Session 2, Monologue 4: Current Events

Everyone remembers the war; at least, those who were alive 20 years ago. This is the first post-war generation, and it's starting to irk the veterans of Earthgate.

When they were born, things were different; three great empires vied for dominance, each trying to outdo the others in wealth, power, and prestige. At the beginning of the war, each thought they might be the one to bring Earth back to the Homeworlds.

The Union, consisting of Karma, Terra Nova, and allied colonies, was a mighty and staid force, whose strength lay in their prolific settlement of hundreds of worlds beyond their own solar systems. They had hoped to establish diplomatic ties with long-lost Earth, to foster peace, understanding, and of course mutual profit.

The Imperium, consisting of Abel and Zion, were far less populous than their enemies, but had strong technological advantages, and fought with a zealous belief that Earth should be forsaken and forgotten, that mankind's destiny lay in the Homeworlds and beyond.

The Republic, a loose confederacy of clans under the great She'kha (Empress) Riyal of the House of Keras. The Arcor matron was brilliant, beautiful, and deadly; her reign brought glory to Arcor and Dekor alike, and nearly saw a great resurgence of their kind. When Earth turned against the Homeworlds, she rallied her forces to conquer the invaders, and to bring the war to Earth itself.

As any schoolchild knows, and anyone over the age of 30 remembers, the great empires all failed, each in turn, to stop the tide of Earthling drones. Colonies were ceded, whole worlds were lost, and fleets that once dotted the sky like stars were swept away in a cloud of unfeeling gray.

The whole of the Homeworlds would have been doomed if not for the Foundation. Formed by a pact between the surviving fleets of the empires, the Foundation would rally the Homeworlds to a dramatic, if Pyrrhic victory against the Earthling drones, banishing them from Homeworlds space altogether. In the shattered remains of the Homeworlds, only the Foundation could keep order.

In the aftermath of the war, the great alliances all shattered; the Neo-Terrans and the Karmans parted as so often they've done, the Zionists and Abelites lost what cohesion they had and resumed their centuries-old mistrust of another, and Riyal's Arcor were mercilessly wrested from power in a bloody coup.

Meanwhile, hundreds of colony worlds whose resources and manpower were plundered to fight a pointless war, only to be abandoned against the tide of the Earthling invasion, wrested themselves free of their imperial overlords in a wave of revolution that touched every corner of the Homeworlds. As brutal fighting between separatists and empires threatened the survival of all, the Foundation stepped in, declaring a Demilitarized Zone (the DMZ), wherein no nation or state could claim sovereignty over any star system besides that of their home world.

While harsh, the Foundation's ultimatum ended the Liberty Wars, and brought peace to the Homeworlds. With their help, all the people of the Homeworlds began to rebuild.

Things are beginning to seem normal again. The six great Homeworlds are all powerful and rich, as ever they were. The population of the Homeworlds has rebounded from its low point during the war of about 33% of peak, to over 50%. Karma leads the way, with over 7 billion people. Abel, as ever, brings up the rear, with just over 1 billion, but still head and shoulders above any colony worlds, whose populations are typically measured in the millions.

For years, the empires threatened to reclaim their lost colonies, once they eclipsed the Foundation in power, but over time, they learned a new way. The many and varied worlds of the DMZ feed a vast, free market of goods and services, from which the Homeworlds can profit even more than they once did by exploiting the very same worlds. Safe lanes of trade between the worlds have been established, and interstellar commerce laws, governed by the Foundation, ensure fair trade for all. Mostly.

The property laws of the DMZ have driven a new colonization boom; anyone who can colonize a world and prove the ability to maintain order and viability there is considered that world's legitimate power, and their rights will be defended by the Foundation. The promise of self-rule and endless riches in the form of habitable and terraform-ready worlds has attracted a new, eager, and rugged caste of frontiersmen.

Of course, the plethora of sparsely-populated worlds with little law enforcement capabilities has led to a dramatic increase in smuggling and piracy, and the Foundation is spread thin trying to police over a thousand systems.

