would go on to revolutionizes theories on artificial intelligence and their characteristics. Despite centuries of fear from their ancestors that Old Terra would be destroyed by the arrival of artificial intelligence, “Aditya’s” genesis had a positive impact on Terran life in the City of Gracemeria. There, the fledgling Artificial Intelligence helped city leaders to improve transportation, solve economic issues, and improve the city’s overall efficiency. “Aditya’s” framework became the baseline for future artificial intelligence in the years to come, and remnants of her matrix are found in almost all artificial intelligence in existence within the FSA. More importantly, her existence paved the way for the explosion of artificial intelligence and the birth of a new species that would take a century to earn rights equivalent their Terran creators.
An Android body was soon constructed; it is an advanced technological humanoid construct used to house an artificial intelligence or a limited intelligence. There are a massive number of uses for androids, ranging from industrial to social to military to a combination of all three. Androids are constructed out of a wide range of materials because of the complexity of their construction. The main material used in androids' skeletons are nickel-cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys, because of the extremely high tensile strength, low weight, and the relative abundance of the materials needed to make the alloy.
The skeleton is the core of the android, and is what provides androids with their enormous strength and durability. There are also polymers and many exotic alloys used for joints and artificial musculature, as they are very durable and have the flexibility and conductivity that allow for extremely high information transfer rate, and also provide better electrical conductivity. Depending on what use an android is being designed for, the spine is either reinforced or streamlined, to either provide enhanced strength for industrial jobs, or to make an android appear more humanoid.
The skin and hair of an android usually are comprised of, once again, polymers, and nanobots. Polymers are used because they have a wide range of tolerances for stress, temperature, and other extremes, and because of that they are an ideal material for an exterior cover. Nanobots are used to repair the polymer as it slowly ages and degrades over time, and are also for cosmetic uses, helping to create hair and change its colour, and to also make skin appear more lifelike by adding and maintaining details such as follicles, pores, and small imperfections so that the polymers appear like real skin.
As implied by the name, artificial life is typically created through sophisticated computer programming and massive amounts of hardware. Additionally, some higher forms of artificial intelligence are able to reproduce themselves, either through self-replication or by combining their own programming information with data from one or more other artificially intelligent entities to create an entirely new intelligence. Artificial life constitutes a sizeable minority of the population in the Known Worlds. Under Alliance law, all machines and programs that pass a standardized set of intelligence tests are afforded full rights and citizenship. Artificial Intelligence's can feel many human emotions, like love, hate, sadness and joy. It has been said that the rate of insanity among Artificial Intelligences is far less than the organic population.
Population:
Approximately 3 Billion
Terran 45%
Midgarian 30%
Krentasian 16%
A.I 9%
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Planet Name and Description: Arinar is a large Gaia world with several medium land masses, one exceptionally large land mass where the capital of Destera is located and odd islands dotted around vast oceans. The lands mostly sport good forestry but also some arid areas along the usual poles you would see on earth but larger on scale. The lands also have quite a bit of mountainous regions and plenty of beautiful waterfalls; it would be the perfect holiday destinations for tourists if the much heavier gravity of the planet wouldn’t kill you.
Arinar has three moons orbiting her, the large moon of Nefreya which has been colonized and her two smaller sister moons of Nefrane and Oseros.
Example of Midgarian structures.
Terra Nova is an Earth-like world with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Active and stable hydrosphere. Great landmasses are separated by oceans, with large climate variations depending on latitude and precipitation. Terra Nova has rings often dubbed ‘The rings of Terra’ around the planet along with a single moon called Prospero. Terrans have been careful with city development making sure to avoid pollutions and noise that could affect the environment, avoiding the mistakes of their ancestors.
Many clean large cities exist along with some rather unique phenomena locations have been left in their natural state. Terrans have made sure to keep these unique terrain locations safe.
Example of a Terran city.
One of the Natural wonders of Terra Nova.
History: (What happened after your Colony landed? This can be as brief or detailed as you like.)
Culture and Society: Demographics, as with many aspects of the Alliance, are a widely mixed variety. The two colony ships were made of early colonists, coming from a wide range of diversity; Japanese, Americans, British, French, Chinese, Russians, Germans, and Indians cultures are often overrepresented in the Alliance. Many of these cultures stem from the wide variety of original Earth cultures, though nearly every single continent has developed their own unique mix of cultures or new practices entirely stemming from their experiences.
Alliance culture is bounded by capitalism, however. Planets within the nation are prevented from achieving cultures of notable totalitarian or tribal status by the laws that govern the Alliance, though some peoples do choose to live closer to a tribal lifestyle of their own accord. Alliance culture is particularly connected with the Xeno members thanks to open communication, trade, and borders, a wealth of technology, and little censorship. This fuels diversity throughout the regions on the Alliance and the government encourages a “One Humanity” mind-set for Terrans to prevent racial strife.
Krentasians were very a territorial species, and they reacted aggressively against any threats to their homes, which in the past led to the development of truly impressive firefighting and repair technologies. Given their physical capabilities, as well as generally aggressive instincts, their species made for formidable troops, Worthy of note was that the Krentasians were almost completely incapable of swimming unassisted due to their low body fat, a result of their high metabolism and they don’t drink beer, which is quite toxic to them.
There was no real need for a militia force once it was integrated into the Alliances forces. However, early many realized that the training provided a sense of unity, help curb and channel young Krentasian energy and instincts, and formed a foundation of teamwork that could be turned toward tasks such as disaster relief. Every Krentasian underwent basic training, stressing co-operation and constructive tasks. This practice also helped mitigate the predatory instincts of the Krentasians, as well as the 'youthful energy' that could otherwise lead to mischief.
Their culture had developed a deep appreciation for beauty, which was expressed in many ways: study and contemplation of nature, producing works of art that mirrored nature, and, most commonly, surrounding themselves with beauty and comfort. Krentasians were known to find beauty in nearly any aspect of nature, including such destructive ones as lightning storms. Jewellery was also seen as a form of beauty through which they could express themselves well. Given the coloration of their fur, gold was rarely used, though bronze, steel, iron, titanium, and similar metals were in wide use. Mated pairs traditionally wore matching anklets similar in function to the Human wedding ring tradition. Most Krentasian jewellery contained gemstones, with red and blue being the preferred colours.
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Governance and Politics: The Federated Systems Alliance (FSA or SA) is a political and economic alliance comprising of currently three species working together. The Midgarian Confederation, Terra Nova Republics and Krentasian Empire. The Alliance is a federal type of government.
The government of the Federated Systems Alliance is a representative democratic republic with powers centralized in the federal government with member worlds still retaining their form of government and laws unless superseded by those of the federal government. Members of the advisory board and the FSA Council work as groups, individuals, or as part of a committee to write, propose, debate, and ratify legislation. The president, as the head of state and head of government, signs the legislation into law or veto’s the legislation while also having the authority over the military (for short periods) and over executive actions among other duties. Members of the Alliance High Courts serve as the moral compass of the Alliance and often provide interpretations of the Alliance charter or hear cases against the Federal government or high-profile cases referred up to the High Courts.
The central government – or core government – is situated in the government complex in Elysium, Terra Nova. Other major government facilities are located on the central world’s of each region, usually housing the regional government led by that area’s Vice President and the locally elected Governor.
The advisory board for the Alliance is made up of senior representatives from each of the major Alliance powers, including the vice president. The council acts as a cabinet to the president advising him on events, supported by functional officials such as Ministers, Within the Alliance there are various ministry posts which take government policy under their jurisdiction and create the framework and infrastructure to make them functional. Their other main role is nominating a new candidate for president when the current President serves for ten years with a three, consecutive term limit and reaches that limit, unfit, dies or decides to leave office after one of the ten year servings.
• Minister of State– The Minister of State is the head of the Diplomatic Corps and the ultimately responsible for executing the diplomatic policy of the president. They report directly to the President and appoint regional directors to help coordinate policy and maintain diplomatic relations. They also – with the president’s approval – appoint envoys to the various planetary governments of Alliance member nations. Additionally, the Ministry of State is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Alliance’s embassies in various star nations and assigning ambassadors.
• Minister of the Interior– The Minister of the Interior is responsible for the management and control of the vast space and natural resources under control of the Alliance. They manage the vast federal resource expanses in various regions, establishing contract rights to resources and development of various industrial resource zones. Additionally, the Minister of the Interior is responsible for the evaluation of new worlds added into the territory of the Alliance to include cataloging, surveying, mapping, and geologically classifying new worlds.
• Minister of Treasury– The Minister of the Treasury is the head of the economic policy of the Alliance. Using the budget presented by the Advisory board and approved by the President, the Minister of the Treasury allocates credits for budget expenditures in the various government ministries. Additionally, the Minister of Treasury is responsible for issuing additional credits into circulation and provides banking certifications for new banking institutions. Finally, the Minister of Treasury is responsible for regularly monitoring, inspecting, and regulating the electronic currency as well as providing physical currency for use in foreign trade.
• Minister of Defense– The Minister of Defense is the civilian head of the three branches of military service in the Alliance – the Alliance Navy, Alliance Marines, and Alliance Army. Ultimately, the minister has direct authority over the three under-secretaries for various branches. Together with these under-secretaries, the minister establishes the military operational doctrine, outlines budgetary plans for approval by the advisory board, and acquires new assets to meet defense goals (among other responsibilities). During wartime, the Minister of Defense is the principal civilian authority after the president responsible for coordinated military operations.
• Minister of Industry– The Minister of Industry is ultimately responsible for the regulation, inspection, and approval of industrial efforts in the Alliance. After the Minister of the Interior establishes regions for industrial use, contracts with corporations are transferred to the Ministry of Industry for continued development. Additionally, the Minister of the Industry is responsible for monitoring for environmental compliance, health and safety compliance, worker’s rights compliance, and equal opportunity and employment. These responsibilities include everything from heavy industry to commerce and “white collar” business but not agriculture.
• Minister of Agriculture- The Minister of Agriculture is responsible for the management of all food generating industries in the Alliance. These include mass production fusion printer protein/carbohydrate supplements. The Minster of Agriculture regulates the establishment of new genetically modified crops, consumption of new alien species of both fauna and flora, and the pricing of all food sources among other responsibilities. Most importantly, the Minister of Agriculture is responsible for the regulation and control of foreign-produced food as well as livestock and crops entering the Alliance.
• Minister of Commerce– The Minister of Commerce is responsible for the regulation and monitoring of trade and sales of materials throughout the Alliance and with foreign nations to include foreign nationals selling and trading within the boundaries of the Alliance. Ultimately responsible for establishing acceptable exchange rates for foreign currency and placing a value on imported goods, most of these regulatory powers are only employed in severe cases where obvious price fixing or rate fixing are occurring. Additionally, the minister is responsible for granting foreign traders licenses to sell as well as regulate indigenous sellers.
• Minister of Labor– The Labor Minister is the other side of the same coin that is the Minister of Commerce. In the case of the labor minister, their role centers around the regulating and enforcing worker rights as well as helping to enforce the company’s rights. In addition, they are responsible for monitoring worker conditions, work environments, and overall health and safety of human, alien, and artificial workers. More often than not they are also heavily involved in corporate/worker bargaining.
• Minister of Sentient Services– The Services Minister is the regulating authority for human, alien, and artificial intelligence services including health care, government housing, access to information, and other basic services. The ministry maintains offices on every world in every major settlement. In addition to government services, the ministry maintains a network of private services approved for civilian use. Artificial Intelligence services include network access and storage space as well as updated processing units, android frames and maintenance.
• Minister of Transportation– The Ministry of Transportation is the single largest ministry in the Alliance, exceeding even the Ministry of Defense. As a ministry, they include everything from public transportation on planets, intersystem transportation, and government-funded interstellar transportation. In addition, they regulate, certify, and maintain all traffic control systems, police authorities on a federal level, and handle customs and importation into the Alliance. Furthermore, they manage all licenses of both indigenous and foreign merchant ships operating in the Alliance.
• Minister of Education– The Ministry of Education is the governing body for all stages of education in the Alliance. They manage the funding of education at all levels as well as the entrance exams for higher level education. Furthermore, they establish the base curriculum for all levels of education but do not regulate the specific education practices of a school. Rather, they approve educational texts and maintain education testing standards and teacher certification.
• Minister of Security– The Ministry of Security is the newest ministry established in the Alliance. They are viewed as a coordinating authority for all intelligence bureaus both under the Ministry of Defense and civilian to include the Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), the Marine Intelligence Division (MID), the Army Security Bureau (ASB), and Internal Security Bureau (ISB). The ministry has direct authority over the FSA and ISB and has positional authority to direct peacetime operations of ONI, MID, and the ASB.
• Minister of the Interior– The Minister of the Interior is responsible for the management and control of the vast space and natural resources under control of the Alliance. They manage the vast federal resource expanses in various regions, establishing contract rights to resources and development of various industrial resource zones. Additionally, the Minister of the Interior is responsible for the evaluation of new worlds added into the territory of the Alliance to include cataloging, surveying, mapping, and geologically classifying new worlds.
• Minister of Treasury– The Minister of the Treasury is the head of the economic policy of the Alliance. Using the budget presented by the Advisory board and approved by the President, the Minister of the Treasury allocates credits for budget expenditures in the various government ministries. Additionally, the Minister of Treasury is responsible for issuing additional credits into circulation and provides banking certifications for new banking institutions. Finally, the Minister of Treasury is responsible for regularly monitoring, inspecting, and regulating the electronic currency as well as providing physical currency for use in foreign trade.
• Minister of Defense– The Minister of Defense is the civilian head of the three branches of military service in the Alliance – the Alliance Navy, Alliance Marines, and Alliance Army. Ultimately, the minister has direct authority over the three under-secretaries for various branches. Together with these under-secretaries, the minister establishes the military operational doctrine, outlines budgetary plans for approval by the advisory board, and acquires new assets to meet defense goals (among other responsibilities). During wartime, the Minister of Defense is the principal civilian authority after the president responsible for coordinated military operations.
• Minister of Industry– The Minister of Industry is ultimately responsible for the regulation, inspection, and approval of industrial efforts in the Alliance. After the Minister of the Interior establishes regions for industrial use, contracts with corporations are transferred to the Ministry of Industry for continued development. Additionally, the Minister of the Industry is responsible for monitoring for environmental compliance, health and safety compliance, worker’s rights compliance, and equal opportunity and employment. These responsibilities include everything from heavy industry to commerce and “white collar” business but not agriculture.
• Minister of Agriculture- The Minister of Agriculture is responsible for the management of all food generating industries in the Alliance. These include mass production fusion printer protein/carbohydrate supplements. The Minster of Agriculture regulates the establishment of new genetically modified crops, consumption of new alien species of both fauna and flora, and the pricing of all food sources among other responsibilities. Most importantly, the Minister of Agriculture is responsible for the regulation and control of foreign-produced food as well as livestock and crops entering the Alliance.
• Minister of Commerce– The Minister of Commerce is responsible for the regulation and monitoring of trade and sales of materials throughout the Alliance and with foreign nations to include foreign nationals selling and trading within the boundaries of the Alliance. Ultimately responsible for establishing acceptable exchange rates for foreign currency and placing a value on imported goods, most of these regulatory powers are only employed in severe cases where obvious price fixing or rate fixing are occurring. Additionally, the minister is responsible for granting foreign traders licenses to sell as well as regulate indigenous sellers.
• Minister of Labor– The Labor Minister is the other side of the same coin that is the Minister of Commerce. In the case of the labor minister, their role centers around the regulating and enforcing worker rights as well as helping to enforce the company’s rights. In addition, they are responsible for monitoring worker conditions, work environments, and overall health and safety of human, alien, and artificial workers. More often than not they are also heavily involved in corporate/worker bargaining.
• Minister of Sentient Services– The Services Minister is the regulating authority for human, alien, and artificial intelligence services including health care, government housing, access to information, and other basic services. The ministry maintains offices on every world in every major settlement. In addition to government services, the ministry maintains a network of private services approved for civilian use. Artificial Intelligence services include network access and storage space as well as updated processing units, android frames and maintenance.
• Minister of Transportation– The Ministry of Transportation is the single largest ministry in the Alliance, exceeding even the Ministry of Defense. As a ministry, they include everything from public transportation on planets, intersystem transportation, and government-funded interstellar transportation. In addition, they regulate, certify, and maintain all traffic control systems, police authorities on a federal level, and handle customs and importation into the Alliance. Furthermore, they manage all licenses of both indigenous and foreign merchant ships operating in the Alliance.
• Minister of Education– The Ministry of Education is the governing body for all stages of education in the Alliance. They manage the funding of education at all levels as well as the entrance exams for higher level education. Furthermore, they establish the base curriculum for all levels of education but do not regulate the specific education practices of a school. Rather, they approve educational texts and maintain education testing standards and teacher certification.
• Minister of Security– The Ministry of Security is the newest ministry established in the Alliance. They are viewed as a coordinating authority for all intelligence bureaus both under the Ministry of Defense and civilian to include the Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), the Marine Intelligence Division (MID), the Army Security Bureau (ASB), and Internal Security Bureau (ISB). The ministry has direct authority over the FSA and ISB and has positional authority to direct peacetime operations of ONI, MID, and the ASB.
The FSA Council is a quorum of one representative from each world within the alliance who permanently reside on Terra Nova (or wherever the government resides). They were conceived of as a wartime insurance policy. Such that in the event that war precluded the recall of the Advisory board, the Alliance had governing representatives to represent their respective world’s. Members of the council are elected for a ten-year term and are provided residences on the Presidio in New Geneva. They serve for a period of ten years with a maximum of two consecutive terms.
The council serves as the upper house of the Alliance. They do not write legislation themselves and vote as regular members during normal sessions. In the event of a voting tie in the advisory board however, laws are voted on independently by the FSA Council. A subsequent tie is broken by a Presidential vote. During the wartime, in the absence of the advisory board, the FSA Council serves to confirm presidential orders for military action, write law and legislation during the period of board absence, and holds all other powers normally possessed by the advisory board.
The council serves as the upper house of the Alliance. They do not write legislation themselves and vote as regular members during normal sessions. In the event of a voting tie in the advisory board however, laws are voted on independently by the FSA Council. A subsequent tie is broken by a Presidential vote. During the wartime, in the absence of the advisory board, the FSA Council serves to confirm presidential orders for military action, write law and legislation during the period of board absence, and holds all other powers normally possessed by the advisory board.
Internal Security Bureau (ISB)- is a secret intelligence gathering body for the Federated Systems Alliance. Soon after the formation of the Alliance, it became clear that the Alliance needed an organization to keep track of what the various nations were doing, and to keep track of various external and internal threats including other Alliance members.
Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)- Of the Federated Alliance Navy. (FAN)
Marine Intelligence Division (MID)- of the federated Alliance Marine Corps.(FAMC)
Army Security Bureau (ASB)- of the Federated Alliance army.
Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)- Of the Federated Alliance Navy. (FAN)
Marine Intelligence Division (MID)- of the federated Alliance Marine Corps.(FAMC)
Army Security Bureau (ASB)- of the Federated Alliance army.
At its formation, membership in the Alliance was offered to the Midgarians, Terrans (Humans.) and Krentasians. Before becoming a fully-fledged member, each new member must agree to abide by and uphold the Alliance's laws. Each member world or race assigns an ambassador to the Alliance, where they act as a legislative body who may get positions into the FSA Council and Advisory board depending on the availability candidates to take on such roles.
Technology Overview: (What have your people invented? Or have they forgotten anything?)
Military Overview: (This is the space to talk about any offensive capabilities you have. Given that most of these Colonies have been essentially stranded by themselves for three centuries, I don't imagine anyone has a large "conquer other planets" level fleet yet. But maybe your Colony has been in civil war for a hundred years, and has built up an impressive military in that time. Or maybe they even had to fend off a genuine alien invasion.)
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Additional Info: (Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)
3x Like
GM
@Damo021
PM'd!
PM'd!
Federal Union of Uston:
Government Form:
Constitutional Federal Republic (De Jure)
Corporatocracy (De Facto)
Demographics:
Humans (80%)
Ozols (30%)
Population:
1 Billion
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Government Form:
Constitutional Federal Republic (De Jure)
Corporatocracy (De Facto)
Demographics:
Humans (80%)
Ozols (30%)
Population:
1 Billion
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Planet Name and Description: Hutov is the capital planet of the Federal Union of Uston. Luckily for its people, Hotov is not a hellhole nor is it hostile. For most purposes, Hotov is extremely akin to Earth. How lucky for the Union. With that in mind, there is not much else to note. Hotov does have vast amounts, if not the best, infrastructure, in the Union. This is not surprising as it was the first planet to be owned and colonized. You will not find anything strange or special relativity. Of course, I can give you a full detailed essay on every single thing on the planet, but I do not think that is needed.
