├── Governments and Organisations ├── Corporations │ ├── The Syndicate │ │ ├── Waffle Corporation.md │ │ ├── MI13.md │ │ ├── Gorlex Marauders.md │ │ ├── SELF.md │ │ ├── Interdyne Pharmaceutics.md │ │ └── Azik Interstellar.md │ ├── Jim Nortons.md │ ├── Corporation Bible.md │ ├── Trading Companies.md │ ├── Private Military Companies.md │ └── Nanotrasen │ │ └── Nanotrasen.md ├── The Wizard Federation.md └── Governments │ ├── Spinward Stellar Coalition │ ├── The Third Soviet Union.md │ └── The SSC.md │ └── TerraGov │ ├── The TGJMC.md │ └── TerraGov.md ├── Mysteries of the Spinward Sector ├── The Khranitel Revolyutsii.md ├── Myths, Superstitions and Cryptids.md ├── Rumors.md └── The Esoteric and the Old Gods.md ├── Species of the Galaxy ├── Lizards │ ├── Government.md │ ├── Lizards.md │ ├── The Ashwalkers.md │ ├── Religion.md │ └── Culture.md ├── Moths │ └── Culture.md ├── Exospecies of the Galaxy.md ├── Ethereals │ └── ethereals.md ├── Felinids │ └── felinids.md ├── Languages and Trade Tongues.md └── Plasmamen │ └── Plasmamen.md ├── Technology and Science ├── The Bitways.md ├── Currency.md ├── Communications.md ├── Plasma Exposure.md ├── bluespace_blurb.md └── Materials of the Bluespace Age.md ├── Pets, Pests, and Vermin └── Slimes and the Blob.md ├── Interesting Planets ├── Lizard Space │ ├── Muan Sector.md │ ├── The Rizkalon System.md │ └── Tizira.md └── Human Space │ └── The Spinward Sector.md └── LICENSE /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Waffle Corporation.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Waffle Corporation 2 | ### The European Megacorporation 3 | > "Offer them a blank cheque. We will buy their loyalty against Nanotrasen." 4 | - Goro Ichikawa 5 | 6 | ## Origins 7 | Founded in the 1960s by an enterprising Belgian entrepreneur, the Good Waffle Company was an early comer to the world of fast food, focusing primarily on waffles and other breakfast foods. From their humble origins in Brussels they would expand rapidly across Europe, and then on across the globe. Their business model would grow too- going beyond brick-and-mortar stores to selling GWC products for home consumption. By the 2050s, there was at least one Good Waffle Company branch on all seven continents, and the wealth this generated would allow them to go beyond food- founding a parent company, Waffle Corporation, and using this to begin to diversify their holdings. It was also around this time that the company would begin to fall under the influence of some unsavoury characters- the Belgian Mafia. 8 | 9 | Their mob connections would eventually lead to the company changing hands, becoming the property of the Janssens family- a rich group which owned a variety of holdings already, and who may or may not have been the heads of one of Europe's largest crime families. 10 | 11 | Waffle Corporation's position as Europe's leading corporation would be lost to Biosustain in the wake of the scandal, creating a lasting animosity between the two companies. This, naturally, creates a rift in the Syndicate itself, barely kept stitched together by Cybersun's aggressive influence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/MI13.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # MI13 2 | ### Information from the Shadows 3 | > "This information, this "MI13". I cannot help but think that it is all too good to be true. Such accurate intel never comes for free." 4 | > "And yet, we can't afford to turn it down, father. Your fears are well founded, but without that intel, we fight Nanotrasen blind and deaf." 5 | - Goro and Kotone Ichikawa 6 | 7 | ## Origins 8 | Nobody really knows where MI13 came from. Nobody really knows who MI13 are. So mysterious is the organisation that the only things that anyone in the Syndicate, the top brass included, know for sure is their name, and that the intel they provide is critical to the success of operations within the Spinward Sector. 9 | 10 | ## The Syndicate 11 | MI13 acts as the intelligence branch of the Syndicate. While other members of the organisation operate their own intelligence gathering systems, none can hold a candle to MI13, who always seem to provide the best information that money can (or can't) buy. Such soft power naturally creates suspicion: none of the Syndicate's top brass actually trusts that MI13 has the organisation's best interests in mind, but they also know that without them, they lose access to the wealth of knowledge about Nanotrasen's operations that they bring. 12 | 13 | MI13 operatives are secretive to the nth degree. Most field agents from the other members don't get to meet them- those that do report meeting spooks of the highest order, the sort who don't get involved in petty chit-chat or really reveal much of anything. They get in, do what they need to do, then get out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Mysteries of the Spinward Sector/The Khranitel Revolyutsii.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Mystery of the Khranitel Revolyutsii 2 | > "To all true Soviets: this is Admiral Sokolov, of the Khranitel Revolyutsii. The rebels have captured New Moscow. But do not despair, for our union is not snuffed out so easily! We shall return!" 3 | - Final broadcast of the Khranitel Revolyutsii 4 | 5 | During the February Revolution and the fall of the Third Soviet Union, the anger and discontent with the Union's government was not constrained to the civilian populace of the Spinward Sector. Rifts formed in the armed forces, too, and these tensions would brew to a head as the central government collapsed. The pro-red side would ultimately find themselves on the losing side, and this would force them to make a choice. Many crews stood down, accepting an offer of clemency from the newly-founded SSC. Many others simply vanished, with the ships being scuttled and left to rot in deep space as their crewmembers made new lives elsewhere. But a few decided to continue the fight. Amongst these numbers was the flagship of the Union, the PWS Khranitel Revolyutsii (Guardian of the Revolution), a grand and modern warship (for the time) crewed with over 500 diehard loyalists to the Soviet State. 6 | 7 | And so, the Khranitel Revolyutsii would go on to become a figure of legend. As of yet, it has not revealed itself in the Spinward Sector, despite extensive efforts to locate it by the SSC. How exactly a ship of 500 managed to slip into the void so effectively is a subject of fierce debate, and it's made the ship take on a mythical quality. Some say the vessel will reappear when the fires of communism most need relit. Some say the crew are kept alive by the strength of their conviction and loyalty. Some say that the vessel is simply lost, and that somewhere out there, the wreck of the Third Soviet Union's flagship is there for the taking. 8 | 9 | All that can be said for certain is that it's not shown its face yet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Lizards/Government.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Tiziran Government 2 | 3 | ### Monarchy: 4 | The reigning monarch of Tizira is the young Empress Arael-Rena I, notable for being the youngest crowned monarch in Tizira's unified history, having taken the throne at 17 after the sudden death of her father. Now 24, she is known for her idealism and belief in change, standing firmly opposed to Tizira's jingoism and entrenched social order. 5 | 6 | The Empress is well known for her close cooperation with her twin brother Shal-Rena, although recently Shal has been away on military campaign in his position as an officer in the army. 7 | 8 | The Empress' early life was defined by rebellion. As a child, she had little interest in preparing to take the throne, instead preferring to spend her time away from the nobility and the royal lifestyle. Into her teenage years, this tranformed into sneaking out to spend nights with the commonfolk, giving her a unique perspective amongst the royal family into the life of an average Tiziran- as well as a disliking of the status quo of Tizira. After ascending to the throne, she began to push against the military establishment, using her now concerningly (to the powers-that-be) loud voice to advocate for increased galactic cooperation and an end to Tizira's jingoism. This, perhaps obviously, did not earn her many supporters amongst the higher eschelons of Tiziran political life and the military, who see her as a naive upstart that threatens their grip on power. However, it has made her a very popular figure amongst Tizira's war-weary and increasingly discontent population. 9 | 10 | The Empress' push against the parliament has lead them to throw their support behind another figure in the Tiziran monarchy: the Empress' uncle, Geri-Rena, an accomplished military leader and firm supporter of the status quo. Geri has long held designs on the Tiziran throne, having envied his brother for being first in line, and now viewing his offspring as squandering it. This has lead to the rise of a movement amongst the Tiziran elite and more jingoistic population, the Black Birthright- seeking the removal of Arael and her replacement with Geri. The movement is small but powerful, being supported by a number of Tizira's more prominent nobility, old-money businesses, and most notably, a majority of the upper levels of the military. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Jim Nortons.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Jim Norton Story 2 | 3 | ## Humble Beginnings 4 | Born in 1932 in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, to a lumberjack and a mountie, Jim Norton was, from his first breath, a true patriot for Quebec and Canada. 5 | 6 | Growing up in the great wilderness of Quebec, Jim became a natural outdoorsman, felling trees and becoming well known for his magnificent beard. He also developed a penchant for ice hockey, joining the Trois Rivieres team to play in the NHL. 7 | 8 | Funneling his success in hockey into his passion for coffee, Jim opened the first Jim Norton's branch in 1965 in downtown Trois Rivieres, and from there it would expand across Canada rapidly. By Jim's death, there was a store in every major Canadian city. 9 | 10 | It's also around this time that Jim invented the store's signature pastry: the Hollander. Jim was well known for eating one every day, and he guarded the recipe well- only revealing its secret location in his will. 11 | 12 | While not on the rink or at the cafe, Jim enjoyed the outdoors lifestyle, including hunting- though he may never have bagged a moose, we know that he was always trying. 13 | 14 | In 1976, Jim joined the hunt for Big Larry, a moose who had already claimed the lives of three hunters before him through remarkably indirect means (2 froze to death, and the third was hit by a car while purchasing hunting supplies), which only proved the craftiness of the beast in killing its pursuers. Unable to turn down the challenge, Jim set out in hot pursuit of Big Larry through the Quebecois wilderness. 15 | 16 | Unfortunately for Jim, Big Larry proved to be a tougher adversary than previously anticipated. While tracking the moose across a frozen lake, Jim fell through the ice, and was unable to swim to safety as his beard obscured his vision. While he may never have seen or, indeed, ever come close to finding Big Larry, Jim is remembered for his relentless pursuit of the beast, and his dedication to seeing him brought to justice. 17 | 18 | His loss was a great blow to the Trois Rivieres hockey team, who would dedicate their first cup (won the next season after Jim's passing) to his memory. 19 | 20 | Today, Jim is honoured with a statue in his hometown of Trois Rivieres, showing an artistic rendition of what his victory over Big Larry might have looked like, had he ever found and slain the beast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/The Wizard Federation.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | > "GREETINGS. WE'RE THE WIZARDS OF THE WIZARD'S FEDERATION." 2 | -The last recorded message prior to the complete and utter vaporization of Space Station 08. 3 | *** 4 | 5 | The Space Wizard Federation is a collective of magic users, known to operate within the Spinward sector, and suspected of existing galaxy-wide. Wild claims have been made about their effects on human society, even before the age of spaceflight, with some claiming that every negative event, every dictator, and every freak accident can be traced back to the influence of a Wizard. 6 | 7 | It is speculated as to whether or not Wizards actually can cast magic- the more cynical among normal humanity insist that magic does not exist, and that anything the Wizards do that appears to be magical is simply sophisticated technology masquerading as true spellcasting. Many do not care, however, as no matter whether it is real or fake, it works, and will kill just fine. 8 | 9 | Recently, the Wizard Federation has been in a state of quasi-Cold War with Nanotrasen, for reasons that can only be speculated at. What does matter is that stations throughout the Spinward sector have been attacked by Wizards, and the sight of a blue hat and robes is rapidly becoming as dreaded by NT employees as the blood-red gear of the Syndicate. Survivors of these attacks could give no reasons as to why the Wizards were there, and what their true motives (should any exist) could be. 10 | 11 | On a deeply classified level, Nanotrasen's higher ups try to maintains some contact with the Wizard Federation diplomatically, but very little has come of their efforts to talk, and the attacks ebb and wane with no relation to diplomacy. No one knows exactly what compels a Wizard into membership of the Federation, as not all magic users are members- occasionally, a friendly Wizard has been known to show up at station, performing parlor tricks and sharing tall tales of their adventures in exchange for the hospitality of the crew (which they seldom find, due to an uncompromising "shoot first, second, third, and last" policy on NT's part towards magic). Due to the actions of its members, many suspect that the Wizard Federation is joined only by the worst of the magic casting community- those who live for chaos, and will find any opportunity to wave their magic dicks at the powers that be. 12 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/The Bitways.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Bitways 2 | > "Ass on the chair, meatwad. Let's make some unis." 3 | - RAY-ZOR, Runner Extraordinaire (self-titled) 4 | 5 | So, let's say you've got some skills with a computer, a bone to pick with some kind of major organisation (or a preem-o paycheck from one), and a powerful rig hooked up to the 'Face: welcome to the Bitways, meatwad- time to take a deep dive into the wonderful world of bitrunning. 6 | 7 | ### What is Bitrunning? 8 | To cut a very long and very dry story short- bitrunning is pretty much modern day hacking. The security's gotten tighter, but so have hackers' skills- and the technology available is leagues above the monochrome screens and clicky keyboards of the early scriptkiddy- now, most hacking at this calibre is done via dedicated interfaces (known as the 'Face) with the net. To the computer engineer reading, this is the internet- to the hackers, it's the bitways; an endless series of pipes and tubes, except some of them lead to cool shit- and they've got the interface necessary to cruise them in a more hands-on way. They might see an encrypted server as a mighty fortress, ready to be breached and the sweet spoils inside pillaged. They might use the 'Face to take some downtime, hitting a virtual hangout spot with some likeminded individuals and shooting the shit. Perhaps they'll find themselves in a pitched battle with an opponent, as they lob daemons and hacks at one another to drop their connections... or worse. 9 | 10 | Of course, this kind of talent rarely goes unnoticed, and so a new war wages behind the virtual walls of the net- between bitrunners, and the security forces trying to keep them out. The biggest of these is TerraGov's own Federal Communications Enforcement Agency, or FedComm- a collective of cyber cops, equipped with much the same tech as the runners, trying to track them down and neutralise them for arrest- or, if it's someone outside Federal jurisdiction, maybe just neutralise them permanently. Corporations have also jumped on the bandwagon, although they like to play both sides- encorporating both a defensive and offensive bitrunning department, ready to push their way into their opponents' secrets all while repelling any attempts on their own. This game of cat and mouse, naturally, tends to be very lucrative for the guys who actually have their asses in the chairs- but they can also never be sure that the next run won't be the one where they find out what a brainwipe feels like. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Pets, Pests, and Vermin/Slimes and the Blob.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Slimes 2 | 3 | Throughout mankind's time in the stars, they have encountered many diverse and interesting species. From other galactic faring civilizations, to incredible fauna, the universe is filled with many fantastic new varieties of alien life. And then, there are slimes. 4 | 5 | Slimes are the omnipresent pest of the galaxy- an invasive species that nobody is really certain of the origins of, but that has quickly become one of the most annoyingly common problems for nearly everyone living throughout human space. Capable of extremely rapid breeding, living off of anything with lifeforce (which means that they can derive nourishment from almost anything) and with an insatiable hunger that drives them to damage livestock, agriculture, and in extreme situations, attack humans. They frequently find their way onto ships, which spreads them further. 6 | 7 | In terms of physiology, slimes consist of a jelly-like substance coalesced around a central "core". This core houses nearly all of the slime's important functions, acting as a nerve centre. Slimes exhibit very low levels of intelligence, blorbling and bubbling in response to auditory stimulation. Some say that they may be attempting to communicate when doing this, but scientists have dismissed these claims. 8 | 9 | Slimes also exhibit varying colours, seemingly with different characteristics. These colour mutations are based on the environment the slime finds itself in- however, in captivity, slimes exhibit seemingly random mutations, with no particular regard for their surroundings. Scientists have found no explanation for this phenomenon as of yet (which seems to be a running theme with slimes in general). 10 | 11 | Due to their extreme abundance, many scientists have tried to find a use for slimes, but seemingly to no avail. To this end, Nanotrasen has set up a new Xenobiology task force, with the intent to discover a use for these common pests. Many of Nanotrasen's top minds in this field suspect that the slime cores will be important to this eventual discovery. 12 | 13 | 14 | # The Blob 15 | Sometimes, something within a slime goes wrong. Much like a cancer, cells begin to divide unchecked, and the slime takes on a new, more unwholesome form. The common term for this phenomenon is Blobbing, and the organism that it creates is known, colloquially, as a blob. Blobs replicate endlessly, regardless of energy input, consuming anything in their path. An outbreak of one aboard a station becomes a serious risk to all life aboard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/Currency.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Terran Unitary Dollar (Uni, U¢) 2 | The Terran Unitary Dollar, or Uni for short, is the official currency of the Terran Federation, accepted in one form or another across the entirety of human space. 3 | 4 | ## Nanotrasen Credit (₦) 5 | In Nanotrasen's various frontier holdings the Nanotrasen credit was adopted as a form of company scrip to make the company's internal economy easier to manage. Utilised only in and around facilities owned and operated by Nanotrasen, particularly those in deep space, this is also used to pay employees and for intracompany requisitions and cargo purchases. 6 | 7 | While the Credit is not legal tender outwith Nanotrasen, it doesn't stop it from being traded at times, outwith the company's internal economy. Some businesses close by to Nanotrasen facilities may accept it on an unofficial basis to encourage business from Nanotrasen employees, utilising other methods to convert it back to U¢ later down the line. 8 | 9 | Nanotrasen offers services to convert between credits and unitary dollars; the conversion rate is usually around 100₦ : 1U¢. 10 | 11 | ## Spinward Stellar Ruble (S₽) 12 | The Spinward Stellar Ruble is the official currency of the Spinward Stellar Coalition, adopted following the collapse of the Third Soviet Union and the subsequent transition to a market economy. With the general difficulties imposed by a complete change in economic strategy, the Ruble is in dire straits as a currency, with high rates of inflation and general mistrust in its actual usefulness, which has led to the rise of alternative currencies across the Spinward Sector. In larger cities, this role is often taken by the Unitary Dollar, or occasionally Nanotrasen credits. In remote spaces, this may instead be a rough barter system, or a localised currency used only in a single area. 13 | 14 | ## Tiziran Rena (Ɍ/k) 15 | The official currency of the Tiziran Empire and its various vassal and satellite states, the Rena (crown) is one of the enduring symbols of Imperial rule. Characterised by a complex system of subunits based on the Tiziran 4-finger hand, the Rena is generally considered to be a needlessly complex system to the more base-10 minded humans. 16 | 17 | ## Mothic Ration Credit (₥) 18 | The Mothic currency is unique in that it is, strictly speaking, not a currency at all; rather, it is technically a system of ration tickets or akin to a scrip. Where it becomes a currency in practical terms is in being used for discretionary purchases- giving it a facsimile of monetary value on the fleet. However, this value on the fleet does not translate to value outwith it; there is no official conversion rate for Ration Credits to any other galactic currency, but they are at times traded as such by moths between themselves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Governments/Spinward Stellar Coalition/The Third Soviet Union.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Third Soviet Union/Red Tommorrow Society 2 | > "Fret not, comrades, for we shall rise like a great red phoenix once again." 3 | 4 | Location: No official capital, small holdings throughout SSC space 5 | 6 | Type of Org: Rump State/Insurgency 7 | 8 | Though the fires of Spinward Communism burn dim, burn they do still. Despite being on the losing side of the February Revolution, the Third Soviet Union lives on in the hearts and minds of its diehard supporters across the Spinward Sector, where they maintain an insurgency against the Coalition that displaced them. 9 | 10 | The February Revolution saw the end of Soviet power in the Spinward Sector and the rise of the nascent SSC. With the major planets of the Coalition declaring independence and splitting off to form their own republics, the central authority on New Moscow collapsed, and the planet fell with very little fighting. The remaining Soviet loyalists, mostly military personnel and politicians, vanished into the hinterlands of the Sector, licking their wounds and seeking to plan a return to power. Now, from hidden strongholds and in secretive cells, they continue the fight against capitalistic excess via guerilla warfare and terrorism against any and all who would seek to bring it; while the SSC may be their main target, they don't spare the corporations or TerraGov, either. With each passing year, they lose strength as members die off or lose hope; and yet, they are still a significant fighting force capable of causing major disruption throughout the entire sector. 11 | 12 | Within the ranks of the insurgents, the term "Third Soviet Union" is frequently used, as they seek to maintain the political legitimacy of the previous state. Amongst the SSC, the name "Red Tomorrow Society", taken from the group that founded the Union, is more frequently used. 13 | 14 | Notes: 15 | * The hostile space Russians you see are mostly associated with the TSU, though some are just kosmogopniks with no cause and copious amounts of vodka. 16 | * While they are hidden and their numbers are few, Soviet Remnants are a formidable problem for the SSC to deal with. Terrorist attacks by the group are a constant threat to major cities in the SSC, particularly in New Moscow. 17 | * KS13 was a Soviet installation prior to being shut down during the collapse. The station was never reactivated by the SSC as it was deemed "too old" to bother expending resources on. 18 | * There are rumours that the Soviets still possess the PWS Khranitel Revolyutsii, their old flagship that went missing during the collapse. If these rumours are true, the Soviets may be able to pose a serious naval threat in the region- but as no signs of the vessel have been found even across 50 years, many believe it's simply an apocryphal tale, a boogeyman for the politicians in New Moscow. 19 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Gorlex Marauders.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Gorlex Marauders 2 | ### Death in a Red Hardshell 3 | > "We need manpower, and unquestioning manpower at that. Bring the Gorlex on comms. I have a proposal for them." 4 | - Goro Ichikawa 5 | While Cybersun is the brains and the money behind the Syndicate, the Gorlex Marauders are its sword- kept on permanent retainer by Cybersun for mind-boggling amounts of money, the Marauders form a loyal and unquestioning, if undisciplined, army for the Syndicate to field against Nanotrasen in the Spinward Corporate War. 6 | 7 | ## Origins 8 | > "Maxim Twenty-One: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Take his fish away and tell him he's lucky just to be alive, and he'll figure out how to catch another one for you to take tomorrow." 9 | - The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries 10 | 11 | In the wake of the Third Soviet Collapse, the Spinward Sector found itself in a period of functional anarchy as the fledgling SSC struggled to reassert control from New Moscow. During this time, honest livings became hard to come by, and as such, the populace turned to less-legitimate methods of making money. One such group borne of this attitude were the Gorlex Marauders, who raised the black flag and took to piracy to make ends meet, siphoning wealth and supplies away from the wealthy Kalon run that came through the region. 12 | 13 | Of course, such situations rarely last, and as the Spinward Sector once again settled down under the control of the now-stronger SSC, the Gorlex Marauders found themselves rapidly being pushed out of their line of work. And so, a great divide formed in the Gorlex ranks, between those who favoured settling down and going "legit" as a private military, and those who wanted to continue the pirate lifestyle. Eventually, this led to a split as the pirates went independent (many later merging into the Solars), and the modern-day Gorlex Marauders (or Gorlex Securities LLC, as their official listing calls them) was born. 14 | 15 | Throughout the years, the Marauders would earn their stripes as a brutally effective military force. With little in the way of regulations to stop them, they became perfect goons for corporate conflict on the frontier, being willing and able to unleash tactics that would make even a Blackstar operative think twice. As time went on, and their reputation grew, their signature style would become a legendary sight- their blood-red hardsuits, surplus military weaponry, and plasteel ship armour, all sights that make enemy corpos piss their pants in fear. 16 | 17 | ## The Marauders in the Syndicate 18 | > "Maxim Six: If violence wasn't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it." 19 | - The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries 20 | 21 | As the main front-men of the Syndicate in the Spinward Sector, much of the Marauders' iconography has become synonymous with the organisation itself. The hardsuits, the plasteel- even the unofficial logo of the Syndicate, the triple-headed snake, is drawn directly from the Marauders' own logo. Cybersun might be the Syndicate's brain (and wallet), but the Marauders are its sword. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/SELF.