'The Means' or: 'How We Learned to Stop Caring and Love the Money' (OOC)

[Stygian]

In the future, following the devastation of a long and gruesome war of self-interest and attrition, humanity has slowly risen again from the ruins of society to colonize the solar system. Yet the world is still scarred and silently divided, burdened with infighting and amoral, ruthless strife in a callous and massively corporate society, clawing desperately for the stars, for a way of escaping the confines of the solar system. Boundaries of race, culture and nationality have little or no meaning anymore, for what matters in this new world is creed and belonging; everyone and everything exists according to policy; everyone and everything either owns or is owned. Life is cheap and hard, technology the great working force of civilization, society whirring with the cold mechanisms of industry and sizzling with the fierce activity of information networks.
  It is the year 2409, and a small group of people are about to realize why this is. And maybe something of significance will be gleaned in the end.



This will be a somewhat serious sci-fi RP. No Star Trek or Dune, because of how close it is to present time and because it is based on simple, poor old normal history, but I will promise to make things as cool as I can for you all.

Basic Rules and Stuff to Observe:

• 1) Fixed Setting! This continuity is imagined and invented by none other than yours truly, and has a bit of backstory to it. Thus, before you get your pants off, I would appreciate that you ask me about stuff before making your mind up about things, or there might be inconsistencies.
• 2) No Carpet People! This setting does not include any sort of anthropomorphized animals. I'll be providing you with a different list of 'races'. That is, in case you don't want to simply ask what goes. I'll try and accomodate as much as I can.
• 3) Stop That! That's Silly! Really, this goes under the 'Fixed Setting' directory, but I would just like to clarify that there will be no tolerance for attempts at trying to bend and stretch things, even within the rules. Loonies and Munchkins beware.
• 4) You Do Not Talk About Fight Club! Seriously, you do not talk about Fight Club!

[Stygian]

Timeline

'It is amazing, really, that we should hold such delusions, and make such distinctions. That we should think of "modern" and "ancient" times. That we should believe that the nature of humanity has somehow changed over the years. That we should hold the idea that civilization has ever altered in its behavior and purposes - that people have altered, somehow, in spite of both evidence and reason. That there is such a thing as cultural advancement, rather than simply cultural development. There is not. If ever there were a distinction, then these are the times when we have slowly begun to realize it. We have largely rejected the illusion that humanity was ever about anything but humans enforcing their will on the world around them. It is not. The only change there has ever been is that humanity has gradually gained increasingly advanced and vast means of exerting this will. The goal remains the same, although the means alter. And the goal is, as always, survival and the acquisition of more power. Because without it, ideas like progress, prosperity and glory are just words.'

   - Leonard Forte, founder of Fortis Incorporated, in his autobiography "Foundations", published 2301.

2085: There is world-wide economic instability and dangerous political tension in the Middle East, a result of the growing pressure between developing nations expanding their industrial and commercial might by leaps and bounds, and a severe global fuel and food shortage. Said tension has been building since the very start of the 21st century, with China, India and Pakistan as the main players and instigators. Western powers represented by the United States and various agencies under the European Union, pressured by economic mayhem and political and medial instability, force military action, using an incident where China's military enforces a trade embargo as a pretext for moving in to secure foreign interests and assets. Events coincide catastrophically. On the 21st of November, China declares a state of war with Pakistan and of military conflict with the United Nations. It takes three months before the U.S. Congress passes its own declaration of war.

2086: Global economic ties and political dependancies force more and more nations into the still relatively chilly stalemate. A complex set of barriers, both physical and political, now divides all lands and countries between the Korean peninsula and the Kaukasus, even more so than as it were at the start of the century. Globally, the situation is even more convoluted. A few secessionist movements form across the globe and both nations and independent organizations and companies make various attempts at cutting foreign ties to avoid being drawn into the growing situation. Their efforts are fruitless; on the whole these actions worsen the tension as much as they allieve it.

