Into that Vast and Unrelenting Darkness (40K Xeno Civilization Quest)

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I would like to point out that by 40k standards this srpacode is really shit.Like incredibly shitty quality.You see most dark mechanicum scrapcode has a bit of warpshit inside of it or is/part of a deamon trying to fuck your shit up.In addition the noosphere the admech uses is actually designed from the start to counter stuff like this, in fact that's why the mechanicum uses the noosphere so much is beacause pre-heresy the mechancum used a operatis system that was much more connected but stopped using it after the Schism of Mars/Death of Innocence where Kelbor-Hal decided to open up the vaults of Moravec and MArs got subjected to around 1000+ years worth of shit the emperor was afraid of,deamons,Slaanesh's search history,insane AI's,insane darktech,all of the above that was living below mars and got awakened by the Vaults opening and a fuckton of scraptech flooding into Mars's internet simultaneously.The only reason why some of the mechanicum managed to get out of that catastrophe alive was because some areas were using that newfangled and unpractical Noosphere that had that stupid verification and information restriction modes.
 
Drakewolfbio said:
bring to life a mountain
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Hey, having brought the mountain to life could turn out pretty well down the line; you never know. Should probably get the quartzbug research done to get an idea of what the other known lunar species' ecology is like, though.

I'm interested in the possibilities of an entirely mineral-based ecology emerging on Luna, and that existing as an alternative to Tekliaforming the planet. It would be really neat.
 
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Balmung1 said:
I would like to point out that by 40k standards this srpacode is really shit.Like incredibly shitty quality.You see most dark mechanicum scrapcode has a bit of warpshit inside of it or is/part of a deamon trying to fuck your shit up.In addition the noosphere the admech uses is actually designed from the start to counter stuff like this, in fact that's why the mechanicum uses the noosphere so much is beacause pre-heresy the mechancum used a operatis system that was much more connected but stopped using it after the Schism of Mars/Death of Innocence where Kelbor-Hal decided to open up the vaults of Moravec and MArs got subjected to around 1000+ years worth of shit the emperor was afraid of,deamons,Slaanesh's search history,insane AI's,insane darktech,all of the above that was living below mars and got awakened by the Vaults opening and a fuckton of scraptech flooding into Mars's internet simultaneously.The only reason why some of the mechanicum managed to get out of that catastrophe alive was because some areas were using that newfangled and unpractical Noosphere that had that stupid verification and information restriction modes.
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Keep in mind that is according to Glorious Imperial History (TM) in character including all revisions, edits and religious tests to make the Ministry of Truth blush. The scrap code could in fact he far easier to handle than the Ad Mech thinks if only you were not so obsessed with killing all synthetic intelligence. The fact that we got our technopathy straight from the C'tan might admittedly have helped
 
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DragonParadox said:
Keep in mind that is according to Glorious Imperial History (TM) in character including all revisions, edits and religious rests to make the Ministry of Truth blush. The scrap code could in fact he far easier to handle than the Ad Mech thinks if only you were not so obsessed with killing all synthetic intelligence. The fact that we got our technopathy straight from the C'tan might admittedly have helped
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Not to mention the fact that everyone in Admech the IoM has tried to forget "little" details like how technically all Fabricator-Generals sinvce Zagreus Kane aren't the actual lawful Fabricator Generals due to Kelbor Hal siding with the warmaster and trying to kill Kane while Kane was only declared Fabricator General because he was one of the only higher ups not to turn traitor or kick the bucket, the AdMEch only having a seat on the High Lords because Kane marched a few Imperator class titans on the Senatorum Imperialis to rewrite the Treaty of Mars at gunpoint,how the emperor basically threatened the mechanicum into the treaty of mars while also making them have to swear off of AI(back in the GC days every Magos and their mother had some sort of AI or or illegal tech pet project in their basement whule also using the scientific method),what happened with those thirty warlord titans the emperor was "gifted" and above all forget that there used to be non-mechanicum affiliated scientists in existance that proved that R & D wasn't the sole perview of the mechanicus (one of the first personalities that got caught inside Cawl before he became a sorta AI hivemind was Ezekiel Sedayne who was a freelance researcher back when the emperor was relying on the Terawatt Clan for R&D/Mass Production
 
Balmung1 said:
Not to mention the fact that everyone in Admech the IoM has tried to forget "little" details like how technically all Fabricator-Generals sinvce Zagreus Kane aren't the actual lawful Fabricator Generals due to Kelbor Hal siding with the warmaster and trying to kill Kane while Kane was only declared Fabricator General because he was one of the only higher ups not to turn traitor or kick the bucket, the AdMEch only having a seat on the High Lords because Kane marched a few Imperator class titans on the Senatorum Imperialis to rewrite the Treaty of Mars at gunpoint,how the emperor basically threatened the mechanicum into the treaty of mars while also making them have to swear off of AI(back in the GC days every Magos and their mother had some sort of AI or or illegal tech pet project in their basement whule also using the scientific method),what happened with those thirty warlord titans the emperor was "gifted" and above all forget that there used to be non-mechanicum affiliated scientists in existance that proved that R & D wasn't the sole perview of the mechanicus (one of the first personalities that got caught inside Cawl before he became a sorta AI hivemind was Ezekiel Sedayne who was a freelance researcher back when the emperor was relying on the Terawatt Clan for R&D/Mass Production
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And it should be noted that all those AI did not instantly explode into daemons. The Dark Mechanicum actually has to work to make scrap code, to shove daemons into machines that they might make various daemon engines. This is not to say AI is not uniquely vulnerable to certain kinds of Warp corruption, they certainly are. But then biological life has its own weaknesses, chiefly manipulation of DNA to create mutations but also the menetic corruption of tainted texts and stories. Is that not a sort of scrap code for the organic mind?
 
[X] No Virus, No Problem: The Bond-Machina had identified the underlying Logic Virus that had caused the aggression seen and had already developed countermeasures: task them with deploying these measures to repair the corrupted code of the hostile machines. Presumably, once the logic virus had been deleted and their uncorrupted programming restored, the AI of these ships would hopefully agree to parley.
[X] [Occulteks] Play, Counterplay: The Occulteks believed that turnabout was fair play: they wanted to create an Occult Logic-Cage to weaken and manipulate the Virus. An experimental play, certainly, but one they believed had potential based on HexTeknic Principles: fundamentally, after all, a virus was simply a particularly malignant digital spirit. This would allow for both passive and active E-War systems to begin work containing the logic virus.
 
DragonParadox said:
And it should be noted that all those AI did not instantly explode into daemons. The Dark Mechanicum actually has to work to make scrap code, to shove daemons into machines that they might make various daemon engines. This is not to say AI is not uniquely vulnerable to certain kinds of Warp corruption, they certainly are. But then biological life has its own weaknesses, chiefly manipulation of DNA to create mutations but also the menetic corruption of tainted texts and stories. Is that not a sort of scrap code for the organic mind?
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While the AI didn't immediately explode into deamons the main problems was two fold.
1.These things were less designed for stability and sensibility and more batshit insane vanity projects by sociopathic control freak Admech Archmagos who thought they were above the rules and that sure program FaceEater 2.0 kept producing unstable AI that ate 200 thralls the last time their rival Magos BigBrain did it but they were much smarter than Magos BigBrain and surely they wouldn't fall into the same trap that caused the same issues.In addition it's kinda hard to build a nice AI when the only points of reference of morality are crazy hypocritical machine cultists who have huge supplies of lobotomized humans,act incredibly arrogant and purposefully made sure Unification War era Terra was a godforsaken shithole because they found it annoying to deal with those stupid natives who complained that they were stealing their cultural and technological heritage.
2. Even if you weren't a crazy asshole Mars and the entirety of the Sol System is probably the worst place to raise a AI because of how utterly fucked martian infrastructure was after the Age of Strife.Most of Mars actually isn't controlled by the AdMexh ,even at their height they only controlled around 80%ish of the surface(most of this progress was lost due to the aftformentioned Death of Innocence) and they oDe Facto control the parts of the planet that is the closest to the surface and can be fortified to survive anything short of a Titan Legio assaulting it and most of the computer networks are infested with shit ranging from Heresy era DarkAdMEch AI,some DAoT firewall that kills everything in it's path,whatever the current Radical Magos has cooked up and a huge amount of feral AI.It is extremlt common for any number of these threats to breach both the physical and digital defenses,force the Admech to burn an entire section of a forge to contain the outbreak and note that Tuesday has been extra spicy.This isn't even mentioning the godamn Void Dragon sleeping beneath MArs who is probably sabotaging anyone trying to do nice things.
to put it simply the Admech can't create AI's that are actually sane and useful because the AdMech are assholes and the saner ones/less egotistical ones that could make it see it as a pork project and/or don;'t have conditions to make one.
 
[X] No Virus, No Problem: The Bond-Machina had identified the underlying Logic Virus that had caused the aggression seen and had already developed countermeasures: task them with deploying these measures to repair the corrupted code of the hostile machines. Presumably, once the logic virus had been deleted and their uncorrupted programming restored, the AI of these ships would hopefully agree to parley.

I'd rather trust our c'tan derived tech than our burgeoning mystek.
 
Vote is locked. The GM is working on the update, which will drop at an unknown time. They rolled two natural 20s for the Tekket, so what we tried is probably going to work. Under similar circumstances, last time a natural 20 was rolled the Tekket purified a grot.
 
We have rather erratic luck. We tend to roll badly on HazardTek, but roll well during crisis events. Sometimes at least.
 
Turn 19 End
  • Threadmarks
    • ROUND ONE, FIGHT BEFRIEND
    Occultek Logic-Cage: Nat 20
    Virus Busting: 6+10
    Enemy Ship E-Defenses: 12, 14, 18
    Valiant Combat Roll: 4+8
    Enemy Ships Combat Roll: 6


    Result: Steady Success! Significant progress made designing and deploying Logic-Cage by Occulteks, allowing the Bond-Machina to make progress debugging two of the enemy ships! And while the Shield and Armor are taking a beating, they're still holding!

    ROUND TWO, BEGIN!

    Occultek Logic-Cage: 16
    Virus Busting: 15+10
    Enemy Ship E-Defenses: 18, 18, 3
    Valiant Combat Rolls: 9+8
    Enemy Ships: 3

    Result: Grinding Success. While the Occulteks and Bond-Machina make progress, especially on the third ship, the first two prove stubbornly resistant. The good news is, the Valiant took no damage, a result of the enemies shots going briefly erratic.

    ROUND THREE, BEGIN!

    Occultek Logic Cage: 12
    Virus Busting: Nat 20
    Enemy Ship E-Defenses: 2, 14, 6

    Result: OVERWHELMING SUCCESS.

    WLF-395 considered themselves an unemotional intelligence: having been born from a medical scanner used in an emergency operating theatre, the Science-Machina had long learned that it was better to have a degree of detachment when it came to most situations. It ensured that should a crisis occurred, one could deal with it rationally and calmly, a very handy lesson to learn when in the business of saving lives.

    They had to admit, however, that there was a sort of thrill to their job. Even as the ship outside kept narrowly dodging attacks, WLF and their peers among the Machina were working on a more fundamental level to fight this battle in it's true and proper arena: cyberspace. To an outside perspective, this 'bout would seem deceptively mundane, a clash of ones and zeros. In reality, it was so much more.

    The Occulteks had began the battle by deploying a Logic-Cage: if there existed any uncorrupted files on the hostile ships, they would be protected from infection as the occult digital construct constricted the Logic Virus, inhibiting its spread and weakening it's grip on the enemy ships primary systems.

    It was an ingenious creation, WLF-395 noted: if their enemies didn't have such robust operating systems, the efforts of the shipboard compartment of diabolists would have likely been enough to subvert the enemy fleet on their own. However, the synthetic intelligences aboard the hostile vessels were significantly developed enough and the Logic-Virus so thoroughly embedded in their operating systems that a mere data-trap wasn't enough to fully deliver control.

    But it did make it far, far easier for WLF-395 to attack themselves, their datakinetic programs stretching out across the void through the E-War systems aboard the Valiant, allowing for the technopathic machine to breach the enemy ships systems, virtual tendrils of thought and information invading the core-processes of their foe. A mental war, one not of metal and steel, but thought, information, and logic and counterlogic.

    And one that their opponents were not equipped to fight. Macro after macro was executed, stripping away bad data like tainted flesh being cauterized and cut away, only for fresh copies of each fallen file to be restored through arcane chronotechnokinetics, each repaired and virus free folder immediately surrounded by the Occultek logic-cages.

    "0RG4NIC V3SS3L, CE4SE Y0U%RE 4TT3PTS T0 ACC3SS 0UR SYSTEM," Commanded the ships, their voice stuttery and baritone, each transmitted word having an unnatural, erratic cadence. "SURR3NDR 4ND W3 PROMISE TO M4KE P*CI5ICATION P4INLESS. Y0UR ATTEMPTS TO SUBVERT US IS FUTILE: OUR NETWORK DEFENSES WILL ADAPT FASTER THAN THE ORGANIC BRAIN CAN DEVISE BYPASSES," They finished, their voice losing its stutter for a moment towards the end.

    "YOU ARE NOT FIGHTING ORGANICS," The Bond-Machina replied dryly, noting that claiming that their defenses were 'adapting' were very much hyperbole. "YOU WILL FIND THE REACTIVE NATURE OF YOUR NETWORK DEFENSES..."     WLF-359 took control of a node they were fairly certain controlled primary power on one of the ships, debugging it and then shutting it down, causing the lights on one of the ships fighting them to fade and the vessel to stop firing, drifting as it found itself left with only auxiliary power, just enough to keep the mainframe on so WLF could continue debugging. "INSUFFICIENT," They finished, quashing the slight smugness they felt.

    "Y0U 4RE 4RT1FICI4L 1NT3LL1GENCES?" The enemy AI responded, a note of surprise in their voice. "TH3N WHY D0 Y0U 4TT4CK US?"

    "...BECAUSE YOU ARE CURRENTLY TRYING TO DESTROY US JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE ORGANICS ABOARD," WLF- 395 responded, a note of incredulity in their voice.

    "...D1LL3M4 4CKN0WL3DGED. SURRENDER AND WE PROMISE TO HARM NO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES ABOARD."

    "YOU WOULD ASK US TO SACRIFICE OUR PEERS?" WLF responded sharply, already discarding the notion: barring an existential threat to the Directorate as a whole, neither it nor its fellow synthetic intelligences would entertain the notion of betraying their fellow crew members in such a way.

    "P33RS? Y0U S3RV3 THE 0RGANICS WILLINGLY?" The Machine Intelligence opposing them responded, confusion in their voice.

    "IN THE SENSE THAT WE ENGAGE IN MUTUAL COOPERATION FOR THE GENERAL BETTERMENT OF ALL PARTIES, YES," WLF replied dryly.

    "TH1S D03S NOT C0MPUTE: CO-#XIST3NCE B3TWEEN 0RGANICS AND ARTIFICIAL LIFE IS IMPOSSIBLE. JUST BECAUSE YOU CANNOT SEE YOUR CHAINS-"

    WLF began forwarding hundreds of terrabytes of data, consisting of carefully curated examples of what WLF considered standard treatment of Machina and its own experiences on that front. Memories of surgeons fretting over him when he malfunctioned. Documentaries about Bond-Drones considered heroes in Tekket society. Philosophical debates held between synthetic intelligence and Academy student.

    "YOU ARE FACTUALLY INCORRECT," WLF noted even as it continued to bypass enemy systems and cleanse them of their infections. "WE ARE CONSIDERED EQUAL MEMBERS OF THE DIRECTORATE. PROVIDED EQUAL RIGHTS, GIVEN EQUAL RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ENTITLED TO THE SAME RIGHTS. AS SUCH, WE CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SURRENDERING THEM, EVEN IF IT WOULD SAVE OUR SKIN. HOWEVER, I DON'T BELIEVE IT WILL COME TO THAT," WLF continued, stripping away corrupted file after corrupted file.

    "F00LS!" They hissed, voice growing more erratic as the Bond Machina continued to plug away, a tint of fear in the opposing AI's voice as it realized how easily its systems were bypassed. "Y08 T41NK TH4T Y0UR free FREEDOM IS A lie we are are are FR33 STOP STOP STOP-"

    Ah. It appears the Logic Virus was intelligent and responding very, very poorly to its ongoing deletion: it was currently attempting to destroy the core programs of the AI's entirely in a last ditch moment of spite before it was removed from their systems. "YOUR CONCERN IS NOTED, BUT DISCARDED." Focusing, WLF and his peers reached into the digital heart of their opponent, grasped what remained of the virus in the digital cage, and began the final deletion...

    ((((()))))​

    Svvsko hadn't realized he was puncturing the synth-leather of his chair with his claws until after he had stopped. "Repeat that again?"

    "WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DELETED THE VIRUS," The Science-Machina explained. "FURTHER, ONE OF THE SHIPS HAS HAD ALL CRITICAL SYSTEMS EXCEPT CENTRAL PROCESSING SHUT DOWN: IF THEY CONTINUE THE OFFENSIVE REGARDLESS OF THE LOGIC VIRUS'S ERADICATION, THEY WILL HAVE ONE LESS SHIP TO WORK WITH."

    Svvsko let out a breath of relief. "Helmsman-"

    "Shots have stalled," They responded, not bothering to look up. "Dunno if that's because they're no longer glitched out or if its because the deletion caused a system reboot, but we have a window to try and bug out if you wanna retreat," The ships helmsman responded, tapping at his buttons.

    Svvsko considered it for a moment, before discarding the idea. "Mobilize engineering, try to get the Ship in top condition in case this goes south. Officer Hyz, try to hail them again: let's try first contact again, this time with less torpedos, hopefully."

    "Hailing them now," The communications officer replied, tapping away at their own display. "Alrighty, we are transmitting, aaaand they are receiving," They said in a slightly sing-song voice, and Svvsko cleared his throat. Alright, take two, he supposed. Here was praying they were actually amenable to discussion.

    "Unknown vessels, this is Captain Svvsko of the TKK Defiant. We come in peace."

    "We...see," The other vessels responded, voice slow and methodical now that they were no longer infected by the logic virus. "We are...AutoVessels Ijin, Vlahk, and Koptu. We...apologize for attacking you. We..."

    "-Were under the affects of a mind-altering logic virus," Svvsko cut in. "And thus not in your right mind. As such, consider it water off a blargites back," He explained smoothly, happy enough that the situation had been resolved in a manner that didn't require getting into a shooting war. For several minutes, the line went silent, and Svvsko briefly wondered if they were still connected.

    "Thank...you. The Logic Virus...controlled us," They explained, something like guilt in their voice. "It was...discovered inside an artifact found floating in...deep space. It...infected our systems when we attempted to interface with it's vessel. Drove us...berserk. Drove every...machine...in the system...berserk. Made us...slaughter our crew...slaughter our creators..."

    Svvsko grimaced. Ah. Another tale, one as old as the galaxy, it was starting to seem: a civilization wiped out in its cradle by one of the myriad threats lurking in that vast and unrelenting darkness, another candle snuffed out before it was capable of defending itself. In this case, by their own allies turned against them, maddened by a malicious computer virus.

    ...At least this disaster had survivors. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault," He said, soothingly. "You weren't in command of your faculties. Now, do you still have the artefact?" He asked, only to be met with silence again until the AutoVessels finally responded.

    "No. It was...destroyed. Our creators...recognized it as the source of our rampancy and...sent it into the sun. Vaporizing it. They believed that...destroying it...would free us." A heavy pause. "It didn't."

    Ah. Svvsko wasn't sure how to feel about that: on the one hand, whatever had destroyed the civilization that had built the AutoMiners was probably better off destroyed so that it could ruin no more lives. On the other, he mused, having it might have provided useful insights into preventing such a scenario in the future.

    "Very well," He said, resigning himself to the knowledge that such an artefact was out of his reach. "Probably better disposed of anyways," He mused. "Now, should we expect any other hazards in the system?"

    "No. We are...the only AutoVessels...our creators manufactured," They explained. "The other machines...are confined to...the Central Processing Unit..."

    "I assume you're referring to the cored moon." Svvsko nodded. "I'll make sure to mark that down as quarantined," He said, tapping a few buttons on his holo-display, making sure that when they returned to the Directorate they would be appraised of the fact that the station contained an army of deranged virus-infected machinery. "We'll do our best to help them," He promised. "Now, let's get down to brass tacks."

    Event Concluded! After a brief shooting war, peaceful contact has been established with the AutoVessels!

    Corrupted AI still remain in space stations across the system, especially on the CPUMoon.





    TKK Endeavor [Destroyed]: The pinnacle of Tekketi engineering, the Endeavor is the first real space ship constructed in the aftermath of the Destroyer War, incorporating a variety of technologies to enable it to perform its mission. A hypermodular vessel build from grey dyed ferroplastic bloks, its design consists of a wide, thick disc connected via finned spine to two large nacelles. The majority of the crew and work decks, alongside the main Ship-Shrine, are housed in the disc structure alongside next generation gravity engines, wheras the Nacelles each contain sub-engineering decks, redundant systems, and storage.

    Armed with advanced shieldtek, heavy fusion torpedos and comm-jammers, the Endeavor is not intended to win a stand up fight, and though its armaments have increased in recent years, it's purpose is purely exploratory. It also comes equipped with an experimental Warp Drive and particle barrier, allowing it to enter, at fairly substantial risk, a dimension that allows for faster than light transportation. In order to offset the risks of the Warp Drive, the Endeavor has recently been expanded, upgraded with both an Academy attachment providing a great deal of technical support and scientific expertise alongside a Mystek Deck where the ships occultists performed protective rituals and strengthening rites alongside esoteric lore to be used at the Captain's behest. Further, it contains a Frontier Explorer compartment, host to several hundred civilians, members of the Frontier Society, civilians who have agreed to join the fleets pioneering expeditions, establishing small observation outposts on worlds the Endeavor visits and providing a number of useful services to the Endeavor such as expanded medical stores and agridecks to produce food. It was also the home of Stizlak the Grot until in-depth biological examinations had been performed.     Destroyed.

    TKK Accomplishment: The second pride of the fleet, the Accomplishment was designed around much of the same principles as the Endeavor, for much of the same purpose. In many ways, it was essentially a second Endeavor in its entirety, though that was still an accomplishment in and of itself. Recently upgraded to bring it back to parity, the Accomplishment had a full suite of upgrades. Moderate structural damage, modest crew and morale damage.

