Year 4, 2108 AD
So last year was an experience, one you're still not fully recovered from. Time waits for no man however, and you're well enough to walk and make decisions, although your ability in many areas is still less than it was. After the attack last year though, Marcus has become far more focused. He's almost painfully intense to watch as he flicks through the proposals that he's brought with him. But right now you need that. Someone tried to kill you, and only your Focus saved you.
Not again.
You have Twelve (12) Action dice available with Five (5) currently locked. Unless an option states otherwise, there is no limit to the number of dice you may spend on an option.
Military
Marshal the Troops: The SDC has come a long way since its inception, the only organisation that you could truly call a professional fighting force. It's not the only one however, and though EarthGov has kept meticulous records on expenditures, the actual breakdown of forces available to you is…less than satisfactory.
[] Experimental/Auxiliary formations: There are over a score of these projects, some having apparently been steadily working away since before you left your Institute. At least you hope they've been working for all that time. Some of what's talked about in the records sounds completely insane, but fifty years ago the same was said of the theory that underlies your power. [???]
Full Inventory: There was never much order to the work of the First Awoken to begin with, and much of it was secretive at first. There are many weapons and other Practiced devices scattered across the globe known only to few. Old as they may be they are still creations of Practice, and that makes them valuable.
[X] Search for weapons: The weapons of the First remain without peer, and the stories of some of the power of some of the lost devices are both chilling and incredible. With war looming, you need every piece of that power that you can find. [60%, locked 1 year]
[X] Search for devices: Weapons were most of what the First Awoken created, but it was not all. The Elder First are said to have built many things in the first years after the awakening, all of which vanished five years later. What did they create, and why did they choose to lose it? [25%, locked 1 year]
Forging the Sword: The only blows humanity successfully struck against the Shiplords were made in space, but although you have returned to the stars again, little of what plies the dark is military. There was little need for it, but that's all changed now. All you have to do is work out which of the proposals you want your Minister to push.
[] The Haft: The proposal from the SDC is well made, a new line of warships reinforced by Practice to expand their limited space presence. Individually they'll still be much weaker than Shiplord vessels, but quantity has a quality of its own. And from the looks of their plan, they've been working on the tactics and logistics involved for the last three decades. [70%, 2 years]
[] The Hilt: You really didn't expect that Restorers like yourself would have an idea for the fleet, but it years out that you'd be wrong. The weapons of the Shiplords were unlike anything humanity had ever encountered, but Practice could level that playing field. Using some of the results gleaned from Project Insight, they've designed a vessel that should be able to shield others from Shiplord fire. Each one requires fine Practice, limiting their numbers, but as a shield they will be without peer. [50%, 2 years]
[] The Blade: The plan created by the First is unsurprising, but exceptionally detailed in terms of costs and time required. They also seem to have known about the other proposals before you did, which raises some interesting questions. When the Shiplords came, they came in small numbers, and the workings of Project Insight lead the First to believe that they may be able to build ships capable of matching them. Not many, but if the Week of Sorrows was anything to go by you won't need many if they can match Shiplord technology. [55%, 2 years]
Humanity's Shield: Weapons are well and good, but a solar system makes for a vast fortress given time. Here you have something to work with as well, as all of humanity's orbitals are equipped with some weaponry. There's always room for improvement however, and a new need for it too.
[] Eyes to See: You can't hit an enemy you can't see coming, so a network of sensor platforms at the edge of the heliosphere has been proposed. These should give you some early warning of the Shiplords' arrival and help you secure the system. [65%, 1 year]
[] Walls of Steel: The new orbitals across the solar system are all armed, but their construction was never designed to hold up to Shiplord firepower; only Prometheus Station coming close. That can be fixed, but it will take time. [70%, 3 years]
[] The Maw: The Shiplords came with only eight ships before, surely it would be possible to overwhelm them with firepower, and the orbitals provide far larger platforms for weaponry. It's possible that you could up-gun them further and then direct all of that firepower at the Shiplords. [50%, 2 years]
[] The Aegis: Orbitals are well and good, but Project Insight has shown that the Shiplords can be a truly spiteful people. You have some planetary defences, but nothing unified, and the planetary shield network has been stalled in the construction phase for years. If humanity is to live, you must be able to protect Earth. [50%, 3 years]
Unified Military: The SDC and Potentials are the two largest groups that make up your military strength, but there are a host of others too and the command structures are all separate. This is simply inefficient, and Lina is intent on streamlining all of the various competing interests into a single chain of command.
