Across the Zodiac - A steampunk Mars IOT

It had been 7 days since the Chosen People had arrived on Savaş, the planet that Allah chose for his Son to convert into Islam. The Grand Sultan Mahmud of Jihad on Heaven and Earth, the Re - incarnation of Prophet Muhammad, the Son of Allah, was sitting on his throne of gold, waiting to hear news about the expedition.

"We present to you, his Holiness, the Controller of all those who are good and righteous, Sultan Mahmud the Re - Incarnated!" shouted a guard, as an ulama was entering into the Grand Palace. "Bow down to your saviour" shouted a guard, as he pushed the ulama down to the floor.

"What is the meaning of your visit, faithful one?" asked suspiciously Mahmud.

"Oh Grand One, I have come to ask for your help and insight on matters of your worship. Please guide me with your divine knowledge." said the ulama.

"What is your question then?" asked Sultan Mahmud.

"Son of Allah, our people are divided. Some believe that we should use this clean state that the planet of Savaş gives us to develop our colonies into cities like those of Earth, while others think we should gear towards war against the unfaithful. What shall we do?" asked the ulama.

"It is imperative for us to be ready for war against all the unbelievers. As such, we must conquer the air, as we conquered the Ether through Allah's divine help. After that, great holy armies shall be gathered and trained to fight all those who embrace evil. In the name of Allah, airships shall be built to carry our warriors out amongst the planet, and we will spread Islam to all the unbelievers. The power of Allah will be felt far and wide, and the wicked shall be vanquished.' enthusiastically shouted Mahmud.

"Hallowed is your name" said the ulama while bowing down.

"Hallowed is indeed my name. You are dismissed Ulama." said Mahmud, now calmed down.

After the ulama left, the guards re - entered. "Send to me the engineer known as Erhan Büyükkökten. I need to speak to him. Meanwhile, you shall gather 50 of our people and send an expedition to the north to scout for things of interest to us." ordered Mahmud.

50 people for the expedition to the north
50 people to research; 30 of them will try to innovate in armaments, while 20 others will innovate in colonisation.
 
​

Prince Yiwei was satisfied with the establishment of New Beijing. Sure, the mountainous terrain was not the most desired when compared to the plains of Earth, but it made New Beijing literally a Fortress. 100 colonists had arrived, a relative small number compared to the hundreds of millions of Chinese his father was ruling, but quite good in this situation, considering that this new planet was mostly uncharted and could be dangerous. What's more, this new 'Empire' was under the supreme control of Yiwei. Sure, he refrained from taking the title of Emperor and his colony was nominally a tributary state to Qing, but this was only in name in order to not upset his father. Even a court was organized with 10 people (two eunuchs, four ministers and four generals).

In the 'Palace' of New Beijing (which really was just a small wooden building which was a tiny copycat of the Forbidden Palace), Prince Yiwei called his Ministers and Generals to present him the options they had concerning research and further exploration of Mars. The first to speak was Minister Yuan Chonghuan, a tall middle aged man with black beard who was wearing a fur hat and a red robe.

​

Yuan bowed before Yiwei and kowtowed three times. "May I speak my thoughts, Your Majesty?"

With a movement of his hand, Yiwei accepted his request.

Yuan said, "The most important task we have to accomplish right now is how to defend ourselves from any possible enemies. For this reason, we should research the art of war. Otherwise, we shall be weak and despite the fact that the mountains protect us, our enemies will be able to crush us. For natural barriers cannot compensate for the lack of an army."

"Indeed.", Yiwei replied. "I agree with you. We should research the art of war."

Yiwei then whispered something to Eunuch Gao. The Eunuch shouted: "General Guo Jing!"

A man in his 30's dressed in military uniform bowed before Yiwei. "Your Majesty!"

Yiwei said, "I want you to lead an expedition of 50 men to explore the West."

"I will do my best, Your Majesty!"

"Good."

Eunuch Zhao and Eunuch Gao then said in unison: "You are all dismissed."

So, the Court Meeting ended.
 
"Yes...yes this could be..." muttered Charles Darwin. He had all sorts of strange Martian rodents in cages. But they were nothing compared to the great tree...Quercus Ambulare was the formal name, but the colonists had taken to the name "Walking Oak". He needed to see one up close.

"Captain!" Darwin said to Robert Fitzroy, the captain of the ship that brought them to this strange new land. "Organize an expedition! I need one of those Walking Oaks, try and find one that has died naturally!"

"It will be done." said the Captain stoically. As he walked out of the room, Charles continued to mutter to himself.

"Yes...yes..." he said "...this powerful force...evolution. Yes, yes, yes!"

