You are Hass Takar, the Supreme Ruler of the Hegemony. It is the Year 102 of the Resurrection Era. You now stand on Jaxt, the home planet of your empire, the Hegemony. Standing before you are about a hundred Jaxtians, some of the best and brightest in the empire, who look at you bright eyed and expectant.You raise your hand and backing music begins to play. Without skipping a beat, the Jaxtians raise their voices, and join to sing your Anthem.https://jmp.sh/s/MNfcnegX92OuFV1thabd
When the song is concluded, you motion to the crowd to stand at attention. This is being broadcast to the entire Hegemony- as this event is very important. You begin your speech.”...The greatness and power of the Hegemony has, for almost entire existence, been predicated on the power of its people. The great and noble Jaxtian race, the purity of our blood, our self-cultivation into higher and higher forms of life, directed evolution. The purity of our race, and our supremacy, have been seen as lockstep with each other. But what we truly strive for is not purity, but nobility. What is nobility? Can nobility be inherited by blood? I once believed this was the case. I descend from the Noble House of Takar. But through my selfish actions early in my reign, I proved that this was not true; and if it had not been for this change, we would have not endured at the Stand, and suffered a great humiliation in the cosmos.”https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5879681/The crowd looks shocked. To hear a Supreme Ruler cast doubt about themselves is a rarity, both a sign of great humility and wisdom. Though it is still self-serving in the end to mention his triumphs, it is rare for a Supreme Ruler to ever express anything but absolute unshakable self confidence.”The mighty Akule, our first and greatest Supreme Ruler, the founder of the Hegemony, believed that the purity of his race was of the utmost for his ultimate goal. He lived during the degenerate capitalist era; a time when inter-racial conflict and excess, inferior people had brought the biosphere of this very planet and the society in which he was raised to its breaking point. He came to the sad realization the only way to survive was to practice genocide, to exterminate all who opposed his race's supremacy by their very existence, regrettable as it may be. And for over a thousand years, his beliefs about racial purity have held true and been put into practice... But today marks a historic new beginning.”This is a lie, which you have included intentionally. Akule's motivations were ultimately his own, but to call him regretful or sad over his victory would be false. After all, you must pave the way for your next grand reveal. How should you connect with the people?>Go along as an equal>Teach them as a superior
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorIt would be concerning if the Supreme Ruler didn't talk as a superior
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorSpace Monkeys are the most superior race, and we're the most superior space monkey.
>>5981752>>Go along as an equalReparation time
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorNoblesse Oblige.
>>5981752>>Teach them as a superiorKill them if they dare to cross us
>>5981752>Teach them as a superior
>>5981752>>Teach them as a superiorReign Supreme.
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorWe still have them mindbroken.
>>5981752>>Teach them as a superior
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorIf we're stating a reveal, we must use the authority of our supreme office.
>>5981752>Teach them as a superioranything bellow superior would likely just result in societal collapse but also we will be teaching them >>5981751really liking the theme song for our anthem it boops got that glory and empire energy of a RTS game
As a reminder, the "new" rules of the previous thread are applying here. So future votes involving die rolls, big decisions, or other contentious prompts will not be open to 1-post IDs, so get your votes in early to lock your spot in for later.This AI art and the AI song in the OP were both generated by an Anonymous user. Thanks!And for those of you who participated in the April Fools thread... yeah even I felt a little bad about that, that was a bit mean lol
>>5982104I found the April Fool funny - funniest of the year all thing included
>>5982110I thought it was a bit too forced outside of the "you thought it'd be a thread but it wasnt"
>>5982104I-its okay Bananas, we made you do it to us. It our falut.
>>5981752>Teach them as a superior>>5982104>April Fools thread...No it was a fun parody
>>5981752>Go along as an equalA bit OOC, but I’m hoping that making the Swalli/Cowmen ‘equal’ in the people eyes will help some of our monkes take a leap at some gene-therapy, to create a herd-mentality super-genius class of monkes.Also, are we going to see the return of the King, Iceburg? :^)
>>5982316>Iceberg>BERGSounds Hebraic, can't support.But in all seriousness, I voted for superiority because OP has established before that choices which try to deviate from authoritarianism too much will lead to chaos and collapse
>>5982319>Iceberg’s evil twin clone>Yuan’s twin brother Yaun get the last laughMy god, it’s the Prestige all over again. To be fair, neurotic authoritarianism also lead to chaos and collapse.To each their own though- like I said, my choice is OOC for our Jaxians, being literal fanatic supremacists and all.
>>5981752>Teach them as a superiorBoth option will bite someway but this seems more logical. They've been in isolation for so long that we need to civilize them first.
>>5982316>>5982458>>5981776>>5981788This vote is how we speak to the crowd, not for how we treat the xenos (unless there's a secret double meaning to it).
>>5982536>unless there's a secret double meaning to itThere often is.
>>5981752>Go along as an equal
>>5982536>secret double meaning to itAlmost every vote in this quest has a double meaning. It's what makes it great and terrible (for players).
>>5982536>no double secret meaning>in a bananas quest
>>581752>The Supreme is a superior. Professing equality would be denying supremacy.
”You are probably asking why all of your are naked for this ceremony. The reason? To get this awkwardness out of the way early. To see each other not as competitors, but as life forms. We ascend from this primitive past towards a greater form of being...”You did briefly consider joining them in their nudity, but no, you are here to educate, not integrate. This is a lesson you have already learned, learned when you realized that your noble and superior blood did not grant you freedom from consequence. Now, the rest of the Jaxtians will learn it as well.The crowd suddenly shifts as new faces join it, the empty space between the Jaxtians suddenly fill with exciting new beings, though really, it is a return to what was lost once before.
Throughout the crowd, the Jaxtians are joined by the Vetuckers and the Swall- two alien races once exterminated, now returned. This is the first time they have officially been rejoined.”...Throughout my life and early in my reign, I was convinced of the conviction of our species. The greatness of the Jaxtian people, the single unbroken line of ascension of the Supreme Ruler, it was driven by our very DNA, our blood. And upon wearing the Deathmask and becoming the Unspeakable, I furthered that drive with the extermination of every last one of the parasitical Hazaar. But as with all things, the extreme in one direction will cancel out all the good in the other direction. Even Akule, the first and most terrible Unspeakable, deemed to keep some of the other Jaxtian races alive inside us. I am descended from the Green Face Apes, and I would not be here if the false ideal of purity trumped the idea of what is truly best.”The aliens inspect each other. None of the Jaxtians in the crowd have seen a living Vetucker. To the Vetuckers and Swall, their memories are much more fresh. Some wince, others are nervous, but the skulls and trophies have long since been put away. You smile, it is time to reveal it.”During the reign of Wrix Val the Unspeakable, two intelligent species were lost from us forever. He did what he thought was right, but now we have a unique opportunity to explore a new possibility. Something never tried before. That is why I am officially announcing today; now and to the Supreme Rulers in the future- the Vetucker and Swall will be inducted into the Hegemony proper. No longer supplicant species. They will be as the blondes were for Akule. Something different, and yet something precious. I hereby fully pardon your species for their crimes of existence and resistance to your extermination; instead; I welcome you in full. You will be Hegemonic citizens as we are, fully integrated and allowed to rise as how as your abilities are able- with the exception of the office of the Supreme Ruler, of course. For this, I solemnly vow.”
”The process of integration, and smoothing over past tensions will be difficult, I am sure. Which is why I am dedicating the rest of my reign to it.”The aliens, now among the Jaxtians as their own, stir strangely. Many of them have fresh memories, just a few years prior, of being gunned down and exterminated by the Jaxtians in the death camps. It is now that their Supreme Ruler invites them. The primates pat the aliens on the back, welcoming them, if not exactly apologizing. Nervously, the Swall and Vetuck return the favors.Despite your species success and long history of genetic conquest, you now know that your genocides were not the answer. You are not sure exactly why you came to this conclusion, but upon finding it, you have been moving with surety to this moment, where the fledling aliens once protected by the Hegemony were then killed by it, and only by chance found again and revived.Of course, not all were. The Hazaar were exterminated, by your own hand, and the Blue Hazaar, your own DNA within them, have no chance of coming back. After all, they lived on Xin, a planet inhospitable to life before your species. The chance of the Andoeon aliens burying a life vault there is nill. As for the other planets...The crowd, satisfied with the reuniting of the races, now looks to you- not as disperate groups but as one Supreme Ruler over them all. They prepare for your closing statements, and to bow before you in respect. But before that, you must make a closing remark in regards to the rest of the Jaxtian people about the alien minorities now being formally inducted into the Hegemony...>May they serve me, as you do>Their Strength will further our ambitions>Brilliant thinkers & perspectives will come from them>I just hope we can get along
>>5982718...I don't exactly see why we needed to be naked for this, but uh, cool. We got our cowbros.
