Delten Technocracy

Snapshots in Time

Rather than look at an extensive recounting of the history of the world known as Delten, this one has deemed it necessary to give glimpses at defining moments in the birth and subsequent rise to power of the Principality. This one will do their best to provide pertinent information to the time period in question at each step along the way; however, it needs to be said that the information within this history file is assuming a basic understanding and advancement matching that of a Deltenian child. Surely, any luddites that manage to get a hold of this information will not understand and draw false conclusions from the information.

Beginning Times

Having left Earth amidst the backlash of the retrovirus debacle in South America - they really were amateurs weren't they - Nicholas William Delten and a selection of prime candidates entered the solar system that would become our home. An extensive survey of all of the planetary bodies within the system showed one result that required further inspection. The colony was established on the second planetary body of note from the K-type main sequence star that was at the center of the system. Rich resource deposits were discovered under several of the primary mountain ranges and planet fall was made on the largest continent in the eastern hemisphere.

An in depth look at Delten II - 'Delten'

Delten II is unique in its features both astronomically and geologically. It was the richest planet within the habitable zone of the K-type star - this is not saying much due to the reduced life-zone of a K-type and there only being two planetary bodies within this zone - and it sported a unique feature seen only in the gas giant of Neptune in Sol, it rotated perpendicular to its progression around its parent star. Coupled with existing at the edge of the life-zone, the axial tilt of near 90 degrees further propagates the snowball effect that the planet is currently undergoing.

Delten II has a sidereal day shorter than that of Earth at 23 hours, 11 minutes, and 27 seconds. One solar year is also shorter than an Earth solar year at 345.54 sidereal days. Knowing the correction for the time of days and years on Delten II, it is possible to understand how the seasons cycle.

During the winter months, there is no sunlight at all. The only light available is provided by the starfield above. During the summer months, direct sunlight is almost always present. Despite the increased sunlight, temperatures remain around 263 Kelvin for the duration of the summer. Winter temperatures have been measured to go as low as 223 Kelvin on the coldest days.

Flora and fauna have adapted to the extreme conditions concerning sunlight, and the Delten summer is quite beautiful. This one is partial to when the blue tree-like plants go into their reproduction phase. The major oceans and seas are consistently covered by ice; however, expeditions to the frozen seas has discovered flora and fauna existing beneath the thick ice.

As is evident, Delten II has an atmosphere not dissimilar to that of Earth. Key differences are in the amount of carbon dioxide present. The amount of carbon dioxide that is present in the Delten II atmosphere is significantly lower than that of Earth. Researchers have postulated that this is due to the atmospheric conditions.

Delten II has three primary continents that are similar in size to North America and a large collection of archipelagos. The three continents are the major sources of the resource deposits, but survey teams have discovered rich veins located on several old archipelagos.

While tectonic activity has been measured to be at a minimum, geological records indicated that Delten II has undergone significant geological activity. It is postulated by the colleagues of this one that a period of increased geological activity is probable within the next geological epoch.

The early colonists to Delten II did an in-depth study to determine the terraformability of the planet, and while results were promising, the project was abandoned in the light that the cost would outweigh the benefits due to the positioning of the planet in the solar system.

As of the completion of this compilation of data on Delten II, the bulk of the population is centered around six major metropolises with numerous industrial mining complexes scattered about the planet.

A New Path is Seen

Delten II was selected due to its vast reserves of natural resources that could be exploited in the drive to become better than we are. Our founder, Nicholas William Delten, saw that this planet would be the springboard that would launch us into the future and beyond. The initial colonists were mostly intellectuals, but there were also military men and women, industrial workers, and a collection of various other professions. The one thing that they all shared though was their drive to better themselves.

Nicholas Delten was a visionary of genetic manipulation. Everyone that followed him had undergone a genetic modification program of some sort while back on Earth. Because of the backlash back home, they banded together and followed Nicholas Delten out into the stars. Nicholas Delten saw this as an opportunity to spread his knowledge and wisdom to those that were like him free of the worry of those on Earth meddling in his plans. The colony became more than a new home, it became inspiration for the beginning of the future of all mankind.

