Martial: 8+2+2+4+2 = 18 (Though you still rely deeply on your Unison Platform in true battle, your skill as a tactician has increased steadily, mostly thanks to the Two Twenty Three. You may not quite be a master of that art, but you are steadily closing that distance.)
Diplomacy: 18+2+2+2+1+2+4 = 33 (You built the Circles and acted as a capable leader for the Prologue project. You've also started to delve into the esoteric side of your Focus, granting your natural charisma a truly supernatural edge.)
Stewardship: 16+2+2+2 = 22 (There is no such thing as 'broken'. That statement underpins everything you do in this arena, and thanks to your Focus it often pays considerable dividends.)
Intrigue: 12+2 = 14 (You're not really suited to wheeler-dealing or politics, but you had to have some successful interaction with EGOV before you ended up in charge of it. Running what is for all intents and purposes a military operation has given some insight to the situation as well.)
Learning: 16+2+2+2+4 = 26 (You soaked up your lessons as a child like a sponge, and Mary has ensured that your knowledge base never had the chance to degrade. You are not a prodigy like her, but you do well enough.)
Practice: 16+2+2+2+2+4+2+2+2+2 = 36 (Your skill as a Potential rivals some of the First, and you're one of the only Potentials alive who is able to sense the strange patterns that you can now feel and hear woven through the very fabric of the world that surrounds you.)
Traits: Child of the Second Secret: You were born before the Week of Sorrows, and so benefit from the basic bioengineering package that almost all children were modified with before birth. +2 Martial
Heart of Circles: As a child you fought to restore the peace that you were so lucky to have with your family to others, leading to the founding of the first of your Circles. +2 Diplomacy
- Your time spent as an adult founding more Circles across the world won you praise from many quarters, and was the first time you felt the taste of more exotic Practice. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Practice
A Practiced Form: Like all Potentials, the natural application of Practice to your body through actions have granted you some arguably supernatural advantages. In your case, you heal swiftly and are incredibly hard to kill. +2 Martial, significant increase to survival chance if attacked personally
Childhood Tutor: She might not have been an adult, but your friendship with Mary meant that you never once failed to ace your exams, if not perhaps as spectacularly as she would. +2 Learning
Singer: You have a fine and melodious voice, which has a way of putting people at ease. +2 Diplomacy - You've spent time improving your voice, and have begun to delve in the complexities of its use. +1 Diplomacy
Project Prologue: You worked as a leader for the Prologue project, and were a major part of the first Practiced Miracle. +2 Learning, +2 Practice
Restorer of the Old World: You spent a decade rebuilding the cities of the world before the Week of Sorrows, becoming as one with your Focus and doing all you could to restore a world that many thought lost. +2 Stewardship, +2 Practice
Touching the Forgotten: Time spent working with Mary kept you up to date with some of the less complex scientific advancements of the times, and also gave you the opportunity to delve into the far stranger side of your Focus. +2 Learning, +2 Practice
Untapped Depths: You took a plasma lance to chest, ablated as it was by a body in front of you, and lived through the power of your Potential. Something has been shaken loose by that experience, and you now know that there is far more to discover about what you are capable of. +4 Practice
Speaker of Practice: You've taken your first step into a world suddenly much bigger than it was before. Although it still isn't reliable, or even properly understood, your ability to work Practice with words rather than action is something exciting as it is strange.
- Knower of Words: As part of your teaching Vega how to reliably weave Practice into her words, you've worked with Mary to learn a great deal about some of the underlying theory of Practice. Not as much as your Spoken Miracle gave her, but far more than you had before. +4 Learning, +2 Practice -- Healer's Edge: Learning to speak was anything but easy. Finding a way to replicate its use in battle as you'd , against the very nature of your focus, was the work of over a decade. You will never like doing so, but you have found that way.
Founder of the 223: Creating and leading the Two Twenty Three with Vega has been an experience unlike anything else you've been part of. It has expanded your knowledge in ways you're not quite sure you like, sometimes, but people don't always get what they like. +4 Martial, +2 Intrigue
The Promised Future: Knowing what the Shiplords use at least some of their Tributary biomass for is a terrible burden, but it has not broken you. In this, as all things, you remember the words Vega reminded you of. Justice, freedom and peace. For those, you would bear the weight of the universe. +4 Diplomacy, +2 Stewardship
Envoy of Humanity: When Second Contact came, you answered the call that Adri placed at your feet without hesitation, and surpassed all expectations. In a month, you took the most important potential allies in human history from unknown hopefuls to tentative friends. +2 Diplomacy
A Song of Bonds: After humanity fell, something was forged from the ashes to take the place of what failed you. Now, deep contemplation and study has led you to that new creation, a melody so encompassing that it is a tangible presence. In this, lies the truth of Purify, and perhaps much more. +2 Practice, ???
Risen Focus: Your Focus now lies far closer to the surface of your soul, changing both the reality of what you can do, and what your body truly is. Bringing your Focus closer to physical reality has made you stronger, more capable, and yet also far more what you were from the beginning. A Mender. +2 Practice, ???, ???
Unison Platform (Ace): The experience of the Second Battle of Sol has given the Two Twenty Three an edge that's hard to properly express. You didn't fly with them in the void battle, but you did face a Shiplord in personal combat and live. That, combined with the far more intense training since has brought you to leading edge of the Unisonbound. There are few indeed who can match you in this.
Inventory: Concert Set: This detached headset was something you made in the Institute, one of your first Practiced creations. You wanted a way to be heard more clearly, and to put your words into people's hearts. You thought you'd lost it during your time founding the rest of the Circles, but it had been invaluable pursuing that task.
- Now integrated with Sidra, the set grants you skill on par with Vega's at navigating and bolstering social harmony. It also has allowed you to key more precisely into the Harmonial connections between the Two Twenty Three, and without it you may well have failed to help Kalilah realise her synchronisation. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Practice, ???
Multi-tooI: A leftover from your time rebuilding the broken cities of Earth, this is probably one of the most Practiced items you ever created. A decade spent using it to channel your Focus into physical change has turned the basic device into a sleek thing of almost dizzying utility. Now time, and integration with Sidra, has recovered your knowledge of the Artefact. +2 Stewardship
- Integration with your Unison Platform, and the intelligence behind it, has given you access to depths of combination that a human mind simply could not follow, and you've had the time to test them. It is still fundamentally a tool of Mending, but that definition has stretched a little now. Into Creation. +2 Martial, major boost to certain uses of Amanda's Practice.
Void Crystal: Even now neither you nor Mary are sure how you created this, or what it's meant to do. A seemingly featureless black-body crystal, its remained completely impervious to analysis, classification, or physical damage. Mary kept it ever since you created it with her after your first decade as a Restorer, now it's yours.
Unison Platform: The physical housing of the Unison Platform, and Siddhartha's electronic home. Physical contact with this device is required to extend your Aegis, and utilise the Platform's other functions.
Mender's Eye: Your latest Artefact, what started as something much simpler grew into a device capable of piercing the veil of Shiplord subversion, and much more.
- Now integrated with Sidra, the Eye adds a layer of perceptual depth to your world that you can't quite believe you'd been missing, and its presence in your Aegis can't be discounted from your greater awareness of the ties and bonds that hold humanity together.
Hero Units are any member of the cast that is willing to directly support you. They may be assigned to specific tasks, applying their full stat bonus, or left unassigned. In some cases, leaving a Hero Unit unassigned can allow them to activate on specific actions within their speciality. Equally, doing so theoretically gives them more time for their own work, or to simply de-stress. As all characters in the Practice War are still human, this is something you may need to balance going forward. I will give you warnings of this and Amanda is unlikely to not notice the effects if they start building up. What you do at that point is, in the end, your choice. But stress can have consequences, as was seen towards the end of Amanda's Presidency. Be aware of this if characters appear to be grinding themselves down. If you don't pay attention, there will be consequences.
Contacts are the sort of people that Amanda knows, often quite well, but that she can't ask for help from directly like Hero Units. This doesn't include her family, but is more appropriate to specific contacts within the Circles, human government, and her Heartcircle. After Second Contact, this list has grown to include a handful of those representatives. They will remain on this list after the Contact Fleet leaves for home, but will be inaccessible at that point. Most contacts are accessible through use of Minor or Personal actions, depending on what you need them for. These are the people who drive the world around Amanda that she knows of, but more specifically that the story has paid attention to and may do so again.
Family is self-evident. Amanda's blood family could be rolled into the Contacts list, but interacting with them is covered under a single action. They're less likely to have directive effect on the quest, but they form the backbone of Amanda's support network. In some ways, they're more than everyone else on this list.
A light-skinned example of humanity, with the faint elegance of a Martian birth, Mary is your closest friend and a true member of your family. Tall and slender, she wears her brown hair up most of the time, as befits a laboratory environment. Rarely without a set of AR glasses, the green eyes behind them hide a deep sadness and pain for her past. She dresses rather conservatively, but has begun to pick up a little of your flair in clothing after several years of living together.
Martial: 9+2+1+2 = 14 (Utterly average, Mary's intellect has never been one to take well to conflict.)
Diplomacy: 14+3+2 = 19 (More than just average, time with the Circles has helped hone her shuttered talent with others into a spark)
Stewardship: 14+2+2 = 18 (There's a reason that you pursued the construction of the VI that became Iris. For all her brilliance, Mary's talents as an organiser lag heavily behind her understanding of science. She does well enough, yes, but she needed more than that.)