[] Corps Discipline: The SDC are the only group that actually have a real chain of command, so building off of that will be comparatively easy. The hard part will be making sure that the other groups aren't underrepresented without making waves. [70%, 1 years]
[] Practiced Leaders: The Potentials are the only people capable of creating the devices that are humanity's only real chance of defeating the Shiplord incursion, and have a unique understanding of how they work. Unfortunately, you're quite aware that the Potentials have no chain of command as anyone else would understand. [40%, 1 years]
[] Experimental Control: The other groups that make up your military are tiny, but many of them are highly experienced. Surely there are some people in them that Lina can work with, actually there must be, she wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. [30%, 2 years]
Potential Combat Doctrine: The First are an eclectic bunch, all with different styles of participating in combat, and this has only become worse as the Second and Third have come into their own. Lina has been trying to put together a common doctrine for Potentials for a while, and she's made progress. The problem is that no one has been willing to put it to the test, but it's easy enough to change that.
[] Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Take the time to formalise the doctrines that Lina has been putting together, bring in Potentials from all of the Awakenings to provide their own insights and make damned sure that everything is ready before you start working with them. [80%, 4 years]
[] Swift Caution: You'd love to take more time to make sure all of this will work, but there's a war on the horizon. Formalise the package, run it through a quick editing, then distribute and begin training rotations. [50%, 2 years]
[] Damn the Torpedoes: There is a war coming, it'll be here soon, and you need to give all of your Potentials as much time to absorb this new doctrine as you can. Lina's spent years on this, that should be enough. [30%. 1 year]
Diplomacy
Reach to the World: You asked for help and the Circles answered. The reports they gave you would have been invaluable on their own, but they also gave you suggestions. Plans based on the knowledge they gathered, to act on what they told you.
[] Widen the Circles: The Circles were the centre of your efforts to heal humanity of the emotional wounds that the Shiplords inflicted. They've grown far beyond your greatest expectations and helped millions heal, but there's always more that could be done. They gave you some suggestions, but it'll take a lot of work. [30%, 1 year.]
[] Hearts of Humanity: The Hearts are the most experienced of all in the Circles at helping others, and have almost by accident become some of the most experienced therapists on Earth. Formalise this status by setting up a new aid organisation for them to work out of. [60%, 2 years)
[] Phoning Home: The communications network that Sol has now is far more advanced than anything it has ever had access to, but there are still many living without lagless communication. It isn't a vital project, but could be an important one. [40%, 2 years]
One World, One Heart: Kazuki has been far more personally exposed to the needs and desires of the people, and he has some suggestions for how to bring all closer together. He's quite adamant about the need for them, and although you agree you can't quite see how some of it is meant to work.
[] The Heart Remembers: Billions were taken in the Week of Sorrows, and although they are remembered it has been too long since a proper ceremony. The Third were but children at the last one, and perhaps it might help them understand the depth of loss inflicted by your enemy. [60%, 1 year]
[] Honour in Sacrifice: It was a small number by the standards of the last major loss of human life, but the sacrifice of your detail is something that Kazuki says should be honoured. He adds on a more pragmatic note that it would allow you to show that you are truly alright, and soothe the concerns of the public. [45%, 1 year]
Stewardship
…Masters study Logistics: With the network coming back online at the start of the year, you find several competing options about how to use it.
