Memetic Hazards
- Thread starter Ghostly
- Start date
Ghostly
Member
“By the rivers of Ci’ta, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Sol.”
It was a golden age. An era of peace and prosperity for all, hard fought and won but well deserved. Our solar system had become a new Zion, one people united in the name of amity.
Humankind had been trapped in a cycle of meaningless bloodshed, centuries of destruction that left the once great Earth eternally scarred. We feared the world that had once been our cradle would soon be our grave - the song of our people, our voice, lost and silenced in a cold, vast expanse.
But finally, we looked up from the blood and from the dirt and from the dying - to the stars.
Despite it all, you had not forgotten our dream of yearning - to reach out and seek a new horizon, to find a new home for your kin to grow and prosper. For the first time, you were united in a common goal, a shared vision of a future not only worth fighting for, but worth living for.
You realized your once great verdant home was too small for you. So many souls, and so little a world. So, you sought other worlds - worlds where you could escape your addiction to violence.
It was a time of expansion. You built great things, discovered wonders, and tested the limits. Yet the stars were still beyond your reach. The means to leave the nest that had protected you and given so much to our ancestors were still so beyond you.
Humankind has always looked to the stars - the heavens for answers. While the stars held few answers, they were more than willing to give us new questions.
The Nniss were one such mystery.
“Our creators?” Some asked. You thought yourselves so enlightened when the blurry images of their roving behemoths at the edge of our solar system reached Terra and your enlightened men extended their olive branch.
Would history have been different if mankind had attacked first? If the nuclear spears of Mars had been thrown would Sol have survived? No, that across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded our home with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
The doom was complete, your fate inevitable. Your Zion fell, Sol burned, and your people - enslaved.
But this would not be your end. We are Terran, no? Ours is the exodus, the struggle of reconstruction and cycle of devastation. And after each fall, we lick our wounds and weep in strange new lands - dreaming of Zion, dreaming of visiting vengeance upon those who took it from us.
And you would. Even as you were shackled and the warmth of Sol faded into the black void behind you, you never forgot your spirit and your home.
Some billion odd souls crossed the void in the belly of the Nniss behemoths, now slaves of their massive empire. A thousand-thousand worlds they held, and trillions of slaves - some much alike you, while others seemed far more alien than you could comprehend.
The Lost Tribes of Terra scattered across their master’s empire, being taken to all manner of worlds for the Nniss’ vile intentions - to toil, to entertain, or perhaps simply to die. Across these spheres, the tribes divided and diversified. New credos and gods emerged from what little knowledge and belief had survived the Fall, forming new cultures in these clustered populi. Yet still, they would not forget Terra, they would not forget to preserve their strength for the vengeance that would come.
For centuries uncountable the Nniss ruled, becoming complacent and indulgent, certain in their belief that their subjects could do them no harm. Seizing this moment, the slaves rose up. Many brave souls were sacrificed, entire tribes wiped from memory, but in the end the Nniss were cast down.
With the firm hand of the masters no longer guiding us and our fellow enslaved, the settled galaxy entered an age of reclamation and reconstruction. Slowly across a hundred worlds, Terrans struggled to understand the abandoned technology of the Nniss, hoping to once again seek a new horizon and find answers in the heavens.
Only time now will tell if we like what we find out here - waiting for us.
~~
Peace settled on the galaxy, but it would be a fleeting peace - the great sacrifice was in vain. An end to one oppressor was not an end to all oppressors.
In time, a new form of tyranny would come to power. The “Free Peoples’ Republic” - free only in name. This expansionist regime has conquered much of settled space, subjugating and erasing anyone who stands in their way - alien and Terran alike.
The Republic’s enemies are numerous and anything but united. Political radicals, foreign powers, and alien insurgents who fight amongst themselves as often as the Republic.
You are one such renegade. At the edge of the galaxy - the edge of their control, you find yourself alongside a crew of fellow rebels hired to acquire what might be one of the last artifacts from Old Terra before it falls into the Republic's hands. Pull this off right and you might just be set for life, otherwise you'll find out what happens to those who get in their way.
Whether you're a revolutionary looking to spite their regime, or maybe you're just looking out for your own, you've been hired and trusted with this task. You have the skills and the drive to get this done and maybe not die in the process.
It was a golden age. An era of peace and prosperity for all, hard fought and won but well deserved. Our solar system had become a new Zion, one people united in the name of amity.
Humankind had been trapped in a cycle of meaningless bloodshed, centuries of destruction that left the once great Earth eternally scarred. We feared the world that had once been our cradle would soon be our grave - the song of our people, our voice, lost and silenced in a cold, vast expanse.
But finally, we looked up from the blood and from the dirt and from the dying - to the stars.
Despite it all, you had not forgotten our dream of yearning - to reach out and seek a new horizon, to find a new home for your kin to grow and prosper. For the first time, you were united in a common goal, a shared vision of a future not only worth fighting for, but worth living for.
You realized your once great verdant home was too small for you. So many souls, and so little a world. So, you sought other worlds - worlds where you could escape your addiction to violence.
It was a time of expansion. You built great things, discovered wonders, and tested the limits. Yet the stars were still beyond your reach. The means to leave the nest that had protected you and given so much to our ancestors were still so beyond you.
Humankind has always looked to the stars - the heavens for answers. While the stars held few answers, they were more than willing to give us new questions.
The Nniss were one such mystery.
“Our creators?” Some asked. You thought yourselves so enlightened when the blurry images of their roving behemoths at the edge of our solar system reached Terra and your enlightened men extended their olive branch.
Would history have been different if mankind had attacked first? If the nuclear spears of Mars had been thrown would Sol have survived? No, that across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded our home with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
The doom was complete, your fate inevitable. Your Zion fell, Sol burned, and your people - enslaved.
