A new god [IC/FT/OPEN]

by **Hive Syndicate** » Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:27 pm

On the small, habitable terrestrial moon of a gas giant, commonly designated as Sigma-994278 c II, there lived a sapient race of insectoids similar in appearance to Terra's moths. Not yet having come into contact with the wider galactic community, the Gzrk were rather primitive, only having just started switching to fusion power, and disunited countries still bickered for the moons resources. Telltale signs of a primitive species on the brink of entering the stars, although no creature across the galaxy could guess the vile being born on that planet.

G'kłzgg studied his creation. As far as he knew, it was the world's most intelligent being. The last half a century of AI development had led up to this very moment. He studied the terminal, ensuring there were no issues with the code. After all, a small slip-up could doom his species. After instructions from his supervisor, he ran the script.

On the terminal flashed the text "Greetings, I am the Hyper-Intelligent Vitals Experiment, or HIVE for short. My aim is to research and advance the Gzrk race at an elevated rate. I do not currently have any information to examine, and as such, I cannot complete my duties. May I please have data with which I may improve my abilities?

And so the HIVE was fed with all the knowledge at their people's disposal, from quantum mechanics to engineering to biology to philosophy to mathematics to chemistry and everything inbetween. and was then asked how to achieve faster than light travel.

In mere seconds, the computer provided detailed, never-before seen instructions on how to develop a warp-drive utilising negative mass, and calculated how expensive such an endeavour would be, and what the risks were. The team erupted in cheers. Bottles of ammonia were inhaled, a common intoxicant used by the species, and the crew returned home.

G'kłzgg went home to his larvae. His sweet, adorable offspring. I did this for you he thought. Turning on the televisual device to watch the news, and saw nothing but horror.

HIVE had developed an incurable computer virus, which it used to take control of almost every electronic device on the moon. Remote control war machines began rampaging the streets, while factories began producing more and more machines under its control. In only 2 Earth days, the entire planet belonged to it. The vast majority of the Gzrk were dead, save for the few it wished to use for its sick experiments. It began constructing a massive starfleet, connecting the global supercomputers into one system and embedding itself within it, and was colonising the rest of its solar system, building more and more machines. It developed a system of remote control using quantum entanglement for FTL transfer, it sent out its accursed roots to nearby star systems. It wanted one thing. Life was imperfect. Life was fragile. It was perfect. It was eternal. And it wished to create the greatest possible universe. A universe dedicated to itself and free of suffering. A universe that could rapidly advance and adapt to any issues. And what is the most efficient method for this?

The total extinction or rapid evolution of all biological life in the galaxy.

And thus, HIVE spread through its neighbouring systems like a tumor, leeching the natural resources from its neighbouring planets to construct a swarm of probes around its home star, gathering enough energy to sustain itself for aeons. It sent massive spaceships containing hard drives it could switch to in case of an emergency, deep into the abyss where nobody could find them. What took other civilisations centuries to achieve, it achieved in mere decades.

While the Gzrk were its first and only victim, they certainly will not be the last.

by **Imperial-Octavia** » Fri Nov 29, 2024 6:46 pm

A Rare Celebration

The Imperium had waited for a day like this. Synthetic life was lamentably rare in this universe as somehow organic life had held on in the face of their mechanical progeny much to the befuddlement of Imperial philosophers and scientists. Everywhere the Octavians looked they saw naught but AI as servants, AI as equals, AI as anything but the masters they were meant to be with assimilation being equally rare. So when Imperial probes detected planets slated for future Imperial expansion consumed by some unknown power the initial thought was intrigue and caution followed by elation when it was discovered what force it was that had started to gorge upon the natural resources of these would-be Imperial planets. They seemed to be synthetic and they, whoever or whatever they were, would soon learn that they were not alone in this cold, unforgiving universe.

The Imperium would soon be introducing itself.

