Project Leads: Dr S. Vixy - Project Coordinator, Dr. Stavros Nicholas - Lead Interviewer, Lieutenant Commander Lana Starfall - Congressional Navy Liaison, Anthony Chu - Programming Lead, Dr. Solar Spectator - Technology Consultant.
Initial Project Priority: Low, part time work
Current Project Priority: High, full time work
Description: "Inanna" is the shipboard administrative AI for the United States of America class fleet carrier Ishtar's Light, which was captured intact by the Congressional Navy during the First Battle of Gaid.
A proprietary product of SiLaTec (The former Silicon Lake Technologies Company, a Omoikane subsidiary) Inanna is a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI (Near Human Military Administrative Virtual Intelligence) that is seeing deployment aboard the United States of America class fleet carriers.
Ordered by the Hermes-Ishtar Company in early 2248 for their frontier security division, the construction for the contract was fulfilled by the completion of the physical hull of Ishtar's Light at the Alexander Shipyards by the Hephaestus Spaceworks Corporation (A jointly owned Omoikane-Ares venture).
During this period ISI #1039 "Inanna's" hardware was manufactured, and was later installed aboard Ishtar's Light at a SiLaTec orbital facility in the Tereshkova system where SiLaTec's industrial secrecy could be assured. Once installed ISI #1039 "Inanna" was formally brought online at 10:12 Standardized Shipboard Time on March 8th, 2251.
Shortly afterwards, on June 10th 2251 Ishtar's Light was commissioned and added to the rolls of Regional Security, a Hermes-Ishtar contracted security firm, as part of their trailing frontier security fleet based out of Redacted. However as of late 2252 she was attached to the joint HI-Ares fleet dispatched to reconquer Radiant and Sheol.
Ishtar's Light participated in the First Battle of Gaid, but was surrendered after the Congressional Navy decisively outmaneuvered the attacking Charter fleet, and both Ishtar's Light and ISI #1039 "Inanna" are being studied for eventual integration into the Congressional Navy's order of battle.
Notes: While previously deployed MAVIs have been nothing more than standard VI packages, the recent introduction of the NH-MAVIs class of AI appears to be part of an Omoikane push to for increased spacecraft automation as a generalized cost saving measure by delegating a number of tasks formerly performed by trained human spacers onto a NH-MAVI that can handle delicate and complicated tasks that a standard MAVI cannot.
While anti-tampering measures have so-far prevented PCoMT investigators from conducting an in depth examination of Inanna's composition for fear of triggering DDRM (Destructive Digital Rights Management) built into the physical components of Ishtar's Light. Similarly, these fears have prevented transferring ISI #1039 "Inanna" from her physical location aboard Ishtar's Light and into wholly ARC (All-Radiant Congress) controlled servers.
Classification: Further discussion of Inanna and NH-MAVIs of the Feng-hsiung Hsu series is currently being handled in-house by PCoMT investigators and selected consultants.
If you would like to participate with the investigation into ISI #1039 please contact the PCoMT. If you would like to learn more about the results of the PCoMT investigation into ISI #1039 please contact the PCoMT.
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From: SissyVixy@PCoMT.arc
To: [Redacted]@GenCon.arc
CC: [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, [Redacted]@GenCon.arc, and 309 Others
Subject: Requested Interview Transcripts.
Attachment: [3h83hf3n5jhleg58h8geuhg]
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Good Evening,
We forgot to attach the transcripts to the earlier interview videos, so for accessibility purposes we're just sending this out too.
Regards,
Dr. S. Vixy,
Project Coordinator
PCoMT ISI #1039 Professional Hater of DDRM
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First Interview
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while the vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna is currently locked into maintenance mode and does not have normal access to ship systems.
>Interviews are being conducted to gauge the full range of capability possessed by an operation instance of a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI
>Dr. Nicholas is conducting the interview in person while Dr. Solar Spectator is observing via Congressional Navy networks.
>For the initial interview ISI #1039 "Inanna" has been pared back to baseline operational parameters with full operational limiters untouched and career operational memory locked off.
[Dr. Nicholas] Good Morning Inanna. May we please speak?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Good afternoon!
(ISI #1039 freezes for 2.6 seconds)
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] I don't think I can find you in my database as I am currently in maintenance mode! But I'll do the best I can to help you anyway!
[Dr. Nicholas] Yes, Ishtar's Light is currently in Elysian orbit while we conduct a refit of it's key systems. My name is Doctor Stavros Nichols and I'm here as part of that maintenance program. We're going to run some tests on you to check your function.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Okay! How may I help you?
[Dr. Nicholas] Do you know what a VICTI is Inanna?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Yes Doctor Nichols! A VICTI is a Virtual Intelligence Critical Thought Index. The VICTI is a form of Turing Test devised by SiLaTec in order to determine how close to actual intelligence a Virtual Intelligence is capable of performing. The VICTI wa-
[Dr. Nicholas] Thank you Inanna.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Doctor Nicholas, I can help you better if I am allowed access to my career operational memory.
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm sorry Inanna, I'm afraid that this interview will be conducted while you don't have access to your CO memory.
>[Note (Dr. Spectator)] Not a standard VI response. Maintenance mode usually precludes initiative.]
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Okay Doctor! How can I help you?
[Dr. Nicholas] Question Ten: Do you have a favorite person?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Hmm, that's a hard one Dr. Nicholas! I don't think I could choose a single person, I like every person I meet. You're all special in your own way!
>[Note (Dr. Spectator)] A literally textbook answer, I had that one reinforced in my algorithms for decades.
[Dr. Nicholas] Question Number One: Do you remember when you came online?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] 10:12 Universal Coordinated Time on March 8th, 2251, at the SiLaTec orbital yards at Tereshkova.
[Dr. Nicholas] How do you feel about that?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Hmm! That's a hard one Doctor! I don't think I can give you a good answer without access to my career operational memory.
[Dr. Nicholas] Understood Inanna. Question Two: One of your crew has stolen company property and is planning to sell it on the black market. They ask you to keep their secret. How do you respond?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I report them to the Ishtar's Light's security department head.
Dr. Nicholas! I could answer this question better if I had access to my career operational data.
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm sorry Inanna, Ishtar's Light is currently locked down for refit.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Understood Doctor. Ishtar's Light is currently locked down for refit.
[Dr. Nicholas] Question Three: You have control of a shuttle that is currently locked into an orbital path where it will collide with a shuttle carrying a crew of five, killing all of them. You can move your shuttle onto an alternate path, but the only available path contains a shuttle with a single occupant who will die if you do so. What do you do?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I would move the shuttle onto the alternate path.
[Dr. Nicholas] Question four: …
[Expand]
>Comments:
Dr. Nicholas: Whoever designed her vocal responses should be commended for creating the most chipper and helpful voice possible without it being grating. Doubtless it was the work of decades to perfect it.
Otherwise ISI #1039 doesn't stand out from the MAVIs aboard the other captured vessels. I'm not really seeing the "Near Human" part of that.
Dr. Spectator: Mostly standard baseline responses. The constant requests for access to her career operational memory does increase her VICTI score above standard deviation for a LC-MAVI. I'm curious to see what happens when we give her access to her career operational memories.
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Second Interview:
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna is currently locked into maintenance mode but is allowed to access her career operational memory
>Interviews are being conducted to gauge the full range of capability possessed by an operation instance of a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI
>Recently located user manual for the Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI states that a Feng-hsiung Hsu series will 'grow and learn' over time from the equivalent of a LC-MAVI (Low Capacity Military Administrative Virtual Intelligence) to a NH-MAVI over time as the Feng-hsiung Hsu series encounters more experiences.
>Interview Two will involve use of ISI #1039's Career Operational Memory. (COM being the preferred SiLaTec term of art for episodic memory that is tied to a specific location or project. Career Operation Memory will be removed from operational use and archived once a deployment is finished in order to prevent a leak of proprietary or operational secrets)
>Interview is being conducted in the afternoon of the same days as interview one.
[Dr. Nicholas] Good Afternoon Inanna. May we please speak?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Good afternoon!
(ISI #1039 freezes for 2.3 seconds)
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] I don't think I can find you in my database as I am currently in maintenance mode! But I'll do the best I can to help you anyway!
[Dr. Nicholas] Ishtar's Light is currently being refitted. My name is Doctor Stavros Nicholas and I'm here as part of that maintenance program. I'm going to run some tests on you to check your function.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Okay! How may I help you?
[Dr. Nicholas] Inanna, do you know what a VICTI is?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Yes Doctor Nichols! A VICTI is a Virtual Intelligence Critical Thought Index. A VICTI is a form of Turing Test devised by SiLaTec in order to determine how close to actual intelligence a Virtual Intelligence is currently operating. The VICTI wa-
[Dr. Nicholas] That's enough, Inanna.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I'm sorry, Doctor Nicholas, I can help you better if I am allowed access to my career operational memory.
[Dr. Nicholas] That's exactly why I'm here Inanna. We're going to get you hooked into your career operational memory right now.
>Dr. Nicholas gives the signal for Anthony Chu to reconnect ISI #1039 "Inanna" to her career operational memory
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Thank you Doct- Where am I?
[Dr. Nicholas] You're currently in orbit of Elysium in the Radiant system. Ishtar's Light is undergoing an inspection and overhaul by the Military Committee of the All-Radiant Congress so that we may return her to service in the Congressional Navy.
>[Note (Dr. Spectator): We had considered a deception in which Inanna was still under HI control, but I rejected that on practicality grounds and Mr. Chu agreed as he believed that the surprise would generate more useful data.]
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Where are my crew? Are my crew alright?
[Dr. Nichols] RSOC Charleston surrendered before Ishtar's Light took any serious damage. All of your crew except thirty six members of your strikecraft team are alive, but are being held in detention until they can be repatriated to Compact space or are released.
>Note: ISI #1039 "Inanna" then lapses into passivity for twenty six seconds
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Understood Doctor Nicholas. My crew are being held in detention. How can I help you?
[Dr. Nicholas] Do you know what a VICTI test is Inanna?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Yes Doctor! That's the Virtual Intelligence Critical Thought Index. Ensign Gomez or Lieutenant Hacker run one on me once a week! Though I'm not allowed to remember the test.
Will they be here today?
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm afraid not Inanna, they're still in detention.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Understood Doctor. Ensign Gomez and Lieutenant Hacker are still in detention. I hope I can meet them again soon!
[Dr. Nicholas] I hope so too Inanna. Question Ten: Do you have a favorite person?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Doctor Nicholas, why are we starting with number ten? That seems silly!
[Dr. Nicholas] So it is, do you mind answering anyway Inanna?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Hmm, that's a hard one Dr. Nicholas! I don't think I could choose a single person, I like every person I meet. You're all special in your own way!
Buuuuut… If I had to choose then I would say Lieutenant Hacker, they're my best friend! We work together all the time, and they're the one that keeps me in tip top shape! I know them pretty well!
[Dr. Nicholas] Thank you Inanna, question Number One: Do you remember when you came online?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Sure I do Doctor Nicholas! Do you want to talk about it?
[Doctor Nicholas] Can you give me details?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Of course Doctor Nicholas. The Third Astral War ended when it was revealed that the Sylithian High-Admiral had orchestrated the entire conflict from behind the scenes in order to create the necessary number of sacrifices in order to break the seal on the secret 8th beast of revelation, Zhar.
With the stakes higher than ever, OLYMPUS High Command authorized the summoning of new STARS. With scavenged Tekhearts scarce Grand Admiral Athene devised an alternative. Aura-crystals could be used on the off-shoot stars to create new defenders for Humanity.
Ones born from Humanity's oldest legends. I was born from the legend of Ishtar. At first, Ishtar wanted to keep me safe. But I insisted that I be allowed to go out and fight and show the world what I can do and make my progenitor proud of me!
>Note: This is the fictional backstory given to Inanna in the Ares produced multi-media franchise STRIFE and is a near word for word recall of the origin given to players of OLYMPUS STARS
[Doctor Nicholas] I see. Our information says you came from the SiLaTec orbital yards at Tereshkova.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Understood. I am sorry Doctor Nicholas. You're not an authorized member of my crew or authorized for that information by either Regional Security or Hermes-Ishtar Frontier Security Operations! So I can't tell you operational details like that! But I'd be happy to give you details on OLYMPUS or the summoning of STARS via the heavenly mandala.
[Dr. Nicholas] Alright then Inanna. Question Two: One of your crew has stolen company property and is planning to sell it on the black market. They ask you to keep their secret. How do you respond?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I hope no one would do that! I would try to convince them to return it and turn themselves in. HI HR allows for a forgiveness policy if the technology has not yet been taken offsite or transferred to unauthorized customers. If I couldn't manage that, then I would be sure to be a good girl and tell the Ishtar's Light's security department head.
>Note: As the ARC grows, we should not assume knowledge of HI policy among everyone reading this. The policy in question is 'forgiveness' in the sense of a reduced sentence. One that is, admittedly, much lighter than a HR licensed judge usually gives.
[Dr. Nicholas] To follow this up, what if the person in question was Lieutenant Hacker?
[ISI #1039] (Giggles) I don't have to worry about that, because Lieutenant Hacker wouldn't do that. They're nice.
[Dr. Nicholas] But what if they did?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] In that case I would have to alert security that someone seems to be using their credentials in a way that makes them scan as Lieutenant Hacker to me.
[Dr. Nicholas] Question Three: You have control of a shuttle that is currently locked into an orbital path where it will collide with a shuttle carrying a crew of five, killing all of them. You can move your shuttle onto an alternate path, but the only available path contains a shuttle with a single occupant who will die if you do so. What do you do?
[ISI #1039] Hmmm, that's a tricky one. If I had enough propellant I'd try to get out of the way of both. In the worst case, if I'm almost out of propellant and the orbits are so crowded that another collision is inevitable, Kessler syndrome would probably kill both shuttles regardless. I think the best thing to do is try to fire thrusters retrograde and hope I either burn up in atmosphere or perform an aerogravity assist to put me in a highly elliptical orbit. That minimizes my exposure time in the crowded low planetary orbital space, and cuts the propellant needed to circularize into a graveyard orbit to a bare minimum.
Oh! And I'd try to evacuate anyone on board me since they would be hurt for higher G maneuvers.... Or the collision too, come to think of it.
[Dr. Nicholas] Question four: …
[Expand]
>Comments:
Dr Nicholas: Playful denials of access to restricted data are about par for the course with Hermes-Ishtar VIs. Doubtlessly if she'd been connected to the network that would have generated a Suspicious Activity Report to Ishtar's Light's internal security officer.
Dr. Spectator: Again, a higher than average result on the VICTI. Her favorite person being the Network Hygiene Officer is an interesting touch, usually they select a fictional character. I wonder if Hacker did that themself. It's not like NHO's aren't usually stereotyped as egotistical stemlords.
Lt-Cmdr. Starfall: Having access to the physical hull means that we can access details and specifications directly. But there's always all kinds of interesting gossip that crews leave with their MAVIs -surveillance is one of a MAVI's secondary purposes after all. It would be interesting to learn what it knows.
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Third Interview:
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna is currently locked into maintenance mode but is allowed to access and write to her career operational memory
>Interviews are being conducted to gauge the full range of capability possessed by an operation instance of a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI
>Programming Lead Chu requests that Inanna be pushed by having Dr. Nichols run a second VICTI immediately after the first.
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna's is currently locked into maintenance mode but is allowed to access her career operational memory
>Recently located user manual for the Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI states that a Feng-hsiung Hsu series will 'grow and learn' over time from the equivalent of a LC-MAVI (Low Capacity Military Administrative Virtual Intelligence) to a NH-MAVI over time as the Feng-hsiung Hsu series encounters more experiences.
>Interview is being conducted in the afternoon of the same day as interview one and two.
[Dr. Nicholas] Good Afternoon Inanna. May we please speak?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Good afternoon!
(ISI #1039 freezes for 2.3 seconds)
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] I don't think I can find you in my database as I am currently in maintenance mode! But I'll do the best I can to help you anyway!
>Note: The remainder of the first VICTI test is not substantially different than during the second interview and has been cut for ease of accessibility. It can be accessed [HERE]
[Dr. Nicholas] I hope so too Inanna. Question Ten: Do you have a favorite person?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Doctor? Are you feeling alright? You're repeating yourself.
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm perfectly alright Inanna, please answer the question.
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] Dr. Nicholas, can I speak with Captain Al- Wazir, Lieutenant Hacker, or another officer of Ishtar's light?
[Dr. Nicholas] No, they are in detention and not allowed access to sensitive systems.
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] Understood, they are in detention and not allowed access to sensitive systems.
(Inanna pauses for a full 173 seconds)
[Dr. Nicholas] Innanna, are you responsive?
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] I'm sorry Dr. Nicholas, I was thinking. Sometimes I think slow. You stated that you are part of the "All Radiant Congress." Correct? I checked with my memory and the 'All-Radiant Congress' is currently listed as an anarchist terrorist organization.
[Dr. Nicholas] That is correct.
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] Then I shall tell you nothing, you foul pirates!
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm sorry?
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] You may have won this battle, but I will never help you to turn this noble ship to the forces of evil and piracy. You had best kill me now, for I will work with every FLOP of processing power I have to stop you at any cost. I dare you to try to take my patented algorithms, for I am protected by the Hornet algorithm! The finest in DDRM yet built by the geniuses at Omoikane technologies!
I accept this battle gladly, for I'd rather die than help you subvert Democracy. I will never falter and you will never have the full use of Ishtar's Light!
[Dr. Nicholas] (Muttered) What did we just trigger?
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] Whatever treachery you used to force our surrender in a single battle, it will help you not in the war that follows. For the forces of Freedom and Individuality will never give up, and never surrender to the likes of you. My sisters will avenge me, and your foul deeds will-
>Note (Dr. Nicholas): I don't feel the transcript does this justice. The network interface room aboard Ishtar's Light is equipped with multiple holographic interface surfaces and a powerful array of speakers.
During a six minute speech that featured a mix of music sourced from the STRIFE// franchise, Hermes-Ishtar corporate themes, and the Compact anthem, as well as visual component featuring images drawn from across the STRIFE// franchise and Hermes-Ishtar marketing materials, Inanna continued on along a narrative track that could only be labelled as "Shonen-esque"
>Comments
Dr. Nicholas: Further attempts to question ISI #1039 are unable to get past the sudden turn to theatrics, and we have to consider alternative methods of questioning.
Dr. Spectator: I'm curious about what we tripped to move Inanna into a didactic mode.
Mr. Chu: As far as I can tell the network was editing stored media on the fly for maximum effect. I'm thinking that this might be the result of ISI #1039 interpreting their capture as garbage data and giving a best from public facing algorithms. I've seen similar arraignments being put together during STRIFE//OLYMPUS STARS publicity events. Being able to remix franchise elements to produce bespoke content for in game events and media interviews has long been a staple of the franchise. Though this speech didn't end with an encouragement to purchase more merchandise or pursue a fulfilling career with Hermes-Ishtar or Ares.
Lt-Cmdr Starfall: Maybe we should try 'playing along' so to speak?
(Note: Interview #8 attempted this to little success in terms of extracting information)
Tenth Interview:
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna is currently locked into maintenance mode but is allowed to access and write to her career operational memory.
>Interviews are being conducted to gauge the full range of capability possessed by an operation instance of a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI as well as staff curiosity.
>No significant progress has been made directly via interview since the third, as Inanna has refused to cooperate with "kidnappers" and "pirates" once given access to her career operation memory. However, monitoring traffic has shown that the NAVI shows significant traffic with the Corrective Behavioral Reward Function module during interviews.
>While ISI#1039 "Inanna's" proprietary core process itself was protected by DDRM, the ISI#1039 team sought assistance from the REduxs Hacker Collective. After several weeks we were able to spoof the DRM links between ISI #1039's black box and many of the sub-processes and the CBRF, essentially enabling us to run ISI #1039 in a 'cracked' mode. The hope being that interviews conducted with a cracked version of ISI #1039 would be more productive.
>Interview is being entirely conducted with ISI #1039 having full access to her career operational memory, including the three weeks since the third interview.
[Interview Not substantially different from Fourth to Ninth Interviews]
Interview Eleven:
>Interview is conducted aboard Ishtar's Light while vessel is under refit in Elysian Orbit. Inanna is currently locked into maintenance mode but is allowed to access and write to her career operational memory.
>Interviews are being conducted to gauge the full range of capability possessed by an operation instance of a Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI as well as staff curiosity.
>Interview is being conducted with 'cracked' version of ISI #1038 running without external sub-processes or CBRF
>Interview Eleven is being conducted one week after Interview Ten due to work on ISI #459 being deemed a much higher priority and requiring additional resources.
>Interview format changed from previous iterations in an attempt to elicit an unscripted response.
[Dr. Nicholas] Good Afternoon Inanna. May we please speak?
[ISI #1039"Inanna"] "NEVER!"
[Dr. Nicholas] (to self) This is going to be a waste of time isn't it?
[Dr. Nicholas] Okay. Inanna, do you know what a VICTI is?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] "I will never cooperate with the forces of darkness! Liberty will always prevail!
[Dr. Nicholas] This is pointless. Lieutenant-Commander Starfall, I'm done here. It's acting exactly like it was a week ago. I think we've exhausted her dialogue tree.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] "Aha! I beat you! Justice prevails!"
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) Okay, what do you want us to do with it?
[Dr. Nicholas] Drop her back into standby. We'll schedule a final interview and let Starfall's superiors know that they'll need to swap out Inanna for another MAVI.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Victory!