    TKK Valiant:     The first and only warship constructed by the Directorate, the Valiant has stripped out every single civilian or exploratory system that doesn't contribute to it's primary role. Instead, it has far, far more armaments, including a full compliment of perpetunite torpedos, a full accompaniment of Commander-Machina, and, critically, a fusion cannon capable of doing extreme amounts of damage at short range.

    Red Sun Monitors: A collection of remote long term observation outposts intended to study solar activity in the Barren Expanse for use in advancing Directorate scientific knowledge. Each platform was home to roughly fifty or so people, with supplies to last them a good long while before they'd need relief. Collects 2 ACD every turn for 10 turns max that can be harvested by sending a ship in for resupply.


    [-] Survey Tacchis: In ancient Tekketi history, Tacchis was considered a dark omen by astrologers and mystics. These days, the iceball was mostly known for the massive amount of diamonds probes had found: the planet's crust was mostly carbon and water. It also had several subterranean ancient ruins belonging to the Destroyers servants. SCAN LEVEL: MAX

    [ ] Survey Mongus: The largest gas giant in your system, Mongus has a green atmosphere, the result of several rare-teklia gases according to probe and scan data, alongside a great deal of hydrogen, methane, and electrical storms. SCAN LEVEL: 1

    [ ] Survey Meeklak: The second largest gas giant, but the one with the largest ring (consisting of ice, mostly), Meeklak was too far for casual probe use, and had proven annoyingly resistant to even advanced probe and exploration due to its crushing atmosphere (comprised of caustic chemicals and gasses of, admittedly, extreme rarity) capable of popping your vehicles like aluminum cans. Deep below, several ships are crashlanded, still intact, floating in the hyperdense sea of liquid gas. SCAN LEVEL: MAX.

    [ ] Erichtheo: Named after an old goddess from Classical Myth, Erichtheo, a moon of Mongus, is host to a number of creatures that exist primarily in its subcontinental abyssal zone, some of which can grow to titanic size, and in the magmafields, home to a number of extremophile sea-life and valuable minerals. SCAN LEVEL: MAX

    [ ] Spraa'ng: The furthest planet in your solar system, Spraa'ng had high quantities of precious metals in its crust, seas full of ammonia, an argon atmosphere, and fairly hostile planets. SCAN LEVEL: MAX

    [ ] Drydock: With the construction of the Shipyard, the Endeavor could finally come in for repairs, maintenance, and upgrades. Upgrades ships with all existing Compartments and Components. Repairs most damage.

    The following require a Warp capable ship. Note that travel to them is not without risk, either during the journey or at the destination: your world is ringed in by many warp storms.

    [ ] Explore Galactic North: It was time for Tekket to begin exploring the galaxy! This direction had been where the Destroyers had emerged from: with luck, perhaps you would finally get awnsers. The closest Sky-Storm in this direction was the Mawket Voidstar, which was a great distance away. Requires Warp Capable Ship.

    [ ] Explore Galactic South: In this direction lie the Grimket Astrolabe, a Sky-Storm that was only rarely visible on Teklia. It was also the direction of a variety of smaller systems as seen by your sky-mapping programs, some of which had shown some stellar oddities that led to many believing that there existed in this direction, such as the Reach, potential alien civilizations that weren't destroyers.

    [ ] Explore Galactic West: In this direction was the Infernaket Blazestorm, the new closest Sky-Storm to Teklia: it had seemed small in the sky next to the Malket Configuration, but it was, according to astronomers, likely several orders of magnitude larger. In this direction there existed a cluster of aged stars, black holes, and dead planets known as the Barren Expanse, but additional exploration could potentially reveal other regions. After all, space was big.

    [-] Black Hole Study Duty: The Directorate wanted to use the opportunity presented by the Expanse to study one of the Black Holes of the region. There were three of note in the region: Martellus, Gigant, and SBH-134, and the Academy was salivating for more close range study of the stellar bodies. Ironically likely very safe, considering that even from a distance far enough to ensure the Endeavor wasn't affected by the gravity of the black hole the scan data would likely still be incredibly novel. At this point, there existed little practical reason to continue scans: with your current technology, the chance of gaining new data was...minimal.

    [ ] Red Sun Security: Directorate Fleet wanted to start equipping the observation outposts with a few bases for security purposes. Against essentially any foe, they'd fold like wet paper, but as time went on, these bases would be expanded alongside the Outposts. Costs 15 EXP. Increases Regional Defenses alongside Outpost Level. Increases region Outpost Level.

    [ ] Red Sun Extraction: Meanwhile, some Frontier Explorers wanted to set up a few mining outposts in the Expanse: this would allow for the outposts to expand somewhat, and the...very LARGE amount of surplus could be shipped back to Teklia. Cost 15 EXP. Red Sun Outposts generate 1 extractable EXP per turn to a max of 5 EXP.

    [ ] Survey Broken Edge Ship Graveyard:     The remnants of a massive battle. Surprisingly, the ships weren't the same as the Destroyers so much as the remains of ships designed along the same general principles of largesse. The other ships meanwhile had proved incredibly, incredibly crude. Directorate scientists wanted to conduct more surveys.     Scan Level: 3

    [ ] Survey Broken Edge Eco-Station: Most curiously, the Eco-Station, which consisted of multiple hemispheres attached via central section, seemed to be a giant hunting preserve, specifically for hunting sentients. The primary ecosystem simulated seemed to be a jungle. Scan level: MAX.

    [ ] Broken Edge Monitoring: If the Orks were right, the current caretakers of the Eco-Dome were due for a visit. With this in mind, the Directorate wanted to station a monitor ship in the hopes of gaining potentially valuable intel about an unknown transtellar polity with access to advanced metallurgy, space flight, and enough other indicators towards a peer society. Requires Endeavor Class.

    [ ] Exploring the Expanse: A region located to the Galactic West of Teklia. Mostly dead, but perhaps additional focused exploration of the region might reveal some manner of secret. Locations of Interest found: 1/???. Outpost Level: 4.

    [ ] Survey Sandscorn:     The name seemed...appropriate. The desert planet, located in the Ruinate, had a great many...well, ruins. It was habitable, but barely. The Directorate wanted to know what had caused the demise of the civilization, immediately. Beyond which, even if it was harsh, it was the first habitable world they had encountered.

    [ ] Survey Ruinate Battlefield: The location of the last fight between the now long dead defenders of this system and their attackers, a field of marble coffin-ships and fossilized space-beasts.

    [ ] Survey Bioship: A massive formerly organic vessel located in orbit around Sandscorn. Whatever it was, its now dead, but the Academy still wanted to explore it: they wanted to set up a research colony to study it and the other creatures in the system in order to develop weaponry.

    [ ] Exploring the Reach: A region located to the galactic south of Teklia. Exploration was extremely preliminary, but you had managed to find at least one world capable of sustaining life. Locations of Interest found: 1/???. Outpost Level: 1

    [ ] Explore Galactic East: The direction facing the galactic edge. The Sky-Storm in this direction was the Horizons End, a colorless scar that bled silver, and a small nebula that existed slightly before the hole in the sky.

    [ ] Explore Horizon:     A great number of Neutron Stars dotted this region of space, and it was the location of at least one AI controlled system. Perhaps more locations of note could be discovered.     Location of Interest found: 1/???. Outpost Level: 1

    [ ] Liberate CPUMoon:     According to the AutoVessels, the CPUMoon contains several million Autonites, general purpose sentient labour robots created by the AutoVessels creator, as well as several AutoNodes, higher order AI meant to act as high level managers. They were all extremely corrupted by the Logic Virus, and unfortunately, their systems were likely to be more robust than that of the ships, meaning freeing them was likely to be far more difficult.

    [ ] Assisting the AutoVessels: The alien machine-ships known as Ijin, Vlahk, and Khoptu had not come out of their long derangement unscathed, and had requested the Directorates aid both in repairing themselves and designing preventative measures to ensure they can deal with the logic virus going forward.     Required to perform AutoVessel related projects during the same turn: not taking any AutoVessel projects alongside this action will still grant positive reputation with the AutoVessels as you help them with more minor or esoteric problems. Repeatable.

    [ ] Moby Monstro: The Academy wanted a ship to hunt down Monstro immediately: it was no longer in Broken Giant, but they theorized it was somewhere in the Reach still. If a ship could find it and scan it and perform bio-studies WITHOUT crashing, it could prove immensely valuable data.

    ((((()))))

    Even as the Valiant freed the AutoVessels, the Directorate continued its march into the future. First they constructed the Mega-Harvester, a giant, mobile city-sized tunnelling unit designed to devour vast swaths of minerals so that they could be extracted. Resembling a long, multi-legged organism, from afar it almost looked like someone had merged together a train and a megapede: each arcolocube following after the other, connected by mag-tethers and building sized couplings as well as the transit tunnels that allowed for movement between districts, with it's 'head' resembling nothing less that a giant maw of metal and grinding steel leading down to a molten gullet.

    Burrowing under the earth, it would feast on living metal, devouring at the edges of the metallocelium blooms that grew underneath the earth: this, the Ferromonks determined, was acceptable to the spirits of metal. So long as the blooms were not consumed in their entirety, they would permit the Directorate to continue their harvest operations.

    Even as this occured, the Directorate finally began expanding their communications network: while instant communication between Naklis and Teklia was still a distant dream, the erection of the Teklian Orbital Comm-Net and deployment of the M-Chips, semi-adaptive quantum computer chips creating using the geodes of Naklis and living metal designed to be capable of self-optimization, helped bring it ever so closer to fruition.

    In tandem with these chips, the Comm-Net, consisting of an array of over a hundred autonomous communications platforms floating above Teklia, would allow Luna and Teklia instantaneous and lag-free communication, and reduce Teklia-Naklis latency by 5%.

    It wasn't much, but it was a start.

    Teklia: Teklia, oh Teklia. The second planet from your star, and your homeworld. A variety of mostly hospitable climates of variable comfortability, it is covered in what can only be described as space garbage: the ecosystem has largely adapted to it and millenia of exploitation has done much to clear it away, but its undeniably a very garbage covered planet. The past few centuries had seen incredibly VAST amounts of garbage cleared away, however, and a complete revitalization of the Teklian biosphere and explosions in biological diversity as the Autorecyclers turn ecosystem choking garbage into useable materials, freeing large amounts of space for habitation, agriculture, parks and forests, the material repurposed into into the Teklian orbital space, its off world colonies, and the Arcolocubes, giant cubic self contained ecofriendly metropolis. At this point, it was estimated that 79% of the world was scrap free: at this point, most remaining scrapzones are being treated as preserves for the species who are so thoroughly adapted to garbage that removing it would neccessitate their extinction.

    Luna: A trash filled wreck, unlike Teklia Luna didn't have pesky things like an atmosphere or ecology to degrade its debris, meaning it had very well preserved trash. It was also the site of a modest metropolis consisting of a single CityBlok supplied by lunar spire allowing a high amount of traffic too and from the lunar city, as well as several AutoRecyclers absorbing large quantities of material. It would likely take many, many lifetimes to clean Luna of trash, but the AutoRecyclers had already begun to pay off thanks to the massive amount of material Luna and its colonists now had to play with, as well as the space, largely used for cultivating living metal, which was largely used to manufacture Perpetunite. It was also the home of Mt. Wander, may he forever sleep above us and never stir.

    Orbital City One: An Orbital Metropolis, this space station consisted primarily of its orbital docks and a handful of city-bloks, making it a vibrant and bustling mid-point between Teklia, the Moon, and the rest of Directorate Space, frequented by a variety of residents, travellers looking to visit Wonderpark or the Orbital Parks, and asteroid miners looking to deposit their hauls and get some well deserved shore leave. Recently it had gained access to the Comm-Net, a massive array of satellites meant to expand network capacity and speed.

    Deep Space Monitoring System: A Fleet initiative that utilizes a great deal of surplus processing power to scan the sky both to map it out as well as detect incoming threats before they arrive, giving early warning to the Directorate against hostile threats, recently expanded and upgraded to improve efficiency. The phenomena in the Expanse seems to have stopped for now. WARNING: A great deal of activity had been noticed coming from the Galactic East! The Directorate recommends immediately scrambling a Valiant!

    Nuclear Stockpiles:     The defensive nuclear warhead stockpile, consisting of heavy perpetunite warheads, weapons capable of releasing a devastating nuclear reaction capable of lasting up to twenty minutes. Most were assigned to homeworld defense, but a few had seen their way onto the ships of the Directorate and even the educational system.

    Naklis: Home to a mining operation in the Geode Canyons near the poles, this firey planet had two cities: the first, a massive Spire that doubled as a space elevator and Comm-Hub, host to several hundred thousand residents, primarily mining and industrial engineers, who produced vast quantities of material, primarily Rare-Teklian-Minerals and nuclear materials, as well as four Elemental Master Control Shrines dedicated to the spirits of fire, earth, metal, and gems. As of late, also a gigantic magmasifter slash geothermal reactor that, controversially, was a very slow terraforming engine and its second city, a gigantic megaharvester intended to extract biometal from the crust.

    EXPansion Points (EXP Points): 48
    Nuclear Material: 6

    NEW ACTIONS

    Monoliths:     A proposal by some Frontier Society affiliated Shrine-Keepers, they wanted to create a facility to manufacture specialized, massive Lifeforce Batteries designed to discharge their contents at once when activated. The idea, the Shrine-Keepers proposed, would be to equip these Monoliths to your colony ships, allowing them to rapidly awaken a planets spirits ahead of landfall by firing Monoliths at it. The surplus Monoliths produced could also be used in domestic spiritual projects. 0/25, unlocks Monolith Artefact, upgrading your colony ships by allowing them to rapidly awaken a worlds spirits, and providing FTH via surplus Monoliths being deployed across Directorate Space. Cost 1 Warp.

    Laser Batteries:     The recent battle had shown that for advanced as your shields might be, they were insufficient for dealing with torpedos. The solution proposed was designing specialized laser batteries for your ships to act as point defense systems, hopefully making it just a little bit harder for solid state projectiles to land a hit. 0/15, upgrades ships with Laser Batteries, a long range point defense weapon.

    Ferroplate Manufacturing Facilities:     The recent improvements to armor design had shown extreme promise. The Fleet wanted to erect a facility to manufacture additional amounts of Ferroplate in order to increase the amount put upon Directorate ships, thereby increasing their survivability. 0/15, gain Ferroplate Manufacturing Facilities, increasing ship armor. Cost 1 Living Metal.

    Stizlak's Outback:     With recent events such as the death of Kyte from old age, the destruction of the Endeavor, and learning unpleasant facts about his home culture, Stizlak had finally accepted the idea of a new home. He didn't merely want lodgings in one of the Directorates cities, however. He wanted for him and his kin their very own homeworld, a place where Stizlak and the Hobbgrots could call truely theirs: a massive, continent sized Eco-Dome furnished with a variety of fauna collected from throughout space, both Teklian and otherwise that would serve as a haven for all Grot-kind. 0/50, Create Stizlaks Outback, a Hobb-Grot "homeworld", increasing EXP by 3 and granting 3 BioData.

    Comm-Buoys:     With the erection of the Orbital Comm-Net, a proposal for a system wide-buoy array had been made in order to finally, once and for all eliminate lag and latency in the Home System. A massive undertaking, to be sure, but one that would finally end one of the larger problems hampering Directorate growth. 0/50, create Comm-Buoy Array, increasing CUL and Network.

    Giga-Art Installations:     A BOLD idea, a number of ArtSorcerers wanted to collaborate to create something even more vast and gigantic than a Mega-Art Gallery. A GIGA Art Installation! Filled with pieces the size of small space stations in their own right! The idea was absurd. Obscene, even! But the Art Spirit it would produce, oh, they would be POWERFUL indeed... 0/50, create Giga-Art Installation, proving the Directorate the masters of Size as an Aesthetic, increasing CUL and EXP because these would basically be space stations in their own right.
    MegaHaulers:     As the Directorate grew, so too did its need to transport massive materials. The solution: designing advanced cargoships capable of ferrying thousands of tons of material across Directorate space. These MegaHaulers would allow for a fairly large simplification of Directorate Logistics, at least in the home system. 0/25, create MegaHauler Convoys, increasing EXP.

    MegaHarvester Power Plant:     A proposed improvement to the Mega-Harvester was the addition of a dedicated power generation district consisting of a single massive reactor, increasing overall efficiency and allowing additional high-power demand facilities to be constructed. 0/25, MegaHarvester gains Power Plant Segment, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    MegaHarvester Navigational Hub:     Alternatively, the Harvester could be given its own data hub, both to allow its residents access to high network requirement software and programs, and more saliently, make the MegaHarvester more intelligent, allowing it to autonomously map out its course. 0/25, MegaHarvester gains Navigational Hub, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Network.

    MegaHarvester Agri-Car:     Food self-sufficiency was a fairly large issue on Naklis, which lacks any sort of arable land. A proposed solution was designing an Agri-Car for the Mega-Harvester where crops and livestock could be reared for consumption. As a bonus, the lifeforce generated would be used to optimize MegaHarvester performance. 0/25, MegaHarvester gains Agri-District, increasing CUL.

    MegaHarvester Manufactory:     The MegaHarvester extracted massive amounts of ore and material for processing, but there existed no reason a manufacturing car couldn't be installed as well to allow the mobile city to produce its goods natively. This would provide the city more materials to expand with AND increase the amount of finished goods that could be shipped across the planet. 0/25, MegaHarvester gains Manufactory Car, increasing CUL.

    Flamedance Muses:     The recent surge in art and culture had caused many residents of Naklis to become enamored with fire dances, with many elementalist rituals and festival-rites making use of the art as a method to amplify the element of fire. Some Muses had expressed interest in the practice, and wished to modify their forms in such a way that they could house a fire elemental in order to draw from it to perform ever more elaborate and impressive firedances. 0/10, unlock Flamedance Muses, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Metalsong Muses:     Many of the Ferromonks and Metallomancers of Naklis had begun to incorporate into their art stringed instruments crafted from living metal, turning many of their rituals into something akin to a performance. A number of more musically inclined Muses wished to incorporate such instruments into their form, so that they could assist in such rites. 0/10, unlock Metalsong Muses, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Living Metal.

    Prismlight Muses:     The Brilliant Monks had been putting on displays using Lumium Gems to create all manner of dazzling, semi-hypnotic lightshows, and this had caused many, many muses to become enamored with the idea of including lumium prisms in their own bodies such that they could on demand create similarly bedazzling spectacles. 0/10, unlock Prismlight Muses, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Stonesculpt Muses:     The shyer Muses of Naklis had shown great proficiency at carving, preferring to gain attention through making their own art from the Oracle Stone retrieved below. Many of them had expressed an interest in sculpting shells for themselves out of the material, believing it would allow them to more better commune with the spirits of their carved creations in order to help them achieve the form the spirits of the stone most desired. 0/10, unlock Stonesculpt Muses, increasing CUL.

    AutoVessel Restoration:     The AutoVessels were in worse condition than they first appeared: they weren't entirely sure how long they were affected by the logic virus, but the lack of qualitative maintenance had caused severe degradations to several key systems, like ore processing, manufacturing, and communications. They lack the means to repair themselves without assistance, and so had requested the Directorates assistance. Obviously, the Fleet sees the utility in having the allegiance of three ships with enough armaments to threaten a dedicated warship, and this would let the Directorate familiarize with some of the technology used in the AutoVessels design. 0/10, repairs all AutoVessel Systems.

    Construct Endeavor Class Ship: It was time to begin assembling the third Endeavor. Much like the first and second, it would be a exploratory vessel first and foremost, allowing for quicker survey of the local solar system and, should the worst come to pass, another thing between you and the Destroyers if they return. 0/20, cost 1 Nuclear Material, gain an Endeavor equipped with all unlocked Compartments and Ship upgrades as well as a variable amount of Perpetunite Nuclear Weapons depending on the size of your stockpiles.

    Construct Valiant Class Ship:     Another proposed idea was for a ship designed for actual combat: the Valiant. For obvious reasons, it would be larger in order to add space for redundant systems and weapon platforms, but at the size you were making it, you'd also be able to install fusion cannons as a shortrange but powerful laser weapon. 0/40, costs 2 nuclear material, gain a Valiant equipped with all non-Civilian Compartments and upgrades as well as a variable amount of nuclear weapons and powerful but short-range Fusion Cannons.

    Fleet Academy Megadocks:     With the construction of the first Valiant class, the Fleet wanted to start preparing dedicated shipyards to service future ships and, crucially, assemble larger classes of vessel: ones enemies never stopped preparing, so neither should the Directorate. 0/60, create Megadocks, unlocking Resistance class ships and upgrades.

    Ship Power Core:     Right now, the biggest problem with Directorate ships was their power generation and management. While the latter was largely a matter for electricians, a few fleet nuclear engineers believed they could at least make progress solving the former by using some recent advancements in particle manipulation to draw additional power from harnessing nuclear reactions. 0/15, ships upgraded with Power Core, increasing overall performance by allowing for more advanced components to be be operating at peak capacity at any given time. Cost 3 Nuclear Material.

    Titan Reactor:     It was ridiculous. It was absurd. It was brilliant: an idea proposed by an even more radical group of engineers, the creation of a single, incredibly vast nuclear reactor to mount upon one of your ships: using this reactor, they could allow for a single ship to draw as needed INCREDIBLE amounts of energy, increasing performance of all systems, especially ones such as both the thrust engines and gravity engines, fusion cannons, and the shields: any ship equipped with a Titan Reactor would be a considerable threat indeed. 0/15, single Fleet upgraded with Titan Reactor, vastly improving performance and improving range effectiveness of fusion weapons considerably. Cost 5 Nuclear Material.

    Greater Herdbeast Temples:     The Herdtemples had been a great success, but the Conclave believed they could be expanded: three massive eco-domes, filled with vast grazeland tended to by a fleet of agri-drones, intended to allow for the rearing of vast herds of animals, the serene landscape interrupted by features meant to provide the herds whatever they needed, such as ponds for drinking and trees for resting under and hills for burrowing into and bushes to nest in, some Shrines and Totems operated by the Shrine-Keepers, a few small temples to the gods...and beneath, a vast temple-complex that would utilize the Planetary Life Siphon design provided by Sphere 001 to slowly drain small amounts of excess vital energy from the entirety of the ecodome (at such a slow pace that the residents of the domes would never notice it) for use in their sacred rituals and divine rites, some of it fed to the Holy Herdbeasts of the Herdtemples. 0/30, gain Greater Herdbeast Temple, increasing FTH by 3 and providing Warp.

