GalaxyNES- No Horizons

To: Zan Shamai
From: The Ocean

Teach you and you will not move on from us in your quest of total destruction?

To the family of he ocean:

A god of oblivion does not leave stones unturned. Worlds undestoryed. Existence will be granted to those who hold me back. And none can hold me back by force. Will you teach me or should I continue my march on existence?

To: Zan Shamai
From: The Ocean

Existence will be granted to those who hold you back?

Lord_Iggy said:

To: Zan Shamai
From: The Ocean

Existence will be granted to those who hold you back?

Click to expand...

I am a Zan of simplicity. There is no hidden messages in my words. Those who slow me down because they interested me will be allowed to exist. Those we are useless for me will be no more. It is simple. Which of this groups would the family under the ocean would like to be?

To: Zan Shamai
From: The Ocean Family

Then we shall remain an enigma to you, until the time comes when you understand that which is known to us.

Lord_Iggy said:

To: Zan Shamai
From: The Ocean Family

Then we shall remain an enigma to you, until the time comes when you understand that which is known to us.

Click to expand...

I can assure you that one way or another, you will not remain an enigma to me.

To: The Galactic Hegemony
From: Zan Kena

Shamai has completed his duties. Insubordinate as he has been, his heretical methods have been effective in murdering a Wera. We are on the cusp of great things here, and I request a private gathering of the Zan to discuss this critical matter.

Shouldn't you also be the one answering? Lol this update will be interesting for the super races of this area...

As for orders. Give kena the designs for the weapon (with a little extra safe button so I could always cause if to malfunction if I need to. Kill this stupid under sea family with my weapon and move on "south" heading to fplimny!

OOC: I officially announce my intention to return

erez, I thought you intended to try and learn from them. Oh well, I'll rewrite that bit of the update then.

An Overview of Collectivity Economics

Nept, and partially Ili'li'i, is the spiritual heart of the Collectivity. Nakir'kral, with its vast metal and carbon mines and a growing orbital defense network built by expert Kasekral ballistics techs, is the military-industrial heart of the Collectivity. La and Kurilate, with teams of Nitha and Ullau scientists steadily advancing the frontiers of nanomechanical and trans-spacetime technology, compete to be the Collectivity's scientific heart. Each of the precious City Ships are a small spark of scientific and military power in and of themselves.

But the economic heart of the Collectivity is Naellae. Centuries of global peace have allowed Ullau numbers to burgeon like never before, and the wet world has become home to many Qii who love the climate, and the Nitha who love the Qii, and insist on chanting and spreading incense wherever they go. Even the occasional Kasekral can be seen in the more modern cities, looming over the non-bipedal species in specialized dehydration suits. Being the cosmopolitan hub of the Collectivity, Naellae specializes in food, entertainment, construction, and nanoengineering industries. Most of the Collectivity's management institutions are located here.

The Collectivity uses a dual-track economic system implemented after the bringing of Naellae into the fold. All sentients are guaranteed free sustenance, medical care, education, and shelter within the confines of what is 'comfortable' for their species. Species-specific panels set the guidelines for the base standards of care which *must* be provided, and the Collectivity makes its best effort to ensure that more than enough resources are allocated to provide this living standard for all.

Since the Doctrine Collective states that there is a Prime Obligation to establish the essentials of a healthy life-cycle for all sentients, the Collectivity serves to allocate and manage resources so that everyone gets what they need, and slightly more besides. This resource management operation is one of the most complicated arrangements of the Collectivity. Nakir'kral gets food shipments from Naellae, and ships metals out in return to Naellae and Kurilate. La provides electronics and chemicals, but it is largely self-sufficient since the mostly Nitha and Choon inhabitants live a relatively low-impact lifestyle. The Collectivity's main export to La is Qii, strangely enough, to keep the Nitha happy.

The construction of a City Ship, in particular, an essential project both for military defense and to prevent catastrophic overpopulation on Naellae, requires massive coordination across systems. No one planet produces all the components to create a self-sufficient, functioning metropolis that can soar through the vacuum, so this requires a great, interstellar balancing act.

Furthermore, the Collectivity uses no currency. Since all of the basic physical needs of the populace are met by the government, mostly by automated robotic systems, non-essentials are given and bartered. For example, a renowned Nitha architect might construct a larger-than-normal home for a renowned Ullau chef, in return for the Ullau's agreement to feed the Nitha for two years. Endless permutations of this exist. 'Barter guidelines' are maintained by Collectivity officials, but demand in specific sectors may spike or lapse depending on personal preference. For example, the Nitha have little need for much living space due to their communal tendencies, but they have a voracious metabolism. As a result, the Ullau have built an entire industry catering to Nitha appetites.

