Imperium 28 - Closing Notes

No one actually happened to be at war with me when I took Orion, so it's kind of disappointing that only the Psilons voted for me. (I think they were at war with the Bulrathi at the time.) As Humans controlling Orion, you'd think we could get some votes, but.... True, no one (except the Sakkra) was exactly delighted with me, but no one was particularly unhappy with me either (except the Psilons ... who wound up voting for me, since they were at war with the bears).

The entire galaxy had been at war with the bears not long before, but maybe all the non-Psilons flipped to alliances instead in the last few years of the game or something. It could happen.

I wound up taking out the Guardian with a fleet of Mass Driver(!) fighters. I wanted at least 4 combat speed so I could reliably outrun the Scatter X volleys, which left out higher-end weapons at that stage of the game, especially since I also needed Mark 8 computers. (Even just the jump from Mark 7 to Mark 8 increases damage by a third against the Guardian, and fitting a bigger weapon with Fusion engines or better would have meant cutting chances to hit to 1/8 of what the Mark 8s provided.) Thanks to their shield-halving, MDs always damage the Guardian if they hit, and though they do only 1-4 damage apiece, 1500 was plenty to take it down once I dodged the Scatters (only because it lacks Auto-Repair though; it took about ten combat rounds to wear it down, and my Artemis fighters took heavy attrition of course; I lost about a third of the fleet before the Guardian went down). Another reason I went with this design (including the Impulse Drives, which weren't strictly necessary) is that I like my Orion killing fleet to be able to act as actual combat ships for non-Guardian purposes once it's defeated. Yes, even though the game is already won. When I reloaded my last save and abstained in the vote, I sent the survivors up to Firma, where they toasted the Space Crystal handily.

Taking advantage of the Battle Scanner bonus, the End Run colony ship actually has higher initiative than the Guardian. (Its armament was added strictly on a "because I can" basis.) This means it can hit the retreat button before the Guardian moves, and actually get out of there before the old death ship can bring its Stellar Converters to bear, allowing me to colonize Orion the same year I defeat the Guardian. In this case, it was just for style points - but it's worthwhile at other times too if you do go after Orion, since if the AI ever sees the planet without your colony in place or the Guardian in orbit, it might send a colony fleet, which could be slightly annoying, depending. The other ships were using Mass Drivers only because it happened to be the best beam I had at the time I designed them. If the other races in the game had been fielding small ships with beam weapons, I'd have built a Repulsor ship with lots of NPGs instead. The Perimeters were old and never really saw effective use since enemy fleets didn't really challenge me at the worlds I invaded and my defenses were handled fine by missile bases. They'd have been scrapped shortly if the game were to continue, since the Artemis fighters are better in pretty much every way.

Here's my empire at game's end:

Not many bases are needed with twenty-whatever layers of shielding. Draconis was just far enough away from alien worlds that it would have at least a turn's notice before any attack could arrive, and the rate at which it could crash up new bases was obscene. (You saw what non-rich Collassa was doing earlier in the game, right?) Ultra-Poor Denubius was so far in the back lines and so slow to build bases that it mostly just did research; I put a token base up just to have something behind the shields, but planned to defend it mostly with ships if it ever became necessary. Dunatis was also in the back lines and could crash bases up even faster than Draconis for a need. Poor Firma was a little like Denubius, but I actually gave it some factories before Robotic Controls came in, and not being ultra poor, it was worth more than just a token defense, I thought. Not worth spending forever building bases that would never be needed, but worth something. Kholdan had a star gate just because it was isolated - reinforcements would go to Tau Cygni from there or from Vox if needed. In general though, I built a lot more missile bases this game than I needed. It was just a lot easier than my usual practice of sending Scanner ships out and ensuring I had just enough (and the right) defenses to cream the aliens' actual fleets. 1472 reserve is a very low figures for this game, by the way; it was only that low because I'd recently dumped everything into Artemis-building worlds and had the rich and UR worlds building ships instead of reserves. Also, I threw a lot at Crypto in one big pile. I think its production's going to be doubled for the next dozen turns or so here.

Here's a look at the tech situation, with some of my planetology toys. Yes, Terraforming +100 is in the percentages. The computer tech that's also in percentages is Robotic Controls 6. And yes, these are already my two most advanced fields (the Guardian's weapons horde would change that of course). I like infrastructure. I even just like the word.

Oh, and you might enjoy this one I put together just for fun. Here's the galactic map - the FULL galactic map - from this period in the game. It's probably a bit hard to read at this size, but (as with any of the pictures in this report) you can click on it to see it at full size. (It's just that in this case, full size is pretty big.

I hope everyone who played enjoyed the game as much as I did! I'll try to post more notes later this week on this game's unique design and setup, in my report thread at at Realms Beyond.

_______________

Back to the Front Page

Imperium 28 - Singing

2533

"We have just heard from Captain Mustardseed, reporting from hyperspace, en route back to Collassa from Orion. His message in full runs thus:

I would like to resign my commission. Admiral Dipweed will not have an opportunity of doing so on his own behalf, because the piloting error that caused our fleet to brush up against the Guardian's final Scatter Pack X volley resulted in his instantaneous death - together with those of many hundreds of others aboard our lost ships. We are limping back now to lick our wounds - if you ever send anyone back to Orion, try to make sure they're good enough to avoid making such a horrible mess of things.

Can it be mere coincidence that our failed attack on the Guardian came just months before the latest GNN news event - the most troubling in the history of our species?"

"Of course other things have been happening - like one of our agents with time on his hands grabbing a personal absorption shield from the Klackons at Morrig without even bothering to frame anybody - but there must be some connection between the Guardian and this "crystal life form" that just showed up at the edge of the galaxy nearest Human space. Could it be that it's no lifeform at all, but - like the Guardian - an artifact of the galaxy's ancient history? What deadly weapons might it bring to bear if it can't be stopped? And how can it be stopped if there are many like it and they rival the Guardian itself in deadly power, least of all if they are capable of destroying entire planets in the fashion of the ancients? If there can be any answer, it must be on the surface of Orion itself; it is now more urgent than ever that we reach it - in spite of the Guardian!"


2534

"Production of Artemis fighters is in full swing, relocating through star gates and from worlds nearby. I'm told that another bored spy out in Sakkra space pulled a Graviton Beam out of some dark place without bothering with the easy frame job as well. Oh, and I think another Bulrathi fleet showed up someplace - attacking snowball Vox or something - with 11 dreadnoughts and 36 cruisers or the like. More of the same, I guess; our bases blew them into very little pieces until the survivors realized they had to retreat. Look, they're hopeless. The true danger to the galaxy arises not from the other races, but from the specters of the past. Let's get to Orion and learn what we can and must do to overcome them, while time remains!"


2536

"Admiral Myers reporting from the Orion system. The Guardian has been sighted."

"Our End Run colony ship - maximum initiative with a standard colbase on a destroyer hull - has already set warp coils to retreat. I expect to take heavy casualties, but I won't make the same mistake as my predecessor anyway! Evade those scatters! Helm, hard to starboard! Cut around that second volley; we can outrun it if we have to; just don't let up on your engines! I know perfectly well we're taking hits from those Stellar Converters and Plasma Torps; there's nothing I can do about that - just evade! We're down hundreds of ships, but those are the last of the scatters in your six; get us past them - and open fire!!! The Guardian is hit! We're going to have to keep this up for ages if we're going to crack its shell - our Mass Drivers don't exactly cut through those shields like butter - but one way or the other, that thing is going down ... or sending all of us down to the surface in fiery pieces!"

