Noctis
Lord Zee@Irredeemable Obviously still very much a WIP but I want to be able to chat with the boys in discord. =P
Update: Got most of it down outside of Tech and Military.
Update 2: Tech is done, on to military.
Planet Name and Description: Laurasia: Named after one of the two supercontinents that once existed on Earth, from afar Laurasia looks like the perfect world to colonize. It is a world with large oceans and fertile land masses covered in lush forests. The seasons are similar to Earth’s, albeit with a generally milder Summer and Winter; its atmosphere is also very similar to Earth’s, although it is somewhat oxygen rich. The one great issue with Laurasia, one that was not realized until after colonization had begun, is that due to biological differences between Terran and native Laurasian life, neither group of lifeforms can properly digest the other. This does not, however, stop the native insect analogue from attempting to eat Terran plants; native insect analogues have been known to gather in swarms numbering in the thousands around farms, dying of malnutrition even as they fill their stomachs with Terran crops.
Gondwana: Once a dry, but habitable world, several hundred years of terraforming has transformed it into the breadbasket of the Kingdom. It is now a lush world covered in life originating from Earth. Sparse, but massive native Gondwanan trees tower over fields and forests of Terran origin.
History: When the colony ship arrived in Kaus Borealis the colonists were divided into three broad groups: the Peers, the yeomen, and the freemen. The Peers were the ultra wealthy elite of the colonists, the ones who had paid for the colony ship and much of the equipment the ship carried. Even at this point in time it was largely understood by all on the ship that the Peers would enjoy some enhanced privileges once a civilization was built at their new home; although in what form these privileges would take was at this time still undecided. The yeomen made up the group of colonists who either had the financial means to pay for passage on the colony ship or had skills deemed essential for colonization of a new world to be successful. Finally there were the freemen who were largely made up of refugees and other individuals who had neither the financial means nor skills worthy of earning yeoman status.
When the colonists arrived in orbit around the planet Laurasia in 1 AG (After Gate collapse), they believed that they had stumbled upon a garden world. And they had. Unfortunately Terran and Laurasian biology was incompatible in that neither group of life was capable of properly digesting the other. To make matters worse the native lifeforms proved to be incredibly detrimental to the colonists’ farming efforts. Hundreds of thousands of colonists might have starved had the Peers, wishing to ensure that even away from Earth would be able to enjoy luxurious meals, had invested heavily in the infrastructure necessary to build orbital shrimp and lobster farms Thanks to these investments orbital seafood farms were assembled within months instead of years. These orbital farms, along with the food supplies the colonists had brought with them, proved to be enough to prevent a famine while planetside greenhouses and orbital farms were constructed.
In the year 18 AG the colony had become established enough that the populace was now concerning itself with governance and what path they wished to take in the future. A bicameral parliamentary democracy now served at the pleasure of the King. Three political parties had formed: the Confederalists who wished to see each Peer be the head of their own defacto country, the Federalists who wished to see a strong centralized government under the Crown, and the Radical Socialists who wished to do away with the Peerage entirely. The election of 18 AG was marked with strife, accusations of fraud, and blood. The Confederalists winning with 70% of the vote ushered what would later be called Red Monday.
Members of the Radical Socialist party forced their way into both the House of Commons and Lords and proceeded to execute Confederalists. This in turn allowed the King to use Article 7 of the country’s constitution to assume dictatorial powers while parliament was unable to function. Thus empowered, the King ordered the police and local militias to eliminate the Radical Socialist threat and restore stability. By the end of the day the Radical Socialist insurrection was over. Many of the colonists feared that enforcing of Article 7 meant that democracy in Kaus Borealis was dead, but instead of remaining a dictator the King called for immediate elections. The Federalists won an overwhelming 80% of the seats in the House of Commons that election.
Following the events of Red Monday, a series of cyberattacks by Radical Socialist terrorists caused the AI systems of several space stations to kill the stations’ occupents. This might have resulted in the people of Kaus Borealis abandoning AI technology altogether had it not been for the timely invention of Biomimetic AI. Bioroids (a blanket term for androids, robots, and integrated AI systems that were a Biomimetic AI) quickly replaced traditional, or nominal as it was now being called, AI.