-50 Colonists try and get the corpse of one of those trees for Darwin to research.
-50 Colonists help Darwin research Biology
 
An order echoed all along the camp. The scarce hundred colonists reunited in a rather orderly fashion before Von Mecklenburg's tent. Besides it, the mostly dusty and dirty spacecraft still managed to shine to the sun. Von Mecklenburg himself was waiting in full military uniform. Although the climate was far more arid than in Prussia, the greater distance to the sun made temperatures generally cool during the night and in the early morning. Looking around, he saw his men were somewhat less careful than they were before departure. A slip of the mind would be costly, though. A mistake could lose them all. Some kentaurids were camped nearby, as if to watch them, but Mecklenburg was certain there was a larger camp not very far. As superior as his weaponry might be, he knew almost nothing about these creatures, and it would be indispensable for his colony to remain in good terms with them, at least for the time being. Von Mecklenhurg took a step forward, walking among his men as if inspecting the troops. Although his face wouldnt show, he was pleased to see them quickly correct as much of they could of their improper appearance. The men also seemed to form in a tenser, tighter, more Prussian way. He was proud of his men. Then he spoke.

'You may rest now.' His men didnt move an inch. 'This is a new planet, and we must adapt to it. Most importantly, discipline must be kept. A mistake, and we could all be in danger.' His face perhaps seemed even more severe than ever. 'We must ensure the survival of this colony. Our biggest and so far single threat are the kentaurids. It is important that we maximise our knowledge of them. Their language, their customs, their culture, if they have any. We must know our enemy if we are to face it. To that purpose, I will lead a small expedition of twenty men. We will carry no weapons.' An audible sigh of shock was heard. Everyone started to whisper and order almost broke down. 'SILENCE! I don't want anybody to lose their temper, open fire and get everyone killed. Schumann!' A man in the first row stepped forward.

'Yes, sir!'

'I believe you have studied French fortification techniques?'

'Indeed I have sir!'

'Are you acquainted with topographic and construction techniques, Schumann?'

'With all due respect sir, I am a military engineer, sir. Of course I am, sir!'

'Excellent.' Mecklenburg paused for a second, leaning slightly back in satisfaction and pride. He had the best men and, without a doubt, the most talented engineer he could have found in Prussia. 'Excellent, Schumann. While I am on the expedition, you will remain in charge of the settlement. Survey the area and find the most ideal spot for out permanent settlement. You will then begin to fortify the surrounding position. You may scrap our vessel to do so.' Von Mecklenburg saw his men glance at the gleaming beast. 'We are expecting more colonists soon. It would be adequate to establish an area for landing and taking off of spacecraft. This very provisional camp would be an ideal location. Understood?'

'Yes, sir!' Schumann was visibly excited for all his military attitude.

'Step back.' Schumann did so. 'Blumberg!' Another soldier advanced.

'Yes sir!'

'You will lead an expedition to the South. You will take fifty men and weapons and provisions. We must scout out for other, as of yet unknown, dangers.'

'Yes sir!'

'You are dismissed. Get ready. I want both expeditions ready by tomorrow's dawn.'

The crowd dispersed. Blumberg was already picking out men for his expedition, while Schumann confided his plans to some other officer. Von Mecklenburg went back to his tent and personally prepared his gear. The colony may be held together by military discipline, but survival depended on teamwork, and he would show his men that he was as dependable as them.
_____________________________________________________________________________

50 men are to go on an expsdition to the south

20 men will study kentaurid Linguistics and culture.
30 men to develop colonisation tech.
 
As it turned out, the initial Egyptian settlers of the Red World had a rather...unexpected issue.

As the first glimpses of the sun shined through the sky outside the temporary tents on the first morning, the weapons and tools cast aside the one imam amongst them had cried out his normal call for prayer. They had ensured the site was clean enough, and all was set. But then, Ibrahim, the young astronomer, looked up and raised his hand timidly. "Er, excuse me sir, but if I may, what direction do we face?" he spoke in soft Arabic.

"To Mecca. You know this," came the sharp reply. Imam Zaydi had little patience for these sorts of juvenile questions. How had he managed to go through his life without knowing all this?

"But sir, Mecca is on Earth, and Earth now lies below the horizon. But we cannot pray to the ground, that would be silly."

Imam Zaydi muttered. "He has a point," muttered another. The rest of the group had stopped even pretending to set up their carpets to pay attention to this newborn debate.

"And what if Earth is above?" an emboldened Imbrahim continued. "We cannot pray to the sky. And, and since we are no longer in zero gravity where we can easily point to the Earth and pray, what are we to do?"

