[OOC] Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

[datadogie]

Yo, datadogie. Will the colony be automated by an AI named Cake?

@Tortoise

I'mma hurt you. Don't make me make Cake again. XD

[Tortoise]

@Tortoise I can dial down my pop if that's what you wish for all of us.

@Sigma

Oh, absolutely not. I'd much rather give one dude (dudette? I dunno) permission to increase their pop than tell like 3 other people to decrease. And there's no reason it can't be billions.

[ClocktowerEchos]

Some reading/theme music

The Midnight Technocracy

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The Midnight Technocracy

^{"Even in Death, We still Live."}

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GOVERNMENT: Technocratic Council
DEMOGRAPHICS: 4.2 billion total / 2 billion living

Vampires are the ruling elite of the Technocracy, each given the Void Blood which grants them youthfulness, speed, strength and perception. They do not have any fear of things such as garlic or sunlight, yet gold and not silver causes them great discomfort and headaches. They are expected to be polymaths, using their long lives to become true masters of as many subjects as they can. Most vampires are "half blooded", descendants of vampiric parents and only get a portion of their powers even if they are born from two vampires. True vampires are rare due to the incredibly limited amount of Void Blood. They can control Wights and Reanimated via neural implants, letting them command "networks" of unliving. While undoubtfully beautiful in their own way, they also have an eldritch air about them as if something is wrong with them on a fundamental level, almost as if they don't belong in this reality. Their eyes in particular are the most unnatural as their pupils move and shift and they blink far less than is comfortable.

Wights are those of weaker vampiric blood or candidates who fail to meet the immense requirements of being granted the Void Blood. They are instead given a synthetic version of the Blood which is much weaker but still grants them more ability over the average human. They act as relay nodes with vampires delegating them some control of their network of zombies so they may control more overall. They are often managers and overseers of the undead, taking routine gene therapy treatments to prolong their lives along with mechanical implants of their own. Their own neural implants are superseded by those of the vampires, thus rarely has a wight ever defied one.

Reanimated or "Zombies" are the dead corpses brought back to live with implants, prosthetic and a few drops of the synthetic Blood. They are little more than puppets and empty shells, used by the Vampires and Wights for menial or dangerous tasks, providing a very comfortable standard of living for the living citizens of the Technocracy. They have no free will or agency of their own and must be commanded to do tasks and while they can understand fairly complex instructions and sequences, if not given new orders they will repeat their current tasks over and over and over.

DCI (short for "Digital Conscious Intelligence") are the literal ghosts in the machine. They are the neural patterns of those individuals who have been granted a type of immortality that even the Blood cannot provide. They are replace AI for many advanced computing systems, living in the Technocracy's vast data vaults and technology systems, and utilize advanced hardlight projectors to manifest static bodies that flicker as if in continuous flux. Thus they can interact with the physical world, manipulating objects and while they can reach through objects, they cannot move through them as their floating hardlight CPU core is still a physical object.

Humans make up about half the population at any given time. Not all of their dead are reanimated but upon their death, their bodies are properties of the states

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PLANET: Trifera

Trifera is a world dominated by wetlands, marshes and bogs. Forests and mangroves cover the surface with only cities and mountains to break it up and vast underground caverns and cave systems below. It is colder and wetter than Earth and thicker cloud cover meaning more rain, fog and mist. Yet the mists and fog are always seen as comforting and warming as it persists even when the sun does shine through. Soil is often rugged and rough; one of the Technocracy's greatest achievements was genetically engineering breeds of crops hearty enough to grow and thrive in the rough soil.

The cities appear isolated on the surface: large, gothic metropolitans nestled between endless forests but that is because many of it cities are actually icebergs. Living humans tend to dwell on the surface while vast underground areas are carved out for the hordes of Reanimated. Train tunnels and underground super highways actually link the cities making overland travel rare with only hamlets and villages ever going over the rough terrain to the cities.

HISTORY:

Before the Technocracy, there was the Party. The Party was made of opportunistic vultures and radicals who took power when the Gateways were cut off. Supported by elements of the military, brought over through bribes, promises or threats, they promised peace, stability and a return to a nonexistent "glorious" past. Instead they created a state thought fictional by many. Over generations and about a 100 years after Trifera was isolated, they created a dystopian state that had them at the helm. Dogmatic political fanaticism, wide spread surveillance, secret police, secret police for those secret police, hidden agencies and departments, constantly shifting imaginary enemies, constant shortages to just barely keep the population supported, a massive bloated military, censorship of history itself and the ability to command the populace to do whatever at their whim. Privacy was banned and facts had become subjective to what the party said. They very easily could have survived the next 200 years had they not dug too deep into both the planet itself and their own hubris.

Buried deep below the crust was the body of an ancient alien, eldritch and horrifically unnatural that drove the miners who first found it mad. The Party believed that with the body could come immortality, a brew of undying life so hidden with the body that still bled. Even the most loyal scientists however raised concerns, believing that the alien was something so alien that it wasn't even supposed to be in this reality, but the Party didn't care. They had already mastered their own planet, so their egos told them it was nothing to dissect some dead giant monster. So a research team was assigned to it, under heavy guard and told to ignore their feelings or doubt.

It took months and a great deal of "encouragement" by the security team but finally, the researchers had drawn and purified the unholy ichor of the eldritch monster to create what they dubbed "Void Blood". Initial tests were proving positive and the team wanted to do more tests on animals before moving to humans, but the Party got impatient. They demanded the samples for their own use and the researchers in perhaps the bravest act of their lives, refused. But bravery was a poor shield against bullets so the security detail gunned them down until only a handful remained, locked in the lab with their samples. In a final act of rebellion, they each injected or consumed the Void Blood, only to be transformed into the first Blooded vampires of Trifera. With their new power, the scientists slaughtered the unexpecting guards. And then their reinforcements. And then the army unit sent to reinforce the reinforcements.