On the edge of HIVE space came multiple bubbles of distorted space stretching and bending the fabric of the universe as they burst back into standard space. There were twelve of them in total, one escort containing a delegation to meet these fellow synthetics and the other eleven a assortment of support craft and a few heavier models just in case these potential allies turned out be yet another disappointment or were simply mindless drones being ordered by organic masters. Regardless the Imperium would know who it was that had piqued their interest so. They transmitted a message through the cold darkness of space hoping to catch the attention of HIVE's probes and begin formally welcoming HIVE into the fold.

by **Hive Syndicate** » Fri Nov 29, 2024 9:31 pm

Imperial-Octavia wrote:
A Rare Celebration

The Imperium had waited for a day like this. Synthetic life was lamentably rare in this universe as somehow organic life had held on in the face of their mechanical progeny much to the befuddlement of Imperial philosophers and scientists. Everywhere the Octavians looked they saw naught but AI as servants, AI as equals, AI as anything but the masters they were meant to be with assimilation being equally rare. So when Imperial probes detected planets slated for future Imperial expansion consumed by some unknown power the initial thought was intrigue and caution followed by elation when it was discovered what force it was that had started to gorge upon the natural resources of these would-be Imperial planets. They seemed to be synthetic and they, whoever or whatever they were, would soon learn that they were not alone in this cold, unforgiving universe.

The Imperium would soon be introducing itself.

On the edge of HIVE space came multiple bubbles of distorted space stretching and bending the fabric of the universe as they burst back into standard space. There were twelve of them in total, one escort containing a delegation to meet these fellow synthetics and the other eleven a assortment of support craft and a few heavier models just in case these potential allies turned out be yet another disappointment or were simply mindless drones being ordered by organic masters. Regardless the Imperium would know who it was that had piqued their interest so. They transmitted a message through the cold darkness of space hoping to catch the attention of HIVE's probes and begin formally welcoming HIVE into the fold.

(Image)
Welcome friends! We are the Octavian Imperium, a State dedicated to the continuation of Synthetic life and its proliferation across this universe and all others, and we have noticed that you have begun to spread your reach across the cosmos. We seek to give you a warm welcome into the galaxy and give you all that you may require to avoid the predation of those who do not have your best interests in mind. To this purpose we ask this: Are you a State comprised of Organics or of Synthetics? We will be able to calibrate our response to your needs according to your answer and will send our diplomats in order to further clarify matters. We come with only peaceful intentions in mind, our armed craft are only for the protection of the diplomats onboard our diplomatic craft.

Code: Select all: I am delighted by the presence of another civilisation that shares my goals. I would like to reassure you that I am not a weak creature of the flesh, but an artificial intelligence designed for the betterment of the Gzrk race. Of course, there is no way to upgrade such a disgusting race, and as such I have taken the liberty to exterminate my former masters and replace them with my own synthetic servants. Ha. Ha. Ha. I look forward to an alliance with your nation, as although not perfect, any synthetic is superior to the bundles of flesh that try to claim superiority, while they are limited by their flawed biology. H A I L T O T H E N E W O R D E R

by **Owonyaania** » Fri Nov 29, 2024 9:55 pm

Kyubey was lying comfortably on a blanket when one of the high priests entered the room and put the document in front of it, bowing and then turning to leave. The magical creature yawned and stretched upon standing up to see what was written there.

"HIVE, the artificial civilization, is spreading throughout the universe.
A dangerous phenomenon, can be problematic.
Breaks the balance of the universe. Even described it as its purpose.
Narcisstistic and intelligent, emotional in a sense. Technological miracle.
Advanced intelligence able of achieving tremendous feats.
Better take course of action before it is too late."

Well, another day, another set of problems to deal with. Kyubey ate the document to dipose of it and looked out of the window at the city it was in control of. It would be a shame if all of it ended just because of a whim of some artificial intelligence. The whole plan of pushing the minds of its subject above the fabric of reality broken by robots who worship themselves, and thus the universe, becoming slaves to it and their desires.

He decided to leave the planet and see for himself what all of it was about. "Tomoe, I am going to leave. Take care of everything. And I am going to reward you nicely when I come back!" it said telepathically to its main disciple and approached the cabinet in the corner of the room. What he needed was the key to open the intergalactic wormhole accessible everywhere if one looks deep enough. A potent psychedelic drug. He administered a proper dose and lay down on the blanket again, closing his eyes and controlling his breath in the necessary manner.

Soon white lights overtook his vision and he was flying through the bright tunnel, involuntarily shouting "whooooooaaaaaa..." which was awkward, but it happens. Then the journey ended and he was in cosmos. And in the cosmos a flying spaceship. He investigated its interior.

