In the year 2020, Interorbital Systems in collaboration with various Chinese, Russian, and American corporations established Armstrong City in Copernicus crater on the Moon. In the following years, the lunar surface exploded with countless different private companies claiming land to get at the abundant helium-3 on the body. Which, with the advent of efficient fusion technology, fetched a high price. The moon became like the eastern coast of America during the colonial era, with new spacecraft from Earth arriving periodically to bring new colonists and supplies. A permanent interorbital vessel was built to do never-ending laps around Earth and the Moon to provide cheap, bulk transport between Earth and her new colonies.
It wasn't long, of course, before humans started popping up on Mars. Just four years later, SpaceX founded the first permanent settlement on Mars. And then, as Mars grew, humanity decided to look out just a bit further. Mining ships were sent out to asteroids, and were soon replaced with mining towns. If the Moon was the east coast, then Mars and the asteroids were the wild west. Entire towns with hundreds of residents popped up in nights to tap the resources of the belt. By 2050, the Moon had sprawling metropolises populated with the many millions of people that simply couldn't fit on Earth anymore. Corporations moved production into space, where there was technically no actual law. Since no countries could claim land in space, the corporations did it instead.
The world became a radically different place. Areas one considered undeveloped jumped directly to a post-industrial society in a second scramble for Africa, this time with the corporations being the players rather than European empires. Corporate armies acting on behalf of various governments suppressed rebellions, ended civil wars, and turned entire countries into their puppets. With the riches of space they turned these once impoverished nations into economic powerhouses. Space elevators began to pop up in equatorial Africa, the Sahara became a massive field of solar panels, and villages that once didn't even have a well turned into cities. The population exploded, and even more colonists were provided for the corporations and their ambitions.
In 2107, we invented biological immortality. It only added fuel to the fire. As it became easier and easier to get the necessary genetic modifications, the human population just grew larger and larger. Nobody bothered to stop it. No one child laws were introduced, no attempts to curb the population boom. When there wasn't room, people just left Earth for the colonies. In 2150 or so, people started to leave the Moon. The total human population by then was somewhere around 350 billion. We didn't stop.
Now, the year is 2300. We passed a trillion a while back, and now humanity numbers in the hundreds of trillions. The moons of Jupiter have been colonized long ago, countless billions live in aerostat habitats floating in the atmosphere of Venus, and the older asteroid colonies are now hollowed-out, spinning worlds with their own internal atmosphere and weather. Many wars have been fought, and many colonies have earned their freedom.
Corporations operate interplanetary navies, now-independent nations have taken up countless different ideologies. In many asteroids, society is a free-for-all competition to generate the most profit. Across the solar system corporations hold total sway. Humanity is entering a stage in its existence wherein inequality is artificially ensured by law. Capitalism as we once knew it no longer holds total sway, in many places being replaced with a strange system of universal basic incomes for the "unemployed middle class" to keep them participating in a monetary economy while the poor underclasses live in slums at best and slave shacks at worst. Where pure capitalism still exists, there are a few ultrarich individuals surrounded by billions of barely surviving near-slaves stepping on each other's heads in an attempt to get to the top.
But all that might be about to change.
On the first of January of this year, something unprecedented happened. The bubble burst. With the resources to support ten quadrillion being mined in the asteroid belt, the entire human economy was based upon a false scarcity kept in place with the economic equivalent of the liberal application of duct tape. And that tape has given way. The stock market has crashed in an event that has become known simply by the date it occurred on: 1/1/2300 (usually shortened to 1/1/23). The new world has become old, replaced by an uncertain future where anything is possible.
Humanity's future is no longer the bright utopia proposed to the masses for centuries. And the masses will not be happy.
Basically, it's the 1st of January, 2300. Humanity numbers in the hundreds of trillions, but has not yet left the solar system. An economy kept alive by not-so-universal basic incomes and artificial scarcity has collapsed in a massive stock market crash on this day simply known by the date (in a similar vein as 9/11). Anarcho-capitalism, turbo-liberalism, and social democracy are all highly prevalent ideologies and coexist easily out of the necessity of a system-wide economy. Think of the world as the Great Depression on steroids with spaceships.
The working title for this whole thing was "The Techbros Were Right", so that gives you an idea of the sort of technological development we got. AIs are advanced enough to replace most office workers. As a result, what we would think of as the middle class is sustained through basic incomes granted by government and corporations (if they are so merciful as to do so). They are a sort of "leisure class" that spend their days playing with fully immersive VR, shopping, and whatever the hell else you city-folk do for fun. These are the Starbucks liberals and combover-bearing conservatives/libertarians of the world. Some may hear "communism" or "fascism" and think "not bad", but the most they will do is write a witty editorial on their blog.
Below them are the various different underclasses. In plenty of situations, these are comprised of people familiar to us. Homeless people who sleep in their car and shower in hotel rooms to look good for job interviews, people that live in the slums and eke out a living selling what have you, or industrial workers operating mining drones or drilling themselves in order to keep their sci-fi trailer home. It is the underclass that works, while the middle class is unemployed (and glad to be).
