[h2]The Zrynd Polyphany[/h2]
[img]https://www.lagedorre.net/rp/abs/zyrndhomeworld.png[/img]

[i]The name of the occupying force has been censored.[/i]

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[i]Three problems[/i] confronted the Zrynd at the termination of the Pax ███████.

Often times, it is a good thing to get off easy. Particularly when limiting oneself to the consideration of short-term consequences, gains, and limiters. That intangible factor seldom holds when pitted against the eventual consequences discernible by those who with intent and by design take a long view, by those who peer into the funnel of history, witness the cataclysmic resonance that glances along the recesses of its interior, and from that subtle turbulence extrapolate the horrible, predictable patterns of future recurrences. 

[i]First[/i], a perception problem: they were treated preferentially and regarded as pets by the ██████ and for that despised.

While not subjected to tortuous abuses, cultural usurpation, or overt exploitation, it would be remiss to describe their occupation as idyllic. Ignorance and isolation defined Zrynd participation in the Pax. Throughout they were treated as docile playthings, curiosities, and at times insensate drones. What they witnessed beyond the borders of their territorial space were highly-curated performances that omitted the enslavement, the purges, the bio-plagues, and the endless, desperate, violent attempts by the ██████ to maintain empire. Thus, the Zrynd viewed the ██████ as good neighbors and were blinded to the plights of their other neighbors. 

During the Pax, a quasi peace held sway over the Zrynd worlds: calm oases to which the empire’s elite traveled in order to relax, meditate, and harmonize with the beauty of nature. It was not until the empire collapsed that the Zrynd learned of their worlds’ classification as pleasure planets—[i]biological resort arcologies[/i]. Even then, many Zrynd, particularly the most ancient, remained in denial to the truth of their relationship. They imagined their interactions with the ██████ were framed by harmonious symbiosis and the principle of coexistence, not the arrogant, farcical affection owners feel towards slaves. Historian Purgra-vrep Tolavolabryn described it in these terms: “If a large enough cage is built around its natural habitat, the animal will not realize its home has become a zoo.”

And so the Pax ended and the Zrynd discovered they were despised. Yet their territory was small, and distant, positioned at the fringe of known space, and not immediately worth the effort of war. In morose self-reflection, they felt vulnerable and the sting of stained reputations. They anticipated the likelihood of diplomatic isolation and inability to secure allies if they remained complacent.

[i]Second[/i], a technological problem: the failure of critical ██████-maintained infrastructure on their worlds.

Technological miracles were brought by the ██████ to the Zrynd planets: deep ocean bio-stasis cultivation plants, stabilization weaves that hung nigh-invisible in the mesosphere, atmospheric feedback-cancellation mills, anti-tectonic control pylons, and many more. It seemed these blended perfectly with the natural beauty of the Zrynd worlds, and controlled pollution, weather, and even froze genetic diversity among the numerous native species of the worlds the Polyphany curated. And the ██████ insisted on perfection of the Zrynd planets, not merely just a cultivation of natural beauty, of peace. These ideals were already the natural inclination of the Zrynd, and in it they saw no  harm. They did not realize the truth of what was being asked of them, of how it bordered on the artificial, the theatrical.

But there was a catch.

While polite, the ██████ very sternly enforced their proprietary access to the maintenance and control of these technological apparatuses. The Zrynd were prohibited from studying, reconstructing, or even near proximity to any of these terraformation tools. It was made clear that their functions were state secrets, and attempts to interact with them would be considered espionage and punished accordingly. Not an idle threat. More than a few overly-curious QSM and Pakzrynd disappeared, never to be heard from again. The elders internalized the blame for the tragic disappearances of their kin and redoubled their efforts to respect privacy. Such was necessary to sate their desired peace, that and strict adherence to their occupier’s rule of law.

Then the ██████ were gone, and their devices ever so slowly deteriorated with nobody left who comprehended their modes of operation. The Zrynd feared the consequences of this, the cascade of failures that could lead to mass extinctions, climate weirding, oceanic dead zones, and the total collapse of the structures that supported life on their worlds for a billion  years prior to the intervention of their former masters. 

