Successor [FT][OOC][Closed]

[Fleuri and Paix]

APP

Player Name: Fleuri and Paix (the Couronnois Federation)

Character Name: Captain Libereco Unua de Kastelo.

Appearance: Two-armed and bipedal. Roughly eight feet tall and heavily built, proportionally speaking. Facial features: biotech eyes slightly smaller than a human palm, glowing green, with no apparent detail (no pupils or irises); lipless mouth; teeth well-maintained, no canines. No facial nostrils - olfactory input located between inner termini of clavicles. Skin a variety of natural shades, mostly green, with some purple mottling; dry and leathery texture. Hands and feet are vaguely polymorphic, although the process is slow; Libereco chooses to maintain circular feet and 'hands' in the form of tentacles. No visible external sexual characteristics of any kind; generally, no clothing except, where required, indicators of rank. Bass voice with unusual but non-anomalous harmonics. Described as "a forest golem".

Job Description: Titular captain of the Red Mantevin battleplate Kastelo, currently assigned to outreach.

Species: Libereco was born human. His body arguably is not.

Biography: Libereco Unua de Kastelo (properly formally addressed as Libereco, born Marcus Cara) is a Mantarien Couronnois political dissident. He is affiliated with the Red Mantevins, a group which claims sovereignty over Mantar, a Federation member system. The Red Mantevins advocate for the development and full citizenship of superhuman strong-AI, a position which puts them at odds with the currently recognised government of Mantar system, the Mantarien Regency, which proscribes research into AI technologies and legally requires the destruction of any nascent strong AI where possible.

The Red Mantevins claim sovereignty over Mantar on the admittedly rather thin pretext that a Red Mantevin-aligned AI, "Charlotte", was created by York Xiang Sleeman, a prince of the royal line of the noble house of Sleeman, which at one point ruled Mantar. They contend that this makes her his firstborn heir and, with his passing, legitimate Regent of Mantar. The question of whether Charlotte is legally York Sleeman's child remains unresolved, due to the more legally substantial argument that the House of Sleeman no longer rules Mantar and York Sleeman's heir would not be Regent. The argument of nobility is generally considered to be a legal fiction representing a more general cause of AI liberation, one which did not gain significant traction as a result of the brief War of the Mantarien Succession, which the Red Mantevins initiated.

Thrown out of their territory, the Red Mantevins now roam the galaxy, taking on some of the characteristics of a religious order. Libereco, a defector from the Fleurien Defence Forces contingent of the Levy complement sent to suppress the Mantarien insurgency, is now a senior initiate of that order, bearing the title of Captain of the Kastelo and Moderator of its Conclave. As Kastelo is Charlotte's flagship, which she usually commands directly in battle, Libereco's Captaincy is primarily honorific; as a senior figure in the Red Mantevin community, however, he is deeply respected.

---

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: N/A
Reason for Presence at this Event: The reason the Red Mantevins are sending an emissary is to build international relationships and garner international sympathy and, hopefully, support. Libereco is the Red Mantevins' emissary to Excidium largely because of his background. He is what is known in Mantarien parlance as a curas (from Mantarien poetic Esperanto kiu iras, "one who goes") - a Mantarien by birth who took Federal Service (with the Fleurien Defence Forces) rather than serving in the Mantarien domestic defence squadron. While there, he served as an HAW (heuristic-aided warfare) officer, responsible for the development and maintenance of military subsentient AI systems. In that capacity, he was heavily decorated, and authored or co-authored a number of academic publications, the most notable being on the subject of the potential development and applications of strong AI, which were politically controversial but never considered to be of questionable theoretical foundation. The Red Mantevin community has been noted to attract people of similar backgrounds to this; however, Libereco is generally recognised as being head-and-shoulders above his peers. He is also known for a particularly cool head and eloquent style of speech. Whether he has been chosen for his expertise, or to remove his moderating influence from the Red fleet, is a matter of much speculation among his more radical congregants.

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So far it looks good, but there are a few problems here:

• You are going to need to make a Nation App too.
• Your character's specific reason for going is all well and good, but I'm going to need a reason for why your nation was contacted in the first place. Excidium Planetis didn't just publicly broadcast that they needed help, they sent out specific invitations. I know I haven't interacted with you before, but if you make up an explanation, I'll tell you if it is plausible or not.

Super. I have updated my original application with an included faction app.

[Tinfect]

Oh, hehehe, I missed that. Did wonder why the name sounded familiar. Is he going to connect the dots if and when meeting the PPU representatives?

Depends on if someone mentions the Greenery from the Bar.

Also, Excidium,
>Holographic Screens
What are you, some kind of Market-Primitivist Hellhole? Real governments, like the Imperium, abandoned such inefficient and unnecessary technologies long ago! AR Environments are clearly superior for any applications Holograms have use in. And that's totally not just because we couldn't figure out how to project a Particle Field that didn't double as a PPC if you tried to touch it.

[The Second Brotherhood of Planets]

Oh, hehehe, I missed that. Did wonder why the name sounded familiar. Is he going to connect the dots if and when meeting the PPU representatives?

Depends on if someone mentions the Greenery from the Bar.

Also, Excidium,
>Holographic Screens
What are you, some kind of Market-Primitivist Hellhole? Real governments, like the Imperium, abandoned such inefficient and unnecessary technologies long ago! AR Environments are clearly superior for any applications Holograms have use in. And that's totally not just because we couldn't figure out how to project a Particle Field that didn't double as a PPC if you tried to touch it.

Clearly, the Brotherhood is also not a real government. AR may be more tactilely and visually efficient, but Holographic Screens require much less power and, as such, are more energy-efficient.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Oh, hehehe, I missed that. Did wonder why the name sounded familiar. Is he going to connect the dots if and when meeting the PPU representatives?

---

Sierra Lyricalia, what language does your nation use?

After reading SL's factbooks, I would have to guess something like "Engrish".

I think I've gone with "Inglisch" sometime in the past

For SL and PPU, you can either choose to roleplay out the trip to the hangar and the dropship flight, or simply wait until the dropship deposits you on the luxury cruise liner. Feel free to ask questions.

