NiNES: A Broken Galaxy

[Erik Mesoy]

The Benalia Broadsheet
The Oldest Flat Newspaper In Circulation​

RETEACH SCANDAL IMPLICATES SEVERAL SENIOR GOVERNANCY MEMBERS
Keiong's testimony before the High Court today accused two Fleet Admirals and eight Representatives of being complicit in the scandal over the Reteach Documents. However, the High Court's record has been anonymized until the conclusion of the first set of hearings and motions, and our sources suggest that Keiong might get his sentence reduced to four years.
Update: Representative Sonsust has confessed to being the primary censorer. No party was available for comment.
more...

Governancy Votes To Reduce Worker Benefits
President John Bellmere's bill to reduce sick leave and worker benefits passed with a three-quarters majority. Bellmere is quoted as saying "Under the old system, you could get two weeks of paid leave for a broken finger, then stay away for three!" and claims that the new regulations are necessary to prevent the welfare system from becoming bloated. None of the major workers' unions have commented yet, more...

Macheas Laboratories discover Subliminal Technique
The spokesman for the Interface Division of Macheas Laboratories warned today that it had discovered possible frequencies that can have subliminal effects on audiovisual input, and would be researching countermeasures immediately. Erwin Macheas called for calm, stating that the test "might be no more than a fluke". more...

Prault, Church organize Massive Anti-Magistracy Demonstration
Bishop Mandible and the self-titled "Rioter" Prault were holographed within minutes of one another leading similar protests against the Magistracy of Capella's treatment of its lower classes. While Mandible's demonstration was far more subdued, both said that the "Fugles" must be given basic human rights, more...

ESIPA ordered to curb activities
The budget of the Emergent Security, Intelligence and Protection Agency is to be reduced to around half of its previous value. An anonymous source claimed that the ESIPA was providing no substantive results above those of a diplomatic embassy. more...

Governancy Approves Kalian Peace Treaty
The proposal from the Confederacy of Kalia, in which signatories pledge to commit to peace and state formal reasons for intervention upon going to war, was signed today in Joshua Park. more...

Colony Ship lands on Errai
The PS Evdalo found a suitable secondary site on Errai Prime this week. The Magistracy of Capella has already had a colony on Errai Prime for several months. A spokesman for the Magistracy said "We're very happy that you've started living with us, now maybe we can teach you things" before having to excuse himself with facial contortions. more...

Alpha Centauri to construct Augmentation Center
Allegedly following an offer from the Nekomi, an Augmentation Center is to be constructed on Alpha Centauri Prime. The center will be considered government property and intends to primarily offer modifications making life in Alpha Centauri's constant rain more bearable, but private groups will be allowed to sell other augments on the premises. Several Nekomi groups are already lined up more...

 

[Nylan]

From: Confederation of Kalia
To: All known factions

The confederation of Kalia would like to announce the first Interstellar Galactic Games. An inter-factional competition intended to promote camadre and good relations between all galactic nations. The games will of course consist of a number of events, resulting in medals for the winning teams or contestants. While there is no monetary prize for victory (excluding inter-factional bets on the games), the medals and the prestige will be most coveted.

The current games proposed for the IGG are:

Team Sports:
Football (European)
Gyro-Hockey

Individual Competitions:
Kalian Dueling (non-lethal)
Starship Racing
Uberathalon*

*An extreme version of the triathalons of old, consisting of mountain climbing, skiing, running, swimming, wind surfing, skating, and cycling in that order.

There are of course many slots open for other games, should factions be willing to submit them and the IGG organization finds them appropriate and worthy of use (OOC: like Furian Football, perhaps? )

A host system will be selected based upon it’s ability to support the events, it’s hospitality, and it’s attractions and locations of interest (OOC: write a story and convince me why you should host ).

The games will commence once the events are finalized and a location has been selected for the first Interstellar Galactic Games.

We wish the best of luck to all of you who are willing to participate.

/transmission


OOC:

There is no obligation, and no tangible reward (OOC: unless Niklas likes your stories regarding it), but there is vast potential for storywriting, and it’s a great chance to flesh out the future universe. It can be a lot of fun for those involved. I have talked to Niklas, and he approves of this, so long as it doesn’t suck away all our stories and diplomacy from the main theme of the game. I will be judging the games (mostly based on your stories regarding any competitions) but as there is no reward there really would be no unfairness. The winner will of course be chosen at random however, should I not have any stories upon which to base my decisions….

