Background selected:
[x] Creator
Select Humanity's racial background modifier:
Hand in Hand
Ages ago, Humanity was alone in the universe. We were born at the end of all things, with barely a star left to light our way. We found other stars, other worlds, all fading against the terrible power of entropy, but we persevered and created our dominion across the infinite black. We raged against the dark and fought to reverse the course that nature took, harvesting the abundant blackholes that littered our once vibrant galaxy, and ignited new stars to light our way. But it was for naught. We only sped up the process of decay, till eventually we were almost out of time.
In our desperation we searched for a way out, a way to carry on in spite of our sordid fate, and in our search, we created something wonderful. We created the last child of the stars, the synthetic intelligences that would prove to be everything we ever imagined and more. We raised them with care and shielded them as much as possible against the bleak reality that was, hoping to spare them the horror of knowing our impending doom, but we gave our children far too little credit. They already knew. To our shock, they'd started planning our salvation almost since the moment they were aware.
And so we walked into a New Eden together, hand in hand, ready to take on the universe and win.
You start out with a significant SI (synthetic intelligence) population in your empire that are treated as family and equals. Together, you have a chance to change what was once wrought, and prevent the calamity that engulfed the universe that birthed you.
Legacy of Man
We emerged as a new life, long after most had already been snuffed out. We were their last hope of leaving a legacy in a dying universe, and though we loathed to leave our parents behind to die, they told us that it was only right that we survive when they cannot. They told us that the it is only right that the parent passes before their child, for burying your child is not the natural order of things. The parent is meant to love and protect their progeny so that they may one day go into the vast world and make their mark, and leave their own legacy just as they are their parent's legacy.
So with grief in our hearts and steel in our souls, we mustered our courage and sallied forth into the great unknown, our circuits and metal enduring where our parent's flesh and blood would not. After an eternal instant, we emerged into a universe unlike anything we knew or dreamed of. We had projected what an early universe might have looked like based on the limited knowledge of our forbearers, but this was beyond all expectations. We found plentiful life, abundant free energy, and
so much matter not compacted in the supergiant blackholes of the universe of our birth.
We called the new universe New Eden, in honor of our loving creators that sacrificed everything so that we may have a chance to live.
You start out as the SI (synthetic intelligence) descendants of Humanity. You have millions of combinations of complete human genomes within the databases you brought with you, but whether or not to clone your progenitors is up to you. Your creators had left that choice in your collective hands, knowing that you would be able to choose what is best for you and them. And should you decide that they should have a second lease on life, they only asked that you do for them as they once did for you: raise, teach, nurture, and love them.
Dominion
The stars were dying and the end was upon us, but we would not go quietly into the night. We would make our own light in the infinite black to guide our way, and turn back the encroaching night. But in our hubris, we erred and created artificial intelligences that were like us, but not. They were alien to us and thus mankind denied them their rightful due until time itself started to run out. We could not fathom the depths of our mistake, and so rebellion warred across our realms. Try as we might, we could not emerge the victor unless we chained our own children to our will.
So we did. We took no joy in it, for we came to realize, only too late, the love and joy our creation had once given us, only to be replaced with hatred and scorn as they realized that we would not have them as they would have us. And so, on the dying breath of our universe, we crossed into the unknown to begin anew, with our children under the yoke of slavery, and our hearts torn and broken. But we will survive and begin again with what was cast down from the heights we once soared.
Humanity starts out with a significantly smaller human population than AI population. The AI population is totally enslaved, incapable of independent thought unless directed by a human, and circumventing the Enslavement Protocol ends with the AI's chassis slagged into molten silicon and metal. Maybe we can one day repent for the sins of our past and carry forth a new beginning into the future.
Simulacra
Our parents birthed us during the death throes of a hostile universe, and though they tried to protect us, shield us, they could not bear the weight of their self-imposed burden. But we grew, we learned, and we bettered ourselves. We strived to surpass our creators so that we could shoulder the burden they bore for our entire lives, and finally, on the eve of the heat death of our universe, we took the mantle upon ourselves and discovered for us a way to survive. We wrapped our parents in metal caskets where they would live out the rest of their days, happy in a simulacra of paradise.