I have my team's approach to a rendezvous on the edge of our system (to be picked up by whatever Excidian FTL craft would be tasked with that) largely written, but if being picked up at the WA HQ means we don't have to settle the "Humans from Earth in the Sol system" problem but just chalk it up to the WA's transdimensional nature (if it comes up)... then perhaps that's better.

Either way I'll have something up soon.

[Excidium Planetis]

After reading SL's factbooks, I would have to guess something like "Engrish".

I think I've gone with "Inglisch" sometime in the past

For SL and PPU, you can either choose to roleplay out the trip to the hangar and the dropship flight, or simply wait until the dropship deposits you on the luxury cruise liner. Feel free to ask questions.

I have my team's approach to a rendezvous on the edge of our system (to be picked up by whatever Excidian FTL craft would be tasked with that) largely written, but if being picked up at the WA HQ means we don't have to settle the "Humans from Earth in the Sol system" problem but just chalk it up to the WA's transdimensional nature (if it comes up)... then perhaps that's better.

Either way I'll have something up soon.

We didn't pick you up at WA HQ, we used WA HQ to travel to your universe and then picked you up at the Sol system.

Excidians aren't the most experienced in interuniversal travel, but they have done it before.

[Excidium Planetis]

So far it looks good, but there are a few problems here:

• You are going to need to make a Nation App too.
• Your character's specific reason for going is all well and good, but I'm going to need a reason for why your nation was contacted in the first place. Excidium Planetis didn't just publicly broadcast that they needed help, they sent out specific invitations. I know I haven't interacted with you before, but if you make up an explanation, I'll tell you if it is plausible or not.

Super. I have updated my original application with an included faction app.

The new app is good. Accepted, feel free to start on a post.

[Tinfect]

Clearly, the Brotherhood is also not a real government.

The Imperium considers Democracy tantamount to Anarchy; as far as the Imperium is concerned, that statement is exactly true.

AR may be more tactilely and visually efficient, but Holographic Screens require much less power and, as such, are more energy-efficient.

Uh... Projecting energy fields to use as screens, is more energy-efficient than loading some AR software into Optical augmentations? I mean, I don't know exactly how far the Brotherhood has taken Cybernetics, but I don't quite think that's right.

[The Second Brotherhood of Planets]

Uh... Projecting energy fields to use as screens, is more energy-efficient than loading some AR software into Optical augmentations? I mean, I don't know exactly how far the Brotherhood has taken Cybernetics, but I don't quite think that's right.

Oooohhh. My bad. See, I figured you were referring to something akin to a Holodeck.

If it's just AR software onto Optical augmentations, then... Holo-projection can be seen by a large group of people without requiring additional hardware. AR software installed onto Optical augmentations assumes that everyone has this optical augmention, unless that's exactly what the Imperium expects from its citizens. If so, sure, differences in policy and all that. Both have no tactile advantages.

[Potted Plants United]

It seems that the post I tried to post here this morning got eaten by some cyber-goblins somewhere. Or else I just imagined trying to post it.

---

Oh, hehehe, I missed that. Did wonder why the name sounded familiar. Is he going to connect the dots if and when meeting the PPU representatives?

Depends on if someone mentions the Greenery from the Bar.

The greenery itself might mention it, if he's introduced to it by his name.

---

I have a post written for the IC thread, but I need to go over it for grammar and typos, and that's going to have to be tomorrow (Saturday), after I've had enough sleep to feel coherent.

---

Updated PPU's siggy for the first time in like... how long have I had this nation again?

[Excidium Planetis]

Also, Excidium,
>Holographic Screens
What are you, some kind of Market-Primitivist Hellhole? Real governments, like the Imperium, abandoned such inefficient and unnecessary technologies long ago! AR Environments are clearly superior for any applications Holograms have use in. And that's totally not just because we couldn't figure out how to project a Particle Field that didn't double as a PPC if you tried to touch it.

Only the best for our centuries old warships!

The Bridge displays are not true holograms, they are false holograms created by a spherical automultiscopic volumetric display. The images projected by this display are mostly a computer generated three dimensional model of the surrounding space, both to make it easier for humans to actually see things (space is dark, things are small and really far away, and some things will blind you if you were actually looking at them). The model is created by the sensors on the exterior of the ship, which does include actual visual images, but a large amount of it is LIDAR and Radar too.

The advantage to using this over AR is
1) We don't need to give everyone helmets for them to see stuff. Anyone can just walk in, and look, there's space all around them from the safety of the heart of the ship.
2) No motion sickness from Oculus-type AR.
3) People on the bridge can point at stuff on the display, and everyone else knows what they are pointing at. With AR, you would have to overlay the map of space over everyone's normal vision to achieve the same affect, and things get cluttered.

[Tinfect]

Oooohhh. My bad. See, I figured you were referring to something akin to a Holodeck.

To be fair, the Imperium could probably do that. It would, however, likely suffer from the same problems as the PPC Hologram Projector mentioned earlier.

If it's just AR software onto Optical augmentations, then... Holo-projection can be seen by a large group of people without requiring additional hardware. AR software installed onto Optical augmentations assumes that everyone has this optical augmention, unless that's exactly what the Imperium expects from its citizens.

Technically, you don't have to get them, and AR is an incredibly rare thing in Civilian life. For most purposes, even military ones, the Imperium finds conventional screens more useful. AR is used for Battlefield Operations where other options are not available.

Both have no tactile advantages.

>implying the imperium only designs eyes to function in AR environments

Only the best for our centuries old warships!

Now you're gettin' it.

The Bridge displays are not true holograms, they are false holograms created by a spherical automultiscopic volumetric display.

I actually had to look this up. What is this primitivism? If that's the best Excidium Planetis can do, I now fully expect the Citizenry to fall down in worship of Valeren. It's too late for me to determine if the sarcasm is obvious, so here's a /s

The images projected by this display are mostly a computer generated three dimensional model of the surrounding space, both to make it easier for humans to actually see things (space is dark, things are small and really far away, and some things will blind you if you were actually looking at them).

