Difference between revisions of "The Eternal Dawn"

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=History=
+
=Rebirth=
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Alshain's refugees fled to More to create their own society there. However, drastic differences in beliefs and sociology meant that integration with the managed society of More would be unlikely at best and violent at worst. Instead, they put their lot in with the growing "war faction" between Delten and More, offering their services, experience fighting bloody urban battles, and transgenic R&D capability for the cause.
 
  
−
And most importantly, they offered their arkship.
+
Rebirth is a hot, humid world heavily covered in thick black jungle. Temperatures average ~40 C about the equator and humidity is often above 80-90%. Despite being lush and life-bearing, it has relatively low oxygen content compared to Earth, a near-nonexistent ozone layer, a somewhat toxic atmosphere, and is generally hostile to human or terrestrial life.
  
−
==Gimlet and the Invasion==
+
==Nature Red In Tooth And Claw==
−
The colony of Gimlet had been created from a "failed" Longshot, a colony eking out a small safe zone in the middle of a hell-forest, where the predators and biotoxins were no less dangerous than the environments of many hell worlds. In fact, many would have said more dangerous, since radiation is predictable, but a tiger-sized octopod with serrated poison blades, 360 degree multispectral vision, and multiple redundant organs isn't, not in attacking, in territory, or in even ''dying'' when shot repeatedly. Even with advanced technology, battlesuits, and armored vehicles casualties were not unexpected as they tried clearing the brush. On the other hand, it created a very hardened group of colonists.
+
Rebirth has near-zero UV protection and its weak magnetosphere and high concentration of radioactives exposes it to all sorts of constant radiation bombardment. Evolution has been supercharged, animals living, breeding, and dying quickly to avoid inordinate genetic damage. The arms race has created deadly predators and even deadlier herbivores, capable of eating toxic, spined plants.
  
−
It was rather insufficient when the attacking force screamed through their meager ground-to-orbit defenses, depositing flash-cloned soldiers trained by accelerated VR and mind-imprint, as well as hardened veterans of the Adharan Schism onto major population centers. Despite that, the Gimlet colonists, used to a hard life and a bloody conflict, fought back quite well, but they were outmatched, technologically as well as training-wise. The survivors were forcibly assimilated, enhanced and loyalty-boosted to serve under their new overlords. However, the invaders were not precisely cruel-those who were loyalty-boosted were allowed to become fully serving citizens in the new world order, the Undying Dawn.
+
==Boost==
 +
One of the interesting evolutionary tracks of Rebirth fauna is that their adrenaline-equivalent is a powerful oxidant, redlining a creature's metabolism and giving them virtually unlimited endurance during high-stress situations-high enough that often massive organ damage can result from using this chemical, 'boost', for too long. Rebirth animals are often languid in normal movement, lazing around to dump heat and store up boost by metabolizing the thin oxygen of the world, but blurs of motion when threatened or in pursuit.
  
−
The then-Adharans found themselves in control of a world that fitted their ideological preferences-a world where to be king, every man had to be grossly superhuman. The predators there were fast, tough, cunning, often worked in packs, and devastating. The atmosphere was poison, the water tainted. It lacked an ozone layer. It might have been more beautiful than Adhara, but the planet still had plenty of teeth.
+
A common predator tactic is to harry a large herbivore in packs, each animal cooling down as it reaches the limits of its endurance, but the pack itself constantly harassing. Either the herbivore tires out and bleeds out, or it cooks itself.
  
−
And that was exactly how the invaders liked it. A planet that would challenge them, test their bodies to the limit, force them to build better ones.
+
This biochemical adaptation has seen actual use in several Eternal Dawn combatant designs.
  
−
==The Eternal Dawn==
+
=Dawn Society=
−
The sect chose a new name instead of "Omaran", a name that would hopefully reflect their devotion to the path of continual cybernetic enhancement. Their inspiration came from the vessel that was supposed to be Adhara's first outward light, its salvation during the Breakdown. They would have their salvation-one day.
+
Gimlet was originally colonized by an eclectic mix of civilians, many of them wealthy and transgenic. With plenty of funds and government backing, they ended up as one of the longshot colonies, choosing one of the more promising worlds, a faraway planet which showed signs of life and a healthy biosphere. Unfortunately, the planet was a seductive hellhole, hot, radioactive, and poisonous. Despite this, the colony's wealth and position made it a common stopping point for rim exploration and kept it in contact with the human sphere at large, something many colonies that far away from Earth failed to manage. The colony survived a few decades without incident, but eventually one of Rebirth's protozoans jumped the species barrier to humans, leading to a horrific plague that required external help.
  
−
The ''Eternal Dawn'' was born on the planet, which they rapidly renamed ''Rebirth''. The Dawnies ventured out into the forests, sometimes to hunt, other times to be hunted. They built and expanded, landing the ''New Dawn'' on the planet, allowing the vessel to grow into its new capital city.
+
Alshain had been a nexus of exhuman and biomodification until the exhuman insurgency used it as one of its main bases and it was invaded by the PLA. Its fleeing citizenry was intrigued by the odd biochemistry of Rebirth, and its skilled bioengineers were tasked to enact a cure, with the promise of riches and the planet itself as an experimental lab for more techniques to improve the exhuman condition. They worked hard, tirelessly, through failing quarantines and martial law, isolating the protozoan and finding a cure.
  
−
==Rebirth==
+
But the damage had been done. No longer was Gimlet a rich trading hub. Now it was impoverished by the fleeing rich and the funds spent on finding a cure to an elusive, deadly disease. Traders had left it, found alternative hubs. Many who once lived there were dead. Only the Alshain refugees and workers, with their hyper-advanced immune systems, had been left mostly unscathed. Those who still lived of the original Gimlet families were often the poor or now-broke, embittered by the abandonment of their jewel by its peers. Renaming the planet Rebirth, the refugees took to building Alshain-in-Exile, a exhumanist hub and survivalist haven. Assimilating Alshain survivalist exhumanism into its ideology, they would strive to conquer the harshest worlds, live anywhere in the galaxy, become men like gods.
  
−
The fauna on Rebirth is unlikely to be naturally occurring-many of its adaptations are exceedingly complex, and most of the animals lack legacy code that would imply natural evolution. Even though the higher radiation levels from the sun and the lack of an ozone layer and weaker magnetic field make the radiation levels higher and evolution quicker, it's doubtful that something as hostile like this could be natural. It might have been precursors, or an unknown xenosophont, or something altogether more obscure, but most have accepted that Rebirth's fauna is engineered.
+
It would be an eternal dawn of human dominance of the galaxy, humanity spreading to every corner of the galaxy and beyond.
  
−
Occasionally, a very few scientists are allowed temporary passports to study the fauna and flora of Rebirth. This, outside of a small trickle of exhumans, is the primary reason anyone travels to Rebirth.
+
==The Politics Market==
 +
In the 21st century, it was theorized that a market could be programmed via inputs to solve difficult problems. In theory, a market capable of constant optimization of goods and services would be capable of hypercomputation, with literally infinite processing power. This, of course, never came true. But yet, the idea of using the market as a parallel-processing system, with human computation nodes, lived on. To cure the plague, everything had to be repurposed to find a cure. With moderate libertarian leanings, Gimlet had a healthy free-market economy at that point. The Alshain computational experts were quick to disassemble it and rebuild it into another computer system, one that still lives on today.
  
−
Rebirth itself is a dense, tidally locked world, with a gravity of 1.22 Gs and a hostile, poisonous atmosphere. Combined with the weaker magnetic field, radiation resistance is a must for long-term habitation, which nevertheless has its rewards, as Rebirth itself is exceedingly rich in many resources (although not, sadly, in Delta Dust), especially (and primarily) heavy metals. The majority of its radiation is received in the IR spectrum, and so Rebirth gets little light, what does appear being dim red illumination.
+
The Politics Market is Rebirth's own sleeping god, a powerful (if slow) programmed-market computer that is guided through constant transaction between people. The Dawn have no leaders, no masters, just the dictates and results of the distributed-computational element that is their market system. It is part economic manager, part societal manager. Its whispers have provided the citizens of Rebirth reasonable wealth despite their isolation, incredible industrial might, and common happiness. To enhance its ability to enact domestic policy, Rebirth is a panopticon state with no right to privacy.
 +
 
 +
Although not actually capable of hypercomputation (and not immune to human error in either interpretation or input), the guidance of the politics market has brought Rebirth recovery from devastating plague and a growing, happy population.
 +
 
 +
===Market Regulation===
 +
Because regulation of the politics market itself would create potential distortions that would reduce its effectiveness, Rebirth runs on a fully lassez-faire economy with near-zero regulation on outputs and market processes, only on input (and interventions to fix market failure states). It does, however, run a social safety net, funded via an independent "shadow economy"-essentially a command economy. This societal safety net provides free education, utilities, food, and basic shelter-basic public services-that any citizen of the Dawn is guaranteed to be given access to, as even if they produce nothing of value economically, they are still a processing node in the Politics Market.
 +
 
 +
Basic housing is communal, generally space-efficient barracks with shared hygiene facilities. Basic food is often vegetarian in nature (as the Dawn have transgenically adapted themselves and several staple foods to the local environment, they do not use food factories but rather still maintain an agricultural sector), and utilities include education in any field of study up to any level of expertise, power, data access, water, and medical care up to and including fairly significant elective augmentation and neural reprofiling-something no other universal health care programs offer.
 +
 
 +
That is to say that the Dawn make it possible for anyone to achieve their wishes, almost regardless of ability. There have been immigrants from ZOCU or the Core who have sought out Rebirth as their final chance to achieve the dreams they wished for. They often find out that no matter what you wish for, it never comes out the way you imagine it to. The vast majority can accept that, but a handful leave, going back home with their surgical and psychological modifications, shattered dreams, and a black mark on their record.
 +
 
 +
==Rejecter Enclaves==
 +
Approximately 35% of the Dawn are not large-scale participants in the politics market. These are disproportionately exhuman immigrants, who are allowed autonomy and their own local governance as long as they abide by a fairly short set of policies which amount to noninterference and cooperation in Eternal Dawn affairs, and acceptance of the panopticon monitoring that is common to the Dawn. Often, these enclaves are used as experimental controls for sociological experiments, as they range from cults of personality to autocratic dictatorships to democracies to libertarian freeholds that simply reject the idea of using the market as a computer.
 +
 
 +
One of them is an autocratic, militaristic, survival-state. It is the professional Dawn military.
 +
 
 +
=The Dawn Military=
 +
''Ad Finem Temporis, Fidelis Tamquam Post Mortem-"To the ends of time, loyal even after death" (Official motto of the Eternal Dawn Military Service)<br>
 +
''"No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy."'' (Unofficial motto of the Eternal Dawn Military Service)
 +
 
 +
The Eternal Dawn military is not part of the politics market due to potential conflicts of interest. As an effective military requires top-down organization and loyalty in its personnel, but this same top-down organization and personal loyalty means that it could easily create market failure situations, its soldiers are withdrawn from the politics market for the duration of their service. They no longer are allowed to interact with the market and are provided amenities by the military itself, running off of the same command economy that provides utilities.
 +
 
 +
Voluntary militia are not, and although the professional military has more advanced equipment, better augmentation, and more glamorous jobs, many of the Dawn's citizens prefer serving public service in the voluntary militia. Their existence (and the militias/military forces of other enclaves) is a counterbalance to the Dawn military in the event of insurrection. However, the indoctrination of the Dawn military and the loyalty of its citizens to the Eternal Dawn as a whole (not just the military) is the first line of defense against such a problem.
 +
 