[i]Third[/i], a stagnation problem: after so long as a kept people, they struggled to adapt to their novel circumstances.

Moreover, they were deceived. 

For centuries, experiments and tests were foiled, results were falsified, datasets corrupted—manipulated and sabotaged to enforce civilizational stasis and to block meaningful, necessary development. Predisposed towards amity, the Zrynd elected ignorance and the artificial equilibrium of the status quo on the matter: a naive position reinforced by their ideology of preferential changelessness, of a fool’s immortality: to indefinitely keep things pleasant, peaceful, and experiential.

Profound shock rippled through the Polyphany in the aftermath of the empire’s collapse when completely novel results poured in and prompted new theories. Information they might have accessed centuries earlier. The irony was not lost on them—their domestication of worlds mirrored by their own domestication by the empire to which they were subservient. While knowledge poured in, they lacked the ability to manipulate ██████ technology. While there were a few defensive installations and warships scattered throughout the Polyphany, they were relics of an ancient past with primarily cosmetic enhancements.

Behind in the field of genetic engineering, their immortal genome and consciousness saw little reason to change what, in its own view, was already an idealized form. Gaps likewise manifested in more pugilistic matters, such as defensive technology and operational, asymmetric conflict theory.

To this, the QSM adapted more readily. Having been freed of the restrictions formerly in place in their study of the alien technology that cultivated their worlds, they investigated those tools—an action that provoked sharp disagreement with the Pakzrynd, who felt they should honor old commitments even where no enforcement mechanisms prevailed. But in the end, logic and reason and the necessity of self-preservation won out. They could not sit idly and watch their worlds crumble into ecological collapse. They could not idly become prey for outsiders. They had to adapt, and they had to do it together.

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There was a lull, a reordering of things when the Pax ended. The Zrynd, however, were much in the dark. A time of confusion lingered, followed by intense introspection and scrutiny. Banded together by curiosity and a desire for diplomacy, they send out millions of ISB micro-probes quantum-linked with monitoring stations on Pelag‑Zrynd. Eventually a few picked up radio chatter, but could not decode it immediately. Then a research team led by the QSM /ˈɲiːʂoːlβaɾ/ cracked the fallen empire’s universal translator: an encrypted database of all known languages and phonetic signatures and their associations with other languages. Suddenly, they knew what people were saying. And that meant the next phase of their plan needed to happen. 

They needed to have conversations.

Off-world, five large spacecraft were being built along with support vehicles to carry diplomatic expeditions to the territorial space of their neighbors. The first two that departed were destined for the Triune Solaris Alliance, led by Bulkril-mrol Galafraftayv and /ˈkoːnɛɾθaɡʉm/ of the envoy carrier group ECG-Dojsrhu, and the Augustan Empire, led by Teskul‑vren Moloravendyn and /ˈɲiːʂoːlβaɾ/ of the envoy carrier group ECG-Ufrolymd. To reach either, they inconspicuously and conscientiously navigate the intervening worldline by way of their ZACB-powered  Isotemporal Space Breaching drives. This skirted yet simultaneously passed through the territories of unknown civilizations that they had yet — but nevertheless still intended — to make first contact with. General destinations reached, they synchronized the time envelope of their travel reference frames and appeared in alien space. There, they sent out a broadcast: [i]“Let’s talk. Let’s meet.”[/i]

Meanwhile, back on their homeworld of Pelag-Zrynd they came to peace with the reality that not everyone might be friendly, that their reputation might be beyond repair. That their negotiations might utterly fail. So they began to unravel the secrets of the fallen empire’s tech while constructing massive off-planet defensive installations. More probes were sent out, these with an aptitude for stealth and surveillance. After all, they had noticed the vast majority of the prior wave of probes were mysteriously destroyed. They needed information. They also needed a means to access ███ ████.