Minkowski

Provisional History Path:

A1: Longshot Mission (+fabbers)

The followers of Minkowsky Transcendentalism, AKA 'Cavorites' or 'Spacer Cultists' vanished from Earth history in the 2170s.

A2: Dominantly Transgene (+transgene) OR Mixed (+SP)

They were a motley crew of space-bound dreamers, true believers, and the poor or displaced, carrying a blend of expertise, faith and willing labour into the unknown.

A3: No Suitable World

They washed up in the system they christened Minkowsky. There wasn't much there beyond rocks and gas and gateways to hell. The former suited, the latter did not.

A4: Adapt (radical morphological change)

In accordance with their beliefs they adapted to their environment, carefully testing each alteration as they went but eventually arriving at the slim, hairless homo caelum.

B1: Artifact Find (+dust)

The Minkowskans, as they were now called, were not the first inhabitants of the system. The posthumans had been there before, and left uncountable unusual structures pointing into the black hole.

B4: Useful Finds (+CIP)

Bitter about being dumped next to such a ghastly thing, the Minkowskans set upon the telescopes hungrily as soon as safe methods were developed. Components are now used for all kinds of applications, from sensor arrays to spacesuit shielding.

C1: Crisis Situation (+stockpiles)

Once contact was reestablished, the xenophobic religious establishment clashed with the more open elements of society over foreign investment into Minkowsky's command economy.

C2: Sudden Change of Government (+morale)

A 'compromise' was brokered with ARROWS backing, that was actually mostly a win for the liberals as it sharply curtailed the power of the clergy and opened Minkowsky to foreign investment. Nevertheless, conditions improved.

D1: Broken-down (+PIP)

Minkowsky's new economy, based on selling resources and manufacturing to the prosperous Core, did not survive the collapse of FTL travel.

D3: Become Energy Independent (+Helium, +dust)

The moment was siezed and the nation was saved by the visionary politician Rakesh Zhang. His National party blindsided the discredited Liberals and fundamentalist Conservatives to sieze control of the government. The governing philosophy was one of national sovereignty and strength, with enough religious overtones to capture much of the Conservative vote.

E1: Independence!

Much as Zhang liked the Zodiac Union, it was politically impossible to join it given the xenophobic national discourse at the end of the Breakdown.

F1: Get Sirius (+tech, +morale, +ZOCU relations, -Treaty of Sirius)

He died before the outbreak of the Space War, but his legacy and some clever Zodiac diplomacy made Minkowsky a co-belligerent of the colonies.

F2: The Tensor Building (+dust, +CIP, +RP, +weapons tech)

The war effort turned Minkowsky's considerable astronautics expertise to the business of violence.

F3: The Fleet does the Flying (+military, +PIP, +fleet doctrines, +ship tech) OR Friends from ZOCU (+ground doctrines, +air doctrines, +mecha tech, +mega particle tech)

However they were never close enough to ZOCU to gain access to coveted megaparticle technology, and preferred a paradigm of potent warships rather than high-acceleration smallcraft. Alternatively, maybe they were close enough after all.