voidutopian

[voidutopian]

Sourcers

[The following dossier is a leaked file from a data heist conducted on Okorie-Novak Computing]

At this time, the Sourcer movement represents a persistent and not insignificant threat to continued profit in many of the regions we operate in. They are, first and foremost, a movement dedicated to dismantling all forms of debt, rights management, subscriptions, and intellectual property regulations that we depend on for the healthy competition a free society requires. To them, the termination of unprofitable online services is theft, indentured labour is slavery, and medical debt is assault. The tools used to accomplish their goals are highly varied and blatantly illegal in many areas, such as hardware jailbreaking, unauthorised fabrication, software theft, unlicensed cyberware implantation, and so on. For many, a local Sourcer cell is the go-to means of acquiring technology at a cost less than the fair prices we set, regardless of the 'glitches' their tampering is known to cause.

The situation is not entirely unmanageable, though. Despite agreeing on the same principles, Sourcer cells operate in many distinct ways and are far from a unified force. Cells are formed with varying structures, from sprawling organised crime syndicates, to family-owned software development businesses, to small hacker collectives(the infamous Mairo "Diver" Oku Mpu and her polycule are all but confirmed to be affiliated as the latter. For more information, please refer to [FILE MISSING]). Some nations also hold the distinct privilege of being able to mete out more punitive measures, such as in the Dominian Duchies, where Sourcers are abhorred both due to their distaste for the "life debt" all citizens are given, as well as the affiliation of several cells with the anarchistic Eridani Collective. Finally, in situations where they can't be stamped out, it is possible to redirect their focus away from our products and towards other companies such as Anupam Augmentics and the Svarog Group. Further detail on methods you can use to mitigate Sourcer influence can be found in the other files that were emailed alongside this one. Keep up the good work, so that we can keep the Orion Spur ON-line!

[voidutopian]

Know your Genelines: Lyodii

In the Time of Her Revelation 510, our most sacred world of Moroz was torn apart at the hands of the cruellest of invaders. Her forests reduced to splinters, our cities in ruin, and the atmosphere poisoned. To the unfaithful, Moroz would seem to be forever lost. But in her final years as the home of our people, a plan was devised to forcibly adapt the life to the changing environment and in some cases, aid in counteracting it. Thanks to their bravery, we now stand a chance of restoring Moroz to its former glory. Our home is still uninhabitable for baseline humanity, a status that does not befit its divine nature. The other peoples of the Spur would turn to the siren song of exhuman solutions to remedy this conundrum, but as the chosen people of the Goddess-in-Coma, we have been given a more effective gift. Enter the Lyodii, a geneline specially designed to withstand the toxic conditions.

Shaped by the biosculptors of House Vasalaad, this geneline is named after the mythical beings that once roamed the ice sheets of the farthest reaches of Moroz. In all our tales, the Lyodii were known for their adaptability, resilience to the elements, and dedication to their tribe. Our efforts to turn myth into flesh have ensured that these fundamental aspects remain. The Lyodii of today are among the most cohesive group in the Empire, and would not dream of leaving neither their tribe nor the nation they serve. It is their efforts that make Moroz safer day by day.

And that's our first look at Dominia, one of the factions in this setting. Not giving away too much yet, but I'm sure you can infer a few things from this one!

[voidutopian]

Ruin Diving

In the wake of both the Warlord Era and the all-encompassing Solarian crusade across the Orion Spur, very few planets remain inhabitable. At its worst, worlds were split apart, or bombarded with such intensity the very atmosphere burned away, along with everything on it. Others avoided such a fate, trading complete destruction for an all-encompassing toxic fog, terrifying bioweapons butchering and distorting all life it touches, phenomena unexplainable by science, autonomous weapons still guarding against an enemy in a war that ended ages ago, or all of these at once. On these worlds untouched by humanity for generations, there is still much to uncover, be it information, or more importantly, high value items. Though similar in theory to the spacer's art of salvaging, ruin diving functions much differently in practice. Such efforts are usually undertaken by much smaller teams, with a base of operations little more sophisticated than a pressurised habitat at most, or even the shuttlecraft they landed with. From there, they begin searching their target location, most often a city or abandoned military base, for valuables, while contending with the numerous hazards of these worlds. Ruin diving is one of the most lethal activities in the Spur, but one often revered by the average person and is the basis for many works of media. Some decry the act for desecrating the homes of their ancestors, while others often pay ruin divers considerable amounts of cash for retrieving certain items or data. A few even do both.

Sorry about the inactivity, I've only recently been getting back into the swing of things and kicked it off with something that can stand on its own. More substantial things to come.

