GalaxyNES- No Horizons
- Thread starter Lord_Iggy
- Start date
Starlife
de la terre à la lune
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I've seen the map now. If I can play in this, can I be in some corner of the galaxy... because the Dendro would not have had contact with other races. We would be approaching that stage now (which is what my first story would be about!).
Sorry if there are no more positions open and I'm posting here.
Sorry if there are no more positions open and I'm posting here.
Hmm, you actually seem vaguely similar to the Maus, another species of intelligent trees. Given the fact that the Maus were once protected by a now-extinct elder civilization, it's possible that the Star Forest was another offshoot of the same ancestral biosphere. Given that, would you like to start out of known space just to the right of the top right corner of the map?
Starlife
de la terre à la lune
- Joined
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Anywhere is fine with me. That sounds good. I thought my idea might not be entirely original. Can you tell me more about the Maus?
EDIT: Just read some info on them in the other pages. But a brief summary of their situation might help out a bit.
If you follow this link I can answer individual questions and we can talk about it. A brief summary on the situation... well, there are lots of things to cover.
The Maus shared a root-based neural network and exhibited powerful traits of pheromonal control, which they used to control the Lauki, symbiotic insectoids who formed the muscle and labour force of Ma'Autra, the Eternal Union. However, in recent years the Lauki, engineered to ever-rising levels of intelligence after the collapse of Ma'Autra, overthrew their masters and allied themselves with an ancient program, a relic of the aforementioned elder civilization, forming La'Matra. The remaining Maus either fled or were engineered into docility, and some of them are fleeing in your direction.
The Maus shared a root-based neural network and exhibited powerful traits of pheromonal control, which they used to control the Lauki, symbiotic insectoids who formed the muscle and labour force of Ma'Autra, the Eternal Union. However, in recent years the Lauki, engineered to ever-rising levels of intelligence after the collapse of Ma'Autra, overthrew their masters and allied themselves with an ancient program, a relic of the aforementioned elder civilization, forming La'Matra. The remaining Maus either fled or were engineered into docility, and some of them are fleeing in your direction.
Starlife
de la terre à la lune
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
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Very interesting. Dendro society does not have insectoids nor does it focus on its pheramones like the Maus seemed to have done. The neural network is present (got the idea from Darwin!), so they share that in common. Perhaps one thing that they stand apart in is that the Dendro have evolved to actually control the growth of rock-like, hard substance that coats their bodies as shells during space travel. So they not only can grow their tree-like organic selves, but can also effectively latch onto and burrow into layers of sediment as well, and then control this sediment's growth in addition to the growth of their own kind. Maybe the way they communicate between stars is also different. And all Dendro worlds are plant-only, with the existence of some insects and other creatures, but virtually all intelligent life is plant-oriented. There are some trees that have venus fly-trap mouths as well, but I haven't written about them yet. They also don't create cities and don't really need laborers, though Conifs are the closest thing to laborers.
I see the link you provided is a chat room. I'll be there in a little bit. Thanks for the info so far.
Starlife
de la terre à la lune
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,498
Emerging from the Arboretum
The tendrils of the Bodhi moved back and forth under the rock, pulsating brainwaves to the other Bodhis in the small, isolated grove on the home planet of the Dendro. It was on the planet Bodhi, and only in this small grove, that these massive, overarching trees controlled an entire world, and beyond this world, an entire civilization of expert colonists. The Bodhi are said to be able to predict events to come, or at least know certain paths which can be taken. Their life energies pulsate throughout the stars within Dendro space, which is only two star-systems. However, each and every planet within these star-systems are covered in the Dendro, who have successfully manipulated and terraformed every planet, moon, and asteroid they have come across. The Bodhi's synapse roots were active today, merging into the network for longer, and swallowing the roots of other Bodhi trees around it. Something was stirring, and it was headed for Dendro space. Headed, perhaps, for Bodhi itself. The Bodhi felt it had to move swiftly, for no time could be wasted.
Uprooting from the earth, many of the Dendro began to fling rocks into space filled with comm-spores, which quickly reached the nearest star-system of Cordate. The network, which had successfully expanded into another star-system, was fast at work. Dendro soldiers were ordered to return from their rites of passage in the sun-zones of their worlds. Dendro-fused star structures and space rocks were launched from planet and moon alike. Tendril roots emerged from the ends of these structures, turning them into spaceships of defense. The Bodhi even activated the connections of Orbicular, the ability for the home-system of the Dendro to merge together using "space elevator"-like towers of lumbering trees and solid rock shells. The Bodhi were also communicating that it was not war that was headed towards the Dendro. But still, defense is a precaution that must always be taken. The Mouths of Dendro, creatures that resemble massive venus fly-traps, were ordered to practice their sound-skills. The Bodhi believed that first contact might be near. The Dendro would soon discover what lies beyond the Star Forest.
A brief tale of a tree-soldier
(just to give some insight into Dendro society... this little tidbit will probably not be continued)
The busy Bodhi tree, sitting in its quiet grove, pulsed day after day for several weeks. The circular leaves of the trees swayed back and forth and collected plenty of sunlight. Strong soldiers returned from their rite of passage. One such soldier was one of the Decids, a Dendro named ~~<*``~. ~~<*``~ was born to be a soldier. Its parent had decided that there were too few defenders in its growth, so from the day ~~<*``~ became a seedling, it began to sway its little tendrils ferociously. ~~<*``~ learned quickly how to uproot, and then came the first day it was able to wrap its vines around other trees and then propel its branch-arms with great speed. The generals noticed ~~<*``~'s strength and resilience. In ~~<*``~'s first test of fire, it uprooted and migrated to the Burning Leaves Desert on the planet Oak in the Cordate system. There ~~<*``~ sat, root-less for weeks in the scorching heat, and enduring pain and thirst. It remained there the longest out of his brigade. When it emerged, it's strength was unparalleled compared to the other soldiers. And now, as it returns from this rite of passage, it has communicated personally with Bodhi and has become one of the Dendro's prized defenders. ~~<*``~ has even been selected to merge with a few generals to soon create a powerful star-tree.
The Star-Forest
Orbicular System:
Planet Bodhi with the Bodhi Moons (3 nameless moons)
Planet Willow with two moons: Moon Maple, Moon Redwood
Planet Sequoia with one moon: Moon Sycamore
Cordate System:
Planet Cypress with the Moon Banyan I
Planet Oak with Moon Pine I and Moon Pine II
Planet Cottonwood with Moon Yew
Planet Aspen with Moon Banyan II and Moon Banyan III
Planet Elm with Moon Banyan IV and Moon Banyan V
The Secret of the Bodhi
The Dendro communicate with each other, but it is possible for one brain network of roots (one tree) to keep secrets from the others. And that is exactly what the god-like Bodhi trees have done. Together as a grove, they have kept secret a dark chapter of Dendro history. More on this to come.
The Mouths of Dendro
Will write about this tomorrow!
The tendrils of the Bodhi moved back and forth under the rock, pulsating brainwaves to the other Bodhis in the small, isolated grove on the home planet of the Dendro. It was on the planet Bodhi, and only in this small grove, that these massive, overarching trees controlled an entire world, and beyond this world, an entire civilization of expert colonists. The Bodhi are said to be able to predict events to come, or at least know certain paths which can be taken. Their life energies pulsate throughout the stars within Dendro space, which is only two star-systems. However, each and every planet within these star-systems are covered in the Dendro, who have successfully manipulated and terraformed every planet, moon, and asteroid they have come across. The Bodhi's synapse roots were active today, merging into the network for longer, and swallowing the roots of other Bodhi trees around it. Something was stirring, and it was headed for Dendro space. Headed, perhaps, for Bodhi itself. The Bodhi felt it had to move swiftly, for no time could be wasted.
Uprooting from the earth, many of the Dendro began to fling rocks into space filled with comm-spores, which quickly reached the nearest star-system of Cordate. The network, which had successfully expanded into another star-system, was fast at work. Dendro soldiers were ordered to return from their rites of passage in the sun-zones of their worlds. Dendro-fused star structures and space rocks were launched from planet and moon alike. Tendril roots emerged from the ends of these structures, turning them into spaceships of defense. The Bodhi even activated the connections of Orbicular, the ability for the home-system of the Dendro to merge together using "space elevator"-like towers of lumbering trees and solid rock shells. The Bodhi were also communicating that it was not war that was headed towards the Dendro. But still, defense is a precaution that must always be taken. The Mouths of Dendro, creatures that resemble massive venus fly-traps, were ordered to practice their sound-skills. The Bodhi believed that first contact might be near. The Dendro would soon discover what lies beyond the Star Forest.