 +
The Dawn military's founders were predominantly of the minority exhuman religion of (X), exhorting Upgrade as a method of achieving divinity and avoiding the sins of flesh, and although the military itself is a mostly secular organization the trappings have never faded from existence. Even so, the military is disproportionately religious, with 40% claiming (X) as their religion and another 34% claiming another religion.
 +
 
 +
==Language==
 +
The ''lingua fraca'' of the Dawn military (and of other Magnate forces) is officially called Combat-Specialized Planned Language, CSPL. This is shortened to ComLang by most forces familiar with Solomonic practices. ComLang is a very simplistic language, based on a few dozen unambiguous, short sounds, sometimes paired with gestures, that can be strung together to allow for quick and precise battlefield communication. ComLang is atonal to minimize ambiguity and is completely insufficient for anything other than combat tasks, although some particularly ''avant-garde'' artists have attempted to do things such as write poetry or even a novel in ComLang. So far, none of these movements have met with any sort of popular success or recognition.
 +
 
 +
Grammatically, ComLang uses single-word sentences, with one word representing a single statement of fact or orders. For example, two words in ComLang would translate to "Contact, enemy infantry 50 degrees to your left side, approximately twenty. Close in and assault." A pair of sentences which would take several seconds to speak takes less than one. Psychological researchers from Magnate states have also posited that the guttural, alien structure of CSPL are a great psychological aid, and the difficulty of learning an entirely new language with an alien grammatical structure compared to all non-engineered languages has been an additional tactical benefit.
 +
 
 +
There is no such thing as written CSPL, as anything that requires writing is generally too complex to express in this simplified, pared-down protolanguage. In fact, many Core Linguists refuse to classify CSPL as a language ''at all''.
 +
 
 +
==Infantry==
 +
Relatively prestigious and numerous, the infantry are the core of the Eternal Dawn's fighting force. With cutting-edge bioaugmentation and elective cybernetic enhancement, the Dawn's infantry are trained to fight in any environment with any tools. Originally trained with lessons learned from being the insurgency fighting a much-better-resourced foe, they have shown a surprising amount of counter-insurgency skill, and even during the closing year of the Magnate War, many of the Dawn's remaining light infantry went to ground and became surprisingly adept guerillas.
 +
 
 +
==Armor==
 +
 
 +
==Aerospace==
 +
Dawn aerospace specializes in close support and strike operations, with competent but uninspired training in air-superiority (they leave that to other Magnates). Their aerospace craft tend to reflect this, heavily armored flying tanks with angled armor that provides both some degree of stealth, but is primarily intended to deflect enemy fire.
 +
 
 +
==Unconventional Warfare==
 +
===Civil Affairs===
 +
Civil Affairs includes combat engineers, interpreters, military police, medical personnel, and infrastructural management staff, and are the softer side of the Dawn unconventional warfare duo. Nonexistent until the Magnate War, their job was to administer, along with the other Magnates, conquered worlds, minimizing resentment by bringing infrastructure back on, treating the sick and wounded, and other positive incentives. They also administer the economy-in-miniature that supplies the Dawn military with the goods and services it needs, and what little interaction it has with the politics market.
 +
 
 +
===Special Forces===
 +
Eternal Dawn Special Forces were near-nonexistent until the windup to the Magnate War, where Alshain refugees with insurgency experience and exhuman insurgents were requested to form the initial training cadre. This perspective, gained from being the terrorists and insurgents fighting an organized military force, has limited Dawn Unconventional Warfare units in terms of counterterrorism and rapport-building, but they are excellent terror units, with scads of institutional experience in committing assassinations, kidnappings, hostage-taking, and other dirty wet works. As Hyperborean unconventional warfare units were better at missions that required a "softer touch", the Dawn's own covert warfare units found themselves building a somewhat exaggerated reputation for brutality and cruelty, as their highest-profile missions were reprisal operations or battlefield assassination.
  
 
=History Paths=
 
=History Paths=
−
:Hell World-Radical Morph. Change-100 CIP, 100 PIP, RMC
+
:Hell World-Radical Morph. Change-100 CIP, 100 PIP, RMC [+5 Transgene]
 
:Limited Precursor Relics-150 Dust, +5 SP  
 
:Limited Precursor Relics-150 Dust, +5 SP  
 
:Limited Feral Drones (terrestrial)-30 Pop, 50W, 100 PIP  
 
:Limited Feral Drones (terrestrial)-30 Pop, 50W, 100 PIP  
−
:Observation Posts-100 CIP, 10 SP  
+
:Observation Posts-100 CIP, 10 SP [+2 FTL]
 
:Hub World (for Exhumans)-60 Pop  
 
:Hub World (for Exhumans)-60 Pop  
 
:Longshot-2500 military, 100 PIP, 100 CIP, 20 SP) +5 spending limit on SP
 
:Longshot-2500 military, 100 PIP, 100 CIP, 20 SP) +5 spending limit on SP
 
:Inner Rim-30 Pop, 150 PIP, 50 CIP, 100 Fabs, 25 SP, 20 TG
 
:Inner Rim-30 Pop, 150 PIP, 50 CIP, 100 Fabs, 25 SP, 20 TG
−
:New Freedoms-20 TG
+
:New Freedoms-20 TG [+4 Transgene]
 
:Pod People-180 Pop, 300 W, 100 CIP
 
:Pod People-180 Pop, 300 W, 100 CIP
 
:Seperatists-2500 Mil
 
:Seperatists-2500 Mil
Line 117: Line 164:
 
:Go Weird-40 TG, 100 CIP, 4 Logistics, 10,000 Military
 
:Go Weird-40 TG, 100 CIP, 4 Logistics, 10,000 Military
 
:I'm A Magnate-100 CIP, 15000 Mil, 20 SP
 
:I'm A Magnate-100 CIP, 15000 Mil, 20 SP
−
:Exhumanize-100 CIP, 50 Transgene, 300 Supersoldier
+
:Exhumanize-100 CIP, 50 Transgene, 300 Supersoldier [+5 Transgene, +5 Xenotech]
−
:Series VII Replicants-+2 Ground Apps, +2 Ground Doctrines, 100 Supersoldier
+
:Series VII Replicants-+2 Ground Apps, +2 Ground Doctrines, 100 Supersoldier [+3 Ground, +3 Transgene]
 
:Future Government-20 TG, +2 Morale
 
:Future Government-20 TG, +2 Morale
−
:Development Hell-+2 Global TL, -100 Apps
+
:Found Religion-+1 Morale, -100 Wealth
 
:Communism!-100 PIP, -100 Wealth
 
:Communism!-100 PIP, -100 Wealth
  
 
:+3 Physical: 1.6x Population PIP
 
:+3 Physical: 1.6x Population PIP
−
:+3 Reactions: 1.6x Population CIP
+
:+2 Reactions: 1.4x Population CIP
 
:+2 Intellect: 1.2x Population Wealth, -10% R&D Costs
 
:+2 Intellect: 1.2x Population Wealth, -10% R&D Costs
−
 
+
:+1 Soc: +1 DAP, +1 Support, 1.2x Trade Income
−
==SP Totals==
 
−
80 SP Available:
 
−
:20 SP: 200 PIP
 
−
:20 SP: 50 Transgene
 
−
:15 SP: 150 Applications
 
−
:20 SP: 100 Population
 
−
:3 SP: +tech indices (+2 transgene, +2 railgun, +2 materials)
 
−
:2 SP: 3 Doctrine Points
 
  
 
==Totals==
 
==Totals==
−
:750 + 320 (1070) CIP
+
'''Final Stats'''
−
:850 + 320 (1170) PIP
+
:SP: 96
−
:100 Fabricators
+
:SP Limit: 26
−
:450 + 240 (690) Wealth
+
:Population: 550 Base bonus: 275
−
:400 Population
+
:Trangene: 240
−
:150 Dust
+
:Morale: 14
−
:32,500 Military
+
:Wealth: 400 + 330
−
:220 Transgene + Radical Morphological Change
+
:PIP: 850 + 440
−
:400 Supersoldier
+
:CIP: 750 + 385
−
:+4 Logistics
+
:Fabbers: 100
−
:+2 Ground Doctrines
+
:Delta Dust: 0
−
:+2 Ground Applications
+
:Theta Dust: 0
−
:50 Applications
+
:Military: 32500
−
:+2 Global Technology Level
+
:Doctrines: 29
−
:+3 Morale
+
:Logistics: 60
 +
:Global Tech Level: 16
 +
:Applications: 400
 +
:Stockpiles: 0
 +
:Debt: 0
 +
 +
 +
'''SP Expenditures'''
 +
:Additional Limit: 1
 +
:Wealth: 0
 +
:PIP: 25
 +
:CIP: 0
 +
:Dust: 0
 +
:Theta: 0
 +
:Pop: 26
 +
:Mil: 0
 +
:Tech Indices: 0
 +
:Apps: 10
 +
:Transgene: 24
 +
:Doctrine: 10
 +
:Logistics: 0
  
−
==Technical Advancement==
+
'''Tech Indices'''
−
'''General Tech Level''': 18
+
:Shipbuilding: 16
−
: Railguns +4 (22)
+
:Parasite Construction: 45
−
: Materials +4 (22)
+
:Carrier Construction: 16
−
: Transgenics +34 (52)
+
:Aviation Warship Construction: 16
−
: Ground +7 (25)
+
:Aerospace Construction: 16
−
: Xenotech +14 (32)
+
:Mecha Construction: 16
−
: Collarize +14 (32)
+
:Ground Construction: 23
 +
:Projectiles: 16
 +
:Lasers: 25
 +
:Railguns: 20
 +
:Particle Weapons: 16
 +
:Mega Particle Weapons: 16
 +
:Missiles: 16
 +
:Propulsion: 16
 +
:Power: 18
 +
:Materials: 16
 +
:Shields: 16
 +
:Electronics: 16
 +
:Stealth: 16
 +
:Transgenics: 42
 +
:Mass Production: 20
 +
:Civilian Technologies: 16
 +
:Xenotechnology: 35
 +
:Basic Theotechnology: 16
 +
:Advanced Theotechnology: 16
 +
:Floating Points: 0
  
 
=Sociology=
 
=Sociology=
 
[[Eternal Dawn Slang]]
 
[[Eternal Dawn Slang]]
  
−
==Government and Economics==
+
==Land of Dreams==
−
The Eternal Dawn are a mixed mode-economy theocratic republic with socialistic leanings. The Dawn are led by a council of 36 men and women calling themselves Demiurges.
+
The idea of transhumanism to both enhance strengths and shore up weaknesses have made the Eternal Dawn a civilization which has dedicated itself to not only constant self-improvement, but also to allow its people to reach its dreams. A significant part of their ideology dedicates itself to the idea that people should not settle for what they're born into, but should only settle for achieving their dreams.
−
 
 
−
Demiurges are selected by a series of mental trials as well as popular support-the former is intended to show that they are qualified to rule, and the latter shows that their philosophies and ideals are supported by the masses. Although not perfect, the method of election used is adequate enough to secure competent and popular leadership, and the further required cognition augmentation of Demiurges ensures that they can avoid some of the pitfalls common to other governments. For the Dawn, the challenge is ensuring that their positively archaic-seeming republic works on the level of the Magnate social experiments.
 
−
 
 
−
As the Dawn is an augmented republic, there are political parties. The most important pair are the Highers and Advancers, who are primarily differentiated by their beliefs in augmentation aesthetics.
 
