World After (Sci-Fi Char. Open)

[Harbertia]

IC LINK: None at this time, will be created after five players enroll.

WORLD AFTER

==OVERVIEW==
The World After is a Post-Alien Invasion RP taking place roughly 21 years after the invasion. It's not a story of resistance, it's a story about moving on with life or making a new life out of the old.

==REAVERS==
Central Machine Intelligence-AM (CMI-AM); coined as the Reavers by the Sovereignty media and thus general public, is a centralized machine intelligence determined to exterminate of all life-forms. Its origins are unknown, made by some ancient civilization of past eons. Public information available is limited, not because of any classified documents, but due to the lack of knowledge on the Reavers collectively by the Sovereignty. CMI-AM, “AM” being a name for the artificial intelligence, appears to be some form of a military theory and war AI. Due to the programming of CMI-AM, the Reavers only use conventional warfare to the grade of total war, for its only method of interaction with entities that are not it's self. All and any resources gathered are directed towards developing heavy industry for the production of arms, ships, and supplies for war. What could be called the “capital” of the Reavers, known as System-ABR543-SR, holds a matrioshka brain. This megastructure harvests the power of a sun by wrapping multiple layers of a computer around the sun. The processing power of the brain far outpaces any known Sovereignty supercomputer, committing octogintillion calculations per second. While a dumb AI, the Reavers are very capable at their job of warfare - posing a extremely high threat to all life in the galaxy because of it's sheer computing power that allows for extreme efficiency managing assets.

Earth was in the path of a Reaver invasion force when the Sovereignty invaded. The Sovereignty believed negotiations with Humanity, who had not yet been introduced to the galactic community would only delay the assistance it would need to survive.

==THE FORCEFUL OCCUPATION OF EARTH==
The Sovereignty's invasion of the Earth had the main mission of securing the world against Reaver Assault should the Navy fail to avert the fleet's advance. The Sovereignty used technology developed for combating the Reavers to disable or destroy the atomic weaponry of the Earth. The year was 1989. History wise the invasion and occupation was focused on large population centers such as the Eastern coast of North America and the Chinese Mainland. This was so that if the need to evacuate the world arose infrastructure would be in place to make that evacuation smoother. It was a very dark time for the Earth, especially as unaware of Earth religion the invaders had not accounted for resistance that would arise from something that had become rather common place in the Sovereignty. A lack of knowledge regarding ethnic strife, and ideology lead to unforeseen difficulties. After the Reaver assault was repelled the occupation began focusing on bringing about order in preparation for lifting Earth into the galactic community as a Protectorate of the Sovereignty. This meant educating Humans in the Sovereign Language and instilling in them customs of galactic civility.

==THE PROTECTORATE==

Following the occupation of Earth by the Sovereignty, and the Sovereignty's repelling of a Reaver attack upon the Sol system Earth entered a transitional period which saw the Protectorate of Sol form five years ago. The transition involved the withdraw of occupation forces and the expansion of the Protectorate's security forces to maintain the peace. It is the year 2020, while the Protectorate of Sol certainly now exists a garrison of Sovereign ships and military personnel remain as the front against the Reavers is not far away and the Sovereignty may need to again defend the system. Ships and personnel from other systems in the Sovereignty pass through Sol with Earth having potential in tourism from those officers taking leave. Water and Lithium in regards to Earth are also valued commodities that bring in revenue. The Protectorate is tasked with administrating the Sol system though many actions require the approvals of the local Suzerain who represents the Sovereignty's government. The Protectorate is organized as a Parliamentary Republic, which was at the time of the invasion Earth's most common form of government. Due to it's interplanetary nature the Protectorate of Sol operates under a federal system.

Earth was after the invasion reorganized into territories by the Sovereignty with little head to the geopolitics of the planet in 1989. Rather the focus was on administrative efficiency from a geographical stand point. As such the Protectorate suffers from post colonial organization which bring forth the planet's common social issues.

==SANCTUARY==

Sanctuary was commissioned by the Sovereignty's occupation forces as a refuge for Humanity after the invasion with many Humans being forcefully moved to inhabit it. Sanctuary due to initial disregard for Human infrastructure during the invasion, has become the largest and most developed city on Earth and capital of the Protectorate of Sol. Sanctuary presently has a number of non-Human inhabitants, many of whom where civilian contractors during the occupation. Those who built Sanctuary or set about extracting resources for the push against the Reavers approaching the sol system.

