User:Ford Prefect - Revision history

Ford Prefect at 22:33, 7 November 2012

2012-11-07T22:33:42Z

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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

			[[Surface]]

	[[Ford Otome]]		[[Ford Otome]]

Ford Prefect at 02:17, 9 August 2012

2012-08-09T02:17:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:17, 8 August 2012
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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

			[[Ford Otome]]

	[[I Saw My Youth In Those Fimbulwinter Stars]]		[[I Saw My Youth In Those Fimbulwinter Stars]]

Ford Prefect at 06:05, 12 April 2012

2012-04-12T06:05:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:05, 11 April 2012
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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

			[[I Saw My Youth In Those Fimbulwinter Stars]]

	[[Flawless Saffron Vairocana]]		[[Flawless Saffron Vairocana]]

Ford Prefect at 10:05, 15 March 2012

2012-03-15T10:05:00Z

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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

	[Flawless Saffron Vairocana]		[[Flawless Saffron Vairocana]]

	=Xenosurf Imperfect Works=		=Xenosurf Imperfect Works=

Ford Prefect at 10:04, 15 March 2012

2012-03-15T10:04:24Z

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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

			[Flawless Saffron Vairocana]

	=Xenosurf Imperfect Works=		=Xenosurf Imperfect Works=

Ford Prefect: /* Xenosurf Imperfect Works */

2011-12-19T11:25:47Z

Xenosurf Imperfect Works

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			Characters:

	Achilles ~~Kirche Anvalt Kaleido Augusta~~ Kirin		Achilles Kirin - Brooding in a messianic way but indisputably brilliant, Achilles is the third daughter of the incredibly powerful House Kirin's main family. Despite her youth, Achilles has made a name for herself as a division director within the Eschaton Initiative, coaxing a weapon into being which can defeat the mysterious Nayuta utterly. Owns a customised interstellar cruiser called the ''Kerykeion''.

	Arjuna Fudo		Arjuna Fudo - a young, struggling artist on the world of Ithaca. Unable to paint as her heart wills. In defiance of apparently all the laws of the universe, she is able to use the awesome power that is Dunamis without integrating an Animus into her body. After a bloody conflict with operatives of DEVA, Arjuna secures Achilles' pride and joy, the FA Indra.

	Tenma ~~Pegasus~~ Sunshine		Karna Fudo - Arjuna's elder brother. A Buddhist monk with a severe sex addiction, struggling to raise a trouble-making teenaged artist.

			Rhinegold W.S. Device - of the venerable production line of Devices. An ancient Weapon Servant class Device. Outrageously obsolete by pretty much any standard. Works as a bartender at a swanky casino, and despite his age and freakishly outdated mechanics he possesses incredible experience and skill in combat.

			Tenma Sunshine -

			Acronyms:

			DEVA - Deadly Expeditionary Violence Association. The interstellar armed forces of the Sangha, the most powerful army in all of human history.

			ADHA - AMP Drive Heuristic Armament. Giant robot weapon system for use by Shudra; possessing its own instincts, an ADHA works in total synergy with its pilot. 'Adha' comes from the Arabic for 'sacrifice'.

			ASTRA - Adaptive Synchronised Transcendent Regalia Armament. The primary weapon of most Kshatriya. Similar in nature to an ADHA though as a baseline more advanced. An ASTRA also serves as a Regalia, amplifying the Dunamis of the pilot. Due to the scale of the Regalia system in an ASTRA, the amplification is huge. An ASTRA with an elite pilot is more than a match for squadrons of capital ships or high-rank Nayuta.

			FA - Full Anima (placeholder). A superior kind of ASTRA which possesses its own Animus. FAs are extremely rare and extremely powerful. Represents more military capability than a whole fleet.

Ford Prefect at 11:41, 17 December 2011

2011-12-17T11:41:01Z

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	Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.		Most of everything which follows is still largely in development.

			=Xenosurf Imperfect Works=

			''The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.'' — William Shakespeare

			''He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.'' — Friedrich Nietzsche

			''He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.'' — Samuel Johnson

			<del>lol what haven't i seen that somewhere already</del>

			'''THE GREAT SURF AND THE AGE OF AQUARIUS'''

			Maybe on Earth, maybe in the future! Two galaxies have come together as part of the great dance that is universal drift - in their slow collision they have created the Great Surf, a dual whorl containing almost two trillion stars. It is Aquarian Age 20XX, deep into the new era of genesis.