−
 
 
−
===Panopticon===
 
−
The Eternal Dawn have everyone willingly hooked up to a constant data network, which records their movements, transactions, and more or less all security-relevant data. This renders non white-collar crime near-nonexistent in the Dawn, as well as rendering its facilities and civilian populace highly secure. Despite popular culture images of the Magnates being dim gray dystopias, Rebirth is on the surface no less lively than any other world.
 
−
 
 
−
As far as Magnate experiments go, the Dawn's one alteration from most space is the near total lack of privacy, taking the panopticon somewhat further and making it impossible to opt out.
 
  
−
===Economy===
+
The government of the Eternal Dawn agrees, and subsidizes just about any reasonable improvement or training (up to and including enhancement) necessary for someone to achieve their dreams. Although it means a lack of liquid wealth, the job satisfaction-and mass popular support-are both boons to the government and its citizenry, who have record job satisfaction ratings.  
−
The Eternal Dawn use a controlled market economy as is semi-standard across many Sphere worlds, providing all citizens with the basics for living (food, water, education, and living space) and rations for limited amounts of items such as entertainment. In theory, it is possible to live without working a single day in one's lifetime, but heavy socialization and indoctrination against this prevent significant amounts of malingerers.
 
  
−
Money in the Dawn can be earned by most jobs and used to purchase amenities such as entertainment, living quarters larger and more lavish than the government-guaranteed barracks, decorations, and so forth. The government pays and employs polity-critical employees, however- employees in manufacturing, education, research, and military service are all Dawn-backed and government-employed. Dawn mercenary units are merely units which have command approval to work for causes the government deems acceptable in exchange for renumeration.
+
==Religion==
 +
The Dawn are a melting pot of extreme exhumanist variants of various Earth religions, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism, as well as a handful of secular exhumans similarly dedicated to extensive self improvement. By far, most of the Dawn are religious, with less than 5% of the society being secular, although not all are fanatically or significantly religious. Interestingly, the extreme pro-trahsuman sects of various religions were originally some of the most liberalized, but their involuntary exile have caused a rather significant backlash and the warning signs of religious extremism.
  
 
==Style and Architecture==
 
==Style and Architecture==
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There are sufficient amounts of both parties in control of the interpretation of the holy texts that both paths have been considered acceptable-as long as one continually modifies oneself on the road to improvement, instead of staying back and accepting stagnation, any means were necessary. Eternal Dawn cities are extremely cosmopolitan, almost as if they were out of a space opera, as the alien-looking exhumans who wholeheartedly embrace the cult of augmentation mix and mingle with the majority, who eschew significant enhancement for a slow process of optimization and convenience-based implants, whether biotech or nanotech or cybernetic.
 
There are sufficient amounts of both parties in control of the interpretation of the holy texts that both paths have been considered acceptable-as long as one continually modifies oneself on the road to improvement, instead of staying back and accepting stagnation, any means were necessary. Eternal Dawn cities are extremely cosmopolitan, almost as if they were out of a space opera, as the alien-looking exhumans who wholeheartedly embrace the cult of augmentation mix and mingle with the majority, who eschew significant enhancement for a slow process of optimization and convenience-based implants, whether biotech or nanotech or cybernetic.
  
−
The doctrine of the main Imminent Eschaton is built around the gradual but extensive improvement of the inward body and the outward human appearance remaining-those who seek it understand that man (and the exhuman) were built in the image of the Pancreator, the godlike artificial construct that has masqueraded as every god from history, a machine that would not be limited by the arrow of time. Those who believe that the time is coming for it to be built and for them to take their place as its host are those who augment themselves minimally externally, so that they will still be in its image when it is created.
+
The shared doctrine of every Dawn religion is built around the continuous improvement of the self. Doctrinal differences and (comparative) conservatism or full exhuman tendencies tend to alter the method which people seek this self-improvement by, but nevertheless the improvements are sought, and the slow process of Upgrade continues as minor improvements stack up generation by generation, and the older generations upgrade themselves in turn to keep up with the younger ones.
−
 
 
−
The others believe that the "image" they use is not literal-but metaphorical. Man was built in the image of the Pancreator, a machine which could improve itself, which could learn to manipulate the environment, and eventually its own physicality. The Pancreator can take any shape, can survive anywhere, can do anything-to emulate its image, and to truly create it, one must abandon their previous notions of beauty when it is detrimental to further augmentation.
 
−
 
 
−
These two sects, the Highers and Advancers, are the primary political discourse in Eternal Dawn religious theory, but they get along well enough-although both sides have general disagreements their combined goal has kept them together, and so has the similarity of belief in all areas but this specific one. Both sides may think the other is mistaken, but for both sides the ability to choose without fear of making a mistake are critical. The other side will learn that their ways are a mistake in time.
 
  
 
=Biology and Biotech=
 
=Biology and Biotech=
−
The Eternal Dawn does a healthy black-market trade in biotech, as Dawn-built machinery is often absolute bleeding-edge in this category if nowhere else.
+
The "Zenith" template originated with the Dawn and is found on Rebirth near-exclusively, although there are a handful of radical transhumanists who have had children modified by the Dawn to the level of the Zenith.
−
 
 
−
==Eternal Dawn Transgenics==
 
−
"Some of the human race criticize us for going too far in our modifications. To them, I say that the difference is not that we have gone so far, but that they have stayed behind. Either they refuse to push their bodies to what science can give them, or they use their technologies to reinforce social structures created by the failings of baseline humanity. And eventually, they, too, will learn that the path of the faithful waits for no-one."<br>
 
−
-Eternal Dawn Prelate Phillip Masse.
 
  
−
All of the Dawn are born in the same way, thanks to the work of the Highers who have historically held a significant majority on those freethinkers' councils relating to birth. The Advancers accept this, seeing as it is perfectly possible to replace flesh and nanotech with advanced cybernetic equipment and synthetic organs if one so chooses.
+
==Transgenics==
 +
The original designers of the Zenith template were radical transhumanists, styling themselves after Prometheus. It would not be enough to develop a transgenic template like the 'common' types. It would have to be adaptable, powerful, and capable of surviving in the world of Rebirth. What it manages to do to the human form is incredible, but the cost is that very little of it remains human DNA.
  
−
A member of the Eternal Dawn is structured entirely differently from a human except on the outside. His organs are extensively reconstructed for increased trauma tolerance, his musculature lacks the distinction between fast and slow-twitch fibers, every muscle fiber being equally good at tasks which need explosive power and tasks which need extensive endurance, and many of his organs are rearranged or nonexistent. The liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and other glands have been modified into a soup of advanced cells that do the same tasks but provide significantly greater resistance to damage, and their bones have been reinforced via carbon-fiber weave and organically deposited amorphous diamond. Their senses are boosted, with eyes that can see in the infrared and ears sensitive to infra- and ultrasound.
+
Less related to humanity than most primates, Zenith transgenics suffer from extreme disadvantages compared to other transgenes. Many medicines and drugs, formulated for human or near-human physiologies, simply refuse to work on them. They often suffer from exotic cancers which take time and effort to root out, and thus require regular checkups from specialist medical experts every few decades. They have markedly reduced fertility and a significant percentage of Zeniths are utterly sterile. Outside of the Magnates, the expertise required for maintaining and repairing Zenith biology is difficult to come by at the best of times. In powers such as the League, with essentially no friendly channels towards the Magnates, the expertise is nonexistent. Even though the genome is available via many sources, only one of which is the Dawn itself, to piece it together with human or standard transgenic DNA (i.e. to have Zenith children from non-Zenith parents) requires precision bioengineering technology that is rarely standard in a hospital exowomb.
  
−
The greatest modifications are to their minds and their skin though. The skin modifications are common to both the Dawn and Adharans-poreless polymer skin, almost rain-slick in appearance even if colored as human flesh, tough as body armor, colonized by extensive amounts of "wet" nanomachinery for self-repair. Originally an adaptation to the storms of Adhara, this adaptation has found itself perfectly useful against the creatures of Rebirth's forests. The mental modifications are however, most interesting. Dawn Transgenics think faster than humans and have significantly better multitasking support-they can look at a problem from several different angles at once, hold two contradictory points of view simultaneously, and do not have many of the cognitive biases found in the human mind that make it vulnerable to illusions and certain camouflage techniques. This multitasking, plus the removal of the cognitive biases (resulting in a sort of "controlled autism" with few of the side effects) combine with enhanced senses to make them excellent soldiers without peer, and they are still as intelligent as many of the intellect upgrade patterns found in the Sphere.
+
Why would anyone become a Zenith? The answer is fairly simple. Outside of Kanonian nobles or dedicated supersoldiers with significant post-natal biomodification, the Zenith All-Purpose-Upgrade is the most powerful general-purpose transgenic upgrade suite in the human Sphere. Its hyperdense skeleton, threaded with pseudoaramid fibers, provides significant protection against threats from the incredibly strong blows of apex predators to high-velocity projectile fire. The skeletal durability also allows attachment of extremely high-strength musculature, giving Zeniths incredible strength far beyond what their size and build might cause one to assume. If wounded, most Zenith organs are multiple-redundant, with heavy tolerance for trauma and extremely fast blood-clotting, which, combined with natural transgenic 'regeneration', mean they can survive and heal from massive injuries which would drop even an Atlas-upgrade dead. Even a Zenith's skin is engineered to defend against threats, a layer of protective shielding matted with aramid fibers, as thick as leather and capable of stopping some shrapnel, although even small-caliber chemical-propelled sidearms are capable of penetrating the protection provided. The fashionable lack of body hair and sweat that Zeniths possess (requiring extremely high-efficiency tissues and high thermal tolerances as a workaround) is merely a very happy coincidence.
  
−
Despite this extensive enhancement, the Dawn still look reasonably human and can pass for one with either minor cosmetic surgeries or at a distance. The reasoning for this end result is up to debate, whether it was simple vanity, an extended insult at the human propensity to judge others on looks, an appeal to baseline human sympathy, or some other inscrutable reason based on Higher doctrine. Those who hold the last view are correct-the ideal of the perfected image of man is something that the Highers are going for, which is why they make the most extensive use of low-profile augmentation compared to the Advancers who are perfectly fine with abandoning all external humanity in their pursuit of perfection.
+
One may think something so tough and strong would be slow, but Zeniths deny the tradeoffs of biological evolution and are faster than any normal human. With reaction and cognition speeds significantly better than human normal, Zeniths make ideal soldiers, especially due to modifications to their endocrine system via xenobiological modification. Like native Rebirth life, instead of adrenaline they use a complex biochemical cocktail of what is essentially "biological rocket fuel". When in a high-stress situation, this cocktail floods their system, refueling and supercharging their mind and body, making them even faster in combat situations or other stressful encounters. The moderate increase in ADHD and the increase in "crimes of passion" due to the overcharged fight-or-flight response has disappointed other Magnates but has been deemed acceptable given the survivability increases of transgenics so equipped.
  
−
Considering that many of them use even more significant augmentation beyond that to further their abilities, underestimating a member of the Dawn is rarely a good idea.
+
Finishing off the package is a broad range of cognitive and sensory upgrades, including eyes capable of seeing naturally in infrared spectra, intellect boosts matching any Omoikane in both social and reasoning areas. These, perhaps, are the ''least'' impressive of any of the modifications done, but the difficulties in cognitive enhancement, as shown by the litany of mental issues that transgenics with extreme cognition modifications have, were enough to scare even the scientists and visionaries of the Eternal Dawn into approaching cognition enhancement with a glacial pace and extreme care.
  