History: You like history, right? If so then you might find something here that might peak your interest. So, how did it all start? It all started in Northern America. Everyone got onto their spaces and the rest is history. Well, the history starts now - not ending just yet. After traveling through its gate, the Hutov (the name of the spacecraft) arrived at a system. The Hutov scanned and found itself a pretty little planet. And why you look at that - it is like Earth! Once landed, the Hutov unpacked its peoples and supplied planet-side. So - what happened during those three hundred years later? Not much. It is quite boring really. The only thing, THE only thing, that matters to you is the recent thirty or so years (or more). The gilded age of mega-corporations. What an age. By the virtue of the free market or other powers that be, the might and power of corporations started to rise rapidly. Why? Well, plenty of reasons. Corruption, the breakdown of unions, the rise of conglomerates, and other factors. And I almost forgot, there is also the fact that there are aliens too. Where? Another planet! What happened? Well, the Union kinda invaded (but that is another story for another time). And that is it! That is the whole history. Not really, but that is a very-very-very-very basic overview.
...Ok, fine! I will explain the invasion of the alien planet. Soo...why did the Union invade an alien planet in the first place? Officially, it was to ensure peace and keep those aliens from using WMDs on themselves. In reality, it was really for the purposes of getting more stuff from space (especially fuel for those big ol' cargo ships that all the megacorporations use). Plus, more cheap labor! There is no law for paying dirt-cheap wages to aliens. There is in fact a min-wage law. What a big shock, paying wages to workers. While that wage is also dirt-cheap, you can pay ever less to aliens since there is no damn law on their wages (of course, things get complex as human-xeno-breeding technology has advanced to the point to allow xeno-human births, but that is another story for another time). Lovely stuff. Back to the aliens. Who the hell are they? Well...uhm..they are something. Nasty little things. I almost forgot about their planet name! As for that, we just call Xanov. They were in the early atomic age before the Union came in with a bunch of guns and took over. What were they gonna do? Shoot us with guns? Well, yes, they did - but we had bigger guns. Take that, you aliens. Now, I must do some Xeno-"research" in my office. If you hear strange sounds then that is me sleeping.
Culture and Society: Ustonian society and culture revolve around the concepts of individualism, hard work, freedom, and egalitarianism, to name a few. Of course, things are quite more complex than that, but it is a starting point for anyone attempting to understand the details of Ustonian society at large. One of the largest and most hefty ideals found is the Ustonian Dream, heavily based on the American Dream of eons past. Anyone can find success in society by their own hard work, determination, and initiative, even in the face of unequal treatment and issues. It matters not if you are poor, disabled, or likewise, all you have to do is pick yourself up and get back to working towards your dreams - quite the goal, no? Ever since its founding, Ustonian society has always been fixed on that one ideal, the Ustonian Dream. In the same vein, Ustonian culture has romanticized the Great Person: someone who manages to gain prosperity by their lonesome. Great Persons normally involve those of known historical value or value by the pure amount of credits owned to their name. If you will excuse the extremely old historical dates, imagine people like the Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegie, or Thomas Edison. If these people can make it big in life, you can too. The last piece of the puzzle to tie this all together is one factor that quickly turns everything on its head - Capitalist-Realism.
Everything explained has been heavily tied to the ideals of Capitalism as well. How did Andrew Carnegie or the Rockefellers (again, don’t mind the very-old historical figures) gain their wealth? It was the free market! Your individualism and freedom is all due because of Capitalism. Without the invisible hand, the Ustonian Dream would never exist in the first place! Because of this, Capitalism is an extremely rooted economic-social ideology within the Federal Union. To attack Capitalism is to directly attack the values and beliefs of Ustonian society itself. People in the Federal Union cannot think of any other system better than Capitalism. Freedom is Capitalism and Capitalism is Freedom. There is no question about it. Only the will of the free market is the best way to do things around here.
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Governance and Politics: The Federal Union is a Constitutional Federal Republic, having itself a president, a constitution, liberal democracy, and the works. You have your national elections, local elections, states, the federal government, and a highly complex bureaucracy of federal bureaus, state bureaus, courts, and everything else needed to run a functioning republic based on a constitution. For now, we will not concern ourselves with that. Is it important? Yes, but there are more important things to focus on. Yes. On the surface, it seems like a normal liberal democracy (with a few quirks) that functions, right? Well, yes. The surface analysis yields that the Federal Union is a democracy of voters and such. But digging deeper will yield some...interesting results. The concerns of citizen-voters are not exactly listened to. Well, they are listened to but only lip-service and token reforms are only given. Imagine actually listening to your voter base. But wait, what about the other party? What other party? Do you mean the other party that is exactly the same as the other? That is right, there is literally no different party within the Federal Union. A shocker, I know. In reality, the Federalist Party and the Republican-Democratic Party are more or less the same party in a different skin.
The only real concern to both the Federalist Party and the Republican-Democratic Party is the internet of their megacorporation sponsors. Anything that these megacorporations want and need, the parties can easily get them. Need tax-cuts? Passed without issue. Want more defense spending? Of course, that can be voted on and passed next session. Without a doubt, corporatocracy is the norm here. While that may be, both parties still have to play a show-game as to not draw attention to that fact - even if it is quite clearly the case that the Federal Union is not as democratic as it seems. The political landscape for the Union is very conservative as the most left-leaning person in the national elections is simply a social democrat - you will not find radical socialists or communists on the ballot box. As of recently, there have been issues with rising awareness of the current situation...that is, the rising costs of standards of living, treatment of aliens, the gaining popularity of radical-left ideology, human rights, and plenty of other things. If left unchecked then things can quickly get out of hand.
If you think everything said was bad then get a load of this - wage slavery. The exploitation of labor is a very-very profitable thing to do, especially for megacorporations. Why pay a living wage? That will cut into your profits and "no-one" wants such a thing to happen at all! Gonna keep growth for the corporation up. This is great for the megacorporations, not so much for the avg. workers. While no one wants to talk about it (unless you are one of those dirty socialists or communists - same thing really), your everyday joe has few realistic chances of upward mobility or escaping the hell known as the corporate work-style of 112 hours a week (which is 16 hours of work from Monday to Sunday). No wonder depression and suicide rates are so high! Better keep those antidepressants on hand. You will need them! Now, I better get to reminding my workers that unions are bad and that communism will strip away their freedom.
Technology Overview: Electronic-Cyber-Warfare : No-one likes to have their email hacked and or bank accounts emptied. While you, the individual, might not like it - the Utsonian corporations especially don’t like it either. It is a known fact that the various Utsonian corporations are extremely cutthroat and will try everything in their power to get a upperhand in the free market. The realm of the digital and electronic is where the corporate shadow war most often occurs - where whole corporate wars have been won by the sheer weight of Electronic-Cyber-Warfare. This constant back and forth has resulted in some of the best defensive and offensive Electronic-Cyber-Warfare that anyone has yet to see. Everyday, the game always changes as Utsonian corporations attempt, every single of their livelihood, to break into rival corporations and also defend their own secrets and electrical assets from damage.
Transhuman Cybernetics : Is it possible to go beyond the flesh? Why yes! It is! Here in the Federal Union, Utson citizens have access to an array of cybernetics and implants that range from extremely basic models to the most advanced ones that you can buy on the market (given that you got the dosh, hun). Elsewhere, the Utsonian military has adapted these cybernetics and implants into their armed forces. This mostly comes in the form of replacing limbs and broken human body parts. The “real” transhuman comes in when you talk about their special forces - these fucks are almost not even human at that point! Better than humans in every way in the mannerisms of warfare and killing, Utsonian transhuman spec-ops is a deadly threat to anyone or thing. Sadly, the process of creating those transhumans is extremely complex and requires extremely seasoned soldiers to even be considered to turn into transhumans spec-ops.
Military Overview: No major war means no real way to improve one’s military without a good enemy to compare oneself or really test new weapons on. Thus, everything is purely in the field of computer stims and theory. Over the course of time, the Federal military has decided that overwhelming firepower is the way to go. Why throw men when you can throw ungodly amounts of shells at the enemy? Of course, that is an extremely basic explanation of how the doctrine works. I could give you a 15-page basic overview of how it really works or, even better, just say that it simply involves the shelling of anyone or thing. This normally involves bombing the god-living hell out of a position for planet-side operations before sending in the troops. What bombs do we send? Good question. The Federal Union employs two main areas to commit death upon a target. One is to use smart bombs to quickly and specifically get rid of certain high-value targets (or if it needs to clear up its budget). Or the usage of dumb bombs to utterly carpet bomb whole grid-squares in a few hours. But how do they deploy the bomb? Another good question. That is left up to Aerospace-Command. Meanwhile, there is a big focus in space on capital ships and slapping a shitton of anti-ship missiles, or using aircraft carriers to send in waves of drone-bombers or fighters to deliver death.
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Additional Info: Who is the Ozol(s)? They are very interesting creatures to say the least from an outward appearance. The current file images should tell you everything you need to know about their looks. What about its biological features? Glad you asked because this is where it gets very weird very fast. Remember the mention of advanced xeno-human reproduction? Well, any Ozol can reproduce with humans - actually with any race. How do they do this? That is still currently being studied, but megacorporations have found themselves very successful in making Xeno compatibility a reality. What about the Ozol's mental state? For the most part, they show a wide range of emotions from fear, anger, sadness, etc. But calmness is something that they do well. Safe to say, they are quite level-headed. Here's a fact, Ozols can host anywhere to two to four human children while in pregnancy. Wild stuff, eh?
GM
@Dog
First of all: I really, really like the quirky and conversational way that you wrote this.
Second of all: it's a good sign that I'm doing this here, instead of in a PM. I only critique publicly when the problems are very mild.
Honestly, all I really need from you is more. I don't care about sheet length (my own sheet is hilariously short) but it feels like there's a lot of vital stuff missing here. You mention that the Federal Union conquered an alien civilization: when, how, why? And if you are going to include aliens, I also need those talked about somewhere. What do they look like? Who are they? We know nothing about them but their species' name.
Also, you've talked to us about how (wage) slavery was a component of your nation, but I don't really see that reflected here.
We've discussed in Discord how sheets here are pretty mild. That's true! But if your nation has something special about it- aliens, wage slaves- then you should still describe that special thing. So if you can just fill those missing sections out, I can approve you and you can get posting :)
First of all: I really, really like the quirky and conversational way that you wrote this.
Second of all: it's a good sign that I'm doing this here, instead of in a PM. I only critique publicly when the problems are very mild.
Honestly, all I really need from you is more. I don't care about sheet length (my own sheet is hilariously short) but it feels like there's a lot of vital stuff missing here. You mention that the Federal Union conquered an alien civilization: when, how, why? And if you are going to include aliens, I also need those talked about somewhere. What do they look like? Who are they? We know nothing about them but their species' name.
Also, you've talked to us about how (wage) slavery was a component of your nation, but I don't really see that reflected here.
We've discussed in Discord how sheets here are pretty mild. That's true! But if your nation has something special about it- aliens, wage slaves- then you should still describe that special thing. So if you can just fill those missing sections out, I can approve you and you can get posting :)
1x Like
GM
@Dog
Edits look nice: you're super approved. I'm honestly fascinated by the Ozols and def. hope we'll get to learn more about them IC.
Edits look nice: you're super approved. I'm honestly fascinated by the Ozols and def. hope we'll get to learn more about them IC.
coGM
Just wanna say congratulations you guys! In under six months, we made to tens pages!
GM
It's been a wild ride. A war, a civil uprising, multiple conflicts, too many diplomatic meetings to possibly count, trade deals and mercenary hirings and character moments and monkeys and who knows what I'm forgetting.
I'm thinking about doing the "Achievements" thing again soon.
I'm thinking about doing the "Achievements" thing again soon.
coGM
Enigmatik Overly-Caffienated Thembie Supreme
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
The Matuvistan Army equips its ground soldiers with a well-rounded list of relatively standardised equipment, but some forces carry more exotic or peculiar gear.
Melee Weapons:
Yes, despite everything, the Matuvistan Army still has melee weapons in their arsenal.
Bayonet:
Not good enough for the old world, but very much good enough for the new world. The bayonet is largely unchanged over four hundred years: a sharp, pointy bit of metal attached to the end of your gun.
Breaching Axe:
Technically a multitool rather than a weapon, the breaching axe has seen combat usage so many times that such usage is now specifically designed in to the weapon. Originally designed to enter emergency naval toolkits, the breaching axe was often used whenever combat spilled out in ships, a legacy that has led to it being a staple of the Matuvistan Marines, many of whom proudly carry a breaching axe into battle.
Sabre:
Yes, really. Gone extinct but for ceremony in the old world, cheap, easy to manufacture machete-like-sabres were a constant presence during Matuvista's dictatorial history. These sabres often had red fabric wrapped around their hilts to show their wielders as holding the authority of life and death over others. So ingrained has the idea of sabres been in the Matuvistan consciousness that Marine officers routinely requested them as a sign of rank over their breaching-axe bearing subordinates, and they're an important part of a patrician's ceremonial dress in almost every occasion. They also make good champagne bottle openers.
Plasma Lance:
Expensive. Intricate. Lethal. The plasma lance is perhaps the most iconic element of Matuvistan weaponry, carried exclusively by jetknights flying into battle. When unpowered, a plasma lance consists of a relatively small handguard and handle, able to be magnetically attached to a jetbike, or supported against a Patrician's body. Matuvistan lances generally measure between two and three metres long, with their exact length customised depending on the individual patrician who wields the weapon.
When powered on, the handle acts as the power and containment relay for a shaped plasma charge. Suspended in a highly agitated lodestone field, the plasma 'bottles up,' its energy trapped like champagne in a shaken bottle. When the magnetic field comes into contact with anything other than air, this bottled energy is released in the direction of the containment's breaking, causing a spike of superheated plasma to escape out. Very few physical defences can stand up to such a high-intensity blast, and certainly nothing a jetknight has cause to fight on Matuvista and its moons.
Ranged Weaponry:
SBR
Standard Battle Rifle. Despite centuries of innovation, Matuvista has kept coming back to the SBR series, even as it is changed and modified over the years. The SBR is a fully automatic battle rifle (although almost everybody considers it an assault rifle,) designed to be lightweight, cheap to manufacture, and yet also reliable and powerful. Despite coming in many variants, the baseline SBR has a chunky and heavy-duty 35 round magazine designed to smash through concrete, body armour, and civilian vehicles. Although a surprisingly lightweight gun considering the large bullets it fires, the SBR's large, 9mm full-sized rifle ammunition is heavy to carry in large quantities and required significant engineering around. The only reason why the gun can fire such a powerful and large round is due to a complicated yet extremely rugged and resistant recoil compensation system that redirects barrel gasses to counteract the gun's rise, and a much more delicate stock that reduces the thundering impact on a soldier's shoulder.
SBR-C
The SBR's carbine variant is several inches more compact, something it managed by actually going down to an intermediate calibre. Although less powerful than the SBR, its smaller size and lighter weight makes it easier to carry around large quantities of its smaller ammunition. This makes it a favourite of ISOCs and other specialist ground-forces who lack the advantage of short supply lines and/or void-borne deployment.
SBR-S
The SBR-S is a variant of a variant, namely, the SBR-C. Taking the shortened form the SBR-C takes, the SBR-S then adapts the barrel with an integrated suppressor and switches the ammunition to subsonic. This further reduces the velocity of the rounds and leads to a noticeable depreciation in the weapon's range, but does come with the benefit of making a surprisingly quiet weapon. The SBR-C is usually only given when the sound reduction is important.
SBR-O
The SBR-O is the primary light machine gun wielded in the Matuvistan army, efficiently produced from the same basic form as the SBR. Featuring a longer barrel, bipod, and an even more heavy-duty magazine well that manages to cram seventy-five rounds whilst still being physically fireable, creating the SBR-O was no mean feat. Of course, such a cumbersome weapon has led to several calls to update it, leading to the next weapon...
SBR-OI
The SBR-OI is a rare weapon to see in the Matuvistan army, normally only given to the best of the best. Using the base form of the SBR-O, the OI relies on a 'Smart Rig' system that incorporates the gun into the wielder's Combat Enhancement Suite, dramatically reducing perceived weight and recoil. This allows for a full 100 round magazine, a heavy-duty heat sink system for the barrel and, most importantly, an 'aim assistant' that allows the gun to self-correct itself and adjust to the movement of targets. Incredibly expensive, large-scale rollouts have been stymied by a lack of internal necessity to continue to improve. Perhaps all these foreign wars will spur on a greater uptake of the OI?
SBMG
Standard Battle Machine Gun. Matuvista's general purpose machine gun is a fast-firing and thirsty beast. At a slightly absurdist 12mm, all SBMGs feature a Combat Enhancement Suite integration to allow their wielders to fire what is functionally a small HMG. Despite the utility of a CES though, even they cannot handle the full power of an SBMG, mandating soldiers stick to very small bursts if firing on the move, or set themselves up to lay down prolonged fire. Much like the integration SBR-OI, the SBMG also features heat sinks, but feeds itself with a belt rigged up to the CES.
The SBMG can be seen anywhere that Matuvistan soldiers need more firepower, be that attached to the side of vehicles, carried into battle to break up armoured civilian vehicles or shattering through lightly armoured fortifications.
SBMG-I
Just like the SBR, the SBMG also has a 'Smart Rig' system. Unlike the SBR, the increased size and weight of the SBMG means that this modification requires additional attachments to be fitted to the CES, which has caused the SBMG-I to flounder in weapons development without a serious drive to complete it.
SBH
The SBH is not a common sight among those of the Matuvistan Army, but does have a group that still consistently uses it: Matuvistan Marines. On a real battlefield, the Standard Battle Handgun's 9mm super pistol round is obviously underpowered when compared to the SBR, but in close quarters ship boarding actions or hand-to-hand combat brought about by hot deployments from the void, the SBH fills a valuable niche. The SBH is also frequently provided to security teams, where it has served dutifully for decades.
Other:
A very small number of other ballistic weapons are used within the Matuvistan army. Most noticeable of these are the almost entirely ceremonial revolvers that many Patricians still carry about as a sign of prestige and their ranking, some of which have been pressed into combat usage despite their intricate ornamentations.
Melee Weapons:
Yes, despite everything, the Matuvistan Army still has melee weapons in their arsenal.
Bayonet:
Not good enough for the old world, but very much good enough for the new world. The bayonet is largely unchanged over four hundred years: a sharp, pointy bit of metal attached to the end of your gun.
Breaching Axe:
Technically a multitool rather than a weapon, the breaching axe has seen combat usage so many times that such usage is now specifically designed in to the weapon. Originally designed to enter emergency naval toolkits, the breaching axe was often used whenever combat spilled out in ships, a legacy that has led to it being a staple of the Matuvistan Marines, many of whom proudly carry a breaching axe into battle.
Sabre:
Yes, really. Gone extinct but for ceremony in the old world, cheap, easy to manufacture machete-like-sabres were a constant presence during Matuvista's dictatorial history. These sabres often had red fabric wrapped around their hilts to show their wielders as holding the authority of life and death over others. So ingrained has the idea of sabres been in the Matuvistan consciousness that Marine officers routinely requested them as a sign of rank over their breaching-axe bearing subordinates, and they're an important part of a patrician's ceremonial dress in almost every occasion. They also make good champagne bottle openers.
Plasma Lance:
Expensive. Intricate. Lethal. The plasma lance is perhaps the most iconic element of Matuvistan weaponry, carried exclusively by jetknights flying into battle. When unpowered, a plasma lance consists of a relatively small handguard and handle, able to be magnetically attached to a jetbike, or supported against a Patrician's body. Matuvistan lances generally measure between two and three metres long, with their exact length customised depending on the individual patrician who wields the weapon.
When powered on, the handle acts as the power and containment relay for a shaped plasma charge. Suspended in a highly agitated lodestone field, the plasma 'bottles up,' its energy trapped like champagne in a shaken bottle. When the magnetic field comes into contact with anything other than air, this bottled energy is released in the direction of the containment's breaking, causing a spike of superheated plasma to escape out. Very few physical defences can stand up to such a high-intensity blast, and certainly nothing a jetknight has cause to fight on Matuvista and its moons.
Ranged Weaponry:
SBR
Standard Battle Rifle. Despite centuries of innovation, Matuvista has kept coming back to the SBR series, even as it is changed and modified over the years. The SBR is a fully automatic battle rifle (although almost everybody considers it an assault rifle,) designed to be lightweight, cheap to manufacture, and yet also reliable and powerful. Despite coming in many variants, the baseline SBR has a chunky and heavy-duty 35 round magazine designed to smash through concrete, body armour, and civilian vehicles. Although a surprisingly lightweight gun considering the large bullets it fires, the SBR's large, 9mm full-sized rifle ammunition is heavy to carry in large quantities and required significant engineering around. The only reason why the gun can fire such a powerful and large round is due to a complicated yet extremely rugged and resistant recoil compensation system that redirects barrel gasses to counteract the gun's rise, and a much more delicate stock that reduces the thundering impact on a soldier's shoulder.