A brief tale of a tree-soldier
(just to give some insight into Dendro society... this little tidbit will probably not be continued)
The busy Bodhi tree, sitting in its quiet grove, pulsed day after day for several weeks. The circular leaves of the trees swayed back and forth and collected plenty of sunlight. Strong soldiers returned from their rite of passage. One such soldier was one of the Decids, a Dendro named ~~<*``~. ~~<*``~ was born to be a soldier. Its parent had decided that there were too few defenders in its growth, so from the day ~~<*``~ became a seedling, it began to sway its little tendrils ferociously. ~~<*``~ learned quickly how to uproot, and then came the first day it was able to wrap its vines around other trees and then propel its branch-arms with great speed. The generals noticed ~~<*``~'s strength and resilience. In ~~<*``~'s first test of fire, it uprooted and migrated to the Burning Leaves Desert on the planet Oak in the Cordate system. There ~~<*``~ sat, root-less for weeks in the scorching heat, and enduring pain and thirst. It remained there the longest out of his brigade. When it emerged, it's strength was unparalleled compared to the other soldiers. And now, as it returns from this rite of passage, it has communicated personally with Bodhi and has become one of the Dendro's prized defenders. ~~<*``~ has even been selected to merge with a few generals to soon create a powerful star-tree.
The Star-Forest
Orbicular System:
Planet Bodhi with the Bodhi Moons (3 nameless moons)
Planet Willow with two moons: Moon Maple, Moon Redwood
Planet Sequoia with one moon: Moon Sycamore
Cordate System:
Planet Cypress with the Moon Banyan I
Planet Oak with Moon Pine I and Moon Pine II
Planet Cottonwood with Moon Yew
Planet Aspen with Moon Banyan II and Moon Banyan III
Planet Elm with Moon Banyan IV and Moon Banyan V
The Secret of the Bodhi
The Dendro communicate with each other, but it is possible for one brain network of roots (one tree) to keep secrets from the others. And that is exactly what the god-like Bodhi trees have done. Together as a grove, they have kept secret a dark chapter of Dendro history. More on this to come.
The Mouths of Dendro
Will write about this tomorrow!
Starlife
de la terre à la lune
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,498
The Secret of the Bodhi
The Dendro have existed for millions of years, and seemingly all information about Dendro history is immediately passed down to seedlings upon their growth from the forest floors, once they are established and connected to the neural root system. Yet there is one piece of history that has, over time, become forgotten, through the efforts of a select few trees in a tiny grove on Planet Bodhi. These Bodhi trees have successfully pulsated into the neural network and have, over time, deliberately destroyed and hidden information. They keep a terrible secret, one which they might not so easily be able to keep if first contact comes to be. The ancient Bodhi trees grow to be very tall, and their trunks wind together and twirl around each other, creating a look of veins, exposed and twisted. They can still uproot, though, and they can still move quickly along the world they inhabit and the Bodhi Moons it connects to.
The Bodhi Moons are the focus of this terrible secret. Deep within the core of the Bodhi Moons, the Bodhi have used their influence and the organic towers connecting the planet with its moons, to hide the ruins of an ancient civilization. The moons contain a network of caverns running throughout, which have been occupied by the Bodhi for some time, blocking them from further root settlement and keeping them safe. It was on these moons that a plant species called the Muscipula thrived. On these moons they kept isolated, multiplying in the millions and surrounding the surface of these orbs with their "mouths". You see, the Muscipula closely resemble venus fly traps, yet imagine them much larger, their roots more like tentacles, and their mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth. Unlike the Dendro, they did not have a sophisticated network of roots to line the planet, and they communicated in a strange sound-speak language, the remnants of which only the Mouths of Dendro can remember (and are told to keep shut about it by the Bodhi). The Muscipula were able to root and uproot, but the connections were not deep or intricate enough to form the neural combination that the Dendro thrive on. The Muscipula eventually evolved to be a much more independent species than the Dendro. Their roots systems served as their brains, but because there was no collective uplink, the Muscipula developed regional tribes and different cultures depending on which of the three moons they inhabited.
Side-by-side, the Dendro on Bodhi and the Muscipula on the Three Moons evolved. While the Muscipula sometimes fought amongst themselves, the Dendro had evolved to be a united force. The Dendro were not quite one organism, but they could at least instantaneously communicate with one another. In addition, the Dendro mind-root evolution took place on several different species of tree, making Planet Bodhi diverse. Planet Bodhi became crowded, over time, with so many different kinds of trees. When the Cordate System was discovered long ago, the Bodhi developed a plan. They would latch onto the planet's moons and spread their roots and seeds on all of them, brutally conquering the Muscipula and erasing their civilization from history. This was the only war that the Dendro ever engaged in, and indeed, it was a vicious one.
The Bodhi had evolved sophisticated mechanisms to grow hard rock-like shells along their exteriors, and then even gradually bring up collections of minerals along the bark-like canals that cover Dendro exoskeletons. They quickly grew to the moons, and latched onto them, pushing their roots systems into these moons and completely stopping the orbits of them. The Muscipula panicked. The ones that stayed rooted found their roots cut off by the stronger Bodhi roots. They had been starved of water. The Muscipula began to attack, and severed many Bodhi trees. But the Bodhi fought back, developing powerful projectiles from rock and tree that slammed into the surfaces of these moons, killing millions of Muscipula. The Bodhi also used its space-trees to launch orbital attacks on the moons. When the dust had cleared, the Muscipula had been eliminated. Those that survived were swallowed up the neural network of the Bodhi. The Bodhi then worked to block or erase the memory of this war from the other subspecies of Dendro. The selfish Bodhi required these moons to spread their personal brain-roots. With this amount of brain power, they could now attempt to settle other worlds. Within both the Orbicular and Cordate system, suitable worlds for sub-species of Dendro were found and terraformed, and the memory of the Muscipula gradually faded away.
Some brief details about the Muscipula
Within the caverns of the Three Moons there are remains of the Muscipula, mostly fossilized and kept in hard rock by their Bodhi protectors. The Muscipula settlements were tribal in nature, as they could not communicate rapidly through the use of a neural root network. The Muscipula were also far more concerned with using their tentacle-like roots, which were faster and more mobile than Dendro extensions (though at this stage in Dendro evolution, their roots and branches have become more tentacle-like, faster, and more agile). Using their tentacles, the Muscipula constructed strange forest dwellings, hollowing out dead trees and scavenging pieces of fallen wood and broad leaves. Over time, the Muscipula evolved to create settlements out of grown organic plant material. The cities of the Muscipula thus became massive growths of organic plant, hollowed out, breathing, and requiring water and sunlight. The Muscipula could move through the tunnels and high steps of these organo-dwellings.
The hidden and petrified sound-speak organs
Part of the secret Bodhi massacre includes something strange and kept by some of the most efficient Bodhi minds and warriors. The vocal chords, called the sound-speak organs, were kept petrified by the Bodhi. It is a mystery as to why they wanted to retain the sound-speak organs, and keep the memory of this language. With these organs they were able to teach the Mouths of Dendro, descendants of the Muscipula, how to speak this lost language. The purpose of doing this was so that one day the Dendro might be able to communicate with races that were not tree-like in nature. But there are other, more mysterious reasons as to why the Bodhi kept the original sound-speak organs in tact, even after the Mouths of Dendro had been taught this long-lost language of the ancient Muscipula tribes.
The Mouths of Dendro
The Mouths of Dendro are large, hulking Muscipula (venus fly trap-like), slobbering, razor-sharp toothed creatures with many vine-like tentacles. Their roots are weaker than Dendro roots, yet they are able to move much faster. They are loyal to the Dendro completely. In fact, they are in no way controlled or enslaved by the Dendro, but rather are a completely loyal and respected part of Dendro society. The Mouths of Dendro actually consider themselves Dendro, and all other Dendro other than the Bodhi believe that the Mouths of Dendro are part of their species. The Mouths of Dendro sing songs which make the entire neural network feel happiness. When a group of the Mouths sings out on a planet, it can be heard for thousands of miles. It is a brilliant song that brightens the spirits of the Dendro. To the Dendro, these songs are vibrations that please the synapse-roots. If a human or a creature with ears to hear these songs, they might seem a bit more frightening, though there are many variants of these songs - some might even seem beautiful.
The Mouths of Dendro feed on the lower lifeforms of the planets which they inhabit. These include massive insects, arachnids, lizards, forest rats, and unlucky birds. They have strange lit-up orbs within their mouths, which is their sound-speak organ. The Mouths of Dendro are getting more attention now, as the Bodhi has transmitted to all Dendro that first contact might be near. Given this, the Mouths of Dendro are being put to the fore-front of Dendro society, ready to communicate with whatever the Dendro might encounter.
ooc: I am liking this a lot. Getting into writing for this.
is there any other info I should provide?