[Thundering Explosion]

"It's done! At last, it's done! The End Run is landing! Look at all the stuff they've got intact down there! Death Rays, High Energy Focus, Gauss Autocannons, Plasma Cannons - it looks like our guys back home can start work on sub-space teleporters then - and ... man ... will you look at those transmitter arrays?"


Surface of Orion

"Our hopes and our fears have together been confirmed. The terms of the Orion Compact are fulfilled: When a new people rises in the galaxy with the power to challenge the Guardian itself, that race will have one chance to establish its peaceful rule across the galaxy - and one only. The Council of Orion must be held at once, and should a ruling body be chosen by two thirds of the living people of the galaxy, then the Peace of the Compact shall be established under that body for the lifetime of the galaxy - and if it cannot be done, the Ancients shall return to resume their wars against the new peoples of the galaxy, to purge it anew, that future races may grow up to live and prove themselves in peace. And so we come to our first and last opportunity - a simple vote among the sentients of the galaxy, for Bullux or for RBO-28."

"The choice is made. Pretty obvious, don't you think? The Psilons, being non-idiots, decided that getting exterminated by the Ancients would be less fun than serving under humanity. The other non-human races, being idiots, voted for the loony. Fortunately, the RBO-28 needed only two more votes than they commanded on their own, and the brainy guys had three. (Note: Klackons not shown because they're annoying and crazy.) Long live the RBO-28! Long live the New Republic! Long live the High Master! Long live the fulfillment of the Orion Compact in peace!"

"...although trying to take on those Ancients would have been pretty exciting...."

_______________

Closing Notes

Imperium 28 - Not Quite

2515

"Another year, another pair of highly valuable technologies. Our codebreaker in bear space came away from a Parnar lab with designs for a fusion cannon, and our planetologists just developed a Universal Antidote that should render any bioweapon yet imagined, never mind built, completely ineffective against humanity. Next up, if we have time to complete it, is another huge leap forward in terraforming technology. You'll notice I only mentioned a pair. Well, our invasion force at Mentar fell short again, so we'll have to wait for the final wave arriving next year, and as for the tech we got from the Darloks..."

"...well, Controlled Barren doesn't really qualify as a valuable tech. On the other hand, what do you expect in exchange for IIT that's a century and a half out of date? The really important thing is the NAP we established with these guys. It's nice to have at least one non-enemy."


2516

"Well, I'm told spies lifted ancient, decrepit Irridium fuel cell plans from Maretta and didn't bother framing anybody. Whatever. What I want to know is whether the Psilons are going to finally start taking us seriously."

"Do you think we made our point? (Saurak certainly does; he finally agreed to call off his war and get back to a serious trade agreement)."


2517

"Emergency report from Collassa! The Bulrathi have arrived with another major fleet, and their newest Rhino dreadnoughts carry 21 Omega bombs each! They're mounting class 5 shields, anti-missile rockets, and better maneuvering speed than any alien design we've seen to date! ... Of course, when I say emergency, it's a relative thing. We've got 23 Pulson bases up, and that's enough to smoke both dreads before they can kill a single base. But, you know, if they showed up in numbers like that first Psilon cold war fleet, we'd need more bases or one of our repulsor ships or something."

"Of course, when we do need them, we can get them pretty quickly...."


2518

"Scout ship Galileo reporting from the Orion system! The Guardian is closing, and my warp cores are already cutting in for full retreat, but my scanning run was a success! I've got full specs on the Guardian itself, and more importantly, I've detected intact buildings and transmission stations on the surface of Orion itself! There is every reason to believe our research is correct: The Orion Compact is no myth, but the reason we've survived to see the modern galaxy! Forget the hard beam someone just stole from Beta Ceti's Klackons; I may be just a pilot, but I've just seen Orion up close; please listen to me! Let's accept the Psilons' offer of peace, and start moving toward a future with a truly united galaxy!"


2519

"Our Psilon friends have agreed to help us reduce our industrial waste across the galaxy ... errrr ... just don't tell them they agreed, since I [ahem] don't think they're quite aware yet that they've given us the needed technology. In any case, Operation Peace is progressing apace, with peace and trade just established with the lunatic Bulrathi. The equally-crazy Klackons haven't talked peace in ages, but I think they may yet see the error of their ways ... by about this time next year."


2520

"Admiral Douglas reporting from the Klackon homeworld of Kholdan 2. I'm pleased to hear that our people in Psilon space are still productive - that Armored Exoskeleton design you just sent over will certainly help out our troops. Send my congratulations to our computer scientists as well for their work on a Mark 8 computer; the new robotic controls they envision will undoubtedly be a boon for all our people. But I'm sure what you really want to hear is how the battle is going. Well, I'm watching the soldiers landing in their new exoskeletons as we speak. Why don't you have a look with me?"

"It seems their homeworld comes complete with 249 intact factories, Andrium Armor, Controlled Tundra, Reduced Waste 80 (try not to chuckle) - and Class 5 shielding. And it appears that Xantak is now prepared to accept peace and resume trade relations now that we've made our little point. Satisfactory."


2523

"Here in the R&D wing, we're celebrating the one-year anniversary of our renewed Sakkra NAP agreement with a couple of new projects: A Personal Barrier Shield and High Energy Focus, starting up right away ... now that we've already worked out how to build Class 15 planetary shields for our colonies and Trilithium fuel cells for our ships!


2524

"Hey, does anyone know why the Psilons, Bulrathi, and Darlok are yelling into their holo-transmitters like that? It wouldn't be because of the outdated terraforming tech our agents stole from the brains earlier this year, would it? No? Just because we're better than them? Yeah, I guess that sounds right."


2529

"Well, that's it, everybody. Hand phasors two years ago, Tritanium Armor this year, and that should just about do it. Yeah, we're off to work on Hellfire torps and IIT2 - our construction engineers seem to be pretty single-minded about improving industrial technology - but the time has come to concentrate our energies on the fruits, rather than just the development, of these new technologies. Orion calls to us, and the time has come to send an expedition there."


2532

"Still singing the same old song, Darquan? Really. I think we could use a change of pace in this galaxy. New songs would be really nice about now - or anyway new singers. In fact, I've been thinking ... there's this particularly fat lady...."

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Next: Singing

Imperium 28 - Warming Up

2482

"Still on Maretta, yeah, but not in any more danger than you'd expect. The truth is, I kind of figured there'd be trouble after that GNN report a couple years back, especially with that anonymous source bragging about how we're only getting better, so I went into deep cover looking for a break. Didn't come as a surprise to me when my Sakkra hosts declared war on us last year, right after the Psilons tore up that non-aggression pact of theirs. Anyway, I thought you might want to know about the 38-cruiser assault fleet heading for Tau Cygni - just left this system last year - and maybe also the plans I lifted from one of the Sakkra weapons labs. Could even have framed somebody, but I figured nah, better not call attention to anything. So, any chance Admiral Partha's boys can find a use for these fusion bombs?"