2087: On October the 23rd, a small nuclear explosion wipes out a significant portion of a Chinese forward armored strike force as they wait on standby a short distance in across the Russian border. It is not known who is responsible, and no launch is confirmed, however the proximity of Russian launch vehicles cannot be denied. Minutes later, Chinese jets bombard those launchers and a Russian base along the border. Another nuclear warhead goes off, this one apparently one of the launchers self-detonating as a result of a technical malfunction caused by the attack. Circumstances around this attack, supposedly a retaliatory strike, are also uncertain. The Midnight Offensive, as it is to be known, takes place; an armored rush that results in three days of constant fighting before Chinese forces seize hold of a south Russian city. Heated negotiations erupt. Emboldened and enraged, other nations follow suite, skirmishes breaking out across the globe. With almost every nation involved seeing its economic security and future on the line the conflict, previously a chilly near-stalemate, turns violently aggressive and heated. 'Free radicals' in the form of private or corporate-employed armed forces start appearing publicly for the first time. Gradually yet unstoppably, the situation spirals out of hand.

2144: The end of the Third World War, formalized on February the 7th at the Delhi Summit. It has proven the largest, most costly and intensive war in human history, leaving humanity at large in tatters.

'People have spoken so many times before of the dangerous drives and tendencies of mankind, of the human propensity for impassioned evil. But it was not a thirst for blood that created the greatest war in history; in spite of all historical precedence and all the lives lost for the sake of that belief, it cannot be said that any passion, any studious or directed malice, was what drove us so close to destruction. Such things burn out, for not even the most cruel individual is capable of sustaining hatred like that. Instead, it was that most lowly of human emotions that led us astray, that particular thing that lies closest to our basic desires, so rooted in our prosperity and progress that one cannot but fear that it must all happen again, for we will never be able to manage without it.
   It took the destruction of half our world to make us realize that the true evil lies not in the passion, the drives that our species is so capable of, but in the egocentric disregard, the way we cease to internalize the knowledge and image of the world around us when we grow too heedless of anything greater than ourselves. Truly, men become evil when they ignore their cause or vocation and listen only to that inner voice which wishes for and is only satisfied for itself. It is both ironic and symbolic that the two should be so close to each other as to be like two sides of the same coin, because the only thing that separates self-absorption and selfishness - one the single-minded pursuit of an idea, the other the pursuit of a whim - is, essentially, internal.'

   - Mirian DeWalt, "The Results of Modernity", published 2156.

2150-2200: Most power bloques, nations and alliances from the start of the millennium lie in ashes, as do most of the world's industries and many of its cities. Just under four billion people now populate a deeply divided Earth. What political powers still exist have more or less been absorbed into or serve only as a medium for privatized organizations or agencies. The major powers of the new world are entirely made up of the corporations that have managed best to sustain their assets throughout and profiteer on the war, and those who have expanded in the ensuing rebuilding efforts. The Earth Directorate is officially formed on January 5th in 2168 as a mediating governing entity between the largest corporate bodies.

2221: The first FTL drive prototype, the Jones-Weissman Massive Entanglement Quantum Drive, is licensed to and tested by Forte Corporation. It proves a failure, the proposed instant-travel method completely unsuitable for personal or mass transport, however it does provide vital insight and data concerning faster than light communication and relative simultanity.

2259: The first mining colony is established on Mars. Several large-scale permanently inhabited space stations exist in orbit around both Earth and Mars, and construction is planned for one over Jupiter. At this point, technology is sufficiently advanced to allow for relatively quick and human-tolerable travel within the solar system, though low public interest and the lack of both any major breakthroughs and any pressing need to leave the confines of Earth and its nearest space is holding back any major investments into or plans for interstellar expansion. The main pool of human expertise arguably lies in the fields of information interpretation and processing, and medical technology and cybernetics. With humanity in the middle of a century-long cultural depression, and competition between corporations intensifying, tension is beginning to rise once more.

2304: A taxation and research independence issue starts the Martian War. It is over within six months, the technologically superior forces of the semi-corporate religious organization known as The Church of Devotion to Faithful Progress standing victorious over those of Helix Industrial. The latter is acquisitioned by Fortis Corporation before the end of the year. This marks the first true inter-corporate military conflict where political motives or agencies are practically uninvolved.

'In hindsight, it does not even make sense to me why anyone should want to fight [the Devotion]. I will not say that they are fanatics, but I will say that they fight like no other people. And not only because of that tech they use. They have so many people to rely on, so many soldiers and so much resources. They can afford trying unconventional things, which often saves them more effort and money in the end. They are just too big, too sure of themselves, and too unpredictable for any sane man to be comfortable with going up against them.'