>>5982720Oh shit, I forgot the vote. >May they serve me, as you doHonestly though, while this is a big change, I don't think the hegemony needs to suddenly become a xenophilic paradise. We can still hate all the other species, it's just that now we can do it with the others.
>>5982724With the vetucker and swalli* fuck I'm retarded today
>>5982316Iceberg mentioned!Unironically one of my top fav characters
>>5982718>I just hope we can get along
>>5982720The Hegemony has some weird psychosexual undertones.
>>5982743Yeah but they're usually not...gay.
>>5982747The crowd is of all genders.
>>5982750Well I sure don't see any women drawn
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you doLet's hate other species, together!>>5982747It's not gay if it's cultural, bro.
>>5982713>>5982714>>5982718The resurrected races are literally our traumatized victims who remember life before the Hegemony and how fickle we are. We're integrating them as full citizens without a vote or anything. We're doing it naked, for some reason. And all throughout, we're "not sure exactly why you came to this conclusion"?What?>>5982718>May they serve me, as you do
>>5982760>What?I have to admit, this is a bit weird. Just hope it doesn't turn out to be a dream or some shit.
>the whole crowd is males>art places ample focus on naked furry anatomy, sans peenorYeah, this whole update bleeds homoeroticism
>>5982771Oh no the women are having one of these somewhere too. They're like kissing and rubbing their boobies together and stuff, you're just not going to see that lol gotta keep up the pacing lol
>>5982774Objection, Swall don't have tits.
>>5982718>>I just hope we can get along: ^)
>>5982774>boykisser.jpg
>>5982718>Brilliant thinkers & perspectives will come from themSciencebros...>>5982760april fools 2?
>>5982718>>Brilliant thinkers & perspectives will come from themeh let's see how far this rabbit hole goes
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you doAll will serve the SUPREME!
>>5982718Also where the fuck are my proud Navigator brothers!
>>5982718>Their Strength will further our ambitionsDIIIIIIIIICKS!
Okay bubby now draw a yaoi scene
>>5982718>>I just hope we can get alongWe're not gay I swear
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you doAlso, the Hazaar aren't really gone, they were never really a species to begin with; merely an addled offshoot of the Aristocrats.
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you do>There thoughts and perspective shall ad onto ours All know what defiance leads to
>>5982760I think it can be just a counter reaction to the extermination but also bit of a test if it does not pan out time for the experimentation we do what we usually do to rebels
>>5982883Not yet. Later.
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you do>May I serve the Hegemony and the future of our peoples, as you do.
>>5982104I like it but it's a bit sad to hear
>>5983008
>>5982718>May they serve me, as you doThe monkey homo cabal has won. It's over.
>>5983245Anak legacy 2 stronk.
>>5983245I do want to see more queer Jataxians. The Yellow terrorist was awesome.
>>5983766The last thing this quest needs is fujofaggotry.
”...And they will serve me, as do you.” Your speech, edited and broadcast all over the Hegemony, welcomes and accepts the once-exterminated races back into the fold. The Jaxtians everywhere will accept it- as their ruler has decreed.With your speech concluding, the crowd bows before you to show their allegiance. The Jaxtians, a deep bow from the waist, traditional and respectful. The Vetuckers, a full bow in worship and submission, befitting their position as an uplifted species. Finally, the Swall bow too, but slower and more reserved then the others, a simple bowing of the head, showing their individuality and lack of automatic deference to authority.By focusing on the position of the Supreme Ruler, you have prioritized the status quo. Because of the cultural and racial exclusivity of this office, it does prioritize Jaxtians overall in the social balance between the three Hegemonic races. With the incorporation of the Vetuck and the Swall fresh, there is still time before it solidifies into the normal social order and becomes a mix of tradition, law, and practical utility that restricts or empowers individuals of each of the three species. In other words, whichever race you favor the most over the rest of your reign will reap its rewards in the future.
On the stage, you have also introduced two new faces; two aliens bestowed the rank of Overseer, not seen for a very long time, to further the unity between the alien races. You will grant them the nobility of office, and in turn, gain their trust.”From the Vetuckers, we have Urik, the 8th Descendant of Aok, who has achieved the rightful rank of Overseer through perseverance. And we have another, Deepscale Elijah, of the Deepscale family, representing the brilliance of the Swall. For these, I have appointed to the following new positions...”>Write In (Each character must be granted a new or existing Overseer Position)
>>5983820Well, that's a hard question. What exactly are the Vetuckers good at? Elijah seems like a shoe-in for Science Overseer...didn't we have a whole thing where Maktana said he wanted to not get cloned anymore? Before the timeskip? If he's dead, then we need an science overseer. We could choose him.Don't know Bout the vetucker though
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Health & WellnessAside from the old king and his wife, the one Vetucker who got spotlight for a bit was really good at medical care, and they're probably fairly good at things like managing diets and health with their culture still fairly recently focusing on a very physical lifestyle.>Elijah, Overseer of XenoarchaeologyWe need to learn what the hell our precursors were up to in our system.between the two of these, maybe we can improve the general well-being and quality-of-life of our subjects even further, while also gaining advances in the sciences and also finally understand those who came before.
>>5983820>UrikOverseer of Genocide>ElijahOverseer of Bootlicking
>>5983823That's actually a good idea, we really should investigate these predecessors.
>>5983823For an actual answer all this sounds great to me
>>5983820>Urik bin Aok - Overseer of Agriculture>Deepscale Elijah - Deputy Overseer of Science (under Maktana, until Maktana retires).>Adopt a new Jaxtian only Overseer, the Overseer of Artificial Intelligence. Prioritize someone loyal to the Hegemony and Hass's vision over raw computer skills. Tradition!
>>5983823>+1 to this. Honestly, its difficult to utilize the Swalli intellect without giving them a knife to slit our throats with. I think this helps put the universe into perspective. Great suggestion, anon.
>>5983857Yeah we need to remember that the Swall are a double edged sword. They're smart, but they were individualistic yet good enough that they were able to have a genuine "ideal capitalist society". That's not something that easily meshes with the Hegemony's off the charts despotic totalitarianism. They should have their intelligence used, but away from the positions of power. Stuff like Xenoarcheology both requires intelligence (archeology is hard), is useful to us (we find out about the precursors) and isn't too dangerous (it's just archeology). The way I see it, the best way to go about settling these two is to find them a niche that is useful but non-threatening. The vetuckers are easy, they're not really able to run a space empire. They'll probably stay loyal to us as long as we don't treat them like shit. The Swall, I already talked about them. If we manage to ensure they mix into the hegemony's culture, we won't get turned into some lame xenohpile society. We can be a xenophobic trifecta, and hate everyone else together.
>>5983823Xenoarcheaology is too niche a subject for an Overseer. Health is fine. The current positions are Science and Infrastructure, which you can use or add new ones.
Fishbros just want to be safe. Entropy is coming for us all. We can give the fishbros the space to figure out how to defeat it without worrying about being eaten by xenos.
>>5983885I'd back the move to make Elijah Deputy Overseer of Science (under Maktana, until Maktana retires), and to partition off AI responsibility to a loyal Jaxtian, then.
>>5983885...is it? I mean, I feel like that's a pretty huge thing with the whole precursor ruins spanning different planets.We probably shouldn't put him in science, if thats the case.>>5983887Okay but "Defeat Entropy" is even more niche than "Xenoarcheology".
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Health & Wellness>Elijah, Deputy Overseer of Science (under Maktana, until Maktana retires).
Guys, what the other anon said. The Swall are too individualistic to risk putting in science this early. We can't risk them messing with stuff like our AI. If we make him the Science Overseer, we need to put AI under a different department led solely by Jaxtians.
>>5983893If QM allows it, I'd like that. After Ingar, you'd hope the Hegemony would have learned that lesson.
>>5983885Overseer of Industry I guess?
>>5983898That's even worse, you don't give an possible individualist control of the economy. Our goal here is to find a safe way to use the Swalli remember?
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and EcologyTheoretically a Vetucker should be good at managing our farming and making sure planetary ecosystems remain in good health. >Elijah, Overseer of Health & WellnessWhile I'm sure revenge is possible from any high position for the Swalli at least this one doesn't give weapons or AI access. Transportation might also be a good position to consider for him if not health and wellness.
