Other Realities (2014-08-14)

CD5K > FU > arc > discon > tfu

Here's all the different encyclopedic articles and "first contact" scenarios I wrote from the perspective of the Future Universe's Cradians. When most of these were made, the Ultraverse's name was the Cybernetic Demise Fictional Ultracontinuity, and the Wax Candle was similarly called Cybernetic Demise.

Contents:

• Jiuna
  • Jiuna
  • SRA ORC
  • Virtual Intervention
  • Novians
• Hoshiikara
  • The Preparedness Conspiracy
  • Populace Reality Confusion
• Karus
  • Karus
  • Grand Opus Broadcasts
  • Novians
  • Cradinovians
  • Kazenians
• Shi Kayu
  • Futarogu
  • Te Ra
  • Final Broadcast

Jiuna

The first document I wrote, dated 2012-04-07, details the discovery of the planet Jiuna. I would eventually recycle some of these ideas to form the backstory of Tesepa.

Jiuna

Jiuna is a Cradle-similar class NI planet in the K51B system, 51.2 light years' distance from the Primary system. Life native to the planet includes the Novians and their derivative subraces, the Postnovians and Transnovians, as well as a number of AI-hosting Jiunan Robots.

Discovery and Expedition

K51B was discovered by Cradian astronomers in 2278, and initially thought to be uninhabited. The recently-constructed survey ship CWG-LS05 Opus was dispatched to the system in 2291 to determine Jiuna's viability as an expansionary or resource colony. The Opus arrived at Jiuna in 2343 and safely returned to Cradle in 2396, exactly 105 years after launch. However, due to the effects of near light-speed travel, the ship and crew had only aged 14 years.

First Impressions

Initial surface scans showed a war-ravaged planet, parts of which had been reclaimed by nature. The planet was found to be inhabited by at least three intelligent species; one living in domed cities (Coranan Postnovians), a second which appeared to have been knocked back to pre-industrial technology (Transnovian tribes), and a third which occupied, but had not maintained, the older, unprotected cities (Iovan mutants). A large and well-preserved structure was found embedded in the planet's crust in the arctic north. This structure was decided to be the best bet for answers and quickly excavated.

[Redundant information removed]

SRA ORC

The SRA Orbital Research Centre is a modular observatory and testing facility which was launched from Jiuna in 2003 and orbited the planet until 2087. It now serves as a sort of capitol building for the northern continent's Mechanoarctic.

History

The ORC was discovered by the crew of the CWG-LS05 Opus in 2343 during initial surface scans of Jiuna. It was decided to be the best bet for answers and was excavated. Despite its age and condition of disrepair, it was well-preserved enough to still function when exposed to enough solar power to reactivate. Two beings were found in stasis there: a maintenance robot, the self-named Final Beholder; and the station's general purpose AI, nicknamed "Recovery" by Final Beholder due to its upbeat and optimistic nature. There was an initial language barrier, but some of the planet's history was able to be conveyed visually, and Final Beholder quickly learned the Cradian language by analyzing language teaching tools and conversations between the crewmembers of the Opus.

Imminent Demise Event

The ORC and its crew were able to observe the Imminent Demise Event from a safe distance. When the news broke of the deception and devastating attacks carried out in secret by an AI, the ORC's crew experienced a severe technophobic panic. The production facility module that built and housed the station's maintenance robots was ejected on a collision course to Strif, K51B's star. The robots not in storage at that time, Final Beholder and a small team of subordinates, were inadequate in number to properly maintain the station. For a while, the assistance of the Novian engineers sufficed, but the station slowly began to deteriorate when they, along with the rest of the crew, fled from reality in favor of life in the Cybernetic Demise.

The Cybernetic Demise was one of the projects aboard the ORC, a computer simulation of reality originally intended for accurate prediction of the future via extrapolation based on known history. The original name was the Cybernetic Projection Project, but it was modified and renamed by the ORC's crew after the Imminent Demise Event. The crew then used reverse data bio-synthesis to upload themselves into the simulation, which had become a fantasy escape from a doomed reality.