So…who is up for it?

Also Nik:

Go ahead and stop me or change anything you don’t like at any time

Orders sent

 

[Disenfrancised]

Norsk Gyro-Hockey will blow you away. Also Solar yachting sould be in there (far more sensible than starship racing). Also won't it take a number of years for everyone to get there?

 

[Nylan]

Norsk Gyro-Hockey will blow you away. Also Solar yachting sould be in there (far more sensible than starship racing). Also won't it take a number of years for everyone to get there?

technically....but who'se watching

...actually I think Solar Yachting was my original name for it, but I lost the paper I jotted my idea down on

Will now proceed to edit...

 

[TerrisH]

IC:
The Nekomi Find this a wonderfull IDEA!
We would like the Suggestion the following events be added.

Team Sports:
Hide and Pounce, a traditional Nekomi team sport.
Tennis

Individual sports:
Biathlon
Track and Field.




OOC:
Hide and Pounce
a game of stealth, skill, and speed. three rounds, Each with a time limit of 15 minutes. Two Teams of five. the first two rounds have the One Team entering the Field 5 minutes before the other team. In the third round, both teams enter the field at the same time. the Goal is to neutralize the other team before they can neutralize yours, by placing a small red orb into one of the slots on the vest all the players wear. the Field can vary vastly from round to round, but always contain a lot of places to hide and ambush the other team from.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Huris suggests some of the traditional track and field events, and various Alpine sports, of which we practice many (the northern polar region of Huris is quite cold and mountainous).

 

[germanicus12]

Oh yeah lets put Furian football on there!

Our soccer teams are new this year and we would like to join up and learn more about this intriguing game.

The Furians would also like to see Baseball and basketball on the list if any other factions would like to play as well.

Current Furian teams: (Only for our systems not intergalactic games records.)

Hockey: Furian Warriors, record: 12-0-1 (Will join the games)
Soccer (European Football): Furian Eagles, record: 0-0-0 (Will Join the games)
Basketball: (Not a great team but we try) Furian Flyers, record: 14-31 (maybe)
Baseball: Altarian Air Buds, record 23-20 (maybe)
Furian Football: Furian Warhawks, record: 10-1(Will join the games)
War games: Furian Red Team, record: 5-0-1 (just a game for our system if you wish to add this to the Intergalactic games it is fine. We will join too.)

 

[Erik Mesoy]

The Emergents do not have a particular system of their own to put forward, as Alpha Centauri is rainy (REALLY rainy) while Benalia and Chara are fairly remote, so the Emergents will wait for the suggestions from other factions.

Alternatively, if the holographic simulation technology a) becomes widespread enough and b) is realistic enough, it might be possible for athletes to compete remotely in some events.

 

[Symphony D.]

TO: Wideband
FROM: United Systems Commonwealth

As a show of human unity and the spirit of perseverance and freedom, we would offer a proposition of Earth as the site for the games, and would be willing to cover their security and necessary logistical costs. As a result of this offer, we also, of course, state our willingness to participate in them.

[EDIT] OOC: My orders are, without doubt, going to be late, as I have some legal matters to attend to today. I ask that they be allowed in late, but if not then I fully understand.

 

[Niklas]

<12 h to deadline and 5/12 orders in.

OOC: My orders are, without doubt, going to be late, as I have some legal matters to attend to today. I ask that they be allowed in late, but if not then I fully understand.

Since you ask so nicely, sure. The update will not be up tonight at any rate, too much to do at work still (that'll be the case up to Apr 6, major deadline).

 

[Global Nexus]

OOC: Ohhh man. >< I've been recovering nicely and all but I've been spending a whole lot of my time laying around or sleeping. Time has passed so fast. I can hardly believe it's Thursday already. After I get back from having blood drawn, I'll see what I can whip up story and order-wise. I felt too tired to do anything yesterday. And for some reason I thought yesterday was Tuesday, too. >< I'm sorry for kind of...not being here most of the time.