>>5983892Changing my Elijah appointment to Health & Wellness. I highly doubt he could forcefully make some deadly Monkey and Cow killing virus in that position without someone spotting him. Right?
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Health & Wellness>Elijah, Overseer of DiplomacyWhen they realize how despite being pretty bad everybody else is waaaaay worse. Kek!
>>5983906Probably he wouldn't kill the cowbros. Why bother? THEY didn't wipe out his race then turn their planet into a monke-themed megacity, and they're not really a threat to the Swall.
>>5983906>>5983892Bleh, total brainfart. Last change>>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>>Elijah, Overseer of Health & Wellness>>5983912That's besides the point. Point is that hopefully, he shouldn't be able to do anything TOO retarded, right?
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of EconomyFuck it, we could use some capitalism
>>5983885>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of TransportationI don't want a Yuan supervirus situation.
Also I don't want to tell you guys how to play by correcting every single thing but in Monke game I don't really see the AI network as part of "science", it's ancient at this point and heavily used as a government thing, science is more things LIKE Xenoarcheology as well as discovering new technologies and stuff.
Oh and last thing once again I think some of your Overseer appointments are too niche like "transportation". Like I want to let you all choose but Overseers are like Advisors from the Civilization games, so they're REALLY broad. Like Military, Economy, Science, Religion, Culture, Growth, Wonder-Builder, etc.
>>5983953Ok.>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of Building Us Cool Stuff
>>5983922Getting them optimizing economy would be nice.Had a thought they are good enough for foreign relations and such they are individual to not be pushed around by other cultures but adaptable enough to play in there rules
>>5983983I'd be more inclined to make them our diplomatic corps if these were just new Swall. They're not, though. These are literally the guys who committed mass suicide rather than adopt form of governance. Why wouldn't the Swall want to just join the Consortium?
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of GrowthWe need expansion, but I would let him be the military man because I struggle to place his race’s low IQ and perseverance trait in anything else that’s remotely useful.>Elijah, Overseer of ScienceIf this guy’s Swalli brilliant then it’s a waste to put him anywhere else- though I would accept Wonder-Building, as I imagine that he’d create something really epic, and I’d want Agori’s arcology and those underwater cities under Jax and the Mitigator’s Homeworld.
>>5983983We literally just woke them up. They are in no way trustworthy enough to be in charge of our foreign relations.
>>5983820>Urik, overseer of Health>Elijah, overseer of WonderbuildPlay his strength, not giving him too much rope to choke us with (hopefully)
>>5984027wonderbuild?
>>5984093see >>5983953
Okay can we get a count of the votes? This is just getting confusing.
>>5983905changing to >Elijah, Overseer of Wonder Building
.
>>5984125there was a beancounter that used to do it. If you want it, do it yourself.
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of Wunderwaffe
What the hell exactly would an 'overseer of megastructures' do? We only have one megastructure and we're not looking to build any other right now as far as i remember.
>>5983820Ah, screw it...nobody seems to have a better idea, and i'd rather we get an update today.>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of MegastructuresMaybe he'll be able to make something. I don't know. We have all those Hazaar worlds so maybe they'll be able to make something like flooding one of their planets to create a New Swall now that their homeworld has been paved over by not!Rapture
>>5984197>we're not looking to build any other right now as far as i remember.Well, I assume we will now. It's a pretty good time to do it, since we're not at war and have proved ourselves to our enemies for the moment.
Also, I'd like to clarify that I don't want to kick the current guy (was it Munn?) out of his role constructing/supervising the cityplanet. I think it'd be nice to keep him handling the nuts-and-bolts logistical side, while the Swall is the ideas guy.
>>5984321>Also, I'd like to clarify that I don't want to kick the current guy (was it Munn?) out of his role constructing/supervising the cityplanetThe city planet is done though?
>>5984323Yeah, but I assume he's still employed/in charge of infrastructure in a general sense, though.
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of ExplorationUrik's pretty obvious, but I think we need to get someone out there exploring the Galactic fringes. And since we've been incredibly lethargic about scouting the loose systems toward the Galactic rim (hell, I don't think we've even fully explored the Haazaar cluster yet) we need an exploration Overseer of some sort to light a fire under that whole area.
>>5983820>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture and Ecology>Elijah, Overseer of Exploration>>5984353I’m with this anon >>5984195One big happy family… I wonder how many years it will be before the secret Swalli independence movement starts
>>5984353I would also be fine with Overseer of Exploration if Bananas permits it.
>>5984353I'd support exploration if bananas didn't rule it as too niche.
>Urik, Overseer of Agriculture/Growth.>Deepscale Elijah, Overseer of Science.
>>5984373Oh yeah, uh, I'm >>5984302
>>5984414You didn't count all the exploration votes.>>5984353>>5984358>>5984365>>5984373
>>5983823 ifo5adI6 Health Xenoarchaeology>>5983820 /z47usDa xGenocide xBootlicking>>5983845 wOaXQ/bc Agriculture Science>>5983857 vsilcWHf Health Xenoarchaeology>>5983892 LhZuf0pE xHealth xScience>>5983820 BPIQ92SC xAgriculture xHealth>>5983906 LhZuf0pE Agriculture Health>>5983922 /z47usDa Agriculture Economy>>5983927 M2Hi5jlo Agriculture Transportation>>5983967 M2Hi5jlo Agriculture Megastructures>>5983991 Ae38VRrw Growth Science>>5984027 MYEbFrEU Health Megastructures>>5984131 BPIQ92SC Agriculture Megastructures>>5984177 HGOXXHMm Agriculture Megastructures>>5984302 IobGf8Nq Agriculture Megastructures>>5983820 xvKcoeQ1 Agriculture Exploration>>5984358 8cOUHy+W Agriculture Economy>> 5984375 qnvoeVpG Agriculture ScienceHealth 3Agriculture 11Growth 1---------------2 Xenoarchaeology3 Science1 Health2 Economy1 Transportation5 Megastructures1 Exploration
>>5984358>One big happy family… I wonder how many years it will be before the secret Swalli independence movement startsYou just know. Sigh. You can't genocide a people then make allies with them, no matter how hard you brainwash them.
Good catch. It looks like I misread 5984358 as Economy somehow. I didn't count 5984365 because it's more of a statement than a vote, same with 5984373.>>5983823 ifo5adI6 Health Xenoarchaeology>>5983820 /z47usDa xGenocide xBootlicking>>5983845 (You) wOaXQ/bc Agriculture Science>>5983857 vsilcWHf Health Xenoarchaeology>>5983892 LhZuf0pE xHealth xScience>>5983820 BPIQ92SC xAgriculture xHealth>>5983906 LhZuf0pE Agriculture Health>>5983922 /z47usDa Agriculture Economy>>5983927 M2Hi5jlo xAgriculture xTransportation>>5983967 M2Hi5jlo Agriculture Megastructures>>5983991 Ae38VRrw Growth Science>>5984027 MYEbFrEU Health Megastructures>>5984131 BPIQ92SC Agriculture Megastructures>>5984177 HGOXXHMm Agriculture Megastructures>>5984302 IobGf8Nq Agriculture Megastructures>>5984353 xvKcoeQ1 Agriculture Exploration>>5984358 8cOUHy+W Agriculture Exploration>>5984375 qnvoeVpG Agriculture ScienceUrik Health 3Agriculture 10Growth 1Elijah Xenoarchaeology 2Science 3Health 1Economy 1Megastructures 5Exploration 2
>>5984423Xenoarchaeology got disallowed, and some of us subsequently changed our votes.
I guess that would make it 5/4 Megastructures to Exploration then.
>>5984430Yes. It depends in whether exploration is allowed as an overseer department.. Either way I'll change my vote if it means we get the update today, there's no point in waiting another day when most people don't change their votes after they've sent them even if they're invalid.
They don't know about my "Agriculture being a concern in Sci-Fi" pet peeve either... Another wasted Overseer slot baka
An ape must eat. What military doesn't march upon its stomach?
>>5984475Okay, I gotta say that's just a bit too much. Even if agriculture should be easy, that shit is still massively important. We're talking about moving trillions of tons of food through and within different planets. We're talking about managing workers, robots, about making sure everything runs smoothly. Even if the AI reduces a lot of workload, it doesn't do everything. Not to mention we have a literal new cluster we need to build the infrastructure for colonization.