The Imperium just prefers to use screens. If we need to display something in 3D, well, there are reasons AR systems are part of the standard kit for soldiers.

The model is created by the sensors on the exterior of the ship, which does include actual visual images, but a large amount of it is LIDAR and Radar too.

We use similar methods of sensors it seems, though, if I remember correctly, the Imperium could see much farther away with much more impossibly small optical systems.

The advantage to using this over AR is
1) We don't need to give everyone helmets for them to see stuff. Anyone can just walk in, and look, there's space all around them from the safety of the heart of the ship.
2) No motion sickness from Oculus-type AR.
3) People on the bridge can point at stuff on the display, and everyone else knows what they are pointing at. With AR, you would have to overlay the map of space over everyone's normal vision to achieve the same affect, and things get cluttered.

You're just not thinking Transhumanistically enough. One Word: Cybernetics. Don't need a Helmet when your eyes have AR processors embedded in them, don't get motion sickness because Imperial AR Development Personnel know what they're doing, you don't need to point at any displays when you can just send the information to the rest of the Bridge crew. Through the ship's consoles. Or just shout at them. Really, there's just not much reason to point at anything to begin with.

[Potted Plants United]

Finally posted on the IC thread. EP, I'll need a reply from Hailey and then have a short additional post to go, before I'm fine with skipping over to the scene on the Starliner.

Also, I'm feeling like PPU is quite out its league, what with all of you, even SL, having space ships and whatnot. But I've very much enjoyed reading all your shippy intros - SL's was especially fun as I could easily see that being a RL response (fast-forwarded a couple of centuries) to something like Excidium. Already looking forward to their reactions to PPU's representatives.

Also, SL, could the hivemind had had access to your nation's language info at the WAHQ?

[The United Colonies of Earth]

I am tired so this may not be the wisest idea but whatever
what year is this? I am planning on (mainly) RPing in 2552 because that's the only year I have completed national stats for
and is an earth-centered interstellar state ok with you?

APP
Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Nation Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Government type: Federal liberal semi-presidential republic
Economic Ideology: Liberal antilaborist corporatism
Head of Government: Secretary-General Inkorath Paine
Head of State: President Julian Agricola-Nordstrom

---

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: People fleeing from our nation during the Colonial Civil War (2290-2310) witnessed the passing of an Excidium ship in 2303, and in 2306 the Navy was sent to recover them. It transpired that we encountered several Excidium vessels. Since then detachments of the Navy's Deep Space Patrol have monitored whenever large numbers of Excidium vessels enter systems on the periphery of our sphere of influence. Some of our citizens who work in the few companies that trade in foreign goods have gotten hold of some stuff, if any, from Excidium or have given (deliberately outdated) UCE technology to people from the Excidium fleets.
Reason for Presence at this Event: The UCE is interested in the fate of artificial intelligence and Excidium Planetis as what it terms a "FTL generation ship fleet" that wanders the galaxy, and seeks to have its' say in the matter. AI running the fleet could potentially impact our future colonization plans.
Is your nation canonically a member of the World Assembly? Yes. I guess so...

---

RP Examples: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p29264715
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=383104&p=29584510
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APP
Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Character Name: Elsa Ziveta Schuler
Appearance: 2.29 meters tall, 145 kg mass. Pale blonde wavy hair, typically in a ponytail, heterochrome blue/hazel bioluminescent eyes. European face structure, apparently of Germanic ancestry; high cheeks, small rounded chin, slightly large, round eyes. Svelte figure. Normally wears a suit similar to the one on the right, but at times may be found wearing something akin to a winged version of this when she detects a threat her bodysuit can't stop.
Job Description: UCE Diplomatic Division Special Tasks Command- Prism Service Field Covert and Direct Action Extraterritorialities Agent. As Field Covert Agent, responsible for the gathering of intelligence on the activities of nonmember interstellar polities beyond and within the UCE sphere of influence, without attracting attention as an agent of the UCE government. May be required to disguise identity as a UCE employee from time to time in the completion of the intelligence-gathering mission, and utilize various elements of human, nonhuman, non-UCE and UCE-manufactured technology in aid of this mission. Is required to return to UCE space frequently to file reports and certify continuing pro-UCE loyalties. As Direct Action Agent, responsible for participating on behalf of the UCE alongside an Interspecies Relations Command Agent in inter-polity events, negotiations and activities, and exploit opportunities for Covert Field Operations by other STC agents.
Species: Modern human- New Ghibalbian variant/subspecies/ethnicity. Distinguished by the presence of a genetically encoded nanotechnology-dependent computer in the brain, as well as by enlarged metabolism, bioluminescence and heterochromia in the eyes, larger physique and greater physical strength than baseline humans.
Knowledgeable of seven or so sapient species.
Biography: Born in 2517 on New Stuttgart in NSC 6133 to Gerhard Schuler and Scelona Kirsu, Schuler is the second-eldest of six children and after her parents' divorce in 2520, grew up with her mother on Sovena, homeworld of the Human Defense League icon, human isolationist, Hostis Humani Generis (traitor) and formerly greatly acclaimed Naval strategist and Fleet Admiral Daniel Hosten and a New Ghibalbian stronghold. From an early age Elsa was pushed by Kirsu to succeed in all things. She continued in this vein until her second year of college at Sovena Planetary University, where receiving a barely-passing grade in differential calculus sent Elsa into a depression in 2536. She ran away from home and, seeking meaning and independence from her controlling mother and New Ghibalbian culture, joined the New Stuttgart External Trade Company as a trade prospector. On one of these trips she ran into some people from Excidium Planetis, and was surprised to learn of their humanity, having thought of them as aliens. In 2538, the Sovena Child Protection Services forcibly returned her home to her mother to complete her college degree in civil engineering and made her quit the job with the company. When Elsa graduated from Sovena University in 2541, she rejected an offer with a company designing colonial highway grids. However, she was then approached by a consul of the UCE Diplomatic Division about joining the Division as a field agent. Liking the possibility of traveling abroad, Elsa accepted the job and began a decade-long saga of misadventures, posing as a Hosten-backed mercenary in the Perseus Arm fighting for and against the various Raki clans disputing control of the arm with the UCE and each other alongside several other New Ghibalbians. During this time she has grown to embrace her New Ghibalbian heritage but rejects the notion that it is under attack.