Intrigue: 11+2+2 = 15 (Years spent hiding herself from the world taught your friend the usefulness of subterfuge. You can still read her like a book, as she can you, but to others it can be harder.)
Learning: 20+2+2+4+7+1 =36 (Your friend always possessed a powerful analytic mind, with a grasp for the sciences that often left you grasping at dust. Following the Metaconcert event, she now stands without peer or equal among the children of Sol.)
Traits: Child of the Second Secret: Born before the Week of Sorrows, Mary benefitted from the same basic bioengineering package as you. +2 Martial
Prologue: A complex set of nano-based enhancements and other upgrades, the standard nanite set grants a wide array of benefits, and once that was enough on its own. With the discovery of the Sixth Secret, however, things have changed. +1 Martial
- Ministerial Enhancement Package: Another part of the modular Sixth Secret systems that have become so much a part of life with the continuing Third Revolution, the Ministerial systems extend multi-tasking again, and are the baseline for the prototype network interface system pioneered during the arrival of the Contact Fleet. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue
- Prototype Neural Network Link: A very recent development, the neural interface created by this system is still in final testing. Enough has been done for it to be safely installed in those who can benefit the most from it, however. Getting onto that list was trivial for Mary. +3 Learning reduced to +1 Learning due to native score, +2 Stewardship
- Nanomaterial Defence Skin: Designed and built with the same techniques as Iris' Avatar upgrades, the NDS forms a layer of active Sixth Secret nanites around Mary's body. Although primarily defensive in purpose, the system is quite capable of forming weaponry as required. It's also equipped with a Fifth Secret based flight system to match that of her daughters'. +2 Martial, major increase to survival chance if attacked.
Legacy of Discovery: The only daughter of the man who unlocked the First Secret, Mary inherited his intelligence and drive in full. +2 Stewardship, +2 Learning. - Void Prodigy: Decades of studying the abilities of yourself and other Potentials have expanded the world of your friend across whole new continents of possibility. +4 Learning
A Scarred Past: Transported from Mars to Earth before the Burning by the genius of her father, Mary was able to watch as her entire family were burnt to ashes millions of kilometers away. She buried the pain of this experience for years, beneath layers of fear, focus and self-loathing, until you were able to help free her of them. +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning
Of The Circle: Brought into the Circles at the very beginning, Mary was the hardest to convince of all the children you asked. For all that suspicion, she quickly grew to be a deeply integral part of the First Circle. And learnt a great deal about herself and others in the process. There's a reason that there are still 'interest pieces' on your relationship, after all. +3 Diplomacy
Daughter of Secrets: Mary's understanding of the Secrets is second to none, and she is one of a bare handful of humanity capable of pursuing study into the field of Reality Physics. As the lines between the sciences warp and bend, Mary is a rare example of one capable of tracing them still, allowing for rapid study of topics even when they seem entirely disconnected. +15 to Secret based research.
Sister of Truth: There is science, and there is the truth that it uncovers. Mary has spent decades learning to tell the difference, and can apply this ability to salvage work gone wrong. Her own or, far more often, that of others. Reroll 1 failed Learning based action per turn.
Touched By Word: The Metaconcert event is one that you've struggled to fully understand every since it happened, but it's made Mary even more your best hope for doing so. A Word spoken by two Potentials was cast into her soul, and the results gifted her with something incredible. A memory of the Dragons' great sacrifice, and a rudimentary understanding of what they created. +7 Learning
Relationship: Family
Martial: 7+4+12 = 23 (With her shell fully upgraded into much more than just a means to interact with physical reality, Iris has come as close to the combat prowess of a Unisonbound as it is possible for human technology to create. You can't say you're entirely happy about that, but she's an adult now. And this was her choice.)
Diplomacy: 14+5+2+3 = 24 (With time and experience, Iris has refined the social algorithms that she was initially given by Vision. Although not a match for you, few are. And she's more than simply competent.)
Stewardship: 22+2 = 24 (Iris was designed for as a processing and support VI, and much of that capacity has transferred over to her new existence as a sentient being. There is still considerable room for these abilities to grow.)
Intrigue: 12+2+2+2+2+2 = 22 (As with her ability to interact, Iris has also refined the other half of the algorithms, granting both more advanced capabilities, but also far greater control over them. With the Third Battle of Sol approaching, she now stands ready to face the Shiplords in her first home, and with all the skill available to her)
Learning: 28+3+2 = 33 (Like any child, and she has been and still remains nothing less, Iris has grown. From a baseline that touched the very edge of normal human capacity, she's learnt to use her integral systems as the parts of her that they are. She's even started to build on them, something that fills Mary and you with pride.)
Traits: Artificial Intelligence: A true Infomorph, Iris is capable of feats inside Network environments that only Vision can truly keep up with. +20 to Network related actions Child of Terra: Human or no, Iris is as much a child of Earth as any other child born to humanity. The mechanism of her existence matters little, and she knows that now. The belief has given her the confidence to grow and connect with others emotionally like every child needs to. With those, and with time, she's learnt not just about humanity, but how to become one. +5 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue, +3 Learning Mothered by the Heart: Every child has parents. Yours were taken from you, along with billions more. Since then, none have been allowed to suffer the same fate until Iris did, for longer than she ever should have. But now she has you, and Mary, and so much more. +3 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue Incarnate: One of the greatest things that Iris lacked an Infomorph was the ability to experience the world as fully as a human. In 2115, after three years, that changed. No longer a creature of pure thought and code, she now has a body of her own. Even if feeling everything all at once was a little too much at first. - Avatar: The Avatar upgrades bring Iris' incarnate form up to even higher standards than they already were. Now almost entirely nanobased, her upgraded shell contains a slew of upgrades. Skipping the more cosmetic enhancements, a Fifth Secret flight system has been integrated and the shell is quite capable of flash-forging military grade combat systems if necessary. +4 Martial, +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue -- Caliburn: The sword to the Avatar upgrade's shield, this swathe of modifications have elevated Iris' shell to as close to an Aegis as it is possible for human technology to reach, utilising several systems that pioneered by Iris herself. She is not a match for a Unisonbound, but she comes far closer than any human could. +12 Martial, +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning
Echo of Nabu: The result of code found in the depths of the Olympus College infosphere, Iris has integrated the remnants of one of the pre-Sorrows intelligences used by humanity to oversee and process their research. This gave her complete access to the College databases, but has also subtly changed her. +10 to Network based actions, +2 Intrigue
Relationship: Daughter
Vega is often said to be a study in contradictions, and so it's been ever since childhood. A soft face, with warm, hazel eyes shot thought with tiny sparks of bright power. Her dark hair falls freely to below the shoulder, and yet the curls have never been once been awry in all the time you've known her. She dresses simply, but there is an elegance to her movements all at odds with how she often seems less than focused on the reality around her.
Martial: 12+2+4 = 18 (From simple beginnings, Vega has learnt the lessons of battle in ways that none were quite sure she could, and without weakness or failure.)
Diplomacy: 20+2 = 22 (A product of the Golden Generation, and a Harmonial too, gifted with words was an apt description. The only problem was her lack of confidence in using them.)
Stewardship: 17 (Effective, and highly so, but less than a master of the art. She did run a Ministry for over a decade, though, and handily by all accounts.)
Intrigue: 16+2= 18 (Slippery with the truth, perhaps. But Vega's true gift was in reading those around her. There's a reason that Vega's often acted as a stopgap against your own stupidity.)
Learning: 21 (Well educated, as befitted one of her generation, but as with most Harmonials her knowledge is less applicable than some might believe. There's no doubting her intelligence, but how it applies itself is often haphazard.
Practice: 18+1+2+2+4 = 27 (Vega was gifted with a strong start in Practice, but it took her a long time to begin to work past that.
Traits: Child of the Second Secret: Although she was born after the Week of Sorrows, Vega gained the benefits of the same basic bioengineering package as you from her parents. +2 Martial
Proven Miracle: The Miracle of Skylark was more than proof that Vega was right about what she could do. It validated her entire existence, in a way that's hard to understand. From that, she gained more than skill in Practice, she gained confidence that what she thought was possible truly was. And that Miracles could be, even in the face of extinction. +1 Practice, increased chance of harmonising Miracles.
Maker of the Unison: The Unison Platforms were Vega's before they were yours, Kagiso the first of them, and the most incredible for being some so utterly new. She became a friend, advisor, and an example of the wonders Practice could create in a way no other Miracle had matched. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Practice
Founder of the 223: Creating and leading the Two Twenty Three with Vega has been an experience unlike anything else you've been part of. It has expanded your knowledge in ways you're not quite sure you like, sometimes, but people don't always get what they like. +4 Martial, +2 Intrigue
Speaker of Practice: Vega, like you did years before, has taken her first steps into an entirely new world of possibilities. Although it remains irregular, she now shares your ability to work Practice with words rather than actions.
The Harmonic Record: A semi-autonomous data archive suffused with Harmonial Practice in search of answers to what Vega and those like her can truly do. Knowledge, given form, without it the Harmonic Circle very well might never have existed. Grants bonuses to teaching Harmonials
Ring of Harmony: The Harmonic Circle that Vega created was more than a teaching exercise, and taken together with the Restoration of Mytikas, she has come far in understanding her own gifts of Practice. +4 Practice
Unison Platform (Ace): Vega's skill in working with her platform has only grown in the decade since the Second battle of Sol, and as ever, she remains at the leading edge of the group. What she can do with her Practice with Kagiso's help can often appear to be nothing short of magic, and this skill has extended far further than it ever had before.