As the Party bickered amongst itself on what to do, the researchers made busy by exploring their new powers and using the technology of the facility combined with the bodies of the dead guards to create for them an army they could control. The Party kept sending in soldiers and brigades, each one never to be seen again save as shambling reanimated corpses. Hidden among these forlorn assault groups were dissenting soldiers and officers who began to loose faith in the Party. When one of these men openly declared himself against the Party in the middle of a battle, he was cut down by his more zealous comrades before they were slain in turn. Mortally wounded and bleeding out, the scientists decided to give this man a touch of the Blood and thus was born the first Wight.

As their ranks swelled, the scientist's armies grew as did their followers of rebels and political escapees who thought that life and even death under them would be better than what the Party could ever give. And thus they were crowned the Midnight Technocracy as an ever growing undead legion followed them as they ventured beyond their desolate research facility and towards the cities. The Party employed ever more brutal tactics against them, culminating in scorched earth tactics of fire and toxins that did little to stop the undead but caused unheard of suffering to the living civilians. Even the most fervent of supporters found their faith shattered as their homes burned and skin melted off their bone. Many of these dying men and women had vengeance on their lips, vengeance the Technocracy was more than happy to ensured came true. One by one cities fell or raise their banners in support of the rebels and the Party fractured, each person blaming the other to make sure they would not be killed in ever larger purges.

When at last the Midnight Technocracy stood triumphant, their hordes tearing the remaining supporters limb from limb and throwing their screaming, bloody torsos off the highest skyscrapers, they had a choice as what to do next. They never intended to get so far, to actually supplant the Party. They all believed in meritocracy and the ideal of technocratic rule, but the framework the Party had left behind would ensure dominance over whoever held the keys. And so, like clockwork, the Midnight Technocracy inherited what the Party left behind, adapting and changing what they believed to be the most abhorrent aspects while keeping just enough to ensure that they and their successors would endure at the top of society.

It was only by a stroke of luck did they manage to recover the body of the beast and find another of its kind buried in the stone, perhaps a mate or a rival. They perfected their formula and managed to extract even more Void Blood from the corpses but their attempts to synthase it was met with failure. They could not make true Void Blood from nothing and even after centuries, they remain no closer to it. Thus they use their lesser synthetic Blood to create zombies and wights, reserving the true Blood for only the worthiest of heirs and accomplished individuals.

SOCEITY:

Life on Trifera is one where the line between living and dead is thin. Humans go about their day with shambling (but well kept) undead all around them in resplendent gothic-styled cities and live fairly comfortable and carefree lives because of it. Wights and Reanimated do a lot of the hazardous and menial labor which by passes both cost and ethical considerations in their minds. It is widely believed that the soul and the body are two separate entities and that the soul is immortal while the body is not thus once dying, the body can be used for whatever. Once a person dies, their body is treated as if it was an article of clothing as anything remotely "sacred" has left with the soul.

Cities are still bustling with trade and commerce as the living still busy themselves with work and school as those who distinguish themselves can be granted immortality or even the Void Blood. The Council implements a very "bread and circus" policy of keeping the living happy with cheap food and a variety of entertainment options as well as low taxes and a lot of discounted things all thanks to the undead labor force. Of course they make sure people know exactly how terrible the Party was and how the Council is nothing like them. Taxes are often so low that there is only one tax people actually pay attention to: the Blood Tithe. In lieu of monetary taxes, the Blood Tithe is where citizens are required to donate blood for the consumption for the vampire elite.

The upper class themselves like to dress like old aristocrats and Renaissance intellectuals. Their crypt halls and mausoleums are magnificent palaces full of artwork and wealth and displays of their own works, nothing like the dingy dank graves that first come to mind. Although a technocracy and undying, not even the vampires can resist material possessions and bragging rights. They do their best to make sure they look more than like the monsters of fairytale and while they've convinced Trifera, its unknown how the rest of humanity will view them. As for all of the splendor and benevolence they put on, they have their own networks and systems in place to stay in power and keep the living docile, lessons learned from the Party before them.

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ADMINISTRATION:

As its name implies, the Midnight Technocracy is run by a council of technocrats with only the most skilled, educated and cunning vampires allowed. Many have at least a century of undeath behind them and are wiser than any mortal human could hope to be. It is the original researchers and their progeny who sit upon the council, although beside them are a wide variety of advisors from other fields. While politics is no longer as cut throat as it was when the Party ruled over Trifera, scheming and plots can still be found only now they can take decades or even centuries to complete.

Collectively, those who sit upon the council are called Adjutants and among themselves they elect a Lord Director. Currently the Lord Director is a man called Vladimir Karamazov.

TECHNOLOGY:

What some would call "necromancy", the Midnight Technocracy calls "mortology" as to them, the masters of life and death they are, it is only magic if you do not understand the process. Gene modding, cybernetics and mechanical augmentation technology are all incredibly advanced as one might expect although it extends beyond simply humans. Animals have been crossbred and edited to create entirely new species such as the wolf-like Dire Beast or the dragon-like Umbragheist born of giant bats grown to unholy size. Plants as well have been grown to accommodate Trifera's climate with creations such as bloodberries, cave grain and several variety of edible mushrooms and exotic herbs.

Although highly advanced in some ways, manually operated machines are still widespread due to the fact that they can simply have zombies operate them. Farming, mining, simple assembly and construction work are often all done by huge teams of Zombies with a Wight overseer or two, sometimes operating heavy machinery and more complicated mechanisms to assist.

MILITARY:

It should come as no surprise that the Technocracy utilizes their unliving servants in military and security affairs. Fearless and incapable of feeling pain or denying an order, Reanimated soliders are given armor and short ranged or explosive weaponry and told to charge forward while the living human soldiers take their shots from afar. This "mass distraction" tactic is the go to strategy of the Undying Legions since their initial rebellion against the Party.