==IMPROVING YOUR LIVES==

Citizens of the Sovereignty (and the Protectorate) are implanted with a personal informational storage and network access device. The device allows them to access the social networks, inter-web, video chat, and though the use of a digital cloud store their own personal works from poems to wills. All of which can be displayed holographically. The PISNAD as it's called appears as a holographic projector in the palm of one's hands. The projector can even emit a beam of light to function as a flashlight and interface with certain tools through a connector located below the projector. The weapons of the Sovereignty and Protectorate are examples of such tools insuring that a log of weapon users and ammunition use is compiled. PISNADs are needed to access most venues in the Sovereignty. PISNADs are used by medical professionals as well, with patients being connected to medical beds that use the PISNAD to monitor vital signs. Much like a smartphone the log in pings and financial exchanges of a citizen can be used to locate them should the need arise. PISNADs are not easily removed, something the resistance found out. Someone lacking professional training in surgery could die of blood lose due to the how the PISNAD is situated with in the palm and through the lower arm.

==FOR YOUR SECURITY==

=THE PROTECTORATE AT ARMS=



==WHAT'S NEW FROM THE STARS==

• Atuumicism - A monotheistic religion brought to Earth by Uruks from Sigma Draconis.
• "The Dances" - A form of strategic contest developed by the An'Balitai. The Dances are games with a common theme of pre-planned action. More details can be found in the An'Balitai entry.

==CULTURE SHOCKED EARTH==

The Music Scene
The 1980s have become a kind of anchor for the Human identity in the post invasion world. As such the music scene is filled with a bit of an 80s nostalgia, a sort of rebelliousness, and some juxtaposition regarding authority. There is a hint of imitation as well as the music industry now has alien customers. While the majority of customers are Human the market still exists. The music scene on Earth is also still demonstrating a bit of over sexualization brought on from the controlled society of the occupation and population lost during the war. While lyrics themselves are not expressive at large of these elements the videos and holographic displays associated with the music are. Citizens can find the Music TV app for the PISNAD via the extranet.

==ALIENS==

An'Balitai

The An'Balitai evolved as mostly solitary ambush predators on their arid homeworld of Qulgrim, with permanent social groups being no larger than a female An'Balitai and her non-adult children, although primitive An'Balitai would occasionally band together to hunt particularly large or difficult prey, then fight each other over the spoils once their target was defeated. They developed sapience as a side-effect of evolving to be more intelligent hunters, and language as a side effect of evolving a complex larynx to mimic the calls of their prey. This lack of gregariousness had a subtle but profound effect on An'Balitai psychology as they developed sapience: An'Balitai do not feel the same instinctive loyalty towards their family, friends, or nation, or indeed towards any sort of "in-group", that humans and other species that evolved as social animals tend to. This does not mean that an An'Balitai is incapable of caring about other people, just that, for better or for worse, they tend to treat their close friends the same way they treat complete strangers, and vice-versa. Another legacy of the An'Balitai's evolution as ambush predators is that their brains are wired for long periods of planning, followed by the rapid and perfect execution of that plan. As a result, they are exceptionally cunning in the long term, but are less good at improvising in the short term. The greatest contribution of the An'Balitai to post-invasion human culture is a genre of competitive games, known collectively by a variety of names in different An'Balitai languages, most of which translate as "The Dances". These "Dances" range from board games to highly ritualized martial arts matches that resemble actual dancing, but all share one key trait in common: Before the game starts, a player must secretly write a list of every single move they plan to make in the game, then follow that list exactly until the game ends, no matter what their opponent does. This means that a player must successfully predict what their opponent plans to do, and counter it, and predict what their opponent predicts they will do, and counter their counter to it, and so on, using nothing but pure reason, before the game even starts. Some Dances add an additional wrinkle by placing players into teams, but not allowing them to communicate with their teammates during the planning phase of the game, meaning each player must not only predict their opponents but also their allies, in order to coordinate strategies with them. Due to how radically different the games are from most human games, The Dances have become extremely popular in post-invasion Earth society, and now form the core of a unique subculture. While some humans have become extremely skilled Dance-players, even the greatest professional human players struggle against moderately-skilled An'Balitai players - But on the other hand, An'Balitai struggle just as much to wrap their heads around human games like chess, which require a player to constantly rethink their strategy as the game develops. About a millennia ago, the Sovereignty made contact with and uplifted the An'Balitai, who were at the time mostly bronze-working hunter-gatherer bands. Since the unification of their planet and their expansion into space, they have swiftly developed into one of the most powerful members of the Sovereignty, earning them a place on the Council of the Strong Ones. Unlike the Uruks, the An'Balitai voted in favour of invading Earth, believing it would be beneficial to both the Sovereignty and humanity in the long run.