2487

"I'm still trying to come to grips with what our scanners revealed last year. After Agent Tyler sent over the plans for a mass driver (what use he thought that could possibly have for us, I have no idea) and the comp techs installed brand-spanking-new Advanced Space Scanners at all our orbital stations, we spent days poring over the data - but one green star near the galactic rim absolutely took the cake. We'd lost a ship there already, and we knew something crazy was going on there, but we never imagined the likes of Orion. The more we examine the date from our scanners, the more impossible it becomes to doubt: This is the Orion system of legend, the forgotten home of an ancient race of undescribable power. Legends differ as to their final fate, but there can be no question, from the energy readings, from the sheer quantity of intact structures on the surface, that the key to our galaxy's history lies just rimward of Collassa, protected by a super-dreadnought the likes of which has not been seen outside the Orion system for centuries, if not millenia. Such is the galaxy in which we live today."

2488

"This is GNN field reporter R2Z8UDD1, reporting live from Celtsi, where the Human starfleet has finally rooted out the last of the pirate havens, eliminating the pirate threat from the galaxy. For reasons best known to themselves, the Humans are continuing to examine the asteroids however, as intensely as they had been while searching for pirate hold-outs, though with less of an emphasis on primed and ready NPGs...."


2493

"So I hear research into Crypto's radiation sitch has been delayed yet again by the whole incoming-Psilon-fleet thing. Should have arrived this year, right? So how'd that go? They're not at war with us or anything, so they can't have sent much of a fleet."

"... uh ... 19 dreadnoughts?! 421 heavy fusion beams?! Not to mention hundreds of other weapons, including over a hundred streaming Tachyon beams? Is that fleet even legal? Errrr ... well, at least they won't do what someone did to Celtsi. I hear the pirate-interdictor fleet found evidence that the asteroids there are all that's left of a planet that got blown to pieces somewhere around the time that Orion Guardian was built. The asteroids are irradiated because of the reactors that went up on the planet's surface and the weapons that were used to blast it apart or something. Even seems to be evidence of highly advanced technology down there, though there's not much the fleet could figure out from the remains. Anyway, not that it's going to help Crypto with that death fleet, but I've done myself one better here. Remember how I nabbed Enhanced Ecological nanite designs at Sssla while everyone was distracted with reports of how we were done cleaning up the pirates and things? Well, it turns out the really juicy stuff was at Maretta. I'm sending over everything you guys need to implement Advanced Eco Restoration technology. No chance to frame anyone like last time, but I didn't bother then either, so no net loss, right? Anyway, good luck to those poor fools at Crypto. What are their defenses like, anyway? ... Wait, and you say the battle's over already? Ugh - I hope it wasn't too ugly."

"...um. Do I need my contact prescription adjusted? Do I see 75 Scatter/Stinger bases there? With 14 layers of shields and a fighter fleet? And what happened to all those dreadnoughts anyway? The cruisers and colships look like they're in full retreat!"

...

"Okay, so I guess we kind of took the place's defenses pretty seriously."


2494

"Hey again, guys! Seems like it's been a whole year! I figured while I was here on Maretta, may as well snag an automated repair system for you to play with, right? Sure! So I hear you're making peace with the Sakkra and Bulrathi this year then? Good to hear. Maybe if these pacifistic lizards catch me then, they'll go easy and only torture me for a couple of months. Hey, a guy can dream. Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the Darloks breaking their NAP with you. What are they going to do, throw their cloak pins at our repulsor cruisers?


2501

"Naturally the past few years have seen unprecedented scientific development among human worlds. It is my hope and expectation that the upward trend will continue. Omega-V bombs five years ago, opening the door to Pulson missile development, with a cheap ECM jammer and designs for a neutron blaster, courtesy - unbeknownst to either - of the Psilons and the bears the following year, all was followed up by another terraforming breakthrough, creating room for 60 million humans above the natural support levels on every world, the year after that, with a universal antidote now in the works. Of course the Sakkra contributed their Ion Cannon design two years ago, though they didn't know it - our agent didn't even bother framing anyone - and just this year, after confirming a new non-aggression pact with them, we sent our Psilon neighbors plans for old-fashioned anti-missile rockets, just so we could get some miniaturization in, through their gatling lasers. Our most imporant research project might be the one with the lowest profile though: With its ridiculously potent defenses in place, Crypto was finally able to take time out to do some exploratory drilling, and we're finding there, even more so than at Dunatis and Draconis, the incredibly rich mineral layer is actually a relatively thin coating over the planet's outer crust - thin by geological standards. It appears highly probable that these mineral riches actually consist of the worn-down dust and scrap of factories, cities, and combat bases once assembled by the world's inhabitants in the era of Orion, together with those of orbital stations, satelites, and starship hulls that were blasted from orbit, and burned in the atmosphere before crashing to the planet's surface or raining down as microscopic particles over the course of years or centuries. The radiation at our three rich worlds seems to be of a type with that of the asteroid fields that we now believe were formed by planet-destroying weapons of which we can barely conceive a fever dream today. The wars of the galaxy's ancient past must have been horrible beyond all telling - and to prevent their recurrence must become the new focus of the most powerful race in the modern galaxy: None other than Humanity."


2507

"I suppose we should have expected this. Let's review: The year afte we signed our latest NAP with the Psilons, our CS teams picked up another level of robotic controls development, en route to a mark 8 battle computer; at the same time, our agents were filling in duralloy armor and class 3 shields from Sakkra and Bulrathi bases, respectively, declining to frame anybody just because there was no point in being mean. No antagonizing actions against the Psilons whatsoever. But three years after the pact was made, they shredded it at their feet. Why? A cry ringing out for new colonies, apparently. Meaning they wanted our worlds for their own. Naturally, we responded the next year by grabbing an advanced ECM jammer - mark 5, if you recall - from their labs, but mainly we've been doing our own research: Class 7 deflector shields for still-more-invincible bases last year, and IIT 4 for cheaper factories this. Once plans for Class 15 planetaries and tritanium armor come to fruition, we'll be laughing at assaults from any quarter - and we'd have likely had another breakthrough if not for last year's computer virus - 29332 propulsion RP lost, destroying all our work in a project that was just about to hit! I don't know if Tachaon was just scared of us, or deluded by the GNN virus report into thinking we were a weak target, but what does he decide to do this year?"

"Of course. A war. Now, I've tried to present the facts impartially. I probably didn't quite succeed, but no matter which way you cut them, is there any way to pretend Tachy's not at fault here?"


2510

"Dear Diary: Chased another hundred-cruiser Bulrathi fleet away from Proxima today. Any chance they're ever going to learn? I hear the eastern worlds are building twin-fusion bombers just in case they need to make a point...."


2511

"Seems to be a year of fives. My agents in Psilon space picked up a Mark 5 computer from Xudax, and - not to be outdone - my favorite Maretta agent came up with Class 5 planetary shields. Don't tell him he was outdone anyway, all right? Oh, and the Sakkra declared war, which may have been his fault - don't know and don't really care. We just built almost a hundred new fighters to help deal with the last guy to declare war on our people."


2512

"Well, Tachaon's had his war going for five years now. Let's find out if he's tired of it yet. We just wiped out the fleet he sent to our Draconis colony, so let's see what he does about the fleet we sent his way."

"It's only going to get more lopsided. Our scientists just finished testing the new Pulson missiles, and a Hand Phasor design is up next."


2513

"One of our agents over at Thrax got bored and lifted a Hyper-V rocket design from some Psilon base. Oh, and Bullux declared war on us again. I lose track. Is that everybody?"