Finally, there is the upper class. These are truly wealthy individuals so powerful that they would make today's craziest conspiracy theorists pass them off as myths. These people have countries in the palm of their hand and antimatter weapons on standby. Trillionaires are things of the past, replaced with quadrillionaires as the richest individuals. A few were expected to become quintillionaires in the near future before 1/1/23. Obviously, there are a few exceptions to these societal rules, but for the vast majority of the solar system these are the three classes. Though non-trivial swaths of space simply have the "underclasses" and "upper class".
As for general technology, this is (relatively) hard sci-fi where technological advancement was either disappointingly slow or insanely fast depending on how you see things. Immortality exists, and most diseases have been eliminated through nanorobotics, but we aren't uploading our minds into interstellar starships and transcending the mortal plane or anything. Ships generally use "Burner Drives" (fusion-based nuclear engines that can get from Earth to Mars in a month at a good time and flat-out ignore launch windows). Nobody has yet left the solar system though, and the furthest permanent human settlements that aren't remote research outposts are around Uranus. For the most part, fusion power is the most prevalent while antimatter power exists much like nuclear power does now (a fairly rarely-used power generation technology with a terrible reputation). Handheld energy weapons exist, largely due to Rule of Cool, and include things from lasers to particle cannons. Plasma is often used for radiation and projectile shielding on vehicles and spacecraft, whereas ablative or energy-dispersive armor is used against lasers and other DEWs.
Room-temperature superconducters exist and are widespread, and quantum entanglement can transmit data instantaneously from one side of the solar system to the other. Quantum computing is commonplace among the middle and upper classes, and most everyone that isn't a laborer enjoys instantaneous quantum internet from home. The largest Standard Sci-Fi Technology missing (aside from FTL) is antigravity technology or gravity control in general. Space elevators and shuttles move people and cargo to and from planets, and spacecraft as well as stations spin or accelerate to create gravity.
-Y'all know by now not to use OOC knowledge IC, pull giant superweapons out of your ass, or curbstomp everyone before afternoon tea so I'll spare you from listing all of that separately.
-It's Dark, but Keep It Classy: As you've probably gathered, this is not a happy RP. Plenty of horrible things are going on behind the scenes, and since this is an NRP, we'll get to see behind the scenes a lot. You can imply or state the morally reprehensible things your CEO or whoever does in their spare time all you want. But please tell, don't show if its particularly horrific. You ought to know when it stops being dark and edgy and starts being worthy of calling the cops because you need to be in a psych ward.
-Drama in the IC, not OOC
-Submit eternally to me, the GM: Or, you know, just don't scream at me after I make a final decision in the OOC. That works too.
[b]Faction Name:[/b] Name of the faction (including any applicable initialisms).
[b]Faction Government:[/b] Form of government, so democratic neoliberal republic, anarcho-capitalist confederacy, corporation, fascist dictatorship, what have you.
[b]Territory/Claims:[/b] Brief overview of important locations and general description of what. Be reasonable here, you DON'T own the entire asteroid belt (that's a whole lot of stuff in real life, buddy), nor do you have total hegemony over a planet. Depending on how many people there are this might be tweaked for better balance later (or imbalance, if someone wants to play Space North Korea or something). If you have territory on Earth, show it on the map I've provided at the bottom.
[b]Culture:[/b] It's been a long time, and a lot of people from a lot of different places have given birth to a lot of descendants. Do you hold an old culture from Earth dear? Have you naturally developed one over the years? Did you purge the old and invent a new culture in some kind of space nationalist revolt? Give us an idea of how your people think, act, and even greet each other if you like.
[b]History:[/b] A summary of the faction’s history, pretty straightforward. Start around the colonial era depending on when it was involved (a lunar nation's history would begin with the founding of the first colony in its territory, while an Earth nation's would start from when it became involved in space colonization). Remember that most of early colonization (up until the deeper parts of the asteroid belt) was done by corporations here.
[b]Technology:[/b] An overview of the faction’s technological capabilities. Keep in mind the general scale I outlined. If there are any questions, PM me.
[b]Military:[/b] Just your military capabilities. You can include equipment descriptions if you want to, but don't try to sneak by a Wave Motion Gun or something.
Earth (Alternative Title: Global warming is a bitch):
Space vessels, due to the capability of humanity to construct them in space, are capable of having significantly more mass than anything launched from a planet. As such, extensive armoring of combat vessels eventually made long-range laser combat ineffective. While earlier landing any major hit with a laser weapon would cripple a spacecraft, ablative armor made it necessary to keep a laser beam on the target for an extended period of time that was simply not possible at the extreme ranges that combat takes place at. As such, projectile weapons have made a resurgence in long-range combat. Guided missiles, if they manage to get through a vessel's defenses, can cause devastating damage. At the same time, railgun shells equipped with simple solid rocket charges can easily do the same provided they can manage to hit the enemy.
As such, space combat usually boils down to two lines of warships at an extreme range launching missiles and railgun projectiles at each other in an attempt to whittle down their respective forces. A heavily prolonged extreme range engagement, however, is generally considered undesirable since it all comes down to whether or not the enemy can manage to hit you. As such, two opposing fleets will often close to "close" ranges (as in, ones where there isn't any noticable delay between the firing of a laser and the beam hitting the target). At these ranges, fleets generally engage in heavy laser combat where victory can be easily predicted using a scientific calculator. Any fleet that is significantly outnumbered will usually attempt to avoid a close-range brawl at all costs, whereas one with a numerical advantage would be wise to press ever closer to the enemy.