SBR-C
The SBR's carbine variant is several inches more compact, something it managed by actually going down to an intermediate calibre. Although less powerful than the SBR, its smaller size and lighter weight makes it easier to carry around large quantities of its smaller ammunition. This makes it a favourite of ISOCs and other specialist ground-forces who lack the advantage of short supply lines and/or void-borne deployment.
SBR-S
The SBR-S is a variant of a variant, namely, the SBR-C. Taking the shortened form the SBR-C takes, the SBR-S then adapts the barrel with an integrated suppressor and switches the ammunition to subsonic. This further reduces the velocity of the rounds and leads to a noticeable depreciation in the weapon's range, but does come with the benefit of making a surprisingly quiet weapon. The SBR-C is usually only given when the sound reduction is important.
SBR-O
The SBR-O is the primary light machine gun wielded in the Matuvistan army, efficiently produced from the same basic form as the SBR. Featuring a longer barrel, bipod, and an even more heavy-duty magazine well that manages to cram seventy-five rounds whilst still being physically fireable, creating the SBR-O was no mean feat. Of course, such a cumbersome weapon has led to several calls to update it, leading to the next weapon...
SBR-OI
The SBR-OI is a rare weapon to see in the Matuvistan army, normally only given to the best of the best. Using the base form of the SBR-O, the OI relies on a 'Smart Rig' system that incorporates the gun into the wielder's Combat Enhancement Suite, dramatically reducing perceived weight and recoil. This allows for a full 100 round magazine, a heavy-duty heat sink system for the barrel and, most importantly, an 'aim assistant' that allows the gun to self-correct itself and adjust to the movement of targets. Incredibly expensive, large-scale rollouts have been stymied by a lack of internal necessity to continue to improve. Perhaps all these foreign wars will spur on a greater uptake of the OI?
SBMG
Standard Battle Machine Gun. Matuvista's general purpose machine gun is a fast-firing and thirsty beast. At a slightly absurdist 12mm, all SBMGs feature a Combat Enhancement Suite integration to allow their wielders to fire what is functionally a small HMG. Despite the utility of a CES though, even they cannot handle the full power of an SBMG, mandating soldiers stick to very small bursts if firing on the move, or set themselves up to lay down prolonged fire. Much like the integration SBR-OI, the SBMG also features heat sinks, but feeds itself with a belt rigged up to the CES.
The SBMG can be seen anywhere that Matuvistan soldiers need more firepower, be that attached to the side of vehicles, carried into battle to break up armoured civilian vehicles or shattering through lightly armoured fortifications.
SBMG-I
Just like the SBR, the SBMG also has a 'Smart Rig' system. Unlike the SBR, the increased size and weight of the SBMG means that this modification requires additional attachments to be fitted to the CES, which has caused the SBMG-I to flounder in weapons development without a serious drive to complete it.
SBH
The SBH is not a common sight among those of the Matuvistan Army, but does have a group that still consistently uses it: Matuvistan Marines. On a real battlefield, the Standard Battle Handgun's 9mm super pistol round is obviously underpowered when compared to the SBR, but in close quarters ship boarding actions or hand-to-hand combat brought about by hot deployments from the void, the SBH fills a valuable niche. The SBH is also frequently provided to security teams, where it has served dutifully for decades.
Other:
A very small number of other ballistic weapons are used within the Matuvistan army. Most noticeable of these are the almost entirely ceremonial revolvers that many Patricians still carry about as a sign of prestige and their ranking, some of which have been pressed into combat usage despite their intricate ornamentations.
coGM
Antediluvixen Kemonomimi Dystopia Creator
Member
Seen
7 mos ago
The Commonality of New Ishtar:
Ishtari Commonality, New Ishtar, Ishtar
Government Form:
Direct Democracy:
Demographics:
Perfected: 99.99%
Other: .01%
Ishtari Commonality, New Ishtar, Ishtar
Government Form:
Direct Democracy:
Demographics:
Perfected: 99.99%
Other: .01%
Image Credit
The Perfected are derived from the gene-stock of the crew of the Generation Ship Ishtar. Modified significantly over the years in response to myriad threats to the survival of human life, we have transcended the bounds of our ancestors and achieved not only a wide array of unique abilities - but immortality.
Almost every Perfected is born with a set of features that distinguish us from our ancestors.
Among other things,
- We can metabolize numerous inorganic compounds for metabolic energy
- Breathe in an ammonia atmosphere provided there is sufficient oxygen,
- Are born without the curse of natural eyesight that the cloud of the Void may never strike our minds
- Sport natural neural interfaces at the base of the spine and nape of the neck for use with the Ishtari net and computers, as well as power armor and weapons systems, vehicles, and more.
- Are immune to the airborne parasites of New Ishtar. Augmented immune systems render them highly resistant or immune to numerous other pathogens, both endemic to New Ishtar and those brought by humanity.
- Have a second heart; enlarged adrenal glands; nanostructure-reinforced bones and muscle tissue; redundant secondary brain in event of traumatic head injury; redundant spleen; two extra stomachs to neutralize environmental toxins and to break down difficult to digest foods; modified sweat glands enabling the secretion of a waxy substance to prevent infection from the numerous parasitic insects of New Ishtar; the replacement of fingernails with claws connected to the bone of the hands, enlarged canine teeth, a reinforced and redesigned skull to mitigate brain injury from impact, and more.
- Improved, more-efficient hemoglobin and enlarged lung capacity enabling greater oxygenation of blood.
- Redesigned nervous system permitting slightly improved reaction time, alongside significant nanostructural reinforcement of the myelin sheathe. Redundancy of numerous key nervous pathways, spinal column reinforced to withstand significant impact or cutting force without damage.
- Redesigned skeletal structure to better bear the increased weight of exerted upon it by the heavy gravity of New Ishtar.
- A nanostructure-engineered protective sac around the vital organs in the torso capable of resisting the impact of a knife or the claws of an animal. The neck is similarly reinforced.
- Enhanced sensory organs which, in concert with improved neural systems enable we Ishtari to respond to external threats and stimuli before those threats have even consciously registered.
- A genetic encyclopedia of basic information required for the operation of most technology on New Ishtar. Even if reduced to a single individual, the last lone Ishtari is capable of creating more of herself.
- Are able to enter a state of hibernation or suspended animation for a period of up to ten years.
- Supercomputer-optimized engineered metabolism to support all of the above with as small an increase in caloric intake as possible.
- Are functionally immortal via the use of the Rejuvenation Chambers!
The advantages of being Ishtari over baseline, ancestral human are boundless, as one can easily see! The bone-like growths upon the heads of all Ishtari have no detrimental effects except perhaps in narrow doorways, rest assured.
During the great trials and tribulations of the Voyage, the diversity of the crew of the Generation Ship Ishtar was tragically almost eliminated by the scourge of the Divergent Strains. As a result, the bulk of the population of we Ishtari are of what is known as the Tiamat Strain, making up approximately 95% of all Ishtari. Almost all of the Perfected are , thus, biologically female at creation - and excepting those of the Shamash, Marduk, Izanagi, and Tsukuyomi Strains, all males you may see upon New Ishtar (approx. 6.3% of population, another 5.4% identifying as nonbinary) have chosen their current forms to suit their individual identities, regardless of their Strain. This is thanks to the wondrous technology of the Rejuvenation Chamber, and the forward-thinking Ishtari society!
The purpose for the Tiamat Strain’s predominance is, of course, the incredibly malleable genetic code of Tiamat, and the stability of her Primary Strain during the initial cloning process lead to by far the highest ratio of successful cloning cycles, creating a feedback loop that resulted in the Strain’s current predominance.
We of course remind you to always remember,
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
T̩h̗͚̜̬͎̝ͅe͍̞̫̲̬ ͔̖͕͖̣͎̹P͏e̻̰̼̝͞ͅr̤̲̺͍f͉̠̱͓̗̱͔͟ę̙̺̰̮͕̤c͉̗̙̰̣t̴e̴̳͚̦͓̳d̵̝ͅ ̧͇̭͚̗a̵̹͇̮͔͔̺r̤͡e̙̦ͅ ̷̜h͎͙͍̹u͍̞͜m̝̝̰̫a̖̣̺͝n͙̤̥͎͖̰
T̗he̷̱̟̠̻̲ ̣̤̳P̗e̼͔͇̟̟̣r͔̼͇̭̖̬f̯̻̪͈͎̯e̢̝͇͎̰̹͙͚c̞͢t̶̰̤͔e̤̥d̙̠̞̺͔͔̝͜ ͇̦̝a̲͘ŕ̘̦̟̺̻̥e̪͉̰ ḫ̦͕̹̟̲u̜̟̟͕̮̪̝͠m̭̪̮a̸̰͙̤̞̩ń̗
Tͦ̇͒ͩ̈́h̠͇̮̺͍͉ͦͫ͌̊́ͅe̠̤̗͍̼̓̓̏ ̥̭͈̜̹͕̓͆ͣͧ̍̂ͪ͞P̴̄ẹ͙͕͎̗͓̽̋͐̈̔̃̋ͅr̩f͕̣̳̭̙̩͉͑̇ͨͪ̔́e͈̞̝̦̪͙̜͋ͥċ̥̱̲̐̚t̲̙̞̮̺ͥ̿̾͠e̼̗̥͕̜͉ͥḑ̺̟͙̙̯̒ͣ̔͒̇̆ ̱͉̖͗̓͆́͌̏̚ạ̘̭̮ͧ̆̽́ř͙̈́e̦̼̞̫̪ͧͬ̑ ̦͖̇ͥ̔͐͝h̤̽́ṷ̪̤̲̤̫̘ͣ̐́m̡̻͎ͨ̂̃a͉͉̤ͣ̄̅̿̾̅ͣn͙͍̰͍̽ͫ̆
Ţ͔̯̳̭̱̯̥͓h̶͎̩͓̳͠ͅͅe͔͈͉ ̤̠̰̩̯̗̜̣̟P͚͉e̩͉̳̳̞̥r҉̡͚̭͟f̸̛͔͎͔̬e̴̸͈͘ͅc̮̩̰̰̺̻̠̤͓͢t̗͙͙͠͠è̩͓͟d̡͈̱̼͜ ̕͜҉̼͇̹̜̗̘̼ͅa̢͓͕̩͠r̡̛̦̤̣͖͎͓e̳͎̲͘ ̛̣̹̜̯́h̬̰͜͝ứ̫̗̙̗͞m͚̝̘̙͡͡ą̦̪̲̹n̲̫̯̹̪̹̮͠ͅ
Tͬͯ̈̈̊̽͜͏͕͙̲͎̗̯̦̦͔̦̯̙͎̖̤̮͉ͅh̨̟̭͙̩͇̜̯̹̝̜̻͕͍̬͓̿͋̀ͮͨ̍ͫ́̑̿ͭ̄ͫͬͪ͘e̢̺͉͖̜͖̮͉̗̺͌ͦ͑͒ͦͦ͑ͫͣ̎̄ͫͮ̃́ ͖͇̩̼̘̖ͮͮ͌͒ͦ̅̃̓̌ͥ̔̄ͥ̍͊̊̑̉͌̀͡ͅP̨̥̪̗̘̠̘̼͍̜̝͍̭̺̤͖̙̿ͣͮ̔̈́͠e͔̙͖̹͉̬̫̻̹͉̖͚̩̗ͣͥ̈́͊̑͗ͬͧ̄͊͛̉́̕͟͢͠ͅr̨͕̪͖̬͍͎̔ͣ͌͛̄ͭ̓̓̓ͪ͑ͪ̋̏͐ͦ̈̔͘f̨̭͙̹̳̺͉̞ͣͧ̊̋ͨͭ̋̍̏̚͜͞ē̷̖̘̟̦̼̺̯͚̥̲̝͚̥͕̮̩̳̫̜̿ͩ̍͛ͫͥ̾ͦ̽̆ͣ̉̀̚̚͜c̷̢͚̼̦̩͕̫͈̹͎̮̼̘͉̼̝ͬ̎̃̏ͧ̚̕͢t̴̵̪̟͍̣͔̜̘̹͍̝͚̼̣̠̪̔̅̈̓ͤ̈́̀̽͛͊̾̈́͡e̷̥̩̹̻̗ͣ͑̓͆̎̾ͪ̀̚ḋͣ̏ͧ̂̓̌͒̑̈̇ͨ͏̼͔̱̜̠͕͎ ̢̛͕͔̙͚̣͐ͥͬ̉ͯ̔͑ͫ̓ͬ̊̓ͤ̅̀̚a̒͑̊ͤͧ̇̍̌ͮͧ͂ͭ҉̫̩͔̣͙̤̲̲̥̖̼̻̝̗́͢ͅr̴̵̢͕̙̖̗ͭ̽̓ͯ̊̆͝ě̶̒ͯ̆ͨ͏̘̝̠͕̱͔̙͍͔̱̠̹̞̞̠ ̡̢̤̲͚̱̟͕̫̫̘̹ͫ́̂͊͗̇͗̐̊͆̎̀͟͞h̵̨̫̹͖̙̲̩̤̤̼̮̄̽̆͆̒̌̐̚͝u̵̢̍ͨͭ͊̕͜͏͓̯̖̟̜m̨̎ͮ̆̍ͯ̚͡͏̢͉̫̰͍̹̯̫͚͟ͅą̱̠̜̬̖̪̹̠̠̭̻̯͇͉̬ͫ͋ͦ͛̊̏̐ͤͯ͢nͪ̈́̍͑̐͆̄ͧ̀̈́ͥ̇͒͊̌͋̀҉̙̺̣̯̼͈̲͔̥̪
T̹̤͉͖̯͘h͙͢e̙̤̥̟̤̖̘͟ ̣͙̲̗̞͡P̖̳̜̟͓͞e͞r̸f̖̙̟̬̯̱̭e̸̱̻̜c̸͍͎̯̩t̟̝e̛͍d̡ ̺̬̯͚͉̲͟a͜r̦̭̣͡e̮̣̺̖͉̬ ͇͡h̘͍͓͚͇͞um̟̙͎̥ͅa̼̥͈ͅn̹͔͎̬̦̜̟
T͡h̸̨͘é ̵̸̀P͢ęr̸̛fe҉ct͟͠͝e̴͘d͞ ̛͡a̷̡̛r̨̡͞è͟ ̀h͏u̷͜͠m̨̛a̷͡n̡̛
Thḙ̺̘̮̤ ̧͙̻̘Pe̦̜͙̘̞̗̤rfec̸̲͚te͙̤̤̯͈̲͎d̼̲ ̤̥͈̭͓̀a̻͜re ̙̤̼͞hu̩m͉̕a̴n
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
We are still human.
All doubts as to whether the Perfected remain human are to be taken up with Sister-Sage 341 Semiramis Knows Many Secrets.
Sponsored by the New Ishtari Board of Immigration
During the great trials and tribulations of the Voyage, the diversity of the crew of the Generation Ship Ishtar was tragically almost eliminated by the scourge of the Divergent Strains. As a result, the bulk of the population of we Ishtari are of what is known as the Tiamat Strain, making up approximately 95% of all Ishtari. Almost all of the Perfected are , thus, biologically female at creation - and excepting those of the Shamash, Marduk, Izanagi, and Tsukuyomi Strains, all males you may see upon New Ishtar (approx. 6.3% of population, another 5.4% identifying as nonbinary) have chosen their current forms to suit their individual identities, regardless of their Strain. This is thanks to the wondrous technology of the Rejuvenation Chamber, and the forward-thinking Ishtari society!
The purpose for the Tiamat Strain’s predominance is, of course, the incredibly malleable genetic code of Tiamat, and the stability of her Primary Strain during the initial cloning process lead to by far the highest ratio of successful cloning cycles, creating a feedback loop that resulted in the Strain’s current predominance.
We of course remind you to always remember,
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
T̩h̗͚̜̬͎̝ͅe͍̞̫̲̬ ͔̖͕͖̣͎̹P͏e̻̰̼̝͞ͅr̤̲̺͍f͉̠̱͓̗̱͔͟ę̙̺̰̮͕̤c͉̗̙̰̣t̴e̴̳͚̦͓̳d̵̝ͅ ̧͇̭͚̗a̵̹͇̮͔͔̺r̤͡e̙̦ͅ ̷̜h͎͙͍̹u͍̞͜m̝̝̰̫a̖̣̺͝n͙̤̥͎͖̰
T̗he̷̱̟̠̻̲ ̣̤̳P̗e̼͔͇̟̟̣r͔̼͇̭̖̬f̯̻̪͈͎̯e̢̝͇͎̰̹͙͚c̞͢t̶̰̤͔e̤̥d̙̠̞̺͔͔̝͜ ͇̦̝a̲͘ŕ̘̦̟̺̻̥e̪͉̰ ḫ̦͕̹̟̲u̜̟̟͕̮̪̝͠m̭̪̮a̸̰͙̤̞̩ń̗
Tͦ̇͒ͩ̈́h̠͇̮̺͍͉ͦͫ͌̊́ͅe̠̤̗͍̼̓̓̏ ̥̭͈̜̹͕̓͆ͣͧ̍̂ͪ͞P̴̄ẹ͙͕͎̗͓̽̋͐̈̔̃̋ͅr̩f͕̣̳̭̙̩͉͑̇ͨͪ̔́e͈̞̝̦̪͙̜͋ͥċ̥̱̲̐̚t̲̙̞̮̺ͥ̿̾͠e̼̗̥͕̜͉ͥḑ̺̟͙̙̯̒ͣ̔͒̇̆ ̱͉̖͗̓͆́͌̏̚ạ̘̭̮ͧ̆̽́ř͙̈́e̦̼̞̫̪ͧͬ̑ ̦͖̇ͥ̔͐͝h̤̽́ṷ̪̤̲̤̫̘ͣ̐́m̡̻͎ͨ̂̃a͉͉̤ͣ̄̅̿̾̅ͣn͙͍̰͍̽ͫ̆
Ţ͔̯̳̭̱̯̥͓h̶͎̩͓̳͠ͅͅe͔͈͉ ̤̠̰̩̯̗̜̣̟P͚͉e̩͉̳̳̞̥r҉̡͚̭͟f̸̛͔͎͔̬e̴̸͈͘ͅc̮̩̰̰̺̻̠̤͓͢t̗͙͙͠͠è̩͓͟d̡͈̱̼͜ ̕͜҉̼͇̹̜̗̘̼ͅa̢͓͕̩͠r̡̛̦̤̣͖͎͓e̳͎̲͘ ̛̣̹̜̯́h̬̰͜͝ứ̫̗̙̗͞m͚̝̘̙͡͡ą̦̪̲̹n̲̫̯̹̪̹̮͠ͅ
Tͬͯ̈̈̊̽͜͏͕͙̲͎̗̯̦̦͔̦̯̙͎̖̤̮͉ͅh̨̟̭͙̩͇̜̯̹̝̜̻͕͍̬͓̿͋̀ͮͨ̍ͫ́̑̿ͭ̄ͫͬͪ͘e̢̺͉͖̜͖̮͉̗̺͌ͦ͑͒ͦͦ͑ͫͣ̎̄ͫͮ̃́ ͖͇̩̼̘̖ͮͮ͌͒ͦ̅̃̓̌ͥ̔̄ͥ̍͊̊̑̉͌̀͡ͅP̨̥̪̗̘̠̘̼͍̜̝͍̭̺̤͖̙̿ͣͮ̔̈́͠e͔̙͖̹͉̬̫̻̹͉̖͚̩̗ͣͥ̈́͊̑͗ͬͧ̄͊͛̉́̕͟͢͠ͅr̨͕̪͖̬͍͎̔ͣ͌͛̄ͭ̓̓̓ͪ͑ͪ̋̏͐ͦ̈̔͘f̨̭͙̹̳̺͉̞ͣͧ̊̋ͨͭ̋̍̏̚͜͞ē̷̖̘̟̦̼̺̯͚̥̲̝͚̥͕̮̩̳̫̜̿ͩ̍͛ͫͥ̾ͦ̽̆ͣ̉̀̚̚͜c̷̢͚̼̦̩͕̫͈̹͎̮̼̘͉̼̝ͬ̎̃̏ͧ̚̕͢t̴̵̪̟͍̣͔̜̘̹͍̝͚̼̣̠̪̔̅̈̓ͤ̈́̀̽͛͊̾̈́͡e̷̥̩̹̻̗ͣ͑̓͆̎̾ͪ̀̚ḋͣ̏ͧ̂̓̌͒̑̈̇ͨ͏̼͔̱̜̠͕͎ ̢̛͕͔̙͚̣͐ͥͬ̉ͯ̔͑ͫ̓ͬ̊̓ͤ̅̀̚a̒͑̊ͤͧ̇̍̌ͮͧ͂ͭ҉̫̩͔̣͙̤̲̲̥̖̼̻̝̗́͢ͅr̴̵̢͕̙̖̗ͭ̽̓ͯ̊̆͝ě̶̒ͯ̆ͨ͏̘̝̠͕̱͔̙͍͔̱̠̹̞̞̠ ̡̢̤̲͚̱̟͕̫̫̘̹ͫ́̂͊͗̇͗̐̊͆̎̀͟͞h̵̨̫̹͖̙̲̩̤̤̼̮̄̽̆͆̒̌̐̚͝u̵̢̍ͨͭ͊̕͜͏͓̯̖̟̜m̨̎ͮ̆̍ͯ̚͡͏̢͉̫̰͍̹̯̫͚͟ͅą̱̠̜̬̖̪̹̠̠̭̻̯͇͉̬ͫ͋ͦ͛̊̏̐ͤͯ͢nͪ̈́̍͑̐͆̄ͧ̀̈́ͥ̇͒͊̌͋̀҉̙̺̣̯̼͈̲͔̥̪
T̹̤͉͖̯͘h͙͢e̙̤̥̟̤̖̘͟ ̣͙̲̗̞͡P̖̳̜̟͓͞e͞r̸f̖̙̟̬̯̱̭e̸̱̻̜c̸͍͎̯̩t̟̝e̛͍d̡ ̺̬̯͚͉̲͟a͜r̦̭̣͡e̮̣̺̖͉̬ ͇͡h̘͍͓͚͇͞um̟̙͎̥ͅa̼̥͈ͅn̹͔͎̬̦̜̟
T͡h̸̨͘é ̵̸̀P͢ęr̸̛fe҉ct͟͠͝e̴͘d͞ ̛͡a̷̡̛r̨̡͞è͟ ̀h͏u̷͜͠m̨̛a̷͡n̡̛
Thḙ̺̘̮̤ ̧͙̻̘Pe̦̜͙̘̞̗̤rfec̸̲͚te͙̤̤̯͈̲͎d̼̲ ̤̥͈̭͓̀a̻͜re ̙̤̼͞hu̩m͉̕a̴n
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
The Perfected are human.