By 50 AG the human population in Kaus Borealis had risen to over 50 million. Gondwana, a dry but habitable planet, was now home to a colony of five million. It was hoped that Gondwana, lacking native terrestrial animals, would prove to be the breadbasket of the system, once its lack of water had been remedied. Comets from the outer edges of the star system were towed into Gondwana’s orbit and then dropped onto the planet itself. It was during the harvesting of a comet that the Swimmers were first encountered. Massive creatures that resembled squids, the Swimmers proved to be incredibly hostile. First they attacked human ships, then stations.
The Crown quickly ordered that a navy be built and any available space craft be armed. But before the nescient Royal Navy could be built up the Swimmers arrived at Gondwana. It took 10 years for the Swimmers to be largely pushed out of Gondwana and the area of space around the planet and it had come at great cost. Almost 11 million humans had died on Gondwana or in ships and stations orbiting Gondwana. But despite the toll the Gondwanan Campaign had taken on humanity in Kaus Borealis, the Kingdom came out strong. It had unified the Kingdom and shown that they needed strong leadership if they were to survive. It had also necessitated the production of bioroids on a massive scale: both to add to the Kingdom’s industrial capabilities as well as enhance its military might.
Over the next 230 years the Kingdom would slowly push the Swimmers out to the comet belt at the system’s edge. At this point they were considered to be contained, although they were certainly still a threat that required a military presence to contain. The Navy was at the height of its power: a recent ship modernization program had just ended, resulting in a powerful and advanced fleet. Unfortunately the end of the modernization program, as well as an over dependence on the production of durable goods, left the economy in a precarious position. Millions of shipbuilders and general laborers were now without employment, pushing an economy in recession ever closer to depression.
Culture and Society: The humans of the Kingdom are divided into three broad social classes that go all the way back to the original colonists: the Peers of the Realm, yeomen, and freemen. The freemen are lower class citizens who generally lack wealth and highly desirable skills. Yeomen make up the middle and lower upper class; they generally either are wealthy or possess skills that are considered critical by society. The Peers of the Realm are the upper class of society, the political elite, and are very wealthy. There is some degree of social mobility, but it is fairly uncommon. Naturally anyone who becomes wealthy enough would be considered a member of the yeomen class. To become a Peer of the Realm is much harder as it requires the Crown to defer a title of peerage on an individual.
There is also the Lower Nobility; individuals of the freeman and yeoman classes that distinguished themselves in battle may be granted a title of lesser nobility in recognition of their service. Although a Lower Noble is not a Peer of the Realm, thus does not have a seat in the House of Lords, there are mechanisms by which a lower noble may address the House of Lords. Lower nobility, unlike a formal Peerage, must be renewed each generation (by performing a feat of heroism or other great service to the Crown), thus is considered a non inherited title. The three titles of lower nobility are Squire, Knight, and Baronett.
Peers of the Realm are the financial and political elites of the Kingdom. They own massive estates and businesses. Another term for them is Upper Nobility, usually only used when needing to differentiate them specifically from the Lower Nobility. Upper Nobility titles are: Baron, Viscount, Count, Duke, and Grand Duke. There is no formal requirement to do so, but almost every member of the Peerage joins the military, usually the navy, during their twenties. To not serve when able to would be considered highly dishonorable and there have even been attempts to revoke the peerage of Peers who refused to join the military at some point, although all such attempts thus far have failed.
Bioroids occupy a strange place in the Kingdom’s society and their treatment varies depending on their class. Class A and B bioroids, for instance, are recognized as sapient beings, but aren’t given citizenship and are owned by the government or individual citizens. However it is not only a social taboo to mistreat a Class A or B bioroid, but also illegal. It is also considered improper to refer to any Class C+ and above bioroid in a fashion that indicates ownership, thus they are usually referred to and treated in a fashion similar to servants. Class D bioroids, on the other hand, are viewed in a similar light as intelligent animals and it is perfectly acceptable to refer to one as an owned object.