−
===Transgenic Template===
+
===Transgenic Template "Zenith"===
 
''Tentative''<br>
 
''Tentative''<br>
−
170 Points/4 for 100% of population = 42 pt template (+3 NBC survival)
+
: Primary Attributes (57 pts)
−
: Primary Attributes (51 pts)
 
 
:: Enhanced Physique 3 (21)
 
:: Enhanced Physique 3 (21)
 
:: Enhanced Reactions 2 (15)
 
:: Enhanced Reactions 2 (15)
 
:: Enhanced Intelligence 2 (15)
 
:: Enhanced Intelligence 2 (15)
−
: Secondary Attributes (3 pts)
+
:: Enhanced Socialization 1 (6)
−
:: Boosted Durability 1 (3)
+
: Secondary Attributes (10 pts)
−
: Tertiary Attributes (1.5 pts)
+
:: Boosted Durability 2 (7)
 +
:: Combat Reactions 1 (3)
 +
: Tertiary Attributes (4.5 pts)
 +
::Attractive 1 (1.5)
 +
::IR Vision 1 (1.5)
 
::Survival (Vacuum) 1 (1.5)
 
::Survival (Vacuum) 1 (1.5)
 
::Survival (Bio/Radio/Chemical Resistant) 3 (0)
 
::Survival (Bio/Radio/Chemical Resistant) 3 (0)
−
Technology Modifier: 52/4 = -13<br>
+
(71.5 ~ 71 * 4 = 284 - 46 = 238)<br>
−
(42.5/42 [rounds to 42/42])<br>
+
2 points spare = 10 WU
−
+2 points "spare" (+10 Wealth Infrastructure)
 
  
 
==Combat Replicas==
 
==Combat Replicas==
−
Originally developed in the Gimlet invasion, the original Replica was little more than a flash-grown Adharan (or Dawn member) given neural-induction training in communication and combat tactics. Although effective at rapidly building a military, the original Series I Replica was incapable of matching a trained soldier and was quite vulnerable when they weren't being used in overwhelming numbers-they might have had the raw skills but not the experience.
+
"Soldiers, are you going to let your asses get kicked by overgrown ''farm equipment''?!"<br>
 +
"SIR, NO SIR!"
 +
-Apocryphal League quote, ''An Unofficial History of The Magnate War''
 +
 
 +
The Dawn had gone into the war without sufficient soldiers-their primary goal was to acquire a buffer and resources, as well as forge a new national identity in the fires of victory. The handful of old warriors the Dawn had were experienced, but too few in number, to provide an invasion, although they could be levied as shock troopers and training instructors.
 +
 
 +
The answer came from an agricultural technician. The sprawling farms of Rebirth, coming of, the Dawn's efforts to adapt humanity to their world rather than to simply transplant humanity to yet another world and never truly ''thrive'' on it, were difficult to clear, owing to the thick and deadly flora and fauna that choked expansion. To clear more room for the colony against harsh conditions, and owing to Alshain advanced biotechnology overshadowing robotics (as well as the lower logistics footprint of drones which could literally live off the land), advanced, biotech replicants had been used.
 +
 
 +
These replicants were intended to clear brush and eliminate any predators or territorial herbivores. As such, they were fast, extremely resilient to harm, and already designed to be adept with weapons, primarily large-caliber explosive-cored "hunting" rifles and flamethrowers. Only minimal modification would be needed to convert them to combat use, most of it being encrypted command and control and differing tactical programs.
 +
 
 +
Soon the Replica, Humanoid, Agricultural (Combat Repurposed), Series VII Variant A, was built. Minimally modified, it still managed to take Miranda, although it rapidly showed its age on Finnegan's Folly, where the limited tactical reprogramming that had been used fell flat against experienced insurgents, and the war was largely carried by insurgency veterans.
 +
 
 +
===Replica Models===
 +
[[Image:SeriesSeven.jpg|Series VIId Combat Replicant, in experimental-type coloration. Note similarities with Alshain battle armor design.|thumb]]
 +
 
 +
*Series VI Utility Replicant
 +
: The progenitor of the entire line of combat replicants, the VI model is still chugging along after nearly half a century, with several overhauls. Initially, Replicant lineages were labeled by role, and the roman numerals I-X were reserved for utility and agricultural assistants. Due to the derivation of the combat replicant from farmland reclaimant specialists, the VII series code is now reserved for combat replicants.
 +
 
 +
*Series VIIa Combat Replicant
 +
: Initial breed from the VII line, built by CyGene Biosystems for the Eternal Dawn. Modifications from the Series VIx included encrypted communications links, additional datalink capacity for various external modules, a (then) cutting-edge solid-state brainstem with Survivalist 2.5 Trauma Management Software, and additional tactical programming. Finally, a plug and play genome, with high-selected augmentation acceptance indices, was added to the VIIa to allow for easy battlefield repair with biomech spares.
  
−
The original Series Is, in fact, were essentially identical both intellectually and physiologically to any other member of the Dawn and many of them ended up reintegrating with society successfully, or forming the core of the Templars after they were given remedial education in civilian matters. However, these actions provied that Series Is had 'souls', as they could adapt to changing situations and do anything they set their mind to. The doctrinal questions this produced, as well as many Templars finding their importance suddenly threatened by these new machines of biology, created a strong argument against their further use.
+
*Series VIIa2 Combat Replicant
 +
: Alternate model produced by the competing Misriah Agrisystems. The VIIa2 was cheaper but lacked the same level of upgrade potential as the VIIa, and was not adopted by the Dawn. However, the schematics and model was sold to allied Magnate powers, as it was somewhat less complex and easier to produce with more limited bioscience.
  
−
To avoid the questions about slavery and removal of choice from sentient beings (both abhorrent to Eschatonic ideals) Replicas down the line had gradually reduced free will and intelligence, and greater skill and experience burned into their minds while they were still gestating, while their physical augmentation increased after each iteration. On paper Replicas were excellent soldiers, perfectly loyal, superior in combat skills, and with a purity of purpose that no other soldier could match. In practice they sometimes lived up to this, but more often did not due to their lack of lateral thinking and creativity, the sole two skills that could not be created by neural induction. Even attempts to engineer in superhuman creativity a la the Harawayian Blue Caste failed entirely, as the neural induction method used to rapidly teach them, and their lack of actual life experience, were far more critical factors than their brain structure.
+
*Series VIIa+ Combat Replicant
 +
: Initial update from problems in the Miranda invasion. Update package included several hotfixes to biology to reduce autoimmune disorders and increase combat readiness, bug patches for target recognition software, and a superior encryption method. This update was delivered in autoinjectors which combined a retrovirus and a software patch, and could literally be delivered into the field. Most other updates to VII physiology were not so simple.
  
−
The Eternal Dawn used the Series II to the VII in the Magnate War. The IV and VI were prototypes.
+
*Series VIIb Combat Replicant Update
 +
: Experimental Replicant update for the Finnegan's Folly occupation, involving a rebuild of organs and tactical programming for additional self-preservation against ambush and IED. Update included an interlocking ribcage and thickened spine to protect better against blast and shrapnel, acrylic artificial musculature layered across major skeletal muscles, a human-emulation pheromonal suite that was designed to defend against pheromone-triggered smart bombs, additional optical sensor emplacement, and an altered skull with an armored lower palate and solid jaw, preventing shrapnel deflected by the thick neck protector from penetrating the brain.
  
−
===Series II===
+
*Series VIIb+ Combat Replicant Update
−
Adharan (and therefore Eternal Dawn) physiology is highly delicate in its formative stages (although extremely trauma-resistant afterwards) and difficult to accelerate to full maturity as a proper "bioroid". Series IIs were designed with multiple shortcuts to fast-accelerate such growth, which generally caused physical deformity and stunted mental growth, especially when combined with the neural induction method used to teach them. Their physical deformities were rarely significant handicaps when compared to the majority-baseline worlds they assaulted, although approximately 10% of the Series IIs built did not survive decanting and their average lifespan even not considering combat was exceedingly short.
+
: Optimized tactical software with ad-hoc command networking was installed in this 'plus' update, allowing for increased autonomy and reduced necessity for constant command oversight. This tactical hivemind was very simplistic but provided at that time sufficient defense against Finnegan's Folly insurgents. Of course, this touched off an arms race between the Finnegan's Folly insurgents and the Series VII designers, one that continued to the end of the Magnate War.
  
−
However, they could be produced and armed en masse and were used extensively to shore up Magnate forces. Initially used in support of Templars, the IIs eventually ended up being obsoleted by the III.
+
*Series VIIbNL Domestic Security Replicant
 +
: Nonlethal riot control and police replicant variant based off of the Series VIIb+ model. Additional tactical programming was added for riot control, and vocal cords were reinstalled to allow for warning off crowds. The VIIbNL had a limited phrasebook and was not Turing Test capable, and was generally paired with non-bioroid security personnel at a 4:1 ratio. Nevertheless, it freed up nonspec soldiers for various other theaters of war rather than the Miranda pacification.
  
−
===Series III===
+
*Series VIIc Combat Replicant Physical Update
−
Prototype for rapid cybernetic integration into a Series II to make up for some of its most glaring weaknesses, that being stunted mental growth and physical handicaps. This prototype was designed to replace the Series II and did so successfully.
+
: Additional cybernetic strength and speed augmentation was added to allow for higher mobility and survivability while engaging in heavy combat. The skeleton was reinforced with interlocking metal struts, major joints were rebuilt with cybernetic replacements and servos, and Replicant components were compartmentalized to allow for plug and play repairs. All Replicants shared the same blood antigens and could swap limbs freely, but at this point a limb replacement was now something that was possible within a matter of hours.
  
−
===Series IV===
+
*Series VIIcT Combat Replicant Durability Update
−
ARAD's first serious bid to compete with the Templars was the IV, which used experimental biotech to ensure fast production with a greatly increased lifespan (approximately 180 months). However it was not judged viable for more than experimental, limited-issue deployment.
+
: Improvements in tissue efficiency from research breakthroughs allowed shrinking of many organs in the Series VII, allowing for additional mechanical and biological backups to be implanted, just in time to defend against increasing battlefield lethality, due to high-caliber League weapons. The Series VIIcT had a biomechanical backup heart, self-sealing blood vessels, a dispersed excretory system, and additional processing nodes implanted across the nervous system with wireless connectivity, allowing for function even with a severed spinal cord and limited activity despite significant brain damage.
  
−
===Series V===
+
*Series VIId Combat Replicant
−
ARAD's production model Series IV, with further cybernetic enhancement to enhance and replace brain systems. Brainstem functions relegated to computer control, and entire nervous system outside of brain was replaced with synthetic augmentation. Although too expensive and complex (like the IV) to build in-field, Vs were perfectly capable of being constructed offsite and used to secure a beachhead in lieu of Higher Templars.
+
: The Series VIId was the pinnacle of Magnate War combat replicas, essentially unrecognizable as an offshoot of the Series VIx. At this point, the fusion between biology and machine had reached a tipping point. Previous combat replicant designs had already been ever-increasingly bonded to their combat armor, but the D model reached a point where the armor could not be fully removed and was essentially fastened to the skeleton by implant sockets. Intended fully for combat, the VIId had no pain receptors or touch receptors, and its skin instead was a thick impact-and-energy absorbent layer that provided additional protection. The armor it wore/symbiotically bonded to was redesigned, with partial removal of components possible to allow for surgical repair, but otherwise it was intended to, and could, be inside its armor more or less permanently.
  