The Dendro have existed for millions of years, and seemingly all information about Dendro history is immediately passed down to seedlings upon their growth from the forest floors, once they are established and connected to the neural root system. Yet there is one piece of history that has, over time, become forgotten, through the efforts of a select few trees in a tiny grove on Planet Bodhi. These Bodhi trees have successfully pulsated into the neural network and have, over time, deliberately destroyed and hidden information. They keep a terrible secret, one which they might not so easily be able to keep if first contact comes to be. The ancient Bodhi trees grow to be very tall, and their trunks wind together and twirl around each other, creating a look of veins, exposed and twisted. They can still uproot, though, and they can still move quickly along the world they inhabit and the Bodhi Moons it connects to.
The Bodhi Moons are the focus of this terrible secret. Deep within the core of the Bodhi Moons, the Bodhi have used their influence and the organic towers connecting the planet with its moons, to hide the ruins of an ancient civilization. The moons contain a network of caverns running throughout, which have been occupied by the Bodhi for some time, blocking them from further root settlement and keeping them safe. It was on these moons that a plant species called the Muscipula thrived. On these moons they kept isolated, multiplying in the millions and surrounding the surface of these orbs with their "mouths". You see, the Muscipula closely resemble venus fly traps, yet imagine them much larger, their roots more like tentacles, and their mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth. Unlike the Dendro, they did not have a sophisticated network of roots to line the planet, and they communicated in a strange sound-speak language, the remnants of which only the Mouths of Dendro can remember (and are told to keep shut about it by the Bodhi). The Muscipula were able to root and uproot, but the connections were not deep or intricate enough to form the neural combination that the Dendro thrive on. The Muscipula eventually evolved to be a much more independent species than the Dendro. Their roots systems served as their brains, but because there was no collective uplink, the Muscipula developed regional tribes and different cultures depending on which of the three moons they inhabited.
Side-by-side, the Dendro on Bodhi and the Muscipula on the Three Moons evolved. While the Muscipula sometimes fought amongst themselves, the Dendro had evolved to be a united force. The Dendro were not quite one organism, but they could at least instantaneously communicate with one another. In addition, the Dendro mind-root evolution took place on several different species of tree, making Planet Bodhi diverse. Planet Bodhi became crowded, over time, with so many different kinds of trees. When the Cordate System was discovered long ago, the Bodhi developed a plan. They would latch onto the planet's moons and spread their roots and seeds on all of them, brutally conquering the Muscipula and erasing their civilization from history. This was the only war that the Dendro ever engaged in, and indeed, it was a vicious one.
The Bodhi had evolved sophisticated mechanisms to grow hard rock-like shells along their exteriors, and then even gradually bring up collections of minerals along the bark-like canals that cover Dendro exoskeletons. They quickly grew to the moons, and latched onto them, pushing their roots systems into these moons and completely stopping the orbits of them. The Muscipula panicked. The ones that stayed rooted found their roots cut off by the stronger Bodhi roots. They had been starved of water. The Muscipula began to attack, and severed many Bodhi trees. But the Bodhi fought back, developing powerful projectiles from rock and tree that slammed into the surfaces of these moons, killing millions of Muscipula. The Bodhi also used its space-trees to launch orbital attacks on the moons. When the dust had cleared, the Muscipula had been eliminated. Those that survived were swallowed up the neural network of the Bodhi. The Bodhi then worked to block or erase the memory of this war from the other subspecies of Dendro. The selfish Bodhi required these moons to spread their personal brain-roots. With this amount of brain power, they could now attempt to settle other worlds. Within both the Orbicular and Cordate system, suitable worlds for sub-species of Dendro were found and terraformed, and the memory of the Muscipula gradually faded away.
Some brief details about the Muscipula
Within the caverns of the Three Moons there are remains of the Muscipula, mostly fossilized and kept in hard rock by their Bodhi protectors. The Muscipula settlements were tribal in nature, as they could not communicate rapidly through the use of a neural root network. The Muscipula were also far more concerned with using their tentacle-like roots, which were faster and more mobile than Dendro extensions (though at this stage in Dendro evolution, their roots and branches have become more tentacle-like, faster, and more agile). Using their tentacles, the Muscipula constructed strange forest dwellings, hollowing out dead trees and scavenging pieces of fallen wood and broad leaves. Over time, the Muscipula evolved to create settlements out of grown organic plant material. The cities of the Muscipula thus became massive growths of organic plant, hollowed out, breathing, and requiring water and sunlight. The Muscipula could move through the tunnels and high steps of these organo-dwellings.
The hidden and petrified sound-speak organs
Part of the secret Bodhi massacre includes something strange and kept by some of the most efficient Bodhi minds and warriors. The vocal chords, called the sound-speak organs, were kept petrified by the Bodhi. It is a mystery as to why they wanted to retain the sound-speak organs, and keep the memory of this language. With these organs they were able to teach the Mouths of Dendro, descendants of the Muscipula, how to speak this lost language. The purpose of doing this was so that one day the Dendro might be able to communicate with races that were not tree-like in nature. But there are other, more mysterious reasons as to why the Bodhi kept the original sound-speak organs in tact, even after the Mouths of Dendro had been taught this long-lost language of the ancient Muscipula tribes.
The Mouths of Dendro
The Mouths of Dendro are large, hulking Muscipula (venus fly trap-like), slobbering, razor-sharp toothed creatures with many vine-like tentacles. Their roots are weaker than Dendro roots, yet they are able to move much faster. They are loyal to the Dendro completely. In fact, they are in no way controlled or enslaved by the Dendro, but rather are a completely loyal and respected part of Dendro society. The Mouths of Dendro actually consider themselves Dendro, and all other Dendro other than the Bodhi believe that the Mouths of Dendro are part of their species. The Mouths of Dendro sing songs which make the entire neural network feel happiness. When a group of the Mouths sings out on a planet, it can be heard for thousands of miles. It is a brilliant song that brightens the spirits of the Dendro. To the Dendro, these songs are vibrations that please the synapse-roots. If a human or a creature with ears to hear these songs, they might seem a bit more frightening, though there are many variants of these songs - some might even seem beautiful.
The Mouths of Dendro feed on the lower lifeforms of the planets which they inhabit. These include massive insects, arachnids, lizards, forest rats, and unlucky birds. They have strange lit-up orbs within their mouths, which is their sound-speak organ. The Mouths of Dendro are getting more attention now, as the Bodhi has transmitted to all Dendro that first contact might be near. Given this, the Mouths of Dendro are being put to the fore-front of Dendro society, ready to communicate with whatever the Dendro might encounter.
ooc: I am liking this a lot. Getting into writing for this.
is there any other info I should provide?
Daftpanzer
canonically ambiguous
There was a Dream that was my Life-Father's and My Seeing to the Continuance of this Dream is the least Courteous thing I can do.
I am an Ullau, and the above is the title of my story. In the High Elegant language of my people, this title would be but a few syllables long. Most probably, it does not translate well into the reader's language. Indeed, High Elegant had long fallen out of favour amongst my own people, save for important titles and interludes. It does not make for easy reading, having many subtleties and sensitivities that require a fair amount of thought to process correctly; one minute addition being able to change the whole meaning of a sentence. Needless to say, it is truly despised by the linguists of the greater Collectivity, who have enough difficulties with our Standard languages. But I digress, as I shall no doubt often do; my attempts to structure my Standard language for easier translation tempt my mind to wander off-focus.
I am underground, on the planet Hebbe Three. This is a small planet with an artificially-sustained atmosphere that is suitable for our hardiest genetically-engineered food plants but still quite unpleasant for ourselves. Ourselves being my fellow colonists and I; though we hardly think of ourselves as colonists, most of us having been born and raised here. We are citizens of a planet that was almost forgotten about, lost amongst the haphazard records from the early, excited days of Ullau exploration into space. We are unsure if the Greater Collectivity has ever been aware of our world, at least as anything more than a star-chart reference.
I am underground, composing this thought-script. But my mind is on the surface, recalling memory of visions there. Our planet is rather smooth. A patchwork of giant hexagonal plantation fields now cover roughly a third of the planetary surface. These fields are maintained and steadily expanded by our mechanical automatons, occasionally aided by a work party of Ullau in power-assisted environment suits. Near our surface settlements, we have raised the ground in an irregular and agriculturally-inefficient manner to form a hilly landscape. This is for aesthetic purposes. Otherwise it is found that the uniform grey-green fields stretching into the horizon do not stimulate our being.
Indeed, stimulation of being is what drives us. Here, spared from Zaff slavers, and with nothing more than nuisance probes by the interstellar mechaniforms; you may say we are blessed, not to have known the depredations that aggressive Star-Sibiling-Life has wrought elsewhere upon those Ullau who dared to venture into space. Nor have we known much of the interference and confusion brought by the Collectivity - not a fraction of that wrought on our Species-Birth-Planet.