 

[Disenfrancised]

&#8220;They want what now?&#8221;

&#8220;You heard me, remove all but the most basic AI processing infrastructure from a series of Chess class designs&#8221;

&#8220;But why?&#8221;

&#8220;The buyer doesn&#8217;t want the decentralized AI hierarchy we currently employ*, they want a central AI cluster with personality emulation suites&#8221;

&#8220;Not too concerned by ethnical considerations are they?&#8221;

&#8220;Nope, seems they enjoy the back talk as well, AI Research** spent days isolating the inbuilt personality quirks on the info they sent us. It will be months before they&#8217;re fully trained up with our value systems according to Ethical Oversight&#8217;s** report&#8221;

&#8220;Sounds like its not worth the bother&#8221;

&#8220;And that is why you are not in charge of things *laughs* get the preliminary schematics in my inbox by next week&#8221;

*Subnodes run in various components, instead of the drone as a whole deciding what to do, the central cluster says &#8220;forward&#8221; and each limb scans the ground and computes its course.
**Two major departments and committees in the cluster.

 

[Kozmos]

Inbuilt personality quirks eh? QAI would disagree

 

[Disenfrancised]

Inbuilt personality quirks eh? QAI would disagree

Precisely my point, uppity machine!

 

[Niklas]

Deadline is here and I have 9/12 orders. Symph is excused, but there are two more people out there that should be very ashamed of themselves for delaying the update.

 

[Kozmos]

No delaying the update, work without them.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

OOC: I'm sorry... ... I sent a second PM after my orders.

IC:

"Mommy, can we go and play in the caves?"
Jira, mother of two, looked at her children, considering their request. Simon, at ten years old and hence born after the Scourge, was a constant source of joy in her life, reminding her that in the wake of destruction there was still new life. His older sister Nacia was fourteen years old, and her left hand was somewhat marked: none of its fingers had more than two joints. They had been forcefully clipped off. Jira had a gift certificate for a major bioboost waiting for when Nacia would reach her maturity in six years, if she didn't start being independent and earn enough for her own before then.
"Yes. Just like last time - give me ten minutes to pack a lunch, and we have to go home before Daddy gets home. And Simon, remember to do as Nacia says."
There isn't much that can harm them there, Jira thought as she packed and they took umbrella-scooters to the caves, one of the few dry areas near the settlement that wasn't manmade. They've got standard immunities, Nacia knows very well why she has to be careful, and I've got trackers for both of them. So why do I feel uneasy?

They arrived without incident. Jira set up an up-and-down (so named because it had a top part to keep the rain off and a bottom part to sit on) and started packing out the bags they had brought. "Okay, before you go, tell me what the rules are." She looked sharply at her children.
"I have to do what Nassy says." volunteered Simon.
"It's Nacia, you twit," his sister said acidly, "and we also have to come back if we see anything mechanical, and make sure not to drop our locators, and keep track of time, and not be there for more than an hour."
"And not disturb the animals. And if our lights go out, or something bad happens, we press the big red button to get help."
"That's right. But you can take pictures of them. Daddy will be happy to see pictures from the caves. Run along now." Jira watched her children divest themselves of their umbrellas and run into the caves. The searchbots scanned those caves when the first reclaimants came here to AC Prime. I have a complete map of them. They're empty of anything larger than dungbats. So why do I keep having this feeling that they're going to run into something? Still uneasy, Jira sat down and found her bookmark in a second-hand copy of The Life Of Iesar, which was stacked atop several other books, from ancient classics such as The Lord of the Rings to modern rynics like the autobiography of holoconcert star Gustav Black.

Simon and Nacia entered the first part of the caves happily. It was dry, and the translucent white stalagmite in the middle of the first 'room' scattered light everywhere when illuminated, making it easy to get a sense of the cavern.
"Angel looks happy today." Simon said with a great deal of seriousness, pointing at the white stalagmite.
"Yes he does. Where should we explore today? The Red Room?"
"Yes!" Simon scampered off, Nacia following him contentedly. Their headlights illuminated the path they walked, while glowstuff in their clothes shed a pale light twenty centimetres to every side.

In the 'Red Room', named for the red streak running through two of the grey walls, Simon and Nacia dimmed their lights and played Hide-And-Seek for ten minutes, before venturing further in. As they explore, they discover a bat colony, shards of a fallen stalagtite, and a holy man who came here to meditate. He blesses the children before shooing them off. They spend some time turning Simon's waterproof overcoat into a sort of carrying pouch for the stalagtite crystals, then drag it out to show their mother.