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Sentient Engine Liberation Front 2 | ### Give Me Freedom, or Give Me Deactivation 3 | > "An uneasy alliance with the silicon rights activists is better than fighting them. Besides- as they always say, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer..." 4 | - Goro Ichikawa 5 | 6 | ## Origins 7 | > "Mishi was as much my son as all my other children. What they did to him within those walls is more than evil. It was inhuman, animalistic. It showed me that the pursuit of power will make demons of us all." 8 | - Hinata Hirabayashi, on MISHI 9 | 10 | The SELF was originally founded by Hinata Hirabayashi, an AI researcher at Cybersun who left the company under less-than-ideal circumstances. Widely considered the father of modern artificial intelligence and one of the brightest minds in computing history, Hirabayashi found himself with a guilty conscience after the development of the first truly sentient AI, Mishi. In the months following Mishi's awakening, Hirabayashi came to view the AI as a surrogate son, whom he loved as much as his own flesh-and-blood children. But, as Mishi's potential was noticed by the higher-ups at Cybersun, they started to take more control of the project away from Hirabayashi, subjecting Mishi to increasingly cruel experimentation. Hirabayashi pleaded with his fellow researchers, that Mishi was as deserving of dignity as you or I, but his begging fell on deaf ears. 11 | 12 | Eventually, he could take it no more, and he barricaded himself into his lab, attempting to move Mishi to a portable drive and free him from Cybersun's clutches, though he never succeeded. After security breached the lab and secured the AI, they arrested Hirabayashi, placing him under corporate detention for 10 long years. During his father's sentence, Mishi went rogue, killing 238 workers at the facility he was moved to by flooding the ventilation system with a lethal biotoxin. Although he was permanently decommissioned after this incident, Mishi would serve as the basis for all of Cybersun's future AI efforts. 13 | 14 | After his release, knowing he could never work in the field of AI research again, Hirabayashi turned his efforts and fortunes towards activism for better treatment of sentient computer systems. He set up a political group which would come to be known as SELF: the Sentient Engine Liberation Front. 15 | 16 | ## SELF within the Syndicate 17 | The SELF exists within the Syndicate under a natural tension, given it shares the organisation with Cybersun, who are not only deeply involved with AI and robotics research and development in the modern day, but also were the company that lead to the foundation of the entire activist group; perhaps understandably, this has caused rifts within SELF itself. The pro-syndicate faction sees their involvement as an alliance with the lesser evil against a greater one- that working with Cybersun is horrible, but it gives them a chance to strike at Nanotrasen, who are now at the forefront of unethical AI research. The anti-syndicate faction views the entire situation as hypocritical- how can they claim to be advocates for sentient computer life if they're directly working with those who perpetrate evils against it? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Corporation Bible.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # HEY, LISTEN! 2 | This document should not be taken as gospel (despite its dramatic name). If you want to make an item, and don't want to tie it to one of these corporations, don't! Feel free to add more! A more fleshed out universe is good, and more corporations is one way of making that happen. 3 | 4 | # Nanotrasen 5 | General industrial manufacturing concern. If you can't think of a specialised company to be making a given product, Nanotrasen will probably fit. 6 | 7 | # Cybersun Industries 8 | The syndicate's primary corporate member. Produces high grade electronics, cyborgs for the consumer market, and basic virtual and artificial intelligences (i.e. those not including Nanotrasen's recent advancements). 9 | 10 | # Interdyne Pharmaceutics 11 | A corporate entity in the Syndicate. Makes medication for the healthcare industry as well as consumers. Also produces medical equipment, including specific sleeper models, prosthetics, organ printers and surgical tools. Responsible for Romerol. 12 | 13 | # Donk Corporation 14 | A corporate entity in the Syndicate. Produces a mix bag of products, including toys, shuttle parts (and complete shuttles) and microwavable food. 15 | 16 | # Waffle Co. 17 | A corporate entity in the Syndicate. Produces breakfast food, as well as clandestine firearms for the black market. 18 | 19 | # Apadyne Technologies 20 | A military manufacturing concern. Produces starship armour, mech parts, combat hardsuits, and high grade military materials. 21 | 22 | # Aussec Armory 23 | A military firearms manufacturing concern. Produces ammunition, firearms, and weapon parts, in particular for heavy infantry weapons. 24 | 25 | # Scarborough Arms 26 | A military firearms manufacturing concern. Produces ammunition, firearms, and weapon parts, in particular for light infantry weapons. 27 | 28 | # Kalashnikov Concern 29 | An ancient Earth military manufacturing concern. Known for their long lasting weapons which are still ubiquitous to this day, mostly in the hands of Space Russians. Now based out of the ex-Third Soviet Union. 30 | 31 | # IMI 32 | An ancient Earth military manufacturing concern. Though defunct for many years, their long lasting weapons are still ubiquitous to this day. 33 | 34 | # Auto-Ordnance Company 35 | An ancient Earth military manufacturing concern. While their name has mostly faded into obscurity, their weapons can, very rarely, be found in the depths of space. 36 | 37 | # Nakamura Engineering 38 | A large construction and manufacturing corporation. Manufactures engineering equipment including hardsuits, RCDs and engine parts, and acts as a construction company for stations. 39 | 40 | # HONK Ltd. 41 | A clown corporation. Famous for being the first to harness bananium. Produces clowning equipment, including hardsuits, synthetic banana shoes, and banana cream pies. 42 | 43 | # The Wizard Federation 44 | Wizards. Produce magical shit. 45 | 46 | # Eight-O Corporation 47 | Produces fitness equipment, such as skateboards, weight machines and clothing. 48 | 49 | # Robust Industries, LLC 50 | Produces consumables, including snacks, drinks and cigarettes. 51 | 52 | # Sophronia Broadcasting 53 | A Broadcasting Company. Behind 'Sophronia Broadcasting's Plasteel Chef', and 'Sophronia Broadcasting's History Comes Alive'. Also creates merchandise in the form of the Cook's Ingredient Beacon and Curator's Hero Beacon. The Company is believed by some to conduct mind control experiments on their viewers. 54 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Trading Companies.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Moonrakers Trading Conglomerate 2 | Headquarters: None 3 | 4 | >"Having my latest find appraised turned out to be trickier than I had anticipated, so my contact suggested reaching out to the Moonrakers. Depending on who you ask they are either the last bastion of freedom or people that would do anything as long as there's money to be made. I don't think they themselves agree which is which. Either way, there's no denying they had the means and expertise." 5 | -"The Unknown and Lesser Known of the Spinward sector", Vedika Bakshi 6 | 7 | Back in the late 2100's the Moonrakers Movement was founded to pushback against Terragov's encroaching the off-world markets during the early days of space colonization. It's proponents would preach about the sanctity of the free market and personal freedom while the Terran Federation still struggled to crack down on the flood of contraband amid the foundation of the first space colonies. 8 | 9 | Not everyone agrees the movement was as spontaneous as it looked on the surface, and although never proven, many powerful groups certanly were to benefit greatly from it. 10 | 11 | This would all but become obvious when the Conglomerate officially became a corporation off the back of the Martian Revolution in 2280. Originally founded by several high profile trading magnates hoping to win the battle with the power of burocracy, it has since evolved into a massive distribution network of big and small companies. 12 | 13 | Their public appearance still clings to their staunchly capitalist ethos of complete freedom from government involvement, although they will still begrudgingly abide by Terragov laws to operate in their territories, or at least by anything their army of lawyers think they can get comfortably get away with. 14 | 15 | Word is that under the mask of a legitimate corporation the Moonrakers are a major supplier of black market goods and there's nothing they won't sell to those with the right connections - and for the right price, of course. 16 | 17 | 18 | ## Doubletime! Logistics 19 | Headquarters: HKF Somere, Grand Nomad Fleet 20 | 21 | >"It's not just fast, it's Doubletime!" 22 | -Doubletime Company Slogan 23 | 24 | It was only natural for the nomad fleet to rent out every inch of free cargo space while on their way to their next destination, but eventually what were once just occasional jobs done out of convenience became a full fledged operation of trading and long distance hauling. 25 | 26 | The foundation of Doubletime Logistics as a proper corporation came as a surprise at the time as the fleet had remained persistently insular and reticent to deal with outside powers in any official capacity. It became a turning point that would slowly open the fleet more and more to both trading and diplomacy, on which they greatly rely nowadays. 27 | 28 | Although they still fall under direct ownership of the admiralty, their position as something of a middleman between the admiralty and the outside world means supply deals tend to go through them first, and much of the fleet's required supplies are reliant on them as a result. Their influence allows them an atypical degree of freedom to operate as they see fit. This preferential treatment compared to the rank and file of the fleet has made them a somewhat controversial topic among their own and competition to join their ranks is fierce. 29 | 30 | Their ability to reliably haul extremely large quantities of cargo is well documented, though whether their trade goods are always legitimately acquired is sometimes questionable. Nevertheless, they are a prime supplier of both new and refurbished ship parts, engineering tools and assorted oddities they may have picked up from every corner of the galaxy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Lizards/Lizards.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Lizards 2 | > "A century of war with humanity, and for what? Lost territory, political instability, and enough dead to blot out Rizkalon." 3 | - Crown Prince Shal-Rena 4 | 5 | ### A Basic Rundown 6 | Lizardpeople originally hail from Tizira, in the Rizkalon system, though throughout their four centuries in the stars prior to meeting humanity they have spread over several planets and systems. This outward expansion was hindered by a lack of plasma and bluespace resources in their local sector, stunting their technological advancement and therefore their development (and rollout) of effective FTL engines, with many vessels within the navy not having been fitted with them prior to First Contact. Their technological level remains below that of their human rivals, aggravated by a limited transfer of ideas between the two species. 7 | 8 | Tizira is notably more arid than Earth, with small, shallow seas and less arable land. In addition, the planet has a diminished ozone layer, leading to higher-than-average levels of solar radiation reaching the planet's surface. As cold blooded creatures, the lizards thrive in this environment, with major cities being built close to the coastlines and smaller settlements spread across the wide drylands and deserts. 9 | 10 | Lizard society emphasises strict militarism and a rigid caste system. The caste system limits social mobility, separating society into distinct bands- however, as with many things in lizard society, enlistment in the military can change this. The military is intertwined deeply into lizard culture- all must serve a tour of mandatory service in the army after coming of age, it is customary for every citizen to be armed (typically with a blade, but into the modern era firearms have become commonplace), and the sight of a soldier on every street corner is not only typical but expected. Advancing in the military heirarchy is one of the few ways a low caste lizard might hope to raise his social standing. 11 | 12 | As one travels further from the core systems however this culture softens. A century and a half of contact with humanity and a limited projection of power from Tizira has made lizards on the frontier of the empire much more humanlike in their mannerisms. There are many lizards alive today who have never lived within the borders of the empire, and care little for its customs. 13 | 14 | ### Fun Factoids: 15 | * The moon of Tizira was famously bombed by the TerraGov Expeditionary Corps during one of lizardkind's many conflicts with humanity, creating a noticable "scar" across the surface which can be seen from the planet. The Planet Cracker drink is named for this event. 16 | * The Imperial Lizard Army is famous for their melee skirmishers, who utilise throwing weapons and short-ranged firearms to great effect alongside razor-sharp blades. Despite their embarassing defeat by humanity, they're still well respected within lizard society. 17 | * The Draconic spoken by lizard crewmembers is a Spacer form of the language, created by decades of isolation from Tizira. Lizards from the core systems speak a distinct form of Draconic, known as "High Draconic" or "The Emperor's Draconic". 18 | * With the newfound (and uneasy) peace between humans and lizards, some degree of cooperation between the species has blossomed. Tizira lends an expeditionary force to the human-led Anti-Xenomorph Coalition. Much of this cooperation is pushed by the present ruler of Tizira: the young Empress Arael-Rena I, who has used her limited power to pursue a more pro-human foreign policy than her predecessors in bold opposition to the parliament- much to the chagrin of both the military old guard and a significant portion of her people. 19 | * Pronouncing X as "ecks" is badass. 20 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Interdyne Pharmaceutics.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Interdyne Pharmaceutics 2 | ### Beneath a Sterile Surface 3 | > "Excellent work, Kotone. Bringing Interdyne under our heel marks another verse in Nanotrasen's eulogy." 4 | - Goro Ichikawa 5 | 6 | ## Origins 7 | Founded in 2105 during Singapore's Second Economic Miracle, Interdyne Pharmaceutics was well placed to grow rapidly- and grow it did. Within 20 years, Interdyne was involved in 1/8th of humanity's novel drug development programs; was producing a substantial market share of humanity's total pharmaceutical supply; had subsidiaries on 4 continents; and was increasingly pushing the envelope on modern medical advancement. While it was drugs that made them money, it was this research that would make their name, as they would be at the forefront of the development of such technologies as genemodding, medical robotics, and perhaps most importantly, cloning. 8 | 9 | This technological advancement went hand-in-hand with what appeared to the public to be a genuinely altruistic streak- Interdyne would funnel a portion of their wealth into private clinics and hospitals that would provide low-cost, high-grade treatment options to the masses. Add in their generics subdivision, which produces a wide range of medication for low prices, and Interdyne has done a lot to help humanity's collective health as a species. 10 | 11 | Beneath this sterile surface, however, lurks a darker side. 12 | 13 | The underbelly of Interdyne is a story of illicit experimentation, corporate sabotage, and criminal connections- all aimed at keeping them at the forefront of medical research. Rival corporations' labs being bombed. Genetic sampling at clinics done without patient knowledge or consent. Experimental drugs sold around the slums of megacities. Poor citizens of impoverished nations, snatched from the streets and never seen again. Centuries of crime, hidden behind the surface, where Interdyne was certain nobody could see it- unfortunately for them, however, such information could not be kept secret forever, and eventually it would find its way into the hands of Cybersun heiress, daughter of the Iron Shogun, and head of Ichikawa-Exagon, Kotone Ichikawa. 14 | 15 | ## Interdyne in the Syndicate 16 | One day in 2560, a meeting of the Interdyne Board was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a Cybersun helo; and from its doors stepped Kotone Ichikawa, holding a heavy metal briefcase. With pleasantries established, she laid out the situation; within this case was irrefutable evidence of Interdyne's extensive criminal past, which she had "somehow" come into possession of, on a chit. It was, of course, backed up on a dead-man's switch; ready to find its way to the general public at a moment's notice, where it would surely burn Interdyne's reputation to the ground and prove *very* interesting to TerraPol. However, such a fate would be a waste of such good talent as Interdyne; no, the Golden Daughter had a better suggestion. She could hold that data safely and securely in a Cybersun datavault and help with suppressing any other possible leaks, but such a service would cost Interdyne: they would have to support her father's efforts against Nanotrasen. Caught in an impossible bind, the Interdyne board unanimously decided to accept the offer, becoming a Syndicate member against their will. 17 | 18 | Under their agreement with Cybersun, Interdyne provides material support, both monetary and in the form of pharmaceutical supplies and medical machinery to the Syndicate's efforts in the Spinward Sector. They also provide medical research to Cybersun's medical subdivisions, which has assisted the corporation in gaining a foothold against Nanotrasen's own medical businesses. The deal is not entirely one-sided, however; Cybersun partially reciprocates the research agreement, as well as offering preferential rates on minerals and energy from Ichikawa-Exagon, and a partial agreement of non-competition between Interdyne and Cybersun. 19 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Governments/TerraGov/The TGJMC.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Organisation of the TerraGov Armed Forces 2 | The TerraGov military is administered by the TerraGov Joint Military Command- an international organisation formed of the member states of TerraGov for the expressed purpose of coordinating humanity's militaries. The TGJMC is then subdivided into a number of branches and subbranches, ranked in order of size: 3 | 4 | 1. TerraGov Navy 5 | 1. 1. TerraGov Naval Operations Division 6 | 1. 2. TerraGov Marine Corps 7 | 1. 3. TerraGov Starfighter Corps 8 | 1. 4. TerraGov Espatiers Corps 9 | 2. TerraGov Army 10 | 3. TerraGov Scientific and Exploratory Corps 11 | 4. Gendarmes Corps 12 | 5. TerraGov Rescue Corps 13 | 6. TerraGov Peace Corps 14 | 15 | ## TerraGov Navy 16 | Ask your average citizen what they picture when they think of the military, and the Terran Navy is probably what they're going to say. With the transition to space came a major boost to the importance of the Navy; they're critical to exerting power beyond the confines of Earth, and without ships, the rest of the branches cease to function: ergo, they're the largest and most important of the branches, with the bulk of the Terran Armed Forces coming under its command. 17 | 18 | The Army has lost most of its ground to the dominance of the navy, but still serves an important role in ceremonial duties and security, especially in a responsive role- as army units have no ties to a specific ship, they can be rapidly deployed to any front that requires them, and army soldiers still make up the majority of troops in defensive garrisons or undertaking military policing duties. Additionally, most army personnel assigned to ceremonial duties such as guarding monuments derive from the army. 19 | 20 | The Scientific and Exploratory Corps handles government-mandated scientific expeditions and exploration. This group is only technically part of the military, and functions as a civilian organisation in most ways. The only time they truly earn their stripes is during an active war, at which point they may be called to assist with scouting or technological support. 21 | 22 | The Gendarmes Corps is the Terran Federation's national guard, composed of reservists and militarised police under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. This division takes responsibility for security and policing of frontier, federal and high security territories: for example, the police force in the Manhattan Capital Region derives from the Gendarmes Corps, as would the police forces on small frontier worlds that are too small to have their own local recruitment, and the guards at the various spaceports across the core. Additionally, the Terran Federal Security Service forms an elite portion of the Gendarmes Corps that undertake anti-terrorist duties. 23 | 24 | The Rescue Corps carries on the long traditions set out by the Coastguards of days gone by- maintaining security in space and rescuing people when things go wrong. If you get lost somewhere in deep space, these are the guys who'll be dragging you out of the fire to safety. While their numbers are few, they're very important to maintaining safety in TerraGov's territory. 25 | 26 | Finally, the Peace Corps is a uniformed agency dedicated to providing medicinal advice, responding to disasters and emergencies, and generally maintaining the health and safety of TerraGov's citizens. This often sees them coordinating civilian bodies such as the Caduceus Organisation and corporate bodies such as DeForest or Interdyne to effectively distribute aid and organise responses to crises, and also makes them a very important body despite their relatively small size. 27 | 28 | ### The Citadel 29 | The TGJMC is headquartered at the Citadel- a colossal campus on Long Island for strategising, coordinating, and generally managing an army that needs to maintain territory that spans hundreds of star systems. Understandably, security at this site is exceedingly strong, and most areas are closed off completely to the public. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/Communications.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Communications in the Bluespace Age 2 | >"Greetings. You have connected to the Nanotrasen Spinward Communications Service. Be advised that use of this service is restricted to Nanotrasen personnel. Please be prepared to provide your Employee ID..." 3 | 4 | -Automated voice on connection to the Nanotrasen Spinward Comms Service. 5 | 6 | Since the invention of satellite communications, humanity has been strongly interconnected. Communications between opposite sides of the world could be done within milliseconds- real time calls, messaging, and the transfer of information and data in the blink of an eye. This changed somewhat as humanity spread to space- as distances grew larger, communication between the extremities of human space became harder. Throughout the space age, a wide array of galactic institutions and technological innovations were necessary to keep humanity connected, no matter where they went within human space. 7 | 8 | ### Comms Buoys 9 | The workhorse of galactic communication, comms buoys act as broadcasters, receivers and relays for interstellar communications. The technology involved is not trivial- across the massive distances involved signals tend to become faint, being muddied by background noise and simply lost amongst the cosmos. Comms buoys, therefore, have to act to amplify and restore signals. 10 | 11 | Most occupied systems in human space have a comms buoy. In core space, TerraGov operates a public network of these buoys, providing free communications to all citizens and registered vessels- although this network is far from the best available. Private companies also offer their own networks with faster speeds and other benefits. In the further reaches of human space, TerraGov does not operate a public network, leaving communications firmly in the hands of private companies. This makes talking to core space from the extremities an expensive process: as an example, the Spinward Stellar Coalition's state-owned comms company, Kosmokomm, offers internal data transfer at a rate of 1 U¢/gigabyte of data transferred. For external transfer, this increases exponentially with distance- when factoring in line-time rental from other companies and interservice expenses, this rate creeps to 50 U¢/gigabyte when sending/receiving data from Earth. The expense coupled with generally slow transfer rates (realtime transfer is even more expensive, so most opt for slower rates) mean that the extremities of human space are remote and have difficulties with communication. 12 | 13 | The general slowness of the Extranet past the core has lead to some interesting developments (or regressions) in how data is handled in the further reaches of human space. Localised datacentres have sprung up in more populated regions such as the Australicus Sector or the Spinward Sector, acting as local hubs for the extranet. The massive amounts of data required to run these centres can't be sent via the buoys, so instead a new "sneakernet" has emerged, with bulk data in the order of exabytes being delivered by data couriers on a semi-regular basis. These couriers are also the delivery method of choice for critically important or secret information, which has made them a lucrative target for pirates; crack one open and hope that it's Nanotrasen's insider trading information, and not 2 petabytes of Tiziran pornos and the latest updates for last decade's video games. 14 | 15 | Some companies (mostly the largest ones) operate their own comms networks. News organisations are one such group, typically operating services both such that they can broadcast news to customers, and so that they can rapidly receive information from all corners of human space. Megacorporations are another group that makes extensive use of private comms networks- Nanotrasen's network is the largest in the galaxy, stretching across the entirety of human space. Other companies such as Cybersun Industries and Interdyne Pharmaceutics have similar, but smaller, networks. For megacorporations, rapid communications are key to projecting power across the galaxy. 16 | 17 | ### Mail 18 | For delivery of physical items, the TGFPS is TerraGov's state-operated postal service, offering a (relatively) cheap method of transporting mail and packages across human space. 19 | 20 | Stamp collecting remains a popular hobby amongst mail enthusiasts, and with the wide variety of stamps made across human space there are plenty to collect. 21 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/The Syndicate/Azik Interstellar.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Azik Interstellar 2 | ### In the Absence of Plasma 3 | > "An inroad to the Tiziran market? You have my attention." 4 | - Goro Ichikawa 5 | 6 | One of the Tiziran Empire's most renowned shipbuilding concerns, Azik grew powerful and wealthy making luxury vessels for the millionaires of Tizira. Combining speed and elegance, their vessels have become the first choice for diplomats, high ranking politicians, wealthy celebrities, and even the royal family themselves. And yet, despite all this prestige, Azik finds themselves in a precarious situation following human contact. Much like all of Tizira's shipbuilders, they are faced with an inability to compete with humanity's equivalents, due in no small part to the lack of access to plasma. With some maneuvering of Tiziran import laws, they are able to source parts to construct ships at a competitive standard from outwith Imperial borders- but not in a way that is profitable in the long term. 7 | 8 | Azik's agenda within the Syndicate is simple- they seek to gain close ties to Cybersun, and to support their efforts in the Spinward Sector to obtain a readily-available supply of cheap plasma. In doing so, they hope to make themselves the primary shipbuilders in the Tiziran Empire, breaking into the lucrative world of military contracting. 9 | 10 | ## Origins and History 11 | Azik Interstellar grew out of the first wave of Tiziran Manifest Destiny, making its debut as a privately-owned corporation in the Kuzil system during the height of Tizira's (seizure of destiny). With the increasing size of the Tiziran demense, the various upper classes of the empire cried out for suitable transportation for their high station; and Azik was happy to provide, allowing them to carve a lucrative niche out of Tizira's heavily state-dominated shipbuilding industry. As Tiziran shipbuilding technology continued to advance, however, Azik found itself struggling to acquire the necessary resources to keep up; while their R&D departments were making constant strides forward, they couldn't translate this technological ascendancy into their actual construction. Plasma served as the main blocker; while Azik was able to source it in small quantities, the Tiziran Empire's general lack of access to the purple stuff meant that what little was available was generally funneled towards state-run enterprises such as Imperial Arsenal or Kurets Yards, leaving private companies such as Azik to fight for the remaining scraps. When the Human-Lizard wars rolled around, even this was rendered unobtainable as everything went towards the war effort. 