Imam Zaydi's frown deepened. What was he to do? He had no answer to this question, but as the apparent spiritual authority amongst the settlers, he needed to show his knowledge. So, he started in the one place he knew. "Well, the ill, the elderly, and the incapable are allowed leniency with posture, yes," he responded.

"But none of us are any of those things?"

"But the point stands. If we are unable to face Mecca, Allah does not care that we are imperfect, only that we make the effort. So let us face the nearest to Mecca that we can. Ibrahim my friend, if the Earth was at the horizon, where would it be?"

Ibrahim thought for a second, then pointed to the northwest. "It would be there, I believe."

"So let us pray there."

And so the prayer continued. At the end, two of the group raised their hands three times, marking them as Shia. One member of the group cast a glance in the Imam's direction.

"It is a new world, my friends," the Imam said with a smile. "It is not the time for pointless theological differences, just for glory in Allah's favor."
 
Hey,

Here we go.



Name: New Savannaha
Colony Leader: Robert E. Lee
Origin: Plantations of the Southern USA
Background: Fresh out of West Point & married Mr. Lee was seen by the varies groups of rich southern backers as the only man to lead a Expedition to Mars.
Location:
Spoiler :




Blaze Injun
 
(Welcome to the game, fellow Americans! :D )

Telegraph received at Philadelphia PA, East Union Telegraph Station, January ██, 1830

PTC HEAD HOPKINS

EMPANEL STOP PRUSSIANS FOUND NATIVE MARTIANS STOP REQUEST MANPOWER INCREASE STOP INTENTS OF NATIVES UNKNOWN STOP

COLONY ADMIN THORNTON

Telegraph sent from Philadelphia PA, East Union Telegraph Station, January ██, 1830

COLONY ADMIN THORNTON

REQUEST APPROVED FOR MANPOWER INCREASE STOP NALLARY EXPEDITION SOUTH TO SURVEY LAND STOP

PTC HEAD HOPKINS


Spoiler :
Empanel — This is a matter of great importance.
Nallary — It is not absolutely necessary, but it would be an advantage.
 
February 1830 - Into the Unknown
Spoiler :

Klaus Freistein looked on as he saw the camp. Presumably, it was being packed up and placed on large beasts of burden he had never seen before - a curious mix of walrus, yak, and reindeer. He made a quick sketch and description of the beast, then put his sketchbook away, clutched his stick closer and slowly crept right into a Kentaurid. The horseman quickly turned around and pointed a crossbow at Klaus, who dropped his weapon and attempted to scramble away.

The Kentaurid disagreed with that notion, so Klaus gave up and curled up into a ball. It was not the Prussian way, but it was the only way to get out alive.

Around this point, other Kentaurids started to convene on Klaus. Klaus thus realized that curling up into a ball might not be the best way out, and that he was going to face his death with a measure of dignity. This plan was somewhat ruined by the unwillingness of the Kentaurids to kill him. Instead, they escorted him to a large tent that had not been pulled down yet. WIthin was a Kentaurid dressed in various ornaments of metals he hadn’t seen before.

The leader of the Kentaurids motioned in the direction of Berlin a.d. Mars and made a few noises in what he assumed was their language. He nodded. the leader pointed at Klaus and shrugged.

Klaus pointed at himself and said “Klaus”, and then reciprocated the shrugging to the Kentaurid. The Kentaurid pointed at himself and said, “Mghezi”. A building block was layed. But Klaus was separated from the rest of the group.
---
Diego Rodriguez looked at the ruin they had found. It was slowly crumbling, and they’d lost six men to the journey - crushed by gigantic scorpion things, or worse. However, now they’d made it to a complex. Great temples of granite rose in front of him, with the ruins of statues from an era long past. He struck up a lantern and entered the first temple in front of him.
Within the inaudible darkness, Diego experienced, for the first time in his life, complete silence. his lantern quickly fluttered, but the light within stabilized.

Diego did not believe what he saw.

Within the temple was a series of pictograms, never seen for so much time. Diego hadn’t met any sentient humanlike beings. What were these doing here? What had happened on mars that he did not know about?

Clearly, he didn’t understand the pictograms. What he did see, however, was a design that looked faintly like a cigar, wreathed in flames and landing near a ruin. Having been in such a situation rcently, Diego slowly backed out of the ruin...
-
Losses:
Prussia - Prussia lost all of 48 men involved in the expedition, following a severe sandstorm that, incidentally, broke two Wilhelmium detectors.
Brazil - 45 men of the Brazilian expedition disappeared without a trace with, so far, the only message back being the Lord’s Prayer.
Jihad - 25 Mujahedeen died, presumably in the same sandstorm as the one that hit Prussian expeditions.
Darwinia - The attempt to take down a Walking Oak resulted in the deaths of 11 men before the creature was slain.
China - China lost 10 men to treacherous mountain passes not used for millennia.
Decisions:
Prussia - A member of the research team is currently within the Kentaurid camp. He isn’t bound, and the Kentaurids apparently offer to take him with them, and leave one of their own in Berlin a.d. Mars. Doing so would speed up linguistics research, but would slow down colonization research until you learn everything you can. The Kentaurids imply they would return to their current location in 6 months.

