(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets Cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod. To make
things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species
involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human"
perspective will be the most basic. Histories are described only from the point of view of the species in question.)
First Records
We have few records of the origins of our species, or what life was like for much of that time. The other two species guess that we lived as small groups of omnivores, much like some predators, and similar to how to two other aliens originally lived.
Our earliest stories describe groups of tribes banding together in larger and larger groups, organized around rich areas of our world, and by attraction to particularly dominant groups. The stories describe these groups getting bigger, and skilled laborers and warriors appearing, but describe few details.
The earliest writings describe patronage groups and organized tribes, but details are thin. They describe Quechari as merely food and clothing, and talk about soldiers and laborers, but we do not know the details of our early history as the humans and zithir do.
Ancient
The first detailed description of an organized group is a set of records of the "Thurastin", a group of several cities near a particularly rich forest region. For most of their existence, the Thurastin were organized as patronage groups, with laborers, warriors, and thinkers described as separate types. Laborers and warriors switched as dominant groups for much of this group's history. This group gradually expanded over several hundred years, dominating nearby tribal areas, but itself was eventually dominated by a group from nearby mountains called the Pechthal.
Groups following the Thurastin left similar records, and followed similar histories. Most started as large tribal groups near unusually rich resource areas, expanded into nearby tribal areas, and were eventually conquered themselves by other groups. A few of these civilizations were organized as tribal groups, but most were patronage groups. Few different specializations are recorded, with laborers, thinkers, and warriors being the main distinctions.
Hives Period
The period of early civilizations ended when a group called the Pyrkitzes organized a postal service to deliver pheromone packets long distances. This long distance travel allowed them to organize the first hives, and surrounding tribes and groups were not prepared for the organization and purpose the Pyrkizites brought to warfare and building projects. The Pyrkitzes conquered all of the tropical area they originally came from, plus surrounding forests and hilly areas, and were only stopped by deserts and flat plains that they never adapted to.
On seeing the success of Pyrkizite organization, the surrounding plains and desert tribes and societies organized into their own hives, and conquered surrounding regions until stopped by vastly different terrain. The hive method of organizing society spread rapidly throughout the world, with only a few tribal regions remaining outside hive control, and for a few thousand years, hives dominated our homeworld.
Quental today remember many names of large hives from this period. The Pyrkitzes, Stlengthu, Quetionis, Quager, Spleuthurys, and Theuthemicals were far larger than anything seen before, and together dominated much of the world during their existence, and greatly influenced everything that came after. In particular, constant wars between these hives greatly changed soldiering and production, as large scale wars demanded constant adaptation, encouraging a host of new specialized mutations for fighters and laborers. Tools also improved greatly during this time, and the Quechari slime mold first saw widespread use as a mutation tester.
Tribes and Hives
Despite their success, the ancient hive civilizations were greatly reduced at around the same time by organized tribal groups taking advantage of disruptions. Taking advantage of otherwise normal disruptions within the hives, these tribal groups established large civilizations of their own. These civilizations were much more unstable and short lasting then the reduced hive empires, but in their times were still powerful and threatening.
During this period, soldier and laborer mutations, and technology, continued developing, but other specializations became common as well. The first "synthesizrs", individuals who developed their bodies to produce materials, are recorded in these times, and thinkers found ways to specialize further. The first reports of mutations changing the shape and size, and not just things like strength or stamina, also come from this time. Individuals during this period were the first to adapt to oceans, dig large tunnels underground, and live full time in icy regions of the poles or mountains.
The Flowering
The flowering is a name for a constant increase in mutations and technology that has been continuing for the past thousand years or so. This period started during the tribes and hives period, during the constant competition between the remains of the ancient hive empires and the constantly forming tribal organizations forced ever more changes in mutation and technology. New mutations and experimentation have been a constant feature of life during this period, and new tool development became common enough to notice changes within a lifetime.
During the middle of this period, patronage systems became common again. Communication between different parts of the world also became far more common, as swimming mutations became far more common and refined. Synthesizer skills expanded greatly, with a much greater variety of materials available. Quechari slime mold expended to fill almost all material and synthesis roles.
In the past couple hundred years, mutations took on a staggering variety, with some Quental forming their bodies into deep ocean swimmers, floating balloons, underground diggers, and other forms adapted in ways undreamed of by the old Quental civilizations. Technology has also improved, with some Quental able to rely purely on tools, with few mutations, if needed.
Space Travel
Among the discoveries during the flowering, some Quental adapted for strong sight discovered that some of the stars seen at night were actually worlds of their own. We could do little but watch from a distance, however, until a few years ago. During these times, Quental sighters steadily improved their eyes, and built telescopes to see details of these worlds, and taste their atmospheres and surfaces from a difference, and determine what needed to be done to explore and settle these worlds.
About 50 years ago, our technology and mutations improved to the point where we could enter space. Flyers allowed us to raise rockets to the atmosphere, synthesizers could generate fuel and materials to build them, and scouts could adapt to require few resources, and deal with gravity changes and radiation. However, early attempts to enter space were highly dangerous, with most scouts attempting the journey being killed or severely injured in the process. Competing for dominance, the designers, scouts, and workers involved in the program continued working on space travel until they were finally able tolaunch scouts somewhat safely. The first targets were orbital travel, than our nearby moon, and than a cold planet called Mondthlin.
Launches to orbit went well, with scouts adapting easily, and returning in good condition, able to tel us much more about space travel, and encourage further adaptation. From orbit, journeys to our moon also went smoothly, and we learned much. As we attempted to travel to Mondthlin, the experiments once again became dangerous. Scouts traveling to Mondthlin found it a much more hostile planet than we had realized, with a few dying, and many others becoming stranded and in constant poor health. Mondthlin proved a difficult world to adapt to, and drastic mutations were needed to thrive there, mutations far different than any we could develop gradually on our homeworld. Only by effective use of Quechari adaptability could our first scouts survive on Mondthlin, and the long travel times made it difficult to transport enough materials for good health.
However, as with the original space launches, our scouts and workers persevered, seeking the dominance rewards that would come from successful space travel, and after many missions, found the mutations, materials, and technology needed to journey to Mondlith and survive. The first four successful missions to travel to Mondlith, have the scouts survive on Mondlith materials, and than return, were celebrated throughout our homeworld.
After a few more missions, and the sharing of necessary mutations, our societies decided to send a large group of colonists to this new world. These colonists were organized in orbit, given a large store of starting materials, and included representatives from all walks of life, to prepare them for long term settlement of this new planet.
Unfortunately, as these colonists journeyed to Mondlith, they encountered a strange looking piece of scrap. While flying by this object, the colonists found themselves
suddenly teleported to another location in space. Looking around, the sighters determine that this was a completely different system from the one we had been found in, with different worlds surrounding a different star. without the resources to survive a long journey, or to wait inside our Quechari space vehicle, we decided to settle one of the worlds in the system, and than determine where we were, and how to get back to our homeworld.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Zithir (Quental view)
(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets
cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod. To make
things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species
involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human"
perspective will be the most basic.)
First Sights
Our scouts had a hard time spotting the Zithir, but what they saw did not look too challenging. The Zithir were small, and fragile when attacked, but always seemed to dodge attacks and avoid scouting parties. The Zithir also learned very quickly to tell when our scouts wanted ot fight, and when they did not, even before we had spotted them.
Further contact with the Zithir convinced our scouts that the Zithir were thinking, and over time we discovered ways of communicating with them. Many Zithir were angry over our scout's attacks on their own scouting groups, but more peaceful contact was established with them.
The Zithir, at first glance, are greyish to dark colored creatures,shaped like grunts or some laborers, but much thinner. Their heads have large lobes, and several tentacles, which we have learned are used for their psychic abilities.
Mental Abilities
The strangest abilities of the Zithir, not seen in any other creature in this system, are the abilities to see into the past and future, and to sense emotions of nearby creatures. With these abilities, the Zithir can sense incoming dangers, coordinate smaller groups in a way not seen anywhere else, and talk to others from the past. Everything the Zithir do relies on these abilities.
Dominance
Zithir do not use dominance pheromones in the way we do. Instead, the ability to read emotions allows small Zithir to work together without any need to know who has dominance over who, and these can shift from time to time. In larger Zithir groups, some members appear more respected than others, and a few are considered far inferior, but Zithir do not attempt to determine everyone's place in relation to each other outside these special ones. Many decisions are still made by sharing thoughts and emotions, usually during special large gatherings where they can focus their mind reading abilities.
As far as we can tell, Zithir defer to members of their society known as "archivists" and "prophets". Archivists maintain records of previous Zithir events, and communicate regularly with Zithir from the past on present issues. Prophets are unusually skilled at sensing the future, and Zithir turn to them to see how different decisions will turn out. Most major decisions Zithir groups make are influenced by at least one of these, and/or communing, to choose a course of action.