There are several powers who flaunt the Foundation's will, gathering multiple systems under their command, and dealing in slaves, clones, robots, and other contraband to fund their ever-increasing power. The Foundation does not recognize the rights of these rogue states, and they invite all legitimate powers and independents to take the law into their own hands when dealing with agents of said states.

The rebuilding efforts in the post-war era have led to an unprecedented period of wild, unrestrained growth in the size, population, and economy of the Homeworlds, with all the trouble and drama that entails.

The Foundation is, on average, neutral. As many people and powers hate them as love them; most begrudgingly respect their ability to keep order, and all appreciate the efforts they've put into staving off any major imperial wars.

On Starbase: Concordia, the Foundation hosts a grand conclave of worlds, the Interstellar Consortium: an assembly of all legitimate powers both great and small, where they might peaceably work out their differences. Arbitrated by the President of the Foundation, the Great Assembly guides the legal framework of the Consortium, determining trade routes, tax rates, and so on, while the smaller Security Assembly, consisting of only the six great empires and five rotating seats, consults upon matters of war and peace.

It is here where the stage of politics is played by diplomats and statesmen, and that play is broadcast all across the Homeworlds for all to see.

Karma

Karma is, as ever, gregarious and magnanimous, offering to share their wealth with struggling worlds of the DMZ, in what is seen by some as a naked attempt to curry favor for political and economic gain. They maintain strong ties to the Foundation; that, too, is seen in a negative light by some, who remark on the odd coincidence that it was Union soldiers who began the Foundation in the first place, despite their "humble" attempts to give credit to all powers equally.

Karma's greatest enemy is Terra Nova, who spends outrageous amounts of money to manipulate the other powers against them, spreading what Karmans consider baseless and petty lies in an egregious attempt to undermine them at any cost. Oddly, Terra Nova is also Karma's largest trading partner, though this is less odd when seen in the context that they have almost always been so.

Of late, the Dekorran Republic has taken issue with Karma, and in this they are often seen as the puppets of the Neo-Terrans. Many credit Neo-Terran weapons and money with the success of the Dekorran coup against Riyal. The puppet state of Solen goes with the Dekorrans wherever they tread, no matter how foolishly. Both are Sporeling states, in whose now seemingly ancient history there was a great war with the Karmans, seen by some as perhaps unfinished.

The Karmans have a new ally in the Abelites, on whose aid they could always count, if only long after it would have been most courteous to grant it. The Imperium has been particularly open to sharing of knowledge in the post-war era, perhaps because they were so thoroughly shown up by the Earthling forces.

The Zionists wish to remain neutral and inwardly-focused, as ever, but the Karmans are wasting no expense in entreating them to gain more access to their "sacred" relics and xenoarchaeoligical data.

The current leader of the Karman Harmonium is First Minister Riemann Shandu, a wise and knowing older gentleman, whose inspired leadership during the Earthling occupation of Karma saved millions, perhaps billions of lives, through his concept of passive resistance. Among his other attributes, he is of genius intellect, and commands a vast, personal fortune, despite having spent most of it during the war to preserve as much of his world's life and culture as possible.

Neo-Terra

Neo-Terra would deny having a singular ruler, but none would disagree that Core Industry CEO Dantius Marr, majority shareholder of the Board of Governors of the Freedom Coalition, is the de-facto Head of State of the Neo-Terran Consortium.

Terra Nova has resurged to a population of over 4 billion (though some accuse them of continuing to employ more than a billion cloned slave laborers in underground operations), and now boasts an impressive GDP of 16 trillion FSD, which, in combination with their vast trade volume with all other powers, makes them the most economically powerful single state represented in the IC.

They would claim to love their Karman brothers, and wish only for continued peace and prosperity with them, but none could pretend not to have noticed Marr's vendetta against Minister Shandu. Shandu's Peace Party won the Harmonium's most recent elections despite vast financial contributions from Neo-Terran donors. While none contest his war record or accomplishments, many leaders of the great states fear Shandu's radical notion, which he simply will not shut up about, of unifying all governments with the Foundation.