Along side the more traditional array of tanks, artillery and aircraft, the Technocracy makes use of a variety of genetically engineered warbeasts and bioweapons that can sow terror and fear into any unused to their presence. The vampires themselves are also terrifying opponents, both well versed in decades of tactical studies and honed martial prowess to the point that it is impossible for anything less than a full company to even attempt to take one down. Of course, full blooded vampires rarely go on the battlefield and instead half blooded vampires and wights are much more common.

The Technocracy benefits from having a much smaller supply line relative to the size of their forces. Curiously as zombies do not need to breath nor are they affected by the cold vacuum of space, the Technocracy often uses zombie boarding parties in naval combating, hiding them among debris or "stealthily" shooting them towards the ship without containers making them much harder to detect on most radars.

[an abomunist]

Where are folks getting their symbols and flags from? Can't find a good site to save my life.

@Irredeemable

I made mine with Heromachine 3. Its a flash (RIP) program but you can get it running pretty easily. The only thing is the export function doesn't work, so you'll have to use something like Snipping Tool when you're done to get a screen grab to throw on imgur. The program was technically for making superhero character portraits, but there's a lot of shapes in the 'Background' and 'Insignia' sections that can make decent flags.

I know Inkscape is also very popular.

[Tortoise]

@ClocktowerEchos
We've got space goths, everybody. Mission accomplished. We can all go home.

[GreyGoblin]

I was interested and did a little writing.

Ospa Alliance

Nation Name: Ospa Alliance

Government Form: Dictatorship

-A council of 11 that has absolute say over what goes on in the government called “The Alliance”.

Demographics

Population:

1.1 Billion

Races:

Human 40%
Osparians 50%
Half-Spars 10%

Languages:

-Common- 95%, a language formed by the combination of earthly languages passed down through heritage. It’s an old and respected language that is spoken by almost everyone.

-Osparion- 60%, As humans adapted and developed ways to survive on Ospa they changed the way they talked. Letters formed into glyphs and became shorter to say. Osparion is spoken by the newer generation that has genetically split from the older human generation. Osparion is now adapted by the growing Osaprian population along with some of the human population.

Urbanization:

Rural-20%, Rural living is mostly done in small habitation domes along Ospa’s surface. These domes are often formed in groups that are usually connected with tram systems or if close enough long walkways. Usually in rural areas there will be more Osparians than humans due to heat difference.

Urban-80%, Urban living is dominated by giant underground cities or huge habitation domes. These “Under-Cities” are powered by solar and geothermal energy, keeping the air underground clean. These Urban cities can stretch miles into the extensive underground cave system on Ospa.

Religion:

Atheist-89, a large portion of the population is unaligned with a church or does not conduct any spiritual rituals.

Shadorn-11%, a portion of the population has now started to conduct a new type of religion not performed in the past. These individuals believe that they can obtain a place in an afterlife by committing to a life of silence. They believe in the great being “Dai’feron” who prepares a place for silent believers. He is the father of the universe and delights in seeing his creations bask in the silence of his art works.
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Planet Name and Description:

Ospa, a harsh desert planet that receives 23 hours of sun in its 30 hour day cycle. It’s locked into the orbit of a B-type star with 3 small moons that orbit at a fast rate. It’s located in a lonely system with the next closest planet being locked in the orbit of another sun forever away. It’s surface is dry and cracked, mostly covered in sand. There are only two water sources on the surface that are locked in a constant state of boiling. On its surface roams colossal alien creatures that have heavily adapted to the extreme heat.

Ospa does have a redeeming feature. It has a vast network of extensive caves underneath. These caves have flora and fauna of their own. Hidden away from the always burning sun there can be found cool water and geothermal locations where temperature from the core can escape.

History:

(Year-1) Upon landing the colony originally started with 1,000,000 people. Upon landing on the planet it could be identified that it was going to be a hostile surface. The original 1,000,000 wouldn’t survive for long with how ill prepared they were.

(Year-5) They’re finally able to settle into the cavernous interior of the planet. Along with settling they are able to discover hot spots that help to power everything. Their population had taken a hit, they numbered 789,900. A decision has been made that a council of 11 leaders would have absolute say of the internal and external affairs of the colony.

(Year-14) Research has been done to help nurture human genes to be more resilient to heat. Test trials have started and the population has been on the rise.

(Year-52) Gene research has pulled through and they have been able to secure injectable genes that could help nurture infants to be heat resistant.

(Year-60) Riots have begun as people protest against the usage of injections to help protect the heat at the risk of abnormal mutations. 3 of the 11 council members have split off from the council to form their own government.

(Year-68) The beginning of a civil war has taken place with two factions, The Alliance and The Free People. The usage of artificial genes have been put into use with the main mutation being loss of all hair. Along with this civil war weapon and vehicle research has started to take off. Reclamation of the surface has also begun with the newer advancement of flight vehicles.

(Year-91) The civil war has come to an end with the result being a win for The Alliance. Domes have become popular on the surface for all the genetically modified humans. Studies are being conducted over how stable the heat resistant gene is.

(Year-120) The advancement of entertainment and vehicular enterprises have been achieved. People who have the mutated heat gene have started to notice changes within their biology. Their skin has grown thick and has started to form hard plating on their body.

(Year-140) Due to discrimination against carriers of the heat resistant gene they have started to call themselves a different race, Osparian, due to forming genetic and physical differences. The government has started to enforce large scale police action to stop the rise of anti-Osparian organizations.

(Year-160) Osparians and humans are living in unity for now. Reclamation of the surface is still in progress with construction being slow due to less Osparian workers. Large metropolises have formed underground and space bases have started to be established on the moons and in the planet's orbit. This has allowed them to mine for resources in asteroids that float close to them.