Far inferior to other Zithir are the "unconnected ones", Zithir who have lost their mental abilities. The position of these Zithir within their societies shocked the Quental who saw them, as the unconnected ones are not merely seen as less dominant, but are often cut off from the rest of Zithir society, with only some family support given, and no change to perform some roles and show themselves to be useful again. Zithir who have encountered the unconnected ones describe the constant fear and uncertainly experienced by those who loose their abilities, and it seems that other Zithir avoid these unconnecteds to escape these constant and strong emotions. The revulsion and desire to avoid the unconnects is sensed by other Zithir, and spreads throughout their society.
Building and Production
Zithir building and production relies heavily on their mental abilities, and on their prophets and archives. For smaller scale production, craftsman rely on archives and shared information to learn their roles. To try something new, craftsman must rely on trial and error, using their ability to sense the future to test possibilities, and using trial and error on the ones that seem workable. For larger projects, the Zithir rely on prophets to sense farther into the future.
Zithir cannot modify their bodies to better perform tasks, and the bodies they have are very fragile and heal poorly, so they must use unusual tools and techniques to do physical work. To avoid injuries, Zithir laborers must excercise for a long time before working, and must use their future sensing abilities to avoid accidents.
Conflict
Zithir do not fight often, but when they do, they are highly destructive. Feelings of hatred and anger during a war spread rapidly through their society, and the desire for violence overwhelms other thoughts that might slow Zithir soldiers down. The Zithir do not merely kill soldiers, but in most wars, attack nonsoldiers as well, and many settlements have been utterly destroyed by Zithir attackers. Of our own forces win battles against Zithir, they continue to fight for a long time, and only when highly demoralized will accept a loss to the Quental who fought them.
Zithir soldiers are highly fragile, even with strength training, but they are excellent at avoiding attacks and striking weak spots due to their ability to sense the future. Our own soldiers often are greatly frustrated at the inability to hit Zithir, but once a hit occurs, the Zithir falls hard. Zithir also can sense and target leaders, or more dominant soldiers, in combat, further disrupting enemy armies.
First Sights
Our scouts had a hard time spotting the Zithir, but what they saw did not look too challenging. The Zithir were small, and fragile when attacked, but always seemed to dodge attacks and avoid scouting parties. The Zithir also learned very quickly to tell when our scouts wanted ot fight, and when they did not, even before we had spotted them.
Further contact with the Zithir convinced our scouts that the Zithir were thinking, and over time we discovered ways of communicating with them. Many Zithir were angry over our scout's attacks on their own scouting groups, but more peaceful contact was established with them.
The Zithir, at first glance, are greyish to dark colored creatures,shaped like grunts or some laborers, but much thinner. Their heads have large lobes, and several tentacles, which we have learned are used for their psychic abilities.
Mental Abilities
The strangest abilities of the Zithir, not seen in any other creature in this system, are the abilities to see into the past and future, and to sense emotions of nearby creatures. With these abilities, the Zithir can sense incoming dangers, coordinate smaller groups in a way not seen anywhere else, and talk to others from the past. Everything the Zithir do relies on these abilities.
Dominance
Zithir do not use dominance pheromones in the way we do. Instead, the ability to read emotions allows small Zithir to work together without any need to know who has dominance over who, and these can shift from time to time. In larger Zithir groups, some members appear more respected than others, and a few are considered far inferior, but Zithir do not attempt to determine everyone's place in relation to each other outside these special ones. Many decisions are still made by sharing thoughts and emotions, usually during special large gatherings where they can focus their mind reading abilities.
As far as we can tell, Zithir defer to members of their society known as "archivists" and "prophets". Archivists maintain records of previous Zithir events, and communicate regularly with Zithir from the past on present issues. Prophets are unusually skilled at sensing the future, and Zithir turn to them to see how different decisions will turn out. Most major decisions Zithir groups make are influenced by at least one of these, and/or communing, to choose a course of action.
Far inferior to other Zithir are the "unconnected ones", Zithir who have lost their mental abilities. The position of these Zithir within their societies shocked the Quental who saw them, as the unconnected ones are not merely seen as less dominant, but are often cut off from the rest of Zithir society, with only some family support given, and no change to perform some roles and show themselves to be useful again. Zithir who have encountered the unconnected ones describe the constant fear and uncertainly experienced by those who loose their abilities, and it seems that other Zithir avoid these unconnecteds to escape these constant and strong emotions. The revulsion and desire to avoid the unconnects is sensed by other Zithir, and spreads throughout their society.
Building and Production
Zithir building and production relies heavily on their mental abilities, and on their prophets and archives. For smaller scale production, craftsman rely on archives and shared information to learn their roles. To try something new, craftsman must rely on trial and error, using their ability to sense the future to test possibilities, and using trial and error on the ones that seem workable. For larger projects, the Zithir rely on prophets to sense farther into the future.
Zithir cannot modify their bodies to better perform tasks, and the bodies they have are very fragile and heal poorly, so they must use unusual tools and techniques to do physical work. To avoid injuries, Zithir laborers must excercise for a long time before working, and must use their future sensing abilities to avoid accidents.
Conflict
Zithir do not fight often, but when they do, they are highly destructive. Feelings of hatred and anger during a war spread rapidly through their society, and the desire for violence overwhelms other thoughts that might slow Zithir soldiers down. The Zithir do not merely kill soldiers, but in most wars, attack nonsoldiers as well, and many settlements have been utterly destroyed by Zithir attackers. Of our own forces win battles against Zithir, they continue to fight for a long time, and only when highly demoralized will accept a loss to the Quental who fought them.
Zithir soldiers are highly fragile, even with strength training, but they are excellent at avoiding attacks and striking weak spots due to their ability to sense the future. Our own soldiers often are greatly frustrated at the inability to hit Zithir, but once a hit occurs, the Zithir falls hard. Zithir also can sense and target leaders, or more dominant soldiers, in combat, further disrupting enemy armies.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Human (Quental view)
(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets
cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod. To make
things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species
involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human"
perspective will be the most basic.)
First Sights
When our scouting groups first met, the humans at first appeared to be one of the many large creatures found throughout the system. On Cauldron and Cryolith, our hunters attempted to capture them, while on Phobis Terra they were ignored in favor of other targets. The humans appeared to be easy targets, with brown or grey clothing, and brown to tan skin, that never matched surroundings, and not very good senses. However, the hunters soon discovered that the humans were dangerous enemies, with many weapons and traps to use against us. Later, the humans found ways to blend into the landscape as well, using special clothing, and proved a dangerous target for our soldiers as well, and human scouting groups were a favorite target for soldiers trying to prove themselves.
A few groups of scouts did not attack humans, and found most humans willing to avoid fights as well. Eventually, sounders and thinkers found ways to communicate, and other forms of contact were established.
Shape
While many creatures on our world cannot adapt themselves as we do, we were greatly surprised to find that almost no creatures on the worlds of this system could do so either, including humans. Almost all humans are between the size of a laborer and a scout, and are shaped in a similar way. Human skin is colored different shades of brown or tan, usually slightly red, and cannot be changed to match surroundings. This human body is quite flexible and humans train themselves to increase physical abilities when needed, but it cannot be adjusted beyond this to fill the roles needed of it.
Technology
While humans cannot adapt their own bodies to fill roles nearly as well as we can, they can adapt to roles through tool use and practice, and in tool use they far outshine us. While we mostly use simple, carefully crafted devices, humans build enormous collections of complex, finely developed tools for any tasks they may encounter. A single human, with some training and the correct tools, is capable of filling almost any physical work or combat role needed, and multiple humans working together are even more flexible, with large scale machines allowing astounding feats.
Even human construction of technology that we use is usually of higher quality, and the humans learn to create much more of it. Human builders seem able to build knowledge very effectively, and spot connections and patterns that our builders would miss, and this knowledge allows the humans ot refine their building processes.
The humans also show a surprising ability to understand how the world works, with science being an important part of all human societies we have encountered. The human scientists are constantly testing the world, recording information, and spotting new connections, providing much knowledge that the humans can turn to their advantage. Human scientists have even been able to tell us things about ourselves that we did not know.
Dominance
Unlike many creatures, humans cannot directly sense status, leading to a lot of frictions within their societies. They do not have any strong pheromones as signals, instead releasing a large number of weaker smells that the humans do not sense directly. Humans themselves say that some of the more dominant among them create "testosterone", we have not been able ot smell this apart from some scientific samples or human waste. Body language among humans is similarly confused, with more dominant ones using certain gestures and poses more than others, but most humans are still unaware of this.
Human dominance confusion allows for numerous conflicts in human society when other systems break down. Unorganized humans will waste time and resources, and in some groups injure or kill each other, to determine who will be in charge. These divisions are often encouraged or supported by outsiders to gain advantages within a particular society or group; when done with a society, simple determinations of dominance become deadly wars.
Fortunately for human societies, humans themselves have invented a number of outside systems to avoid these problems, based on large collections of rules that most agree or are forced to follow. As with technology, human legal system allow societies to react much more easily than simple dominance hierarchies would, and these system allow strong organization among the people included.
Human systems are not all alike: some use a lot of central control, similar to a hive, while some disperse control into smaller groups. Humans also seem to switch between permanent control by a few dominant officials, and allowing less dominant members to rotate high level ones. Most difficult to understand about human systems is the tendency for different types of control, and different amounts of central control, to be used for different areas of society, often leaving some function of society to be run by a bewildering amount of smaller units, with very specific and almost impossible to understand divisions between functions. Trade and production, in particular, are commonly left to subunits the humans call "businesses", apart from some roles that central rulers wish to control.