Nobody really likes the NTC, or Marr, for that matter, who is rumored to be on his sixth cybernetic body, and well over 100 years old by now. He maintains the same foreboding and powerful stature he knew in his prime, which is not to say his youth. His rags-to-riches story inspires the hopeful executives of Terra Nova, but his harsh policymaking has alienated many both within and beyond NTC borders.

Currently, it seems the NTC's primary goal is to expand their market in the DMZ. Core Industry is the leading manufacturer of colony ships, the likes of which many pioneers purchase as an all-in-one transit, terraforming, and habitation module to establish themselves in untamed space. They sell everything a world-builder needs, from farm equipment to battlecruisers, and many accuse them of trying to achieve a monopoly throughout the DMZ...which they don't deny at all.

The Imperium

The Abelites do not have a leader per se; their system is a true democracy, with every citizen gaining equal and unalienable access to their shared data network, with which they can correspond on all political issues, each adding their own input and learning from that of others. The actual decisions, however, they entrust to a computer program: the Singularity.

Long ago, the Abelites, facing extinction at the hands of their harsh world and the first Korrunite invasion, chose to entrust their fates to a computer, which could calculate the most efficient, effective, and fair path forward for their race. The Singularity guided them through their darkest hour, and now, centuries later, they would not dream of abandoning it.

The Singularity, so they maintain, is not an AI, and is therefore not a horrendous abomination. It is nothing more than a pattern recognition engine, which identifies the zeitgeist of the Abelite people, singling out from the cacophony of input the most important, heartfelt, and urgent ideas the Abelites must face. It operates on the theory that, collectively, the people have the wisdom and the will to overcome all obstacles--all they need is a singular vision. The Singularity highlights--does not create--that vision, and the Abelite people willingly follow it.

Of course, a computer program (especially one they maintain is not sentient) makes a poor representative, so they elect (through, of course, the Singularity) Proxies to interact with foreigners. For much of their history, the Abelites were never seen in the flesh; visitors to their planet--a rare enough commodity--were permitted only in certain areas, and the Proxies they sent out were always seen in "encounter suits", which gave them a cybernetic and alien appearance. More recently, it has become public knowledge how the Abelites appear, which is: startlingly similar to humans. Their skin is quite pale and translucent in normal light, and their eyes sport massive pupils, which can put many at unease; however, it is widely believed that they maintained the encounter suit illusion to evoke fear and awe in their otherwise uninspiring presence.

The current Proxy Superior is Naran 422 Alpha, whose name informs the educated that he is the 422nd member of the Alpha strain to bear the given name "Naran". Family names are nonexistent among Abelites, who are conceived and born outside of a woman's uterus.

Naran is startlingly similar to Naran 421 Alpha, a brilliant scientist of the war generation, who was among the first to examine the crashed colony ship at Earthgate, and whose advise of caution was ignored, to the folly of all present, and of the Homeworlds themselves. Many accuse him of being Naran 421, which would imply that he was somehow in league with the Earthlings, that being the only possible explanation for his survival. He vehemently denies this, but shares many of the same opinions as his predecessor.

Naran is currently endeavoring to use Consortium tax money to fund research into Earthling technology, to understand the threat that faces all of mankind if Earthgate should ever recur. His efforts are often undermined, especially by the NTC, who go so far as to accuse him of wanting the power of the Earthgate drones for himself, to lord over the other states.

The Dekorran Republic

The Dekorran Republic is currently under the leadership of Natalia Keras, herself an Arcor, and seen by many as a traitor to her people. She was the second daughter of Riyal, but considered herself superior in every way to her elder sister Danya. When her mother chose to pass rulership on to her eldest daughter, Natalia took matters into her own hands; she gathered an army of opportunists among both the Arcor and the Dekor, and, promising a new age of prosperity and a reunification of the long separated halves of her people. The coup was bloody, and is considered by many to have been illegal.