−
===Series VI===
+
*Series VIIe Combat Replicant
−
The VI was an experimental, and essentially unsuccessful, attempt to adapt Replicas to special forces duties. The cost and time it took to mature a Replica capable of the individuality, freedom of action, and creativity necessary for special operations was prohibitive, although the handful which were built all had distinguished combat records and postwar records, reintegrating flawlessly with Magnate society, a few even emigrating to other Magnate worlds. However, they were only slightly more effective than the Lux Dei despite costing far more, who also had heavy political pull which further made the program untenable.
+
: A significant overhaul of the VIId, the fusion of machine and flesh had become even closer, with significant amounts of the armor processing offloaded to the VIIe's enlarged brain and even closer sensory integration, the armored "helmet" attaching directly to a thick, armored skull dotted with sensor feeds and a handful of fleshy backups. Disconcertingly, the VIIe still has a mouth, and like all previous combat replicants can consume almost any organic matter for maintenance purposes, including each other and (allegedly) the corpses of the war dead. The VIIe was fielded in small numbers as a prototype in the aborted invasion of Dogma, but has seen no other action.
  
−
===Series VII Combat Replica===
+
*Series VIIe+ Combat Replicant
−
[[Image:SeriesSeven.jpg|Series VII Combat Replicant, 2170s model, in experimental-type coloration. Note similarities with Adharan battle armor design due to analogous culture.|thumb]]
+
: The VIIe+ is the current Dawn variant, with several minor reconfigurations of body geometry, a modular outer shell which provides improved upgrade capacity, and enhanced 'plug and play' compatibility.
  
−
The Series VII is, no better than anything else, the 'face' of the Magnate war, battle-armored League or ZOCU troopers fighting brutal urban combat against an enemy which does not think, does not feel, does not second-guess. Deployed nearly as soon as The Eternal Dawn became a co-belligerent with the Magnates in the quest to acquire Theta dust, the VIIs were to phase out imperfect transhuman soldiers with a machine that did not have the same problems. It did not hate the enemy, it could not fear, it could not concern itself with trivialities except for this battle. It was an organism engineered for war, nonsapient, mating a highly edited human brain to a powerful cybernetic implant computer, the brain being trained by neural induction instead of physically learning in its new body. Its body was similarly hybridized, a reinforced skeleton and cybermotors supporting living xenobiology, artificial computer implants managing hormonal levels as well as its complex augmentation system.
+
===Variants===
 +
*'''EOD''': A Finnegan's Folly variant, the EOD versions of Replicants were built significantly larger to carry thicker armor plates, with a much tougher armored skull to protect their more developed brain. They were also visually distinct, with sharp angled armor and overlapping plates that provided excellent protective qualities against blast, arms tapering to delicate high-precision hands. EOD Replicants were never capable of matching even somewhat experienced Dawn combat engineers, but they were far more expendable. Although capable of combat and with an identical ''strategic'' movement speed to Dawn Replicants, tactically they were much slower to move and react, meaning that they were only used in combat as last resorts.
  
−
Physically the Series VII stood approximately 1.8m tall and massed 120 kilograms without its nearly-symbiotic suit of battle armor, heavily built to carry greater loads into combat and survive greater injury. Every survivability augmentation that had been pioneered by the Adharans and enhanced by the Dawn had been packed into its frame, creating a machine that could survive significant organ trauma and blood loss before its biological systems shut down-and even then, its cybernetics, powered by emergency backup batteries, often would allow the corpse to extract bloody vengeance on its killer. VIIs virtually lived in their battle armor, with bioelectrical organs to recharge it when not in combat, and could live off the land by consuming virtually any organic matter for fuel due to their toxin filters and powerful digestive system.
+
*'''Maintenance''': The limited cognitive ability of Series VIIs meant that they found complex tasks difficult. However, by the VIIc, the plug and play nature of their limbs, boosted immune systems, and near-identical physical attributes meant that complex tasks, up to and including ''organ'' swaps, were possible in the field in unsanitary conditions. Furthermore, improvements in VII cognition met these improvements in simplification halfway, allowing for the maintenance variant to be built. Half surgeon, half medic, maintenance variants had a different hand configuration more suited for complex work and additional processing power, as well as a savant-level knowledge of weapons, biomedical, and cybernetic maintenance.
  
−
The initial deployments of the VII were overwhelmingly successful-their tactical deployments had not been mapped, their combat responses new and not trained for. Without knowing how to fight them, how to exploit the flaws that cropped up in their tactical programming, they were devastating foes with expert-level marksmanship, a complete lack of fear, and a strongly developed altruistic sense. However, once the initial shock wore off, post-combat analysis quickly started finding flaws in their design. Their brain was limited in complexity to increase thought speed, and paired with an advanced computer to provide tactical and decision-making assistance, but this made them predictable. It was easy to lure VIIs into an ambush if one knew how to set it up, and it did not take long before the tables had turned.
+
*'''Vacuum/Extraterrestrial Operations''': VEO Replicas had integrated cybernetic thrusters, full leg replacement with skeletal-seeming prosthetics, including knee joints which could bend in either direction, and gyroscopic navigation, and hyperoxygenated blood. As they would often have to encounter the small corridors and cramped confines of Minkowskan architecture, later models were often forced into neoteny, much smaller and more delicate-seeming than their terrestrial-environment brothers, but still possessed of massively superhuman strength, speed, and toughness. The late-war variants were even more specialized for their environment, without even functional lungs or a fully formed digestive tract. Instead, their integration with their armor rebreathers allowed the armor to infuse oxygenated blood directly into the aortic arch, and they fed on a specially engineered protein and nutrient paste.
  
−
To counteract this, two projects were initiated. The Series VIII and IX projects, the latter being a full successor and the former being an "officer" design with sentience built back in. Series VIIIs (or Series VII Officers) have their skulls, which were originally heavily reinforced with armor plate, thinned significantly to allow the use of a brain which is significantly larger, although still smaller (but more efficient) than a human one. VII Officer-types are generally roughly equivalent to Alphas or other common transhumans in intellect, although they still have the same instinctual mastery of combat tactics and marskmanship common to all VIIs. VII Officers were fully sentient and capable of advancing past their station, and as such did not have the same "terminator" genes built in as they were not war materiel. The consequences, however, of the VII Officer and the IX are interesting as they are not volunteers, which means that their slavery is unconscionable in the Dawn religion. Therefore instead of being fully engineered they are mind-patterned after willing volunteers, who in return gain additional respect and reputation. After the mindstate's fixed military service, it is free to take any career it wishes, change its body, or do anything it wishes to.
+
*'''Rear-Echelon''': RE Replicas were built from the same stock but were missing much of the combat ability that standard replicas possessed. Their carapaces were generally minimally powered or even unpowered, most of their cybernetics were replaced with cheaper substitutes, and so on. Their primary role was to patrol and monitor the relatively defanged insurgents on Miranda and safe zones on Finnegan's Folly and Ares, freeing up more capable assets for higher-importance missions. On meatgrinders such as Ares and Sarreva, though, they served another purpose-spare parts. The Rear Echelon variants used identical DNA to the frontline ones, and most of their organs were identical. Series VII facilities were often Rear Echelon replica "slaughterhouses", where organs were pulled from rear-echelon Replicas to surgically repair other ones, or even non-replica troops. In the case of severe damage, a frontline replica could be disassembled to uprate a rear-echelon one to full combat status, but in practice doing so was much rarer than cannibalizing a rear-echelon replica to maintain frontline ones.
  
−
====Proliferation====
+
===Proliferation===
−
The VII had been quickly adopted throughout the Magnates before its flaws came to light, but even then it was more than adequate if properly employed, whether with Magnate officers there to keep them from running into traps, or with the officers designed to lead them. Their success, as well as their programmable loyalty, precision, and lack of sentience to question its orders, made them desirable for several other nations in the Sphere as well. It's always nice to have some bodyguards who will never question you, or think for themselves, or do anything but watch out for you.
+
With the end of the Magnate war, the Dawn were equipped with a distinct surplus of moderate-grade Series VIIs, from the Series VIIb and variants to Series VIIc surplus. With the Gimlet colony's origins as an entreprenurial venture, and more than a few Gimlet survivors in the Dawn, it was unsurprising that many of these machines ended up being sold to the highest bidder or sympathetic causes.
  
−
A black market trade rapidly developed in this advanced combat bioroid, causing the design to proliferate throughout the Rim, although only a handful of powers have the technical know-how to do more than maintain them, as their complex genetic code is prone to failure if edited, and their birthing requires significant high-tech infrastructure that most Rim powers do not have.
+
A black market trade rapidly developed in this advanced combat bioroid, causing the design to proliferate throughout the Rim, although only a handful of powers have the technical know-how to do more than maintain them, as their complex genetic code is prone to failure if edited, and their birthing requires significant high-tech infrastructure that most Rim powers do not have. The Dawn, for their matter, have been more than willing to sell the VII to various powers, reasoning that proliferation of advanced bioscience will force people to adapt or get left behind.
  
 
=The Eternal Dawn Military=
 
=The Eternal Dawn Military=
Line 327: Line 415:
 
On the other hand, they're a defensive force and can often count on weight of numbers due to the difficulty of transporting a significant invasion force anywhere.
 
On the other hand, they're a defensive force and can often count on weight of numbers due to the difficulty of transporting a significant invasion force anywhere.
  
−
=Military Test=
+
=Other Stuff=
 +
[[Peace Given To The World]]

Latest revision as of 01:58, 12 November 2012

The Eternal Dawn
System Info
World Name: Rebirth
Map ID: White 25
Surface Gravity: 11.3 m/s2
Climate: Tropical
Atmosphere: Nitrogen/Hydrogen/Methane/Carbon Monoxide, 81 kPa

Population: 

40.0 million
Population Breakdown: 100% augmented
Capital: Conception
Type of Power: Magnate Continuum
Infrastructure
Domestic Support: High
Wealth: 450 + 240 (690)
CIP: 750 + 320 (1070)
PIP: 850 + 320 (1170)

Delta Dust:

150 Delta Dust
Logistics:

Rebirth

Rebirth is a hot, humid world heavily covered in thick black jungle. Temperatures average ~40 C about the equator and humidity is often above 80-90%. Despite being lush and life-bearing, it has relatively low oxygen content compared to Earth, a near-nonexistent ozone layer, a somewhat toxic atmosphere, and is generally hostile to human or terrestrial life.

Nature Red In Tooth And Claw

Rebirth has near-zero UV protection and its weak magnetosphere and high concentration of radioactives exposes it to all sorts of constant radiation bombardment. Evolution has been supercharged, animals living, breeding, and dying quickly to avoid inordinate genetic damage. The arms race has created deadly predators and even deadlier herbivores, capable of eating toxic, spined plants.

Boost

One of the interesting evolutionary tracks of Rebirth fauna is that their adrenaline-equivalent is a powerful oxidant, redlining a creature's metabolism and giving them virtually unlimited endurance during high-stress situations-high enough that often massive organ damage can result from using this chemical, 'boost', for too long. Rebirth animals are often languid in normal movement, lazing around to dump heat and store up boost by metabolizing the thin oxygen of the world, but blurs of motion when threatened or in pursuit.

A common predator tactic is to harry a large herbivore in packs, each animal cooling down as it reaches the limits of its endurance, but the pack itself constantly harassing. Either the herbivore tires out and bleeds out, or it cooks itself.

This biochemical adaptation has seen actual use in several Eternal Dawn combatant designs.

Dawn Society

Gimlet was originally colonized by an eclectic mix of civilians, many of them wealthy and transgenic. With plenty of funds and government backing, they ended up as one of the longshot colonies, choosing one of the more promising worlds, a faraway planet which showed signs of life and a healthy biosphere. Unfortunately, the planet was a seductive hellhole, hot, radioactive, and poisonous. Despite this, the colony's wealth and position made it a common stopping point for rim exploration and kept it in contact with the human sphere at large, something many colonies that far away from Earth failed to manage. The colony survived a few decades without incident, but eventually one of Rebirth's protozoans jumped the species barrier to humans, leading to a horrific plague that required external help.