Humans themselves disagree on how exactly on how to arrange societies, using reasons that only make sense to other humans. Despite all these complications, often lamented as "red tape" or "disorganization", human societies have proven highly adaptable and effective at organization.
Conflict
Wars among humans are almost all over either dominance and/or resources. Humans themselves recognize a greater variety of reasons for wars, usually involving different subgroups within human society, but as when not at war, we have great difficulty understanding the differences.
Wars for domination between humans are sometimes far more deadly than equivalent wars among us. Because any human can become a soldier with the right tools, and some teaching or practice, human groups that wish to fight can raise large armies. Human wars also seem to arouse strong emotions that make it even harder to recognize dominance between groups, so human groups often fight even when they have little chance of winning, and sometimes extra violence is used to to terrorize non-fighting enemies to try and encourage acceptance of a loss, although the target humans often continue fighting afterwards. However, the actual intensity of human conflict varies greatly, based on expectations and rules that only some of the humans involved can understand.
Wars between humans and us are also far more deadly than wars within our species. Humans themselves are often quite violent in wars, attacking non-soldiers during invasions. Our own soldiers must be more deadly than usual, watching out for apparent non-fighters who may be hiding weapons or hunting groups the humans call "guerillas". Humans, despite their tendencies to kill non-fighters, often maintain distinctions between "combatants" and "civilians" that we do not notice, and get extremely angry at the killing of "civilians", further stretching out wars. The lack of ability to sense dominance also stretches out wars, as humans will often try to end wars when victory has not yet been established, or keep fighting after they have little chance of winning.
When humans fight, they bring their full technological and building skills to the war. Though humans cannot mutate their bodies for war, they can build tools that compete on even terms with almost any adaptation we invent. Human soldiers are not as tough or strong as our soldiers, but build body armor, camouflage clothing, and powerful weapons. As we have developed adaptation for larger soldier types, such as diggers and spit throwers, humans have responded with cars, tanks, and even farther shooting, large guns. Less well equipped humans are still dangerous, through their abilities to improvise ambushes and traps. Humans seem to have more trouble in unfamiliar or rough terrain, where they cannot use their technologies as effectively, and require some time to gain an understanding of the environment they will be in.
First Sights
When our scouting groups first met, the humans at first appeared to be one of the many large creatures found throughout the system. On Cauldron and Cryolith, our hunters attempted to capture them, while on Phobis Terra they were ignored in favor of other targets. The humans appeared to be easy targets, with brown or grey clothing, and brown to tan skin, that never matched surroundings, and not very good senses. However, the hunters soon discovered that the humans were dangerous enemies, with many weapons and traps to use against us. Later, the humans found ways to blend into the landscape as well, using special clothing, and proved a dangerous target for our soldiers as well, and human scouting groups were a favorite target for soldiers trying to prove themselves.
A few groups of scouts did not attack humans, and found most humans willing to avoid fights as well. Eventually, sounders and thinkers found ways to communicate, and other forms of contact were established.
Shape
While many creatures on our world cannot adapt themselves as we do, we were greatly surprised to find that almost no creatures on the worlds of this system could do so either, including humans. Almost all humans are between the size of a laborer and a scout, and are shaped in a similar way. Human skin is colored different shades of brown or tan, usually slightly red, and cannot be changed to match surroundings. This human body is quite flexible and humans train themselves to increase physical abilities when needed, but it cannot be adjusted beyond this to fill the roles needed of it.
Technology
While humans cannot adapt their own bodies to fill roles nearly as well as we can, they can adapt to roles through tool use and practice, and in tool use they far outshine us. While we mostly use simple, carefully crafted devices, humans build enormous collections of complex, finely developed tools for any tasks they may encounter. A single human, with some training and the correct tools, is capable of filling almost any physical work or combat role needed, and multiple humans working together are even more flexible, with large scale machines allowing astounding feats.
Even human construction of technology that we use is usually of higher quality, and the humans learn to create much more of it. Human builders seem able to build knowledge very effectively, and spot connections and patterns that our builders would miss, and this knowledge allows the humans ot refine their building processes.
The humans also show a surprising ability to understand how the world works, with science being an important part of all human societies we have encountered. The human scientists are constantly testing the world, recording information, and spotting new connections, providing much knowledge that the humans can turn to their advantage. Human scientists have even been able to tell us things about ourselves that we did not know.
Dominance
Unlike many creatures, humans cannot directly sense status, leading to a lot of frictions within their societies. They do not have any strong pheromones as signals, instead releasing a large number of weaker smells that the humans do not sense directly. Humans themselves say that some of the more dominant among them create "testosterone", we have not been able ot smell this apart from some scientific samples or human waste. Body language among humans is similarly confused, with more dominant ones using certain gestures and poses more than others, but most humans are still unaware of this.
Human dominance confusion allows for numerous conflicts in human society when other systems break down. Unorganized humans will waste time and resources, and in some groups injure or kill each other, to determine who will be in charge. These divisions are often encouraged or supported by outsiders to gain advantages within a particular society or group; when done with a society, simple determinations of dominance become deadly wars.
Fortunately for human societies, humans themselves have invented a number of outside systems to avoid these problems, based on large collections of rules that most agree or are forced to follow. As with technology, human legal system allow societies to react much more easily than simple dominance hierarchies would, and these system allow strong organization among the people included.
Human systems are not all alike: some use a lot of central control, similar to a hive, while some disperse control into smaller groups. Humans also seem to switch between permanent control by a few dominant officials, and allowing less dominant members to rotate high level ones. Most difficult to understand about human systems is the tendency for different types of control, and different amounts of central control, to be used for different areas of society, often leaving some function of society to be run by a bewildering amount of smaller units, with very specific and almost impossible to understand divisions between functions. Trade and production, in particular, are commonly left to subunits the humans call "businesses", apart from some roles that central rulers wish to control.
Humans themselves disagree on how exactly on how to arrange societies, using reasons that only make sense to other humans. Despite all these complications, often lamented as "red tape" or "disorganization", human societies have proven highly adaptable and effective at organization.
Conflict
Wars among humans are almost all over either dominance and/or resources. Humans themselves recognize a greater variety of reasons for wars, usually involving different subgroups within human society, but as when not at war, we have great difficulty understanding the differences.
Wars for domination between humans are sometimes far more deadly than equivalent wars among us. Because any human can become a soldier with the right tools, and some teaching or practice, human groups that wish to fight can raise large armies. Human wars also seem to arouse strong emotions that make it even harder to recognize dominance between groups, so human groups often fight even when they have little chance of winning, and sometimes extra violence is used to to terrorize non-fighting enemies to try and encourage acceptance of a loss, although the target humans often continue fighting afterwards. However, the actual intensity of human conflict varies greatly, based on expectations and rules that only some of the humans involved can understand.
Wars between humans and us are also far more deadly than wars within our species. Humans themselves are often quite violent in wars, attacking non-soldiers during invasions. Our own soldiers must be more deadly than usual, watching out for apparent non-fighters who may be hiding weapons or hunting groups the humans call "guerillas". Humans, despite their tendencies to kill non-fighters, often maintain distinctions between "combatants" and "civilians" that we do not notice, and get extremely angry at the killing of "civilians", further stretching out wars. The lack of ability to sense dominance also stretches out wars, as humans will often try to end wars when victory has not yet been established, or keep fighting after they have little chance of winning.
When humans fight, they bring their full technological and building skills to the war. Though humans cannot mutate their bodies for war, they can build tools that compete on even terms with almost any adaptation we invent. Human soldiers are not as tough or strong as our soldiers, but build body armor, camouflage clothing, and powerful weapons. As we have developed adaptation for larger soldier types, such as diggers and spit throwers, humans have responded with cars, tanks, and even farther shooting, large guns. Less well equipped humans are still dangerous, through their abilities to improvise ambushes and traps. Humans seem to have more trouble in unfamiliar or rough terrain, where they cannot use their technologies as effectively, and require some time to gain an understanding of the environment they will be in.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Selkirk system
These are links to posts in the Selkirk system.
If possible, I plan to make a mod based on this (for a civilization type game), although that depends on what mechanics i can include, and whether I have enough time. While these ideas are just writing for now, they are influenced somewhat by how game mechanics would play out, as explained in individual posts.
Whether a mod is made, or I just write it out here, this is a setting that involves interplanetary colonization fleets of three intelligent species (humans, Quental, and Zithir) being taken to this system from their home systems. Loosing contact with their home systems, the three groups of colonists would settle in this one, and things would go from there.
Some of the planets, if the mod gets made, would be settleable, and I have general ideas for how they would play out in gameplay terms. However, a lot of these ideas just come from an interest in planetary science that I've had over the past couple of years (as of 2012), and are designed to combine cool features of solar system objects, or to try and imagine what other types might be like.