Active defenses are ubiquitous in defending against incoming projectiles, with laser CIWS and similar systems being used to intercept missiles and railgun shells alike in an effort to decrease casualties. In close range, however, it often comes down to the armor of an enemy vessel and the damage it has already sustained. At closer ranges, of course, it is significantly easier to track incoming projectiles from the moment they are fired and as such the focus is generally on lasers. Those projectiles are the main danger to any prediction of victory, as a lucky shot could very well change the course of a battle.
As-is, space combat is a fairly static and methodical science that quite honestly leaves much to be desired in terms of possible tactics. Random evasion patterns and closing versus not closing are some of the only available decisions that must be made, and are well-outlined in the books of any academy. An Admiral that doesn't do things by the book, in the present time, like isn't doing much of anything because there are few ways to ignore the book. It is up to the government and corporations of the solar system to shape the space combat of the future, as in order to do something outside of the current books one needs a ship capable of doing so. Tactics can and probably will change, but it is the players that have to do so.
A lot can change over the years, and if this RP becomes a long-runner (which would be a welcome change of pace from the usual "two week wonder" of most NRPs nowadays) then the economic crisis might well come to an end. Depending on how long this survives, we might even see some significant developments in technology, science, politics, etc. To ensure this RP survives as long as possible, it will NOT require novella posts. I expect multiple paragraphs, but if you're usually a casual player then you will probably manage to fit in here just fine. This isn't your usual modern NRP that demands ten thousand words per post. Just keep the plot going and give it some depth and you'll be all good.
If this thread stagnates and dies, then-interest willing-I will simply reboot it and start from wherever we left off plus a little bit of time (so new players can jump in using the established history to change things in the interim to fit their wishes). This was a common practice in the first few NRPs I participated in on this forum, and combined with the fact that we didn't demand a book for every post we managed to have some real long-runners. I want this RP to try to emulate that time, because when it comes to the NRP section I'm pretty much a baby boomer longing for the good old days.
Interest from my side as well! I was thinking about a re-worked version of my Jötunn Global company, from another rp, which has turned from a "normal Cooperation" into a Neo-feudal Dictatorship! Gonna call dips on Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia, Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard! For space...Titan and a few small colonies elsewhere, also an small, but good developed chunk of the moon
Hmmm, I've run into a bit of a problem. I'm actually no sure how many people would feasibly be able to live in a single aerostat colony floating in Venus' atmosphere, or how large it could be. Does anyone have any idea? Since some of you seem to have a far better grasp of this kind of stuff than most people.
Would having a two or three trillion people as the population total be adequate? I'm thinking there would be about three hundred million active personnel and a couple billion in reserves.
Since no one has taken up the idea publically, I would be willing to build an Artifical Intelligence faction that would (hopefully) fit into this interesting roleplay. Of course, that is if you are willing to accept me joining~
(On the side note, is Virtual Reality achieved by now? As currently in 2300, we have the capabilities of developing superhuman AIs at this rate which is a testament of how far our technology has developed. So can I assume the technology for VR has been around for quite a while now? )
Since no one has taken up the idea publically, I would be willing to build an Artifical Intelligence faction that would (hopefully) fit into this interesting roleplay. Of course, that is if you are willing to accept me joining~
(On the side note, is Virtual Reality achieved by now? As currently in 2300, we have the capabilities of developing superhuman AIs at this rate which is a testament of how far our technology has developed. So can I assume the technology for VR has been around for quite a while now? )
VR is actually a fairly integral part of 24th century society. There's an odd sort of middle class that's been created in most places to keep a system still recognizable as capitalism going, and none of these middle class people have practical jobs (some act as administrators for office work performed by simple AIs, some are artists, etc). VR is, aside from being a huge phenomenon in this class that lets them feel like something is happening in their lives, necessary to keep the lower classes from revolting. If someone plays some VR MMO in their spare time, they won't be organizing against corporate or the government.
As for your question about an AI faction, while not at all impossible (one of my major characters is an AI), AIs in this society are considered subhuman and used as slaves of all types. This has been the case since essentially the initial creation of sapient AI. So that fact might mess up your plans, but if it doesn't or you can work around it then by all means go for it.
Someone better discover space whales or else
P.S Does terraforming tech exist yet?
Yes, but nothing's been terraformed since the lowest estimate for terraforming Mars is 1,000 years (the actual realistic estimate is 100,000). There's no magical genesis device or vaugely-explained nanobots yet, it's all throwing comets and bombing stuff with algae. Realistically, nothing is ever going to be terraformed in this RP. Unless I go mad or something.
Since the whole rp seems quite crowded with godless commies, it is time to bring in some Prussian Space Capitalists!
WIP,
Jötunn Global
Power form the core
Faction Name: The most honorable Cooperation Jötunn Global (offical) Jötunn Global (Most common) Big JG (on the street)
Faction Government: Neo-Feudal Cooperation
Since its founding, the cooperation is in the hand of the Korngold Family, with the oldest child taking the position of CEO. The position has turned from an absolute position of power it once held, to a head of a whole council of shareholder families, who swear fealty to the CEO, but also hold their own private interests. These shares include their own land, assets, troops, and even Spaceships, and grant the hold families great power inside the Cooperation.