[] Swords from Ploughshares: Although primarily civilian, parts of the network were used during the Week of Sorrows to coordinate the defence of Sol against the Shiplords. Although the defence failed, the idea has merit, and Lina strongly pushed this option. [40%, 1 turn]
[] Search Function: When the network came back online, you found several communication lines that seemed to lead nowhere. If there are secrets hiding here, it's probably a good idea to find them. [30%, 1 turn]
Healing Hands:
[X] Cities of Light: Most of humanity still lives in sprawling settlements that have grown around the Institutes, but hundreds of millions have found their way to the glittering cities that the Restorer-Focused rebuilt over the last thirty years. This is long work, and will take time to come to fruition, but moving all of Earth into Practice-built cities would have many benefits. [60%, locked 1 year, requires a Practice dice]
[] Symbols of Hope: Many of the great monuments that humanity built in the last two hundred years are only barely hanging on, victims of the single-minded focus that had to be given to other things. They're more than just the physical trappings however, and restoring them could do the world good. [50%, 1 year]
[] Many Points of Light: The habitats were built with function in mind, with much less thought given to the needs of the human soul and heart. Fixing that will be extremely complex work, but it's possible. [25%, 2 years]
Skylark Reborn: The Miracle of Skylark. First Practiced Miracle since the discovery of the Pattern, that many had believed had signalled the end of those glories. It's impossible to understate the value of Vega's Miracle as a symbol, but it does leave you in the rather interesting position of having to decide what to do with it.
[] Streetwise: Skylark was a centre of science before the Shiplords came, but it was old science, born of the Secrets that the Shiplords decreed forbidden. Much of it seems to have been changed, replaced with objects of Practice, but it might be a good idea to make sure. [30%, 1 year]
[X] Return to Red Sand: It had always been your intention to return in full to Mars, and Vega's Miracle presents the perfect opportunity. It will be something of a rush job, but with the advantages that she and the other Potentials have given, it should also be possible. [55%, locked 1 year]
[] Uplink: Some parts of the city still remain offline or in need of replacement, particularly its communications gear. Integrating Skylark back into the net would allow you to distribute its databases, and access its systems remotely. [35%, 2 years]
Engineering Corps: Robert's brainchild for almost a decade now, he's finally in the position to start putting it into place. Adriana knows engineering and design a lot better, but she doesn't know Potentials like he does.
[] Swift Integration: The quick and dirty method, but less efficient in the long run. It will allow the Home Office to be more efficient with the Potentials who work with them, but lacks some of the broad stroke finesse Robert has in mind. [40%, 1 year]
[] Extend the Department: Turning the new department into a fully-fledged independent affiliate will take time and resources, but will allow for swifter expansion and redeployment down the line. [60%, 2 years]
Thera's Mystery: You know that Adriana is working on something on the side, she's told you as much, but even now all she will tell you about it is what she'd need to make whatever it is useable. Something that should revolutionise the design process, if she's to be believed. The fact that she's been talking with Mary about it as well is something you are glad for and at the same time slightly terrified by. What to do… (Choose one if this action is taken)
[] Minimal Support: Adriana has been working on this for a while, she can work on it by herself for a bit longer. You have more important projects.
[] Full Support: You'll give her what she needs, but nothing more until you can actually see some results. You have to be pragmatic about this, it's part of the job.
[] Overwhelming support: If Mary has continued talking to her after she explained the idea, then it has to have merit. Throw every resource you can at the project. If she needs access to the entire distributed network, she'll have it and more besides.
[Progress: 210/???]
Intrigue
Limited Focused Bandwidth: Cannot select more than two three actions.
The Spider's Web: EarthGov is a finely balanced web of competing interests, one that has been flung vastly out of balance by the discovery of the Pattern and your election as President. Your understanding of that web is rather lacking, however, and it's been strongly suggested that you fix that.
[] Suspicious Offices: Marcus has identified the Delegates whose offices are linked to what he hopes is the final point of the movement. As they've not done anything illegal yet, he is limited in what he can do, but an increased security oversight might allow him to catch something. [25%, 1 year]
[] Puppets on Strings: The communication links that your Security apparatus found seemed to vanish into the net, but it's never really that simple. There are always traces somewhere. No normal human could follow them, but Potentials are not entirely human. [15%, 2 years]
Know thy Enemy: The Shiplords are coming, you know that now, and if you are to be prepared you must know what they are truly capable of.