[voidutopian]

Ushas, Your Home in the Void

What follows is a brief summary of the main focus of the setting and the game itself. The nuances of this vessel will be revealed in due time.

The Salvaging Ship "Ushas" is one of the oldest active ships in the Orion Spur and the closest thing humanity has to a common hub. Originating as a simple freighter, Ushas was heavily damaged in the chaos of the Tyrants' War and was forced to transfer its facilities into a tunnelled-out asteroid, where those original modules still remain today and operate as the core of the ship. These new circumstances allowed it to truly transform into a city amongst the void, as throughout Era Noc the ship was beset by an influx of outsiders one day waking up on the ship with no record of how they arrived. History aboard Ushas has been shaped by the strain this phenomena placed on it, and though the frequency of this event has slowed, mundane immigration has taken its place as humanity rebuilds its presence in space. Everything humanity has to offer can be found somewhere here, from untold riches to dangerous posthumans lurking in the dark tunnels, alongside the various corporate and national interests vying for a slice of resources and equipment obtained through the ship's robust salvaging industry. Fates change on a whim, and to make a stable life in Ushas is no easy feat. This is your home.

[voidutopian]

Major Nations of 3248

For as long as we have breached the confines of Sol, we have taken our myths of humanity united and everlasting to the stars. The First Interstellar War, nearly a millennium ago, put an end to that illusion. Now, in the wake of the worst cataclysm to ever be wrought on the cosmos, we grow no closer to that dream. Individual worlds finding their footing become the proxies for conflicts between interstellar powers, and even those powers are not as monolithic as one first assumes. What follows is an overview of each of them.

Aquila Pact

"Some on this council will claim that it was the Plutonian SSR that kept the revolution alive up until the creation of the Pact, but what worth does that revolution hold if that same world, and its earthbound predecessor, twice was willing to make a deal with those who would see us all eradicated?"

Inhabiting what were once the core worlds of humanity, the Aquila Pact is a loose coalition of worlds seeking to defend each other against external capitalistic influences. At least, that's the most that can be agreed upon. More than any other nation, the Pact is an eclectic group, ranging from Soviet remnants to hive-mind anarchists to anything in between. Disagreements on the direction of the Pact are frequent, and its often joked about that member worlds clash with each other more than they do with the other powers. The presence of external threats ensures they'll continue to work together, but even the smallest change in the current situation could set off the powder keg. They also hold control of the Sol System, save for Earth itself, which is administered by a completely independent organisation.

Broken Shield Union

"Of course we plan to restore the true democratic process as soon as possible! We just have to make sure that our fledgling nation is able to remain free of subversives who would tear down all we built!"

The newest of the interstellar nations, the Broken Shield Union inhabits the region of the same name and is centred around the world of Sanko. Much of the nation is still rebuilding from the aftermath of their civil war with the Commonwealth, and civilian authority has yet to be put in place. Nevertheless, they claim to be ready to stand firm against their neighbours in the Aquila Pact and forge their own identity as a free people. It also holds a considerable population of retroculturalists seeking to return the Spur to the lifestyle seen before the Collapse. It is this group in particular that desires the reclamation of the nearby Tau Ceti system, the most prosperous system of the long-gone Era Kosmopol.

Coreward Commonwealth

"Esteemed colleague, relinquish your blade or I will have you and your entire delegation sent back to Immergrun without hesitation. There, that wasn't too hard, was it? Keep up that cooperation, and there will be an Okorie-Novak computer in every household on that little planet of yours by 3160."

The Coreward Commonwealth is perhaps the wealthiest nation of the new era and, until the civil war, the largest. Its status as possessing some of the most well-established warp-lanes meant the Commonwealth was able to achieve a level of connection unseen over such a large area, rivalled only by the sheer diversity of worlds that make it up. No one world lords over all the others, for this is a nation of equals. Here, the masses attempt to make ends meet day by day as the wealthy play their own clandestine games, from the rugged deserts of Crosk to the towering cityscapes of windswept Stribog. All the excesses of humanity can be found here in all their glory, and some of the most cutting-edge technology of the new era as well, alongside piles of cheap imitators. The daring or the lucky can make it big here. You are not either of those.

Duchies of Moroz

"Goddess be saved"

The old Empire is gone, burned to ashes in the wake of the Tyrants' War. Over the course of the centuries since the Collapse, the Great Houses of the Empire have gone through many wars and religious revivals, distorting the faith of old into the Post-Tribunalism of the modern day. It is this faith's emphasis on biomodification as a means of salvation that has given them a society unlike many others, one quite off-putting to outsiders. Since recontact, they opt to show themselves as a unified entity, but few are fooled by this ruse as the Houses continue to point their guns at each other. Though the question of succession has been in dispute since the Collapse, rumours spread that one of the Houses has found themselves a truly worthy heir to the throne, just in time for the restoration of the homeworld.