Governance and Politics: The power dynamics between the Crown and Parliament is always in flux. Sometimes the Crown is more powerful and sometimes it is Parliament. Even so, at its weakest, the Crown can still exert quite a bit of influence over the government. For instance the Crown decides when elections in the House of Commons are held, although legally elections must be held between one to five years after the last elections. The Crown also has veto powers over bills passed in Parliament; any bill vetoed by the Crown must pass a second vote, this time a supermajority of three quarters, in Parliament to pass. Article 7 of the Kaus Borealis constitution allows the Crown to assume dictatorial powers during times of crisis should Parliament be rendered unable to function such as a sudden loss of life amongst a large portion of the members of Parliament.
Parliament itself is divided into two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Lords and is analogous to the House of Commons’ Speaker of the Commons. Both offices are elected from their respective House, can serve a max of two five year terms, represent their respective House to the Crown, and are expected to be politically neutral. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and shares executive power with the Crown. The Kaus Borealis constitution stipulates that the Prime Minister is to be a member of the House of Lords, but not the acting Lord Speaker, who is selected by the House of Commons following an election. Both houses can veto bills passed in the other house.
The House of Lords is the upper house and traditionally more powerful, although it has been slowly losing some of its powers to the House of Commons. All Peers of the Realm are granted a seat in the House of Lords. The House of Lords holds the power of the purse, meaning it alone can initiate any budget, tax, or appropriates bills, as well as approve its final form. The Crown has the power to confer Peerage to individuals, thus creating more seats in the House of Lords, but these new Peers must be confirmed by the House of Commons. The House of Commons, in turn has the power to initiate bills and veto bills passed by the House of Lords.
Technology Overview: The Kingdom is very advanced when it comes to AI, robotics, cybernetics, and energy storage. The invention of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors and bioroids are some of the Kingdom’s greatest technological advancements. Genetic engineering, in turn, has regressed to a point of almost not existing in the Kingdom.
Superconductors: The creation of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors has contributed greatly to the Kingdom. These superconductors are used in digital circuits, magnetic levitation devices, robotics, energy storage devices, particle beam weaponry, and electric motors to name a few.
Bioroids: Bioroids, or more properly named biomimetic AI, are highly advanced AI that see widespread use throughout the Kingdom. Bioroids are distinct from traditional AI (called nominal AI in the Kingdom) in that they are an artificial brain based on human brain mapping (bioroid brain is the term used to talk about the actual artificial brain hardware). Bioroids are broken up into four classes based on the size and general capabilities of their bioroid brains. Class A bioroids possess very large bioroid brains, often about the size of a car, and have a lot of processing power. They often have numerous “built in” supportive nominal AIs that help them perform numerous tasks at once. These levels of AI are often used to control spacecraft and stations. Class B bioroid brains are the same size as a human brain. Intellectually they are the same as a cybernetically enhanced human. Class C bioroids are considered to be a sub-human intellect bioroid. They aren’t unintelligent, only super focused on one specialty, thus comparably inflexible. Class D bioroids utilize very small bioroid brains and are considered to be animalistic in intellect; people often compare them to canines. They are often used in robots that don’t require high levels of intellect or where the use of a man-machine link is likely to be employed.
Bioroid developers have gotten very good at creating and altering bioroid personalities; they can give a bioroid any kind of personality they desire. This is often used to make a bioroid enjoy whatever task they are likely to be given, turning what might be argued a state of slavery into a blissful existence.
Bioroid developers have also gotten very good at making humanoid bioroids as indistinguishable from inhumans as possible. Synthskin and artificial muscle can make a bioroid feel perfectly human; in fact some are advanced enough that without performing a specialized scan or invasive search, it would be impossible to tell that a bioroid is not a human.
Cybernetics: Cybernetics are a fairly advanced and common technology in the Kingdom. Most citizens have nanomachine grown brain circuitry that acts as an internal computer. This brain circuitry can be connected to via a terminal that is usually located on the index finger. Cybernetics are also used to delay the effects of aging by a decade or so. It is unusual to replace limbs with cybernetics in the Kingdom, although it obviously does happen in the case of amputations.