>>5984477Not even the army. "Agriculture shouldn't be a concern in scifi" is ridiculous to anyone who actually knows the ridiculous complexity of the system that industrial agriculture requires. When you put in populations in the billions, the sheer level of workers, vehicles, plantations and infrastructure that needs to be managed becomes completely and utterly gigantic. To call it "not a concern" just feels insulting as someone who actually deals with this kind of shit in his line of work
Air, water, food: these are the basic necessities of terrestrial life. On earth enough food is grown that all might eat, yet not all eat. Logistics, Distribution. Food Cubes as a Plot Point. Pharma/Ag world as a choice. Deny Maya and listen to the heart of the Bohdi.
>>5984475Didn't the planet Xin nearly start dying because of Agricultural overuse on a world that couldn't support it?
>>5984426I changed from >>5983823 to >>5983889, so Elijah has 4 for science.>>5984475>>5983953If you have very specific ideas of what we should be doing, maybe a write-in is a bad idea and instead you should have given us a list of options.
If agriculture is not allowed, then what the hell do we even have left?
Alright so normally I'd just update without asking for feedback and do it my way but since the vote for Elijah is pretty close and I'm sure people will be butthurt at taking any liberties with the players votes like this, I'll ask instead.Combining the votes together, I think Elijah could fit best underneath the Overseer position of "Research", with the original "Science" Overseer being made into something else/adapted. This is the Science result winning + exploration + Xenoarchology votes which is slightly higher then the pure construction/engineering result of Megastructures (I was going to rename that to Overseer of Engineering). I know this sounds similar to Science, but less focused on the gene research and terraforming projects (which are now more under Ecology) to help divy up the characters.Is this a fair result for the above prompt?Have an unused Header image as a peace offering for the delay.
>>5984837Sounds better than being stuck at an impasse.
>>5984837I can support this.
>>5984837I don't think people will be butthurt over a choice for an overseer. It's really not that big of a deal, at least not in comparison to what people got upset over in the past.
>>5984837I don't care if Elijah does a variant of Science as long as it doesn't bite us in the ass later. I'd be irritated if QM fiat got us a bad option, but if it's neutral or positive it doesn't matter.
>>5984837Am >>5984027 Workposting.I am fine with that result even though my OG vote doesn't go through and can get behind giving him more power than I originally wanted to.Transparency and feedback request is appreciated Bananas.
”For Urik, I have assigned the new position of the Overseer of Ecology, which includes agricultural output, biosphere stability, as well as the health and safety integration of all of the Hegemony's approved life forms. And for Deepscale, I have assigned him to the position of Overseer of Research.”The new alien Overseers are a stark reminder to the massive changes that have come to the Hegemony during your reign- but as both are about equally important, neither of the two new alien races gain more social standing then the other, keeping the balance about the same.Over the majority of the past 50 years, you have ruled the Hegemony not as a Supreme Ruler, but as an Unspeakable. The Mask-wearing spirit of domination and supremacy that has carved a bloody path across the stars. From your victory at The Stand, you began a genocide crusade against the filthy Hazaar, the first truly intelligent alien nation your kind encountered- beyond the murderous and mindless Baalathi that is. After your work, none remain. You have slaughtered every single one of their filthy kind, and their corner of the galaxy now belongs to you. The HVS, their subjugated proxy-state that kept you off the radar of your nearby Galactic rivals, is now fully incorporated into the Hegemony and under your control. Beyond the prestige, livable worlds, and untold resources and riches of those newly captured star systems- it also means the last troublesome thorn of alien parasites was finally plucked from the Hegemony's coat. However, it didn't feel like victory.Perhaps for the Hazaar, there was no other option. But it took its toll on you. The immense weight of wearing the Mask, the iron grip of being the Unspeakable, controlling every action and resource for the direct and uncompromising goal of extinction of another alien species, no matter how in the way and disgusting they were, still felt like a great burden. Lifting the mask off your face finally did not provide you a sensation of ultimate victory; just a reprieve. In the end, you did everything you did for your people, first and foremost, the elimination of another intelligent species is, in the end, a survival tactic. All battles between species ultimately culminate in extinction. One lives, one dies, that is the way of survival. But that doesn't mean it isn't without loss.
The entire purpose of the battle at the Stand was the secure the rich Azuirum deposits there- enough to finish construction of your current large-scale megaproject- the underwater planet-city of Myym. This city, set to house hundreds of billions of Jaxtians at some point in the future, is being built on the ruins of Swallia, the homeworld of the Swall aliens who, not even two decades ago, were fully extinct. Then, you stumbled across it; hidden underneath layers of sediment and fossils and opaque to your scanners until you knew what to look for.Buried in the planetary crust of that oceanic planet was a secret Life Vault, whose construction and method of technology was yet unknown at the time. Given its adornments, the scale of its rooms, and the heavy use of Azurium in its construction that made it capable of withstanding being buried so deeply hinted strongly that this vault was created by the Andoen aliens, who died out untold ages ago due to a yet unknown catastrophe. This indicates they have a much greater level of technology then we thought before; as it seemed by their star charts and lack of expansion they could only travel within their own solar system at best. Within this life vault are special pods, reminiscent of the Life Machine minus its 'improvement', which have the yet unexplained ability to bring back the long dead to life.This part of it still bugs you.
Once the vault was opened however, millions of Swall were suddenly revivified by the life pods, crawling out of them with full memories of the day of their excitation, almost a hundred years ago now. While a complete shock, logic dictates that the Andoen aliens did not produce a single life vault on a random planet capable of harboring life, and as such Vetuck was searched, and a matching vault that allowed the Vetuckers to be revived was found shortly after. Your scientists are not exactly sure why the life vaults were present on the planet. Having a secondary method of surviving an extinction level event like this makes sense, but the planets were not ever colonized by the Andoen aliens, as far as you know. Their Azurium structures would be more present in the fossil record and deep strata of the planets crust. It also seems highly unlikely for them to have built the life pods for another species entirely, and given their depth in the planet crust, it seems they were likely built on the surface over a hundred million years ago, which was before intelligent life evolved on those planets to begin with.Because these were clearly built during a period long ago, your recent terraforming of Xin means that no Life-Vault will be found there. The Blue Hazaar are truly no more.Because of how long ago they were built, it seems most likely they were an early form of expansion or future-proofing for the planets, perhaps with the intent of a future technology being able to “send” over people to be produced by the pods to colonize the planet, but that technology was never developed. It could also be those planets once housed Andoen aliens, but died off before the pods could be opened...
In just over the past ten years, the new introduction of the Swall and Vetuck aliens back into the fold underneath the Hegemony has radically shifted your administration and imperial aspirations. You were planning on spending the twilight years of your reign exploring and making good use of the newly annexed territory, but now, this has complicated everything. Cijan is even saying this will be the start of a new Era in Hegemonic history. The moment the Life-Vaults were discovered, you already made your choice. You wanted to bring the aliens back into the Hegemony, to undo what had happened to them underneath Wrix, and this serendipitous, once-in-a-lifetime event has allowed you to do so. But the question is... why?Whenever you seek guidance, you consult with your own long-dead ancestor- Talacent Takar. Of course, it's really just a hologram imitation run by your secret Threemind computer system, but his advice is usually pretty solid.“...Of course there is risks in allowing them to live, young Supreme. There are risks in everything. The only 100% way to be sure they won't cause problems is to end them, as prior Supremes knew.””Don't call me “Young Supreme”, you look younger then me now.”“I could age up this projection for the latter years of the reign, if you'd prefer.””No... that's fine. Let me look and remind myself of younger days. I wish I was as self confident as he was, to just know to stop the first Xenocide, even if it was to a species that did not deserve it. He knew the importance of Jaxtian primacy as well as anyone, the constant struggle of survival of the fittest, and yet he did so anyway.”“...You know, my AI system tends towards coddling older members of the Hegemony, shielding them from negative stimulus and harmful introspection. Once someone reaches a certain age, the cost-benefit of reminding them of their squandered potential to inspire meaningful change versus the harm it causes shift further and further towards ignorance. But of course, such manipulations are beneath someone of your stature.””What is the relevance of that Statement, Threes?”“You are beyond that curve.””...”“This is silly. Hass Takar, I command thee, as a Supreme long past and your ancestor, to tell me why you wanted to spare the Vetuckers and Swall and bring them back. Just tell me why, and maybe this will clear it up for you.”>Ultimately, they were innocent. That is reason enough.>Shame to destroy something unique and irreplaceable>Valuable resources they could end up being>I just think it makes things more interesting.