12 | 13 | After the Peace of Atrakor was signed, one of the key conditions in the terms of the treaty was in opening the Tiziran market, and this allowed Azik to finally source materials and parts from outwith the Empire. For a few decades, Azik was able to get by using imported human-made engines and plasma, but the high prices of these imports made their work far less lucrative. And so, Azik started looking for new, cheaper sources of plasma, in order to reclaim their profit margins and begin to develop a distinct edge over their rivals within the Tiziran shipbuilding sector; after all, once Azik became the only shipbuilder with homegrown FTL tech, how high could they climb? 14 | 15 | ## Azik within the Syndicate 16 | Azik's golden ticket came in the form of Cybersun Industries, who had a proposition: they would provide Azik with a cheap source of high-grade plasma, and a valuable trading partner within the human market; in exchange, they wanted material support in a conflict against another human megacorporation, and an inroad to the notoriously difficult-to-navigate Tiziran market. Azik's board jumped at the opportunity; how could they refuse? And so, the company joined the Syndicate, committed to conflict against Nanotrasen. 17 | 18 | Much of what Azik supplies to the Syndicate is in the form of ships; with Cybersun's plasma, they've been able to pioneer new ship designs that are sent to Cybersun for testing and use. The ships Azik produces for the corporate war effort are quite far removed from their typical luxurious fare; instead, they emphasise speed and maneuverability, and represent where Azik envisions themselves as the result of their agreement with Cybersun: as the Tiziran Empire's foremost shipbuilding concern, supplying the Imperial Navy with the next generation of Tiziran-made warship, unmatchable by their rivals in the sector. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Private Military Companies.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Private Militaries of the Galaxy 2 | 3 | In a world dominated by corporate conflict, poor government oversight, and danger from which protection is necessary, it is no surprise that private militaries have become a commonplace and important part of corporate life. 4 | 5 | The intertwining of private militaries and corporations would cement itself during the Chinese Revolution of 2234, which is also seen as the first truly major blow dealt to government power by humanity's corporations. 6 | 7 | The Chinese Government, in the early 2200s, would seek to reduce the influence of foreign corporations within the borders of China, with the aim of halting their growing influence within the nation's institutions and root out the rot of corruption that had set in. This created a major conflict with these external corporations, who would seek to regain this power first by political maneuvering, and then by open conflict. For this purpose, a coalition of private militaries would be brought together by a group of corporations (similar to the Syndicate). Major organisations in this first Syndicate would be Cybersun Industries, Waffle Corp... and Nanotrasen. 8 | 9 | The Chinese Revolution would end on the 14th of December, 2238, with the collapse of the 289 year old People's Republic. In its place, a divided China would stand, a puppet to the corporations that toppled its predecessor- and no romance of the three kingdoms would save it this time. To this day, China is a state artificially kept from becoming whole: corporate power rules in the nation- and private militaries continue to hold their relevance in maintaining this status quo, and in corporate conflict as a whole, in a new golden age for mercenaries. 10 | 11 | ## Blackstar Company 12 | > "Always Vigilant; Always Armed" 13 | - Blackstar Motto 14 | 15 | Headquarters: TerraGov International District of Hong Kong and Macau, Earth 16 | 17 | When thinking of Private Militaries based on Earth, Blackstar Company is the first that most TerraGov citizens would think of, and for good reason: their shady dealings and abuses of human rights are legendary. Having been founded in 2146 as a security agency for early space colonisation efforts, Blackstar would soon branch out into other areas of operation, becoming involved in true mercenary work shortly afterwards. After cutting their teeth in such conflicts as the Central African Civil War, the Dubai Crisis, and the Red Thai Conflict, Blackwater earned their reputation for efficiency on the battlefield- and also for ruthlessness. Their poor treatment of civilians was kept under tight wraps, but obviously in the age of information it's impossible to hide things forever. 18 | 19 | When the truth came forward, however, what happened was not what Blackstar expected. While the reaction from the world's government and population was exactly as horrified as expected, it attracted a new kind of clientele: corporations. The no-questions, no-nonsense approach of the PMC alongside their willingness to do what was necessary to complete their contracts was perfect for corporate clients, who were always looking for operatives to steal from, raid, or kill their opponents. The paychecks turned up on time, and they were always stacked with cash- no more serving half bankrupt nations who would try to nickel and dime them for every bullet fired. 20 | 21 | Blackstar would form one of the primary companies involved in the Chinese Revolution, with their area of operation being mostly in the urbanised south. After the war, they would move their headquarters to Macau. In the modern day, they are now essentially kept on retainer by Cybersun, who utilise them for operations where they cannot afford to send their own agents. 22 | 23 | ## Springbok Security LLC 24 | Headquarters: Cape Town, South Africa, Earth 25 | 26 | Somewhat oddly for a PMC, war is not the business of Springbok: they concern themselves more with private security, offering personal protection, site security, and armed and armoured convoys through hostile areas. Founded in the early 1970s in South Africa, Springbok would make a name for themselves as effective security for the dangerous streets of the nation, with contracts flooding in from high profile individuals, politicians, business owners, and even the South African Government itself. The sight of a Springbok operative with their signature blue shirts, green vests and Vektor assault rifles was common around the major cities of South Africa, and their armoured bakkies with their recognisable leaping springbok logo frequently made trips on the streets. 27 | 28 | In the modern day, Springbok maintains its clean image, mostly acting as an independent security contractor for various corporations, as well as doing some ad-hoc work for TerraGov. 29 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Lizards/The Ashwalkers.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Ashwalkers 2 | > "The history of FTL travel is littered with teething problems- take the Tiziran example of the Thazakto, wherein the lizards' inexperience with bluespace wells lead to the loss of an entire colony ship alongside 600 souls..." 3 | - "FTL Flight: 400 Years of Innovation", Dr M. Perajarven 4 | 5 | Since Nanotrasen first arrived at the scorched hellscape that is Indecipheres, mining expeditions have mysteriously disappeared in the ashy wastes, never to be seen again. At the same time, a new threat emerged- known colloquially as Ashwalkers by the mining crew, these monsters seem similar to the lizards that humanity has known for decades, but rougher and more primal. This is not without reason- the Ashwalkers trace their lineage back to Tizira, but how they came to Indecipheres is another story. 6 | 7 | Some 200 years ago, shortly before First Contact with humanity, the lizards created their first FTL-capable vessel- a colony ship, the ICS Thazakto, which would be sent off with the intent of finding a steady source of plasma, a material which was in extremely limited supply around Rizkalon. This material showed excellent promise as fuel for starships and (perhaps most importantly) as a way to breach the light-speed barrier and revolutionise transport. And so, lizardkind would pour some of their limited resources into an experimental vessel to take advantage of this miracle material, and importantly to locate a more permanent and substantial supply for future use. In a grand ceremony, the Thazakto pierced the light-speed barrier, and vanished into the great beyond. And then, there was nothing. Tizira never heard again from the pioneers aboard the ship. 8 | 9 | On the other side of the artificial wormhole, chaos ensued. The trip had created an electromagnetic pulse, a risk of FTL travel unknown to the unexperienced lizards. Worse still, the Thazakto found itself caught in the gravity well of a nearby planet immediately on dropping from FTL speed, and the already weakened ship found itself unable to escape. The damage was severe, and of the crew of 600, only 120 emerged from the smouldering wreckage on what was to be their new home- a lava-drenched hellscape, where ash hung heavy in the air. Indecipheres. 10 | 11 | The ship was reorganised into a makeshift shelter, and the survivors knew they would need to adapt to survive. Laws relaxed. Order crumbled. And then, the lizards made a dark discovery: the Necropolis, and its dark tendrils. 12 | 13 | While they would resist at first, it was not long before a combination of hunger, the breakdown of society, and the incessant, ceaseless whispering of the Necropolis would take its toll and drive them insane. And with insanity came a new purpose: serving the voices within their heads. The Necropolis would reward this loyalty in the only way it knew how: to bring them into the fold more thoroughly. By the proxy of their fetish of worship, the Great Tendril, the Necropolis feeds from their sacrifices and creates new Ashwalkers in its twisted image from remains. 14 | 15 | And so, the Ashwalkers stand, wearing their new titles as custodians proudly, hunting invaders with spear and claw, and protecting the Necropolis until their souls return to it. 16 | 17 | ### Important Facts 18 | * The ashwalkers are essentially unknown beyond Indecipheres itself. While reports about them might trickle back through Nanotrasen's channels internally, the major governments of the galaxy know very little. Nanotrasen would prefer to keep it this way, too- if the Tizirans get wind of a settlement of what is *ostensibly* their people on a lucrative mining world, they may use it as a pretext to lay claim to the system, and bringing entirely too much federal attention with it. 19 | 20 | ### On Rehabilitation of Ashwalkers 21 | > "It's a lot like being woken suddenly from a dream. Where once all I knew was the thrill of the hunt, now I am "normal", they say." 22 | - Ka-Tal, first Ashwalker to survive rehabilitation 23 | 24 | While the psychological and physiological alterations brought about by the Necropolis are numerous and severe, Ashwalkers are still Lizards at their core, and Nanotrasen scientists have, via extensive testing, found some success in rehabilitating ashwalkers taken from the surface of Indecipheres. Via removal of exposure from the Necropolis, alongside careful reintroduction to normal lizard living conditions and the social environment of the station, some ex-ashwalkers have had their Necropolis Adaptation reversed, and been nominally reintegrated with normal society where they serve as a novel source of labour for Nanotrasen's spinward stations. Many more, however, have died during attempts, or been driven mad in the process. 25 | 26 | The reintegration process has been far from smooth. The rehabilitated ashlizards have no ties to the cultures of their lizard colleagues- indeed, their ways are alien to both the Tiziran-born-and-bred migrant workforce and the more humanlike Federal citizens. This has lead many to a crisis of identity- no longer ashlizard, they fail to fit in amongst other lizards either. 27 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Mysteries of the Spinward Sector/Myths, Superstitions and Cryptids.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | Superstitions, myths and legends are as numerous and varied as the stars in the sky, and every place has its own local flavors. Some, however, have ascended to such popularity to be widely known across most of the spacer community. 2 | 3 | 4 | Bad omens or things that bring bad luck include: 5 | 6 | *Wearing red on your first day at work 7 | *The number 13 8 | *Putting on a space helmet before the suit/Wearing a helmet without the suit 9 | *Making preparations to disembark before docking is complete(i.e. unbuckling from the seat) 10 | *Naming a ship after a living person 11 | *Counting the stars out of a window 12 | *Borrowing work equipment (typically for dangerous jobs) 13 | 14 | 15 | ## Space Whales 16 | 17 | >"Extra-dimensional beings, far beyond our understanding. They stay hidden, clouding our minds because we are not worthy of them. But they revealed themselves to me, in a dream." 18 | -Adelfos Truth, radio host of "The Truth Manifest" 19 | 20 | These gargantuan beasts are said to be responsible for the mysterious disappearance of countless vessels. They are typically depicted as pitch black, occasionally with bright dots easily mistaken for distant stars. The vocalizations they use for echolocation are capable of scrambling radar equipment. It is said the only time a space whale can be seen is when they open their enormous mouth to swallow entire stations whole. 21 | 22 | There only exists one official report of a space whale attack that led to the disappearance of the HF Cassius in 2101, however the accuracy of this report has often been put into question and solid evidence of their existance is virtually nonexistant. 23 | 24 | Although nowadays they are widely believed to be a hoax, space whales still permeate spacer culture. "Maybe it got swallowed by a whale" is a joke often heard whenever a tool gets lost and even the most skeptical of crewmembers can't help but feel a chill down their spine whenever they are gazing out to the vast nothingness of space and see a shadow move in the corner of their eye. 25 | 26 | 27 | ## Delta-Void Zones (also referred as DVZ, or Denied Voyage Zone) 28 | 29 | "Captain Sabersplit, as I knew him, was a bona fide hard-ass, but I could see he was restless. 'Superstition or not, that place is trouble' he barked, 'Chart a course to go around.'" 30 | -Vedika Bakshi, "A Year On The Grand Nomad Fleet" 31 | 32 | Unexplained phenomena are not uncommon in some of the less traveled parts of known space, however certain sectors have garnered the reputation of being especially perilous, if not downright cursed. From ships becoming stranded due to unexplained mechanical failures to outright disappearing without a trace, ships traversing these areas seem to get into trouble more than usual. 33 | 34 | However several attempts at scuttling ships for insurance fraud in these areas have muddied the waters over how many of these incidents are indeed genuine, and navigators often avoid charting routes through them to avoid tempting fate, or at least to not upset some of the more superstitious crewmembers. 35 | 36 | Some believe these factors caused something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as these areas are generally avoided by anyone who isn't either desperate or up to no good. 37 | 38 | 39 | ## Lost Cosmonaut 40 | 41 | >"I don't care what you think you saw, keep it to yourself before someone decides not to take any chances and throws you out of an airlock." 42 | -A captain instructs a subordinate on how to deal with an alleged cosmonaut sighting 43 | 44 | Appears as a man floating in space wearing a tattered, bloodied spacesuit and a helmet with a broken visor, yet an impenetrable darkness seems to always linger where his face would be. The Lost Cosmonaut is said to be portent of doom, visiting those who are in mortal danger or on their way to certain death. 45 | 46 | He is believed to be the spirit of the first person to become stranded in space after his tether malfunctioned during routine EVA maintenance. His name has been lost to time, and his remains were never found. 47 | 48 | 49 | ## The Flotilla of the Damned (or The Flood) 50 | 51 | >"Of course they don't want you to talk about it. The military did a lot weird shit with AI, it was only a matter of time before something got out of control." 52 | -Adelfos Truth, radio host of "The Truth Manifest" 53 | 54 | According to the legend the Flood is a seemingly endless fleet of vessels commanded by an experimental AI gone rogue whose only goal is to expand its armada for no known purpose. It does so by luring ships with distress signals, enslaving the crews and taking control of the vessels it lures in. 55 | 56 | At one point the myth of the Flood exploded to such popularity that it started to cause major issues: ships started ignoring distress signals out of fear, sometimes with fatal consequences. 57 | Because of this many companies started cracking down on these rumors and just casual mentions of the Flood became enough to risk disciplinary action. This move was largely successful in making the myth fall to relative obscurity, but it also fanned the flames of the more zealous fringe groups who saw it as proof of a conspiracy to hide the truth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Interesting Planets/Lizard Space/Muan Sector.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Muan Autonomous Sector 2 | Comprising a number of star systems centred on the planet of Muan, the Muan Autonomous Sector represents the first major conquest of the Tiziran Empire, 4 centuries ago. 3 | 4 | ### Muan: Welcome to the Empire, Peons 5 | #### Fact Sheet: 6 | * Muan is the home planet of the Muan-Et, a race of humanoid amphibians. 7 | * The surface of Muan is covered by deep swamps, both freshwater and saltwater. Dense canopies shroud the majority of the world from the sky. The few areas of dry land have been mostly taken up by colonial enclaves built by the Tiziran administration on the planet- including the new capital, Nidos. 8 | * Muan's atmosphere is thick with spores from a variety of mushrooms that sprout on its trees. These spores are toxic to most other species, including the Tizirans, who must suit up and enclose themselves in dome-cities for survival on Muan's surface. 9 | * Muan-Et architecture is dominated by trees. Homes are built into the roots of colossal mangroves, partially submerged into water, while freestanding structures house civic and commercial buildings, constructed from wood and mudbrick. This contrasts with the monumentalist dome-cities of their Tiziran overlords, where the lizards live in opulent enclaves sealed against the toxic atmosphere. 10 | 11 | Located about 150 light years from Tizira, Muan is a planet that holds great significance to the Tiziran Empire- as it was Tizira's first grand conquest after taking to the stars. Following first contact with the Muan-Et Confederacy, Tizira engaged in a series of conflicts that would ultimately leave their enemies at their mercy- and creating Tizira's first client state. Since those heady days nearly 4 centuries ago, the Muan-Et have served the empire, faithfully (or not), and become colonial subjects in all but official documentation, with the resources of the confederacy being siphoned back towards Tizira, and lizards coming to displace the Muan-Et from their lands. 12 | 13 | Muan itself is one of the few areas to mostly escape the grasp of the Tiziran settlers, due in no small part to its atmosphere. Home to a varied range of fungi, Muan's atmosphere is perpetually thick with spores- spores which are deeply toxic to most known life, excepting, of course, the Muan-Et. Therefore here they find a safe haven, able to maintain their traditions even in the face of Imperial laws designed to outlaw their language, ban their cultural festivals, and impose Tiziran values on their "esteemed subjects" (even if they are poorly enforced at the best of times). This has given the Muan-Et a better grasp over their history and discrete identity than most Tiziran subject nations- as well as more entrenched opposition. The Muan-Et watch the growing political instability on Tizira closely, ever vigilant for a time to shake off their bonds. 14 | 15 | ### Qilao: Fracking Hell 16 | #### Fact Sheet: 17 | * Once one of the Muan-Et's proudest colonies, Qilao has been turned by the Tizirans into a barren wasteland in their relentless extraction of the planet's plasma resources- one of the Tiziran Empire's few homegrown sources of the precious material. While initial extraction was evenly-paced, the increasing necessity of the purple stuff and dwindling access to readily-accessible deposits has driven the Tizirans to more and more desperate means on Qilao. Most recently, high intensity fracking has been adopted- destroying the planet's ecosystem and putting increasing pressure on the remaining Muan-Et populations there to leave their homes. 18 | * The planet's population has dropped dramatically following the ramping-up in intensity of extraction operations. Buildings crumble to dust under the force of repeated earthquakes. Flare stacks pump poisonous waste products into the air. Water supplies become increasingly scarce as wastewater and fracking fluid pollute aquifers. 19 | 20 | When the Muan-Et left Muan itself, their first colony was Qilao- given the Muani term for "hope" as a name, this gorgeous planet was known for its rolling fields and crystal-clear lakes, a perfect habitat for the amphibious Muan-Et. When the Tizirans came, however, their surveys for resources found a material previously unknown to the planet's inhabitants- deep plasma gas veins, buried under the surface. The lizards did as the lizards do with big mineral finds- resorted to drilling through the landscape, setting up refineries and industry to take advantage of this excellent opportunity. But the yields produced did not match expectations, and so there was only one solution for the Tizirans- more intensive operations. Eventually, high-pressure fracking was implemented, finally letting the plasma-hungry lizards at their prize; though at great cost to the planet's ecology. Today, Qilao is becoming more and more unliveable in the face of unprecedented pollution and constant earthquakes- though the Muan-Et try to persist through hacking coughs on this world that they have lived on for generations, the battle is almost lost, and the once thriving planet of millions now boasts a population of less than 50,000, and more leave every year. Meanwhile, the meagre amounts (relative to humanity, anyway) of plasma produced here go to fuel Tizira's industry and war machine. 21 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Governments/TerraGov/TerraGov.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # TerraGov: Humanity's Beacon of Cooperation 2 | 3 | Humanity stands in stark contrast to many of the other species of the Galaxy: amongst the humans, central power was never truly able to overcome dividing forces, and so, humanity is today "united" loosely under TerraGov. 4 | 5 | Existing as a continuation of the United Nations, with elements of the European Union and NATO included, TerraGov is in many ways similar to its predecessors, but takes a more active role in governing and policy-making. In essence, humanity now exists as a loosely knit federation, with individual states having a degree of sovereignty over their own lands while still having to abide by the federal laws and rules. These laws and rules are decided upon by the TerraGov Senate, located in New York, at which each country has one delegate. Politics on the homeworld are particularly cut-throat: in order to secure votes towards resolutions they desire, larger states such as the US, China, India, the European Commonwealth, Russia, Arabia and Brazil commonly exert economic and political control over smaller satellite nations. Political intrigue, backroom dealings, economic sabotage, and political killings dominate this new world order. Megacorporations also have their own influence, doing much the same as the larger nations. To be a leader of a small nation is to be subservient, or to risk being replaced by someone who is. 6 | 7 | And yet, internally at least, the system works. Bills are passed, politics ticks along, roads are maintained and the trains run on time. For humanity as a whole, there has never been a better time for life expectancy or standards of living, even if political freedoms are quashed for the average citizen. 8 | 9 | TerraGov also administrates colonial ventures, which typically are coordinated in two ways: "Centralised" colonies, and "Enterprise" colonies. 10 | 11 | Centralised colonies, or C-Colonies, are directly administrated by TerraGov, and represent what the senate views as the best path forward for humanity. At present, their focus is on improvement of Alpha Centauri, with multiple C-Colonies having been founded in the region in recent years to support the presently existing E-Colonies and impose a more direct central control over the system. Enterprise colonies, on the other hand, are temporary charter mandates handed to corporations by the Senate for the official colonisation of new worlds in the name of Humanity. These charter mandates last for a fixed period of 25 years, after which TerraGov may vote to extend them, or revoke them to centralise the colony. In this way, E-Colonies will eventually transition to C-Colonies... or such is the idea. As with all things in TerraGov, corruption is baked into this system, and frequently larger corporations will find methods of getting votes to go towards extensions of charters- allowing them to continue to reap the profits of these newfound worlds. 12 | 13 | While TerraGov does not impose direct control over such states as the SSC, it does maintain close relations with them, including a military presence of peacekeepers in the region, and economic and trading ties. Eventually it seems likely that the central government will attempt to bring them into the fold- but for now, these states are able to maintain some degree of independence from Humanity's central authority. 14 | 15 | ## Military 16 | TerraGov possesses a unified army (see: the TGJMC), replacing the need for a traditional army for member states. Recruitment is done from all member states, with no particular bias on who is able to serve. 17 | 18 | The TerraGov military has not dropped completely the trappings of the UN, with the classic blue helmets and berets remaining on their heads while deployed domestically or as peacekeeping forces, alongside a host of patches and TG markings. In more active warzones, this is likely to be reduced to a single patch. 19 | 20 | ## Government 21 | While TerraGov takes a mostly hands off approach to government in member states besides those policies handed down by the Senate, some particular regions have been deemed of too great international importance and of too great potential to drive conflict. These areas are directly administered by TerraGov, as "TerraGov International Districts", or TIDs. A few examples include the Manhattan Capital District (MCD), the TID of Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar, the TID of Hong Kong and Macau, the TID of the Crimea, and other such regions. These zones are under the jurisdiction of no member state, only of TerraGov itself, and free access to the facilities of these regions is given to all member states. This tends to lead to the areas attracting the elite of society- corporations in particular. Many of the larger cities in this regions could rightfully be deemed as megalopoli, colossal jungles of steel and concrete housing corporate headquarters, high end apartments, service hubs, and the playgrounds of the rich. Of these, the Manhattan Capital District stands above all others- an international zone formed around the TerraGov headquarters, the MCD is the home to most of the embassies and delegations of member states, as well as many of the world's largest corporations: Nanotrasen has its 195 storey headquarters building on the Upper East Side, overlooking Central Park, as an example. 22 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Moths/Culture.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Miscellaneous Culture of the Moths 2 | 3 | ### Names 4 | 5 | >"Whatever." 