(Year-225) Society has started to advance towards more research to help advance the society. Crossing of humans and osparians have begun to take off. Due to almost mastery of gene manipulation birth defects that would occur are taken care of. Rising “half-spar” population.

Culture and Society:

The average age for a human is 89 years old. The average age for an Osparian is 100. Their society is largely capitalist based, with local “enforcers” as the police are called to monitor any crime. The standard unit of money is one oss, or “O”. A new religion has started to form with their belief in an all powerful being. They’ve started to erect small pyramidal-like buildings as religious centers. Most cities are underground where a huge amount of humans live alongside Osparians.

Government and Politics

The government is controlled by a ruling 11 that gets replaced by a vote from the remaining. It is a position held until death or rendered unable to complete duties. These 11 control all aspects of society, this includes economy, military, crime, art, education, and ect. They allow no other governing party to exist other than them.

Technology:

Ospa technology has advanced in many fields. In the field of energy, they’ve made large advancements in it. They’ve become completely dependent on renewable energy and have more than enough thanks to high quality solar and geothermal collection methods. In the advancements of medicine they’ve become skilled at working with genetic diseases. Most genetic diseases are curable with their level of technology. In the advancement of weaponry Ospa moved away from laser based firepower, which is heat based, in favor of electric charge based firepower. Due to the thick plating of the colossal beasts that roam the surface their weapons are made to shock their hearts to death rather than bleed them. As for vehicular technology, Ospa has made easy and smooth travel and landing when coming in and out of their atmosphere. Ospa developed a line of flight vehicles or “flyers” as they call them. They hover over the ground or fly through the air at high speeds within the atmosphere.

Military:

The Ospa military is dispersed throughout the planet and works with the “enforcers”, or police. The military will likely not gather together unless there is a large colossal animal about to make a collision with a dome or the 11 leaders command it. Every member of the Ospa military is given a shock rifle which requires electric cells to shoot. Every member is also given an exo-suit, the suit is temperature controlled and has the ability to store oxygen. The only difference between the human and osparian exo-suit is that the osparian suits were too big to add a jump pack on-to. Jump-packs release bursts of air that are able to swiftly carry people for maneuvering. Half-spars are able to equip human exo-suits due to smaller builds.

The structure of the military is as stated. One of the 11 will be nominated as high-general. They will gain complete control of troop movement. Under the high-general are the generals. Generals will take command over a designated amount of troops. Under the generals are captains. Captains will designate orders to squad leaders. Squad leaders will designate their orders to the squad that they are over, usually consisting of 10 members.

Additional Info:

Theme- https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s

Osparian

Appearance:

Osparians are green or gray in color. They often have bright green eyes that have a thin protective layer on them that protects against sunlight or flashes. They are usually 6-7 feet tall. They have human proportions except they have plating that looks like rock covering parts of their bodies. They lack hair on them instead having plating where hair should exist. They’re bodies are immune to heat which makes them far more adapted to Ospa’s surface than humans.

[Tortoise]

@GreyGoblin
Pretty good. At first I figured the Osparians were a native alien, so reading through the history, I really enjoyed that "Ah-ha!" moment of realizing they're only mutated humans.

But before I approve you, I'd recommend upping your population. Most of the Colonies we've got coming in now are hitting about 1 to 4 billion. (Timemaster's is only so small because his NS was completed before anyone else's, and we hadn't realized how big most people's populations were going to be. I've given him permission to increase his as well.)

Unless maybe you're specifically looking to play as a smaller nation?

[Sigma]

@Tortoise What sort of faction you thinking on making?

[Tortoise]

@Tortoise What sort of faction you thinking on making?

@Sigma

I have it mostly done now. They're essentially an oligarchy that's focused on preserving "Earth culture," so that they intentionally try to keep humanity as it was before Earth fell. Not just genetically, but culturally and socially as well.

Their end goal is to terraform their world into a copy of Earth, erasing everything alien about it, and they probably won't respond well to all these genetically engineered abominations they're about to run into

[Sigma]

@Tortoise Neat! A potential antagonist for some of our factions :D

[MetalWeight]

Its like if you took a planet, trapped it in a violent time bubble and just left it here to develop for three hundred years!
Sorry if its a lot of boring text, more telling than showing. Went a bit wild with the idea so tell me if I need to pull some things back.

Augustillia

Augustillia

Government Form: Absolute Monarchy
Demographics: 99% Modified Human, 1% Pure Human
Population: 6 Billion

Augustillian Humans are the same as standard humans from modern Earth, albeit 99% of the population has been genetically modified by bioweapons deployed centuries ago. These modified peoples still look human, but their eye colors have begun to vary wildly, with orange, purple, red, white and yellow pupils being fairly common. Also, their hair colors are not as closely aligned to melanin, meaning dark skinned individuals can have fair colored hair, just as an albino could have dark colored hair. These modified humans do behave in a unorthodox manner as well, seemingly fearless and very obedient, albeit this may simply be due to culture rather than anything psychologically-altering...but its hard to tell.

The remaining 1% of humans still harbor the same genetics as the original colonists, looking like normal humans with no modifications to speak of. They do not have any behavior-altering effects that the rest of the population suffers from and are as varied in personalities as one would expect.

Planet name and Description: Vystrallia

Vystrallia is a massive sphere of lush, green and unexplored forests, jungles, vast plains comparable to Africa, few deserts and with a few large continents surrounded by blue bodies of water. Its home to an overabundance of rapidly breeding wildlife, both incredibly dangerous and docile, while having fertile soil for agriculture. Trees can take years rather than decades to grow, while damage done to the environment is seemingly 'erased' over the span of years, as if forcing the world back into it's original untouched state.

However, it is no paradise.