Orbital Decay

By 2087, the ORC's fuel reserves were drained and the station could no longer maintain low orbit. It fell back to Jiuna, but its descent was slowed by the calculated jettisoning of non-essential modules (after redefining 'non-essential' in the context of no organic beings aboard the station) to lessen the damage of the station's impact. It remains on the planet's surface to this day, where it is the exact center of the Mechanoarctic.

The Virtual Intervention

In 2373, some individuals from the simulation were synthesized aboard the ORC to orchestrate a popular revolution against the tyrant Cacus II, whom Final Beholder felt was intentionally holding back technological advancement and scientific progress. One of these individuals, an Intervention triple-agent named William Leisen, began to make substantial changes to the Cybernetic Demise upon returning to it in 2377. These changes, made using a modified version of Kanzen Technique (the ability to alter the simulation while existing within it), caused the simulation to be entire orders of magnitude less realistic, but much more fun and fantastic. The simulation now exists as a mix of normality, science fiction, medieval fantasy, and fictional worlds.

Hm, that's interesting. I've kept that scenario, but completely reversed the motives; Final Beholder acted against the Cacus Technocracy because he lived through the Technopanic and thinks Tesepans can't handle tech. After that, you can also see how William was a much more important and influential character than he is in the current storyline.

Novians

Novians (Nova Cognito), Postnovians, and Transnovians are the inhabitants of Jiuna. They are a highly inquisitive people with some advanced technologies.

Novians/Postnovians

Novians and Postnovians are bipedal flightless avians somewhat similar to Cradians in physical form, although shorter and with less-muscular bodies. They have a two-tone coat of feathers, psuedobeaks lined with retractable teeth, and three-digit hands and feet with talons. They use a base eight number system. Large "joint claws" (extending from the heels, knees, elbows, and shoulders) begin forming during adolescence. These are normally flat and curved, but can become any one of a number of shapes, depending on hormone levels; aggressive individuals have sharp spikes, and the docile have less-prominent rounded nubs.

(No actual biological transition occured during the Wars; the survivors who did not biologically augment themselves decided to begin referring to their kind as "Postnovians" and the name stuck.)

Transnovians

Transnovians are Novians who (initially) biologically altered themselves through the use of data bio-synthesis to substantially change their physical appearances and capabilities from those of Postnovians. Due to these biological enhancements, Transnovians have longer natural lifespans than Postnovians. The maximum lifespan for Transnovians hovers around 142 years, with the longest-lived (to date) being 148.

This was followed by descriptions of six categories of common alterations; actual birds could actually fly, arctic-dwelling lizards with thick skin, lion-like forest dwellers, amphibians with webbed digits, fox-like desert dwellers, and insectoids. They were only created to give the world a bit of variety for the Virtual Intervention storyline.

Culture

Postnovians live in secretive domed cities but have a highly unified culture focused on societal harmony and self-discipline. Transnovians are organized into tribes living in various villages, towns, and natural habitats. It is possible for Postnovians and Transnovians to live together, but it is usually the case that Postnovians prefer city life while Transnovians would rather live among nature.

The Coranan culture, from which most present-day Postnovians draw their roots, was enthralled by the possibilities of fiction to become reality. They were a people who were, and still remain, heavily focused on development of new technology.

After the Jiunan Absolute Wars, data synthesis technology became essential for survival, and is now widespread among Postnovians. The technology had previously been heavily monitored and regulated by GOVSYNC for a number of reasons, including the possibility of unauthorized duplication of currency, drugs, manufactured goods, and weapons. Postnovian society has instead embraced those possibilities and, as a result, has no traditional economy to speak of. All forms of resource gathering and crop production are done for the end purpose of energy production to fuel data synthesis, and stored power also acts as a sort of currency.

