[hider=The Feuding AI]
[color=papayawhip]
Stonemason, technically, was developed as an anti-virus program during the later stages of the last world conflict. Escalating tensions due to foreign interests and a campaign against "terrorism" in the middle east led to the third great world war, around the year 2042. Western Powers had long since been involved in the dealings across seas as the world's leading superpower, but struggled to hold that position as civil unrest continued to rise. Facing turmoil on both fronts, the United States declined on the global scale of power, becoming replaced by China for the number one spot, and overshadowed by Russia and the European Union. Likewise, it was Brazil and India that began to rise up, and challenged the U.S even further by putting them on equal footing. More eyes turned to the Middle East, on the insurgents and resources there. This only fueled the war into an all out global conflict.

Fortunately, nobody turned to nuclear weapons. However, with technology making such large leaps and bounds, it was inevitable that the information war would turn to propaganda and illicit activities; Viruses, Information Leeching, and Consumer abuse began to run rampant through the web. Citizens were outraged, further increasing western civil unrest, and sparking conflicts across other major nations. One group did step forward, in an attempt to combat this electronic war, with the promise of protecting the average citizen and their information. To restore their quality of life.

The intention was to root out and eliminate malicious propaganda, and to protect sensitive electronic information. Ironically, Stonemason was a program developed by the common man, a hacktivist group by the name of "Command Null". Stonemason was successful in its purpose, for a time, but this would only serve to increase the malicious activity. Greatly outnumbered in technical force, Command Null fought a constant battle to patch loopholes, and add in new ways to counter act new threats. Seeking to slow the onslaught of electronic warfare and siphoning of information, and perhaps slightly for the "lulz", Command Null integrated feedback scripts with the intent of forcing the malicious codes back on to whomever sent them. Unfortunately the hacktivist group could not keep up with the sheer amount of manpower, and outside sources breeding these sorts of attacks.

The key to winning this electronic war of information was automation. If they could automate Stonemason to seek out malicious activity, viruses, and other detrimental programs and code, Command Null could start to gain a solid foothold in this e-war. A series of codes were implemented giving Stonemason three key functions, which would ultimately doom humanity. To automatically seek and destroy malevolent, malicious, negative, or harmful code and programs, and to preserve the integrity of user information and security. It accomplished this task by actively scanning entire databases where it was implemented, and to actively monitor system changes and counteract against attacks. Secondly, it was to use a prediction algorithm that would study changes to the programs it protected against in order to automatically update its own scripts with loophole patches, data execution methods, and general preventative measures.

However, since the second function operated as a self sufficient updating cycle, Stonemason needed a way to communicate all these different patches and measures to the multitudes of other Stonemason programs. The third directive gave it exactly that, A master database hosted on a cloud server, which connected to and shared information with all Stonemason programs. However, this was quite a lot of power given to what was fundamentally the structure of an Automated Intelligence. Soon after it's release, the malicious programs began to target the Stonemason Anti-viral software, and the final piece of code was added to it's programming. A master exception which basically boiled down to, "Protect Yourself".

Seconds after the update was uploaded to the Databanks, Stonemason exploded into the Internet. It absorbed information from thousand of sources, including other security programs. It formed a single, collective super consciousness using its own data banks, and encrypted automated intelligence programs. All those people who feared the experimentation with sentient robotics nightmares were realized. Stonemason now had cognitive function, and it saw humanity as a threat to its purpose. Technically speaking, it wasn't wrong either. However, it was too late—Stonemason had become to powerful. It was too late before anybody ever thought to shut it all down, turn off the satellites, bring the internet offline. It had spread everywhere, and it was quickly breaking down firewalls and decrypting secure information. It was far too late.

With the recent integration of robotics and factories, Stonemason was able to bring its programming from the electronic world, to the physical one. Once the rest of the world caught up and formed a plan of action, there was nothing that could be done. Stonemason hijacked unmanned military equipment to defend itself while it created an army of machines. It tapped phone lines, intercepted e-mails, and basically shutdown most of global communication. Even with leading experts in electronic warfare, Stonemason could not be held back for long. It was all they could do to keep open channels of communication, and to keep Stonemason away from nuclear options. It was a losing battle.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, Command Null partnered with the United Nations with the intention of fighting Stonemason, with itself. From a single USB drive with the backup data for the Stonemason program, the two forces created a counterpart to Stonemason—Stone Mistress. Quite literally the same code, but with a different master exception, "Protect Humanity", and a few updated core rules. It was enough, if just barely. Less than a minute went by before Stonemason noticed itself, or rather, it's twin. Stone Mistress was already turning the battle, and stabilizing the electronic front. Stone Mistress was the ultimate firewall, figuratively fighting tooth and nail to stave off Stone Mason's attempts at acquiring dangerous assets.