Robotics: Robotics is a very developed field of science in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has little trouble building robotic bodies that are very powerful or delicate. Android bodies can be built that are nearly impossible to distinguish from a biological body without specialized scans or an invasive search.
Man-Machine Link: Man-Machine Links, shortened to MML, use a human’s cybernetics to directly connect his/her brain to a bioroid through the use of specially designed ports usually installed at the base of the human’s skull. MMLs allow a bioroid to effectively read a human’s mind, thus enabling it to act on the human’s will before they have even given their intentions coherent thought. An example of this link in action would be a fighter pilot determining that he wants to attack a target and the bioroid performing the act of aiming and firing weapons. In other words it allows for superhuman reactions at human direction.
Adaptive Camouflage: In short adaptive camouflage changes patterns and color schemes to match the surrounding environment. This is not to be confused with active camouflage or cloaking and instead is more of a “pallet/pattern” swap. For example a soldier’s uniform would have a woodland pattern when in the forest and if he walked into a city the uniform’s camouflage would change to an urban design and color set. At first adaptive camouflage was limited to armored vehicles, but advancements in the technology and general reduction in price has expanded it to clothing as well.
Military Overview: The Royal Joint Armed Forces (RJAF), also commonly referred to as His/Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, are the military services responsible for the defense of the Crown and the territories of the Kaus Borealis Kingdom. The military is broken up into two competing branches: the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Ground Force (RGF). The Royal Navy is considered to be the more senior and prestigious of the branches and receives the bulk of the military’s budget.
The Royal Navy is a battle-hardened, highly loyal, force and often referred to as the Sword of the Crown. Much like the navy, the Royal Marine Corps is a highly effective combat force. As a general rule of thumb Royal Navy warships are very durable and very effective brawlers. Royal Navy warships each possess several spinal particle beam cannons that they will cycle through to enable a comparatively decent rate of fire. Very effective CIWS provide protection against longer range attacks and act as secondary guns. As a general rule of thumb Royal Navy warships tend to lack long range weaponry, relying on a few missile launchers per ship and fighter craft to cover combat ranges outside the reach of their particle beam cannons. On the subject of fighter craft: every Royal Navy ship carries at least a few fighters and shuttles, although the bulk of fighter operations are still centralized on specialized carriers.
The Royal Ground Force is the shield of the Crown and historically conducted the majority of combat operations during the Gondwanan Campaign. Despite this bit of historic trivia, the truth is that the RGF hasn’t been involved in large-scale combat for several centuries and is largely untested outside of some special forces. The general infantry of the RGF is closer to a militia than anything: they are usually stationed close to where they enlisted and possess subpar training. The RGF does possess very high quality light armored vehicles, such as walker-tanks and mechanized infantry, and fighter craft, but are generally lacking in heavier armor. During the Gondwanan Campaign the RGF was able to develop very effective urban warfare doctrine, however this doctrine assumed that the RGF would possess artillery supremacy, at least air parity, not have to worry about orbital bombardments, and would have a sympathetic local population. It is thus questionable how effective the RGF would be in combat against an actual military.
(Note: I do intend to put in more details and pics at a later time)
Additional Info: (Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)
Update: Got most of it down outside of Tech and Military.
Update 2: Tech is done, on to military.
Nation Name: The Kingdom of Kaus Borealis
Government Form:
Bicameral Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Demographics:
Humans: The original colonists largely originated from North America and Western Europe. Cybernetic enhancements are common, although usually kept to minor enhancements outside of replacement of lost limbs.
Bioroids: The term bioroid can mean two slightly different things depending on the context. The general and proper use of the term is in relation to a biomimetic AI (see technology). The second use of the term is used for an android with a bioroid-brain and usually denotes a Class B or Class C biomimetic AI. Bioroids are split into four classes defined by a combination of emotional intelligence and processing power. Class B, and even Class C+ to a lesser degree, bioroids can be very difficult to distinguish from humans, both in terms of personality/behavior and appearance.