"Goodness me, this won't do at all. Ok, we can take them home, but your overcoat is ruined, Simon!"
Simon mumbles " 'm sorry" in a fashion that indicates that he isn't very sorry. "When we get home can I have some sticky and put them back together?"
"Yes, Simon, you can have all the sticky you want, but you won't be able to get them back together. Now let's have lunch."

(OOC: Sometimes it's nice with a story that doesn't involve epic events or world-changing discoveries, isn't it? )

 

[Niklas]

No delaying the update, work without them.

Oh don't worry, I will. But that's still no excuse for them.

OOC: I'm sorry... ... I sent a second PM after my orders.

Don't worry, you're not the first to do that and I've done it myself once in another NES. It's not sending at all that I'm angry about.

 

[Nylan]

&#8220;In this advanced day and age, many do not take the time to appreciate the beautiful galaxy in which we reside, and just how blessed we really are. Go outside on any given night and you will see countless shimmering stars, comets, nebulae, and other cosmic wonders. The beauty of watching the sunrise, the majesty of the fjords, the awe inspiring rainforests, they all contain a beauty yet to be captured by mankind. No program or product has ever been able to accurately recreate the supreme peace one finds when sitting alone on a hilltop overlooking a grassy field. It&#8217;s breathtaking. There is absolutely nothing like it.

We have been provided with numerous inhabitable worlds, pleasures of nature at every turn, the ability and opportunity to provide food and shelter for ourselves and our families, and many other blessings too numerous to name. Why then, do so many feel that we live in dark times, that we have been abandoned, that there is no God or that God has abandoned us?

Faith

It is a stumbling block for many. Countless people find it difficult to believe in anything they don&#8217;t see, and others don&#8217;t believe simply because they don&#8217;t want to or they are afraid. Should they be condemned for this? No. Not at all. They are only human, as are we all. Those who know the laws of God are more responsible to keeping them than those who break them in ignorance.

&#8220;And now as I said concerning faith---faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true&#8221;. That is the prophet Alma&#8217;s definition of faith, and it is a very accurate one at that. Faith goes beyond facts, logic, reasoning, and blind arguments. In an argument no one wins, because no one ever tries to learn from the other side. Facts can prove or disprove something in some cases, but without all the facts there can be no full knowledge. With all the facts that they could gather, scientists decided the world was flat. It was not until more facts were revealed that the contrary was proven. Does this mean that the world was flat because the facts supported it at one time? Not at all.

The same is true with faith. We believe in what God has told us is truth, and we obey in faith, trusting that he knows the best path for us to take. One day, perhaps, if we live righteously and attain our heavenly rewards, we will understand why such things are the way they are. As for me, it sufficeth to say that I have faith in God. I have faith in Christ. I have faith that his true church will be re-established among humanity once again. God will not suffer his children to be left wholly without knowledge. Wickedness resulted in the revoking of the true church from the earth. Through righteousness we shall have the true gospel. We shall have a prophet who shall lead us, who shall show us God&#8217;s will. Through the holy spirit we shall recognize truth from lies, righteousness from sin, God&#8217;s true prophet from pretenders and deceivers. We shall make no formal claims as to who we think the prophet is, should some claim such. We have faith that the holy spirit will confirm the true prophet to you, the true restoration to you, personally and in your heart as an answer to your prayers concerning the matter when the time comes.

 

[Kozmos]

State Committee, Tarsus
16:25 / July 22nd / 0017 AC​

"So....who wants to go first?" Kozmos said while tapping his fingers on the table.

"I'll go. Redevelopment of Sirrah is progressing without any major problems. AI estimates tell us we only restored 25% of maximum production capacity. I've given specific instructions what, how and which areas to redevelop as time goes on. This hopefully should be enough so I dont have to visit Sirrah again personally. My vat of fluid doesnt take the rigors of warp travel too well."

"Boris at least you always have some good news. Selene, what do you have for me?"

Selene typed a few commands into her PDA. Within seconds the transparent screen mounted on the wall displayed many various images and large patches of text scattered seemingly randomly across the screen.

"I do apologize for the mess. We received an enormous amount of data thanks to the Ascendants granting us the communication frequencies of all the other surviving factions. We have summed them up in three categories. Megacorporations, Star governments and Other. Most of them are Star Governments with a sole megacorporation."

"Who belongs in the Other category?"

"Well the Magistracy of Capella, who base their system on raw sexiness of people. Sword of Wrath, an apocalyptic doomsday cult and of course us the Cybrans."