We are spared the mental trauma and confusion that has plagued all our kind, bringing a kind of paralysis. Yet, in this, we are also deprived of something. To be aware of events, yet to not truly be part of them, there is an emptiness. It is a law of nature that this emptiness be filled with new visions.
It is basic science to understand that consciousness affects reality directly. One cannot be a passive observer in any matter. Amongst our people it is common to trust in a greater reality than the physical; indeed that the physical is an offshoot of such greater things. Amongst our people it is common to trust that all events occur for our evolution and growth. That from our inner beings, from a higher level, we have even arranged such situations in order to further our evolution. Sometimes gradual progress over eons, sometimes drastic steps. Thus a single cell becomes a lifeform capable of wielding consciousness and learns how to cast itself physically across the great distances of the void.
So then to my aforementioned father. For an Ullau, it is not expected that one follow one's parents in any aspect of life. Yet that is my choice. His vision was a great expedition, gathering ships from all across Ullau space. He was recently killed by a meteorite impact upon on our planet; I cannot help but think this is exactly the manner he would have chosen to return to the source.
Now his vision is mine; as are his talents, so it is said. Out of the great confusion that has struck our people, many are drawn to the vision. From all of Ullau space they come. Rogue explorers, space miners, drifters, prototype warships, even some official Collectivity vessels. We will gather and go forward, to adventure, to expand, to learn, to greet, to share, perhaps to liberate. We go to a world that some call 'Iau'.
I shall spare you my own name, as the subtle meanings of it will not translate. Call me as you wish. I aspire to be a warlord, gatherer, explorer, diplomat, in no particular order. I am the leader, for as far as the flow of creative energy will take me.
End Chapter.
I am an Ullau, and the above is the title of my story. In the High Elegant language of my people, this title would be but a few syllables long. Most probably, it does not translate well into the reader's language. Indeed, High Elegant had long fallen out of favour amongst my own people, save for important titles and interludes. It does not make for easy reading, having many subtleties and sensitivities that require a fair amount of thought to process correctly; one minute addition being able to change the whole meaning of a sentence. Needless to say, it is truly despised by the linguists of the greater Collectivity, who have enough difficulties with our Standard languages. But I digress, as I shall no doubt often do; my attempts to structure my Standard language for easier translation tempt my mind to wander off-focus.
I am underground, on the planet Hebbe Three. This is a small planet with an artificially-sustained atmosphere that is suitable for our hardiest genetically-engineered food plants but still quite unpleasant for ourselves. Ourselves being my fellow colonists and I; though we hardly think of ourselves as colonists, most of us having been born and raised here. We are citizens of a planet that was almost forgotten about, lost amongst the haphazard records from the early, excited days of Ullau exploration into space. We are unsure if the Greater Collectivity has ever been aware of our world, at least as anything more than a star-chart reference.
I am underground, composing this thought-script. But my mind is on the surface, recalling memory of visions there. Our planet is rather smooth. A patchwork of giant hexagonal plantation fields now cover roughly a third of the planetary surface. These fields are maintained and steadily expanded by our mechanical automatons, occasionally aided by a work party of Ullau in power-assisted environment suits. Near our surface settlements, we have raised the ground in an irregular and agriculturally-inefficient manner to form a hilly landscape. This is for aesthetic purposes. Otherwise it is found that the uniform grey-green fields stretching into the horizon do not stimulate our being.
Indeed, stimulation of being is what drives us. Here, spared from Zaff slavers, and with nothing more than nuisance probes by the interstellar mechaniforms; you may say we are blessed, not to have known the depredations that aggressive Star-Sibiling-Life has wrought elsewhere upon those Ullau who dared to venture into space. Nor have we known much of the interference and confusion brought by the Collectivity - not a fraction of that wrought on our Species-Birth-Planet.
We are spared the mental trauma and confusion that has plagued all our kind, bringing a kind of paralysis. Yet, in this, we are also deprived of something. To be aware of events, yet to not truly be part of them, there is an emptiness. It is a law of nature that this emptiness be filled with new visions.
It is basic science to understand that consciousness affects reality directly. One cannot be a passive observer in any matter. Amongst our people it is common to trust in a greater reality than the physical; indeed that the physical is an offshoot of such greater things. Amongst our people it is common to trust that all events occur for our evolution and growth. That from our inner beings, from a higher level, we have even arranged such situations in order to further our evolution. Sometimes gradual progress over eons, sometimes drastic steps. Thus a single cell becomes a lifeform capable of wielding consciousness and learns how to cast itself physically across the great distances of the void.
So then to my aforementioned father. For an Ullau, it is not expected that one follow one's parents in any aspect of life. Yet that is my choice. His vision was a great expedition, gathering ships from all across Ullau space. He was recently killed by a meteorite impact upon on our planet; I cannot help but think this is exactly the manner he would have chosen to return to the source.
Now his vision is mine; as are his talents, so it is said. Out of the great confusion that has struck our people, many are drawn to the vision. From all of Ullau space they come. Rogue explorers, space miners, drifters, prototype warships, even some official Collectivity vessels. We will gather and go forward, to adventure, to expand, to learn, to greet, to share, perhaps to liberate. We go to a world that some call 'Iau'.
I shall spare you my own name, as the subtle meanings of it will not translate. Call me as you wish. I aspire to be a warlord, gatherer, explorer, diplomat, in no particular order. I am the leader, for as far as the flow of creative energy will take me.
End Chapter.
Freemanuncg
Warlord
is it too late to join?
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
Anlu is a rarity. An oddity. A gem. Gems. Emerald on sapphire on lapis lazuli, overlaying... What? Tourmaline, maybe... no, too lustrous. Coal. Simple anthracite. That fits quite well.
You see, Anlu is a carbon planet. Helan is a world like many others, of rocks and lava... to tell it truer, it is a world of oxygen. Silicon and oxygen, bonded to each other, and then bonded again in a crystalline lattice, to make stones, the crust, the mantle, all but the core. Anlu... above the iron core, titanium, silica carbides, and a crust of graphite. Can you imagine that? The volcanoes spew diamonds, layering over one another, bands folding together repeatedly.
But then, it is still unlike other carbon planets. The vast majority of these worlds are inhabitable by the Fehan. They are black, and oily, and threaded with rivers of hydrocarbons. But Anlu... millions of years ago, another star passed close to this one, carrying with it a shroud of asteroids and comets, a hazy tail that stretched so far... And so, for a thousand years, Anlu fell within a cloud of ice, and the ice slammed into the planet again and again, melting, and pooling, and recrafting the whole world.
So we come to the present day, a bizarre, hybrid world. Rivers lace the graphitic and even occasionally rocky landscape. Plants grow here genetically modified, of course, but still recognizable from the homeworld. The sky? The sky is almost too beautiful to look at sometimes... oil paints churned with water, sluiced over amber. The golden sky laced with blue and crimson streaks, swirling and intermingling under a white sun.
This is Anlu, our newest home.
You see, Anlu is a carbon planet. Helan is a world like many others, of rocks and lava... to tell it truer, it is a world of oxygen. Silicon and oxygen, bonded to each other, and then bonded again in a crystalline lattice, to make stones, the crust, the mantle, all but the core. Anlu... above the iron core, titanium, silica carbides, and a crust of graphite. Can you imagine that? The volcanoes spew diamonds, layering over one another, bands folding together repeatedly.
But then, it is still unlike other carbon planets. The vast majority of these worlds are inhabitable by the Fehan. They are black, and oily, and threaded with rivers of hydrocarbons. But Anlu... millions of years ago, another star passed close to this one, carrying with it a shroud of asteroids and comets, a hazy tail that stretched so far... And so, for a thousand years, Anlu fell within a cloud of ice, and the ice slammed into the planet again and again, melting, and pooling, and recrafting the whole world.
So we come to the present day, a bizarre, hybrid world. Rivers lace the graphitic and even occasionally rocky landscape. Plants grow here genetically modified, of course, but still recognizable from the homeworld. The sky? The sky is almost too beautiful to look at sometimes... oil paints churned with water, sluiced over amber. The golden sky laced with blue and crimson streaks, swirling and intermingling under a white sun.