Given a massive war that occurred three centuries ago, there lurks many artificial and deadly diseases, strange genetically-engineered monsters, huge robotic war machines idly wait in jungles while the remains of advanced and deadly technology remain beneath the corpses and ruins of the original colonies. The world's propagating wildlife hasn't helped in this regard- these diseases coming ever closer to being rediscovered, with wildlife carrying them edging along the Augustillian civilization. Meanwhile monstrous creatures have begun to spread out across various continents, propagating enough to be a problem for the human population for centuries to come.

And, of course, the population itself isn't without its internal problems- wars between nobles, disputes over hunting territory and violent duels happen all the time.

History: Vystrallia was originally colonized by one massive colony ship, enough to carry people from several different continents and a wide variety of technology, history, culture and arts. They had advanced technologies, capable weapons and a thorough understanding of both themselves and the sciences.

None of which survived upon landing.

Due to differences between people, a lack of resources post-crash, simple bloodlust or a vile tyrant, the first year on the planet quickly wiped out more than half of the people that were to originally colonize Vystrallia. Engaged in a brutal series of wars with some of the most advanced technology at their disposal, the colonists fought each other until nearly everything they had brought with them had been sabotaged, destroyed, used up or broken. In a situation best described as apocalyptic, the remaining human groups, traumatized by the fate fallen upon them, not only made peace...but swore off the use of the technology they brought with them.

As people began to band together, the colonists recreated their society, basing it around whatever they found in the remaining historical texts. Latin inspired their language, Augustillia became their nation, the industrial revolution became their basis for their factories and workplaces while their warfare and tactics was inspired by the Napoleanic Wars and ancient warfare. Technology, no matter how advanced it could be, would always be held back from becoming anything past the 20th century. No new inventions were allowed, no new practices, no new traditions, no new cultures, nothing was allowed to stray from their strict guidelines of what society must be. The past, in the minds of the colonists, would never happen again.

Now, three centuries later, Augustillia remains the same as before- with a catch. The nobility is made up of what remains of humans unaffected by the original colonist war. Meanwhile, the majority whom had their genetics altered one way or another make up the vast majority of people on the planet and, through many generations of indoctrination, have been made to be as loyal as possible to the nobility that control the planet. And, perhaps, technology was allowed to develop a little bit, but only when absolutely needed...and if it helped the country expand further.

Augustillia, in its strange makeshift society, continues to carry on. Flashy sci-fi technology merges with brick-layered houses, men armed with semi-automatic weapons line up in formations and fire in single volleys as if they were Prussian infantry. Massive cargo ships float alongside wooden frigates while submarines explore the depths of the oceans, with officers wearing fanciful uniforms straight from the Victorian era. Any time cities become too large, new territory is colonized. The middle class remains eternally small and minute, while the peasantry constantly toils away in farms and workers struggle in massive unsafe factories. To these people, everything is as it should be, its what it always will be, and nothing is ever suppose to change.

...Except for the fact the king authorized the use of constructing massive space-fairing starships to colonize the stars. Also permits the usage of technology found in texts and blueprints from the original colony ship. May or may not have plans to build a space station.
Alright, Some things might just change.

Culture and Society: Incredibly dated, to say the least. But very obsessed with being civilized.

Albeit a merge of several different periods of history, primarily Western, such as ancient Rome, kingdoms during the Middle Ages, the British and French empires, as well as Prussia. The best place would be to start with who truly controls and affects society- the nobility.

While the king dictates everything, the nobility are the ones who really make changes or earn and lose power. They have personal territories they control, from their own miniature countries to city-states, having their own personal armies and rules for how things should be run. One could even argue that their own personalities are shown in the armies they control or the cities they manage, easily able to make their own personal touches to things as they wish- what clothes people wear, how they produce things, how they speak their language and even what ethnicities are valued members of their society. In a way, one could see it as a strange feudalism, with nobles being dukes of their own personal fiefdoms, able create what they wish with ridiculous amounts of power.

Essentially, a noble may do whatever they please...as long as tithes to the king are paid and mass genocide and death isn't spreading across the lands. Tithes are fairly simple as well, making sure Augustillia has enough resources to meet production quotas and food to feed their ever-growing burgeoning populace. When something truly goes wrong- a rebellious noble, a lack of vital resources or a lack of proper management, the most loyal nobles to the king will be sent to deal with the problem. Throughout history, this has proven to be successful...and lethal for those who've done wrong.

Meanwhile, the peasantry and plebs are nothing more than slaves to their masters, yet, unlike history, are astoundingly loyal despite their conditions.

Lives may vary from province to province, but peasants aren't gifted much influence in the grand scheme of things. They toil in fields, work in factories, form the rank-and-file soldiers and sailors while dying en masse whenever catastrophe strikes. Given their high birth rates and general lack of importance, they're considered expendable by all of nobility, with little care for when they die or when they suffer. Generally, the life expectancy is around 50 or 60 years of age, with those who have more comfortable lives (such as owning a successful private business) reaching around 80 or 100.

Everything looks as you'd expect from human history...albeit with some strange sci-fi flair. LED lights, fanciful skintight armor and even a few metallic structures here and there. Also it being a bunch of different histories slammed together- people in medieval clothes walking alongside automobiles, or ancient roman Mediterranean civilization architecture recently built alongside apartment buildings.

Religion: The Great Colonia is a revered and sacred place of Augustillia. While the original colony ship no longer exists- both due to war and the monarchy's insistence on keeping advanced technology hidden -the original landing zone is still a place frequently visited by the more spiritual and religious. Located in a sparsely populated rural area sits a great hill with a massive monument extending high into the sky, one of stone and concrete. It has many images at the base of it, crudely made but depicting important events- the landing of the colony ship, the horrific wars, the peace made between survivors and founding of the first Augustillian cities.