The Current CEO is Friedrich Willhelm Roland Korngold
"To all Bolshevik Traitor scum that can hear me! This asteroid "Bismarck" might be a worthless rock, but it is Jötunns worthless rock! And on my bloody honor, we will stand our ground till the last man, so god help us!" Last known words of Oberst Heinrich von Aslaug, commander of the Bismarck Station, now known as the "Rosa Luxemburg" Station, KIA during the great Disaster
Jötunn still holds its core territory on earth, which includes what is left of Germany, Belgium, Iceland, Scandinavia, Iceland and Svalbard. Its Capital lies in the Berlin-Hamburg Mega-city, a gigantic Hive-city of Neo-Futurist architecture
The "Neu-Mond Land", a small but notable developed part of the moon, is seen as the Jewel of Jötunn´s extra-terrestrial possession, which has turned into an luxury outpost for the wealthy, and a brain-pool of Jötunn´s most bright minds.
The Von Braun Consturction Station, named after the great pioneer of engineering Wernher von Braun, is Jötunns greatest Construction bay, and main port for its 2nd Fleet.
During the golden Age of Jötunn, in the year 2243, that was quickly followed by the great disaster, plans were made to construct the greatest man-made structure in the solar system, the "Valhalla" Stations around Saturn. Seen as ridiculous gigantic, they were seen as a symbol of Jötunn´s megalomania.
Planned as self-containing trading hubs, mining facilities, construction facilities, and even Military bases, they were to be a symbol of Jötunns superiority among all other powers in the Solar system.
Fate had different plans, as the rebellion in the Belt, the powerstuggle inside, and the war on mars brought Jötunn close to its collapse, and the single station of the five that already was in construction turned into an weight that would drag Jötunn into the depth of financial ruin! After 30 years of construction, the work was stopped, at a stage of 64 Percent of completion. But even in this state, and in the year 2300, it is among the largest structures made by men!
Only a handful of astroids remain under Jötunn control, after the onslaught that was the Great disaster. Heavily fortified, and turned into fortresses, they are seen as the "Great defensive Wall against the Bolshevik beast". With the now independent Belt possessions eager and armed, and the growing threat in form of the People's Republic of the Belt, Jötunn has made sure that it keeps an eye on these threats.
The great Disaster has let to a great loss in territory in space, including all possessions in the Belt, who eagerly try to join the People's Republic of the Belt, and most of the territory on Mars and Venus, yet Titan still is held by Jötunn with an Iron grip, as a stronghold far outside of its zone of influence.
"I swear on my honor, as a loyal employee and subject, of our most honorable Cooperation, that is shall serve and follow, from this day till my last! I pledge allegiance, to our most noble and benevolent CEO, the house of Korngold and the great Houses of Shareholders!" Pledge of allegiance, spoken each morning in the ground education Academies (age 5-9)
In its origins, as a European company, it ethnicity is mostly German, followed by Scandinavians, dutch and Belgium people. Over the time of its almost 300 years of history, and the Jötunn takeover of these lands in 2065, barley anyone still recognizes these old nations, and most inhabitants on Earth, Lunar and Titan see them-self rather as part of Jötunn, then anything else. The conflicts of the past, and the great influence of the military have let to a revival of the old "Prussian" virtues of Discipline, Honor and Loyalty, which have formed a new culture, which mostly looks down on the "soft" cultures of the past, and the "Bolshevik" influenced ideas of Democracy.
Over the years, a newly designed language "Neu-Sprech", has replaced the mostly dominant German, by infusing it with French, English and Chinese Words, but mostly keeping its old grammar. A highly efficient language, many unnecessary words were simply removed, and through calculating social engineering, and great propaganda efforts, it has become the dominant tongue of the working classes. This feat has allowed Jötunn to have greater influence on the information the lower classes revive, and about the way they communicate. Replacing the word for "Democracy" with "Mistake of the masses" and "Communism" with "Idea born of Madness", among many others has lead to good results for the Cooperation in terms of fighting "unwanted thoughts". Still, the higher ranks of society have hold onto the use of German, French and (mostly on Luna) even Latin, as a mere means to distance themselves from the working class. This has let to situations in which leading Managers weren't able to communicate with their own employees, and Officers from earth, couldn't give orders to their assigned Colonial Militias. The mere mentioning of Neu-Sprech is an insult in the higher The whole process had let to a strange, but highly interesting way of rebellion, in the form of "Frei-Sprech" a language mostly used by Freedom Fighters and other rebel organisations, who use it as a secret way of communication, by re-branding words from "Neu-Sprech" allowing them to speak freely, even in a crowded room of loyal Employees.
Most cities, outposts and Stations are held in a Neo-Futuristic style, that takes inspiration from the Art-Deco style as well. Gigantic Monstrosities of concrete and steel mostly dominate Jötunn cities, with clear symbols of its past. The eagle with the red core is dominant, as well as statures of the great founder of the Company, Roland Korngold, the largest overlooking the "Neu-Mondland" asset, with a height of 250 meters. A whole person cult has formed around the founder of the cooperation, and even the smallest outpost has an stature of him in the center.