Population:
Humans: 335 Million
Class A and B Bioroids: 330 Million
Class C Bioroids (Not normally considered to be part of the population): 500 Million
Total: 665 Million (1.15 Billion if including Class C Bioroids)
---
---
Government Form:
Bicameral Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Demographics:
Humans: The original colonists largely originated from North America and Western Europe. Cybernetic enhancements are common, although usually kept to minor enhancements outside of replacement of lost limbs.
Bioroids: The term bioroid can mean two slightly different things depending on the context. The general and proper use of the term is in relation to a biomimetic AI (see technology). The second use of the term is used for an android with a bioroid-brain and usually denotes a Class B or Class C biomimetic AI. Bioroids are split into four classes defined by a combination of emotional intelligence and processing power. Class B, and even Class C+ to a lesser degree, bioroids can be very difficult to distinguish from humans, both in terms of personality/behavior and appearance.
Population:
Humans: 335 Million
Class A and B Bioroids: 330 Million
Class C Bioroids (Not normally considered to be part of the population): 500 Million
Total: 665 Million (1.15 Billion if including Class C Bioroids)
---
---
Planet Name and Description: Laurasia: Named after one of the two supercontinents that once existed on Earth, from afar Laurasia looks like the perfect world to colonize. It is a world with large oceans and fertile land masses covered in lush forests. The seasons are similar to Earth’s, albeit with a generally milder Summer and Winter; its atmosphere is also very similar to Earth’s, although it is somewhat oxygen rich. The one great issue with Laurasia, one that was not realized until after colonization had begun, is that due to biological differences between Terran and native Laurasian life, neither group of lifeforms can properly digest the other. This does not, however, stop the native insect analogue from attempting to eat Terran plants; native insect analogues have been known to gather in swarms numbering in the thousands around farms, dying of malnutrition even as they fill their stomachs with Terran crops.
Gondwana: Once a dry, but habitable world, several hundred years of terraforming has transformed it into the breadbasket of the Kingdom. It is now a lush world covered in life originating from Earth. Sparse, but massive native Gondwanan trees tower over fields and forests of Terran origin.
History: When the colony ship arrived in Kaus Borealis the colonists were divided into three broad groups: the Peers, the yeomen, and the freemen. The Peers were the ultra wealthy elite of the colonists, the ones who had paid for the colony ship and much of the equipment the ship carried. Even at this point in time it was largely understood by all on the ship that the Peers would enjoy some enhanced privileges once a civilization was built at their new home; although in what form these privileges would take was at this time still undecided. The yeomen made up the group of colonists who either had the financial means to pay for passage on the colony ship or had skills deemed essential for colonization of a new world to be successful. Finally there were the freemen who were largely made up of refugees and other individuals who had neither the financial means nor skills worthy of earning yeoman status.
When the colonists arrived in orbit around the planet Laurasia in 1 AG (After Gate collapse), they believed that they had stumbled upon a garden world. And they had. Unfortunately Terran and Laurasian biology was incompatible in that neither group of life was capable of properly digesting the other. To make matters worse the native lifeforms proved to be incredibly detrimental to the colonists’ farming efforts. Hundreds of thousands of colonists might have starved had the Peers, wishing to ensure that even away from Earth would be able to enjoy luxurious meals, had invested heavily in the infrastructure necessary to build orbital shrimp and lobster farms Thanks to these investments orbital seafood farms were assembled within months instead of years. These orbital farms, along with the food supplies the colonists had brought with them, proved to be enough to prevent a famine while planetside greenhouses and orbital farms were constructed.
In the year 18 AG the colony had become established enough that the populace was now concerning itself with governance and what path they wished to take in the future. A bicameral parliamentary democracy now served at the pleasure of the King. Three political parties had formed: the Confederalists who wished to see each Peer be the head of their own defacto country, the Federalists who wished to see a strong centralized government under the Crown, and the Radical Socialists who wished to do away with the Peerage entirely. The election of 18 AG was marked with strife, accusations of fraud, and blood. The Confederalists winning with 70% of the vote ushered what would later be called Red Monday.