   - Col. Andrew Gael, Stellar Security Force, an oral assessment of the combat strategy of the Legionus Devotum, the armed security branch of the Devotion To Faithful Progress, upon his transference from former employment at Helix Industrial.

2331: Induced sympathetic neutron motion is discovered by an anonymous source, and although many attempts are made at proprieting the principles of the technology or keeping it under wraps, the efficiency of modern industrial espionage means that it is soon a very public secret. Gravity manipulation technologies of slightly differing types are subsequently invented by a number of researchers, all at more or less the same time. Very soon, the first forays into space-bending technology and what is to become known as 'Schwarzchild tech' are made.

'It's called the weak force of nature, but that doesn't mean it will let itself be kept down. No, it keeps us down. Usually. But that's the thing; you can't say 'as undeniable as' or 'constant like' anymore, because we can change that. We can make it work for us. We just had to learn what it was telling us. You don't fight it. You don't try to bend or break it. You don't push; you pull. Give and take. You just have to be clever about it, because nobody affects no body.
   Omniforce knows how to work it. The ups and the downs. We can provide solutions anywhere, for any application and to any system. The workload isn't an issue, because we know how to lighten it. We deliver to specifications, whether it's on planet or in orbit, tea trays or spaceliners. Whatever floats your... well, your anything, really.'

   - Jeremiah Sinclair, CEO Omniforce Systems, part of the holdings of The Church of Devotion to Faithful Progress, short promotional commercial for Core Business Networks.

2375: First recorded faster than light manned flight. The Devotion-owned ship 'Libertas' makes its journey between the 'Faveo' space station orbiting Mars and the 'Virtus' research vessel above the rings of Saturn in just under two minutes, using a fold-space gravity drive. The ship takes heavy damage, losing four crew members to 'unexpected environmental circumstances'. Nearly all information concerning the flight is suppressed. The crew itself is never mentioned in official media again. The event is not repeated, though reportedly The Devotion makes use of the plentiful data gathered for further research.

2389: On the 12th of March, a luminous phenomenon destroys the top of a Fortis corporate milescraper. No organization or corporation takes responsibility for the incident. Rumor spreads about aliens, angels and experimental technology. General awareness is that the event would be too hard to cover up, thus some corporate agencies twist the story to their own end, while others make use of the myriad conflicting reports and accounts to confuse and bury facts through joint media manipulation.

'The fire drives us, raising us up above the sea of blood that is history. Even now we soar on the flames of destruction. We bask in the light of the fires of Hell. This is as nothing compared to what is to come!'

   - Unknown apparition, Almerian Incident, 12th Mar. 2389.

2400: The turn of the century is marked by the breakout of a de facto war between Fortis Corporation and The Church of Devotion to Faithful Progress, when the former allegedly steals an undisclosed yet apparently crucial piece of technology from the latter. Before The Devotion can close their appeal to the Earth Directorate to dissolve the commanding body of Fortis Incorporated though, the latter puts forth evidence that suggests that the Almerian Incident was in fact the result of a Devotion operation, and that the technology, referred to only as 'the Fifth Component', was present at the time and place of the Incident. Forte Legal claims that they were about to purchase the technology from an undisclosed party, however the legal process soon becomes more or less an inconsequential formality beside the real power struggle between the already hostile organizations. As direct military conflict on Earth has been banned by the Directorate in order to prevent any sort of devastation like that of World War Three from repeating itself, the space between Earth, Mars and Jupiter becomes the battleground instead, surgical tactical insertions and political maneuvering the main weapons. A new Cold War comes into fruition, as corporations side with either Fortis or The Devotion in order to protect their interests.

2409: Present day.

[Cogidubnus]

I'm interested. I'll try and come up with something original soon.

[Stygian]

I know I might be playing to entirely the wrong audience here, but upon Cog's suggestion I decided to make it a little easier for anyone who might actually be considering creating a character.