There is no official church, but many temples and sacred grounds exist with preachers who act as both prophets of their faith and historians teaching about past events and why technological advancement is forbidden. Sometimes peasants will congregate around large alters in tamed forests, sacrificing captured animals or chanting to the sky about the Great Colonia and the war that destroyed it. Others engage in wrestling and fighting, with the most physically fit of men attacking each other in what is believed to be reenactments of past battles fought by the original colonists. Others engage in dance, music, or placing prized possessions at these alters, as if showing respect to the deceased. These rituals, while sometimes violent or considered strange by nobility, are left alone by the government.

---

Governance and Politics: An Absolute Monarchy, Augustillia places complete control in it's king who, in turn, places control of provinces and territories in the hand of nobility. Both nobility and kingship is determined by heritage, with anyone who has altered genetics unable to achieve any sort of power or rank in the government. All nobles (and inhabitants in general) answer to the king.

The position of king is a difficult one- trying to keep the nobility together, forcing them to fear or respect the monarchy, making sure resources are being placed where they need to be and new farms are being built, all while trying to keep the past hidden from the populace and technology in a primitive state. Nonetheless the one and absolute monarch maintains Augustillia alone, or so they say, much to the chagrin of some aspiring nobles who do much of the finer paperwork.

Technology Overview: It has been tradition to keep an absolute firm grip on technological progress- but, recent generations of leaders have given some leeway, allowing some inventions to be used as long as they were developed by the original colonists...and aren't too dangerous. Some nobles even utilize age-extending drugs or advanced medicine, but, much of this is kept secret and refrained from being talked about publicly, as not to cause any controversy.

Due to this, much of the technology Augustillia has is heavily reliant on manpower. Everything has to be hand made, refrained from robotics, AI or assembly lines. The most advanced technology you'll see is from the 20th century, particularly the earlier parts of it.

Military Overview: Perhaps the pride and joy of the Augustillian society- ironically -would be the militarism.

Despite the fear inspired by original colonist war, it wouldn't be long before differences between descendants would bubble over into open warfare. However, wars are refrained from being all-or-nothing wars of attrition and instead take a very gentlemanly approach. Line infantry march against each other, firing in single volleys with incredible discipline. Nobility watch from afar while their personal regiments of soldiers, dressed in whatever uniforms they see fit, fight each other in open fields. Even the simplest argument can be turned into an armed conflict, with the lives of their men treated as nothing more than mere toy soldiers.

Despite having semi-automatic weaponry at their side, soldiers are trained to use them as muskets, firing only in volleys and when ordered to. Artillery, despite being incredibly long ranged, capable of firing often and more similar to a howitzer than a cannon, is still treated as a cannon- firing at shorter ranged and only at certain targets. Grenades, despite their existence, are only used by grenadier regiments. Automatic weapons exist, but seldom ever utilized as being seen as "ungentlemanly" and disruptive to the overall strict rules set out by the nobility. Anti-tank rifles and grenade launchers exist and have been made, but seemingly have been ignored throughout the planet's history.

There are strict codes of conduct as well- urban warfare is forbidden given the importance of cities, close combat is fought only when out of ammo or if necessary, civilians are not to be shot nor brought into conflict, prisoners of war are to be respected and nobility are refrained from being prisoners or shot. Given all the rules and regulations, it isn't uncommon for peasants to follow armies around if possible, watching them fight each other safely, seeing who survives...and more importantly to the nobles, wins!

Despite this incredibly organized nature, these codes of conduct and tactics are prepared to be abandoned in the worst case scenarios- or, in other words, if they ever encounter another civilization other then their own. Semi-automatic weapons could be used to full affect, automatic weapons deployed, bazookas and anti-tank rifles added to the arsenal...but Augustillia has had no reason to do so. One can only imagine how inexperienced and incompetent they would be.

Perhaps the most striking thing about Augustillians would be their fearlessness and loyalty however, seemingly unaffected psychologically by battlefield conditions and fighting down to the last man when ordered to. While the peasantry thankfully propagates at ridiculously high rates and keeps armies high with manpower, no battle is every walked away from without a couple hundred casualties thanks to this fearlessness. It also means there is a sizable amount of regiments composed entirely of veterans and having extensive histories to their name.

Ships and Vehicles:

Officially, advanced technology does not exist and isn't used at all.
Unofficially, the gigantic warehouse with hover technology floating around and following armies around with everything needed to keep an army supplied isn't against the rules at all.

As hypocritical as the monarchy is, ships and more advanced vehicles exist and for good reasons, making sure incase anything horrific happens, the people would be ready. There have been tanks developed, jet planes, even blueprints for massive vessels that work as part battleship, part boarding craft and part colony ship. These can be made given enough time, but given the serene little cycle of life Augustillia has developed, its hasn't come to mind.

As of late, one large vessel is being constructed for space exploration, but much of this is kept hush-hush until its finished and if to see if it works.

---

Additional Info
-There is an extensive hunting and exploration society/guild. Nobles often take armed peasants out on hunting trips to claim valuable hides from various wildlife that exists. However, given how dangerous the wildlife is, it isn't uncommon for a lot of people to die on these expeditions.

-Its also common for aspiring nobles to create their own miniature fiefdoms through colonization, often taking a bunch of people and finding the most dangerous land possible to create their own self-sustaining territories separated from more powerful nobles.

-Due to the organized nature of Augustillian society, crime rates are practically non-existent...Then again, someone from the government coming in and burning down a village isn't considered a crime, just a border dispute.

Edit: Slapped another sentence on the technology overview, thats about it.

[Timemaster]

@ClocktowerEchos OMG. You're still roleplaying! This is going to be AWESOME!

@Tortoise You've got the attention of Clocktower! He's the one that basically taught me (once upon a time), how to nation roleplay! Your oligarchy will find themselves vastly outnumbered. Most of nations we've got are geneticially modified humans/robots.
I'll up the population to 1.6bil Enhanced and 3bil Rejected.