After initial surveys of the planet had been completed, it was found that there were readings of interest that required further investigation. The colony was established on the primary continent near the equator and survey teams were dispatched to the nearest location of the readings. There were readings located in a nearby mountain range, and they lead the survey team to a sedimentary deposit that was out of place. Samples were taken, and the survey team returned to the colony. After an in-depth analysis, it was found that the sedimentary deposit was actually a deposit of delta-grade dust dating back an indeterminable amount of time. Analysis of the surrounding rock was only able to confirm that the deposit was, indeed, old. Analysis of the dust showed that it was inactive, and it was not sending out the signals that active dust would. This was the cause of the strange readings that were recorded from orbit. Taking a portion of active dust, it was possible to activate the relic dust. Mining began immediately.

As the colony was established and began to flourish despite the conditions of the world, the genetic manipulation program as designed by Nicholas Delten began in earnest. All colonists received modification that allowed for enhanced intelligence. The development of new technology as well as advancement in genetic manipulation itself leapt forward as time moved on. Upon completion of the first phase, the Council of Provosts met to discern where the path that would lead them further into the future lay. Amidst heated debates and enlivened presentations, a path was determined that would launch the population of the planet on a runaway course to a destined meeting with an invisible foe.

On Provosts

It is necessary to assume a course on tangent to the current topic to discuss the formulation of the Council of Provosts.

Each Provost is elected by one of the 6 districts that span the globe. A seventh Provost, the Provost Altus, is selected by the Provosts from the population at large. Anyone may be selected to fill the role of Provost Altus and lead the Deltenians into the future as Nicholas Delten did back in the beginning. Originally, the Provost Altus was selected after a festival lasting a week in the capitol city of Novus Lima, but with the completion of The Path as laid out by the Original Seven, the Provosts now join with The Network and make their selection by flowing among the minds of all Deltenians open to The Network. What once took a week now takes mere minutes.

The Path is Mired

The Original Seven saw the path that the people of Delten II would take to stride tall into the future of humanity. Nicholas Delten was 70.

The Path, as it began being called, said that all people of Delten II would become capable of communication that was the stuff of fiction. The Path also said that they would gain the ability to converse with machines. There were skeptics, but when Provost Altus Delten delivered The Path to the people himself, all of their doubts were washed away. The people of Delten II smiled brightly and stared into the future they would become.

As more and more realized The Path and took their place in the future as seen by the Original Seven, they started to suffer from bouts of paranoia. Men and women, adults and children, none were spared from the torments of this hidden threat. It was not until the majority of the population had achieved The Path that which was hidden became apparent. Something was coming.

Darkness Comes

In the eightieth year of the life of Nicholas William Delten, the darkness descended.

People cowered in fear and clutched their heads as ships, almost organic in appearance, swept through the sky. Some of the ships raced back into space while others circled around. Green glows formed on points of the ship and lanced down into structures, forcing people out into the open for fear of becoming the next victim of a building conflagration.

Multiple sonic booms cracked and larger vessels of similar design philosophy came into view over the horizon. People were being corralled into large openings in the colony and surrounding countryside. The snow glowed orange from the fires and green from the weapons. As the larger vessels came to a halt about the gathered crowds, openings formed in their underside and tendrils shot out and grabbed people, hauling them back into the dark recesses of the ship. The people scattered.

The Original Seven had been planning for this day. They had sought out ways to advanced the understandings of weapons technology and developed ships so as to fight back. They had managed to discern the meaning behind the messages that filled the minds of every man, woman, and child on the surface of Delten II. It was the chatter of a hive of drones. The drones had been there since before Nicholas Delten had arrived in-system. The arrival of the posthuman ship that carried the colonists had started a timer, and the drones bided their time until the instant to act was at hand. They avoided the remains of whatever posthuman devices had been scattered after the ship landed, but in the years prior to the attack, they went out and started collecting them, analyzing them, adding them to their being.