Relationship: Friend
Martial: 9 (She has records within her database of combat, but no real understanding of how to put that into practice)
Diplomacy: 12+2+2 = 16 (Vision is competent at simulating a human conversational interface, but the manner of her form and some of what she's casually capable of can make that a hard facade to maintain.)
Stewardship: 16+1 = 17 (A program designed to collect, analyze and collate data. Of course she's good at this.)
Intrigue: 28+2 = 30 (Vision was designed to see things. She does so extremely well.)
Learning: 19+6 = 25 (As the platform and being that parsed the vast majority of the Elder First's discoveries whilst she was active, she has a deep reservoir of knowledge, which as now been properly updated.)
Traits: Artificial Intelligence: A true artificial intelligence, Vision is capable of feats inside Network environments, as fitting for a being who has only ever existed within them. +20 to Network related actions
Eldest's Insight: Designed to translate and work with the complex strands of Practice that form a Thoughtcast, it is arguable that Vision knows more about Project Insight than Phoebe herself. The value of this knowledge in rebuilding all that has been lost is likely to be incalculable.
The Invisible Aegis: During the Second Battle of Sol, Vision's ability to multitask across the entire Network proved incalculably valuable. She was everywhere at once, utilising the links she'd sunk deep into the Network to block every charge and counter every strike made by the Shiplord AIs. Humanity's secrets are theirs to hold, and she will protect them unto death. +2 Intrigue, +2 Diplomacy, +1 Stewardship
Archive of Terra: Having delved fully into the collected knowledge of humanity, Vision's capabilities as a scholar are now fully recognisable. She is no Mary, and Practice continues to elude her ability to effectively understand, but there's more to human science than that. In those fields, she proves to be a powerful force of progress. +6 Learning, ???
Echo of Nabu: The result of code found in the depths of the Olympus College infosphere, Vision has integrated the remnants of one of the pre-Sorrows intelligences used by humanity to oversee and process their research. This gave her complete access to the College databases, but has also subtly changed her. +10 to Network based actions, +2 Diplomacy
Relationship: Colleague
Martial: 32+2+4+2+5+3 = 48 (Kalilah is arguably the single most dangerous Potential in existence, although her expertise lies in personal combat, not strategy)
Diplomacy: 12 (She never had much use for words, but being part of the Two Twenty Three has helped with that a little.)
Stewardship: 12+2 = 14 (She lives, that is enough.)
Intrigue: 8 (Kalilah does not thrive in the shadows. She never has, for her light burns too brightly for them.)
Learning: 14 (She's definitely smarter than she appears, but she's never spoken of her old profession. And you've never asked.)
Practice: 25+4+2+4+4 = 39 (Fully grown into her power, in some ways more than any other. She lacks your finesse, for she has never needed it, but what she can do within her Focus is nothing short of terrifying.)
Traits: First Awoken: Among the first Potentials to Awaken, she has had fifty years to practice and refine her craft and prepare for the war to come. +2 Martial, +4 Practice
The Lance: The most powerful weapon on mass to energy basis in the star system. Bar none. Integration into Asi has only made it stronger. +4 Martial, +2 Practice
The Long War: For Kalilah, and many like her, the war with the Shiplord never ended. Where others built weapons and crafted designs and stratagems to defeat them, she sought to create in herself a weapon without peer. She knows Practice in some ways better than even you, and far more of war. +2 Martial, +4 Practice
Destroyer: She has tested herself against the works of the Shiplords, and they have fallen before her. In space and in person, none of her enemies have survived. If she has her way, none ever will. +5 Martial, increased damage
Unison Platform (Ace): Kalilah and Asi as a unit were always uniquely well suited to each other, more so than almost any other synchronisation on record, despite the complications that arose in the process. You doubt she will ever be a true match to Vega or you in the ability to extend the reach of her Focus. But where that Focus is concerned, she is utterly without peer.
Sword of Practice: By her hands, shall worlds be broken. By her will, shall vengeance be wrought upon those who took her world from her. By her power, she shall see it done. +3 Martial, +4 Practice
Relationship: Heartcircle
Martial: 14+2 = 16 (A childhood spent fighting for her life after everything she knew was snatched away by the Sorrows shaped a mind of cold precision to a sharpness so fine that it would often cut itself. Not a novice, but she has no desire to master war. It would cost her too much)
Diplomacy: 12-4+4+2 = 14 (Since she the Sorrows, Phoebe barely interacted with her classmates, and there was no Circle in her Institute to draw her out. In time she learnt to overcome the barriers she placed around herself, but it was always the work of necessity. Until Nightfalls, at least.)
Stewardship: 14-2+2+2 = 16 (Generally capable, her place as a leader for Insight was responsible for honing her skills as an administrator.)
Intrigue: 18+2 = 20 (Making it appear that everything was fine even when it wasn't was something Phoebe had always been good at. After the Sorrows, it became her only defence from a world gone mad. Few have ever pierced the cloak she wraps around her sorrow, but for those sensitive enough, it's easy to see.)
Learning: 17+4+2 =23 (Gifted with a mind a match to your own, Phoebe has followed a very focused path in her studies since Awakening as a Potential. She isn't your equal in general knowledge, but where it comes to Insight, she has few peers.)
Practice: 19+4+2+2 = 27 (The strength of a mind drawn in around itself lent well to Phoebe's Focus when she Awakened, and she's grown stronger in its use ever since, rising with Vega's help from the pain of Nightfalls even more so.)
Traits: Child of the Second Secret: Born before the Week of Sorrows, Phoebe benefitted from the same basic bioengineering package as you. +2 Martial
A Mind of Ice and Steel: Phoebe lost everything in the Sorrows. Family, wealth, home, all burned out beneath her feet leaving her with nothing and no one. In response, her mind turned in on itself, searching deeper and deeper for clarity that could free her from the pain. +4 Learning, +4 Practice - Lost to the World: She spent much of her early life after the Sorrows knowing better the cool hands of synthetic tutors, the most common staff in the Institutes. It sharpened her mind, but it also lost her much of her humanity. +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning, +2 Practice, -4 Diplomacy, -2 Stewardship - Found by Miracle: Not all of it, though. She'll never be one well suited to friends, but as the world flowered, she was found by one of the true miracles that flowed into the world between the Elder's passing and the Third's waking. Reaching out to find a path, she found one among many others. +4 Diplomacy
Seeker of Insight: That path was Insight, even though she'd never imagined being so much a part of it. For all that she will try to hide it, without Phoebe, Project Insight would never have existed. And from leading it, she learnt much. +4 Stewardship
The Reforged: And never more than in the aftermath of the event that almost shattered her world a second. The consequences of Nightfalls were catastrophic for Insight, and Phoebe herself. Yet she endured and, with Vega's help, rebuilt not just herself but the project that had become alike to a second family. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Practice
Martial: 11+1 = 12 (Mandatory self-defence training and constant practice as part of being a Minister after Kingslayer has given her competence, but she's no soldier.)
Diplomacy: 17+2+4 =23 (She always had the sparks of charisma, and time made them stronger. Your taking a hand in things has fanned them into a steady flame, that handily won a systemwide election.)
Stewardship: 17+3+2+2+2+4 =30 (Although her greatest passion remains design and creation, Adriana's skills as an administrator have grown by leaps in the years since she took the position of leading the Home Office. A true mistress of the art.)
Intrigue: 11+2 = 13 (Shading the truth has never been easy for Adriana, a product of a generation of children that had never known the pain of the Sorrows.)
Learning: 16+3+2 = 21 (Similar in some ways to Phoebe, Adriana's knowledge base is deeply focused around her passions. Always smart, new technology has given her entirely new ways to use her mind.)
Traits: Prologue: A complex set of nano-based enhancements and other upgrades, the standard nanite set grants a wide array of benefits, and once that was enough on its own. With the discovery of the Sixth Secret, however, things have changed. +1 Martial
- Ministerial Enhancement Package: Another part of the modular Sixth Secret systems that have become so much a part of life with the continuing Third Revolution, the Ministerial systems extend multi-tasking again, and are the baseline for the prototype network interface system pioneered during the arrival of the Contact Fleet. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue
- Prototype Neural Network Link: A very recent development, the neural interface created by this system is still in its testing phases. Enough has been done for it to be safely installed for Ministers, however, and so Lina has gained the ability to access the world around her in a very new and different way. +3 Learning, +2 Stewardship Natural Architect: Gifted at birth with an intuitive gift for how pieces could come together to form a much larger whole, much of Adri's initial rise to prominence was the result of effective use of what this made her capable of. +3 Stewardship - The Diligent Student: Talent will take you to good. Practice will take you to master. Words to live by, even if some of the meaning has changed since the first Potentials woke to their Foci. Adri didn't rely on the natural brilliance of her mind, she worked hard to improve it. +2 Stewardship, +2 Learning
Virtual Assistant: VI technology wasn't new when Adriana became interested in it, but what she went on to do with it would herald the coming of a new world. She catalysed a quantum leap in virtual intelligence systems, that with the Sixth Secret, have opened the door to the final revolution of humanity's existence. +2 Stewardship
Worldbuilder: Adriana's Ministership saw the creation of the first megastructures humanity has ever built, building upon old designs in creating the necessary infrastructure to entirely new ones to serve a grander purpose. Mercury is now sufficiently converted for construction projects and others just as vast now lie ahead. She won't be found wanting. +4 Stewardship, significant bonus to construction projects
Future's Promise: Some critics would say that you gave Adri many of the tools that she used to become President, connections and words in the right ears. Some critics are incapable of giving Adriana the credit she deserves. You might have served to connect her to the Circles, but it was her heart that won them. +4 Diplomacy, significant bonus to Third Revolution actions
Petite, and almost elfin in the delicacy of her features, Lina earned her title in the hardest school of all, combat against the Shiplord Tribute Fleets. Tens of thousands she sacrificed on the altar of survival, and she emerged from that action greatly changed, but no less committed to the course ahead. Under her eyes of steely blue, the FSN has been forged into a sword and shield in one, that will stand between humanity and the coming darkness in the war to come. She wears her pale-blonde hair short, easier to control, so she says. Rarely out of uniform, on those uncommon occasions where it is unsuitable, she chooses clothing of a military cut or the colours of the Fleet.