[] Visions of the Lost: There are, now that you think of it, records of the Shiplords during the battles that began the Week of Sorrows. Recorded across every spectrum that humanity knew of at that time, they could be a valuable resource that none have thought to tap. [50%, 2 years]
[] Corpses Leave Clues: The Shiplords did good work cleaning up the mess that their two ships made when they were destroyed, but several pieces evaded their clean-up. Most have settled into stable orbits now, and each is a potential gold mine of Shiplord technology. [???, 2 years]
[] Watching the Stars: When the Shiplords handed down the Directives, they said that any violation would be swiftly punished. To the suspicious minded, that would suggest that they left eyes behind. How about you go looking for them…so you can poke them out. [20% chance of more information every year]
[] Forensic Detail: Throw the full weight of the Ministry behind the investigation into the assassination attempt, and support it on a governmental level. Autopsy the remains of the assassins, and track them back to the source. [???]
Learning
Daughter of Secrets: you have One (1) free dice for Learning actions.
Practiced Power: The Potentials are the most powerful weapon humanity has, but it's a weapon that you still know frighteningly little about. Mary now has access to far more resources than she did before, maybe you can help her along.
[] A Gift of Blood and Soul: It's a matter of record that the Potentials came from a sacrifice of the Great Dragons humanity built to protect itself, but what does that mean? Few records of the Dragons remain, and were before out of reach even to Mary. It's quite different now. [40%, 1 year]
[] The Making of Miracles: Practice can bring forth the untapped potential of any object, limited as it is by a Potential's Focus. A lot of Practice is personal, but some is similar, and a formal foundation to work from could help many of the Third. [50%, 1 year]
[] (Special: Touching the Void Unlock) Echoes of Power: Your work with Mary in more recent years opened your eyes to the stranger sides of what Practice was capable of. With more time, and some work finding more like you, Mary thinks she can bring her theory into concrete reality. [25%, 2 years]
The Neverending Journey, Second Step: All of the scientists on Mary's list have settled into their new working and living environment now, and you can see how happy your friend is to be surrounded by those just as passionate as she is. Now that they're all integrated however, they need a direction.
[] Future Proof: Now that everyone is working together, it should be relatively simple to work the relevant pieces of knowledge that they've found over the years into general study. It would give some of the stranger theories a lot more traction, and Mary has spoken before about how the Institute curriculum needs an update. [40%, 2 years]
[] For its Own Sake: Between them, Mary's new top flight staff brought petabytes of complex theoretical work with them. You had to build an entirely new server centre just to store it all. These people are probably the only ones really capable of parsing it out into something usable, and some of what they've been working on could be revolutionary. The problem is finding it. [30% chance of unlocking a new action chain, 2 years]
The Red Tower: One of the main centres of research on Mars before the Burning, the Red Tower was also one of the primary conversion points for the atmospheric conversion system better known as Clear Skies. Fully restored and online after the Miracle of Skylark, it is a treasure trove waiting to be unlocked.
[] Clear Skies: The atmospheric conversion systems that made Mars habitable were miracles of the Second Secret, but it was swiftly confirmed that the system now in its place is not a product of bioengineering. If the device can be understood, it could be replicated, and the entire program could be started anew. [30%, 2 years, requires a Practice dice]
[] Ancestral Key: Although the majority of the tower's files have been unlocked, some high level files remain encrypted. Mary mentions quietly that a great deal of Mars colony systems were DNA coded, and that privilege system seems to remain in effect. Given who she is, she says, she might be able to unlock those files assuming she can convince the security protocols that she is who her DNA says she is. [20%, 1 year]
Void Secrets: Things found on Mars and by Mary. Directions to explore.
[] The Longest Force: Gravity manipulation is something that humanity is capable of, but only thanks to creations of Practice. Some of what has been discovered within the Red Tower points to theoretical ability to harness that force without the need of Practiced items. [20%, 3 years]
[] Small is Beautiful: The Potentials have given many Miracles within the field of nanotechnology, and science has struggled for years to catch up to them. Some of what the first generations of Prologue could do is now in the grasp of 'regular' science, but there were those in the Red Tower who disagreed with humanity's focus on the Second Secret. [40%, 4 years]
[] From the Other Side: You and the other Potentials know, without a doubt, that your power is a high secret of the Void, and old research supports this. Have all pre-Sorrows research on the subject compiled and added as a proper resource. They had ways of looking at things that you do not, after all. [35%, 1 year]
[] Conceptual Chaos: For as long as you've known her Mary's mind has burst with possibilities, more than she could ever focus on by herself. These ideas have never really been limited by field, although many focus around reality physics. Now that she's a Minister, you can actually detail enough people to keep up with her endless ingenuity. [60%, 2 years]
[] Unravelling the Impossible: Trying to understand, let alone replicate, the creations of Practice would to most be a truly impossible task verging on insane. Unfortunately, someone said that in Mary's hearing. She took it as a challenge. [30%, 4 years]
[] Writing on the Soul: It's easy to say that Potentials are a result of power in an imprint on their soul. It's a lot harder to explain. There have been great strides in the theory, but it needs the distributed network to finish the final calculations in less than centuries. [40%, 2 years]
Practice Actions
You have Three (3) Practice Dice to assign to actions, with One (1) locked. Unless explicitly stated, you may not assign Practice Dice to Practice Actions.