But this would not be your end. We are Terran, no? Ours is the exodus, the struggle of reconstruction and cycle of devastation. And after each fall, we lick our wounds and weep in strange new lands - dreaming of Zion, dreaming of visiting vengeance upon those who took it from us.
And you would. Even as you were shackled and the warmth of Sol faded into the black void behind you, you never forgot your spirit and your home.
Some billion odd souls crossed the void in the belly of the Nniss behemoths, now slaves of their massive empire. A thousand-thousand worlds they held, and trillions of slaves - some much alike you, while others seemed far more alien than you could comprehend.
The Lost Tribes of Terra scattered across their master’s empire, being taken to all manner of worlds for the Nniss’ vile intentions - to toil, to entertain, or perhaps simply to die. Across these spheres, the tribes divided and diversified. New credos and gods emerged from what little knowledge and belief had survived the Fall, forming new cultures in these clustered populi. Yet still, they would not forget Terra, they would not forget to preserve their strength for the vengeance that would come.
For centuries uncountable the Nniss ruled, becoming complacent and indulgent, certain in their belief that their subjects could do them no harm. Seizing this moment, the slaves rose up. Many brave souls were sacrificed, entire tribes wiped from memory, but in the end the Nniss were cast down.
With the firm hand of the masters no longer guiding us and our fellow enslaved, the settled galaxy entered an age of reclamation and reconstruction. Slowly across a hundred worlds, Terrans struggled to understand the abandoned technology of the Nniss, hoping to once again seek a new horizon and find answers in the heavens.
Only time now will tell if we like what we find out here - waiting for us.
~~
Peace settled on the galaxy, but it would be a fleeting peace - the great sacrifice was in vain. An end to one oppressor was not an end to all oppressors.
In time, a new form of tyranny would come to power. The “Free Peoples’ Republic” - free only in name. This expansionist regime has conquered much of settled space, subjugating and erasing anyone who stands in their way - alien and Terran alike.
The Republic’s enemies are numerous and anything but united. Political radicals, foreign powers, and alien insurgents who fight amongst themselves as often as the Republic.
You are one such renegade. At the edge of the galaxy - the edge of their control, you find yourself alongside a crew of fellow rebels hired to acquire what might be one of the last artifacts from Old Terra before it falls into the Republic's hands. Pull this off right and you might just be set for life, otherwise you'll find out what happens to those who get in their way.
Whether you're a revolutionary looking to spite their regime, or maybe you're just looking out for your own, you've been hired and trusted with this task. You have the skills and the drive to get this done and maybe not die in the process.
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Ghostly
Member
Astrolabe
Insurrectionists
Spheres within spheres within spheres within...
A series of deep space beacons positioned throughout the Milky Way, older than memory. Ancient and impenetrable, even the Nniss didn't dare tamper with them out of fear of disabling such a vital piece of technology. As its name implies, an astrolabe is a star chart that provides passing vessels with a reliable model of heavenly bodies within its mapping range. This allows ships to make long range dives through the firmament into Cherenkov Space safely and with better accuracy - in theory.
While space travel is not impossible without utilizing one, it is extremely dangerous and costly to do so - especially for larger ships. Thus, smugglers and outlaws wishing to sidestep Republic blockades and taxes often practice "slip skipping" - the act of making shallow and brief superluminal dives before breaching back into real space and adjusting course. This form of travel has obviously been outlawed by the Republic, leading to the act being seen as rebellious and cool.
A series of deep space beacons positioned throughout the Milky Way, older than memory. Ancient and impenetrable, even the Nniss didn't dare tamper with them out of fear of disabling such a vital piece of technology. As its name implies, an astrolabe is a star chart that provides passing vessels with a reliable model of heavenly bodies within its mapping range. This allows ships to make long range dives through the firmament into Cherenkov Space safely and with better accuracy - in theory.
While space travel is not impossible without utilizing one, it is extremely dangerous and costly to do so - especially for larger ships. Thus, smugglers and outlaws wishing to sidestep Republic blockades and taxes often practice "slip skipping" - the act of making shallow and brief superluminal dives before breaching back into real space and adjusting course. This form of travel has obviously been outlawed by the Republic, leading to the act being seen as rebellious and cool.
Insurrectionists
... all we ever wanted was to get out.
Insurrectionists - affectionately referred to as "Innies" are the (dis)organized militants who fight against the Free Peoples' Republic. They claim to be one force, united in defiance against the regime. However, the truth is that they are divided by ideology just as much as they are divided by distance. While militias and spy cells operate nearly everywhere the Republic plants their flag, the three major groups are as follows.
Redstar Union - technically a foreign power claiming Zhalo as their capital. Redstar wish to dismantle the exploitative regime of the FPR from the ground up, urging workers to "seize the means of production" and "cast off the chains of the oppressor". Utilizing the industry present on many of the worlds they liberate, they have begun to build a substantial fleet using the resources and factories of the oppressor.
Insurrectionists - affectionately referred to as "Innies" are the (dis)organized militants who fight against the Free Peoples' Republic. They claim to be one force, united in defiance against the regime. However, the truth is that they are divided by ideology just as much as they are divided by distance. While militias and spy cells operate nearly everywhere the Republic plants their flag, the three major groups are as follows.
Redstar Union - technically a foreign power claiming Zhalo as their capital. Redstar wish to dismantle the exploitative regime of the FPR from the ground up, urging workers to "seize the means of production" and "cast off the chains of the oppressor". Utilizing the industry present on many of the worlds they liberate, they have begun to build a substantial fleet using the resources and factories of the oppressor.
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