Martial: 19+1+4+2+4 = 30 (A consummate strategist and tactician, Lina has proven herself against Shiplords and grown all the greater for it. The first human to defeat a Shiplord fleet in battle, she's dedicated herself to preparing for the next one. And the one after that.)
Diplomacy: 12+2+3 = 17 (Leading a soon to be interstellar navy isn't just about knowing when to call which orders. Lina's nurtured the spark of defiant charisma that she was born with into something that can make men and women hold their posts against even the worst horrors.)
Stewardship: 15+2+2 = 19 (A leader needs presence and personality, but an understanding of logistics is just as important for the campaigns Lina and her staff can see in humanity's future. She might not be a wizard in the field, but she's learning. And quickly.)
Intrigue: 17+2+2 = 21 (The Second Battle of Sol relied entirely on a vast trap for the Tribute Fleet, and knowing how to set those is more than just a matter of tactics. Lina was always an unconventional strategist, and her ability to inject complex deception into her plans is perhaps the best example of that talent.)
Learning: 15+3 = 18 (Lina's knowledge base is of a very focused sort, and was never a true speciality. She understands how the technology of her warships functions, how it can be leveraged, but doesn't need a great deal more than that to do her job.)
Traits: Child of the Second Secret: Born before the Week of Sorrows, Lina benefitted from the same basic bioengineering package as you. +2 Martial Prologue: A complex set of nano-based enhancements and other upgrades, the standard nanite set grants a wide array of benefits, and once that was enough on its own. With the discovery of the Sixth Secret, however, things have changed. +1 Martial - Military Enhancement Package: Similar in many ways to Nilean Sanctity modules, the direct enhancement package applied to every member of humanity's military is extremely potent. Perceptual dilation, enhanced multitasking capabilities, and far more, the MEP was a key part of Lina's success in defeating the Shiplords at the Second Battle of Sol. +4 Martial, +2 Intrigue
- Ministerial Enhancement Package: Another part of the modular Sixth Secret systems that have become so much a part of life with the continuing Third Revolution, the Ministerial systems extend multi-tasking again, and are the baseline for the prototype network interface system pioneered during the arrival of the Contact Fleet. +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue
- Prototype Neural Network Link: A very recent development, the neural interface created by this system is still in its testing phases. Enough has been done for it to be safely installed for Ministers, however, and so Lina has gained the ability to access the world around her in a very new and different way. +3 Learning, +2 Stewardship
Void Mistress: Winning the Second Battle of Sol required more than martial skill, it required the ability to sacrifice, and deceive, and to do so in a format that humanity had never learned to fight in. Lina didn't just succeed in this task, she excelled, and in her example is seen hope that humanity may one day take back the stars from Shiplord tyranny. +2 Martial, +2 Intrigue, significant bonus to space combat rolls
Master and Commander: In the years following the Second Battle of Sol, Lina dedicated herself to the task of forging the sword she'd wielded against the Shiplords anew. Six years later, she's succeeded. The process taught her a great deal, about the Secrets, how they could be used in war, and how to bring military might together with words against a terrifying enemy. That skill she credits, in at least some small part, to you. +4 Martial, +3 Diplomacy
Relationship: Colleague
Kazuki was a contemporary of Amanda Hawk, and in a different world, the two might have forged a career together. As she put it herself once; if she'd had a hand in piecing the world's heart back together, he'd been one of the few who taught it to sing again. A fiercely passionate musician, his music found fertile ground in the golden years of Miracles before the discovery of the Pattern. When that was found, he shelved his focus on those things to take up the position of Secretary of State. Many among the World Congress questioned the judgement of placing a celebrity in that role, but there was more to the appointment than that. Amanda had spoken truly in naming Kazuki part of the world's music. With his help, she was able to bring it together, uniting humanity behind her in a way never before seen in human history. Even then, some doubted the effectiveness of simple moral unity, until the details of Purify were made public.
Stepping down at the end of the Hawk Presidency, Kazuki took a year off before returning to the music that he loved. The world had changed since his last performances, but the philosophies that underlay his music had only grown stronger. He made his return alongside several more recently popular acts, and here his experience in the State Department showed. Since then, he's started to coordinate performances on a system-wide level, helping up-and-coming groups access larger audiences, even performing alongside them sometimes as a supporting act. His passion is still music, but now he knows the full fragility of humanity, spelled out by the UPI report. He doesn't know if the circumstances that led to Purify can be replicated. But that's no reason not to try.
Marcus was one of the first set of Third Awakened to find their Foci, and part of a very limited number of that Awakening that learnt to turn their Focus inwards. With one of Gateways, Marcus became a living key to systems set in front of him. He concentrated on the Network during his training, constructing a Practiced Artefact that allowed him to enter it and fully apply his nature there. Although Minister for Security during the run-up to the Second Battle of Sol, he pioneered several major advancements in Practice theory around his frankly exemplary work securing Sol from Shiplord intrusion. More than any other member of the Hawk government, Marcus placed himself in direct, mortal danger more times than he's ever been willing to admit. He brought down the Shiplord subnet, and years later broke into the networks of a Tribute Fleet with Vision's help. Without what they found there, the Second Battle of Sol could have gone very differently. It was brilliant work, all of it, but it solidified in his mind that Ministerial position wasn't for him.
He remained with the Ministry of Security when Adriana Thera took the Presidency, but not as Minister, a situation that suited him far better. His skills as a leader and administrator had come far since his early years, but with what his Focus could do, he couldn't see himself ever being outside the line of fire in major conflict points. That wasn't a good position for a Minister, at least not for his Ministry. Today, he works with Vision and a team of specialists to prepare Sol for the next attack. He won't be satisfied until the Network's protections will stop him. Neither he nor Vision know if that's even possible, but they're not the type to give up.
Part of the last wave of Third Awakened, Mir finished his training as a Potential during the Hawk Presidency. Awakened to a Focus of Peace, his limits in a time of war were painfully clear from the very beginning. Trained as a Maker, he helped supply the FSN with the parts it needed to complete First Fleet on schedule. After the Second Battle of Sol, he made the jump to the Rebirth Institute, the psychological support organisation that rose from the Circles in the wake of that conflict. His Focus was far better suited there, but he still found it difficult to apply. He was competent, yes, but as time wore on he recognised that he wasn't content. This drove the choice that would bring him into a much more visible part of the world.
In early 2120 he underwent synchronisation trials for the two hundred and twenty second Unison Platform and succeeded in linking to the Platform. The synchronisation itself was largely unremarkable, but the results certainly weren't. All Unisonbound experience a 'widening' oftheir Focus after synchronisation, but Mir's was greater than any recorded. His Focus had been the Peace of a young man and that had limited him more than anyone around him had been able to understand. On completing synchronisation with Sakina, the breadth of that Focus exploded far beyond the limits of his training. The Peace that was always so much a part of his self, poured into something so much more, that he's still grappling with two years later.
Although quick to smile and deeply content in his new role, Mir remains unsure about his placement in the Heartcircle he was chosen to. Some of this is his past; the effect that the leaders of that group had on his life is hard to understate. The rest is more complicated.
Part of the Second Awakening, Elil is no great example of an Insight Focused, like Phoebe or Veda. Yet he remains a deeply valued member of your Heartcircle, with a way of looking at the world that allows him to separate himself from the passions of the other Foci present. Where Mending and Harmony could clash with Destruction, Elil soothes the passage between you, finding ways to bring those Foci together. He has been a steadfast ally, and in the last battle was the architect of discovering the truth of the final weapon deployed against you by the Shiplords. A valued comrade in battle, and a friend.
Almost forty years your junior, that Lea possesses a Focus of Mending is quite remarkable given the manner of the Third's choices. It is not Mending in the same manner as yourself, however. Lea exemplifies the ideal that all things break, and to be truly restored, they must. She stood at the heart of the action that unleashed Purify upon the Shiplords in the Second Battle of Sol, and though she has recovered from the trauma of that experience, the battle changed her. In battle, she acts as the primary Mender for your Heartcircle, with your own focus being upon Speaking and more advanced Practice manipulation. Since her inclusion into your Heartcircle, Lea has been a steady point in your life pushing you to exist less in the abstract. That has been worth far more than most would think, but those who know you understand.