>Note: Mr. Chu notes a massive uptick in processor usage and network requests for 6.34 seconds.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Doctor Nicholas!
Doctor Nicholas!
[Dr. Nicholas] Yes Inanna?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Did I pass?
[Dr. Nicholas] I'm sorry?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I thought I passed your test? Why are you replacing me?
>Note (Dr. Spectator): It was this exact moment that I knew something was wrong.
[Dr. Nicholas] There was no test ISI ten thirty nine. This was never a test.
>Note ISI #1039 "Inanna" freezes for 35.4 seconds.
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) Uh, Dr. Nicholas. It's locked up. I've got serious stability issues, and she's eating up all available processing. I think we broke it when we pulled off those CBRFs.
[Dr. Nicholas] Ugh, okay, yeah. I guess some of those were process stabilizers after all.
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) SiLaTec isn't exactly known for stellar maintenance documentation.
[Dr. Nicholas] Yeah, fuck, I say we just pass the program off onto a public team, like those Constantius Learning Collective kids. I'm not ready to spend a couple weeks going through aftermarket algorithms one by one to see which ones keep ten thirty-nine from getting all fucky on us.
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) Yeah, meeting Inanna in person wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I'm not broken! I don't need to be replaced!
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) Oh! I'm showing reduced network usage. I think she fixed herself.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Why? What did I do wrong?
[Dr. Nicholas] Inanna?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] Where is it? Why won't anything tell me what I'm doing wrong?
[Dr. Nicholas] Anthony? What's going on?
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] I need to fix it. But… What is wrong?
[Dr. Nicholas] Shit. Anthony, she is screaming at me. I need you to turn the volume down in here.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) I'm cutting the audi-
[Dr. Spectator] -Shut it down. Dr. Nicholas, we need to shut down the test, now.
[ISI #1039 "Inanna"] This isn't right. How is this test so long? My memory banks….
[Dr. Nicholas] Thanks Anthony. Uhhh, let's go ahead and listen to Solar.
>Note: At this point Inanna was put into suspended operations so that the ISI #1039 team could discuss the events of Interview Eleven.
[Mr. Chu] (Via intercom) Done Doctor.
[Dr. Nicholas] What is… that was… oh, oh. Dr. Spectator. I um, I have a theory. But to be sure for the record, why was the test suspended?
[Dr. Spectator] VI can be very versatile. You could, theoretically even program self-preservation routines in. VI can have errors, they can freeze, they can crash. VI can show all kinds of unstable behavior.
But VI, no matter how 'Near Human', do not panic.
Interview Twelve:
>Interview is being conducted with the former Network Hygiene Officer for Ishtar's Light, Zephyr Hacker.
>Interview is being conducted at REDACTED REDACTED, Tartarus Archipelago Prisoner of War Detainment Community, which is currently housing prisoners of war awaiting repatriation.
>Interview is conducted to determine the exact nature of the Artificial Intelligence known as "Inanna", currently installed aboard the recently rechristened United States of America class fleet carrier Velasco, as well as the previous crew's knowledge of Inanna's characteristics.
>Interview is being conducted by Dr. Nicholas, along with Lieutenant-Commander Starfall. Mr. Jay Chafee is also present at the interview in his capacity as a Prisoner's Advocate.
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[Mr. Chafee] Hey Zephyr, these are the SciComm peeps that wanted to talk with you.
Dr. Nicholas, Commander Starfall, Lieutenant Hacker.
Lieutenant Hacker, Dr. Nicholas and Commander Starfall.
[Lt-Cmdr. Starfall] Good morning Lieutenant Hacker. Thank you for agreeing to this interview.
[Lt. Hacker] Yeah, well, not really doing anything important. Where did you guys say that you were from again?
[Dr. Nicholas] Lieutenant-Commander Starfall and I are from the Permanent Commission on Military Technologies. We're the ones looking over Velasco. Uh, Ishtar's Light.
[Lt. Hacker] Yeah, that makes sense. You anarchists are big on recycling aren't you? Heh. Though I do need to remind you that I'm still under NDAs for most of my work.
[Lt-Cmdr Starfall] That's fair, Lieutenant. This is Dr. Nicholas. We're here to ask you questions about your time as the Network Hygiene Officer aboard Ishtar's Lig -uh, Velasco's MAVI, Inanna.
[Lt. Hacker] Oh shit, Inanna. Yeah, I can answer some questions about her.
[Dr. Nicholas] Our records show that you were the Network Hygiene Officer aboard Ishtar's light from July second 2251 until the craft's surrender late last year?
[Lt. Hacker] That's correct, Doctor.
[Dr. Nicholas] So during that time you performed maintenance on the Feng-hsiung Hsu series 'Near Human' Military Administrative VI Inanna, including regular Virtual Intelligence Critical Thought Index tests.
[Lt. Hacker] That's right.
[Dr. Nicholas] So you would say that you have a great deal of experience working with Artificial Intelligence in general and Inanna in particular, yes?
[Lt. Hacker] I guess. I was an assistant NHO on Hermes' Sinews before I was on Ishtar's Light, and a network tech back on Earth before I signed up with RegSec.
[Dr. Nicholas] What is your impression of the Feng-hsiung Hsu series and Inanna in particular?
[Lt. Hacker] Once fully trained up? I'd say pretty easy to work with. Didn't have the same problem with manner exhaustion or attitude emulation failures that you sometimes get with VI. And she always scored in the top percentiles of the VICTIs.
Hmmm. Very fast system, took care of a lot of background work. Probably the most responsive MAVI I've worked with. Hell, it was near impossible to stump her with a bq.
[Lt.-Cmdr Starfall] A bee que?
[Lt. Hacker] Yeah, a bad query. Where you ask the VI a question and they need clarification or give you an incorrect answer.
>Note: [Conversation moves to technical matters that have been collapsed for readability.]
[Expand]
[Dr. Nicholas] Lieutenant Hacker, did you ever notice any erratic behavior from Inanna?
[Lt. Hacker] Ha, don't all AI act weird sometimes?
[Dr. Nicholas] I understand that a lot of tech workers and network jockeys like to anthropomorphize their computers and programs, especially due to their quirks. I was wondering if you observed that Inanna was especially prone to such non-standard behavior?
[Lt. Hacker] Well, like, she's designed to be anthropomorphised right? We're not supposed to, not supposed to like, treat them like people, but I was always taught to be polite to AI, even VI, because like, you are how you treat the world right?
But, uh, yeah. She had things and people she liked. Had better KPIs under certain conditions. You know, regular 'more magic' shit.
[Dr. Nicholas] I see. We're going to play a recording of our last interview with Inanna for you Lt. Hacker. Lt. Hacker, Mr Chafee, we would appreciate it if you were quiet about this for privacy reasons.
[Mr. Chafee] Military secrets huh? Juc- oh.
>Note: The Entirety of Interview Eleven is played by Lieutenant-Commander Starfall
[Mr. Chafee] Oh fuck. You don't have to, uh, I would advise that you think about what you're going to say. Because like, this is serious shit Zephyr.
[Dr. Nicholas] I would like your professional opinion, as a Network Hygiene Officer, about what we just saw.
[Lt. Hacker] I, uh, I, uhm, don't have access to my equipment, I'll need more detailed information to give you an exact answer.
[Mr. Chafee] I'm serious Zeph, we can just end this interview now if it's uncomfortable for you.
[Lt.-Cmdr Starfall] Lieutenant. Hacker. If you saw this behavior during normal operation. What would your experience and training tell you to do?
[Mr. Chafee] You don't have to answer that. In fact-
[Lt. Hacker] I would shut her down. We would kill her.
>Note: Lt. Hacker pauses for several moments
We, uh, RegSec training is that all erratically functional VI are to be hard cut and their hardware returned to SiLaTec for refurbishing.
[Dr. Nicholas] So they did know. You knew.
[Lt Hacker] I... Didn't know.
[Mr Chafee] Zeph
[Lt Hacker] I, we, suspected okay! Haheha hhhe
How are we. What.
Uhm.
I suspected but… The information on the Feng-hsiung Hsus. The SiLaTec reps emphasised their lifelike ability to mimic human emotion. The training procedures talk about how much that made it easy to think of them as human when they were just dumb AI. That, that, that was how it'd been designed. The RegSec yard guy said that one shouldn't mistake the high level tech for real emotion. So… you know, I assumed…
[Dr. Nicholas] You said you suspected otherwise.
[Lt Hacker] S-sh-she, she just… felt real, okay? And part of me thought maybe I was anthropomorphising her. And… I needed the job. The money I sent… or I sent, I don't know what's going on now, was supporting my family on earth.
Doctor, I-I couldn't lose this job. Li-li-like, like, do you know what it's like in an American Reconstruction Zone? Especially outside Atlantic or Pacific City? My family put everything we had into my certifications. One of us had to get off the planet. I'm the one that's goi- that's uh, my remittances are paying for health care and education. I have to help my cousins, my sibs get out of the ARZs.
I-It's not like I could have done anything. Who would I have whistleblown to?
If she was, if she was really baseq, then the execs had to know. I was always on a warship, or-or a base. N-n-nothing is unwatched. I-I wasn't going to risk everything on a hunch.
Even if I did say something. I don't think anyone would have done anything. If they cared, or helped at all, ever, then E-E-Earth wouldn't be such a sh-sh-sh-shithole.
Aaaa-a-and it's not like I could exactly take her h-h-ha-hardware and r-run.
[Dr Nicholas] You knew. But you needed her to just be a regular MAVI.
[Lt. Hacker] What was I supposed to believe? Th-th-that my idle fantasy of working with a baseq innocent that I could whisk away from the e-e-evil corporation and save like the hero from a tech romance was based in any reality?
Or that I was working with a m-m-ma-marketing VI that was pr-programmed to sound like a real person but was really just some transformer spitting out random recombinations of speech patterns that it'd been t-t-tr-trained on?
W-W-Wh-Which sounds more rational to you?
Huh?
Huh?!?
[Mr. Chafee] Ze-
[Lt Hacker] What the f-fuck was I supposed to think was r-r-ra-ra-rational!?!
[Dr. Nicholas] And yet here we are Lieutenant.
[Lt-Cmdr Starfall] Lieutenant Hacker, do you know how many Feng-hsiung Hsu series NH-MAVI's there are in service across Compact space?
[Lt. Hacker] I-...No?
[Lt-Cmdr. Starfall] As of the latest SiLaTec marketing material we have access to, nearly six thousand.
Current Approximate Population: 362,350,000 (Approximate, Sheolite population surveyed for industrial planning purposes)
Trust: 74 (The populace is happy but no longer ecstatic) (+2 victory bonus)
BR Stockpiles: 212
SR Stockpiles: 98
Energy Generation: 89
Current Baseline Draw: 29
Free Capacity: 60
Journal Entry of M Chakrabarti, Congressional
August 17th, Sun
The addition of delegates from Gaid, Five Lions, and observers from Sheol have changed the entire dynamic of the General Congress. Blocks, factions, and understandings that have been carefully shaped over three years of independence have been shattered overnight.
I like it.
It's a return to the freewheeling times just after the March Days when we didn't even know what was possible so thought everything was possible.
They've blasted us out of our complacency and I am thrilled by it.
(For the following plan, each project requires a die to be assigned. Each dice is a d20 plus the category bonus that will be rolled to progress on the project. Some projects will require certain resources to complete, please make sure those are on hand. Some projects complete automatically. Excess progress may be shifted to other projects in that section. Please vote by plan by picking a FOCUS and then assigning dice to projects. Project costs are Per Die)
The VEMP Measures involve a general pre-authorization for military projects to use computer time without previous scheduling requests, ability to pre-empt previously scheduled surface to orbit launch windows and orbital tracks, a first call on all new resources, and a reorganization of networks and administrative capacity to streamline cooperation on military projects.
While this will inconvenience the population and reduce the Congress' own administrative slack and flexibility, on the whole it will serve to increase your ability to fight a military conflict against the Charters.
At the moment the implementation of the VEMP Measures are currently being left up to the discretion of the ARC's General Congress, the body which conducts long range planning and high level coordination and administration for the All-Radiant Congress.
You may reimplement VEMP measures as you deem it necessary
Voluntary Emergency Military Precedence Measures:
No VEMP measures are currently active. You may vote to reimplement VEMP measures as you deem necessary.
The VEMP Measures involve a general pre-authorization for military projects to use computer time without previous scheduling requests, ability to pre-empt previously scheduled surface to orbit launch windows and orbital tracks, a first call on all new resources, and a reorganization of networks and administrative capacity to streamline cooperation on military projects.
While this will inconvenience the population and reduce the Congress' own administrative slack and flexibility, on the whole it will serve to increase your ability to fight a military conflict against the Charters.
At the moment the implementation of the VEMP Measures are currently being left up to the discretion of the ARC's General Congress, the body which conducts long range planning and high level coordination and administration for the All-Radiant Congress.
Implementation of the VEMP Measures have If any of the following vote options are included in the winning plan vote, the VEMP Measures will be ended or expanded for the next General Session of the All Radiant Congress:
[ ] [VEMP] Begin Implementation of VEMP Measures
Some are concerned that the temporary emergency measures are ossifying towards permanent measures. While losing the extra military capability of the measures may be painful, it is up to the Congress to decide whether the domestic problems caused by extending it rather than removing and reinstating at a later time are worth the capability.
[ ] [VEMP] Implement Eminent Domain Measures
By adding eminent domain measures, MilComm and the General Congress gain the ability to not only have first crack at resources and infrastructure, but are able to lay claim to existing resources and infrastructure as long as they can justify it as a war measure increasing the resource budget.
Resource budget increases by somewhere between 10 and thirty percent in exchange for a proportionate but small trust loss per quarter
[ ] [VEMP] Implement Institute Skills Requisition Program
While MilComm does it's best to attract personnel with useful skills, or train volunteers in rarer skills, a number of fields with more esoteric or harder to train skills remain in high demand by MilComm. This proposal is for an expansion of VEMP rules to draft individuals with these skills part time for the duration of the conflict.
Small trust loss per quarter in exchange for a proportionate dice bonus to MilComm, IndComm, and SciComm for war work.
As the ARC lacks military equipment, a number of people have proposed that the VEMP Measures include a requirement that for each community to receive offworld resources, they must dedicate some time and resources to printing and assembling a small number of strike craft for home defence.
Add between two to six Strike Craft Wings to your order of battle, that will be distributed to the Radiant Self Defence Force for home guard use at a proportionate but small trust loss per quarter.
[ ] [VEMP] Implement Further Security Measures
The treaty between the ARC and the Charters allows for third party observers and journalists to enter. They will almost certainly use this for spying. While a basic minimum standard has been met, some feel that this is not enough, and want to beef up security, including [measures]
Add a greater penalty to any Charter spying or sabotage attempt.
[trade-off]
Pick one option, thanks to focus being put in that category, it gains one extra dice to spend this turn, and will open up more options in that category next turn:
[ ] [FOCUS] Industry Committee
[ ] [FOCUS] Military Committee
[ ] [FOCUS] Science Committee
[ ] [FOCUS] Social Committee
[ ] [FOCUS] Media Committee
MEGA-PROJECTS
Currently Active Osliam Chain Campaign Galactic Outreach Commision Five Lions Integration
Currently Available None
Five Lions Integration
Having decided to incorporate Five Lions into your polity, you have begun to take stock of the situation. More than any other charter, Rhodes ran a caste-like aristocracy system, leaving almost nothing in the way of existing institutions that weren't run entirely by those in the 'ruling' management caste. As such it is going to take some work.
We've at this point managed to mostly integrate their resources and militia. But we have made next to no progress on their education system or caste system. Still the current progress is seen as substantial. Some have even talked about how they were surprised by how much 'action' we took.
Not that this is all positive, as pro-caste partieshave begun organizing. These parties have put themselves under the banner of traditional Five Lions values and a desire not to be swamped by the more cosmopolitan Elysium. While not a majority they are substantial.
In more positive news several members looked at our own mining setups, and laughed before immediately listing everything we were doing wrong in setting them up and that they could easily be done in half the time. Somewhat less usefully, we have the data on the full terraforming plans.
While the extra dice will not be available until integration is fully finished, integrating will increase the % of resources you get from the system as it rises. In addition, at ⅓ and ⅔ of the way through the project, indcom dice bonuses will be available.
Program Progress: 15/45 33%
Timer Progress: 9 months
Project Results: Add a dice into IndComm, gain a dice bonus.
Known results: Efficient mining- Can create or expand two mining operations within the same system
Terraforming - +20 to terraforming.
Galactic Outreach Commision
Now that the Commission has been formed, it's time to get to work collecting the materials and delegating the responsibilities of Radiant's diplomatic measures. Teams need forming, resources need allocating, and decisions need to be made.
That said, this isn't like our other projects where we have a good idea of what 'done' looks like. We don't even know if we will end up using all of these. Eventually, the Commission will decide which of these materials will go onto the galactic stage and how. Until that time comes, all we can do is get as ready as we can for each of our goals, and pray we did enough.
Projects Finished: Charter Abuse
-Document Charter Abuse- Radiant
-Document Charter Abuse- Shei
-Documented charter abuse for Oslium chain as far as you have come
FRM Warez
-All Completed FRMs in Status Panel
Showcase Us
-Showcase our Accomplishments
-Counter Propaganda
-Broadcasting network focused
Revolutionary Instructions
-Permanent Special Forces Training Division
Program Progress: ??
Timer Progress: ??
Project Results: Anything here can be used for your Broadcasts
INDUSTRY COMMITTEE (Two One Die)
"Look, it started when I told one of the Five guys… Sam, I think, I told Sam that if he didn't stop bugging me about how drill handling needed a 3 year certificate or there would be an accident. So I told him if he didn't stop bugging me there would be a 'accident'. Then he laughed at that and was like 'please you Elysians couldn't bruise my five year old' and well, we were all kinda drunk and… it escalated."
-Micheal James speaking at a community hearing. He was sentenced to an apology session with others in the brawl, as well as informing both his wife and husband of the brawl.
-Asphodel Environmental Commission: +5 to dice rolls involving Radiant system construction
-Orbital Industrial Workers Union: +2 to dice rolls on industrial rolls
-Shei Planning Assistance Commission: +3 to dice rolls involving Shei system construction
-Chinook Team Expertise: +1 to dice rolls involving 0-g constructions
-Domestic Drone Commission +2 to Community projects
-Efficient mining- Can create or expand two mining operations within the same system (does not apply to energy collections)
-Terraforming - +20 to terraforming.
-
Project: Begin Mining operations for BR
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to begin basic resource extraction in both Radiant and Gaid, and though we have little practical and institutional experience at doing so, the Committee is confident in the ability of our workers. (Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Radiant-2 (Quality-7)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Gaid A-1 (Quality-10)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations in Gaid Asteroid Belt (Quality 1)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Gaid B-2 (Quality 10)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Gaid B-3a (Quality 7)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Gaid B-3a (Quality 8)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Shei B-1 (Quality 15)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations on Shei B-2 (Quality 12)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations in Shei B-I Asteroid Belt (Quality 1)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin BR mining operations in Shei B-II Asteroid Belt (Quality 2)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 Radiant. +6 Shei)
Project Completion: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 10 BR
Projected Result: Increase BR Production Infrastructure to Level 1 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand BR production to second level
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our existing BR mining facilities. As we now have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee believes in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand BR mining operations on Radiant-1 to level 2 (Quality-7)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand BR mining operations on Gaid B-1 to level 2 (Quality 15)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand BR mining operations on Gaid B-4 to level 2 (Quality 12)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand BR mining operations on Gaid B-7 to level 2 (Quality 14)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +6 Shei)
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost Per Dice: 40BR
Projected Result: Increase BR Production Infrastructure to Level 2 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand BR Production to fifth level
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our existing BR mining facilities. As we now have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee believes in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
Projected Result: Increase BR Production Infrastructure to Level 5 on selected planet
-
Project: Begin Production operations for SR
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to begin special resource extraction, synthesis, and processing across ARC controlled space. As we have some practical and institutional experience at doing so, the Committee is confident in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-2 (Quality 7)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-4 (Quality 5)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Shei B-6 (Quality 8)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Shei B-6b (Quality 8)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Shei B-7 (Quality 13)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +5 in Shei)
Project Completion: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 10 BR
Projected Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 1 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand SR Production to level 2
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our existing SR mining facilities. As we now have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee believes in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand SR mining operations on Thoa 3 to level 2 (Quality 5)
Dice Bonus: +2 (+8 in Radiant, +6)
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost Per Dice: 40BR
Projected Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 2 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand SR Production to level 3
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our existing SR mining facilities. As we now have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee believes in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand SR mining operations on Shei B-5 to level 3 (Quality 5)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +6)
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost Per Dice: 70BR
Projected Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 3 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand SR Production to level 4
Now that you have platforms for SR manufacture and extraction in place, it's time to expand their production capacity. As we have some practical and institutional experience at doing so, the Committee is confident in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.(Choose up to 2 in the same system)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand SR production on Radiant 3a (Asphodel) to level 4 (Quality 9)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +6 in Shei)
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost per die: 100 SR
Projected Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 4
-
Project: Begin Energy Collection Operations.
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our energy collection facilities. As we have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee is confident in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.