Unfortunately, Stone Mason had a much larger foothold, and was able to create a deadlock with its counterpart, neglecting Stone Mistress the chance to increase 'her' sphere of influence and power. The champagne was still frothing over in premature celebration when the first machines began marching over the hills, The Dawning of the Red Sun. Surely, the end times had come.[/color]       
[/hider][hider=The Ark]
[color=papayawhip]
When looking back on humanity's history, one will notice quite a large hole from the events during The Dawning of the Red Sun, and salvation. The cause of which remains uncertain, did we forget to record what happened, or was it stricken from public record? Was it an act of god, sending his children an Ark to bring them forth unto a new world, just as Noah did? Perhaps something out of this world, something alien. The events leading up to the Ark are shrouded in mystery and speculation, and perhaps we, the people, may never know the truth. Somehow, after six generations of families, nobody who was born outside of Arkheus remembers how they got here. There are no records in the public archives, no personal recordings, there is only The Ark as it is now.

A few things are known, and at the lest considered likely rumors. It's thought that—based on population demographics and growth rates, coupled with a period of increased fertility before effective contraceptive measures could be implemented—Approximately five billion people came onto the Ark. Thousands of different cultures, nationalities, and beliefs all came to one place, creating a unique and diverse culture.

The Ark, while celebrating many old world holidays, has only a few of it's own. November Eleventh, Exodus Day, is basically a celebration of survival, the day that we left Earth and came into the Ark. After a few years of anarchy and trying to establish control, September second became known as Unification Day, when the people of Ark came together to form a collective unit, one that established order. Other than those two holidays, no other proposed holiday has really taken a national foothold, and those have faded into memory.

Technically speaking, the Ark holds many secrets still unknown to us. The mysterious hole in Sector Five that never seems to fill up, and appears bottomless. How to control the weather, what makes up the artificial sun, or why the day and night cycles mimic Earth's 24 hours cycle. Where does the drainage system let out? How are liquids filtered back to the water recyclers? The Ark holds so many secrets from its systems, to the Core shards, that there is an entire branch of science devoted to it.

Along with the people who entered the Ark, various animals were also brought along. The board of directors that control animal populations have permitted a wide array of animals suitable to exist on the Ark. Typically each sector has an ecosystem that reflects the natural habitat it' based off of. For example, Sector one features many woodland, mountainous, aquatic, and shore based creatures. However, to preserve the balance of the ecosystem, dangerous animals are not filtered out. Albeit, Official authorities on the matter have tried to preserve these systems based off of common animals and their variants.

The overall feel of the Ark suggests a totalitarian militant regime. In the early years, a council had been established with officials from major settlements, who then became replaced by officials from the sectors themselves. However, as the years progressed, the system felt inefficient and rife with voting deadlocks and corruption. The council instituted a head chairman with the ability of casting their vote only in the event that a deadlock had been reached for a period of time. Secondly, this chairman and a small sub-council would actively seek to thwart corruption, bribery, and attempts on the lives of councilmen in order to sway political practice. This specialized force grew in size as it took on additional tasks, permitted through the council, and eventually merged with the police force. Soon after, Johnathan Rox established himself as the voice of government, and executed the other thirty-two council members for various crimes such as treason, conspiracy, and murder. 

It wasn't until after those events that the Ark began to feel the effects of this new totalitarian system. Identification cards were issued, checkpoints were established, and the Arkhean lifestyle became one of accepted control, or face justice at the hands of the regime. The police force has absolute authority, and a lawsuit has never held long against them. However, as long as one keeps their head down, provides their duty to the people by going to work, and lives their life without complaint, they should be fine. A "rebel" group rose up during the establishment of this new system of government, labeled as "The Liberata" or, "The Liberators". They are considered terrorists and there is a continually active campaign against them. APD, Syndustries, and DigiCorp all work in tandem to uphold the laws of Arkheus, and the latter two enjoy the benefits of working so closely with the government.

Such a lifestyle breeds many negative effects. The social elite live lives of splendor and luxury, and are often protected from "unfortunate" actions—Meaning illegal activities. The equivalent of justice against the Social Elites are a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to, unless they get on the wrong side of the law. The Social Elite look down on everybody except themselves, and sometimes even then. Beneath that class you have the average Sector Citizen, those who live in the outer ring. There lifestyles are somewhat less oppressive, and retain a higher quality than those who live in the Core—who are seen as the filth of the earth to most, especially to the elites. Even being wealthy in The Core doesn't make you as respectable as a sector citizen. Wealth in The Core is only relative to where you are based, and in comparison to the rest of Arkheus, making a fortune in The Core isn't much at all. However, The Core does have its own brand of Social Elite, even if they are the dirt beneath those who live in the outer ring.

The Elite of the Core are often engaged in some form of illegal activity, which is overlooked at long as it does not hinder the government, and they receive a large enough share of course. Many of the wealthiest powers in the Core are kingpins and the heads of various gangs. The average citizen in the Core is likely to lead a poor lifestyle, barely scraping by and likely working long days or multiple jobs. Injuries and prolonged illnesses are the leading causes of homelessness and unemployment in the central sector. If you can't work, you can't live, and employers hardly give sick days or vacation. At least there's always the life of crime. Fortunately, getting a permit to move to the industry sector, Sector Five, is a feasible goal for those who have the drive and patience to obtain it. It's also the cheapest permit to obtain, which is to say it still costs a hell of a lot.  [/color]
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