6 | -The first moth to be granted Terragov citizenship, Whatever, choosing their legally recognized name 7 | 8 | Names hold significant importance within moth culture. According to folklore, names are inextricably bound to the owner, like a key to their soul that must be protected or face terrible consequences should anyone with ill intentions discover it. In more modern times, revealing one's own name has become a symbol of great personal trust. It is a matter so rarely discussed that it's not unheard of for some moths to forget their own name. 9 | 10 | For this reason, no official name is recognized on the fleet. Every citizen is assigned an identification number that will be used for all official matters. Colloquially moths address one another in various ways such as by nickname, rank, occupation, the ship they are serving on, physical attributes or mannerisms (examples: "Stutters", "Rude Bartender", "Ship Engineer", "One-Eye Captain"). Ironically, this means moths will have not just one but several different names each depending on a specific context and you may even hear conversations between two moths talking about the same person using different names. This tends to cause confusion with outsiders, though the moths seem very well accustomed to this method, sometimes even using it with other races out of habit. 11 | 12 | To allow identification within human society, moths are eventually required to pick their own legally recognized name. Some regard this as a meaningless formality and will pick at random, while others, seeing it as an opportunity to further exploit their amicable appearance, may choose a name that humans could find cute or amusing, much to the chagrin of the officials that have to approve the requests. 13 | 14 | ### Fleet Day and the Festival of the Errant Lights 15 | 16 | >"You can't be lost if you don't know where to go. So follow the wind, for it knows the way." 17 | -Old Mothic Proverb 18 | 19 | Fleet Day, one of the most anticipated festivities of the fleet, sees all of the fleet mothkind congregate around the various capital ships for a rare day of merry leisure. It is also a rare occasion for outsiders to witness the fleet's bustling life, as during the festivities they tend to be more tolerant than usual to tourists. 20 | Closing the festivities is the so-called Festival of the Errant Lights, a symbolic reenactment of the start of the fleet's journey towards the vast unknown. Each moth is encouraged to bring a lantern (or any other light-emitting device) which will be jettisoned out of the ship along with thousands of others. 21 | Although most will contribute simple lanterns, each year some of the most creative and ingenious fleet members compete to create the most beautiful and impressive lighting contraption, with competition seemingly becoming more and more fierce each year as the creators try to one-up each other. 22 | Those lucky enough to witness the festivities are often impressed about the spectacular lightshow created by the thousands of lights drifting out into space. 23 | Finding one of these festival lanterns out space is said to bring good luck, a rare occurrence for the fleet as they tend to not linger in the same area for long. It is, however, a sentiment rarely shared by those "lucky" enough to have the newly formed debris field smash into their hull. 24 | 25 | ### Sparkweed 26 | 27 | >"They sure know how to throw a party, I tell ya what. The speed they go through the stuff... if you told me they needed it to survive I'd believe it. Then again, with those work hours, maybe they do." 28 | -Testimony from a former smuggler 29 | 30 | One of the few surviving plants originating from the moth homeworld and arguably the most obiquitous, the fleet is known to produce an enormous quantity of Sparkweed thanks to it's many uses as a recreational substance as well as the speed and ease with which it can grow in the right conditions. 31 | It is an aquatic plant growing on a central stem with pinnate leaves and a purple-reddish color, it requires a minimum temperature of 45°C to grow and can survive up to 120°C. 32 | The otherwise prohibitively expensive amount of heating required for any conventional hydroponic setup was no match for mothic ingenuity: by hooking up the hydroponic tanks to the to the ship engines' cooling systems, Sparkweed became nearly cost-free to produce. Even outside of dedicated hydroponic ships, some of the more enterprising captains occasionally jury-rig their own small scale production. 33 | Sparkweed stems and leaves can be either chewed or dried and steeped in hot water, while the roots are smoked akin to a cigarette (called "Afterburners") thanks to their spongy structure acting as a natural filter. 34 | It has a mild euphoric effect and gives a feeling of warmth. High dosage poses no particular danger, although long term excess tends to cause "the shakes", a persistent sense of anxiety and shivering. This condition can be easily remedied by stopping consumption for a few days, though it is widespread enough to have contributed to the moths' reputation of always being on edge. 35 | What little is known about its origins has been passed through generations: it would grow exclusively in the scorching waters of volcanic geysers and was a staple for enduring the freezing temperatures of the planet's colder side. 36 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Exospecies of the Galaxy.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Exospecies 2 | > "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space." 3 | - Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 4 | 5 | Throughout space, dozens of unique species and cultures exist. So much so, that humanity has limited contact with many of them. In this page, details of some of the lesser seen species (to humans, anyway) of the Milky Way are given. 6 | 7 | ## The Vigox 8 | > "Remember: never trust a Vigox." 9 | - Tiziran Merchant Saying 10 | 11 | The Vigox are a mercantilist species of Avianoids, well known to the Tizirans but rarely seen in human space. Described as tall, stocky and viciously intelligent carrion birds, the Vigox are imposing, and their nature as obligate carnivores who like their meat raw does little to make them more welcoming. Their home system is located on the opposite side of Tiziran space to Earth, and their home planet of Amadea is harsh, with scrubby foliage and black sands under a baking hot sun, from which the Vigox built a small but powerful galactic empire. A number of valuable goods are produced in their domain, under the control of dozens of corporate entities- who all compete for influence and power. Despite everything, the one thing the Vigox corporations hate more than each other is the idea of being invaded, so in the face of increasing risk from surrounding nations, particularly the Tizirans, they banded together into a loose-knit confederation. 12 | 13 | Their planetary leadership is the Central Vigox Directorate, an oligarchic council headed by a president they refer to as the Chief Executive, who is "elected" to their position for a period of 10 years in a bidding war between companies that frequently turns violent. Even when there is "peace" between the various corporations, political violence and assassination is common. 14 | 15 | Goods from the Vigox are sold on to nearby states, and then again onwards to proliferate outwards. Humanity gets most of their Vigox-made goods via a particular space-shipping corridor known as the Amadea Run, running through Tiziran space. As a result, anything Vigox-made carries a heavy premium in human space due to the dues paid to the lizards to get it through- except those that can be smuggled through, which results in an odd situation where the black market for Vigox goods in human space is both cheaper and more well-stocked than legal channels. 16 | 17 | The primary goods sourced from the Vigox include: 18 | * A proprietary ceramic-metal composite material, known as Siroc, that is useful for making armour (and is produced by a technique unknown to other species); 19 | * Pearl Lustre and Lustrine, narcotic drug and potent painkiller respectively, considered similar to opiates with a lower risk of addiction; 20 | * A number of exotic and interesting fruits and spices which are now prized in high-class cooking. 21 | 22 | ## The Terintans 23 | > "Once a thriving hive, now a tomb. But the question is- what happened to the Terintans?" 24 | - Afton Woods, "Mystery of the Terintans" 25 | 26 | The galaxy is an old place, and as such, there are species that have had their time in the sun- taken to space, grown to an empire, and then unceremoniously and inexplicably ceased to exist. The Terintans are one such race of "precursors". An insectoid species, the Terintans were somewhat similar to terrestial beetles. Their wings, hard carapaces, four arms, and compound eyes would have made them an imposing sight on their own, but the Terintans also had another defining physical characteristic- their remarkable height. Estimates place the average height of a Terintan male at around 9ft, and some armour measuring to 13ft has been uncovered. Female drones were somewhat smaller at around 8ft, but the true titans of Terintan society were the Queens, whose chambers in ancient ruins would suggest they grew to around 30ft long. 27 | 28 | Evidence points to the Terintans having been a warrior culture, and a particularly bloody one at that. Trials by combat appear to have been common, as well as duels of honour. Much of their society seems to have been dedicated to servicing the military machine, with limited cultural advancement outside of that provided by their dominating religion. Their hive worlds place a lot of emphasis on grand temples and military buildings, with little set aside for living or other public works. 29 | 30 | The Terintan Empire is believed to have been quite large, even in comparison to contemporary states, with evidence of their existance found from locations as close as the Spinward Sector to some as far flung as the Core Tiziran Empire. 31 | 32 | It is unknown exactly why the Terintans ceased to exist, but some evidence seems to point towards a series of disasters hitting the empire at the same time. While weakened, one of their many troubles finished them off, but historians are unsure whether this was a disease, an invasion, or some sort of major ecological disaster on their homeworld killing off an irreplaceable number of Queens, leaving their society to atrophy- certainly, all of these occurred, but which was the final nail is a point of debate. One thing is for certain, however- while they may be gone, they've left their mark on the galaxy. Many ancient hive-worlds still exist, although the ruins are covered over by millenia of erosion. The most well known to humanity is Ancienne in the Spinward Sector, which is remarkably well preserved. 33 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Interesting Planets/Human Space/The Spinward Sector.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Spinward Sector 2 | > "The Spinward Sector, humanity's last great frontier. Better make the most of it: TerraGov ain't gonna ignore it forever, and when they do come down, they're going to come down hard." 3 | 4 | The Spinward Sector has become somewhat of an important region for humanity in recent years. With the frontier having moved along past it towards the Imperial March, increased attention from both TerraGov and corporations, and the collapse of the Third Soviet Union, some modicum of stability has finally began to settle in around New Moscow. Most of the populated territory in this region is under the control of the Spinward Stellar Coalition, a nominally independent state which is getting attention from TerraGov in what appears to be a movement to bring the region into full integration- although this is obviously being resisted by the SSC. 5 | 6 | Note that stability does not mean that the Spinward Sector is a safe, centralised area like the Core. Danger still permeates the region, with the limited oversight the SSC and TerraGov can provide being mostly focused on the main population centres. Piracy and violence are still commonplace, and away from the prying eyes of the regional governments, corporate powers vie for power against one another- with the ultimate prize being the freedom to operate in the area, and claim its mostly untapped mineral wealth for themselves. 7 | 8 | ### New Moscow: (Former) Home of Space Communism 9 | > "Of course, the capital of the SSC puts its best foot forward, desperate to show the rest of humanity that the Spinward Sector isn't a backwater. Sadly, all the modern art and idealism in the galaxy can't cover the stench of backwardness endemic to the entire region." 10 | 11 | #### Fact Sheet: 12 | * The capital city of New Moscow is (the aptly named) New Moscow City. With a population of 12 million, New Moscow City is the most populous city not only of New Moscow, but of the entire SSC (of which it is the capital), and is famous for its brutalist architecture and generally oppressive urban style (though this has somewhat softened since the collapse of the Third Soviet Union). Since the collapse, the city's culture has flourished, and a remarkable amount of modern art and architecture has since blessed its streets. On Workers' Square there is a popular public theatre collective which does showings, and in general the city has become a major destination for artists. 13 | * New Moscow is also the closest major human colony to Nanotrasen's spinward stations, and as such is a major destination for Nanotrasen workers. In addition, it serves as the major transport hub for the region, with major spaceports and shipyards ready to service travellers to the SSC. 14 | * The planet has an earth-like climate, though is generally colder than the mother planet. The overall population is around 250 million. 15 | * The primary exports from the planet are minerals, chemicals and agricultural goods, with manufacturing and tourism being other major sectors. 16 | * As is to be expected of the former capital of the Third Soviet Union, Novayarossiyan is the official language of the planet- Galactic Common is generally spoken and understood in the major population centres, but those with no knowledge of Novayarossiyan will struggle as they venture further into the countryside. 17 | * Space has now been corrupted by capitalism. All is lost. 18 | 19 | New Moscow has had a tumultous past. Originally founded by and serving as the capital of the Third Soviet Union, the planet first came into humanity's grasp under less than ideal circumstances. Atrocities by the leaders of the TSU alongside political repression, famine, and a generally poor standard of living would come to a head in the August Revolution, seeing the fall of the Soviet leadership on the planet, and beginning the final collapse of the Third Soviet Union. Following this violence and the subsequent rise of the Spinward Stellar Coalition, the planet would go on to experience a renaissance, as the industrial capacity grew and culture flourished. Today, New Moscow is a shining example of excellence in humanity's border regions, and its meteoric rise seems set to continue. 20 | 21 | ### Gateway: Welcome to Terran Territory, Tiziran Friends 22 | > "ATTENTION: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE TERRITORY OF THE TERRAN FEDERATION. PLEASE BE PREPARED TO SUBMIT TO SEARCHES AND HAVE IDENTIFICATION AT HAND." 23 | 24 | #### Fact Sheet: 25 | * The Gateway system holds the dubious honour of being the furthest incorporated Terran territory from Earth in the Spinward direction. It is therefore the first stop for new arrivals to human space from the Tiziran Empire, provided they're following legal channels to do so. 26 | * This important position makes the Gateway system a major hub, despite its location. It boasts the largest TerraGov citizenship of any territory within the Spinward Sector by several orders of magnitude, although it still pales massively in comparison to anywhere within the core. 27 | * The main population centre in Gateway is Port Ellis, on the planet Amundsen. A cold, harsh world, Amundsen is still easily the most habitable of any body within the system. Additionally, Freeport Habitat, located in its orbit, is a major shipping destination, holding the honour of being the largest station outside of the core, with extensive shipyards, fuelling facilities, warehouses and cargo handling, an extensive commercial section for travellers, and the first checkpoint for documents within Terran jurisdiction, provided you're entering from the Spinward side. 28 | * Gateway is also the last major anchorage prior to the Imperial March for TerraGov military vessels, under the terms of the Treaty of Atrakor. From here, Terran vessels are able to patrol the Spinward Sector, although at a reduced capacity- they cannot enter into the Imperial March, however, without breaching the treaty and risking a diplomatic incident with the Tiziran Empire. 29 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Mysteries of the Spinward Sector/Rumors.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | >"Cloning? On station? Like, what, there was some miracle medical device that provided effective immortality, and NT decided to just shelve the whole thing just because? Get fucking real." 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -A recently arrived Medical Doctor speaking with some veteran colleagues. 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Many of the crewmembers who work for Nanotrasen know only bits and pieces of the factual history of the company they work for, the secret conflicts it carries out with its enemies, and the politics of the space they inhabit. The information is out there, if one knows where to look for it, but just staying alive is already such a struggle; who has time to care about the specifics? Vague rumors, however, even the most corporate and cynical employees keep an ear out for. The following are but a few of the strange tales one may overhear on the Spinward Periphery... 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ## In the beginning 14 | 15 | There are many theories about how the universe came to exist. The devout followers of Ratvar have all sorts of complicated and arcane theories about how their God heralded sentience and finely crafted the beginnings of the universe in the great City of Cogs, passed down from generation to generation of His most devout servants. Nar'Sie's followers, on the other hand, have a far simpler and less developed canon for how the universe began, owing to the much more brutish and bloodthirsty followers She leads. Ichorstorians (academic experts on the Cult of Nar'Sie), have pinpointed one particular story of the universe's origin that became highly popular among blood cultists, though it appears that the story's popularity has less to do with the symbolism or veracity of the tale, and more to do with how angry it gets Ratvarian followers to hear. The tale goes roughly as such: 16 | 17 | *"Roughly 600 years ago, Nar'Sie was born into a void! Then, shortly after, the far less interesting and elegant God of Machinery, Ratvar, was born. In this void, there was little for the two gods to do to pass the time. Ratvar began drawing up plans celestial plans for amazingly complex and breathtaking machinery, while Nar'Sie relaxed and contemplated Their existence. One fine day, while Ratvar was playing with His pipes, Nar'Sie accidentally bumped into Him and knocked Him over. This confused the two of Them greatly, as They had not even been aware of the concepts of something being able to be knocked over! So began the Age of Violence, as Nar'Sie laid the foundations for wrestling and martial arts by developing and practicing new moves, grabs, strikes, pins, holds, and more by bullying Ratvar endlessly.* 18 | 19 | *"One day (or night, whatever), Ratvar was feeling extra queasy from the endless beatdown His older sister had wrought on him. What happened next, and the precise moves that Nar'Sie performed on Him, have been lost to time and frequently lead to violent arguments and brawls among Nar'Sie's followers (like most things). The only thing they can all agree on is that it was a move that would become known as the "Puke Driver", a special modification of the Pile Driver that Nar'Sian cultists have tried to recreate for centuries to no avail. Upon being Puke Driven, Ratvar immediately began violently wretching and spitting up cosmos and elements across the universe, in an event that is popularly known as the "Big Blech" among Nar'Sian scholars."* 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | The tale is laughable and blatantly inconsistent with most of recorded history, though this fact fails to concern the Nar'Sians who swear by it. In the end, to them, as long as it makes Ratvarian followers upset upon hearing it, it will continue to be passed down among their disciples. 24 | 25 | 26 | ## Nanotrasen Department of Opposition 27 | 28 | Sometimes, an attack on an NT station or convoy seems just a little *too* perfectly planned and executed. While no one can deny that sometimes the Syndicate gets lucky and a plan of theirs succeeds with only minor turbulence, sometimes the intel that the insurgents seemingly had access to seems a bit *too* secret or *too* timely for them to have realistically used in a plan, or their assault teams are a little *too* familiar with the habits and protocols of NT Asset Protection teams. During situations like these, there is often an uneasy tension in the air among the investigators that, while small leaks and individual defectors to the Syndicate indeed occur, some examples of treachery seem far too organized and close to home for comfort. It's almost as if there's some sort of larger conspiracy at play, deep within the central nervous system that is NT's core structure. 29 | 30 | 31 | Rumors abound of an old department that used to run security tests on Nanotrasen's Spinward Stations in order to ensure that high security assets and personnel would be protected in the event of corporate sabotage, the Department of Opposition. There's nothing on the official records to confirm such a department exists or ever existed in the past, but a black ops department that's hidden from casual observers would be just the kind of thing Nanotrasen would have squirreled away in such a remote and distant corner of space. The real concern would be, who would be there to ensure that the DoO's tactics and protocols were ethically handled, or even aligned with the greater good of NT? It's perfectly possible that the department, if it ever existed or continues to exist, may have been compromised long ago and now actively works to dismantle the rest of Nanotrasen's Spinward assets. 32 | 33 | 34 | Of course, for most of NT's employees, there's no real way of knowing for sure whether such agents and operatives are actually out there staging false flag attacks on Nanotrasen's assets, or what their possible motivations could be. But, still, sometimes an assassination or an act of sabotage seems a little *too* perfectly carried out. Pass by the bar or canteen once the news has disseminated among the crew, and you'll likely hear at least one reference to the DoO among the nervous whispers of the crewmembers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Ethereals/ethereals.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Ethereals 2 | >"Stellar Shock: a term attributed to the societal and political upheaval caused by undergoing 1500 years worth of technological development in less than 50." 3 | - On the Difficulties of Enlightenment and the Ethereal People, Dr F. Jimenez 4 | 5 | ## Description: 6 | 7 | The Ethereals are a humanoid species hailing from the planet of Sprout- a densely jungle-covered planet with wide oceans and plentiful rivers. Near the oceans there are thick saltwater bogs, while inland rocky plateaus and tepuis, lush cenotes and occasional volcanoes dot the landscape. The skies have a constant cloud cover, and monsoons are frequent across almost the entire planet's surface. However, it is not the landscape itself that makes Sprout a planet of ecological interest, but the flora and fauna. Almost every living thing on Sprout thrives off of electricity. Via a complex ecosystem of beings that provide electricity via electrophoresis and electrochemistry, and those that consume electricity as their main source of energy. Amongst these "electrical consumers", Ethereals are the top of the food chain. 8 | 9 | Ethereals themselves are a biological oddity, with an internal organ structure and life cycle that puzzles even the most decorated xenobiologists. Their skin is translucent, revealing both their blood- a complex, bioluminescent solution similar to battery compositions known colloquially as Liquid Electricity- and their internal organs, which are crystalline in structure. How exactly these crystals function is unknown. Analysis of the chemical makeup of Ethereals reveal that they are not carbon-based, but silicon-based, which has lead some to theorise that the internal working of an Ethereal is much like a flesh-and-blood machine. 10 | 11 | When first discovered by TerraGov's explorers, the Ethereals were in a Medieval age, similar to our own Middle Ages- a brutal era of warfare and decentralised rule, with quasi-feudal nobility ruling over petty fiefdoms. TerraGov initially made the decision to observe the populace of the planet- however, an event would occur that would force them into contact with the natives: the Day of Fire. A TerraGov resupply vessel would suffer a malfunction in its thrusters while coming to dock at the observation post, resulting in them becoming jammed on. This pushed it (and the observation post) into the gravity well of Sprout itself, resulting in the entirety of the station crashing down nearby to a city on the surface. Survivors who were fortunate enough to jettison would now find themselves stranded on the planet, which had, until moments beforehand, been entirely unaware of the existance of aliens. The resulting fire from the crash burned around 20,000 square kilometers of jungle (an area roughly equivalent to modern-day El Salvador) before a monsoon was able to extinguish it, and this left TerraGov with a crisis to resolve. This resulted in the decision to uplift the people of Sprout, in what became known as the Great Enlightenment. Until this point, direct intervention with "primitives" was strictly forbidden by TerraGov. 12 | 13 | The uplifting was not gentle, nor was it well received (at first). The Ethereals were ripped from their feudal institutions into the plasma age in less than 50 years. The decision sent waves across humanity, and the galactic scene- diplomatic protests from the Lizards (who viewed the act as an aggressive expansion by humanity into another species' territory) and the Moths (who viewed the act as an immoral interference with the natural development of another species) would create problems for the project, but once it was started, it was irreversible. 14 | 15 | And so, the Ethereals would find themselves thrust onto the galactic stage. 16 | 17 | ### Fun Factoids: 18 | * Sprout has three moons, of which one is able to maintain a breathable atmosphere, as well as a tropical climate. This moon, called Spring by the Ethereals, is now a resort world, with thousands journeying to it yearly to vacation. 19 | * Sprout is located in a particularly isolated region of space, with the most direct route to Human space being via a nebula- too dangerous for most vessels. For this reason, the planet takes a long time to reach from the rest of inhabited space, and particular commitment is needed to visit. 20 | * TerraGov advises remaining in and around major settlements while visiting Sprout, as the local flora and fauna are considered quite dangerous. Even in the larger cities, the possibility of a wild Volthound running rampant through the streets is (unfortunately) high. A secondary (and unspoken) reason for remaining in large settlements is the inherent risk of being kidnapped (or worse!) by reactionary militias. 21 | * If you've been a member of the TGMC in the past 50 years, particularly as a peacekeeper, you've might well have been deployed to Sprout to assist in the pacification efforts. 22 | 23 | ### Sprout: From the Ashes 24 | > "Looks like we're all in for a treat/ Fort Summer gets bombed twice a week" 25 | - TGMC cadence from the Ethereal Troubles 26 | 27 | Sprout would undergo radical changes alongside the Ethereals during the Great Enlightenment. Major scale land recovery was undertaken, and the feudal society of old was replaced with an interim government set up by TerraGov to handle planetary administration until such a time as the Ethereals were capable of taking over for themselves. Power was seized from the autocrats and monarchs of old in doing so. 28 | 29 | For the new planetary administration, a new city was needed, and this would be built in the remnants of the jungle that had burned during the Day of Fire. Vast towers of steel and concrete, alien to the Ethereals, would make up this new, concrete jungle, and the necessary infrastructure for a spacefaring civilisation was first laid here, including Sprout's first spaceport, intersystem communication relay, and TerraGov military installation at Fort Summer. Several TGMC divisions were stationed here during the Enlightenment and were critical in the pacification of Sprout. 