Status of Homesystem: Sovereign Power (Technocratic Oligarchy)

Hurons

A Psionic Species from Tau Ceti, the Hurons form close psionically linked family groups. The Familial Link connects the Hurons to close relatives down five generations. As such the Hurons never developed personal communication devices rather telecommunications tend to be handled through one device owned by the family unit. When the Reavers arrived in Tau Ceti this familial link allowed the Hurons to organize a resistance without the risk of compromising computer networks. Messages where relayed in a fashion akin to the Human game of 'Telephone' with interfamily connections allowing instruction and detail to travel the planet in a matter of weeks. The Hurons where still operating resistance against the machine invaders when the Sovereignty arrived and began combating the Reavers. Initial distrust between the Hurons and the Sovereignty faded as the commanders of the task force sent to Tau Ceti quickly moved to gain the local trust so as to coordinate efforts. Though this aid did eventually lead to them becoming a Protectorate the Hurons due to their connected minds are looked on with suspicion. Offensively the Hurons are capable of collectively channeling five generations worth of psionic energy to move objects and blast others with electromagnetic force- which is useful when fighting the machines. On Earth the Hurons psionic talent was used for intelligence missions aimed at gathering details on Earth during the invasion to make the post invasion period easier. The Hurons understood that Earth would receive Protectorate Status and the leadership believed that pre-emptive assault was the best way to save Humanity from the experience the Hurons had with the Reavers. Though even then they understood that it'd breed distrust, though being distrusted by their own saviors was nothing new to the Hurons.

Status of Homesystem: Protectorate (Oligarchy though the Hurons are not very specific on the details, it's generally assumed they have some wordless means of election. The heads of the Tau Ceti Protectorate are known as the Principles- there are 8 of them. Due to the familial link plots when they do happen implicate entire family groups.)

Uruks

The Uruks are a reptilian species from the Sigma Draconis. Reputation wise the Uruks are known as Honorbound Warriors and Missionaries with their religion worshiping a creator known as 'Atuum' who filled the darkness with orbs of light. The Conclave serves as the highest authority with in their religion and consists of six great Seers who form a religious council that while not directly governing the Uruk state has immense influence among the various leaders. Uruks are among the 'Strong Ones' with the Uruk state holding one of the council seats. The Uruk population on Earth comes from those who where part of the occupation. Over the years Autuumecism has been spreading on Earth. Worship of Atuum involves open night sky hymns and sand drawings of constellations which the Uruks believe are messages left by the great Atuum. They believe the spirit becomes part of the Cosmic Force after the body expires and may re-enter creation. The Uruk population is largely concerned with being able to practice it's faith, spread it's faith, and be able to defend the planet 'as they did before'. They are notable among Humans as their sitting representative on the Council of the Strong Ones was among those to vote against the pre-emptive invasion. Among non-Humans this is also notable given how things are turning out rather well despite the concerns.

Status of Homesystem: Sovereign Power (Theocratic Republic)

CHARACTER APP

Code: Select all

[b]CHARACTER NAME[/b]:
[b]SPECIES[/b]:
[b]APPEARANCE[/b]:
[b]PERSONALITY[/b]:
[b]BIOGRAPHY[/b]:

SPECIES APP

Code: Select all

[align=center]NAME OF SPECIES
[img]Image[/img]
Background (origins, history with the Sovereignty, the Reavers, the invasion of Earth)

Status of Homesystem: Sovereign Power (holds seat on the Council of the Strong Ones) / Protectorate (Holds no Seat, under sponsorship and fostering of the Sovereignty, has a Suzerain who holds veto powers and others over the government)[/align]

[Shadowwell]

Will take a look at this later, vaguely reminds me of what happens in the Undying Mercenaries series.

Always available to help as well if you wish Harb.

[Harbertia]

Will take a look at this later, vaguely reminds me of what happens in the Undying Mercenaries series.

Always available to help as well if you wish Harb.

Hey Shadowwell, I could use help. One of the reasons I included the species app was that I have only two non-Human species worked up for the setting. Given our history in working together I'd appreciate additional ones to include. Part of why I took so long getting this up was that I desired to have more but never wrote them up.