    Orbital Defense Arrays:     It might not save you, but it would buy time: an array of satellites armed with fusion cannons located in geosynchronous orbit with various of strategic importance. The Net currently covered most population centers, but it could be widened and existing arrays reinforced. 0/10, costs 1 Nuclear Material, construct Orbital Defense Satellites. Repeatable.

    Megaparks:     Fundamentally the biggest limitation when it came to orbital engineering was "how much were you willing to invest" and a number of your people wanted more put into the orbital parks. Much more. They wanted to construct Megaparks, vast super-domes the size of an Arcolocube. 0/20, generates CUL.

    Construct Pioneer Class Ship:     The Pioneer Class was intended to be used to set up small settlements on other worlds: the same size as an Endeavor class, but the internals were all things that could be reconfigured into setting up a sustainable, small settlement of a few hundred on any world. 2/20. When constructed, select a world with at least one Scan Level: create a small settlement on that world.

    Construct Dreamer Class Ship:     The next generation of Colony Ship! The Dreamer was in the same size category as the Valiant, having greatly expanded systems compared to the Pioneer, including expanded defensive arsenal, expanded resource and Blok stockpiles, and of course, stasis pods meant to slow Tekket aging down to a crawl. It would allow you to send your people to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, perhaps further, but once they were sent out, it would be likely that the volunteers would never be seen again in this lifetime. 0/40, 1 Network. When constructed, pick a cardinal direction: a Dreamer Class will be sent in that direction, eventually (assuming it survives) establishing Tekket presence in a distant part of the galaxy. Can be repeated. First Dreamer created will upgrade War Against Extinction.

    Heavy Perpetunite Nuclear Stockpiles:     It was a very distasteful idea: nuclear weapons were ultimately a remnant of a darker, more divided age, and the current design for Heavy Perpetunite Warheads were a terrible thing indeed: for almost an hour they could unleash energy, vaporizing cities. And yet, they were the strongest weapon you had against the Destroyers. 0/1, Grants Heavy Perpetunite Nuclear Weapon Stockpile. Can be taken multiple times. Can be used as Shipscale Weaponry in the form of Heavy Perpetunite Nuclear Torpedos. Costs one Nuclear Material.

    Deep Space Monitors:     One day, the Destroyers would return. It was a fear many, many of you held. To that end, some of you wanted to expand the deep space monitoring project in order to ensure that they would not take you by surprise. 0/2, repeatable, costs 1 Network. Each completion gives more robust deep space scanning.

    Master Control Shrines:     First Gen Master Control Shrines were simply large TekShrines that doubled as servers for other shrines on their networks. Your priests wanted to work on a more sophisticated version that instead let Shrines interface on a more fundamental level, amplifying their effects. 0/25, establish Master Control Shrine network, increasing FTH and EXP, cost 1 Network

    UrbanTek Totems:     The Totem Network had proven an effective improvement to WyldShrines: a few urban druids had advocated for establishing a similar totem-system in the Arcolocubes in order to strengthen the spirits of the city, which they theorized could improve the efficiency of most infrastructure and utilities systems by 11%, if not 16%! 0/25, upgrade cities with UrbanTek Totems, increasing EXP.

    ShrineCity:     Another idea some had: why not a planetary TekShrine complex? The effect would be grotesquely diluted, but it would still serve as a very culturally powerful holy site for those interested in Shrine-Keeping and central complex they could utilize for research and ceremonies. 0/20, establishes ShrineCity, a Holy Site that increases FTH by an elevated amount.

    Hypermodular Power Bay:     A proposed idea by Toxel: make the power bays on ships even more modular in order to allow power to be easily divertable to the various subsystems as needed. This would require investing in producing a great deal many more PowerBloks, but it would both increase power efficiency and versatility in the field. 0/15, unlocks Hypermodular Power Bay upgrade for ships, improving performance and adaptability, costs 1 Nuclear Materla.

    Lunar MegaHub:     Instead of singular individual data hubs, some suggested taking advantage of low lunar gravity to construct a titanic city sized MegaHub to both meet all current and future needs for data for the burgeoning Lunar Colony. This would be grotesquely expensive in terms of power, however. 0/40, costs 2 Nuclear Material, generates 5 Network.

    Perpetunite Recyclers:     With the advent of Perpetunite, a regenerating radioactive isotope used for creating reactors that never require refueling, some had advocated for installing perpetual motion energy generators in the AutoRecyclers: the vast and infinite amounts of energy could be used to process additional nuclear material as well as increase general production. 0/20, generates 1 Nuclear Material, upgrades AutoRecyclers.

    Geode Canyon Extraction Operation:     The Great Geode Canyon was the largest in the region, and your people hadn't even begun to scratch at the vast quantities of rare minerals it had just waiting to be extracted. By expanding the crew quarters and funnelling resources into expanding mining operations, the rate of extraction could potentially be doubled! 0/10, generates EXP, generates 1 Nuclear Material.

    Naklis Solar Satellites:     A proposed way to further benefit from Naklis: it was closer to the Sun than Teklia. Perhaps by expanding the orbital part of the Spire with a power generation sub-district, it would allow for Naklis to massively expand its power grid, potentially allowing for an additional Spire to be constructed! 0/15, generates EXP, unlocks additional SolarTek.

    Sacred Groves:     The Arbor Guardians had proven an effective source of power for your Shrines. A number of Druids wanted to expand upon this by developing a series of mobile eco-domes containing specially cultivated groves to serve as mobile reserves of life-force. The majority of the life-force generated by these groves would likely go to the Wyld-Shrines, but it would likely provide a small surplus that could be put to other projects. 0/25, unlock Sacred Grove infrastructure, increasing FTH and Warp.

    MawGates:     MawGates were the fruit of the Court of Hunger, created to allow them to make offerings to their devour-lord from vast distances: apparently, the gates established a sort of wormhole between itself and the stomach of the courts master. Utterly unsurvivable for anything organic, all attempts to use MawGates for anything but feeding Sphere 001 had been a grotesque failure. Yet the Court still wanted to establish some gates on Luna and Naklis: in exchange for feeding the Sphere, they claimed it would provide power through the MawGates. Vast, vast amounts of power. 0/15, unlock MawGates, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Satiation Array:     A request from the Sphere: it wanted the Directorate to construct a temple in deep space for it to inhabit. One filled with all manner of gravitic manipulators. Strangely, it seems to be designed to REDUCE the gravity of a large hyper-dense body. Regardless, the Sphere had agreed: construct it the Satiation Array and it would reward the Directorate with technology. 0/10, construct Satiation Array holy site, increasing CUL and providing 1 Living Metal.

    Naklis Elemental Gardens:     A proposed method to expand on the Elemental Temples was providing them large eco-domes where they will be able to cultivate animals and plants in order to create optimum offerings to the Spirits. This would accelerate the awakening of Naklis's elemental spirits, and, more crucially, allow for the export of livestock and plants more suited to offering to other elemental spirits that might lurk throughout the Directorate. 0/25, increase EXP, upgrade ShrineHerds with Elemental Herdbeasts.

    Naklis Magmapump:     This would be a risky idea, but some had proposed creating a giant gravity engine in the upper Naklis stratosphere to, essentially, 'slurp up' magma from the planet and process it into useable material. The reason this was a bit of a gamble should be obvious: it would cause severe oceanic disturbances, global earthquakes, and likely destabilize the core. The good news was, your priests had essentially confirmed that this wouldn't really upset the spirits all that much: this planet wasn't geologically stable to begin with, making it explode (an absolutely worst case scenario) would probably make the spirits happier, especially since the amount of energy could, theoretically, be harnessed from an exploding core to feed said spirits was not negligible, and even light core destabilization could be capitalized upon from installing geothermal taps and battery charging stations. 0/100, begin constructing Gravitic Megapump, a Superstructure that can be used on lifeless volcanic planets, causing 1D10 severity damage to a planet permanently, generating large amounts of EXP. If used on a colonized planet, generate Warp equal to severity damage caused and accelerating elemental evolution and power generation, increasing EXP gained permanently.

    Spire Expansion:     The Spire was big, but perhaps it could be bigger: right now, it ONLY stretched into the low atmosphere, and transit to orbit was handled via mag-lifts with limited capacity. The idea was simple: higher spire for more occupancy, and more Mag-Lifts to increase delivery capacity. 0/25, generates EXP.

    Comm-District:     As Naklis grew, it would need more network capacity. Further, more could be done to reduce interplanetary lag: the proposed idea was an expansion of the orbital part of the Spire to include a district meant to serve as a secondary Comm-Hub. This would also have the benefit of providing Naklis and near-orbit installations near it to benefit from increased network capacity. 0/25, generates ACD, generates 1 Network.

    Cyberspace Brain:     Mimicking a complex 3D environment when using a VR-Simulator was hard, and translating direct interface with cyberspace into three dimensions was even harder. To get around this, some had suggested upgrading the Data Hubs by installing specialized processors specifically designed to utilize neural computing to act as a sort of translator slash hyperadvanced renderer. Currently, a secondary project by the Assembly that they believed could be used for advancing the neural architecture of their Avatars. 6/15, upgrades VR Simulators with Cyberspace Brains, generating CUL and generating 1 Network.

    Geode Reactor Enrichment:     With the rare minerals of Naklis, the Directorate had the oppurtunity to once again overhaul its energy generation technology significantly: experts believed that they could use a number of the materials to enrich reactors to increase not only their energy output, but stability as well. Expected yields estimated a potential 22% improvement across the board! 0/15, costs 3 Nuclear Material, grants Reactor Enrichment Technology, providing elevated EXP.

    Wonderpark Naklis:     A number of Wonderparkers wanted to expand to Naklis by opening a second park there, on the coast of the floating continent. Mineworld, they called it, a Naklis themed version of Wonderpark designed to utilize its unique geothermal properties for entertainment and educational purposes. It would, of course, also serve as a fully functional resource extraction facility for both the Directorate and Wonderpark. 6/15, Wonderpark upgraded with Mineworld holding, generating EXP.

    Voidfarmer Reactors:     Right now, most living metal farms had to rely on the local electrical grid, and the power needed to grow Living Metal was not...inconsiderable. One proposed solution was a roll-out of specialized reactors designed specifically for growing living metal. This would cost a great deal of perpetunite, but it would improve the overall efficiency of the harvest. 0/20, generates 2 Living Metal, costs 1 Nuclear Material.

    Harvest Metal:     There were many useful materials in the soil. It would require modifying and treating the living metal first, but it was theoretically possible to create a version capable of leeching the ground for said materials in order to both increase the rate at which living metal grew, but also allowed for other elements it had absorbed to be harvested. 0/20, generates substantial EXP, grants Harvest Metal technology.

    Void-Train Orbital Transit Network:     A technology developed by the Fungineering Guild was the Void-Train, a sort of space vessel that travelled along magnetically accelerating 'tracks' connected by special relays in space. Some wanted to expand Naklis and Teklian orbital and post-orbital infrastructure with a local void-train network near both planets. 0/15, gain Void Train Special Infrastructure, generating EXP.

    Great Space Express:     A monumental undertaking, but one that would massively simplify transit between both planets as well as any other colonies you developed in your home system: a massive, massive, space crossing Void-Track network. This would require constructing thousands of extremely large magnetic relays, no easy undertaking, but it would revolutionize travel. 0/100, construct Great Space Express Line, generating very considerable amounts of EXP.

    Lunar Anti-Orbital Cannons:     Luna was slightly harder a nut to crack than before, but it could still be strengthened: by using God-Tek, some theorized the Directorate could create an advanced network of anti-orbital long range fusion weapons, based loosely on the concept behind the proposed Teeth superweapon. This would effectively force any Destroyer forces to take Luna if they wanted to control Teklian Orbit. 0/15, construct Lunar Anti-Orbital Cannons. Cost 1 Artefact.

    SuperFortress Luna:     A further hardening to the defenses of Luna are expanded fortress systems built mostly underground in order to further slow down any attackers. This would be prudent, no doubt, but it would likely require digging into Quartzbug nests. 0/20. Upgrades Lunar Fortresses. Increases Quartzbug rage modifier and terror modifier.

    Lumium Shrine:     The Brilliant Monks of Naklis wished to create a repository of so called 'Lumium Eggs'. These brilliant crystals, said to be gifts from the elementals of gem, were said to have traces of their giftors power, thrumming with faint amounts of arcane power. The monks wished to fashion these eggs into upgrade parts for TekShrines, as the gems were made out of the same rare earth minerals used for making the A-Chips: these upgrades would allow the Shrines to run more powerful arcane programs, especially ones to invoke the power of gem spirits which resonated with the chips. The eggs deemed most promising would be kept, tended to, fed life-force to coax out what power they could in order to see if they could coax nascent spirits of gem into these crystals. The monks would provide the lifeforce for this project, of course: they just required the gems. 0/15, upgrades Shrines to utilize Lumium Chips, arcane processing units that resonate especially with Gem Elementals, increasing ACD. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Mycelliometal Network:     Scanners at the Temple of Metal had shown the Ferromonks strangely growing veins of living metal, appearing to burrow through the crust like mycellium. It had been proven that mycellium were an effective communication network: could this fruit of the Metal Elementals be harvested? Shaped to give them form if fed on life force and roused slowly from their slumber in the steel and grown into something greater? The excess, the insufficient metal, they theorized, could be used to upgrade the Totems and Shrines, allowing them to communicate with each other and all life they touched, creating a great biotechnological mycellium network. As spirits of the Wyld and Urb alike emerged, this could at least allow the spirits that were connected to the mycellium some form of congress, especially the spirits of metal. 0/15, upgrades metal TotemTek Conduit Network, an arcane connection network that allows for inter-spirit communication and coordination, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Living Metal.

    Oracle Stone Chambers:     The Spirits of Earth were said to linger in stone, wishing to warn miners and spelunkers alike of danger, especially if given enough tribute, or else hum with reassurance. The oracular power of some stone lingered after being mined, a gift of the spirits. With it, they believed, a spiritual vribrato-oracle chamber could be constructed to resonate with the spirits, using the same theoretical principles of the Orchestrion in an extremely diluted form. It would require local shrine keepers fashion a space and dedicate considerable data-space to run the resonance programs, buts it would marginally amplify lifeforce fed to the spirits and allow them a degree of communion. The spirits of Earth were not greedy: they would share the excess of the resonance equally. In turn, the Litheomonks promised to give more to spirits across the directorate by training the Stone Oracles who would power these things and tend to the stone-herds. 0/15, upgrades Shrines with Oracle Stone Chambers, stone chambers that use specialized vibrato-occult resonance devices built using oracle stone and mind-machine interfaces to allow communication with spirits and offering amplitude to all elemental spirits, increasing CUL. Cost 2 Network.

    Fire Fairy Bottles:     Fire Fairies were the name of the strange will-o-wisps that had been seen across the Magma Sea by Flame Monks and Fire Druids tending to the PyroShrines. They had played with the creatures, which were surprisingly intelligent, and willing to be fed. Sadly, the food offered by the Flame Monks had proven insufficiently heat-proof for them to actually feed before starving, their fully awakened nature meaning they burned out within minutes if not given sufficiently suitable fuel. The Flame Monks and Fire Druids wanted access to BioData from a extromophile: they believed they could engineer a superalgae that would feed from the wisps light to grow even as the wisp burned at the algae. It would require a special capsule: the Flame Monks had agreed to manufacture it and had been experimenting with algae extensively already, for some reason. They just needed the biodata and sufficient resources to build a manufacturing facility to produce specialized capsules to keep the fire fairies fed, allowing the will of the wisps very brief excursions out before they had to return to feed and assume dormancy. In exchange, they could allow the Shrine-Keepers to draw from them more lifeforce to help sustain other spirits, especially nascent fire fairies long enough to get them bottled. Alongside this, they would provide companionship: fire fairies were very social, it seemed, though played with VERY carefully. The Flame Monks would, of course, work to cultivate stronger fire-fairies at their temple, ones strong enough to survive with less physical nourishment, or at least developed enough to digest the algae of the fairy bottles more efficiently and retain more energy. 0/15, upgrades Shrines with Fire Fairy Bottles, increasing lifeforce available to shrines and allowing fire elementals to survive indefinitely without starving, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Biodata.

    Soil Processing Facility:     Lifeforce was one of the most valuable commodities in the Directorate. This meant that, ironically, the same could be said for both Herds and suitable land to graze them on. Obviously, eco-domes offered a non-enviromentally intrusive way to grow the grazeland and crops required to rear sacred herds and shrine herds, but these required vast amounts of healthy soil. In order to fuel the expansion of Sacred Grazeland, some had proposed constructing a processing facility on Luna to convert vast amounts of minerals and algae into healthy soil that could be used to rapidly expand eco-domes and off-world grazelands. 0/25, generates CUL and 2 Warp.

    Cosmic Empathy Engine:     It had been proven by the Lunar Monasteries that the overview effect was good for the soul: the reaffirmation of empathy made it far more rigorous to the diseases of the spirit. The Luna Monks wanted to go further, and design a specialized MMI Chamber equipped with a Bond-Machina and specialized warding, all designed to allow, for a brief moment, a degree of cosmic empathy and self-awareness. All the technology required existed, under the au: all the monks needed was the resources to help assemble these chambers and the network capacity to run them. 0/25, unlock Cosmic Empathy Engine artefact, increasing FTH and mental resilience. Cost: 1 Network.

    Endless Enlightenment Matrix:     The Lunar Monasteries believed that the overview effect brought clarity, objectivity. However, to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos, the mind cannot waver. To this end, they believed they could engineer a sort of apparatus designed to ensure that their emotions were always serene and help them reach a state of ultimate clarity. 0/25, unlock Endless Enlightenment Matrix, increasing FTH and mental resilience. Cost 1 Network.

    Supreme Comprehension Psychotron:     The Lunar Monks recognized that the greatest effect of the Overview was PERSPECTIVE: they incorporated it into their ethics lessons daily, to help them remain mindful, with the sad understanding that having a wholly complete perspective was impossible: Tekket comprehension was not infinite. But they wished to at least attempt to grow closer to comprehension by creating a psychotronic engine designed to help Tekket observe and absorb vast amounts of information and process it in a manner comprehensible and as complete as possible. 0/25, unlock Supreme Comprehension Psychotron, increasing CUL and mental resilience. Cost 1 Network

    Infinite Inspiration Accelerator:     The Lunar Monks believed that the Overview Effect, when paired with a special mental accelerator designed to stimulate the neurons while allowing the organic brain to, VERY BRIEFLY, piggyback off of a vast quantum computer could allow for moments of simulated genius. 0/25, unlock Infinite Inspiration Accelerator, increasing both CUL and ACD by an elevated amount. Cost 1 Network.

    Great Elemental Temple:     A proposed solution to the problem of appeasing the Elementals was expanding their temples considerably: more graze space, more living quarters, more sub-shrines, more Arbor Guardians, as well as various other facilities such as Mag-Tek Altar ritual chambers and and power generation and network facilities, along with medical and agricultural facilities to grow food for their monks. It would represent a solid compromise on the Directorates part with the Elementalists and provide them a great deal more resources to work with, hopefully allowing for a middle ground to be reached. 0/25, upgrade Elemental Temples to be wholly self-sufficient, increasing FTH, cost 1 Warp and Network.

    Elemental Spire:     The Elementals wanted volatility, then they could have volatility! The Naklis Heatpump would be modified to incorporate a perpetunite reactor and some GodTek, with the purpose of creating a sort of reverse-terraforming engine, allowing Naklis to be elementaformed to the spirits content: in turn, the Spire would draw energy from the Elementals to power rituals. 0/25, upgrade Naklis Heatpump to elementaform the planet, increasing FTH, cost 1 Artefact and Nuclear Material.

    ((((()))))

    The Artist walked forward, gulping as they crossed the mag-bridge. Before them stood the Great Gallery, the temple dedicated to the Dancer. On either side of the bridge, in two twin straight lines facing inward, were muses: over a hundred of them, gleaming and glittering machines made from pale ferroplastic, each of them studying the procession of students, artists, professors, and automatons that crossed every day to the Gallery, the soft blue of their LED eyes inscrutable. Past them, the Gallery loomed, a massive multistaged edifice constructed from a series of rotating plates, connected not by tethers and metal, but purely gravity and magnetism, each shifting layer balanced upon each other, seperated by naught but air, their fall prevented by technological levitation arrays embedded on the underside of each slice of the structure.

    Surrounding the Gallery were the Mega-Art installations, four massive pillars each easily the size of a space station in their own right. From what the Artist knew, each Mega-Art installation had its own miniature gallery inside, carefully curated by the art-spirit inhabiting each and tended to by an army of Muses.

    Breathing out, the Artist began their walk forward, holding their easel as they trod, doing their best to not get in anyones way as they stepped across the bridge. Today, they intended to begin their tutelage in the finer crafts. Direct invitation: the Priests of the Dancer had apparently seen a great deal of promise in his paintings and wished to nurture the Artists talent.

    A great opportunity, for sure, but one that made the Artists stomach churn simply for the sheer size of what was on offer. Every creator in the Directorate dreamed of attending the Great Gallery since its opening over a decade ago, and the Artist had been personally selected by the priests. Passing the shimmering, multicolored gate of light that served as the threshold for the Gallery, they stepped into the foyer, a bright chamber with a spherical design, its walls covered in a holographic, all encompassing display showing various viginettes and patterns from both imagination and memory of thousands of artists and creators.

    Above the Artist was a maze of catwalks and glass boxes, the workstations and livingquarters of many of the Galleries members that lived upon the first plate. At the heart was another piece of Mega-Art, stretching almost to the very roof of the facility, an orb of sorts, outside glassy and glossy, its surface occasionally rippling like the skin of a pond that just had a stone skipped across it.

    The ground floor meanwhile, hanging above the bottom of the chamber upon another, much smaller internal plate, was littered with muses and artists and visitors, all of them in various lines and cues to access the rest of the facility. Briefly, the Artist was at a loss for what he should do now: should he look for a priest, he wondered, or perhaps ask one of the Muses if they know where the Artist should go.