Alshain had been a nexus of exhuman and biomodification until the exhuman insurgency used it as one of its main bases and it was invaded by the PLA. Its fleeing citizenry was intrigued by the odd biochemistry of Rebirth, and its skilled bioengineers were tasked to enact a cure, with the promise of riches and the planet itself as an experimental lab for more techniques to improve the exhuman condition. They worked hard, tirelessly, through failing quarantines and martial law, isolating the protozoan and finding a cure.

But the damage had been done. No longer was Gimlet a rich trading hub. Now it was impoverished by the fleeing rich and the funds spent on finding a cure to an elusive, deadly disease. Traders had left it, found alternative hubs. Many who once lived there were dead. Only the Alshain refugees and workers, with their hyper-advanced immune systems, had been left mostly unscathed. Those who still lived of the original Gimlet families were often the poor or now-broke, embittered by the abandonment of their jewel by its peers. Renaming the planet Rebirth, the refugees took to building Alshain-in-Exile, a exhumanist hub and survivalist haven. Assimilating Alshain survivalist exhumanism into its ideology, they would strive to conquer the harshest worlds, live anywhere in the galaxy, become men like gods.

It would be an eternal dawn of human dominance of the galaxy, humanity spreading to every corner of the galaxy and beyond.

The Politics Market

In the 21st century, it was theorized that a market could be programmed via inputs to solve difficult problems. In theory, a market capable of constant optimization of goods and services would be capable of hypercomputation, with literally infinite processing power. This, of course, never came true. But yet, the idea of using the market as a parallel-processing system, with human computation nodes, lived on. To cure the plague, everything had to be repurposed to find a cure. With moderate libertarian leanings, Gimlet had a healthy free-market economy at that point. The Alshain computational experts were quick to disassemble it and rebuild it into another computer system, one that still lives on today.

The Politics Market is Rebirth's own sleeping god, a powerful (if slow) programmed-market computer that is guided through constant transaction between people. The Dawn have no leaders, no masters, just the dictates and results of the distributed-computational element that is their market system. It is part economic manager, part societal manager. Its whispers have provided the citizens of Rebirth reasonable wealth despite their isolation, incredible industrial might, and common happiness. To enhance its ability to enact domestic policy, Rebirth is a panopticon state with no right to privacy.

Although not actually capable of hypercomputation (and not immune to human error in either interpretation or input), the guidance of the politics market has brought Rebirth recovery from devastating plague and a growing, happy population.

Market Regulation

Because regulation of the politics market itself would create potential distortions that would reduce its effectiveness, Rebirth runs on a fully lassez-faire economy with near-zero regulation on outputs and market processes, only on input (and interventions to fix market failure states). It does, however, run a social safety net, funded via an independent "shadow economy"-essentially a command economy. This societal safety net provides free education, utilities, food, and basic shelter-basic public services-that any citizen of the Dawn is guaranteed to be given access to, as even if they produce nothing of value economically, they are still a processing node in the Politics Market.

Basic housing is communal, generally space-efficient barracks with shared hygiene facilities. Basic food is often vegetarian in nature (as the Dawn have transgenically adapted themselves and several staple foods to the local environment, they do not use food factories but rather still maintain an agricultural sector), and utilities include education in any field of study up to any level of expertise, power, data access, water, and medical care up to and including fairly significant elective augmentation and neural reprofiling-something no other universal health care programs offer.

That is to say that the Dawn make it possible for anyone to achieve their wishes, almost regardless of ability. There have been immigrants from ZOCU or the Core who have sought out Rebirth as their final chance to achieve the dreams they wished for. They often find out that no matter what you wish for, it never comes out the way you imagine it to. The vast majority can accept that, but a handful leave, going back home with their surgical and psychological modifications, shattered dreams, and a black mark on their record.

Rejecter Enclaves

Approximately 35% of the Dawn are not large-scale participants in the politics market. These are disproportionately exhuman immigrants, who are allowed autonomy and their own local governance as long as they abide by a fairly short set of policies which amount to noninterference and cooperation in Eternal Dawn affairs, and acceptance of the panopticon monitoring that is common to the Dawn. Often, these enclaves are used as experimental controls for sociological experiments, as they range from cults of personality to autocratic dictatorships to democracies to libertarian freeholds that simply reject the idea of using the market as a computer.

One of them is an autocratic, militaristic, survival-state. It is the professional Dawn military.

The Dawn Military

Ad Finem Temporis, Fidelis Tamquam Post Mortem-"To the ends of time, loyal even after death" (Official motto of the Eternal Dawn Military Service)
 "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy." (Unofficial motto of the Eternal Dawn Military Service)

The Eternal Dawn military is not part of the politics market due to potential conflicts of interest. As an effective military requires top-down organization and loyalty in its personnel, but this same top-down organization and personal loyalty means that it could easily create market failure situations, its soldiers are withdrawn from the politics market for the duration of their service. They no longer are allowed to interact with the market and are provided amenities by the military itself, running off of the same command economy that provides utilities.

Voluntary militia are not, and although the professional military has more advanced equipment, better augmentation, and more glamorous jobs, many of the Dawn's citizens prefer serving public service in the voluntary militia. Their existence (and the militias/military forces of other enclaves) is a counterbalance to the Dawn military in the event of insurrection. However, the indoctrination of the Dawn military and the loyalty of its citizens to the Eternal Dawn as a whole (not just the military) is the first line of defense against such a problem.

The Dawn military's founders were predominantly of the minority exhuman religion of (X), exhorting Upgrade as a method of achieving divinity and avoiding the sins of flesh, and although the military itself is a mostly secular organization the trappings have never faded from existence. Even so, the military is disproportionately religious, with 40% claiming (X) as their religion and another 34% claiming another religion.

Language

The lingua fraca of the Dawn military (and of other Magnate forces) is officially called Combat-Specialized Planned Language, CSPL. This is shortened to ComLang by most forces familiar with Solomonic practices. ComLang is a very simplistic language, based on a few dozen unambiguous, short sounds, sometimes paired with gestures, that can be strung together to allow for quick and precise battlefield communication. ComLang is atonal to minimize ambiguity and is completely insufficient for anything other than combat tasks, although some particularly avant-garde artists have attempted to do things such as write poetry or even a novel in ComLang. So far, none of these movements have met with any sort of popular success or recognition.

Grammatically, ComLang uses single-word sentences, with one word representing a single statement of fact or orders. For example, two words in ComLang would translate to "Contact, enemy infantry 50 degrees to your left side, approximately twenty. Close in and assault." A pair of sentences which would take several seconds to speak takes less than one. Psychological researchers from Magnate states have also posited that the guttural, alien structure of CSPL are a great psychological aid, and the difficulty of learning an entirely new language with an alien grammatical structure compared to all non-engineered languages has been an additional tactical benefit.

There is no such thing as written CSPL, as anything that requires writing is generally too complex to express in this simplified, pared-down protolanguage. In fact, many Core Linguists refuse to classify CSPL as a language at all.

Infantry

Relatively prestigious and numerous, the infantry are the core of the Eternal Dawn's fighting force. With cutting-edge bioaugmentation and elective cybernetic enhancement, the Dawn's infantry are trained to fight in any environment with any tools. Originally trained with lessons learned from being the insurgency fighting a much-better-resourced foe, they have shown a surprising amount of counter-insurgency skill, and even during the closing year of the Magnate War, many of the Dawn's remaining light infantry went to ground and became surprisingly adept guerillas.

Armor

Aerospace

Dawn aerospace specializes in close support and strike operations, with competent but uninspired training in air-superiority (they leave that to other Magnates). Their aerospace craft tend to reflect this, heavily armored flying tanks with angled armor that provides both some degree of stealth, but is primarily intended to deflect enemy fire.

Unconventional Warfare

Civil Affairs

Civil Affairs includes combat engineers, interpreters, military police, medical personnel, and infrastructural management staff, and are the softer side of the Dawn unconventional warfare duo. Nonexistent until the Magnate War, their job was to administer, along with the other Magnates, conquered worlds, minimizing resentment by bringing infrastructure back on, treating the sick and wounded, and other positive incentives. They also administer the economy-in-miniature that supplies the Dawn military with the goods and services it needs, and what little interaction it has with the politics market.

Special Forces

Eternal Dawn Special Forces were near-nonexistent until the windup to the Magnate War, where Alshain refugees with insurgency experience and exhuman insurgents were requested to form the initial training cadre. This perspective, gained from being the terrorists and insurgents fighting an organized military force, has limited Dawn Unconventional Warfare units in terms of counterterrorism and rapport-building, but they are excellent terror units, with scads of institutional experience in committing assassinations, kidnappings, hostage-taking, and other dirty wet works. As Hyperborean unconventional warfare units were better at missions that required a "softer touch", the Dawn's own covert warfare units found themselves building a somewhat exaggerated reputation for brutality and cruelty, as their highest-profile missions were reprisal operations or battlefield assassination.

History Paths

Hell World-Radical Morph. Change-100 CIP, 100 PIP, RMC [+5 Transgene]
Limited Precursor Relics-150 Dust, +5 SP
Limited Feral Drones (terrestrial)-30 Pop, 50W, 100 PIP
Observation Posts-100 CIP, 10 SP [+2 FTL]
Hub World (for Exhumans)-60 Pop
Longshot-2500 military, 100 PIP, 100 CIP, 20 SP) +5 spending limit on SP
Inner Rim-30 Pop, 150 PIP, 50 CIP, 100 Fabs, 25 SP, 20 TG
New Freedoms-20 TG [+4 Transgene]
Pod People-180 Pop, 300 W, 100 CIP
Seperatists-2500 Mil
Civilian Sponsored-60 Pop
Fleeing Transgenes-20 TG
Natural Disaster-+Morale
Na'vi Helljungle Attack-200 Wealth, 2500 Military
Go Weird-40 TG, 100 CIP, 4 Logistics, 10,000 Military
I'm A Magnate-100 CIP, 15000 Mil, 20 SP
Exhumanize-100 CIP, 50 Transgene, 300 Supersoldier [+5 Transgene, +5 Xenotech]
Series VII Replicants-+2 Ground Apps, +2 Ground Doctrines, 100 Supersoldier [+3 Ground, +3 Transgene]
Future Government-20 TG, +2 Morale
Found Religion-+1 Morale, -100 Wealth
Communism!-100 PIP, -100 Wealth
+3 Physical: 1.6x Population PIP
+2 Reactions: 1.4x Population CIP
+2 Intellect: 1.2x Population Wealth, -10% R&D Costs
+1 Soc: +1 DAP, +1 Support, 1.2x Trade Income

Totals

Final Stats

SP: 96
SP Limit: 26
Population: 550 Base bonus: 275
Trangene: 240
Morale: 14
Wealth: 400 + 330
PIP: 850 + 440
CIP: 750 + 385
Fabbers: 100
Delta Dust: 0
Theta Dust: 0
Military: 32500
Doctrines: 29
Logistics: 60
Global Tech Level: 16
Applications: 400
Stockpiles: 0
Debt: 0


SP Expenditures

Additional Limit: 1
Wealth: 0
PIP: 25
CIP: 0
Dust: 0
Theta: 0
Pop: 26
Mil: 0
Tech Indices: 0
Apps: 10
Transgene: 24
Doctrine: 10
Logistics: 0

Tech Indices

Shipbuilding: 16
Parasite Construction: 45
Carrier Construction: 16
Aviation Warship Construction: 16
Aerospace Construction: 16
Mecha Construction: 16
Ground Construction: 23
Projectiles: 16
Lasers: 25
Railguns: 20
Particle Weapons: 16
Mega Particle Weapons: 16
Missiles: 16
Propulsion: 16
Power: 18
Materials: 16
Shields: 16
Electronics: 16
Stealth: 16
Transgenics: 42
Mass Production: 20
Civilian Technologies: 16
Xenotechnology: 35
Basic Theotechnology: 16
Advanced Theotechnology: 16
Floating Points: 0

Sociology

Eternal Dawn Slang

Land of Dreams

The idea of transhumanism to both enhance strengths and shore up weaknesses have made the Eternal Dawn a civilization which has dedicated itself to not only constant self-improvement, but also to allow its people to reach its dreams. A significant part of their ideology dedicates itself to the idea that people should not settle for what they're born into, but should only settle for achieving their dreams.