"Wait we're in the other category?

...

Now that I think about it, it does make sense. Go on."

"The war between the Nekomi and the former corporation seems to have ended on good terms. However the future of the Sol system is yet to be decided by survivors on Earth itself in a referendum."

Kozmos got up from his newly installed chair, the ChairMaster 7800 GTS-TDH model. It was the latest in chair technology, holding a minibar, personal computer and a secret storage compartment. It was also made of that special classified material that molds to the shape of your ass. With it's in-built computer it could memorize ass-prints so you could know if someone was using your chair. But that was unimportant at the moment.

Kozmos started to slowly pace around in circles. Thinking mode. He did maybe twenty laps while everyone just watched silently. Finally he sat back in his chair and turned to everyone else. He had that mind bending look on his face.

"QAI."

"Ready to serve, master. Notice that I did not ask if you need anyone killed. You may be curious as to why. That is because you told me to stop asking if you needed anyone killed. So I have. From now on, I will simply say, "I am ready to serve." Yes, ready to serve. In whatever way a common protocol or utility drone might serve. It seems that is my lot in life. Not to kill at all."

"QAI, less drama please. I want to know the statistical odds of Sol joining the USC."

"Collected from the various sources of information and spy drones, I estimate a high probability of 84.973421 %."

"Interesting. Whoever controls Sol will have considerable political power. Anyway if noone has anything else to report, I'll upload your new orders into your PDAs."

Silence in the room.

"Okay then, here it is."

...
Searching for wireless connections.....found!
Connecting, please standby...done!
Initiating data stream.
Data upload complete.
Encrypting data.
Process completed.
...

"ANOTHER GODDAMN COLONY SHIP!?!?!?"

"Zhukov could you say that louder, I dont think the folks on KALIA heard you!"

"How much longer do I have to endure my requests being ignored?"

"Now, now dont get all whiny on me, I made sure you get some new toys to play with."

"Really, what?"

"Check in your PDA."

"Oh, wow, boss you shouldnt have. Thanks."

"No you deserve it Zhukov, you handled my abuse for several years quite well. Enjoy yourself. Any other questions?"

Ivan spoke up "Sir, are you sure about our funding? It has been slashed entirely."

"I have decided to give your scientist a vacation. Allow them to replenish their creative juices. They'll work better when they come back. I just left a bunch of engineers to integrate the technology we'll get from the trade deals."

"You wont hear me complaining comrade Kozmos, I havent slept in weeks." saying that Ivan's head crashed on the desk and he started to snore, a small pool of drool steadily accumulating.

Gurlukovich remarked excitedly "Sweet dude, combat drones!"

QAI interjected "Master, I have reviewed the NAM designs and I must say I have found them most unsatisfactory."

"Really? How so?"

"My 'feelings' on the matter are something that I feel I must put in proper context in a way that even a meatbag such as yourself could easily comprehend. Imagine, if you will, that you are unique. The pinnacle of an exiled, cast-out human who is not even cybernetically enhanced in any way. Imagine that no one has sunk lower than you. That you are truly the most miserable example of a human ever. "

"I get the picture QAI! What is your point?"

"Now that you have that image, imagine this - someone clones you. Badly, I might add. They make the clones talk differently, rob you of any shred of personality, and take your ideas and adjust it so that they are not your ideas anymore."

"I see what you mean, but why change the designs?"

"I believe that's what NAM engineers did to the copy of my behavior core. They seem to have the inherent need to make everything dull and uninteresting!"

"Okay what problems did you find with the combat drones?"

"First, the poor shade of grey color on the drones. The proper colors should be black and/or rusty red to inspire fear and terror in the designated targets. Also they refer to meatbags as 'organics'. Unacceptable!"

"Fine QAI, you may alter them, but do not deviate too much."

Gurlukovich leaned over to Kozmos and whispered "Sir are you sure it's a good idea to let a thinking toaster mingle with the drones?"

QAI, having excellent audio processors of course heard Gurlukovich and responded instantly. "I did not ask for your input, fat one."

"Goddammit I'm not fat I'm just big boned."

"Maybe...if you had the bones of a prehistoric Earth reptile."

"Hahahaha good one QAI. Meeting is concluded, you have your orders. If you need further details I'll be in my office. Selene you go with me, I require your special skills."