Far away in time and space, a group of exiles made a long journey to a paradise of ruins. They had fled oppression and slavery, and so they took up the task of making a new society based on dreams and commitments of freedom. They called the place they found the 'Garden'.

That was thousands of years ago. From the exile, a thousand flowe

rs have bloomed and died and bloomed again. It has been riven and resutured by wars and movements and new religions, by confrontations with its inside and its outside. Vast tracts of the Garden's history are lost or falsified. All these things are done in the shifting, cryptic shadow of those who have left humanity behind.

Your name is not Stella. That was the name written on your resurrection tank when you woke up, with no memories and a god in your head. One of six strangers with fake identities, marooned on an abandoned city-ship crawling with nightmares. But surviving the ship is only the beginning of Stella's problems.

Boarding Shell

A suit of heavy combat armor designed for espaiter units during boarding operations. They are also valued on a conventional battlefield against non-Garden opponents due to their strong protection from radiation.

Countermeasures

The collective name for the various types of active defenses that modern combatants use to avoid localization. With Gardenian infantry, are emitted by both worn systems, such as a defense aura, and by drones within a user's screen. Modern countermeasures work against most forms of scanning, active and passive, including gravity, thermal, neural electric and visual light. More colloquially known as hash or soup.

Catapults

The most common infantry weapon in the Garden, Catapults use electromagnetic force to launch guided micro missiles and grenades over long distances. Most use electromagnetic, or gravity aided electromagnetic launches, though some models have also been known to use laser launches, especially if a river or other advanced energy system can be obtained.

Defensive Aura

Worn in some version by most Garden citizens, a defensive aura is a set of jewelry that emits a relatively low power force field that can protect the wearer from environmental hazards, cold and the like. In combat the shield super charges and is able to turn away projectiles and splinters to a limited degree. Military versions also include countermeasures and interception systems.

Equipment Tree

The most common form of Garden microfacturing, an equipment tree is a large plant composed of a mix of biological and dry nanotechnological components. While it can be used on ships, its primary benefit is on planet, where one can be planted and act as its own mining operations, refining materials out of the soil itself.

Generally high energy components and certain specialist computer devices are added seperately.

Tactical Sleeve

A thin, tough suit of nanotech weave armor, the Tactical Suit provides Gardenian light infantry with excellent protection against enemy weapon fire, and extreme levels of signature reduction. While many heavy infantry units use various forms of powered hard suits, and elite infantry may add external powered assists, the superhuman nature of Gardenian genetic and cybernetic engineering often makes the low cost tactical suit a superior alternative.

Hard Suit

Various forms of power armour, commonly known as hard suits use rigid a-diamond, ceramic and metal plates to defend against incoming attack. They are commonly used by various heavy infantry units, especially in scenarios where signature radius is less of a concern, such as when the enemy possesses either little sensory capacity, or too much for signature reduction to be a real issue.

Drones

Various AI combat robots have been a feature of warfare since before the settlement of the Garden. Modern combat drones are sometimes autonomous, but more often act as an extension of a human operator, usually commanded directly from the interface meridians or through a squad link.

Drone Screen

The development of thought-controlled drones has lead to modern soldiers deploying a network of combat drones around them in what's called a drone screen, or simply a screen. This screen provides vision for the soldier, and defence against other enemy drones, allowing the targetting of smart grenade launchers, vehicle based weapons, funnels and other drones which make up the bulk of a contempary soldier's firepower.

Funnels

Heavy energy drones called Funnels are another mainstay weapon of Garden combat. They consist of an array of sensors and a small force field flight system around a single high-energy weapon. The separation of such weapons onto drones allows for more energetic power sources to be used and minimizes the chance of irradiating the user. Modern funnels are able to be used both offensively and defensively to engage enemy missiles.

Medusa
A vision based hack of a biological or computer brain. Commonly used by posthumans, but also a favorite of Chrysanthemum forces.

The Chrysanthemum and the Rose

The Chrysanthemum and the Rose are long term organisation structures of Gardenian society that claim to stretch back to the original exile, during which two competing philosophies of transhumanism were developed.

At this point in history, the two are both philosophical concepts, organisations and civilizations, with numerous smaller states, groups and entities existing at a lower level within them. We will cover each in turn below.