Zaurghesian League

"In times past, our species' disunity has led to ruination again and again, and the descendants are forced to live in a more imperfect cosmos each time. Only when we are united can humanity survive this brave new universe."

It is often debated which worlds were able to recover the easiest, but none can deny the Zaurghesian League had an advantage when it came to interstellar travel. Originally a union of a few planetbound nations, the League sits at the nexus of a vast wormhole network, one they have used to its fullest extent. As they expanded outwards, they have made contact with other survivors. Those who are weaker by comparison are folded into the League and gradually fall in line with its culture. Some of these worlds, not particularly enthusiastic about being colonised by an outside power, are much more stubborn. The current flashpoint for these troubles is the frigid world of Arkhadra, where the original inhabitants are reeling from a violent invasion of their home and live under a government brutally trying to assert itself. Arkhadrans continue to plead for the rest of humanity to pay attention to their struggle, or they may become just like the other subjects of the ever-growing League.

[voidutopian]

New Arrivals

Suggested listening

For optimal aesthetic, view the blog here.

The author's pronouns are she/her.

This is the blog for Void Utopia, a space fantasy roleplay set far in the future.

The year is 3248 CE. For over a thousand years, mankind has roamed the stars, yet its history has remained as turbulent as ever. Despotic regimes and great disaster has left an impact that interstellar civilisation has yet to recover from, much less move beyond. Many continue to live in the long shadow cast by the triumphs of the past, as well as its countless sins. Explorers claim to chart new worlds but consistently find proof that their ancestors had been there long before. As humanity remains divided and many of the old institutions remain under new faces, one has to wonder whether we are truly progressing or merely chasing a world that has long since been burned away. Whether the loop will be broken may very well be answered before the century is through.

Despite how much one may believe the modern world is a pale imitation of prior centuries, it's easy to find the ways it has truly changed. The definition of what a human is has been massively expanded in the wake of new technologies. Thanks to the accessibility of both biological and synthetic modifications, it is easier than ever to express one's true identity regardless of wealth. At the same time, the quality and utility of such things, as well as specific modifications that represent the crudest excesses of the field, show that the divisions in society are still here and as strong as ever. It has also been far from the only paradigm shift. The calamity that knocked humanity back and wiped many other species from existence also introduced true magic into the world, the consequences of which are still being explored.

You live aboard a ship known as Ushas. One of the oldest known ships in the Orion Spur to still be operating, it has a history as turbulent as the wider Spur, having changed hands multiple times, both peacefully and decidedly less so, before settling under the control of the Salvagers Central Committee. Not only is it used in the salvaging of the countless derelict ships and stations that litter the Spur, it has long been regarded as a neutral ground by all nations and sworn loyalty to none. A true city within the void, it plays host to thousands of residents, many of whom are the descendants of people who mysteriously vanished from their home worlds or flotillas only to wake up here. Whether you or your ancestors arrived through mundane or supernatural means, you live at the intersection of all of humanity's interests. Your groceries, grown fresh from a Khumeia Biosystems-owned hydroponics chamber, are sold to you by a member of the near hiveminded Eridani Collective, and as you chew away at your meal(the fruit, as with most species from Assunzione, was designed to glow slightly), you receive a ping on your internal computer; an artifact you had stored away for safekeeping, likely an advanced piece of technology from an alien derelict, is being accessed without permission. You rush down the crowded passageways, paying no heed to the Post-Tribunalist street preacher who took one look at your cybernetics and declared you doomed as you ran by. At last, you reach the warehouse, only to be greeted by several different people standing nearby. It took you one moment to realise that many of them were potential buyers from different nations, companies, or other interest groups, another to realise that they all were armed or were accompanied by someone who was armed. The atmosphere was thick with tension even before your arrival. You let out a resigned sigh. Perhaps the preacher was right.

Over time, more information will be posted here filling out the details of the world, and perhaps other related things. The ask box is always open, so don't be afraid to pop in with a question!

Index:

Notice: Your Extranet connection is currently being limited due to high activity in your area, estimated time to complete download: Unknown

Nations:

Aquila Pact

Broken Shield Union

Coreward Commonwealth

Empire of Dominia

Zaurghesian League

Places and Minor Powers:

Ushas

Technologies:

Genelines: Lyodii

Unsorted:

Ruin Diving