[Utceforp]

I'm confused about the species app. Are you saying we need to already have created an app for a human/Huron/Uruk character before we create an app for a custom species?

[Harbertia]

I'm confused about the species app. Are you saying we need to already have created an app for a human/Huron/Uruk character before we create an app for a custom species?

That's the current policy, the idea being to prevent the creation of various species by players for use by themselves. As in the creation of a species for their character from the get go without fully understanding the setting. Having that only players who have already joined and been approved may add characters should cut back on this.

At least such is my idea regarding such policy. This morning I find myself doubting it's a good idea. What do you think?

EDIT: I HAVE LIFTED THE RESTRICTION, IT'S TOO EARLY TO HAVE SUCH IN PLAY. YOU MAY CREATE A SPECIES FOR REVIEW. THE REVIEW PROCESS PRETTY MUCH FILLS WHAT THAT RULE WAS SUPPOSE TO DO.

[Harbertia]

Will take a look at this later, vaguely reminds me of what happens in the Undying Mercenaries series.

I looked it up and I see the resemblance. Especially from the summary of the Steel World.

[Shadowwell]

You can always bake use of the Ihbb or the Draug'n in some capacity, though the Uruk might fill that niche.

Would genetically modified humans count as other races or such?

[Harbertia]

You can always bake use of the Ihbb or the Draug'n in some capacity, though the Uruk might fill that niche.

Would genetically modified humans count as other races or such?

What sort of modification did you have in mind? As I didn't actually consider the possibility until you bring it up now. I know that genetic therapy would have been a way to combat a lot of illness once the Sovereignty took over. I simply didn't imagine further scope beyond such.

[Harbertia]

You can always bake use of the Ihbb or the Draug'n in some capacity, though the Uruk might fill that niche.

Would genetically modified humans count as other races or such?

What sort of modification did you have in mind? As I didn't actually consider the possibility until you bring it up now. I know that genetic therapy would have been a way to combat a lot of illness once the Sovereignty took over. I simply didn't imagine further scope beyond such.

[Shadowwell]

You can always bake use of the Ihbb or the Draug'n in some capacity, though the Uruk might fill that niche.

Would genetically modified humans count as other races or such?

What sort of modification did you have in mind? As I didn't actually consider the possibility until you bring it up now. I know that genetic therapy would have been a way to combat a lot of illness once the Sovereignty took over. I simply didn't imagine further scope beyond such.

Well, i was thinking of something along the lines of the Castalians from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. They were humans modified to breath water and such to colonize such a world. Something similar was done with humans in a few of the colonies in undying mercenaries.

[Harbertia]

What sort of modification did you have in mind? As I didn't actually consider the possibility until you bring it up now. I know that genetic therapy would have been a way to combat a lot of illness once the Sovereignty took over. I simply didn't imagine further scope beyond such.

Well, i was thinking of something along the lines of the Castalians from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. They were humans modified to breath water and such to colonize such a world. Something similar was done with humans in a few of the colonies in undying mercenaries.

Given as this was originally inspired by XCOM and then morphed considerably, sure I can allow that.

[Utceforp]