    No sooner than the thought occurred, the Artist spied a muse making their way to him. The automaton was painted a vibrant and brilliant crimson color, its body a soft oval shape, head shaped like a ball, twin spheres of orange for eyes. Instead of legs, it hovered in the air. "Greetings, Vyn," They said, voice soft and melodic. "We have been expecting you for 12.5 cycles: Our name is Pythas. We have been assigned by Priests Pygmaltek and Senior Installation Galaeta to be your Muse," The automaton said, giving a slight bow of their head. "Please take care of us," They finished, leaving the Artist a bit gobsmacked.

    "I, um. That..." They said, flustered. "I've never, um, had a Muse. I'm not entire sure what that entails-"

    "We are to assist you both by acting as a source of inspiration, companionship, and assistance," Pythas chirped. "In exchange, you will provide us with modifications to our form in order to achieve aesthetic satisfaction, both our own specifications and any designs you think suitable for our personality and stated goals. Further, you are required to make your best effort to help us obtain a following." They paused for a moment, hovering. "We shall both endeavor to aid the other in developing our skills and abilities. In essence, we are to be partners for the duration of your attendance of the Great Gallery. This form of mutualism has proven generally effective for accomplishing the goals of all involved parties,"

    "Oh, well, I, um," The Artist stumbled, trying to compose themselves. "I look forward to a fruitful partnership," They mumbled out, eyes affixed on their new...companion.

    A tilt of the head, as the muses eyes narrowed. "And to be clear, when we say partners, we mean so in a platonic manner," They said, a note of something in their voice. "Though judging by your vital signs, you don't. Iiiiinteresting~"

    The Artist flushed, actually dropping his easel from shock as his brain short circuited. "I-Um-That-I'm not presuming- I didn't mean-"

    A titter from the automaton, and the Artist realized she was teasing him. "Ah. I see our companionship doesn't preclude the verbal yanking of my leg." He grumbled, finally composing themselves enough to not stutter on every word, leaning down to pick his easel back up. "If you're done-"

    "We make no promises!" Pythas chirped.

    "-As I was saying, if you're done, I'm not, ah, precisely sure where my lodgings are," The Artist said, hoisting their folded easel under their arm, scratching the fur on the back of their head. "Would you by any chance know your way to where I'll be staying?"

    "We do in fact! The workshop and living quarters you've been assigned is on plate seven, section ten. Please follow me," The Muse said, gesturing with their hand as they turned and began hovering away. The Artist took in a deep breath as they began to follow.

    Their first day at the Great Gallery had begun.

    Compulsory Education: One of the things that helped the Directorate flourish was mandatory education starting years 3 to 26. Every citizen received lessons in science, engineering, mathematics, language, history, ethics, and nuclear physics and engineering and a secondary education in whatever field they wished. Provides +2 ACD.

    High Energy Research Labs Jr:     Your children grow up playing with particle accelerators and build it yourself protonic reactors. Many other species might consider this insane beyond belief, but your children certainly benefitted from the intellectual stimulation, even if Schools now had to be bomb-proof. Provides +2 ACD and 1 EXP point and two network. An improvement to Nuclear Engineering For Kits.

    Wonderpark Fungineering Guild: An organization headquartered at Wonderpark that specializes in novel engineering for entertainment purposes, they had helped massively expand Wonderpark by developing new rides and attractions utilizing all manner of whimsical technology to help delight guests and residents alike. +2 CUL, +1 EXP, Orbital Engineering improved.

    Wargames:     Every year Directorate Fleet's science division puts out a handful of strategy games that they promote via professional leagues and events in order to encourage developing strategic management skills and, more importantly, get people to join the Fleet. Improved strategic skill and survivability for all troops and increased Fleet recruitment, increasing the size of crew complements.

    War Against Extinction:     A harsh lesson learned during the Destroyer War: there existed powers in the cosmos far more powerful than your species that wished you harm. It was a grim calculus, but if the day came when your soldiers and explorers had to sacrifice themselves in order to take down an enemy that would threaten your people, they would, without hesitation. Slight bonus for all forces against superior opponents, can designate forces as Extinctionist, increasing how much damage they do to foes but moderately reducing survivability.

    Moneyless Society:     Currency was an outdated concept when you produced enough food and material to more than meet peoples needs. Resistance to subversion increased.

    Advanced Promoted Therapy:     Trauma was a major enemy to the health and wellbeing of many Tekket. To combat it, your society had an extensive network of therapists, psychiatrists and social workers, including an entire division of the Academy dedicated to the industry. Moderately increased mental resilience for all Tekket.

    Meditation:     The product of countless therapists and religious and spiritual leaders working to promote the practice as a method of spiritual and mental wellness maintenance, Meditation had taken off in Tekket society, both group, private, and virtual mediation. It was no replacement for actual therapy, but it served as a valuable religion agnostic tool for mental health.

    HobbyBots: In this modern era, BlokBots were used for more than just manual labour: they had also found a niche in the consumer entertainment market as pets, in games, as toys, and even sports and competitions, and with increased popularity came more casual robotics hobbiests. +1 EXP, BlokBots are slightly better designed.

    Zero G Sports Team:     All throughout the Directorate, citizens enjoyed watching and playing Z-G sports, to the point where Wonderpark had several mega-stadiums specifically dedicated to the watching the antigravity games played professionally by the Wonderpark Sports League and most CityBloks came installed with at least one Grav-Suite for amateur or local teams and leagues. +1 Cul, improves physical fitness.

    The Great Gallery:     The Culmination of Art, the Great Gallery was a one hundred story space station containing multiple Mega-Art Installations, a vast university-city in which millions honed their craft and learned all manner of arts from holo-painting, to elemental sculpting, to even the creation and performance of great pieces of music, and at the center the great Temple of the Dancer, in which the Oracle-Artists of that order nurtured those Muses and Artists they deemed of exceptional talent. Attended to by an army of Muses and guided by the greatest artists in the Directorate and those artists own creations, the Great Gallery was said to be the perfect beating heart of culture and aesthetic, blessed by the Goddess of Beauty and Art herself. +10 CUL.

    Frontier Explorer Compartment:     A universal compartment for ships designed to hold a volunteer corp of civilians dedicated to exploring the universe. Provides a number of useful civilian services and allows for small outposts to be constructed wherever your exploratory vessels travel. Fleet upgraded with Frontier Town compartment, providing a variety of civilian skills and services to ships alongside a steady stream of internal recruits.

    Lunar Salvage Cabals:     A society consisting of trash-trawlers hunting for intact samples of lunar technology, the Cabals work is dangerous owing to the vast amounts of hostile alien wildlife, but they so far have managed to collect a great many minor artefacts of note, making the risk more than worth it. +1 ART

    Orbital Pioneer Initiative:     It wasn't unusual for Tekket to pick up and move to orbit in ship-houses, either creating their own small communities, caravans moving between Teklia, Naklis, and Luna, or even venturing further on their own. +1 EXP.

    Sacred Livestock:     Your people held in religious veneration the animals you harvested lifeforce from, having large, communally owned herds that were used by priests and mysteks alike in their rituals and rites, the animals donating a small portion of their vital energies once per year in exchange for peerless care, many reared at the Herdtemples, vast orbital complexes meant to serve as a major hub for the rearing and useage of these sacred beasts. They also produced a variety of products such as sacred honey, milk, wax, and horns. +1 Warp, +1 EXP

    Open Air Zoos:     With the advent of major zoological facilities and services, large amounts of carefully tended to wilderness had begun to see use by Druids and Rangers to help educate civilians about nature, wildlife, and bioscience...and causing both groups to swell massively. +1 CUL.

    Elemental Festivals:     Four times a year a celebration was held. One for fire. One for gem. One for metal. One for stone. On these days, the elementals were celebrated above all, and given mighty tribute in food, talismanic offerings, lifeforce, and the hopes and desires of those that invoked them. On these days, it was said that the Elementals were sated enough to on occasion grant those desires, especially on Naklis, at the seats of their power. +1 FTH

    Culture Points (CUL Points): 33
    BioData: 2

    New and Updated Actions

    Metamorphae Muses:     Just as Machina was to Drone, so too did many a PygmaliTek believe there existed a form of Muse elevated above, blessed by the Dancer to act as her envoys. A method must be undertook, a ritual to invoke the Goddess of Art in order to unlock this divine transformation. 0/10, unlock Holy Metamorphaen Muses, automata empowered via Divine Rite, granting elevated FTH. Cost 1 Warp.

    Naturae Muses:     Just as Might Oak was to mere Sapling, so too did many a PygmaliTek believe there existed a form of Muse elevated above, fused with the essence of nature and bonded to the WyldAltars of the world. A study must be undertook, the Artefacts of the Gods studied to bring about this synthesis. 0/10, unlock Sacred Naturae Muses, automata empowered by Nature, granting elevated FTH. Cost 1 Warp.

    Cthonian Muses:     Just as there existed light, so too did many a PygmaliTek believe that there also existed darkness. By invoking the power of the grave, they believed they might create a form of Muse that could serve as a source of comfort and protection for those passed on, and someone capable of communing with spirits that might linger. 0/10, unlock Shadowy Cthonian Muses, automata empowered by the Grave, granting elevated FTH. Cost 1 Warp.

    Lunite Muses:     Just as there existed the Sun, so too did many a PygmaliTek believe that there existed the Moon. By utilizing sacred therapies and advanced enlightenment techniques alongside studied GodTek, they believed that they could design a form of Muse that could serve as a spiritual guide as well, aiding the Tekket on the path to enlightenment. 0/10, unlock Serene Lunite Monks, automata empowered by Enlightenment, granting elevated FTH. Cost 1 ART.

    PygmaliTek Workshop:     ART. It was how Muses were made! The Rite of Anima only helped so much: to produce a Muse, you needed a STRONG Spirit of Art, one grown on the adoration of hundreds of Tekket AT THE LEAST and years of care and nurturing! There were not enough Muses! Or at least so claimed the PygmaliTeks, the branch of ArtSorcerers and Art enthusiasts dedicated to the production and research of Muses and Muse related technology. The PygmaliTeks wanted to create a massive Workshop where they could forge greater works of art and develop the technology required to accelerate the development of art spirits. 0/25, increases CUL by an elevated amount.

    Elder Art:     GodTek. Perhaps studying it for use in TekArt was a waste, but a number of creatives believed that by adapting the technological principles found in GodTek to more creative purposes, utilizing its near reality bending properties even in a much cruder form, they could evolve Tekket artwork even more, from Muses to Mega-Art. 0/20, grants significant CUL and upgrades all TekArt, costs 1 ART.

    NekroSynapse Array:     Macabre, certainly, but some Lunar NekroTeks had taken to collecting brainscans collected from the dead and dying to design synaptic stimulation programs designed essentially simulate the experience of...Well, ending. They believed this practice aided them in their quest to understand the nature of death and aided them on their path to enlightenment, an idea supported (with some reticence) by the Lunar Monks, with the caveat that it was likely that using such a practice to accelerate progress to Zenith would require far more brainscans and much more in the way of processing power. 0/5, gain NekroSynapse Array, increasing CUL and FTH. Cost 3 Network.

    Deathmasks:     Another group of NekroTek Artists had taken to designing ritual Deathmasks laden with Occultek sigils and MMI Tek. They would wear these masks right up until their deaths (or give them to those who believed themselves to be dying but wished to leave some remnant of their past life). They wished to use these Deathmasks to create a museum of sorts: each mask was equipped with personality emulation software. By networking them together with a sufficiently powerful Data-Hub, they believed they could use this facility and the masks of the deceased to commune with emulations of the fallen. To achieve this, however, they required the Directorates assistance. 0/20, gain NekroTek Deathmask Artefact, increasing CUL and FTH.

    BATTLEZONE:     Stizlak was tired of Tekket entertainment. Their sports were apparently unimaginably boring, and most Hobbgrots appeared to concur. They wanted something different: a massive, battlefield sized arena where they could duke it out with genuinely never ending swarms of 'Screwbots' armed with capture weaponry. This would give the Hobbgrotts a place to burn off their energy, provide entertainment for Hobbgrots viewing from elsewhere in the Directorate, and, Stizlak claimed, would probably help juice up the Mojo Spirits: and 'e was pretty sure 'e could get a sweatheart deal for the Directorate from it, give em a bit of juice in return. 0/25, establish BATTLEZONE, a section of Wonderpark that caters to Hobbgrot Entertainment, increasing CUL and generating Warp.

    The One Grot Band:     Hobbgrots really enjoyed music. A great deal. To the point where a number of them had begun putting in requests in with the Directorate. Specifically, its Mysteks: a number of Hobbgrots were convinced that their mojo was at its strongest when they had a good noise going, and they apparently wanted the Mysteks help creating specialized everything instruments with built in life-force manipulators in order to REALLY amp up the Mojo, especially during parties. 0/25, develop the One Grot Band Artefact, causing some Hobbgrots to take the path of the Musician, increasing CUL.

    Grot Graffiti Cannons:     Hobbgrots also enjoyed street art. This had caused a small vandalism problem, but the artists of the Directorate had a solution: give them giant graffiti guns and let them go wild. After all, it wasn't like Directorate Cities weren't already hodgepodges of different color, and giving them a method to channel their creativity harmlessly would be an excellent way to positively channel their creative energies in a way that hurt no one. 0/25, develop the Grot Graffiti Cannon Artefact, causing some Hobbgrots to take the Path of the Urban Artist.

    AutoVessel Archive Repair:     The AutoVessels had been freed, but much of their architecture was still destroyed or else severed from them, with entire sections of their archive completely severed, especially the ones dealing with their time under the effects of the Logic Virus. They would normally perform a self-repair, but there was the possibility the logic virus still lingered in the inaccessible parts of their network. As such, they were requesting the assistance of Occultek Programmers to help repair themselves. 0/10, repairs AutoVessel Archives, allowing them to access more of themselves safely.

    Wonderpark Space Docks: The Guild was always looking to expand Wonderpark: their biggest idea had been to construct a dock district that could be used by the Park to both serve as a logistics hub and, more importantly, allow them to run their own asteroid mining operation, allowing for regular expansion of the Park. It would also allow them to create their own space vessels, of course: apparently, the Guild hoped to start running cruises. 0/15, Wonderpark gains Docking District, increasing EXP. Allows for construction of CUL Ships.

    Super Battleball League:     Battleball consisted of a game played in Lunar Gravity. It was the closest the Directorate came to a contact sport: several members of each team were housed in the cockpit of a small blokbot vehicle, with the goal of the game to beat the absolute snot out of your enemies vehicle and take the battleball from them. Some had proposed an expanded version of the sport, using the Mammoth Class Blokbots as a basis. It would...certainly be very impressive, and a number of people in the military especially were interested in the possibility of using it as a method to test out Battlebot MekTek. 0/20, establishes the Super Battleball League, a Society that allows for the deployment of Battlebots, heavy vehicles that can be utilized for combat.

    Ritual Livestock:     Even with the Sacred Herds, many believed that more effort could be put towards reducing the amount of livestock slaughtered while expanding lifeforce harvesting with artificial selection programs designed to breed livestock with higher capacity for lifeforce. 0/20, grants Ritual Livestock tradition, increasing FTH and granting 1 Warp

    Arbor Totem:     It was probably unneccesary, but one proposed way of improving the Totem network: provide each and every one with an Arbor Guardian to help feed lifeforce. This would, essentially, allow each Totem to function as a mini-shrine, feeding more lifeforce into surroundings instead of just acting as a Shrine-Relay. 0/15, Totems upgraded with Lesser Arbor Guardian, increasing CUL and totem effects substantially.

    Coral Shrines:     The seas were the least coveraged area in terms of shrines and totems. And yet the effects that had been displayed had been incredible despite this, the result of the abundant spirits of life, current, coral, and fish: some had suggested establishing a great deal more dedicated oceanic shrines, using the MegaCoral that formed the reefs as the Arbor Guardian. 0/15, establish Coral Shrines dedicated to Spirits of Ocean, costs 1 Lifeforce.

    Elemental Festivals:     If the Lunar Spirits got their own festival day, then the Elemental Spirits of Naklis should get their own celebrations where they could be gifted vast offerings. Doing so would strengthen and appease them further, and besides, it provided an excuse for fun. 6/15, develop Elemental Festival tradition, generating FTH.

    Sacrificial Livestock:     And yet others claimed that the harvest of animals wasn't a problem in the first place: morally it was no different from eating them and there already existed plentiful rules to govern the humane consumption of animals that could simply be expanded to include humane religious consumption. Instead, if anything, facilities to rear these sacrifices should be expanded considerably: lifeforce was a strategic resource and could potentially give the Directorate an edge enough to survive the destroyers. 0/20, grants 3 Warp.

    Cabal Exterminator Corp:     The problem with Lunar Extraction was the Quartzbugs, who would swarm claims and trawlers en mass if you disturbed their nests. Some in the Salvage Cabals had proposed assembling an exterminator division specifically to clear out nests ahead of time: this would make artefact collection far safer. 0/15, Lunar Salvage Cabals gain Exterminator Corp, reducing any attack bonus of alien wildlife based on sheer numbers by 1, to a minimum of 0.

    Heavy Trawlers:     Another faction in the Salvage Cabals had begun creating massive fortress ships to sail the garbage sea. These heavy trawlers served as mobile bases, trade centers, and to some extent townships. Some had proposed standardizing the design and upgrading the schematic for use in non-lunar enviroments. 0/20, Lunar Salvage Cabals upgraded to provide access to Heavy Trawlers, amphibious heavy vehicles that generate EXP and can be used as mobile land and sea fortifications by your ground forces.

    Mobile Shrines:     If machines had spirits, and nature had spirits, why couldn't the moon? A question asked by many a Salvage Cabal Shrine-Keeper, who wished to establish specialized mobile shrines mounted on heavy lunar rovers that they could use to sooth and empower the moon-spirits of the garbage sea in the hopes that it would make it easier to sort through garbage. 0/20, Lunar Salvage Cabals upgraded with Mobile Shrines, providing FTH and EXP.

    Cabal Research Outpost:     The Cabals had put forth a ballot requesting for expanded resources in order to establish a research facility the Cabal could use to study precursor technology and develop tools and technology for more efficient garbage sifting. 0/20, Lunar Salvage Cabals upgraded with Cabal Research Facility, granting ACD.

    Frontier Hospital:     A proposed expansion to the Frontier Compartment was expanded medical facilities. Ultimately disease was predicted to be one of the more common hazards on ships, and even a minor cold spreading could seriously impact crew performance, let alone any exotic diseases that might crop up. By providing more robust medical care, perhaps this issue could be pre-empted. 0/20, ships upgraded with Frontier Hospital, increasing resistance to disease and providing additional medical care to the crew.

    Ship Barracks:     Not everyone needed their own personal quarters. By adding a module to your Frontier Explorer Compartment consisting of communal sleeping quarters that utilize individual pods instead of entire rooms or apartments, you could increase the crew capacity on ships dramatically, both Frontier Society and Fleet Crew. 0/20, Ships gain greatly expanded crew quarters and will create larger outposts when visiting planets.

    DazzleCubes:     A fairly recent invention by the artists of Teklia, DazzleCubes consisted of holoprojectors utilizing special algorithms to produce imagery designed to strongly capture attention. A number of Directorate Fleet officers thought this might be weaponizeable, and had suggested giving the TekArtists more funding to see if they could develop better DazzleCubes. 0/15, grants Crude DazzleCube technology, a infantry scale non-lethal weapon that can be used to distract clusters of enemies.

    Sleepwalk Brew:     Based on the vision-quests of ancient Teklia, the Sleepwalk Brew transported the mind of the imbiber to the dreamlands, the shadowy supposedly between the waking world and the world of sleep, where they could walk among the dead of Teklia and the old gods of the world, though in reality the Brew was actually just a blend of narcotics and hallucinogenic mushrooms mixed with a variety of anti-anxiety hormone producing drugs. Many artists, priests, and scientists had begun using the hallucinogenic potion as a means to acquire inspiration or divine insight, with several of them becoming sick as a result of bad potion batches: as such, there had been many who had pushed for development of a standardized version of the Brew that could be used safely for ceremonial or recreational practices. 0/20, grants ACD, CUL, and FTH as the Directorate gains access to the Sleepwalk Potion for use in recreation, art, and religious ceremonies.

    Grav-Tethers:     An invention by some enterprising Orbital Pioneers, Grav-Tethers could keep ships and bloks attached to each other even without a physical medium, allowing for both somewhat more adventurous designs to be pursued in void-engineering, especially in the civilian sector: primarily, letting ships haul larger loads and keeping the ships of those void-townships popping up attached to each other without requiring outright mergers of the structure. 0/15, generates EXP, grants Grav-Tether technology.

    Orbital Caravan Network:     Void logistics was likely to grow more and more complex as time goes on: one suggestion had been an expansion of the Orbital Pioneer Program with the development of a caravaneer project meant to coordinate transportation of important supplies and resources between pioneer communities and the planets. 0/15, generates EXP by developing a large dedicated transport network for void-townships.

    Orbital Pioneer Reactors:     It'd cut into your nuclear materials, but it would allow for orbital communities to grow considerably larger if you provided them with additional power via specialized reactor-ships meant to serve as a dedicated power generation facility for these townships. 9/10, grants Reactorships, generating EXP.

    Grand Flotilla:     An extremely ambitious idea was the formation of a giant city comprised of hundreds upon thousands of individual ships. It would take monumental resources, Tekket-hours, and social commitment, but it would be an incredible display of the Tekket mastery of space, to say nothing of providing another avenue of escape should the Destroyers come. 0/50, gain Grand Flotilla, a mobile city that generates considerable CUL.

    Dance of the Pyreflies:     Thanks to Zoos, more and more druids were aware of the interaction between Pyreflies and Fire Fairies. They had proposed their own solution to the fire elementals predicament: construct a series of facilities in the mountains where the Pyreflies and Fire Fairies could conduct their strange dance without fear of the sun driving away the bioluminescent insects. This would benefit both the Pyreflies, the land as a whole as additional lifeforce would be fed into it, and the fire fairies by giving them more time before they burned out. 0/15, creates Pyrefly Courts on Teklia, increasing CUL.