There was a pattern to the chatter, and there was a louder voice amongst the cacophony that filled every mind, the voice that gave the instructions. The Original Seven had learned those instructions, and they knew they had little time to act.

When the cracks of ships entering from orbit split the serene afternoon air, the Original Seven set their plan into action. Soon after the large ships began abducting colonists, the first ships of the Deltenian Navy took flight from their mountain range hiding spot that was also home to the ancient dust deposits. They rode on plumes of superheated incandescent gas towards the bulk of the intruders, and they met them in battle over Novus Lima.

The first shot came as a surprise, there was no sound. In one instant, one of the smaller drones was preparing to eradicate a group of fleeing colonists, and in the next, there was a plume of smoke and fire roiling from its side as it slewed and plummeted to the ground on the outskirts of the capitol. The drones paused for an instant, surprised at the pain of one of their own, and another fell victim to a blast from great distance, the thunder crack from the slug as it scythed through the air echoing across the valley. The drones didn't take long to collect themselves, and the game was afoot.

The larger, lumbering ships sealed up, pitched to point their nose to the sky, and initiated a hard burn. Any colonists still beneath them were incinerated in the blast. The smaller drones spun and made to cover the escape of the larger. Another boom of thunder sounded through the valley and one of the large ships started a lazy spiral as it climbed, but the damage did not seem to affect the engines. People could be seen falling from the puncture in its side.

When the large drones made orbit, the smaller drones turned and ran, quickly outpacing the rudimentary ships of the Deltenian Navy. They disappeared into the bleakness of space.

Night Becomes Day

The battle not even two hours old, the people of Delten II agreed on a plan to save their people. They could not track the drones, but they were able to tell where their friends and family were at. They were still in the system. Preparations were made, and the fleet was assembled at Novus Lima.

The survivors of the attack and the members of the navy gathered at the Provost Lectern, the building of the government that is located in Novus Lima, and Provost Altus Nicholas William Delten gave his most famous of speeches. These were its words.

My children, I stand before you today with my heart weighed down by grief. Your brethren have been stolen from us by living machines. That is right. Those things that attacked were not people like you or me, they were abominations. They were monsters that saw fit to use us as some way to unlock their own future, but they made a miscalculation. There is no future for them. The future of the drones is to be the dirt beneath our feet on The Path to our future. There are those of you who question the Path as seen by the Council of Provosts, but do not fear your doubt! Your doubt only helps to allow you to make yourself stronger. Hold on to your doubts, but do not let them stay your hand on The Path. The Path is right, and it will lead us to our future. We need but walk forward, and the future will come to us. Now, it is time that our brethren return to us. I will lead the Council forth to the lair of these abominations, and we will see to it that those lost find their way back to The Path.

- Provost Altus Nicholas William Delten

Those were the last words spoken by Provost Altus Nicholas William Delten. The ship of the Original Seven was lost in the fight, but they kept their promise. The majority of those lost were returned to the planet. Personal reports and footage indicates that the ship of the Original Seven was last seen diving into the primary formation of the drones before a bright flash of white knocked out the instrumentation and momentarily blinded the crews. A final thought was received from the Original Seven moments before the flash. It was simple in its message, but it has been the driving force ever since. "Live for the Future."

The remaining drones were wiped out by the fleet before they could recover from whatever effect the blast had on them. Samples were salvaged from the wreckage of the drones, marker buoys were placed, and the fleet returned home.

Reports from those abducted indicate that the drones had started to experiment on them. People were dissected, and their brains were removed and seemingly analyzed. The reason for this analysis is unknown to this day.

A memorial service was held for the Original Seven, a month of mourning for those that made it their personal endeavor to discover The Path that would lead the people to the future. There is a memorial in front of the Provost Lectern. It reads:

Live for the future.