Discoveries
Prussia - The Yak/Walrus/Reindeer beast of Burden
Darwinia - mars rats
Cuba - large scorpions
Netherlands - flying whale-esque creatures

stats
I'd kind of appreciate if all non-combat orders were placed in a PM to make updates easier.
To research an existant tech, say "research TECH".
Overflow is if you assign too many people to an area and as such don't get one full tech. For every pop in overflow, you can leave one pop out of the cost for the tech.
 
"Oh Great Sultan" said a weird looking fellow, wearing two glasses, one smaller and one bigger. His name was Erhan Büyükkökten, and he believed that by doing so he got a crystal clear picture by having the glasses counter and eliminate each other's effect.

"What is it sir Erhan?" Said the Sultan.

"Me and my people have managed how to manipulate the element known to as as "Sultanium" after your request, even though the whole scientific community still calls it by the name of Wilhelmium." answered Erhan.

"Is that all?" said once again the Sultan.

"No Son of Allah. I believe that this "Sultanium" can be used not only for construction, but for providing energy. Meanwhile, Allah himself revealed to me in my dreams that I should use it as a potential life essence for machines that will imitate humans in all ways possible - I decided to call them "otomat", after your Great Dynasty and by the fact that they are indeed automatic." replied Erhan.

"That is most interesting sir Erhan, but can you envision through the help of Allah uses other than colonisation and warfare?" questioned the Sultan.

"Most certainly Great Lord of all that is Righteous and Heavenly! These otomats could help us not only improve the lives of our colonists, but also serve as automated systems of collecting and analyzing specimen for us, which would give us even greater speed at our research projects." replied enthusiastically Erhan.

"Then you and your people have a go" said the Great Sultan, before dismissing him.

Spoiler :

30 people into researching Savas(Mars) airships
20 people into researching Computational translators
20 people into researching the Empirical Method.
 
Valerio Durante huffed, looking down a raised monocular from the ship's bridge, watching three of the mysterious scorpions, or Aguijón, as the colonists had taken to calling them. Senior science officer Alexander Valenharte had called them Scorpio magnus, but he probably wouldn't remember such a name for long. He was never good at remembering scientific names. His professors could testify, undoubtedly.


Scorpio magnus​

He lowered his raised monocular, wondering about what to do with these aggressive aliens when there was a knock at the door. "Enter." Valerio said, putting the looking tool away along with his turbulent thoughts of these strange creatures and sat down on his office chair. The space was cramped, a large mahogany desk dominating the center, stacked with books until you could hardly see the man sitting opposite. Valerio's chair had some space behind it, so he could look out a reinforced circular window overseeing the Martian sands. The chair opposite him was cramped for space, hardly clearing his desk or the wall behind it.

Gustavo Maldonado stepped in, carrying a sheet of print paper. He was in his mid-forties and balding, reading glasses adorning his crow-like features. His thick engineer's outfit was spotted with oil and machine grease. He looked down at his roughshod appearance and sat down with an apologetic look. "Sorry, captain. Was out fixin' a crack in the engine housing. Otherwise, I'd be helping Dr. Valenharte out in the lab." He said with a rural Cuban drawl. Valerio nodded for him to continue, and Gus lifted the print paper to his eyes, squinting even through the glasses. "From: Lord John Lockharte. To: Captain Valerio Espino. The ruins are intriguing so far. Pictographs adorn the walls, and could quite possibly foretell of our arrival. The men are somewhat spooked by this, but all is well. We will return when Dr. Diego Rodriguez finishes cataloging and sketching everything. Lost six men on the way. They're with God now."

Valerio clenched his fist, brows drawn down in anger. "Lost six already? Coño! Lord Lockharte better have brought the bodies for burial, or I'll have his head!" The captain stood, pacing quickly back and forth in the six feet of space behind his desk. "I don't care to think on our dead. What of the science division? What progress have we made?" He demanded, looking out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

Gustavo regarded Valerio calmly, his eyes unwavering in the face of Valerio's ire. "Not much progress, to be honest. Doctor Valenharte is a fool. He keeps raving on about some energy called 'bio-ether' that can be extracted from living entities, but it's a sack of jumped-up mierda if you ask me." Gus coughs politely, to make sure he had Valerio's attention. Valerio turned to him. "Is his research costing us time and resources?" He asked calmly. Gus shook his head reluctantly. "I suppose not. It isn't like there's much else to do but watch hydroponics and listen to his ravings."