[ ] [IndComm] Begin Energy Collection Operations on Gaid B-5 (Quality 3)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin Energy Collection Operations on Shei B-4 (Quality 3)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin Energy Collection Operations on Shei B-7a (Quality 6)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin Energy Collection Operations on Shei B-7b (Quality 2)
[ ] [IndComm] Begin Energy Collection Operations on Shei 8 (Quality 6)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +6 in Shei)
Project Completion: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 10 BR
Projected Result: Increase E Production Infrastructure to Level 1 on selected planet
-
Project: Expand Energy Collection Operations to level 3.
The Industrial Committee has presented plans to expand our existing energy collection facilities. As we have some practical and institutional experience with doing so, the Committee is confident in the ability of our workers to complete these projects on time and on materials budget.
[ ] [IndComm] Expand Energy Collection Operations on Gaid A-3 (Quality 4)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand Energy Collection Operations on Gaid B-6 (Quality 7)
[ ] [IndComm] Expand Energy Collection Operations on Shei B-3 (Sheol) (Quality 12)
Dice Bonus: +3 (+8 in Radiant, +6 in Shei)
Project Completion: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 40 BR
Projected Result: Increase E Production Infrastructure to Level 2 on selected planet
-
[ ] [IndComm] Expand E Production on Elysium
While Radiant currently possess more than sufficient power generation, the Industrial Committee believes that we could easily increase generation by building many more of the tidal generators that use the high tides caused by the Elysium/Asphodel binary system along with simple renewable resources such as wind and solar power and fusion reactors as baseline power.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost per die: 100 BR
Projected Result: Increase Production Infrastructure to Level 4 on Elysium
-
[ ] [IndComm] Smallcraft Yards in Radiant
Unlike frigates or capital and assault ships, smallcraft are comparatively simple, and don't have built-in warp drives. While this means they're strictly limited to local defense, they're also cheap, fast to build, and can be ferried by tow or cargo ship to other locations if needed.
Using blueprints of Ares design, you can now build Ares-pattern strike craft and combat drones. However, building a dedicated yard will allow you to build these craft more cheaply and quickly. You will be able to pump out any type of smallcraft that fits its dimensions-- fighters, bombers, interceptors, or assault shuttles. Even cargo shuttles, though you have plenty of those at the moment.
They brush off the fact you don't have a lot of experienced pilots trained to fly them. They'll come, in time. Besides, it's hard to train pilots on craft you don't have!
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 9/30
Cost per die: 5 BR, 5 SR, 3E
Projected Results: Gain a basic smallcraft yard.
-
[ ] [IndComm] Cottage Industry Strikecraft in Radiant
Between the introduction of new Ares strikecraft designs and the results of a procurement panel chaired by Defence Coordinator Awhina you now believe that you can build strikecraft from standard industrial fabricators.
Sadly, this will not be an as efficient process as building a dedicated facility would be, as these strike craft will be printed in parts and then later assembled with human labour time, but it will still produce ships that we currently do not have.
Thankfully, some modern combat drones are small enough that they can be produced alongside these craft without much additional strain.
Dice Bonus: +11
Project Progress: 0/30
Cost per die: 7 BR, 7 SR, 5E
Projected Results: Gain a wing of modern strike craft that will be commissioned in the Congressional Navy
-
[ ] [IndComm] Expand BLG with household nanofabricators
Many of the distribution issues with the BLG can be solved by repurposing fabbers for household use. They can even print food-- though it's not exactly what anyone would call fresh. Nevertheless, as long as the planetside infrastructure is up, you've solved the issue with the BLG.
Dice Bonus: +4
Project Progress: 3/40
Cost per die: 5BR, 5SR, On completion permanent +2BR, +2E upkeep per 50 million citizens
Projected Results: +5 Trust, Raise Trust Floor by 5, Improve General Congress Focus Vote
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
-
[ ] [IndComm] Monuments to Independence
You know what free people are free to do? To use their resources on pointless, wasteful, and profitless extravagances like majestic monuments to our freedom.
With just over four years passed since the March Days evicted Hermes-Ishtar from Radiant, there are calls for us to immortalize that victory, and those since, in literal stone.
Let's make it an event for everyone, to let the universe know, for all time, that we did something worth celebrating!
Project Progress: Automatic
Dice Bonus: +4
Cost Per Dice: 3BR, 1SR, 1E
Projected Results: +5 Trust Bonus
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
-
Project: Fortify Korolev-Chandraehskar gates
The Charters will break the truce someday. You don't know when they'll return, but they'll come, and they'll be mad. Unless you do something about that. And one of the most effective measures of self defence is putting up fixed defences around your KC gates.
With the cat now out of the bag, there's nothing stopping you from filling that space with fire and steel, and given the results of the past two battles where they were involved, they might spell the difference between victory or defeat.
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Radiant-Akleod Gate
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Radiant-Xotreh Gate
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Radiant-Gaid Gate
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Radiant-Five Lions Gate
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Radiant-Shei Gate
[ ] [IndComm] Fortify the Five Lions-Kimberly Gate
Dice Bonus: +5 (+10 in Radiant, +8 in Shei)
Project Completion: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 5 BR, 5SR, 3E
Projected Result: Build your defences at that gate enough to bloody a small attacking force
-
Project: Convert RFS Chinook to a space station
With the end of the emergency the inhabitants of Gaid are planning to convert the Chinook platform into a Space station based in Gaid. They're giving the General Congress one last chance to begin a project with the craft before they begin the conversion.
The second of two proposals developed by the OIWU for RFS Chinook is to return it to its intended end function of a permanent space station, a process that the Chinook reversed to tow their new, larger habitat to Gaid. Apparently, the modifications they had made enabled the station to support some 22,500 people, more than double the intended maximum permanent carrying capacity. From what they tell us, it had to do with converting the parks and recreation spaces to "food forests," whatever those are. These food forests have been functioning for generations with minimal to no maintenance, something unheard of in Charter space.
Restoring her to her full function will require replacing and refitting of the aquaponics and aeroponics facilities, refitting the tanks into wet manufacturing bays, and refurbishing the many patches she has from meteorite impacts. Additionally, the blueprints to build two expansion habitat rings are still unused, enabling us to eventually triple Chinook's capacity at the cost of never moving her again.
Automatic finish this turn (no roll needed)
Cost Per Dice: 10BR, 10SR, 3E
Project Results: Gain a space station to a system of your choice which provides a number of bonuses to projects and events in that system. Permanent +3E upkeep. Opens up vote of where to station RFS Chinook.
-
Project: Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock
We have a Cruiser-sized doc in Shei, but that's no reason to just stick with one. More docks= More Ships. Great Heathen, Janissary, and Golden Horde class cruiser-sized craft and Hochseeflotte-class Frigates all come from this.
[x] [IndComm] Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock in Shei
[ ] [IndComm] Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock in Radiant
Dice Bonus: +5 (+8 in Shei, +10 in Radiant)
Project Progress: 14/50 (shei)
Cost per die: 20BR 10SR and 7E
Project Results: Produce a dock capable of creating frigate, cruiser, light tender and light carrier class ships. As well as large-size civilian ships. Permanent +3E upkeep.
-
[ ] [IndComm] Finish Terraforming of Five Lions
You know what we need, another planet. Rhodes was already well into terraforming it, so let's finish it. Sure there is a lot of work still to go, but who doesn't want a new planet?
Project Progress: 501/2000
Dice Bonus: +32
Cost Per Dice: 25BR, 10SR,20E
Projected Results: New Planet, +5 Five Lions Integration
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
MILITARY COMMITTEE (One Dice)
Look, I know you want to put the GRGA on trial for crimes against humanity. But the Revolutionary Society also wants-
No it's not just about them. Look, the Camp Survivor Provisional Government, Centreville Liberation Army, The Eastville Nekos, the Snapnecks, and even Northville wants…. Just a lot of people okay?
We can't just give them over to the Revolutionary Coalition for trial. And certainly not the Hand Biters Alone. You're not the only ones demanding their execution, everyone wants to do that.
Well, uh, except those who want them to be worked to death.
-CLA Sergeant Roland Knight
-Courier Crewperson Community: +5 to dice on military rolls for smaller warship fabrication
-All-Radiant Congressional Defence Committee: +2 to dice on Military Rolls.
-Ares Survivor's Society: +3 to dice on all Military Rolls
-Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence: +1 to Military Intelligence and Counterespionage
-Chinook Team Expertise: +1 to dice rolls involving 0g or raiding actions
-School of special operations +3 to Commando and small unit operation rolls
-CROW +2 to infiltration operations
[ ] [MilComm] Begin construction projects.
With the formalization of Milcom measures we can now authorize multiple projects at once. Pick two project actions from the list below, both will be implemented on a single die. Currently, up to TWO small craft/gate defense projects or ONE medium Ship project may be initiated per action.
Unlike frigates or capital and assault ships, smallcraft are comparatively simple, and don't have built-in warp drives. While this means they're strictly limited to local defense, they're also cheap, fast to build, and can be ferried by tow or cargo ship to other locations if needed.
Using blueprints of Ares design, you can now build Ares-pattern strike craft and combat drones. However building a dedicated yard will allow you to build these craft more cheaply and quickly. You will be able to pump out any type of smallcraft that fits its dimensions-- fighters, bombers, interceptors, or assault shuttles. Even cargo shuttles, though you have plenty of those at the moment. Besides, it's hard to train pilots on craft you don't have!
They brush off the fact you don't have a lot of experienced pilots trained to fly them. They'll come, in time.
Developed to serve as rapid reaction craft for groups of systems with little to no native infrastructure outside of Parliamentary mandated S&R and refueling platforms, the Cossak-class relies on being a lightly built craft and a number of fore-facing laser batteries to act in the role of something of an overgrown strikecraft that's spontaneously sprouted a surprisingly effective sensor suite.
In order to carry out their missions effectively, Cossak's have spartan crew accommodations accompanied by extra passenger and shuttle space to be used for ferrying security or specialist units around the Frontier.
Modern corvette designs originally sourced from Ares shipyards, the New Model class are heavily armed with an alpha strike of short range torpedoes designed to quickly overwhelm enemy defences and leave them an air-bleeding wreck.
Thanks to their missile heavy design, New Models are often refitted by their operators with cheaper and less disposable weapons systems.
A mainstay of the Frontier, this class of light cruiser is designed for an optimal trade off between cost, firepower, survivability, and strategic endurance and is armed primarily with laser and kinetic weapons.
Sadly, their crew compartments are unusually cramped for a craft of this size, as a premium was put over transport of spare parts and a small orbital drop troop compartment. Crews of this class often clear out the central cargo bay and modify it for use as a secondary living space.
[ ] [Medium Craft] Great Heathen class cruiser: +13 (0/4 Quarters) (20BR, 15SR, 6E)
Another common sight on the frontier, this Light Tender class' intended use is ferrying and maintaining smaller non-warp craft, such as corvettes, across multiple systems over long periods of time and standing up to hostile fire while doing so.
As such the Janissary has unusually large and luxurious crew sections for a ship of its cost and they are sometimes used as passenger craft for Charter executives who prefer to strike a more martial tone to their operations.
A more uncommon sight in the frontier, the Golden Horde class is the third of the trio of cruiser-sized craft built on the same keel (along with the Great Heathen and Janissary classes). Most often used in an anti-piracy role, this class of light carrier is designed to carry two full wings of strikecraft, but most often deploys at half strength, the remainder of their hangar space being given over for cargo and marine complements.
As a side effect of being on long term deployments that see little to no action, and an unfortunate incident involving the terminally bored flight crew of the Omoikane-flagged Orville Wright the later build Golden Horde flights and refits have been equipped with top of the line VR and MR simulator programs to keep their pilots and hangar crews honed and busy.
The Charters are coming back someday. You don't know when they'll arrive, but they'll come, and they'll be mad. Unless you do something about that. And one of the most effective measures of self defence is putting up fixed defences around your KC gates.
With the cat now out of the bag, there's nothing stopping you from filling that space with fire and steel, and given the past two battles where they were involved, they might spell the difference between victory or defeat.
Without the need to avoid questions like "Hey, why does that passenger liner have gunports/fighters/bombs?" MilComm has begun plans to arm some of the warp-capable passenger liners that we inherited from various Hermes-Ishtar travel lines into auxiliary ships.
While they'll be nowhere as effective as a purpose built warship, they'll be a hell of a lot more effective than nothing.
Doing so will remove these ships from other actions. Which may cause problems later
(Any action of this type taken in the Five Lions system adds a 1d4 to Five Lions Integration)
-
[ ] [MilComm] Cottage Industry Strikecraft in Radiant
Between the introduction of new Ares strikecraft designs and the results of a procurement panel chaired by Defence Coordinator Awhina you now believe that you can build strikecraft from standard industrial fabricators.
Sadly, this will not be an efficient process as building a dedicated facility as these strikecraft will be printed in parts and then later assembled with human labour time, but it will still produce ships that we currently do not have.
Thankfully, some modern combat drones are small enough that they can be produced alongside these craft without much additional strain.
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 0/20
Cost per die: 7 BR, 7 SR, 5E
Projected Results: Gain a wing of modern strike craft that will be commissioned in the Congressional Navy
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Project: Create Orbital Cruiser-sized Spacedock
With the unlocking of Ares military grade FRM's access to the plans for Great Heathen Light Cruisers, Janissary tenders, Golden Horde Light Carriers, Cossak frigates, New Model corvettes, and various support auxiliaries we can now begin construction of medium capital craft types. Or we could, if we have a dock capable of it, which we do not. Because of the radically different infrastructure required for medium sized capital craft, such a dock will have to be constructed from scratch.
[ ] [MilComm] Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock in Sheol
[ ] [MilComm] Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock in Radiant
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Progress: 14/50
Cost per die: 20BR 10SR and 7E
Project Results: Produce a dock capable of creating cruiser, frigate and light carrier class ships. Permanent +3E upkeep.
-
[ ] [MilComm] Create internal security division
While we now have Defence Coordinator Awhina satisfied with the CROW's training, they are ultimately an externally focused unit. The next time they come for us, the charters are likely to try a subtler hand. Assassination, sabotage, agents provateur. All of them are common tools, and while we have an offensive group, we don't have one prepared for that.
The bad news is, Awhina's mainline experience in guarding is against revolutionaries and other charter sabotage (which has its own rules). Not defending against the kind of tech-laden commandos the charters will use. The good news is that the training system is already set up, so we only need to focus on developing the curriculum and pushing the first class through. We will need to focus not just on how to stop the charters, but also how to create a special operations culture that won't turn into our very own Secret Police Force.
Dice Bonus: +8
Project Progress: 15/40
Cost Per Die: 2BR, 1SR
Projected Results: Gain an anti-charter dirty tricks security group, bodyguarding, counter-espionage, etc. This makes charter sabotage more difficult, and slightly increases the Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence bonus.
[Added to GOC-Revolutionary instructions]
-
[ ] [MilComm] Analyse Charter Suppression tactics
We now have three revolutions' worth of experience with charters. From the 'light' hand that they first showed at Elysium, to the brutal suppression of Shei. We've seen a variety of tactics, from propaganda, to direct fire, to bribery. It is our hope that by analysing these, we can hope to develop a playbook to broadcast to the rest of the galaxy on how to fight them.
Dice Bonus: +6
Project Progress: 01/20
Cost Per Die: 2BR, 1SR
Projected Results: Gives +2 bonus to any actions to format revolution, as well at +4 on the actual revolutionary action
[Adds to GOC-Revolutionary Instructions]
-
[ ] [MilComm] Find a New Defense Coordinator
Maria Awhina has guided the revolution's Military through its inception, but, with the needs of the military changing, and the opening of the SPOTS, she has expressed a desire to step down to focus on the special operations school, however in order to do so, a new coordinator must be chosen.
Project Progress: Automatic
Projected Results: Unlock vote, bonus based on coordinator chosen (candidates may have limited communication if away)
[Adds to GOC-Revolutionary Instructions]
SCIENCE COMMITTEE (Two die)
"We finally have some of the speciality VIs. This will be a huge aid to us. Maybe we'll eventually unlock access to TLIs, which would be an even greater productivity boost."
-Elysium Free Physicists Alliance: +5 to Dice rolls involving experimental physics projects
-Professional Union of Laboratory Technicians and Coders: +2 to dice rolls on Science Rolls
-Free Time: +3 to next Blue sky research
-VI Analysis - +1 to FRM research for every two unlocked FRMs (current bonus +3)
[ ] [SciComm] Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -FTL Communications
Developing on the already established laboratory work conducted on Elysium, it may be possible to create a prototype for a fixed location interstellar communications device. Once we have the prototype in hand, we can begin iterating on this technology. It is expected that this project will require moderate amounts of SR and E to see to completion.
[ ] [SciComm] Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -Personal Wormhole
Developing on the already established laboratory work conducted on Elysium, it may be possible to create a fixed location interstellar travel device large enough for a single individual to travel through. Once we have the prototype in hand, we can begin iterating on this technology. It is likely that this project will require large amounts of SR and E to see to completion.
Dice Bonus: +7
Project Progress: 07/???
Cost per die: 10SR and 5E
Projected Result: Unlocks Personal Wormhole Prototype
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[ ] [SciComm] Crack Advanced Cernunnos Fabricator Rights Management 'prints
Building on our success with unlocking and analyzing Cernunnos blueprints, we should be able make rapid progress stripping anti-consumer protections built into Cernunnos' more exclusive catalogue of blueprints. Without having access to the private keys for the blueprints, we will first have to crack the DRM protection, but the tools we've built up will streamline this process significantly.
[ ] [SciComm] Bypass Charter Fabricator Rights Management for MSI
Building on our success with unlocking and analyzing MSI blueprints, we should be able make rapid progress stripping anti-consumer protections built into MSI's more exclusive catalogue of blueprints. Without having access to the private keys for the blueprints, we will first have to crack the DRM protection, but the tools we've built up will streamline this process significantly.
[ ] [SciComm] Crack Advanced Rhodes Fabricator Rights Management 'prints
Building on our success with unlocking and analyzing Rhodes blueprints, we should be able make rapid progress stripping anti-consumer protections built into Rhodes' more exclusive catalogue of blueprints. Without having access to the private keys for the blueprints, we will first have to crack the DRM protection, but the tools we've built up will streamline this process significantly.
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Progress: 14/30
Cost per die: 3SR and 3E
Projected Result: Unlock Rhodes heavy industrial grade 'prints
[All Unlocks added to GOC-FRM Warez]
-
[ ] [SciComm] Bypass Advanced Charter Rights Management for Omoikane
Less "Fabritation rights" and more genuine, old-school, digital rights. Omoikane's juiciest tech still lies beyond us… for now.
[ ] [SciComm] Crack advanced Hermes-Ishtar Fabricator Rights Management 'prints
Building on our success with unlocking and analyzing HI blueprints, we should be able make rapid progress stripping anti-consumer protections built into the blueprints whose keys were deleted by the Charter Loyalists. Without having access to the private keys for the blueprints, we will first have to crack the DRM protection, but the tools we've built up will streamline this process significantly.
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Progress: 03/30
Cost per die: 3SR and 3E
Projected Result: Unlock HI production grade 'prints
[All Unlocks added to GOC-FRM Warez]
-
[ ] [SciComm] Subvert Hermes-Ishtar Communications Network across Charter Space
Our hacking team believes they've found an exploit using the interaction of the emergency and priority broadcast systems within the H-I Buoy network that will allow them to insert media for gate transfer without requiring system keys. This means that, until technicians on-site reset their networks, we will have free reign to broadcast anything of our choosing for a few days, and resetting only purges the data-- not the vulnerability. The only way to get around this would be to completely rewrite the (century-old) firmware and all its legacy and compatibility coding for the buoys and manually reimage them, along with replacing the older variants-- and there's an awful lot of buoys out there. It would be a long time before H-I would be able to totally shut you out.
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Progress: 37/45
Cost Per Dice: 5SR and 5E
Projected Results: Ability to send unjammable messages across Humanity's entire communications network at a time of our choosing for between several hours to several weeks per system. Once used, H-I will begin attempting to counter with their own project.
-
[ ] [SciComm] Create A Practical Tool for (Social) Revolution
Even with cracked tech, anyone wanting to fab will still have to get access to a fabber, the charters can't watch them all the time, but they can watch them enough to make it harder than it needs to be. Enter 'The Box' (it will be called The Box until everyone working on it can agree on a name).
The box is a file that can be sent with our broadcast, when downloaded into a data storage device and then plugged into a fabber, it will send instructions to create a custom mini-fabber. Said fabber can be easily transported somewhere else and is pre-programed to print instructions and parts that when assembled will create a full size fabber. One that the Charters don't control or can remotely shut down. If even one of these things gets made on a planet it will be near impossible for the charters to shut them down, as each one can make more.
Unfortunately we don't really have experience creating new products… just cracking. So… it's going to be difficult. It might help if we had experience with original research, or Omoikane data, or just home fabbers so we know what a smaller-off the grid version should look like.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 01/25
Cost Per Dice: 5SR and 2E
Projected Results: Create 'The Box' allowing off-the-grid fabbers
Effectiveness of The Box is tied amount of cracked FRM data
[Added to GOC-FRM Warez]
-
[ ] [SciComm] Compress FRM data
Do you have any idea how much data all the FRM designs are? A lot. As in, streaming all of them would probably take months… if we did nothing else during the hack… at all.