- 2105

The Path is Forward

After the events of 2105, the people of Delten II saw fit to rename their system from its catalogue designation to Delten. The primary planet on which they lived would also be known as Delten in honor of the first Provost Altus and his vision for the future.

In a pleasing turn of events, the scientists of Delten took the recovered samples from the drones and made numerous discoveries into the governing technology of the drones. The next survey team sent out to the debris field of the battle site also managed to chance across posthuman machinery that the drones were still in the process of assimilating. This machinery was returned to Novus Lima where engineers and scientists managed to find a way to adapt the engineering advancements into Deltenian equipment.

After the drone attack and the loss of the Original Seven, a new Council of Provosts was elected. Brian Hector Overia, a 24 year old man born in Novus Lima and first generation Deltenian, accepted the title of Provost Altus and leads us into the future to this day.

The Breakdown

Forty-seven years after the attack by the drones, a computer virus rampaged across the galaxy rendering normal jump drives highly inefficient. Member of a tentative coalition of like-minded worlds, Provost Altus Overia and the rest of the Council of Provosts entered a lively debate lasting two weeks. At the conclusion of the debate, The Path was found again, and the future was in reach once more. The Deltenian Drive Yards, founded in the 2090's to prepare for the drone attack, expanded its production capability, and developments were made allowing for the construction of massive ships capable of hauling other ships through a jump with it. This technology was present before the other members of the coalition, and the Magnate Continuum was born. Plans were made.

The Magnate War

In the year of 2160, the Magnate Continuum, propelled by Deltenian Drive Yard jumpships and other naval constructs, began bringing societal management to nearby worlds. These worlds were not always the most amiable to accepting The Path or one of the other accepted Magnate philosophies, but they were eventually brought to see reason.

On one such world, contact was made with a group that had already managed to subdue the original governing body, and after a heated standoff in orbit, an agreement was reached and the group was welcomed into the Continuum with open arms.

In the year of 2164, the first inroads into the loose alliance known as the League were made. Deltenian jumpships hauled Magnate forces to the frontline planets, and a long planned campaign to enlighten the League began.

For further exposition into the details of the war, please direct yourself to the article pertaining to the Battles of the Magnate War. Suffice it to say, the war lasted until 2180, one year after The Breakdown officialy came to an end.

Advancement from Destruction

The Magnate War provided an opportunity to advance the understanding of knowledge and how to apply it through vigorous trials, the trials of combat. It was during this time that those known as Alephs were born. A joint project involving all facets of the Continuum, the Deltens housed the project, applying their unique understanding of interfacing with technology and communications with a thought, and invited the other members to send their lead scientists in their specialties to join the project. In a matter of a few years, the first Aleph was born.

The Aleph took the best that each member nation could provide to it and combined them all producing a warrior to be feared. While the Aleph never saw incorporation in the Deltenian society, they found their home with other members of the Continuum.

Also advanced during the war, the technology used by drones was advanced to new heights. The League made use of whatever technology they could find to give themselves a fighting edge, and any data that Deltenian Survey Teams could acquire was sent back to the homeworld for analysis. This data has been handy in helping to unlock more understanding in the engineering feats that could be accomplished from using drone technology.

The Deltenian Drive Yards also saw a massive boost in research during the extent of the war. The industrial output of the drive yards alone doubled by the end of the war. Advancements were made in the technology of constructing ships, and the engineering understanding to effectively and efficiently construct massive ships meant for war was completed. The Deltenian Navy saw the creation and advancement of the aerospace wing, a group dedicated to protecting the jumpships and providing support planetside when possible.

An Uneasy Peace

The Solomon Armistice saw the suspension of the Magnate War. This sat uneasily with the people of Delten because it was a part of The Path that all were to know how to reach their future. As was evidenced by the League, most were unwilling to embrace something so simple openly.

Accepting that their Path had become harder to take, the Council of Provosts set forth planning with the rest of the Continuum for when the future became the present.

The Future Awaits

With the start and end of the ZOCU War, the first piece of the puzzle has slipped into place. The signs are starting to show, and The Path is coming back into view. The Future awaits. Will you walk along The Path with us?