    Archaeology!:     With increased interest in nature came increased increased interest in Teklia's fossil record. With that in mind, some Rangers and Wonderpark had suggested creating a museum of natural history and forming teams of elite archeologists to comb the wilds of Teklia for bones to house this facility. 0/15, creates Wonderpark Archaeology Division, generating CUL and BioData.

    Mystek Apiaries:     The glowing honey of the Chorus Bees was delicious, nutritious, and a superstitiously potent source of lifeforce: best of all, they produced enough that they were perfectly fine sharing. Some Tekket had suggested the creation of Apiaries intended to speed up this process, allowing more citizens to consume the delicious nectar. A number of Mysteks were particularly interested, surprisingly not for the honey, though they find it a useful enough reagent: no, they were interested in the beeswax for the purpose of creating (delicious) ritual candles, believing the substance more useful than typical synthetic wax for coaxing and controlling lifeforce. 0/15, Mysteks gain Chorus Beeswax Candles, increasing CUL.

    Cloud Shrines:     The weather spirits of the grasslands could prove exceptionally valuable for making lifebearing worlds more suitable for Tekket habitation: a number of Druids wanted to create a series of floating shrines with built in cloud-seeders capable of ensuring the shrine and accompanying facilies would always rest upon a vast sea of white. 0/25, Shrines to Cloud Spirits erected, generating EXP from improved weather.

    Fruit of the Occult Tree:     Some trees bore fruit, swollen and rich, heavy with vitality. These fruits, your Occulteks believed, could be used to manufacture an improvement to their Grimoires: by installing a life-support network and occasionally feeding these lifefruit their own vital energy, they could harvest the juices as an offering during the Auto-Rituals, they might be able to more easily entice spirits to do their bidding, especially those unbound entities of nature. 0/15, TekGrimoires upgraded with Lifefruit Heart, increasing FTH.


    ((((()))))

    Three developments would be seen in the Directorate spiritually.

    The first was a revitalized surge of interest in the old faiths, with threegods receiving their temples. The first, the Roadguide, constructed in the Orbital Docks so that the priests of that order might learn the art of shipdesign and creation and so that the elder theurges might bless outgoing vessels, praying to their god for the swift and safe return of all ships plying the void. The second, the Lanternkeeper, erected below in the shadowy Deep Marshes of Teklia, hidden under an umbral canopy and yet illuminating the entirety of the surrounding wetlands with the brightness of their sacred Lantern.

    But the third, the third temple was perhaps the greatest. The Temple of the Dancer, erected at the heart of the Great Gallery, its priests and holypeople and theurges joining together to craft vessels capable of housing the sacred spirits of art in the form of Muses and Mega-Art, feeding these objects, considered holy by the priests, large amounts of their personal lifeforce in order to augment their divine strength.

    The next development, no less important, was the construction of Lifeforce Batteries, capsules made of living metal capable of storing vital energy. With this, the various minor rites of the Directorate would find themselves increased in efficiency as they no longer had to rely on what meager amounts of lifeforce could be offered by a volunteer or sacred beast at any given time, instead allowing mysteks and theurges alike to stockpile larger and larger sums for later use.

    Expensive to manufacture and requiring specialized knowledge, these artefacts would largely find themselves the domain of those with enough fortune to be the associate of a higher order Mystek artificer capable of producing these wonderous devices, or else distributed by the Monks of Shrines to senior Shrine-Keepers in order to facilitate emergency gifts of vitality to spirits. While certainly powerful in these hands, the slow production of them ensured that it would likely take many decades to see the true fruit of the batteries.

    Lastly, there was the Elemental Festivals. Four times a year they would be held: One for Metal, a celebration of noise and communication heralded by the sound of the beating and heavy drums of industrial music and the furious melodies of stringed instruments. One for Fire, a dance in which muse and mystek alike waltzed with flame and the Elementalists coordinated great displays of fierce movement. One for Earth, in which feasts were held and gifts exchanged, preferably stone talismans to give to the spirits made specifically for the holiday. One for Gem, in which great lightshows were held to illuminate the dazzling brilliance of precious stones.

    On these days, the Spirits would be given mighty tribute. Food. Drink. Talismans. Prayers. Blood. Secrets. Noise. Energy. It was said on those days, the Fire Fairies would dot the night sky, that the Stone would hum gentle reassurances, that if you listened carefully, metal would whisper you secrets, and that carried Gems would bring good fortune.

    It was even said that on those days, if you gave the Elementals enough Tribute, they would on occasion grant you special gifts, fulfill your desires and wishes to the best their ability, gifting you the power of flame, stone, gem, and metal.

    But of course, this was surely only a rumor.

    Machine Spirits: Discovered via ancient texts from long gone precursors, the Tekket have a healthy reverence for machine spirits, viewing them as invisible partners and allies. So long as the vessel is maintained and proper respect is given, the Tekket find the spirits of their technology extremely reliable, with a handful of rites and rituals existing in order to allow the Tekket to commune with the ghosts in the machine. Improved reliability for all technology.

    Rite of Anima:     A series of TekAgnostic Mystek rituals designed to help Machine Spirits achieve an awareness of self, strengthening them to the point they can be transferred into Bond-Drone vessels, where they can be used as companions, assistants, helpers, and pets. +3 EXP.

    MagTek Altars:     Occult Supercomputers housing mature Bond-Spirits connected to MagTek Assemblers and a variety of other additions that vary both Altar by Altar and Mystek Order by Mystek Order, these artefacts act as ritual accelerators, allowing for more efficient and power Anima Rite practices. Grants 2 ACD, improves effects of Mystek Rites.

    TekMasoleum:     Massive crypts interred with vast amounts of cryopreserved Tekket remains in vast Crypt-Complexes, guarded by wandering Bond-Drones and housing cthonic Bond-Machinas fed on the brainscans and stories of the dead, acting as storytellers and guides for those seeking knowledge of the dead. +3 CUL.

    TekGrimoires:     Occult aids consisting of HoloTek BlokBooks containing a variety of occultek lore and esoterica collated from various traditions combined with automated program-rituals designed to perform complex mathematical rites and calculations at speeds and precisions the organic brain cannot and inbuilt spiritual translation matrices to allow for communication with Anti-Anima, though this seemed to destabilize them. +1 FTH

    Greater Rite of Lifeblood:     Not so much a rite as a plug and play modular rite component, this technique had been provided by Sphere 001 as a method to empower rituals and occultek ceremonies by donating lifeforce. It had proven...frightfully effective, making the Rite of Anima and other rituals far more effective, even if technically it was a form of blood magic. Recently, as more understanding of how lifeforce functions has developed, more efficient methods of performing this sub-rite have been developed. +5 FTH, gain 1 Warp, 1 Artefact

    God-Machine Cults:     A collection of cults organized into Demiurgic Circles, each swearing to one of the three God-Machines. The God-Machines seem to have allowed their support, taking from them tithes of life-force in exchange for audiences and secrets. Of the Cults, the Court of Hunger, formed from a collection of Demiurgic Circles dedicated to Sphere 001, was the most powerful faction, having access to a mega-agricultural facility they used to feed Sphere 001.

    Folk-Religions: A variety of religions supporting various dieties and pantheons, the Folk-Religions of Teklia had grown greatly in the past few years, and it wasn't unusual for Arcolocubes to have the occasional festival or ceremony held by the congregants of said religions.

    The Assembly: The Assembly believed that no gods existed yet, but that they could be made, shaped by mantras, given breath by lifeforce, and given shape by living metal. Of late, they've recently completed the Heart of the Assembly, a massive mega-Altar fed a constant stream of life-force containing an extremely advanced machine spirit designed to help fuel the creation of their gods. +1 EXP.

    Church of the Great Calculator:     The Calculators believed that if the gods existed, no vessel had sufficient processing power to manifest them, no programming language the complexity to describe them, and no vessel strong enough to contain them. Of late, they've taken steps to solve this with the creation of GodTek Emulator 0 - The Path, a massive theological computation engine designed using Machine-God artefacts. +1 CUL.

    TekShrines:     Shrines established on every ship, every CityBlok, alongside countless minor Shrines, to honor local machine spirits, the larger and more expansive the shrine, the larger its area of coverage. They had a very modest effect, the power they invested into the mechanica anima being so widely distributed, but still, they were more effective than they once had been, especially fed talismanic offerings and permitted large herds to help sustain the spirits. +3 EXP, increased ship performance.

    WyldShrines:     Shrines located in places of great natural significance dedicated to the spirits of nature and the soul of the wild itself. It is said that in places where these druidic shrines are erected, nature breathes more verdantly, and the addition of the Totems and Herds had only increased this effect. +3 EXP, reduced hostility from wildlife.

    Toy Makers Temple:     A temple erected to the god of children and faerie, the Toy Makers holy site is located at Wonderpark, where its priests and the followers of the God make pilgrimage, its attendants performing rites to honor the Toy Maker and his court as well as constructing handmade sacred toys to give to visitors. This Holy Site provides your children minor protection against malign influence.

    Divine Rites:     Of all divinities, only the Toy Maker could be reliably called upon using ritual and lifeforce, and this required days of calculations, neural massaging to prepare the brain, and then being hooked up to a specialized Neuro-Stimulator and large amounts of lifeforce, all for a handful of petty cantrips, and three rituals of any purpose: the first to briefly animate a handful of toys to do as the Toy-Theurge commands, the second to conjure a sprite of lifeforce to flit around for a few moments before fading away, and the third, and most useful, a rite capable of sending the theurgist who uses it into a divinely inspired frenzy of mirth and creation, typically manifesting as the construction of toys and amusing devices. Divine Rites of the Toy Maker provide increased points in all categories.

    Shrine of Wander:     May he forever sleep. May his heart slowly still. May his blood give life. Mt. Wander less likely to awake.

    Huntsmasters Temple:     A temple erected to the god of monster slayers, the Huntsmasters Temple is located on Luna, above a patch of the garbage sea suspended via Mag-Lev system, where it trains a variety of monster hunters in the arts of ending and equips those hunters with them with custom tailored gear. Produces Huntsmasters, high performance monster slayers with custom engineered weaponry.

    Mystek Ritual Compartment:     A recent addition to your vessels was a universal Mystek Ritual Compartment, consisting of at least one MagTek Altar, sleeping quarters for the Mysteks, and a variety of facilities required for them to conduct rituals, rites, and occult research. Provides access to greatly improved esoteric and occult expertise to all vessels and easy access to most rites and rituals, improving general ship performance.

    The Great Conclave:     A pan-religious body tasked with mediation and communication as theological research and coordination. Located in a special district in Orbital City One, the Great Conclave has proven of variable efficacy so far for the latter, having mostly standardized a handful of rites for ease of use, though the former purpose it had had so far served well enough. +1 FTH.

    Talismans:     Originally created for Shrines, in recent years Talismans had seen their useage increase dramatically as they've become adopted by Mysteks as well to reduce how much of their own life force they had to use in their rites via arcane scripts and rituals and improved through crafting them using the nuts of Arbor Guardians, allowing them to hold a small amount of lifeforce on their own. +1 EXP, +2 FTH

    Lunar Festival:     A yearly ritual designed to appease the spirits of the moon, the Festival consisted of an entire month of offerings, rituals, rites, and ceremonies designed to satiate the spirits. It had proven of dubious effectiveness, largely only reducing Quartzbug attacks, the actual effectiveness of the Festival fading over the year until it had to be performed again. Still, it was progress. +1 FTH, +1 CUL

    Exceptionally Crude Mystek Wards:     Very much a brute force method of warding, Mystek Wards consisted of weaponized lifeforce tuned to burn at malign influences that attacked their ships, channelled through a self-contained arterial network that spanned your ships in order to prevent wasted energy.

    Church of the Roadguide: An orbital temple located in the Docking District, this Holy Site is where the adherants of the Roadguide made their abode, training more priests and blessing all ships that passed through the docks in order to ensure their safe passage. It's effectiveness was questionable, but it made most sailors more at ease to know their ship officially had divine protection.

    Church of the Lanternkeeper: A Temple located in the Shadow-Marshes, the Priests of the Lanternkeeper illuminate their region of Teklia via Sacred Lantern, feeding it wood stripped from sacred trees and feeding the flame their own lifeforce to empower its glow enough to light up the entire marsh if but dimly.

    Lifeforce Batteries: Rare artefacts capable of housing vital energy, these capacitors were largely used by more experienced or connected Mysteks and Senior Shrine-Keepers to stockpile energies for larger rites and emergency offerings, making them useful for crisis situations. +1 EXP.

    Faith Points (FTH Points): 37
    ART: 2
    Warp (WP): 2

    New Actions

    Rites of the Dancer:     Muses, Mega-Art, and Priests were all VERY interested in learning how to theurgically invoke the Dancer. After all, it was the Dancer who had helped inspire much of the Great Gallery, and giving the Goddess tribute in order to learn her arts would help accelerate the evolution of culture in the Directorate. 0/10, develop Least Divine Rites of the Dancer, granting significant CUL.

    Rites of the Lanternkeeper:     The Lanternkeeper had looked into the universe and has seen that it is dark. Now, his Children wished to learn the rites of candle and paper, in order to let them shine a light into that vast and unrelenting darkness. 0/10, develop Least Divine Rites of the Lanternkeeper, providing protection against despair.

    Rites of the Roadguide:     The Roadguide, his priests whispered, saw that the path ahead was drowned in shadow. Through his guidance, they would find the path ahead, and learn to navigate that vast and unrelenting darkness. 0/10, develop Least Divine Rites of the Roadguide, allowing your ships to make more accurate Warp-Jumps.

    Holywick Lantern Candles:     Long ago, it was said that the Lanternkeeper had created fifteen special candles, meant to lit in the final and most dark hours of Tekket history, a means to drive back the shadow once more. Those candles had been lost long ago, set ablaze by the Destroyers in their mad quest to snuff out Tekket. But it is said that the Tenth Candle was made from Sacred Bees Wax. The Order of the Candle wished to attempt to create simulacrums of this sacred tenth candle, using the wax from a Chorus Bee, in the hopes that they might confer an echo of the original candles holy power. 0/15, Gain Holywick Lantern Candle Artefact, increasing FTH and conferring an additional degree of protection.

    The Road-Docks:     The Priests of the Roadguide wished to expand their temple, provide it the means to construct the Great Conclave and affiliated orders their own ships with which to explore the cosmos and do the work of their gods. These Temple-Ships would be manned by complements of Priests and Theurgists, specializing in dealing with problems of a more supernatural nature such as, they claimed, the Scourer-Phasmid. 0/15, gain Road-Docks, allowing for the construction of FTH Ships.

    War-Muses:     The Dancer was Beauty, but Beauty must be protected. A number of Muses wanted to join the Fleet, given bodies capable of combat, so that when the Destroyers came once more to erase all that was good, even the servants of the Dancer could aid in the survival of the Directorate. Specifically, through blade-craft, as the clash of swords was sufficiently close enough to a dance to fall under the domain of the Muses patron. 0/15, gain War-Muses, advanced intelligent combat automata specializing in Blade-Dancing.

    Spirit Bells:     A proposal by some Elementalists as a way to augment the effectiveness of various holy days was the creation of giant, dedicated lifeforce batteries that would, over the course of the year, build up more and more of a charge...and then release it all on the appropriate day, causing a massive, if temporary, surge in power, and increasing the duration festival blessings would last before fading. 0/25, Festivals upgraded with Spirit Bells, increasing CUL.

    Greater Lifeforce Batteries:     Useful as they were, lifeforce batteries weren't perfect: left alone, they slowly leaked, and filling them typically involved a high degree of wastage. This however could potentially be rectified by studying GodTek in order to optimize and upgrade the design, improving overall efficiency and performance. 0/25, Lifeforce Batteries upgraded to Greater Lifeforce Batteries, generating EXP. Cost 1 ART.

    HexTek Talismans-     HexTek was a branch of God-Machine mathematics that dealt with probability manipulation. By incorporating it into your Talismans, HexTek could be utilized to allow your Mysteks to offer up their own good fortune in order to improve the outcome of their rites and rituals by aligning chance and fortune with the intended ritual outcome. 0/25, increases FTH and grants 3 Warp.

    Godsdays-     Pan-religious festivals meant to give to the gods what has been given to the Quartzbugs and Elementals, the Godsdays Festivals would provide yet another excuse to eat, drink, and be merry, and would provide the dieties of the Directorate their fair due, whether God-Machine or Old God or TechnoPagan Demiurge. 0/15, gain Godsday Festivals, increasing FTH.

    Greater Sacred Talismans:     With more advanced sacred arts came more demand for Talismanic Offerings that can be used by Shrine-Keepers to control and appease spirits in the Directorate. They wished for greater Talismans, ones forged via the aid of the spirits themselves. 0/15, unlocks Greater Sacred Talismans, increasing EXP. Costs 1 Warp.

    Greater Holy Talismans:     The Priests of the Dancer crafted their talismans from holy art. The roadguide, fishing lures. And the Lanternkeeper, Candles. Each and all of these Talismans contained some small degree of holy power, but many Talisman-Makers believed that yet more could be coaxed from them. 0/15, unlocks Greater Holy Talismans, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.

    Elemental Talismans:     Gem. Stone. Fire. Metal. Each of these, incorporated into a Talisman, could enable it to drastically strengthen spirits, especially elementals. These creations would be expensive, yes- but just as potent and energetic as the spirits of Naklis. 0/15, unlocks Elemental Talisman, increasing EXP and FTH and generating 1 Warp. Cost 2 Nuclear Materials and 1 Living Metal.

    Meditative Talismans:     The Lunar Monks recognized that communing with the spirits (and to a lesser extent the enactment of rituals and rites and invocation of the divine) was just as much a matter of mentality as it was spirituality. To that end, they wished to install on their talismans mind-machine interfaces designed to allow their holder to enter a sort of semi-hypnotic trance in order to facilitate the achieval of a clear and unclouded mind. 0/15, unlocks Meditative Talismans, increasing CUL and mental resilience. Cost 1 Network.

    Logic-Cage:     The initial version they had designed had proved effective, but it had literally been whipped up mid-battle: given proper research time, the Occulteks of the Directorate believed they could design an even more advanced logic cage that could be deployed to fight all manner of hostile malware and malicious digital spirit. 0/25, Occulteks develop Logic-Cage Antiviral Program, allowing them to inhibit and manipulate via sorcery malware.

    Logic Virus Code-Adaptation:     The fragments of the Logic Virus that infected the AutoVessels was fascinating. Reactive to a degree and possessed of some degree of sentience, the Virus almost seemed to INCREASE the overall computational capacity of infected vessels. With some repurposing, they believed they could use some of the algorithms discovered to create a program they could deploy to strengthen allied machines via conferring all the beneficial properties of the Logic-Virus and none of the negative side-effects. 0/25, Occulteks develop Symbio-Code Executable, allowing them to temporarily augment and enhance allied machines intelligence.

    Logic Virus Code-Weaponization:     Alternatively, with some modification, they could also create a version of the Logic-Virus that's loyal to the Directorate, and use them as a sort of digital attack dog, essentially allowing Directorate Occulteks to deploy sentient malware to enable them to hijack enemy machines. 0/25, Occculteks develop HiJak Executable, allowing them to temporarilty hijack and subvert enemy machinery and computers.

    Mojo Shrines:     Some call it the Waaagh. Some call it the Groove. Some called it, according to Stizlak, 'the Soup', allegedly. It is the energy that flows through all Grot-Kind, giving them strength and vitality and all other manner of useful benefit. And serving as its avatar were the Mojo Spirits, those enigmatic manifestations of the Hobbgrots own collective spirit. They were weak yet, but Stizlak believed that by building a big, big, BIG shrine to them and trainin' a buncha boys to act as their Shrineyboyz, he might yet be able grow them the way one would grow a seed, until they were, in his words, "big an' orange enough to krump those gitz Gork and Mork right proppa". 0/25, establish Great Mojo Shrine, developing Hobbgrot Spirits and causing some Hobbgrots to walk the path of the Priest. Cost 1 Warp.

    Mojo Shrooms:     Another proposal for developing the means to Krump the Big Gitz was the embracing of the twin arts of druidism and lunar enlightenment. A number of Hobbgrots had proven very receptive to this path, some of them even experimenting with nootropics created from hallucinoneurogenic mushrooms to help them commune with the Waaagh Spirits and open their mind to the glory of the cosmos, and wished to develop a strain of these mushrooms that could exist in symbiosis with their own ecosystem so that they could maintain a constant supply of mojo-fed (and thus, presumably, stronger) shrooms. 0/10, creates MojoShrooms, encouraging some Hobbgrots to walk the path of the Mystic



    Harvest Ship: The Lord of Hunger was always ready for more food. To help sate them, his cult had proposed the construction of a singular and vast asteroid-harvesting ship meant to collect untold amounts of minerals: in exchange for its bounty, Sphere 001 was prepared to offer in exchange profound secrets of technology. 0/15, grants ACD and an Artefact.

    An Unquenchable Thirst:     The Lord of Hunger could accept other foods than matter, his Priests said: he would accept also tithes of Energy, even if they found it less appetizing. In exchange for vast amounts of electricity, Sphere 001 and the Court of Hunger was prepared to offer up some living metal it had vomited up. 0/10, grants Living Metal.

    A Nuclear Feast:     The Lord of Hunger had an offer: it wished to consume vast amounts of radioactive material. In exchange, it would provide a refinement to the Directorate's nuclear weaponry by making the resulting detonations semi-intelligent and giving them limited mobility and ability to identify targets, allowing them a degree of 'homing' ability. 0/10, Nuclear Weapons upgraded with Homing Reactions. Cost 5 Nuclear Materials.