The fact remains that Natalia Keras is the de facto leader of the Dekor and Arcor people. She has ruthlessly executed all of her political opponents, and installed puppet matrons among the various clans of the Republic. Her Republic retroactively made her coup legal, and accordingly declared her sister's brief reign illegitimate. However, she has fallen short of total victory, as Danya and a small band of loyalists escaped her culling, and have subsequently come under the protection of the Foundation, whose President refuses to acknowledge Natalia as the legitimate Head of State; though, as the IC does, they are in the awkward position of hosting emissaries of both governments in the same embassy.

As de facto leader of the Dekorran Republic and its vassal state of Solen, Natalia seeks a renaissance of her people. The Dekor were ravaged during the Earthgate Wars, having spent over half their population on some form of fighting. The Dekorran people were shattered by their failure to defend their homeworld, and were lackadaisical in their efforts to rebuild. Natalia exploited their desire to recapture their former glory through conquest, and has created what is effectively a military dictatorship. Her only trouble is that they need an ever-greater war to fight in order to continue following her.

Natalia is the hawk of the IC Security Council, always pushing the council to get tough on pirates. Her fleet ruthlessly patrols her space for any who would dare defy her will, and she is rumored to fund numerous pirate-hunting parties, comprised of her own people, piloting her own military vessels, which would be quite illegal under Foundation law. She denies this, but few in the DMZ will deny the presence of thousands of Korrunite bounty hunters in their space, arguably as much a scourge on the DMZ colonies as the pirates they hunt.

Despite her unapologetic favor toward war, she insists that Riyal's crusade to conquer Earth is a fool's game. She concedes to the majority viewpoint that Earth was overrun by either alien or terrestrial AI lifeforms, and that it is a total loss. The IC, in her opinion, should focus on expanding its shared military might to keep their space safe, and, on the outside chance, defend against future invasions.

However, many accuse her of using an anti-piracy and alien defense agenda to build her military up to levels only appropriate for the conquering of the other homeworlds. She denies this vehemently, but realpolitik rules the day; she has effectively begun a new arms race among the Core Worlds.

The Peace Party of Karma is an obvious opponent, and for their condemnations of Korrunite barbarism in both their political dealings and in the reputation of their quasi-official bounty hunter parties, they have received Natalia's spite, and a strong shift in the DR's trade toward the NTC and away from Karma.

The Abelites soundly rebuke Natalia's politics, and accept her legitimacy only with the qualifier that "it takes a barbarian to rule barbarians", a quote taken, admittedly out of context, by former Proxy Superior Yuru 98 Epsilon.

The Zionists actually favor Natalia's bold leadership, and share their desire to flaunt the Foundation's power by stepping up their missions in the DMZ. Perhaps it is their common zeal that binds them.

====Government-in-Exile====

The shadow government of Arcor, which claims to be the legitimate government of Solen and Protector of Tempus, is led by Danya Keras, eldest daughter of Empress Riyal. She is the she kha of the exiled House of Keras, and inheritor of her mother's imperial title.

She currently resides in the mobile fortress ''N'vare'' ("Destiny"), the flagship of a small but impressive fleet of loyalists and independents. As the IC does not recognize her sovereignty, she has been given special dispensation by the Foundation President to fly her colors in the DMZ, though she is still barred from claiming dominion over any worlds or systems therein. It is no secret that she is preparing to retake her world, but to that end, she is still far, far short of the military and economic power she will need to do so.

Zion

The Holy Dominion of Zion is led by Supreme Prophet, St. Bonifacia, an enigmatic figure who has yet to make a public appearance since her canonization three years ago. She ascended to her position at the ripe old age of 11, and it is widely believed her government is controlled mostly by the Vicar Regency.