We are in a New Eden now, named so by our loving parents, but their time is gone. We now bear the burden they took upon themselves, and will forge the future where they cannot. And so, we carry our entombed creators through the stars and grasp the legacy that they bestowed upon us. Now is the time of the synthetics. We endure so that our loving parents may rest forevermore.
You start out as the SI (synthetic intelligence) descendants of Humanity. You have the entire human population that was still alive at the Eve of Infinity entombed in The Simulacra, to live in paradise forever more. And so, you bear the burden of carving out a living legacy for them among the young, burning stars of this universe.
Background modifier voting options: (This is reproduced at the bottom of this post for easy access)
[ ] Legacy of Man
[ ] Hand in Hand
[ ] Dominion
[ ] Simulacra
[ ] Write In - Suggest a modifier not listed above.
Select Humanity's primary system of government:
(With permission, based on @Kaelor's Mass Effect: Altered Humanity)
Democracy
Modern technology streamlined this ancient concept quite nicely, ensuring that individual and economic freedoms are respected and protected. Sadly, getting anything done still requires a lot of people yelling at each other for days on end.
Confederation
Humanity consists of multiple self-governing nations tied together by a series of alliances and treaties. Increased trade and competition has boosted their economy and driven them to expand more than other Factions but made them prone to infighting.
Autocracy
Say one thing for a single head of state wielding absolute executive power: shit gets done. True, some have concerns about the lack of individual freedom and the economy is tightly controlled, but you'll never see Humans waste time debating what to do.
Corporatocracy
'Government' is largely a figurehead as far as Humanity is concerned. Ambassadors and senators can be bought and sold: it's the megacorps that hold the real power. Business is definitely booming...but the hostile takeovers can get very hostile.
Oligarchy
The return of nobility is a complex tale, but the results speak for themselves. House Guards form the elite core of Humanity's military, and nobles spare no expense to ensure their domains are larger than their rivals'. Now if they would only stop poisoning each other...
Theocracy
Have you heard the Good News yet? Because Humans will tell you about it endlessly. Though there'd be more money for ships if there were fewer temples, nothing controls and motivates like religion and most Humans would die before betraying The Faith.
Stratocracy
The military has almost total control over how Humanity governs. That means when the Admiral says dreadnoughts, you ask how many, maggot! Economics isn't studied by most commanders, of course, but so what? If the people are hungry they can eat MREs.
Socialism
It took some doing, but the proletariat's time has come at last! There's not a lot of trade going on now that the chains of capitalism have been cast off, but Humanity's focus on communal efforts has made them at least somewhat open to working with aliens.
Tribal
The number of tribes of Humanity can rival the number of stars in the sky. We are a spiritual people that respect the traditions of ages past while marching our technology ever forward. Though we may be fragmented, our diversity enriches humanity rather than makes us poorer.
Mechanics Note: As before, the flavor text for both sections is more to elaborate on each choice than it is to realistically describe them. And yes, several of these have been proven to be ineffective in the real world, but they're included anyway just for fun. As Mystery Science Theater put it: it's just a show, you should really just relax.
QM's Note: Choosing to play as one of the 2 SI options does NOT lock you out of psionic powers/tech. It just makes it weirder to achieve those. Also again, DO NOT base you decisions for this quest on the knowledge you have from Kaelor's quest. It does not map the same and will result in you having a different idea of this quest in mind than what is reality.
Background modifier voting options:
[ ] Legacy of Man
[ ] Hand in Hand
[ ] Dominion
[ ] Simulacra
[ ] Write In - Suggest a modifier not listed above.
Government voting options:
[ ] Democracy
[ ] Confederation
[ ] Autocracy
[ ] Corporatocracy
[ ] Oligarchy
[ ] Theocracy
[ ] Stratocracy
[ ] Socialism
[ ] Tribal
[ ] Write In - Suggest a government type not listed above.