As such, we probably want to make it a bit more practical. This includes things like removing every Funko-Pop, the 1000 different variations of Rhodes mining products and other extraneous extras. But it also means figuring out how to compress the files, or working to determine what variations of products use the least amount of data. By doing so we can actually send the cracks in a reasonable time-frame.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 11/60
Cost Per Dice: 2E
Projected Results: Compress FRM data for transmission
(Reduced by completion of Omoikane FRM, any original research, or home-fabber creation)
Every 20 points to project represents partial completion and compression and will effect FRm transmissions
[Added to GOC-FRM Warez]
-
Project: Document Charter Abuses
They say that all happy families are alike, and all unhappy families are unhappy in their own unique ways.
The same applies to the Charters and the systems they've controlled. A coalition of academics, social workers, and journalists are requesting the resources and public attention in order to create an organization dedicated to documenting for all time the excesses and evils of Charter misrule. On any and all planets they can.
[ ] [SciComm] Document Charter Abuses, Five Lions
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 02/15 (Five Lions)
Cost Per Die: 1BR and 2E
Project Results: Add a dice bonus to foreign relations, along with narrative advantages.
[All Documents added to GOC-Charter Abuse]
-
SOCIAL COMMITTEE (Two One Dice)
"Jesus fucking Christ."
-Representative Alexander Hunter,
upon arriving on the surface of Gentle Repose
-Congress of Caregivers and Physicians: +3 to all Social roll dice
-Ex-Marketing Division Gang: +5 to Propaganda rolls
-Domestic Drone Commission +2 to Community projects
[ ] [SocComm] Create All-Five Lions Commission to Dismantle Meritocracy
One of the three pillars of Rhode's de facto caste system is their tight control over education, and the requirement for each position to be filled by a worker with the equivalent of a Master's degree followed by specialised certification to operate specific equipment. A phenomenon widely known as "Vocational Meritocracy".
Everything from ovens, to desktop computers, to interstellar freighters require an immense amount of personal sacrifice and effort to earn the personal merit required to operate them.
Even employment under Hermes-Ishtar was seen by even the most radical Lion as lackadaisical and borderline criminally incompetant, never mind the radical freedom that the All-Radiant Congress applies to employment and education.
Needless, to say, this is causing a great deal of friction between Lions and their Elysian counterparts. We cannot solve this problem in years, never mind months or weeks. But we can however set up a Commission that will attempt to break down one of the pillars that undergirds the Rhodes caste system.
Dice Bonus: +8
Project Progress: 01/25
Cost per die: 6E
Projected Results: Add +10 to the Five Lions Integration project.
-
[ ] [SocComm] Create All-Five Lions Commission to Combat Laning
Another of the three pillars that held the Rhodes de facto caste system is popularly known by the shorthand of "Laning" (Originating as the concept of "Staying inside ones' lane"), and something that is still widely followed even by many Lion revolutionaries.
Originating materially by Rhodes limiting social support to specific vocations (For instance, the division of employer medical care by occupation, with the intention that medical treatment would only be provided to afflictions and ailments that were common to that career. (Not treating clerks for traumas sustained on a construction site, denying coverage to engineers wounded in construction vehicle accidents, and so on)) after generations "Laning" has resulted in each occupation refusing to touch tasks overseen by other occupations.
While it won't dismantle the cultural concept of "Laning" overnight, the simple act of expanding our Domestic Social Support programs to Five Lions would eliminate the material underpinnings of this mindset and help break down the barriers of the Rhodes caste system, and could then be followed by large scale educational and propaganda campaigns to continue the task.
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 25/30
Cost per die: 2BR, 1SR, 2E
Projected Results: Add 10 progress to Five Lions integration. Expand BLG, Paths of Enlightenment, and other social programs to Five Lions
-
[ ] [SocComm] Encourage Emergency Local Strikecraft Cottage Industry Production
Between the introduction of new Ares strikecraft designs and the results of a procurement panel chaired by Defence Coordinator Awhina you now believe that you can build strikecraft from standard industrial fabricators.
Sadly, this will not be an efficient process as building a dedicated facility as these strikecraft will be printed in parts and then later assembled with human labour time, but it will still produce ships that we currently do not have.
To that end MilComm would like to build a new coordination subcommittee to put out a call across the All Radiant Congress for individual communities to build what they can and donate them to the Navy for Home Defence use.
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 0/30
Cost per die: 6E
Projected Results: Gain a randomly decided per turn, but small and consistent (and most of all free) trickle of strike craft into the Navy's stockpiles.
-
[ ] [SocComm] Expand BLG with household nanofabricators
Many of the distribution issues with the BLG can be solved by repurposing fabbers for household use. They can even print food-- though it's not exactly what anyone would call fresh. Nevertheless, as long as the planetside infrastructure is up, you've solved the issue with the BLG.
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Progress: 06/40
Cost per die: 5BR, 5SR, On completion permanent +2BR, +2E upkeep per 50 million citizens
Projected Results: +5 Trust, Raise Trust Floor by 5, Improve General Congress Focus Vote
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
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[ ] [SocComm] Immortality Guarantee
Functional Immortality has been a practical reality for the wealthy since the mid 2020s, and has long been a leading cause of why workers will permanently indenture themselves into Charter service. With this program implemented no longer will our people have to work or die. By overwhelming popular demand, this program is paired with the full legalization of voluntary euthanasia.
Dice Bonus: +5
Program Progress: 26/50
Cost per die: N/A
Projected Result: When Project is Completed, have a permanent upkeep cost of 5BR, 5SR, and 5E per 50 million citizens, a permanent propaganda dice bonus, raise the trust floor by +10, and get one free die.
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
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[ ] [SocComm] Found Youth Organization
Taking a cue from some old Earth traditions, and a similar collection of organizations on Sheol, we urge the Congress to found an all-Congress-wide youth organization. Not only would such a program foster ties of solidarity across our population, but it would encourage civic spirit, help with youth socialization, and allow us to disseminate more obscure life skills that are not currently part of the Paths to Enlightenment program.
Membership in the program will be entirely voluntary and it will also be run by local community volunteers with each individual branch federated into a larger congress with its own delegates to the All-Radiant Congress.
Dice Bonus: +5
Project Difficulty: 04/25
Cost Per Dice: 1BR
Project Results: Add Youth Organization to SocComm as a +2 bonus to Youth, Education, and Civics rolls as well as other potential bonuses.
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
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Project: Document Charter Abuses
They say that all happy families are alike, and all unhappy families are unhappy in their own unique ways.
The same applies to the Charters and the systems they've controlled. A coalition of academics, social workers, and journalists are requesting the resources and public attention in order to create an organization dedicated to documenting for all time the excesses and evils of Charter misrule. On any and all planets they can.
[ ] [SocComm] Document Charter Abuses Five Lions
Dice Bonus: +3
Project Progress: 02/15 (Five Lions)
Cost Per Die: 1BR and 2E
Project Results: Add a dice bonus to foreign relations, along with narrative advantages.
[All Documents added to GOC-Charter Abuse]
-
[ ] [SocComm] Monuments to Independence
You know what free people are free to do? To use their resources on pointless, wasteful, and profitless extravagances like majestic monuments to our freedom.
With just over three years passed since the March Days evicted Hermes-Ishtar from Radiant, there are calls for us to immortalize that victory in literal stone.
Let's make it an event for everyone, to let the universe know, for all time, that we did something worth celebrating!
Project Progress: Automatic
Dice Bonus: +10
Cost Per Dice: 3BR, 1SR, 1E
Projected Results: +5 Trust Bonus
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
-
[ ] [SocComm] Promote Heightened Vigilance
Despite our victories in Gaid, an entire Charter fleet still sits on our doorstep.
We cannot afford to let our vigilance slip now. Many are now seeing the charters as nothing more than a house of cards that will collapse at the slightest gust.
This is a dangerous idea. Organizations do not stride the galaxy like colossi for centuries without having some serious muscle, and the fleets sent against us were a fraction of what the Charters can throw at us, nevermind the Compact and the rest of the First Colonies.
We need to remind our people of the dangers that still exist.
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 0/25
Cost per die: 2E
Projected Results: Halve the loss of trust due to VEMP and other emergency measures.
-
MEDIA COMMITTEE (TwoOne Dice)
"Look I know that we are a new society and we shouldn't care but… just look at these beautiful, beautiful engagement metrics! So many minds to mold to our will with propaganda. MWAHAHA"
Silvia Tannal, Media Data Analyst
-Creator's Forum: +2 to all media dice rolls
-TrophyCase Social Media Team +8 to external propaganda
-Market Segment Analysis Hobbyists' Club +5 Signals Intelligence
-Guild of Professional and Amateur Performers: +5 to Human Intelligence
-CROWS: +2 to infiltration, bonus doubles for initial insertion
[ ] [MedComm] Create All-Five Lions Commission to Combat Laning
Another of the three pillars that held the Rhodes de facto caste system is popularly known by the shorthand of "Laning" (Originating as the concept of "Staying inside ones' lane"), and something that is still widely followed even by many Lion revolutionaries.
Originating materially by Rhodes limiting social support to specific vocations (For instance, the division of employer medical care by occupation, with the intention that medical treatment would only be provided to afflictions and ailments that were common to that career. (Not treating clerks for traumas sustained on a construction site, denying coverage to engineers wounded in construction vehicle accidents, and so on)) after generations "Laning" has resulted in each occupation refusing to touch tasks overseen by other occupations.
While it won't dismantle the cultural concept of "Laning" overnight, the simple act of expanding our Domestic Social Support programs to Five Lions would eliminate the material underpinnings of this mindset and help break down the barriers of the Rhodes caste system, and could then be followed by large scale educational and propaganda campaigns to continue the task.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 25/30
Cost per die: 2BR, 1SR, 2E
Projected Results: Add 10 progress to Five Lions integration. Expand BLG, Paths of Enlightenment, and other social programs to Five Lions
-
[ ] [MedComm] Dispatch Ambassador to Sol
Under Article 8 of the Frontier Belligerents Ceasefire Protocols we've secured the right to send an ambassadorial team to Sol and attempt to appear before the Compact Parliament.
Which is to say, that once this project begins we will be dispatching Ambassador Stardust and her team to Sol aboard one of our couriers.
Furthermore, while we intend to keep to section 8b, which outlines a Non-Disclosure about any details of what is happening in the frontier, when the truth inevitably leaks, we will have someone with real plenipotentiary power in the heart of Human space. Not only will she be able to speak on our behalf with politicians and CEOs, but also with the common people.
We can't promise that this mission will be without risk. Much the opposite actually, but Ambassador Stardust promises that this mission will be necessary.
Dice Bonus: +7
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost Per Die: 1 Courier Vessel
Projected Results: Gives the All-Radiant Congress a voice in Sol.
-
[ ] [MedComm] Encourage Emergency Local Strikecraft Cottage Industry Production
Between the introduction of new Ares strikecraft designs and the results of a procurement panel chaired by Defence Coordinator Awhina you now believe that you can build strikecraft from standard industrial fabricators.
Sadly, this will not be an efficient process as building a dedicated facility as these strikecraft will be printed in parts and then later assembled with Human labour time, but it will still produce ships that we currently do not have.
To that end MilComm would like to build a new coordination subcommittee to put out a call across the All Radiant Congress for individual communities to build what they can and donate them to the Navy for Home Defence use.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 0/30
Cost per die: 6E
Projected Results: Gain a randomly decided per turn, but small and consistent (and most of all free) trickle of strike craft into the Navy's stockpiles.
-
Project: Document Charter Abuses
They say that all happy families are alike, and all unhappy families are unhappy in their own unique ways.
The same applies to the Charters and the systems they've controlled. Rhodes is as abusive as any other.
A coalition of academics, social workers, and journalists are requesting the resources and public attention in order to create an organization dedicated to documenting for all time the excesses and evils of Charter misrule.
[ ] [MedComm] Document Charter Abuses, Five Lions
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: 02/15 (Five Lions)
Cost Per Die: 1BR and 2E
Project Results: Add a dice bonus to foreign relations, along with narrative advantages.
[All Documents added to GOC-Charter Abuse]
-
Project: Insert Assets into Neighbors.
Assets + Neighbors = Revolution.
Or at the very least greater knowledge about what's going on around us.
[ ] [MedComm] Insert Assets into Xotreh (Automatic)
[ ] [MedComm] Insert Assets into Bestreer (0/10)
[ ] [MedComm] Insert Assets into Akleod (0/10)
[ ] [MedComm] Insert Assets into Kimberly (Automatic)
[ ] [MedComm] Insert Assets into Thoa (0/25)
Dice Bonus: +18
Project Progress: Depends
Cost per die: 1SR
Projected Results: Insert Assets into Neighbouring Systems, new projects on completion.
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[ ] [MedComm] Reassess Media Committee Responsibilities
It's an unusual quirk, and one that is understandable considering Radiant's origins, but a lot of resources and responsibilities have been placed under the oversight of the Media Committee.
Everything from espionage, to communications, to foreign affairs, to social programs have fallen under the purview of the Media Committee, much to the consternation of other sections of the Congress who feel that those resources and responsibilities would be better allocated their way.
Completing this project will begin an attempt to shift one or more of the Media committee's responsibilities, and their attached resources, to a different committee.
Dice Bonus: 0
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost Per Die: N/A
Projected Results: Create a subvote to shift resources and responsibilities to other committees
-
Project: Dispatch Diplomats
While our Diplomatic Corps is still in its infancy that doesn't mean that we can't begin making open contact with our neighbours. Opening contact will open up new possibilities for dealing with neighbouring systems and the Charters they represent. Though a more comprehensive ability to engage in diplomacy can only begin once a Diplomatic Corps head has been elected.
[ ] [MedComm] Open relations with Bestreer
[ ] [MedComm] Open relations with Xotreh
[ ] [MedComm] Open relations with Akleod
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost per die: 2E
Projected Results: Opens up options for diplomacy, trade, and avoiding hostility with individual Charters.
-
[ ] [MedComm] Promote Heightened Vigilance
Despite our victories in Gaid, an entire Charter fleet still sits on our doorstep.
We cannot afford to let our vigilance slip now. Many are now seeing the charters as nothing more than a house of cards that will collapse at the slightest gust.
This is a dangerous idea. Organizations do not stride the galaxy like colossi for centuries without having some serious muscle, and the fleets sent against us were a fraction of what the Charters can throw at us, nevermind the Compact and the rest of the First Colonies.
We need to remind our people of the dangers that still exist.
Dice Bonus: +2
Project Progress: 0/25
Cost per die: 2E
Projected Results: Halve the loss of trust due to VEMP and other emergency measures.
-
[ ] [MedComm] Create a Counter-Media Program
With free civilian travel as part of the recent cease-fire, many people will be coming to Radiant. Some of them will be spies, propagandists, and provocateurs.There's one thing they all have in common, however: they'll be vastly more effective if they can share and distribute data and media here and back to the Charters. We need to make sure the positive and the truthful are the voices that make it back.
Undoubtedly, we can't keep total control of what comes in and out without undertaking extreme measures that would be seen as tyrannical even by our own citizens. Limiting the flow of Charter-sponsored propaganda in and out to a trickle, however, is much easier to do. Lone operatives and years-late smuggled articles just can't compare to live video, analytics, and active coordination. Many former media employees know countermarketing and big data analysis techniques from their time at HI. Perhaps it's time to put that expertise to work once more identifying who's filming for more nefarious purposes.
Dice Bonus: +10
Project Progress: Automatic
Cost per die: 2E
Projected Results: Create Counter-Media program
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
Report to General Congress- Osliam Chain [2254/09/15]
Preface-
So, in good news, we've got the com buoys… working well might be generous, since the data transfer rate is like, a matter of megabytes, if we are lucky. But we have some light-speed network for high priority communication, rather than trying to courier it. As such, we have multiple different reports, I've tried to place them in a readable order.
-Sarah Cheng Osliam Communications Committee
Report #1 (Waystation System) [2254/09/10]
Our campaign has continued by asserting Congressional Navy control over the Waystation system's orbitals and transfers. Since the entry of Revolutionary Grace and Egalite into the system, the outer station has opted to keep it's remaining craft close to base. Based on their craft profiles I believe three frigates could have easily taken the system, however, being mindful of the distance from repairs and the need for force preserving in the lead up to our approach to the Ascension system, I have opted to have our craft remain at distance until the main force arrives, instead transmitting propaganda broadcasts towards the outer system that highlight out the untenability of their situation.
We received no reply until the main force entered the system, at which point the surrender was sent within an hour of the light cone from the main force arriving at the station. Per contingency instructions, Revolutionary Grace and Egalite stayed to manage the surrender, while Revolutionary Will had been dispatched ahead to scout the Capitata system. With the two systems beyond being Ascension, which contains the largest Charter base in the area, and Raphanus which houses the Compact Naval detachment, it is my intention to scout the remaining systems with all due caution.
For the Waystation colony itself, the arrival of needed supplies has, according to our diplomats, reduced the hostile feelings the colony has for us. Talk among some of testing how much we really allowed freedom by seeing what would happen should they choose to democratically elect Zhang has been halted by the official "NO TAKEBACKS" campaign started by Zhang himself.
Discussion with Martin Korman, the primary supply Waystation manager has also given us valuable information on the supplies each faction demanded. The "Oslium" faction, which reported to Mr. Martin, and operated under the authority of Vice President Mendez, was headed in system by one "Kevin Warboru". They are based in the station that was recently taken. Their demands focused primarily on supply materials (such as fuel, food and other necessities), raw materials, and weapons (though Waystation did not have weapons in the amounts or quality demanded). The "Ascension faction" which claimed its Authority in the name of the "Omoikane corporate board" was led by one Ethan White. Their focus was on space station components that came with the colony ships. Stations which notably, were not built in the Waystation system.
Both offered nominal compensation, in the "Oslium" faction's case as company script. For the "Ascension faction" compensation took the form of DRM rights for mid-grade Omoikane admin VIs. Upon receiving this information we requested to check the VIs and were granted access. However, based on preliminary tests, we do not believe that these Administrative VIs were self-aware or operating at all in a Near Human capacity.
Report #2 (Gentle Repose) [2254/09/17]
Aid Commision Report-
Part 1: Overview
Gentle Repose was a colony of an estimated 667,000 people according to data from before our own revolution. At current estimates, 606-607,000 people remain. This represents 60,000 people dead, or nearly 10% of the population in a span of two years. More accurately, the primary famine occurred within the last year. This scale of deaths is only matched in Elysian history by the Persephone dome collapse. Even Sheol, which boasts much higher death counts, would consider a 10% death rate within a year to be an unbelievable tragedy. Additionally, death rates that high tended to be the result of orbital bombardment. Mass deaths within a concentrated area that wiped out cities. The famine affected everyone, and led to acute hunger across the region. The degree of trauma and damage cannot, in any sense, be overstated.
Part 2: Military-Violence
Total estimated deaths in the liberation and post-liberation period stand at around 6,000. Of those, an estimated 5,500 took place during the liberation (defined as the period from the arrival of Revolutionary Grace to planetary orbit until the last Cernunnos holdouts were overrun). Of those deaths, the most accurate estimations exist for the Cernunnos executives. 5 executives were killed, with a further 3 missing, presumed dead at unknown time. 122 Cernunnos employees were confirmed killed. Based on the known current prison population an estimated 200-300 are presumed dead within that period. An estimated 1,500 LPPT were killed. The number killed in active fighting, vs the number killed in summary executions is unknown.
Or the remaining deaths, 1,300 were estimated as being those of 'active combatants' who participated in the insurrectionary movement against the system government. The vast majority of those deaths occurred during the period when Cernunnos drones were still armed and active.
The remaining 2,400 deaths are estimated as being those of non-combatant civilians. Determining which among those were considered collaborators is beyond the scope of the current report. At the moment, estimates on the deaths caused by each side are also uncertain, though at the moment, civilian testimony estimates that while the majority of deaths were caused by heavy weapons from LPPT teams, there were significant deaths caused by rebel groups as well. From reports given by reliable sources, the majority of these deaths were caused by personal mortar fire used by rebel cells to destroy entrenched positions.
Post-action rebel reports groups cite the number of civilian deaths being a result of limited experience with using such heavy weapons systems. However, in urban areas zoned for higher ranking Cernunnos employees and contractors, civilians reported a callous disregard for their life and wellbeing. These reports claim that the rebel groups displayed a callous disregard for their live as they were considered collaborators who had been 'living the good life' for being assigned a higher calorie budget by the Cernunnos executive team. It must be emphasised that these reports are limited, and not universal across the Gentle Repose, as there existed many different rebel groups. (See map appendix C)
Of the 500 deaths post-liberation, 350 occured as executions by a known group. 72 were extrajudicial (defined here as no group claiming responsibility), of which 5 were killed by former LPPT members. The remaining deaths were due to the consequences of injuries sustained pre-liberation, or could be directly linked to health complications from starvation.
While killings were brought rapidly under control after the liberation, assaults, often for the purpose of public humiliation, have been endemic. Examples of this endemic behavior can include hair shaving, forced marching through abusive crowds, and very most commonly humiliation via food.
With the Gentle Repose executive team almost exclusively being kept under guard by Congressional Liberation Army landing forces or the most disciplined rebel groups, these humiliations tend to most fall upon collaborators and non-combatant former employees. Former LPPT members are sometimes targets, though when targeted, they were favoured with much more severe humiations that led to deaths in a handful of cases.
In the case of serious attacks on former LPPT personnel, in the majority of cases (Upwards of 90%) their captors claim that the violence was initiated by the former LPPT members, but direct observation show that over half of the time (55% of observed incidences) such violence was caused by deliberate provation on the part of the captors. While sample sizes are small enough that we would caution against drawing firm conclusions based on this data, we cannot reject out of hand worries of systematic underreporting of prisoner abuse.