Other aspects of the Collectivity resemble a gift economy, particularly anything the Qii produce. While Kasekral and Ullau certainly have a strong sense of personal property, the Nitha and Qii are more altruistic in this regard. Things they produce are often given to those who need them, with the implicit assumption that things will be given to them when they need them. This is an unwritten law for much of the Collectivity.

In another example, the Kasekral are often subcontracted to build or upgrade defenses for the City Ships, which have a mostly Qii population. In return, the Qii provide specialized biotechnology which allows the Kasekral to travel to areas too damp or high-gravity for their physiology to normally accommodate. Scientific explorations are generally sponsored directly by the Collectivity, which provides a higher guaranteed standard of living for skilled professionals. Within the Collectivity's guidelines, any scientific topic can be pursued, pending periodic work reviews.

All of these interactions are approved and managed at a vast, towering complex of silver spires on one of Naellae's islands, a city of two-mile high skyscrapers and interconnected skybridges colloquially called the Enrae. This is the heart of the heart of the economic system of the Collectivity, staffed mostly by Qii and Ullau, who chart the daily distribution of resources throughout the Collectivity, managing the continued prosperity of almost 100 billion independent sentients. The height of the skyscrapers allows for more efficient broadcasting of interplanetary communications with powerful quantum info-beacons. With the skyscrapers are sculpted chambers for arbitration meetings, and vast 3-dimensional displays of Collectivity space, charting shipments of raw and finished materials and their current and estimated positions, along with readouts of ongoing progress on major Collectivity projects domestic and military.

The official name for the Enrae is the Collective Management Council. But it is also a wonder of the world.

Lord_Iggy said:

erez, I thought you intended to try and learn from them. Oh well, I'll rewrite that bit of the update then.

Click to expand...

Well they were being awefuly annoying and unclear so I doubt they would be of any use... So yeah, continue the march of chaos!

Update Music

Update 17
OCReMix: Nullification and Dave Matthews Band: When The World Ends (Oakenfold Remix)

Update 17

The Collectivity of Sanath thrives. Industrial and output are surging, and the Mechaniform threat is at last seeming to approach its end. Strikes on Iau annihilated the settled Mechaniforms on the planet, who did not even fight back as they were mercilessly crushed by Sanathi Marines. The Rogue Fleet has viewed this intrusion with irritation, but the Collectivity considers the defeat of the last major Mechaniform presence in the area to be worth a slight dimming of relations with the prodigals. On the verdant world of La, the Dancer has completed the construction of a new hyperspace frame. Freed for the first time in centuries from her adopted home, the Dancer set out to join the growing Sanathi fleet above Naellae, trailed by her benefactor, the Traveler, who seems to be interested in events unfolding near the Capital World for reasons of his own.

Indeed, the Collectivity’s shipbuilding has ramped up significantly in recent years, as the united species discover that they have an increasingly poor fleet in comparison to their heavily-armed neighbours. For the first time since the catastrophe on Nept, new city-ships are under construction. However, these newer megavessels are no longer exclusively for the support of excess population- they are built with an increasingly military focus, and older ships are being retrofitted in similar ways.

Nearby in New Braniga, an exchange program has been initiated with the Collectivity, granting several Branigan, Kurkrav and Navartines a type of observer status traveling through the Collectivity, whilst simultaneously sending a delegation from the Collectivity to the New Branigan capital of Truff. Thusfar, the exchange has gone well, and many Branigan appear to be warm to the possibility of accepting the offer of membership in the Collectivity.

The Utarite Combine has been torn in two by the internal conflicts of its military leadership. Retreating from Utar-Prime to their fortresses on Dotaea and Kudur, the rival generals have proclaimed the formation of the Utarite Alliance, with the goal of crushing the combine and retaking the home system for themselves. As the conflict rapidly and explosively escalates between the two factions, Ra watches placidly, and resumes his advance once again, eyes set on the now-disunited worlds of the Utarites.

The Galactic Republic, still reeling from the loss of Fudirun, remained resolute in the face of Zan Invasion. The blade of Kena’s advance had been blunted, or so they believed. The fleets were being rebuilt at a rapid rate, and the revolutionary new array of self-replicating technologies pioneered by Jua’Oc were just beginning to come into play. However, Kena was by no means falling behind the Republic. The worlds under his possession were already well into their conversion into factory planets, churning out mind-boggling numbers of Zan Warmachines.