For the species themselves, I've attempted to create species with different ways of living, different social issues, strengths and weaknesses, etc. On social organization in particular, I've tried to write the aliens to have completely different concerns from each other (So, for example, human arguments about, say, markets vs. government vs. other economic systems would make little sense to the aliens, as their methods of organizing result in different types of conflicts.) Descriptions of each creature are written from the other two creature's point of view, with the generic description you might read elsewhere being the "human" description. (This seems a more fun/challenging way to try and do it, plus is another way to reveal worldviews and mindsets that some aliens might have.)
Planets and Moons
Griddle: A volcanically active version of Mercury, with a strange atmosphere.
Kiln: A smaller, more volcanically active version of Venus
Cauldron: A hot planet, made up to combine cool features of mainly Venus and Io, but not as hostile. Highly volcanic, with sulfuric acid/water oceans.
Phobis Terra: The Earthlike world of this universe, but more dangerous.
Cryolith: Combines features of Mars and outer solar system moons, but not as inhospitable. Has both rocky and icy terrain on much of the planet, plus ammonia/water oceans.
Behemoth: A Jupiter like planet.
Fumarole: Large ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Highly active, with water geysers, water volcanoes, a large ocean under the icy surface. (mostly based off Europa, Io, and Enceladus, but with some unusual features itself.)
Doppel: Another large ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Thick atmosphere, organic lakes and oceans, icy volcanoes and mountains. (Pretty much a more active Titan.)
Frigis: The last Ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Mostly old, eroded tectonics. (Based mainly off the less active outer planet moons, mostly Ganymede and Callisto.)
Aliens
Humans:
In this universe, humans are the most skilled at technology, math, logic, constructions, and systematic thinking in general. Social systems are the most legalistic, relying on rules to organize large groups.
Human History: Doesn't actually describe all of human history, just a renewed space race and the colonization of other parts of the Solar system.
Humans (Quental description): A Quental view of humans.
Humans (Zithir Description): A Zithir view of humans.
Quental:
In this universe, this species is highly biologically adaptive, able to mutate themselves to fill various roles. Social systems are based on dominance pheromones. (Think anything from an insect hive to wolf pack type groups.)
Quental History: A history of the Quental species. (Very basic version, I haven't thought of any details beyond general outlines.)
Quental (human description): "A human"'s view of the Quental.
Quental (Zithir Description): The Zithir view of the Quental.
Zithir:
Species that can sense future and past events, and sense emotions or thoughts in surrounding creatures (the "Psychic" species). Social systems are based on taking advantage of these abilities in various ways.
Zithir History: A history of the Zithir.
Zithir (human description): "A human's" view of the Zithir.
Zithir (Quental Description): A Quental view of the Zithir.
If possible, I plan to make a mod based on this (for a civilization type game), although that depends on what mechanics i can include, and whether I have enough time. While these ideas are just writing for now, they are influenced somewhat by how game mechanics would play out, as explained in individual posts.
Whether a mod is made, or I just write it out here, this is a setting that involves interplanetary colonization fleets of three intelligent species (humans, Quental, and Zithir) being taken to this system from their home systems. Loosing contact with their home systems, the three groups of colonists would settle in this one, and things would go from there.
Some of the planets, if the mod gets made, would be settleable, and I have general ideas for how they would play out in gameplay terms. However, a lot of these ideas just come from an interest in planetary science that I've had over the past couple of years (as of 2012), and are designed to combine cool features of solar system objects, or to try and imagine what other types might be like.
For the species themselves, I've attempted to create species with different ways of living, different social issues, strengths and weaknesses, etc. On social organization in particular, I've tried to write the aliens to have completely different concerns from each other (So, for example, human arguments about, say, markets vs. government vs. other economic systems would make little sense to the aliens, as their methods of organizing result in different types of conflicts.) Descriptions of each creature are written from the other two creature's point of view, with the generic description you might read elsewhere being the "human" description. (This seems a more fun/challenging way to try and do it, plus is another way to reveal worldviews and mindsets that some aliens might have.)
Planets and Moons
Griddle: A volcanically active version of Mercury, with a strange atmosphere.
Kiln: A smaller, more volcanically active version of Venus
Cauldron: A hot planet, made up to combine cool features of mainly Venus and Io, but not as hostile. Highly volcanic, with sulfuric acid/water oceans.
Phobis Terra: The Earthlike world of this universe, but more dangerous.
Cryolith: Combines features of Mars and outer solar system moons, but not as inhospitable. Has both rocky and icy terrain on much of the planet, plus ammonia/water oceans.
Behemoth: A Jupiter like planet.
Fumarole: Large ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Highly active, with water geysers, water volcanoes, a large ocean under the icy surface. (mostly based off Europa, Io, and Enceladus, but with some unusual features itself.)
Doppel: Another large ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Thick atmosphere, organic lakes and oceans, icy volcanoes and mountains. (Pretty much a more active Titan.)
Frigis: The last Ice/rock moon of Behemoth. Mostly old, eroded tectonics. (Based mainly off the less active outer planet moons, mostly Ganymede and Callisto.)
Aliens
Humans:
In this universe, humans are the most skilled at technology, math, logic, constructions, and systematic thinking in general. Social systems are the most legalistic, relying on rules to organize large groups.
Human History: Doesn't actually describe all of human history, just a renewed space race and the colonization of other parts of the Solar system.
Humans (Quental description): A Quental view of humans.
Humans (Zithir Description): A Zithir view of humans.
Quental:
In this universe, this species is highly biologically adaptive, able to mutate themselves to fill various roles. Social systems are based on dominance pheromones. (Think anything from an insect hive to wolf pack type groups.)
Quental History: A history of the Quental species. (Very basic version, I haven't thought of any details beyond general outlines.)
Quental (human description): "A human"'s view of the Quental.
Quental (Zithir Description): The Zithir view of the Quental.
Zithir:
Species that can sense future and past events, and sense emotions or thoughts in surrounding creatures (the "Psychic" species). Social systems are based on taking advantage of these abilities in various ways.
Zithir History: A history of the Zithir.
Zithir (human description): "A human's" view of the Zithir.
Zithir (Quental Description): A Quental view of the Zithir.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Human History
(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets
cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod. To make
things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species
involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human"
perspective will be the most basic. For individual histories, I'll write from the specie's own point of view)
For human "history" I'm only writing about the period after current time, since simply going over human history would be nothing new, and probably kind of boring in short writing like this.
Second Space Race
After the first race to the moon between the U.S. and Russia, space exploration slowed down for about a century. Unmanned probes continued exploring other planets, Activity continued in Earth orbit, and a few newer programs (China, India, Japan) performed moon landings, but space exploration moved little beyond these activities. Space research did continue, but largely out of the view of much of the world.
Developments on Earth, however, led to the restarting of the space race in 2065. Global warming had been an increasing concern throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and new sources of energy had been constantly developed, while increasing regulations and taxes pushed against fossil fuel use. Starting around 2020, several events greatly accelerated these processes. Throughout the 2020s, concentrated solar power became competitive with other sources of electricity over wide areas of the world, and initiatives for dispersed solar power also greatly increased its use. Around 2030, electric vehicles became competitive with gasoline vehicles, and infrastructure changes followed quickly to support these. In 2045, rising temperatures pushed most large economies to institute harsh carbon taxes, further encouraging a switch away from fossil fuels.
Most regions of the world adapted well to these adjustments, but oil producing countries did not adapt nearly as well. The "great oil crash" as it would later be known, led to significant political upheavals in most oil exporting countries, with several countries experiencing large crime increases, highly contested elections, or even government changes. Most effected were countries along the Persian Gulf, where many countries had been almost totally dependent on oil. Over time, most of the countries, apart from Iran and Oman, almost completely disintegrated, with extreme violence for several years.
The middle East had always been an area with numerous conflicts, and the disintegration of these countries further aggravated these trends. As a series of wars and disruptions radiated outward from the oil crash countries, most governments not effected focused heavily on new weapons research and purchases. Among these new developments was the first successful orbital bombardment technology in 2065, developed by Egypt, but copied soon after by most surrounding countries.
The potential of this weapon frightened most of the previous main space powers. Worried about being outclassed by these weapons, most governments with existing space programs rapidly increased their size and research budgets, and worked on new launch systems and technology, to avoid loosing out on weapons capabilities. Out of this research came the technology for better control in space, robotics, new propulsion systems, and, most importantly, cheaper launch technologies. With the development of the jet assisted Rocket booster in the US, the Airplane launched rocket in Russia, and Spaceplanes in Japan, all soon copied by other space powers, and by other interested groups.
Lunar Colonies
In 2070, following soon after these developments, Space programs and businesses organized a flurry of moon landings to test new technology. While only 45 people had walked on the moon before this year, almost 38 people visited the moon in 2070 alone, and the number doubled soon into 2071. The spread of technology, and ability to take advantage of previous knowledge and experience, allowed missions to be prepared and launched much faster than before, allowing this great increase in moon missions. Lunar explorers collected large amounts of geological information, set of robotic observatories, and set of devices to watch the Earth from a more stable position.