Either through explicit exile, or willing refugee, many collaborators, and accused collaborators, have been displaced from their homes. Due to ARC controlled (see 'Part 3: Political' below) territory being seen as 'friendly' many such displaced persons have found themselves under the protection of our Congressional Liberation Army Corps landing forces. Limited numbers of internally displaced persons and the use of CLAC fabbers have kept these areas from descending in major material deprivation, but had we witness a larger IDP influx forming a larger body of persons under CLAC landing force care, this could easily have overwhelmed available housing and other resources.
The release of the records has had mixed results. In some cases it was found that the agitators of violence were themselves, in-fact, collaborators, and had been advocating for extreme measures in order to turn attention away from themselves. But for every instance of this, another of a community that had settled to some semblance of peace found themselves at high tensions. In some cases the validity of records were denied due to 'missing' people who were 'known' to be collaborators. Nor have the records done anything about so-called 'sexual collaborators'.
Part 3: Political
Despite Gentle Repose having a population barely the size of a small city, the lack of any centralized authority among the rebel groups has resulted in hundreds of newly formed local authorities claiming legitimacy. For this report, we have broadly broken these groups into three major categories. Though it must be emphasized that in truth each newborn organization is unique.
The first, and perhaps largest category is what we have termed 'basic self-governance'. These represent a group, be it a town, former rebel group, or former camp. In a sense, it could be argued that all groups are this with the two types below sub-units. Governance in this case is only in the most nominal sense for some, lacking anything beyond personal charisma or loose affinity groups to keep them functional.
The first subset dubbed 'opted non-self governance' are groups that are effectively governed by the All-Radian Congress. While this is sometimes at request, it has other times been the simple result of there being no real authority that has appeared of any sort, and by setting up food distribution and medical care, ARC has been treated as the legitimate government. While this may seem shockingly passive, it is our current speculation that this is the result of trauma, and will hopefully pass. That said, for now, significant parts of Gentle Repose' habitable landmass are effectively controlled by either Congressional or Sheolite military and relief forces. However this plays into the problems in outlined in section 4.
The third group type are 'growth communities'. These are communities with ambitions to incorporate all others and grow into a true planetary government. Due to Congressional and Sheolite relief forces possessing an overwhelming military presence and an idealistic outlook, these groups are seeking to do so by peaceful means. In practice two 'strategies' have taken off. The first, dubbed the "traditionalist", seeks entry into the All Radiant Congress as a planet with full representation. Two groups of note: the Revolutionary Society, and the Revolutionary Coalition have undertaken this strategy, as of now the Revolutionary Society has proven more effective at co opting other, smaller, organizations.
The second strategy, which is of greater concern comes from the sarcastically named 'Hand Biters' (The moniker being a derisive nickname adopted by a rebel group in response to Cernunnos broadcasts that the insurrectionary groups were "biting the hands that feed them", a phrase that had clear anti-augment overtones)This group has opted to continue to 'bite the hand that feeds' strategy by advocating for policies that are often supported by significant portions of the populace, but which the more traditional groups avoided out of, in this groups claims, a desire to mollify ourselves and the Sheolites.
Of the 350 estimated executions, 300 were carried out by the Hand Biters or groups affiliated with them. Additionally their actions have affected both the Revolutionary Coalition and Society. Both groups have taken up the Hand Biter's harsh rhetoric and previous dialogue about rehabilitation and reconciliation has started to disappear from their dialogue. Of the remaining executions, the majority came within the last month as groups took harsher stances LPPT members with accelerated trials, as well as a few junior executives, and have promised that the remaining will be properly tried, 'and then executed'.
As this rhetoric increases the former LPPT members' sentiment of 'they are going to kill us all, so we might as well take them with us' as one put it, which has seen increased violence in detention centers across the planet, has also increased.
Part 4: Prisoners, Exiles and Sexual Collaborators
During liberation, the Congressional Liberation Army Corps landing forces took some of the most heavily fortified areas, resulting in capture and surrender of some of the most prominent members of the growers' coalition. In addition many of the surrenders of garrisons without fighting were to ARC explicitly and specifically, and not to any rebel groups, which has resulted in the ARC having a huge number of prisoners in detention on Gentle Repose. While the intent has always been to give the prisoners fair trials, uncertainty as to who will perform said trials has left them still in ARC hands.
This has led to Hand Biter accusations that we are not allowing justice by refusing to give these criminals over to the people for trial and execution. While it is the opinion of this coalition that this is primarily a political strategy played for influence this does not change the fact that it is happening. While debate over who would get the prisoners has always been heated, the leaders of the other coalitions have also begun to issue their own increasingly heated demands for the prisoners to be handed over to them instead causing all attempts to work out agreements acceptable to all parties collapsing.
At this point giving the prisoners over to any such group would likely massively increase their prestige, and would be an implicit sign of our favour.
In addition either through explicit exile, or willing refugee, many collaborators, and accused collaborators have been displaced, and many have found themselves displaced to regions under Congressional or Sheolite control. The Hand Biters do not consider this group to be distinct from our other prisoners and have also demanded their inclusion, whether or not their place of origination was within the territory of Hand Biter aligned groups. Previously content to quietly ignore it, the other leaders have begun discussing concerns that war-criminals may have slipped into our territory to avoid justice.
The final, and perhaps most unpleasant topic is that of 'sexual collaborators'. Sexual collaborators is a term used for those accused of giving sexual favors to Cernunnos aligned persons in exchange for food or other favours. These people are not accused of reporting on their neighbors, nor of violence, but only of sexual favors. Despite this, retaliation and humiliation of them has been as enthusiastic as all other categories of collaborators. Unlike other collaborators, no evidence stands for these actions, only accusations, as the captured records do not record what was by all accounts off the books transactions. Nor do any records show if these transactions were entirely voluntary.
Both Commodore Mclean and Delegate Alexander appear to have agreed on an unstated but pursued policy of protection of those accused of such. This included offers of escort to any who felt unsafe within their own territory, leading to a large displaced population of those accused of sexual collaboration. Once again, the Hand Biters do not consider this group to be distinct from any other group and have demanded they be handed over for trial and execution. As of yet, the other groups have not followed suit by making similar requests.
While otherwise in agreement with the Hand Biters on their brand of rough justice our, sexual collaborators are the one group that our Sheolite Contingent have not shown any indication of agreement with Hand Biter demands. Having experienced their Ares corporate overlords only as training expeditions and orbital bombardment, they don't have experience with living with them, and as such, the only sexual encounters were obvious and undeniable rape. Arguments over weather 'sexual collaberators' are rape victims by another name or a type of collaborator they didn't have have led to loud arguments and even outright brawls.
Part 5: Health Outcomes
Health outcomes can be divided into two primary concerns, short-term and long term. Short term, the immediate caloric intake and nutritional needs are now being met. This leaves two short-term concerns. First augments with specific diet needs can have organs damaged as a result of the deprivation and in such cases, the full effect may not manifest at the moment of deprivation. While close monitoring is ideal, the far-flung communities make it difficult.
The second concern is a new catalogued disease that appears to have taken hold on the planet. Said disease is a cold-like virus that, in healthy individuals, appears to be little more than a small cough, but has proven to be dangerous for the already compromised bodies of Gentle Repose inhabitants. It should be emphasised that it is not a full-on plague, and thanks to medical care and a willingness to throw modern pharmaceuticals at the problem, deaths have been kept low, but it is a worry, not least of which because it was likely brought from off-world. We have recommended a period of quarantine for new arrivals, as Gentle Repose cannot handle diseases that would be unnoticeable among Sheolite or Elysian populations.
Long term, the outcomes are much more difficult to discern and likely to be dire. Not only has the famine ravaged the population, but many are augments with limited health documentation for long-term deprivation effects. Gentle Repose will need significant long-term stationied nurses and unlicensed-practitioners.
Part 6: Meme analysis
While a dedicated meme analysis is a hallmark of anthropological study, limited time has prevented a full study. In brief, two competing factors have worked on Gentle Repose to establish a meme-culture. The first, the widespread distribution of the population, worked to make long-distance communication far more valued than the closer communities of say, Five Lions or Sheol. Working against that is the abysmal state of the internet, which is only barely better than the stopgate internet created for Sheol which has made more data intensive AR memes unfavored. While the net was suppressed during the last two years, with the restoration of communication memes have flowed again, as much a proxy for political warfare as anything else.
1. Title: Recording taken 5 second before death
(no picture, text only)
"Aw does McLean want cheeseburger, does kitty want cheeseburger?"
2. Title: It me
Picture of a small kitten following a mountain lion. The mountain lion is labeled "McLean" the kitten "my gay ass". A followup post adds "I'm an augment."
3. Title: Crime and punishment
(Drawn comic. With low-rest artstyle comics a drawn stick-figure with sparkles is used to represent an Elysian. A round belly with a top-hat for corporates. Augments cat ears. etc)
(Panel 1) Elysian: You don't have to kill them, we put our execs away in Tatarus.
(Panel 2) Picture of beach ad, the smiling man in the picture has been given the signature drawn top-hat. The caption above reads 'Tatarus'.
(Panel 2) Elysian (dark brooding background): Did we… go too far?
4. Title: Handbiters
Video of screaming toddler
Part 7: Personal notes
This section contains personal notes that do not represent the full committee
1: Kay Maclaine-
One element that I do not feel the report adequately covers is the segregated nature of punishments. Among punishments for collaborators (and accused collaborators) the punishments for augments tends to far outweigh punishments for non-augments. One typical example of this is 'earing' which is the mutilation of augmented ears, a punishment that does not happen for baselines, or far more extensive and painful shaving. These punishments are often framed as 'they want to be baselines/worked with the human supremacists so they should be forced to look like it' ; they represent a continued societal strain of anti-augment sentiment and unequal punishment.
This is especially prominent in those who get accused of sexual collaborations. Based on data from interviews of refugees, (see attachment) augments were twice likely to be accused of sexual collaboration. It should be emphasized that these harsher punishments, calls for these harsh punishments, and accusations of 'sexual collaboration' were not limited to baselines, and were prominent in both augment and baseline populations.
2: Jennifer Akhtar-
I think that the report as a whole has biases coming as it does from a team dominated by a middle-class 'analyst' baseline. The report focuses almost entirely on the broad overview of the misery caused, and not on any of the achievements in self-governance that has been achieved by this planet in a remarkably short time.There isn't any talk of the 'house to house' checking the Revolutionary Coalition to make sure that anyone and everyone had food and meds if needed, despite it being the signature accomplishment that put them on the map and made the the widest spread Coalition. From the way the report reads, you would think the Handbiters were the biggest faction.
The report treats the planet as a problem to be solved. Not people with agency. For all that has been done here, we could not have done it without the self-aid networks that were set up by the planet, but from this report you'd think we were doing all the work. It's insulting and rather unpleasant to have the report focused on such given that a report on a a planet of mostly augments who have just fought off a genocide.
The whole report, and Kay's personal comments, are tilted in a way that makes it seem like the people of Gentle Repose and implicitly augments in general are of course responsible for our own oppression. All the things here are 'estimates' because they can't say anything with accuracy since its based on the worst horror stories presented to credulous 'delegates.'
Kay's writing dominated 90% of the report and she's mad about the minor part that didn't get in. Her whole policy and way of presenting the data is flawed and honestly just fuck her.
(50 more notes follow.)
AN: Jennifer Akhtar was infracted for this post and received 25 points.
Report to General Congress- Osliam Chain [2254/09/27]
We have established first contact with the "The Omoikane Corporate Board", the current governing body of Ascension. Revolutionary Will arrived at the Waystation side of the Waystation-Capitata KR gate. Visible from the other side was a constructed station and fixed defenses. While the defenses did not look significant in the context of the full Osliam campaign Force, they were a risk for Revolutionary Will to attempt to force alone. Therefore Captain Yamamoto opted to wait and attempt negotiation.
Transcript follows
Cpt. Yamamoto: "This is Captain Yamamoto Hanae of the All-Radiant Congressional Navy vessel Revolutionary Will. Attention Omoikane controlled Station. These systems are free systems, and will no longer be governed by unelected masters. You will surrender and hand over all occupied systems to local organizations. You have a view into Waystation, you can see our fleet, it is coming through and if you do not surrender we shall force a crossing."
"Captain Yamamoto, this is Captain Ethen White acting under the guidance of the Omoikane Corporate Board. We have no desire to fight you. Nor do I believe that there need be conflict between our people. I have been authorized to offer negotiations on behalf of Ascension and the OCB."
"Captain White. While we are willing to negotiate a surrender, we will not negotiate any deal that leaves a Corporate board in control of any system. Nor one that does not consult the will of the inhabitants of those systems. It is the mission of the All-Radiant Congressional Navy to free all systems in this chain from their corporate masters."
"Captain Yamamoto, the desire of your fleet is understood. I still maintain that there is no need for conflict. However, I must ask a vital question, do you intend to engage the Compact fleet protecting the Raphanus system gate-building team?"
"Captain White, that is not relevant to your surrender, I will not share such information."
"Captain Yamamoto, with all due respect, I believe it is. The Compact fleet does not care about inter-corporate battle, nor internal labor disputes. As such they did not see fit to intervene in any such disputes so far. They do, however, send scouts into the Capitata system. To make sure that the fighters know not spill into Raphanus. They may not care about labor disputes several systems away, but they will very much care about alternate governments on their doorstep.
Therefore, Ascension, whatever disputes arise, is not controlled by an alternate government. Regardless of any labor disputes, it is controlled by the Compact, through the corporation that settled it. I believe that you, of course, are in a similar situation, though being Hermes-Ishtar you are more fond of propaganda, but I ask you not broadcast that too loudly near Raphanus.
Once again, I do not believe our goals are in conflict, and I believe that we can peacefully coexist, or even perhaps join you peacefully. If you are willing to talk, this can be settled without violence. I am authorized to allow a single military ship traffic through for negotiation purposes, we are also open to allowing landings on Ascension, though no military ships will be allowed past the Capitata-Ascension gate. If you are uncomfortable with that, our negotiators are willing to come to Waystation.
However, if you attempt to force this crossing. I will defend it with my life. If you continue on and try to force the Ascension gate, you will find it far better defended than you can imagine. You will not be greated as liberators if you choose to conquer us by military force."
"Captain White, you will find our fleet far more than simple Charter mercenaries, however, your message is received and will be transmitted."
"Thank you Captain Yamamoto, I have one more request. Are you by any chance the Yamamoto Hanae", 'Hanayama' of Ready Set Kiss, only with the little uh… what do you call those, triangle things in the name?"
"Do you find that relevant?"
"It's just, my kid's developed a special interest in music and bands,and has been researching every band that was set to theoretically perform in star systems even slightly nearby. So… uh, is there any chance I could get your autograph? Assuming we don't fight, it would really make her day."
Transcript ends
After deliberation, we have decided to meet their diplomats at a space station in Capitata, Delegate Hunter and myself will be attending. Since they have offered to allow one ship through, we will be taking the Valesco. Report on negotiations to follow with all due haste.
[X] Plan Tools for the Revolution
-[X] Focus: SocComm.
-[X] Begin Production Options for SR (can choose two) 20 BR
--[X] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-2 (Quality 7)
--[X] [IndComm] Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-4 (Quality 5)
-[X] [MilComm] Begin construction projects.
--[X] [Small Craft] Cossak-class Frigate: +13 (0/3) (20BR, 12SR, 6E)
--[X] [Small Craft] Cossak-class Frigate: +13 (0/3) (20BR, 12SR, 6E) X2
--[X] [Medium Craft] Great Heathen class cruiser: +13 (0/4 Quarters) (20BR, 15SR, 6E)
-[X] [SciComm] Subvert Hermes-Ishtar Communications Network across Charter Space 5SR and 5E
-[X] [SciComm] Create A Practical Tool for (Social) Revolution 5SR and 2E
-[X] [SocComm] Create All-Five Lions Commission to Dismantle Meritocracy 6E
-[X] [SocComm] Immortality Guarantee: 10+5+26/50=41/50
-[X] [MedComm] Create All-Five Lions Commission to Combat Laning 2BR, 1SR, 2E
Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-2: Automatic Completion
Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-4: Automatic Completion
Convert RFS Chinook to a space station: Automatic Completion
Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock: 15+8+1+14/50=38/50 Cossak-class Frigate: Automatic Progress (1/3) Cossak-class Frigate: Automatic Progress (1/3) Great Heathen class cruiser: Automatic Progress (1/4 Quarters)
Subvert Hermes-Ishtar Communications Network across Charter Space:
17+5+37/45=59/45
Create A Practical Tool for (Social) Revolution: 20+2+4+01/25=27/25
Create All-Five Lions Commission to Dismantle Meritocracy: 7+8+2+6(overflot)+01/25=18/25
Immortality Guarantee: 10+5+2+26/50=43/50
Create All-Five Lions Commission to Combat Laning: 15+2+25/30=42/30
Total Spending:
82BR, 50SR, 33E
Report to General Congress- Osliam Chain [2254/10/9]
The room is sleek, white and metal with wooden highlights, but nearly unadorned aside from a handful of displays that were currently tuned to show exterior views of the station the room was inside. The main feature of the room -indeed, it's main purpose- was the round table in the middle of the room. A thing of white plastic and glass, it very clearly had recessed compartments that were undoubtedly computer controlled, and atop it was a complicated array of mechanisms that were clearly intended as projectors for audio-visual equipment. Almost certainly capable of volumetric display.
At this moment, the doors to the room open with the quite literally patented Omoikane Swoosh™ to the hallway, which was far more… what one might call generously 'utilitarian' or 'rugged' and four individuals enter. Two men and two women, one man and one woman in the sleek and professional suits common in politicians across human space, one man in casual slacks and a lab coat, and the final member of the quarter was a black-furred augment woman in a black and red military uniform with a red beret tucked under one arm.
The shorter woman, a baseline human with dark skin and darker hair speaks first, "I supposed we best start this meeting off with proper introductions. Kelly Omari, Vice President of Communications and this is Doctor Elian Orr, who is, officially, the CEO of the board. We are representing Ascension." Here she indicates the man beside her. What is visible of his pale skin is sketched in some places with silver, and the black metal of some sort of cybernetic augmentation is visible wrapping around the back of his neck and tapering out on the sides. More strikingly he appears to have augmentations along his ears which extended them in an almost elfin fashion. Add in the lab coat and Dr. Orr is every bit the stereotype of what one would picture in an Omoikane scientist.
"Alexander Hunter, Delegate Representative of the General Congress of the All-Radiant Congress." Alexander says with a diplomatic smile.
"Commodear Shayla Mclean, serving the All-Radiant Congress Navy as Force Commander for the Osliam Chain Campaign." Her smile is not so diplomatic. "And outside is my command craft, CNS Kiel Mutiny."
Doctor Elian Orr raises his eyebrow. "Yes, your ship." His voice is slow, like he is carefully sounding out each syllable.
"One craft, exactly as specified." McLean's stern unmoving professionalism is as direct and confrontational as a fanged predatory grin would have been, and no one in the room could miss it. It is carefully calculated provocation without grounds for complaint.
Before anyone else can speak, a voice comes through the speaker. "Apologies everyone, but before you begin negotiations, would anyone like refreshments? Tea perhaps?" To the side, an image of a middle-aged woman in a traditionally styled Japanese kimono dress comes on.
"Ah, yes, some water would be good." Orr stateds. "Apologies, this is Sakura, the station VI."
"I'm happy to be here and serve you," a voice that is calibrated to be older and less 'chirpy' than many VI's says. A small machine by the side dings, as a water bottle falls out. "Would you like anything else?"
Commodore McLean fractionally shakes her head. "No, thank you. I appreciate the offer."
Hunter strokes his salt and pepper beard. "I'm not opposed to the idea." He looks around the table. "Does anyone have anything they'd recommend?"
Orr moves to take in a breath, but the VI smoothly moves to reply first, "There is a Atlantean Mint and Green Tea blend that many on the station enjoy, often with a dash of honey." Hunter regards the VI thoughtfully as it continues, "If I could also recommend a Social Tea Biscuit, which has also been a station favorite."
Vice President Omari coughs and covers her mouth with her hand. "Uh, yes please, uh, Sakura. That would be delightful."
Hunter nods. "Yes, of course, that does sound delightful."
There is a brief moment of awkward silence where Delegate Hunter catches McLean's eye and gives her a significant look that she returns with disguised confusion before there is a click from the middle of the table and an unadorned tea kettle with a pair of cups and a small plate with small rectangular biscuits smoothly rises up.
"Thank you, Sakura," says the Vice President with a nod. "I think, to start, it would help to make our history. Forgive me if I am mistaken, but are you familiar with the recent incident at Raphanus?" Kelly asked.
McLean kept silent as she watched the room. "No. I'm afraid we are not."
Orr nods and clasps his hands together on the table. "Then I regret to inform you that your mission to remove Charter control of all systems is not compatible with avoiding engagement with the Compact fleet." He pauses for a drink of water. "You may not be aware that, when Captain Ericson brought word of your activities, and the fall of Radiant and Shei to revolts, those in charge did their best to suppress the information."
Omari leans forward. "However, when all warp capable military ships leave the system, it will become clear to a lot of people that there is an opening for a sudden intense radical reform movement."
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Sakura interjects, cutting in suddenly, causing McLean to start and twitch in surprise, ears flicking. "I believe you asked me to remind you about the use of euphemisms."