			'''DUNAMIS, ANIMUS AND THE ENTELECHEIA'''

			While humanity still lingered in the Age of Pisces, it discovered what would become the essential basis of neurophysics, the noetic sciences, the application of philosophy and dreams to hard reality. By physically interfacing with a biomechanical device which supplants the spinal column, called an Animus, a human being is able to exercise Dunamis. Dunamis is an acausal link to the birth of a universe. Leveraging the very fires of creation, a person is able to turn their intent into reality, actualise vast powers which bend space and warp time. Such a person is an Entelecheia and wields awesome power which cannot be matched by any conventional technology. Further, science has revealed further technologies which can only be used by an Entelecheia. However, amongst humanity only a select few are able to integrate an Animus into their bodies. The cadre who could command Dunamis has since constructed a society in which they control all temporal power.

			'''THE ALEPH'''

			The origin point of the Aquarian Age, the vast network which connects people, data, matter and souls. Said to be built on a foundation of human dreams, the Aleph permeates space itself and naturally available all people without need for specialised equipment. Through the Aleph, it is possible to access information and project freely into the air, download or construct physical objects and transfer oneself to any point in the Great Surf. Its limitations, if any, are nebulous. For normal humans, who lack the power of Dunamis, the Aleph is their best means of attaining personal power - the Aleph Manifestation Principle allows a person to manipulate space, the fundamental forces and otherwise produce superhuman abilities, usually through a device called an AMP Drive. The alien species which inhabited one half of the Great Surf, the Dasyu, also possessed an equivalent system, which the Aleph is steadily subsuming. This forms much of the basis of psychometric archeology into this deceased people.

			The Aleph was created by the primogenitors of what would become the four highblood families that, in name, rule the Sangha as its highest phyle.

			'''THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE FORECAST NETWORK'''

			Jealous of the achievement inherent in creating the Aleph, the predecessors of what would become the Rajputs, t builder-nobility of the phyle system, endeavoured to create something equally great. Their ambition was an accurate map of the future, a system by which one could visualise and track all the various worldlines representing alternate, possible pasts, presents and futures. The result after many centuries was the Tree of Life, a 'work-in-progress' forecast of the destiny of the universe. The Tree is almost totally secret, known only to the Rajput caste. Making submissions for the revision of the kernel is considered a sacred rite greater even than astroengineering.

			Though the Tree of Life is a closely guarded secret, or at least little more than a rumour, it has given birth to a technology which is more commonly known: the forecast network. A relatively easy to access form of precognition which has use in everything from predicting the weather to surviving in combat. The ultimate expression of information being the king of the battlefield, as more comprehensive information will lead to a more concrete forecast. A standard function of a decent AMP Drive will be an improved forecast architecture.

			'''THE PHYLAI'''

			Social divisions upon which society is based; caste system

			The somethinsomething - The four highblood families, those eligible to sit on the Lion Throne. Their Entelecheia are notoriously powerful and are genetically able to interface with the overwhelming Grand Regalia. The most ritually pure phyle, but also the least numerous.

			The Rajput - Caste nobility, the grand thinkers and builders of the Sangha. Though in word they are subservient to the highbloods, in practice they rule the Great Surf. Matters of ritual purity are paramount to the Rajput due to political advantage. The 'sacred seven' families of the Rajput control vast financial cliques giving them immense power even relative to other nobles.

			The Kshatriya - Caste warriors. Entelecheia on the same level as the Rajput, but their association with blood and killing places them a step behind their Rajput cousins.

			The Brahmin - Caste priests. Essentially exist to attend to the ritual needs of the Rajput, though lower level Brahmin are expected to also provide guidance to the lower phylai. Their obsession with ritual purity has seen the rise of a religious order which falls outside the phyle system, which is more able to deal with funerals (and Kshatriya).

			The Vaishya - Caste bureaucrats. A kind of lesser nobility which serve as the bean counters to the Rajput.

			???? - Caste artisans.

			The Shudra - Everyone else.



			Achilles Kirche Anvalt Kaleido Augusta Kirin

			Arjuna Fudo

			Tenma Pegasus Sunshine


			----

Ford Prefect at 11:59, 18 August 2011

2011-08-18T11:59:39Z

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	''Phyle''		'''Phyle'''

	Even before the Fimbulwinter, transhumanism was in vogue. Literally, it was in ''Vogue''. As geneering became safer and more affordable, it rapidly changed the face of humanity: with each passing year more and more parents were opting in to oocyte and sperm selection, embryo screening and even direct tweaking. Each generation was more extensively tweaked than the last, systematically eliminating hereditary diseases and slowly shifting the bell curve to the right. As the technology matured, there were some who were more radical in its usage: aiming less for gradual improvement, and instead reaching for the limits of what genetic engineering offered. Governments tried to engineer advanced specialists with abilities outside the norm for humans; the wealthy attempted to separate themselves from the masses.		Even before the Fimbulwinter, transhumanism was in vogue. Literally, it was in ''Vogue''. As geneering became safer and more affordable, it rapidly changed the face of humanity: with each passing year more and more parents were opting in to oocyte and sperm selection, embryo screening and even direct tweaking. Each generation was more extensively tweaked than the last, systematically eliminating hereditary diseases and slowly shifting the bell curve to the right. As the technology matured, there were some who were more radical in its usage: aiming less for gradual improvement, and instead reaching for the limits of what genetic engineering offered. Governments tried to engineer advanced specialists with abilities outside the norm for humans; the wealthy attempted to separate themselves from the masses.