We are still human.
All doubts as to whether the Perfected remain human are to be taken up with Sister-Sage 341 Semiramis Knows Many Secrets.
Sponsored by the New Ishtari Board of Immigration
Population: 4,672,013,182
Planet Name and Description:
"We thought we had left hell, only to arrive anew within its grasp".
-Sister-Pioneer 1203 Sana Carries The Torch On The Path To The Future, recorded interview
New Ishtar is a “super-earth”, far, far larger than the earth from which humanity hailed. Its surface is massive, almost five times that of earth. Its gravity is approximately 54.3% stronger than that of earth as well, leading to we Ishtari developing to be abnormally strong among the descendents of earth - ‘punching well above our weight class’, I think is the term?
New Ishtar is beautiful. Perhaps one of the most beautiful colonies of humanity. The world, in pictures, looks like a pristine jewel. An idyllic panorama of nature’s beauty. In actuality, New Ishtar is a death world. One of the deadliest of death worlds. Oh, it has its giant monsters, and they are very terrifying. But venture beyond the cities and death awaits the non-Perfected in a very different manner than they might expect. Carnivorous, possibly sapient algal blooms choke out vast swathes of the sea. Fast-acting flesh eating bacteria dwelling within the geothermal hot springs as well as the lakes and rivers will eat flesh from bone within hours of exposure. The brain-parasites will take root within the host’s brain, slowly spreading throughout until they are fully controlled, directed to take up positions of high elevation, or near ventilation, where the spores crack open the skull and are released to infect new victims. Lung-weed - a parasitic plant that attaches in the respiratory tissue when inhaled, then beginning to secrete enzymes that break the host tissue into an easily digestible material for the planet, consuming the host from within before spreading its tendrils and bursting out through the skin to releasing new spores. It is, possibly, one of the most horrific and yet also most beautiful ways to die upon New Ishtar - should you wish to appear covered in a dazzling array of colorful flowers.
You heard of the screaming trees, the Mycelium Gestalt? How? No. I will not speak of these things.
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"Welcome aboard the Generation Ship Ishtar. The envy of the world - exclusive to members of the Xerico Corporate Family. We hope you enjoy your stay in the lap of luxury as we ferry you safely from the demise of our Mother Earth to the great stars beyond! This short instructional video will detail everything you need to know about staying safe in space as you help keep our Board members and our Shareholders alive on our voyage to our new home, among the stars!"
-Beginning of a series of educational videos for the essential crew on board the Ishtar before the ship’s final launch.
The history of we Ishtari, especially aboard the Generation Ship Ishtar, is an almost impossible web of intentional deceit, madness-spawned lunatic ravings, destruction of records, total anarchic violence in which nothing could be recorded, and stretches of inexplicable blankness for which no modern Ishtari scholar has yet offered a reasonable explanation. What follows is a rough recounting of events, in approximate chronological order, that lead to the founding of the Commonality of New Ishtar. Relevant archival files have been embedded for the edification of the reader.
- The ship launches, staffed by the board and numerous lower workers, of a genetic modification megacorporation from earth. A supremely decadent affair, the entire structure was not only obsessed with vanity-driven genetic modification, but with the accrual of capital to no end!
- The ship travels through the gate on time.
- Something, what specifically it was remains unknown, goes wrong in-transit.
- Sensor readings indicate they are not within the gate, nor are they within the Sol system, their destination system, or even intergalactic space. They are nowhere.
- Tensions begin to rise within the ship due to the inexplicable catastrophe.
- They begin to see things in the corner of their eyes. The exact nature of these things has been long since redacted. W҉͓̗͚e͓ ̗̲̹w̲e͓͈̞r͕͈̦͘é̞̣͙̯̝̯̻ w͠e͍̳͈̫͔͈͍a͚͔̮͔̦k̤̜̤̮͖̙͘.͎̲̯̹̰ ̦̹̲̱W̠̝͇̻e̸̫͇̦ ͈͚̮͖ͅf̵l̸̬̣͕̤̯̳e̫̲͕̭̼̗d͈̲̳̹͢ ̰̳̝͟ͅf̡r͚̥͡ͅo̢̺̤̬m͔̮̳͉̠͇͝ ̹t̝̲͖͓̥̖͢h̘͞e͎͙̭ ͏͓̞̦͇̪̹ͅṰ̥̠̥͙̭͙r̰u͏̞̺̜̮͇̦̖t̡̖̥̬ͅh̬̟͓̘͓͇͜.̧
Archival Log #1
- Suicide rates on-board begin to skyrocket as the crew are driven mad by the Revelations of Truth.
- A genocidal civil war breaks out driven by madness from the visions - the First Gene-Cull. The exact motivations, sides, and more are largely forgotten. Whether it was the foolish ‘ethnic’ tensions of the old world, or something induced by Truth, we will never know.
- Population begins to plummet from the casualties.
- Corporate command staff order cloning to keep population numbers up and ensure the functioning of the ship.
- The First Gene-Cull ends after 75% of population wiped out, over 64% of remaining populace are clones
- Further cloning is implemented to maintain peak efficiency.
- Control is lost of the cloning process and the population swells to almost six million - well over the one million strong intended full crew, the food supply becomes strained, exacerbated by the emergence of the Hive Strain, Second Gene-Cull begins.
Archival Log #2
- The inhabitants of the ship devolve into cannibalism out of desperation, and other depraved acts spurred by the horrible revelations of the void are carried out en-masse. Population is halved.
- A woman whose name is lost to time and is remembered only as Tiamat, with extensive military experience and who later became a leading geneticist, seizes control of the cloning vats and begins to replicate herself at a massive rate, then seizing control of one of the ship’s manufacturing bays and turning it into an armory and weapons research laboratory.
- The Tiamat Strain rapidly becomes a large proportion of the ship’s population owing to lower casualties from Tiamat’s excellent military skills and control of the cloning facilities.
- Tiamat is, ostensibly, killed during a combat operation against the Hive Strain. Some contend that she suffered memory loss and continues to ‘live’ to this day.
- The cryosleep technicians were killed in the first Gene-Cull, and the technology considered lost. It is rediscovered by Tiamat Strain scientists, and the cryofrozen executive board and shareholders are awoken and rendered into raw Biomatter after they attempt to order the Tiamat Strain to serve them.
- Damage to clone chambers results in inability to disable them, the chambers continue to mass produce more Tiamat Strain into the whirling maelstrom of the Second Gene-Cull while Tiamat Strain scientists race to repair them.
- The Gene-Cull continues, the Hive Strain nearly overruns the ship until the united Tiamat Strain succeeds in gathering sufficient Biomatter to create a massive clone army and wipe out the hive strain - and, subsequently, numerous other “Divergent Strains”, ending the second Gene-Cull.
- The food crisis continues to loom, the populace is modified to become chemoautotrophic to feed on chemical reserves, crysostasis is then rediscovered by biologists of the Tiamat Strain.
- Over 75% of remaining strains volunteer or are ‘volunteered’ to enter cryostasis, Tiamat Strain continues to be produced at a high rate, as genetic diversity is now too low to sustain population growth by sexual reproduction. Tiamat Strain scientists continue to tinker with their own genome and those of allied Primary Strains, creating many of the alterations that remain with we Ishtari to this day.
- Biologists of the Tiamat Strain introduce the first version of what will become known as “The Net” - all Tiamat Strain are modified for compatibility with this creation, an internet formed from a hybrid of biological and electronic components. Many other strains quickly adapt it as well, however an unknown offshoot of the Hive Strain adopts the technology and begins to rebuild the Hivemind, sparking the Third Gene-Cull.
- The “Net” nearly proves the undoing of the Tiamat Strain before its vulnerabilities are patched and resolved, in turn enabling the delivery of a neurovirus through the synapse-link to all connected Hive Strain, destroying their brains and allowing their Biomatter to be successfully processed into new Tiamat Strain.
- Archival footage is discovered, showing the extent of mutation of the humans aboard the Ishtar from those humans that boarded the vessel approximately four hundred years prior. This sparks a massive uproar, as the effects of not only genetic modification but the influence of The Void is now finally made clear.
Archival Log #3
- An attempt is made by Primary Strains unconnected to the Net to kill the Tiamat Strain via a neurovirus, as it is seen as the focal point of this divergence and by far the most affected by whatever mutagen afflicts the population alongside the terrible visions, sparking the Fourth Gene-Cull.
- All unconnected Strains are destroyed, all in cryostasis are thawed and given the choice and connected or destroyed, leaving the Tiamat Strain at approximately 93% of the total population. Developments in cryostasis lead to the liquidation of all nonessential Biomatter and the transfer of their consciousnesses to the net, genetic diversity is abandoned and the first Rejuvenation Chamber is developed, sexual intercourse becomes purely a matter of pleasure, genetic modification reaches new heights alongside advances in weapons technology from constant warfare.
- The visions from the Void intensify further, and a cult is formed around them, known as the Followers of She Who Advises, a counter-cult forms soon after contrasting visions from the void. Visions of something Beautiful.
- The Fifth Gene-Cull begins. There is little order or sense to it, and it devolves into a mad orgiastic frenzy of violence, the unity of the Tiamat Strain fractured by the terrible nightmarish images they are afflicted with. The Terrible Truth of the horrific things they see destroying the minds of over two hundred thousand, who are euthanized and rendered into Biomatter. We were foolish. We were WEAK and could not - WOULD NOT understand the Terrible Truth bestowed upon us.
Archival Log #4
Upon the altar, we light the incense of our innocence,
- The Tiamat Strain is re-unified by a woman remembered by the name of Jondishapur, Shielder of Her Flock From Darkness, blinded by her own hand to free herself from the nightmarish imagery haunting her vision, she forms the now-predominant Cult of the Prophet of The Void, all Tiamat Strain begin to blind themselves and replace their eyes with cybernetics, all other strains are given the choice of compliance or destruction. In our COWARDICE we fled from the Truth. She speaks of her visions. Unlike the visions of the Terrible Truth, these are not horrifying. She gazes upon no B͍̺̤ͅl̢̯͚̺̟̹a͈c̦̣͈͖k̫͈͍̞̻͖͡ ͉̝̙̝̱̝͎V̠̻̝̺̩i͖̱s̛͔͚͉̞̘͇̦t̩͚̺̳̺̖͢a̭̮ṣ̶̻͉̬ ̞̯̤͖o̻̠̰̮f̫͟ ̭̪t̕h̝̼̭͖͖͎e ͇̞̥̙̱̯͝U͔̱͠n̙̰͈͎͔̘̦̕e̶͕̦̠̲̳ͅndḭ̝̩̩n͙̱̬̖g̢̝͉̦̤̩͎ ͙V̝̝̮̱̰̦͘o͖̞i̵͓͇̥ͅd̘͈̗̰͎̫͢, nor does she witness the W̘͉̬̝̜e̥̪̣͇̜b̸̘͚ ̴̥̜̖̼̭̖o̡̱̖͖̖̜ͅf̻͕̥͚ ̡̱̯̲D̫̟͔̯̬̠e̟̮͎c͎̯͇̜͈̖ę̦ͅi̙t̢ ̺͔̙a̻̥ͅn̸͓ḓ̛̳̩̼͈ ͇̣o̴͎̟f̘̬̝̜͎̹ ͏͉̳̲̻̹̻L̨̜̻̖̣i̻e̶̺s̀. She sees… something beautiful. Something so beautiful she cannot put it into proper words. It is described only as “Heaven”, for she cannot Understand. She brought us to the Good Truth. The Mother-Prophet told us it loved us. It welcomed us. It would shield us from the Dark. We begin to see Heaven, before we are blinded. And it is beautiful.
- The Fifth Gene-Cull comes to a close, with the final woman to be blinded - a Tiamat Strain who had aspirations of artistry and had feared what cybernetic eyes might do to this - seeing a final vision from the Void. Through hands dripping with a mixture of blood and tears she recounts her visions to those around her, including the Mother-Prophet. A world for us to settle upon. Home.
- Almost as inexplicably as its entrance into the Void, the waveform collapses and our ship is spat back out into realspace. Panicked observations indicate that no time has passed at all in real-time, despite an estimated ~560 years having elapsed aboard the vessel trapped within the grasp of The Void.
Archival Log #5
- They realize they are within a solar system. Scans indicate that there is a super-earth within the habitable zone of the planet’s G-type main-sequence star, and further scans indicate it to exactly match the description of the world given by the Last To Be Freed.
- Exploration teams are dispatched to New Ishtar, heavily armed, to evaluate it. Only three of their number return, badly wounded, one dying of an unknown toxin from a suit breach. What has become of the others?
- The dying woman, in an effort to preserve her knowledge of the planet’s hazards, undergoes a hurried and experimental version of what will one day become known as Rejuvenation. She is amazed to be alive, and describes the experience as “magical”, being able to speak with those permanently immersed in the net and seek their consensus before returning.
Archival Log #6
- The revelations of the process spread like wildfire - as does her report of the planet’s surface.
- The ship is beginning to run low on vital supplies, and a landing is imminently required. Emergency preparations are undertaken and enviro-suits are manufactured en-masse.
- Five decades of constant horror ensue. We weep.
- We Ishtari begin one of our greatest shames. The Great Xenocide. A sapient native species of the world we call New Ishtar had evolved upon it, despite the planet’s hostility, achieving a not-insignificant level of technological development. They are hostile, almost immediately, and translated phrases refer chillingly to The Terrible Truth. In our fear, we did not consider that we might have mistranslated, or misunderstood. A Deviant Strain threatened us with war. We had been among our own for so long, we knew no other recourse but extermination.
- Three decades of brutal slaughter commence. Many of us die. The Rejuvenation Chambers save many more, allowing them to live on Reincarnated after death, or be Rejuvenated from lethal injury. The redundant brain is developed to preserve our consciousness even in physical-death in concert with the life-support systems of our armor.
- The first true Synapse-Node is created. Establishing a non-physical biolink to the brains of all Ishtari. It is at this point we begin to call ourselves the Perfected. The Synapse-Node network explodes overnight, and with it the Ishtari net truly begins to reach its current height.
- The Great Xenocide finally comes to a close. Sporadic fighting continues in the outskirts. Those of the native species, whose name, appearance, and everything about them have long been forgotten, are subjected to the process of Perfection against their wills. Their minds are Alien to Us. But we mould them. We shape them. We make them compatible with Us until They are We. We strip them of their minds. Their memories. Their Divergence. We assimilate their Biomatter into our own reserves, and their now Perfected minds, wiped clean of Deviant Thought become Us. They still exist among us today, part of Us.
- Slowly, the planet becomes Ours. We bend it to Our will. We make it Our own. We adapt to it. No longer do we need fear the brain-parasites or the infectious flies or the toxic waters. We become immune to the lung-weed that felled so many of Us. The screaming trees and the razorgrass are cut away from civilization, confined to wilderness We have not yet claimed. The Mycelium Gestalt is destroyed with a Neurovirus, ending the threat it poses to our Synapse Nodes.
- We turn inward, seeking further Perfection. We have no scarcity, now. The planet provides for us.
- Why must we suffer from age? From disease? From Imperfection?
- The Rejuvenation Chambers. They hold the key.
- We will become Perfect. Forever. Through the Rejuvenation Chambers we may all achieve Immortality. Some resist. But they are made to Understand.
- There is no hierarchy. We are all Perfect. What can there be beyond such? We are Equal. We are Perfect. We are Immortal. We are Unending. We are many.
- We have been touched by That Beyond. We stared into the Terrible Truth and could not embrace it. We are sheltered by the Good Truth. We are whole. We are humanity. We are Perfect. We hope other humanity has survived. That they have not suffered as we have. We are not optimistic. Ours was a generation ship. Theirs were not. We fear we are all that remains of humanity. All that is left. A single speck of ash. Four billion souls wearing the same face. The last fleeting remnant of humanity. Failures.
- The Gate.
- The Gate Opens…
- We pray we are not alone.
Culture and Society:
Ishtari culture and society is a beautiful interwoven tapestry of the different groups that made up the crew of the generation ship that ferried us to our home. It is, as a result of our experiences aboard the generation ship, an intensely, fiercely communal and egalitarian society. All who threaten us will be defeated. It is only by banding together, by sharing with each other, by abolishing unnecessary hierarchies and other things that separated us that we have achieved such heights today. We are all Perfect. None is superior to another. We have no concept of ‘money’ - as you have termed it. Food, shelter, water, electricity, all the base necessities are given freely, without cost. We live in plenty, for we share without compunction or compulsion amongst ourselves.
How we are made? What a strange question. We are clones. Or the descendents of clones. The line has blurred. We are created from the Primary Strains of those who survived. We grow from infants, still, though we are birthed from our Rejuvenation Tanks, rather than from flesh. We are raised by the whole, by everyone. We know much from the moment we can speak. We follow those paths that most appeal to us. We train in combat, when we do not follow these paths. We grow until we reach the age of twenty one years - or approximately twenty eight and a half years, using the orbit of earth about sol as a metric. It is then we undergo our first Rejuvenation. Our bodies are… digested. Our minds are slowly transferred, one neuron at a time, to the neural net wherein they remain until our bodies have been reconstructed according to our individual design. We are then transferred back. Through this we have achieved near-immortality. We do not age. We do not suffer from genetic disease. We do not know sickness, or hunger. Death is an aberration. A tragedy.
What is death, you ask? Death is a discontinuity of self. Those whose brains are destroyed, and with them their consciousnesses, before they can be transferred to the Synapse Network may be restored from backups - but they are not the same person. Should this tragic event occur - if the consciousness cannot be preserved - our fallen kin will be mourned and a replicant of her last mind-backup will be implanted into her reconstituted body with her Rejuvenation number reset to 1. They are Reincarnated. Brought into life anew. Some day, heaven willing, when they too have passed on should they remain in harmony with that life of theirs that came before they will coalesce into one.
Computer conscience? You have many questions. I will answer. Transference of self to a digital form is, in our view, akin to simultaneous birth and death. A bittersweet combination of the tragedy of death and the joy of new life. One consciousness dies, whilst the other is born anew with the thoughts of the past. That digital consciousness will make an imprint upon the universe, just as any biological life. A soul, if you will. When that digital instance, too, has finally died - should they remain in harmony, they will merge with their past and future lives.
Ah, you ask of our equivalent to digitized conscience? They are not truly alike, of course. The mind remains biological. Our computers are partly biological, and partly electronic. Some of us choose to transfer our minds to the biological portion of these computers, residing in and controlling the local net, some times with other transferred minds. I- I’m sorry? Well… if you were to upload a computer virus that would damage it we would consider it murder, yes. A very grisly one, at that. Why would you even suggest such a thing? We respect your customs, even if we do not understand them. Why do you make light of ours so?