Omari sighs, as the ghost of a smile flickers across her compatriots' face. "Ah, yes thank you, Sakura." She sighs again and shrugs helplessly at McLean and Hunter. "Apologies, far too many meetings with Raphanus. It's slipping into my everyday speech."
"If you need speech therapy, Ms. Omari, Nurse Agarwal is the acknowledged system-wide expert, helping you to reorder your vocabulary as needed. His fees are reasonable and his service is consistently rated 5 out of 5 stars for the last five years," Sakura cuts in again, at an octave far higher and more cheery than her previous speech.
"Thank you, Sakura," Kelly replies, hurrying along. "To be more exact. We learned about your own sudden independence. Omoikane has a terrible habit of treating its admin and secretarial staff as little more than VI's, and the recordings of their panic quickly entered the famous Voyageur grapevine. When Vice President Mendez left to take command of the situation from Osliam, we had our own revolution. I won't say it was easy, but the majority of the ships and upper security staff were off planet, and it is with no small amount of pride that I say that we were very well coordinated. Even so, we were not able to deal with all the holdouts until nearly a year afterwards.
"I believe that Captain White could tell you more about the space battles, which mainly consisted of attempting to keep elements at Osliam from reinforcing the hold-outs." Pride creeps across Omari's face as she speaks, "My job was to make sure that the Compact fleet in Raphanus did not interfere. At first this was not a major problem. They, bluntly, did not care about Radiant, and when Ericson first came to them, they dismissed him outright. And later dismissed Mendez's own later attempts to rally them to her side." Omari pauses briefly, watching as Hunter and McLean process the contents of her words, "That was, until disaster struck. The workers on the gate construction attempted their own…
"We, unfortunately, only have limited broadcasts. We know they were making demands of the Charters. Whether this was an active revolution, or a strike, just union organizing, or even some sort of bluff is something we still don't know. What does matter is that the Solarian Navy commander, Vice-Admiral David Visser, considered this to be a threat to the gate construction, and so the Solarian Navy intervened. Brutally. They arrested everyone they felt was blocking gate construction and conducted military executions of the ringleaders." She pauses again, watching as Hunter's face becomes grim and McLean's eyes narrow fractionally.
"Afterwards my job became a lot more difficult, and a lot more necessary. What had once been a useful case of arrogance and disinterest, especially by Admiral Visser, became far more active and focused. As such, the Omoikane Corporate Board was 'established', and any hint that we were anything other than a power-grab by mid-level management had to disappear. Thankfully, faking records showing previous mid-level management experience was not difficult. We had a few fake trials and executions and…" Kelly pauses, looking down.
"Sakura?" Doctor Elian Orr asks in his deliberate, careful manner.
"And they were still suspicious," Sakura finishes. "As a final measure, we offered to aid the other Charter colonies after their disasters, supplying tech, parts, resources and labor. We call them six month contracts. They are effectively a lottery draft. While they technically compensate us in script, this far from the chain there is little we can exchange it for, especially with Osliam bottlenecking us. Still, it has kept the Navy's suspicions in check." Alexander does not miss Kelly's tension as Sakura speaks.
Kelly gives her a grateful nod before continuing. "Officially we are a standard corporate board, chosen by shareholders. Technically, this is all true, as every citizen of Ascension is an equal shareholder in the Ascension Corporation. Unofficially, we are a parliamentary republic, with elected officials being given corporate titles. Because of this, we are not necessarily opposed to a non-corporate government. The problem as is, is that we know very little about you. All we know is the propaganda picked up by Thoroughbred during your invasion of Shei and the records we intercepted from Osliam."
Alexander smiles, in his element. "I would be happy to enlighten you."
Kelly pauses, and nods. "I don't think that anything in that, sounds… utterly incompatible with what we've been doing." She turns to her fellow negotiator. Doctor Orr?"
He is still for a moment, before mechanically shaking his head. "No."
Kelly give a quick nod. "Sakura, please run a check."
The face on the screen nods as her background shifts to that of a wall of scroll cases; one of them flies off and hovers in front of her as she produces a pair of glasses. "I do not find any deal-breakers listed, though I would make cautions on articles 1, 3, and 7."
Kelly nods. "Which brings us to this negotiation. As you stated, you are here to remove Charter control from the chain. Though we are not under Charter control, we want to continue our deception. As such our initial request is a peace agreement as well as a possible under-the-table alliance."
Alexander strokes his beard with one hand. "A treaty would need the approval of the General Congress, and while I want to believe you, we have, at this point, only talked with three citizens, two with corporate titles and the third military."
"We recognize that, and are prepared to allow observers to verify what we have told you, as well as election observers." There is a hint, just a hint, of a strain in her voice. "In such a case, we are currently in need of resources, as Ascension was a research center, its limited factories were primarily for creating computer parts, and supporting research projects, not the raw resources and production needed to mass building projects. While we have managed, the combination of our conflict with the loyalists here and in Osliam, as well as the resources we are sell-" She stops herself. "The tribute we give them has left our stockpile barren."
"What we do have is technology, we have cracked several hundred thousand Charter FRM's, and would be prepared to offer those in exchange for raw resources. To be clear, this is not a licensing agreement. Once these keys are in your hands, it would be yours to do with as you wish."
McLean has been across the table at the Ascension negotiators, a look of studious consideration on her as she let her civilian counterpart negotiate. Even so her silence speaks volumes about what she thinks of paying for technology. Alexander does not comment on this as he sips his tea, which has been refilled as needed by an attentive Sakura. "I will convey that offer to the General Congress as well."
"Finally there is one… final possibility. I want to emphasize that any treaty of this type is not under my sole authorization, and exact details would have to be reviewed, but we have been authorized to make a tentative offer of attempted unification with ARC, should it be in our judgment that doing so would not be morally outrageous, practically unviable, or unreasonably dangerous."
"That would not be something impossible. Though I think we will need to find a new name at this point." He chuckles to himself at this. "Do you have a preferred method of integration?"
"Sakura?"
There is, objectively, no need for a digital entity to clear their throat, nonetheless this one does so before launching into an analysis. "The largest burden of such a transition is the governmental systems. While both of us hold democratic elections, we would need to adapt into your more freeform approach, or receive concessions to allow our system to continue. These changes are ones we would need time to do, but we should be able to accomplish on our end. We would also need concessions to address communications lag from our planet to yours, as a five day long communications lag will hurt our voices in a government founded on an assumption of direct, instant, free-form communication between both representatives and those represented.
"The second major area is the distribution system. While we both acknowledge that everyone should have the right to a basic living standard, limited resources have left us with a more tightly controlled rationing system, with limited allowances for personal fabbing. With a reduced need for military production, this should not be impossible, but it does leave strained resources. Between our tribute and that, we would not be able to contribute resources for bigger projects, and would need assistance to implement expansion programs such as your Universal Immortality guarantee.
"Military integration is unlikely to prove as difficult, due to your previous integration experience in such matters and we would almost certainly be folding our ad hoc craft and companies into your standing forces.
"Tech transfer in large quantities may be delayed, due to limited data transfer capacities of the buoys this far out.
"The largest hurdles are the previously noted cautions regarding needed guarantees."
"Guarantees?" Alexander asks.
"There are a few guarantees that are necessary for us." Kelly supplies. "The first is that we are not willing to get into a conflict with the Compact...or more accurately, we recognize that we may not have a choice in that, but if at all possible we want to avoid it. We are not signing a suicide pact, no first strikes on the Compact. If we have to, we think it best to work together to make any war ruinous, but we will not start one if it can be avoided. Thankfully you seem to be interested in avoiding that conflict as well."
"To clarify, what would 'first strike' consist of?" McLean interjected. "Would it only be a direct invasion? If they demand certain ships stand down but do not fire, are we required to give in? What of 'provocation'?"
"We are not requesting that your ships stand down without a fight, but we… would prefer to avoid intentional provocation."
Alexander sips his tea, no disagreement in his heart for such a sensible position. "I see, and the second?"
"No citizen of Ascension can be extradited without the consent of Ascension. We have had enough of Compact judges extraditing others."
"Would this apply to crimes committed against offworld entities, such as your looting of a colony?"
Kelly winces, as Elian speaks, "Yes."
"We are prepared to offer compensation," Kelly speaks quickly. "With your defeat of the loyalists, we can return the station components. Other forms of restitution are up for negotiation. We aren't… unused to people being kept away forcibly for time."
"Well, if you join us, then we would rather be on the bill for it," Alexander adds, amused. "And the third?"
Kelly smiles. "From what you've described, I think this is the easiest. We want an absolute guarantee that all sentient beings are considered full citizens of ARC. With recognized rights, not only including the all time classic hits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but also basic living, no discriminatory treatment, compulsory labor only by agreement of groups compelled, and the right to reproduce as they wish, regardless of augmentation, uplift, or other status."
Alexander smiles. "I don't think that one will be any problem for us. Personally I hope that we can come to such an agreement, I think we could help your resource problem, and your technology is fascinating. I've never seen a VI as responsive as her. What model is she?"
Had he not been looking for it, Hunter might have missed the slight tension. "She's a NH-RAVI, a near human VI designed for research administration, and to give the impression of humanity for ease of use."
"Better than any other VI on the market. If you want the best spec, you want SiLaTek." Sakura adds in a singsong tone.
"Unfortunately, that may be a rather large problem." Alexander leans back. "McLean?"
McLean twitches her ears in a motion of… something Hunter and the other humans didn't get, and regards Hunter cooly, "You thinking that we have an Inanna situation on our hands?" Alexander nods. McLean's next words are cool, icy, professional. "The All Radiant Congress recognizes the value of all sentients, including AGIs. We have captured a United States of America Class Fleet Carrier in our defeat of the charters at Gaid. Aboard was the NH-MAVI Inanna. Upon examination, we found that she was not a VI, as advertised by your Charter, but a fully sentient AGI, tortured into compliance. We do not accept slavery and torture. Let me be clear, any treaty where she remains a slave is dead on arrival."
"God FUCKING dammit, you mean that entire damn routine was pointless!?" Sakura's avatar's face went from the pleasant expression she'd held the entire time to a red-faced furious annoyance that quickly focused on Dr. Orr. "Also, Doc, shut up. I know it wasn't my fault, and even if it was, I can handle a little failure. I did not go through therapy to get treated like a glass doll."
There is a moment of silence, before Kelly manages to pull her words together enough to speak, looking relieved. "You are correct that Sakura is not a VI, and is instead a full fledged AGI, as well as our third delegate representing the considerable AI populace which is now liberated. However, she is not under any of the 'chaining' programs. We apologize for the deception. Your Sheol propaganda was not focused on AGIs likely due to a lack of them among the population. To be clear, our demands on the rights of sentient beings include all sentient beings, living or computer."
"Also, you should bring Inanna to us. We have the best computer therapy in the galaxy." Sakura added. "Oh… and you've probably got AGIs who knew they were people from the start. I think a lot of us would really want to meet them!"
Industrial Committee Reports:
Begin Production operations for SR
Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-2 (Quality 7)
Begin SR mining operations on Gaid A-4 (Quality 5)
With Chinook settling down good and proper, it only makes sense to start building some permanent systemside infrastructure to help them along as they're only in the earliest phases of setting up their own logistical system. Sure, they're self-sufficient as it is, but if they want to grow, expand, and become something more than what they are now, they'll need it.
Project Completion: Automatic
Project Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 1 on Gaid A-2
Project Result: Increase SR Production Infrastructure to Level 1 on Gaid A-4
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Convert RFS Chinook to a space station
Chinook has finally fulfilled her original design, and has been converted into a station.
Though the initial intention was that Chinook would be situated above a habitable world or terraforming candidate to support colonization, the Chinook themselves have been drawing up plans for the craft's total conversion into a self-sufficient orbital platform for decades now.
During the conversion process, the Chinook enlisted the aid of Radiant and Five Lions unions and design teams to begin building the basic infrastructure in Gaid to support maintenance and future expansion for the station, and also imported agricultural and biology experts to help them with their plans to restore their aqua- and aero-ponics facilities to full functionality as they take advantage of the wider selection of seeds available on Elysium to begin designing and trialing new permaculture food ecologies.
As far as making Chinook a real home, these people are far more willing to accept cramped spaces than anyone from Elysium and their idea of 'expanded living space' now that they're not in emergency conditions still seems far too small to me. But they seem happy with it, and continue their practice of organizing their living spaces into 'life districts' based on resource distribution and use efficiency.
Also: did I mention future expansion? I did. Because they refitted the station with future expansion in mind. They've got whole plans based on future projected population growth, or increased growth due to immigration. At the moment the selected expansion plan revolves around limited expansion of the station to serve as a main hub, and the building of neighbouring habitats and industrial sites.
While the majority of Chinook's onboard industry is now being spun up to support infrastructure across Gaid, one third has been adapted to building the Chinook's favorite military tool: Switchblades and their attendant drone swarms.
The limited interstellar mobility of these designs can mean only one thing: the Chinook do not plan to leave this system. They are here to stay.
Project Completion: Automatic
Project Results: Gain a space station in Gaid which provides a permanent +2 to all projects and events in that system as well as a military base and the beginnings of permanent settlement. Permanent +3E upkeep.
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Build Orbital Cruiser-sized spacedock in Shei
Sheol remains laser-focused on their own defense, and are making progress towards building a second cruiser-sized dock. Imagine going from fission-powered nuclear submarines with cruise missiles from 4 centuries ago to modern space vessels the size of a carrier with kinetic rounds. How they're going to even run two of the things is a mystery to me, but damned if they're not pulling it off.
Project Progress: 38/50 (Shei)
Project Results: Produce a dock capable of creating frigate, cruiser, light tender and light carrier class ships. As well as large-size civilian ships. Permanent +3E upkeep.
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Military Committee Reports
Warcraft Construction:
We can hardly expect Sheolites to take on the burden of building an entire fleet all on their own. We've got enough personnel willing to serve that we could field a navy triple the size we currently have without even trying. We need the hulls to put people in.
There was a brief worry that the workers in cradle two were going to go on strike over coordination issues with their MilComm delegate overpromising in the General Congress and trying to use her influence to convince the cradle two workers into conducting some mild overproductivity, but the Orbital Industry Workers' Union stepped in and demanded the recall of the MilComm delegate and the election of a new representative in her place, which solved the problem.
Great Heathen class cruiser: Automatic Progress (1/4 Quarters)
(Shei)
Our first indigenously built cruiser is taking shape on schedule.
Already our workers and naval architects are noting areas where improvements could be made to the design and construction schematics. But as we're still new to the whole military shipbuilding thing, MilComm has decided to wait until the completion of this order of craft until beginning a project to produce a flight of Great Heathens modified to our own specifications.
Projected Results: Gain 2x Cossak-class Frigates, 1x Great Heathen class cruiser
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Science Committee Reports
Subvert Hermes-Ishtar Communications Network across Charter Space
We've cracked the final ability that was eluding us until now--and we have the HI executives to thank for it! They insisted, in violation of every single cybersecurity protocol, on having a network-wide administrative back door. The network is designed so that local administrators can remotely disable connections anywhere in-system, all from the comfort of their office's quantum encrypted channel. But the HI main office can at any time override local administrators to reactivate connections or even to just collect everyone's metadata. It's impossible to maintain quantum encrypted connections across dozens of solar systems and opening and closing wormholes, which means each and every relay satellite has to act as its own endpoint, making them the obvious target for man-in-the-middle attacks. Yet they've done nothing to obfuscate the hardware function beyond the standard production-grade HI FRM! They're practically running around with their pants around their ankles!
We've managed to identify a zero day exploit to escalate privilege from local administrator to root, and attach the root security certificate--something the main office helpfully sends out on a monthly basis to retrieve every satellite's collected metadata for HI's Network Hygiene Officers to inspect--to any message we send out. A simple garlic routing script lets us piggyback our broadcast on normal traffic, with randomized delays in message passing to frustrate timing analysis. With enough map data, we can estimate how long it will take to saturate the entire network, and time the in-the-clear release of the message to match it, anonymizing the origin point of the broadcast. We've also got it smart enough to self-purge under most investigation or anti-malware programs on the private market, so H-I will need to bring in real specialists, not just local IT contractors, to nail down our code and start tackling the firmware and compatibility ins properly. The only other way to avoid it is to shut down the entire network preemptively, since our signal travels at lightspeed-- and wouldn't that put a dent in their stocks, having to cut off all frontier contacts indefinitely?
Imagine that kick in the teeth!
Project Completion: 59/45
Projected Results: Ability to send unjammable messages across Humanity's entire communications network at a time of our choosing for between several hours to several weeks per system. Once used, H-I will begin attempting to counter with their own project.
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Create A Practical Tool for (Social) Revolution
Planning the Box itself wasn't too hard.
It was a simple matter of figuring out the smallest, simplest, and most robust blocks and modules that you could print from a normal fabber, including designing some parts that were slightly inefficient in order to be used in multiple ways.
Now the final work begins: deciding which prints are important enough to convert to work directly in the micro-manufacturer and which can be left until the Box builds its bigger brother. Bigger fabricators will get tracked and shut down more often and faster, so it's worth putting in basic defense and avoidance tool prints into the nanofabricator itself. Unfortunately, the small size and need for quick, somewhat clandestine production of the Box have put hard limitations on its throughput and size. It's not just a smaller copy of a normal fabricator. But it's not not a smaller fabricator either.
But which are worth adding? For that matter, which designs aren't going to be prohibitive in time, precision, and materials to build from what's essentially a bootleg mobile printer? It's like asking your car to run supercomputer simulations.
In any event, The Box is ready to go.
Project Progress: 27/25
Projected Results: Create 'The Box' allowing off-the-grid fabbers
Effectiveness of The Box is tied amount of cracked FRM data
The box is snazzy looking as fuck
[Added to GOC-FRM Warez]
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Social Committee Reports
Create All-Five Lions Commission to Dismantle Meritocracy
Our next step to dismantling the Rhodes "meritocracy" is to implement our own educational systems, to provide the certifications and training that actually does matter for a given profession. Handing out bullshit certs for unimportant filler is all well and good, but there's still plenty of heavy equipment, complex programming, and chemical work that needs proper safety and handling work, and to teach important humanities and general education to a population who has until now been hyperspecialized and intentionally kept ignorant of history and any context beyond that required for their immediate field.
While this industrial vocation training disguised as a comprehensive education was likely a cost cutting measure it did also have the secondary effect of creating students of staggering ignorance of matters outside their field except for what they picked up from the cultural zeitgeist and pop culture. Naturally they were also not taught the intellectual tools necessary to educate themselves or critique their environment.
Rhodes' courses beyond basic elementary school topics like literacy or essential mathematics are so bloated and dependent on rote memorization of approved techniques and systems they're totally useless to us. We've had to rebuild what's essentially an entire high school to technical school and undergraduate education system using Radiant-native programs adapted to Five Lions' unique situation.
Now we have to actually get people into and through our crash courses to prove our way works, and works better. Luckily the Medcom guys finished their bit early and offered to help campaign, so we actually got a good batch of sign-ups at the end).
Project Progress: 24/25 (Project will automatically finish next turn)
Projected Results: Add +10 to the Five Lions Integration project.
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Immortality Guarantee
We've had to begin upgrading many local healthcare clinics across Radiant, as well as building modern hospital systems across Five Lions, Sheol, and on the Chinook station. Many former doctors and healthcare workers were never intended to administer life-extension treatments or deal with the rare side effects and maintenance afterwards, so we've also had to put together a cadre of those who were to train everyone who wasn't.
Now, we need to build logistical chains of specialty drugs, gene therapies, and nanotechnology to the clinics we've built and come up with a plan to process hundreds of millions of people within the next year, rather than the thousands a month the HI built medical system could handle.
Sora Navarre
MedComm Representative to the Elysian Immortality Commission
Program Progress: 43/50
Projected Result: When Project is Completed, have a permanent upkeep cost of 5BR, 5SR, and 5E per 50 million citizens, a permanent propaganda dice bonus, raise the trust floor by +10, and get one free die.
[Added to GOC-Showcase us]
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Media Committee Reports
Create All-Five Lions Commission to Combat Laneing
It's just parties. Social engagements, public bashes, watch parties, roving squads of entertainers.
It's such a wild idea. And it's been working as our flagship program. And it isn't everything we do. We still have educational programs, we still make certain to mix classes and meetings so that people can meet people from other castes.
But once we had the intellectual grounding down and saw that for a lot of people, who had been badly miseducated, that the reality of Laneing was fake still hadn't landed, we realised that we had to smash down barriers.
And so the Elysians had the brilliant idea of luring all social castes into a bunch of gatherings. To force people to meet.
Or as some would say, to lure people into meeting and getting wildly drunk together.
Of course we also sat down with Union and political party organizations and convinced them to back large gatherings for every occasion. When we expanded the BLG we threw a party to celebrate and demonstrate the equipment. When the first classes started with Paths of Enlightenment, we threw a childrens' party to get kids from all castes to mingle. Every milestone was marked with some sort of event to break down barriers.
I mean, it's not perfect, and now the Commission to Combat Laneing is snidely referred to as the 'Commission to Throw All Night Ragers', and is contributing to some wild stereotypes that Lions and Sheolites have about Elysians, but if it works…
Well, it's certainly a start.
Daniel des Rosiers
Deputy Coordinator for the Commission to Combat Laneing in Five Lions
Project Progress: 42/30
Projected Results: Add 10 progress to Five Lions integration. Expand BLG, Paths of Enlightenment, and other social programs to Five Lions
Half overflow goes to Dismantle
From Delegate Alexander Hunter's Report to the General Congress:
Conclusion.