---

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: During her work with New Stuttgart External Trade as a prospector, Elsa assessed various alien systems as places for temporary trade posts between the company and alien races around the fringes of UCE space. Some of these systems were in the process of being stripped by Excidium vessels for resources, and she arranged some trade deals between them and the company to buy guns (which were then shipped to the federal government for reverse-engineering and analysis) and other cultural artifacts.
Reason for Presence at this Event: The United Colonies of Earth believes that the harbinger of AI in the society of Excidium Planetis could have an impact on that society's resource-gathering activities as they relate to UCE colonization efforts. Elsa has some (marginal) experience with them as a trade prospector. Otherwise her role in the meeting will be ancillary to that of the IRC agent accompanying her.
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APP
Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Character Name: Cristoph Clovis Tugari
Appearance: Official pic on the IRC website.
Job Description: UCE Diplomatic Division Interspecies Relations Command- Nonmember Human States Envoy. Responsible for forging, through the usage of diplomacy and intelligence acquired by Special Tasks/Prism Service agents, stable, peaceful, cordial, and mutually beneficial ties between the United Colonies of Earth and nonmember human states in hopes of integrating them into the United Colonies of Earth as member states, at which point their further integration becomes a responsibility of Membership Command.
Species: Baseline human. Knowledgeable of seven sapient species.
Biography: Born in 2510 on the colony of New Celti in the Outer Colonies, Tugari was initially interested primarily in the aspects of international relations that explored why human states might avoid joining the UCE as a student of the subject in university. Initially a rather academically unremarkable fellow, he stood out for his curiosity about group cohesion; he was empathetic toward those who seemed on the fringes of society or "normalcy" in his childhood and teenage years and retains this trait to the present day.
By 2531, he had completed his studies in college and aimed to work at the Diplomatic Division's Membership Command as one of its' theorists, devoted to dissecting the specific cases of nations not joining the UCE and figuring out how to make them members. He had already done a co-op at the Division's regional headquarters in the Norma Arm, and was welcomed to the job immediately. Instead of theory, however, DiploDiv wanted him to work in actuality on a specific case- the case of Simlia, a colony founded by refugees of the Colonial Civil War in the late 23rd century and which, fearful of the effects of automation and antilaborism, had minimized its' contact with the UCE accordingly for the past two centuries. He was grouped with a Membership agent and Special Tasks agent from those respective commands to work with the theorists on bringing the Republic of Simlia into the UCE. For the next decade and a half he would lead the efforts to expand tourism to and from Simlia and reduce the impact of Simlian trade and travel barriers without outraging the Simlian government or populace. Initially, Simlia was (unconstitutionally) privileged over nearby UCE colonies in economic development funding but eventually agreed to reduce its' reliance on this support. However, the Simlian government was unwilling to reform the planet's economy to accomodate antilaborist corporatism. The only solution to the matter was reached in 2546 successfully as Julian Agricola, the UCE's founder, rebounded to the prestigious and powerful post of President in the same year. Simlia became a member state, but was allowed to levy tariffs against non-Simlian goods and mandate that companies use human laborers when setting up worksites in the Simlia system. Many in the UCE looked askance at Tugari's efforts to bring Simlia into the Union but Agricola herself did not. She urged that he be tasked to work on other membership projects that had been similarly stuck like Simlia's had been, but he was simply made a paper-pusher instead by hardline Unionists in DiploDiv's hierarchy until 2552, when he was paired with Elsa Schuler, a Prism Service Covert/Direct Agent, to comprise a UCE contingent sent to the FTL generation ship fleet of Excidium Planetis to participate in a conference on sapient artificial intelligence on the UCE's behalf.

---

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: None. That's what Elsa's for.
Reason for Presence at this Event: He wants to simply get ahead in DiploDiv as a respected member of the establishment on relations between the UCE and other human polities, and Julian Agricola's backing him on that. She hopes that his interaction with Excidium will lead to greater ties between them and the UCE, potentially including the instatement of formal diplomatic relations.

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[The Second Brotherhood of Planets]

-snip-

Both have no tactile advantages.

>implying the imperium only designs eyes to function in AR environments

-snip, although from a Bro perspective Excidians are pretty on point-

You're just not thinking Transhumanistically enough. One Word: Cybernetics. Don't need a Helmet when your eyes have AR processors embedded in them, don't get motion sickness because Imperial AR Development Personnel know what they're doing, you don't need to point at any displays when you can just send the information to the rest of the Bridge crew. Through the ship's consoles. Or just shout at them. Really, there's just not much reason to point at anything to begin with.

It seems that, if Tinfect is to understand a large number of human civilizations, specifically ones that have achieved PMT and FT levels of Tech, Tinfect's diplomatic core must accept that so many humans are far too smug to ever let Transhumanism really be a thing.

For the Broes, at least, it's why we use Star Wars esque holoprojection tech rather than resort to ocular implants and the like.

There are those who assent to having squishy bits replaced with machinery. These are known as Cyborgs in the common tongue, but the Broes call them Symbionts (like in Supreme Commander or Ghost in the Shell). Symbionts usually have most of their body replaced by machinery, but there are a happy few who just replace sensory organs and maybe certain appendages.

Thing is lots of humans frown upon transhumanism. Sure sure, they're being squeamish, but many humans also have this quaint notion that their race has superior qualities. All sapient peoples believe that their gene line is superior in some way. Heck, it's a common problem throughout the Brotherhood; it's why the Grand Alliance managed to do all that it did (granted most of that is backstory now because dead RP).

So if their flesh works perfectly fine, why get rid of bits that are in perfectly working order? Some see it as an insult to their ancestors, others just don't want the short-term pain or required adjustment time even if there are concrete benefits.

Now, few human apes really care one way or another if a machine becomes our leader. I mean machines make good decisions you know? Sure, even the worst ones, like this guy:

AI Entity

Still make better decisions than various fleshbag politicians.