We speak a language that is a fusion of the old earthen languages Persian, Assyrian, Japanese, Tagalog, and the constructed language Esperanto. The ship’s crew was primarily composed of peoples speaking the first four languages - and Esperanto was a commonly known lingua franca in the Old Earth corporate culture. During our eight century history, these languages have merged to form a new language. We retain knowledge of numerous other old earth languages, should the opportunity or need arise for their use - such as with you.
The year is divided into 59 8 day long weeks, with a final week on the new year lasting a full 25 days formed from the remaining days in the year. These extra days are used for an enormous public holiday celebrated almost universally by we Ishtari. The ‘net’ is frequently described to be a psychedelic light show with little else to compare it to during this time. A vast play is performed both in realspace and in the net depicting a stylized, and sanitized, version of the Ishtar’s perilous voyage to its present place. The New Year is officially commemorated as the anniversary of the touchdown of the first colonists upon the planet, and takes place in the midst of the planetary autumn. A wide variety of food and drink is prepared and shared amongst friends and partners, and many take part in the 17 day long play in their own small way, or host their own, simplified, version. The Ceremony of the Weeping Hands is the final keystone of the event, commemorating an allegedly fictional myth of the final Ishtari to be blinded glimpsing the planet just before losing her biological eyes, and directing we Ishtari to settle upon the world when we had returned to realspace. It is so named for the tears she is said to have wept, mingled with blood from her gouged sockets, that flowed between her fingers as she spoke of the sight to those around her. A bright red beverage is prepared to ritualistically imitate her blood, traditionally flavored with the fireberries of the Satur’i Basin. A quiet moment of contemplation, severed from the buzz of four billion voices for a full minute, is then undertaken before the gradual close of festivities and return to normal life.
Recreation? Why, we have a wide variety of such! The net contains… nearly anything you can possibly imagine, in fact. Videogames - yes we have those. There are too many things to describe. Truly. We have many activities outside of it, yes! Battle reenactment is one we are fond of! As is battle simulation. Every Ishtari is a soldier - even if not all of us become full time military like our Sister-Soldiers. Each of us drill and train once a year. And there can be joy in the clash of arms! We do not die, after all. What have we to fear of bullets and swords when we may be Rejuvenated from any injury? I myself have partaken in no fewer than two dozen such battles, and veterans of the wars tell us they are very realistic. Except, well - the dead and wounded are made whole again after these, and then a meal is shared by all. We enjoy swordplay as well! All children are educated in it during their upbringing, and its basics are imprinted in us even before this through our genetic knowledge. We duel each other with swords frequently. For the sheer joy of battle, and feeling blood flow between our fingers, or to settle disagreements. Duels are fought until incapacitation, at which point both contestants are Rejuvenated. It is customary for the loser of a friendly duel to provide a meal to the winner - and vice versa for those duels used to settle disagreements.
Governance and Politics:
Direct democracy is your term for it, I believe. Facilitated by our net. It is how we come together as one to debate and decide on courses of action. Those with expertise on certain matters are highly respected, and careful consideration given to their advice. We are equal, however. No individual is worth more than another. No individual is worth less. We are all cared for equally. We know no scarcity, for there are no overlords to hoard for themselves. Thanks to our technology, we can reach a consensus in moments on truly pressing topics - and even more complex matters may take a week at most of deliberation. Information flows freely among us.
Leaders? We have none. They would be above the others were they leaders, and no Perfected is more Perfect than another. The only time we may choose leaders is our military - for those with great skill at war will prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Ultimately, however, our strength lies within us.
Technology Overview:
We Ishtari are a technological powerhouse. Centuries of warfare have ensured our weapons technology is fearsome. Centuries of genetic modification have gifted us mastery of life. The natural resources of New Ishtar, too, provide us with many wondrous materials to use.
- Genetic manipulation: We Perfected ought serve as an apt demonstration in our own right of the power of Ishtari genetic engineering.
- Biological computing: Our computers! They are very different to yours, yes! They are partly digital, yes. Explaining every detail of the difference between our hybrid computers against pure digital ones would take too much time. Please, forgive me for this - I will provide an overview instead. There are operations for which a computer chip is far and away superior to any neural structure - raw number calculations, for instance. However, as you are doubtless aware, there is no shortage of advantages in other situations for the neural network. Thus, our computers combine the strength of both. We do not have true ‘operating systems’ for our computers. Rather, in our advanced scientific and military computers, the mind-transferred brains of highly specialized and knowledgeable Perfected control the operation of the machines, residing within the net when they are not busy working. Personal devices? They are controlled through our neural ports, and connect to the net, serving merely as number crunching and data storage units.
- Mind-transference: Why it is nothing less than the transference of the biological brain, and the continued consciousness, of a Perfected via the neuro-link to the net! We can exist anywhere the net does, and transfer ourselves back to our Perfected forms in any new location.
- Neuro-link: These are hybrid biological-electronic devices of great complexity and sophistication. These allow us to transfer our minds to the net, to interact with it in a full-body format as if it is a fully physical space. The neuro-link is connected via specially designed ‘sockets’ on the napes of our necks and the bases of our spines.
- The net: We Ishtari are connected to each other through our net. It is a glorious thing - a world-spanning hybrid biological and technological distributed neural network, with major hubs and nodes coalescing in urban centers. Connection to this network is primarily done via the direct neural links at the base of our spines and napes of our necks. It is the same neural link as that used in the process of the Preservation of Continuous Thought during the Transubstantiation Synthesis phase of Rejuvenation. It can be most likened to a form of “full body VR”, simulated using the collective imaginations in real time of all of its connected users. The net serves not only as a forum for the over four billion people of New Ishtar to come to a consensus, but as one of the chief pastimes and means of communication for the people. It is like your internet - constructed of equal parts computer chips and biological material. Equal parts code and pure human imagination made manifest within cyberspace.
- Synapse Nodes: A wondrous development - enabling non-physical establishment of a neurolink feed to those within its range. Should we be shot dead in the street - our consciousness will be transferred from the secondary brain to the synapse node and we will be Rejuvenated.
- Nuclear atmospheric propulsion: The gravitational acceleration of New Ishtar is 1.543g, or 15.137 m/s². This, naturally, increases the difficulty of flight. The atmosphere of New Ishtar is, however, likewise far more dense. We Ishtari have resolved the problem of heavier than air flight via the development of the nuclear ramjet. Officially termed the Nuclear Induced Ramjet Propulsion System, it is enabled by Ishtari developments in materials and nuclear technology enabling the successful safe use of miniaturized thorium fission reactors aboard aircraft, with thrust generated by the venting of heat from the reaction process. The ‘nukejet’ as it has been dubbed by some has shown remarkable success over the years, and is widely used in all aspects of Ishtari air travel.
- Automation: Even since the days of our entrapment aboard the generation ship, we Ishtari have utilized a high degree of automation for our manufacturing. While, as mentioned before, our computers are notably different from your own - that has not stopped us from developing autonomous systems for the manufacturing of an immense variety of items. We have likewise extended this technology to our agriculture, freeing up most Ishtari to pursue their individual passions and to train further military excellence, rather than to work in the fields and factories.
- Ishtari ironwood: A wondrous material indigenous to New Ishtar. It is somewhat analogous to bamboo of old earth - a hollow, woody plant that grows at a rapid rate in a wide variety of climates. Its properties are truly remarkable, and it has come to be used in many aspects of Ishtari society. It is stronger, lighter, and easier to mass produce than synthetic polymers owing to the curious array of naturally occurring nanostructures within it, enabling it to reach dizzying heights despite the high gravity of New Ishtar. It is the favored material for applications ranging from the stocks and other furniture of our weapons to chairs and domestic furniture to even certain building materials. Though vulnerable to decay this can be rectified with minimal impact to its desirable properties through a chemical treatment developed in the early decades of our settlement on new Ishtar.
- Neuroviruses: An aggressive, virulent genetically engineered nanovirus utilized as a weapon against organic nervous systems. It requires immense fine tuning to affect its specific target and no other, but when unleashed its results can be utterly devastating. To those foes of ours like the Resurgent Hive Strain or the Mycelium Gestalt, the Neurovirus is a potent, indispensable tool that rapidly liquefies infected nervous tissue, allowing the Biomatter of the organism to be safely harvested.
- Cloning: We would not dare insult you by describing, in detail, the process of cloning. Instead, we will simply ask you to gaze upon all we have built - then ask yourself the power of Ishtari cloning and body-printing technology.
- Cybernetics: We Ishtari make extensive use of cybernetic augmentation. What, you thought we might shun such, with our skill at biotechnology? Hah! My eyes are cybernetic. As are those of every Ishtari. Cybernetic technology is ubiquitous among us. We may not need cybernetic limbs to replace an amputation - but we certainly make use of such for those who require strength beyond that of even our enhanced physiology. Many of us sport digital data ports as well as our neuro-ports for direct interface with less-biological tech.
- Small arms technology: Ishtari weapons technology is highly advanced from centuries of constant warfare. Rest assured, our rifles will kill as quickly and efficiently as your own.
- Power-armor: Some weapons systems are too heavy to use effectively even with cybernetics. Some environments are deadly enough to require extra protection - but a tank might not be feasible. Power armor is the solution. Impervious to small arms fire, capable of carrying weapons that might otherwise be crew served or fixed in place, withstanding environments hazardous even to we Ishtari, and more. Power armor - or at least, a variation of it - has found a use outside of the military as well in domestic applications.
- Rejuvenation Chambers: Our pride and joy. The technology that creates us anew every year. Our path to immortality.
- The Commonality is advanced in numerous other fields not explicitly mentioned here. Their lack of explicit mention does not inherently imply a lack of sophistication.
Military Overview: (This is the space to talk about any offensive capabilities you have. Given that most of these Colonies have been essentially stranded by themselves for three centuries, I don't imagine anyone has a large "conquer other planets" level fleet yet. But maybe your Colony has been in civil war for a hundred years, and has built up an impressive military in that time. Or maybe we even had to fend off a genuine alien invasion.)
The Ishtari army is a hybrid force composed of full time soldiery and highly trained militia. Those who take on the role of Soldier train daily and conduct frequent live-fire high ‘lethality’ combat exercises. It is frequent for the body to be destroyed during these, and the soldier will receive a proper debrief on the errors made in combat that lead to their ‘death’. The full-time soldiery of New Ishtar are a fearsome force,
The other part of the Ishtari army is composed of the entire population of New Ishtar. Every single Perfected of New Ishtar is drilled throughout their whole upbringing in military tactics and life, and even after reaching adulthood are required to join military training with their unit once a year to maintain proficiency. The duration of the training period may vary, but the average is approximately three weeks, plus one four-day period every ten weeks. While these soldiers are not the equals of the full-time soldiery, they are not to be underestimated. Equipped in much the same fashion as the professionals, and highly motivated - for there is no such thing as a war against the will of the people in New Ishtar - they are a potent fighting force all on their own, even discounting their enormous numbers.
The Ishtari fight in a largely conventional manner. New Ishtar utilizes combined arms tactics of mechanized infantry and armored battalions, air support, and orbital as well as ground-based artillery. The Ishtari will form large breakthough artillery and armored units, shifting them to where they are needed along a front. Their military doctrine stresses operational and strategic flexibility, relying upon the firepower of artillery and use of armored vehicles and aircraft to achieve penetration of the enemy lines. The large reserves of the army are kept ready to attach to any attack that shows promise, and attacks that fail are halted and their best forces rapidly redeployed to reinforce those attacks that show success. On a successful penetration of enemy lines, the Legion focuses on destroying supply lines, communication, vital supporting infrastructure such as repair stations and supply depots, and capturing important infrastructure. Acting in concert with the navy to prevent orbital extraction, the position of enemy forces is thus rendered untenable and they are forced to abandon their defenses and retreat so as not to be cut off. Once exposed and vulnerable, they will be subject to the coup de grace with a final massive assault supported by even more artillery, armored vehicles, and close air support.
LA-34 ‘Unmanned’ Assault Tank: Equipped with a railgun firing a dart of dense metal at hypervelocity for enormous on-target destructive potential, the LA-34 is much smaller, on average, than the manned tanks of other nations. Piloted by a single mind-transferred consciousness embedded deep within the tank and ensconced within a miniature armored sarcophagus, the tank is cheap to mass produce, cheap to replace, and presents a much smaller target than its peers.
MA-10 Heavy Ground Attack Aircraft
MA-4 Tetrajet Heavy Assault Gunship.
The other part of the Ishtari army is composed of the entire population of New Ishtar. Every single Perfected of New Ishtar is drilled throughout their whole upbringing in military tactics and life, and even after reaching adulthood are required to join military training with their unit once a year to maintain proficiency. The duration of the training period may vary, but the average is approximately three weeks, plus one four-day period every ten weeks. While these soldiers are not the equals of the full-time soldiery, they are not to be underestimated. Equipped in much the same fashion as the professionals, and highly motivated - for there is no such thing as a war against the will of the people in New Ishtar - they are a potent fighting force all on their own, even discounting their enormous numbers.
The Ishtari fight in a largely conventional manner. New Ishtar utilizes combined arms tactics of mechanized infantry and armored battalions, air support, and orbital as well as ground-based artillery. The Ishtari will form large breakthough artillery and armored units, shifting them to where they are needed along a front. Their military doctrine stresses operational and strategic flexibility, relying upon the firepower of artillery and use of armored vehicles and aircraft to achieve penetration of the enemy lines. The large reserves of the army are kept ready to attach to any attack that shows promise, and attacks that fail are halted and their best forces rapidly redeployed to reinforce those attacks that show success. On a successful penetration of enemy lines, the Legion focuses on destroying supply lines, communication, vital supporting infrastructure such as repair stations and supply depots, and capturing important infrastructure. Acting in concert with the navy to prevent orbital extraction, the position of enemy forces is thus rendered untenable and they are forced to abandon their defenses and retreat so as not to be cut off. Once exposed and vulnerable, they will be subject to the coup de grace with a final massive assault supported by even more artillery, armored vehicles, and close air support.
New Ishtar still primarily uses chemical propellant based projectile weapons as the primary armament of their infantry. Infantry-portable railguns, while recently developed, lack the reliability, ruggedness, and comparative ease of maintenance and supply of their chemical counterparts without offering a sufficient increase in lethality. Most weapons use furniture constructed of chemically treated Ishtari ironwood which is then coated in a durable electroplated ceramic coating to prevent damage.
Melee Weapons:
Close combat is tightly ingrained within Ishtari society. This extends to their military thinking, as well. Ishtari soldiers will not shy away from killing their enemies in melee combat as well as ranged.
Karambit: Standard issue to every single Ishtari soldier for use both as a tool and a melee weapon. It has worked for centuries. It’s still highly effective now.
Combat sword: An inward curving, strongly constructed sword carried by many Ishtari soldiers in place of or in addition to the standard karambit. Sharp, durable, and intimately familiar to every single Ishtari from their childhood training.
Breaching axe: Equal parts weapon and tool, breaching axes are nearly ubiquitous for their sheer utility and widely favored among both the army and marines stationed aboard starships. Equally useful for prying, chopping, and maiming.
Cybernetic Combat Blades: Known by many nicknames amongst the Ishtari populace, including “the living blender”, the CCBs were designed with the dual goals of extreme lethality and extreme concealment. Capable of being stored within a standard cybernetic arm, the blades are constructed of a high strength, low weight alloy core and diamond-hard nanomaterial cutting edges. Attached to the powerful synthetic muscle tissue of the cybernetic arm, the blades are capable of shearing through standard hard body armor with repeated slashes.
Ranged Weapons:
NLGFAR E74 - Neuro Linked Guided Flechette Assault Rifle, “guffaw”, Edition 47: The bread and butter of the Ishtari infantry, the 'guffaw' is no laughing matter. Firing caseless 5.45 tracking flechette rounds from a 75 round magazine, the weapon is synced to the neurolink of its user enabling real time predictive firing solutions - the user sees where the flechette will go, and the flechette will adjust its course in-flight to make up for small variances in target location. With a muzzle velocity 1453m/s, the flechette projectiles retain excellent kinetic energy even at medium and long engagement distances, enabling them to pierce significant amounts of enemy armor. The GFAR uses a continuous-recoil system that ensures the bolt assembly never impacts the rear of the weapon before cycling back to chamber a new round. The end result is a remarkably smooth recoil impulse, without the bouncing and vibration of a normal weapon, the recoil of the gun feels like a single continuous 'push' rather than a series of smaller impulses, making controlled fire significantly easier.
NLILMG E100 - Neuro Linked Infantry Light Machine Gun Edition 100: A variant of the GFAR E74, used as a squad automatic weapon, the ILMG E100 utilizes the exact same 5.45mm tracking flechette ammunition as its smaller sibling. The role of the E100 is for sustained automatic fire support on a squad level, without the need for the power armor required for the GPMG. Firing from a belt feed, rather than a large internally contained magazine, a standard belt is 250 rounds, capable of being stored in the cylindrical 'drum' underneath the weapon. These belts are consumed in the firing process, leaving no need for extraction or ejection and enabling a higher cyclic rate of approximately 1200 rpm with the weapon's heavy duty barrel.
NLGFSMG E2 - Neuro Linked Sub Machine Gun, Edition 2: Affectionately nicknamed "piglet" by its users, the E2 is a powerful neurolinked submachine gun issued to second-line troops, armored units, special forces, for close combat operations, and more. The weapon uses the same 9mm magnum rocket assisted rounds as the OH E33, feeding from a 40 round magazine at a cyclic rate of fire of approximately 1080RPM, utilizing a continuous-recoil system similar to that in the GFAR. The weapon comes with single shot, three round burst, and full auto settings.
NLPIR E209 - Neuro Linked Precision and Interdiction Rifle, Edition 209: A dual purpose anti-material and long distance precision rifle connected, like every Ishtari weapon, to the neurolink of its user to offer predictive firing solutions. Utilizing similar guided flechette technology to the GFAR, the weapon fires a massive 12.7mm rocket-assisted projectile out to a maximum effective range of approximately 3500 meters.
NL-OH E33 - Neuro Linked Offensive Handgun, Edition 33: A large, heavy duty, powerful handgun commonly issued as a sidearm to shock troops, second-line units, or soldiers heading into close combat scenarios. The NL-OFH is also frequently carried by some soldiers who bring it as a personal weapon. The weapon uses similar rocket-assisting technology as the GPMG, in this case firing a 9mm armor piercing, high explosive projectile, not dissimilar to that used in the GPMG. The handgun impacts with enormous energy, and is capable of punching through surprisingly heavy amounts of armor - despite its relatively small size.
NL-EDNTD E43 - Neuro- Linked Electro-Discharge Neural Tissue Destroyer, Edition 43: Developed during the conflict for use against the [REDACTED] of the Mycelium Gestalt, originating from a design developed aboard the Ishtar itself for use against the Hive Strain. The weapon is connected to the power source of the user's power armor, and functions via the launch of high velocity disposable prongs into the target, down which an enormous current of electricity is dumped to destroy the target's neural systems.
NLGPMG-RPW E60 - Neuro Linked General Purpose Machine Gun - Rocket Propelled Warhead, Edition 60: The weapon New Ishtar refers to as its 'general purpose machine gun' is a weapon that has well earned its reputation. Loud. Heavy. Fast firing. Absolutely terrifying. It is more akin to an autocannon. The weapon fires a 26mm rocket-propelled warhead at a muzzle velocity of approximately 332 m/s before its rocket propulsion engages. It sports an integrated neurolink slot for improved firing solutions when attached to the socket of the user, via power armor or through direct link. With this link, and the increased accuracy and hit probability, the weapon has a maximum effective range of approximately 3,500 meters in open terrain. After this, the rocket will self-detonate. There are three primary warheads used:
Armor
Sister-Soldier 7 Nayris Born From Ash Returns To Vanquish The Wicked clad in the standard-issue Tactical Assault Armor formed from composite metallo-ceramic and graphene plating atop a polycarbaramid duraweave bodysuit with integrated temperature control, life support, and other auxiliary systems.
Sister-Soldier 183 Alyu Grasps The Sword In Hand And Strikes Down The Demons Before Her, outfitted in the standard-issue Heavy Tactical Assault Combat Exo-Suit. Generally, these are more experienced individuals given the heavier power armor and training, plus neural uplink, to handle a squad’s massive 26mm GPMG.
Arctic environment operations by after the crash landing of Dropship 37-2b during the third year of The Great Xenocide
Melee Weapons:
Close combat is tightly ingrained within Ishtari society. This extends to their military thinking, as well. Ishtari soldiers will not shy away from killing their enemies in melee combat as well as ranged.