_______________

Next: Not Quite

Imperium 28 - This Galaxy of Ours

2449

"I was hoping for a little more fanfare when I brought the plans for a warp dissipation device, especially now that my team is starting work on Impulse Drives. I think I'll go sit in a corner and mope for a bit, alright? Doesn't anybody like new discoveries anymore? Doesn't ... wait, what's that you say about Agent Lestrade? Isn't he out in Psilon space? You say he broke into a what?

"Wow! Robotic Controls 3 from a Psilon lab! That oughta give us a huge head start on factory building from the computer scientists' RC4 project! Send Lestrade my congratulations!

...

And tell him to upstage somebody else's discoveries next time, alright?"


2450

"Ah, good evening, Xantak. I see you've finally managed to reclaim Tau Cyg..... Wait a minute. You're not Xantak!"

"Well, then. Good evening, Saurak! It's a pleasure to finally meet a fellow pacifist ... instead of another lunatic like your Bulrathi and Klackon buddies. Um ... speaking of which ... you wouldn't be willing to break up your military alliance with the ursines, would you? What with their erratic war declaration on us a few years back and all, it seems like the pacifistic thing to do would ... a militarist you say? You're a pacifistic militarist?"

...

"Ummmm ... so I guess I have to take back what I said about 'instead of another lunatic,' eh?"


2451

"Yup, hi, Saurak. Sorry we didn't try to establish trade with you or anything last year. One problem is that we don't see you holding on to Spud Cygni very long. Oh, you have alliances now, yeah, fine. We'll see how long those last with your erratic neighbors though. But the other problem is those exact alliances. See, we figured it wouldn't be long before ... what's that you say? Going to war with us already? Very pacifistic of you, buddy. Anyway, yeah, I think you've just covered my second point for me - wouldn't you say?"


2452

"Hiya, Bullux. What's up? Oh, I see. So, just as we're finishing development of a Repulsor Beam and starting work on a class-ten planetary shield, and incidentally just one year after bringing your Sakkra friends into the war, you want peace? Mmmmhm. You're crazy like a fox now, aren't you, mister bear? Well, far be it from me to reject a peace offer anyway. Let's get trade going again, shall we?"

...

"Um, sure. Yeah, I'll join you in donning the Googly-Eye-Glasses of Peace and the Dance of Stumbling Blindly Around the Room While Singing Hail to the Chef. Just assume I'm with you on that if the audio and image on my transmission suddenly cuts out, alright?"


2454

"Agent Tyler reporting in from Ursa! Terrific news! We've got a real battle computer now! I just lifted a Mark 3 from ... guys? Guys?! Where's everyone going? What's this I hear about Robotic Controls 4 and Cloning technology? Is that party music in the background? Hey, why can't I be in on the party? I'll bet you couldn't have gone straight on to an Advanced Scanner along with Advanced Soil Enrichment if not for the computer I just brought in. You'd be ... hey! Will someone at least listen to me?"


2456

"Hi, Bullux. If your patience is exhausted, I guess that tells us something about its half-life anyway; we've only been at peace for four years. Anyway, I believe you that it'll be war if we keep expanding. Given your history, it's going to be war at some point for no reason anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some factories to help assemble with our new IIT6 technology. Have fun competing with our production base, okay?"


2462

"Heh, and get this: Tyler called an old Mark 3 a 'real battle computer.' Riiiiiight."

"Yeah, you and I know what 'real computer' means! Thanks for the Mark 6; I'm sure you Psilons will have a great time experimenting with your clones. Just remember not to get 'em wet or feed 'em after midnight, okay? Oh, and I wouldn't worry about losing contact. Not with the Stinger missiles we developed for our bases four years back, and the Mark 3 ECM plans we got from Tyler out in Bulrathi space this year. We're pretty confident these days - even took Tau Cygni's orbit. It's still a spud for now, but we'll see what happens when our troops show up to take the place!"


2464

"Sir, this is Captain Amur reporting from Tau Cygni. It seems some Klackon transports managed to slip in and take the planet again. I hope that doesn't cause too much trouble on the interspecies relations front, what with our transports already en route there and everything. On the plus side, the Sakkra won't be able to blow up any more of our factories for a while - not that we care that much about the two they got on Berel last year - and it looks like we managed to trade our old Hyper-X rocket design to the bugs for their old mark 2 computer technology. I know they're allied with the other races in the theater, so our ground forces are probably going to be going up against bugs, but ... you know, we'd be at war with them soon enough anyway. The bugs are crazy."


2467

"Special Agent Jack Trapper reporting from Tau Cygni. I was all set to head out and transmit the good news from a secret installation in the Ixilixitixilixil Ice Field (now known as the Dudeitstotallycoldouthere Ice Field) until I saw our transports dropping in. So I figured I'd save myself a trip and report from the Central Planetary Relay. I snuck plans for a Mark 4 computer out of the computational lab here before the battle, and set myself up for a front-row seat watching our boys take the planet by sheer weight of numbers. Not a bad way to break contact with the Klackons; they obviously needed an alliance to reach this place. Plus we got to meet someone new in the crazy bugs' place!"

"Okay, so he's a xenophobe, but Darquan's already agreed to a huge trade package anyway, not to mention non-aggression. What can you say? I guess everyone loves monkeys! In fact, I hear you traded cloning around some more, for Zortium armor from the bears and a trick for doubling our terraforming capabilities again from the lizards. Not bad at all, I must say. But don't be too eager for those kinds of trades. Don't go and put us intel agents out of work, okay?

"Oh, and you might notice some Klackon transports about to show up here too. I wouldn't worry. See where their fleet is retreating? Our starforce isn't letting anything through."


2472

"I have a report in front of me from the Primodius garrison commander. It appears that the Bulrathi are sending an enormous fleet, but he remains unconcerned. The Class X planetary shields our tech boys developed three years back should hold off just about anything the bears can throw at us, and we'll have ours set up long before they get here. It should be fun to see the looks on their faces when we develop Class 7 deflectors to layer with them, too!"


2474

"Hey guys, Agent Tyler here. I just want to say, I'm sure it wasn't related, but I kind of heard some snickering in the background when I transmitted the plans for sub-light drives last year. I know they're kind of outdated, but it's not my fault the bears are so lame. Anyway, I hope you appreciate the work I do on these backward Ursine worlds even if the fruits aren't so great. At least it's something, right? Even if I don't know what it's good for. Like this inertial stabilizing thingy I pulled the plans for here. Let me know if you ... what's that? Medal of Honor?! Really? Are those starship engineers in the back there doing a dance? Are you saying the inertiawhatsit's really valuable or something? Clue me in, okay?"


2476

"Tyler again, reporting from Ursa. Any truth to the rumor one of my colleagues nabbed Controlled Dead Environment over at Sssla earlier this year? Oh, and I picked up some plans the Bulrathi had lying around in a high-security core somewhere, for making something called a Battle Suit. Think it'll be good for anything much? I heard the guy at Sssla had a chance to pull a frame job, and passed it up since it would be gauche or something, so I did the same. I hope that's okay."


2480

"This is GNN Correspondent Rob O'treporter coming to you live from Sol 3, where the Human people are celebrating an extraordinary achievement."