It was not long before permanent human colonies were established on the moon. The first was a U.S. mining colony, to collect rare minerals that had been recently found on the moon, and could now be mined cost effectively due to cheaper space travel. The second was a multinational observatory. Other lunar colonies, for various purposes, soon followed. At first, lunar colonists only expected to stay a few months, at most, but medical and psychological space research developed techniques to allow far longer stays. Lunar colonies became permanent residences to many, and the first children were born on such a colony in 2078.
At the time humans arrived in the current system, Earth's moon was highly populated, with representatives from almost all over the globe found somewhere on it. Lunar colonies had become mostly self sufficient, with only occasional high tech materials or basic materials needing to be imported from another world.
Mars Settlement
At the time the first lunar colonies were being established, plans for journeys to Mars were being dusted off and put into practice. Because Mars was a more challenging destination than the moon, only well established space programs made the first attempts, and progress was slower than moon exploration. The first human landing on Mars took place in 2078, followed by three more in 2079. Landings at this stage involved a 2-4 month stay, and allowed extensive geological knowledge to be gained about the planet.
With lunar colonies fast developing, learning techniques for surviving off world, and Martian landings already involving long stays, it wasn't long before Martian colonies were founded. The first was started in 2080, and soon after, 5 more were prepared. Due to the greater distance, Martian colonies were less useful for raw materials, but could support themselves better due to the greater availability of necessary materials on Mars. Martian colonies supplied minerals to Earth, some food and basic material to lunar colonies, and provided locations for some research stations. Mars also became known as a destination for political opposition in more repressive regions, or for people in areas with low economic opportunity.
The success of lunar and martian colonies soon spread to just about any country or group that could afford a space program, with most setting up colonies for various purposes. Mars, at the time of arrival in the new system, was the most populated world outside the earth, with close to 150 million people living there.
Venus
An exception to the general success of Mars colonies was the Russian space program. While Russia was one of the first countries to achieve a Mars landing, attempts at founding colonies have hit long streaks of bad luck. The first such attempt was victim to an accident, forcing the crew to turn back before reaching Mars. The second attempt reached the surface, but machinery malfunctions forced the colonists to return to Earth. A third attempt failed a year in, and the colonists needed to be rescued by nearby martian settlements.
However, experiments on Venus had led to the development of balloon and flight systems to allow longer lasting probes on Venus. The Russian space agency was the first to take the balloon concept and use it for manned exploration of Venus. From a floating probe, Cosmonauts were able to greatly improve data collection and exploration from robotic Venus probes, and discover some unusual details of the planet.
After several of these landings, Russia established permanent balloon colonies over several locations on Venus. The colonies themselves acted as observatories, and were able to direct some robotic mining of unusual materials on Venus's surface. Attempts to keep the colony self sufficient also led to the development of new types of crops, able to take advantage of the unique conditions of Venusian colonies.
Although other space faring groups developed plans for Venusian colonies, the difficulty of starting such colonies compared to the costs of lunar and martian settlements meant that only Russia has built any.
Asteroid Mining
Martian settlements led the way to Asteroid and cometary mining projects. Robotic mining operations supplied some minerals to more populated worlds, and supplied some ice and organic material to lunar colonies. The three largest asteroids, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas, were settled permanently, though only by small numbers of people, and direct and supply nearby mining operations. Life on asteroids is tougher than life on Mars or Earth, as diminished solar power makes farming and energy production difficult, but the rewards are good for those willing ot take the risks.
Callisto
The last of the solar system colonies to be settled before the colonization of this system was the small colonist on Callisto. Settled in 2093 by American scientists and maintenance personnel , the Callisto colony was originally intended as a long lasting scientific expedition to study Jupiter, and would finance itself by sending various materials to the inner planets and asteroid belt. However, plans to retrieve the Callisto colonists continually fell through, and the colony itself became a permanent fixture of the moon.
The Callisto colony leads probably the toughest existence of all solar system colonies. Solar power is thin in Jupiter's orbit, stretching energy budgets to the limit, and the lack of quick transport to the colony from populated areas leads to an isolated existence. Callisto also lacks easily mined metal deposits, so must rely on the less rewarding ice and organic deposits for trade. The colony, since its founding, has been the scene of numerous attempts to improve its position, including taking part in Controlled Fusion research, attempts to mine Io or capture the energy of the Io flux current, and other attempts to capture Jupiter's magnetospheric power.
The Titan Project
In the year 2120, the experiments on Callisto finally allowed it to tap large amounts of Jupiter Magnetospheric power. At the same time, Improvements in solar power also helped the colony expand significantly. These advances were enough to encourage most colonies to prepare a settlement of the Saturn moon system. Unlike the Callisto colony, this project would involve people from many different colonies and countries on Earth, in a much more coordinated way. Colonists traveled to the staging point at Callisto, and than started the journey to Saturn.
While the Jupiter system's radiation belts made settling most moons difficult, the Saturn system is much more hospitable to colonists, and a few tens of thousands joined to form the initial colonies. The colony ships were also packed with supplies and assorted machinery, spare parts, and other materials needed to prepare colonies. The original plans were to settle some of the smaller moons of Saturn, organize an economy, and than start settling titan. The colonies would be a mix of scientific and mining based.
However, while on the way to Saturn, the colonization fleet flew near a strange object. At it was approached, we determined that the object was not in the path to hit anything. We recorded the location and path of the object, than continued floating by. As we did so, the object activated, and all the ships in the colonizing fleet found ourselves disoriented. Once we counted up all colonists, reoriented the ships, and tried to figure out what had happened, our navigators determined that we did not appear to be in the solar system anymore. Instead , we appeared to be in a different system, with a similar sun, but vastly different planets, and a different appearance to the sky. At this point, we had little choice but to find a place to settle, than figure out where we were, and either settle into this new system, or make contact with Earth if possible.
Explanation
The final description of the titan project is based on the Test of Time sci-fi game setup. The success of some of the colonies is based on current day histories of various space programs (Russian lack of success at Mars is based on the Great Galactic Ghoul idea, the Venusian colonies are based on the Venera probes. U.S. starting the only outer solar system colony until the titan attempt is based on the fact that most outer solar system work so far has been from the U.S.)
For human "history" I'm only writing about the period after current time, since simply going over human history would be nothing new, and probably kind of boring in short writing like this.
Second Space Race
After the first race to the moon between the U.S. and Russia, space exploration slowed down for about a century. Unmanned probes continued exploring other planets, Activity continued in Earth orbit, and a few newer programs (China, India, Japan) performed moon landings, but space exploration moved little beyond these activities. Space research did continue, but largely out of the view of much of the world.
Developments on Earth, however, led to the restarting of the space race in 2065. Global warming had been an increasing concern throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and new sources of energy had been constantly developed, while increasing regulations and taxes pushed against fossil fuel use. Starting around 2020, several events greatly accelerated these processes. Throughout the 2020s, concentrated solar power became competitive with other sources of electricity over wide areas of the world, and initiatives for dispersed solar power also greatly increased its use. Around 2030, electric vehicles became competitive with gasoline vehicles, and infrastructure changes followed quickly to support these. In 2045, rising temperatures pushed most large economies to institute harsh carbon taxes, further encouraging a switch away from fossil fuels.
Most regions of the world adapted well to these adjustments, but oil producing countries did not adapt nearly as well. The "great oil crash" as it would later be known, led to significant political upheavals in most oil exporting countries, with several countries experiencing large crime increases, highly contested elections, or even government changes. Most effected were countries along the Persian Gulf, where many countries had been almost totally dependent on oil. Over time, most of the countries, apart from Iran and Oman, almost completely disintegrated, with extreme violence for several years.
The middle East had always been an area with numerous conflicts, and the disintegration of these countries further aggravated these trends. As a series of wars and disruptions radiated outward from the oil crash countries, most governments not effected focused heavily on new weapons research and purchases. Among these new developments was the first successful orbital bombardment technology in 2065, developed by Egypt, but copied soon after by most surrounding countries.
The potential of this weapon frightened most of the previous main space powers. Worried about being outclassed by these weapons, most governments with existing space programs rapidly increased their size and research budgets, and worked on new launch systems and technology, to avoid loosing out on weapons capabilities. Out of this research came the technology for better control in space, robotics, new propulsion systems, and, most importantly, cheaper launch technologies. With the development of the jet assisted Rocket booster in the US, the Airplane launched rocket in Russia, and Spaceplanes in Japan, all soon copied by other space powers, and by other interested groups.
Lunar Colonies
In 2070, following soon after these developments, Space programs and businesses organized a flurry of moon landings to test new technology. While only 45 people had walked on the moon before this year, almost 38 people visited the moon in 2070 alone, and the number doubled soon into 2071. The spread of technology, and ability to take advantage of previous knowledge and experience, allowed missions to be prepared and launched much faster than before, allowing this great increase in moon missions. Lunar explorers collected large amounts of geological information, set of robotic observatories, and set of devices to watch the Earth from a more stable position.