The first friendly alien that humanity ever saw. Kendl is the Emissary of the Nilean Community among the Contact Fleet and the overall leader of the fleet's diplomats. Hundreds of years old, Kendl has seen races rise and fall against the Shiplord tests, and known that there was nothing her species could do about it. Officially a diplomat, her reactions in key situations speak to a level of personal skill and combat proficiency that no diplomat would ever have. For as long as she doesn't use those skills, the Diplomatic Corps will not allow anyone to push, but what she can do has been burning a hole in the Ministry of Security's team of Concordia ever since Second Contact. That event saw her changed by a Spoken Word, something she was only able to come to grips with with the help of the woman who inflicted it. Tasked as humanity's envoy to the Contact Fleet, Amanda did more to help along the process of reaching a proper negotiating table than any could. She counts Kendl as a friend, and this feeling is thought to be reciprocated with a high degree of certainty. Exactly where friendship with a member of another species might lead, no one's quite sure.
Observer Lorelli is perhaps the most difficult of the entire Contact Fleet's diplomats, and not just due to the human looks that have now been confirmed to be the result of nanoscuplt. A moderating influence on the Fleet's internal diplomatic politics, she suggested the social affairs that opened a window into the strange new peoples who'd come to humanity's doorstep. Not that it didn't do the reverse, either. Lorelli was a favourite of the press, and proved very capable of handling them. Her connection with Amanda Hawk stems from a similar source as that with Emissary Merizan, but what Envoy Hawk did for the Marionette Observer was vastly more important on a geopolitical level. After agreeing to take part in a process known as the Reverie, Amanda successfully connected to the racial memory complex of the Marionettes, the first alien in the history of their species to do so. The final implications of this connection are unlikely to be known until Lorelli can return home, but the memory she shared was important enough that the two have kept in intermittent contact ever since Amanda left Concordia in the final months of 2121.
Name: Harold Hawk Age: 73, Juno's twin. Description: Broad-shouldered, with light and slightly thin hair, worn short. Well-built and quite tall. Wears a pair of AR glasses, that allows for casual interface with more advanced parts of the Network than the virtual panels that have become the most common interface point. Personality: Calm and methodical, Harry was the strongest rock of the Hawk family after their parents were taken during the Week of Sorrows. An avid supporter of the 3rd Revolution, for a variety of reasons. History: He and Juno took on the roles of their lost parents in many ways, and they were the ones that taught Amanda to let go of the pain of that loss. They remained a major part of their sibling's lives, if in slightly different ways to those they'd expected. He was part of the First Heart, and remains a respected member of the Circles. His speciality is software design and development, and he's a second stage tester for 3rd Revolution technology for the Home Office. Family: Married with two children.
Name: Juno Age: 73, Harold's twin. Description: The tallest member of the family, with a few inches on Harry, Juno is a pale girl with dark hair and freckles that bring out her green eyes. She's rarely seen without an interface device for the VI companion that she's had since before the Week of Sorrows. Personality: Quiet even as a child, Juno was changed in some ways by the Week of Sorrows that only became obvious in later life. A perfectionist almost to a fault, she's not sure how she feels about the 3rd Revolution as Harry describes it, but is content to see how things change. As long as it doesn't cost too much for too little return. History: Juno was responsible for the Hawks' ability to survive on their own after the Week of Sorrows, a result of a natural talent for administration and her control of the family's VI. A rare possession in the pre-Sorrows world, Auntie Vi was the family's primary means of accessing care in the months that followed. Before Amanda ventured out into their Institute in her tentative quest to create her first Circle, the Hawk name was already known due to her older sister's work in helping others with their caretaker VIs. She pursued an education in economic theory, and holds a mid-level position in the Home Office's Department for Economic Development. Family: Triad partnership. No children of her own.
Name: Alden Age: 70 Description: Almost a carbon copy of his older brother, Alden has a slimmer build that makes him seem even taller and the same eyes as his most famous sister. Personality: Very affected by the twins as a child, few get to see the warmth that lurks beneath the regimented exterior he presents to the world. That exterior won him promotion within the FSN, but also held him back from some decisions he still wishes he'd taken before the Second Battle of Sol. History: Served as the XO on a Tower-class during the Second Battle of Sol. Suspects that Amanda may have pulled a string or two to ensure he was on one of those ships before the battle. Slated for command of one of the next-generation capital ships, his service against the Tribute Fleet won him a promotion to a task force commander. Family: Married after one of his partners was killed during the Second Battle of Sol. Four children.
Name: Georgie Age: 67 Description: Very short, and with a middling build, but her personality more than makes up for it. Personality: Incessantly active, and always ready with laughter and a smile. She hates her name, but is grudgingly accepting of the nickname given to her by Amelie. She can't deny that it fits. History: Georgie was the first of the Hawk family to smile after the Week of Sorrows, and has a way of searching for silver linings in all but the worst things. She trained as an engineer at the Institute, and was involved in the development of several out-system Orbitals. Lived on the Icarus Orbital until shortly after the Second Battle of Sol, is now involved in FSN reconstruction projects. Well-loved by the Circles that she's been part of in her time. Arguably the most travelled of the family. Family: Three children, one long-'suffering' husband. The occasional addition.
Name: Jordan Age: 64 Description: Auburn hair, grey/blue eyes. Slim with some light muscle. Personality: Precise but extremely mischievous, Jordan is without a doubt the most capable of intrigue and sneakiness within your family. His capability to see into the truth of things and then bend them creatively to beneficial purposes left him bouncing between various roles for History: Currently involved in the Diplomatic Corps in a support role. Well suited to it from learning from Juno growing up. It's a different type of administration, but he's no less gifted for it. In truth, however, he functions as part of the Ministry of Security apparatus built into the Diplomatic Corps to secure its members and watch for infiltration or subversion attempts. Family: Unmarried, no children.
Name: Amelie Age: 61 Description: Blessed with suntouched skin, Amelie has dirty blonde hair and warm, blue eyes that are almost a perfect match for her much more famous sister's. Slimly built and of middling height, she used to joke that if she put on high heels and dyed her hair she could act as a body double for Mandy. Personality: Perpetually cheerful, Amelie has followed in 'Mandy's footsteps in many ways, not least in her desire to help others be happy. She might not be a Potential, but she makes up for that 'lack' with a fiercely human tenacity. History: Probably the most deeply affected by Amanda's Awakening as a Potential and what followed, Amelie pursued a mixed education in conservation and psychology. She loves nature, and can often be found out in its depths, trying to find one of the rare species that pre-Sorrows records talk about for herself. The Home Office has her on record as a Conservation Specialist and pays her way on these expeditions. A current member of the First Heart, she's deeply involved with the Rebirth Institute and is a full-time counsellor in the organisation. Family: Seven children between three partner. Quaternary partnership of four pairs.
The mechanics of this quest are split across three related sections: Major Actions, Minor Actions and Personal Actions. All follow the same rules for rolling: d100 + Personal + Modifiers. There are some differences in play in how they function and what they can do, however.
Research Actions allow you to pursue development across fields of your choice with a speed and accuracy rivalling that of relevant Ministries. This research can run the gamut from the study of Secrets, to general material/biological/etc. science, to Practice techniques, to the archaeological work that is going through the Elder Vault. In certain areas, your ability to move through research is actually faster than the Ministries, due to the collective intelligence of Arcadia's scientists.
Major Actions cover broad sweeps of society or knowledge, and involve Amanda acting personally on the macro scale. Investigating the Elder's Vault or direct support for the Third Revolution would be valid uses of a Major Action. These actions have the capacity to alter human society on the same level as government action. Major Actions branch into a selection of choices in a sub-turn, similar to how Altered Humanity's action system works. The direction of these options are listed below the Major Action. [CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE}
Minor Actions are, as the name implies, smaller than Major, but the difference is primarily in focus. These actions would be the ones you'd use for reconnecting with and guiding particular parts of the Circles, training with the Unisonbound, and more focused research; a section instead of the entire sphere. If combined with governmental priorities, these can create 10 + 5 = 20 results like Hero Actions in the old system.
Personal Actions remain what they were. Extremely focused actions that will primarily affect you more than anything else. Spending time with Mary, making time for your siblings, personal focus on Words or on trying to sense the links between things. These can have some effect on the world around you, but it'll be much less powerful then even Minor actions.
Notes
Synergy can exist between all action types, and governmental priorities.
Write-ins are entirely acceptable for all Action types, but the Write-in option will not be listed for Major Actions. If you have a suggestion, tag me, and I'll work up a set of associated choices.
A Note On Write-In Votes
Due to the often extremely open choices presented in character focused sections in the quest, two-stage voting will often be used in events where one option has not swept the board. In this event, a temporary threadmark will be created after the voting has mostly solidified, and a second vote will be called (often a Ranked one of some variant) to produce the winner.
Given how vote tallies inflate the word count of a post, this should appear through your alerts if you're subscribed to the thread. This will never be used for Turn votes, and will only be used for character focused ones when there is no clear winner.
The following options still remain from the SBOS interlude choices:
Promised Victory - A human perspective to the Second Battle of Sol, will extend into the wider reaction of humanity.
There is a great deal about humanity that has not been properly discussed in the narrative of the story at present, so if you would like me to explore something, don't hesitate to ask. In most cases, I'll be happy to put something together for you!