This is Anlu, our newest home.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
As it stands, in our current explorations of the galaxy, we have found four worlds with autochthonus life forms. Of these, each had a race of intelligent beings, suggesting that in fact the rate of sentience among biospheres is in fact extremely high. Of these species, one has been found to be spacefaring, and on a technological level which in theory could challenge our own. We have also already made contact of a sort with a second unknown spacefaring species; all estimates of which have placed them firmly in the same general power category as our own.1
It stands to reason that this pattern should hold fairly constant for regions of the galaxy like our own, that is to say, the spiral arm regions. Of the totality of this concentric region, we have explored a minimal portion likely no more than 0.1-0.5% of the stars contained therein have been surveyed.2 Therefore, at the very barest minimum, the probable number of autochthonus sentient species in our galaxy is between five hundred and one thousand, with half or less than half at a comparable level of spacefaring technology.
Such an estimate is surely on the low end of the scale, for the central spiral arms surely are not the only habitable places in the galaxy. Even if we take into account the poorer metallicities of the rim and halo, and the increased radioactive activity in the core, there is still a broad region of the spiral arms we have not yet surveyed. This, taken together with the core and outer regions, even if the latter group is more sparsely populated, even the most conservative estimates would surely put the number closer to five thousand species, with at least a thousand spacefarers.
Such a number is astonishing. It suggests trillions of sentients exist, and a significant number of them are willing and able to exert some amount of power on the galaxy around them. As the most recent encounter that our species has shown quite clearly, some of these species have hostile intentions towards others that exist even towards those they have not yet attempted any form of communication with. There are hundreds if not thousands of potential threats that our forces must be ready to counter at any moment.
But oddly enough, that is still not the most frightening implication of the estimates made in this paper.
There are likely a thousand spacefaring races in the galaxy. It is improbable that these races are at a uniform level of technological development. Let us take the four races we are familiar with the Fehan, the Sati, the Tunului, and the Finto. We are at a level of technology which can take us through space at speeds vastly exceeding luminal velocity, as are the Finto. By contrast, the Sati are still at a planetbound level of development, and were even further behind when we initially arrived on their planet. Estimates from the Fehan's own development put them somewhere in the region of 2,900 years behind. The Finto are roughly 300 years behind. The Tunului, on the other hand, are a staggering 10,000 years behind at least, and unlikely to advance much further without outside intervention.3
Given the relatively narrow spacing of these development levels on a long timescale, it seems improbable in the extreme that the Fehan are somehow the first, on the vanguard of technological development, and that our genesis ushered forth multiple imitators. Instead, we view it as far more likely that the Fehan are at the very best on the leading edge of a curve that is extremely long in duration that is to say, there are probably species which are 300 years ahead of us, and 2,900, and 10,000. While it is possible (though extremely unlikely) that some galactic scale event may have prevented the evolution of intelligent species uniformally before a certain point, and thus we might be able to safely rule out a species which is over a million years ahead of us, what on an absolute scale might be very minor slow ups in overall development would easily lead to development gaps between us and the most advanced species of hundreds of thousands of years.
Never mind the technological advances that a hundred thousand years could bring such a civilization. Never mind that we ourselves are mere centuries away from developing technology that could utterly obliterate a planet, or end a star. Never mind that such technologies are likely to be among the simplest in a hyper-advanced sentient's arsenal. Much more pressing than that is the massive danger that we have only recently uncovered with these findings.
If civilizations have existed for tens of thousands of years, and they have any demand whatsoever for living space, then why have they not colonized any of the systems around us? The independent development of superluminal transportation by no less than three races in our region suggests it must be fairly commonplace. With even our own technology, which has been in development for only a few centuries, we could traverse the galaxy in less than a century. Even at our present rate of expansion, which has hit numerous excruciating slow-downs, in a few millennia we should have a good fourth to eighth of the galaxy under our rule.
But despite the fact that several species have undoubtedly had the means and desire to expand across the galaxy, they thus far have not.4 What could possibly have prevented such activity? The possibilities are not appealing. Natural disasters that strike only spacefaring nations are thus far completely unknown. What could possibly bring down an interstellar empire? Mass inter-species warfare would require one side to be victorious. Thus the only way for such a hypothesis to work would be if one species were to be both universally dominant and uninterested in physical expansion for it to only be concerned with the annihilation of others.
The third alternative, however, is the only one that we can possibly influence. This is that the current level of technological development and expansion is fairly uniform across the galaxy, and that after a certain point, species disappear as a political factor in one way or another. There is room here for the transcendence theory, but there are also the real possibilities that species never spread far enough and are usually wiped out by genocide after another race becomes, even for a fleeting century, more powerful.5
The Fehan governments, of course, can stall or even avert such a possibility by becoming the most dominant power in the region. The execution of this directive is ultimately not negotiable either our species follows this path, or it becomes yet another one of the parade of inevitable interstellar biospheres that flourishes for a millennium, and withers with the first coming storm.
And who are we?
We are not the sowers. We cannot claim that title, not in a galaxy so diverse, so full of life already. We have brought life to half a dozen worlds, yes. But we have run across nearly as many autocthonous ecosystems already. Clearly, if there are a billion forests in the galaxy, we need only plant fruits in half that number.
We are not the reapers. Only arrogant races with a deluded sense of their own importance would assign themselves that title. We are all but tiny furnaces, burning brightly, screaming at the everlasting darkness and the night. To say that we do anything more than just scrabble at each other, snatching little bits of food and shelter, temporary reprieve from the eternal struggle against annihilation by the elements well, that would just be a lie. Even those who can remold worlds at will are nothing but clay in the hands of entropy and conservation.
What are we, then? We are empire builders, forgers not of coalitions or of long-lasting republics, but of dynasts. We are they who rule by force, but above all, rule. We do not destroy so much as subjugate.
And we see you, Kari, Finto. We see your worlds even Katifah, which has tried for so very long to hide itself from us. Even the stealthiest of worlds must orbit a star, and in the end, when a trillion nanoprobes are scattered through the nebulae of the universe, one will get through, sending back its data in that unjammable, unhackable way of ours.
And so we know who our enemy is, now. Perhaps, with time, we will even attack them and then, they, surely, will become the latest appanage in our growing realm...
It stands to reason that this pattern should hold fairly constant for regions of the galaxy like our own, that is to say, the spiral arm regions. Of the totality of this concentric region, we have explored a minimal portion likely no more than 0.1-0.5% of the stars contained therein have been surveyed.2 Therefore, at the very barest minimum, the probable number of autochthonus sentient species in our galaxy is between five hundred and one thousand, with half or less than half at a comparable level of spacefaring technology.
Such an estimate is surely on the low end of the scale, for the central spiral arms surely are not the only habitable places in the galaxy. Even if we take into account the poorer metallicities of the rim and halo, and the increased radioactive activity in the core, there is still a broad region of the spiral arms we have not yet surveyed. This, taken together with the core and outer regions, even if the latter group is more sparsely populated, even the most conservative estimates would surely put the number closer to five thousand species, with at least a thousand spacefarers.
Such a number is astonishing. It suggests trillions of sentients exist, and a significant number of them are willing and able to exert some amount of power on the galaxy around them. As the most recent encounter that our species has shown quite clearly, some of these species have hostile intentions towards others that exist even towards those they have not yet attempted any form of communication with. There are hundreds if not thousands of potential threats that our forces must be ready to counter at any moment.
But oddly enough, that is still not the most frightening implication of the estimates made in this paper.
There are likely a thousand spacefaring races in the galaxy. It is improbable that these races are at a uniform level of technological development. Let us take the four races we are familiar with the Fehan, the Sati, the Tunului, and the Finto. We are at a level of technology which can take us through space at speeds vastly exceeding luminal velocity, as are the Finto. By contrast, the Sati are still at a planetbound level of development, and were even further behind when we initially arrived on their planet. Estimates from the Fehan's own development put them somewhere in the region of 2,900 years behind. The Finto are roughly 300 years behind. The Tunului, on the other hand, are a staggering 10,000 years behind at least, and unlikely to advance much further without outside intervention.3
Given the relatively narrow spacing of these development levels on a long timescale, it seems improbable in the extreme that the Fehan are somehow the first, on the vanguard of technological development, and that our genesis ushered forth multiple imitators. Instead, we view it as far more likely that the Fehan are at the very best on the leading edge of a curve that is extremely long in duration that is to say, there are probably species which are 300 years ahead of us, and 2,900, and 10,000. While it is possible (though extremely unlikely) that some galactic scale event may have prevented the evolution of intelligent species uniformally before a certain point, and thus we might be able to safely rule out a species which is over a million years ahead of us, what on an absolute scale might be very minor slow ups in overall development would easily lead to development gaps between us and the most advanced species of hundreds of thousands of years.
Never mind the technological advances that a hundred thousand years could bring such a civilization. Never mind that we ourselves are mere centuries away from developing technology that could utterly obliterate a planet, or end a star. Never mind that such technologies are likely to be among the simplest in a hyper-advanced sentient's arsenal. Much more pressing than that is the massive danger that we have only recently uncovered with these findings.