Militarism is seen as a virtue in the society of Jötunn, and among the few things that really went through the society as a whole. From the lowest Working class Child, to the scion of one of the wealthiest Shareholder Family, all are expected to support the military, be it with their work, or as part of it. Among the higher ranks of society, it belongs to a normal career to spend some time in service. The Navy is almost always the first choice, as the service is seen as more honorable and prestigious, then on the ground in the army.
The lower classes often see service as a chance to escape the harsh life at the bottom, as veterans are able to get access to better education, habitats and food.
History: Era Roland Korngold [2021-2106]: Birth of a Giant "Why i stay on earth, while so many of our rivals are taking to the moon? My dear friend, Jötunn will one day take to the moon, but today, we use our chance! Let them fight over their claims of Helium-3 and let them forget about the endless energy that has always slumbered beneath their feet! Let us all hold out today, for tomorrow belongs to us!" Roland Korngold, 2034 during his famous "Power from the core" speech The landing of the first Shipment of Helium-3 on earth, was seen by many as the start of a new golden age, but for the traditional energy-Cooperations, it was a death sentence! In a mere year, their Stocks were in free fall and countless went bankrupt. With the lack of European involvement in the new Space age, and the leaving of Great Britan, a catastrophic decline of the European economy began. In the year 2021, a brilliant young engineer, Viktor Alsberg presented his friend and Roommate, Roland Korngold, a young law student from Denmark, with an innovative concept for a new generation of Geo-thermal Reactors, the Loge-Generator Mark 1. Seeing the potential in the Innovation, Roland was able to convince his friend, not to simply sell it, but rather, try, and acquire research grants, and Investors. Becoming his partner, Roland soon used his charm and connects of his father, to get in touch with the right people in the dying energy industry, and the european union, and soon, Viktor would have more then a simple concept, as 2023, the first Prototype was build. During the celebration, Roland would make the drunken and coked out Viktor sign the patent, making Roland Korngold the sole owner of the rights to the prototype. Persuading Viktor that everything was all right, and the two of them were equal partners, they founded their own company, Jötunn Energy, and soon, with the Generator installed in Iceland, they would showed with partnership offers. Once more, Roland showed a Calculating mind, abusing the critical situation of the energy market, and aggressively expanding into it. 2029, Jötunn Energy held 60 Percent of Europas energy Market, and was already expanding into Africa and Asia. 2034 the Mark.5 Loge-Generator was released as a Prototype, and Jötunn once more was able to hold its ground against its Helium-3 rivals. Knowing that he only had postponed the inevitable, Roland soon bought great shares of the remains of ESA, as well as creating the private Security force, Wotan-Sec. 2041, Jötunn would buy out the shares of a rival, and found its first Helium-3 mines on Lunar. Holding onto its shares and dominance of the European Energy market, Roland could forsee conflicts brewing in Europa, as the Climate change showed the world an ugly truth, it wanted to ignore for far to long. But Jötunn had time to prepare for this. Buying the loyalty big parts of the armed forces of Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, expanding its own private security and signing contracts with PMC companies, Roland was building an army for the wars to come. When the Climate change finally came, kicking off the greatest refugee Crisis in the history of Mankind, Roland gave the order to strike! Sizing Iceland in a Cooperate Coup d'etat, Roland betrayed the European Union, who´s grants had brought him into these positions in the first place. Kicking off the first Euro-Jötunn war, which lasted 3 months, and ended in a humiliating defeat for the European union, which had to declare Jötunn as its own state, and grant it de-facto free reign over Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. Shocked by the brutality of Jötunns forces, and Rolands ruthlessness in the conflict, Viktor threatened to leave the Company, which only resulted in a laughter from Roland, who explained to him who truly owned his brainchild, the Loge-generator. In a fit of rage over this betrayal, from the man he believed to be his best friend, Viktor stabbed Roland in the chest, letter opener , before being shot by security forces. Roland survived, yet would suffer the rest of his life from damage to his liver and lung. Yet even more, Jötunn would suffer from the loss of its most brilliant mind, for Viktor alone had been responsible for almost every driving invitation of the company in the sector of energy. Keeping on its former course, Jötunns armed forces would be further expanded, while in 2067, the first belt colony was created, fortifying Jötunns state as a superpower, and Roland Korngold, as one of the most powerful men in the entire world. With an Iron Fist, africa was invaded, and territory was gained, before 2070, Jötunn disbanded the European Union by force, turning most of its states into puppets, before annexing them a few years later. Investing greatly into their new African possessions, and building the "Bifrost" space elevator, and making preparations for further expansions into the solar system. It was at this time, when Roland Korngold would earn his Nickname as the "Iron Kaiser", as all opposition was smashed with incredibly brutality, most notifiable the "Bismarck" uprising, in which almost sixteen thousand workers were killed with poison gas, after a strike had turned into an uprising. But Roland had a new goal, for he could feel the age taking its toll on his body. He had children, with Maria Korngold groomed to be the perfect heir for his empire, yet Roland was not ready to die. Investing millions into the research of immortality, he spend the rest of his life in Neu-Mondland, in an artificial enclosed surrounding, hoping to endure until his investment would bear results. Becoming more and more paranoid, he soon would no longer see visitors, change his guards daily, and stop cutting his hair and nails. Driven by the sole desire to live forever, he saw his old friend Viktor in ever shadow, and soon would be constantly armed. 2101, he started to hallucinate and decided too disown all of his children and place a loyal aid at the top of Jötunn, before shooting the aid a week later for treason, as she had forgotten to bring a spoon to his soup. Finally, at the 30.12.2106, he died in his sleep, a mere month, before Immortality was finally archived. His last words were:"Viktor, is that you? Hell it is then..."