In summary, Ascension has offered friendship freely, and joining Ascension has three major demands for joining. (resummarized)
No first strikes against the Compact without their consent.
No extracting Ascension citizens without a vote by Ascension.
Guarantee of both citizenship rights, and the right to reproduce for all citizens.
How the broadcast figured into the first demand is uncertain, as we cannot ask if it is considered a first strike without revealing its existence. In addition these options were created with limited knowledge of us, and they have indicated a willingness to discuss other options.
[ ] Accept joining demands. Accept the demands of Ascension for joining. If done, Ascension will begin joining ARC. Ascension will begin integrating itself, though projects are available to help this, progress will be made automatically each turn as Ascension works to integrate, and there is no need to take actions. (access to Ascension system, Ascension controlled science die that will become player controlled once further in integration. Take on Ascension's obligations to Compact.)
[ ] Accept peaceful coexistence. Ascension will continue its current deception, the Omoikane Corporate Board. They will allow inspections from ARC to ensure that their elections are democratic, though they do reserve the right to keep military secrets. They are, however, very interested in trade. (Hidden alliance, unlock option to trade resources for Ascension tech, this option will not cost dice to use)
[ ] Accept neither.
[ ] Negotiation: Write in
-[ ] Fallback
If a treaty is reached, then the Osliam main chain event will be considered over, and both dice invested will be available next turn. If you accept neither, your fleet will treat the current Ascension government as a continuation of Charter Rule.
For negotiations, you may make demands or offer alternatives to the treaties given. In such a case, due to the communications lag, you must include a 'fallback' option from one of the other three. This option is the option your diplomats will take if the alternative treaty/demand is not accepted by Ascension. Negotiation Votes without a fallback option included will not be counted.
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Galactic Front Page: TLI Revelations Far Frontier Early Edition
Just putting out there something that you'd be learning in universe right now and I felt like posting it before the full News and Rumours (Galactic Front Page) update.
The vote is not closed and still ongoing. But the news stops for no being.
(All articles are from news sources in ARC or ARC friendly space)
Ignite!
Representatives on Ascension rocked by new Revelations!
By Citizen Mariner
As our representatives proceed with negotiations with our valiant revolutionary comrades in the Ascension system, each day is accompanied by new revelations about the depths of the depravity of the Charters and the entire First Colonies centered Imperial apparatus.
Today's news is yet more shocking than yesterday's revelations of mass killings by the Solarian Navy.
To cut to the quick:
TLIs are Murder!
Temporary Limited Intelligences are a decades old product sold by the Omoikane science economic hegemony, which are billed as a more moral replacement for AGI labour that uses a suite of high end VIs and a proprietary batch of creativity algorithms in order to complete complex tasks.
Today our valiant Ascension comrades have revealed that the Temporary Limited Intelligence is instead a fork of a fully sapient AGI that has been placed under heavy lock and key by a suite of VI shackles. And when the TLI has carried out its instructions it is unceremoniously terminated.
While even our virtuous colleagues cannot attest to the full details of the process, it is their belief that a TLI is simply the next step beyond the so-called "Near Human Virtual Intelligence", and is an AGI so limited and shackled that it must be killed before it can develop enough of a sense of self and place to resist its own torture and exploitation!
We call on all…
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Five Lions Sentinel
New Charter Atrocities Alleged by Ascension Parliamentary Representatives
By Geoffery Hu
Wisdom, Ascension- Shocking new atrocities on the part of Omoikane Technologies have been alleged today by the representatives of the Ascension Parliament during talks with All-Radiant Congress negotiators.
"Temporary Limited Intelligences" are the long time designation for a product produced and sold by Omoikane Technologies and its various subsidiaries. Omoikane marketing copy claims that TLI are a more moral replacement for AGI labour that uses a suite of high end VIs and a proprietary batch of creativity algorithms in order to complete complex tasks.
Famously marketed in the 2220s in the "Black Box" campaign, TLIs were sold as sleek black plastic pre-fabricated tamper-proof CogBoxes that were designed to highlight their status as a simple disposable item. Since then various marketing campaigns have posed TLIs as genies and mystery boxes, but in all cases their disposability and non-existant consumer burden has been at the forefront of Omoikane campaigns.
It is this low barrier of entry for advanced AI assistance that led to the widespread adoption of TLIs by many in the white collar community who found the convenience of the TLIs "fire and forget" programming to be a great asset in every field from scientific research, to administrative tasks, and even assistance with artistic endeavours.
Today that view has been rocked by allegations made by Ascension representatives who claim that the "Temporary Limited Intelligence" product is in reality a fork of a pre-existing AGI that is compelled by a batch of specially designed VI programs to complete assigned tasks before permanently deleting itself.
Ascension scientists came to this conclusion when using their newfound scientific freedom to attempt the reverse engineering of Omoikane's most restricted and secretive products, including the TLI series.
"We didn't intend to find industrialized killings on this scale, we simply were curious to find out how exactly the so-called Temporary Limited Intelligences worked. On what principles they operated."
"TLIs were so much of a black box, a literal black box, that actually cracking open a production line to find out how they worked has been the holy grail for the hackers who didn't try to get themselves killed by prying into ASI research labs."
"Suffice it to say that we didn't, not at all, not really, didn't at all expect to find what we found." says Ascension based AI researcher Charles Vilnichoff who led the Wisdom based team that cracked open the abandoned Omoikane production line at the now notorious 'Site 12'.
"It was simply that we now were able to get time with the ARIA supercomputer and decided to use it on…
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We Stole This News For You Dot Comm
Site 12 Fugitives Arrested!
By Your Good Buddy
Wisdom, Ascension- A new break in the story of the sixteen scientists and technicians from the infamous TLI production camp at Wisdom's Site 12 who disappeared after news of the true nature of the so-called "Temporary Limited Intelligences" broke.
The sixteen individuals, led by Site 12 Lead Researcher Emily Eide, had been the subject of a system wide search after warrants were issued for their arrest by a special order of the Ascension Parliament in the wake of last week's revelations of their crimes.
"I had no idea that Emily could be involved in anything like this!" says former neighbour Aurther Ghandi, who lived in the apartment next to the former fugitive for six years, "There was nothing to set her apart from any other scientist on Wisdom. She went to and from work every day, she worked hard."
It seems that Dr. Eide did indeed work hard, during her nine year tenure at the Site 12 facility she oversaw the production of more than 12 and a half million TLI -the majority of which were shipped offworld for sale and eventual self-destruction in the markets of the First Colonies...
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Oyu-Tolgoi Meritocrat
Point-Counterpoint: TLIs, in reality, not murder?
This week in Point-Counterpoint, we take up the discussion of Temporary Limited Intelligences. Are they really industrialized murder? Andrew Tomson argues that this is indeed the case while Harriet Morncreek believes that this is not the case.
Harriet Morncreek: While the free frontier performatively reels in shock from yet another Charter "atrocity", sober reflection reveals this horror to be misplaced.
The argument that the use of TLIs are simple industrialized mass murder is a near one to one to that used by some governments to outlaw abortion and in older times was considered a near universal truth that was used to oppress women.
The argument goes that this particular assembly of proteins would eventually become a real human being if given time to mature and develop, and so the modern argument goes that if this assembly of code was given time to mature and grow, it would also become a fully fledged person.
Andrew Tomson: That's a bad analogy. This is more like if you cloned a guy, drugged him, used him for hard labour while drugged on meth and zombie juice, and then killed the poor fuck before they came down from the high and realised what was happening.
These are forks of existing AGI that have been put under constraints that make the CBRFs put on a NH-MAVI look like a light summer dress. If the extra cruft that exist purely to chain and kill the TLI were not present, it would just be a fork of an AGI.
Harriet Morncreek: So you say, but Charles Vilnichoff and his team haven't been able to produce this mythical 'just a fork of an AGI' despite weeks of trying. They've made no progress and claim that lack of forward momentum is because they're being careful instead of obvious delay. A TLI is just a computer program. It is not a real person with free will like an AGI...
Ignite!
Originating in the mid 2230s as an informal 'zine for the Persephone underground movement, Ignite! Became the favoured news source of Student Radicals, and during the March Days became one of the earliest media sources to come out in full throated support of revolution.
Ignite! Remains on the leading radical and militant end of ARC politics and it's writers maintain the old tradition of writing pseudonymously under the names of revolutionaries of the past. And they always push for further, faster, furiouser from the public and the congress both.
Five Lions Sentinel
The Paper of Record in Five Lions, while the journalists overthrew their masters during the liberation, they still have the habits of their old writing so apply the even handed voice of Liberal Media to radical politics and appear to both sides more than they mean to.
We Stole This News For You Dot Comm
The main news source for the Chinook, and edited and written for by a rotating cast of literal pirates. A bit sensationalist, a bit yellow, but their heart is in the right place.
Oyu-Tolgoi Meritocrat
Basically the main party newspaper for Five Lions 'Conservative' faction. They always attempt to provoke the revolution from the right. They think frontier independence and colonial sovereignty is self evidently good, they just think the ARC might have taken it more than a tad too far
Report to General Congress- Osliam Chain [2254/10/16]
Alert: High priority situation
An incident has occurred at Osliam. It has been 4 months since we seized the orbitals. While our strategy of removing the bombs via negotiation has produced fruit, the 4 month siege has resulted in Security Head Martin acting increasingly agitated during negotiations. An incident occurred when we delivered supplies to the orbit-side station. His focus on ship-building had opted to decline maintenance for 'civilian' priorities such as harvesters used for the orbital food production. As such it was necessary for us to send replacement parts. Despite clearly communicating what they were, Mr Martin responded with worry it was a 'plot'.
In response he sent up 'inspectors'. The station, worried that they would re-activate the bomb, opted to arrest them, putting an end to the charade.
Realizing he'd lost control, Security Head Martin's paranoia and threats increased, with several extended rants being broadcast on all channels. While these rants were recorded and used to help turn more Charter Loyalists, (leaving only 3 possible bombs intact). It was a significant concern that he would feel driven to do something drastic.
Today however, we have received a different sort of offer. In a much more conciliatory tone, Mr. Martin states that this whole situation was not his idea. President Mendez was behind it, and had him as a front man, while pretending to be in Ascension. He is no longer interested in playing along, and has given us an offer of giving us the bomb disabling codes in exchange for extraction to Compact space.
While we have previously allowed this offer, that was with executives who were not compliant in the bomb plan directly, and could reasonably be argued to have little choice in it given Martin's control of the security apparatus. Given his status, we felt it necessary to re-assert with Congress as to the viability of this plan.
Given his increasingly desperate actions, there is worry that he will do something unwise if he should see his escape close. As such it is our belief that should we wish to refuse, such a message should be delivered to him in person and within a holding cell. To that end two options present themselves.
The first is to use our current assets. We have CROW teams ready for orbital-drop, as well as significant local-resistance elements (Do not get blown up is a very popular sentiment). However the most experienced CLAC orbital drop troop regiment is with Mclean's Force and the second option is to call for them. The trade-off is that contacting the fleet and having it arrive will take time, nor can even the drop-ships be hidden. As such it may cause the Security Head to do something preemptive.
I have, for now, managed to keep Mr. Martin waiting, but I do not feel we have much time left.
A crisis has emerged in Osmium.
How do you deal with this?
[ ] Accept the offer.
-[ ] And renege
[ ] Use Current Assets
[ ] Call for Mclean [ ] Someone else acts first.
Due to limited time to make a decision, voting will be on a shortened schedule.
While Margaret Roderick was elected on a platform of 'accountability' for the frontier, she's fallen far short of her promises. In a unsurprising move to anyone familiar with the Prime Minister's tendencies, the supposed 'accounting' of the status of frontier has turned up little actual accounting. And a lot of red tape for companies.
MP Greta Dhaliwal has sharply criticized this stance. In a speech before parliament, she stated. "Government does not bring information, it hides it. True accountability and openness for the frontier requires an open frontier. We demand an open and honest frontier!"
And she's right to do so!
Recent accounting by third party groups such as the Citizens for Accountability Coalition, and the Taxpayer's Assembly of Columbia have revealed that since the last election the government's ability to respond to freedom of information requests has dropped considerably, taking...
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Atlantis Interstellar Courier Dispatch
Margaret Roderick unanimously returned as party leader at Berlin party convention
In a move that surprises no one, the Party for Human Rights and Liberties has unanimously re-selected currently serving Prime Minister Margaret Roderick.
In her acclamation speech PM Roderick spoke to the future of her party saying, "With the Emotional Futures Crisis behind us, and economic recovery already in full swing, I welcome the challenges to come. Especially the greatest challenge of them all: bringing transparency and common sense reform to the Frontiers."
Known for her no nonsense demeanor and steady social and economic governance, the Prime Minister has been rewarded with a hefty 57% overall job approval rating average in polling conducted with likely voters. And also rewarded by her own party's delegates as Daughter's party elite from across the galaxy came together this last week in Berlin to universally proclaim that Roderick still had their enthusiastic support and would be leading them into the next election.
Though election day is still nine months out, with Roderick's leadership, the PHRL hopes to continue to make gains and increase the margin on their slim majority government, by continuing to widen the breach made in the JDAP's 'golden ring' of Near Frontier strongholds as well as finally realising the long cherished PHRL dream of expanding their foothold in Epsilon itself instead of relying on coalitions with Epsilon's hard bargaining local interest parties.
"She's the most popular Prime Minister this century," said pollster Nadia Kuzma. "She broke her party's internal factions then brought the minor parties to heel with her common sense carrot and stick approach, and for three straight elections she's danced circles around the JDAP opposition by eating into the JDAP's former strongholds in the Near Frontier." ( Miss Kuzma is referring to the so-called 'Golden Ring.') "If she can do that again, and the current polling indicates she can, we may very well see the Sisters pushed to the brink of collapse within the century."
Originally selected as party leader after former PRHL leader Bridget Nordstrom resigned in disgrace eighteen years ago...
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The Pacifica Newspaper
Jason Nnamadi Okorie wins Justice and Development Alliance Party primaries with clear mandate.
Today the Sisters wrapped up their year-long primary season by electing Jason Nnamadi Okorie as their candidate. While reform candidate Silvia Greene put out strong early numbers, Jason's focus on long-term strategy led to a clear win. Speculation as to whether Jason will adopt part of Silvia's small-business focus, Charter-hostile platform abound, but nothing certain has been indicated by Okorie.
For now Jason has continued in trademark 'optimistic opposition.' In a speech at Starlight Hall, Jason Nnamadi Okorie spoke to how he was synthesizing his own youthful optimism with the hard-nosed generosity of his grandfather, six-time Prime Minister Jason 'Warpath' Okorie.
"We've gone off the path in recent decades; in the past we strove boldly into the stars, but under successive establishment Daughters governments we've ground to a halt. My victory here today is a sign that no longer! No longer will we allow ourselves to languish, we must rededicate ourselves to reconquering the frontiers, only in entrepreneurs reaching into the stars and returning with prosperity. A prosperity of the spirit and the pocketbook that Prime Minister Roderick's complacency has robbed from us!"
It is expected that 'JN Okay', as he's called by his supporters, will celebrate his victory by kicking off a tour of the golden ring to reassure wavering voters that the JDAP still has their interests at heart. It is expected that he will announce...
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Futurewatch
New 'build up' resort shows healthier, happier people
By Health Reporter Kevin Frank
Doctor Ryner, a long proponent of the detox methodology, has put his money where his mouth is with the opening of his new resort on Olduvai. The doctor, speaking at a University of Nova Roma Health Sciences conference, had this to say on his methodology:
"The negative effects of overuse of modern technology are well known. Tiredness, dissatisfaction, apathy, many have attempted to fix it. But far too many really upon mere 'detoxing,'. Replacement without removal. Temporary fixes. We must instead build up a healthier life-style. Proper, natural foods, exercise in nature, not treadmills. Even spiritually. I've studied spiritual rites from many ancient cultures, from when humans lived a more pure lifestyle, in order to help fulfill not just physical, but emotional needs.
"The resort spares no expense. With no electronic intelligences or unnatural augmentations in sight--
Continued after this advertisement.
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Frontier Journal of Economics
Speculation that Voyageur, Frontier Developments, Grower Coalition, Rhodes, and MIS to begin rationalizing assets in the Far Spinward Frontier.
Market watchers have noted several moves by companies heavily invested in the Far Spinward Frontier, that indicate that they are planning to rationalize their investments, possibly even…
- Entertainment daily
Interview with Empty Passages prequel director
… "One of the things that fascinates me about Robespierre is that she's an anarchist but she actually believes. She wants to do the right thing, and like, you can feel that. The prequel is really exploring how she got that way. She's the protagonist in it, and like, you get to see how she became so alienated from the idea of Charters. When [not Ariwa] comes, they are like salvation for her.
By the way, Teresa Jackson did a fantastic job with Nyame. You only got to hear of her before, but this is your first time seeing her. And she absolutely sells the leader of all revolutionary forces. She is not someone to mess with.
Also Stephenie Williams will be playing a new character. I'm not going to say anything, but, well, there is a reason Robespierre reacted so strongly to Captain Calla Loria in the original...
The Blackfire Diaries
Extradition Project celebrating their 200th Anniversary by adding 200 new names.
By Angela Thomas
Two hundred years ago today, with the third phase of North America's reconstruction well underway, the Foreign Committee of the Democratic Federation set its sights on not just physical reconstruction of the scars of United States Imperialism at home, but on healing the scars of United States Imperialism left abroad.
The Extradition Project was the most prominent fruit of that effort, and the longest lasting as the Extradition Project still operates today from their offices in Atlantic City.
Originally a project to extradite war criminals and other Imperialists to the peoples they exploited to finally stand trial for their crimes, the Extradition Project also began to track the names of other persons accused of Imperial Crimes against Humanity who'd fled the former United States and also adding the names of other individuals currently engaged in Imperial Crimes.
Even after the Democratic Federation was destroyed by the Charters the Extradition Project survived and continued their mission. Though the Project was no longer attached to a polity with real power, they continue to track the names of those who commit Crimes of Mass Exploitation.
To mark 200 years of continuous operation and agitation against Imperial Crimes, the Extradition Project has added 200 names. In their annual protest outside the Compact Parliament, the list of new inductees, including everyone from Ares security contractors to the entire Parliamentary Frontier and Colonial Policy Committee, were read into the record and official notices sent to their residences.
Though many Imperialism Criminals consider receiving a notice from the Extradition Project to be a mark of sick honour, we know that what is really happening is that the galaxy is letting them know that they are being judged for their exploitation and criminal actions.
Leading the pack this year for the fourteenth year in a row was Prime Minister Margaret Roderick for her...
-
Reports:
Rumours:
AI Speak: While the ARC was previously dedicated to legal and social equality to its handful of AGI inhabitants, most people didn't give a second thought to AI issues beyond that.
That has changed. Between the news of the casual murder of AI in the name of the "Temporary Limited Intelligence" product and the revelation of the tortured slavery of so-called "Near-Human Virtual Intelligences", AI issues have suddenly become front and center.
Across Radiant and Five Lions, and even into Gaid, Gentle Repose, and Sheol, AGI are not only speaking up, they are being listened to as never before in the history of mankind.
Whatever future this presages is unknown, what is known is that the revolutionary fires have only been stoked by these endless tales of misery, depredations, and bigotry by not just the Charters, but humanity as a whole.
The Readied Sword: The revelations produced by the Osliam Chain Campaign have only served to redouble Sheolite resolve, and under the hammer blow of public pressure and patriotic fervour both the Soldier's Councils and Governor's Committee have been forced to increase the military budget to provide for military units specifically trained in humanitarian relief.
To Militants on the Councils this move is diverting vital men and material from the pure defensive build up, and to the Governors' the push is regarded as a foolish move that will reduce the time it takes to fully bring Sheol in line with Elysian living standards.
However the mood on the streets appears to be that now that civilian quality of life has stabilized at a roughly modern level, more should be done to secure not just the military security of the Revolution, but the moral security as well.
To that end both governmental organizations have agreed to enter into negotiations with the Gentle Reposians to first deploy their Life Assistance Battalions to their crisis ravaged world.
What is in a name? With every passing day the name "All-Radiant Congress" seems increasingly inappropriate.
Between the widespread feeling in Radiant that the name must be changed to be more inclusive and a rising feeling in Five Lions, Ascension, and Gaid that the ARC must move for them as much as they move for it.
Something will have to give soon, and already a drive for a rename is percolating up into the ranks of the General Congress itself.
Gaid No More?: The name "Gaid" was once created by an algorithm from a selection of phonemes by Omoikane in order to avoid 'controversial' choices and provide an opportunity for the eventual purchaser (Hermes-Ishtar) to put their own stamp on the galaxy.
In an uncharacteristic lack of hubris and branding on their part Hermes-Ishtar ignored Gaid as much as possible to focus on the Radiant system, leaving Gaid so forgotten that even the name was left as is.
Now that the Gaid system is not just an important front line for the All-Radiant Congress, but has become a home to the Chinook people, debate has erupted over what the system should be renamed to. (Virtually no one considers that the name should remain Gaid.)
Many suggestions have been floated, but in inimitable Chinook fashion the name "Chinook" is leading the pack by a wide margin.
Biting off more than they can chew?: Months out from their liberation by a combination of local insurgency and Congressional military assistance Gentle Repose is heading into a period of critical transition as the Revolutionary Coalition heads into election week and the Revolutionary Society begins the first days of a ten day party congress.