If civilizations have existed for tens of thousands of years, and they have any demand whatsoever for living space, then why have they not colonized any of the systems around us? The independent development of superluminal transportation by no less than three races in our region suggests it must be fairly commonplace. With even our own technology, which has been in development for only a few centuries, we could traverse the galaxy in less than a century. Even at our present rate of expansion, which has hit numerous excruciating slow-downs, in a few millennia we should have a good fourth to eighth of the galaxy under our rule.
But despite the fact that several species have undoubtedly had the means and desire to expand across the galaxy, they thus far have not.4 What could possibly have prevented such activity? The possibilities are not appealing. Natural disasters that strike only spacefaring nations are thus far completely unknown. What could possibly bring down an interstellar empire? Mass inter-species warfare would require one side to be victorious. Thus the only way for such a hypothesis to work would be if one species were to be both universally dominant and uninterested in physical expansion for it to only be concerned with the annihilation of others.
The third alternative, however, is the only one that we can possibly influence. This is that the current level of technological development and expansion is fairly uniform across the galaxy, and that after a certain point, species disappear as a political factor in one way or another. There is room here for the transcendence theory, but there are also the real possibilities that species never spread far enough and are usually wiped out by genocide after another race becomes, even for a fleeting century, more powerful.5
The Fehan governments, of course, can stall or even avert such a possibility by becoming the most dominant power in the region. The execution of this directive is ultimately not negotiable either our species follows this path, or it becomes yet another one of the parade of inevitable interstellar biospheres that flourishes for a millennium, and withers with the first coming storm.
* * * * * * * * *
And who are we?
We are not the sowers. We cannot claim that title, not in a galaxy so diverse, so full of life already. We have brought life to half a dozen worlds, yes. But we have run across nearly as many autocthonous ecosystems already. Clearly, if there are a billion forests in the galaxy, we need only plant fruits in half that number.
We are not the reapers. Only arrogant races with a deluded sense of their own importance would assign themselves that title. We are all but tiny furnaces, burning brightly, screaming at the everlasting darkness and the night. To say that we do anything more than just scrabble at each other, snatching little bits of food and shelter, temporary reprieve from the eternal struggle against annihilation by the elements well, that would just be a lie. Even those who can remold worlds at will are nothing but clay in the hands of entropy and conservation.
What are we, then? We are empire builders, forgers not of coalitions or of long-lasting republics, but of dynasts. We are they who rule by force, but above all, rule. We do not destroy so much as subjugate.
And we see you, Kari, Finto. We see your worlds even Katifah, which has tried for so very long to hide itself from us. Even the stealthiest of worlds must orbit a star, and in the end, when a trillion nanoprobes are scattered through the nebulae of the universe, one will get through, sending back its data in that unjammable, unhackable way of ours.
And so we know who our enemy is, now. Perhaps, with time, we will even attack them and then, they, surely, will become the latest appanage in our growing realm...
Freemanuncg
Warlord
The Many, The One/FreemanUNCG
Species: The Many are biological robots. The One is the devourer. Many: Black shelled insect like creatures which are controlled by long range radio signal/The One: is a sub light space faring entity which subsists on radiation gathered from planets, The Many: hide on the moons of planets until the time is right then they prepare that planet for the One/The One: travels through the interstellar void and thinks only of eating, The many were created by the one to prepare food for it they are the perfect symbiot. The One is a being of such enormous size, mass, and age that it does not know its own past it seeks only to feed its insatiable hunger.
Forces: The Many, almost undetectable, through manipulation and radio signals slowly provoke a state where the planet will be suitable for the consumption of the One. The One travels at about 95% of the speed of light meaning it takes decades and sometimes hundreds of years to cross the distances between the stars but the one is patient, it only seeks food.
Technology: The Many are biological robots controlled by basic programming and long range radio signals from The One. They exist in several different forms and subsist on the light and radiation from stars, the types of Many are: the workers basic builder insect like creatures, flyers creatures which resembled a circular disc these creatures possessed the ability to fly through the atmospheres of planets and take readings and pictures that the Many used to help prepare the planet, and domes biological computers containing a large amount of algae which store data and act as a transmitter and receiver for the orders of the One and the reports of the Many.
Description: The One lumbered ever closer to the planet know by its inhabitants as Draknugal, millions of Nugali lived in Corinthal the capital of the western continent. It was a new age for the people of Draknugal the fuel that they had used for energy for thousands of years had ran out sparking a bitter war between the two great nations. An energy race began as the vicious war went on for years and the people seemed ever more hopeless that any peace could be found. It was then at the last hope that the brightest scientists of Corinthal had unlocked the secrets of the stars, the act of splitting an atom, fission, would produce all the power the people could ever need. But instead of peace it had brought more strife, the flaming war ended but a cold one began in its place as both nations unhappy with using nuclear power for energy sought to make from the hope of millions the nightmare of all. Both nations created thousands of the planet destroying missiles and everyone knew that if it ever came to blows that no one would survive. The years passed and it seemed as if all would be well on the developing world of Draknugal.
It was then that the first sightings happened. Dismissed as ravings at first then news reports in the city of Corinthal sparked panic, the enemy has advanced ships, people were afraid that the end would be coming they are spying on us! Again sense reigned and it looked again like the destruction would be averted. The Eastern nation of Chan was not as understanding, the reports of U.F.O. sightings, probably spies of the enemy caused mass hysteria in the cities of the Eastern continent. It was they who fired the first shot, but it was difficult to place blame on either nations.
Explosions ripped across the surface of the planet, thousands of Nuclear missiles detonations sent shockwaves decimating most of the life on the planet within hours, the surviving life forms died within days due to the massive amounts of radiation and utter destruction. Where the planets surface could be seen through the clouds of dust blocking out the sun the once rich blue oceans were covered with a thick purple algae.
Species: The Many are biological robots. The One is the devourer. Many: Black shelled insect like creatures which are controlled by long range radio signal/The One: is a sub light space faring entity which subsists on radiation gathered from planets, The Many: hide on the moons of planets until the time is right then they prepare that planet for the One/The One: travels through the interstellar void and thinks only of eating, The many were created by the one to prepare food for it they are the perfect symbiot. The One is a being of such enormous size, mass, and age that it does not know its own past it seeks only to feed its insatiable hunger.
Forces: The Many, almost undetectable, through manipulation and radio signals slowly provoke a state where the planet will be suitable for the consumption of the One. The One travels at about 95% of the speed of light meaning it takes decades and sometimes hundreds of years to cross the distances between the stars but the one is patient, it only seeks food.
Technology: The Many are biological robots controlled by basic programming and long range radio signals from The One. They exist in several different forms and subsist on the light and radiation from stars, the types of Many are: the workers basic builder insect like creatures, flyers creatures which resembled a circular disc these creatures possessed the ability to fly through the atmospheres of planets and take readings and pictures that the Many used to help prepare the planet, and domes biological computers containing a large amount of algae which store data and act as a transmitter and receiver for the orders of the One and the reports of the Many.
Description: The One lumbered ever closer to the planet know by its inhabitants as Draknugal, millions of Nugali lived in Corinthal the capital of the western continent. It was a new age for the people of Draknugal the fuel that they had used for energy for thousands of years had ran out sparking a bitter war between the two great nations. An energy race began as the vicious war went on for years and the people seemed ever more hopeless that any peace could be found. It was then at the last hope that the brightest scientists of Corinthal had unlocked the secrets of the stars, the act of splitting an atom, fission, would produce all the power the people could ever need. But instead of peace it had brought more strife, the flaming war ended but a cold one began in its place as both nations unhappy with using nuclear power for energy sought to make from the hope of millions the nightmare of all. Both nations created thousands of the planet destroying missiles and everyone knew that if it ever came to blows that no one would survive. The years passed and it seemed as if all would be well on the developing world of Draknugal.
It was then that the first sightings happened. Dismissed as ravings at first then news reports in the city of Corinthal sparked panic, the enemy has advanced ships, people were afraid that the end would be coming they are spying on us! Again sense reigned and it looked again like the destruction would be averted. The Eastern nation of Chan was not as understanding, the reports of U.F.O. sightings, probably spies of the enemy caused mass hysteria in the cities of the Eastern continent. It was they who fired the first shot, but it was difficult to place blame on either nations.
Explosions ripped across the surface of the planet, thousands of Nuclear missiles detonations sent shockwaves decimating most of the life on the planet within hours, the surviving life forms died within days due to the massive amounts of radiation and utter destruction. Where the planets surface could be seen through the clouds of dust blocking out the sun the once rich blue oceans were covered with a thick purple algae.