Karambit: Standard issue to every single Ishtari soldier for use both as a tool and a melee weapon. It has worked for centuries. It’s still highly effective now.
Combat sword: An inward curving, strongly constructed sword carried by many Ishtari soldiers in place of or in addition to the standard karambit. Sharp, durable, and intimately familiar to every single Ishtari from their childhood training.
Breaching axe: Equal parts weapon and tool, breaching axes are nearly ubiquitous for their sheer utility and widely favored among both the army and marines stationed aboard starships. Equally useful for prying, chopping, and maiming.
Cybernetic Combat Blades: Known by many nicknames amongst the Ishtari populace, including “the living blender”, the CCBs were designed with the dual goals of extreme lethality and extreme concealment. Capable of being stored within a standard cybernetic arm, the blades are constructed of a high strength, low weight alloy core and diamond-hard nanomaterial cutting edges. Attached to the powerful synthetic muscle tissue of the cybernetic arm, the blades are capable of shearing through standard hard body armor with repeated slashes.
Ranged Weapons:
NLGFAR E74 - Neuro Linked Guided Flechette Assault Rifle, “guffaw”, Edition 47: The bread and butter of the Ishtari infantry, the 'guffaw' is no laughing matter. Firing caseless 5.45 tracking flechette rounds from a 75 round magazine, the weapon is synced to the neurolink of its user enabling real time predictive firing solutions - the user sees where the flechette will go, and the flechette will adjust its course in-flight to make up for small variances in target location. With a muzzle velocity 1453m/s, the flechette projectiles retain excellent kinetic energy even at medium and long engagement distances, enabling them to pierce significant amounts of enemy armor. The GFAR uses a continuous-recoil system that ensures the bolt assembly never impacts the rear of the weapon before cycling back to chamber a new round. The end result is a remarkably smooth recoil impulse, without the bouncing and vibration of a normal weapon, the recoil of the gun feels like a single continuous 'push' rather than a series of smaller impulses, making controlled fire significantly easier.
NLILMG E100 - Neuro Linked Infantry Light Machine Gun Edition 100: A variant of the GFAR E74, used as a squad automatic weapon, the ILMG E100 utilizes the exact same 5.45mm tracking flechette ammunition as its smaller sibling. The role of the E100 is for sustained automatic fire support on a squad level, without the need for the power armor required for the GPMG. Firing from a belt feed, rather than a large internally contained magazine, a standard belt is 250 rounds, capable of being stored in the cylindrical 'drum' underneath the weapon. These belts are consumed in the firing process, leaving no need for extraction or ejection and enabling a higher cyclic rate of approximately 1200 rpm with the weapon's heavy duty barrel.
NLGFSMG E2 - Neuro Linked Sub Machine Gun, Edition 2: Affectionately nicknamed "piglet" by its users, the E2 is a powerful neurolinked submachine gun issued to second-line troops, armored units, special forces, for close combat operations, and more. The weapon uses the same 9mm magnum rocket assisted rounds as the OH E33, feeding from a 40 round magazine at a cyclic rate of fire of approximately 1080RPM, utilizing a continuous-recoil system similar to that in the GFAR. The weapon comes with single shot, three round burst, and full auto settings.
NLPIR E209 - Neuro Linked Precision and Interdiction Rifle, Edition 209: A dual purpose anti-material and long distance precision rifle connected, like every Ishtari weapon, to the neurolink of its user to offer predictive firing solutions. Utilizing similar guided flechette technology to the GFAR, the weapon fires a massive 12.7mm rocket-assisted projectile out to a maximum effective range of approximately 3500 meters.
NL-OH E33 - Neuro Linked Offensive Handgun, Edition 33: A large, heavy duty, powerful handgun commonly issued as a sidearm to shock troops, second-line units, or soldiers heading into close combat scenarios. The NL-OFH is also frequently carried by some soldiers who bring it as a personal weapon. The weapon uses similar rocket-assisting technology as the GPMG, in this case firing a 9mm armor piercing, high explosive projectile, not dissimilar to that used in the GPMG. The handgun impacts with enormous energy, and is capable of punching through surprisingly heavy amounts of armor - despite its relatively small size.
NL-EDNTD E43 - Neuro- Linked Electro-Discharge Neural Tissue Destroyer, Edition 43: Developed during the conflict for use against the [REDACTED] of the Mycelium Gestalt, originating from a design developed aboard the Ishtar itself for use against the Hive Strain. The weapon is connected to the power source of the user's power armor, and functions via the launch of high velocity disposable prongs into the target, down which an enormous current of electricity is dumped to destroy the target's neural systems.
NLGPMG-RPW E60 - Neuro Linked General Purpose Machine Gun - Rocket Propelled Warhead, Edition 60: The weapon New Ishtar refers to as its 'general purpose machine gun' is a weapon that has well earned its reputation. Loud. Heavy. Fast firing. Absolutely terrifying. It is more akin to an autocannon. The weapon fires a 26mm rocket-propelled warhead at a muzzle velocity of approximately 332 m/s before its rocket propulsion engages. It sports an integrated neurolink slot for improved firing solutions when attached to the socket of the user, via power armor or through direct link. With this link, and the increased accuracy and hit probability, the weapon has a maximum effective range of approximately 3,500 meters in open terrain. After this, the rocket will self-detonate. There are three primary warheads used:
- APSC - Armor Piercing Shaped Charge: A shaped charge warhead using time-honored technology, on miniature scale. The APSC warhead boasts a maximum penetration of 160mm RHA and is intended for use in an anti-material role or against light armored targets such as enemy power armor or light vehicles.
- HEA - High Explosive Airburst: A fragmentation warhead equipped with a smart-fuse synced to the weapon's systems. Intended for use against unarmored infantry.
- APHE - Armor Piercing High Explosive: Intended for use against large, lightly armored targets. The warhead is designed to penetrate enemy armor or large amounts of flesh, and detonate inside the target, rupturing or destroying vital organs and blood vessels.
Armor
Sister-Soldier 7 Nayris Born From Ash Returns To Vanquish The Wicked clad in the standard-issue Tactical Assault Armor formed from composite metallo-ceramic and graphene plating atop a polycarbaramid duraweave bodysuit with integrated temperature control, life support, and other auxiliary systems.
Sister-Soldier 183 Alyu Grasps The Sword In Hand And Strikes Down The Demons Before Her, outfitted in the standard-issue Heavy Tactical Assault Combat Exo-Suit. Generally, these are more experienced individuals given the heavier power armor and training, plus neural uplink, to handle a squad’s massive 26mm GPMG.
Arctic environment operations by after the crash landing of Dropship 37-2b during the third year of The Great Xenocide
LA-34 ‘Unmanned’ Assault Tank: Equipped with a railgun firing a dart of dense metal at hypervelocity for enormous on-target destructive potential, the LA-34 is much smaller, on average, than the manned tanks of other nations. Piloted by a single mind-transferred consciousness embedded deep within the tank and ensconced within a miniature armored sarcophagus, the tank is cheap to mass produce, cheap to replace, and presents a much smaller target than its peers.
MA-10 Heavy Ground Attack Aircraft
MA-4 Tetrajet Heavy Assault Gunship.
The Ishtari Navy is a powerful navy, standing proud beside its peers. This is, of course, to be expected from a society as militaristic as the Ishtari - and having suffered the hardships they have. Constant vigilance against any threat from abroad is only natural. As such, the Navy is well supplied and highly modern, just as with the army.
The operational doctrine of the Ishtari Navy revolves primarily around our heavy battleships, and armed dropships. They have no carriers to speak of, excepting the large compliments stored aboard cruisers and battleships. Standard doctrine dictates engagement at extreme range, utilizing the powerful c-fractional railgun batteries that make up their primary armament. An Ishtari fleet expects to defeat the enemy before they can draw to ‘knife fight’ distances wherein manned craft become viable. Even so, they are bristling with point defense weapons for use against planetary based craft or missiles. If combat does draw to such close distances, the lethality of the Ishtari railguns is only amplified - for hit probability is drastically increased. But what is doubtless of greater concern is the prevalence of boarding torpedoes aboard their craft. Almost 40 meters in length, heavily armored, and extremely fast - they are launched from bow, stern, and broadside tubes against hostile enemy warships that draw close enough and are packed near to bursting with Ishtari marines in full vacuum combat gear, armed to the teeth and frequently spearheaded by those in power armor.
The Ishtari fleet is at its deadliest at ‘close quarters’ and long to extreme ranges, and at its weakest at medium range. Standard doctrine is, thus, if elimination at long range is not possible to close to medium range as soon as possible where the Ishtari may use their advantages to the full extent.
The operational doctrine of the Ishtari Navy revolves primarily around our heavy battleships, and armed dropships. They have no carriers to speak of, excepting the large compliments stored aboard cruisers and battleships. Standard doctrine dictates engagement at extreme range, utilizing the powerful c-fractional railgun batteries that make up their primary armament. An Ishtari fleet expects to defeat the enemy before they can draw to ‘knife fight’ distances wherein manned craft become viable. Even so, they are bristling with point defense weapons for use against planetary based craft or missiles. If combat does draw to such close distances, the lethality of the Ishtari railguns is only amplified - for hit probability is drastically increased. But what is doubtless of greater concern is the prevalence of boarding torpedoes aboard their craft. Almost 40 meters in length, heavily armored, and extremely fast - they are launched from bow, stern, and broadside tubes against hostile enemy warships that draw close enough and are packed near to bursting with Ishtari marines in full vacuum combat gear, armed to the teeth and frequently spearheaded by those in power armor.
The Ishtari fleet is at its deadliest at ‘close quarters’ and long to extreme ranges, and at its weakest at medium range. Standard doctrine is, thus, if elimination at long range is not possible to close to medium range as soon as possible where the Ishtari may use their advantages to the full extent.
Weaponized diseases: Another fearsome weapon in the technological arsenal of New Ishtar is a wide array of biological warfare agents. Dredged up from the deepest nightmares inflicted upon us by the void, these weapons are kept under tight lock and key in the same vein as nuclear weapons. They range from merely re-engineered smallpox to agents of such horrific ends that I dare not speak of them. Be thankful you will never need to see them. Be very thankful.
Additional Info:
Ishtari naming conventions seem complicated to outsiders, but are in fact rather simple. The individual’s current occupation comes first, as well as their gender, followed by the number of current Rejuvenations undergone by the individual, followed by their given name, and a descriptive phrase or declaration that, over time, may change to suit the changing individual.
For those whose consciousnesses are not stored within physical bodies, we simply flip the prefix, with role going first, followed by gender, then the name as normal.
Example names follow:
Sister-Soldier 102 Nisrin Carries The Torch Unto The Darkest Abyss
Sister-Soldier 3 Asana Knows The Heavy Price Of Retribution
Sister-Sculptor 139 Geneva Weaves The Flesh Of Her Sisters For Their Worldly Joy
Sister-Commissar 134 Kalisis Scourges With Fire The Bones Of The Unclean
Sister-Scientist 154 Siris Illuminates The Path With The Torch Of Aeons
Sister-Soldier 183 Alyu Grasps The Sword In Hand And Strikes Down The Demons Before Her
Sister-Artist 9 Buran Dreams Of Many Beautiful Things
Sister-Soldier 7 Nayris Born From Ash Returns To Vanquish The Wicked
Ship-Sister 19 Akiko Dreams Of Living Among The Stars
For those whose consciousnesses are not stored within physical bodies, we simply flip the prefix, with role going first, followed by gender, then the name as normal.
Example names follow:
Sister-Soldier 102 Nisrin Carries The Torch Unto The Darkest Abyss
Sister-Soldier 3 Asana Knows The Heavy Price Of Retribution
Sister-Sculptor 139 Geneva Weaves The Flesh Of Her Sisters For Their Worldly Joy
Sister-Commissar 134 Kalisis Scourges With Fire The Bones Of The Unclean
Sister-Scientist 154 Siris Illuminates The Path With The Torch Of Aeons
Sister-Soldier 183 Alyu Grasps The Sword In Hand And Strikes Down The Demons Before Her
Sister-Artist 9 Buran Dreams Of Many Beautiful Things
Sister-Soldier 7 Nayris Born From Ash Returns To Vanquish The Wicked
Ship-Sister 19 Akiko Dreams Of Living Among The Stars
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Goreic Realm:
Government Form:
Tribal Society
Demographics:
Gores (60%)
Reachmen (30%)
Population:
200 Million
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Government Form:
Tribal Society
Demographics:
Gores (60%)
Reachmen (30%)
Population:
200 Million
---
---
Planet Name and Description: Sin, a fitting name I know, is the name of the planet. Monsters of plenty roam the planet, hunting anyone or thing that they wish. Few places host suitable farmland and forests as most of the planet is a literal wasteland. So, a Death World? Why yes, a death world.
History and Culture: Get yourself ready because this history is gonna get interesting (at least I hope). For all intent and purposes, real history starts in the aftermath of Armageddon - an event that set into motion the gears of history that we are speaking of today. So - what is this Armageddon? Glad you asked! Armageddon was more or less an apocalyptic psionic storm that swept the planet, causing damage that would set back society and technology to the equivalent of the medieval era. After the dust was settled, it took some few centuries for the population to reorganize and form themselves into states and recover lost technologies. I ask, are you a very religious man or woman? If not then you would be quickly killed for being an atheist, a method of thinking worse than being a full blown heretic or heathen. At least a heretic (or heathen) believes in faith! As you can tell, faith and religion plays (and still to this day) a major role in the new world.
Now that we understand some context, let's ask - who is who and what is what? For our purposes, we will be focusing on the story of the Gores. Who are the Gores? The Gores, a term coined by various Sol Orthodox ministers, are barbarians. They live to raid and raid to live. Their life revolves around raiding more civilized folk for their stuff and enslaving weaker men and women to make stuff. Bloodshed is their livelihood and to die is to die good and well. Tied with this is their faith, an extremely important aspect to their existence. The Faith of the Family is their title, a polytheist religion that focuses on a few gods of great importance. While I could get into the gritty details, things must be kept short and sweet (since I’m a bit too lazy to write more). If a Gore dies in combat, gloriously that is, then they will enjoy the aftermath of Valha - a land of endless bloodshed, women, food and drink, and even more bloodshed.
We start our history lesson by the start of the God War. What was this so-called god war? Well, it was a global religious conflict between the largest powers known on the planet - the Goreic tribes of the north, the Sol Empire, and the Children of the Undergod. Even on this wasteland of planet, there were still people left, and these people had no plans to see other religions exist but their own. A titanic struggle occurred between all three factions, with genocides and every other known horror of war occuring often. The Gores raided the villages and cities of the Sol Empire whilst pillaging the temples of the Undergod. You see, the north - where the Gores live - is not a place of much farmland or resources. Raiding and pillaging is as much a necessity of survival as it is a cultural event.
And so, who won the God War? Afterall, wars must be won (or least needs to end) and you would be right. Not surprisingly, the Gores were the ones that ended the war in conditions that favored them. The whole of the Sol Empire was subjected to the will of the Gores and the Children of the Undergod were wholly wiped from the face of existence. Now that the Gores won….what now? Who will be raided? Luckily for the Gores, their Techo-Shamans have discovered that their gateway was open - a sign of some kind.
---
Governance and Politics: Those of weak-will form government whilst the strong take what they need from the civilized - a motto that runs very true to the life of Gores. Governance is made extremely simple as there is no real central government to speak of - the Gores are literally tribes people. The most complex form of governance that you might get is Grand Clans (or Tribes, depending on which naming system you like) of grouped tribes people. Aside from that, governance and politics centers around who to raid, who gets the loot, and who gets to lead. Plus, you also have tribal dynamics that are also as basic - who’s the strongest? Before I forget, there is one area that might have some form of governance that is not wholly about bloodshed and that is the Techo-Shamans. These are the wise men and religious figures of the tribe that happen to also be the only ones that can write and read and thus the only people with any form of knowledge on how to build and maintain technology and the pieces of kit for the tribe as a whole. Without them, the life of Gores would be quite more brutish and basic.
Technology Overview: Gore are not exactly your type of people that will sit around and ask deep questions about nature, life, or ponder on how to create technology. You see, the Gores have one goal in mind - raiding, murder, sex, and praying to their gods by doing what I just told you. Their life is extremely short, brutish, and primitive. Take a look around your house - see all those fancy tech? Your phone, computer, microphone, etc - all of that is non-existence in Goreic society. The most advanced piece of technology that an average Gore might see is metal weapons and armor. If they’re extremely lucky then they might see a Gore, often part of Clan Irostecl, wield a gunpowder weapon. Hell, if the Gore has luck shoved in their ass then they might find an Irostecl Gore cladded in refitted power armor. Of course, these advanced pieces of tech are the exception then the norm. Your average Gore will only have the basic necessities to survive in the wastelands - a foldable tent-hide, a weapon (often just a stone-club or even a metal weapon if they are that lucky to have one), a few days worth of meat, maybe some basic clothing, and water pouch. Now that's what I call living in the wild - literally. Only the Tencho-Shamans have any clue on how technology works since they’re the only ones capable of reading and writing. These Shamans are vital to ensuring the ability of the Gores to make anything more advanced than two-pieces of scrap duct-taped together. More importantly, the Shamans keep the Gores prevalent by their knowledge on how to create barely space-worthy ships that can withstand the void of space.
Military Overview: Given the level of technology, most Gores often only have a melee weapon of some kind as their primary means to do damage against others. This comes in the form of either a stone-club or a rusted piece of a pipe that they found while hunting for food. Hearing that, the Gores don’t sound so spooky - do they now? Well, Gores are not the people that you want near you when you or your friend pisses them off. Their ability to hack off limbs and tear apart bodies is supernatural. The strength of a Gore is something you need to be aware of - for they will crush your skull open easily with one or a few hits to the head in brutal fashion. What they lack in tech, they make up for pure strength and brutality of their mindset of warfare. Death does not scare them - it is merely a step in their journey to Valha.
Soo..what about their spaceships? For better or worse, the Gores do in fact have spaceships - albeit, they’re barely space-worthy. To make up for the fact that their ships are jerry-rigged to all hell, the Tencho-Shamans have created a design that is “Gore-proof” so to speak. Armor, speed, and enmassed primitive guns is the answer. A typical Gore-ship has one purpose in mind - get in close and ram into their enemy. To do this, the Gore ship mounts ungodly amounts of armor onto their ships everywhere to ensure that they can withstand damage as their massive-engines push them forward. The Gores do not have much fne-control over how their ship might maneuver but that matters not as long as the ship can go forward. If a cruiser has cruiser armor then a Gore-cruiser has battleship armor. If a battleship has battleship armor then a Gore-battleship has uhm...a fuckton of armor. You get the point. The next important part is their engines. THEY’RE MASSIVE. I mean - REALLY FUCKING BIG. How the fuck else are they gonna move their extremely-heavy ships? Speed is the game and they want to win. Lastly, the Gore-ship has a number of mounted primitive guns that rival anyone in terms of numbers. The keyword here is that they’re very-very-very-primitive - mainly gunpowder. This means that they’re quite inaccurate and can’t hit for shit at any range but very-close-range. One very popular tactic is also boarding as well. Naval warfare? No, no, it is best to turn naval warfare into ground warfare by the virtue of boarding the enemy ship.
---
Additional Info: N/A
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GM
@Lady Lascivious
This is probably one of the best sheets I've ever gotten, in a story-telling sense. I love the feeling that, by the end, the Tiamat are a completely traumatized people: trying to wipe out the natives because they might speak of the Terrible Truth. They even gouged their own eyes out so they don't have to see it. Spoopy.
Questions:
How would the redundant brain be able to transfer memories in the event of physical-death? Like, say you got shot in the head. How can your primary brain, that just got shot and is dying, have time to transfer anything to the secondary, redundant brain? Wouldn't primary brain die first? It can't be instant, since- if I remember correctly- the brain stores some things physically. Unless all memories, thoughts and feelings are always been stored on both brains, simultaneously?
You never explain what the Hive strain is, or where it come from. I guess that's intended to be in one of the archives?
@Dog
I'll have to check out your sheet a little later on.
This is probably one of the best sheets I've ever gotten, in a story-telling sense. I love the feeling that, by the end, the Tiamat are a completely traumatized people: trying to wipe out the natives because they might speak of the Terrible Truth. They even gouged their own eyes out so they don't have to see it. Spoopy.
Questions:
How would the redundant brain be able to transfer memories in the event of physical-death? Like, say you got shot in the head. How can your primary brain, that just got shot and is dying, have time to transfer anything to the secondary, redundant brain? Wouldn't primary brain die first? It can't be instant, since- if I remember correctly- the brain stores some things physically. Unless all memories, thoughts and feelings are always been stored on both brains, simultaneously?