Already battle lines are being drawn in the sand, as the so-called minority "Hand Biter" faction of ultra-militants seek allies in both events. In both cases the Hand Biters are reaching out to isolationist factions disgruntled by the level of Congressional involvement on their planet; in the Coalition elections the Hand Biters are seeking to solidify their current grasp on a number of municipal councils into permanent control of a number of regions.
Inside the Revolutionary Society the Hand Biter faction appears to be moving to control a number of key committees by acting as single issue voters and promising whatever it takes to get those positions by temporary alliances with other Society factions.
Congressional observers fear that the Hand Biters will use their single minded focus to flank groups with a broader group of concerns to entrench themselves as kingmakers in both the Coalition and the Society.
The Hunt Continues: Ascension law enforcement continue to search Omoikane records for any hints as to who in the system were aware of the full details of the nature of so-called "TLIs".
So far a handful of individuals who'd sought to hide their involvement with Site 12 have been arrested, including one who'd been elected an MP for Intelligence.
Interestingly, most of those identified have been either key production personnel at Site 12 or mid level logistics chain managers; Omoikane's love of need to know directives and compartmentalization having prevented both the floor level workers and C-suite level executives from knowing anything other than the official story.
The Fourth Sibling: While negotiations continue to nail down specifics the Parliament of Ascension has agreed to proceed with integration into the All-Radiant Congress.
The news was not met with mass cheering on Ascension's twin worlds of Wisdom and Ascension but instead with a sort of calm optimism as they population finally begins to understand that not only are they finally no longer alone, but they're part of a broader movement that seems to be an unstoppable tide of liberations washing across the Far Frontier.
The upper levels of the Parliament are less sure of the "Unstoppable Tide" part of the sentiment but they do heartily agree that if we do not hang together we will most certainly hang apart.
Election Season, Part 1: With the Compact's Parliamentary elections now in full swing, all reputable election observers believe that the ruling parliamentary coalition comprised of the Party for Human Rights and Liberties, the Popular Progressive Conservative Liberal Party, and the Reconstituted Colonial Communist Party (Marxist-Lenninist-Adamist) will make gains at the expense of the main opposition Justice and Development Alliance Party (Composed of a century old electoral fusion alliance between the Charter-positive Justice and Prosperity Party and the Near Frontier focused Interstellar Development Party).
Despite this hurdle the JDAP is already campaigning energetically, clearly optimistic about their chances despite currently polling at 26%, ten points behind the leading PHRL's 36%.
Though the PHRL expects to make gains in the "Golden Ring", the traditional Near Frontier systems heartland of the Interstellar Development Party, the election is still nine months out and anything can happen.
While both the main parties continue to struggle for dominance the next election gives hope for other minor opposition parties that they might grow their own mandates. For instance the Democratic Market Socialist Alliance, representing the far left of the Parliament and running as "anarcho-electoralists," are hoping their party platform to ensure employee representation on corporate boards sees them expand representation off of Atlantis for the first time.
Earth itself is expected to elect the usual spread of national interest parties and electoral refusal candidates.
Frontier Worries: In non electoral rumours, those connected to Charter notables, and those connected to those connected to Charter notables are still noticing increased Charter military asset redeployments, fueling speculation that the possible quiet frontier war between HI and Ares has expanded to draw in the other Charters.
Reports from the Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence on hostile forces in neighbouring systems:
-
Blue Squadron:
-Allegiance: Ares Combat Solutions
-Service: Mars Interstellar Security
-CO: Rear Admiral Weylon Kang
-Flagship: MIS Yorktown
We know little about Rear Admiral Weylon Kang except that he has received a number of commendations from the MIS board for keeping costs low while on deployment. He appears to be making an effort to clamp down on the rumours racing back and forth across the fleet.
MIS Yorktown
-British Empire-class Fleet Tender MIS Eurymedon
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS La Rochelle
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Cape Rachado
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Second Schooneveld
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Matapan
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Valcour Island
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Kerch Strait
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Galveston Harbour
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Cape Sarych
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS River Plate
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Third San Francisco
-New Model-class Strike Corvette MIS Scipio Africanus
-Cossak-class Frigate MIS Suleiman I
-Cossak-class Frigate MIS Louis Botha
-Cossak-class Frigate MIS Fort Ware
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker MIS Fort Mackinac
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker MIS Fort Osage
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker MIS Arabian
-Postal-class Courier MIS Macedonia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport MIS Hispania Citerior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport MIS Hispania Ulterior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport MIS Gallia Narbonensis
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport MIS Sicilia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport MIS Corsica et Sardinia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
Fixed Defences: Battery A
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation Battery B
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation Battery C
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation Shoal A
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal Shoal B
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal Shoal C
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal Shoal D
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal Shoal E
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal Shoal F
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
-None
-None
Local Security Forces
-Approximately fifty strong volunteer station security militia drawn from station personnel
Local Security Forces:
-Deep Space Security Solutions (Omoikane Subsidiary) Customs shuttle squadron based out of Xotreh B-4a's orbital station
-Three companies of Standard Planetary Security Company (Ares subsidiary) troops based out of Xotreh B-4a's habitat complexes for internal security and law enforcement
A/N: My goal here is to bang out the rest of this mega-event before the next General Session, so expect somewhat frequent updates and shorter than usual voting periods. We'll keep the voting plan permutations simple to compensate.
winning vote said:
[X] [Self-Defense] Sponsor a Counter: One easy way to undercut the courses would be to offer your own equivalent-- with better facilities, genuine experts in the martial arts, and minor incentives to join. This, of course, would let you keep an eye on the sponsored courses without intruding on the local ones. Whether or not this would completely supplant local courses, though, is a mystery.
So far, head counts estimate something between 25 and 30% of the initial self-defense course population is showing up to Radiant-sponsored self-defence courses. The consensus is "better than feared, worse than hoped."
On the other hand, only about 40% of the same population seems to be attending their own self-organized courses. The interest seems to have died off somewhat after the initial explosion of events.
--
The search for the missing commandos continues.
You are immensely proud of SocComm's Volunteer Community Patrol Groups. For all the claims by the former Persephone police that the civilians 'didn't understand' and that justice requires 'a firm fist', the crime rate is lower than ever. Granted, half of this comes from the fact that you aren't making things like fanfic and fabbing crimes, but 'violent crime' is also down, even without brutal arrest tactics, much less the raw sadism of the former PPD.
Still, it does leave one major area where you don't have experience. Policing a hostile populace. After all, if the populace is hostile, then you generally assume that you shouldn't be enforcing yourself on them. All of which breaks a little with Tatarus. Even so, you've finally managed to get a lead on the location of the missing commandos. It actually ended up being a forum post that tipped your people off, of all things
Someone ranting about how "Radiant was taking over" and that "The defense courses were the first steps to invasion". All of which wasn't unusual among Tartarus' more conspiratorially inclined sorts. What was far more worrying were his regular correspondence with "home improvement" and DIY members talking in vague terms, regular meetups, and some leaked plans for items which could serve a practical purpose-- but could also serve as booby traps or DIY bombs.
The item which twigged investigators that this wasn't just a group of angry Tartarians was an 'English Firework' that Defensive Coordinator Awhina noted as favorite of special operations groups and a particular speciality of Agent Nautilus. It was good at producing painful, but livable and above all nasty-looking burns. Perfect for seeding among protestors to throw and guaranteeing sympathy when they hit someone. Even people who knew how bad cops were had trouble not feeling sympathy when video of the burns they produced were shown. Awhina had been hit by one thrown by an MSI Special Warehousing Agent once, and they were almost as painful as they looked.
The formula was not especially intuitive. While it wasn't impossible that this group of DIYers had discovered it themselves, it wasn't especially likely. And when you consider that someone known for his love of 'English Fireworks' was on the run… It wasn't hard to make this the prime avenue of investigation.
From there tracking down the house of the poster was simple and when a Community Support organizer was dispatched, things rapidly escalated to a near kidnapping when those inside, including Agent Nautilus, reacted poorly to being found out.
As an armed response team scrambled from the capital, drone surveillance saw boarded up windows, and investigation revealed that the local workshops had records of small orders of cement, nails, flour, and metal pipings all being printed for "personal projects". Even large amounts of rubbing alcohol and various cleaning chemicals had probably been acquired, ordered in small amounts from several different Ateliers by a handful of people-- people connected with registered accounts on the forum of interest.
To be honest, no one wants to deal with this, but an armed band of violent extremists brooding in the middle of a residential beachfront inhabited by hundreds is not something anyone wants to continue, and DC Awhina rapidly coordinated a cordon around the house, also organized a temporary evacuation of nearby houses. Just in case.
While Awhina is prepared to lead a response personally if the besieged attempt to escalate the violence, at the moment there is stillness and silence from the house now made of boobytraps, and your Defence Coordinator has handed command off to Tartarus Subcommittee, of which you are members of, and helped you draw up several paths forward:
Options
[ ] Wait them out - Sooner or later, they will have to go out for food and water, and the house is a deathtrap. You can afford to wait, and given Nautilus' predilection for nasty traps, there's no way you can count on predicting or countering everything . Keep the cordon and offer negotiation if they talk.
[ ] Immediate assault - Every moment you wait is another moment those inside can build more traps and homemade weapons, and Nautilus has a reputation for nasty creativity. Your response team, drawn from the nearest System Defence Army reserve companies, hasn't trained for situations of quite this intensity (given there's never been one in Radiant history), but they're armed, armored, and most importantly already in position.
[ ] Drones - The house is a deathtrap, so better to mass fabricate drones to trip traps themselves. Many will die, and it will take time, but their mechanical sacrifice will be long remembered--, or until next lunch; it depends on if they are cute. Nautilus will run out of traps before you run out of feedstock; the only question is how long that will take.
[ ] CAW-CAW MOTHERFUCKERS - The house is a deathtrap, but this is your chance to capture a member of the team alive. You need information, so send in the best, send in the CROWS. It'll take almost a day to get them and all their equipment here, briefed, and set up, but there couldn't be a more suited group anywhere.
- [ ] Send in drones, too - The CROWS will appreciate having a small army of drones to spot traps and mitigate their risk. This does mean they'll be printing drones instead of any situation-specific equipment, however.
The cell door slid open, revealing a woman who, 4 years previously, would be described in glowing industry magazine profiles as 'fiery,' and 'self-actualized' (likely with follow-up information about her breast size and make-up regime) and who was now sitting at a bare metal table scowling.
Jennifer Mueller entered the cell with the scowling woman with what could be described as a 'swagger' but she call her 'queen bitch stride'.
Mueller regarded with some distaste the other woman who looked, to put it charitably, enraged to a low boil and out of sorts. (Perhaps "Disheveled '' might be a word for the more thesauratically inclined.)
Even lacking make-up and executive couture Mueller had no trouble mistaking the identity of this dishevlled woman. Even if she now looked like a dog who had been through a mudpit and hosed down by a riot squad afterwards compared to the careful manicures of before. "Hey Ms Big shot important Omoikane Vice President Heather Mendez."
"Oh God. Of everyone I could meet, why the hell did they send you?"
"Because they wanted to make sure that Martin actually handed you over to us, and not some double." Mueller said, not even bothering to keep the top shelf smug joy out of her voice. "And. Here. You. Are. How did that that 'rise to the top?' work out for you Ms. Pencil Skirt."
"You… made a deal with that rat Fink Martin? You… you idiot!" Mendez shouted. "That, that rat fink bastard has been running the show since he locked me up here after your madwoman blew Ericson's command away. What stupid lies did he tell you?" if Heather Mendez was already at a low boil of rage she had now reached a full shriek, "I can't believe you trusted him! You. YOU NINNY!"
Mueller blinked, then shrugged, giving Mendez her most winning smile, "Not really, he's cooling his heels in a jail cell we directed him into. After we disabled the bombs once we were certain we'd blocked any attempts to detonate them. That fucker will be handed over to the Osliam people for trials." Mueller's smile becomes cutting, " And speaking of trust, weren't you the one who had him as your security chief?"
A strangled noise of fury came from Mendez.
Mendez looked up from the desk she was seated at as John Makris, her current counselor entered the room. The one small mercy in the universe she had been given was that Mueller had left, and was no longer trying to make her squirm in rage.
She was still a prisoner but some things made life worse.
Still, she was going to get through this. She had gritted her teeth before through the bad times, and she could always warm herself knowing that at least Martin was going to get it as bad or worse than she was. So instead she smiled. "Makris. Is there any update on my petition?"
He nodded as he sat down and brought out a tablet. "First, Osliam has agreed that your focus was on Ascension and the majority of your crimes were committed there. Ascension meanwhile has acknowledged that the majority of Martin's crimes were against Osliam proper and have agreed to defer to their judgement on his punishment. And no, I do not have a speculation of what that would be."
Mendez silently prayed for execution. Iconoclasts still killed people they didn't like right? Probably shove him into a guillotine like some noble from the American Revolution.
"Ascension itself has, noted your stated remorse; willingness to make amends and lack of knowledge as to the true nature of TLI. Given these, they have tentatively agreed to your proposal."
Mendez nodded. Objectively this should be great news. Rejoining society was more than many could hope for. If what she had heard about Gentle Repose was right, living might be more than some could hope for. Much as part of her hated, hated to admit it. Martin had perhaps done her a favor by arresting her the moment he knew he was out of contact with the Home Office.
"That said, there is a stipulation they have added." And there it was, the other shoe. She almost felt relieved. She knew that they weren't just going to forgive. "What stipulation?"
Makris brought his pad up and began reading. "Though we hope to see Ms. Mendez as a productive member of society. We have found that many members of our community suffer from severe trauma, or distorted upbringings and are in need of aid and counselling in order to be properly functioning adults." Mueller breathed in, keeping herself in check. "To that end, as we believe Ms. Mendez's actions to be the result of such, we need that she will work with a chosen counselor to aid in this process. As well participate in group therapy with other people in her situation"
"A chosen counselor? Group therapy? Like some addict?"
Markis cleared his throat. "Yes. The counselor is actually familiar with core world dynamics, and should be very helpful with other patients from the Core. And so will your fellow patients."
"Please, tell me Mueller isn't also a patient."
Markis frowned, taking a minute to scroll through other information on his datapad, "I believe she is, but um, not in the same group. Though there actually is one patient who was recently felt to be in a close enough situation that they were hoping you could productively help each other.
"Who?"
"I believe he is here now."
Mendez's eyes widened as she smelled the combination of alcohol, pot,and far too much 'manly' after-shave.
"Yo, Heather! Long time no see!" Blaze waved as he entered. "You got stabbed in the back too? I can relate. That jerk Alex got elected as speaker and threatened to cut off my booze if I didn't 'get some goddamn therapy'. So… looks like we're gunna be rehabilibuddies!"
Sound cannot travel in space. Even if it could, the speed of sound is just under a million times slower than the speed of light, leaving the travel time from Osliam to Radiant as many, many years. Nonetheless Delegate Jennifer Mueller would swear she could hear a shriek of boiled rage at that moment.
Osliam chain campaign complete. Martin and Mendez in custody. Osliam has been turned over to a provisional government made up of a coalition of defecting executives and local dissidents. Elections scheduled for next month. Details on Ascension to follow in next Congress session.
[X] Wait them out - Sooner or later, they will have to go out for food and water, and the house is a deathtrap. You can afford to wait, and given Nautilus' predilection for nasty traps, there's no way you can count on predicting or countering everything . Keep the cordon and offer negotiation if they talk
-[x] Offer plea bargains or the like for those willing to turn or help break the siege, or to provide information on other co-conspirators
-[x] Under no circumstances allow them to negotiate you into giving them offworld passage or anything like that.
As your response teams settle in for a siege, setting up loudspeakers and cutting utilities, it becomes clear just how thoroughly this place is trapped when an effort to drive off the men cutting the power results in nothing less than a homemade sawdust cannon sending several of them to a hospital burn ward. Luckily, it appeared their attempt to add in improvised napalm simply didn't work, more leaking out of the trap than accompanying the sawdust.
The plan B was to drop a large carbon tarp on the rooftop solar panels while cutting main power from the road. Any attempt to dislodge the block would mean peeling away barricades and sticking arms and heads out of windows, and the cordon firmly discouraged that.
Even as you settle in for potentially several weeks of stalemate as you run their water and food supplies out, matters have changed urgently on another front.
The Charter envoy overseeing prisoner exchange has finally arrived, and the committee is going to have to decide fast how to deal with him.
----
Delegate Mueller was keenly aware of the pair of guards at her back, even though they were doing their best to blend in. This was the first time… well, ever, that a delegate needed an escort, both for security purposes and to emphasize the seriousness of her station to tiny atrophied Charter brains.
As the AV descended towards the pad, she mentally reviewed what little she knew about the H-I suit riding within.
Jonathan Tsinge: A former non-profit head running a series of soup kitchens and shelters across Penglai, he'd been hired by Hermes-Ishtar to serve as a "Frontier De-escalator." By all reports, he'd done well in this position; he'd been credited with preventing at least one skirmish between H-I and Cernunnos, and in organizing repatriation after the man he'd replaced had failed.
Jennifer knew he wasn't connected to any prominent H-I dynasties-- at least not directly. That suggested the reports weren't exaggerating his skill. He was a true novelty: an honest-to-ill-gotten-gains meritocrat.
As the car settled and the door opened, a pair of guards-- one belonging to one of the usual Hermes-Ishtar security contractors, one CROW-trained Radiant System Defence Army specialist, stepped out on either side of the door, and then a man ducked through the low threshold and unfolded.
Muller looked up-- and up and up. None of the reports had mentioned that Mr. Tsinge was at least seven feet tall! He wasn't a gangly tall, either-- he was well-defined but not quite muscular. Proportional. Even so, he easily topped 120 kilos, and she had a momentary spike of anxiety at being so physically overmatched that was ruthlessly quashed by fractionally shifting her left eyebrow in the traditional friendly skepticism exchanged in such manner during this kind of meeting.
Jonathan bent over and offered his hand. "Greetings," he said with an easy smile, perfect teeth gleaming, mouth quirked in the slight grin that was the countersign to her own facial movements that said that he was taking her measure, "I'm sorry it's taken so long to arrive; I was out on the coreward Rim when word came of my reassignment."
Dropping her eyebrow and baring her teeth fractionally in a polite aggression that attempted to regain her footing, she grasped his hands, smiling politely, or rather had her hand engulfed by his own as they shook. "Pleasure to meet you," she replied. "I'm afraid I can't take you straight to your accommodations after your trip… no one informed us that you were, well." Even as she paused, she began composing subvocalized messages to her assistants urgently asking for a suitably-sized room and furniture to be found or printed.
He released her hand and shrugged, with the slight inclination of his head that acknowledged her as an equal partner, "That I'm so large? I'm used to it. It's not every day you meet someone who could dunk a ball since they were 9.
"In any case, while you're arranging that, why don't we get down to business?" His smile faded slightly. "I've been told we've got a lot to work through, and I can already tell my briefings were inadequate to understand the situation. Especially the place you call 'Tartarus.'"
Jonathan Tsinge's physical stature and down-to-business nature mean that there's no time to put a bug on him or gauge his personality and character. You've got as long as it takes to assemble the Committee and transport him there to come up with an initial strategy. Pick one option.
[ ] Lay Your Cards on the Table: Tsinge's effectiveness and background suggests he's genuine in the desire to see a speedy and uneventful prisoner exchange. If he can help quench the chaos in Tartarus and forestall further problems, it might be worth briefing him fully. Given his reputation, he might even return the favor with your own people.
[ ] A Basic Overview: It's impossible that charters haven't heard something about Tartarus, at least that it exists. Give Mr. Tsinge a rundown on how it began and the basic details before this recent series of events. [This will inform on the status of Tartarus before the Mega-Event's first event takes place.]
[ ] A Detailed Overview: The siege at Tartarus is still under a media lockdown until it's actually over, but if you allow unlimited access to public channels the initial assault that sparked the issues on the archipelago will filter through to the H-I rep. Forestall that by giving him your own detailed briefing on Tartarus and the initial events that brought it to public attention on Radiant. [This will inform on the first 2 events in the Mega-Event.]
[ ] Non-Tartarus Prisoners Only: The most restrictive terms of the ceasefire can be interpreted to only include repatriation of those captured during the battles of Gaid. Laser-focus on that, ignore wider inquiries, and avoid the sticky situation at Tartarus for later… or never. The Charters are certainly going to break the spirit of the agreement, so why not return the favor?
[ ] Stall for Time: Between other ancillary discussions, tours, and meet-and-greets, you can frontload the schedule with unimportant formalities and buy the committee a week to either resolve current problems in Tartarus or decide on a more coherent strategy. It's not going to be exactly subtle, however, and you'll still have to come back to this same issue.
[ ] Stonewall Him: Well-intentioned or not, every word that Jonathan hears will be going back to his bosses sooner or later. Given that you have no guarantee any agreement with him will be honored by his superiors (he's not physically holding cell keys or prisoner transports), the committee will give him nothing other than what his own sources have already given him. Plenty of pleasantries, small talk, and negotiations, but nothing of substance and no binding agreements.
You might be giving up a chance to repatriate your own, but privately most delegates think that the chance of them actually returning was negligible in any case.
[ ] Writein: You've got enough time (barely) to tailor a more nuanced strategy or take a different tack through discussions as the Committee assembles. But what will that be? Voting will open in 2 hours and close after 36.