>>5985354>Shame to destroy something unique and irreplaceableLike tacticle gold and starwine, they are strange and strangely beautiful things, which we now own.>>5984658 is me.
>>5985354Interesting choices, but I'm not quite sure which is best. If it was me, I'd have picked something along the lines of "It's nice to give the Jaxtian race a few friends in this galaxy", but I suppose that doesn't quite fit.>>5985364But it's not really just because it's "unique" right? Aristocrats are extremely unique, but we sure as hell don't like them.
>>5985366I'll allow this as a write in.
>>5985354>>I'm just thinking maybe the Swall could figure out how to make more Celestial Wine. Not that I'm addicted or anything.
>>5985369Okay, in that case,> "It's nice to give the Jaxtian race a few friends in this galaxyWhich is a perfectly fine reason, I think. The Migrators are cool guys but they basically operate on slowmode. The Esaal aren't in war with us, but they're pretty much rivals, they'd probably rather die out in glorious combat before accepting Hegemonic control. I don't need to talk about the consortium or the aristocrats.
>>5985371Kek.>>5985364Can confirm this is me.
>>5985354>> "It's nice to give the Jaxtian race a few friends in this galaxyWhat is life without anyone to share it with?
>>5985354> "It's nice to give the Jaxtian race a few friends in this galaxy."The real Xenocide were the friends we made along the way.
>>5984475I don't think it's fair to have the quest filled with secret "correct" answers based on your personal opinions.It's one thing to seed clues in-universe, but when your tastes dictate the right game actions, you encourage "playing the ref" instead of engaging with the story or mechanics.
>>5985349>All battles between species ultimately culminate in extinction.That's objectively untrue. Parasitism, symbiosis, endosymbiosis, domestication, and even predatory-prey dynamics tend to form stable balances (until an outside force disrupts them).Even if you use modern nation-states as the point of comparison, literal thousands of years of history have shown a lot of the time conflict ends with a change in conditions rather than total annihilation of one culture.
>>5985354>Ultimately, they were innocent. That is reason enough.I've had my fill of edge. I want to stare an uncaring, hostile universe in the face and be a good guy anyway.
>>5985354>Valuable resources they could end up being
>>5985568>I've had my fill of edgeI agree, but think it's a bit too hard of a turn for Hass Takar, the Unspeakable who wiped out the Hazaar.>>5985554>>5985563I also agree, but I think that "all battles between species ultimately culminate in extinction" bit is justifiable as a deeply-ingrained Hegemonic belief. It's already a big deal that Hass is willing to go against that instinct to the extent of welcoming and integrating the Vetuckers and Swalli.
>>5985354It’s both of the top options for me, however I don’t know if voting for both is allowed.Will say though, the bottom two options also have a point, just a less salient one in my view.
>>5985354>>5985366 +1>I wanted friends in the universe. Someone for the Jaxtians to play with, to learn from and grow as a civilization. Before we met them we knew nothing about the wider universe. Through first contact we were inspired to develop a space military, anti-gravity, FTL, and a host of other innovations. Alone we grew slowly. With friends we grew quickly. You young supremes might think of it as finally having a sparring partner to train with. Friendship. That does really seem like Talacent.
>>5985354>Ultimately, they were innocent. That is reason enough.>There are many who betray the Hegemony, in ways great or small; and they deserve punishment for this crime. Collective punishment is a blunt instrument, yet at times this is necessary for an ordered and stabled society. >Yet even these most extreme of punishments need to be applied with logic and thought. Wrix was an idiot who neither earned his Supremacy from a worth predecessor, nor possessed the wits to win it for himself. When faced with Jaxtian insurrection and Haazar machinations, he vented impotent fury on destroying loyal Vetuckers and innocent Swall rather then comprehensively punishing the true culprits. We put on the mask against the Haazaar to correct Wrix's mistakes, and revived the Swall and Vetuckers also to correct Wrix's mistakes.
"This has gotten out of hand. The Haazar on this ship could be the last of their kind. You know Vul would have done it, especially if he had survived the data attack on the Cirrus. You think Kinja might have done it too. Eoba certainly would do it, especially to protect his soldiers. But you won't do it. You are Talacent Intari and you won't commit Xenocide."It was 'last of their kind' after all. But AI Talacent ain't the og no-xenocide-bro Talacent.
>>5985696Oh, good point.Changing my vote from >>5985670to:>Shame to destroy something unique and irreplaceableOnce we found that the Aristocrats and Hazaar were the same species, the Hazaar instantly became ultimately expendable.
>>5985354>Shame to destroy something unique and irreplaceable
>>5985354>> "It's nice to give the Jaxtian race a few friends in this galaxy
>>5985354>Shame to destroy something unique and irreplaceableSo the whalefish starseer are not even discernable in the color pie chart?
>>5985906The migrators are far too different to actually have any social weight. They don't have use for stuff like money or power because they spend most of their lives just kinda floating around. Aside from when we heat them up, they mostly just seem fine swimming and using starsight to guide ships.
>>5985354>>5985647+1But I think "allies" is a little less ooshy-gooshy than "friends."
>>5985354>Ultimately, they were innocent. That is reason enough.
"...We are surrounded by so many enemies. So many unacceptable alien species inhabit this universe. We are boxed in on all sides... It would be nice to have some friends for a change.""Oh? Is simply producing more Jaxtians to fill the same space not enough?""No. Everyone wants to be judged and appreciated, even species in cutthroat competition. It'd be nice if someone, somewhere doesn't see us as monsters. Who align with us in our goals and values, not out of force, but preservation that makes us unique and beautiful all our own. Not to mention their unique perspectives they bring to the table. Perhaps together, we will be stronger then apart. I know it's illogical, any superior culture can make up for it without the risks, but I already made my choice. I will ensure their survival, and their continued place. They will be our friends- like it or not. In the same way Akule preserved the blonde minority; was our Hegemony harmed by them? No- it was better for it.""The great racial soup argument, from our degenerate capitalist era?""Now you're acting out of character, Threes. You're supposed to be Talacent.""You're right. I was just testing to see if you had the right response ready to go.""Mixing up races and cultures in a big soup is fine; as long as all the ingredients are good to begin with. Wanting to cooperate is fine, but that doesn't mean you have to throw shit in the soup.""I'm proud of you, Hass Takar."Over the past 5 or so odd years, once the pods were discovered, began the work of incorporating the now revived aliens back into Hegemonic control and thinking. As survivors coming from Life Vaults; these represented only a tiny fraction of a fraction of the original population, especially in comparison to the great Jaxtian majority of the empire. But more strangely were the individuals the life vaults seemed to spit out.It didn't just pick them in order; some of the ones who died at the beginning of the genocide program have come back from the vaults, all of their memories intact until the day of their death. Some of the ones who died were young and some old, some were rich or poor, it selected from a great range. Though none are terminally ill or invalid, the process was far more equitable and seemingly random then how the Hegemony would have set up a revival program. Or more accurately- a clone with implanted memories program. Since obviously, these are not truly the same individuals. Merely, identical copies. But this selection process only raises more questions.The pods only seemed to preserve those who died of that species on their native planet. This could be a question of limited range, but many many Jaxtians have died of natural causes since then on the same planet, yet none were found in those life pods. The life vaults also seemed to pull from all over the planets surface- not necessarily geographically the closest pod.
Furthermore; how did the pods know to preserve the lives of the people at the time of their extinction, instead of having people from before or shortly after? How did it select for intelligence, and didn't simply grab any living creature of any species? The pods don't seem to be specially connected to the planet's species, there was no seeming sample granted of the race's DNA for it to draw from to find suitable candidates. In fact, the Life-Vaults were probably buried millions of years before those species ever even evolved.But you have a more pressing affair.The Life Pods that spit out the genocided members of the Vetucker and Swall races are not static. They are not one and done. The pods are continually producing more; perhaps as a method of repopulation after a mass extinction. But each pod is producing more of the same individual. Of the few scant million Swall and Vetuckers who have come back from their extinctions, there are now identical clones being produced by the life pods, given the same memories and biological state as the survivor was when first ejected from the pod."...Why does the future have so many clones?"Currently, the Hegemony is 99% Jaxtian in its demographic and will likely stay that way for a very long time. However, the life pods are producing new Vetucker and Swall clones at an astonishing rate, only taking a few weeks to spit out another cloned holocaust survivor. What this means is that the efforts to repopulate the empire with Vetucker and Swall could actually be helped by simply leaving the life vaults as they are. But that means there are multiple Vetucker and Swall clones running around; millions upon millions of copies, to which some of the aliens find distressing.Of course, with the newfound massive expansion of the Hegemony's territory in space, your mega structure product, and the many many generations it would take to regrow the Vetuck and Swall to their original population; this strange quirk of the life pods may be a benefit. On top of this, your scientists and behavioral psychologists are loving seeing how the subtle changes in environment and their prospects in the Hegemony is affecting otherwise identical genetic duplicates. It's great fuel for your AI system's algorithms, especially for the new converts to the Hegemony who you need to build more data on. But at the same time, the aliens may feel a bit like replaceable products on an assembly line then unique individuals...>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clones>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider Hegemony>Continue producing cloned survivors to increase the Swall and Vetucker populations to healthy numbers
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesprimarily this.>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider HegemonySecondarily this, with those clones we have so far, if there's enough for it to matter, and if we can do both.