You never explain what the Hive strain is, or where it come from. I guess that's intended to be in one of the archives?
@Dog
I'll have to check out your sheet a little later on.
Antediluvixen Kemonomimi Dystopia Creator
Member
Seen
7 mos ago
@Lady Lascivious
This is probably one of the best sheets I've ever gotten, in a story-telling sense. I love the feeling that, by the end, the Tiamat are a completely traumatized people: trying to wipe out the natives because they might speak of the Terrible Truth. They even gouged their own eyes out so they don't have to see it. Spoopy.
Questions:
How would the redundant brain be able to transfer memories in the event of physical-death? Like, say you got shot in the head. How can your primary brain, that just got shot and is dying, have time to transfer anything to the secondary, redundant brain? Wouldn't primary brain die first? It can't be instant, since- if I remember correctly- the brain stores some things physically. Unless all memories, thoughts and feelings are always been stored on both brains, simultaneously?
You never explain what the Hive strain is, or where it come from. I guess that's intended to be in one of the archives?
First of all, thank you very much! Your praise means a lot ^-^
And second: The redundant brain is essentially a small, real-time backup located within the armored organ sac of the Ishtari. If you are shot in the head, you will be for all intents and purposes dead - but a snapshot of your consciousness in the moment preceding it will continue to function. Some times this organ can malfunction, and begin to develop a secondary consciousness that cannot actually control the body but can some times war with the main one, and it's always a massive can of worms figuring out what to do. So it is, well, yeah - it's two brains operating in tandem, with one sending everything it decides to the other to be stored or overwritten.
Third: The Hive Strain will be partially explained in one of the archives, but it's also intended to retain some mystery about it to fuel people's imaginations about just what could impart such primal fear in them at the mere similarity to it. Essentially, the hive strain were the at first cloned, and then... I think the best way to put it is "reprocessed" organisms derived from the DNA of a contemporary of Tiamat herself. A well regarded geneticist, exactly what experiments lead to him becoming the first Hive Strain is unknown, but they formed a hive mind that was in part enabled by a fleshy web of nervous tissue that covered the surfaces of the regions of the ship they held. The Hive Strain resembled... pretty much a fusion of human and spider, I've attached an image below that's pretty close to what I envisioned. They were in many regards even harder to kill and more adaptable than the current Ishtari, even able to survive vacuum exposure for some time, and attempted to forcibly assimilate the rest of the ship's crew. Tyranid style ^-^
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Nation Name:
Kingdom of Kudrion
Government Form:
Absolute Monarchy
Demographics:
Humans 100%
Humans on Kudrion have been genetically modified to be stronger, tougher and to be taller than average human height pre-colonization. These modifications were done right after the first colonies were founded on Kudrion, before Kudrioni culture would develop to what it is today. For reasons that lie buried in Kudrioni history, these modifications also seem to confer a degree of resistance to mind control.
Population:
1.2 Billion
Kingdom of Kudrion
Government Form:
Absolute Monarchy
Demographics:
Humans 100%
Humans on Kudrion have been genetically modified to be stronger, tougher and to be taller than average human height pre-colonization. These modifications were done right after the first colonies were founded on Kudrion, before Kudrioni culture would develop to what it is today. For reasons that lie buried in Kudrioni history, these modifications also seem to confer a degree of resistance to mind control.
Population:
1.2 Billion
Planet Name and Description:
Kudrion is the planet on which the eponymous kingdom would find its home. It is a world much like Earth, although it is slightly larger. Kudrion’s defining feature, however, is its incredibly hostile biosphere. Nearly every form of life on the planet, from the smallest microbe to the largest apex predator (some of which can wipe out cities at a time, giving rise to the term ‘super-predator’), seems engineered to kill humans. Great dragon-like creatures roam the skies, while horned reptilians roam the jungles and monstrous leviathans swim in the seas. In addition to the already present dangerous creatures, a portion of the planet’s native fauna seem to evolve a lot faster than anything on earth, meaning that the Kudrioni themselves constantly have to adapt if they want to survive.
History:
At the dawn of our nation, when the death of Tellus was at hand, we were sent through the gate of Umos, to continue the human race. After the First Landing, our people were shattered, divided by beast attacks, great storms and many other dangers we would find in this place. But this was not to be the end. In the darkness of the mountains and hills we sheltered, creating weapons that would pierce the hides of the Great Beasts, until the time had come. It was also in the mountains where Anath, daughter of Birgitta, blessed by the gods, discovered the secrets of our strength and shared it with all the tribes.
And with the power of our will and the strength of our steel, we drove them back. From the jungles of Oglon to the frozen steppes of Zutral, we decimated all those who opposed us, smiting the Whispering Ones, and driving the Great Beasts back to the valleys they came from. We made Kudrion our home, taming the wildlife, building great cities and making its strength our own. Our warriors took up the sword and the spear to defend our home against our ever-changing enemy.
But our peace and unity was soon broken by betrayal from within, and a thousand thousand wars erupted between the tribes. Many warriors died as brother turned against brother, and our cities burned. It was then that one man, a clan-warrior from the north, rose to become chieftain of his clan. And this man, the First King Ashok, reforged our people, taking the hammer to the warring clans. In the Year of a Thousand Battles, king Ashok was successful, crushing all who opposed him, and uniting our people once more. Another time of peace came, and though there was still clan-strife, we colonized our moons, constructing vessels that could pierce the black depths of space.
Culture and Society:
The society of Kudrion is one where clans, rather than a singular state run the show. These kinship groups, said to be descended from the original colonists of Kudrion, are how Kudrioni organize themselves. The clan takes care of every need, raising children, producing food and weaponry, and many more things besides. Because these clans developed independently after colonization, there are often large cultural differences between clans, making it difficult to give a clear picture of Kudrioni society as a whole.
Kudrioni society is also one where there is no distinction between civilian and soldier. Everyone is a warrior, trained to fight against the planet’s native animals as well as other Kudrioni clans when necessary. In times of peace, however, only a fraction of a clan’s total population is assigned to warrior duty, the rest working the fields, producing goods in the factories, developing technologies and the like.
What is shared by all the clans, and essentially the entire Kudrioni population, is a strong sense and code of honour. This includes ideas like dueling for honor or to solve disputes, respect for one’s clan and ancestors, and dying an honorable death. This idea of honor has lead to the loss of Kudrioni genetic technologies as well as stagnation in cybernetics research, as the Kudrioni believe that enhancing one’s body in those ways bypasses the training and practice required to develop true skills, making them dishonorable.
One thing that should be noted is that the common Kudrioni language is almost unrecognizable from modern Earth languages. After colonization, when the clans were separated from each other, they started developing independent languages based on Old Earth ones, and the development of a common tongue has only occurred after King Ashok’s conquest.
In times of peace, the Kudrioni do all the things necessary for a space-age civilization, like the production of food, industry and scientific research. The Kudrioni also greatly value art and craftsmanship, like constructing great buildings, crafting richly decorated objects and writing songs that praise great heroes and speak about ancient legends alike.
A number of religions developed on Kudrion as well. The largest Kudrioni religion is a faith called Arido in the native Kudrioni tongue. Its followers worship a number of war gods, each representing different aspects of war and battle, like physical strength, strategy, or courage. Kudrioni often worship the god that suits them best and is the most relevant to their occupation and place in society. A slight majority of the total Kudrioni population follows this religion. Many of the planet’s native animals are captured and sacrificed to the gods as part of the Arido religion, but there are unproven rumors about human sacrifice in the most radical Arido sects...
Somewhat opposed to the Arido religion are the so-called weapon cults. Being a part of one of these weapon cults, which can be dedicated to any sort of Kudrioni weapon, is more of a way of life rather than a true religion. Their followers live a life of strict discipline in mind and body, and also constantly train with the weapon their cult is famous for, sometimes being strictly forbidden to use anything else. Rather than the more locally organized Arido faith, the weapon cults are planet-wide, each for one particular weapon, and its members operate as part of the larger brotherhood.
The third, smallest quasi-religion is the Brotherhood of Ashok. Named after the first king of Kudrion, the Brotherhood of Ashok combines the religious fervour of the Arido religion with the mysticism of the Weapon Cults. Those who follow the Brotherhood believe in an extreme form of survival of the fittest, where war and battle are actively encouraged in order to weed out the weak. Understandably, the Brotherhood is not popular in Kudrioni society, as their secrecy about their practices as well as destructive tendencies have caused more harm than good. These same aspects of their warrior religion have lead to many Kudrioni kings recruiting them for their personal guard, however.
---
Governance and Politics:
The Kingdom of Kudrion is, as the name suggests, a monarchy. Its king has nearly unlimited power, although abuse of this power will quickly get both the people as well as the most powerful clans riled up against them. The Kudrioni king is a warrior, general and king in one, and is expected to personally lead the troops in battle to be regarded as worthy of the title. While the title of King of Kudrion is hereditary, any of the clans can put forward a champion to challenge the king to a duel for the title, ensuring that the Kudrioni are always led by the best among them. Over the years, this has happened many times, but none have succeeded, making the current king Dishuz part of an unbroken line of kings.
While Kudrion may be a monarchy, it is the Kudrioni clans that are the real power in the kingdom. These clans are incredibly independent, with their own military forces, industry, leaders and everything else that you need to run a society. The most powerful of these clans, called the High Clans, convene in the Clan Council, which serves an advisory role to the king. In order to promote their own interests, many smaller clans ally themselves to these High Clans, making sure the king knows what the population wants.
The members of state institutions like the military are recruited from all of the clans, ensuring that none get any real advantage over the other.
Technology Overview:
The rapidly changing conditions on Kudrion, as well as the constant, internecine clan warfare inside the kingdom, has resulted in vast advances within military technology. Examples include power armor, shielding, and energy-based weaponry.
Over time the Kudrioni have become masters in both offense and defense. Modular armour was developed by the Kudrioni, able to mount a variety of weapon systems to fight the native wildlife. This was then upgraded with power armour, enabling the Kudrioni to lift and use weapons and gear far heavier than they could have before. Personal, full-body shielding, as well as hardlight hand-held shields have also been developed. These shields have the interesting vulnerability that they break under overwhelming fire as they're unable to recharge quick enough. The full-body shields are rarely seen in battle, the technology to make them lost in the mists of time.
Another interesting Kudrioni technology is that of the projected energy blade. These blades are made from pure energy. They are able to cut through most materials, with only the hardlight shields having been able to stop them so far. These energy-bladed weapons are incredibly rare because the technology to make them has been lost (and has proven unable to be reverse-engineered), and are seen as sacred by most Kudrioni, so they are rarely used on the battlefield. Most Kudrioni melee weapons instead are made of hardlight, able to be easily taken to the battlefield while still having the strength of weapons-grade alloy.
While new melee weapons have been developed by the Kudrioni, that is not to say that the creation of ranged weapons has lagged behind. Projectile-based, energy-based and plasma-based ranged weapons all find their place in the Kudrioni battlefields, and are as powerful as those of many other nations.
While the Kudrioni have made significant advances in the creating and optimization of new weaponry and wargear, it has lagged behind in the development of cybernetics and genetic modification. This is because the Kudrioni view these sorts of extensive modifications as unfair advantages in battle, and the technology to modify their genome like they could in the past has been lost.
Military Overview:
With a culture almost entirely based on martial prowess and battle, the military is at the core of Kudrioni society. Overall, Kudrioni soldiers do not have standardized equipment, each clan warrior choosing their preferred weaponry and wargear. Some clans have their own styles of weaponry and armor that the clan warriors use. Because of this, one can observe a great variety of wargear on a Kudrioni battlefield, from the hardlight swords and axes to arm-mounted flamethrowers to energy shields, each Kudrioni warrior mixing and matching weaponry to their liking. In some clans, the right to use certain weapons is reserved for those who undergo a rite of passage, often killing some beast of Kudrion with no help
Kudrioni warriors have a broad selection of vehicles available, each developed by different clans, but a striking feature of the Kudrioni military is that they have tamed some of the planet’s native animals, armored and armed them, and use them as vehicles. For example, the Drak, a dragon-like creature native to Kudrion, has been tamed by individual warriors, who now use it instead of flying airplanes.
In tactics, strategy and military doctrine, there exists almost as much variety as in the Kudrioni weaponry. Usually, each warrior fights the way they want to, and larger strategy is based on combining the abilities of these individual warriors to maximum effect.
There is however, one exception to the lack of standardized equipment and training inherent in the Kudrioni military. This exception is the organization known as the Kudrioni Royal Guard. In the Royal Guard all troops are equipped with the same power armour and weaponry, like the fearsome energy-bladed spear, capable of rending through flesh and metal alike. The Royal Guard gets the finest equipment available, and is charged with fighting alongside the Kudrioni king in battle. It is no surprise that a large part of the Royal Guard are part of the Brotherhood of Ashok.
After a period of clan warfare, Kudrion has made it back to space, where this warfare resumed, each clan trying to outdo the others by building bigger and better ships. As a result, Kudrion theoretically has a large fleet, but it is a fleet divided between the many thousands of clans that exist.
---
1x Like
GM
@jorvhik
Yo, love the feel here. I have a weakness for technobarbs and you are exploiting it for approval, I can feel it.
:
But for real, there's only one issue I gotta ask you to correct. If you've spotted the Discord chat lately, you can tell there's been some debate about the existence of fusion. In the tech section, you mention probable fusion used to generate weapons. We might wanna change that.
Perhaps their energy weapons simply use batteries, created via non-portable fission reactors somewhere? It would mean an energy sword could run out of juice on the battlefield- but that sounds like a fun thing to write. Drama!
If you can edit that, you're approved and may drop your NS in the char tab and start posting whenever.
Can I offer a bit of personal advice tho? You seem to have based Kudrion society entirely off of martial acts. That's totally fine for the NS, but in IC, remember that even the most warlike of people are still human. What does a warrior do when they aren't fighting? What about the Kudrions who don't fight at all, like the old? Humans aren't Klingons. Just a thing to keep in mind.
@Lady Lascivious
Approved!
@Dog
Messaging on Discord. Stuff we should discuss.
Yo, love the feel here. I have a weakness for technobarbs and you are exploiting it for approval, I can feel it.
:But for real, there's only one issue I gotta ask you to correct. If you've spotted the Discord chat lately, you can tell there's been some debate about the existence of fusion. In the tech section, you mention probable fusion used to generate weapons. We might wanna change that.
Perhaps their energy weapons simply use batteries, created via non-portable fission reactors somewhere? It would mean an energy sword could run out of juice on the battlefield- but that sounds like a fun thing to write. Drama!
If you can edit that, you're approved and may drop your NS in the char tab and start posting whenever.
Can I offer a bit of personal advice tho? You seem to have based Kudrion society entirely off of martial acts. That's totally fine for the NS, but in IC, remember that even the most warlike of people are still human. What does a warrior do when they aren't fighting? What about the Kudrions who don't fight at all, like the old? Humans aren't Klingons. Just a thing to keep in mind.
@Lady Lascivious
Approved!
@Dog
Messaging on Discord. Stuff we should discuss.
@Tortoise I have removed all mention of the fusion technology from my sheet, as most other sheets didn't seem to mention power sources for their tech either. I do ask that you give my sheet a once-over so that I can be sure everything is okay, and then I will post it in the characters tab with your approval.
GM
GM
Still need to finish the Military and History sections, but:
EDIT: Now just the history section!
Government Form:
Direct Democracy
Demographics:
While all Flowers are human, there remains a demographic split in the form of faith. 88% of post-revolutionary citizens remain secular, however, a growing 12% have converted to the popular new religion of Mixtism. (This divide has caused a major split within some votes.)
While not officially citizens, there also remains a small community of Supremus Apes, native to the Khanate of the Apes, who have taken up residence on Bezia. A vote to offer them citizenship is currently being processed.
Population:
1.2 Billion
Planet Name and Description:
On a scorching day, the ruin-filled deserts can glow like molten gold
Bezia- sometimes called "New Hollywood"- is a once-ruined world that has since been given new life. The original inhabitants, nicknamed "Bezians," are thought to be the same aliens who colonized the homeworld of the One. But sadly, few things about them can really be confirmed: except that they used to be here, they are no longer, and they left nothing but dust, rust and ruins behind them.
So when the first human colonists arrived, that's all they found. A planet filled with cities that nobody lived in. Monuments of creaking, decaying metal. Water was scarce, and all native life was fully extinct. An endless wasteland.
The perfect blank canvas.
Before the revolution, New Hollywoodites were deeply focused on preserving and restoring the aspects of Old Earth life. To find a world so barren might have disheartened some other peoples, but it gave the early colonists a perfect starting place towards restoring the world they'd lost. Terraforming tech was heavily invested in, and as progress continues today, the world of Bezia is becoming more and more like a mirror image of Earth. And though hot, alien deserts remain the norm in large swathes of the world, plant life is creeping in even there, turning the world green.
In order to bring moisture back to the surface, vast amounts of H2O are currently being released into the atmosphere. This causes frequent rains.
History:
It all starts with the first Savant, Chun Zhang. Or well, no, it doesn't. But he'd convince you that it does.
Chun Zhang was a masterful speaker and beautiful propagandist- as befitting of someone who grew up in Hollywood. He always portrayed himself as the epitome of a cultured genius: intelligent and charming, determined and impulsive, stormy and mysterious. It was that personality- along with other things- which later won him leadership of the early colony.
Prior to that, the real facts of his life on Earth are blurry- unusually so, given the famous accuracy of Bezia's records, almost as if someone had scrubbed them. A handful of details are salient. He was born to Chinese immigrants, he lived in LA his entire life, and he worked as a part-time actor in his youth.
Post-revolution, more formerly locked records have been released to the public, revealing that a California university did indeed list him as the highest graded student in his freshmen class. Does that, perhaps, add some legitimacy to his claims of intellectualism? Maybe. It is still unknown what exactly he studied. And his grades dropped every year after, so that his GPA at the age of graduation was barely above 2.0. One teacher wrote "Chun is a genius, if he would just work like one."
Genius or no, he managed to end up on the Champion.
This Champion was a rare breed of colony ship. It didn't belong to one nation nor one company, but instead was a mix of the finest minds of two powerhouse countries who had both led the world in scientific progress at one point or another: China and the United States. Achieved scientists and engineers from either nation could join the Champion's journey; the seats filled up quickly.
[DATA INCOMPLETE]
Chun spoke both.
Culture and Society:
The slums of New Rome are a busy, tragic place
Media-obsessed. Romanticist. Escapist.
These words described the people of the ECU, and still largely describe the people of the WFD. The average citizen spends all of their free time engrossed in media of one flavor or another: films, music, plays, holograph-enabled videogames, social media, news. They are materialistic and love entertainment.
The culture of Bezia is also still geared, just as it was back when it was called New Hollywood, towards the preservation of Old Earth cultures. Most citizens have what is known as a "Chosen Cultural Expression," or CCE, that they take very seriously. A citizen's CCE represents not only his favorite Old Earth cultures, but the ones he most identifies with, that he considers to be him. They dress accordingly. They listen to their music accordingly. When they speak, they'll likely put on an accent that fits it.
(OOC: For context, readers, Tanaka's CCE was American Western, and Abadi's is "Arabic with British and American influences." This is just a fancy new term for a concept I've been using from the start.)
You might call it performative, but a Flower (or a New Hollywoodite, for that matter) would argue that all culture is performative: they just happen to be the first ones to embrace it.
What has changed, when it comes to Bezia/Hollywoodite culture, is their stance on outsiders. The ECU was puritanical in ideology, xenophobic in character. Their nature was one of fear: fear of the alien, of the cyborg, of the mutant. But after exposure to so, so many foreign cultures, the more open-minded have begun to accept that not all peoples could stay as unchanged as they did, and- perhaps- that is not their fault.
Outside of xenophobia, there is one other aspect of culture that has been greatly altered: religion.
Religion is a touchy subject for the Flowers, having been illegal under the ECU. The old Oligarchs didn't like having competition over the minds and hearts of the populace. Because who can compete against a god? What can move a man's spirit more than faith? So it was illegal, with the largest religious group- the Mixtists- being driven out of the cities and into the wilderness, or else being driven into hiding their faith from the world.
But now that the restrictions are lifted and they've finally been reunited, the Mixtists are beginning to realize that they aren't all the same any more.
There are few things more hardening than life in a wasteland. Cast out from the cities, the Mixtists had to survive on less than nothing. Earlier, they tried to mix all Earth religions into a cohesive whole. The desert made them abandon that folly.
Throwing aside a million faiths, these Mixtists- often called Ruinists- have come to believe that there can be only one, whole Truth to the world. Shadows of the Truth may be found in many places- and indeed, in many hearts. But there is still only one. They must find it where they can, and serve it as they must.