Members of the Radical Socialist party forced their way into both the House of Commons and Lords and proceeded to execute Confederalists. This in turn allowed the King to use Article 7 of the country’s constitution to assume dictatorial powers while parliament was unable to function. Thus empowered, the King ordered the police and local militias to eliminate the Radical Socialist threat and restore stability. By the end of the day the Radical Socialist insurrection was over. Many of the colonists feared that enforcing of Article 7 meant that democracy in Kaus Borealis was dead, but instead of remaining a dictator the King called for immediate elections. The Federalists won an overwhelming 80% of the seats in the House of Commons that election.
Following the events of Red Monday, a series of cyberattacks by Radical Socialist terrorists caused the AI systems of several space stations to kill the stations’ occupents. This might have resulted in the people of Kaus Borealis abandoning AI technology altogether had it not been for the timely invention of Biomimetic AI. Bioroids (a blanket term for androids, robots, and integrated AI systems that were a Biomimetic AI) quickly replaced traditional, or nominal as it was now being called, AI.
By 50 AG the human population in Kaus Borealis had risen to over 50 million. Gondwana, a dry but habitable planet, was now home to a colony of five million. It was hoped that Gondwana, lacking native terrestrial animals, would prove to be the breadbasket of the system, once its lack of water had been remedied. Comets from the outer edges of the star system were towed into Gondwana’s orbit and then dropped onto the planet itself. It was during the harvesting of a comet that the Swimmers were first encountered. Massive creatures that resembled squids, the Swimmers proved to be incredibly hostile. First they attacked human ships, then stations.
The Crown quickly ordered that a navy be built and any available space craft be armed. But before the nescient Royal Navy could be built up the Swimmers arrived at Gondwana. It took 10 years for the Swimmers to be largely pushed out of Gondwana and the area of space around the planet and it had come at great cost. Almost 11 million humans had died on Gondwana or in ships and stations orbiting Gondwana. But despite the toll the Gondwanan Campaign had taken on humanity in Kaus Borealis, the Kingdom came out strong. It had unified the Kingdom and shown that they needed strong leadership if they were to survive. It had also necessitated the production of bioroids on a massive scale: both to add to the Kingdom’s industrial capabilities as well as enhance its military might.
Over the next 230 years the Kingdom would slowly push the Swimmers out to the comet belt at the system’s edge. At this point they were considered to be contained, although they were certainly still a threat that required a military presence to contain. The Navy was at the height of its power: a recent ship modernization program had just ended, resulting in a powerful and advanced fleet. Unfortunately the end of the modernization program, as well as an over dependence on the production of durable goods, left the economy in a precarious position. Millions of shipbuilders and general laborers were now without employment, pushing an economy in recession ever closer to depression.
Culture and Society: The humans of the Kingdom are divided into three broad social classes that go all the way back to the original colonists: the Peers of the Realm, yeomen, and freemen. The freemen are lower class citizens who generally lack wealth and highly desirable skills. Yeomen make up the middle and lower upper class; they generally either are wealthy or possess skills that are considered critical by society. The Peers of the Realm are the upper class of society, the political elite, and are very wealthy. There is some degree of social mobility, but it is fairly uncommon. Naturally anyone who becomes wealthy enough would be considered a member of the yeomen class. To become a Peer of the Realm is much harder as it requires the Crown to defer a title of peerage on an individual.
There is also the Lower Nobility; individuals of the freeman and yeoman classes that distinguished themselves in battle may be granted a title of lesser nobility in recognition of their service. Although a Lower Noble is not a Peer of the Realm, thus does not have a seat in the House of Lords, there are mechanisms by which a lower noble may address the House of Lords. Lower nobility, unlike a formal Peerage, must be renewed each generation (by performing a feat of heroism or other great service to the Crown), thus is considered a non inherited title. The three titles of lower nobility are Squire, Knight, and Baronett.