Hoshiikara

From 2012-11-12, the next document introduces the Krobboli, a race of hexapedal insectoid hermaphrodites. They created the more pleasant-looking Novians to negotiate for them in their intergalactic affairs. They were also based in a space station instead of on a planet:

The colony cluster Hoshiikara is a space station in orbit above (and generating power from) the star Onjin, approximately 83 light years' distance from Primary. It is home to most Krobboli and Novians.

The Hoshiikara was visited by the CWG-LS05 Opus as part of Operation Abbreviated Eternity, a 170-year mission to test new hyperacceleration technology. The Opus was launched in 2248, arrived at the station in 2331, and returned home in 2418. Due to time dilation, the ship and crew had aged only 25 years.

The Preparedness Conspiracy

Thanks to a well-hidden recording device, a conversation between Krobboli system technicians about Cradians was recorded shortly after the ambassadors had been escorted to sleeping quarters. Two coworkers expressed relief that, based on their interaction with the Opus' crewmembers, Cradians would attempt negotiation before engaging in warfare. However, concern was expressed that such a development rendered certain tactical data obsolete. They discussed a series of war games simulating the invasion of Primary, to be undertaken in the event that Cradians were hostile without provocation. The result of 250 out of 251 'cycles' of this simulation were either costly but decisive Cradian victory, or the total eradication of both belligerents.

The translated video was (supposedly) accidentally released to G-Net in 2411. The fact that the simulations were undertaken at all caused a brief panic which served to reinforce Cradians' xenophobic tendencies.

Populace Reality Confusion

Populace Reality Confusion is a cognitive disorder affecting populations which spend a collective majority of leisure time within a total immersion matrix or simulated reality. The affected have extreme difficulty differentiating experiences in reality from experiences within the simulation. It primarily effects and was named by Krobboli and Novians aboard the Hoshiikara due to their interaction with the Cybernetic Demise; Prolonged race-wide exposure to that simulated reality has resulted in incomplete, inaccurate, and contradictory historical and scientific records.

Karus

Dated 2013-04-06, my next attempt went back to a terrestrial species that evolved on a planet. There were already plenty of TFU races based on reptiles, but none on birds, so I thought I'd take the less-traversed road.

Karus is the second planet in the Onjin system and a Class I planet approximately 288 LY distance from Cradle. The planet is currently co-inhabited by Kazenians, Novians, and Cradinovians.

Karus

Discovery

Cradian astronomers discovered Karus (original designation EL5-1B-X200) in 2085. In 2154, radio astronomy developed to the point that high-power analog radio and television broadcasts from the planet could be isolated and amplified. However, by January of 2173, increasing levels of static interference from the planet's atmosphere had drowned out all broadcasts. It was hypothesized, based on the content of news programs before total interference, that the existing inhabitants (Kazenians) were destroying themselves in a vicious global war. This idea was given greater credibility in 2202, when the static began to clear but all transmissions had fallen silent.

Mission

The CWG-2XV Grand Opus, featuring prototype wormhole generation technology, was sent on its maiden voyage in mid-October of 2289, with Karus as the destination. The ship's mission was to determine if intelligent life remained on the planet, and if not, to survey the planet's remaining resources. The wormhole technology destabilized during transit, heavily damaging the ship and rendering it unable to make a return trip. The Grand Opus made an emergency landing on Karus for repairs. Wormhole-based technology was subsequently deemed too dangerous and unpredictable to warrant further development.

In November of 2577, Cradle's radio astronomy stations began receiving broadcasts that had been sent by the ship's crew on a weekly basis, detailing their observations of and interactions with the planet's inhabitants. The final transmission, received on 2579-12-05 17:12, detailed the final moments of Captain Morton Silva before he was killed in a firefight with a Novian commando.

[Redundant information removed]

Grand Opus

First Broadcast

[DATA LOST]
"You think they don't already know? We weren't able to keep anything secret from them."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's how they were able to understand our language and culture so quickly; they mapped out all our brains and interpreted our memories to make comparisons. We- within five minutes of.. whatever the expletive they did to bring us to that place, within five minutes, [snap] they switched to our language in mid-expletive-sentence and started talking to us like the whole thing was normal. They started asking us about the ship's technology, and our personal VoluPlay collections, and the food back home.. They know EVERYTHING about us. They have to. Suggesting otherwise would be naive in the highest degree."