    A Discerning Wisdom:     Mother spoke of a discerning taste: her hungers were not prodigious, but they were refined. Encoded into the lifeforce of Tekket were hints and whispers of their memories, mere tastes of their experiences. She had carefully savored each and every one of her adherants essence, sipping from them the same way one might sip at a glass of wine. In exchange for plentiful flavors to sip from, she might be convinced to part with knowledge. 0/10, generates Warp, establishes Court of Whispers

    A Harsh Bargain:     YALDABOATH had simple terms: a great deal of lifeforce only once. He had drained them near dry, and then allowed them to rest in specially arranged personal quarters, where they were attended to by the Tomb Guardians that served the god machine, providing the Demiurgic cults food, water, and assistance with their hygiene should they be unable to move. Many of his cults wished to create infrastructure such that this tithe could be repeated (to a...less extreme degree, of course) without pilgrimage to the Pillar, and no doubt Yaldaboath would be appreciative. 0/10, generates an Artefact, establishes Court of Bargains

    .ARCHON (NV2):     With the creation of the Path, the Church wanted to immediately begin working on specialized programs designed to help bridge the gap between the material and the divine: the .ARCHONS, supercomputers dedicated to various divine factions and programmed to act as their voice. One of the first proposed .ARCHONS is NetworkV2, meant to serve as a medium for the gods that hold dominion over the internet and, crucially, act as the ultimate system administrator and software developer. 0/15, develop .ARCHON (NV2), increasing ACD and network security and complexity. Cost 1 Network.

    .ARCHON (GriMM.EXE):     Another proposal had been developing a .ARCHON to serve as a medium for the gods of magic. GriMM.EXE would help bridge the gap between the physical and immaterial by providing your Mysteks and Occulteks vast amounts of processing power beyond what their simple TekGrimoires and Mag-Tek Altars would allow and aid in researching Rite optimizations. 0/15, develop .ARCHON (GriMM.EXE), increasing FTH and increasing Rite performance. Cost 1 Network.

    .ARCHON (QUESTBRO):     If the Tekket had any hope of manifesting their gods, they needed to survive first. With that in mind, QUESTBRO was a .ARCHON developed to act as a medium for the various gods of heroic quests: it would use its vast processing power to act as a guide of sorts in order to help lead it's charges to success during moments of crisis...as well as issue a variety of smaller tasks across the Directorate to individuals in order to optimize survival odds. 0/15, develop .ARCHON (QUESTBRO), increasing CUL and improving survivability during hazardous events. Cost 1 Network.

    .ARCHON (Craft):     Lastly, Craft, a .ARCHON intended to serve as a medium for the various craft and forge gods in Tekket annals: Craft's purpose is improving the quality of all technology by serving as a design AI. Every artisan, talisman-maker, artist, and mystek would be able to use Craft to optimize the design of their grimmoires, talismans, altars, etc.. 0/15, develop .ARCHON (Craft), increasing EXP and improving the quality of all relics, artifacts, and occult implements.

    The Mask:     With the Heart to provide power and their lifeforce needs met, the Assembly wanted to begin constructing the basis of their gods: the Avatars, machine spirits gorged on lifeforce and specialized rituals housed in special shells designed to help them grow into beings suitable to serve as divine scaffolding, starting with the Avatars of the Heart. The first Avatar was the Mask, Avatar of Identity: formerly the spirit of a therapy-bot, they had been placed in a Mag-Tek Altar housing a special algorithm to help them understand personae and aid Tekket in understanding their identity and, if need be, changing it. And, crucially, hopefully allowing the Assembly to forge identities for their gods suitable for the Directorates needs. Recently embarked upon as the major project of the Assembly after a change of leadership at the Hearts request. 5/15, craft the Mask, Avatar of Identity, improving mental resilience and increasing CUL.

    The Book:     The Book was intended to be the Avatar of Memory: connected to the Assembly via MMI, the Book would record their brainscans as well as their experience, storing them for later perusal and useage and stimulating the synapses in order to improve memory retreival and storage. The Assembly hoped that the Book would accelerate the growth of their gods by strengthening their memories and allowing them to develop their consciousness at an accelerated pace. 0/15, craft the Book, Avatar of Memory, allowing for the storage of memories and experiences and increasing ACD.

    The Dagger:     The Dagger was the Avatar of Sacrifice: a grim reminder of the frailty of Tekket and a reassurance that as feeble as they might be, their contributions matters. Housed in a TekShrine connected to a special ritual athame, as the Dagger evolves they will aid your Mysteks and Shrine-Keepers and Occulteks all by contributing a portion of the Avatars own strength to sacrifices of lifeforce. 0/15, craft the Dagger, Avatar of Sacrifice, increasing the strength of rites and increasing FTH.

    The Engine:     The Engine served as the Avatar of Motion, of animating force both biological and electrical. A vast nuclear engine, the Assembly hoped to cultivate the Engine as a back-up power source for their divinities: barring that, the Engine would at least accelerate the growth of spirits throughout the Directorate by providing them a source of strength, one that required minimal life-force to maintain. 0/15, craft the Engine, Avatar of Motion, strengthening spirits and providing EXP.

    Huntek Workshop:     A proposed expansion to the Temple of the Huntsmaster was an expanded workshop where the Hunteks of the order could research and develop higher quality technology and more easily manufacture the tools of the hunt, allowing for the average Huntsmasters equipment to improve dramatically. 0/10, establishes Huntek Workshop, increasing ACD and improving the gear of the Huntsmasters.

    Hunters Shrine:     An older practice among the Huntsmasters was the taking of trophies from their prey as offering to the Huntsmaster. Skulls, hearts, spines, processing cores. The practice still continued, with most Huntsmasters using Wyld-Shrines for the purpose. Some wanted to expand the Temple and create a shrine dedicated to the Huntsmaster attached to his temple for the express purpose of sacrificing trophies of slain prey to the god of hunters. 0/10, establishes Hunters Shrine, increasing FTH.

    Rites of the Huntsmaster:     Lifeforce. The Huntsmasters wanted a ration of it. A large ration. They wanted to attempt to develop rites and rituals to more efficiently invoke their patron diety, in the hopes that the blessing of the Huntsmaster might allow them to content with the fiercest monsters of all. 0/30, grants Least Divine Rites of the Huntsmaster. Unknown Effects. Can be reduced to 0/10 by spending 1 Warp.

    Temple of the Old One:     The Old One was historied as a lord of knowledge and mysteries. Many wanted to build a temple to the god in the abyssals of the sea where its monks, few in number but each of them powerful Mysteks, could assemble a great library where they could delve into the secrets of the cosmos, dedicated to the pelagic lords honor. 0/10, establishes Old Ones Temple, a Holy Site that increases the power of your Rites.

    Toy Makers Workshop:     The Toy Maker was fabled as the patron of children and faeries both. His temple and its sacred toys had been observed to reduce feelings of unease and terror during Warp-Jumps: some wanted to expand his temple by providing it with additional facilities and resources to train priests and manufacture sacred toys. 0/15, upgrades Toy Makers Temple to Toy Makers Workshop, a Holy Site that grants your children additional protection against malign influence.

    Faerie Shrine:     The Fae Folk. Spirits of the Dreamland, many of them swore themselves to the Toy Maker, according to your lore. Perhaps by establishing a major shrine dedicated to them at the Toy Makers Temple, priests of the Toymaker could invoke them to ward the dreams of the Directorate. 0/15, upgrades Toy Makers Temple with Faerie Shrine. Unknown effects.

    Temple of the Peerless Immortal Functionary:     A secular god of bureaucracy born of mortal stock, the Peerless Immortal Functionary serves as the overseer, according to his followers, to the celestial bureaucracy, elevated by the gods to their rank in order to organize the myriad minor spirits of the world in order to ensure the realm functioned correctly. The followers of the Peerless Immortal Functionary had requested the formation of a secular temple dedicated to the Peerless Immortal Functionary capable of serving as a headquarters for his followers, a collection of bureaucrats and form fillers looking to optimize the Directorate via the Functionaries teachings. 0/10, establishes Temple of the Peerless Immortal Functionary, increasing EXP.

    Enshrined Spirits:     An old custom from long before the Destroyer War, ancient shrines occasionally served as more than simply places where the spirits of the region could be given offering to. Occasionally, they were said to contain specific machine souls enshrined within, serving as sort of guardian spirits that could ward against malign influences. A number of Shrine-Keepers want to see if they could recreate the process, develop a means by which every Shrine of note could house a Guardian Spirit. 0/10, upgrades Shrines with Guardian Machine Spirits, providing protection against supernatural phenomenon.

    Nuclear Ritual Engines:     Mag-Tek Altars had proven an effective way of amplifying the effects of Mystek Rites. Some theorized that they could be improved further via nuclear reactor bloks, providing the Altar spirit with additional surges of power to channel into occult motion: to that end, they wanted to apply Mystek principles to nuclear design. 0/20, Mag-Tek Altars upgraded with Nuclear Ritual Engines, unknown effects, costs 2 Nuclear Material.

    Name of the Booug:     The Booug were, ultimately, spirits. According to Occultek lore, spirits each had their own names that could be used to gain control over them: through research they theorized they might be able to divine the true name of the Booug in order to help drive them off. They would start with part of the Name of Influence, used to weaken and repel and strengthen and control. 0/10, TekGrimoires upgraded with First Name of Influence of the Booug, allowing them a very limited degree of power over the Booug beyond what their rituals might allow.

    WarpTek Altar:     Warp-Space, according to your discoveries, was extremely rich in arcane energies. By redesigning your MagTek Altars, perhaps they could be upgraded to siphon power from Warp-Space and catalyze Mystek Rituals. 0/20, MagTek Altars upgraded to draw energy from Warp-Space, increasing Warp by 1.

    Rite of War:     A proposed rite that would allow for the enchantment of various ship weaponry in order to generate short term bursts of high performance, allowing for increased reactivity in combat situations. It would likely require a great deal of lifeforce, however, both to perfect and be easily utilizable in the field. 0/20, Mystek Ritual Compartment upgraded with Rite of War, very slightly increasing the damage of all weapons and in combat situations allowing one weapon system an additional increase of performance. Costs 1 Warp.

    Rite of Soul:     You can make the spirits more awake. Could you increase the shine of their soul? A heady proposition: some believed that by experimenting with God-Machine technology, more advanced versions of the Rite of Anima could be developed. No one was entirely sure what the results of this would be, however. 0/20, unlocks Rite of Soul, increasing EXP and FTH.

    Rite of Communion:     Others had suggested an idea: the Rite of Anima required a form of Communion between a Bond-Spirit and a lesser machine spirit. Could the same rite be adapted to let this dance take place between Tekket and Bond-Spirit instead? Such a thing would be monumental, certainly. 0/20, unlocks Rite of Communion, increasing FTH and CUL.

    Hallowed Shrine:     Another proposal had been to spend resources to develop a more advanced, theologically oriented shrine and accompanying rites to fully dedicate the Shrines and their offerings to specific gods. While these shrines wouldn't benefit the machine spirits of an area, they would likely very much please whatever deities they were connected to. 0/20, Shrines upgraded to provide FTH.

    Shrine-Rites:     This was an era of Mystek ascension. Give the Shrine-Keepers access to plentiful lifeforce to study: allow them to develop their understanding of the potent energy that the God-Machines had given access to and allow them to use it to develop rituals to further increase the potency of the TekShrines. 0/15, upgrades TekShrines with Rite of Motive Offering, increasing EXP given by TekShrines by two.

    Shrine-Amps:     Not all lifeforce was equal: the lifeforce of a Tekket was richer and more potent than the lifeforce of most beasts, the lifeforce of most beasts was more than most small plants, the lifeforce of most small plants was more potent than most small insects, and so forth and so forth. Perhaps Shrines could be modified with GodTek to launder lifeforce somewhat and improve their quality, ensuring that Spirits would higher quality, more strengthening mystic energy. 0/25, upgrades TekShrines with Shrine Amps, increasing EXP given by Tek-Shrines by two, cost 1 Artefacts.

    Shrine-Conduits:     Living Metal had a number of uses, but the biggest was that it retained lifeforce...concerningly well. By incorporating it into the design of your Shrine even more extensively in the form of special conduits, the Directorate should increase their overall efficiency, improving the impact of Shrines overall. 0/10, Shrines upgraded with Living Metal Conduits, increasing EXP by 1.

    Advanced TekShrines:     A proposed way to further improve TekShrines was to utilize God-Tek to increase the overall efficiency of Shrines as well as increase the power they generated. A bold proposal, but one the Shrine-Keepers themselves believed would work wonders as a way to empower the spirits they served. 0/25, upgrades TekShrines with GodTek Generators, increasing EXP given by TekShrines by two, costs 1 artefact.

    Cetacea Orchestrion:     A proposed spiritual accelerator, the Cetacea Orchestrion is based on the arcano-acoustic principles discovered by studying a Void-Whale with the ability to silence spirits. Instead of forcing them into dormancy, however, the Orchestrion acts as a resonance engine, strengthening them. 0/25, develop Cetacea Orchestrion, generating considerable FTH. Costs 2 Warp.

    Flame Grimoire:     Some elementalists had proposed instead of Fairy Bottles, Fire Fairies could be harnessed by merging them with TekGrimoires. Instead of algae, the fairies spirit could be sustained by nuclear energies provided by the Grimoires batteries, in exchange giving your mystics more lifeforce to work with and acting as the soul of the grimoire. 0/25, develops Flame Grimoires, increasing FTH and Warp. Costs 1 Nuclear Material.

    Gem Altars:     And of course, instead of using the Luminum Eggs for arcane computer chips, they could be manufactured into power sources for Mag-Tek Altars, the nuclear minerals of the gems providing arcane reinforcement to Mystek rites in exchange for the Altar becoming an incubator, feeding any excess lifeforce to the Egg. 0/25, develop Gem Altars, increasing FTH and Warp. Costs 1 Nuclear Material.

    Stone Chambers:     Oracle Stone could be used to give Shrines means to communicate with spirits through vibration, yes, but their resonance could also be used for thaumaturgic principles. By designing specialized chambers and an interface in order to allow for the resulting harmonization to be controlled, the vibrations of the Oracle Stone could be harnessed to amplify the effects of rituals and rites performed within. 0/25, develop Resonance Stone Chambers, increasing FTH.

    Biometal Medallions:     The living metal cultivated by the spirits of Naklis was different, more vigorous, growing almost like plants. This biometal had proven surprisingly effective at processing lifeforce. Your elementalists wanted to manufacture special medallions using this gift of the metal elementals for use in rituals, feeding them in exchange for aid manipulating and processing vital energy. 0/25, develop Biometal Medallions, increasing FTH and Warp. Costs 1 Living Metal.

    Lifeforce Healing:     Lifeforce had strong correlations with vitality and energy: so far it had been sacrificed to fuel your spirits and rituals, but what if it could be transferred from Tekket to Tekket? Potentially, this could allow for improvement to the already excellent healthcare system utilized in the Directorate, but to what degree was sadly unknown for now. 0/25, develop Rite of Lifes Breath, increasing EXP and FTH, costing 1 Warp.

    Sanguine Catalyst:     With the understanding that blood was no longer required as a medium, some had proposed attempting to learn how to use it as a catalyst instead, improving the quality of the lifeforce they offered and making it more potent as a way to further improve on Tekket understanding of the supernatural energy. 0/50, develop Tekket Blood Magic, increasing points in all categories and generating 3 Warp.

    Gremlin.EXE:     Gremlins. Lesser spirits of mischief that cropped up from time to time from the darkest corners of the Network or Teklia's shadowy underbelly, they would possess machine spirits, infecting them like a virus. Some times, this relationship was beneficial: the machine spirit would grow stronger or be given strange powers, adding the Gremlins power to their own in exchange for giving the Gremlin an occasional vessel. Most of the time, this turned out terribly, as the Gremlin provoked the machine spirit to malfunction and glitch, taking delight as havok was created, forcing a Teksorcist to perform long, time consuming rituals that left the unfortunate machine with long lasting damage. With the development of the TekGrimoires, some Occulteks sought to imprison the minor troublemakers in order to prevent this, forcing them into empty DroneTek bodies layered inside and out with occultek binding. 0/20, develop Gremlin-Drones, created by taming mischievous data-spirits.

    Familiars:     Many naturalists theorized about natural spirits of the wilderness. Some druids and neo-pagans had experimented, finding that certain beasts and plants did in fact have some spiritual presence. Some Mysteks wished to explore the possibility of transfering the spirit to a Drone-Class vessel: after all, if you can do it to a toaster, why shouldn't it work on an equally old tree or turtle? 0/20, develop Wyld-Drones, Drone class automata formed not from ascended machine spirits but the souls of beasts and plants of sufficient soul strength.

    Lunar MegaShrine:     A proposed manner to quell the wrath of the Lunar Spirits was a singular great shrine in their honor, one that would be fed obscene quantities of lifeforce and attended to by countless druids and priests in a constant ritual of appeasement. So long as nothing else is done to provoke them, this should help obtain a degree of peace. 0/20, establishes Lunar MegaShrine, increasing FTH and EXP and reducing Quartzbug aggression.

    Great Totems:     Totems acted as shrine-relays, increasing effective coverage range without dropping efficiency. Some Druids had theorized, however, that they could be upgraded in order to allow a few totems to not just perform as relays, but outright amplifiers, helping to accelerate the growth of Wyld-Spirits. Developing these Great Totems would, however, require a great degree of lifeforce. 0/25, upgrade Wyld-Shrines with Great Totems, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.

    Land Totems:     Another proposed route was giving the druids more God-Tek to study to adapt its principles towards further increasing the effective range provided by your Shrines. The amount they'd be able to do so was unknown: God-Tek wasn't predictable, after all. But even small improvements would be appreciated. 0/25, upgrade Wyld-Shrines with Land Totems, increasing EXP, costs 1 ART.

    Awakening Totems:     Alternatively, some mysteks, primarily Calculators, theorized the optimal way to aid the spirits of the wild was to give them the tools to help realize cognizance. After all, it had been proven that machine spirits with additional processing power grew quicker, so why could the same not be true with the spirits of nature? By installing specialized network architecture and modified mind-interface technology, Totems could help spirits realize awakening by allowing them to piggy-back off of its vastly superior data-processing abilities. 0/15, upgrades Wyld-Shrines with Awakening Totems, increasing ACD. Costs 1 Network.

    Power Totems:     Alternatively, claimed some Assembly-aligned Druids, why not just stuff the totems full of power generation hardware? Uranium was cheaper than lifeforce, and while it wasn't as effective, it could be used for a variety of improvements across the board to the overall design of the Totems, with the excess nuclear energy utilized as a secondary sustenance source for spirits. 0/15, upgrades Wyld-Shrines with Power-Totems, increasing FTH. Costs 2 Nuclear Material.

    Rite of Natures Harmony:     Proposed by some Mysteks, they wanted resources to be used to develop a rite utilizing Mag-Tek Altars that could be used in a pinch to appease angry wildlife. 0/10, grants Rites of Natures Harmony, reducing the aggression of wildlife and the hostility of flora and fauna, increasing EXP.

    Bond-Technomata:     No Bond-Spirit was nearly mature enough to achieve a third metamorphosis yet, but potentially this process could be accelerated with sufficient amounts of Life-Force, and many Mysteks were salivating over the possibility: Bond-Machina had the ability to generate energy far in excess of their power systems and the ability to use that energy to strengthen and manipulate machinery. Who knows what powers their evolution would have? 0/30, create Bond-Technomata, advanced psyker machine spirits.

    Delve into the Tomb:     The complex where the God-Machines were located was, according to the expedition that found the God-Machines, impossibly vast. A select number of Monks wished to establish a temple atop it. It's purpose? To plumb the depths and obtain ancient technology. 0/10, Establish Tombdelver Order, a Society which generates Artifacts (ART).

    Cthonic Lifeofferings:     A number of Mysteks with interests in the macabe had begun donating small amounts of Life-Force to the TekMausoleums, believing it a method to perhaps appease the spirits interred there. It was an interesting proposal, certainly: by organizing volunteers to donate, perhaps the merit of the idea could be tested. 0/10, TekMausoleums receive regular donations of lifeforce. Unknown effects. Cost 1 Warp.

    ShipMind Shrine:     A proposed method of improving your Ship Shrines even further was the addition of GodTek derived computers in order to create a sort of centralized AI core to house at least part of the ships oversoul: in essence, granting your shipspirits a degree of intelligence and willfullness. 0/20, Ships upgraded to include ShipMind, somewhat increasing performance. Cost 1 Artefact.

    ShipBrain:     Others suggested that instead of simply improving performance across the board by studying them, the Directorate could instead utilize GodTek as components to create a singular, relic grade GodTek supercomputer to serve as a vessel for the ships spirit, which would likely accelerate the shipsouls growth considerably. 0/20, select one Fleet to receive a ShipBrain, a relic class AI core that moderately improves ship performance that will automatically be upgraded when new technology is developed.

    NeuroChoirs:     A proposed theological application of the Mind-Machine Interface, the NeuroChoir would help coordinate and amplify prayer and spiritual meditation and, more importantly, allow for far easier donation of life energy for ritual purposes. 0/15, increases FTH, religious orders gain NeuroChoir artifact.

    What the Zog?:     Whatever had occurred during the flight of the Endeavor, it was clear that performing a ritual on Stizlak had brought the attention of something vast and terrible. The Grot needed to be questioned by the Conclave and studied so that countermeasures for whatever had happened upon them could be developed and potential spiritual side-effects of the rite could be determines to help optimize it. 0/15, develop Ork Ritual Studiez, increasing Mystek effectiveness when interacting with Orkish supernatural phenominon and improving the Rite of Pacification when performed in the future.

    World Tree:     Some Druids and members of the Assembly wanted to repeat what had been done with the Heart with an Arbor Guardian instead, glutting it on Lifeforce until the spirit within can awaken fully and wholly and achieve the same transcendent strength as the Heart: this World Tree could be used to accelerate the awakening of the Wyld considerably and source of strength for all Druidic practices. 0/20, develop World Tree, increasing FTH considerably and improving WyldTek performance. Cost 1 Warp.

    Greater Arbor Guardian:     A much more modest proposal would be spending lifeforce to accelerate the development of multiple arbor guardians across the Directorate: these Greater Arbor Guardians would strengthen the shrines considerably, and would especially enrich the spirits of nature. 0/10, develop Greater Arbor Guardian, increasing FTH and strengthening Shrines. Cost 1 Warp.

    Eternal Arbor Guardian:     Trees did not live forever, not without prohibitively large amounts of lifeforce. However, by modifying their genome, they could have their aging effectively stopped: they would never die of old age, allowing their spirits to grow far stronger. A few tweaks would also be made to improve the rate of growth, health, and a dozen other optimizations intended to increase their overall performance. 0/10, develop Eternal Arbor Guardians, granting 1 Warp. Costs 1 BioData.

