The Terminus
Species
For the most part the state referred to as the Terminus consists of only a single species known by a variety of names, though the most common designation are the Simulacrum. None of the names are anything approaching an endonym, and the reason for this is quite simple: the Simulacrum are completely mute. And the name given to them is almost perfect description of them, as almost every single member of their species is completely identical to the next. The Simulacrum are clones. Every Simulacrum is a rather thin 10'4" humanoid with pinkish-grey skin with disproportionately long and gangly limbs. Each hand ends in seven digits, with three finger flanked by a pair of thumbs on either side of the hand, while their feet have four toes. The most striking aspect of their appearance, however, are their faces, which could best be described as a human face if one removed most identifying features. Their pitch black eyes are sunken and their 'cheeks' are exceedingly gaunt, and they lack even vestigial eyes, noses, or mouths.
The reason behind their bizarre appearance can be attributed entirely to their planet of origin. The Simulacrum homeworld is absolutely bizarre in that it is entirely uninhabitable to almost any other species, as it lacks any form of atmosphere. Because of the lack of air, senses such as hearing and smell are useless and so do not exist on any lifeforms native to it, including the Simulacrum, and vocal communication is likewise impossible. And this leads to perhaps the most interesting facet of the Simulacrum: their telepathy. All Simulacrum have a mental 'link' with one another, allowing them to 'speak' with one another, share thoughts and emotions, and detect the presence of others. However it is possible for one to train themselves to suppress the link though it is only with great difficulty, and to delve into anything other than the surface thoughts takes great effort and can usually be blocked by the one being 'probed'. The Simulacrum are also capable of using this link to telepathically contact other species, but it is never as clear or easy than with another of their own species and is only a mere shadow of the link the Simulacrum share with themselves.
The Simulacrum also have several other interesting facets of their biology. The most obvious is that they are entirely anaerobic, requiring no air to survive, as are every species native to their airless homeworld. However, the lack of an atmosphere poses more challenges than a simple lack of air. The surface of the planet is constantly being bombarded by radiation and rather than simply developing a resistance to it their bodies actively utilize it as an energy source. This does, however, have the unfortunate side effect that the Simulacrum require their bodies to be bombarded by radiation; they can go ~57 hours with little difficulty, but eventually they'll grow slow and lethargic and will eventually die. Other than this, the Simulacrum are exceptionally tough in regards to temperature; thanks to living on a planet where day and night temperatures differ by several hundreds of degrees, they are able to survive both extreme temperatures as well as relatively rapid shifts in temperature. However, in most other things the Simulacrum are rather frail. They are slightly weaker than humans on average and their bodies are relatively delicate and fragile thanks to the lower gravity of their world.
Description of GovernmentIn the Terminus the most important governing bodies are the Assemblies, which are composed of every single adult citizen in the Terminus. So, in short, the Terminus is a direct democracy in which every single citizen is given a vote in executive and legislative matters. There are elected officials, but the positions consist of judges and individuals who deal with the day-to-day running of the state. Such a system is facilitated by the mental link the Simulacrum share and devices who are able to recognize thoughts and, upon the day of the deciding vote, are able to recognize votes when individuals, for lack of a better word, think into them.
Because the country is directed by the will of the people, the education system is exceptionally well-funded and while the vast majority of citizens are able to vote there are exceptions. Those who have committed serious crimes or completed basic education, for example, are disallowed from taking part in elections. In addition, the system creates a position known as 'Speakers'. Because it is important for the populace to know what exactly it is they are voting on, Speakers are individuals who speak and debate about topics related to upcoming votes, regardless of importance. Sessions always involve more than a single Speakers, and they could be comparable to official debates in which both speak of the issue and of why their choice is the best. There are no official political parties, but individuals of similar or the same ideologies will group together in informal factions.
Description of MilitaryThe Simulacrum are not a warlike people in the slightest; they will almost always attempt peaceful and diplomatic solutions before resorting to violence. But they realize that a military is necessary for the safety and prosperity of the Terminus. And so there exists the Terminus military, divided into the Terminus Guard and Terminus Armada. Both branches are solely volunteer organization, as for the Simulacrum conscription is a crime bordering upon slavery.
The two branches are organized difficulties, as necessitated by the fact that one is a ground-based army while the other is a fleet of starships. The basic organizational unit of the Guard is the Division; a group of 38,416 men recruited from a single world, which have full complements of supporting armour and artillery, and are fully capable of performing independent operations. The Armada, on the other hand, is divided into a number of Fleets which are generally responsible for a particular region of Terminus space. The ships of each Fleet aren't necessarily built in the region they are stationed nor are their crew necessarily recruited from there either.
Though the Terminus does its best to train its soldiers as best it can, there is the unfortunate fact that they are not able to deny recruits unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Simulacrum are simply not a warlike peaceful, and so there is a smaller recruitment pool for the Terminus. However, the fact that all Simulacrum share their telepathic link to one another more than offsets this problem. If one soldier notices or realizes something, then the link will ensure that they all know. They do also utilize mechanical drones, but they are utilized predominantly in supporting roles.