>>5986334You can only select one option.
>>5986335>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesThis one, then.
>>5986324>>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider Hegemony
>>5986324>>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clones
>>5986324>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider Hegemony
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clones.Shut it down.
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clones
>>5986324>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider Hegemony. Besides, Threes can use the data to figure out how to efficiently use the new arrivals. They might form into clone-castes or something. >Also study the operation of the life-pods. Presumably it's easier to study them while they are running than if they are off. >Set up a re-education and integration pipeline for the new arrivals. They are coming from the horrors of war and will need to know their place in this alien future rather than left free to form their own narrative and traditions.
>>5986381>anyone being free to create their own institutions and traditions as Hegemonic subjectsNo need to worry about THAT, anon.
>>5986324>Study the socioeconomic ramificationsBut yeah, this life vault business makes me think:Is there one on Jaxt?
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesI'm pretty sure we had their populations genetically recorded (we certainly did for the Vetuckers), so we could just start putting out our own Vetuckers in artificial wombs but drawn from our sampling in random combinations believed to produce superior individuals. Bringing back Vetuckers was always within our power.
I hope you guys are happy they're back.
>>5986402I'm in the minority that don't really care about Swalli. Vetuckers are cool, though, and I'm happy for the another anons. Hazaar were actually my favorites, though.
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesIf most of the population is already cloned at least once, the impact of environment upon genetic can already be examined
>>5986324>>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesIt's nice to have them back. Thank you Mr. BananasKRAK2
>>5986324>>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider HegemonyScience!
>>5986324>Turn off the Life-Pods from producing more clonesI'd rather not continue producing clones of people who experienced genocide, thank you very much. >>5986402Oh, i'm absolutely happy. It's great to see them back. It'll be cool to see what characters come out of those two.
>>5986317> great racial soup Unless we can find a way to make vetuckers, jaxtians and swalli interbreed, they can't really mix. Even if they keep having a bunch of children, the amount of jaxtians will continue the exact same because they're entirely differnet species. I'd call it more of an 'species cereal', the ingredients continue independent yet together.
>>5986324Actually, I realized something, while we probably shouldn't keep making more survivor clones, would it be possible to make something like 'Indigo Vetuckers'?
>>5986403I don't think that's a minority opinion
>>5986590Nah, most posts seem to be just votes but when we were discussing it most people wanted to see how the swalli specifically would turn out.
>>5986592I personally don't care much, but haven't been voting for or discussing about it. I prefer looking at how the Jaxtians are able to survive in a universe that's generally hostile to them.
>>5986606Don't get me wrong the other aliens are cool, but I like the main focus to be on our guys.
>>5986324>Study the socioeconomic impact of the clones in the wider HegemonyI would prefer to keep pumping out the clones and resettling them on our expansions- we do need to fix the former colonies economy after all.>>5986402I am happy to see a wrong rectified- with any luck, we’ll stopping shooting ourselves in the foot and stop genociding all the work we put into our empire.
>>5986606>I prefer looking at how the Jaxtians are able to survive in a universe that's generally hostile to them.Honestly I feel the same way.
>>5986697Honestly, i think it's kinda lame for it to be just that. 'Single species vs entire universe' is pretty much the most common way it happens. If there is something it's always just some dubious allies. In sci-fi, it's *always* that they're either giga xenophobes who hate everyone else, or liberal democratic xenophiles.
>>5986701To be fair in Halo there's a faction of aliens that are multicultural religious authoritarians, I forget what they're called.
>>5986709The Covenant, yes, but the Covenant are the enemy faction. We don't really experience society from *their* side.
>>5986606That’s a neat take, though the Worm Submission/Refusal deal sorta refutes that take.>>5986701For me, it’s less that and more a specific quirk of this quest that cropped up twice now.>>5986713>We don't really experience society from *their* sideYour fucking with me, right?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=feuNlqM_o3g&pp=ygUMYXJiaXRlciBtZW1l
>>5986736>Your fucking with me, right?I'm talking about society, anon. Not just military matters or religiosus zealotry.
>>5986402I don't care as long as the Hazaar dies
>>5986753Damn, the Migrators finally got to the Yuan Arc.
>>5986324>>Continue producing cloned survivors to increase the Swall and Vetucker populations to healthy numbers
>>5986740Friend, that is their society. Just like the Necromongers in the Chronicles of Riddick.
Voting is now closed, with "Turn Off" being the winner.
The following is a bonus update which took longer then I thought to finish. Real update will be ~12 hours.
It is the Year 99 of the Resurrection Era and you are Wrix Val, the once Unspeakable, and today is the day of your scheduled euthanasia.As a very old Jaxtian, you have no fear of cancer or neurological decay as causes of death; with accident or exposure also being non-issues. Jaxtian lifespans have been extended by technology up to 100 years of age or older, and as a blonde you are blessed with a bit of natural longevity as well. However, your time is up, and the alternative is a painful and humiliating death to the geriatric protien collapse syndrome which puts a hard cap on all Jaxtians. You are joined by your son, Yino, and the current science Overseer of the Hegemony- Maktana Nanonae."Thank you so much for helping me walk, boys. I can barely see too; you're too kind.""Oh- *sniff* Dad... I'm going to miss you!""It's okay Yino, I will miss you too. But I've lived a good life. I was the Supreme, and the Unspeakable, I did so much to further our race and people. The ultimate good. And thank you Maktana, for overseeing my funeral! Normally the current Supreme makes funeral arrangements for their predecessor... Even if he isn't Bantam.""That's alright. Hass Takar is quite busy completing your bloody work, Unspeakable one.""And you even let me be euthanized in my Imperial Robe! You're too kind. Alright, I'm ready. Put me in the pod."The door slides shut over you, the automatic glass darkening as the euthanasia process completes to hide the cadaver but giving the family time to watch them go. It's a highly evolved process. First, lasers lobotomize the patient, which prevent all conscious thought and sever the pain centers of the pain, before gas floods the chamber causing them to fall into their final sleep. It's a bit scary to be in here, but you know exactly what you're getting into. This is where almost all Jaxtians meet their end.Suddenly, you feel an intense heat in the back of your skull and a blip- the lasers cut. But with a start, you realize you are not... braindead? You are still thinking? You try to move your limbs and find you are paralyzed. What happened? Did the laser miss? You can only move your eyes! Suddenly, the hiss of gas begins as the chamber fills- but it smells sickly sweet. Wait, is that CO2?You start to feel a rise of panic. All oxygen breathing creatures release stress hormones and can feel suffocation from CO2 poisoning. This isn't the correct kind of gas! This is what you used to execute millions of disgusting alien parasites during your reign as Unspeakable. How did the wrong gas fill the chamber. In a panic, you dart your eyes at Yino, your soon, trying to plead with him and show him something is wrong before the lid of your pod, soon to be your coffin, darkens to nothing. No! Stop smiling and waving at me you idiot! I'm not wishing you goodbye! Hurry up and help me!Wait, Maktana! He's a genius. He'll know something is wro-
>>5987158>>5987159based maktana. i'm certain the OG would have been proud.
>>5987159HOLY based.
>>5987159>>5987158Damn. Suffocating to death and being fully aware yet unable to stop it a gnarly way to go. Gotta admit, based.
>>5987285Eh...he was already going to die anyway. It was just slightly less peasant than it should have been. Far from what a guy who acid washed babies deserves, but better than just dying peacefully.
>>5987289Eh, the fact he has to experience it instead of being lobotomized through the whole thing makes it a bit more than 'slightly more unpleasant' in my eyes but tomato, tah-mah-toe.