"For the first time in their history, the ape-people's GNN power ranking exceeds every other race's in the galaxy - even above the Psilons themselves, though only by the slimmest of margins. Both the Psilons and Darloks threatened their Human trade partners today with retaliation for their extraordinary success, but Human diplomats took it in stride. One source, who prefers to remain nameless, explained it thus: 'They can complain all they like. We had to crawl out of the basement, and we're still on the way up. It only gets better from here.' This year saw the development, by human construction engineers, of another improvement to their factory construction techniques, which will be followed by still another in due course, but the biggest news from human space comes from their little starfleet. Other races have far larger - but for some reason typically far less effective - star forces, but the Humans feel so confident in their defenses nonetheless that they have volunteered to remove the scourge of pirate activity based out of the asteroid fields of Celtsi. For further reports on the pirate situation, brought to light in a GNN exclusive earlier this year, let's go to Dr. O. I. Dexpert in the studio."

_______________

Next: Warming Up

Imperium 28 - Crazier

2409

"Engineering Team Eight reporting on our new project. You should be seeing the effects of the new waste scrubbers by year's end: Expect pollution from factory outputs to be cut by at least two fifths as they're fully installed. In the meantime, we're going to work on factory production efficiencies again - we should be able to cut them by a quarter, but I wanted to alert you first to another side-effect of the new scrubbers. The miniaturization they permit should make possible a new, high-speed, long-range, toxin-controlled colony ship design in a standard Class 3 Cruiser hull, and word is that the RBO-28 has been preparing facilities to build just such a starship - the "Panacea" could be finished by this time next year! So, in considering funding for our new project, code-named IIT6, bear in mind that it could provide similar benefits for future starship production."


2417

"Reporting from the ice world of Vox, just beyond Bulrathi space. We have managed to establish the transmission relay station at the new colony! We have already established trade with the insectoid Klackon people of Tau Cygni - a just-established colony the Klackons recently built nearby, so far from the rest of Klackon space that we're convinced it was only made possible by an alliance with another race. We will continue to relay transmissions from their emperor Xantak so long as we can keep our communications array up and running - here's hoping those Bulrathi leave us alone!"


2418

"We have begun to discover the state of the far side of the galaxy."

"For one thing, we've learned that the formation of Tau Cygni did not arise from a calculated risk like our Vox colony, nor was Xantak's initial diplomatic message a friendly joke or mistranslation: He really meant 'Potatoes who chew at elbow pads will become a dire threat to the galaxy!' It looks like this means he'll get along great with Bulrathi Emperor Bullux, last seen singing sea shanties while hanging from a lamppost in his capital on Ursa IV, so we've increased our Bulrathi trade package, and a group of Earth scientists has taken the opportunity of this temporary peace to exchange their knowledge of improved industrial technology for a neutron pellet gun design - which should be useful for shooting down transports should any more be accidentally sent our way."


2422

"Like those who served before you aboard Scouts and Discoveries, you have done Humanity proud. Your Voyager scouts have been decomissioned, but the work you've done will not be forgotten, whether or not you join the crews of our new Sentry laser scouts as they take flight across the galaxy."


2428

"I've been governor of Firma for seventy years, and enjoyed every moment; even now, I go to my retirement only reluctantly. You may be sure however that I leave the star system in good hands and in excellent condition. My people are thriving; the production boost from safer working conditions around radioactive elements - a side effect of the radiation control research finished two years ago - allowed us to finish our factory infrastructure this year in spite of our world's paucity of native mineral resources: The project I insisted on seeing complete before my retirement from the political scene."

"Some might scoff at the project, but I say they are fools; these factories will pay for themselves long before my successor is ready to leave office - even if she were less dedicated than me. Moreover, the fusion drives developed the same year have brought us into more intimate contact with the rest of humanity, which can only be good for morale and interstellar cooperation, especially sinceone of the three radiation-control colony ships completed last year will reach rich Dunatis by this time next year - our nearest neighboring star. Millions of Firmans have already volunteered to emigrate as soon as the new colony is formed!"


2430

"This is a GNN special report. The ape-like Human people of the galaxy have long been known for their facility - some might say obsession - with planetological science, and speculation about the reasons has become a popular sport in other parts of the galaxy. Last year's exchanges of their then-year-old Scatter Pack Rocket technology to the Bulrathi and Klackons, for the simplest terraforming and ecological restoration techniques they had yet to develop themselves, raised eyebrows and feeler-antennae around the galaxy. But perhaps the humans aren't - quite - as crazy as they seem. Their rush to develop radiation control bases allowed them to claim rich Draconis last year as well, and just this year, we've received word of an even grater coup for Humanity."

Ultra-rich Crypto has just become the twelfth monkey-person star system, with their population already well ahead of every other race's, leading to innumerable jests about the number of typewriters they need to turn out their Encyclopedia Brittanica each year."


2434

"Xantak, we Humans are creatures of peace. We make war only reluctantly, and only in response to attack. Just three years ago, we established a Non-Aggression Pact with the Psilons, and over the course of the past three years, we've scrapped our entire star fleet of warp-2 fighters and (a small handful of) warp-4 Sentries. We prefer to concentrate on research, even for our own defense - like the early-warning Improved Scanner and Class-4 Deflector Shields we developed two years ago. The Bulrathi, on the other hand, declared war on us just before we made our pact with the Psilons - and their reason? Bullux was bored! He called our strong post-war relations, technology trades, and profitable interspecies commerce "diplomatic games," and said he'd rather play "war games!" Make no mistake though, Xantak. Our new scanners show his "games" include a dreadnought and over 30 cruisers moving toward Primodius in full attack mode even as we speak. I'm sure you can tell an ally so unreliable as he must..." ... "...um, sure! Okay! Let us indeed perform the ... uh ... ancient Blabbity Dance of Nomorebearalliance! What an ... er ... ingenius and wisdom-filled suggestion!" ... "Well, I'm afraid my ... um ... anatomical shortcomings prevent me from sticking my antennae into my feeding orifice, but I assume it would demonstrate ... ah ... equal dignity ... if I were instead to perform the dance with my fingers up my nose. What do you say?"


2438

"Thankfully, the Psilons haven't made any further threats since their complaint about our growth two years back. And the Klackons haven't made any since their simultaneous complaint about the Immense, Pulsating, Green Goobers of Death that we permit to threaten the galaxy by failing to flouridate our breath properly. We've got our hands full already with these Bulrathi! There are more than 80 Heavy Blast Cannons on that fleet, and we don't even have planetary shields! Of course, we do have a few defenders...."

"Thirteen Scatter bases and over 170 new NPG fighters are ready to meet them. The fighters' engines are blazing like new-minted stars as they close with the enemy, with wave after wave of Scatter Pack rockets screaming through the night sky. Our interceptors are taking the brunt of their fire, and returning fire gamely, but the enemy's sheer numbers are devastating. We've lost nearly a third of our fighter craft already ... but the Punishers have burned! The Warbear, Claws, and Teeth are under heavy fire, their hulls crumpling under the force of wave after wave of rockets and blazing NPGs! Only 130 of our Freedom and Liberty fighters survive, but it's enough - the Bulrathi assault force is defeated! None even survived to retreat."

2444

"Xantak? Xantak, do you read me? Ambassador Yixaribixaribixingbixongnixeep? Anyone? You're not trying to play hide-and-go-seek, are you? You remember how that almost caused an interstellar incident a few years back, right? Especially when you came out from behind your desk waving your antennae and singing "Ninety Nine Bottles of Bug Juice" at the top of your lungs. Anyway, never mind that now; I have important news for you! There's a huge Darlok fleet over your world of Tau Cygni - you know, the one tiny little snowball of a reach colony that's forming the lone tenuous connection between our empires. They've got 37 Tarantula cruisers, and 32 destroyers - a Hornet and a whole cloud of Venoms - and they ... uh ... you can't hear me, can you, Xantak? I, um, notice that there doesn't appear to be a colony under that fleet at Tau Cygni anymore. So that's what my diplomatic advisor meant about losing contact with the Klackons, is it? Just no relay stations in range anymore? Well, in that case ... I guess I'm talking to myself here. Um ... bye?"