Or you choose an Alien perspective, giving cultural snippets or insight into how the polities you've seen in the Alien Reactions interlude went about putting their contact mission together. A perspective like this would expand your knowledge of the polity, probably their opinions of their fellows, and also give a viewport into how they worked around the Shiplords (and the degree to which they are are aware of Shiplord oversight). Polity options at present are as follows:
Sarthee: One of the only 'warrior' species that survived the tests of the Shiplords, and the oldest of the Group of Six. Extensive military power, but their star appears to be waning now with the growth of a sizeable Uninvolved movement.
Schorvan: Least expanded of the Group of Six, appears cautious.
Marionettes: Displayed historical knowledge on the matter of Tribute Fleet defeats, beyond that of other races. Seem to have some ability to 'cheat' where biological reactions are concerned. Reference to genetic knowledge.
Interludes from the perspective of Uninvolved are denied. Other possibilities do exist, however. As with human-centric suggestions, don't hesitate to ask.
"This is cheating, Mary, you know that." Your attempt at a menacing glare bounced off your traitorous friend's grin, who simply gestured at Iris's expectant expression.
"You promised." The young AI said, her fists balled in frustration as you continued to glare at Mary.
"You should have seen it coming." She said, and as you took a breath in preparation to muster a reply, Iris snapped from where she was standing to right in front of you. An avatar with the proportions of a ten year old had no right to be able to hover level with your face.
"Mandy, you promised!" She…it wasn't a whine. It sounded like one, but you'd always maintained that a whine would be petulant. This was entirely justified, and you knew from the look on her face that attempting to redirect the question was supremely unlikely to work.
"…fine."
"Yay!" Her avatar dropped back onto its feet and padded back to the sofa where she'd first asked the question. A gesture brought up a virtual panel in front of her as you and Mary made your way back to your own seats, Mary beside Iris and you on the other side of the small table. "So what do you think about it then?"
You sighed, then leant forward, eyes suddenly very intent. "It's hard to explain. I've fought against the comparison ever since it started being made, initially as I felt the very idea was a farce. But as it continued, I realised that the immediate jack-knife response wasn't fair. So I looked deeper, past the terminology that had given me my first impressions." You focused, and a pale aquamarine glove flowed into existence up your left arm. You tapped it with a finger. "This is as much a part of me as my hands, Iris, an extension of the power that rests in my soul. I couldn't do it without Siddhartha, and that could be seen as a point in favour of their likeness. But it misses things.
"The connection between a Unisonbound and their Platform has some similarity to the objects and talismans popularised by mahou shoujo media, and it's no surprise that society compares the two. Potentials drew some of that too, particularly the Second and Third Awakenings, but our abilities were less obvious. When Vega and I created the first Unison Platforms, that changed. Society had a tangible and permanent example of capabilities that were, for all intents and purposes, magic." You looked down at the silvery not-metal woven the elbow-length glove, and the hints of light dancing around it. "Little wonder that we sought a comforting identifier."
"And that's where the example falls down, for several reasons. The overwhelming majority of 'Magical Girl' media is exactly what it implies. Stories about painfully young children given power and a reason to use it. The Unisonbound, the Two Twenty Three, we aren't that. Potentials take years to discover the full breadth of their abilities, and Unisonbound are a step above that in complexity. We gain great power, yes, but we learn how to use it. And we only take volunteers." Iris jerked back as your tone cut through the room like a knife, and Mary reached out to squeeze your shoulder.
"That's a big part of why I really don't like talking about this." You could feel the ice in your eyes, freezing emotion out of your voice. "Power always has a price, and for the children in those series, it's often more than they can bear. It breaks them. Perhaps subtly, but it does, and not all of those 'chosen' survive."
"It's about choice?" Iris asked, small-voiced. You nodded, almost grateful that she'd realised so quickly.
"Among other things. The wider themes of the genre have a lot of good to them. But then you dig, and the questions start piling up. How many of those fictional girls were really given a choice? How many came out the other end of with less than what should be horrific trauma? I know that the comparison is to all the good sides of the media; defiance in the face of despair, a triumph of hope despite the odds against it. But I can't look at it without seeing the broken lives underpinning that vision." You flicked your hand, and the partial manifestation of your Aegis faded back into your soul.
"I'm sorry," Iris sniffed as she looked up at you. "It's just a big question, and the opinions on it are so split. I thought-"
"Don't be sorry," you said gently, reaching out and brushing your hand through hers. You were going to find a way to give her tactile interaction, it felt wrong for her not to have it, especially now. "You asked, and I owed you an answer. The dream that runs so deeply through many of the landmark works that remain is worthy of praise. But Unisonbound are different. And though I might be biased, so much more."
There was a long silence. Mary took advantage of it to slip around the table and hug you. Then a smile tugged its way onto Iris's face.
"Thanks Mandy." You stared at her for a moment, trying to understand why that smile was there, why she was thanking you, then simply accepted it. An unexpected warmth filled you, and a small smile of your own followed. Iris would tell you the reason if she thought it mattered.
"You're welcome." The last of the ice flowed out of you with those words. "But you said you had two questions."
Question: What is daily life like in a Circle? How are people organized; who makes decisions; how are conflicts resolved? Are the Circles considered governing bodies, or are they more like a materialized version of a social networking app, with lots of "soft power" but nothing truly "official"?
What's it like to be part of a Circle? In truth, I can barely remember what it was like not being part of one. Yes, I stepped away from them in my time as President, but that didn't mean I stopped being part of them. They've grown so much from my first fragile dreams, and are probably the most enduring legacy I'll ever have. To best explain them, however, I'll need to rewind the clock a little. To when I was just a child, trying to reach out and help those around me.
It's a matter of public record that all my siblings survived the Week of Sorrows. It's equally well known at this point that the Hawk family as a unit emerged from the trauma of the Week of Sorrows far less wounded than many others. We sought support from each other, and were truly lucky in our ability to find it. My oldest brother and sister had been given every tool our parents could give them to keep us together, but also self-sustaining. Without that, I never would have had the drive to try and build the first Circle, so in a very real way it's thanks to them. A last gift to us, and eventually the world.
When I first started looking out at the world around me, over a year after the Week of Sorrows, I saw so much pain. But I also saw no true attempts to salve it – the arrogance of childhood in some ways. Yet I did know a way to help, my imperfect understanding of that process aside. I didn't meet with success right away, however. There was arguing, cliquism was used against me more than once, but I'd discovered a stubbornness during my time healing from the Week of Sorrows. That, more than any clever words, saw me through the founding of the First Circle.
You're wondering why the history lesson. Well, the Circles still operate under the same basic structure that I created with my friends and family almost six decades ago. Although they've grown a little larger since then. The Circles are, first and foremost, networks dedicated to helping others. Not psychological support, there were precious few left after the Week of Sorrows anyway, but emotional. So few were as fortunate as my siblings and I, but our shared support brought every one of us through that pain. I tried to apply the same logic. So many people searching for a lost family, that they could never get back. I tried to make a new one, for everyone. And that's what they've remained, to this day.
How does one be part of a family of billions, one might ask. The answer is simple; the same way you'd be part of any other. Although in the early days it wasn't so easy, as the Circles grew it became possible to be part of them without having to know every member. This was good practice for the future, as no one even could now. From that, however, grew the group known as the Heart, of which there are now multiple. They came to act as leaders, arbiters for minor disputes and more as the Circle grew, and the pattern of organisation was extended when we founded more around the other Institutes. During the growth stage, the First Heart had to shoulder considerably more responsibility in support of the newly forming Circles, but that was handed back without incident once they were stable.
The Circles only really began to change daily life after the second wave of Circles were founded, which is when the number of members exploded. Even then, the differences aren't as large as you might think. Members of the Circles are only denoted as such because they form part of the support network open to all. The Circles offer an emotional foundation, an extension of family. We guide, empower and support our members as they confront the challenges of life. The Sorrows taught my generation that the bonds of blood could be ripped away. So we made new ones.
I led the Circles, in as much as that means anything, across forty years before I took the Presidency. I saw them grow and become infinitely more than the small dream of my younger self. And when I sought the Presidency…well. That's a much larger question than we have time for, I think. I can give a much stripped down answer, however.
The Circle and those that followed were designed to be social networks, and they remain those above all. However, that's not all they are. I said guide and empower, and I meant it. The Circles have grown into the very fabric of human existence, most of you here today are probably part of them. That lets us guide our members towards their dreams, or as close to them as they can reach. That was always just another piece of the Circle's social existence, however. And then I ran for President.
Now there are Circle candidates in the elections, even though they don't always win. There's recognition of our existence at the highest levels of power, in a different way to what there was before. It hasn't been codified, it isn't official, but the world changed when I was elected. And the Circles did too, for their part in making it happen. I hope that those changes will be for the good of humanity, that bringing the latent power of the Circles to shape humanity's future fully into the light will enrich us in that transparency. But in the end, that'll be up to all of you.
Make the future what you want it to be. And seek your dreams inside of it. If the Circles are still what I made them, and I think they are, they'll help you make it reality.
- Transcript of Amanda Hawk speaking at a 'townhall' in late 2119, after the election.
"Alden!" Your mom's voice bounced down the hall, full of happy surprise. Her brother, you knew from a quick query, had been given some leave as his command went through... You stopped as you realised that you'd just gone straight through the War Office firewall like it wasn't there. That was getting disturbingly easy, you'd have to poke Vision about it sometime… Maybe. You shook your head, leaning back over the actual paper cookbook that your other mom had given you. You could have just used the 'Net for a brownie recipe, but these ones just tasted better for some reason, something that still didn't make any sense. That made further testing all the more important, but Mandy had given you that look when you asked if you could make them. Pleading that they were for your friends at the Hiroshima Institute had gotten you a pass, this time.