... But ripping off my arm and replacing it with a mechanical one? No, sir! That's gotta hurt! And what if I can't get used to how it moves?

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Finally posted on the IC thread. EP, I'll need a reply from Hailey and then have a short additional post to go, before I'm fine with skipping over to the scene on the Starliner.

Also, I'm feeling like PPU is quite out its league, what with all of you, even SL, having space ships and whatnot. But I've very much enjoyed reading all your shippy intros - SL's was especially fun as I could easily see that being a RL response (fast-forwarded a couple of centuries) to something like Excidium. Already looking forward to their reactions to PPU's representatives.

Also, SL, could the hivemind had had access to your nation's language info at the WAHQ?

I assumed yes on the language front (hence why my people are equipped to translate from the Excidian English). Steph has never said a single word to any of the plants, though she and the rest of the SLhD are aware they exist as intelligent beings. That has to mean we've all done the equivalent of downloading the Universal Library Coalition's suite of language materials, yes? My people will have not much trouble (machine translations always a bit screwy, as we all know) with Tinfectese, Plantish, or Aeiouian for that reason, though the others may present an issue until we can get the language learning software to work. SL is arrogant enough in its estimations of its programming skills and beginner-stage transhuman mods not to have bothered to send a linguist - something else for the team to bitch about.

[Excidium Planetis]

I am tired so this may not be the wisest idea but whatever
what year is this? I am planning on (mainly) RPing in 2552 because that's the only year I have completed national stats for
and is an earth-centered interstellar state ok with you?

1) If we go by the Excidian calendar, the year should be AD 3016
2) Normally, I avoid roleplaying near Earth to avoid canonical contact with any nation that claims Earth. At vast distances (such as this), where we can dismiss your claims of owning Earth as fiction, it could work out.

I'd hate to see your beautiful app wasted though, so let's see what we can do.

APP
Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Nation Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Government type: Federal liberal semi-presidential republic
Economic Ideology: Liberal antilaborist corporatism
Head of Government: Secretary-General Inkorath Paine
Head of State: President Julian Agricola-Nordstrom

---

Everything looks good here.

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: People fleeing from our nation during the Colonial Civil War (2290-2310) witnessed the passing of an Excidium ship in 2303, and in 2306 the Navy was sent to recover them. It transpired that we encountered several Excidium vessels. Since then detachments of the Navy's Deep Space Patrol have monitored whenever large numbers of Excidium vessels enter systems on the periphery of our sphere of influence. Some of our citizens who work in the few companies that trade in foreign goods have gotten hold of some stuff, if any, from Excidium or have given (deliberately outdated) UCE technology to people from the Excidium fleets.

While this is a good explanation, the main problem is the timeline. Excidium didn't even exist in 2303.

Brief history, to see if we can work things out:
Around ~2300, a few systems are colonized by slower than light ships sent from Earth.
Around ~2400 a crisis develops as it is discovered that a supernova from a neighboring star will hit the system in a century or so.
Around ~2500, the colonists flee into space with millions of hastily built ships.
Around ~2550, Excidium Planetis is formed to restore order to the descendents of the survivors. They then stick to slowly moving cluster of starship and debris that is literally out in the void between star systems.
Around ~2700, Homeship Reckoner becomes operational as basically a giant space station to allow people to live for a few more centuries until we all die from lack of resources.
Around ~2850, FTL is invented, saving our people from extinction.

We have a few options:
1) You could use a progressed version of your nation.
2) You could claim to be from another universe
3) There could be some kind of time anomaly that led AD 2552 UCE to encounter AD 3016 EP. We could even use time dilation as an explanation for reverse time travel.

Reason for Presence at this Event: The UCE is interested in the fate of artificial intelligence and Excidium Planetis as what it terms a "FTL generation ship fleet" that wanders the galaxy, and seeks to have its' say in the matter. AI running the fleet could potentially impact our future colonization plans.
Is your nation canonically a member of the World Assembly? Yes. I guess so...

RP Examples: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p29264715
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Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Character Name: Elsa Ziveta Schuler
Appearance: 2.29 meters tall, 145 kg mass. Pale blonde wavy hair, typically in a ponytail, heterochrome blue/hazel bioluminescent eyes. European face structure, apparently of Germanic ancestry; high cheeks, small rounded chin, slightly large, round eyes. Svelte figure. Normally wears a suit similar to the one on the right, but at times may be found wearing something akin to a winged version of this when she detects a threat her bodysuit can't stop.
Job Description: UCE Diplomatic Division Special Tasks Command- Prism Service Field Covert and Direct Action Extraterritorialities Agent. As Field Covert Agent, responsible for the gathering of intelligence on the activities of nonmember interstellar polities beyond and within the UCE sphere of influence, without attracting attention as an agent of the UCE government. May be required to disguise identity as a UCE employee from time to time in the completion of the intelligence-gathering mission, and utilize various elements of human, nonhuman, non-UCE and UCE-manufactured technology in aid of this mission. Is required to return to UCE space frequently to file reports and certify continuing pro-UCE loyalties. As Direct Action Agent, responsible for participating on behalf of the UCE alongside an Interspecies Relations Command Agent in inter-polity events, negotiations and activities, and exploit opportunities for Covert Field Operations by other STC agents.
Species: Modern human- New Ghibalbian variant/subspecies/ethnicity. Distinguished by the presence of a genetically encoded nanotechnology-dependent computer in the brain, as well as by enlarged metabolism, bioluminescence and heterochromia in the eyes, larger physique and greater physical strength than baseline humans.
Knowledgeable of seven or so sapient species.
Biography: Born in 2517 on New Stuttgart in NSC 6133 to Gerhard Schuler and Scelona Kirsu, Schuler is the second-eldest of six children and after her parents' divorce in 2520, grew up with her mother on Sovena, homeworld of the Human Defense League icon, human isolationist, Hostis Humani Generis (traitor) and formerly greatly acclaimed Naval strategist and Fleet Admiral Daniel Hosten and a New Ghibalbian stronghold. From an early age Elsa was pushed by Kirsu to succeed in all things. She continued in this vein until her second year of college at Sovena Planetary University, where receiving a barely-passing grade in differential calculus sent Elsa into a depression in 2536. She ran away from home and, seeking meaning and independence from her controlling mother and New Ghibalbian culture, joined the New Stuttgart External Trade Company as a trade prospector. On one of these trips she ran into some people from Excidium Planetis, and was surprised to learn of their humanity, having thought of them as aliens. In 2538, the Sovena Child Protection Services forcibly returned her home to her mother to complete her college degree in civil engineering and made her quit the job with the company. When Elsa graduated from Sovena University in 2541, she rejected an offer with a company designing colonial highway grids. However, she was then approached by a consul of the UCE Diplomatic Division about joining the Division as a field agent. Liking the possibility of traveling abroad, Elsa accepted the job and began a decade-long saga of misadventures, posing as a Hosten-backed mercenary in the Perseus Arm fighting for and against the various Raki clans disputing control of the arm with the UCE and each other alongside several other New Ghibalbians. During this time she has grown to embrace her New Ghibalbian heritage but rejects the notion that it is under attack.