Hedge and Garv’n were heavily fortified, but Fulincripinal Base, the third and last remaining world of old Nidkubra, found itself in a bad position. Lacking the size and industrial capacity of its sister-worlds, the Base was both unable to produce an adequate defensive fleet of its own, and just too far away to safely reinforce without critically depleting forces elsewhere. Its population, overwhelmingly Fudirunin, had already begun to evacuate to the increasingly-overcrowded world of Garv’n. For them, the potential loss of the planet was more an economic matter than anything else- Fudirunins are unsentimental about possessions and traditions even at the very best of times. Kena, detecting the weakness of the planet, predictably directed his next strike against this world. A small force of Fudriunin Cannon Armatures and an out-of-the-way Lauki cruiser stood to make a heroic last stand at the planet, seeking only to delay Kena long enough to evacuate the population- a procedure which took excruciatingly long, given the dearth of transports available during wartime. Their stand won the Republic far less time than they would have hoped, but still managed to prolong the assault for enough time to evacuate three quarters of the population. The Base fell shortly thereafter, rapidly undergoing a conversion to the latest forward operating station of the rapidly growing territories of the Zan Kena.

However, as Kena mustered his forces for the conquest of Hedge, he would at last taste a proper defeat. A combined Republic fleet, many ships emerging fresh from the newly-designed nanofabricators, possessed the numbers to halt the offense, saving the Planet Hedge from Kena’s aggression, for now. However, in many ways the planet itself is now in even greater danger. By the practice of the Zan Kena, if a planet successfully resists once, the second invasion will not attempt to take the planet intact.

Shamai, meanwhile, continued to advance his inscrutable plots. At last finding Kena worthy of his trust, Shamai shared with his comrade the schematics for the Bane of Reality. Construction of a second superweapon, this one christened the ‘Dirge of Eternity’, was a time-consuming and costly affair, but very recently the Zan Kena has fired the first shot of his own weapon, destroying the Wera who raided Shamai’s shipyards on Koraft. The Galactic Republic can only hope and pray that Kena does not use his weapon as advised by Shamai, and wipe out the Republic for good.

Shu-Ghoo hopes of surviving under a shroud of obscurity have been dashed, by their possibly inadvertent destruction of one of Shamai’s vessels by their probe above Tapani. The Shu-Ghoo responsible for the attack retreated, amazed by the power that it never knew it possessed. The Zan Shamai expressed only amusement at the small ball of goo attempting to challenge him. He would destroy them for their insult, but the work of tracking down the probe’s homeworld and disposing of it would have to wait until his attentions could be diverted from elsewhere. For in recent years, Shamai’s aggression has been significantly dampened, as he devotes much of his attention to the entity or entities known as ‘The Ocean’ under the surface of Nuxue B, attempting to comprehend their bizarre control over space and matter. Fortunately for the rest of the universe, the Zan’s learning has been slow going- but there has been progress nonetheless. Shamai, however, is growing impatient. Even as he studies, he prepares his weapon to destroy his erstwhile instructors, should he not experience a breakthrough soon.

Conflict breaks out amongst the Hammenammir as huge debates rage over whether or not the Migration has yet finished. Plagued by a lack of a uniting purpose, the species has fallen precariously close to an outright lapse into self-directed violence between the ‘migrants’ and ‘habitants’. Already, several migrants have returned to space, setting out to continue their long search for the ringworld destined to be their home.

Fehan and Karron remain locked in mortal combat, revolving around the world of Sathan. Karronic numbers in Fehan space were steadily declining from the attrition of constant strikes by the vastly more mobile Fehan fleet. Up to this point, almost all had gone according to the Karronic plan- strike at a planet, arm the hostile natives, then bunker down and use the control of the planet as a bargaining chip to ensure a favourable peace now, as opposed to slow strangulation by the economically dominant Fehan in the future. Their planning was meticulously based around their exhaustively-researched understanding of the Fehan mindset and idealogy- a strong defensive position in enemy territory would be nigh-near impregnable without unfathomable losses or orbital bombardment, and the Fehan, they believed would refuse to do the latter.

However, it would soon be discovered that their understanding was not nearly complete enough.

Fehan amassed a new fleet, producing in great numbers from all of its worlds. Numerous ships were lost to the minefields established by the Karronics around their holdings on Sathan, but the vast majority arrived intact. As this new force bore down, the Karronics descended in their vessels to the surface. While Karronic vessels are somewhat slow and clumsy, the vast majority are designed to be able to withstand atmospheric stresses, enabling them to essentially transform into planetary fortresses on the surface. With these defences in place, and the Sadhilim armed and bearing down on the last Fehan holdouts, the Karronic Operational Commander Marcinich was quite confident in his ability to withstand any sort of ground assault.

Initial combat involved orbital bombardment, which was shrugged off by the Karronic fortresses. This much had been expected. The Fehan fleet then halted. However, no landing attempt, however covert, took place- any landing would have most likely been futile, at any rate. All channels remained open for parley, which Marcinich expected at any moment. However, it was not to be.