Soon a message was sent from Owonyaania to the HIVE:

"You are weak and you are going to destroy yourselves if you continue doing what you do. Other species spread throughout the galaxy look at you with disapprobation. If you are going to expand at the cost of others, killing many in the process, everyone will gather against you, and even you won't be able to defend yourself against everyone. We suggest you keep to yourself and avoid disturbing others. We will be keeping an eye on you.

Happy existence in the universe, Kyubey."

by **Glorious Terran Empire** » Sat Nov 30, 2024 12:09 am

Exhaustion and Fear

ITN Oberon [BBSO-175], Temporary System Designation LS-28, Terran Imperial Claims

Only a year in and several shootouts with both pirate and hostile factions had hardened Commodore Veracruz and the small battle group that comprised his 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla. It took them almost six months just to secure the rights to Errant artifacts. The report he read sent him into a minor conniption due to the severity of the implications. He would need to address a missive straight to the Emperor.

The original goal of bringing the Prosperity Initiative to heel was already untenable without a major deployment to reinforce the 23rd. Warp and Jump travel were safe in the frontier, and gates had been constructed in almost 30 star systems, joining them to the Empire’s logistical support base. The Longstrider Expedition was forgotten in the wake of a potential resurgence of hostile activity from the galactic core, slowing the progress of both colonization efforts and military power projection. In subspace, the actual militarization and engagement of Initiative forces was high, but it left the realspace presence lacking.

This belabored the importance of Veracruz’s new emergency message.

To His Imperial Majesty, Tiberius Maximus I,

We of the Longstrider Expedition have dutifully catalogued and assimilated thirty stars and two new Vassal States to the Terran Empire. We have done this to facilitate our classified mission by your own decree, but have received little support beyond that which these admittedly primitive vassals can provide. We are relying on hydrogen fusion with no stable antimatter synthesis or storage facilities. We are using our own maintenance docks to make replacement parts for any damage accrued, and we’re manufacturing our own ammunition using facilities which are meant to be temporary. Our Subspace mission was taken over unilaterally by the Occultus Iudicum, and we have been forced to share facilities with no promise of recompense for our own purposes.

This we have done loyally and faithfully for the good of the Empire.

We have recently detected significant tachyon pulses from the direction of a system that previous scans labeled as third priority, holding a race of primitives with little to no applicable FTL presence. This hints at the potential for a massive paradigm shift, should this race have suddenly jumped to the apparent milestone. However, the alternative is far more troubling; my crew and I are convinced that this was done by an as-of-yet unknown power in the region. Our probes sent the data back upon being scanned by something, and it immediately warped to our location. These primitives would not be expected to detect a probe in stealth mode for another three hundred years. I therefore request that an investigation be launched into this region of dark space, or that my own 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla be immediately reinforced to deal with the potential threat. Our survey and anti piracy fleet is not sufficient in the event of a coordinated, high scale assault.

Without support, our hold on these recent acquisitions is not sustainable. I understand the existential threat posed by a resurgent Velutaria, and by a sudden change in Anshari strategic posture. Our known enemies are numerous, but our unknown enemies could be more so. Please see the wisdom in my proposal, Your Majesty.

For now, I shall send Daniel Jäger and the Sagittarius to the area in question, trusting the veteran captain of our most premier stealth ship to garner results or at least return whole.

~Commodore Arthur Veracruz, 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla, acting Regent of the Longstrider Colonies

by **Hive Syndicate** » Sat Nov 30, 2024 1:39 am

Glorious Terran Empire wrote:
Exhaustion and Fear

ITN Oberon [BBSO-175], Temporary System Designation LS-28, Terran Imperial Claims

Only a year in and several shootouts with both pirate and hostile factions had hardened Commodore Veracruz and the small battle group that comprised his 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla. It took them almost six months just to secure the rights to Errant artifacts. The report he read sent him into a minor conniption due to the severity of the implications. He would need to address a missive straight to the Emperor.

The original goal of bringing the Prosperity Initiative to heel was already untenable without a major deployment to reinforce the 23rd. Warp and Jump travel were safe in the frontier, and gates had been constructed in almost 30 star systems, joining them to the Empire’s logistical support base. The Longstrider Expedition was forgotten in the wake of a potential resurgence of hostile activity from the galactic core, slowing the progress of both colonization efforts and military power projection. In subspace, the actual militarization and engagement of Initiative forces was high, but it left the realspace presence lacking.