More than a Vessel: With their success parsing out the basics of what Marcus did to himself, Vega's staff have assembled a list of options to expand the understanding of internal Focus use by Potentials.
[] The Firstborn: The Endless Connection is an anomaly, but only due to his Awakening. Many of the First have come to internalise their power in similar ways, but their Focuses do not lend themselves to such spectacular utility. Talk to those of the First Awoken like your Security Minister, then combine the data sets. [55%, 2 years]
[] Look to the Centre: There's enough in the files that the Ministry for Practice have put together for other Potentials to work with. Having more data to compare against would be nice, but taking two years to just make sure isn't on the cards. [35%, 2 years]
Project Harmony: Another section of your policy made almost entirely invalid by the Miracle of Skylark, Vega now has all the proof she needs to point to of her ability. Far more will accept her advice with an example like that behind her. Of course, you could also choose to send her to another project, although other actions taken by the Ministry will suffer.
[] Be Harmonious: Vega has an instinctive awareness of how to bring many together in a Trance, and she believes she could teach some of those with similar Focuses to sense the same things. [50%, 2 years]
[X] Practical Proofs: One of the reasons that she's been having so much trouble is that she's not been able to actually show her work. Bring in some Potentials and get them to Practice with her, that should get some results. [60%, locked 1 year]
[] The Shape of Miracle: Vega can now be personally assigned to an action utilising a Practice Dice, and a success will automatically trigger a Practice Trance. Other actions will suffer without her oversight, however, reducing her bonus to all other Practice actions and Practice dice by half. [30%, 1 year]
Project Insight: A long running working group of Second and some Third Awakened, Project Insight is the only reason you know as much as you do about the Shiplords. They taught the world of the enemy's ways, unravelled many strengths and few weaknesses, and discovered the Pattern in time for you to prepare. Now you have a new question for them.
[] What Purpose Our Loss: The Shiplords take the same thing from all civilisations they touch, but what do they do with their tributes of blood? There are some suspicions, but the Project has never truly wanted to look that deep. Neither do you, to be honest, but you must know. [30% chance for information every year.]
[] Our Enemy, Before Us: Eight ships came before, but would eight come again? It's a simple question, but one with deeply important connotations. [40%, 1 year]
[] Achilles Heel: The Project has found several weaknesses in the Shiplords, but Phoebe has told you that they can all feel something on the edge of their consciousness when they search through those things, just out of reach. [30% chance for information every year]
[] Write-in: Give me a question you would like answered about the Shiplords, and Project Insight will try to answer it. I advise choosing sensible questions.
Personal Actions
You may select One (1) Personal actions this year, with One (1) locked.
[] Work with Mary: Get back into the saddle as a scientist and finally take the time to work through the theories that Mary has been trying to get you to give a proper read for the last few years.
[] Music of the Soul: Even though you're back to where you were before, there's always room to improve further. And you're starting to find a real connection between music and your ability to touch the stranger side of your Potential.
[] Make Something: You're a Potential, capable of working items into artefacts so far removed from their original form and function that they might as well be considered magic. It will take time, but the results will be worth it. [Start Practicing an object, write-in a general idea of what you want to make.]
[] Work with a Minister: Your Ministers are all experts in their fields, excellent on the job teachers for matters that you have little experience with. [Write-in which Minister. Chance to raise stats and/or gain Traits.]
[X] Power in Balance: Vega made it quite clear that you needed to heal in a way not of the physical when she met you after the attack. She also somehow got Mary to support her, and so this was less of a request and more of a notification.