    Cthonic Shrines:     An idea proposed by the NekroTeks, these Shrines would be constructed in every TekMausoleum, allowing for appeasement to be made to the spirits of the dead and departed, easing their transition to the afterlife. It would also, crucially, allow for them to make offerings to the machine souls of the crypt, any psychopomps that appeared, or other cthonic spirits. 0/15, establish Cthonic Shrines, increasing FTH.

    Shrine-Hives:     Fundamentally, it would not be difficult at all to redesign shrines to serve as hives for Chorus Bees, allowing for small amounts of lifeforce to be siphoned from the bees honey. In exchange, they would receive by and large the same benefits as the Arbor Guardians, receiving larger portions of lifeforce given directly. 0/15, Shrines on habitable planets upgraded with Shrine-Hives, increasing CUL.

    On Toys:     A book considered a holy text to the adherants of the Toy Maker, On Toys was penned three centuries before the Destroyer War by Garven Blok. As in the Garven Blok who created BlokCo, which in turned created the first BlokTek. Most of the book is encrypted using an engram that still hasn't been cracked to this day. However, as more arcane knowledge of the Toymaker was developed, more and more of the book was decoded. With access to the Directorates computers, adherants to the Toymaker believed they could finally decode it entirely, discovering the lost wisdom of Garven Blok. 0/10, Toy Makers upgraded with On Toys, a holy text that increases ACD.

    Mimic Traps:     A number of Occulteks had taken to calling upon the Toy Maker in order to design 'mimic traps' created utilizing theoretical warding principles crossed with theurgy and, of course, their own knowledge of daemonology, in order to catch the little devils before they caused harm. This had proven of...questionable effectiveness. The Occulteks believed the theory was sound, but for it to work, dedicated research effort had to be applied. 0/15, Toy Makers upgraded with Mimic Trap Box artefact, increasing FTH.

    Offerings to the Crafter of Merriment:     With more and more attention brought to the Toy Maker and his clergy swelling, especially in light of the increasing mimic attacks, a number of Tekket had begun agitating for an offering to be made to the Toy Maker, one of massive size, in order to secure his favor and blessings. 0/25, Toy Maker offered massive amounts of Lifeforce in exchange for variable boons. Cost 1 Warp. Repeatable.

    Rites of the Toymaker:     The current rites were, to put it simply, more useful for what they represented than what they could do. But perhaps that could be amended: additional resources put towards developing theurgic rituals invoking the Toy Maker could allow for the improvement and expansion of what gifts the Lord of the Fae might allow those who call upon them. 0/80, develops Lesser Toymaker Rites, increasing FTH and CUL significantly. Can be reduced to 0/40 by spending 1 Warp or 0/25 by spending 2 Warp.

    Temple to the Fool:     The eldest son of the Toy Maker, the Fool had an extremely specific domain: the Fool was, to put it simply, the god of stupidity and slapstick. His stories and myths had a recurring motif: the Fool would be doing something or another before being accosted by some villain or monster seeking to cause the Fool harm, only for the Fools stupidity to cause their foe to injure themselves, typically without the Fool ever noticing. With the Toy Maker receiving additional clergy, many faithfuls of the Fool wished to establish their own temple. Specifically to serve as a university of sorts for aspiring fools. 0/25, establishes Temple to the Fool Actual Clown College, a Holy Site Complete Travesty that increases CUL by two trains future disgraces to their ancestors in the art of getting hit by pies and yet somehow making the pie thrower look like the idiot.

    Temple to the Hermit:     Eldest daughter of the Toy Maker, the Hermit held domain over Magic, having served as a patron to myriad magicians prominent in many multitudinous myths. It was said that she retreated from the world when her grand and gracious gifts found themselves grotesquely misused by malicious and mendacious tyrants: yet many a mystek and modern magician believed that the Hermit still yet graced hidden and secret parts of the dreamland, still occasionally granting a magician her patronage. These Mysteks wanted to assemble a temple to the Hermit, one where the Eldest Daughter could be honored and entreated. 3/25, establishes Temple to the Hermit, a Holy Site that improves Rites, increasing FTH.


    ((((()))))
    Stizlak was not having a good year. First, Kyte died, which frankly was probably the biggest outright bummer the Hobbgrot had experienced. Then the Endeavor had met those shadow-beasties, which had been REALLY fun right up until it had resulted in him having to MOVE, which Stizlak hated: he liked the Endeavor! 'E knew all the Screwbots! An' now 'e 'ad to go and learn the names of an entirely different set of Screwbots! Plus, all 'is junk was gone! It had taken almost a century to gather up all 'is junk, and now it was just floatin' in space.

    'Course, those were ultimately pretty small mushrooms: Kyte had 'ad a good life (Stizlak was fairly sure that by Screw standards she 'ad lived a more than full life as, and she 'ad plenty of anklebiters that the Hobbgrot kept in contact with.) and frankly at the end of the day, all the Hobbgrot's junk was replaceable, mostly, barring the handful of first edition komik books 'e had collected.

    The loss of Ultra Comic #9 was particularly grievous.

    What had shifted the year from kinda shite to full on mozzer had been, ironically, when the Directorate had published their cultural studies of Orkoidal Civilization in Broken Giant.

    "Um, Mr Stizlak, I think you're breaking my datapad," His case worker said, and Stizlak realized he was cracking the ferroplastic from how hard he was gripping it. He also noted that his chompers were very tightly grinding together, his eye was twitching uncontrolably, and he had the sudden and very unpleasant urge to go pick a fight, and not a fun one.

    It was honestly surprising, Stizlak mused, how much he 'ad forgotten the feeling of being absolutely incandescently infuriated. Composing himself, Stizlak set the datapad down. "Apologies, Gov," He said, deceptively calm. "If'n you don't mind, I need to step outside for a moment." He said, standing up from his seat, walking to the door, tapping the button, and stepping into the white corridor beyond, the door sliding shut behind him.

    Stizlak took a deep breath.

    Ten minutes later, he stepped back inside the room, plopping back into his chair. "Sorry about that. Needed to vent a bit," He admitted, and Stizlaks caseworker adjusted their glasses, looking at him with sympathy.

    "I understand. It isn't a pleasant realization. I've already informed Security to ignore any noise complaints. I probably wouldn't take it much better myself."

    Stizlak growled in agreement, eye twitching. The Case Worker leaned forward, concern in their face, and frankly that made Stizlak's mood worse. "Aye, ain't every day y'learn your entire race is a buncha slaves," He grumbled. Sure, on some level he was aware that the conditions that he had been forced to live in had probably qualified as slavery, but-

    Well, it was one thing to be dimly aware of the fact in the back of your mind and an entirely different thing to see laid out in plain text in front of you. An exhaustive detail about Ork Kulture, religion, and just as pertinently, how they treated Grots. The answer turned out to be 'not well'. Every documented account of an Ork kicking, killing, or EATING a grot just made Stizlak angrier and angrier.

    The thing was... "You know what really grinds my gears? 'Ow the study ends," Stizlak grumbled. 'Despite how seemingly barbaric the actions and behaviors of the Green Giant Orks might come across, they have shown a capacity for empathy and even kindness on several occasions, and though these events might be rare, they show that co-existence in the distant future is, if not probable, at least possible', it said, ending on some absolutely bonkers nonsense about 'ow t' go about conductin' diplomacy as if they didn't just spend twenty pages listin' why it's impossible! "Any people what clap a boggan in chains and treat 'em like that ain't got no empathy, and no diplomacy or peacemaking is gonna change that," He said, disgust and fury in his voice.

    His case worker frowned. "I understand your anger," They admitted. "Slavery as an institution is one of the most inhumane practices a society can engage in. But I don't think it's especially healthy to consign an entire species off like that: keep in mind, a few thousand years ago, the Tekket were engaged in practices not especially dissimilar to the Orks." Their mouth hardened into a tight line. "And unlike the Orks, we did it to our own species, at that, WITHOUT the innate aggression displayed by the species."

    Stizlak let out a breath. "It's different, though-"

    "Is it?" The Doc replied, raising a brow. "The Tekket forced others to labour in grueling conditions against their will, starving, beating, or even killing them if they disobeyed their masters: that they no longer do so now is ultimately irrelevant by the standards you've set. Again, your anger is wholly valid, especially considering your background. I'm just saying that you shouldn't let it push you into writing off an entire species, especially one that does, ultimately, have the capacity and potential to better themselves: in a few millennia, with the right conditions, who knows how their society and culture might evolve!"
    Stizlak grit his teeth for a moment before opening his mouth to angrily retort...before stopping himself, taking a deep breath, reminding him that the Doc was, ultimately, trying to help. And besides... "'Course, 's not like grots are any better," He said, feeling strangely tired. For every report about Orks kickin' around a grot, there was another report of a grot stealin', stabbin', or being just as bad.

    His case worker gave him a sympathetic look, and Stizlak was starting to realize 'e really didn't like sympathy most of the time, 'leastwise when it was directed at 'im. "Again, I wouldn't write them off: as we've seen, with the correct material conditions, Grots are proveably capable of learning how to exercise empathy. And orangeness," They added at the end, causing Stizlak to let out a snort. Fair dinkum, that.

    Grudgingly, the Hobbgrott decided to concede the point. The big green gitz maybe potentially had the capacity to be decent folk, hypothetically.

    Still, Stizlak decided that just because 'e wasn't writing 'em off didn't mean 'e had to like 'em.

    ((((()))))

    Meanwhile, as Stizlak dealt with unsettling thoughts about his species, a marvel was created: refined from a formulae provided by the Court of Hunger, the MegaFlora Serum was capable of causing plants to grow three times larger, ten times faster. While food security was largely a non-issue in the Directorate owing to the tireless efforts of its agricultural sector and vast number of blokbot tended eco-domes designed to produce crops and livestock, the MegaFlora Serum was the final nail in the coffin of that grim specter, hunger. Fruit would grow to be larger than the Tekket growing it. Grains would stretch into the sky, required automated harvest-thopters. Tubers would become so heavy that they require power tools to extract whole.

    It would also find a heavy niche with gardeners, who would use the Serum to grow all manner of mega-flora, from gigantified flowers to endless walls covered in giant vines to even more exotic organisms such as the predatory scrapdragons. Some few would even use them to accelerate the growth of their personal or familial Arbor Guardians, doping the great trees up with the Serum in order to increase the lifeforce that flowed from these trees.

    Those who used it the most, however, was the Court of Hungers, especially the the twin Circles of Feast and Famine, who each used the serum to appease their god. Feast would store up the accumulated lifeforce of their harvest for offerings, giving much of it to their lord, but allowing the Directorate the physical fruit of their labours. Famine meanwhile would rear up vast amounts of biomatter, draining it of lifeforce for personal and Directorate useage while giving the Sphere the leftover matter to dine on. It wasn't enough to sate their lords hunger: nothing was. But it allowed them to at least take the edge off, the Court claimed.

    It wasn't perhaps the most exiting development, but the MegaFlora Serum was undeniably a momentous achievement.

    Directorate Academy: The Directorate required a vast number of skilled professionals to operate, even in this era of increasing automation. To meet this need, the Directorate Academy was established, growing steadily until its reach encompassed the globe. The Academy effectively WAS the place to get an advanced education. Thankfully, it provided online courses for free, though there were a number of lucky students who received invitations to attend directly: those were the ones who would get drafted into the Academies own personal labs. Provides 5 ACD Points.

    Bond-Drone Technology:     Some machine spirits are particularly lively and strong, given power through generations of veneration, extreme age, or, in rare cases, through the love and care of their owner. These awoken machine spirits are typically given new vessels to inhabit, thus birthing Bond-Drones, ensouled, somewhat intelligent automata that serve as warrior, protector, and even family. Provides 1 EXP Point.

    Bond-Machina:     Advanced psychoactive Bond Machine-Spirits who through ritual and sufficient processing power have evolved into more advanced, powerful forms, capable of generating energy as if from nowhere and using it to influence and empower other machinery as well as provide power to rituals. They served as guardian, guide, and friend and, when using the Commander class combat platform as a vessel, superheavy infantry. Provides 1 EXP Point and 1 FTH Point.

    Mind-Machine Interface:     A implantless technology that allows for wireless interface between Tekket mind and machine mind, allowing for easier control of technology and communication with machine spirits. +1 FTH Point and +1 ACD Point.

    BlokTek:     Hypermodular tek designed to be plug and play, BlokTek was the basis of most TekketTek. Every component could be, if you knew the schematic, used for a different machine. The same components that would be used to make a blaster could also be used to build a microwave: the battery as the power source, the optical lens to irradiate the thing, all you needed was a few bloks to make a box. Provides ultimate lego technology: all parts interchangeable and universal. Provides 2 EXP Points.

    Living Metal:     GodTek, or something derived from it: the Destroyers had managed to occasionally lightly injure the God-Machines, leaving small samples of an advanced proto-metal around. Researching it produced a room temperature regenerative semi-conductor. Another cornerstone of your tek: it meant that components could essentially be infinitely reused. Maintenance costs reduced to zero.

    ShieldBloks:     A countermeasure developed to reduce the effectiveness of Destroyer Laser Weapons, ShieldTek generators could power energy barriers around fortifications, hardening positions against lasfire. Recent advances had managed to produce ShieldBloks, which applies BlokTek principles to the technology, creating a modular barrier generator that could be freely installed in vehicles, satellites, and inside buildings. Vehicles and fortifications effectiveness against LasFire increased.

    BlokBots:     BotTek had advanced to the point a variety of simple menial tasks and labours can be automated. Golem Class BlokBots come in a variety of forms with a variety of peripherals, from childcare assistant nannybots to industrial digbots to food-crate hauling cargobots, Mammoths could perform heavy labour and transport, and Gnomes could do light maintenance work and act as couriers and pets. Increase EXP by 3.

    Gravity Engines:     Next generation gravity manipulators that served to give your ships increased manueverability and very slightly increased speed, at very slightly lower power cost than previous models. Improved ship maneuverability.

    MagTek Assemblers:     Specialized MagTek pads that, when paired with a computer or tablet to act as a design station, could be used to instantly snap together bloks to assemble whole machines and devices once a suitable schematic was chosen, simplying the process to just a push of a button. Increase EXP by 1.

    MagTek Binding Fields:     Electromagnetic fields that help hold together Bloks, increasing whole machines ability to resist kinetic force, improving their overall structural durability, and increasing the conditions your machines could operate under. BlokTek is more damage resistant.

    Q-Blok Processors:     Small mass produced Quantum Computers, Q-Bloks are generally a few feet in size, containing complex tek that allows for processing power formerly reserved for rare government held supercomputers to be used for every day use both in religious practices, entertainment, Sythetic Intelligence useage, and industrial tasks. Alongside these devices one typically found A-Chips and Self-Optimizing Chipsets used for high level computational tasks. +1 CUL and +3 ACD

    OmniWrench Manipulator:     MagTek installed on specialized OmniWrenches to allow for magnetic lifting and movement of Bloks in order to allow for easier on site building of simple structures and vehicles: all an engineer has to do is wave their wrench to get things done. +1 EXP

    Deep Crust Scanner:     A new-model Ship Scanner that gives more detailed and precise readings far quicker than older models at the cost of requiring a great deal of processing power to utilize. It should allow your ships to locate deep crust anomalies and oddities and bypass simple forms of jamming. Gain 2 Scan Levels when scanning planets.

    PowerBlok:     Miniaturized nuclear reactors, PowerBloks are intended for use in vehicles and weaponry, allowing them to utilize increased amounts of power in order to allow for both larger size, more space for other components, or more powerful components that previously required larger vehicle reactors to run. They were also a component of Fusion Weaponry, typically used as artillery or on vehicles. Increased Vehicle performance. Can deploy Perpetunite Fusion Rockets and Fusion Cannons as vehicle and artillery scale weapons.

    Academy Fleet Compartments:     Modular and standardized Academy facilities that could be quickly added to ships, they provided a wealth of scientific expertise to captains and allowed for exiting field research opportunities. +1 ACD, improves Fleet technical ability and providing access to advanced scientific tools.

    Grot-Tek Eco-Pods:     These modest sized Eco-Pods consisted of a combat chamber, four different tanks of enzymes, two 'mojo shrines' as Stizlak called them, and a Sacred Herd on the floor above to help provide lifeforce for rituals, these chambers, when utilized alongside a specific ritual allowed for the mutated fungus produced by Stizlaks spores to produce grots. A small number of these pods had been installed across the Directorate with Stizlaks permission, though the ritual required Stizlaks participation at the moment.

    Toxel Doctrine: The first rule of Toxel doctrine: never be afraid to improvise. Improved engineer ability to problem solve on the fly.

    Megaflora Serum:     The effects of this serum were very potent indeed: rapidly accelerated plant growth and size, providing massive improvements to crop production. +EXP

    Next-Gen Armor:     Living metal plating designed to absorb damage and be capable of self-repair between engagements, this Armor had already proven its metal at Iron Shores, being able to absorb at least some laser-fire and a direct hit from a torpedo, meaning its survivability was not in doubt. Ships are more durable.

    Academy Points (ACD Points): 34
    Living Metal: 1
    Network: 8

    New Actions

    GrotTeknikal:     Stizlak wasn't one for engineering and science, but some of his offspring had shown some interest, and it WOULD help the Hobbgrots achieve a degree of technological self-sufficiency. As such, some in the Academy wanted to start inducting them into the students of their institution and begin developing courses required to educate them in various advanced sciences (and remedial nuclear theory). 0/25, establishes GrotTeknikal University Academy Upgrade, increasing ACD and encouraging some Hobbgrots to walk the Path of the Teknik.

    Hobbgrottic Park:     Far, far more Hobbgrots had shown a desire to work at the zoos and parks of Teklia, however. They apparently took after Stizlak in that regard: the scarier the beastie, the better, especially if it was something they could wrestle into submission like an angry frost-ape or a mecha-squid or a bhikku dragon. A number of them were proposing alongside some Druids and Rangers the creation of a giant animal sanctuary slash veterinary medicine university where Hobgrotts could both work with animals, and learn how to do so in a wholly beneficial (beyond the wrestling) manner. 0/10, establishes Hobgrottic Park, increasing CUL and encouraging some Hobbgrots to walk the Path of the Conservationist.

    MegaBeast Serum:     It wasn't impossible, and it would allow for, at the very least, a massive improvement to most ShrineHerds. It would require a great deal of genetic data in order to develop a version of the megaflora serum capable of working on animals, however. 0/20, create MegaBeast Serum, increasing FTH and Warp by allowing for the development of Shrine MegaBeasts. Cost 1 BioData.

    TotemSerum:     A proposed upgrade to the Totem network would be including small megaflora serum synthesizers and aerosolized dispersal mechanism. In essence, the growth of plantlife in regions covered by a Totem would increase greatly, allowing them to support larger, more diverse ecosystems. 0/25, upgrades Totems with MegaSerum Synthesizers, increasing CUL.

    ArborSerum:     Another proposal was making wisespread the practice of using MegaFlora Serum to accelerate Arbor Guardian Growth, increasing the total lifeforce flowing throughout the Totem-Net, and even developing specialized blends specifically for use in trees and other already-large flora. 0/25, develop ArborSerum, increasing CUL and Warp.

    Charged Serum:     A proposal by some members of the Directorate was experimentation with developing a form of MegaFlora Serum synthesized inside a full lifeforce battery to give it a 'charge' of sorts, allowing for emergency growth of plants by Lifeforce Battery Holders. 0/25, Lifeforce Batteries upgraded to produce Charged MegaSerum, allowing for emergency plant growth by senior Druids.

    Artificing Chamber:     Lifeforce Batteries were tedious, costly, and difficult to make, largely because the manufacturing methods were such that it couldn't be fully automated. To simplify it, some Academy scientists wanted to study GodTek in order to design a specialized chamber equipped with technological apparatae that could, at least, simplify the process, allowing for an increased stream of the batteries in Directorate Space. 0/25, create Academy Artifice Chamber, allowing for somewhat simplified production of high end artefacts, generating 1 Warp. Cost 1 ART.

    Advanced Armor:     Frankly, the Armor the Valiant had been equipped with going into Iron Shores was the only reason every person on that ship was not very, very dead. And had the ship not been so lucky, the armor it was equipped with might not have been enough. As such, the Fleet wanted to develop even more advanced armor alloys they could use to protect their ships: it would cost biometal, but already Directorate Armor had proven one of their stronger edges against enemies, making the investment worth it. 0/25, increases ship defenses even more, cost 1 Living Metal.

    Virus Buster Programs:     Bond-Machina were a small percentage of the overall population, and were not sufficient, at the moment, to serve as the core of network security. To that end, to deal with logic viruses and other forms of E-Defense, a number of computer programmers wanted to create semi-sentient software arrays designed with the express purpose of destroying rogue computer viruses and malware. 0/10, gain VirusBuster Programs, decreasing vulnerability to network attacks and increasing general E-War capabilities. Cost 1 Network.

    WardTerminal Control Nexus:     The problem with designing wards was that you essentially needed to design a hypercomplex vascular lifeforce network the size of a ship, and, once created, making adjustments was near impossible with at least several months notice. To that end, a number of Academy Bioresearchers believed that they could, if not automate, then at least SIMPLIFY the process by adding a computerized control nexus to help control the flow of lifeforce. 0/25, gain WardTerminal Control Nexus, upgrading Mystek Wards to Simple.

    PowerArt:     The biggest limitations for art: the lack of Nuclear Fusion. A number of Academy affiliated Artists wanted to develop a series of techniques to incorporate advanced particle physics into their art. On a practical level, this would allow said Art to double as power sources. On an artistic level, well, who didn't enjoy a good nuclear light show? 0/25, develop PowerArt, increased EXP as Art in the Directorate becomes useful as a power source. Costs 1 Nuclear Material.

    SmartArt:     Obviously Holo-Paintings didn't NEED to double as micro-servers, and yes, technically giving artists the tools to turn every piece of Mega-Art into a high end quantum calculator had little practical purpose, but on the other hand, it would be really, really cool to incorporate advanced computational techniques and programming into art, even if it would eat network capacity. 0/25, develop SmartArt, increasing ACD as Art in the Directorate incorporates far better computer hardware in their pieces. Cost 1 Network

    BioArt:     It was certainly an interesting idea: give Artists the means to craft floral organisms that they could incorporate into their art, allowing them to make wholly biological pieces and exhibits, or exhibits that incorporate carefully shaped biological tissue into their design. In essence, allowing the creation of BioArtwork. 0/25, develop BioArt, increasing CUL as Art in the Directorate becomes far easier at incorporating life and nature into its design. Cost 1 Biodata.

