[hider=The Utopia Project] [center][b][h1]The Utopia Project[/h1][/b] [h3]Warm Space, Utopia, The Concordance[/h3][/center] [h3]Minor Belligerent[/h3] [h3][b]Overview[/b][/h3] [h3][b]History[/b][/h3] The history of the human species is a history of blood and strife. Or at least, that is what a Utopian would tell you. The Utopia Project may trace its founding to the Solar War, but the movement that spawned it started long before that fateful conflict. The Society for Human Advancement, as it was known, was a social and scientific movement that emerged shortly after the discovery of psi-integrae. These so called ‘Proto-Utopians’ saw the psychic potential of newly discovered organisms as more than a scientific curiosity. Rather, they and their leader Farid Nikbin, saw the potential for both the evolution of the Human species and a chance to achieve a true peace for the first time in Human history. Farid Nikbin would author several seminal works during his time as a professor on Earth, outlining an ideology that would eventually lead to the foundation of The Utopia Project. He believed that the baser instincts of Humanity, those that drove people to violence, could be eliminated by modifying the Human species so that everyone had some level of psychic ability and connection. At first his ideas were nothing but the chatter of a delusional old academic, but he soon made global headlines by ignoring law and protocol in going ahead with human experiments. Had his work been a total failure he’d have likely been forgotten, doomed to die in prison a disgraced man. It goes without saying that was not the case. Working in secret Professor Nikbin created the first artificial human psychic. His results were not immediate, after all he had opted to work on embryos implanted into volunteers, but within a few years it was evident to everyone involved that his experiment had been a success. The first child, a boy named Arthur Ueland, exhibited ‘unnatural’ abilities shortly after his sixth birthday. Professor Nikbin verified the boys abilities beyond a shadow of a doubt, and then published the complete results of his work. The global response was mixed, but eventually it became clear that few in positions of authority cared how successful the Professor had been. His experiment was, undeniably, illegal. Farid Nikbin was tried and convicted to life imprisonment, even as Arthur grew up alongside a number of other psychic children. The powers that had put away the founder of the Society for Human Advancement could never have predicted the effect of their actions. The Professor’s trial had been in global headlines for weeks, and what was once a group of fringe scientists and idealistic students became a massive international organization. The children that the Professor had created grew up, and all but one went on to join the Society. It would be three decades after the Professor’s experiment that the Society finally secured the legal standing to continue its work. In that time what was once a primarily scientific organization had grown into an international movement with its own political wing and nearly fifty million members. These early adherents of Farid Nikbin’s philosophy, often called ‘Proto-Utopians’ today, would spearhead the creation and study of Human psychics for over a century. By the time the Solar War started the Society had grown to a membership of over three hundred million across more than sixty planets. As many as one in three of those members were so called ‘Empaths’ or Psychics whose powers related more to understanding and feeling the emotions of others rather than any explicit abilities. After all, the creation of empaths was the societies ultimate goal. While the United Nations and the Intersystems alliance sported elite units of powerful Psi-Integrae, the Society had no part in their creation or training. It was this position of complete neutrality that would ultimately destroy the Society. As the war went on members of the Society became increasingly persecuted as the states of the day saw them both as a threat and as an increasingly inhuman presence on their worlds. This persecution culminated in the Eurasian Riots, an event which saw as many as four million Society Empath’s killed in what was a targetted genocide by any other name. The United Nations hadn’t been complicit, at least not officially, but the elimination of a powerful third party that refused to aid in Earth’s war effort was hardly something to focus resources on stopping. The Eurasian riot started a wave of anti-psychic and anti-society violence across human space. The pacifist ideology of Farid Nikbin failed and millions died, many of whom were all but paralyzed by their attackers rage and hatred. In less than a month the Society announced its official dissolution, but not before funding the evacuation of more than ninety million empaths and former members to an undisclosed location. That place was the planet Halcyon. A distant Society outpost far beyond Human space Halcyon was the bastion on which the Society had chosen to shield its remaining members. After the survivors of the Psychic Genocide, as they called it, arrived on Halcyon they swore to never permit that level of violence again. From that day forward there would never be a child born who wasn’t an empath. Thus began The Utopia Project. Isolated from