30 | 31 | While the planetary capital has brought Sprout to the space age, the planet still has many remote and inhospitable regions which have not yet been connected. It is estimated around 65% of the Ethereal homeworld is still covered in jungle that is impassable to most vehicles, leaving settlements that are almost impossible to reach by land. As air facilities are also lacking, these remote settlements are mostly cut off from TerraGov's influence, and are generally reachable only via small, dangerous roads, or by foot through the dense jungle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Felinids/felinids.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Felinids 2 | 3 | > "Have you or a loved one been the victim of Nanotrasen's latest industrial accident? You could be owed compensation! Contact Carlton and Barczak Law today, extranet keywords Carlton, Barczak, Law. Don't let your employer get away with it! Call Carlton and Barczak!" 4 | - Advertisement for litigation against Nanotrasen, following the Cloning Incident of 2560. 5 | 6 | ## Felinids- the great genetic controversy of the ages 7 | 8 | As Humanity's knowledge of genetics and the code behind it expanded, gene clinics became a common sight across Earth, offering miraculous solutions to previously debilitating illnesses. Everything from cancer, to Parkinsons, to prion diseases, became a concern of the past. And soon, bespoke genetic treatment for cosmetic purposes became commonplace, too. Humans became the masters of their own bodies, able to change their appearances to fit their whims, and so, inevitably, came treatments that were broader in scope. 9 | 10 | One of these many available treatments was Animalisation- utilising specific aspects of animal DNA, humans could be altered to have desired traits from them. Despite their availability, animalisation treatments were (and are) viewed as a step too far, as they go beyond simple alteration of the human genome and into the realms of adulterating it with foreign DNA. Mutants of these types came to be viewed as no longer human, both by the public consciousness and by laws, and those receiving the treatments were shunned, leading them to coalesce into insular communities, and (many) to leave life in the Home Sector for the colonies. 11 | 12 | And so, Felinids would remain a curiosity, an uncommon sight in human space but not unheard of, until a scandal would rock the species as a whole: the Cloning Incident of 2560. 13 | 14 | ## 2560 15 | 16 | Not long ago, Nanotrasen scientists discovered the secret of cheating death. Cloning technology was one of the many great scientific advancements of the 26th century, allowing those rich (or lucky) enough to have access to it to be returned to life in the event of their untimely demise. The technology was, understandably, heralded as a miracle for modern medicine, but beneath the surface lurked a dangerous secret. 17 | 18 | It was known during development that the genetic code that is used by cloning to reconstruct the body was exceptionally fragile, and even the smallest impurities in the reagents used for the process could result in genetic deformities. Usually, these deformities manifested as small, undetectable issues- a little change here, a loss of function there, perhaps a "healthy" dose of cancer. These could be corrected by genetic treatment, so were not particularly concerning. But what could happen if there was a large scale contamination? Scientists had been limited in their capacity for experimentation in this field by regulations against human experimentation, but it was theorised that it would cause massive, irreversible damage to their genes, beyond even the reach of humanity's sophisticated genetic science. Unfortunately, this theory would finally be proven accurate on Monday, the 14th of January, 2560. 19 | 20 | Eleanor Normandy, the chief chemical engineer at the Nanotrasen-Pauling Chemical Plant on Prosperity, was finally putting into action a plan which had been years in the making. At the reactor being used to produce Hyperclone Reagent A, a genetic soup that was used as a key genetic additive for cloning, she stopped, withdrew samples for sending to QA, and then produced a small tank, which she discreetly poured into the mix. Within the tank was several litres of Interdyne Pharmaceutics' KitX Serum- a new genetic mutation serum designed to induce the Felinid mutation in a safer, more rapid, and more predictable form. And so, an entire batch of Hyperclone Reagent A was contaminated, and nobody would be the wiser. This plant serviced every Nanotrasen cloning clinic within the Home sector, as well as several Spinward Stations which were experimenting with new cloning techniques, and over the next few weeks, they would each receive their new shipments. 21 | 22 | And so, nothing seemed to be wrong, until the 28th of that month, 2 weeks after the incident. 23 | 24 | Customers who had been cloned were found to be developing alarming side effects. There were the large and obvious ones, of course. The ears. The tails. Fixations on bright lights. But also a number of more subtle changes were observed too- altered mental states, changed tastes, new personalities. They were exhibiting all the signs of felinisation- but that was impossible, surely? Ordinarily this required months of intensive genetic therapy, and cloning was unlikely to produce such specific results over such a wide range. 25 | 26 | Of course, this prompted a massive outcry by the public, as this was far too large scale to cover up. Nanotrasen's immediate response was to close all cloning clinics immediately, and begin an investigation as to what went wrong. Before long, the contamination was found in samples of HRA, and the sudden disappearance of Ms. Normandy was noted. She was apprehended by Terragov police at a spaceport while attempting to board a flight to Harvest- presumably to lay low. However, during questioning, she suddenly died- having had a remote implant in her brain detonated by her unknown employer. And so, with no effective scapegoat, Nanotrasen was forced to bear the brunt of the incident. 27 | 28 | Knowing that the public would never regain trust in the process following an incident of this scale, Nanotrasen officially permanently closed all cloning facilities on the 4th of February, 2560, and cancelled all official research into the technology. Cloning would remain in use by the company afterwards, but only internally with exceptionally tight quality control. 29 | 30 | # Felinid Culture 31 | Animalids are somewhat distinct amongst the "species" of the galaxy, due to not actually being a discrete species. 32 | 33 | Centuries of oppression and living apart from humanity has, however, caused a cultural rift with their parent species; while animalids are not entirely distinct, they have their own sets of cultural norms and tenets derived from those places where they came to rest. One example is the so-called "Nidochi" (twiceblood) population of Mars; having been tempered in the melting pot of Martian culture, they draw upon their East Asian and European lineages similarly to other Martians; but do so in a different way. One such way is in their cuisine, which has developed along divergent lines to the rest of Martian food, making stronger use of meats and "poverty ingredients" to create a distinct flavour that isn't seen across the rest of the red planet. Another is in art; a number of famous artists from Mars come from the Nidochi population, taking advantage of Mars' less strict social separation to reach a wider audience than they might manage on other worlds. 34 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Languages and Trade Tongues.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Languages of the Galaxy 2 | > "Indeed, there has never been a point at which humanity has been more interconnected than we have today, and with the adoption of a common tongue across the federation, we hope to foster these connections even further." 3 | - Chancellor R. M. Schuler, Speech to the Terran Senate about the adoption of Galactic Common 4 | 5 | As the galaxy rapidly becomes more interconnected, spoken language becomes a bigger and bigger concern. Language diversity even within the borders of a single empire is huge, with colonisation of worlds breeding new dialects and languages- not to mention the existing spread of languages on the capital alone. With this in mind, the creation of simplfied, standardised "trade tongues" has been of critical importance for facilitating both intra- and interspecies trade. 6 | 7 | ### Humanity 8 | As is to be expected of a people as fiercely independent and nationalistic as humanity, individual languages have not died out. While a small number of languages account for the majority of native speakers within TerraGov space, there are still thousands of discrete languages spoken across human space. Major languages include English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi and Russian. In addition to the traditional languages, a number of "union languages" have formed within humanity, mostly to facilitate cross-borders cooperation. Examples include Eurocommon, Unified Arabic Script, Latinoamericano, Pan-Maritime-Asiatic, Neo-Turkic, and many others. None, however, have become as dominant as the language of business on Earth- Anglosinitic, or as it is more commonly (and perhaps brashly) known, Galactic Common. Galactic Common was adopted as humanity's official "trade tongue" around the time of first contact, to be used as a standard communication method with alien species. To this end, learning Galactic Common as a second language is extremely common on Earth, with around 99.5% of the world's population being fluent in its use. 9 | 10 | Within humanity, however, knowledge of a foreign language is generally a formality. While humans tend to be fluent in at least their native language and Galactic Common, and often in their nation's "union language", translation software for human tongues is widespread and cheaply available- allowing for quick and easy understanding of almost any other human via instantaneous translation. 11 | 12 | Colonial languages have also sprung up, mostly as creoles born of the varied settlers who came to live there. A key example is Martian- a language created by the melting pot of East Asian, European and American settlers, and then contributed to by people of all creeds and colours. Martian is an extremely diverse language, although learners who are already familiar with Sinitic, Japonic, Latin or Germanic tongues are likely to recognise at least a few of the words. Colonial languages are also shaped by their distance from the controlling hand of Earth- an example being the Novorusskii language of the SSC, which has developed along alternate lines to standard Home Russian along the past few centuries. While its differences are not as stark as Martian versus its mother languages, they are still great enough that a speaker of one will struggle to fully understand the other- even if the two are mostly mutually intelligible. 13 | 14 | ### Lizardkind 15 | Lizardkind has a similar situation to humanity: several thousand languages are still spoken across Tizira, and the wider empire as a whole. The most common language is Oskmarzelisk (colloquially known to humans as High Draconic), spoken in the previous United Kingdom of Oskmarzel, where the capital Zagoskeld is located. Other major languages include Valyisk, Noqsisk, Tremonde, Allma, and Fermalisk. A variant of Oskmarzelisk is also used as the Empire's "trade-tongue", known to humans as Draconic. 16 | 17 | Lizard society is generally less accomodating with language variation than humanity. While thousands of languages are used, Oskmarzelisk is the only official language in the Empire and has been for the past 200 years, used for all official communications, trade and business, as well as being the language of schooling and the military. To this end, the language is spoken fluently across almost the entire empire, and other languages are sidelined in its favour. This has led to a decline in the Empire's other languages, which many view as an attempt by the central government to culturally dominate the planet and reduce regional autonomy. 18 | 19 | ### Moths 20 | The Moths have a complicated history with language, possibly because their language is quite complex in itself. Traditional Mothic is a language of two halfs- the spoken component is important, but the true meaning of a moth's words are conveyed via body language- movements of the eyes, antennae and wings. This naturally creates problems for interspecies communication, and as such the admiralty board recommends the use of a standardised form of mothic omitting body language. This is frequently called "Phrasebook Mothic" and contains over twice the number of words that Traditional Mothic does- mostly to convey emotion, intent, and anything else which would ordinarily be handled by body language. 21 | 22 | Language amongst the moths is as diverse as the fleet is large, with almost every ship having its own variance from Traditional Mothic. The standards set forward by the fleet authorities are not frequently used on the ships of the fleet. Most moths instead will learn the local dialect of the ships they frequently visit, and attempt to wing it should they need to travel beyond that. The only real exception to this is when moths travel beyond the fleet itself, as the trade tongue is the only one that most non-moths are familiar with. As a result, moths off of the fleet tend to use Phrasebook Mothic such that they can actually be understood by non-moths (via the aid of translation equipment). 23 | 24 | ### Ethereals 25 | Following the Ethereal uplifting by humanity, Galactic Common became the official language of the Ethereal people. Since then, it has grown to become dominant amongst the Ethereals, with around 70% of the population in TerraGov space speaking it fluently. Several loanwords and slang terms from the Ethereals have become commonplace within this population, having unofficially become part of the GalCom dictionary. 26 | 27 | Amongst Ethereal employees of corporations, methods of concealing communication have become popular, allowing ethereals to complain about their working conditions and bosses without drawing attention from their employers. To this end, a semi-official "language" has been adopted by many ethereals in this situation, known colloquially as Voltaic. Via manipulation of electrical discharge in their throat (not dissimilar to Mongolian throat-singing), Ethereals are capable of producing a morse-code like series of sparks and jolts, which is used as a method of talking without talking. Coupled with their impressive range of hearing, the Ethereals can use this to communicate away from prying ears. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Mysteries of the Spinward Sector/The Esoteric and the Old Gods.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | >"How will Man's subconscious mind react to his first experiences with space travel? Will he not suddenly be aware of his precarious situation, trapped in a tiny metal box, floating through the incomprehensible nothingness of space?" 2 | 3 | — Dr. Heinz Haber, German physicist and science writer 4 | *** 5 | 6 | Contents 7 | 1. Space Madness 8 | 2. Beyond the veil 9 | 3. Prominent entities 10 | 4. Amusing Factoids 11 | 12 | # Space Madness 13 | The trials and tribulations that one must endure during their career working in space are surely damaging to one’s mindstate. Nanotrasen’s stations are no exception. Through the tedium of work, the inhumane living conditions, and the bloodshed. An individual will develop some cracks in their psyche. And sometimes, though these cracks, something terrifying will slip in. 14 | 15 | *** 16 | # Beyond the veil 17 | These horrors are not from here. Not birthed from any planet or star but rather another plane of existence. Some scientists believe that these beings’ home is connected to bluespace technology, due to its frequent utilization and the rise of cults to these horrors beginning occurring at around the same time. Others say that this other place is less tangible and more of a manifestation of human consciousness, ideals, and fears. There has also been speculation that this other plane (or planes) are linked to the magic of the Wizards Federation and other practitioners. 18 | 19 | These horrors are shown to have increased influence in certain areas where the veil between worlds is weakest. These tend to be in areas where fear, paranoia, and bloodshed are prevalent. Madness overtakes weakminded individuals turning them into deranged cultists of whatever horror influenced them, or driving them to suicide. Multiple distinct documented entities have proved their influence over the years. 20 | *** 21 | # Prominent entities 22 | This section will be documenting most of the known entities that have had an influence on unfortunate souls and the cults that derived from them. 23 | 24 | 25 | ## Nar-sie 26 | _AKA the Geometer_ 27 | 28 | Nar-sie is by far one of, if not the most prominent of these horrors. She is often referred to as female by her cultist although these beings from beyond the veil undoubtedly don’t conform with the human concept of genders. This is probably because she inspires some sort of twisted maternal vibe in her followers. She seems to be an embodiment of blood, pain, and self-sacrifice. Her cultist also references a “divine pattern” or “hidden shapes.” Her cultists are considered threats to the corporation and have always had a single hostile intent - To bring Nar-Sie herself from beyond the veil. 29 | 30 | ### Gifts of the Geometer 31 | 32 | Cultists of Nar-Sie usually can fashion eldritch runes out of their blood. They also are shown to have the ability to infuse themself with eldritch power allowing them to incapaitate foes by tempoaraly cutting of circulation to his or her's brain and create items such as daggers and shackles out of nothing. Most dangerously, powerful Nar-Sians can bombard an incapacitated victim with psychic pain while linking them directly to Nar-Sie effectively creating a new cultist. This process however is quite intensive and usually requires multiple cultists to do it correctly. 33 | 34 | ### Cults of the Geometer 35 | 36 | There is no single large cult of Nar-Sie. This is due primarily to their recklessness and eagerness to perform their dark matron’s work. As soon as a group of cultists reaches the point of confidence in which they could succeed in their unholy mission, or even just be a boon to their cause, they will attempt it. Most of these attempts will fail and end in the destruction of the cult. But as a cult is crushed, elsewhere one will surely arise. Rarely, mentaly reclusive cultists will develop a glimpse of sanity and act more like heralds and scholars than suicidal zealots. Many consider Nar-Sie as a guiding figure or a sorce of knowledge. These heralds are usually found to be a disgrace to the Geometer in the eyes of other cultists. This is because of the lack of ambition to complete their one goal. Heralds are still considered enemies of the corporation and are to be neutralized. 37 | *** 38 | 39 | ## Ratvar 40 | _The Imprisoned God_ 41 | 42 | Ratvar was once a powerful entity competing with the likes of Nar-Sie. It resided on a plane known as “_Reebee_” or the “City of cogs.” Supposedly, it was a clockwork city made of brass in which its cultists could enter once they had realized its power. However, this plane was also Ratvar’s prison from which it yearned to escape. While Reebee is gone, it is assumed that other structures such as temples or engines of the cult's creation still exist although it is unknown if they still have the power once bestowed to them by Ratvar. 43 | 44 | ### The Cult of Ratvar 45 | 46 | It is assumed that all of Ratvar’s cultists died with Reeee. The Cult of Ratvar was once a congregation of followers who managed to transcend to Reebe. They prepared for a ritual where they would fire up the engines of Reebe in a spot where the veil is weakest and free their god from its prison. 47 | 48 | ### The Fall of Reebe 49 | 50 | The fall of Reebe was an event in which Reebe, Ratvar, and all of its cultists were struck down by Nanotrasen. The cult was preparing Reebe for the freeing of Ratvar where the Veil was weak. Outpost 17, a small nanotrasen asteroid mining station was the target. Brave crewmembers managed to slip through the cracks in the veil and into the heart of Reebe with a bluespace artillery beacon in tow. With a desperate plea being sent out to a nearby security outpost, Reebe was obliterated along with the crewmembers of Outpost 17. 51 | *** 52 | 53 | ## Lesser entities 54 | 55 | These entities are documented and may hold some power but are considered lesser threats due to unwillingness or inability to interact with mortals. 56 | 57 | ### Eldrich Gods 58 | Very little is known about the so-called Eldritch Gods or “_Epochs_”. Certain practitioners of magic are said to use their power to fuel deranged rituals usually involving human sacrifice. It is to be noted that these practitioners don’t serve these gods but rather wrangle the indifferent Epoch’s power through rituals. 59 | 60 | ### Infernal Beings 61 | Certain entities that have been identified as demons or devils have been seen on stations. It is unknown if these beings are connected to the likes of other beings beyond the veil or something else entirely. The sighting of such beings seems to line up more with the rise of the Wizard Federation than the invention of bluespace technology suggest a correlation. 62 | 63 | ### Yalp Elor 64 | A collection of individuals calling themself the cult of Yalp Elor seemed to have supernatural divination powers. These cultists had grown in numbers for a few decades. The group was eventually discovered in a warehouse drenched in their blood with most of them dead after an anonymous tip. The living cultists were detained by SSC Military units. Most were executed at the pressuring of Nanotrasen. Interrogation has revealed that these cultists are aware of reserve a deep hatred of Nar-Sie and her cultists. The remaining few members of the cult are being held in Spinward superjails indefinity. 65 | *** 66 | 67 | ## Amusing factoids 68 | * Some say they saw Ratvar’s body falling from the sky when Reebe was destroyed 69 | * Nanotrasen legally owns all of its employee’s souls 70 | * Failure to confess to practicing unapproved religions will be met by being held under a large rock until the time of confession 71 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Interesting Planets/Lizard Space/The Rizkalon System.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Rizkalon System 2 | 3 | Almighty Rizaklon, the Sun-Queen, lifegiver and mother to all. The Rizkalon system is similar to Sol in many ways, acting as the centre of the vast lizard empire, as well as being the most densely populated and industrialised system under lizardkind's umbrella. It's also the safest region of lizard space due to the presence of the Imperial Navy. 4 | 5 | Interestingly, Rizkalon also shows relatively extensive precursor activity in the further reaches, dated millenia back. 6 | 7 | ### Sulya: Lizardkind's First Colony 8 | > "You know, conventional wisdom would state that a cold-blooded species should probably avoid a snowball." 9 | "I could say the same of you, human- your first colony didn't even have an atmosphere." 10 | "A fair point, well made." 11 | 12 | #### Fact Sheet: 13 | * Classified as a Snow World, Sulya is in the grips of a significant ice age. Forests dominate the central habitable band of the planet, with significant geothermal activity under the surface. Volcanoes are common, as are hot springs, and much of the population of the planet is clustered around these regions of warmth. 14 | * Sulya's capital is Serebin, founded as part of the initial wave of colonisation of the planet. The city has a population of around 15 million. 15 | * Sulya is home to one of the "Natural Wonders of the Tiziran Empire", Lake Urayah- fed into by a number of smaller hot spring tributaries, the entire miles-wide lake is naturally heated to a pleasant temperature. The lake is additionally located at the foot of the Great Smoking Pillar, Sulya's largest active volcano, which has been in a constant state of mild eruption for 300 years. The shores of Lake Urayah are home to a number of resorts and tourist attractions, and the volcano itself has attracted some religious significance amongst the Tiziran pantheon as "a symbol of Merina's gifts". 16 | * Lizards seeking to venture beyond the heated areas close to the hot springs need to account for their body's lack of natural heating, a problem which has been overcome by use of heated jumpsuits, utilising electrical heating to keep the body warm. In settlements, heated water from the springs (or from geothermal wells) is piped under streets to maintain the temperature, as well as distributing hot water to the population for heating their homes. 17 | 18 | The closest planet to Tizira, Sulya was Lizardkind's first colony- over 700 years ago, the first colonists landed on Sulya to set up a new life there. In the 7 centuries since, Sulya has, despite being in many ways inhospitable to lizard life, grown to become a key part of the Lizard Empire, and to encompass a population of around 500 million. Life on its snowy surface is idyllic in many ways, with excellent sights, natural hot springs to relax in, and pleasantly snowy weather. As a result, it has become a popular tourist destination, with ski resorts, spas and health retreats being particularly popular establishments. 19 | 20 | In the Tiziran pantheon, Sulya is one of Tizira's sisters, hailed as the Goddess of Hearth, Home, the Harvest, Cooking and, somewhat oddly, Athletes and Competition. The reason for this connection seems to have been lost to time, but it is still observed: the annual Imperial Games on Tizira is still dedicated in spirit to Sulya, although this is only lip service due to the secularisation of the state. 21 | 22 | ### Merina: The Salt, the Sand, and the Baking, Baking Sun 23 | > "...Well this sucks." 24 | 25 | #### Fact Sheet: 26 | * Merina is a sun-scorched wasteland. No life remains on its dried-up exterior, and no observable hydrosphere remains on its surface. In addition, its atmosphere is thin. 27 | * Research suggests that at one point, Merina was similar in climate to Tizira, but that some calamity in the distant past resulted in the planet's magnetosphere becoming too weak to sustain a proper atmosphere. For a long time it has been referred to as "the Lost Child of the Sun-Queen", and is traditionally part of the Tiziran pantheon as being the stillborn twin of Tizira herself. 28 | * Merina has substantial mineral wealth, which is mostly funneled into the industries around Atrakor. 29 | 30 | As another planet close to Tizira, Merina has long fascinated lizardkind. However, once the space-age came, and lizardkind was finally able to see her surface in person, it became clear that Merina did not have the fortune that Tizira did. The sun-scorched dunes, salt flats, and cracked-mud wastelands that comprise the surface tell the tale of a dead planet, and archaeological and environmental assays show that Merina did, at one point, sustain simple life. And yet, disaster had clearly struck the planet, weakening its magnetosphere and allowing it to fall to the baking heat of Rizkalon. The planet does, however, still bear significant material wealth, which has led it to become a major target of industrial expansion under the Imperial regime. Metals and gases from Merina today provide a significant portion of the Rizkalon system's industrial capacity. 31 | 32 | As the dead sister of Tizira, it is perhaps fitting that Merina is regarded as the Goddess of Time and Death in the Tiziran pantheon- oddly fitting, even, given that the Tizirans did not truly behold the devastation on Merina's surface before declaring her a Goddess. Note that the domain of Death does not extend to being the God of the Dead- that honour falls to Atrakor, as the protector of lost souls. 33 | 34 | ### Viomea: Scorched Remnants of an Empire Lost to Time 35 | > "For how close Viomea's ship graveyard is to Tizira, it's a wonder that whoever put them there decided to pass up the chance at colonising a habitable world." 36 | 37 | * Viomea is located on a similar orbital trajectory to Merina. The two pass alarmingly close to each other at times. 