It was not long before permanent human colonies were established on the moon. The first was a U.S. mining colony, to collect rare minerals that had been recently found on the moon, and could now be mined cost effectively due to cheaper space travel. The second was a multinational observatory. Other lunar colonies, for various purposes, soon followed. At first, lunar colonists only expected to stay a few months, at most, but medical and psychological space research developed techniques to allow far longer stays. Lunar colonies became permanent residences to many, and the first children were born on such a colony in 2078.
At the time humans arrived in the current system, Earth's moon was highly populated, with representatives from almost all over the globe found somewhere on it. Lunar colonies had become mostly self sufficient, with only occasional high tech materials or basic materials needing to be imported from another world.
Mars Settlement
At the time the first lunar colonies were being established, plans for journeys to Mars were being dusted off and put into practice. Because Mars was a more challenging destination than the moon, only well established space programs made the first attempts, and progress was slower than moon exploration. The first human landing on Mars took place in 2078, followed by three more in 2079. Landings at this stage involved a 2-4 month stay, and allowed extensive geological knowledge to be gained about the planet.
With lunar colonies fast developing, learning techniques for surviving off world, and Martian landings already involving long stays, it wasn't long before Martian colonies were founded. The first was started in 2080, and soon after, 5 more were prepared. Due to the greater distance, Martian colonies were less useful for raw materials, but could support themselves better due to the greater availability of necessary materials on Mars. Martian colonies supplied minerals to Earth, some food and basic material to lunar colonies, and provided locations for some research stations. Mars also became known as a destination for political opposition in more repressive regions, or for people in areas with low economic opportunity.
The success of lunar and martian colonies soon spread to just about any country or group that could afford a space program, with most setting up colonies for various purposes. Mars, at the time of arrival in the new system, was the most populated world outside the earth, with close to 150 million people living there.
Venus
An exception to the general success of Mars colonies was the Russian space program. While Russia was one of the first countries to achieve a Mars landing, attempts at founding colonies have hit long streaks of bad luck. The first such attempt was victim to an accident, forcing the crew to turn back before reaching Mars. The second attempt reached the surface, but machinery malfunctions forced the colonists to return to Earth. A third attempt failed a year in, and the colonists needed to be rescued by nearby martian settlements.
However, experiments on Venus had led to the development of balloon and flight systems to allow longer lasting probes on Venus. The Russian space agency was the first to take the balloon concept and use it for manned exploration of Venus. From a floating probe, Cosmonauts were able to greatly improve data collection and exploration from robotic Venus probes, and discover some unusual details of the planet.
After several of these landings, Russia established permanent balloon colonies over several locations on Venus. The colonies themselves acted as observatories, and were able to direct some robotic mining of unusual materials on Venus's surface. Attempts to keep the colony self sufficient also led to the development of new types of crops, able to take advantage of the unique conditions of Venusian colonies.
Although other space faring groups developed plans for Venusian colonies, the difficulty of starting such colonies compared to the costs of lunar and martian settlements meant that only Russia has built any.
Asteroid Mining
Martian settlements led the way to Asteroid and cometary mining projects. Robotic mining operations supplied some minerals to more populated worlds, and supplied some ice and organic material to lunar colonies. The three largest asteroids, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas, were settled permanently, though only by small numbers of people, and direct and supply nearby mining operations. Life on asteroids is tougher than life on Mars or Earth, as diminished solar power makes farming and energy production difficult, but the rewards are good for those willing ot take the risks.
Callisto
The last of the solar system colonies to be settled before the colonization of this system was the small colonist on Callisto. Settled in 2093 by American scientists and maintenance personnel , the Callisto colony was originally intended as a long lasting scientific expedition to study Jupiter, and would finance itself by sending various materials to the inner planets and asteroid belt. However, plans to retrieve the Callisto colonists continually fell through, and the colony itself became a permanent fixture of the moon.
The Callisto colony leads probably the toughest existence of all solar system colonies. Solar power is thin in Jupiter's orbit, stretching energy budgets to the limit, and the lack of quick transport to the colony from populated areas leads to an isolated existence. Callisto also lacks easily mined metal deposits, so must rely on the less rewarding ice and organic deposits for trade. The colony, since its founding, has been the scene of numerous attempts to improve its position, including taking part in Controlled Fusion research, attempts to mine Io or capture the energy of the Io flux current, and other attempts to capture Jupiter's magnetospheric power.
The Titan Project
In the year 2120, the experiments on Callisto finally allowed it to tap large amounts of Jupiter Magnetospheric power. At the same time, Improvements in solar power also helped the colony expand significantly. These advances were enough to encourage most colonies to prepare a settlement of the Saturn moon system. Unlike the Callisto colony, this project would involve people from many different colonies and countries on Earth, in a much more coordinated way. Colonists traveled to the staging point at Callisto, and than started the journey to Saturn.
While the Jupiter system's radiation belts made settling most moons difficult, the Saturn system is much more hospitable to colonists, and a few tens of thousands joined to form the initial colonies. The colony ships were also packed with supplies and assorted machinery, spare parts, and other materials needed to prepare colonies. The original plans were to settle some of the smaller moons of Saturn, organize an economy, and than start settling titan. The colonies would be a mix of scientific and mining based.
However, while on the way to Saturn, the colonization fleet flew near a strange object. At it was approached, we determined that the object was not in the path to hit anything. We recorded the location and path of the object, than continued floating by. As we did so, the object activated, and all the ships in the colonizing fleet found ourselves disoriented. Once we counted up all colonists, reoriented the ships, and tried to figure out what had happened, our navigators determined that we did not appear to be in the solar system anymore. Instead , we appeared to be in a different system, with a similar sun, but vastly different planets, and a different appearance to the sky. At this point, we had little choice but to find a place to settle, than figure out where we were, and either settle into this new system, or make contact with Earth if possible.
Explanation
The final description of the titan project is based on the Test of Time sci-fi game setup. The success of some of the colonies is based on current day histories of various space programs (Russian lack of success at Mars is based on the Great Galactic Ghoul idea, the Venusian colonies are based on the Venera probes. U.S. starting the only outer solar system colony until the titan attempt is based on the fact that most outer solar system work so far has been from the U.S.)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Quental (human Perspective)
(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets
cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod. To make
things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species
involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human"
perspective will be the most basic.)
First Contacts
Due to the great number of forms Quentals can take, scouting parties did not realize they were all a single organism when these aliens were first spotted. Quentals were either assumed to be symbiotic creatures, domesticated creatures, or, on Phobis Terra, simply one of the many genetic clusters of alien life found on the planet. The most common forms spotted were the "Fighter" Quental, resembling more muscular, camouflaged humans, and "scout" Quental, resembling shorter camouflaged humans, but with longer limbs and larger eyes and ears. Early Quentall scouts used simple tools, so it took some time before any human colonies worked out that the Quental were intelligent. The Quental did have a reputation for toughness, as scouting parties who got into fights with them learned that the Quental fighters were extremely hard to kill.
Behavior observations of Quental dwellings, captured Quental, and autopsies and chemical studies of dead Quentals eventually showed that these aliens were all offshoots of a highly adaptable organism. Details of Quental social structures and languages were eventually worked out, and the regular communication was established soon after.
Anatomy/Biology
The most interesting, and unusual, property of the Quental is their great genetic adaptability. It seems that the Quental are always generating mutations within their genetic system, and can mentally direct and sort between these mutations, to adjust their bodies as needed to handle some new requirement. The Quental can also share genetic material between different individuals, allowing rapid spread of a beneficial mutation. Through these mutations, skilled Quental can adapt very quickly to new environments or new roles, and develop their bodies exactly as required for particular tasks.
Because of this property, Quental have no consistent anatomy, but they do appear to have a "base" form that either was the original form of these aliens, or was a popular adaptable form that replaced it. This form resembles a human, but more muscular, and more smooth. "Base" colors appear to be different shades of green or brown, although these colors are less certain due to the easy adaptability of skin color. The Quental "standard form" has internal organs with similar roles as a human, but with more duplicates in different body locations. Most of the first Quental encountered in this system had variations on this form, but as they have become more established, these aliens have developed more diversity in form.
From the other creatures Quental have brought with them, and what they say about their own world, it appears that this adaptability is somewhat common in other species, but by no means universal. The Quental appear to be the most adaptive of large creatures with this ability, as their ability to think allows them to pursue more intelligent adaptations, and to change in more radical ways than other creatures could manage.
Quental biochemistry appears to use some material in common, and some different, to Earth life forms, but the species can adapt within a few months to process any nutrients they can sample. For this reason, they are also highly resistant to poisons. Quental on good terms with humans can adapt to eat human foods, and can assist in soil fertilization and biotechnology. Quental can also adapt rapidly to new diseases, although they seem to take few steps to avoid catching diseases outside this adaptability.
Adaptations for most roles Quental can play are relatively obvious. Explorers tend to become smaller, and less energy intensive, while gaining improved senses. Fighters add additional, redundant organs, become tougher, and gain muscles and heightened senses. Physical workers enhance precision and strength as needed. Mental workers reduce their need for sleep, and tend to be smaller and lighter than physical workers. Unique among the Quental are individuals who process chemicals, almost as intelligent bioreactors, who adapt themselves to generate material products.