"Good." Valerio said, nodding to himself. "Make sure he keeps at it, but have Doctor Muñoz work on colonial innovation. We need to establish this meager camp as a city. Leave me." Valerio waited for Gustavo Maldonado to leave before slumping in his chair, inexplicably tired to the bone. Six dead. Was he failing his duty already?

Spoiler :
Alexander Valenharte looked closely at the bottom of a beaker, swirling the bluish bioluminescent elixir within it slowly. Chromium really was an amazing substance, he mused. An amalgam of Chromus extract, which can only be found in the Emperor's Rose, and liquid Palladium, which was incredibly rare, Chromium was a useful multipurpose element. It's a catalyst, a conductor, an insulator... and it excelled at all of these things, to boot.

It was wonderful to have a separate building finally set up for scientific innovation. Captain Valerio was sympathetic toward his complaints of the cramped ship-board laboratory. The Daedalus Workshop hummed with quiet but lethal power, powering a forge, a work station, and air purifiers. Martian air was awful stuff, but the workshop's fumes could potentially become lethal, if allowed to accumulate.

An assistant looked up at Doctor Valenharte, his expression equal parts fear and amazement. The good doctor held the small, still-beating heart of a ferret in one hand, attached to copper wires. It beat restlessly, pumping out nothing but air. "Up the voltage by twenty." Doctor Valenharte said, smiling broadly to himself. The assistant cranked the generator, and the heart spasmed several times before settling into a fast-paced routine. "Up the voltage! Fifteen more!" The good doctor cried excitedly, watching the heart with fascination.

He had a 'bio-ether measuring device' in his other hand, running it constantly over the heart. He was getting readings. He had been right. The good doctor looked up at the assistant with a euphoric expression on his face just as the assistant cranked the generator. The heart made a popping sound before collapsing in on itself. The bio-etheric meter spiked briefly as the organ was destroyed. Doctor Valenharte wiped droplets of blood his goggles, replaced his rubber gloves, and reached for another ferret in the pen. The thing squirmed at his found his scalpel. "Prepare the generator for a starting sixty volts."

Bio-ether could power machinery. He was sure of it.


TWENTY MEN research COLONIZATION/INFRASTRUCTURE.
THIRTY MEN research BIO-ETHERIC POWER/ENGINES.
 
Hey,

"Captain Lee. Please Captain a moment of your time." Hurriedly Professor Ripper moved to stand beside the campfire infront of the large tent that Robert E. Lee & his wife Mary called home on Mars. "Can you come to the beach."

"Can this wait till morning? This is the first time since langing that I have had time for my wife." He stood pulling his suppenders over his arms to his shoulders. He liked to joke at the Professor expense. Lee had many rules and one of them was When the scientists spoke he listened. He grabbed his coat & cap. "I'll return soon my darling wife."

"Captain your wife should also come and see. It will be something that will change our life here on Mars if not on Earth." The Professor turned talking loudly as he started toward the beach. "As you know the lights at night on the Virgina Sea is created by bioluminescence.

"Bioluminescence, Professor?" Questioned the ever thristy for knowledge Mary Lee.

"A yes. Excuse me." He said fumbling along the path toward the beach and his workshop. "Basically its a organ that produces chemical light in fish. On Earth such organs are small and unworth my study."

"And here on Mars?" She replied quickly and eagerly

"Here the organs are large and wonderous. They produce a jelly that illuminates."
He stopped to point in the diriction they were going. "I have been studying the stuff and find that it reacts to the our engines and I believe with the Bonaparte Particles. It seems to absorb energy from it and becomes brighter and lasts longer then a normal lenght of time. Plus the amount needed of this jelly is realitively small. Say the size of a cotton boll."

"So what your saying is we can illuminate the fears of Mars?" Captain Lee said understanding that this find might not only help his colony but change life for two worlds. "You can really do this Professor Ripper?"

A man standing on a small rise that sheltered the workshop campsite waved to someone. Almost at once the man was silhouetted by a bright bluish white light emanating from the beach below.



Blaze Injun
AZ001
 
-30 Men will assist Darwin with researching the Theory of Evolution
-20 Men will assist Darwin with performing an autopsy on the Walking Oak
-10 of Darwin's most trustworthy men will help Darwin test his theories on the corpses of the dead from the expedition
-20 Men will scout out a location for a new research base
 
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