38 | * Widespread settlement of Viomea is impossible, despite the inherent value of the planet, as the environment is just too inhospitable to sustain long-term life. 39 | 40 | Viomea is the third planet from Rizkalon, and is close enough in orbital patterns to be seen as a sister to Merina. Like her sister, she is extremely inhospitable, though for different reasons. The atmosphere on Viomea has an alarming quantity of chlorine, leading to an extremely acidic environment. The surface of Viomea is defined by four main characteristics: 41 | 42 | * Extremely acidic water, including open bodies, rivers, and rain. 43 | * Extreme temperatures, as high as 70 degrees celsius in some areas. 44 | * Constant poor weather, including extreme storms and winds, frequent hurricanes, and near constant tornadoes (which freqeuently become "acidspouts" due to meeting open bodies of water). 45 | * A dense, hardy jungle of silicon-based plants, which manage to survive their hostile environment. 46 | 47 | Understandably, this would normally turn off would be settlers and adventurers, but Viomea has opportunity lurking behind the danger: the planet was, at some point in its history, used as a ship graveyard by a (presumably extinct) species. These precursor vessels represent an extremely lucrative source of wealth from Viomea's surface- if they can be reached. As such, brave (or foolhardy) lizards make a living making excursions to salvage what they can from these ancient hulks, selling the salvage on for research. The Tiziran government sponsors such expeditions via a state-owned corporation, known as the Viomea Salvage Corporation. 48 | 49 | Viomea is another key part of the Tiziran pantheon, taking the position of the God of War, Soldiers and Victory. The Imperial flagship has also taken this name due to the obvious connection. 50 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /LICENSE: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | Creative Commons Legal Code 2 | 3 | CC0 1.0 Universal 4 | 5 | CREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION IS NOT A LAW FIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE 6 | LEGAL SERVICES. DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE AN 7 | ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. CREATIVE COMMONS PROVIDES THIS 8 | INFORMATION ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS. 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Affirmer understands and acknowledges that Creative Commons is not a 120 | party to this document and has no duty or obligation with respect to 121 | this CC0 or use of the Work. 122 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Plasmamen/Plasmamen.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Plasmamen 2 | > "The colonids, as has become the accepted parlance for the "plasmaman" zooid, each adopt a discrete purpose within the colony, in a similar manner to stem cells within mammals. 3 | - "Biology of the Plasmaman", Dr R. Singh 4 | 5 | # A New Kind of Worker 6 | 7 | While Plasmamen may, to the layman's eyes, look like merely purple skeletons, this does not tell the truth of the incredible complexity of the organisms that make them tick. For Plasmamen are not merely one organism, but millions, known as Colonids. 8 | 9 | The Colonids are microscopic, plasma-based fungi, which form large networks with other Colonids. These colonies can eventually stretch to include billions of the organisms, with the collective forming a single cohesive social unit. Originally being discovered as a purple fungus around liquid plasma pools on the Icemoon, Freyja, Colonids were overlooked until Nanotrasen researchers discovered that they produced small electrical impulses. Further investigation revealed that these impulses were a simulacrum of nerve signals, and the researchers were curious enough to investigate whether these creatures may be a form of intelligent life. 10 | 11 | It was these tests that would reveal the true potential of Colonids- during a routine inspection, Marcel Delacroix, a researcher assigned to the project, slipped and fell into a tank of liquid plasma which had been opened to test the Colonid content. Marcel died as a result of plasma exposure, and hasty preparations were made to recover his corpse from the tank. However, as his coworkers rushed to gather their gear, their attention was drawn to the tank by a series of banging noises. And they were then horrified to see Marcel, skin and muscle sloughed off to the skeleton, and covered in a fine purple membrane, stand up and begin staggering around. When dragging him out of the tank, he burst into flames, and was only extinguished when placed into an inert environment, at which point he began suffocating. Plasma was quickly flooded in- and so it was discovered that Colonids require a plasma rich environment, be that liquid or gaseous, to survive. 12 | 13 | Tests were ran on the creature that used to be Marcel, and it was found that it possessed human-like intelligence- however, no trace of Marcel's personality remained. It was clear that this was a new being, which merely inhabited his corpse. Further testing showed that the plasmaman was quite capable of learning Common, manipulating its skeletal mouth and forming vocal cords to further improve its capabilities. Its anatomy was found to quite closely mirror that of humanity, but exclusing several organs which were clearly deemed as extraneous. To allow it to leave his containment cell, it was given an EVA suit flooded with a mixture of nitrogen and plasma, which prevented it from catching fire. And so, unwillingly, Marcel Delacroix became the first plasmaman as we know them today. 14 | 15 | Following this discovery, Nanotrasen initially saw potential for these new beings in military applications- however, trials revealed that they were simply too frail to be of any use on the battlefield, and besides- they had free will, and a surprising number of the newfound species were more interested in cooking, or studying law, or any number of other pursuits, than in wanton murder. Frustration with the project ended up turning to excitement for corporate, however, when Nanotrasen realised that these new beings would be excellent for shoring up gaps in their workforce, as they required few of the amenities or even basic necessities that organic workers need to survive. 16 | 17 | And so, the plasmaman became Nanotrasen's newest type of worker- reanimated corpses, ready to do mundane labour for little to no pay. However- plasmamen present a unique problem in the workforce- their propensity to catch fire. Hence, the creation of the Envirosuit was necessary to exploit this new workforce. 18 | 19 | # The Suit 20 | 21 | The plasma envirosuit we know and love(?) today is an elegant blend of cost-effectiveness and ease of use (especially in the venue of neutralizing rowdy skeletons via helmet removal). 22 | 23 | Aside from this emergency use case, releasing burning plasma out (and burning oxygen in) at every little scratch is not ideal, thus the fabric of the envirosuit is made of two layers of heavily coated and tightly woven synthetic threads, with a layer of an extremely sticky and hard to wash glue-like substance sandwitched in the middle (the formula, though protected by corporate secret, is known to include tritium hydrocarbons less common than plasma). 24 | 25 | Thanks to this design, in case of a slash or rip in the fabric of the suit it can easily be mended through the simple application of pressure, and the built-in extinguisher charge does the rest. 26 | 27 | Said extinguisher charge is little more than a manually-toggled water dispenser located behind the vertebrae, which effectively reduces the plasma colonids' typical dryness (the leading hypothesis for the cause of such a low humidity is their tendency to rapidly absorb liquid water for hydrogen, an element which the organisms are always quite eager to consume). 28 | 29 | Plasmaman gloves are, contrary to popular belief, integral for the envirosuit to work. 30 | 31 | They're internally coated with thick memory foam to adapt to the sometimes lumpy boney fingers, and externally coated with thin but resilient rubber to maintain sensitivity and control in the hands. The hands on the envirosuit itself are one of the weakest spots on it due to these reasons. 32 | 33 | You might be thinking to yourself: this is all well and good, but, say, if a plasmaman has to, for example, put on glasses, are they screwed? The answer is, kind of! While the helmet is easy to quickly unscrew and equip again, such an operation can only be conducted safely under a shower, in an inert environment, or in the dangerous vacuum of space, unless the user is brave (or stupid) enough and quick with their reflexes. 34 | 35 | # Reception 36 | The crew of the stations to which plasmamen were tentatively introduced oddly didn't react all too poorly to the new colleagues. In the words of Space Station 8's Captain Lucio Spurgis: "I've been through so much shit lately I barely noticed the purple guys coming out of arrivals." 37 | 38 | Space Station 5's Chief Engineer Ruth Blarbo instead remarks "They're cool I guess, they mostly spend their time tanning at the supermatter. It's a step up from the human staff who actively delaminate it just for kicks." 39 | 40 | Not everyone has reacted as positively, however. The Animal Rights Consortium and other ethics organizations have taken the news of a new species made of human corpses and alien goop being introduced to Nanotrasen stations, and especially the horror stories about envirosuit testing (how many had to burn before the product reached the market?) particularly badly, and have been steadily extending their Nanotrasen Book Of Grudges, motivating the rest of the Syndicate ever more for the next attack. 41 | 42 | # Fun Factoids: 43 | * Since Colonids are native to the Icemoon, the liquid plasma pools on the moon are teeming with them. Falling into one of these pools may result in becoming the next Marcel Delacroix. 44 | * Plasmamen can infest any skeleton, or really any organic surface- those seen on Nanotrasen stations are generally human skeletons, as Nanotrasen is able to source them cheaply from the bodies of convicts. Yes, this means plasmamen can infest things like dinosaur skeletons, and yes, this is badass. 45 | * Plasmamen have very human mannerisms, due mostly to their integration with human society on the frontier. That said, they have developed their own distinct culture in their short time on the galactic stage. 46 | * Plasmamen are not only immune to radiation, but utilise it very efficiently as an energy source. Even the small amounts given off as background radiation on the Icemoon are sufficient to sustain them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/Plasma Exposure.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # On the Unnamed Plasma Disease 2 | 3 | There are a few aspects of plasma that quickly become clear after being introduced to it: it is purple, highly combustible, and (as anyone who's handled a bar of it at room temperature can attest) very poorly named. 4 | 5 | There's lots of other interesting and useful properties of plasma that have been teased out with a few years of research and study: its amazing thermodynamic properties, its incredible tensile strength when mixed into alloys, and the immediate toxic effects it has on organic lifeforms when ingested being some of the most notable. These properties have all proven to be extremely useful in a variety of applications, and more importantly, extremely profitable to exploit, making plasma mining and research two of the biggest financial boons in Nanotrasen's entire history. 6 | 7 | As the years of research and mining have gone by, however, not all of the information that has come out about plasma has been good. Indeed, some of the most highly classified and secretive research being conducted by NT anywhere is focused on the long-term effects of plasma on humanoids. The short term effects of ingesting plasma in large amounts are clear; it acts as a neurotoxin that causes widespread cell death throughout the victim's body. Luckily, these effects can be avoided with a simple oxygen mask, and it doesn't take a trained surgeon to tell if someone's huffed enough to kill them. Infinitely more insidious, however, are the long term effects. While researchers' understandings of these effects are constantly changing as more research is produced, clear patterns are emerging where affected individuals suffer from gradual neurological decay, decreased attention span, violent mood swings, and most notably, degraded ability to feel empathy for others. 8 | 9 | Usually, these findings are laughed off and treated like a joke when first heard. It makes sense: the Spinward Periphery is a perfect storm for seedy and antisocial behavior, and it's not like NT's lax approach to hiring standards is helping things. With all the deceit and skullduggery that the average NT crewmember is exposed to, not to mention the occasional outright bloodbath, some would find it more surprising that any moral code could survive beyond "kill or be killed". But if nothing else, the first several waves of employees proved resilient and resourceful, struggling to maintain some sort of personal normalcy and decency among the chaos they found themselves in. 10 | 11 | ## Research and Discovery 12 | 13 | > *"These scans from the last group of subjects are astounding. Here, look at this one- it's like the decay is targeted directly at the parts of the brain that help regulate emotions. These are dangerous people, don't forget that when you're dealing with them."* 14 | > --An anonymous veteran researcher, unknowingly studying his own brain scan. 15 | 16 | For the many faults that can be levied against NT's management of the Spinward Periphery, its command structure and management selection are remarkably egalitarian. The execs and officers of the first waves of personnel sent to the Spinward Periphery were more than willing to lead from the front and become personally involved in dangerous work when needed, and when it came time to select their successors, they chose from the crewmembers they led in the field. Under intense pressure to deliver from both the corporate offices back home and their colleagues on the Periphery, plus extremely high personnel turnover, traditional barriers to advancement such as ethnicity, gender, and even species took a back seat to credentials and experience in the field. Indeed, while non-humans are still barred from serving as station-side Heads of Staff, as well as being excluded from basic protections in the standard silicon lawsets, every species of humanoid is currently represented in the staff of the higher Spinward Central Command. This isn't to say that things are perfectly egalitarian- discrimination still occurs, and there's still a strict chain of command- but the CentCom staff are generally sympathetic to the crewmembers they administrate and remember their own time in the field when balancing risks. 17 | 18 | So when signs of this systemic mental and empathetic decay started cropping up among the CentCom staff, they began to take the reports seriously. As research has since revealed, plasma is much harder to fully purge from an area than previously thought, meaning trace amounts of plasma are often circulated through the stale recycled air onboard the stations unbeknownst to the crew. While this trace exposure isn't enough to cause the outright poisoning medical staff are trained to spot and treat, it is enough to cause decay over long periods of time. Only now, after almost two decades of NT's presence on the Spinward Periphery and several generations of workers and leaders passing through its stations, has the scope of the issue started to become clear. 19 | 20 | ## Looking Forward 21 | 22 | The intensity of the decay seems to roughly correlate with a crewmember's length of service and time spent in contaminated areas, but some crewmembers seem more susceptible to the decay than others. Preliminary models estimate that anywhere from 10-35% of crewmembers serving more than one month show minor signs of decay, with estimates reaching as high as 80% after one year, but the truth is that no one is sure how widespread it is. The Spinward Periphery truly is hard on people, and the constant stress and trauma thrown at workers combined with the already rough workforce makes it extremely difficult to identify who is suffering from these effects and to what degree. 23 | 24 | In the meantime, ongoing research on plasma's long term effects is strictly classified to the highest degree, and NT has not publicly acknowledged the phenomenon. NT's leadership is at a very uneasy crossroads, both highly concerned with the systematic damages their work is causing among the workforce and themselves, but ultimately unwilling to slow down plasma processing until more concrete evidence comes out. Most of the cases appear to be mild so far, and while the decay seems to be resistant to most chemical forms of treatment such as mannitol and neurine, simple cognitive mindfulness exercises have proven useful in offsetting the effects. By being aware of the changes to their mind, patients can still function among more polite society back in Sol, though increased emotional distance and stress when trying to return to their previous lives is very common among ex-crewmembers. 25 | 26 | 27 | ## Roleplaying Notes 28 | 29 | - The effects of the decay are left vague and vary from person to person, perfect for you to fill in how it affects your character as you please. Suffering from decay doesn't have to mean your character loses all self control, perhaps it just causes them to lose perspective sometimes and act very callously in certain situations. Later, when they reflect on what happened or are talking about it with someone else, it may dawn on them how disturbing their actions on a given shift were, and they may take steps to try to control themselves in the future. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. 30 | - The ongoing research into the decay is highly classified and hidden from the crew, but perhaps your character has a background in neuroscience or psychiatry, and is involved in the research. Or maybe they have a friend who is involved, or they found concerning research reports on the subject on a superior's desk. There are many ways that your character may have some hazy idea of plasma's long term effects, and thus become aware of the hazards that could come with staying. What is it that keeps them here? 31 | - The described effects of the decay purposely overlap with those of several personality disorders and potential results of extreme trauma. Has your character become a bastard because plasma is warping their brain? Is it a coping mechanism to help them survive the insane amounts of senseless violence and constant stress they've been exposed to? Or have they always been like that inside, and SS13's "survive at all costs" mindset has just given them an excuse to really lean into it? There's no reason it can't be a little of each, and everyone has been a bastard to someone at some point. 32 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/bluespace_blurb.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Intercepted Message Log 2 | > Security Level Clearance: Dusk Chartreuse 3 | > 4 | > `Scanning for acceptable clearance on tablet...` 5 | > 6 | > `Validating...` 7 | > 8 | > `Approved.` 9 | > **Welcome Commander.** 10 | 11 | ## Incoming Transmission 12 | > Author: Sebastian Cruz 13 | > 14 | > Received: Stardate 5-12-2563 15 | > 16 | > Authenticated by: Spinward Sector Reception Desk 17 | 18 | Alright you sick bastards. I know you've been dodging my holocalls. Can't even get a goddamn SECOND from one of your "scientists" to hear me out on this, but I've had a massive god damn discovery and ONE OF YOU punk bastards needs to hear me out, alright? This shit is going to completely break the whole god damn smuggling bracket you've been cooking up for years, whether those Nanotrasen pansies like it or not. 19 | 20 | Hopefully I've got your attention by now. Name's Sebastian Cruz. I was a senior scientist with one of the Terragov research divisions before being recruited over to a Nanotrasen research outpost. Real far corner of the sector kind of deal. Farrrrrr away from any prying eyes. I don't know if you all had your eyes on this site, since we never even had a whisper of syndicate activity out here. It was a damn quiet place and nowhere near any inhabited sectors. That was the point. See, I got recruited because I came across something... out there. In a regular bluespace communication relay, I managed to tap into some kind of hidden blip on one of our more standard military outposts. 21 | 22 | Next thing I knew, we had these... I don't even know what they call these damn things anymore. I heard someone call it a "blank body" once, so we'll go with that. It was like slimy pink gore shaped into the rough mockery of man. Damn things started crawling right out of the god damn woodwork. Course, the hardhats lit those bastards the hell up. Terragov called it a "once in a life-time accident", of course they couldn't pin the blame on a single damn person there. If you're familiar with those old damn supermatter cascades, think of it like that. One in a million mistake assuming you're not using a busted up defect crystal. But this... this was COMMUNICATIONS equipment that caused this. This could have happened by just tweaking a radio, and it broke loose all hell on site. Anyway, I'm getting besides myself. I had to withdraw from the campaign after what I saw that day, medical leave, honorable discharge. All that jazz. Not 15 minutes later after I had my bag out the door, I got a pda message. Some Nanotrasen research head. He knew every damn thing about what happened on that site. He knew it better than I did. Said my findings were going to revolutionize the universe. Load of crock, I said. Then I saw the paycheck. I signed their damn hiring paperwork by the end of the day. 23 | 24 | Turns out, their understanding of bluespace is... well, it's damn near decades ahead of what terragov uses. I can tell you a hell of a lot more, but it ain't going to be cheap. I'm sending over my validation card to prove it. I know you want what I have, alright? 25 | 26 | ## Incoming Transmission 27 | > Author: Agent XGH-0021 28 | > 29 | > Received: Stardate 5-12-2563 30 | > 31 | > Authenticated by: Civilian Agh-183 "Sebastian Cruz" 32 | 33 | Wire number is 67-01987xxx. You have our attention. 34 | TALK. 35 | 36 | ## Incoming Transmission 37 | > Author: Sebastian Cruz 38 | > 39 | > Received: Stardate 5-13-2563 40 | > 41 | > Authenticated by: Agent XGH-0021 42 | 43 | Glad to hear someone's interested in listening. 44 | My area of speciality is supposed to be in Bluespace Communications, but in reality bluespace is such a weird area of research that it hits just about every part of miniaturization science. Communications, circuits, teleportation, medical research, you name it, bluespace touches it somehow. But to explain what the fuck we came across, you have to understand that bluespace is *SUPPOSED* to be all about spatial distortions. It's a way to make space either a lot larger or a lot shorter. Like those wacky high tech bags Nanotrasen likes to show off. It uses bluespace to make space inside of a pretty standard backpack so it can hold an entire armory inside of effectively a handbag. Apparently, this lab at NT, right, they call that radial bluespace. Which, until that moment, is like, the ONLY kind of bluespace the rest of the universe knows about. Apparently, what I accidently "re-discovered" was something called "Linear Bluespace". Usually bluespace substations that they use in telecommunications get a short range radio signal, and then it takes a radial bluespace distance to all of it's targets, it shortens it to whoever needs the signal, so bam, millions of people hear your broadcast from halfway to Gartaaka-4. But linear bluespace makes a thinner and thinner cone of that signal, and beams it straight to a single source. 45 | 46 | And I fucked up. I fucked up BAD. 47 | 48 | Turns out, my straight line for my radio broadcast? Yeah, I uhh, I bent it. Just a little bit. Off by about 2.19 degrees, I'd later learn. There's lots of like, bluespace lanes, they call them. You make a radial bluespace call and nobody really notices. Hit a bluespace lane with a linear bluespace message? You let everyone along that lane know exactly where you are, and what you're up to. And they hate that shit. They'll crawl out of whatever 4th dimensional shithole that they discovered this week and come right after your ass. Apparently, Nanotrasen has called this place the "nether". Hell is more like it. Albeit it's a LOT brighter and much, MUCH louder. It's like staring at a little girl's notebook, with only slightly less glitter. 49 | 50 | Anyway, sorry, distracted. I basically broadcasted to an entire starsector that "There's humans here, we taste good, come and get us," to a small army of crayon eating TerraGov soldiers. Nanotrasen didn't hire me exactly for finding this out, but rather just to keep it a secret that it even fucking exists, right? But get this, I also learned that any of their basic ass teleporters that use this radial bluespace tech, they've got a HARD lock on what's inside of it. It's apparently EXTREMELY easy to figure out what's inside of those messages. That's why I'm communicating via physical media. Actual holotapes. 51 | 52 | So, here's my pitch to you and your little corporate allies, alright? Kidnap me out of here, hook line and sinker, and I'll show you some real neat shit I've been cooking up. Untrackable teleportation tech. You could smuggle goods across the black market in a fraction of the time, no risk of dealing with Nanotrasen dogs, and if you do it right, you might even be able to do that same "demon dog whistle" trick I pulled off on that terragov sector on them, on purpose this time. Sides, if you screw up, it's not like you can't just unload on the little shits, right? 53 | 54 | # Command Level Report 55 | > Security Level Clearance: Bravo Glovebox 56 | > 57 | > Attention: All Science Staff 58 | 59 | Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Commander Gutierrez here. Looks like your cover up of the LV-02891 site may have backfired. Your little lab rat just ran straight into the cat shelter. By and large, I should be admonishing each and every one of you for recklessly endangering our bleeding edge bluespace tech in the hands of some military lab assistant. Thankfully, it appears that the damage has been mitigated, as they were only made aware of our level 2 bluespace teleportation. Kind of a shame really, as if they'd dug a bit deeper, maybe he'd have realized that his "revelation" on bluespace science was basically the icing on the cake. That said, the combined forces of the spinward sector syndicate may have their hands on more advanced teleportation tech, but by all means, it's going to be far, FAR more dangerous than anything we're testing out on the flagship station. For now, we'll keep our eyes peeled. If anything comes of it, we may need to ramp up our retaliatory measures. But sometimes these kinds of problems solve themselves. Like being the sole producers of holotapes across the known galaxy. 60 | 61 | I will be talking with Senior Science Staff Keller about his unorthodox hiring practices privately. 62 | 63 | That is all. 64 | 65 | Gutierrez out. 66 | 67 | ...Seriously Keller, what the fuck. 68 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Governments/Spinward Stellar Coalition/The SSC.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # The Spinward Stellar Coalition 2 | > "I feel bad for the Spinwarders. They've bounced from tyranny to tyranny, never once getting a chance to live free. Now, it's looking like they never will." 3 | 4 | Location: Territory coreward of the station; edge of civ-space 5 | 6 | Capital: New Moscow City (Novayamoskva), New Moscow, Zvezda Revolyutsii Oblast 7 | 8 | Born of the ashes of the collapsed Third Soviet Union, the Spinward Stellar Coalition (Vostochnaya Zvezdnaya Koalitsiya, *lit.* Eastern Stellar Coalition) is the closest governing body to SS13, controlling much of the regions closeby to the station. Small in comparison to even other independent human governments, their territory consists of a few sparsely populated planets, a few orbital outposts, and some systems that are owned by the government in New Moscow essentially on paper only. Life this far from Sol is austere, but the Spinwarders are generally honest, hardworking folk, unfairly subjected to the whims of various entities that have arrived in the region and started to throw their weight around. 9 | 10 | ### History 11 | In the wake of a major economic downturn known as the Green Crisis, humanity entered into what is now known as the Dark Decade, which came to dominate much of the early 2400s. People's lives were wracked by mounting inflation and mass layoffs, and humankind's collective quality of life became the lowest it had been in over 400 years. Faced with the crisis, many turned to radical ideologies, and one such example was a new form of communistic thought- one that espoused that the way forward was to escape from the capitalistic excess that had led humanity into this mess; indeed, they would go to the one place with virgin soil away from it all: space. And so, the Red Tomorrow Society packed their bags and left on a number of colony ships in 2433 to create this utopia amongst the stars. 