The government of the Eternal Dawn agrees, and subsidizes just about any reasonable improvement or training (up to and including enhancement) necessary for someone to achieve their dreams. Although it means a lack of liquid wealth, the job satisfaction-and mass popular support-are both boons to the government and its citizenry, who have record job satisfaction ratings.

Religion

The Dawn are a melting pot of extreme exhumanist variants of various Earth religions, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism, as well as a handful of secular exhumans similarly dedicated to extensive self improvement. By far, most of the Dawn are religious, with less than 5% of the society being secular, although not all are fanatically or significantly religious. Interestingly, the extreme pro-trahsuman sects of various religions were originally some of the most liberalized, but their involuntary exile have caused a rather significant backlash and the warning signs of religious extremism.

Style and Architecture

The Dawn's cities are generally built beautiful-it is a point of pride to many architects among the Dawn to build beautiful, as they are after all, creating utopia. There are no rectangles of concrete and polymer windows on Rebirth, and all architecture is designed for aesthetic appeal. Most popular styles emulate Renaissance or Medieval architecture although there are styles from all over the globe and through most timelines, but obviously with significantly higher technical advancement. The timeless nature of the Pancreator, who exists in all times simultaneously due to its acausal nature, is what the Dawn seeks to emulate, by blending modern technologies with ancient style.

Similarly, clothing on Rebirth follows similar norms, blending smart cloth and active materials with styles not out of place in the Renaissance or early Industrial Revolution for the most part.

Eternal Dawn Augmentation

"You are only minimally modified. We can help you correct this." -Abraham Watts, Advancer cybersurgeon

The path of the faithful of the Eternal Dawn is marked with continuous cybernetic enhancement, but there are generally two approaches to this. There are those who, out of vanity, personal reasons, or for any of a hundred other rationales, preferred to look outwardly human, replacing and rebuilding internal organs, skeletal structures, and other components to improve ability. There are also those who preferred extensive, obvious cybernetic modification, replacing entire limbs with smart-alloy metal and myomer musculature.

There are sufficient amounts of both parties in control of the interpretation of the holy texts that both paths have been considered acceptable-as long as one continually modifies oneself on the road to improvement, instead of staying back and accepting stagnation, any means were necessary. Eternal Dawn cities are extremely cosmopolitan, almost as if they were out of a space opera, as the alien-looking exhumans who wholeheartedly embrace the cult of augmentation mix and mingle with the majority, who eschew significant enhancement for a slow process of optimization and convenience-based implants, whether biotech or nanotech or cybernetic.

The shared doctrine of every Dawn religion is built around the continuous improvement of the self. Doctrinal differences and (comparative) conservatism or full exhuman tendencies tend to alter the method which people seek this self-improvement by, but nevertheless the improvements are sought, and the slow process of Upgrade continues as minor improvements stack up generation by generation, and the older generations upgrade themselves in turn to keep up with the younger ones.

Biology and Biotech

The "Zenith" template originated with the Dawn and is found on Rebirth near-exclusively, although there are a handful of radical transhumanists who have had children modified by the Dawn to the level of the Zenith.

Transgenics

The original designers of the Zenith template were radical transhumanists, styling themselves after Prometheus. It would not be enough to develop a transgenic template like the 'common' types. It would have to be adaptable, powerful, and capable of surviving in the world of Rebirth. What it manages to do to the human form is incredible, but the cost is that very little of it remains human DNA.

Less related to humanity than most primates, Zenith transgenics suffer from extreme disadvantages compared to other transgenes. Many medicines and drugs, formulated for human or near-human physiologies, simply refuse to work on them. They often suffer from exotic cancers which take time and effort to root out, and thus require regular checkups from specialist medical experts every few decades. They have markedly reduced fertility and a significant percentage of Zeniths are utterly sterile. Outside of the Magnates, the expertise required for maintaining and repairing Zenith biology is difficult to come by at the best of times. In powers such as the League, with essentially no friendly channels towards the Magnates, the expertise is nonexistent. Even though the genome is available via many sources, only one of which is the Dawn itself, to piece it together with human or standard transgenic DNA (i.e. to have Zenith children from non-Zenith parents) requires precision bioengineering technology that is rarely standard in a hospital exowomb.

Why would anyone become a Zenith? The answer is fairly simple. Outside of Kanonian nobles or dedicated supersoldiers with significant post-natal biomodification, the Zenith All-Purpose-Upgrade is the most powerful general-purpose transgenic upgrade suite in the human Sphere. Its hyperdense skeleton, threaded with pseudoaramid fibers, provides significant protection against threats from the incredibly strong blows of apex predators to high-velocity projectile fire. The skeletal durability also allows attachment of extremely high-strength musculature, giving Zeniths incredible strength far beyond what their size and build might cause one to assume. If wounded, most Zenith organs are multiple-redundant, with heavy tolerance for trauma and extremely fast blood-clotting, which, combined with natural transgenic 'regeneration', mean they can survive and heal from massive injuries which would drop even an Atlas-upgrade dead. Even a Zenith's skin is engineered to defend against threats, a layer of protective shielding matted with aramid fibers, as thick as leather and capable of stopping some shrapnel, although even small-caliber chemical-propelled sidearms are capable of penetrating the protection provided. The fashionable lack of body hair and sweat that Zeniths possess (requiring extremely high-efficiency tissues and high thermal tolerances as a workaround) is merely a very happy coincidence.

One may think something so tough and strong would be slow, but Zeniths deny the tradeoffs of biological evolution and are faster than any normal human. With reaction and cognition speeds significantly better than human normal, Zeniths make ideal soldiers, especially due to modifications to their endocrine system via xenobiological modification. Like native Rebirth life, instead of adrenaline they use a complex biochemical cocktail of what is essentially "biological rocket fuel". When in a high-stress situation, this cocktail floods their system, refueling and supercharging their mind and body, making them even faster in combat situations or other stressful encounters. The moderate increase in ADHD and the increase in "crimes of passion" due to the overcharged fight-or-flight response has disappointed other Magnates but has been deemed acceptable given the survivability increases of transgenics so equipped.

Finishing off the package is a broad range of cognitive and sensory upgrades, including eyes capable of seeing naturally in infrared spectra, intellect boosts matching any Omoikane in both social and reasoning areas. These, perhaps, are the least impressive of any of the modifications done, but the difficulties in cognitive enhancement, as shown by the litany of mental issues that transgenics with extreme cognition modifications have, were enough to scare even the scientists and visionaries of the Eternal Dawn into approaching cognition enhancement with a glacial pace and extreme care.

Transgenic Template "Zenith"

Tentative

Primary Attributes (57 pts)
Enhanced Physique 3 (21)
Enhanced Reactions 2 (15)
Enhanced Intelligence 2 (15)
Enhanced Socialization 1 (6)
Secondary Attributes (10 pts)
Boosted Durability 2 (7)
Combat Reactions 1 (3)
Tertiary Attributes (4.5 pts)
Attractive 1 (1.5)
IR Vision 1 (1.5)
Survival (Vacuum) 1 (1.5)
Survival (Bio/Radio/Chemical Resistant) 3 (0)

(71.5 ~ 71 * 4 = 284 - 46 = 238)
2 points spare = 10 WU

Combat Replicas

"Soldiers, are you going to let your asses get kicked by overgrown farm equipment?!"
"SIR, NO SIR!" -Apocryphal League quote, An Unofficial History of The Magnate War

The Dawn had gone into the war without sufficient soldiers-their primary goal was to acquire a buffer and resources, as well as forge a new national identity in the fires of victory. The handful of old warriors the Dawn had were experienced, but too few in number, to provide an invasion, although they could be levied as shock troopers and training instructors.

The answer came from an agricultural technician. The sprawling farms of Rebirth, coming of, the Dawn's efforts to adapt humanity to their world rather than to simply transplant humanity to yet another world and never truly thrive on it, were difficult to clear, owing to the thick and deadly flora and fauna that choked expansion. To clear more room for the colony against harsh conditions, and owing to Alshain advanced biotechnology overshadowing robotics (as well as the lower logistics footprint of drones which could literally live off the land), advanced, biotech replicants had been used.

These replicants were intended to clear brush and eliminate any predators or territorial herbivores. As such, they were fast, extremely resilient to harm, and already designed to be adept with weapons, primarily large-caliber explosive-cored "hunting" rifles and flamethrowers. Only minimal modification would be needed to convert them to combat use, most of it being encrypted command and control and differing tactical programs.

Soon the Replica, Humanoid, Agricultural (Combat Repurposed), Series VII Variant A, was built. Minimally modified, it still managed to take Miranda, although it rapidly showed its age on Finnegan's Folly, where the limited tactical reprogramming that had been used fell flat against experienced insurgents, and the war was largely carried by insurgency veterans.