---

Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: During her work with New Stuttgart External Trade as a prospector, Elsa assessed various alien systems as places for temporary trade posts between the company and alien races around the fringes of UCE space. Some of these systems were in the process of being stripped by Excidium vessels for resources, and she arranged some trade deals between them and the company to buy guns (which were then shipped to the federal government for reverse-engineering and analysis) and other cultural artifacts.
Reason for Presence at this Event: The United Colonies of Earth believes that the harbinger of AI in the society of Excidium Planetis could have an impact on that society's resource-gathering activities as they relate to UCE colonization efforts. Elsa has some (marginal) experience with them as a trade prospector. Otherwise her role in the meeting will be ancillary to that of the IRC agent accompanying her.
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Player Name: The United Colonies of Earth
Character Name: Cristoph Clovis Tugari
Appearance: (Image) Official pic on the IRC website.
Job Description: UCE Diplomatic Division Interspecies Relations Command- Nonmember Human States Envoy. Responsible for forging, through the usage of diplomacy and intelligence acquired by Special Tasks/Prism Service agents, stable, peaceful, cordial, and mutually beneficial ties between the United Colonies of Earth and nonmember human states in hopes of integrating them into the United Colonies of Earth as member states, at which point their further integration becomes a responsibility of Membership Command.
Species: Baseline human. Knowledgeable of seven sapient species.
Biography: Born in 2510 on the colony of New Celti in the Outer Colonies, Tugari was initially interested primarily in the aspects of international relations that explored why human states might avoid joining the UCE as a student of the subject in university. Initially a rather academically unremarkable fellow, he stood out for his curiosity about group cohesion; he was empathetic toward those who seemed on the fringes of society or "normalcy" in his childhood and teenage years and retains this trait to the present day.
By 2531, he had completed his studies in college and aimed to work at the Diplomatic Division's Membership Command as one of its' theorists, devoted to dissecting the specific cases of nations not joining the UCE and figuring out how to make them members. He had already done a co-op at the Division's regional headquarters in the Norma Arm, and was welcomed to the job immediately. Instead of theory, however, DiploDiv wanted him to work in actuality on a specific case- the case of Simlia, a colony founded by refugees of the Colonial Civil War in the late 23rd century and which, fearful of the effects of automation and antilaborism, had minimized its' contact with the UCE accordingly for the past two centuries. He was grouped with a Membership agent and Special Tasks agent from those respective commands to work with the theorists on bringing the Republic of Simlia into the UCE. For the next decade and a half he would lead the efforts to expand tourism to and from Simlia and reduce the impact of Simlian trade and travel barriers without outraging the Simlian government or populace. Initially, Simlia was (unconstitutionally) privileged over nearby UCE colonies in economic development funding but eventually agreed to reduce its' reliance on this support. However, the Simlian government was unwilling to reform the planet's economy to accomodate antilaborist corporatism. The only solution to the matter was reached in 2546 successfully as Julian Agricola, the UCE's founder, rebounded to the prestigious and powerful post of President in the same year. Simlia became a member state, but was allowed to levy tariffs against non-Simlian goods and mandate that companies use human laborers when setting up worksites in the Simlia system. Many in the UCE looked askance at Tugari's efforts to bring Simlia into the Union but Agricola herself did not. She urged that he be tasked to work on other membership projects that had been similarly stuck like Simlia's had been, but he was simply made a paper-pusher instead by hardline Unionists in DiploDiv's hierarchy until 2552, when he was paired with Elsa Schuler, a Prism Service Covert/Direct Agent, to comprise a UCE contingent sent to the FTL generation ship fleet of Excidium Planetis to participate in a conference on sapient artificial intelligence on the UCE's behalf.

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Past Interaction with Excidium Planetis: None. That's what Elsa's for.
Reason for Presence at this Event: He wants to simply get ahead in DiploDiv as a respected member of the establishment on relations between the UCE and other human polities, and Julian Agricola's backing him on that. She hopes that his interaction with Excidium will lead to greater ties between them and the UCE, potentially including the instatement of formal diplomatic relations.

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All this looks good, except for the reasons for attending. While there are good reasons for your nation wanting to be involved, I'm looking for a good reason that my nation decided to involve your nation. Excidians aren't exactly keen on inviting nations to a potential security leak for no good reason, especially since we figured you would all be sending intelligence agents (as everyone except PPU and NCOLE are doing).

You're just not thinking Transhumanistically enough. One Word: Cybernetics. Don't need a Helmet when your eyes have AR processors embedded in them, don't get motion sickness because Imperial AR Development Personnel know what they're doing, you don't need to point at any displays when you can just send the information to the rest of the Bridge crew. Through the ship's consoles. Or just shout at them. Really, there's just not much reason to point at anything to begin with.

Even if we had the resources and motivation to replace every single one of our citizens' eyes with cybernetic implants, we can't force foreigners to do so. And while we don't like them coming to Home Fleet, they do frequent our ship's bridges occasionally (remember the New Polypntians at Olber III?), and we want a display that works for them too. And on top of that, not all the Birrin crew members speak English, so pointing is what you need to do.