Era Maria Korngold [2106-2243]: The golden Age "We all salute in front of the "Iron Kaiser" but to be fully honest, Maria should receive a far higher praise then even her father. She turned an Company with territory, into an empire, she expanded it to its greatest extend, and brought almost 150 years of prosperity and growth. Yes, she waged no "Great war" during her lifetime, but to be honest, in my book, this should be put to her credit! If she wouldn't have succumbed to sickness, the belt would most likely no mostly in Jötunn hand, and Bolshevik ideas just an dark nightmare of the past!" Vincent Lutherberg, Historian at the Grand Acadamy of Neu-Mondland, History of the Korngolds Maria took Jötunn over a mere day after her fathers death. Already in her late sixties, she was hard pressed by the expectations placed on her. Her father, even after his descend into madness, was seen of one of the greatest figures of the 21st century, and Jötunn was at a position of great power, yet seen as bloodthirsty warmonger's, even among other imperialistic Companies. Era Konrad Korngold [2243-2271]: The Great Disaster "Some say it would been the best for the company, if Konrad has been declared unfit to rule after we lost the Belt! Some say he never should have been CEO in the first place! I say, this son-of-a-Bitch should have been smothered in his crib in the first place! I feel no regret for killing him, only for this poor girl that had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time! Now, go on with it and aim true, lads!" Last words of Admiral den Borgush, executed for the murder of CEO Konrad Korngold and High Treason Era Friedrich Korngold [2271-Present]: The Wars to come
"We have been brought to our knees, defeated, shamed and humiliated! Yet, even in our darkest hour, we have never surrendered to the odds, and this is what will make us outlast this crisis! Others will break and their fall will bring Chaos! The fires of war will soon be unleashed, and its sparks will bring Chaos! The mad ideas of the belt will not remain there, and it will bring chaos! Let us be the order in this chaos, the fire of reason in the dark! The darkness of this day is frightened, yet tomorrow belongs to us!" Friedrich Korngold, Statement to the Crash, 1/1/2300 A summary of the faction’s history, pretty straightforward. Start around the colonial era depending on when it was involved (a lunar nation's history would begin with the founding of the first colony in its territory, while an Earth nation's would start from when it became involved in space colonization). Remember that most of early colonization (up until the deeper parts of the asteroid belt) was done by corporations here.
Technology: An overview of the faction’s technological capabilities. Keep in mind the general scale I outlined. If there are any questions, PM me.
Military: Just your military capabilities. You can include equipment descriptions if you want to, but don't try to sneak by a Wave Motion Gun or something.
Still a WIP. I have taken the liberty of claimed North America, just to show it a little love.
Faction Name:
The Imperium (Official name)
Imperial High Command (Ruling body)
Imperialists (Common among outsiders and citizens)
Faction Government:
Meritocratic-Stratocracy: The ruling political organization of the Imperium is the 'Imperial High Command, and it acts as the head of the military. In the Imperium, the military controls every aspect of the political landscape; there is no separation between the warfare and politics. In fact, Generals stand as the ruling body of the 'Imperial High Command', which is led by the 'High General', who is voted in by the his or her contemporaries. As is such, any solider who proves themselves on the field of battle in all aspects of war, is subject to scrutiny and have a fair chance at the throne. This same meritocratic system gives both citizen and non-citizens, females and males, an opportunity to make use of their various talents and strengths in the the empires infrastructure.
Territory/Claims:
Imperium Prime
Aeolis Quadrangle
Eridania Quadrangle
Elysium Quadrangle
Olympus Mons
The center piece of an ever expanding empire, the Imperium claims over 25% percent of the Martian surface as their own; starting from the centermost of the Aeolis quadrangle which houses the nations capital: Imperium Prime, a massive metropolis carved deep into the base of Mount Sharp, and sprawled across the Gale Crater; to the conquered peaks of Olympus Mons; the mining colony recently conquered from Jötunn control.
To the west of Olympus Mons lies the Aeolis Quadrangle and Eridania Quadrangle, land claimed during the Colonization Era for manufacturing a vast array of products for cheap and easy shipment to the Asteroid Bely. As is such, the landscape is marred by vast factories producing the bulk of the nations much needed food, energy, transportation vehicles, and military technologies.
To the south lies the Elysium Quadrangle, one of the Imperium's most recent successes in the Martian Campaign. While the Aeolis Quadrangle and Eridania Quadrangle are marked by vast factory cities, Elysium houses the vast majority of colony turned metropolis'; a home to millions of persons now thrust into combat roles according to Imperium doctrine.