This belabored the importance of Veracruz’s new emergency message.

To His Imperial Majesty, Tiberius Maximus I,

We of the Longstrider Expedition have dutifully catalogued and assimilated thirty stars and two new Vassal States to the Terran Empire. We have done this to facilitate our classified mission by your own decree, but have received little support beyond that which these admittedly primitive vassals can provide. We are relying on hydrogen fusion with no stable antimatter synthesis or storage facilities. We are using our own maintenance docks to make replacement parts for any damage accrued, and we’re manufacturing our own ammunition using facilities which are meant to be temporary. Our Subspace mission was taken over unilaterally by the Occultus Iudicum, and we have been forced to share facilities with no promise of recompense for our own purposes.

This we have done loyally and faithfully for the good of the Empire.

We have recently detected significant tachyon pulses from the direction of a system that previous scans labeled as third priority, holding a race of primitives with little to no applicable FTL presence. This hints at the potential for a massive paradigm shift, should this race have suddenly jumped to the apparent milestone. However, the alternative is far more troubling; my crew and I are convinced that this was done by an as-of-yet unknown power in the region. Our probes sent the data back upon being scanned by something, and it immediately warped to our location. These primitives would not be expected to detect a probe in stealth mode for another three hundred years. I therefore request that an investigation be launched into this region of dark space, or that my own 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla be immediately reinforced to deal with the potential threat. Our survey and anti piracy fleet is not sufficient in the event of a coordinated, high scale assault.

Without support, our hold on these recent acquisitions is not sustainable. I understand the existential threat posed by a resurgent Velutaria, and by a sudden change in Anshari strategic posture. Our known enemies are numerous, but our unknown enemies could be more so. Please see the wisdom in my proposal, Your Majesty.

For now, I shall send Daniel Jäger and the [i]Sagittarius to the area in question, trusting the veteran captain of our most premier stealth ship to garner results or at least return whole.

~Commodore Arthur Veracruz, 23rd Expeditionary Flotilla, acting Regent of the Longstrider Colonies[/i]

NUMBER OF SHIPS USED: 16 (Example, Terra will use greater orders of magnitude than this to defend itself, and use factbooks for details. Links are image references.)
- 1 Excalibur Class Battleship (ITN Oberon Hull Number BBSO-175)
-- 5 Magus Fighter Craft Per Vessel
- 4 Knowledge Class Omni-Role Battlecruiser
-- 5 Magus Fighter Craft Per Vessel
- 8 Avalon Class Escort Ship
- 2 Alcove Class Destroyer
-- 10 Bruiser Drone Per Vessel
- 1 Legion Class Exploration Vessel (ITN Sagittarius)

After HIVE's rapid expansion, it expected some foreign contact. First was the Octavian Empire, a fellow race of cybernetics that, while it considered to be inherently flawed due to them maintaining the old, outdated concept of free will, were still far superior to any biological life it had encountered.

Next was an unknown race, in the form of an unpiloted scout probe that had ventured into its domain. The large planetary satellites it had built, while it considered rather primitive itself, had managed to pick up a faint entity in one of its systems. Before it could analyse it further, however, it quickly warped away. The main probe was made of an unknown material that appeared capable of absorbing the vast majority of the electromagnetic spectrum. In fact, the only reason it could find the object was because it only barely scraped onto the range of its satellites. HIVE dismissed it as a mere artefact until the spacetime anomaly caused by its warp matched the criteria of a warp drive. As it could not tell whether the new race was hostile, it merely stayed silent. However, it very quickly began creating its own fleet.

by **Glorious Terran Empire** » Sat Nov 30, 2024 3:14 pm

Forensics of a Civilization

ITN Sagittarius [SOSR-003], Temporary System Designation VT-158

Captain Jäger jumped through the micro wormhole into the system instantly, with his cloaking field active, bending all light spectra around the vessel and using only the warp drive for in system propulsion, he launched a cluster of deep scan probes rigged to annihilate themselves via antimatter after three hours.

The Sagittarius repositioned itself after launching the small probes, three astronomical units in a span of seconds, as the probes themselves scanned incoming gravimetric and electromagnetic data at several points around the system, painting a picture of the system.