Peers of the Realm are the financial and political elites of the Kingdom. They own massive estates and businesses. Another term for them is Upper Nobility, usually only used when needing to differentiate them specifically from the Lower Nobility. Upper Nobility titles are: Baron, Viscount, Count, Duke, and Grand Duke. There is no formal requirement to do so, but almost every member of the Peerage joins the military, usually the navy, during their twenties. To not serve when able to would be considered highly dishonorable and there have even been attempts to revoke the peerage of Peers who refused to join the military at some point, although all such attempts thus far have failed.
Bioroids occupy a strange place in the Kingdom’s society and their treatment varies depending on their class. Class A and B bioroids, for instance, are recognized as sapient beings, but aren’t given citizenship and are owned by the government or individual citizens. However it is not only a social taboo to mistreat a Class A or B bioroid, but also illegal. It is also considered improper to refer to any Class C+ and above bioroid in a fashion that indicates ownership, thus they are usually referred to and treated in a fashion similar to servants. Class D bioroids, on the other hand, are viewed in a similar light as intelligent animals and it is perfectly acceptable to refer to one as an owned object.
---
Governance and Politics: The power dynamics between the Crown and Parliament is always in flux. Sometimes the Crown is more powerful and sometimes it is Parliament. Even so, at its weakest, the Crown can still exert quite a bit of influence over the government. For instance the Crown decides when elections in the House of Commons are held, although legally elections must be held between one to five years after the last elections. The Crown also has veto powers over bills passed in Parliament; any bill vetoed by the Crown must pass a second vote, this time a supermajority of three quarters, in Parliament to pass. Article 7 of the Kaus Borealis constitution allows the Crown to assume dictatorial powers during times of crisis should Parliament be rendered unable to function such as a sudden loss of life amongst a large portion of the members of Parliament.
Parliament itself is divided into two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Lords and is analogous to the House of Commons’ Speaker of the Commons. Both offices are elected from their respective House, can serve a max of two five year terms, represent their respective House to the Crown, and are expected to be politically neutral. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and shares executive power with the Crown. The Kaus Borealis constitution stipulates that the Prime Minister is to be a member of the House of Lords, but not the acting Lord Speaker, who is selected by the House of Commons following an election. Both houses can veto bills passed in the other house.
The House of Lords is the upper house and traditionally more powerful, although it has been slowly losing some of its powers to the House of Commons. All Peers of the Realm are granted a seat in the House of Lords. The House of Lords holds the power of the purse, meaning it alone can initiate any budget, tax, or appropriates bills, as well as approve its final form. The Crown has the power to confer Peerage to individuals, thus creating more seats in the House of Lords, but these new Peers must be confirmed by the House of Commons. The House of Commons, in turn has the power to initiate bills and veto bills passed by the House of Lords.
Technology Overview: The Kingdom is very advanced when it comes to AI, robotics, cybernetics, and energy storage. The invention of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors and bioroids are some of the Kingdom’s greatest technological advancements. Genetic engineering, in turn, has regressed to a point of almost not existing in the Kingdom.
Superconductors: The creation of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors has contributed greatly to the Kingdom. These superconductors are used in digital circuits, magnetic levitation devices, robotics, energy storage devices, particle beam weaponry, and electric motors to name a few.
Bioroids: Bioroids, or more properly named biomimetic AI, are highly advanced AI that see widespread use throughout the Kingdom. Bioroids are distinct from traditional AI (called nominal AI in the Kingdom) in that they are an artificial brain based on human brain mapping (bioroid brain is the term used to talk about the actual artificial brain hardware). Bioroids are broken up into four classes based on the size and general capabilities of their bioroid brains. Class A bioroids possess very large bioroid brains, often about the size of a car, and have a lot of processing power. They often have numerous “built in” supportive nominal AIs that help them perform numerous tasks at once. These levels of AI are often used to control spacecraft and stations. Class B bioroid brains are the same size as a human brain. Intellectually they are the same as a cybernetically enhanced human. Class C bioroids are considered to be a sub-human intellect bioroid. They aren’t unintelligent, only super focused on one specialty, thus comparably inflexible. Class D bioroids utilize very small bioroid brains and are considered to be animalistic in intellect; people often compare them to canines. They are often used in robots that don’t require high levels of intellect or where the use of a man-machine link is likely to be employed.