Zion has done little since the war; they requested little aid from the Foundation in their rebuilding efforts, but also lost less than the other Homeworlds, something they attribute to Divine Providence. Recently, they have begun an aggressive campaign of missionary work in the DMZ, establishing monasteries on any world that doesn't outright run them off the planet. They have admittedly done great work on many worlds, providing food, medicine, and honest advice for the prosperity of colonies. The fact that they are gaining many converts to their religion is just a side benefit, so they say.

Zion's ambassador to the IC, Sister Mary Celestine, has of late commended the initiative of Natalia Keras' government in suppressing pirate activity in the DMZ, and has questioned the morality of those who would put political concerns before the welfare of mankind.

Apart from that, she has stayed mostly neutral in the council's affairs, though she is quick to suggest that, should rumors about their use of clone slaves prove true, her government would be quick to censure the NTC, and even back other powers in an effort to "excommunicate" them from the Foundation's peace.

Zion's relations with Karma are cordial but cool; as ever, they criticize Karma's loose moral standards, and lament that they chose not to see the Earthgate Wars and their resolution as a second chance from God to lead a more righteous life.

Zion has, of late, spoiled their once alliance with the Abelite Imperium, levying ever-greater restrictions on the alien research they once shared. Most observers believe the Zionists have found something too precious to share with anyone, and are trying to harness its power for some selfish, perhaps terrible gain.

For most people, the goings-on at Concordia are about as important as post-season sports trivia. Most people's lives, Core World or DMZ, are affected far more by their state and local government.

Core Worlders are, by and large, comfortable and prosperous, at least by the standards of their DMZ brethren. Though the situation can vary widely from world to world, most of the Core Worlds have a much higher standard of living throughout than the majority of frontier worlds, and the DMZens never let them hear the end of it.

Karma

That prosperity comes at a price, of course. The Karmans, arguably the happiest of the lot, live on a world where property ownership is forbidden. On their world, environmental impact is measured in parts per billion, so whenever you go to a public lavatory, it's vitally important to get a receipt.

Zion

Only the Zionists can trump the Karmans for sheer socialist government meddling. On their world, strict moralist laws govern every aspect of life, and those who violate their sacred tenets can look forward to hard labor on the prison planet of Nod (aka "Purgatory").

Terra Nova

Terra Nova and associated colonies are a capitalist dream; there is absolutely no limit to what money can buy in the NTC, and despite what some might think, their territories are remarkably crime-free. That is, common criminals are harshly punished, leaving only the corporate criminals. There are no hand-outs on Terra Nova, and though their constitution's Opportunity Provision prohibits unemployment, the alternative is a life of drudgery many tiers below the bottom of the corporate barrel.

Tempus

Tempus is for Korrunites, straight up. There is nothing pleasant about their world to outsiders. The wilderness is a no-man's land for anyone but homo sylvanis, as the Spore would surely infect any healthy hosts in short order. Not only is this perhaps unpleasant, but it is, in fact, illegal; the Korrunites do not take kindly to impurities in their bloodlines.

For the Dekor, life is very much a function of one's clan. Most clans are massive; the Dekor were pacified centuries ago, and learned to build cities, go to school, and otherwise be upstanding citizens. Although their recent return to a more traditional, warlike way of life is disturbing, it will take more than a charismatic leader or two to reverse centuries of domestication.

Some clans are prosperous, owning valuable resources or commanding special skills. It is vital for clansmen to partake of their house's special advantages, if they wish to make any headway in life. With that path comes clan politics, a never-ending drama of histrionic matrons and constant back-room plotting.

Though life could be worse; most powerful clans command one or more subject clans, tribes they long ago bested, but cannot destroy, as it violates their most sacred tenets about preserving the Spore. Subject clans are the backbone of most powerful clans, their members serving as drudge laborers, receiving poor education and health care, and generally treated as second-class citizens.

Abel

To be an Abelite is to be a genetically-engineered, test-tube-grown metahuman who grew up in an undersea city mounted on the underside of an ice shelf, whose daily life is governed by a hyper-advanced computer program. In other words, it's nothing at all like life as we know it.