Update 13
The rapacious Utarite Combine continues its unchecked expansion, but it is at last beginning to encounter extraterrestrial life. The discovery of Unaka, and the talented illusionists inhabiting the now-decrepit world, has brought about a great deal of interest from powerful figures within the Combine. Several missions have been dispatched, each kidnapping more of the hapless Unaki and bringing them back as slaves or vanity objects, where the draw a significant price.
Utarites have also observed the strange glow of the Lumos, and the outermost fringes of Lauki space. The latter has proven to be far more interesting to the explorers, who are still unaware that they too are being watched, by LaMatras system of observation stations at the very edge of known space.
Drifting into the void, Kau'Loc, one of the last scions of MaAutra, at last approached her destination. The vessel carrying herself and her Lauki was old and nearly coming apart at the seams, but it held, even as it entered into the gravity well of their final destination.
What Kau'Loc discovered was apparently a virgin world. Setting down in a small clearing, the great Maus rooted herself, tasting alien soil for the first time. And it was at that moment that she realized that this world was far less untouched than she had first believed. At first, her reaction was horror, that the Heretic Lauki had taken this planet first, seeding it with those brain-dead, half-Maus monstrosities that they had reputedly engineered- but it soon became clear that this was not the case. Tenderly approaching alien roots in the soil, Kau'Loc made contact for the first time with an alien species with whom she could communicate directly. They too spoke through their roots, albeit in an entirely unfamiliar language.
Over the course of many long seasons, the Maus became acquainted with the native trees of this world. Identifying themselves as Dendro of the Star-Forest, these aliens provoked a deep fascination in the Maus. While they seemed to be quite different in behaviour and mindset, their biochemistries and overall structures were almost disconcertingly similar. When the Dendro revealed that their world of Palmate had only been settled relatively recently by extraplanetary spores and had not yet remade contact with the home system, however, Kau'Loc began to seriously entertain the possibility that the Maus themselves could be distant relatives of these Dendro, perhaps as the lost scions of a far more ancient star forest in the distant past. Set on learning more, the Maus was laboriously returned to her ship, leaving some of her kin behind on the planet, and set off towards the heart of the Star-Forest.
The Collectivity of Sanath is on the upswing once again, beginning to comprehensively clear out the remaining Mechaniform presence in their area of space. The city-ships have been armed, and progressive sweeps are revealing an ever-declining number of robotic raiders. Communications have resumed with the outside world, and Sanath has been able to inform LaMatra about the nature of the Mechaniforms, averting what may have otherwise escalated a misunderstanding to an outright incident. To ensure that Sanathi security will continue into the future, the Collectivity is returning back to its core tenets- plans are being erected for large-scale exploration, and the resumption of Sanaths political expansion.
Individual groups are striking out against the declining Mechaniforms as well. A group of Ullau, and a minority of other Collectivity species, centred on the tiny terraformed colony of Hebbe-3, a backwater at the hubward fringe of Sanathi space, has set out with a small, disorganized fleet. Their purposes are varied - exploration, adventure, and mental stimulation rank among the more significant. Arriving at the nearby world of Iau, the fleet found a population of Lauki-Maus being pushed to extinction by a large concentration of Mechaniform Raiders. Surprise attacking the Raider Galleys in orbit, the adventurers managed to destroy a good portion of the fleet, while leaving enough alive for the Mechaniforms to retreat. Possibly suspecting that this small attack force was merely a scouting vanguard of the Sanathi Armada, most of the Raiders plundered whatever they could, before retreating. The rest seemed more willing to remain on the planet, prompting the fleet to contact the locals.
Calling their nation LuMa, the Lauki-Maus were very thankful for the assistance, and joined forces with the Ullau and assorted allies to clear out the remaining Mechaniforms. However, many of the remaining mechanical warriors seem to have settled down, building permanent settlements in their continent and making no further aggressive actions. Some Ullau remain on the planet, prepared to either fight against or reason with the previously uncommunicative Mechaniforms. The rest of the fleet, however, has gone into pursuit against the fleeing Mechaniforms, who are now headed towards the world of Truff.
New Braniga itself has been quite outgoing, contacting both Nidkubra and Sanath, and dispatching diplomatic envoys to both powers. The young nation is quickly building up its economy and military, likely to ensure its continued survival against the omnipresent threat of the Zan Shamai.
The Hammenammir continue their great migration, advancing past Nurm and Sglitagiki space- giving a respectful berth to the latters homeworld of Athre after the incident with Izoza. Small detachments were sent to follow the Fehan and Karronics spying on each other in the area, while the remainder of the fleet continues on corewards- their advanced scouts bring exciting word of the promised land awaiting their arrival, an uninhabited ringworld, only a few more decades away.
As the massive Hammenammir fleet passed by, the Third Karronic Expeditionary Group continued its long retreat away from its home, continuing to draw its Fehan pursuers away. Finally, after coming to the realization that the Fehan would not give up and turn around, the Karronic Captain broadcast a simple message back to his hunters.
What do you want?
Back on Fehan, the leadership of the growing Interstellar Empire found itself facing numerous theoretical questions on the nature of galactic civilization. Concerned by their findings, the Fehan have redoubled their efforts to become an empire powerful enough to hold its own against the countless unknown threats that may be lurking elsewhere in the Galaxy. The latest possible danger has only recently been discovered- a series of strange, but extremely strong and orderly radio signals emanating from the extreme spinward end of the known galaxy. Codenamed The Many, this strange presence is now being watched carefully by the Fehan, who are already devising contingency plans for their potential attack.
The Karronics, unaware but suspicious of their possible discovery by the Fehan, continue their perpetual fortification, economy straining to support such a massive defensive Starfleet.
On Zephyr, the Democratic Federation of Akari launches another exploratory vessel, which is quickly approaching the edge of Fehan space.
The Tapani, feeling quite secure in their long-established region of space, and convinced that the Weavers on Nuxue B have no ill intentions towards the Allentryen, have begun a second phase of expansion. A new sphere of colonies, outposts and terraforming projects are established, while exploratory fleets probe their neighbours, identifying the Zaff, the piratical forces who raided Nuxue several centuries prior, confirmed the long suspected presence of the Trasna several tens of light years below their home systems, and finding some other strange satellites which seem to belong to no known alien species. The Trasna are of considerable interest to the Tapani- when hints of their existence first started to appear, they pointed towards an advanced spacefaring nation. However, their explorations now reveal only a collection of inactive, aged probes, a single planetbound settlement, and a second world wracked with radiation and widespread surface-scarring, presumably from recent warfare. Much debate is being held on Tapani regarding whether it is the responsibility of an alien species to intervene, whether intervention should have taken place centuries prior, or if it is even a good idea to make contact with a species capable and willing to destroy one of its own planets.
On Jen-Tsa, the raging fire of war has burned its way down to a few smouldering embers. No transmissions now escape the planet, and an outside observer is unlikely to find any clear signs of life. However, in deep burrows safe from the ruination that faces the surface, the last few sparks of life remain. Hope is not quite dead for the homeworld of the Trasna.
The Choon fend off a variety of blunt attacks from a small fringe force of Mechaniforms, but are otherwise quite silent in galactic affairs, content to continue their disinterested wanderings. Meanwhile, their neighbours of Nidkubra and Hedge continue to strengthen their relationship. Cherwels from Hedge have been displaying increasing interest in the idea of creating a unified government between civilized species, in the face of nihilistic enemies and external threats such as the Zan, but the idea has struggled to gain traction- while Nidkubra views the proposal positively, LaMatra has been uncharacteristically silent about the matter, and a reasonable number of Verthommes are less than enthusiastic about the idea of losing further autonomy and relevance. The Verthommes are facing a steep decline in influence, as they are now significantly outnumbered by the reptilian Cherwels in the nation that was once their own, due to the demographic upsets of the Tenoderan War. However, while some Verthommes grumble, many others are genuinely interested in the possibility of building something new and purposeful.
However, all of this high-minded planning and idealizing must at some point be brought back to reality- and unbeknownst to these species, a return to the realities of war may be very close indeed. For the Zan Kena, the Hegemonys esteemed Executioner, is approaching to bring an end to the heresy of the Zan Shamai- woe to any who have the misfortune of existing between these two onrushing titans. Shamai has been engaged deeply in reflection, research and study even as his foundries construct a massive army for his defense- but he knows that Kena has been in the past a vastly higher ranking Zan than himself- all that remains to be seen is whether or not Shamais advancement will have been enough to bridge this expanse.
The Wera themselves are in motion, their ineffable wanderings shifting as they all begin to direct themselves towards some unknown new point of being. Perhaps they have some stake in the coming fight, perhaps they will watch it as some sort of gladiatorial battle- but whatever the reason, when the Wera take notice of an event, junior races should take heed- and take cover.