Originally founded as a ship manufacturing plant in the 21st Century, Decelea has expanded into a massive complex of orbital shipyards, refineries, construction facilities and space-docks in low aerostationary orbit above the Eridania Quadrangle that churns out the bulk of the Imperium's various Fleet ships and doubles as the Imperium's' main interstellar base, training pilots and directing the Imperial Fleet.
Once a mining outpost, the largest and closest moon of Mars now serves as a military surveillance outpost, taking in vast amounts of information on the nations neighbors as it orbits the planet at record speeds.
Culture:
The citizenry of the Imperium generally stands behind the principle that "only the strong survive", regarding the qualities of benevolence and compassion as signs of weakness. Strength begets strength, at least as far as the people of the Imperium are concerned. This seeming cruelty, however, is not an indicator of chaos. As is naturally and necessarily the case with humankind, the Star Imperium is an orderly nation, where rules protect the citizenry from harm... at least from their peers. In the Imperium, however, those with power are clearly protected by the law more than those without it.
A nation of brutal expansionists, military service in the Imperium is compulsory for a period of eight years, with all of its citizens retained as active reservists until their golden years. Active military personnel are afforded a higher level of citizenship in Imperial society; offering them Stewardship opportunities and familial acclaim, so it is not uncommon for most citizens to remain active in the military for fifteen or more years.
Once one completes his or her service, citizenship is normalized and freedom to pursue personal agendas are granted. Citizens can open businesses under the Imperium name, affording them trade with the national allies or commerce within his or her community. Employment in infrastructure is also looked upon highly, especially in the militaries regard.
Children on the other hand, are prepared for future basking in the legacy of their nation at a tender age. From seven, children are sent to Agoge, a rigorous education and training program mandated for all Imperial citizens. Training involves mastering stealth, cultivating loyalty to the Imperium, extensive military training, social (communicating) preparation, business management and advanced levels of math, reading, and language. At eighteen, the just turned adult is thus ready to begin his or her mandated eight years of service.
As the Imperium expands and defeats neighboring cultures and cities, it offers the conquered people a choice; swear loyalty to the Imperium, and be judged solely on your worth, or be destroyed. This is not subterfuge or any kind of ruse; the Imperials are as good as their word, and many who have embraced their conquerors' way of life find their prospects greatly improved. But those who refuse to bend the knee are crushed without mercy and made nigh-slaves. Whether a city or a company is taken by force or willingly swears fealty to the Imperium, its warmasons immediately set to work in stamping the empire's authority upon the newly acquired territory. Flags are ripped of their masts and replaced, traditional garb is burned to ash and Imperium colors soaked into its peoples hearts.
Conquered peoples that swear loyalty to the Imperium become part of its armies and add their unique strengths to the empire's war efforts. Thus, regimentation and uniformity are anathema to the Imperial way of life. Nevertheless, conquered peoples aren't offered a full-citizenship with regards to military enlistment; only a pseudo-citizenship that allows one to work until a required fifteen years of military service is completed, then full-citizenship is granted.
Those who refuse the Imperium's generous offer are forcibly taken slaves and refused the right to earn a pseudo-citizenship unless one willingly joins the military and completes a full fifteen years of service, then a full-citizenship is granted.
History:
Imperial archivists date the start of the Imperium back to 21st Century, burning the boon of interstellar colonization.
Faction Name: Union of African and Arabic Emirates. UAAE, UE short for the Union of the Emirates.
Faction Government: An outfit of highly industrialized states over the Suez canal and off the east coast of Africa. The ruling party is the Organized Progress Party, with Amos El-Amin as the senior director of the board of emirs. All power is concentrated in the hands of the government; there is a weak opposition party rumored to be existing just for the facade of democracy. The emirs are a twisted, corporate version of medieval vassals.
Territory/Claims: The Middle East and Africa are the territory of the UE.
Cairo is considered the political headquarters of the Union. Dubai and Cape Town are next in importance, being formidable economic powerhouses with plenty of factories and manufacturing plants.
Among the stars, three asteroids on the belt have union stations on them; 372 Palma, 19 Fortuna, 45 Eugenia. Palma Station personnel is mostly comprised of North African gun runners and engineers. Fortuna is inhabited by a myriad of colorful personalities from all over the union territory, where they harvest tholins to use as microbial food and screen for protecting planetary surfaces from ultraviolet radiation. Eugenia employees are handpicked Saudi secret police. They supervise a team of scientists extracting crude oil and natural gas out of Kerogen.
Callisto is considered the final, most advantageous base of operations that the Union has control over. It is here that the colonists toil on the alien soil and mine precious resources and extract organic compounds.
Culture: Islam is the predominant culture, with Christianity and Bahá'í Faith placing second and third in popularity. As a whole, however, the government exercises secularity in the handling of all matters. The emirs are appointed noble governors of the province (formerly considered a country), and though it is possible to become an emir through merit and effort, square and unbridled nepotism remains in the regional politics of the Earth territory.
The ruling noble class, however, is favored by the populace - several rich clans direct finances to foundations, provide educational loans and contract work over tenders. This stimulates the economy and establishes a future influx of professionals to different colonial and space station projects over the system.
The Kafir are half special service, half surveillance and intelligence agency of the Union. They carry a nigh mythical reputation as an omnipresent entity, watchful and calm, non confrontational, yet deadly and ever as effective in their own right.