An'Balitai

Background: The An'Balitai evolved as mostly solitary ambush predators on their arid homeworld of Qulgrim, with permanent social groups being no larger than a female An'Balitai and her non-adult children, although primitive An'Balitai would occasionally band together to hunt particularly large or difficult prey, then fight each other over the spoils once their target was defeated. They developed sapience as a side-effect of evolving to be more intelligent hunters, and language as a side effect of evolving a complex larynx to mimic the calls of their prey. This lack of gregariousness had a subtle but profound effect on An'Balitai psychology as they developed sapience: An'Balitai do not feel the same instinctive loyalty towards their family, friends, or nation, or indeed towards any sort of "in-group", that humans and other species that evolved as social animals tend to. This does not mean that an An'Balitai is incapable of caring about other people, just that, for better or for worse, they tend to treat their close friends the same way they treat complete strangers, and vice-versa. Another legacy of the An'Balitai's evolution as ambush predators is that their brains are wired for long periods of planning, followed by the rapid and perfect execution of that plan. As a result, they are exceptionally cunning in the long term, but are less good at improvising in the short term. The greatest contribution of the An'Balitai to post-invasion human culture is a genre of competitive games, known collectively by a variety of names in different An'Balitai languages, most of which translate as "The Dances". These "Dances" range from board games to highly ritualized martial arts matches that resemble actual dancing, but all share one key trait in common: Before the game starts, a player must secretly write a list of every single move they plan to make in the game, then follow that list exactly until the game ends, no matter what their opponent does. This means that a player must successfully predict what their opponent plans to do, and counter it, and predict what their opponent predicts they will do, and counter their counter to it, and so on, using nothing but pure reason, before the game even starts. Some Dances add an additional wrinkle by placing players into teams, but not allowing them to communicate with their teammates during the planning phase of the game, meaning each player must not only predict their opponents but also their allies, in order to coordinate strategies with them. Due to how radically different the games are from most human games, The Dances have become extremely popular in post-invasion Earth society, and now form the core of a unique subculture. While some humans have become extremely skilled Dance-players, even the greatest professional human players struggle against moderately-skilled An'Balitai players - But on the other hand, An'Balitai struggle just as much to wrap their heads around human games like chess, which require a player to constantly rethink their strategy as the game develops. About a millennia ago, the Sovereignty made contact with and uplifted the An'Balitai, who were at the time mostly bronze-working hunter-gatherer bands. Since the unification of their planet and their expansion into space, they have swiftly developed into one of the most powerful members of the Sovereignty, earning them a place on the Council of the Strong Ones. Unlike the Uruks, the An'Balitai voted in favour of invading Earth, believing it would be beneficial to both the Sovereignty and humanity in the long run.

Status of Homesystem: Sovereign Power (Technocratic Oligarchy)

[Harbertia]

An'Balitai
(Image)
Background: The An'Balitai evolved as mostly solitary ambush predators on their arid homeworld of Qulgrim, with permanent social groups being no larger than a female An'Balitai and her non-adult children, although primitive An'Balitai would occasionally band together to hunt particularly large or difficult prey, then fight each other over the spoils once their target was defeated. They developed sapience as a side-effect of evolving to be more intelligent hunters, and language as a side effect of evolving a complex larynx to mimic the calls of their prey. This lack of gregariousness had a subtle but profound effect on An'Balitai psychology as they developed sapience: An'Balitai do not feel the same instinctive loyalty towards their family, friends, or nation, or indeed towards any sort of "in-group", that humans and other species that evolved as social animals tend to. This does not mean that an An'Balitai is incapable of caring about other people, just that, for better or for worse, they tend to treat their close friends the same way they treat complete strangers, and vice-versa. Another legacy of the An'Balitai's evolution as ambush predators is that their brains are wired for long periods of planning, followed by the rapid and perfect execution of that plan. As a result, they are exceptionally cunning in the long term, but are less good at improvising in the short term. The greatest contribution of the An'Balitai to post-invasion human culture is a genre of competitive games, known collectively by a variety of names in different An'Balitai languages, most of which translate as "The Dances". These "Dances" range from board games to highly ritualized martial arts matches that resemble actual dancing, but all share one key trait in common: Before the game starts, a player must secretly write a list of every single move they plan to make in the game, then follow that list exactly until the game ends, no matter what their opponent does. This means that a player must successfully predict what their opponent plans to do, and counter it, and predict what their opponent predicts they will do, and counter their counter to it, and so on, using nothing but pure reason, before the game even starts. Some Dances add an additional wrinkle by placing players into teams, but not allowing them to communicate with their teammates during the planning phase of the game, meaning each player must not only predict their opponents but also their allies, in order to coordinate strategies with them. Due to how radically different the games are from most human games, The Dances have become extremely popular in post-invasion Earth society, and now form the core of a unique subculture. While some humans have become extremely skilled Dance-players, even the greatest professional human players struggle against moderately-skilled An'Balitai players - But on the other hand, An'Balitai struggle just as much to wrap their heads around human games like chess, which require a player to constantly rethink their strategy as the game develops. About a millennia ago, the Sovereignty made contact with and uplifted the An'Balitai, who were at the time mostly bronze-working hunter-gatherer bands. Since the unification of their planet and their expansion into space, they have swiftly developed into one of the most powerful members of the Sovereignty, earning them a place on the Council of the Strong Ones. Unlike the Uruks, the An'Balitai voted in favour of invading Earth, believing it would be beneficial to both the Sovereignty and humanity in the long run.

Status of Homesystem: Sovereign Power (Technocratic Oligarchy)

Approved, and added. The An'Balitai are now available to all players. I for one am thankful that I lifted the restriction