Note: VoluPlay was a media format popular throughout the 2200s which played back movies and music by projecting volumetric images and 3D sound from a pyramid-shaped player. This was the reason many homes built in the mid-to-late 2200s and early 2300s have a dedicated media room. VoluPlay has been largely forgotten since being superceded by Neurofilm in 2348.

Final Broadcast

This transcript of a monologue by Captain Silva is presented without comment.

"Okay.. So, the repairs got finished JUST in time for us to not have enough manpower to get off this rock. Because every expletive system on this ship is experimental, we were already running this expletive with a suboptimal number of people onboard. I mean, it makes sense; if the whole thing went up in flames, we wouldn't end up losing too many capable minds.."

"But then expletive everyone starts abandoning their posts en masse, and they're all off expletive some hedonist skink-people, and now we don't even have a expletive skeleton crew to get back home! There is literally not anyone onboard the entire ship right now except for myself and the handful of physicists and technicians crunching numbers in the mess hall! I mean, expletive really! How the expletive do you just give up on your homes and families that expletive easily?!"
Cpt. Silva storms out of the room and does not return until 20 minutes pass.

"Traitorous wretches, the whole lot. They don't deserve a further second of my consideration, yet I promise: I'll take them back. I'll make them remember their purpose and the superiority of Cradle, even if it means forcefully ejecting them and unplugging the whole expletive system so they have nothing to go back to!"
He stops speaking out of surprise as he discovers a Novian commando in the room has deactivated its visual cloak. He turns to face it.

"You must understand how seriously we-"
"Get the expletive off my ship, you expletive lizard!"
The captain draws his sidearm but his chest cavity and spine are punctured by a high caliber kinetic round before he is able to take aim. He falls to the ground, immobilized. The Novian's body language implies surprise.

"I had assumed your exosuits were more durable than that."
"You're lucky they're not!"
The captain goes into shock and expires.
Following a brief pause, the Novian directly addresses the audience.

"If you are able to look past this incident, there need not be any further hostility. Safe travels."
The transmission ends.

Captain Silva will be commemorated in a biographical film titled No Return, due to be released in early 2583.

Novians

[Fluff removed]

Anatomy

Novians are binary-gendered exothermic synapsids with a mix of reptilian and mammalian features. They are bipedal digitigrades with snouts, hairless skin, four limbs terminating in three digits each with protractible claws, and a large prehensile tail. Large spikes of reinforced bone protrude beyond the skin at the ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders. Their tails end in a 'waste pod' which features the anal and urethral orifices, and is covered by three grasping flaps of skin. A Novian's natural dermis tends to have a muted color, typically with a lighter-shaded underbelly, and with or without darker-shaded spots, rings, stripes, and bands adorning their oversides. Novians lack breasts and navels.

Except when aroused, a Novian's genitals are completely hidden; a male's penis is contained within a sheath from which it emerges during erection, and a female's vulva rests in line with the body's curviture unless engorged with blood. Due to their lack of features and any obvious signs of gender aside from body shape or bone structure, Novians have a highly diminished concept of nudity in comparison to Cradians - According to the reports by Grand Opus crewmembers, many of the Novian civilians they met were nudists or otherwise completely comfortable interacting with other Novians, Kazenians, and even Cradians while not wearing any clothing.

Reproduction

As they lack gonads, Novians are incapable of reproducing sexually, and so they copulate only for pleasure and bonding.

[Stupid workaround removed]

Diet

When they were created during the Karus Culture War, Novians were programmed with the capability and predisposition to consume the bodies of dead combatants. This was intended to be a demoralizing tactic as well as a convenient way to dispose of corpses.

Modern-day Novians typically eat two to four times per day, generally favoring high-fat, high-protein diets. They are primarily carnivorous, but do appreciate a minor degree of meal diversity.