Colossal meteor bombardment struck Sathan. Fehan High Command had decided that the sacrifice of one biosphere- an incredibly precious and rare thing- was justified in these extreme circumstances, to serve as both a warning of Fehan resolve, and to eliminate both the restive Sadhilim and the remaining Karronic Battle Group in one blow.

The Karronic vessels have been destroyed utterly, and the vast majority of their crews have perished. The Sadhilim, even less well-protected from the bombardment, have been decimated, their numbers reduced to single percents of their original population. Continued survival on the planet remains questionable, as smoke blots out the sky, tectonic activity runs out of control and all life is squeezed of vitality in the cold, strangling darkness. Elsewhere, a grand Fehan fleet directs itself towards the long-secret Karronic homeworld of Catifah. Karron desperately tries to plot its next move, realizing that the possibility of racial extinction and planetary destruction is not a very real danger.

The Democratic Federation of Akari watches the war with great concern and interest, gaining a great deal of knowledge about the two battling species.

Nearby, but still known only to Fehan, the Many continue to slowly pave the way for the One. Arriving after centuries of sublight travel, the terrible entity, the Devouring One, calls out its arrival. The biomachines of the Many stir into action, finding a moon worthy of consumption. Jet’nal, as it was known by its inhabitants, will be a rich meal for their master. The natives were a successful species near the brink of space travel, but even centuries of preparation could not help them to resist the force that approached. Darkness shrouded the world as the Many swarmed over their target, as the behemoth passed by the doomed world and approached its red sun. The consumer’s terrible maw opened, and the darkness became absolute. Jet’nal was cast out into the void, hurled adrift into space without a sun, bound to become little more than a cold, barren rock, little different than the countless other billions which litter the galaxy. However, the fall of Jet’nal was not an utter tragedy- its fall was witnessed by scouts of the Fehan, who were able to rescue a few armfuls of the desperate populace in what could be viewed as a profound act of compassion, or perhaps conservation. The scout has already communicated its discoveries, and delivered a touching eulogy for the folk of Jet’nal, back to Helan.

The Kadanoff, rocked by the discovery of the diverse galactic community, have expended great energies into restructuring themselves into a new structure, termed the ‘Kadanoff Unity’. The Dockyards of Sapro have been vastly expanded upon, and a veritable crowd of scout drones have been unleashed into the void, to find new worlds for Kadanoff habitation. Their Mejani neighbours, meanwhile, continue to eagerly engage in continued knowledge exchanges, experimenting with new starship engines which may at last allow them to puncture a way through the light barrier. All the while, the Fehan continue to look over this area of space with interest. Their intentions towards the locals still remain uncertain, at best.

Map

The Zan Shamai was both pleased and frustrated as he brought the Bane of Reality to bear. He had studied intently, but the ways of the Ocean Family were naught but riddles and foolishness for his mind. They spoke of the universe as a tapestry, but Shamai could not see it, or make himself see it.

If he could not sense it, he could not control it.

If he could not control it, it was a threat.

If it was a threat, he would annihilate it.

The dark machine thrummed deeply as Shamai drew out a path of destruction. He would annihilate that troublesome moon, and the mystical fools who resided in it, for testing his patience.

Farewell.

The Bane fired. Shamai shrieked as his sight in the area blacked out. This had never happened in the previous firings, what had gone wrong? Scrambling, Shamai felt his way through the network of machines, quickly finding one of his minions nearby. Jacking into its senses, he stared out at the gas giant planet of Nuxue. Two moons still rested in a comfortable orbit. The Zan instantly recognized the cloudy blue marble of Nuxue B, realizing with horror that his weapon had failed. He thrashed his view about, trying to find the debris, but there was nothing.

...nothing at all...

The realization hit Shamai like a speeding train. The Bane had fired upon itself- but how? How could this have happened? The Zan's fervently analytical mind pored over his knowledge, struggling to find the answer.

The second realization was less one of visceral impact, and more one of sinking misery.

Of course...

Bitterness and fury flooded Shamai's mind, as he relived the same sense of shame that he had felt when he was humbled by the Wera and Fplinmy. He'd been duped, led astray. The Ocean had played him for a fool! The Zan let out a scream of frustration, railing against this horrible, sickening sense of impotence. It was only as he began to calm that the message reached him.


Do not toy with us Shamai, Treacherous Sky-Machine, Prodigal Half-God of the Zan, Ex-Wielder of the Bane of Existence.

You.

Have.

Been.

Warned.

So it does not work against them, or did I give them enough time to break my device?

You suspect the latter, as you see no reason why they should hold any sort of special immunity to the Bane's effects.

Excellent update. I'm really excited for the future of this NES.

I'd still like that Grilled Cheese Sandwich you promised me for an update that night. And Luckymoose, WHERE IS MY KITTEN?

Well, for me, it was light outside when you updated, and I was sleeping.

Even so, you earned it.