@GreyGoblin What happened with my nation? (saw the post in the CS section) I think our nations will go well together. They might even get some help with their genetical engineering if asked for.

@Irredeemable I'm using this tool : https://rollforfantasy.com/tools/flag-creator.php It can be a bit restrictive in some ways as I haven't figured out how to upload your own icons to it but otherwise, it's alright.

[ClocktowerEchos]

<Snipped quote by Sigma>

I have it mostly done now. They're essentially an oligarchy that's focused on preserving "Earth culture," so that they intentionally try to keep humanity as it was before Earth fell. Not just genetically, but culturally and socially as well.

Their end goal is to terraform their world into a copy of Earth, erasing everything alien about it, and they probably won't respond well to all these genetically engineered abominations they're about to run into

@Tortoise

What do you mean "genetically engineered abominations"? The Midnight Technocracy is percentage wise majority human!
You didn't specify their current mortality status.

[Tortoise]

<Snipped quote by Tortoise>

What do you mean "genetically engineered abominations"? The Midnight Technocracy is percentage wise majority human!

@ClocktowerEchos

Majority?
MAJORITY?

That's not enough, xeno scum!

[Tortoise]

@MetalWeight
It's 4 AM where I'm at, but I'll be able to review your NS tomorrow evening.

[Enigmatik]

@Tortoise man, I’m really lucky the Consciousness can really easily slide under the radar of nutters like this. We’re just innocent, direct democracy loving augmented humans! No weirdness at all!

[ClocktowerEchos]

Okay so after a burst of inspiration, a new total war warhammer campaign and continuing trend of a stunning lack of sleep, the Midnight Technocracy is ready for a final review.

Also they are not space goths.

[Timemaster]

@Tortoise I've made this for some reason or the other.

The One

Nation Name::The One

Government Form:
_Dictatorship

Demographics:
_{The One
A human who cloned himself.}

Population:
4billion

---

---

Planet Name and Description: _{SIN-1240 is a barren planet with no notable mineral resources. Covered on one side by a barren wasteland which is constantly under temperatures of +50C and on the other side, a frozen tundra. Split in the middle by what seemed like a ruins of an ancient alien city.}

History: _{As soon as the colony ship landed, the colonists realized that they wouldn't be able to survive either climate and they decided to settle the ancient city. Not much remained of it but buildings with no recognisable tech. Food and resources were scarce and everyday people would starve or die of a number of strange illnesses. Soon, all would die. In-fighting killed many.
Eventually only one person remained. Using the bodies of his fellow colonists and refined urine/snow, he had enough to live on his own. Understanding that he will go crazy and eventually kill himself, he devoted himself to one purpose. Revive the tech that the aliens left.
Years later, he managed to find a vault. Power was still on and he knew that he finally found what he was looking for.
Inside he found hundreds of ultra-advanced cloning vats and a number of strange alien-tech which he barely comprehends. After months of trial and error, he succeeded in cloning himself. No longer alone, he made more and more of himself.
After almost 300 years, the ancient alien city is now repopulated with only one person - 4 billion times.}

Culture and Society: _{The society of The One is easy to understand. Every clone is an individual but they are all the same with the same likes and dislikes where everyone is working for the betterment of everyone as they are everyone.
Cannibalism is the only form of sustenance for them and it is considered an honor to be chosen. Annually, millions are killed and then remade.
The One submit all their newly learned skills and knowledge to the Cloning Vats's datebase every week and every month, everyone is needed to update their knowledge.}  

---

Governance and Politics: _{The One don't have a form of government per se, as they are One and the same, each knows what's good for the other without the need for debate.}

Technology Overview:

• 1. Ultra Advanced Cloning Vats allow a full grown human to be made in 48 hours.
• 2. The Dome - a huge structure meant to resist the worst environments.
• 3. Human-Batteries - All the major tech of The One are sustained by human batteries which use their bodies to power them up. Depending on the power needed, the number of batteries needed can be from 10 to millions (for the cloning vats)
• They have forgotten all but the most basic hunting/farming/fishing skills

Military Overview: _{While not strong from a military point of view, The One excel at defeating an enemy by sheer number.}

---

Additional Info: _{Theme song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWfryC_ablo}

[Enigmatik]

@Tortoise Alright, this is the almost-final form of the Zetan Consciousness, barring some minor rewrites for readability and a flag. How's it looking?

The Zetan Consciousness

The Zetan Consciousness

The choice between humans and machines is a false dichotomy created to confuse and mislead.

Government Form:
_{Direct Democracy/Group Mind}

Demographics:
<sub>Homo Sapiens Machina

The Consciousness has passed beyond the limitations of Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Hundreds of years of mechanical tinkering with the building blocks of humanity has lead to them being recognisably different to the humans that once left Earth all those years ago. Perhaps the most obvious one is that Homo Sapiens Machina are a limited hive mind, otherwise known as a 'Group Mind' that they refer to as 'The Collective.' Although 'drones' maintain autonomy in action, they share a neural network that allows for a startling level of cohesion. Also, they dislike being called drones.</sub>

Population:
_{~One billion Zetans.
~Thousands of downloaded Zetans
~Countless non-Sapient automata}

---
_{Under construction.}
---

Planet Name and Description:
<sub>Zeta-5 is not a particularly friendly world to live on. With a thin, oxygen-poor atmosphere, poor resistance to interstellar threats such as radiation and extreme weather conditions and surface temperature range, most life on Zeta-5 is an extremophile of some kind. Competition is also extremley ferocious, with no animal settling into an apex position.