Ford Prefect at 11:59, 18 August 2011

2011-08-18T11:59:05Z

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 The Four Heavenly Kings are the four financial cliques which have SSS+ credit ratings, putting them at the apex of a new aristocracy based on corporate power.  Family owned and family run, the Four Heavenly Kings are House Solidor, House Kirin, House Poseidon and House Saint-Cloud; between them they control a third of the world's resource development, full half of its heavy industry and close to two thirds of the international securities exchange.  As the heart of economic and industrial activity within the Commonwealth, they hold great influence over the political process, and indeed field their own political parties in general elections.  The SS+ zaibatsu wield similar power, even if it is lesser - anything smaller is inevitably absorbed.  They share the same trepidation regarding the development of the World System: with their economic and political legitimacy provided by the Commonwealth, the zaibatsu are trapped.  They cannot exist without the Commonwealth, but the Commonwealth is evolving to a point where their influence will become irrelevant.  In the World System, their power would be essentially illusory.
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 Also, there are a number of organised criminal syndicates, which would largely be familiar to anyone who has watched a John Woo film, ''Eastern Promises'' or ''Violent Cop''.
 '''General Notes on Technology:'''
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 Artificial Intelligence - I'm sort of all over the shop with this.  One one hand it needs to common enough to warrant robot PCs (maybe), and on the other the setting is sort of premised on it being really weird and unusual.  I'll work around it somehow.  Generally speaking the only big AGIs are the part-psycholith Daevas, who are strange and inscrutable.
 '''The Commonwealth of the Sun and the Seventh Republic'''
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 The current political system is contributing to the development of the World System; the rapidly cycle of elections is beginning to outpace human involvement.  The public is so constantly bombarded by political media and outright propaganda that their only real response is apathy, reducing their involvement in the process to clockwork selection of what seems to be the most popular party.  The parties themselves are almost automated: legions of mad men in constant motion to create the most convincing image of the best government with less and less understanding of their own ideology.

Ford Prefect at 11:34, 17 August 2011

2011-08-17T11:34:58Z

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	'''The Commonwealth of the Sun and the Seventh Republic'''		'''The Commonwealth of the Sun and the Seventh Republic'''

	Informally referred to as 'the Commonwealth' and less commonly as 'the Seventh Republic'. It is the sole sovereign State in the Fimbulwinter, and by law is sole hegemon of the solar system (the relevant provisions are set out in Chapter V of the Hammurabi, the Constitution of the Seventh Republic). It is a federal system which shares sovereignty between the world level and the 'Polis' level, Polis (plural Poleis) being the preferred terminology for demarcated administrative zones. There are currently ~~677~~ Poleis in the Commonwealth. The Hammurabi sets a strict separation of powers:		Informally referred to as 'the Commonwealth' and less commonly as 'the Seventh Republic'. It is the sole sovereign State in the Fimbulwinter, and by law is sole hegemon of the solar system (the relevant provisions are set out in Chapter V of the Hammurabi, the Constitution of the Seventh Republic). It is a federal system which shares sovereignty between the world level and the 'Polis' level, Polis (plural Poleis) being the preferred terminology for demarcated administrative zones. There are currently 777 Poleis in the Commonwealth. The Hammurabi sets a strict separation of powers:

	''The Executive'' - Chapter I of the Hammurabi vests executive power in the President of the Seventh Republic and Prince of the Sun charging him, her or it with the execution of Commonwealth law, alongside the responsibility of appointing Commonwealth executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers, on the advice and consent of the Senate (it should be noted that the Article on 'concluding treaties with foreign powers' exist as a precautionary measure). The President is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Universal Peace Enforcement Organisation. 'Prince of the Sun' is ceremonial title referring to specifically to the wider solar system. The President is assisted by the Vice-President, who is sitting Speaker of the Senate, and Cabinet.		''The Executive'' - Chapter I of the Hammurabi vests executive power in the President of the Seventh Republic and Prince of the Sun charging him, her or it with the execution of Commonwealth law, alongside the responsibility of appointing Commonwealth executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers, on the advice and consent of the Senate (it should be noted that the Article on 'concluding treaties with foreign powers' exist as a precautionary measure). The President is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Universal Peace Enforcement Organisation. 'Prince of the Sun' is ceremonial title referring to specifically to the wider solar system. The President is assisted by the Vice-President, who is sitting Speaker of the Senate, and Cabinet.