Bioroid developers have gotten very good at creating and altering bioroid personalities; they can give a bioroid any kind of personality they desire. This is often used to make a bioroid enjoy whatever task they are likely to be given, turning what might be argued a state of slavery into a blissful existence.
Bioroid developers have also gotten very good at making humanoid bioroids as indistinguishable from inhumans as possible. Synthskin and artificial muscle can make a bioroid feel perfectly human; in fact some are advanced enough that without performing a specialized scan or invasive search, it would be impossible to tell that a bioroid is not a human.
Cybernetics: Cybernetics are a fairly advanced and common technology in the Kingdom. Most citizens have nanomachine grown brain circuitry that acts as an internal computer. This brain circuitry can be connected to via a terminal that is usually located on the index finger. Cybernetics are also used to delay the effects of aging by a decade or so. It is unusual to replace limbs with cybernetics in the Kingdom, although it obviously does happen in the case of amputations.
Robotics: Robotics is a very developed field of science in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has little trouble building robotic bodies that are very powerful or delicate. Android bodies can be built that are nearly impossible to distinguish from a biological body without specialized scans or an invasive search.
Man-Machine Link: Man-Machine Links, shortened to MML, use a human’s cybernetics to directly connect his/her brain to a bioroid through the use of specially designed ports usually installed at the base of the human’s skull. MMLs allow a bioroid to effectively read a human’s mind, thus enabling it to act on the human’s will before they have even given their intentions coherent thought. An example of this link in action would be a fighter pilot determining that he wants to attack a target and the bioroid performing the act of aiming and firing weapons. In other words it allows for superhuman reactions at human direction.
Adaptive Camouflage: In short adaptive camouflage changes patterns and color schemes to match the surrounding environment. This is not to be confused with active camouflage or cloaking and instead is more of a “pallet/pattern” swap. For example a soldier’s uniform would have a woodland pattern when in the forest and if he walked into a city the uniform’s camouflage would change to an urban design and color set. At first adaptive camouflage was limited to armored vehicles, but advancements in the technology and general reduction in price has expanded it to clothing as well.
Military Overview: The Royal Joint Armed Forces (RJAF), also commonly referred to as His/Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, are the military services responsible for the defense of the Crown and the territories of the Kaus Borealis Kingdom. The military is broken up into two competing branches: the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Ground Force (RGF). The Royal Navy is considered to be the more senior and prestigious of the branches and receives the bulk of the military’s budget.
The Royal Navy is a battle-hardened, highly loyal, force and often referred to as the Sword of the Crown. Much like the navy, the Royal Marine Corps is a highly effective combat force. As a general rule of thumb Royal Navy warships are very durable and very effective brawlers. Royal Navy warships each possess several spinal particle beam cannons that they will cycle through to enable a comparatively decent rate of fire. Very effective CIWS provide protection against longer range attacks and act as secondary guns. As a general rule of thumb Royal Navy warships tend to lack long range weaponry, relying on a few missile launchers per ship and fighter craft to cover combat ranges outside the reach of their particle beam cannons. On the subject of fighter craft: every Royal Navy ship carries at least a few fighters and shuttles, although the bulk of fighter operations are still centralized on specialized carriers.
The Royal Ground Force is the shield of the Crown and historically conducted the majority of combat operations during the Gondwanan Campaign. Despite this bit of historic trivia, the truth is that the RGF hasn’t been involved in large-scale combat for several centuries and is largely untested outside of some special forces. The general infantry of the RGF is closer to a militia than anything: they are usually stationed close to where they enlisted and possess subpar training. The RGF does possess very high quality light armored vehicles, such as walker-tanks and mechanized infantry, and fighter craft, but are generally lacking in heavier armor. During the Gondwanan Campaign the RGF was able to develop very effective urban warfare doctrine, however this doctrine assumed that the RGF would possess artillery supremacy, at least air parity, not have to worry about orbital bombardments, and would have a sympathetic local population. It is thus questionable how effective the RGF would be in combat against an actual military.
(Note: I do intend to put in more details and pics at a later time)
---
Additional Info: (Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)