Map
The rapacious Utarite Combine continues its unchecked expansion, but it is at last beginning to encounter extraterrestrial life. The discovery of Unaka, and the talented illusionists inhabiting the now-decrepit world, has brought about a great deal of interest from powerful figures within the Combine. Several missions have been dispatched, each kidnapping more of the hapless Unaki and bringing them back as slaves or vanity objects, where the draw a significant price.
Utarites have also observed the strange glow of the Lumos, and the outermost fringes of Lauki space. The latter has proven to be far more interesting to the explorers, who are still unaware that they too are being watched, by LaMatras system of observation stations at the very edge of known space.
Drifting into the void, Kau'Loc, one of the last scions of MaAutra, at last approached her destination. The vessel carrying herself and her Lauki was old and nearly coming apart at the seams, but it held, even as it entered into the gravity well of their final destination.
What Kau'Loc discovered was apparently a virgin world. Setting down in a small clearing, the great Maus rooted herself, tasting alien soil for the first time. And it was at that moment that she realized that this world was far less untouched than she had first believed. At first, her reaction was horror, that the Heretic Lauki had taken this planet first, seeding it with those brain-dead, half-Maus monstrosities that they had reputedly engineered- but it soon became clear that this was not the case. Tenderly approaching alien roots in the soil, Kau'Loc made contact for the first time with an alien species with whom she could communicate directly. They too spoke through their roots, albeit in an entirely unfamiliar language.
Over the course of many long seasons, the Maus became acquainted with the native trees of this world. Identifying themselves as Dendro of the Star-Forest, these aliens provoked a deep fascination in the Maus. While they seemed to be quite different in behaviour and mindset, their biochemistries and overall structures were almost disconcertingly similar. When the Dendro revealed that their world of Palmate had only been settled relatively recently by extraplanetary spores and had not yet remade contact with the home system, however, Kau'Loc began to seriously entertain the possibility that the Maus themselves could be distant relatives of these Dendro, perhaps as the lost scions of a far more ancient star forest in the distant past. Set on learning more, the Maus was laboriously returned to her ship, leaving some of her kin behind on the planet, and set off towards the heart of the Star-Forest.
The Collectivity of Sanath is on the upswing once again, beginning to comprehensively clear out the remaining Mechaniform presence in their area of space. The city-ships have been armed, and progressive sweeps are revealing an ever-declining number of robotic raiders. Communications have resumed with the outside world, and Sanath has been able to inform LaMatra about the nature of the Mechaniforms, averting what may have otherwise escalated a misunderstanding to an outright incident. To ensure that Sanathi security will continue into the future, the Collectivity is returning back to its core tenets- plans are being erected for large-scale exploration, and the resumption of Sanaths political expansion.
Individual groups are striking out against the declining Mechaniforms as well. A group of Ullau, and a minority of other Collectivity species, centred on the tiny terraformed colony of Hebbe-3, a backwater at the hubward fringe of Sanathi space, has set out with a small, disorganized fleet. Their purposes are varied - exploration, adventure, and mental stimulation rank among the more significant. Arriving at the nearby world of Iau, the fleet found a population of Lauki-Maus being pushed to extinction by a large concentration of Mechaniform Raiders. Surprise attacking the Raider Galleys in orbit, the adventurers managed to destroy a good portion of the fleet, while leaving enough alive for the Mechaniforms to retreat. Possibly suspecting that this small attack force was merely a scouting vanguard of the Sanathi Armada, most of the Raiders plundered whatever they could, before retreating. The rest seemed more willing to remain on the planet, prompting the fleet to contact the locals.
Calling their nation LuMa, the Lauki-Maus were very thankful for the assistance, and joined forces with the Ullau and assorted allies to clear out the remaining Mechaniforms. However, many of the remaining mechanical warriors seem to have settled down, building permanent settlements in their continent and making no further aggressive actions. Some Ullau remain on the planet, prepared to either fight against or reason with the previously uncommunicative Mechaniforms. The rest of the fleet, however, has gone into pursuit against the fleeing Mechaniforms, who are now headed towards the world of Truff.
New Braniga itself has been quite outgoing, contacting both Nidkubra and Sanath, and dispatching diplomatic envoys to both powers. The young nation is quickly building up its economy and military, likely to ensure its continued survival against the omnipresent threat of the Zan Shamai.
The Hammenammir continue their great migration, advancing past Nurm and Sglitagiki space- giving a respectful berth to the latters homeworld of Athre after the incident with Izoza. Small detachments were sent to follow the Fehan and Karronics spying on each other in the area, while the remainder of the fleet continues on corewards- their advanced scouts bring exciting word of the promised land awaiting their arrival, an uninhabited ringworld, only a few more decades away.
As the massive Hammenammir fleet passed by, the Third Karronic Expeditionary Group continued its long retreat away from its home, continuing to draw its Fehan pursuers away. Finally, after coming to the realization that the Fehan would not give up and turn around, the Karronic Captain broadcast a simple message back to his hunters.
What do you want?
Back on Fehan, the leadership of the growing Interstellar Empire found itself facing numerous theoretical questions on the nature of galactic civilization. Concerned by their findings, the Fehan have redoubled their efforts to become an empire powerful enough to hold its own against the countless unknown threats that may be lurking elsewhere in the Galaxy. The latest possible danger has only recently been discovered- a series of strange, but extremely strong and orderly radio signals emanating from the extreme spinward end of the known galaxy. Codenamed The Many, this strange presence is now being watched carefully by the Fehan, who are already devising contingency plans for their potential attack.
The Karronics, unaware but suspicious of their possible discovery by the Fehan, continue their perpetual fortification, economy straining to support such a massive defensive Starfleet.
On Zephyr, the Democratic Federation of Akari launches another exploratory vessel, which is quickly approaching the edge of Fehan space.
The Tapani, feeling quite secure in their long-established region of space, and convinced that the Weavers on Nuxue B have no ill intentions towards the Allentryen, have begun a second phase of expansion. A new sphere of colonies, outposts and terraforming projects are established, while exploratory fleets probe their neighbours, identifying the Zaff, the piratical forces who raided Nuxue several centuries prior, confirmed the long suspected presence of the Trasna several tens of light years below their home systems, and finding some other strange satellites which seem to belong to no known alien species. The Trasna are of considerable interest to the Tapani- when hints of their existence first started to appear, they pointed towards an advanced spacefaring nation. However, their explorations now reveal only a collection of inactive, aged probes, a single planetbound settlement, and a second world wracked with radiation and widespread surface-scarring, presumably from recent warfare. Much debate is being held on Tapani regarding whether it is the responsibility of an alien species to intervene, whether intervention should have taken place centuries prior, or if it is even a good idea to make contact with a species capable and willing to destroy one of its own planets.
On Jen-Tsa, the raging fire of war has burned its way down to a few smouldering embers. No transmissions now escape the planet, and an outside observer is unlikely to find any clear signs of life. However, in deep burrows safe from the ruination that faces the surface, the last few sparks of life remain. Hope is not quite dead for the homeworld of the Trasna.
The Choon fend off a variety of blunt attacks from a small fringe force of Mechaniforms, but are otherwise quite silent in galactic affairs, content to continue their disinterested wanderings. Meanwhile, their neighbours of Nidkubra and Hedge continue to strengthen their relationship. Cherwels from Hedge have been displaying increasing interest in the idea of creating a unified government between civilized species, in the face of nihilistic enemies and external threats such as the Zan, but the idea has struggled to gain traction- while Nidkubra views the proposal positively, LaMatra has been uncharacteristically silent about the matter, and a reasonable number of Verthommes are less than enthusiastic about the idea of losing further autonomy and relevance. The Verthommes are facing a steep decline in influence, as they are now significantly outnumbered by the reptilian Cherwels in the nation that was once their own, due to the demographic upsets of the Tenoderan War. However, while some Verthommes grumble, many others are genuinely interested in the possibility of building something new and purposeful.
However, all of this high-minded planning and idealizing must at some point be brought back to reality- and unbeknownst to these species, a return to the realities of war may be very close indeed. For the Zan Kena, the Hegemonys esteemed Executioner, is approaching to bring an end to the heresy of the Zan Shamai- woe to any who have the misfortune of existing between these two onrushing titans. Shamai has been engaged deeply in reflection, research and study even as his foundries construct a massive army for his defense- but he knows that Kena has been in the past a vastly higher ranking Zan than himself- all that remains to be seen is whether or not Shamais advancement will have been enough to bridge this expanse.
The Wera themselves are in motion, their ineffable wanderings shifting as they all begin to direct themselves towards some unknown new point of being. Perhaps they have some stake in the coming fight, perhaps they will watch it as some sort of gladiatorial battle- but whatever the reason, when the Wera take notice of an event, junior races should take heed- and take cover.
Map
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