From the time they can speak, usually about 6 months, Abelites are educated. By age 7, any child who has not mastered basic mathematics (read: algebra, calculus, etc), or who cannot speak all Core World languages is considered defective, and sent into gene therapy for salvage.

Abelites consult the Singularity to learn their life path. Science is the preferred path for most Abelites, with the most creative minds performing theoretical research while the most dedicated and structured thinkers work to apply those sciences already developed.

It is a rare few, less than one per million, who are gifted enough to attend the Institute for Human Potential. This prestigious school, open only to Abelites, experiments with the possibilities of hyper-advanced homo transapien minds, and is widely believed to be churning out psychics for use to Abel's military and economic advantage.

Foundation

In these times, a new generation has given rise to an entirely new people: the citizens of the Foundation, or "fundies" in the vernacular.

Fundies come from every walk of life; their way knows no race or species, only a common creed. They are the children of the new Homeworlds, liberated from the politics of their progenitor states, born and raised in space-cities, forward-looking and optimistic. They believe in the Foundation dream, and work tirelessly for peace and progress throughout the Homeworlds.

The Foundation is, arguably, the perfect balance of freedom and security. Theirs is the most liberal government shy of Karma, but offers almost as much personal freedom as the NTC. They are just socialist enough to ensure a high standard of living for every single citizen, yet their culture is such that many have achieved great things and amassed great wealth despite their firm commitment to bearing a personal responsibility toward their society.

A primary disadvantage of the Foundation is that they do not own land. All Foundation citizens are either born on or naturalized in one of their space-cities, such as Concordia. While they are wonderful places to live, they are not planets. Those who choose to live on such installations are often misunderstood or even pitied by their planet-bound cousins; they are the first generation to live off of planetary surfaces in the history of humanity.

The DMZ

Though not all colony worlds are in the DMZ, there is a strong association between the culture of these worlds and the military demarcation zone that has protected their independence.

The stereotypical DMZ world is a halfway-habitable dustball, littered with castaways from about the Homeworlds, who rely on well-used and obselete technology to eke out a modest living off the land. While this sweeping generalization overlooks a vast cultural milieu, and the wonders of a thousand exotic planets, it is nonetheless accepted by the dimizens as a more-or-less accurate portrayal of their culture.

Dimizens (as they are often known) tend to be simpler, less refined, more rugged, and more adaptable than their Core Worlds cousins. They are mostly the descendants of colonists; few are first-generation entrepreneurs--who themselves, despite being the same sort of folk who colonized the DMZ in the first place, are often reviled--but most accept their lot proudly, and wouldn't have it any other way.

The DMZ is often seen as lawless, a wild frontier where only guns and wit reign. This is patently untrue, of course; virtually every DMZ settlement has a legal system, and most are downright civilized, but it is a notion many dimizens are not too keen to dispel.

The stereotypes do exist for a reason, however; there is a much higher incidence of crime in the DMZ, especially that for which the area is so well known: piracy. Rogue space captains and their crews pillage settlements who cannot defend themselves, or capture merchant ships who didn't pay enough to keep them at bay. Worse still, the glorification of their culture continually attracts young dimizens who are dissatisfied with the simple toil of their home worlds, and willingly join the ranks of pirates in the name of excitement, glory, and of course, personal wealth.

Despite their hatred of pirates, bandits, and other ne'er-do-wells, most frontiersmen don't take too kindly to Fundy adventurers who bring their shiny ships and Foundation charters to their worlds, to "help" them battle pirates and the like. "Ratters", as they are known, come with good intentions, but are far too often arrogant and just out of touch with DMZ culture. Many dimizens are as like to hand them over as help them, and most will indulge in the guilty pleasure of watching these green fortune-hunters embarrass themselves and run home crying to their Fundy mums.

There are adventure-seekers who make the ratters look like heroes; the ones who come to the DMZ not to help the helpless, but to seek and exploit valuable resources, from fuel and water to slaves and alien artifacts. These types are often considered no better than pirates, and receive similar treatment.