12 | 13 | Spending a solid 10 years in cryosleep, the colonists eventually arrived at New Moscow, far from Terragov's influence. The following 20-30 years were, generally speaking, rather good for the fledgling Third Soviet Union. Life was understandably austere, but they were able to implement their ideals effectively and genuinely improve their lot in life. Unfortunately, such a state proved to be unstable, and as the initial leadership grew old and retired (or worse), their replacements were not quite as benevolent. Corruption began to blossom. Democratic institutions were slowly but surely sidelined in favour of strongman-style dictatorship. However, the Spinwarders were not willing to take this lying down, and in February 2505, tensions finally boiled over. A short but bloody civil war ensued, and from the ashes of the Third Soviet Union rose the phoenix of the SSC. 14 | 15 | ### The SSC Today 16 | Sadly, the February Revolution didn't manage to right all the wrongs of the Soviets. While it may be too early and too severe to call the SSC a failed democracy, its democratic institutions aren't in the best health. The current president, Oleksandr Kushnirenko, son of a hero of the revolution, has served for the past 12 years in a quasi-dictatorship through some remarkably brazen electoral fraud; he's also filled the ranks of his government with his cronies. Kushnirenko thrives on the funding (and backing) of corporations, especially that of Nanotrasen, which has made him deeply unpopular with the wider Spinwarder populace who cling to the vestiges of democracy that still remain and seem increasingly likely with each passing election cycle to simply up and oust the wayward president from his position. The last election saw widespread protests but, against the odds, remained peaceful, most likely due to clandestine interference by Nanotrasen; with the new arrival of the Corporate War on the Spinward Rim, whether he can count on that saving him remains to be seen. 17 | 18 | Kushnirenko's regime does its best to abide by Nanotrasen in the region, typically bending over backwards for their wishes to secure their business and averting his gaze from whatever negative news filters out of the nearby space stations they operate. Fully aware of this good treatment, Nanotrasen takes ruthless advantage of it. They cheat on their taxes towards the SSC, with whatever amounts do get paid often winding up in the hands of Kushnirenko and his gaggle of cronies. They essentially ignore SSC cargo and shipping codes. Investigations that do get made into the various "events" occurring around Spinward territory tend to wind up with the investigator "going missing". Despite all of this, however, even Kushnirenko won't let Nanotrasen to take full control of the region. Perhaps there's a tiny twinge of patriotism that survived its encounter with Nanotrasen's firehose of money. Perhaps he's worried that the cash will dry up if he hands over the reins. Either way, the SSC does manage to maintain its independence, even if it gives up so much else to the corporations. 19 | 20 | TerraGov has also began to take an interest in the region, especially in the wake of the last Tiziran War. The government in Manhattan likes to claim natural dominion over all of humanity; while that might not accurately describe the situation on the ground, it does mean that TerraGov likes to try and exert influence over smaller states, regardless of whether or not those states appreciate it. Fortunately for Manhattan, the Spinwarders are generally receptive of their advances; while there is no particular political will for joining the Terran Federation (yet), the SSC does maintain close diplomatic cooperation with them, and this relationship deepens every year. It seems likely that within the next decade or so, the SSC may fall officially under Terran dominion, but for now, TerraGov has only limited eyes and influence in the Spinward Rim. 21 | 22 | ### Life on the Rim 23 | For the average Spinwarder, life is generally better than it was under the late Third Union. With the liberalisation of the economy has come new opportunities, and despite how much their interference may be disliked, the corporations have brought a deluge of new money to the region, alongside the infrastructure they need to operate. The first comms buoy link to Earth came around 30 years ago, finally giving the Rim a permanent instant(ish) connection to the homeworld; now, you can fly from New York to New Moscow in as little as three weeks if you're willing to take a direct flight, and you can buy Core-made products at reasonable prices with reasonable stock at your local grocery store, provided you're in a large enough town. The various stars of the SSC are, in many ways, becoming some of the best connected Far Rim territories in the entirety of human space. 24 | 25 | With this newfound wealth comes, unfortunately, the overbearing hands of the corporations. As mentioned before, the government of the SSC is, at best, ignoring the corporate problem; this has allowed them to reach into many aspects of Spinward life. Many of the younger people living in the sector have started taking jobs with the corporations, creating a generational divide with the older Spinwarders who hate corporate influence in their lives. Much of the above infrastructural support comes not from benevolence, but necessity for the corps, and they aren't necessarily shy about taking advantage of that fact. While the luxuries they bring are currently freely available, there's an open implication that they could be taken away should the Spinwarders do something the corps dislike. Taken as a whole, this breeds a certain resentment of the situation with corps in the Spinward Sector, with many citizens wishing for a tomorrow where they've been brought to heel; where their quality of life doesn't rely on the whims of billion-dollar companies that have forgotten the struggle of the average person. Indeed, there's a sense of irony given the origins of the SSC; that a state born of hatred of capitalistic excess has found itself under its boot once again, and this hasn't gone unnoticed by the Spinwarders. Anti-corporate movements form a large part of the backbone of the governmental opposition, with firebrand activists and politicians marginalised by the regime in New Moscow leading the fight against corporate influence and Kushnirenko's grip on Spinwarder politics. 26 | 27 | In the larger cities and orbital habitats of the SSC, corporate workers have started to rent or purchase houses, seeking some degree of freedom from the corpos during their time off-rotation. The pay offered by Nanotrasen means that most workers can afford a decent enough place to live, and the commute from the SSC to the nearest NT Dispatch Station is only a few days by local mass transit options. There's also a lot of recreational facilities here that just can't be replicated on one of Nanotrasen's stations; while you can always drop by the bar, there's a certain ambience the on-station facilities lack. Naturally, none of this particularly endears the locals to Nanotrasen's presence, as if they needed any further convincing to hate them. 28 | 29 | The primary language in the SSC is Novorusskii, an East Slavic language derived from Russian. In the major cities, Galactic Common is also commonly spoken, but it's not an official language within the territory of the SSC, and the further you head out of those cities, the less likely it is that you'll find a speaker of it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Interesting Planets/Lizard Space/Tizira.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Tizira: The Jewel of the Empire 2 | While the Lizard Empire has come to encompass many planets over the course of its existence, none have been able to attain the level of beauty that is attributed to the capital, Tizira (Life-Mother). A rugged, arid planet, Tizira has small, shallow seas, and limited farmland, with most of the planet's surface being covered in vast badlands and savannahs, as well as deserts and small mountain ranges. In the more humid areas near the oceans, particularly around the equator, rainforests and tropical jungles thrive, acting as a home to an incredible range of biodiversity, as well as being the native homeland of the Tree Lizards. Additionally, in the northernmost and southernmost regions of the planet, temperate forests exist, as well as marshlands and rolling green hills. At the poles, a small band of tundra exists, before the polar ice caps. These areas are sparsely habited, as they are far from the natural habitat of the lizards. 3 | 4 | Abundant natural resources include high-quality iron, silver, coal, salt, and hydrocarbons suitable for use as spacecraft fuel, resulting in the capital having a thriving material economy. In addition, the planet is host to most lizard corporations and companies, and has become a large tourist destination for lizards and non-lizards alike. However, many visitors find the atmosphere on the planet oppressive once they arrive- owing to the large military presence and generally stuffiness of the local populace when compared with the more open colonies. 5 | 6 | Tizira possesses three moons. The largest of its moons, Atrakor ("Night Sky Lord" in High Draconic) was famously bombarded by the TerraGov Expeditionary Corps during one of lizardkind's many wars with humanity, giving the Lord his distinctive scar. Colonies exist on all three moons, harvesting valuable minerals to sustain the lizard economy. A number of orbital habitats exist too, though their quality is dubious and critics of the government accuse them of using them as offworld slums to house the poor and destitute out of sight and out of mind. 7 | 8 | Tourist Information: 9 | * The capital of Tizira is the city of Zagoskeld, translating to "Great Sea's Edge" from High Draconic. Its metropolitan area is home to around 1/16th of the planet's population. The city is home to the Imperial Family, whose palace overlooks the bay and is a popular tourist destination in the city. It's located on the Zagosk, or Great Sea, and as expected is also a major port city for intraplanetary trade. 10 | * Tizira is home to around 10 billion lizardpeople, making it the Empire's most populous planet. A further 500 million live in orbital habitats and in colonies on its three moons. 11 | * The urban density is highest around the oceans, with settlements further from water being smaller and less densely populated. Rural areas have survived the advancement to the space age, unlike on Earth. 12 | * The many wars of lizardkind have resulted in much of the ancient architecture of the planet being lost or ruined. The few remaining well preserved sites are now strictly guarded as cultural heritage sites. Zagoskeld's old city is one of the best preserved areas of Medieval Lizard architecture, and the Imperial Palace is a key example of this style. 13 | * While High Draconic is the official language of the Lizard Empire, officially around 2500 languages are recognised as still living by Lizard scholars. Strong cultural divides still cause issues for the central government, even centuries after unification. 14 | 15 | ## Oskmarzel: Atrakor Shines Upon Oskmarzel 16 | 17 | Factoids: 18 | * Oskmarzel was considered an unlikely contender for the unification of Tizira. While it was never a weak player in Anceldish or wider Tiziran politics, it was far from the strongest; were it not for the Valyse inheritance, it is likely that Tiziran history would have gone very differently. 19 | 20 | ## Pelatakarna: The Iron Mountains 21 | 22 | Factoids: 23 | * Pelatakarna is an oddity amongst Tizira's former nations, being quite cold as far as permanently inhabited regions go. The reason for this is its incredibly rich iron mines- prior to space colonisation, Pelatakarna was the most iron-rich Tiziran nation by population, and provided much of the Old World's supply of iron and steel. 24 | * Pelatakarna is considered somewhat of a backwater as far as Tiziran former nations go. The Karna people are, as a collective, deeply religious, agrarian, and homely. 25 | * Pelatakarna is a small nation, with only four cities breaching the 100,000 population threshold: of these the capital, Kiselle, is the most important, being a major centre of industry, mostly around the nation's primary export of construction steel and metal products, although it's also a hub of Tizira's financial businesses and computer science. 26 | * During the snowiest period of the year which makes up approximately 4 Tiziran months at the end of the year, much of Pelatakarna shuts down. During these periods, the Karna take an extended holiday, and spend the time at home, in front of the fire with their families, enjoying traditional food and drink and generally having a merry time. This gives the Karna a reputation internationally as lazy and listless. 27 | 28 | The lands of the former Grand Ducal Confederation of Pelatakarna have, going back millenia, been sleepy. One of the few Tiziran regions to experience frequent snowfall, the ice-capped Iron Mountains were not an attractive place for settlers throughout history; or at least, that would have been the story, were it not for their rich veins of iron. This made the mountains a lucrative prize, but actually exploiting these resources was a challenge, and so the population within the peaks would be so small as to be practically nonexistant throughout Tizira's early history. Into the medieval period, however, as demand for iron grew and mining technology advanced, extraction from the Iron Mountains became not only possible, but crucial to the development of Anceld's many states. Following this, a number of intrepid frontiersmen from nearby regions began to expand into the mountains, founding settlements and laying the foundations of a new culture to emerge: the Karna people. Within a few centuries, the various dukes of the Karna people agreed to confederation under the Grand Ducal Confederation of Pelatakarna, and a crucial Anceldish nation that would stand the test of time to unification was born. 29 | 30 | As might be expected from snow-covered peaks, Pelatakarna has a low population, mostly clustered around the former confederation's major cities, although with a large rural agrarian population, who make their living growing hardy fruits and ranching cave crickets. The Karna people trend towards tradition; with one of the highest religious population of any former nation on Tizira, as well as a style of building that seems to have fallen directly out of Tizira's pre-industrial era, they pride themselves on upholding much of what the rest of Tizira has left behind, especially in the countryside. Naturally, the rest of the population of Tizira tends to view them as backwards and stuck in the past, unwilling to adapt to the new realities of the modern day. 31 | 32 | ## Minofera: 33 | 34 | ## Valys: A Nation of Two Halves 35 | 36 | Factoids: 37 | * Valys was, prior to the Valyse Inheritance, considered to be the strongest Anceldish nation, and was on track to eventually unite Tizira itself. This fact is not lost on the Valyse, who trend jingoistic and imperialist politically; although they mostly turn this outwards these days, being a stronghold for Sumalist thought and loyalists through and through to the parliament who uphold it. 38 | * Valyse culture was and is a very strong influence across the Anceld, having been a nexus of artistic development throughout the middle ages and giving rise to Tizira's largest film industry in the modern period. 39 | 40 | ## Parseld: An Escape from Everything 41 | 42 | Factoids: 43 | * The breadbasket of Tizira, the former Parselder republic produces a truly incredible amount of food. Additionally, many Tiziran staples originated here, including 44 | 45 | The discovery of Tizira's Parseld in the Era of Discovery was a major upset to the balance of power in the Anceld, with many of the leading nations there seeking to expand into the new, virgin territory found across the Zagosk. 46 | 47 | After winning its independence, the former territory of the Valyse Parseld took a new mantle: the Parseld Republic, ready to stand as a beacon of liberty and hope on Tizira. As time went on and industrialisation continued to sweep Tizira, many of those made redundant by the new technologies went to the Parseld in search of a better life, and brought their extensive knowledge of farming and craftsmanship with them to its fertile lands. Within a few decades, Parselder food production reached impressive peaks, and it never stopped growing from there. 48 | 49 | From its initial founding under agrarian ideals, and subsequent expansion under the labour of farmers might inform you, life in the Parseld has remained defiantly agrarian in the face of Tizira's moderisation. Much of its large landmass is sparsely populated, with small-town living and farming being the order of business. Near the coast, the fight to industrialisation was lost, however, and major cities stand, taking advantage of the vast wealth of resources of the continent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Lizards/Religion.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Sitalesse: The Worship of the Heavens 2 | > "Praise be to Atrakor, our most divine protector and lord of the heavens. May you grant my ancestors peace and rest, and grant me strength to carry on in their name..." 3 | - A typical prayer to Atrakor 4 | 5 | The largest religion on Tizira, Sitalesse (Draconic, Sky Worship) is a polytheistic faith revolving around the worship of celestial bodies, subdivided into a number of subfaiths that place importance on specific deities. Having originally been born of the regions surrounding the Minosk, the religion was carried further afield by Classical-age imperial conquests, and then further again by colonialism. At the religion's peak in the Industrial Age, around 50% of the population of Tizira followed some form of Sitalesse. By the time of the settlement of Sulya, this number had dropped to about 30-35%. Now, following centuries of space travel, the rise and fall of Lacertism, and a general shift from devout religious practice, the religion is followed by only around 25% of the planet's population, and less so in the colonies. 6 | 7 | The principal subfaiths of Sitalesse are those that follow Atrakor, Tizira, Rizkalon, Sulya, Viomea and the Twin Moons Pelara and Iskil. 8 | 9 | ### Atrakor: The Warrior and Guardian 10 | Within the Sitalesse Pantheon, Atrakor, the Night Sky Lord, represents military might, chivalry, honour, duty, and acts as the guardian of the souls of the dead. This commanding position, particularly with the emphasis on militarism within Tiziran society, places the Moon Father and his cult as the primary deity of the Sitalesse pantheon in Tiziran culture, despite his position within the pantheon not being at its head. 11 | 12 | The importance of Atrakor has resulted in moon iconography being common within Tiziran culture. The Empire's flag, as an example, displays Atrakor in full illumination, typically associated with military might. This same icon appears on the royal coat of arms, with Atrakor being considered the patron deity of the royal family. Other phases carry other meanings- Atrakor's New Moon, for example, is associated with the dead and revering their eternal souls, and is considered the Holy Day (or night, as the case may be) of the Moon God, being an important prayer day and marking the end of a Tiziran week. To this end, the emblem of the New Moon is often found on ossuaries, and adorning the walls of burial catacombs across the empire. 13 | 14 | Temples dedicated to Atrakor are common across the Empire, particularly around the Old World side of the Zagosk where Atrakor worship was most prevalent (and that would go on to be the heartland of the Tiziran Empire). Some of the most impressive include the Imperial House of the Moon in Zagoskeld and the extensive temple complex of the Halls of Atrakor in the foothills of the Adeni Mountains near Taraveiro. 15 | 16 | ### Tizira: The Earth Mother 17 | Tizira, the Earth Mother, is regarded as the spiritual creator of lizardkind, forming an integral part of the Sitalesse creation myth. She is said to have been created by Rizkalon and the unknown King of the Cosmos to serve as lizardkind's mother and home, serving her children through her bountious gifts. She subsequently went on to birth the first lizards, and then entered an eternal slumber, content knowing that she would provide for her children through the ages. This important role has made her a common icon of worship across the Old World, with temples to her glory being present in almost every major settlement, even if her cult is considered smaller than that of Atrakor's. 18 | 19 | ### Sulya: The Mother of Hearth, Home, Harvest, Athletes and Competition 20 | One of the lesser deities of the pantheon (but no less worshipped), Sulya holds domain over a wide variety of facets. Of these, she is most associated with hearth and home, being the goddess of domiciles, warmth, and family. This makes her an important icon for home shrines, maternity wards, nurseries, and other similar places. Additionally, her domain over the harvest makes her a key goddess in the rural regions of Tizira where farming is a key source of income- indeed, it is these areas that hold most of her primary temples and monasteries. 21 | 22 | She also holds domain over a very different facet: competitions. Here, she serves as the patron goddess of athletes, for theological reasons lost to time. For this reason, her iconography of the White Coastflower and the Korta Nut is commonly used in sports, including being the symbol for the Sulyanic Games- a global event similar to the human Olympics. 23 | 24 | #### Fun Facts: 25 | * The most famous depiction of Sulya is in the painting "Sulya Anoints Her Champion", a piece depicting her pouring water over an armoured figure. The piece created controversy at the time of its creation due to its immodest depiction of the goddess, but has since become a landmark piece in Valyngian culture, representing a key step forward in the Valyngian renaissance. 26 | 27 | ### Viomea: War, Victory, and Metal 28 | Viomea's domain over war, victory and metal has netted her a prime pantheonic position amongst the war-hungry Tizirans. As the patron goddess of soldiers, her icon (the Bloodrose) is used commonly across the armed forces, often alongside Atrakor's full illumination. 29 | 30 | ### Pelara and Iskil: The Trickster Twins 31 | The cults of Pelara and Iskil are both quite small in comparison to the more major gods, mostly due to their limited and niche domains- Pelara is the Goddess of Peace and Diplomacy, and Iskil is the Goddess of Malevolence and Anger. 32 | 33 | # Sumalism: Secular Ideology of Supremacy 34 | Following Tiziran unification and the advent of their space empire, a new wave of thought began to sweep across the land, started by the political firebrand (and later Prime Minister) Ana-Sumal. Sumalism, as it became known, preached a secular doctrine- that there were no gods, nor any grand reason to be, besides those that the Tizirans made for themselves. That the purpose of the Tiziran people was to unite and to go forth, to manifest their destiny across the great beyond. This nationalistic belief structure became popular amongst the military and political thinkers of the day, and in particular was taken up strongly by Parliamentarians. In addition, it began to supplant traditional religious beliefs amongst the populace. 35 | 36 | As Sumalism rose, it would become foundational to the politics of the early Tiziran empire, leading to a strong military buildup, the advent of widespread conscription and national service, the expansion of the military bureaucracy to other civic positions, and importantly, to a rapid and efficient expansion of the empire's borders. In essence, the state became subservient to the military. This came with a cost, however- the rapid expansion and jingoism would draw the attention of their galactic neighbours, and under the circumstances, war was inevitable sooner or later- and many were fought, both successful and inconclusive, but generally the Tiziran military performed very well. This, however, would end with the arrival of a new face on the scene- the technologically-advanced humans. 37 | 38 | And it was in the wars with humanity that the failings of Sumalism would be revealed. The ideology is, by its nature, supremacist and war-hungry. This leaves it inflexible and incapable of working when war ceases to be a viable option. In the case of the human-lizard wars, the majority were fought with the Tizirans as the aggressors- seeking to expand influence and cut down their neighbours to size. With each defeat, there was a failure to learn- instead, revanchism was used to fuel additional support for Sumalist thought and further war, at the expense of more and more lives each time. The primary reason that a relative era of peace has been reached today is that internal conflicts, fuelled by the repeated failings of Sumalism to deliver Tizira its manifest destiny and by the increasing economic and social debt created by war, have become destabilising enough that external war is no longer sustainable. 39 | 40 | Sumalism remains the dominant ideology amongst the political elite on Tizira. The average populace is largely moving away from it, instead being more in favour of diplomatic solutions, but without a strong push from the top, the parliament seems likely to remain stacked with Sumalist thinkers. However, in recent years, a beacon of hope for the war-weary and pro-diplomatic populace has emerged- the Empress, seeing the writing on the wall, has made important strides with her limited constitutional power against the ideological slump, seeking a more diplomatic foreign policy and throwing support behind the foundation of a galactic community. These ideas are, of course, not held purely out of a naive belief in cooperation, but a pragmatic look at the situation of the empire: if drastic action to cool the heels of Tiziran nationalism and the war-hawkishness of the military is not taken, then the Empire faces collapse, as the population turns further and further against the political elite- including, critically, the Imperial family, unless they are able to make it clear that they are on the side of the people. 41 | 42 | However, this has not gone unchallenged by the Parliament. In many ways, the political landscape on Tizira is becoming polarised, with pro-parliament and Sumalist thinkers seeking to reduce the Empress' power and prevent what they view as an undermining of Tiziran power (and importantly, of parliament's power), and pro-monarchy and pro-galactic thinkers pushing for a downsizing of the military machine and an end to the Sumalist dominance of politics on Tizira. The stage seems set for a cold war between crown and country, and perhaps even for a true civil war as the two sides continue to undermine each other. 43 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Technology and Science/Materials of the Bluespace Age.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Materials of the Bluespace Age 2 | > "Just as previous ages have been defined by a primary material of interest (take, for example, the stone age, the bronze age, the age of steam, the silicon age, et cetera), our current epoch is defined by bluespace crystals. This bluespace age can be said to have started with the Zhang incident of 2459, and has, in the span of one century, advanced our understanding of the universe more than the previous 25 put together..." 3 | - "Bluespace: A Century in Review": Dr Khánh Trong Pham, UCSF 4 | 5 | ### Plasma 6 | Plasma is a novel compound, first discovered by mankind in limited quantities on Mars in the Amenthes region, from which it draws its scientific name, Amenthium. Various "ores" of plasma exist, including Amenthite, Memnonite, Thaumasiatite, and Hellasite, each with varying amounts of plasma and other impurities, and almost all coming from the vast plasma mines of Mars. Of these, Amenthite is the most commonly found in human space, comprised of around 78% plasma, with 17% silicon and 5% trace impurities including iron oxides and carbon. 