"Come on through," mom continued down the hall, "Iris is baking." There was some fatigue in her voice, but that just wasn't fair. Testing was important, both your moms said so! Why was this so different?
"Again?" Alden laughed, then again, no doubt after his sister nodded. "If she was one of mine, I'd be worried about her teeth."
"As she'd no doubt tell you, her teeth are immune to decay." Mandy replied, leading the way into the kitchen. "Isn't that right, sweetie?" You made a face as she ruffled your hair, but didn't pull away from her.
"It's true." It was! That shouldn't be so funny. You tugged on her sleeve. "I can't find the cocoa. Mary hid it." It wasn't fair having parents this smart.
"I'll get it for you," Amanda chuckled, waving her brother along to follow her. "Come on, who knows when you might need to find this."
"I've no idea how you keep up with her, sis." Alden shook his head on the feed you were watching through. "My kids were bad enough, and they didn't have anywhere near the processing power Iris does."
"Oh, it's not so bad," she said. "And you'd be surprised how much of a kid she can be."
"Oh really?" A wicked grin spread across her face at the question. She wouldn't! You tried to pull away from the feed, but some part of you wanted to see what she said. They were close enough that you could hear them normally, anyway.
"Well," you didn't like where this was going… "She's been going through phases, finding things and wanting to do them."
"Like any child," Alden nodded along.
"Not…quite. She's got a lot more ability to realise her interests than most." Your mom was grinning. Why was she grinning? "First there was time in the garden," Oh no… "we thought it would be harmless, you know. Dirt can wash out, after all, and she's much more resilient than other kids." This wasn't fair. "She wanted to make pink tulips."
"That seems reasonable, I mean, they're not exactly-" the grin on your mother's face widened further and something inside of you groaned in horror as she cut her brother off.
"So she dumped five kilos of pink food colouring into the pond." The burst of laughter was indescribable, and your cheeks flared with heat. "It took over an hour to get it all out, and she protested all the way until I promised to get some seedlings." You turned quickly back to the mixer in front of you as they made their way back out of the pantry. That was strange… when had she gotten what you'd asked for?
"And was that the end of it?" Alden asked, trailing your mom back into the kitchen where she set down the cocoa powder in front of you.
"Here you go. Remember not to use too much." You nodded quickly, trying to keep her from seeing the flush on your cheeks. It must have worked. "We'll just be in the next room, alright?" You murmured something vaguely affirmative, not trusting your voice, and the conversation continued as they made their way through into the living room. You could still hear every word.
"Yes and no." You picked up the container and tried to drown the two out with the intense focus required to measure out the right amount. "It stopped the horticulture experiments, but… not her fascination with the garden. We came home the next day to find that she'd repurposed several idle construction bots and had them build her a tower."
"I think I can see where this is going," Alden's voice was almost choked with laughter. "Which one of you had to play the Prince?"
It had been neither of them, actually.
"We had to ask one of the neighbours."
"Oh?"
"Nothing like that, you reprobate." Your hand twitched, and you almost flicked more cocoa than you should have into the mix. This wasn't helping. "After she refused to come down even then, I flew up and kidnapped her. That made me the evil witch. Fortunately, Mary was on hand to 'save' her."
"Mary's a Goodwitch?"
"Apparently."
"Mooom!" You stomped over to the door, glaring through at your mother and her brother. "I'm trying to cook!" They looked at you, then at each other, and then dissolved into laughter.
Aya and Nei ended up having to wait until the next day to test your brownies.
"I'm ready!" Iris called, your daughter bounding down the stairs with a wide grin on her face, seeming to take some sort of perverse joy from the despairing look you gave her choice of attire.
"Iris," you began.
"What?" She asked, artfully curious. "I thought we were meant to show support for the teams? That's what you told me, mom. I thought this would be nice, given their names."
You pinched your fingers together at the bridge of your nose and took a deep breath, wondering for a moment if your daughter was trying to kill you. "There's such a thing as too much, Iris, you know that." You gestured up and down, taking in her entire outfit. "This is a textbook definition."
"Do you have any idea how long it took to get this all right?" She sniffed, pulling at the sleeves of her jumper. There was no number on it, or other, more usual signature. Instead, her entire ensemble had been reconfigured into a stylised image of the night sky, shot through with nebular purple. The pattern, taken from the network profile of the event page, if you weren't mistaken, didn't end with clothes, either. She'd extended it to her hair, where the dusting of lights swirled across a black made darker by the altered tone of her skin; an almost painful white. Even her eyes had been altered, to a deep violet that sparkled with vibrant energy. She must have been planning this for days.
"Nei said it would be a nice way to be supportive without being obvious when I told her about the idea." She continued, tone mutinous. "Why have the ability to reconfigure how I look if I don't get to experiment with it?" You forced yourself not to sigh again, then pinged an image of your daughter to Mary before your friend came through the door, so that at least she'd be prepared for it, with the caption 'How our daughter wants to go to the game. Thoughts?'
It shouldn't have been that big a deal, with cosmetic nanoshells steadily becoming more popular, and this certainly wasn't the most striking outfit you'd seen brought to a match. But you weren't sure if Iris was aware how much attention the detail she'd put into her appearance would draw. But at the same time, she wasn't exactly wrong. Passion in support of an event, if not a single team, was a tradition that had grown out of the resurgence of competitive sport a decade or so after the Week of Sorrows. You'd actually sung at a few of them during your later teenage years, and several of the cities you'd worked to restore had been ones with old sporting venues. Reclaiming the pre-Sorrows world hadn't just be about getting houses back, it had been about everything else, too.
A message from Mary flickered into being, and you could almost hear her saying it. 'If that's how she wants to go, she can deal with the attention by herself'. You chuckled, and as Iris glanced back at you, offered that warning.
"You know that people will ask about it. A lot," you added, before she could mouth a platitude. "Even the high grade cosmetic shells aren't that good without a lot of work." And you knew her too well to assume she'd not use her flight systems. You started to continue with that, only for Iris to toss her head and reply.
"I'm not going to be alone like this mom," she told you, and you blinked, something shifting uneasily in your head. The game you were heading to was a birthday present and Iris had invited several friends; fortunately the tickets had been quite easy to get for the full party. The sport wasn't one you'd been familiar with before Iris had started going to the Institute, but both Mary and yourself had quickly become conversant. Not that you'd had much choice in the matter, of course; children were like that.
Its roots had come out of the reclamation of humanity's past, coloured by the gifts of the future. Many of the more ground-bound sports still existed, with devoted followings, but new games had taken up the challenge of spectacle. Low-grav sports hadn't been rare before the Sorrows, but it had taken many years for humanity to recover enough that the resources to build equipment for it could be spared. Of course, once it could, sports fiends had taken up the challenge of recovering and building on old systems with seemingly unending passion.
You'd sang at several games towards the end of your time at the Institute, not something you'd sought to do, but you were poorly equipped to refuse genuine requests even now. You'd been far more vulnerable to them then. Stardust, the sport Iris had become interested in, was a spiritual successor to those early games, and one of only a handful that had successfully endured the decades since. Its name came from how it looked, and what you suspected was one of the reasons it still existed; at professional levels it was more an art form than anything else. One of the reasons it was so loved was the aesthetics. That did little to remove the sudden surge of suspicion, though.
"Who else?" You asked, quietly toneless, and Iris looked away evasively. "Iris," authority surged through your tone, softening as she met your eyes. "This isn't a small thing to do, no matter how easy it is, and more sharing the trend with you will just bring more attention. Can you deal with that?" You saw the quick reply coming, and spoke again before it could form. "If you want to do this, I'm not going to stop you. You're old enough to make decisions like this for yourself. But that means dealing with the consequences too, and I care about you too much not to make sure you know they're there. Maybe that's silly, but I love you, sweetie."
Hot words died on your daughter's lips, and she sighed. "That's not fair," she muttered quietly, then smiled brightly. "Just Nei and I. We'll be fine, mom. I promise." You chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Alright," you said, quietly wondering how Nei had snuck this past her parents, then decided not to look into it. The less you knew, the less you could testify. "Let's go." Iris bounced happily out the door, and you followed more sedately, closing the door behind you and sealing it with a thought. Mary was waiting, the small flyer humming a few inches above the street, door open and eyes laughing merrily as Iris tumbled into the seat between you. Putting her in the back had always felt wrong.
The hatch of the vehicle closed with a soft hissing thunk, sealing the craft, and Mary pulled back on the control yoke, tilting you skyward as she fed power into the drive. Strictly speaking, none of you needed the vehicle, and you knew the various security apparatus around the three of you hated the fact that it wasn't big enough for a backup team. Unfortunately, you were all extremely stubborn, and you'd spent several weeks Practicing the craft after acquiring it. There was little short of actual capital ship weaponry that could harm it now. Overkill? You didn't think so.