>>5987159RIP Wrix, you rustled jimmies and trolled a bit too hard.
>>5987159RIP Wrix, too based to die easy.
>>5987159If I had a nickel for every time the second clone of a supreme candidate killed an psychotic old supreme ruler, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
>>5987285He achieved all he wanted in life. He still won.
>>5987377>aliens he genocided are back and considered actual citizens now
>>5987377>>5987378He totally got undermined in the end, but I don't know if Wrix knows that. It kind of sounds like he's been lied to. See:>"That's alright. Hass Takar is quite busy completing your bloody work, Unspeakable one."
>>5987389Actually no, this was 3 years before the reintroduction of the Vetuckers and Swalli. He died in Year 99. The reintroduction is in Year 102.
>>5987390Oh, I see. Wasn't paying attention to the dates. Then yeah, he got cucked, kek
>>5987159Kek. Based Maktana. Couldn't have happened to a shittier primate. And by the time HE dies, some of Maktana's friends will live again!
>>5987410Technically speaking, he could literally meet his apprentice again. Or rather, his clone with every single memory he has.
>>5987412IF he's one of those the machine selected to revivify.
>>5987429There were multiple batches of clones. It was actually making the aliens unsettled. Honestly, must be kind of a mindfuck, from their perspective they were murdered and then boom 100 years later they're revived because actually the guy who genocided you got replaced and now they want you to be a full citizen.
>>5987159Rest well, most based Supreme. They hate you cause they ain't you.
You are Hass Takar again, and regarding the Life-Pods, a hitherto unknown technology, are continually producing the last members of the Swall and Vetucker species before their inevitable extinction occurred. While bringing more of these unique alien species into the world may be your goal; more of these traumatized ones may not be your goal. You ultimately decide to turn them off, perhaps studying them just in case there may be unintended consequences down the line. After all, they can't just work forever with the same genetic material and fuel... right?Because of your decision to turn off the life machines, the Swall and Vetucker population remains in the extreme minority. As of right now, only a few million of each species exist, though it is well above replacement level and with more then enough individuals to avoid genetic bottlenecking. As of right now, each individual has one or two clones of themselves running around the Hegemony; it is trivial to assign them to separate communities or even heavenly bodies to avoid any awkwardness that may arise, but it isn't quite enough duplicates to feed your AI network more juicy data.As such, the racial social weight remains unchanged, and you gain no new scientific advancements. Hopefully, the Vetucker and Swall are happy about this decision.Year of 104 of the Resurrection EraYou meet with a trusted colleague and important official, Maktana Nanonae III, the current Overseer of Science. He will likely be the last one, due to you expanding your cabinet positions. While you are sure this Deepscales fellow will do a good job as the Overseer of Research, you have excused him of any research involving the life pods or anything at all involving the ancient alien technology that was the crux of his race's survival. Just in case.”Maktana... I am tired of your excuses. We need answers regarding the Life Pods. This is an incredible technology, and we still don't have a clue about it.””My lord Takar, I have already told you my theory.””Your theory is baseless. I will hear no more of it. Find the real cause.””Does the concept of-””By Agori's jiggly jowels, I'll flog you myself if I have to. Don't you dare!””Please... Lord Supreme, be reasonable. What other explanation is there?”
On the topic of the Life Pods & Life Vaults, several top levels scientists have been baffled by a specific concept. While you can roughly figure how the machines work in growing new life, it's simply a slightly more advanced artifical womb your species can already build, the issue is how was the genetic material of the Swall and Vetuck was added into the pods, and how the electro-chemical signals that make up their memories were perfectly replicated. Since their discovery, this riddle has boggled their minds.”With all due respect, your Grace, the Life Pods were buried beneath the planet's crust. They gave off no obvious signals nor received them, else we would have found them by now and their role as a secret backup for living beings would be pointless. This means it would be impossible for them to have done a perfect full body scan or imprint of the living Vetuckers and Swall and copied them for use in the pods, at least according to any mechanism we know.””What about predictive algorithms?””Predictive- My Lord, that is even less plausible. These were buried one hundred million years ago. To somehow exactly predict not only the evolution of creatures on the planet even with a perfect understanding at the time they were buried, but the exact time of death and mental or physical state of the individuals who would be killed in an extinction level even not related to their planet's biosphere or stellar equivalent; somehow able to exactly predict the rise of the Jaxtian empire with all of its technology and perfectly create a copy of whatever existed on the surface at the exact moment we came to kill them... I mean that kind of simulation and prediction is beyond even the Threemind. By quite a considerable amount. And it would have had to do this without any server forms, no complicated power core... these explanations don't work.””It could have been another technology. The Andoen's were quite skilled with quantum entanglement. Perhaps cells harvested of living creatures were placed in the pods, and they were entangled to them, so as they evolved and survived over the years the ones in the pods would “keep up” with the evolving lifeforms until their inevitable death?””An interesting theory, and probably one of the best ones, but my lord... you're forgetting the basic laws of thermodynamics. Those underground life vaults and the pods are closed systems. No new energy or mass from the planet's surface could have been added. After a hundred million years it would experienced such entropy that it would no longer be viable. Small cell cultures can survive for many, many years in ideal conditions, but millions? It's just not possible.””Then what other explanation remains, Maktana?”
”It hints at something greater, some unknown element of being that can exist outside of the body. Perhaps linked with Starsight, something the Andoen aliens were also proficient with. Could it be that these pods could somehow... capture the souls of the slain aliens, growing their bodies back for them, their memories and states preserved until they were opened again?””No. That is not the explanation. It is out of the question.””...My lord, why does this explanation offend you so much? I ask with all respect, I bow to your wisdom in all other matters, but I simply cannot-””The Soul does not exist. There is nothing more offensive, no concept more odorous and animal, then the concept of a Soul. It is beneath the mind of a Supreme Ruler, as it is beneath his Overseers. There have never been measured any energy wave or loss of mass or unseen radiation or gravity shift or any confirmation in any sort that some sort of magical “spirit” exists in conjunction with a living creature or a brain. All personality, all memory, all thought and consciousness exists because of the brain. It is self evident- the existence of clones and genetic duplicates produced by the life pods disprove the “soul” theory to begin with! It is the inarguable, unfailing cornerstone of all Materialism! It was known in the times of Akule, and he warned us specifically about this danger of thinking, of Spiritualism, and how it must be cast down in all cases...””I do not remember this warning. Which public speech was this?””It's not of your concern. It's something only those who become inducted into the Supreme Ruler see. I'd appreciate if you keep that information to yourself. But rest assured, the case was inarguable. There must be another explanation, and I'd like you to find it before you retire, as I doubt those lesser minds would be able to pierce this mystery as well as you, my trusted Overseer.””As you wish, my King.”With the conversation at a close, you focus your attention a new task. Some burning question, related and deeply unnerving in its implication. You've been so focused on introducing the aliens back in the Hegemony and the wake of the Hazaar eradication that you haven't even had time to seriously consider it yet.
The Life Vaults built on Vetuck and Swall were obviously built when the planets harbored life on them. While the exact reason as to how they work or why they were built has not yet been answered, it still shows that planets that housed life were chosen for these special installations. But these are not the only planets in your local cluster which the Andoen aliens could have reached. Two more planets, the Andoen homeworld, as well as your own homeworld of Jaxt, both had life at the times when the Life Vaults were built, and they have yet to be seriously searched for Life Vaults of their own. It seems like a non-starter to assume those planets don't have life vaults of their own; why would they build them on Swallia and Vetuck II but not Jaxt or their own homeworld? Logic would dictate that those planets would have life vaults too....But what would you even find there?If the life pods are sentient, and are tasked with perserving the intelligent life of the planet in the event of mass death and extinction, then Jaxt would either be innert or constantly filling and purging with its current members in preparation for a mass death. Or perhaps, more disturbingly, could it have interpreted the rogue AI of Ingar's coup as an extinction event? And what of the Andoen? The yet unknown three eyed alien giants could still exist within their own life pods. And with knowledge of that ancient time when they were still alive.As a saving grace, your scientists have already ruled out the possibility that there were any life vaults built on the planet Xin, the once-homeworld of the Blue Hazaar hybrids. That planet was inert and lifeless until you terraformed and colonized it, meaning there are no life pods underneath, the Blue Hazaar are truly gone.As a final complication, it seems once the life vaults are opened and the pods releasing their charges of cloned survivors, they seem to no longer be able to function, like opening the box spoils the mystery. It makes sense they are one time use only, but it does mean that digging them up will prevent their function as serving as a second chance for a species...What should you do?>Find & Open Life Vaults (Andoen, Jaxt, or both- specify)>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Destroy the Life Vault on Andoen and prevent whatever is inside from ever being released>Wait & Bury the two open vaults to see if you can “reset” them to see how they work>Other (Write-In)
>>5987579That "other" makes me think there's something we can figure out here.