Cradinovians

Cradinovians are a hybrid of the Cradian and Novian species, created on Karus in 2290 as improved bodies by defecting crewmembers of the CWG-2XV Grand Opus.

Anatomy

Cradinovians, combining features of both species, are egg-laying mammals and bipedal plantigrades with short snouts, hairless skin (with webbed fins in place of head hair), four limbs terminating in four digits each with nails, and a large prehensile tail. Unlike Novians, Cradinovian bodies do not feature joint spikes or concealed genitals, and Cradinovian tails, instead of ending in a waste pod from which urine and feces are excreted, end only in a 'grasping pod' consisting of four flaps of skin - the excretory system vents are in the "usual" places. Also dissimilar to Novians, Cradinovians do have breasts and gonads, but still lack navels as they are also a hatched species. A Cradinovian's dermis tends to consist of two solid colors, with the overside/body and underbelly/chest contrasting with eachother.

[Redundant information removed]

Kazenians

Kazenians are a sapient species inhabiting the planet Karus in the Onjin system. They first made contact with Cradians in 2289, when the CWG-2XV Grand Opus landed on Karus after sustaining heavy damage during a real-world test of wormhole stabilization technology. Cradians often refer to Kazenians as 'chirps', a nickname which first came about due to a percieved resemblance to the 2250's cartoon character Chirp the Chipper, an anthropomorphic bird.

Anatomy

Kazenians are binary-gendered avians. They are bipedal digitigrades with somewhat of a fusion between beaks and snouts, feathered skin, and four limbs terminating in four digits each, plus a prehensile tail which extends beyond the tail feathers. In males, the tail ends in a small pod containing the rectum and anus, and is covered over by a retractable folding skin. In females, the tail ends in a larger pod which also houses their reproductive system.

As with birds on Cradle, the feather coat of a Kazenian can consist of any number of colors, with males tending to have vibrant colors and intricate patterns, and females tending to have dull, camouflaging colors. Also similar to Cradian birds, Kazenians do not have breasts or navels, but do have nictitating membranes. Although the females do not have breasts, their chest feathers tend to be puffier than those of males, which might suggest the presence of breasts to an uninformed observer.

Much like a Cradian, a male Kazenian has a penis and testes extending from the groin which are used for urination and mating. Kazenian females also have a penis which urinates, but lack testicles. Despite this, a female's penis is capable of erection and orgasm with sufficient arousal and stimulation. Due to this feature of their biology, little distinction or fuss is made about gender, especially with regard to any segregation thereof, and females are often jokingly referred to as eunuchs. Due to lower testosterone production, female penii tend to be, on average, one to two inches smaller than those of males.

Diet

Kazenians are omnivores and generally prefer frequent snacks high in fiber and sugar. A Kazenian's typical diet consists mostly of fruits, grains, and nuts, occasionally with certain meats and vegetables.

Shi Kayu

The last document, dated 2013-10-10, largely remains canonical, but not entirely; for example, evolutionary Futarogu were still being described as similar to birds instead of the snake-like beings they are. Novians are also said to have a breeding process which exploits the nature of a MASS to eliminate egglaying pains in unrealistic ways.

Futarogu

The Futarogu (along with a Cradian hybrid subrace) are the inhabitants of Supercolony Karasu, a dyson shell surrounding the star Onjin. They were the dominant race of their now-destroied Class NI planet, Shi Kayu. They are considered by other races to be very direct, calm, and playful, sometimes to an unnerving degree, and have a persistent enthusiasm for refining technology.

Terrestris

The evolutionary subrace of Futarogu originated on Shi Kayu. They are functionally extinct and only described out of historical interest; many either preferred to be transformed into the Combative subrace, or did not evacuate the planet before its abrupt destruction.

Evolutionary Futarogu were a monogender hermaphrodite species with highly avian features. Each was a bipedal digitigrade with three-digit hands and feet terminating in talons. They had a feather coat, beak-like snout, and prehensile tail ending in a pod. This pod, covered over by a retractible skin, housed the female reproductive system as well as the excretory and digestive system vents.