2446

"This is Captain Easlan of the destroyer Recon 4. I am departing the Ursa system, en route back to iceworld Vox. A new Rhino dreadnought was stationed here, and I had a chance to scan it: Four heavy fusion beams, a handful of short-range cannons, anti-missile rockets, their most advanced shields, a battle computer, scanner, and stabilizers, all held together with duralloy and duct tape. Probably the most dangerous ship in their starfleet, but our bases will handle it alright. Believe it or not, I think we're a power in this galaxy of ours."

_______________

Next: This Galaxy of Ours

Imperium 28 - Madness

2374

"I brought the plans as fast as I could. These new Deep Space Scanners should alert us to Bulrathi fleet movements well in advance of their arrival, and my team is getting to work on an ECM Jammer to protect our bases from their munitions even now. My plan is to race through these computer technologies as quickly as humanly possible, to help our spies hack into their systems if nothing else. Yes, a new battle computer would be useful in the Bulrathi war, but that's assuming we manage to field one before the war is over. I believe the path we've chosen remains the best way forward!"


2375

"We've successfully installed a double layer of shielding at each of our worlds, and the same can be done for our future starship designs. The personal deflector shield my colleagues are starting on now is our best chance for approaching ground combat parity with the bears. They may have gone to war with us; they may have a vastly superior starfleet, far more numerous defenses and ground combat abilities, and range - until Dotomite comes in, our transports starships without reserve tanks won't even be able to reach any of their stars - but at least they're not going to catch us with our jumpsuit-bottoms down!"


2377

"The situation looks bleak; if they send their heavy cruisers, our worlds may be in danger; we've got to get defenses up, advanced rockets for them to fire ... we're in great danger! We're so weak right now that ... wait, here's a news report! What more bad news could it bring us?"

"..."

"Um, we're the first race in the galaxy to reach our sixth star system? So ... maybe things might not be quite as bad as I thought."


2381

"We have received confirmation of a Bulrathi probe fleet on approach to Collassa. Two colony ships most likely departed Talas three years ago, and are expected to arrive within two years. Bulrathi war fleets are reportedly gathering at border worlds, and we will continue to monitor their activities. For the present, a missile base at Collassa 2 should be enough to hold off those colony ships."


2383

[sirens screaming] "Collassa Relay Station to Central Command! Those colships are armed with heavy blast cannons, backed up with NPGs! We've managed to take one down, but it's done too much damage already! We'll never get through the other one's armor before..." [thunderous explosion] "We've lost the base! Repeat, the base is down! The colship is moving in for..." [rolling concussive noise] "...orbital bombardment; they're..." [distant, rumbling explosion] "...firing on our factories! One just went up in flames at the New Albany industrial center, and ... they seem to be breaking off the attack - they're moving to a transmission orbit; we'll have Bulrathi transports coming in! We're pushing all available resources into rebuilding the missile base, but we have to keep it shielded from follow-through attacks or we've lost before we start; the project's going to take at least two years! Any support you can send us, anything..."


2384

"Reporting from Helos. You should now have the plans we need to reach Bulrathi worlds without extended tanks."

"It was a cinch to sneak in here, the way the nebula interferes with their shields and security nets. I also was able to confirm that the twenty-seven transports en route to Collassa from Paranar are the only ones being sent. The Bulrathi outclass us so thoroughly in ground combat, they don't expect any more to be needed. Let's hope they underestimate our starforce! As you can see, they're aware of the relocation warp lanes carrying the new fighters to Collassa from Berel and Primodius, so I advise sending a fleet from Sol as well while they can still arrive in time to intercept those transports. They're also aware of the twenty fighters already en route; let's hope they don't know about the missile base repairs - or hope their victory last year has made them overconfident."


2385

"Captain Raj Valdez reporting from deep Collassa orbit. I've lost five of my wingmen, but stage one is accomplished: Our starfleet controls the Collassa system once more! The planetary base has been repaired, no further damage was done to the planet's surface, and the Bulrathi colship is scattered around the local asteroid field in the form of shrapnel! I'm well aware however that our most important mission is yet to come; if we're going to save the planet from those transports full of invincible ground troopers, we'll need all the support we can get!"


2388

"Well, sir, there's no one on this planet who can say you don't send support when it's needed!"

"We're going to keep pushing out missile bases here - we've got another Bulrathi colshiip and four of their cruisers heading our way - but we'd have been roadkill if those transports got through. You can't imagine the relief we felt when we saw your reinforcements burn them all out of the sky."


2391

"I have to say, that GNN report s kind of a let-down after the big meeting with our computer scientists, celebrating our new ECM and everything, planning an improved space scanner that will tell us enemy ETAs more definitely. Obviously our war with Bulrathi has slown down both of our economies, but showing up dead last in research, right behind our Bulrathi enemies ... well, the timing could have been better, is all I'm saying. At least we beat off their latest attack on Collassa; one of their cruisers even had the sense to retreat, so maybe there's hope after all for some sort of peace...."


2396

"I have to admit, I can't think of any logical explanation. Perhaps if you accidentally told them you wouldn't make peace while you were taking a holoscan for posterity, and accepted a counter-offer without noticing they'd made it? You say it didn't happen that way, but how sure can you be? ... In any case, I guess we can chalk it up to the known fact that bears are completely insane."

"Whatever the reason ... or non-reason ... they decided to help us miniaturize our weapons systems. Those anti-missile rockets they sent the plans for will never get installed on anything, but it's the ... thought ... that counts, right? Anyway, it's good to have peace. I'm going to start sending trade ships out there too - we'll just assume it was a yes when the Bulrathi Advisory Council responded to my new trade proposal by twirling paisley umbrellas in unison, wagging their tongues, and crossing their eyes."


2397

"We were working on a colony design for toxic worlds? Really? Since when? ... Oh, right. Since we came up with those death spore plans that were promptly filed away somewhere in Government Secrets Warehouse number 952,361, never to be looked at again until the end of time. So our new options are, what? To make a huge leap forward in terraforming or to figure out how to colonize radiated worlds? Are you kidding me? Have you seen those mineral-rich radiated gems? Let's get on it immediately!"


2402

"No doubt our ursine neighbors have benefited as we have from the treaty, but it would be hard to imagine them taking quite so thorough an advantage of newfound peace. Looking back on the last few years, we see our new Hyper-X rockets finally enter production, helping to ensure our safety even if some arbitrary set of planets somewhere undergoes what the bears call conjunction again, with a Scatter Pack design now under development that should prove even more effective against every known starship in the galaxy today. We see the distribution of Dotomite Crystal fuel cells to every ship in our fleet, granting our scouts their first opportunity in years to progress further into the galaxy. And perhaps most important of all, we see the formation of our Ryoun colony earlier this year, the first we've ever placed in a hostile environment, thanks to our newfound controlled environment technology. With eight stars now under our control, and hope of adding another beyond Bulrathi space, we are perhaps in the best position of any living race to investigate the secrets of galactic history."