The major constant among Quental biochemistry is a pheramone system to determine dominance. This simple system determines dominance among the Quental, and is a major part of how they organize their society. Some of this pheromone system is based on genetics, but it is also influenced by relative successes at various tasks, and societies often include ritualized competitions of various types to compare individual skills and dominance, so the system does reflect to some degree the success of various members. Unlike the mostly subconsious signals (like body language in humans) used by other organisms, the relative amounts and type of dominance pheromones are immediately and obviously noticed by Quentals.
Society/Government
Quental organize themselves using two simple systems, a pheromone cominance system, and a caste system designed around genetic adaptation to particular roles. The relative importance of these systems, and the way they are used, determines the structure of a particular Quetzal society.
Quental societies that mostly focus on their pheromone system are strongly hierarchical, and tightly organized. The resemblance to social insects has lead people to describe these systems as Hives. Though not as tightly controlled as insect societies on Earth, the strong pheromone signals in a hive strongly pressure Quental in one to obey orders, and hives are well suited to times when strong organization and focus in a group.
A less intense reliance on pheromones results in a society results in a patronage type society, where different groups within the society compete for control through the most dominant members, while within groups, loyalty largely is held intact. The interaction within smaller groups in society provides enough contact for the pheromone based hierarchy to be established, but among groups with little contact, competition of various forms is used to establish relative hierarchies. These competitions can allow more flexibility, as more successful or needed groups within society can establish themselves as needed, but the infighting within the system can also lead to inefficiency.
Societies that use the least pheromones tend to organize themselves into systems resembling family or tribal packs, although Wolf Packs and Ape troops seem a better analogy to those familiar . Within these groups, Quental pheromones are still strong enough for dominance to be easily established, but groups must compete amongst themselves within a larger society. This type of society cannot and does not rely on strong centralized control, instead relying on groups to organize within themselves, and in emergencies, for these hierarchies to be respected. Any central control that is needed is usually handled on a rotating basis, or with different functions given to different dominant smaller groups. This system is the most flexible, and handles a number of smaller scale problems more quickly than a hive might, but for tasks which require centralized control, is a hard system ot maintain.
Because direct contact between different members of a society, even those needing ot compete, is uncommon, Quental have over time developed a highly detailed set of sign languages, spoken language, and other communication to describe the strength of different pheromones. In addition, samples are often preserved and mailed from one region to another, if possible, to ensure that the proper hierarchies are established.
Economy/Science/Technology
Quental themselves are poor systematic thinkers. Although able to use tools and improve them, even the best Quental craftsman are quite poor at understanding why certain technigues work, or systematically figuring out a way to improve them. As a result, Quental tools are often crude and simple, with quality control often suffering. Quental science is also rudimentory, as they often find it impossible to understand how to isolate factors or make the leaps necessary for new discoveries. For these sorts of tasks, Quental rely on the same trial and error style of thought that they use to mutate themselves.
While outside tools are poor, Quental can mutate their bodies to produce a wide variety of products. "Thinking bioreactors", as colonists sometimes call them, produce a wide variety of chemicals for other Quental to use, often excreting multiple materials at once, and are able to shift as needed. The most skilled of these can produce solid materials in particular shapes, which are far easier to work by craftsmen.
In most other areas of a Quental economy, their ability to mutate themselves proves an enormous advantage, making up for their lack of technical skill. Physical workers build up exactly the types of strength and endurance needed for work. Precision workers develop extra appendages, muscles, and nerves for fine control. Wuental doing mental jobs develope an ability to do multiple tasks at once, very quickly. ironically, mental workers among the Quental are probably the least respected or potent, as Quental find adjusting their minds to be extremely risky and hard to do quickly, so these workers must adapt by reducing their need for sleep, and lowering the rest of their body's requirements for energy.
The most impressive achievements of Quental mutation are those who turn their entire bodies into completely different looking organisms, unrecognizable except to an experienced eye as Quental. Stories exist from Quental colonists of individuals who changed into airship-like beings, large, tough tank like warriors, or underwater fish catchers resembling dolphins or sharks. While Quental colonists do not have the genetic diversity yet to experiment in this way, they are making progress towards these achievements again.
Quental have also learned to transfer genetic material to creatures they call "Quechari", slime mold like organisms that can take many conceivable forms. These flexible creatures are mutated by the Quental to serve as clothing, building materials for houses, or other toolmaking. Quechari are mainly used to experiment with mutations, for protection in environments where Quental have not yet fully adjusted, or do not wish to adjust, or to handle more roles where Quental do not feel it is worth mutating themselves to fill a role. Quechari also serve as a base for many types of Quental food.
To organize the mutations necessary for this economic activity, Quental societies must decide where, and much, certain groups will specialize as opposed to choosing more flexible mutations. Specialized caste systems provide extreme efficiency at particular tasks, but a society is left less flexible than would otherwise be the case. Quental societies that encourage more flexible mutations for their members can adapt more easily, but members never become as skilled at particular roles, and constant adjustment is tiring as well.
Without the systematic thinking abilities that humans have, Quental have difficulty creating the legal and bureaucratic systems that humans use to organize societies. Instead, Quental organizations is done largely through the pheromone interactions. Roles in greater demand give more opportunities for successes, or at least activity, among groups in more demand. As these groups establish dominance, they are in a better position to attract new members, as well as resources, and can increase their numbers and skills more quickly than groups in lesser demand. However, this adjustment process can take a long time, longer even than many red tape filled human bureaucracies, and when extremely fast adjustment is needed, dominant members of a society can force a top down adjustment if needed.
Warfare
Combat among the Quental is common, but usually not destructive on a large scale. Most commonly, fighting is over resources or establishing dominance between rival societies. Dominance fights are typically resolved quickly when one military is defeated, as once side directly feels its loss and accepts an inferior position, but resource fights can become highly destructive of the resource in question is scarce.Political civil wars are uncommon, as a dominance contest between a military and other member of society is seen as unfairly favoring the military, though even when they do happen, they are typically not as destructive as equivalent human wars, as dominance establishment takes place very quickly.
Unfortunately for the two Non Quental species in the system, wars between a Quental and Non-Quental last for far longer, and the Quental are far more destructive. Because humans and Zithir do not give off Quental pheromones, Quental cannot sense the submission or dominance signals that they would in their own society, and as a result are reluctant to accept or offer surrenders, continuing ot fight and kill far longer than normal. In addition, the lack of mutation based separation between soldiers and other professions typically results in Quental having trouble telling the difference between soldiers and non-combatants, often killing far more than necessary. Of course, the human and especially Zithir tendencies towards all out war do not help these interactions, as Quental societies in this system have become far more ferocious in response to experience with such wars.
The dominance tendencies amongst Qnental lead to other problems with alien neighbors, as Quental fighters or groups of fighters will pick fights with nearby alien soldiers as a way to build dominance. While incidents have died down over time as Quental learn human and Zithir protocols, they still happen regularly enough to trigger incidents or wars. In early scouting days, a similar process lead to Quental being the most likely to start fights with alien scouting groups (With Zithir the least likely.)
When in battle, Quental use relatively simple equipment, often inferior to what a human army could bring, but make up for this lack by using their mutation abilities. Quental soldiers, among the three aliens in this system, are by far the toughest, designing their bodies with hard skin, fast healing, redundant organs, and strong senses. In addition, Quental rapidly adapt to whatever environments they choose to fight in, making them particularly dangerous in tough terrain such as mountains, lava fields, or jungle. Specialized body mutations fill combat roles that in human armies would go to specially trained units. Quental diggers, in particular, are feared, with a number of corrosive substances, and strength and endurance, are able to rapidly cut through about anything to reach positions from below.
First Contacts
Due to the great number of forms Quentals can take, scouting parties did not realize they were all a single organism when these aliens were first spotted. Quentals were either assumed to be symbiotic creatures, domesticated creatures, or, on Phobis Terra, simply one of the many genetic clusters of alien life found on the planet. The most common forms spotted were the "Fighter" Quental, resembling more muscular, camouflaged humans, and "scout" Quental, resembling shorter camouflaged humans, but with longer limbs and larger eyes and ears. Early Quentall scouts used simple tools, so it took some time before any human colonies worked out that the Quental were intelligent. The Quental did have a reputation for toughness, as scouting parties who got into fights with them learned that the Quental fighters were extremely hard to kill.
Behavior observations of Quental dwellings, captured Quental, and autopsies and chemical studies of dead Quentals eventually showed that these aliens were all offshoots of a highly adaptable organism. Details of Quental social structures and languages were eventually worked out, and the regular communication was established soon after.
Anatomy/Biology
The most interesting, and unusual, property of the Quental is their great genetic adaptability. It seems that the Quental are always generating mutations within their genetic system, and can mentally direct and sort between these mutations, to adjust their bodies as needed to handle some new requirement. The Quental can also share genetic material between different individuals, allowing rapid spread of a beneficial mutation. Through these mutations, skilled Quental can adapt very quickly to new environments or new roles, and develop their bodies exactly as required for particular tasks.