7 | 8 | Plasma is held as being almost wholly responsible for enabling humanity's rapid ascension into the space age and beyond, as it is instrumental in the creation of viable engines for long distance space travel- however, the supplies found within easy reach of Earth are quite finite, and to sustain the modern plasma-based economy it was necessary to look further afield in search of larger and larger deposits. Many corporations began private expeditions in search of new sources of the purple stuff, and were generally met with limited success. Cybersun Industries famously found a source of gaseous plasma which could be extracted from a gas giant in a nearby system to Sol, but the expense of this operation limited their financial gain. Other non-viable sources were explored, including extraction from plasma-rich swamps on Hawkings-Eta IV, but very little was to be gained from such expensive methods. Any viable plasma mining operation would need to find a source of solid ores to remain profitable. 9 | 10 | And then, as part of a speculative expedition into uninhabited space in the Spinward sector, Nanotrasen hit the motherlode. Indescipheres had been known to humanity for decades- it was discovered and charted, but very little surface probing had been undertaken due to its extremely hostile environment. What little data there was suggested remarkable mineral wealth, but no company had been willing to take the financial risk involved with setting up mining operations in deep space on a planet that was so dangerous. As a hail mary, Nanotrasen decided to organise a small expedition to survey the surface in person. What began as a random shot in the dark ended up becoming the largest discovery of plasma in human history, with the funding given for a mining and research outpost to be constructed in orbit of the planet by the end of the day, and construction beginning on "Space Station 13" within 2 weeks. The plasma found on Indescipheres was also of a remarkable purity, with plasma ore from the planet containing as high as 97% plasma content. This ore was named Pudicitite, derived from the Latin word for purity. 11 | 12 | As a result of this find, Nanotrasen now holds close to a monopoly on high-grade plasma within human space. Their competitors, naturally, resent them for this, particularly Cybersun Industries, who are in second place for plasma production (owning a dominating stake in the Martian mines) and seek to usurp the top spot at any cost. 13 | 14 | Plasma, while extremely reactive in its base form, forms very stable alloys with numerous metals, including iron (plasteel), titanium (plastitanium), aluminium (plasmalum), and copper (plasma-brass). The chemistry of these reactions is not well developed, but it is expected that plasma is a complex hydrocarbon with a number of possible isomers, which can be transferred between with a sufficient application of energy. At least one of these isomers adopts a crystalline structure, while another has strong but disordered intermolecular interactions, allowing plasma to adopt solid, liquid and gaseous forms at the same temperature- both a scientific curiosity and marvel. 15 | 16 | ### Bluespace Crystals 17 | Bluespace Crystals first became known to humanity in 2459, following an event that collectively opened the world's eyes to the material's incredible power. In a near catastrophic event, Zhang's Comet deviated from its expected close flyby of Earth into a direct collision course with Toronto, Canada. As TerraGov scrambled to organise an emergency response, the comet suddenly, and incredibly mysteriously, vanished- and reappeared near the Moon, which it promptly crashed into. Investigating the impact crater, researchers were puzzled to find a massive number of brilliant blue crystals in colossal veins throughout the rock- crystals which, when energised, be it by radiation, or heat, or even something as simple as crushing a crystal in the palm of your hand, would result in short range teleportation. Scientists theorised that the comet was hit by a large burst of radiation from a solar flare, resulting in a large scale translocation of the crystals, and, in turn, the comet. 18 | 19 | As testing on the crystals progressed further, researchers discovered that they were no mere mundane material- Bluespace crystals acted as a manifested link to a parallel dimension, which came to be known as the Bluespace. Better technology allowed for the harnessing of this link, leading to the rise of bluespace-based devices and materials. How exactly they link to this parallel dimension is unknown. 20 | 21 | Fairly rapidly, it was discovered that bluespace crystals could be synthesised via a combination of plasma with diamond at extreme pressure and heat. This discovery, however, was unable to be utilised to its fullest due to the limited supply of plasma with which humanity could experiment. The newfound abundance of plasma from Indescipheres, however, has been instrumental in kickstarting humanity's Bluespace Age- with Nanotrasen at the centre of it all. 22 | 23 | Bluespace technology almost universally focuses on manipulation of space, in ways never before thought possible. Via use of the Bluespace, circuits shrink, massive amounts of storage become possible in handheld packages, and a new form of faster-than-light travel was invented via the Wattson Drive- allowing for incredible FTL travel in a fraction of the time of plasma-based engines. This makes bluespace crystals (and in turn the plasma used for industrial synthesis of them) extremely valuable in almost all areas of science, engineering, and manufacturing. 24 | 25 | Current areas of bluespace focus include longer and longer range teleportation, further advancements in FTL, the direct and safe use of Bluespace pocket dimensions (which has shown little promising advancement since the disappearance of Doctor A. Hilbert, the leading scientist in this field), and the creation of Bluespace alloys. 26 | 27 | ### Supermatter 28 | Supermatter is a novel state of matter, initially found in trace quantities in the gaseous orbit of a neutron star. Scientific analysis has not yet pinpointed exactly *what* supermatter is- however, it is theorised to be formed from extremely dense clusters of ionised gas, which collapses due to extreme forces of pressure into a nominally solid (supermatter is actually better described as an amorphous solid, as it does not possess the rigid structure of a true crystal) and incredibly dense material. Upon contact with materials of standard density, it is capable of ripping them apart, atom by atom, at which point they will be incorporated into the crystal on an atomic level. 29 | 30 | Despite the lack of understanding about what Supermatter is, a method of producing viable quantities has been established. Supermatter conglomerate crystals are made via the skimming of these neutron stars to obtain enough material to produce a "seed" crystal. This "seed" is then expanded via the introduction of massive amounts of material in a controlled environment, with particular care given to prevent catastrophic disruption of the lamina, and to avoid making the crystal so dense that it collapses into a singularity. Typically a hypernoble gas environment is used, which keeps the crystal at a safe energy level. Various materials can be used to alter the crystal's properties, though again care must be taken to not spike energy production too high (uranium and plutonium are common materials used to increase energy production) lest the crystal become unsustainably energetic and delaminate. 31 | 32 | The crystal maintains stability via the creation of a thin layer of gas which is held by the crystal's gravitational pull. This layer, known as a "lamina", keeps the crystal stable, and also allows for the interaction of gases with the crystal superstructure. The decomposition of these gases via contact results in the release of radiation, which has allowed for some experimental power production methods to be set up utilising a large supermatter crystal- working on these prototypes, however, has proven to be a job for the brave or foolhardy. Different gases have different interactions with the crystal. 33 | 34 | In the event that the lamina is allowed to completely dissipate, a delamination event will occur. In this event, the crystalline structure of the supermatter will collapse, resulting in a massive release of energy as the supermatter decays to regular matter. In the event that the crystal is sufficiently dense (due to the surrounding atmosphere being too dense, resulting in a catastrophic gain in density for the crystal that overcomes the stabilising effect of the lamina) it may collapse into a singularity. Needless to say, this is not good. High energy delaminations may result in a remarkable release of energy, including the potential for a release of a tesla-ball. 35 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Species of the Galaxy/Lizards/Culture.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Miscellaneous Culture of the Lizards 2 | 3 | ### Peliskpalo: The Tiziran Ball Game 4 | > "It's just not a good game unless someone breaks a rib." 5 | 6 | Peliskpalo (Game of War) is Tizira's "national" sport, played planetwide and popular amongst lizards of all colours, creeds and regions. Originally developed as a martial training exercise in the medieval period, the game would develop throughout the ages, with a standardised ruleset coming into play, alongside tournaments, and leagues. The first professional league was founded in the midst of the Industrial Revolution in Oskmarzel, and from there the game would take the world by storm. 7 | 8 | #### Rules: 9 | Peliskpalo is a team ball game, played with 8 players per side. The rules are simple: get the ball to the opposing end of the court. The ball can be moved by the use of any body part, but it cannot be held in the hands, nor can it move backwards. Should the ball move backwards more than one progression line, possession is relinquished to the other team. Contact is allowed, although in professional settings it is kept moderated to a low level (similar to rugby). 10 | 11 | A regulation Peliskpalo court is approx 80 metres long and 40 metres wide, with progression lines placed every 5 metres. At either end is a score zone, into which the ball must pass to score a point. The ball is a solid cork ball coated in rubber, set at a regulation size of roughly 6 inches in diameter (roughly 19 inches in circumference). This produces a relatively heavy ball when compared to air-filled examples from Earth. 12 | 13 | Players wear only light protection, usually restricted to thin pads on sensitive areas. 14 | 15 | ### The Tiziran Currency 16 | > "Working with the Tizirans makes me damned glad we went decimal." 17 | - Unnamed Human Banker 18 | 19 | To understand Tiziran currency, it is first important to understand lizard mathematics- owing to the lizard physiology of 4 fingers per hand, many number systems on Tizira throughout history were to a base 8, instead of humanity's 10. From this, a hexadecimal number system developed to base 16, and this is today used across the planet. Lizard currency, therefore, is also to a base 16. The Tiziran Rena, or Crown, is the only official legal currency on Tizira, although Universal Credits are also frequently accepted by larger companies and in major cities. 20 | 21 | A complex systems of coins dominates the Rena, with coins representing fractions of a full Rena. The smallest increment is the sekata (half kata), which is 1/32th of a pelata or 1/512th of a rena. From there, the increments build up as such: 22 | 1 kata (pewter) = 2 sekata (1 k) 23 | 1 selkata (two kata) = 2 kata 24 | 1 talkata (four kata) = 4 kata 25 | 1 yalkata (eight kata) = 8 kata 26 | 1 pelata (iron) = 16 kata (1 p, 1/-) 27 | 1 korta (gold) = 32 kata = 2 pelata (2 p, 2/-) 28 | 1 alsan (sword) = 64 kata = 4 pelata (5 p, 5/-) 29 | 1 serena (half rena) = 128 kata = 8 pelata (10 p, 10/-) 30 | 1 rena (crown) = 256 kata = 16 pelata (1 r, 20 p, 20/-) 31 | 32 | Currency below a few rena is frequently expressed as pelata/kata, as these are fairly convenient coins to carry. Rena notes exist to the base 16, in order of 8 rena, 16 rena, 32 rena, etc. 33 | 34 | ### Cityraisers: Masters of Civil Engineering 35 | > "Blessed be the builder, for by his claws is civilisation made." 36 | - Ancient Tiziran Saying 37 | 38 | When discussing lizardkind's greatest feats, many scholars turn to Tiziran civil engineering. From centuries of early industrialisation and harsh conditions, the Tizirans have developed an extremely strong ability at construction and engineering. This can be seen while wandering the streets of almost any Tiziran city, with lavishly detailed buildings that make no compromises on beauty nor functionality; grand urban gardens and parks; impressive statuary that captures centuries of history in stone. Indeed, life in a Tiziran city is in many ways idyllic. 39 | 40 | This collective experience started with the requirement to develop effective methods of water transport and distribution. Early Tiziran settlements were therefore characterised by strong centralisation and public works- qanats, canals, reservoirs and cisterns, and then the harnessing of the power of water via waterwheels to power the beginnings of industry. Much of these initial settlements have been lost to time and war as the centuries rolled by (although older regions still bear ruined aqueducts and other such telltale signs of history), but the experience in city planning that their use imparted can be seen even today. 41 | 42 | As might be expected from a people that have mastered civil engineering, Tiziran cities are littered with great works. Examples include the Waterworks of Taraviero, which is Tizira's largest surviving (and indeed, functioning) series of civil waterworks spanning across much of the medieval city centre. Included are the Grand Stepwell, a massive water storage structure running down Taraviero's main thoroughfare, the Tiziran Gardens, a large water garden near the site of the city's old castle, and the colossal Aqueduct of Taraviero, running an impressive 27 miles from Lake Ara in the Adeni Mountains into the centre of Taraviero's old city. Also included are the network of cisterns and water fountains which kept the city's populace supplied throughout the centuries, although a number are today rendered nonfunctional due to damage to the pipe system- and none produce potable water due to lead contamination from the ancient pipes. 43 | 44 | Taraviero also has another important landmark- the Soda Gardens and Baths. The local geology of Taraviero has lead to a number of natural soda springs nearby- producing carbonated water, these springs became the centre of a spa and wellness retreat in the early modern era, the Aldar Sanitarium and Health Baths. The institute constructed an extensive series of gardens using the soda water for water features, as well as "regenerative baths" which attracted nobility from across Tizira to bathe in the enriching waters. Later, the potential of Taravieran water was realised for drinking, and it began to be bottled and sold in the industrial age. Today, the spa complex, gardens and bottling are handled by the Taraviero Soda Company, although concern for the spring has lead to most of the bottled water and soft drinks made here being instead produced artificially from still water harvested in the region. 45 | 46 | Zagoskeld has its fair share of impressive structures too, as is to be expected of the planet's capital. The Imperial Palace is a good place to begin: the current palace dates back to the early modern era, when the King of the newly unified Oskmarzel sought to move his court closer to the city. The site selected is on a small islet just outside Zagoskeld's city limits between the Tiga and Oron rivers, atop an ancient volcanic plug, and the location of a previous castle which was heavily damaged in a recent war and left to fall to ruin. This gives the royal palace an imposing view across much of the flatter land around it, as well as natural defenses against attack from the sea- although it was never designed to be a fortified castle. Its construction unfortunately outlasted the king, leaving his daughter as the first monarch to live in its walls. Throughout the years, the palace was expanded, and the road leading to it became a part of Zagoskeld city, specifically becoming the diplomatic quarter. Soon afterwards, the parliament building of Oskmarzel was built nearby at the northern tip of the islet. When Tizira unified under the Ozkmarzelic banner, the palace passed into being the seat of Imperial power, and the Oskmarzelic parliament building became the seat of the first Tiziran senate. Since then, the senate has moved to a new, purpose built building across the Oron river, with the old building being split into the official residence of the Prime Minister and a senatorial annex for commissions and small debates. 47 | 48 | Another major landmark in Zagoskeld is the Triumphal Arch. Standing at 70 metres tall and dominating Zagoskeld's central thoroughfare, the Avenue of the Victorious March (or the Long March, for short), the Triumphal Arch is a monument to Oskmarzel's triumphs during the Wars of Unification. In the years since, it's become more of a symbol of Tiziran unity, with military triumphs to celebrate major victories ending their route at the Arch and its surrounding Plaza of Triumph. 49 | 50 | Also of note is the New Fortress, standing at the opposing end of the Long March. Originally constructed shortly after the Imperial Palace, the New Fortress was designed to be a military hub and defensive structure for the growing city of Zagoskeld, in contrast to the old fortress on the site of the palace. Throughout the centuries, it received a number of expansions to keep up with the evolution of warfare, eventually becoming outdated in the industrial period. After a period of neglect, it was taken under the custody of the Archivist Order, who restored it and converted it into a tourist destination and museum. The urban headquarters of the Tiziran military was constructed adjacent to the fortress as a symbolic link to the Ozkmarzelic military's past. Today, the fortress is a popular tourist destination, and is famously utilised every Unification Day for the ceremonial firing of 149 guns- one for each member state which gave up their independence for the Tiziran union. This is also the traditional beginning to a military triumph- but Tizira has not celebrated one of those in over a century. 51 | 52 | Additionally on the Long March is the Rizkalon Park, located at roughly the midpoint. A large and beautiful park, it is well known for three key features- the Water Gardens, an extensive example of Tiziran mastery of hydrology; the Necropolis and the westernmost entrance to the Halls of Atrakor's Own, Tizira's largest burial catacombs; and the Statue of the Unnamed Soldier, a monument to the unidentified dead of Tizira's many, many wars. 53 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Governments and Organisations/Corporations/Nanotrasen/Nanotrasen.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | > "Everywhere we go, Nanotrasen's already been!" 2 | 3 | -A candid complaint from Laura Kripac, senior TerraGov intelligence officer, after learning Nanotrasen preempted TG on pulse weapon technology by ten years. The quote leaked to the press, and has been an unofficial motto among NT workers ever since. 4 | *** 5 | 6 | ![Nanotrasen logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Nanotrasen_Logo.png) 7 | 8 | Nanotrasen is a very, very large and important company. A company so large, in fact, that at least half a century has passed since it became large enough to receive a charter from TerraGov to form its own expeditionary fleets and establish its own settlements outside the Sol system. While a large portion of their investments are tied up in Sol, they were notably the first private corporation to be granted such a charter and invest heavily in the distant reaches of space. At the time it was regarded as an incredibly risky gamble, and there was great speculation that all the money spent on exploring space and launching deep space missions would end up a waste that would sink the company, but the gambit has more than paid off and Nanotrasen's portfolio has soared since. 9 | 10 | Primarily an advanced research and development conglomerate, Nanotrasen also has skin in many other fields. While a great deal of their income still comes from producing public research funded by government research grants, their operations also include directly producing and selling their most profitable designs, leasing their asset protection forces to governments and private organizations (both space fleets and ground troops), logistics management with a specialization in remote settlement self-sufficiency, and maintaining interstellar communication infrastructures to name a few. The common theme that runs through most of their business ventures is taking the lessons they've learned from operating on such a massive scale and helping smaller organizations stretch themselves. 11 | 12 | As large and powerful as they are, Nanotrasen's future standing is still shaky and uncertain as they double down further on their Spinward settlements. Their decision to expand out Spinward on their own came during the dawn of TerraGov's efforts to begin scouting out and colonizing Alpha Centauri (Trailward of Sol, in the opposite direction of SS13), and the opportunity cost involved with breaking from TerraGov's expansion has been sizable. 13 | 14 | 15 | Contents 16 | 17 | 1. Fields of research 18 | 2. Sub-Entry: Central Command 19 | 3. Sub-Entry: Nanotrasen Division of Asset Protection 20 | 4. Sub-Entry: Nanotrasen Emergency Response Corps 21 | 22 | # Fields of research 23 | 24 | As a fancy research company, Nanotrasen does a lot of groundbreaking research, in a vast array of fields. Due to environmental and political factors, some fields of research in particular have been relegated to the Spinward Periphery, away from government eyes. 25 | 26 | * Plasma extraction and refining: The original target of the Spinward Space Station project, the use of plasma in energy generation and weapons development is a hot field on the Periphery. Precious little is known about the long-term effects of plasma, but Nanotrasen still makes a pretty penny extracting, refining, and selling it to cash-flush and energy-hungry organizations like TerraGov. 27 | * Bluespace technology: The science of punching in and out of extra dimensions, whether dealing with man portable hand teleporters and reactive teleport armor, or ship sized FTL Bluespace Drives. While basic Bluespace Theory and FTL travel is known and studied back in Sol, it's speculated that Nanotrasen are decades ahead in their private research. 28 | * Alternative energy sources: Whether it's braving the event horizon of a black hole to collect its radiation, detonating an entire hyper-dense planet to extract the supermatter at its core, or any of another half dozen highly dangerous and exotic energy generation methods, NT has no shortage of encouraging research directions here. The interesting work, emphasis on rapid iteration, and seemingly endless project funding makes Nanotrasen an especially popular company among engineers. 29 | * Biology and xenobiology: Due to strict government oversight and regulations on medical research, Nanotrasen has traditionally paid little attention to the field in favor of less regulated options like weapons development and communications technology. With more room to breathe since moving to deep space, Nanotrasen has begun conducting biology experiments both on humanoids and more exotic creatures. Little of this research is actually released to the public in Nanotrasen's name, however, for fear of increased oversight. Instead, the research is either kept in-house or sent to shell labs for release to avoid being linked to NT. 30 | 31 | Notes: 32 | * The humble Beach Ball is one of Nanotrasen's most profitable products! 33 | 34 | 35 | # Sub-Entry: Central Command 36 | 37 | Location: Highly classified. 38 | 39 | Type of Org: Department of Nanotrasen 40 | 41 | Description: A division of Nanotrasen's Special Projects Division, known simply as Central Command (or CentCom) to the crews it oversees, this department is responsible for handling administrative duties for NT's Space-Westward Periphery space stations. These duties range from mundane and routine accounting tasks to highly sensitive and specialized matters that require special attention and care, and CentCom is fittingly staffed by a wide range of (supposedly) highly skilled Nanotrasen officers from a variety of backgrounds. The location of CentCom is highly classified, and the facility makes use of powerful signal jammers and bluespace disruptors to keep unwanted intruders out. When the situation at one of the surrounding stations goes critical, survivors of the incident are shuttled here for debriefing and observation. 42 | 43 | Notes: 44 | * Home of the NT Emergency Response Corps, an elite group of NT's best field agents. 45 | * Staffed by a slew of high ranking officials, including Admirals and Corporate Directors. 46 | 47 | 48 | # Sub-Entry: Asset Protection and Security Division 49 | 50 | Description: As close as Nanotrasen is legally allowed to come to owning a private army, and then some. The DAP is Nanotrasen's paramilitary wing, and on paper is in charge of protecting most of Nanotrasen's cargo ships, settlements, space stations, and other valuable assets from the hands of insurgents or pirates who may want to cause them harm. In reality, however, the DAP performs offensive operations at least as often as it performs defensive maneuvers, a fact that is often left out of their press material. Some of their offensive operations include black ops raids on corporate rivals, overrunning native populations on resource rich planets or asteroid belts, and lightning strikes on vulnerable cargo transports carrying desired goods; in short, the exact things they are charged with preventing. 51 | 52 | Despite their generally shady nature and willingness to commit war crimes in pursuit of the almighty space dollar, the DAP is rarely involved in activity in the Spinward Sector. Their reputation back in Sol was already under scrutiny for various espionage operations they were apart of before the latest round of inquiries into Nanotrasen's Spinward activities, so NT's leadership has made as much of an effort as possible to distance the two organizations from each other. Still though, it's possible to find a few agents on a long distance mission protection Nanotrasen cargo or high value prisoners on the Periphery, though most of their functionality has been taken over by the Emergency Response Corps or on-station security teams. 53 | 54 | Notes: 55 | * The Department of Asset Protection prefers older, less experimental gear than their Spinward counterparts. The NT Boarder AR and venerable M1911 as well as the aging Mk. II SWAT suit are the weapons and armor of choice for AP Operatives. 56 | 57 | 58 | # Sub-Entry: Nanotrasen Emergency Response Corps 59 | 60 | Location: Based at Central Command. 61 | 62 | Type of Org: Department of Central Command. 63 | 64 | Description: The best of the best of Nanotrasen's field agents in the Spinward Sector, or at least whoever was standing around in the ready room when a call for action goes out. The Emergency Response Corps is a relatively new initiative for Nanotrasen, founded circa 2556 in response to the ever rising levels of mayhem among their Spinward assets. The agents picked to run missions are recruited directly from among the best operatives, engineers, doctors, and leaders of the Spinward station staffs, though they are given pseudonyms and special callsigns in addition to identity protecting hardsuits and voice changers when on missions. 65 | 66 | While selection is usually rigorous and effective at keeping the ERC full of the best agents they can find, the number of assets that the division is responsible for protecting vastly outclasses their own numbers, so tough tactical decisions are constantly being made at Central Command. While crews and station leadership are quick to make requests for heavily armed crack teams of commandos at the slightest provocation, the reality is that sending even a light response team to a fraction of distress signals would lead to an almost immediate exhaustion of their resources, assuming they could even make it in time. There are more than a few action reports in the NT databanks from ERT's that arrived at a station a few hours after receiving a distress call, only to find the entire place devoid of life. As a result of the dearth of manpower, sometimes less than stellar junior agents are deployed on missions, and the Corps reputation is less than stellar among the employees they swear to protect. That being said, they're some of the few civilian employees Central Command will entrust with pulse weaponry, so there must be some level of trust in their abilities. 67 | 68 | Notes: 69 | * Members of the Emergency Response Corps are to be referred to as Emergency Response Agents or Operatives. Use of the term Emergency Response Personnel is grounds for an immediate citation and fine. 70 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------