Putting aside the poetic language for a moment: the Ruinists are monotheists, believing that one god created the universe and maintains it. Because they do not have a name for this god, they simply call it "Truth." The customs for worshipping Truth are derived from many different Old Earth faiths, especially monotheistic ones, creating a distinct blend of religious practice found only among the Ruinists.
Governance and Politics:
Although very new and deeply unstable, the new government of Bezia is quickly coming to resemble a "Direct Democracy." That is, it is becoming a system in which most laws and other affairs-of-state are decided not by rulers or representatives, but by votes direct from the people themselves.
You see, most every citizen on New Hollywood owns a device called the infopad, a descendent of the smartphone of Earth's past. Under the ECU, these devices were used primarily (by the individuals) as entertainment and (by the government) as a surveillance device. However, the Flowers have justly appropriated them for the purposes of democracy. When a governmental decision must be made, New Hollywood citizens receive a prompting on their infopads, detailing the issue and allowing them to vote on it. Everyone gets a say on... everything.
Now, you may wonder: who decides which votes are to be held? And who watches over the system altogether? That work is done via a mass Bezia Bureaucracy, the closest thing New Hollywood still has to a traditional government. Except that the bureaucrats are elected, if you can believe it, by lottery. Any citizen who volunteers can be randomly selected to serve as a bureaucrat.
The bureaucrats serve for one year, and have a limit of two consecutive terms at a time. They work outside of offices, primarily from their infopads, to regulate the voting process. And this also works democratically: while any citizen can propose a vote, it must receive approval from a certain number of bureaucrats before the rest of the population is prompted to vote on it. These bureaucrats are random and numerous, to outweigh any personal bias one may have against a particular proposal.
Therefore, the process goes as follows:
A Flower citizen, let's call her Jane Doe, proposes a law that bans the use of tobacco within public spaces. The Anti-Tobacco Proposal is sent to a randomly-selected group of bureaucrats, with each one voting on whether the Proposal is relevant and possible. After receiving sufficient approval from many individual bureaucrats, the Proposal then appears before the citizens themselves, who vote en masse on whether the Proposal is good.
As infopad messages are near-instantaneous, this entire process can happen quickly, sometimes within an hour. AI is currently being developed to detect redundant laws.
In this way, Bezia's population can now decide major issues with neither rulers nor representatives. No masters. No kings. Only the will of the people.
It is perfect.
It is not perfect.
The obvious problem with such a system is that humans, when in large groups, tend towards a mob-like mentality. Already, the punishments leveled on former protectors have been brutal and unusual- because the mob hates them. No education is required to vote, after all. You do not have to be smart, or understanding, or a good person.
There are particular critics who point these flaws out. Very often. They come from the other side of screens- because they are, of course, embedded in the media. The old Oligarchs still have many sympathizers within the media groups that they used to own, who still attempt to divide the new democracy. And yet, those media anchormen who no longer care for the Oligarchs might just be worse.
The news thrives on eye-catching, anger-inducing headlines. The kinds that naturally drive people towards political extremes. Many arguments are had between the viewers of different news stations who, for all intents and purposes, are beginning to live in different worlds. The headline of one station says this, and the headline of another says that. It splits the vote. How can they be reconciled?
Division already wants to tear apart this new democracy. Time will tell if it does.
Technology Overview:
A complex tower seeds the earth while releasing purifiers into the air
Hardlight: Originally designed as touchable holograms, the hardlight of the ECU is currently being expanded for use in other fields, especially matters military. Holographic soldiers and hardlight shielding in particular are becoming trademarks of ECU defensive strategy.
Micro-emitters, a new invention, enable the use of touchable holograms everywhere. As these holograms are replacing real workers at an alarming rate, socialist policies have become markedly more popular. A vote will be held about this.
Terraforming: From strategically releasing climate-altering gases into the atmosphere to building gigantic, sun-reflecting mirrors in space, the WFD understands terraforming. Their own world has been shifted remarkably, from a wasteland to a little almost-clone of Earth. It's great! And now the thought has come up to terraform other planets in the Bezia system as new colonies, or even- would we dare it?- to terraform Earth itself back to life. But the decision has yet to be made. A vote will be held about this.
Psychological Programming: A dark secret, buried in the past that is the ECU, perhaps best left alone. They learned how to "brainwash" a person to obey specific commands at the hearing of specific trigger words. Their psychological warfare tactics have recently become infamous. The WFD has formally condemned the former, but holds a place in their armed forces for the latter.
Military Overview:
The WFD fleet is growing quickly, and is no longer just Old Earth designs. If recent events have taught the masses anything, it's that a good military is a necessity; they've been shot at by enough people to learn.
See, when the Oligarchs evacuated Bezia, they left their bank accounts behind. All currency and all assets- a staggering amount- have been seized by the Bezia Bureaucracy, to be used for funding public works. Like the navy. The navy is a public work.
And due to the abundance of metal resources on Bezia, many ships can be constructed cheaply. The Flowers lean deep into this advantage to create countless, small ships, manned by one at a time. They are inexpensive in design, simply armed, but numerous. In fact, the one area where the Flowers have splurged is in hardlight shielding, leading to a new nickname for the Flower's one-man fighters: "Shield Ships."
Shield Ships working collaboratively
The name is accurate to their strategies, as well. Shield Ships in combat often act collaboratively, generating group shields around themselves and important assets. When a larger, "warship" size Flower vessel enters the battle, its smaller comrades will be spotted swarming around it in a cylinder pattern, cloaking the warship in their shields. They can then deactivate shielding at key points to allow the warship to fire projectiles, reactivating it after the missile has passed through.
This tactic can't go on forever- it is a huge drain on batteries- but for the moments it lasts, a Flower warship is nearly invincible.
Finally, and borrowing again from ECU strategy, fighter ships often flood comm channels with random noise, making it difficult for enemies to coordinate- but, as a consequence, making it laughably easy to detect the ships doing the jamming. Really, they expect to be detected. They have to fall back on that shielding to keep themselves safe.
Being such a self-sacrificing role, AI is currently being developed to "autopilot" smaller vessels. But the Flowers are three centuries behind in AI development: they will need foreign aid to complete this project.
[Side-note: Most Shield Ships are carried inside the warships themselves, to be released during combat]
An M01 Lily Class; the classic "Shield Ship"
An M03 Wasp Class; a one-man fighter
An M01 Sunflower Class; a warship, used for docking the Wasps and Lillies.
---
Additional Info:
A search has began for the famous icon of the White Flower movement, Martina Ward, who was sentenced to exile by the ECU. She is likely somewhere in the ruins. She must be found and brought back to her people, to be told how much things have changed.
The Scuttler's Gang, a Neo London criminal organization who helped the Flowers win, has become increasingly agitated by their lack of repayment. They pose a real threat to local security. A vote will be held about this.
The more anti-cyborg Flowers still call Zetans "toasters," and refuse to stop even when it's making everyone else increasingly uncomfortable. A vote will be held about this.
EDIT: Now just the history section!
White Flower Democracy
Government Form:
Direct Democracy
Demographics:
While all Flowers are human, there remains a demographic split in the form of faith. 88% of post-revolutionary citizens remain secular, however, a growing 12% have converted to the popular new religion of Mixtism. (This divide has caused a major split within some votes.)
While not officially citizens, there also remains a small community of Supremus Apes, native to the Khanate of the Apes, who have taken up residence on Bezia. A vote to offer them citizenship is currently being processed.
Population:
1.2 Billion
Planet Name and Description:
On a scorching day, the ruin-filled deserts can glow like molten gold
Bezia- sometimes called "New Hollywood"- is a once-ruined world that has since been given new life. The original inhabitants, nicknamed "Bezians," are thought to be the same aliens who colonized the homeworld of the One. But sadly, few things about them can really be confirmed: except that they used to be here, they are no longer, and they left nothing but dust, rust and ruins behind them.
So when the first human colonists arrived, that's all they found. A planet filled with cities that nobody lived in. Monuments of creaking, decaying metal. Water was scarce, and all native life was fully extinct. An endless wasteland.
The perfect blank canvas.
Before the revolution, New Hollywoodites were deeply focused on preserving and restoring the aspects of Old Earth life. To find a world so barren might have disheartened some other peoples, but it gave the early colonists a perfect starting place towards restoring the world they'd lost. Terraforming tech was heavily invested in, and as progress continues today, the world of Bezia is becoming more and more like a mirror image of Earth. And though hot, alien deserts remain the norm in large swathes of the world, plant life is creeping in even there, turning the world green.
In order to bring moisture back to the surface, vast amounts of H2O are currently being released into the atmosphere. This causes frequent rains.
History:
It all starts with the first Savant, Chun Zhang. Or well, no, it doesn't. But he'd convince you that it does.
Chun Zhang was a masterful speaker and beautiful propagandist- as befitting of someone who grew up in Hollywood. He always portrayed himself as the epitome of a cultured genius: intelligent and charming, determined and impulsive, stormy and mysterious. It was that personality- along with other things- which later won him leadership of the early colony.
Prior to that, the real facts of his life on Earth are blurry- unusually so, given the famous accuracy of Bezia's records, almost as if someone had scrubbed them. A handful of details are salient. He was born to Chinese immigrants, he lived in LA his entire life, and he worked as a part-time actor in his youth.
Post-revolution, more formerly locked records have been released to the public, revealing that a California university did indeed list him as the highest graded student in his freshmen class. Does that, perhaps, add some legitimacy to his claims of intellectualism? Maybe. It is still unknown what exactly he studied. And his grades dropped every year after, so that his GPA at the age of graduation was barely above 2.0. One teacher wrote "Chun is a genius, if he would just work like one."
Genius or no, he managed to end up on the Champion.
This Champion was a rare breed of colony ship. It didn't belong to one nation nor one company, but instead was a mix of the finest minds of two powerhouse countries who had both led the world in scientific progress at one point or another: China and the United States. Achieved scientists and engineers from either nation could join the Champion's journey; the seats filled up quickly.
[DATA INCOMPLETE]
Chun spoke both.
Culture and Society:
The slums of New Rome are a busy, tragic place
Media-obsessed. Romanticist. Escapist.
These words described the people of the ECU, and still largely describe the people of the WFD. The average citizen spends all of their free time engrossed in media of one flavor or another: films, music, plays, holograph-enabled videogames, social media, news. They are materialistic and love entertainment.
The culture of Bezia is also still geared, just as it was back when it was called New Hollywood, towards the preservation of Old Earth cultures. Most citizens have what is known as a "Chosen Cultural Expression," or CCE, that they take very seriously. A citizen's CCE represents not only his favorite Old Earth cultures, but the ones he most identifies with, that he considers to be him. They dress accordingly. They listen to their music accordingly. When they speak, they'll likely put on an accent that fits it.
(OOC: For context, readers, Tanaka's CCE was American Western, and Abadi's is "Arabic with British and American influences." This is just a fancy new term for a concept I've been using from the start.)
You might call it performative, but a Flower (or a New Hollywoodite, for that matter) would argue that all culture is performative: they just happen to be the first ones to embrace it.
What has changed, when it comes to Bezia/Hollywoodite culture, is their stance on outsiders. The ECU was puritanical in ideology, xenophobic in character. Their nature was one of fear: fear of the alien, of the cyborg, of the mutant. But after exposure to so, so many foreign cultures, the more open-minded have begun to accept that not all peoples could stay as unchanged as they did, and- perhaps- that is not their fault.
Outside of xenophobia, there is one other aspect of culture that has been greatly altered: religion.
Religion is a touchy subject for the Flowers, having been illegal under the ECU. The old Oligarchs didn't like having competition over the minds and hearts of the populace. Because who can compete against a god? What can move a man's spirit more than faith? So it was illegal, with the largest religious group- the Mixtists- being driven out of the cities and into the wilderness, or else being driven into hiding their faith from the world.
But now that the restrictions are lifted and they've finally been reunited, the Mixtists are beginning to realize that they aren't all the same any more.
"The early Mixtists, you know, their name comes from an Old English word, 'mix.' They accepted almost every Old Earth faith as true in some sense or some other, and tried to smash them all together. This is what made the Noocracy angry with them. Made them chase us out of the cities. Earth religion never had such a unity, so the ECU will not accept it now."
"But why?" I asked her, "Isn't unity good?"
"Maybe," she answered. "But New Hollywood will not have a thing which Earth didn't have. But besides, back when I was still young, we were... over-enthusiastic. Living out in these ruins has made us more discriminating. Perhaps every faith does have some echo of the Truth. But- but- there can still only be one Truth. It is our mission to find it."
There are few things more hardening than life in a wasteland. Cast out from the cities, the Mixtists had to survive on less than nothing. Earlier, they tried to mix all Earth religions into a cohesive whole. The desert made them abandon that folly.
Throwing aside a million faiths, these Mixtists- often called Ruinists- have come to believe that there can be only one, whole Truth to the world. Shadows of the Truth may be found in many places- and indeed, in many hearts. But there is still only one. They must find it where they can, and serve it as they must.
Putting aside the poetic language for a moment: the Ruinists are monotheists, believing that one god created the universe and maintains it. Because they do not have a name for this god, they simply call it "Truth." The customs for worshipping Truth are derived from many different Old Earth faiths, especially monotheistic ones, creating a distinct blend of religious practice found only among the Ruinists.
The more mysterious half of that two-headed dragon called Mixtism. The Masonists are those who, rather than being dragged out into the wastelands, managed to hide themselves "under cover" in secular society. They hid it with secret passcodes and occult rituals nobody else could identify. Life was harsh for them, just as it was for the Ruinists, but in a different way: they had to cozy up to criminals to keep themselves hidden.
For years, the Masonists worked alongside gangs, bribed officials, did all they could to stop the protectors from breathing down their necks. Only in those few, free hours, early in the morning or late at night, could they truly practice their faith- which become more esoteric and secretive every year. By now, it's all wrapped up in doublespeak, with hidden meanings and inscrutable rituals at every corner. They certainly don't worship anything named Truth. But they do worship, and for them, that is enough. Right?
For years, the Masonists worked alongside gangs, bribed officials, did all they could to stop the protectors from breathing down their necks. Only in those few, free hours, early in the morning or late at night, could they truly practice their faith- which become more esoteric and secretive every year. By now, it's all wrapped up in doublespeak, with hidden meanings and inscrutable rituals at every corner. They certainly don't worship anything named Truth. But they do worship, and for them, that is enough. Right?
---
Governance and Politics:
Although very new and deeply unstable, the new government of Bezia is quickly coming to resemble a "Direct Democracy." That is, it is becoming a system in which most laws and other affairs-of-state are decided not by rulers or representatives, but by votes direct from the people themselves.
You see, most every citizen on New Hollywood owns a device called the infopad, a descendent of the smartphone of Earth's past. Under the ECU, these devices were used primarily (by the individuals) as entertainment and (by the government) as a surveillance device. However, the Flowers have justly appropriated them for the purposes of democracy. When a governmental decision must be made, New Hollywood citizens receive a prompting on their infopads, detailing the issue and allowing them to vote on it. Everyone gets a say on... everything.
Now, you may wonder: who decides which votes are to be held? And who watches over the system altogether? That work is done via a mass Bezia Bureaucracy, the closest thing New Hollywood still has to a traditional government. Except that the bureaucrats are elected, if you can believe it, by lottery. Any citizen who volunteers can be randomly selected to serve as a bureaucrat.
The bureaucrats serve for one year, and have a limit of two consecutive terms at a time. They work outside of offices, primarily from their infopads, to regulate the voting process. And this also works democratically: while any citizen can propose a vote, it must receive approval from a certain number of bureaucrats before the rest of the population is prompted to vote on it. These bureaucrats are random and numerous, to outweigh any personal bias one may have against a particular proposal.
Therefore, the process goes as follows:
A Flower citizen, let's call her Jane Doe, proposes a law that bans the use of tobacco within public spaces. The Anti-Tobacco Proposal is sent to a randomly-selected group of bureaucrats, with each one voting on whether the Proposal is relevant and possible. After receiving sufficient approval from many individual bureaucrats, the Proposal then appears before the citizens themselves, who vote en masse on whether the Proposal is good.
As infopad messages are near-instantaneous, this entire process can happen quickly, sometimes within an hour. AI is currently being developed to detect redundant laws.
In this way, Bezia's population can now decide major issues with neither rulers nor representatives. No masters. No kings. Only the will of the people.
It is perfect.
It is not perfect.
The obvious problem with such a system is that humans, when in large groups, tend towards a mob-like mentality. Already, the punishments leveled on former protectors have been brutal and unusual- because the mob hates them. No education is required to vote, after all. You do not have to be smart, or understanding, or a good person.
There are particular critics who point these flaws out. Very often. They come from the other side of screens- because they are, of course, embedded in the media. The old Oligarchs still have many sympathizers within the media groups that they used to own, who still attempt to divide the new democracy. And yet, those media anchormen who no longer care for the Oligarchs might just be worse.
The news thrives on eye-catching, anger-inducing headlines. The kinds that naturally drive people towards political extremes. Many arguments are had between the viewers of different news stations who, for all intents and purposes, are beginning to live in different worlds. The headline of one station says this, and the headline of another says that. It splits the vote. How can they be reconciled?
Division already wants to tear apart this new democracy. Time will tell if it does.
Technology Overview:
A complex tower seeds the earth while releasing purifiers into the air
Hardlight: Originally designed as touchable holograms, the hardlight of the ECU is currently being expanded for use in other fields, especially matters military. Holographic soldiers and hardlight shielding in particular are becoming trademarks of ECU defensive strategy.
Micro-emitters, a new invention, enable the use of touchable holograms everywhere. As these holograms are replacing real workers at an alarming rate, socialist policies have become markedly more popular. A vote will be held about this.
Terraforming: From strategically releasing climate-altering gases into the atmosphere to building gigantic, sun-reflecting mirrors in space, the WFD understands terraforming. Their own world has been shifted remarkably, from a wasteland to a little almost-clone of Earth. It's great! And now the thought has come up to terraform other planets in the Bezia system as new colonies, or even- would we dare it?- to terraform Earth itself back to life. But the decision has yet to be made. A vote will be held about this.
Psychological Programming: A dark secret, buried in the past that is the ECU, perhaps best left alone. They learned how to "brainwash" a person to obey specific commands at the hearing of specific trigger words. Their psychological warfare tactics have recently become infamous. The WFD has formally condemned the former, but holds a place in their armed forces for the latter.
Military Overview:
The WFD fleet is growing quickly, and is no longer just Old Earth designs. If recent events have taught the masses anything, it's that a good military is a necessity; they've been shot at by enough people to learn.
See, when the Oligarchs evacuated Bezia, they left their bank accounts behind. All currency and all assets- a staggering amount- have been seized by the Bezia Bureaucracy, to be used for funding public works. Like the navy. The navy is a public work.
And due to the abundance of metal resources on Bezia, many ships can be constructed cheaply. The Flowers lean deep into this advantage to create countless, small ships, manned by one at a time. They are inexpensive in design, simply armed, but numerous. In fact, the one area where the Flowers have splurged is in hardlight shielding, leading to a new nickname for the Flower's one-man fighters: "Shield Ships."
Shield Ships working collaboratively
The name is accurate to their strategies, as well. Shield Ships in combat often act collaboratively, generating group shields around themselves and important assets. When a larger, "warship" size Flower vessel enters the battle, its smaller comrades will be spotted swarming around it in a cylinder pattern, cloaking the warship in their shields. They can then deactivate shielding at key points to allow the warship to fire projectiles, reactivating it after the missile has passed through.
This tactic can't go on forever- it is a huge drain on batteries- but for the moments it lasts, a Flower warship is nearly invincible.
Finally, and borrowing again from ECU strategy, fighter ships often flood comm channels with random noise, making it difficult for enemies to coordinate- but, as a consequence, making it laughably easy to detect the ships doing the jamming. Really, they expect to be detected. They have to fall back on that shielding to keep themselves safe.
Being such a self-sacrificing role, AI is currently being developed to "autopilot" smaller vessels. But the Flowers are three centuries behind in AI development: they will need foreign aid to complete this project.
[Side-note: Most Shield Ships are carried inside the warships themselves, to be released during combat]
An M01 Lily Class; the classic "Shield Ship"
An M03 Wasp Class; a one-man fighter
An M01 Sunflower Class; a warship, used for docking the Wasps and Lillies.
---
Additional Info:
A search has began for the famous icon of the White Flower movement, Martina Ward, who was sentenced to exile by the ECU. She is likely somewhere in the ruins. She must be found and brought back to her people, to be told how much things have changed.
The Scuttler's Gang, a Neo London criminal organization who helped the Flowers win, has become increasingly agitated by their lack of repayment. They pose a real threat to local security. A vote will be held about this.
The more anti-cyborg Flowers still call Zetans "toasters," and refuse to stop even when it's making everyone else increasingly uncomfortable. A vote will be held about this.
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