The Chrysanthemum

Philosophy

-If Nature is Unjust, change Nature
The Chrysanthemum philosophy is Promethean in its core ethic. It believes that the universe does not conform to human notions of justice, but that it may be impelled to do so via human reason, will, and technology.

This has led to human modification for reasons of medicine, enhancement, and aesthetics, and a civilization whose ethics revolve around notions of freedom, social justice, individuality and collective decision making. However, Chrysanthemum ethics tend to lead to prejudice against systems of transhumanism which seek to abandon basic human notions such as the idea of the individual as a single bounded entity. It can also lead to a kind of xenophobia, especially against beings who do not seem to share human ethics.

In practice, Chrysanthemum augmentation sets tend to be less radical, though not necessarily less varied or effective than those used by the Rose, though individuals may choose more radical transhumanism, there is little support for radical abandonment of the human form across most Chrysanthemum worlds.

Organisation

Ancient history suggests that the Chrysanthemum's organisation was originally fleet based, and served as a linkage between the original colonies. While it now has developed several core worlds, this legacy of original sisterhood of trade and service remains.

The Chrysanthemum organisation is roughly divided into "core" populations, who grew up on a Chrysanthemum habitat, and "recruited" population, who come from outside. The two populations tend to mix fairly freely but different enhancement sets are used by each. In a military context, most Chrysanthemum troops are recruits from outside, however the elite light infantry units who guard Chrysanthemum ships and installations are always recruited from core population.

The emissaries of the Chrysanthemum are known as Liaisons, who are usually recruits, and are equipped with the Chrysanthemum's best social and physical enhancements. Liaison's have broad discretionary authority and tend to be seen in command of anything that moves beyond day to day operations. Most Liasions have a retinue of soldiers, staff and other support people who may act as their agents, warriors or trusted companions. They make up the most visible part of the Chrysanthemum hierarchy to most of the Garden, but are also part of a parallel structure that reports directly to the Chrysanthemum Leadership, while the main organisation rises in a series of conventional delegate councils from its various ships, stations, enclaves and industrial combines.

The Chrysanthemum Organization's leadership is conducted by the Interfacers, a council of highly augmented individuals who are meant to produce an "interface" between normal, public institutions and councils, friendly posthumans that exist within the Chrysanthemum megastructures, hidden and unhidden organisational institutions, and the vast number of disembodied virtual souls and AIs that exist in various AI havens. Around a third of the Interfacerate are elected by the public Chrysanthemum councils, but the process of election for the other two thirds is murky. They are often selected from high ranking Liaisons, though some appear to be specifically created for their positions.

This model of leadership has undergone much criticism over the years, and several splinter groups governed under a more conventional councilist structure remain or have grown up. The Interfacerate tends to put a great deal of emphasis on ritual, though the current head is known to be notably critical of the Chrysanthemum's more conservative elements and pushing a more radical promethean line.

The Chrysanthemum organisation's upper reaches are seen by many Gardenians as somewhat sinister and conspiratorial, with little transparency as to who exactly the Interfacate are interfacing with to make their decisions, and a great deal of secrecy being conducted.

Civilization

The Chrysanthemum Worlds represent a slice of around fifty percent of the Garden, mostly concentrated from the Exile Gate edge and then running into an arc that borders the Riverward edge of the Garden.

Most worlds in Chrysanthemum space are self governing, with Chrysanthemum Enclaves at various points. These enclaves are often surrounded by gardens of Terran plants, the provision of which was one of the original Chrysanthemum services.

Most Chrysanthemum worlds are named for female historical figures or locations associated with the ancient amazons of lost Gaia.

There are several large interstellar nations within the Chrysanthemum Worlds, including Sakura, which occupies the space facing the river, which is known for its industrial power and for its provision of mercenary troops, and Sampaguita, a large and high tech polity that has made many advances in physics and is currently in dispute with the Chrysanthemum organisation over aspects of its transhumanism.

Chrysanthemum aesthetic conventions, focus on geometric forms, pleasant environments, and the exaltation of the human form. Non-combat personnel mostly wear white offset with other colours, and Liaisons in particular have a tradition of 'one piece per limb and then the torso', interpreted according to the wearer's personality.