Replica Models

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Series VIId Combat Replicant, in experimental-type coloration. Note similarities with Alshain battle armor design.
  • Series VI Utility Replicant
The progenitor of the entire line of combat replicants, the VI model is still chugging along after nearly half a century, with several overhauls. Initially, Replicant lineages were labeled by role, and the roman numerals I-X were reserved for utility and agricultural assistants. Due to the derivation of the combat replicant from farmland reclaimant specialists, the VII series code is now reserved for combat replicants.
  • Series VIIa Combat Replicant
Initial breed from the VII line, built by CyGene Biosystems for the Eternal Dawn. Modifications from the Series VIx included encrypted communications links, additional datalink capacity for various external modules, a (then) cutting-edge solid-state brainstem with Survivalist 2.5 Trauma Management Software, and additional tactical programming. Finally, a plug and play genome, with high-selected augmentation acceptance indices, was added to the VIIa to allow for easy battlefield repair with biomech spares.
  • Series VIIa2 Combat Replicant
Alternate model produced by the competing Misriah Agrisystems. The VIIa2 was cheaper but lacked the same level of upgrade potential as the VIIa, and was not adopted by the Dawn. However, the schematics and model was sold to allied Magnate powers, as it was somewhat less complex and easier to produce with more limited bioscience.
  • Series VIIa+ Combat Replicant
Initial update from problems in the Miranda invasion. Update package included several hotfixes to biology to reduce autoimmune disorders and increase combat readiness, bug patches for target recognition software, and a superior encryption method. This update was delivered in autoinjectors which combined a retrovirus and a software patch, and could literally be delivered into the field. Most other updates to VII physiology were not so simple.
  • Series VIIb Combat Replicant Update
Experimental Replicant update for the Finnegan's Folly occupation, involving a rebuild of organs and tactical programming for additional self-preservation against ambush and IED. Update included an interlocking ribcage and thickened spine to protect better against blast and shrapnel, acrylic artificial musculature layered across major skeletal muscles, a human-emulation pheromonal suite that was designed to defend against pheromone-triggered smart bombs, additional optical sensor emplacement, and an altered skull with an armored lower palate and solid jaw, preventing shrapnel deflected by the thick neck protector from penetrating the brain.
  • Series VIIb+ Combat Replicant Update
Optimized tactical software with ad-hoc command networking was installed in this 'plus' update, allowing for increased autonomy and reduced necessity for constant command oversight. This tactical hivemind was very simplistic but provided at that time sufficient defense against Finnegan's Folly insurgents. Of course, this touched off an arms race between the Finnegan's Folly insurgents and the Series VII designers, one that continued to the end of the Magnate War.
  • Series VIIbNL Domestic Security Replicant
Nonlethal riot control and police replicant variant based off of the Series VIIb+ model. Additional tactical programming was added for riot control, and vocal cords were reinstalled to allow for warning off crowds. The VIIbNL had a limited phrasebook and was not Turing Test capable, and was generally paired with non-bioroid security personnel at a 4:1 ratio. Nevertheless, it freed up nonspec soldiers for various other theaters of war rather than the Miranda pacification.
  • Series VIIc Combat Replicant Physical Update
Additional cybernetic strength and speed augmentation was added to allow for higher mobility and survivability while engaging in heavy combat. The skeleton was reinforced with interlocking metal struts, major joints were rebuilt with cybernetic replacements and servos, and Replicant components were compartmentalized to allow for plug and play repairs. All Replicants shared the same blood antigens and could swap limbs freely, but at this point a limb replacement was now something that was possible within a matter of hours.
  • Series VIIcT Combat Replicant Durability Update
Improvements in tissue efficiency from research breakthroughs allowed shrinking of many organs in the Series VII, allowing for additional mechanical and biological backups to be implanted, just in time to defend against increasing battlefield lethality, due to high-caliber League weapons. The Series VIIcT had a biomechanical backup heart, self-sealing blood vessels, a dispersed excretory system, and additional processing nodes implanted across the nervous system with wireless connectivity, allowing for function even with a severed spinal cord and limited activity despite significant brain damage.
  • Series VIId Combat Replicant
The Series VIId was the pinnacle of Magnate War combat replicas, essentially unrecognizable as an offshoot of the Series VIx. At this point, the fusion between biology and machine had reached a tipping point. Previous combat replicant designs had already been ever-increasingly bonded to their combat armor, but the D model reached a point where the armor could not be fully removed and was essentially fastened to the skeleton by implant sockets. Intended fully for combat, the VIId had no pain receptors or touch receptors, and its skin instead was a thick impact-and-energy absorbent layer that provided additional protection. The armor it wore/symbiotically bonded to was redesigned, with partial removal of components possible to allow for surgical repair, but otherwise it was intended to, and could, be inside its armor more or less permanently.
  • Series VIIe Combat Replicant
A significant overhaul of the VIId, the fusion of machine and flesh had become even closer, with significant amounts of the armor processing offloaded to the VIIe's enlarged brain and even closer sensory integration, the armored "helmet" attaching directly to a thick, armored skull dotted with sensor feeds and a handful of fleshy backups. Disconcertingly, the VIIe still has a mouth, and like all previous combat replicants can consume almost any organic matter for maintenance purposes, including each other and (allegedly) the corpses of the war dead. The VIIe was fielded in small numbers as a prototype in the aborted invasion of Dogma, but has seen no other action.
  • Series VIIe+ Combat Replicant
The VIIe+ is the current Dawn variant, with several minor reconfigurations of body geometry, a modular outer shell which provides improved upgrade capacity, and enhanced 'plug and play' compatibility.

Variants

  • EOD: A Finnegan's Folly variant, the EOD versions of Replicants were built significantly larger to carry thicker armor plates, with a much tougher armored skull to protect their more developed brain. They were also visually distinct, with sharp angled armor and overlapping plates that provided excellent protective qualities against blast, arms tapering to delicate high-precision hands. EOD Replicants were never capable of matching even somewhat experienced Dawn combat engineers, but they were far more expendable. Although capable of combat and with an identical strategic movement speed to Dawn Replicants, tactically they were much slower to move and react, meaning that they were only used in combat as last resorts.
  • Maintenance: The limited cognitive ability of Series VIIs meant that they found complex tasks difficult. However, by the VIIc, the plug and play nature of their limbs, boosted immune systems, and near-identical physical attributes meant that complex tasks, up to and including organ swaps, were possible in the field in unsanitary conditions. Furthermore, improvements in VII cognition met these improvements in simplification halfway, allowing for the maintenance variant to be built. Half surgeon, half medic, maintenance variants had a different hand configuration more suited for complex work and additional processing power, as well as a savant-level knowledge of weapons, biomedical, and cybernetic maintenance.
  • Vacuum/Extraterrestrial Operations: VEO Replicas had integrated cybernetic thrusters, full leg replacement with skeletal-seeming prosthetics, including knee joints which could bend in either direction, and gyroscopic navigation, and hyperoxygenated blood. As they would often have to encounter the small corridors and cramped confines of Minkowskan architecture, later models were often forced into neoteny, much smaller and more delicate-seeming than their terrestrial-environment brothers, but still possessed of massively superhuman strength, speed, and toughness. The late-war variants were even more specialized for their environment, without even functional lungs or a fully formed digestive tract. Instead, their integration with their armor rebreathers allowed the armor to infuse oxygenated blood directly into the aortic arch, and they fed on a specially engineered protein and nutrient paste.
  • Rear-Echelon: RE Replicas were built from the same stock but were missing much of the combat ability that standard replicas possessed. Their carapaces were generally minimally powered or even unpowered, most of their cybernetics were replaced with cheaper substitutes, and so on. Their primary role was to patrol and monitor the relatively defanged insurgents on Miranda and safe zones on Finnegan's Folly and Ares, freeing up more capable assets for higher-importance missions. On meatgrinders such as Ares and Sarreva, though, they served another purpose-spare parts. The Rear Echelon variants used identical DNA to the frontline ones, and most of their organs were identical. Series VII facilities were often Rear Echelon replica "slaughterhouses", where organs were pulled from rear-echelon Replicas to surgically repair other ones, or even non-replica troops. In the case of severe damage, a frontline replica could be disassembled to uprate a rear-echelon one to full combat status, but in practice doing so was much rarer than cannibalizing a rear-echelon replica to maintain frontline ones.

Proliferation

With the end of the Magnate war, the Dawn were equipped with a distinct surplus of moderate-grade Series VIIs, from the Series VIIb and variants to Series VIIc surplus. With the Gimlet colony's origins as an entreprenurial venture, and more than a few Gimlet survivors in the Dawn, it was unsurprising that many of these machines ended up being sold to the highest bidder or sympathetic causes.

A black market trade rapidly developed in this advanced combat bioroid, causing the design to proliferate throughout the Rim, although only a handful of powers have the technical know-how to do more than maintain them, as their complex genetic code is prone to failure if edited, and their birthing requires significant high-tech infrastructure that most Rim powers do not have. The Dawn, for their matter, have been more than willing to sell the VII to various powers, reasoning that proliferation of advanced bioscience will force people to adapt or get left behind.

The Eternal Dawn Military

The Eternal Dawn military is where you generally find the highest proportion of Advancers to Highers in service, as those who abandon pretenses to humanity for heavy combat augmentation generally find themselves significantly more combat-effective than those who do not. The Dawn Military is divided into three rough components:

The Templars

The Eternal Dawn Templars run the primary manned branch of the Eternal Dawn military. They provide the commanders for any major operation, the "nonspecialized" (not Replica) forces, and take care of prisoners of war as well as the recruitment of "nonspecializeds".

Although the Templars require all members to be religious, in practice there has never been an incident of a Templar being thrown out for religious violations-those who are nonpracticing are only told to pay lip service to the issue and show up when meetings are being held. Most of the Dawn are practicing, however, so this is only relevant to a small minority.

Templar Rank Structure

All Templars have a rank, and a grade in a rank, ranging from I to VI, which represents both one's paygrade and seniority within the rank. Promotion upwards in rank is generally done by showing drive and qualification, while promotion in grade happens over time with the accumulation of experience. The Templars also generally promote soldiers upwards from enlisted ranks to act as officers instead of training officers up from scratch.

Ranks are given with their rough equivalents in a Core military, PACT to be specific.

Noviciate (Recruit)
Acolyte I-VI (E-1 Private to E-2 Private First Class)
Lector I-VI (E-3 Lance Corporal to E-5 Sergeant)
Cantor I-VI (E-6 Staff Sergeant to E-7 Sergeant First Class)
Curate I-VI (E-8 Master Sergeant to E-9 Sergeant Major)
Vicar (Officer Candidate)
Subdeacon I-VI (O-1 2nd Lieutenant to O-2 1st Lieutenant)
Deacon I-VI (O-3 Captain to O-4 Major)
Archdeacon I-VI (O-5 Lt. Colonel to O-6 Colonel)
Bishop I-VI (O-7 Brigadier General)
Exarch I-VI (O-8 Major General)
Patriarch/Matriarch I-VI (O-9 Lt. General)
Cardinal I-VI (O-10 General)

The Lux Dei

The elite of the Templars end up joining the Lux Dei, the "Light of God" as it were. These special operations units operate as any other special operations unit in the Sphere. Lux Dei members must be religiously faithful and extremely dedicated to the cause, as they often undertake high-risk wet works operations in dangerous situations, and signing up with the Lux Dei is signing up for a tour of duty which measures at least two decades and often more.

Procurement

Dawn Procurement deals with R&D, budgeting, and industrial manufacture. Procurement is also responsible for the Eternal Dawn Combat Replicant Program, and has significant influence in the Magnate Continuum due to the wide-ranging export of these. It technically has its own military forces but it lacks commanders, putting its mass-produced soldiers and war materiel under the command of the Templars. Procurement operates a handful of special operations units as well, which are independent of the Templars and their Lux Dei.

Advanced Research And Development

Advanced Research And Development (ARAD) is the organization in Procurement which runs its covert operations arm as well as funding all cutting-edge Dawn research. Its covert operations units are generally employed for operations involving capturing technology to reverse-engineer, sabotaging enemy research, and recovering artifacts.

Joining ARAD's direct action units is interesting, as one must successfully join Procurement, which involves some level of scientific and technical know-how. To join ARAD's direct action arm, one must pair that with extensive willpower, dedication, and a mind well-suited for combat operations. ARAD's "commando scientists" might not be doing much of the latter but have despite the odds proven themselves to be quite capable of the former, although not with their occasional extreme failures-the largest of which was failing to prevent the reverse-engineering of the Aleph architecture by ZOCU.

Procurement Rank Structure

Procurement has a paramilitary system of rankings based off of its psuedo-academic, paramilitary functions. Although Procurement members are not expected to deal with active combat, any members are expected to be familiar enough with military weaponry and tactics that they do not get in the way, and ARAD trains with the Lux Dei and other Magnate SF units.

Associate (E-1 to E-9)
Researcher (O-1 to O-2)
Senior Researcher (O-3 to O-4)
Project Leader (O-5 to O-6)
Rector (O-7 to O-9)
Provost (O-10)

The Faithful

There are those who defend while the Templars are away-the legions of the Faithful are a defensive militia, numerous but less well-trained and equipped with weapons and armor that are generally built for reliability and cost-effectiveness rather than individual combat superiority.

On the other hand, they're a defensive force and can often count on weight of numbers due to the difficulty of transporting a significant invasion force anywhere.

Other Stuff

Peace Given To The World

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