Proelia

Combative Futarogu were created during the Shi Kayu Culture War in 1898. They were formed with the use of matter simulation/fabrication computers and used as a rapidly deployable fighting force. They are fairly similar to their evolutionary siblings, but have bare skin, denser muscles, true snouts with teeth, digits with protractible claws, and a carapace-like structure adorning their backs. Their tail pods are sealed by grasping flaps instead of retractible skin, effectively granting them a third hand. They also have joint claws, which are spikes of bone extending beyond the skin at the ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders. Many also have horns or fins attached to the head which serve the purpose of visual diversity and uniqueness.

Fabula

Hybrid Futarogu, also known aboard Karasu as Novians, are a hybrid of Cradians and combative Futarogu. They retain many Cradian features, such as sexual dimorphism, breasts, nails, and plantigrade feet. In place of hair are three flexible, non-prehensile appendages.

The reproduction cycle of Hybrid Futarogu relies upon unrealistic processes which render their females sterile outside of a MASS. A Novian female is capable of concieving once per cycle if inseminated during a fertility period. The egg will form within the torso, with its shell gradually appearing over the stomach of the female. When fully formed, the egg will harmlessly expel and detach from her body during sleep.

[Redundant information removed]

Te Ra

Te Ra (Terra) was a Futarogu facsimile of Cradle reverse-engineered from television broadcasts from 1942 onward. Starting in 2230, these broadcasts were compiled within and interpreted by a MASS known as Guessing Game, traditionally used to predict threats and develop new weapon and defense technologies. The simulation began processing in double-time in 2265 and was halted in 2289.

It was then decided that since contact with actual Cradians had been made, a simulation of their planet was redundant data. Te Ra has since been relocated to a fiction-oriented MASS, where its operators have been encouraged to create an apocalyptic scenario in which the planet and its star system can be destroied.

Final Broadcast

An updated version of the earlier story.
This coded transmission was received by Cradle World Government EXINT arrays on 2578-12-05, and is presented as a transcript without further comment.

"It's amazing, how much things can change in a year.."

"I think I'm the only one left-- I mean, aside from a few tech-heads and astronomers, maybe one or two physicists, but I'm not even sure about that any more. The repairs are done, just in time for none of it to matter. The call of infinite pleasures has proven seductive. I must say I'm quite surprised; I didn't expect so many of my crew to give up on seeing home again- well, at all, let alone so easily."

"As I'm sure you're already aware, this operation was already being run with a sub-optimal number of people, what with expletive every system on the ship being experimental. It makes sense from a practicality standpoint; if the whole design ended up in flames, fewer people of importance or capability would be lost. But then everyone got horny and went chasing after some expletive hedonist.. skink-people tail, and they 'decided' they have it better here. I wonder how long that'll last. Traitorous wretches, the whole lot of them. They do not deserve a further second of my consideration, but I promised I'd bring them back safely if it was at all possible. I intend to fulfill that promise. They're not going to like it. expletive, I'll probably have to drag them out and torch the system so they have nothing to go back to, but if that's what it takes, then I don't--"
Cpt. Silva stops speaking out of surprise as a Futarogu commando enters the room.

"You should know that we take those kinds of threats very seriously."
"Get the expletive off my ship, you expletive lizard!"
The captain draws his sidearm but finds himself quickly subdued by a second Futarogu who had hidden in a nearby cabinet. The second Futarogu drives its knee and elbow into the captain's back, severing his spinal column. He goes into shock and falls unconscious.

"Was that necessary?"
"That was a favor. He despised our kind from the moment he saw us. There is no redemption for someone like that."
"Find the others he mentioned and bring them to Cybernetica."
"Understood."
A third Futarogu appears and leaves with the second.

"If you are able to look past this.. incident, then there need not be any further hostility between us. We wish you safe travels."
The recording ends.

Captain Silva will be commemorated in a biographical film titled No Way Home, due to be released in early 2583.

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