The Rose

Philosophy

-A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever.

The Rose believe that the human body and mind are fundamentally ill suited for the universe that they find themselves in, and that they must be modified to thrive. They do not reject all human ideas of justice, but believe that such ideas are naturally flawed by being made by flawed humans. Only by rejecting humanity with all of its flaws can a truly just and proper life be lived.

In practice, this has lead to biology and psychology that integration insights drawn from alien biology and alien psychology, and an interest in new philosophical paths. Several now Garden-wide traditions such as Eternalism originated in Rose-affiliated territory. Rose augmentation sets tend to be more alien than Chrysanthemum ones, integrating additional senses, emotional change and mind modification. This has led to many powerful results but they do tend to be somewhat more fragile than the well understood creations of Chrysanthemum biosciences. Rose humans, even ones that retain a fairly standard human form are usually recognizable due to their wide range of skin colours, with blue being the most common. The building of posthumans of various kinds is still more common in the Rose, but Rose philosophy of the current era rejects the notion that merely hyper extending the abilities of a human will create a being that is truly greater than its antecedent.

While Rose philosophy does tend to be more accepting of difference and strangeness than the more conservative Chrysanthemum, it sometimes falls prey to powerful interests who may use the rejection of human moral intuitions as a way to to justify exploitation in the name of efficiency or some other objective. Of course, Chrysanthemum critics and propagandists say the idea that these incidents are a deviation from Rose beliefs rather than its most authentic expression is a convenient delusion.

Organisation

Unlike the Chrysanthemum, the Black Rose was structured more like a church or a brand of philosophy with a central school. Mirror-masked Rose Philosophers serve as advisors and counsellors across most Rose worlds, and they operate many schools, hospitals and other organisations. However that has changed in the last two centuries, as events of the thousand banner wars lead to the emergence of a more powerful and centralised Rose organisation based on the need to reorganise local states that had fallen into chaos, and oppose River, and potentially Chrysanthemum, expansionism into traditional Rose space.

Despite this organisation, which saw Black Rose and its surrounding allied states build up a large space force and military organisation for the first time, the Rose retain a less strict hierarchy than the Chrysanthemum, preferring to allow numerous schools of thought and individual priestesses to foster their own innovations. This is caused not least by intense and sometimes violent opposition from its constituent bodies to any suggestion it do otherwise.

The most commonly seen types of Rose Emissaries are Priestesses, who can be recognized by their mirrored face masks. Like Liaisons, most priestesses use very high end augmentation sets, but are more often seen preaching philosophie or debating with Eternalists and Religious groups than conducting business deals or political machinations. That said, the idea of the conniving priestess is one that has much play in pop culture, and not without reason, as the Rose's network lends itself to intrigue.

In war, the Rose can call upon both volunteer forces raised from across their space, but also on warrior sects of those who have fully embraced its philosophy and undergone extensive body and mind modification.

However despite the Rose's affirmation of alienation most of its nominal supporters are not very far from the human median, and admire those who transform themselves without necessarily having the courage or honest desire to follow in their footsteps. Many are motivated more by an abstract sense of independence or various lurid and occasionally false conspiracy theories about the Chrysanthemum than a positive commitment. But their words and actions can tell in support of the strange dream all the same.

Civilization

Rose territory is mostly along the Garden's trailing edge somewhat further from the entry gateway. They were settled somewhat later than most Chrysanthemum worlds, and are slightly more likely to be arranged in multi-system polities. However, Rose worlds exist throughout the garden, and a majority of them are administered as single system polities just like those settled by the Chrysanthemum. Rose schools, libraries and clinics are a common site on these worlds, as various precursor images, now used as venues for contemplation.

About seventy percent the non-human populations of the Garden make their home in Rose space.

Rose worlds are often named after ancient feminists, especially transhumanists.

Rose Priestesses often wear mirrored masks, which are their symbol of office, and have become so ubiquitous a symbol of spiritual enlightenment that they have been nearly adopted by several parts of the Chrysanthemum. Besides this one symbol it is harder to identify a consistent trend in Rose-influenced aesthetics besides a fondness for the alien and the unusual, which can be carried to extremes in those places and people who do not need or care to recommend themselves to the common person.