"Can the coincidence of mineral richness and planetary irradiation in every known case of each be related to the radioactive asteroids that surround so many planetless stars? Our investigations thus far have been severely limited by our scout ships' capabilities, but perhaps, if we can build colonies on the irradiated surfaces of those mineral-rich worlds, we'll have a chance to investigate their history, and perhaps shed light on the mystery of the asteroids as well."


2405

"Well men, we don't have to worry about those bears anymore! That's right, the lab boys have come up with some Personal Deflector Shields! Never mind that they've got duralloy battle suits to our cardboard body armor; never mind that they're half-ton slabs of claw, tooth, and muscle. We've got their number now with these deflector shields! Oooooooh, yeah! And just you wait: The egg-heads say they'll double our ships' shielding power eventually too. How great will that be? Too bad shields don't shoot down assault transports. And a good thing we haven't met anything crazier than those ursines!"

_______________

Next: Crazier

Imperium 28 - Surely...

2337

"Yes, yes, I hear our second Horizon is on the move, not to mention another pair of Discoveries out of Primodius Station, with a twelfth due out next year. I'm well aware of the RBO-28's love for these shiny, wasteful star ships. But what of our future? What of the research that alone can propel us forward? My colleagues have improved our industrial technology across the entire empire and are now devising means to improve it still further; engineers at the Hydrogen Propulsion Lab on Primodius are continuing their work on nuclear engines that will double the effective warp speed of the RBO's precious starships, so of course they're still receiving funding, but what of our planetologists? So we'll never use Death Spores. Does that mean we must abandon the field forever? On the contrary! Consider that the fastest way to begin colonizing worlds beyond our present four parsec range is to complete both our IIT8 project and their Death Spores, for miniaturization purposes alone! Think, people of Sol! With these two techs, we'll be able to build ships combining the best aspects of Colony Ships and Scouts! We'll call them Scolony Shouts! Errr ... well, Scoulony Shi ... ummm ... well, alright, someone else can come up with the name. I'm just a researcher, okay?"


2340

"At long last, the silence is broken! The new communications center at Collassa has managed to get through to the Bulrathi!"

"For years, we couldn't make sense of anything they were transmitting, but soon after the Collassa colony was founded, Senior Communications Officer Risa Kerr finally started making headway by testing an ingenius hypothesis: That the Bulrathi couldn't make sense of their own transmissions either! When their emperor responded to her trade proposal by goggling his eyes, pulling at the collar of his uniform, and distinctly pronouncing, 'Snork! Snork! Snork!' Officer Kerr replied, 'I'm glad you agree, Bullux. Our trade ships will be entering Bulrathi space shortly.' He proceded to hop around his communications chamber on one foot with both arms stretched out ahead and waving in wild, rapid circles, periodically bumping into walls, so Officer Kerr cut the connection and sent the trade ships in - and for whatever reason, they're being accepted! Peaceful economic exchange - on a very small scale - is at last underway!"


2343

"Collassa station? Are you reading me? I hear Berel was founded last year, but I don't know if they can receive my signal. This is Discovery Gamma reporting from the green star just rimward of your position. I'm picking up incredible energy readings from the surface of the system's primary world - like nothing we've ever encountered. Ensign Smidley's read too many comic books and thinks it could be the legendary 'Orion' system - that should give you an idea of how the place is lighting up our sensor arrays. We've got a..." [static] "...kind of interference..." [static] "...gigantic super-dreadn..." [static] "...callsign Guardian! It's..." [static]

[static]

[static]


2354

"The first Voyager scouts have made their way to the outer reaches of known space, fitted with the nuclear engines we developed nine years ago. It is hoped that our new dotomite crystal project will expand those outer reaches even further, and to that end, we are finally beginning work on them - as well as our age-old computer, force field, and weapon projects - now that scientists are reporting a chance of a breakthrough at any moment in both fields that will lead to Scolony Shouts! ... Errr ... we still need a better name for that though...."


2360

"The rumors are true: All our outmoded Discoveries will be decomissioned by year's end. You who have crewed them have served us well, and may rest assured that more of our advanced Voyagers will be ready before long, with still more advanced starships to follow: We had a construction breakthrough earlier this year, and the eggheads are working on cutting down factory waste by two fifths and increasing ship component miniaturization at the same time. Go forth, be proud, and - while you're waiting for your next assignment - party down!"


2369

"Voyager Beta reporting from the nebula world of Helos. It looks like the Bulrathi are trying to claim this planet too. I'll try and warn them off - this system's closer to Sol, and our colony ship's already en route, and..."

"...it ... uh ... looks like they brought a fleet. I have the captain of the Warbear cruiser on the line now. Captain Growlyface ... uh ... is that your nickname or ... anyway, please understand that Humankind claims this ... um ... ... Okay, so Sol base? The Bulrathi command officers have formed a conga line on their bridge and are singing, 'Combat, combat, com-BAT!' I'm, um, thinking of withdrawing from the system. That okay?"


2371

"Following the action at Helos, we're more wary than ever of our Bulrathi neighbors. Nevertheless, there is no need to fear! I repeat, there is no cause for concern! Our Primodius and Collossa colonies completed their infrastructure development last year, and are prepared to work on defenses should it ever become necessary. We've just completed our Hand Laser project, bringing us slightly closer to ground combat parity, and are now developing Hyper-X rockets so our defensive bases will have teeth. The reality is however, the concerns are overblown. There is still plenty of room for both of our peoples to expand, and our excellent trade relations have been lucrative for Humans and Bulrathi alike. Aggressive tactics to acquire unclaimed systems are one thing, but no sane emperor would even consider war with our established colonies.


2373

"Good morning, Bullux! How are you on this fine..."

"I see. The ... um, conjunction of the planets, eh? Well, I'm going to call this progress: You managed to speak a complete sentence! And it's a comprehensible sentence at that ... even if the sentiment doesn't make a lick of sense...."

_______________

Next: War! (And Other Forms of Madness)

Imperium 28 - Shattered Worlds

The following historical edutainment program consists entirely of exerpts from The Chronicle of the 28th Renewed Bipartisanship Organization of Sol 3, collected from recorded speeches and reports from the government archives, edited by Sy Lengrin of Firma 4, Hyphalutin Publishing Company, Orion, 2564. For a history of previous attempts at establishing bipartisan leadership for the Human people, see A Brief History of Self-Immolation Among Human Political Organizations, by Jess Langstrom, Blidenobvyus Publishing, New Chicago, 2287. For a discussion of the use of "Bipartisan" in lieu of "Multipartisan" or "Universal" in early Human world politics, see On the Polarization of Human Opinions in the Twenty-First through Twenty-Third Centuries, by Lance Cartwright et al, Fulcort Press, Primodius, 2316. For a good time, deck into LDL 25864 and select Virtual Vicky. For ... wait. What?


Introduction

"The galaxy is open before us at last. After millenia of development - of labor and learning, of wars and chaos - we have learned at last to obviate our wars, labored hard enough to push back the chaos, and with all of Sol united behind the RBO-28, completed the means of reaching beyond our home and toward the stars."

"Even now, our new-built starcraft take flight toward the heart of the galaxy, with millions of colonists hurrying toward our nearest star, and more scout ships - our new, high-efficiency Discoveries - under construction even as I speak to you tonight. In spite of the conservative estimates displayed in official planetary reports, there is no doubt in my mind, so long as we work together, that our growing labor pool will complete three by the end of the year."