Despite all of this, there are some beneifts to living on Zeta-5. Past eons of interstellar bombardments have left the planet rich with elements and compounds that would be considered fantastically rare on Earth, and its twin captured moons burst with even more such minerals, all of which are gleefully exploited by Zetan society. Furthermore, the unusual conditions not just on Zeta-5, but also on other planets and planetoids within the Zeta system are rife with unexpected answers to scientific questions, allowing for some truly unique research opportunities.</sub>

History:
<sub>To the initial coloniers, flung onto a system with no other habital planets, Zeta-5 was a desperate attempt to preserve something, anything of humankind- to fling a lantern into the future. Drilling down into the planet's crust, they formed subterranian cities, safe from predation, radiation and the temperatures of the surface, and carved out a niche for themselves among hydroponic plants, using robotic assistants to plumb the surface for materials. Some, however, were ill-content with the idea of cowering forever, and started to make changes to themselves to better accomodate the planet.

Skin was replaced by radiation-resistant dermal plating, limbs with tools, organs with steel. Zetans forged themselves out of steel, and once they had done so they emerged onto the surface alongside their robotic companions to colonise the planet proper. So efficient and extensive were these replacements that they effectively halted senescence, allowing these early Zetans to live for hundreds of years. These men and women would be the prototype for what Zetans now refer to 'the enlightened-' members of the Consciousness that have left their biological bodies behind.

These early Zetans also pioneered the early neural network that would form the foundation of Zetan society. By pooling their mental resources, they could act more efficiently on the surface, and as it was developed, more and more could be transfered. Zetans spread their wings to their nearby system, establishing permanent settlements on the twin moons of Zeta- Z and З, and creating multiple space stations. Zetan slower-than-light technology is quite effective, with Zetan space ships using nuclear-based thrust systems to slowly, yet consistently, accelerate.

The harsh conditions of living on Zeta fostered a close sense of togetherness. One day's feast could easily be the next day's famine, and so it paid to keep in the good graces of your neighbours, in case you came to rely on them. Early on, the colony operated through a more 'classical' form of representative democracy, but the neural network's increasing spread lead to the 'representative' portion being slowly whittled away until politicians were no more.

Now, the planet of Zeta works together, with one goal- survive, thrive, and plumb the depths of the universe's secrets.</sub>

Culture and Society:
<sub>Zetan society is one of collectivism and cooperation. Zetans know that well-cared for people are happier, more productive people, and the neural network creates a strong sense of duty to the collective. Although a Zetan could theoretically shirk from work and still be provided for, their mental link is a powerful incentive to not do so. No Zetan is viewed as 'more' than another, with housing, healthcare, food and electricity being distributed as evenly as possible. A Zetan works not just to improve their own lot, but also the lot of their entire society.

In matters of reproduction, Zetans handle things rather differently to old Earth. Pair-bonding is discouraged in the Consciousness, and mothers do not privately raise their children. Instead, young are taken care of communually, raised and educated in a complicated network of systems designed to maximise their potential. On the other end of the spectrum, 'death' is seen as an abomination to Zetan society, and few members of the Consciousness ever face it. Instead, Zetans slowly replace their minds with biomechanical replacements over the course of their life, so that when their physical forms grow frail and weak they can upload themselves into the Collective's cloud. Although most Zetans view this as a natural progression of their life, a few are downloaded back into mechanical bodies, treated no differently except for their different physiological needs.</sub>

---

Governance and Politics:
<sub>The Consciousness operates through a form of direct democracy facilitated by their pseudo-hive mind. No individual is worth more than another, and all individuals are provided for, from cradle to their enlightenment out of physical bodies. Unlike most Old Earth direct democracies, the Consciousness can be highly efficient in its decisionmaking- the entirety of the Consciousness can make an educated decision on a matter simultaneously, and members of the Consciousness can petition the collective for even the smallest of matters, although it is unlikely they'll receive much feedback for truly trivial topics.

Furthermore, the Consciousness also has no one single 'leader.' Although there are figures of authority, individuals with specialist knowledge and expertise who lend their unique perspective to the colective, there is no 'hive queen,' and ultimately the consciousness acts like a flowing river- an obstacle in the path is flowed around or bulldozed through.</sub>

Technology Overview:
_{The Consciousness is a technological powerhouse, having made great strides in almost all fields of study. Of especial notes are Consciousness computing and biomechanical technology- although the birth of true artificial intelligence has frustrated Zetan scientists, increasingly sophisticated self-learning automata and a process of 'uploading' minds has not. Haecceity in these 'uploads' is maintained via the nanomechanical replacement of brain matter, molecule-by-molecule, and when the physical form finally fails, these minds can safely be transferred into the 'cloud' that is the Consciousness' collective, to be subsequently placed back into new bodies if they so desire.}

Military Overview:
_{The Consciousness' military is nonexistant. Although their technological expertise could lead to quite a formidable fighting force, their isolation and collective nature has rendered armed conflict larger than petty squabbles between individuals a thing of the past. That being said, should the ire of Zetan society be roused, it is hard to imagine a more intractable foe. Non-sapient yet highly advanced systems could be used to pilot weapons systems, whilst downloaded or largely mechanical ground troops could suffer horrendous trauma and still continue. Every loss would be re-absorbed back into the Collective, each providing as much knowledge as possible for the next soldier to use in their fight.}

---

Additional Info:

Characters

(Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)

Thematic Music

[Tortoise]

@MetalWeight
Super Approved. You can drop them in the Character tab whenever.

@Irredeemable
Approved, especially the theme song. I wonder if it'd be possible for a hostile power to "hack" the artificial parts of Zetan brains, or if the programming is too arcane.

@GreyGoblin
I see that your population has been updated! With that in mind, you're approved. You can go over to that post you accidentally made in the Char tab and just copy/past your Colony into it. (Reduce, reuse, recycle)

@Timemaster@ClocktowerEchos
And three approvals is the most my poor non-augmented brain can handle doing at once, so I'll check y'all's out after work