Character Type Introduction

With the advance of technology and medicine, new 'classes of humanity' have sprung into being, particularly due to the advancing cyberization of society. With cybernetic augmentations, prosthetic body parts, in vitro fertilization and alteration, and pre-birth genetic optimization on the open market, there are plenty of options for nearly anyone to take a step beyond the capabilities of the merely human. Rumor has it that there are even people who, with the aid of new space-bending technology, have tapped into powers even beyond that which modern science can readily explain.

Humans are, of course, the stock of the populace wherever one might go. What given value of humanity is required to be a human is, of course, debatable; most people of at least some status possess the means to acquire cybernetic implants or go through enzyme treatments, rejuvenation processes and other medical procedures to enhance themselves and hopefully avoid some of the misfortunes of mere humanity, and so they do. There are also quite many who are born as tube children, their genes having undergone a pre-birth tune-up. In the end though, past the philosophy, there are four requirements placed upon citizens that wish to maintain legal status as a human, which are; a valid birth certificate ascertaining that one was indeed born human, a fully human genetic makeup for one's organic parts, less than obvious mechanical augmentations, and a body which is comprised of at the very most fifty percent synthetic organs. They are, on the whole, more or less the same as they were at the start of the second millennium, though adapted to a far more fast-paced and demanding society, and thus often more specialized and focused in their education and career.

Cyborgs are any individuals who are either overtly integrated with mechanized parts or whose bodies consist of synthetic parts to a greater extent than fifty percent. Androids are not considered a group among themselves, but merely as a sub-group of cyborgs, who are nearing on the totally synthetic. By matter of course, they possess capabilities beyond the human, either physical or mental or both, which are often decided by what line of work they are in as most people who decide to go cyborg do so either for the sake of work, by means of taking a company loan or receiving cybernetics installed on their business' expense. Typically, civilians cannot get their hands on military-grade components however, for legal reasons, as their performance would allow them to represent a serious threat to the public.

Synergics are the ultimate manifestation of cyberization, brought on by a difficulty with advancing computer systems technology in the 2200s. Synergics are fusions of man and machine, apart from both humans and cyborgs per definition. They are the result of a nigh-perfect integration of a human brain and nervous system with a computerized neural network, containing a human consciousness parallel with a carefully constructed artificial intelligence molded around and partly in image of that human mind. Often augmented in additional ways past this that allow them to interface with machines or perform certain tasks with extraordinary aptitude, particularly with nanotechnology, they have amazing abilities for coordination and logical computation, beyond whatever direct abilities their physical alterations grant them.

Furies are a new sort of extremely rare and gifted individuals who have only just begun to crop up, probably as a result of the recent development of spacetime-bending technology. Who is to say what kind of new phenomena and powers humanity has inadvertently tapped into while reaching past the boundaries and rules of our own universe? What is known, is that those who possess sufficient talent or focus are able to sap power from the energy fields created around certain devices and with it create energy phenomena by manipulating reality through a different plane of existence which has come to be known as the 'Aether', evidently the source of the 'dark energy' that has baffled scientists for so long. Given time and practice, they become able to generate these energy phenomena all on their own, and even seem to grow more potent in themselves as well, physically and mentally. Cybernetics seem to interfere with their abilities though, or to behave erratically in response to the individual they have been implanted into developing such abilities, particularly the more brain-intrusive types, why Furies cannot be cyberized to any great extent.

Players can choose from any of these four 'races' to play as, and question me about benefits and drawbacks, requirements, peculiarities and any other details of character construction.

[Kafzeil]

Hmmm...

On a SCale of one to ten, how hard would you say this thing is on the Moh's Scale of Sci-Fi Hardness?

[Stygian]

Hmmm...

On a SCale of one to ten, how hard would you say this thing is on the Moh's Scale of Sci-Fi Hardness?

Fairly hard. Somewhere around eight or a strong seven, I'd say. No applied phlebotinum or magitek but plausible or already practiced technology and story, slightly suffering from being set Twenty Minutes Into The Future on a few points as a result of forced stagnation, and a general demand for logical explanations to most anything. Of course I won't leave humor out, but it's all supposed to be pretty 'tight'.

[Kafzeil]

I I see, I'd probably join then. And it's nice to meet another Troper.