[Potted Plants United]

That has to mean we've all done the equivalent of downloading the Universal Library Coalition's suite of language materials, yes? My people will have not much trouble (machine translations always a bit screwy, as we all know) with Tinfectese, Plantish, or Aeiouian for that reason, though the others may present an issue until we can get the language learning software to work.

The PPU hivemind doesn't have a language of its own, it uses whatever's needed and available to communicate with. In WAHQ, where universal translators are easy to come by, it often uses Araraukarian (a sort of tribute to the woman who died), but will probably - as a sort of polite gesture - greet the various alien diplomats with their own language, if it has managed to get its vines on the correct language files. For the rest of the time it'll most likely use Excidian English.

[Tinfect]

That has to mean we've all done the equivalent of downloading the Universal Library Coalition's suite of language materials, yes?

The Imperial Language Index has certainly done so.

My people will have not much trouble (machine translations always a bit screwy, as we all know) with Tinfectese Marrov, Plantish, or Aeiouian Alien-Machine-Language for that reason, though the others may present an issue until we can get the language learning software to work. SL is arrogant enough in its estimations of its programming skills and beginner-stage transhuman mods not to have bothered to send a linguist - something else for the team to bitch about.

Machine Translations are only screwy when you don't have a stolen Aeiouian Translation System and an entire department of linguists to fix it, and an autotranslator wired directly into your language centers. This message is sponsored by the Imperial Intelligence Linguistic Technologies Division.

And, for the record, the closest thing the Aeiouia has to a language is a high-level Machine language. Unless your team also happens to be expert Xenoprogrammers, you might be best served by letting them do the translating; we stole ours from them, after all.

And while I'm here, I suppose I clear up some things that I might've not made clear in the GA; anytime the Imperium mentions 'The Archailects/Archai', they are referring to Aeiouia. This is because, if I remember correctly, Aeiouia's name is actually a list of common/notable character/sounds in whatever language is being conversed in; in this case, Vowels, as we maintain a Translation Convention for this sort of thing.* What it happens to be in Tinfectese Marrov, is an incomprehensible and unpronounceable string of nonsense, hence, Archailects.

*This is the reason the Imperium uses latin terms in the names of its Military Designs/ranks, and for its leader, and why people like Markhov have names that make sense in english, despite the Imperium not even being able to find Earth on a map, and why unimportant people like Illaren or the representative to this event have names that sound like they came out of a Name Generator for Elves. This was totally not an attempt to disguise early RP that I am unwilling to change. Ironically, the only name to come out of a Generator were the ones used by the Overseers.

Even if we had the resources and motivation to replace every single one of our citizens' eyes with cybernetic implants, we can't force foreigners to do so.

Simple Solution: Convert to Socialism, expand industry to mass-planetary-harvesting, and close the borders to foreigners. Solves Prices, Resources, and makes the problem of foreigners moot.

And while we don't like them coming to Home Fleet, they do frequent our ship's bridges occasionally (remember the New Polypntians at Olber III?), and we want a display that works for them too. And on top of that, not all the Birrin crew members speak English, so pointing is what you need to do.

>not using single-race ship crews
The Aeravahn would like to have a few words with you.

It seems that, if Tinfect is to understand a large number of human civilizations, specifically ones that have achieved PMT and FT levels of Tech, Tinfect's diplomatic core must accept that so many humans are far too smug to ever let Transhumanism really be a thing.

Well, Diplomatic Oversight is more than happy to; the rest of the Imperium says that these Primitivists can fuck off and go back to worshiping the rocks they live under, or, whatever it is that primitivists do.

For the Broes, at least, it's why we use Star Wars esque holoprojection tech rather than resort to ocular implants and the like.

>not just launching a massive education/re-education campaign to cure society of such destructive primitivist sympathies
what is this primitivism

There are those who assent to having squishy bits replaced with machinery. These are known as Cyborgs in the common tongue, but the Broes call them Symbionts (like in Supreme Commander or Ghost in the Shell).

The Imperium just calls them Human; not getting Cybernetics is considered the strange thing. Symbionts is a good name though, might steal it.

but there are a happy few who just replace sensory organs and maybe certain appendages.

Damn primitivists.

Thing is lots of humans frown upon transhumanism.
[...]
So if their flesh works perfectly fine, why get rid of bits that are in perfectly working order? Some see it as an insult to their ancestors, others just don't want the short-term pain or required adjustment time even if there are concrete benefits.

Such people were rounded up and shot re-educated to a more enlightened position early on in the Imperium.

Now, few human apes really care one way or another if a machine becomes our leader. I mean machines make good decisions you know? Sure, even the worst ones, like this guy:
AI Entity
Still make better decisions than various fleshbag politicians.

Now you're getting it.

But ripping off my arm and replacing it with a mechanical one? No, sir! That's gotta hurt! And what if I can't get used to how it moves?

Anesthetics, and if the augmentation doesn't come with both above-standard-movement-range and selective-movement-restriction systems, get a refund, because that's some shit design right there.

[Excidium Planetis]

Aqua, how big is your ship? Can it fit through a 30 meter by 20 meter rectangle?

[Aeiouia]

And, for the record, the closest thing the Aeiouia has to a language is a high-level Machine language. Unless your team also happens to be expert Xenoprogrammers, you might be best served by letting them do the translating; we stole ours from them, after all.

And while I'm here, I suppose I clear up some things that I might've not made clear in the GA; anytime the Imperium mentions 'The Archailects/Archai', they are referring to Aeiouia. This is because, if I remember correctly, Aeiouia's name is actually a list of common/notable character/sounds in whatever language is being conversed in; in this case, Vowels, as we maintain a Translation Convention for this sort of thing.* What it happens to be in Tinfectese Marrov, is an incomprehensible and unpronounceable string of nonsense, hence, Archailects.

This is correct. The Collective's main language, were they to speak vocally, would probably sound like what happens when you put a cassette tape containing data for an old computer into a normal cassette audio player. I was actually planning on invoking this later on in this RP.