Earth and Mars were closer this year, which made the trip a relatively short one. Still long enough that Iris ended up punching up a music channel, though, and also long enough to badger you into singing along a little. Your throat was comfortably warmed up as you began your approach towards Nova, the first of humanity's orbitals after the Sorrows, and the host of today's event. Gleaming stands extended out from the bottom of the orbital, creating a space of several hundred square meters and enclosed by the tell-tale shimmer of a containment field. Stardust matches required that the 'pitch' was as EM neutral as possible, given how it was played. Random surges could completely alter the playing field, and it was hard enough for teams to adapt to each other, let along nature taking a hand.
Looking a bit closer, you saw the two teams flitting about on low power versions of Iris' motive systems, preparing for the match ahead. One of the interesting things about the game was that the teams weren't always the same size, and that held true here. Six against nine on the field might seem unfair, but coordinating a larger team brought its own challenges, and smaller groups were far more capable of perfecting a unified focus. Small flickers of coloured light came from opposite ends, the emitters for the beam of charged, colourful particles that formed the theoretical 'balls' in the sport. The goal was relatively simple; thread the beam you were responsible for around the scattered objectives of a given arena, using gloves that could produce a low intensity EM field, and prevent your opponent from doing the same by overlapping their lines with yours. The winner was the first team to successfully connect all the objectives and feed their line into an intake below their opponent's emitter. If or, you hoped, when, you worked out how the Third Secret worked, the game was going to get a lot more interesting.
Iris vibrated in her chair as Mary brought you in to land, bouncing from foot to foot as she accessed the station cameras and blurred between inputs. Looking for her friends, no doubt. You looked over her completely still head and shared a smile with Mary as your friend brought the flier down like a feather into the large hanger bay, touching down like a feather. The faint hum of her drive died away to nothing, and the doors opened. You looked at Iris, still flickering between inputs, and reached out to shake her shoulder. "We're down, sweetie." You told her as she looked over, surprised, then sat bolt upright.
"Found them!" She cried, and you shoved yourself abruptly out of the vehicle with a light exertion of will as she scrambled out of her seat, her own flight systems helping her through the movements. You dropped quickly to the ground, not wanting to draw too much attention but probably failing. Fortunately, Iris was much more distinctive than you. "Come on, come on," she grabbed your hand and dragged you along, darting between the crowds as your ship rose back into the air under autopilot, clearing the space for another craft as it headed for storage.
A few minutes later, you exited a lift to find the friends Iris had invited waiting for you. Most were dressed in simple casual wear, though team colours were in evidence, but for one. Nei, as Iris had said, was sporting a complex nanoshell over clothing that had to have been made specifically for this. It definitely wasn't similar to what she usually wore. A long dress of velvet black sparkled with points of light and warm purple fires, stretching to just above her knees, and a stiffened wrap of fabric fell from around her hips, curving around her legs in the impression of wings like a Telas' vestigial limbs often did around their shoulders and upper arms. It was gorgeous, and the surprise on Iris' face made it clear that at least part of the costume hadn't been in their joint plan. The slight hint of a smile on Nei's face made it clear that she knew that, though it was quickly replaced by her own band of shock as the patterns weaving across your daughter's body continued to shift. Looking between them, Aya, a light scarf in banded black and dark purple wrapped about her neck and tied in a simple bow, sighed and buried her face in one hand.
"How did you," Nei began.
"You never said," Iris said, in the same moment.
"Drama queens, the both of you," Mary admonished lightly, cutting them both off as they struggled to recover, clear laughter warming her tone as she wagged a finger at Iris and Nei. Was it strange that you ordered them that way? You put the thought out of mind.
"Come on," you said firmly, keeping any flurry of questions subdued for the moment. "You can pester each other about your 'looks' once we get to our seats." You led the way, enough authority in the words and walk that the gaggle of teenagers followed without complaint. You did your best to filter out the furious whispering, though, and succeeded. Sidra would record it all anyway, but that didn't mean you had to hear it.
Your seats were at the top of the inverted set of stands, a small box looking down over the field from the centre. They were good seats, you'd looked it up, and the chorus of happy cries from the party with you backed that up. They'd be able to see the entire match unfold from here, and the box had its own, limited, motive systems that would allow it to move out as the match progressed, to give you all a better view of the emerging patterns.
That was the one thing that you enjoyed most about the sport, which appealed to your artistic nature. Amateur matches almost inevitably descended into a mishmash of lines, with one team winning, but little art to it. Professional matches were judged in more than one way on their artistic merit, and there were highly prized seasonal awards that rewarded creativity and excellence in that field of the sport. Truly experienced teams would work off of the lines of their competition, continuously changing their own designs to try and overwhelm the other by subsuming the other pattern on the field. Those matches had a history of producing what amounted to a 3D binary fractal as a final pattern, and this promised to be an excellent one.
You peeked over the edge, watching the athletes float back to their entrance points, their warmups complete. You could feel the subtle attention on the box, but screened it out with the ease of long practice. A look back found Mary beside you, smiling softly as the whispering from the children intensified.
"They're going to be like that for the entire evening," you murmured quietly, and your friend chuckled.
"They'll go quiet when the match starts," she said knowingly, "and I'm sure we can keep a handle on them."
"A handle." You said carefully, as if the words were entirely unknown to you. "On Iris?"
"Oh yes," Mary nodded, her smile lengthening into a grin. "She's been ramping up her age emulator package since this afternoon. Didn't you notice?" You blinked, then forced yourself not to sigh. Mary chuckled again, half a laugh. "She'll behave."
You had to laugh. "As long as she's distracted, you mean." Mary shrugged.
"I'm sure we can think of a few things to keep her that way."
[Answer] Are there preppers/survivalists in the Sol System? What form do they take if so?
After the Week of Sorrows proved that there was an enemy out there that cared nothing for the lifestyle of their targets, the doctrine of survivalism that had already been steadily dying found itself in a precarious position within human culture. On the one hand, those like them had predicted the possible existence of something like the Shiplords. On the other, all their preparations had done nothing to save anyone. There were some among those left behind by the Shiplords who embraced it in as much as they could, but the centralising Institutes and swiftly retooled basic infrastructure provided sufficient security to prevent the ideology taking root before the First Awakening changed everything.
Although the philosophy might have been relegated to history then, the Elder First saw in the movement's more moderate doctrine some things that could be of great value to humanity. Preparation without reason was, of course, not of aid to the world that needed to be built. But there was now a great and very deadly reason to prepare for death from the stars, even if all the preparations in the world wouldn't save you from a species that could crack planets and snuff out suns. In the end, knowing that there were shelters and safe places would help the newly budding humanity to feel safer in a universe that they now knew was harsh and uncaring.
In the end, those embracing this ideal were rolled into a section of the War Office dedicated to fortification and fixed defence, instead of being cast aside. This group eventually formed the heart of the sections of the Office that would become Fortress Command during my Presidency. I didn't know that at the time, but I made the effort to learn about all the pieces of humanity's shield. As befits an eclectic group, many of them brilliant in their own ways, they undertook many experimental projects searching for ways to overcome the firepower that we knew the Shiplords could bring to bear. Even before we discovered the truth of War Fleets, and what the special deployment sections of the Shiplord fleet could do, they were preparing.
In truth, the Orrery began as their work, although it took significant investment of expertise from other areas to create the design we hope will allows us to beat back a War Fleet. Many of their other experiments have proven…less immediately useful. Fortunately, the idea of relocating cities into just above the Earth's mantle was shot down several decades before our discovery that the Shiplords would be returning. The technological capacity certainly existed, and was viable for use from their own testing. But it was also prohibitively expensive to engineer on anything but a small scale. And, perhaps most important, the cultural gestalt that the Elder First had given us was designed to keep us from becoming a society who lived ever behind walls.
Some still do, and the experiments with sub-Crust living gave those who wished to do so means and opportunity. It was expensive, yes, but as the Sixth Secret has come into its own that expense has reduced significantly. But in general terms, the last real bastion of the ideology is the research and development group attached to Fortress Command, and even they have mellowed. Fabbers make preparation for apocalypse mostly inconsequential, unless one assumes that they too will break down. There are some who distrust the Secrets on principle and refuse to use them barring the very minimum. Of course, they can't remove the genemods of the Second Secret that are now all but universal among our species, but they do their best to remove themselves from their influence.
It's ultimately futile. The Secrets are so intertwined with human technology now that to cast them aside requires deliberate devolution of technology back several generations. And no one is willing to do that, not when it robs you of the very weapons and defences needed to withstand the Shiplords. Those that did so at the Second Battle of Sol and will do so again at the Third.
Preparation is all well and good, and it's become a staple in the shared consensus of humanity. But there are limits to that preparation, and in the world we live in, there are few true catastrophes that we can prepare for without relying on things that could themselves, theoretically, catastrophically fail. We may be champions of hypocrisy, that much hasn't changed much. But when the choice is between preparing for the failure of the systems that would protect us from the Shiplords, itself an impossible task, or ourselves for the Shiplords themselves? The choice is easier than one might think.
It's true that FCR&D have some wild ideas. Floating colonies hidden among the clouds of Venus, or even Jupiter are a current favourite. I know there's currently stalled project where a particularly persistent group of specialists are trying to design a city that could comfortably house a population inside the Sun. From the outside, it sounds ridiculous. Yet those same groups have produced a steady stream of valuable inventions and improvements over the years.
And at the end of the day, they're important for more than just that. Without them, we'd lose part of our history; those pieces that go unwritten and die when those who remembered them do. In my opinion, suffering the occasional mad experiment is a reasonable sacrifice to make for that. And that would be the case even if they didn't come up with the occasional sparks of brilliance.