2306

Escalon and Romulas have both proven lifeless, empty of planetary bodies larger than asteroids, forming belts as thick, as surprising in composition, and as dangerously radioactive as the Stalaz asteroid field at Nemesis, our nearest star. Of the planets surveyed thus far, only the Helos star system in the Core Nebula, and Primodius itself, appear capable of ever supporting life.

"I stand before you this day, passengers and crew, to stand for the promise at last fulfilled, of new hope - of new life! For today you are passengers no more, nor crew, and I am not your captain: Henceforth, we are the citizens of Primodius 2 - the first people among all humankind to set foot on an a world beyond Sol! Henceforth this pristine world, its winding island beaches, its glistening waves, its deep seafloors, its moons and very core, are ours to call home: We are the planet's caretakers, for its fruits shall sustain us as our labors make it strong! Join me in walking the island shores; join me in swimming the ocean waves! Soon, we shall start work on our young world's factories, and millions from Sol will set out next year to join us here, but today, after six long years cramped aboard our colony ship, after the disappointment of Stalaz, we have earned a ... aw, forget it; you know what I mean! Let's go, guys! Last one in the water's a six-year-old carton of SPAM!"


2308

"Discovery Beta reporting from the Talas system. We are about to achieve first contact with an alien species! A small starship belonging to something apparently called the 'Bulrathi' is now entering the orbit of the jungle world we just discovered here last year. Ensign Roberts is attempting to decode its callsign now, and Lieutenant Kerr is doing her best to find means of communicating with - hold - the starship is closing rapidly and charging some variety of forward array. And Roberts reports the ship's call sign is Fighter! Kerr is having no success, and she believes the forward array is a high-energy laser turret! The Bulrathi appear armed and committed to battle! Now initiating evasive maneuvers - request permission to depart the system via hyperspace portal at once!"


2311

"I regret that it is my duty to report yet another setback. I am well aware that the discovery, concurrent with the Collassa desert, of another empty star system at Moro two years ago - empty but for another tumbling field of asteroids that seemed to burn with their own radioactive heat - was the impetus to begin a fact-finding study on the feasibility of using Deuterium as a fuel source. I am too well aware of the study's results, which led to the Hydrogen fuel project currently underway, and that this very failure was what led to the pilot project assigned to me - to seek out means of improving our ecological restoration techniques, with no unexplored star systems within hydrogen-fueled colony range of any habitable world we've yet found. And I fear that my report must be as disappointing as that of the propulsion laboratory."

"If an improvement to our ecological restoration techniques can be accomplished with current technology, we have not been able to find it. Our best hope, such as it is, is to develop terraforming techniques in hopes of learning more about the environments of all our worlds, and therefore perhaps someday learning how better to restore them. That said, if you prefer to execute me and my research team for incompetence, along with the propulsion team from last year, I will fully understand your ire."

...

"Wait, you say you're increasing our funding? You say nine-fold?! Well, then. All right!"


2313

"Discovery Beta reporting from orbit at the Primodius research colony. We've got an incoming Bulrathi starship of as-yet unknown design. If they remain threatening, the colony may be in danger, as attempts to retrofit our hull with a laser and deflector shield proved ineffective; the glue just got all over everything, and it took us a week to clean it up. Ensign Roberts is puzzling through the Bulrathi call sign now, but they are slowing, and sensors indicate ... they seem to be charging a forward array as wide as their entire hull! Lieutenant Kerr reports no response to her transmissions, and we may have to ... no, stand down. Stand down. Kerr has worked out the energy signature of the array, and it appears to be a warp actuator. Roberts is reporting the ship's call sign as Scout. The Bulrathi are departing the system. We'll watch for the direction of their departure, and be ready to proceed on our mission of exploration within thirty-six hours."


2317

"More bad news from the labs, I'm afraid. Before I tell you just how bad it is, please bear in mind that our terraforming project, just completed, is in well ahead of schedule! Remember that just last year, we were looking at only 2% odds of success!"

...

"Um, yes, er, true, yeah, we do report only half our actual chances because of ... ummmmmumblemumbleprotocolsomethingmumumble ... but it's still quite impressive, right? So hopefully when I tell you that the only research project my team can come up with now is Death Spore development, I ... um ... won't have to be taken outside and shot."

...

"(Whew) Yes. I agree that wouldn't be appropriate. I'm sure you're right that the best way to proceed is to cut off ... EEK! ... Oh. (Ahem) Um. Yes, well. My funding. Cutting off my funding for a time. Yes, that does seem like the only logical response after all. I'll just go someplace dark and hide my face where no one will have to look at me for a while ... nor have to cut my something-other-than-funding off."


2320

"As our newest Discovery maps the jungles of Firma and sends back data for scientific analysis, perhaps suggesting some connection between the tropical environment there and the depleted state of the world's mineral resources, we find ourselves at a crossroads: No new stars can be explored until our new fuel cells are developed, and so our knowledge of the galaxy is as complete as it can yet be for years to come. Investigations of the burning asteroid phenomenon are ongoing in four different star systems, and here at old Sol, we seek knowledge as well, of a less esoteric variety: A pilot project in the field of Construction shall begin this year, in the hope that it shall someday improve the livlihoods of human beings throughout the galaxy!"


2327

"Loyal pilots and crews, I salute you. For twenty-seven years, you have explored our galaxy aboard your outmoded Scout ships, making do with what you had even as our new, high-efficiency Discoveries flooded the stars around you. You have done well, and earned your retirement and honorable discharges, all of you. For just this year, our propulsion engineers have finished developing hydrogen fuel, and as they start work on Nuclear Engines that will someday make even our present Discovery fleet obsolete, we find it wiser to recycle the old Scouts' hulls than to attempt to refit them for the new fuel, especially as ample Disoveries have finally arrived to take the place of each of your elderly ships. Those who wish to remain in the navy will be reassigned to Sol to crew the starship already planned there; those who wish to enter civillian life will receive training in factory assembly, hopefully soon to include technological improvements in our industrial construction techniques. For those who wish to simply retire, property is still available along the Primodius beaches. Good luck and good health to all of you; you have been an inspiration!"


2331

"With our home system's factory infrastructure finally fully up to date, and Primodius carrying the research burden, Sol's new factories can now turn all their efforts to construction of a Horizon colony ship. The need for hurry was only emphasized by Discovery Epsilon's encounter last year, with the Klackon Scout just beyond the coreward nebula. In spite of the allure of worlds like Dunatis, just discovered at the outer rim, so rich in radioactive elements that life cannot survive on its surface, we must move forward now to claim those stars on which we can build colonies."


2336

"Thanks to line items in last year's budget snuck through by Science Minister Ref Wutsiznose, we managed to run feasibility studies in three new scientific fields: A deep space scanner should quickly advance our knowledge of computer science while extending the range at which our Hubble XV interstellar observatory can pinpoint ships in space - a more peaceful option than doubling the capabilities of our ships' battle computers - while double-strength deflector shields and miniaturized laser weapons for use by surface troops should help quiet those who fear that the Bulrathi and Klackons we've encountered may prove hostile. For those who do, it should be noted that in spite of the aggressive tactics of the Bulrathi Fighter first seen at Talas, all our few encounters with either race since then have been with Scouts, which departed even as our Discoveries approached. Surely this is a sign that we shall be able to live with them in peace!"

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Next: Surely!