Most obscure, isolationist cultures, clans and tribes were shipped off to the asteroid colonies to be used as a cheap workforce, divided and with a lost sense of identity.
Over fifty percent of those with a higher level of education live outside earth. Half of them on Callisto, about a tenth on the asteroid colonies as supervisors and middle management, and the remainder is spread out elsewhere over the breadth of our solar system. The other forty percent of the educated population reside on Earth as the Emirs' army of personal aides, record keepers, programmers, PR and marketing teams.
History: Almost a century ago the loose, abundant in resources and yet stagnant in economic growth, the Union of the Emirates was established. Previously the quantity and variety of African and Arabian resources were treated neglectfully; corruption, war and mass-scale privatization was rampant.
A detailed and pragmatic economic reform (with just a bit of armed guidance) helped establish a system to make good use of the natural resources and eager workforce. Constant Bousaid's new economic plan was approved by the board of emirs, and a strong emphasis in the fiscal policy was placed on nationwide industrialization, beginning to do the bulk of contract work for corporations seeking to save money by outsourcing jobs abroad. It was first exercised in Northern Africa, and to great success - those who passed the annual exam were given grants for education and a home in the newly explored planets and asteroids. Batches of employees with good potential were sent overseas and into space to procure a professional education whilst the rest spent a decade toiling on factories and manufacturing plants.
Returning home as engineers, economists, accountants and programmists, the educated lot now had the knowledge on how to automate the production, cut costs any way possible and create artificial intelligence to store and keep track of information.The saved capital and workforce was then used for student grants for the remainder of the population.
Some analysts and historians consider the UAAE an economic miracle, though many hotly debate this matter today, considering the ethical issues associated with poor working conditions for the first five years since Bousaid's economic plan came into power.
The union gradually branched off into spheres of arms trade and spacecraft engineering, having made a fortune selling weapons to separatist colonies in the solar system from their main headquarters in Callisto.
Technology: Through decades of hard work, the Union can boast widespread infrastructure ranging from space elevators in equatorial Africa to refined water reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants based in and around Niagara Falls. There is a whole system of manufacturing plants and factories all over the UE. The Emirs have a sophisticated private software that allows them to see the expected income rates, yields, charts and other graphs to detail the statistics of their assets. This software is tended to with regular updates and patches from the coding teams in the ultrarich's employ.
Military: There is about ten billion active duty personnel and ninety billion reserves in the Union's armed forces. Their fleet has just under a thousand military spacecraft. Fifteen percent of it is comprised of stealthy satellites, unmanned drones, recon bombers and five-man concealed transporation for operatives and assassins.
The Scorpion CA gunships are the rough equivalent of artillery; providing much of the needed gunpower. There are two hundred operational gunships in the Union navy, along with variations that serve the same purpose but use different methods to achieve it.
The pride (and arguably the backbone), of their fleet are the thirty 'legendary' spacecraft carriers of the Union. They are sturdy and maneuverable vessels with the capacity for ten railgun and missile launching fighter jets to be stored inside - accordingly, there are three hundred of them at this moment. They are symbolic and may be even seem like a mascot for the military.
However, this comes at a cost; to make war cost-effective, it would be catastrophic not to establish a chain of outside defenses to absorb damage, distract the enemy and cause sabotage.
The exceedingly well funded Shield of Ibrahim program attracted the best and most Machiavellian minds of the nation to develop remotely controlled spacecraft that could best be described as mobile obstacles; obscuring the enemy's view of the carriers, absorbing and deflecting shells or missiles, and ultimately decreasing the damage and casualties suffered by the carriers. They make up the remaining thirty percent of the fleet.
Faction Government: The government of the Evening Star Confederacy is democratically elected, and is a unique combination of authoritarianism and egalitarianism. There is universal suffrage among all citizens and citizenship is extended to almost all peoples living within the Confederacy, which even includes sentient Artificial Intelligences. All elected officials are voted in through the popular vote via preferential voting, so that the will of the people is what allows individuals to serve in such lofty positions. The head of state is the Supreme Protector, who serves four-year terms and is limited to two terms, while the major legislative body is the National Assembly whose members serve six years and whose term limits on imposed by the city they represent. However, despite such an egalitarian system in place the government has an immense measure of control over the people, though much of the power is handed off to the individual city governments. The government is allowed to do what it must for the good of the state, even things such as the imposing of limits on births and the forced sterilization of those who fail to comply and the appropriation of private property. The only real limits on the power of the government is that which is lied down in the Constitution, but those limits exist predominantly to prevent the system from evolving into a dictatorship. Of course there institutions which exist to prevent government officials from abusing their power, and the punishment for corruption on even the lowest level is death, but there is no system which is free of corruption.
Territory/Claims: The Evening Star Confederacy exists solely on and around the planet Venus, with the majority of its 'territory' being composed of the several hundred aerostat cities. Each one is an amazing thing: a tremendous city of several hundreds of thousands floating through the thick atmosphere of Venus. But no less impressive are the settlements on the surface, though 'settlements' is hardly an apt description for them. They are more like penal colonies where prisoners are forced to repay their doubt through hard labour, typically mining as there is little else to do on the harsh Venusian surface. But other than these there are a few Confederate stations, habitats, and military bases in orbit around Venus.
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