History Paths

A1 Resource Base (+100 PIP)

A2 Dominately Transgene (+40 Transgene)

A3 Resource Rich World

A6 Relic Dust (+100 Dust)

B1 Military Action (+2,500 Military)

B3 Feral Drone Attack (+2,500 Military)

C1 Artifact Find (+100 Dust)

C2 Reverse-Engineerable (+ 100 Application)

D1 "I'm a Magnate!" (+20 SP, + Morale)

D5 Planning for the Long Term (+2,500 Stockpiles, +100 PIP, +100 CIP, +4,000 Mothball Fleet)

M1 Time-Motion Engineers (+250 PIP, +200 CIP, + Logistics)

M2 Holy Shit it's the Clans (+4 Global Techlevel, + 200 Application, +100 CIP)

N1 Future Government (++ Morale, +20 Transgene)

Ran outta people (+ Computer Application, -60 Pop)

X1 Skunkworks (++ Secrecy, +75 Application, 20% Secrets, +0% Secret Project Cost)

Summary of Bonuses

+20 SP

+450 PIP

+400 CIP

+200 Dust

+60 Transgene

+ Logistics

+5,000 Military

+++ Morale

+4,000 Mothball Fleet

+375 Application

+ Computer Application

-60 Pop

++ Secrecy

20% Secrets

+0% Secret Project Cost

SP Purchases

Available: 20 + 5 (from Tech rules)

100 Application Points (-10 SP)

+2 Railguns Tech Level, +2 Xenotech Tech Level, +1 Shipbuilding Tech Level, +1 Transgenic Tech Level, +2 Aerospace Tech Level (-4 SP)

2,250 Military (-9 SP)

5 Transgene Points (-2 SP)

Tech Spread

Global Tech Level: 16

Tech Bonuses

[Dominantly Transgene] +4 Transgenics

[Military|Feral Drone Attack] +10 Xenotech

[Artifacts!] +5 Basic Theotech

[Artifacts!|Reverse-Engineerable] +5 Basic Theotech

[Future Government] +2 Transgenics

Railguns +4

Materials +4

Transgenics +9

Ground +4

Xenotech +14

Collarize +14

[Time-Motion Engineers]: +4 Shipbuilding, Collarize +10

[Holy Shit It's the Clans]: +4 Global Tech Level, +2 Weapons Tech (+2 Railgun Tech), -4 Civilian Tech

[SP Purchase] +2 Railguns, +2 Xenotech, +1 Shipbuilding, +1 Transgenic, +2 Aerospace

Final Breakdown

Global Tech Level 20

Railguns 28

Materials 24

Transgenics 36

Ground 24

Xenotech 46

Collarize 44

Basic Theotech 30

Shipbuilding 25

Civilian Tech 16

Aerospace 22

Applications

Starting

+ Ground Application

+ Aerospace Application

+5 Shipbuilding Application

Cruiser Construction

+ Railgun Application

[Time-Motion Engineers] Capital Construction

Purchased

Available Application: 475

Shipbuilding VI: -100

Aerospace Construction II & III: -165

Spent: 265
Remaining: 210

Genetic Modification in the Principality

Points Available: 65

Level 2 Enhanced Intelligence (Complex)

Level 2 Communications (secondary specialization)

Level 1 Computer Interfacing (secondary specialization)

Base Cost: 25

Transgenics Level: 36

Cost: 16

Population Coverage: >90%

Adjusted Cost: 64

1 Transgene Point converted to 5 Weath

Transgenic Benefits

+20% Population Wealth Output

-10% R&D Costs

Finalized Power Statistics

Population: 240

Wealth: 510 + 5 + 144 = 659

PIP: 1050 + 120 = 1,070

CIP: 900 + 120 = 1020

Dust: 450

Military: 32,250

Mothball Fleet: 4,000

Deltenian Shipyards

Principality Battleship