Technological OverviewFor the most part the Terminus is on par with the galaxy, though there are a certain specific technologies worth mentioning. The most important are what are generally referred to as "Link Relays", which are ubiquitous in the Terminus. There are three forms of Link Relays, which all serve the same basic function but differ in terms of scope. The smallest simply extend the range of the Simulacrums' mental link with one another, and any reasonably developed world will have a large enough network that an individuals can link and communicate with anyone else on the world. Above them are slightly larger Interplanetary Links, which as the name implies network together the Link networks of individual planets together. And so even communicating with individuals on other worlds is relatively easy and practically instantaneous. However, the largest of the Link Relay are the Interstellar Relays that connect different star systems. They are the largest of the Relays, consume the most power, and unlike the smaller networks transferring thought across star systems is nowhere near instant and takes a fair period of time. The Link Relays themselves are not entirely based upon science, as although the Simulacrum are hardly a magical species their mental link still continues to defy conventional explanation, and the Link Relays themselves are based partially upon what could be considered 'magic' to function.
The vast majority of power in the Terminus comes from cold fusion reactors of varying sizes. The largest reactors power anything from starships to the massive Interstellar Link Relays, while the smallest are able to power all sorts if handheld devices. Terminus starships achieve FTL by a device often colloquially known as a Slipdrive. The device essentially punches a hole into reality which allows the ship to enter hyperspace, another dimension where distances are 'condensed'. The ships still do not technically travel faster than light, but their exit will be far farther from the entrance point than the distance they traveled in hyperspace. Slipdrives are technically a subset of hyperdrives, but they are the form commonly used in the Terminus. Earlier hyperdrives required far more energy, made a much larger whole, and required a far long recharge time. Slipdrives, on the other hand, are so named because they make a much smaller 'hole' in reality, which the starship then slips easily inside. And though they do not require as much energy, they still have their own reactors. In addition, once they are charged up fully they can make many jumps in quick succession. However, the manner in which this is utilized is to have a single trip actually consist of many smaller trips in and out of hyperspace, with the short periods in realspace being used to make certain the ships trajectory and calculations are still perfect.
In terms of weaponry the Terminus has several forms of armaments that they use, both handheld and ship-based. The primary ship-based armament is a weapon that essentially consists of a stream of molten metal accelerated to an impressive fraction of the speed of light. Its speed is enough to cut through and deal an impressive amount of damage to any unshielded target it hits. In addition most ships also carry complements of particle beams and laser weaponry; particle beams are generally utilized for their efficiency against energy shields while lasers are primarily used as point-defense weaponry. Handheld Terminus weapons are likewise usually a mixture of laser and plasma weaponry of varying sizes, though it is worth noting that military-grade laser weapons do not form beams that are visible to the naked eye of most species. The armour of the Terminus military will mount heavier weapons, and the largest are even equipped with the molten metal weaponry usually only mounted on starships.
The Terminus also has a variety of environmental suits for use by both the military and civilians, though it differs from most species. There is very little radiation shielding, owing to the fact that the Simulacrum homeworld has no atmosphere. In fact, when traveling to worlds with an atmosphere they will wear suits with sealed sources of radiation owing to their bodies' needing radiation to function properly. The military utilizes both more typical suits for non-combat purposes in addition to utilizing powered armour for their infantry going into combat.
Cultural OverviewWith a nation of identical individuals all mentally linked together, one might expect their society to by highly collectivist and with an emphasis upon the needs of the many over the few. But nothing could be further from the truth, and the Simulacrum are almost all highly individualist. The freedom and liberty of the individual is held sacrosanct, though not to any insane degree. As a general rule of thumb, one is able to do as they will so long as it does not infringe upon the ability of others to do the same. It is generally believed that this outlook arose not in spite of their status as clones, but rather because of it. The first of their kind experienced firsthand the horrors that could be done 'for the good of the many', trapped in labs beneath the earth as the world died and experimented upon for the future betterment of their species. And today, when they are all genetically identical to one another they are still different people with different hopes and dreams and thoughts. The emphasis upon individuality being compensation for the fact that they are all physically identical; though a great many Simulacrum
do adopt practices such as tattooing and body piercing.
However, their status as clones does have a rather profound effect on things such as love or sexuality. The libido of their species was never particularly high and the individual from which the Simulacrum are clones was a heterosexual one. As a result any form of sexual relations are rare, though not entirely unheard of. Things such as love and romance do still exist among the Simulacrum, though they are almost entirely divorced from any sort of sexual attraction. Interestingly enough, thanks to this it is not unheard of for them to become romantically involved with a member of another species since physical appearance is barely a factor.
In terms of religion, the Simulacrum are atheistic for the most part. But only in the fact that they do not believe in any gods. They do, however, believe that all things in the universe are connected to one another. For some they believe it is merely all life, while others believe in a deeper connection between all matter whether living or otherwise. There is little concept of an afterlife, but many do believe in a concept similar to the soul and in a cycle of reincarnation. The beliefs of the Simulacrum are comparable in many ways to certain human faiths such as Buddhism, though there are still a great many differences.
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