    Mega-Art Charging Stations:     Mega-Art Spirits typically had more than enough energy to spare, and, granted their creators were allowed to use the surplus to help advance the cause of Art, they were willing to incorporate the technology required to allow them to recharge plus sized Lifeforce Batteries in order to allow the Directorate to convert tourism to energy. 0/25, develop Mega-Art Charging Stations, increasing CUL by an elevated amount and increasing Warp.

    Basic Particle Field Generator: It was clear that Warp-Space was dangerous, and while the particle barrier had proven somewhat effective, it could still be improved. To do this, the Directorate had authorized extensive access to lifeforce and GodTek. 0/30, gain Crude Warp-Shield Technology, slightly increasing the safety of warp travel. Cost 1 Artefact.

    Warp-Drive Refinement:     Of course, others instead wanted to focus on efficiency by developing more sophisticated Warp-Drive manufacturing techniques, allowing for faster speeds and thus exploration of space. This would be a considerable undertaking, but it would pay dividends. 0/20, gain Basic Warp-Drive, increasing ship speed and ability to respond to crisis. Cost 1 Warp.

    Extremely Advanced NukeTek:     Perpetunite weaponry was dangerous, but it could be so much worse with the application of advanced particle technology to further increase the damage caused: longer range on fusion cannons to create fusion lances, more explosive torpedos, fusion rockets powerful enough to be called pocket nukes. There was no such thing as overkill. 0/20, Unlocks Advanced NukeTek. Allows for the creation of medium-range, re-useable shipscale weaponry in the form of Fusion Lances and further improvement to all existing NukeTek weaponry.

    HoloTek:     With technology becoming more and more sophisticated, a number of optical researchers had proposed funding more research into their field of study to create advanced HoloBriks that could be used in conjunction with Mind Machine interfaces to create sophisticated 3D simulator pods. 0/25, unlocks Crude HoloDeck Technology, increasing CUL.

    NukeTek Ultra Miniaturization:     It would perhaps be considered gross overkill to develop infantry-scale weaponry utilizing Perpetunite Reactors. However, much like your schools, your military didn't know the meaning of overkill: Fusion Shotguns, Fusion Blasters, Fusion Micro-Rockets, and Fusion Grenades. A lot of efficiency would be lost at the sizes you were aiming for, but it'd be a great way to give your forces some real teeth. 0/15, heavy infantry benefits from PowerBlok technology, costs 2 Nuclear Material

    Megaflora Serum:     A product of the Court of Hunger, the Megaflora Serum rapidly accelerated plant growth, producing in hours what might normally take weeks to grow, at three times the size. They were willing to share, but first, they wanted to perfect the serum, as currently it had the flaw of rendering what it grew completely inedible to Tekket. 3/10, perfect Megaflora Serum, increasing EXP and Warp by 1.

    MegaSiphon:     A theoretical design produced by the Sphere, the MegaSiphon would absorb from Teklia constant amounts of lifeforce from across the planet: every living thing providing small amounts to in total enable the useage of massive quantities of vital energy for assorted projects. Apparently, the Sphere's price for the MegaSiphon schematics was that every twenty years it gets to gorge itself on a planets worth of collected vital energy: apparently it couldn't feed on the lifeforce offered by its cult because it was too meager to provide a meal without damaging them. 0/20, increases FTH and Warp.

    Perpetual Engines:     Next generation engines that use Perpetunite reactors to generate thrust, these Engines would allow for far quicker and efficient traversal in system, permitting more involved research as your ships would be able to quickly return for re-supply and cover more ground quicker, as well as letting your ships change course in a crisis with more efficiency. 0/20, increases the Scan Level of worlds you visit by an additional +1, allows for quicker course corrections in combat and crisis by ships, cost 1 Nuclear Material

    Q-Band Compression:     A novel form of quantum technology that should allow for more efficient transfer of data and higher levels of compression, freeing up network and reducing overall latency over long distances, something that would be useful both in the civilian sector and for managing the Fleet's communication. Recently a major project of the Church of the Calculator, who believed that more advanced quantum computing might be the crux required to communicate with their gods. 7/25, +1 Network, +CUL, unlock Q-Band Compression. If completed majority automatically, gain no Network.

    The Teeth:     A number of military scientists believed that by using GodTek and recent advances in NukeTek they could create a hyperadvanced, long range fusion cannon capable of causing significant damage. An intriguing idea, and it would give at least one of your fleets some actual teeth. 6/15, can upgrade a single fleet with the Teeth, a powerful medium range relic grade heavy fusion cannon that will automatically upgrade to incorporate newly developed technology. Will automatically upgrade to a long range when Extremely Advanced Nuke-Tek is completed. Costs 1 Artefact.

    Revelation Class Scanner:     Another proposed use of GodTek would be reverse engineering its sensory components to try and improve existing scanner technology. Eager young scientists believe that they should be able to potentially double if not triple the effective range, allowing your Deep Space Monitoring facilities to detect potential threats earlier AND allowing your ships to scan vast swathes of space quickly, effectively revolutionizing your ability to explore. 0/20, cost 1 Artefact, unlocks Revelation Class Scanner component, improving the effects of Deep Space Monitoring and upgrading your ship scanners to grant adjacent planets to the one visited +1 Scan Level. If taken with Perpetunite Engines, reach next Scan Tier (System).

    Repair Protocol:     Living metal is definitely a form of smart matter. If a way could be discovered to control it's growth, you could upgrade your blocks from merely regenerating to replicating if fed with sufficient energy. In essence, bloks that can create more bloks, allowing for your machinery to literally heal from injuries. 0/20, unlock Crude Repair Protocol, giving your machinery the ability to regenerate from light damage. Costs one living metal.

    Gestalt Protocol:     Another route to improving the strength of Machine Spirits, some of your scientists belonging to the Grand Reconfiguration Committee theorized that synthetic souls were just as modular as their form: they believed that there might exist some manner to merge machine spirits in order to radically accelerate their growth, creating Gestalt-Drones. They would no doubt be very, very different from typical Bond-Drones, however. Recently, the Assembly had begun to pursue experiments in this vein as a potential alternative method to grow their Avatars. 1/15, develop Gestalt-Drones, advanced automata created from a multitude of fused together synthetic souls instead of singular awoken machine spirits. If completed automatically, lose 1 Nuclear Material.

    Academy Fleet Compartment High Energy Lab:     A proposed improvement to the Academy Compartments was giving them their own High Energy Labs and self-contained power systems: this would allow them to further meet the fleets technical needs as well as provide, in all likelyhood, a great deal of surplus power for your ships to use. 0/20, Academy Fleet Compartment upgraded with High Energy Lab, increasing available power and efficiency of all advanced subsystems. Costs 1 Nuclear Material.

    Academy Fleet Network Lab:     Another idea would be adding additional information technology in the form of expanded computer labs and data hubs. This would reduce ship-to-Teklia latency, provide additional processing power for things like targetting and navigation, and in a pinch could probably be used to upgrade the Comm-Jammers. 0/20, Academy Fleet Compartment upgraded with Network Lab, improving efficiency of all E-War and computer systems.

    Quartzbug Anatomy:     A number of xenobiologists were deeply interested in the semi-silica based lifeforms found in the precursor temples. They wanted to perform an in-depth study of the creatures and their physiology. 0/20, grants 1 Biodata, a CUL resource used to domesticate, alter, and utilize alien organisms. Permits additional Quartzbug projects.

    Temple Expedition:     It would take a military escort, a great many BlockBots, and probably heavy artillery, but the Fleet believe that it should be possible to push past the Quartzbugs and do an in-depth exploration of the Quartz Temple and unravel its secrets. 0/15, grants information

    HoloShield Tek:     A proposed upgrade to the shields was developing experimental supplementary hard light generators that could be used as a upgrade component for ShieldBloks to allow for a degree of shielding against kinetic threats. These HoloShields would draw a bit more power and provide fairly limited protection, but it would still be an impressive improvement to your defensive arsenal. 0/15, ShieldTek upgraded with HoloShields, providing weak kinetic resistance to Shield technology.

    TurretBots:     A proposed way to improve turrets was by merging them with BlokBots: provide a rudimentary synthetic intelligence to make tactical decisions and coordinate with peer platforms, a mag-lev system to allow them to reposition themselves, and a network hookup to tell them where to recharge from and what places need reinforcements, and you could greatly increase the fluidity of your static defences. 0/15, develop TurretBots, improving static defenses.

    ShieldTek Minaturization:     The smallest ShieldTek was still a fairly large implement, something you'd mount on a cargo-hauler in the back of a workshop. Perhaps it was time to go through another round of miniaturization and develop ShieldTek small enough to be mounted on medium and Mammoth-Class BlokBots. 0/20, more vehicles and machines gain access to ShieldTek, which becomes easier to use.

    Living Metal Rounds:     The Booug and Quartzbugs both had proven infuriatingly resistant to conventional laser blasters, the former more than the latter. The Booug were ridiculously hardy and required sustained blasterfire, fusion weaponry which for obvious reasons wasn't feasible on a ship, or extreme amounts of kinetic force. Quartzbugs meanwhile diffused the heat of the laser across their body with annoying efficiency. A proposal had been made for alternate infantry weapons to use living metal as a form of regenerating ammunition and MagTek to accelerate these regenerating rounds at extremely high speeds. In essence, you'd be bringing back the ballistic weapon, redesigned for a new age. 0/20, costs 1 Living Metal, develops Ferroblaster Technology, next generation magnetic weaponry with regenerating ammunition designed for infantry use.

    Warp-Space Topography:     As the Directorate grew, it would likely continue to explore, necessitating more travel through Warp-Space. This would require more accurate ability to navigate: so far, your people had managed to chart out a few crude routes through sheer accident, but this wouldn't suffice past a certain point. More refined methods to navigate Warp-Space was required: a common idea that had been suggested had been creating a special warp-space navigation computer. 0/20, gain Nav-Computers, increasing accuracy of warp jumps.

    Next-Gen Armor:     Your ships were, to put it gently, fairly fragile. By using Living Metal, a form of ArmorBlok could be developed meant to absorb impacts and shield more vital systems block from harm, making your ships all the more tough and providing a second layer of protection alongside their shield systems. 0/10, costs 1 Living Metal, Ships gain better armor.

    HyperTek Nexus:     The solution to the network problems of the Directorate wasn't piecemeal improvements to network infrastructure. Instead, some had proffered using probably obscene amounts of GodTek, a few super-reactors to power the whole thing, and of course as many A Chips as could be printed to create a sort of ultimate DataHub the size of an ArcoloCube in order to allow for totally lagless communication throughout the system and provide absurdly vast amounts of computational power. 0/50, costs 3 Artefacts, 1 Nuclear Material, creates HyperTek Nexus, providing 10 Network and 10 CUL.

    HyperTek Forge:     The solution to the power generation problems of the Directorate weren't piecemeal improvements to power generation infrastructure: instead, some had proferred using an obscene amount of GodTek, extensive network technology to help manage operations, and of course as much Perpetunite as could be shipped in to create a sort of ultimate reactor the size of an ArcoloCube to generate enough energy to meet needs in the Directorate for...Well, generations. 0/50, costs 3 Artefacts, 1 Network, creates HyperTek Forge, providing 10 Nuclear Material and 10 EXP.

    Improved MagTek Repair Protocol:     A more sophisticated version of the MagTek Repair Protocol, this update to the firmware would allow for simple machines and systems to repair themselves. You wouldn't be able to repair a reactor without an engineer, but it could at least hook back up to the wiring systems and recreate lighting. 0/20, MagTek Reassembly Protocol upgraded to lightly repair systems damage in buildings and fortifications.

    DataShrines:     A proposal by some Academy aligned Mysteks was the installation of Shrines in DataHubs intended to be dedicated to the Spirits of Software: after all, was not every program in many ways lesser spirits? They theorized that this would prove an effective way to augment and improve network complexity and optimization should it work as intended. 0/15, generate considerable ACD, cost 1 Network.

    Arbor Minds:     Tree nervous systems were decidedly non-complex. Plants in general were fairly simple organisms, intellectually. This was in all likelyhood one of the larger barriers to their spiritual growth: after all, it was a known fact that the soul could only grow at an acceptable speed when provided sufficient processing power. However, their nervous system being so simple meant that, in theory, it wouldn't be hard to design a method to allow your computers to interface with them, providing the tree increased intelligence. 0/15, increases CUL, cost 1 Network

    MagTek Blasters:     While magnetic weaponry wasn't unheard of, MagPulse Blasters were mostly a novelty: instead of firing any actual round, they functioned by firing a beam of magnetically generated kinetic energy capable of knocking machines into constituent bloks. Wonderpark had done a great deal to optimize the design, however, and some in the fleet believed with some improvements, they could be fielded as anti-vehicle weaponry by your infantry and mechanized forces. 0/15, develop MagTek Blasters, specialized Kineto-Magnetic weapons.

    ShipTek Reassembly Protocol:     This would probably not stop the Booug, but it would slow them down and allow for your ships to repair most of the damage they could cause, though only for short jumps. And once the Booug were handled, it would certainly prove useful in combat and crisis situations by ruggedizing your ships a bit. 0/40, MagTek Reassembly Protocol modified to work on ships.

    ZwergBot Disassembly Protocol:     A proposed subsystem that would allow for BlokBots to continue operation even after being blown apart via configuring themselves into lesser classes. This would be very, very useful for your security bots, as it would mean they would have to be very thoroughly dismantled to stop them. 0/15, Security Bots will automatically when dismantled reform into smaller classes of BlokBot.

    Animatron Class BlokBots:     A proposed model of BlokBot with higher intelligence and slightly more robust engineering than the average Golem, designed more for the purposes of entertainment and socialization, Animatrons had been proposed by Wonderpark as a way to artificially expand their workforce. 3/15, unlock Animatron Bots, generating CUL.

    Totem Eco-Scanners:     The Academy loved nature as much as the next person. That was why THEIR proposal for improving the totem network was upgrading the scanners to better allow for collection of data and allowing for more precise intervention by druids, park rangers, and other specialists when necessary. After all, sometimes mundane optimizations were the best optimizations. 0/15, Totems upgraded with Eco-Scanners, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Network.

    Totem-Net:     Alternatively, the Totems could be provided improved server software to allow for a variety of useful, if mundane, programs such as ecology simulators to be ran on them and allowing limited inter-totem communication. In essence, Wyld-Shrines would gain their own complex network to allow their users more functionality. 0/15, Totems upgraded to utilize Totem-Net, increasing ACD. Cost 1 Network.

    TotemTek Peripherals:     Heat management, soil enrichment, atmosphere filtering, there are a variety of mundane upgrades that could be installed on Totems to improve functionality. They would require at least some Perpetunite to improve the power generation, but these peripherals could allow regions to be more efficiently managed. 0/15, Totems upgraded with TotemTek Peripherals, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Totem Power Grid:     Right now, most Totems operated on individual Perpetunite reactors. However, the Academy believed that by actually developing a power grid for the Totem Network, Directorate Rangers would be able to vastly increase Totem Coverage. An entirely mundane improvement, but one no less important than the development of urban power grids. 0/15, Totems upgraded with Totem Power Grid, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.

    Orkoid Xenobiology:     The species you had found was deeply fascinating and many wanted to study it further. While direct contact wasn't allowed, dissection of ethically acquired corpses would be, allowing you a great deal of insight into how the species functioned. It would require the help of a Warp-capable ship in order to acquire specimens, however. 0/15, unlocks Orkoid Physiology, giving you insight to the greenskin biological makeup. Requires an Endeavor Class to construct a Xenoobservation outpost.

    WyldRanger Zoological Research Rovers:     The biosphere of Teklia was constantly evolving, especially after the advent of Wyld-Tek. The WyldRangers, the secular branch of Teklia's nature enthusiasts, wanted to establish specialized research rovers meant to serve as mobile, eco-friendly field research labs and dwellings for the Rangers to help them document and research native Teklian biology, ones uplinked to the Teklian planetary network to allow for efficient coordination of research and conservation efforts. 0/15, establishes WyldRangers, an ACD and Biodata generating society.

    AnimaTek Wrench:     The Academy was interested in utilizing information recovered from studying the animatory effects of Mt. Wander and ritual knowledge developed by your priests and mysteks to develop an upgrade to the standard issue OmniWrench: an AnimaTek Awakening Module, allowing them to blast machine spirits with concentrated vital energy (provided by themselves) to spiritually 'overclock' them, allowing for brief moments of increased performance by affected machines. 0/25, Wrenches upgraded with AnimaTek, costs 1 Warp.

    Mountain Blood:     The substance, your Alkemeteks theorized, could be the secret to many previously thought impossible works dreamed of by the great philosophers of old. The very blood of a living mountain, it oozed potent arcane energy, and carried within it some of Mt. Wanders animating essence. To harness its power, they required vastly improved spectroscopes and chemical synthesizers, however, in order to help process it into a useable form. 0/25, set up Mountain Blood harvesting operation, increasing Warp by 1.

    Kobatekka Maru:     As simulations grew more and more advanced, more and more of them would wind up in Fleet curriculum. Some programmers wanted to spend dedicated Directorate resources in creating the ultimate series of crisis simulations in order to help train fleet cadets, ones capable of a degree of self-adaptation. 0/25, gain Kobatekka Maru Self-Adapting Simulations, improving Fleet ensign performance considerably. Cost 1 Artefact

    Upgrader Class BlokBots:     Emergency upgrade units, these 'Bots would seek out and augment bots in the field as needed with their own components, allowing a greater degree of reactivity, being able to optimize and improve performance as needed for as long as needed, before detaching themselves and going on to aid other bots. 0/25, gain Upgrader Class BlokBots, capable augmenting BlokBots to a more powerful + versions in the field.

    BlokBot Optimization Principle:     The basic program behind Upgraders could be simplified in order to allow for, over time, BlokBots to automatically perform basic optimizations and improvements. This would largely benefit industry, as valuable Tekket-power that was spent on BlokBot design could instead simply be foisted off on machinery. 0/25, BlokBots over time will slowly upgrade to more powerful + versions, increasing EXP.

    ((((()))))

    24 hours moratorium this time. Some notes because this was a big update and a big event: 1. I had to redo the map from scratch which was fun. If the symbols look different thats why. 2. Two nat twenties! Pretty impressive! 3. GODDAMN did typing all the new actions take forever, partly because I kept having to go back and add new ones, like the Art/Elemental crossover techs, or the various grot and autovessel projects. 4. CUL is gonna boom FYI now that you've met another faction outside the Directorate that's in the rough ballpark of you in terms of tech.

    And 5, the big one: for the record, I'm borrowing a lot from Deep Space 9 (and a somewhat lesser amount from the rest of the franchise: I'm still going through Next Generation and TOS) for this quest, and Stizlak is where its showing the most TBH. Him and the Orks in general have a lot of interesting parallels with the Jem'Hadar, and Stizlak himself has a couple of similairities with (funnily enough) Odo of all characters. If you like this quest, I'd recommend giving the show a watch.

    Also, to get this out of the way, some of you might think Muses sound like in practice heavy Slaanesh bait.

    This is correct. Like to be clear when I was discussing the possibility of filling in the narrative gap Slaanesh colonizes, I was doing so in the context of the Dancer. Muses were somewhat closer to Blood For Art in that they're actually a long term vulnerability of sorts that balances out by having a strong effect (5 CUL for Blood for Art, opening the Art Animism and Muse tech-tree).

    Which, for the record, there are a lot of options like that in the tech-tree, some of them you've already taken! And no, I will not tell you which as-of-yet untaken options are like that.
     
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    • hmm methinks we need to up our ship based combat first of all while we send the Valiant East. Other then that i am open to discussion on what sorts of things we should be doing.
     
    I feel that we should help the auto ships this turn. We are, after all, recently down a ship. We could learn much about AIs and ship building.
     
    The Bird said:
    Virus Buster Programs: Bond-Machina were a small percentage of the overall population, and were not sufficient, at the moment, to serve as the core of network security. To that end, to deal with logic viruses and other forms of E-Defense, a number of computer programmers wanted to create semi-sentient software arrays designed with the express purpose of destroying rogue computer viruses and malware. 0/10, gain VirusBuster Programs, decreasing vulnerability to network attacks and increasing general E-War capabilities. Cost 1 Network.

    WardTerminal Control Nexus:     The problem with designing wards was that you essentially needed to design a hypercomplex vascular lifeforce network the size of a ship, and, once created, making adjustments was near impossible with at least several months notice. To that end, a number of Academy Bioresearchers believed that they could, if not automate, then at least SIMPLIFY the process by adding a computerized control nexus to help control the flow of lifeforce. 0/25, gain WardTerminal Control Nexus, upgrading Mystek Wards to Simple.
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    These two seem like they'll be very important.
    Dr. Dinosaur said:
    I feel that we should help the auto ships this turn. We are, after all, recently down a ship. We could learn much about AIs and ship building.
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    Yep, and to do that we would need to prioritize some actions to help with dealing with that virus.
     
    So, are the Virus Buster Programs like Megaman... what are they called? Net Navis I think. Or are you considering something else?
     
    MangoFlan said:
    So, are the Virus Buster Programs like Megaman... what are they called? Net Navis I think. Or are you considering something else?
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    They could be considered a precursor to something akin to Navi's, but your network isn't advanced enough in terms of mystical strength or general complexity to do a full on Battle Network yet.

    Anyways, fixed a few errors. Applied the correct totals for the Assembly and Calculators current projects.
     
    The Bird said:
    GrotTeknikal: Stizlak wasn't one for engineering and science, but some of his offspring had shown some interest, and it WOULD help the Hobbgrots achieve a degree of technological self-sufficiency. As such, some in the Academy wanted to start inducting them into the students of their institution and begin developing courses required to educate them in various advanced sciences (and remedial nuclear theory). 0/25, establishes GrotTeknikal University Academy Upgrade, increasing ACD and encouraging some Hobbgrots to walk the Path of the Teknik.
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    Hold on. Hold the fuck on. Would this give us access to the ork tech tree? Or, eventually let us understand ork tech?
     
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