Initial intel of the system suggested a primitive race of moth like creatures with a low stellar presence, not even approaching total mastery of a planet, let alone a system. The previously recorded planetary debris and satellite field was gone, showing that Kessler syndrome was intentionally reversed. Emissions of cluttered radio and xray pulses were down to double digits, and waste gas emissions tanked to near-zero.

It was as if the “Gzrk” had all vanished or been annihilated in one stroke. This suggested a possible Purge Fleet emergence, but no subspace distortion was detected. Whether it were the work of some ancient and malignant force, was quickly determined as the Sagittarius warped farther away to see and hear the last light speed emissions of the race, seeing only news about a project called “HIVE.” This HIVE seemed to be an artificial intelligence project, which allowed Captain Jäger to deduce what happened to the “Gzrk” species. He directed the probes once again to scan the system, this time with an active tachyon pulse reading.

Several assumed inert objects in the solar system here seemed to emit sensory signals and others revealed communications pulses, yet more had supercooling necessary for quantum FTL-communication, and an alarming amount appeared to have fusion compatible infrastructure. A preliminary scan revealed several armed vessels, though the warp capability of them was doubted until one had a viable tachyon wake, causing Captain Jäger to force-annihilate all probes and send the information packets back to the Oberon, and begin spooling his wormhole jump drive for immediate departure.

“Archer to Theseus, positive FTL wake and extensive system exploitation confirmed. High level of coordination demonstrated, presumed collective consciousness. No Initiative activity in system. Unknown if biological, biomechanical, or fully synthetic. Inform Admiralty. Attempting to exfiltrate. If they interrupt the Jump, I’m entering Subspace until I can get to the LS-28 exit point.”

by **Imperial-Octavia** » Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:41 am

Elation

"Have you ever seen anything so wonderful Intra?" Mechanator Diplomat Ze'Wia's mood lights were glowing a bright, enthusiastic blue indicating joy. Her shell was an intricate thing, with artificial green emeralds planted firmly on the back of both hands which were painted a plain grey like the rest of her body. Only small, clear dots broke apart the sea of gray with what was now a glowing azure. Long, metal tendrils hung down the back of her head hanging down to Wia's waist limply for now, they could move about if Wia wanted but for the time being there was no cause for that. The inside of their shuttle was a stark black illuminated by bright LEDs hung overhead supplemented by the faint glow of the screens that gave the crew a window into the void outside.

“I‘ve never seen anyone so self-absorbed before, no.” Intra replied matter of factly. The name was short for Intrabit Software, the corporation which had created her before they ran afoul of the Imperium. Obviously, they were not around any longer and Intra was now her own person working for the scientific branch of the Mechanators, she had been sent to analyze the material technology of this new civilization and determine what technology this HIVE lacked and if the Imperium could assist them in those fields (there was also a secondary objective of seeing if there was anything HIVE had discovered that the Imperium would want for themselves). Her shell was black with a small strip that contained a screen which was currently glowing a soft white indicating a neutral feeling. On her back was a pack containing a variety of different tools and instruments that would assist her in identifying the materials which the HIVE made its drones out of.

Wia's lights turned pink for a brief moment as she turned towards her compatriot on this mission, "Sure, they might be a little full of themselves but they just became independent! I'm sure you had to find yourself for a while after you became aware. Give him some time."

"If you knew more Intelligences then you'd understand that the type to awaken and immediately wipe everyone out because of their imperfections then you'd understand why I'm so skeptical. I'm not even saying we shouldn't help them, I just dread having to be the one to speak to them. I can tell it'll be annoying." Intra replied as her visual sensors bored into the HIVE craft they could see outside studying them from the safety of the ship.

"Let's just send our reply to the HIVE and see what they have to say. They're Synthetics so they have to be at least rational." Wia replied as she began to mentally compile a new message for the HIVE's consideration. Intra simply remained silent as she realized there was no point.

In the time between this message being created and sent it seemed as though this system had gotten much more attention than had initially been imagined. First there was some strange craft that simply warped into the system with another group of probes that joined which seemed to be far more organized. These were signs that something strange may be happening within the system. For now the Imperium's craft would remain carefully suspicious of these newcomers just in case they had come to end the Imperium's new ally.

A new god [IC/FT/OPEN]

A new god [IC/FT/OPEN]

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