[Cogidubnus]

Name: Virgil Martin
Age: 35
Height: 6'0''
Race: Caucasian

Physical Description: Virgil is of about average build, athletic and lean, although not muscled in the typical sense of the word - rather, a person who simply keeps himself in shape. His single eye and hair are brown - a black leather eyepatch covers one eye. On his own time, he tends to wear cheap outfits of whatever is available at the time. His business dress is a personalized set of light combat gear, and despite the protests of his superiors, a black trenchcoat that he refuses to part with. Light boots, brown pants and a green shirt with a mesh underweave underneath, and the jacket contains ceramic plates throughout - a thoroughly custom job that forced him to learn to sew as well as efficiently place armor plating. Numberless holsters dot the inside of the jacket and the outside of his clothing, as well as hidden pockets. He has two hidden holsters - one on the small of his back, and the other around his ankle.

Character Type: Cyborg

Enhancements:

Eye of the Machine: Underneath his eyepatch is an obviously mechanical eye. It is capable of easily sliding through the spectrum to frequencies normally outside the visual range, with the upper limit at perceiving x-rays and the lower limit at being able to see radio waves. In addition, in conjunction with Virgil's other enhancements it is capable of highlighting targets, keeping track of bullets spent (both from him and from his targets), doing on-the-fly analysis of persons (likelihood of carrying a weapon, make and model of what they already have in their hand, body armor, and the like), and interfacing with the rest of his body to form a sort of automatic targeting system, allowing him greatly enhanced accuracy. He normally keeps it covered with an eyepatch. When taken off, it looks more like a ball bearing in his skull than an eye.

Analytics: Implanted into his brain, three microprocessors act as a secondary computing unit for his brain, allowing him to think faster and about more things than would be otherwise possible. While this is a gross simplification, it's easier to understand than the unpleasantly complex science of brain enhancement technology. In addition, it acts as the computing unit for the rest of his implants tying them together and allowing them to work in concert with each other. They assist in increasing his reflexes and reaction time.

Sub-Dermal Implants (Because there's nothing poetic about that): Underneath his skin, a great deal of wiring and a small peices of machinery serve to increase his reflexes to an astounding degree. With an improved reaction time and the accuracy afforded of his cybernetic eye, he can fire with an uncanny quickness and accuracy. Combined with military training, he can and has successfully won a number of gunfights even when outnumbered and outgunned, owing to his ability to quickly thin the ranks of his opponents even when moving at great speed, or while in the midst of dodging or finding cover.
In addition, it affords him a limited ability to interface with certain forms of machinery. His left thumbnail contains a wireless interface port.

Weapons:

While he was in the military, Virgil nearly died in his first conflict because his gun jammed. Upon locating the weapon of a dead comrade, he found that to be out of ammunition, and once again nearly died for his efforts. He narrowly avoided capture, and swore that he would never be caught in such a situation again. Therefore, he follows the philosophy of "More is better", carrying at least ten different kinds of pistols on his person at full kit.
5 X Slag Guns: Standard issue, cheap and commonplace throughout the solar system, they spray a superheated slag through the air with great force.
3 X Ballistic Guns: Guns that use solid-state ammunition, be that with cartridges, or lumps of metal propelled through the air with Gauss technology.
1 X Old-Style Revolver, six shots, ammo for twelve.
1 X Matilda: Matilda is generally kept in pieces until needed, as the pistol itself is too large all together to conceal. The stock is along his back, the pistol itself scattered amongst the pockets of his jacket and belt. Once assembled, it reveals itself to be a long-barreled stocked semi-automatic pistol grip guass-style weapon. It has significantly greater punch than the rest of his weapons, and he is significantly more accurate with it than most are with a true rifle, but reloading the weapon mid-fight is difficult, and the assembly time requires that he know that he's going to need it before actually using it.

History: A former military officer, until recently he worked as a security consultant for Anodyne Incorporated Machinery, working to train their security forces and acting in small roles as security himself. The company has recently had a stretch of bad luck, and was lately acquired in whole by The Devotion. There was not, however, any room left for him, and he was summarily fired. This has left him bitter, and he works in whatever small ways he can to make the Devotion's life a little more difficult.

Personality: A bit dour and melancholy, although he doesn't seem depressed. Pleasant enough to be around, and tends to mind his own business. A streak of dry humor runs through him, although it's often that he's the only one amused by it.