It makes it incredibly difficult for non-machines to communicate within the Collective. This being somewhat stealthily intended as an incentive to get citizens to upload and therefore be less of a resource drain and annoyance.

'Aeiouia' is also a very poor translation for the name of the faction. It does not really have a proper name, since it is, as mentioned, just a string of characters that are used as a "Road map" for communication. A more accurate name for the Collective in English would be something ridiculous like the entire alphabet, followed by all numerical characters and punctuation marks.

But, since even the idiotic Collective realizes how stupid of a name that is, they shortened the foreign name to just the vowels. (And this is totally not just something I thought up to cover up the fact that I came up with the name originally as a joke, and now quite dislike it)

There exists one sound-based language recognized officially by the Collective as well. But since it was spoken by lifeforms who were considerably larger than Humans, and also had more poorly-developed vocal cords, it is also not easy to translate either. With it being incredibly drawn out and not conveying information anywhere near as quickly as something like English.

>not using single-race ship crews
The Aeravahn would like to have a few words with you.

Fixed it for you. Who needs crews when your navy consists of ships controlled by bullshit soft sci-fi infallible remote controls, and giant uncanny valley drunken space monsters? ... Sane people, that is who.

[The Second Brotherhood of Planets]

Aqua, how big is your ship? Can it fit through a 30 meter by 20 meter rectangle?

30 meters is large? Lol the ship we sent is classified as a Heavy Fighter.

Anyway, unfortunately, no. Not in its current configuration. It's just slightly wider than 30 meters right now. It would have to shift back into V-form and, due to that form's emphasis on acceleration with terrible maneuverability, it would have to look like it's about to ram your hangar in order to dock fittingly.

I'm sure that would be a joy to watch. A ship that swooped in with very prominent weapon systems trying to dock by hurling at your technicians in the hangar bay. I'm sure your people would be thrilled to see what kind of crazy people are flying that thing.

Although if you had something like a grappling hook or some tractor beam equivalent we could dock much more easily and then leave even more easily in V-form.

[Tinfect]

Aqua, how big is your ship? Can it fit through a 30 meter by 20 meter rectangle?

Hunter Class Dropship
[...]
Width: 50 Meters
[...]

Shit.
I needed to revist the scale of the thing anyway. It's far larger than it needs to be.

[Potted Plants United]

But, since even the idiotic Collective realizes how stupid of a name that is, they shortened the foreign name to just the vowels. (And this is totally not just something I thought up to cover up the fact that I came up with the name originally as a joke, and now quite dislike it)

In that case, for me they'd have to add Y, Ä and Ö.

But since it was spoken by lifeforms who were considerably larger than Humans, and also had more poorly-developed vocal cords, it is also not easy to translate either. With it being incredibly drawn out and not conveying information anywhere near as quickly as something like English.

...ents from LoTR?

Aqua, how big is your ship? Can it fit through a 30 meter by 20 meter rectangle?

It's just slightly wider than 30 feet right now.

I don't think you meant 30 feet there (it's just under 10 metres).

It would have to shift back into V-form and, due to that form's emphasis on acceleration with terrible maneuverability, it would have to look like it's about to ram your hangar in order to dock fittingly.

I'm sure that would be a joy to watch. A ship that swooped in with very prominent weapon systems trying to dock by hurling at your technicians in the hangar bay. I'm sure your people would be thrilled to see what kind of crazy people are flying that thing.

But if it slowed to a standstill before converting shape to a V, it wouldn't be moving fast despite the shape.

---

EP, can you cut out the portion happening on the Gate Keeper from your reaction post, because, for the sake of there being some appearance of sanity, I literally only needed this...

Hailey wasted no time, turning to lead the plants on even as she answered them. "Why of course, Corvan Starliners are among the largest vessels in the Fleets, at three kilometers long. This Halberd-class cruiser is only twelve hundred meters long, less than half the length of the Amaranth."

...before a reply from the hivemind, and then the rest of your reaction post with them leaving the ship would make sense.

---

But even then, it was really confusing. In fact, while working on it, she had accidentally shot herself with a missile from the craft because she applied a current to the strange button labelled "Fire". That was not fun.

Lol.

[The Second Brotherhood of Planets]

It's just slightly wider than 30 feet right now.

I don't think you meant 30 feet there (it's just under 10 metres).

It would have to shift back into V-form and, due to that form's emphasis on acceleration with terrible maneuverability, it would have to look like it's about to ram your hangar in order to dock fittingly.

I'm sure that would be a joy to watch. A ship that swooped in with very prominent weapon systems trying to dock by hurling at your technicians in the hangar bay. I'm sure your people would be thrilled to see what kind of crazy people are flying that thing.

But if it slowed to a standstill before converting shape to a V, it wouldn't be moving fast despite the shape.

Typos, the silent killer.

As for converting at standstill, yes, but that's assuming Excidium has a grappling hook to hold it in place during entry.

Otherwise, during arrival it would have to shift in order to enter, and due to its configuration would have to hurl itself towards the dock.

[Excidium Planetis]

Aqua, how big is your ship? Can it fit through a 30 meter by 20 meter rectangle?

30 meters is large? Lol the ship we sent is classified as a Heavy Fighter.

According to Wikipedia, the largest fighter ever in service in the real world, the Tupolev Tu-128, only had a wingspan of 17.53 meters. If your craft is wider than 30 meters, that's a damn big Fighter.

Anyways, the Hangars are sized for Excidian craft, the Bolt starfighter only has a wingspan of like 15 meters or something, and I don't think the V64C even has wings, honestly.

Anyway, unfortunately, no. Not in its current configuration. It's just slightly wider than 30 meters right now. It would have to shift back into V-form and, due to that form's emphasis on acceleration with terrible maneuverability, it would have to look like it's about to ram your hangar in order to dock fittingly.

...

Although if you had something like a grappling hook or some tractor beam equivalent we could dock much more easily and then leave even more easily in V-form.

Of course we have magnetic tow cables, we need to pull damaged ships in somehow.