Humanity the Utopians began to experiment and innovate. In their quest to create a society that would never know internal conflict the Utopians began to develop technologies unknown,and perhaps abhorrent, to Humanity. What was once a society of empaths became a society of proper Utopians. Individuals who, fundamentally, were no longer entirely human. What was once a sensitivity to the emotions of others became a subconscious connection to the entirety of the species. That is not to say the Utopians surrendered their free will, they did not become a Human hive mind, but they did craft something many might have seen as far too close to that. The Utopians had created a collective subconscious. Every member of the species came to understand that there was a sort of unspoken ‘compromise’, a general set of principles that all knew, even if they didn’t know how. One could defy the compromise, of course, but doing so would be more than uncomfortable. Emotions of guilt and shame would come unbidden to those who violated what was, in essence, the middle ground of every Utopians beliefs. A legislative branch became unnecessary, as all knew the law. There were still leaders among the Utopians, of course, but they acted more as agents of the people than as commanding wills. Their opinions mattered no more than anyone else's. The compromise, alongside the empathic nature of the Utopian people, led to what Farid Nikbin had dreamed of. A society at peace. The Utopians colonized a few other worlds, but by and large they chose to live in as small an area as possible. Deep space habitats became far more common than colony worlds. This was, ultimately, a strategy born out of a desire to minimize conflict with any other species. Especially Humanity. Regardless, the Utopians thrived for generations. At least, until the Ashtar came. The Utopians, for all they had worked to create their perfect society, had never anticipated an existence like the Ashtar was possible. Almost at once countless minds of an unfathomable scale pressed against the collective subconscious of the Utopian people, and in the span of a day the compromise shifted. The beliefs and opinions of the Utopians were irrelevant, the Ashtar’s psychic presence was too much to be resisted. Not that some didn’t try. The laws might have changed, but every Utopian knew that [i]they[/i] hadn’t changed them. There was resistance, many tried to ignore the guilt and even the pain as they went against what the Ashtar wanted, but in the end it was futile. None can live a life always feeling like they were wrong, and so in a day the Ashtar had all but brainwashed the Utopians. What came after that was the same thing that happened everywhere, nothing. The Utopian people lived on, the Project continued, and it seemed like the Utopians peace had merely spread to the galaxy at large. Many, most, felt as if that was a good thing, a great thing. It was what Farid had wanted. Except, that wasn’t the case. When the Ashtar vanished the Utopians woke from a deep and dreamless sleep, and they felt disgusted. The new compromise was reached almost instantly. The Ashtar hadn’t just enforced peace on the Utopians, they already had peace, the Ashtar had forced themselves on the Utopians. Alien minds, Alien ideals, they had violated every living member of an entire species. The Utopian species had been raped. Perhaps, given that understanding, it isn’t surprising what happened next. While the rest of the galaxy scrounged whatever Ashtar technology they could find, the Utopians burned it all. The new compromise was simple, the Utopian species wanted revenge and everyone would work to get it. Even if the Ashtar were dead. Because death wasn’t enough. The Ashtar had to be forgotten, wiped from history. When war overtook the galaxy the Utopians, for the first time in their history, lashed out. They destroyed Ashtar infrastructure across the galaxy, played sides in the great war to do as much damage as possible to their oppressors legacy, and they only stopped when they had no choice. Detente. The states and species of the Galaxy had, it seemed, had enough of war. That was unfortunate, given how convenient it’d been. So once more the Utopians retreated to Halcyon, but this time they made plans. After all, without the Ashtar the rest of the galaxy was incapable of peace, and it was only a matter of time. When the last Ashtar revealed their homeworld to the Galaxy the Utopians were delighted. Their revenge could, at last, continue. [h3][b]Major Holdings[/b][/h3] Your capital world, your favourite starbase, the key places in your Nation etc. [h2][b]Demographics[/b][/h2] [h3][b]Population[/b][/h3] Not an actual number, but this is the section to talk about your people. Folks with multiple species, a percentage breakdown of those species might be nice. Descriptions of all those lovely species would also be nice. [h3][b]Society[/b][/h3] Daily life and such. Not the most important section but useful for giving us a sense of how your citizens actually feel about their nation. Can include religion, fashion, etc. [h3][b]Economy[/b][/h3] This could go under society if you like. Mostly just make it clear up front if you’re an industrial powerhouse, a nation of refined master artisans, etc. Also things people might want to know for trading purposes. [h3][b]Government[/b][/h3] My favourite part <3. Probably the most important of the demographics sections. Who runs the place, how do they run it. Since you will presumably be RPing people in your government, this is pretty critical. [h2][b]Technological Information[/b][/h2] [h3][b]Major Techs[/b][/h3] Mostly interested in military techs, here: FTL, weapons, shields, armor, power, engines, etc. Civilian techs are also here, and sometimes just as important. [h2][b]Military Information[/b][/h2] [h3][b]Military Overview[/b][/h3] Describe general doctrine, history, whatever floats your space boats. [h3][b]Fleet/Navy[/b][/h3] Your space boats. Include pics or don’t, I’m not your supervisor. You’ll probably want to have one or two of most of the classes, but it doesn’t really matter too much. I’m also including some flavour options here that you might want to consider. In short, the history of the galaxy has divied up ship designs into three waves: Great War (ships built before and during the Great War), Detente (ships built during the Detente, some wonky designs in the larger classes due to treaty limitations), and Modern (ships built in the year since the message) [b]DO NOT put your hyperdread here, it gets its own section.[/b] Dreadnoughts: Only a few were built before the end of the Great War, the destructive potential of these vessels was a major contributor to ending the conflict. Those old ones are pretty obsolete, and any new ones are only just coming into service (mostly in secret) due to the Treaty of Detente banning their construction. Battleships: The grand old ladies that did all the fighting of the Great War. The Treaty of Detente imposed limitations on their sizes and destructive potential, so if you want to get intricate there’s 3 waves of battleships: Great War, Detente, and Modern. Great War is self explanatory, old sluggers and antiques. Detente battleships were awkward creations involving all kinds of elaborate ways to get around the Treaty without actually violating it. Lots of glass cannon designs here, or iron fortresses that couldn’t scratch eachother’s paint, or half baked experimental weapon systems, or novel propulsion methods that only work if nobody on board sneezes. Modern battleships are just coming into service, and are quite deadly. Battlecruisers: The treaty of Detent also limited battlecruisers, in an effort to avoid just slightly reducing the size of ship involved in any potential arms race. Similar design iterations to Battleships; Great War, Detente, and Modern. Detente battlecruisers were often cripplingly overspecialized: dedicated point defence ships, artillery vessels, mass shielding vessels, etc. Battlecruiser designs from the Detente period were often put together as a way to shore up the weaknesses of their contemporaneous Battleship partners. Cruisers: Nothing special here. Destroyers: Still nothing special. Frigates: Nope. Corvettes: Corvettes can be thought of in several iterations just kidding I don’t care what you do with these things. Unless you try to just upscale what I’m trying to avoid with strike craft. Strike craft: K I’m actually gonna sort of limit these things, or rather, the things that carry them around. Strike craft have long been an important part of space combat, so most nations have them and defences against them. Historically, they’ve been used as close in support; no one’s yet figured out how to strap useful FTL drives on the things. All this means that long range strikes aren’t practical. What I’m trying to get at is Carrier’s aren’t really a thing, or at least dedicated carriers aren’t. Plenty of room for Battlestar type things (fighty-boats with a solid complement of strike craft), but no dropping off a carrier squadron on one side of the system then expecting your strikecraft to win the fight on the other side. A notable exception is your Hyperdread. Do whatever you want with your super special awesome boat. [h3][b]Army/Planetary forces[/b][/h3] Outline some doctrine, highlight some major units. I’m not great at doing ground forces so not much guidance here. ANNNDDD [h3][b]Hyperdread[/b][/h3] Go frikin nuts. Pics are nice. [/hider] Only have history done, but it needs to be approved by [@Taeryn]. Some links to Earth and the Solar War in there. It's kinda eh, I wrote it at 4am after all, but w/e. I'll make it less crap and add the rest of the sheet later. --- I should also note, Utopians are more than just Humans with some nonsense in their brainparts. I've talked to Ozzy and others about this, but basically you can describe a Utopian as having 'Synthetic Biology'. That is, there is no clear line between biology and technology in a Utopians physiology. Their babies are grown from heavily modified genetic code and a mix of nanotech/wackyspacescience. They still, usually, look Human but their insides bear little resemblance. Veins made from composite fibers, as grown as they are 'manufactured' in the body. Hyper efficient organs. Optimized skeletons made from organometallic compounds. Utopians started with transhumanism in one way, but they never really stopped. While some might be hard to distinguish from a human, most almost look like they have metal muscles and no skin (at least on their bodies, most like having pretty faces), or they wear weird suits that are also kinda technobiological nonsense that share their not!blood and other stuff. They're peculiar folk.