Because of this property, Quental have no consistent anatomy, but they do appear to have a "base" form that either was the original form of these aliens, or was a popular adaptable form that replaced it. This form resembles a human, but more muscular, and more smooth. "Base" colors appear to be different shades of green or brown, although these colors are less certain due to the easy adaptability of skin color. The Quental "standard form" has internal organs with similar roles as a human, but with more duplicates in different body locations. Most of the first Quental encountered in this system had variations on this form, but as they have become more established, these aliens have developed more diversity in form.
From the other creatures Quental have brought with them, and what they say about their own world, it appears that this adaptability is somewhat common in other species, but by no means universal. The Quental appear to be the most adaptive of large creatures with this ability, as their ability to think allows them to pursue more intelligent adaptations, and to change in more radical ways than other creatures could manage.
Quental biochemistry appears to use some material in common, and some different, to Earth life forms, but the species can adapt within a few months to process any nutrients they can sample. For this reason, they are also highly resistant to poisons. Quental on good terms with humans can adapt to eat human foods, and can assist in soil fertilization and biotechnology. Quental can also adapt rapidly to new diseases, although they seem to take few steps to avoid catching diseases outside this adaptability.
Adaptations for most roles Quental can play are relatively obvious. Explorers tend to become smaller, and less energy intensive, while gaining improved senses. Fighters add additional, redundant organs, become tougher, and gain muscles and heightened senses. Physical workers enhance precision and strength as needed. Mental workers reduce their need for sleep, and tend to be smaller and lighter than physical workers. Unique among the Quental are individuals who process chemicals, almost as intelligent bioreactors, who adapt themselves to generate material products.
The major constant among Quental biochemistry is a pheramone system to determine dominance. This simple system determines dominance among the Quental, and is a major part of how they organize their society. Some of this pheromone system is based on genetics, but it is also influenced by relative successes at various tasks, and societies often include ritualized competitions of various types to compare individual skills and dominance, so the system does reflect to some degree the success of various members. Unlike the mostly subconsious signals (like body language in humans) used by other organisms, the relative amounts and type of dominance pheromones are immediately and obviously noticed by Quentals.
Society/Government
Quental organize themselves using two simple systems, a pheromone cominance system, and a caste system designed around genetic adaptation to particular roles. The relative importance of these systems, and the way they are used, determines the structure of a particular Quetzal society.
Quental societies that mostly focus on their pheromone system are strongly hierarchical, and tightly organized. The resemblance to social insects has lead people to describe these systems as Hives. Though not as tightly controlled as insect societies on Earth, the strong pheromone signals in a hive strongly pressure Quental in one to obey orders, and hives are well suited to times when strong organization and focus in a group.
A less intense reliance on pheromones results in a society results in a patronage type society, where different groups within the society compete for control through the most dominant members, while within groups, loyalty largely is held intact. The interaction within smaller groups in society provides enough contact for the pheromone based hierarchy to be established, but among groups with little contact, competition of various forms is used to establish relative hierarchies. These competitions can allow more flexibility, as more successful or needed groups within society can establish themselves as needed, but the infighting within the system can also lead to inefficiency.
Societies that use the least pheromones tend to organize themselves into systems resembling family or tribal packs, although Wolf Packs and Ape troops seem a better analogy to those familiar . Within these groups, Quental pheromones are still strong enough for dominance to be easily established, but groups must compete amongst themselves within a larger society. This type of society cannot and does not rely on strong centralized control, instead relying on groups to organize within themselves, and in emergencies, for these hierarchies to be respected. Any central control that is needed is usually handled on a rotating basis, or with different functions given to different dominant smaller groups. This system is the most flexible, and handles a number of smaller scale problems more quickly than a hive might, but for tasks which require centralized control, is a hard system ot maintain.
Because direct contact between different members of a society, even those needing ot compete, is uncommon, Quental have over time developed a highly detailed set of sign languages, spoken language, and other communication to describe the strength of different pheromones. In addition, samples are often preserved and mailed from one region to another, if possible, to ensure that the proper hierarchies are established.
Economy/Science/Technology
Quental themselves are poor systematic thinkers. Although able to use tools and improve them, even the best Quental craftsman are quite poor at understanding why certain technigues work, or systematically figuring out a way to improve them. As a result, Quental tools are often crude and simple, with quality control often suffering. Quental science is also rudimentory, as they often find it impossible to understand how to isolate factors or make the leaps necessary for new discoveries. For these sorts of tasks, Quental rely on the same trial and error style of thought that they use to mutate themselves.
While outside tools are poor, Quental can mutate their bodies to produce a wide variety of products. "Thinking bioreactors", as colonists sometimes call them, produce a wide variety of chemicals for other Quental to use, often excreting multiple materials at once, and are able to shift as needed. The most skilled of these can produce solid materials in particular shapes, which are far easier to work by craftsmen.
In most other areas of a Quental economy, their ability to mutate themselves proves an enormous advantage, making up for their lack of technical skill. Physical workers build up exactly the types of strength and endurance needed for work. Precision workers develop extra appendages, muscles, and nerves for fine control. Wuental doing mental jobs develope an ability to do multiple tasks at once, very quickly. ironically, mental workers among the Quental are probably the least respected or potent, as Quental find adjusting their minds to be extremely risky and hard to do quickly, so these workers must adapt by reducing their need for sleep, and lowering the rest of their body's requirements for energy.
The most impressive achievements of Quental mutation are those who turn their entire bodies into completely different looking organisms, unrecognizable except to an experienced eye as Quental. Stories exist from Quental colonists of individuals who changed into airship-like beings, large, tough tank like warriors, or underwater fish catchers resembling dolphins or sharks. While Quental colonists do not have the genetic diversity yet to experiment in this way, they are making progress towards these achievements again.
Quental have also learned to transfer genetic material to creatures they call "Quechari", slime mold like organisms that can take many conceivable forms. These flexible creatures are mutated by the Quental to serve as clothing, building materials for houses, or other toolmaking. Quechari are mainly used to experiment with mutations, for protection in environments where Quental have not yet fully adjusted, or do not wish to adjust, or to handle more roles where Quental do not feel it is worth mutating themselves to fill a role. Quechari also serve as a base for many types of Quental food.
To organize the mutations necessary for this economic activity, Quental societies must decide where, and much, certain groups will specialize as opposed to choosing more flexible mutations. Specialized caste systems provide extreme efficiency at particular tasks, but a society is left less flexible than would otherwise be the case. Quental societies that encourage more flexible mutations for their members can adapt more easily, but members never become as skilled at particular roles, and constant adjustment is tiring as well.
Without the systematic thinking abilities that humans have, Quental have difficulty creating the legal and bureaucratic systems that humans use to organize societies. Instead, Quental organizations is done largely through the pheromone interactions. Roles in greater demand give more opportunities for successes, or at least activity, among groups in more demand. As these groups establish dominance, they are in a better position to attract new members, as well as resources, and can increase their numbers and skills more quickly than groups in lesser demand. However, this adjustment process can take a long time, longer even than many red tape filled human bureaucracies, and when extremely fast adjustment is needed, dominant members of a society can force a top down adjustment if needed.
Warfare
Combat among the Quental is common, but usually not destructive on a large scale. Most commonly, fighting is over resources or establishing dominance between rival societies. Dominance fights are typically resolved quickly when one military is defeated, as once side directly feels its loss and accepts an inferior position, but resource fights can become highly destructive of the resource in question is scarce.Political civil wars are uncommon, as a dominance contest between a military and other member of society is seen as unfairly favoring the military, though even when they do happen, they are typically not as destructive as equivalent human wars, as dominance establishment takes place very quickly.
Unfortunately for the two Non Quental species in the system, wars between a Quental and Non-Quental last for far longer, and the Quental are far more destructive. Because humans and Zithir do not give off Quental pheromones, Quental cannot sense the submission or dominance signals that they would in their own society, and as a result are reluctant to accept or offer surrenders, continuing ot fight and kill far longer than normal. In addition, the lack of mutation based separation between soldiers and other professions typically results in Quental having trouble telling the difference between soldiers and non-combatants, often killing far more than necessary. Of course, the human and especially Zithir tendencies towards all out war do not help these interactions, as Quental societies in this system have become far more ferocious in response to experience with such wars.
The dominance tendencies amongst Qnental lead to other problems with alien neighbors, as Quental fighters or groups of fighters will pick fights with nearby alien soldiers as a way to build dominance. While incidents have died down over time as Quental learn human and Zithir protocols, they still happen regularly enough to trigger incidents or wars. In early scouting days, a similar process lead to Quental being the most likely to start fights with alien scouting groups (With Zithir the least likely.)
When in battle, Quental use relatively simple equipment, often inferior to what a human army could bring, but make up for this lack by using their mutation abilities. Quental soldiers, among the three aliens in this system, are by far the toughest, designing their bodies with hard skin, fast healing, redundant organs, and strong senses. In addition, Quental rapidly adapt to whatever environments they choose to fight in, making them particularly dangerous in tough terrain such as mountains, lava fields, or jungle. Specialized body mutations fill combat roles that in human armies would go to specially trained units. Quental diggers, in particular, are feared, with a number of corrosive substances, and strength and endurance, are able to rapidly cut through about anything to reach positions from below.
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