>>5987579>Find & Open Life Vaults (Andoen)>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinctionHow do you pronounce Nanonae? Nano-nai-ay? Nanonee?
>>5987590I could *swear* it was Naonae, not Nanonae.
>>5987593No it was definitely Nanonae
>>5987590Also, do we really want to possibly add another race into the mix? I feel like we should wait until the vetuckers and swalli are settled in until we bring someone else.
>>5987597Perhaps, but I do want to do it eventually. I would support a delaying of opening the Andoen vaults.
>>5987579>Destroy the Life Vault on Andoen and prevent whatever is inside from ever being released
>>5987598Of course, at the same time, one could argue they might know about the shit the worms are up to and could save our asses in such a case. You think it would be possible to "partially" Open the Andoen vault? Like, just open a few to see who they are? Or does it automatically release everyone when you open it?
>>5987159While this is a good bit of catharsis it does make me wonder what Maktana was doing during Eric's reign .>>5987158
>>5987579>Open the Jaxt life vaultI want to see if we can bring back Talacent
>>5987611That seems very dumb, the Jaxt vault is basically a chance to survive if we get hit with some extinction event. We should keep it safe.
>>5987579>Destroy the Life Vault on Andoen and prevent whatever is inside from ever being releasedToo advanced, too scary.>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction
>>5987590Support
>>5987579>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Destroy the Life Vault on Andoen and prevent whatever is inside from ever being released
>>5987593It was. I simply forgot the spelling, it's happened a few times. I usually design monke names by mouth feel and say them out loud, but after months and months guess I just forget.
The thing about the Jaxt life vault is that it probably contains the genomes from the last apocalypse, when nukes were unleashed and the Unspeakable exterminated the undesireables. Jaxtian society was built on the elimination of those genes, and we aren't aware of any lost genetic material which would be beneficial to splice into the modern genome. Bringing back the discarded Jaxtian subspecies would be a mistake. >>5987579>Find & Open a life vault on Andoen. Study whatever emerges to determine if it has a place in our great society. Take precautions to limit the chance of a xenomorph breakout event or similar (controlled environment, contained air, etc.)>Find & store the life vaults on Jaxt. See if we can reset them to eliminate any undesireable genetic data contained within. >Ask the Aristocrats if they know anything about life vaults like this. It seems like their style of technology.>Instruct this Deepscale fellow and Overseer Urik to oversee a xeno-acheological / xeno-geological survey of the other worlds we can observe to see if any of them show signs of life in the past. It is possible that there are vaults on slain worlds, and even if there aren't it can help our science to understand the rise and fall of biospheres on a variety of alien worlds, partially to prevent the same fate from befalling our worlds. Alternate theories to the life vaults:1. Maktana made them to preserve the species during the holocaust and is obfuscating2. The machines can idly listen for a mass psychic disruption, such as the holocausts, and turned on to capture the data at that time, which is why we get holocaust era replicants and not the dead from other times3. We did something else during the holocaust which incidentally activated the vaults. They are deep though, so the air and soil changes are unlikely to have been the source. These listening devices can exist without energy expenditure though. Imagine a chemical listening device which activated the machine when iron concentrations rose too quickly, indicating massive bloodshed or something. 4. The devices were on a set timer and just so happened to activate at the time of the holocaust (begs the question).
>>5987579>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Find the Andoen vault, but don't open it
>>5987579>Wait & Bury the two open vaults to see if you can “reset” them to see how they work
>>5987579>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Find the Andoen vault, but don't open it>Wait & Bury the two open vaults to see if you can “reset” them to see how they work>>5987870liking the idea
Can we please not destroy the andoen vault for LITERALLY NO REASON?
>>5987579>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Find the Andoen vault, but don't open itThis seems to be the only vote with a hope of avoiding the andon vaults destruction.
>>5987579>>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>>Destroy the Life Vault on Andoen and prevent whatever is inside from ever being released
>>5987579>Find & Open Life Vault (Andoen)>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction.What I'm most interested in learning is what actually killed the Andoen aliens (or what they were trying to protect themselves against when their turret system went rogue), and if we can get an answer directly from them...
>>5987579>>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Wait & Bury the two open vaults to see if you can “reset” them to see how they work>Find and open a few Andoen vaults. Their intel on the Cyte will be priceless.
>>5987579>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Find the Andoen vaultCould we scan whatever’s in the vault?
>>5987971I'd be willing to change >>5987934 to 'open the andoen vault' if it was able to switch the vote to something that isn't destroying it. I just don't want to destroy it.
>>5987579>>Leave the Life Vault on Jaxt as a second chance for the Jaxtian people in case of extinction>Find & Open Life Vaults (Andoen)
Didn't have time for a full update today.Instead a hypothetical. Which Space Monke species do you think is most OP or impactful compared to modern humans if one individual of that species was suddenly iseaki'd into the real world?
>>5988627Probably the teleporting psychic vermin who feed on consciousness.
>>5988632This. Hazaar have potential, too, though, being essentially fully-sapient xenomorphs with tool sue. Aristocrats especially, having Life Machine-perfected bodies.
>>5988662It's just a single one, though. And Hazaar are just normal people besides their dagger things. And they're nudists. You could probably magdump one pretty easily
>>5988675They can spread rapidly, though, because they have precocial youth. Dickstab some people or even maybe livestock, form a small army. And we don't know what Aristo-Hazaar are capable of, really.
I counted up the votes as normal but I don't see a reason to close voting right now since I can't update yet anyway.
>>5988627Migrator.Why? Because they are perfect and I love them :)
I'd say maybe keep the vaults in both planets untouched for now, to see what we may gain from them on an emergency.But if we absolutely must explore the Andoen vaults, search for only one pod, instead of trying to uncover them all at once.And yes, the Worms would definitely be the most overpowered. An Aristocrat is not too far behind and would have better chances in our world, only occassionaly turning people into instruments instead of having to eat living things.
>>5989140Yeah but an Aristocrat would be in a way worse position without their fancy ancient technology. Worms don't need technologies *at all*
>>5989143Worms do seem to need other worms, though. They can definitely think through Starsight to each other and draw upon each other for physical mass to some degree, so we don't know exactly how much potential use a single worm would be if separated from the rest of their galactic mindlink.I'm going to go with a single green Dog, he can run a whole universe on the computer as a simulation.
Rolled 1 (1d2)
>>5989143And Aristocrat could probably start a small cult centred around their centuries or millennia of knowledge, including quite possibly detaield tech-specs since (IIRC) they're super cyborgs with advanced brains AND bodies.
While we're waiting...how do you reckon the Hegemony or one of the Monkeverse States would, presently, be on Stellaris? I remember someone did the hegemony, but that was a long time ago. I don't think you'd be able to do it on vanilla, due to not enough ethic points. The Hegemony is at the same time Fanatic Authoritarian, Fanatic Militarist and Fanatic Materialist. I'd still call them, 'Xenophobes', just with that one trait that lets you make aliens of your own "type" to be non-slaves (In this case, the Vetuckers and Swalli)
>>5989223I've made Jaxtians before in Stellaris and I don't know what it is now since they changed the game a bunch but I remember really liking the combo of Fanatic Collectivist + Materialist, which I felt fit them best. They aren't especially militaristic.
>>5989225>Fanatic CollectivistThat's not an ethic anymore. >They aren't especially militaristic.Huh? They literally allow klingon death duels for the title of supreme. There's even an special addition to the robe for those who did so.
>>5989234This was based more on early Monke quest, before the knife dueling and genocide autism began in earnest.Also FUCK Paradox don't ever bring that shit up in my thread again. I'm working on the update hopefully get it up in ~12 hours.
>>5989189:sweating:
You gave the order- you'll preserve the Life-Vault on Jaxt, something located within just a few months of their discovery given your extensive knowledge of your planet's plate tectonics. You just rewind your simulation to about a hundred million years ago, find a flat open area where it likely was built and then watch it sink back... and it is right about there. That helps a lot with your understanding. Though, you'll keep it safe for now. No reason to open it when it could be just the help in an emergency situation.As for the Andoen vault, you order it be opened. We will see what the three eyed giants have to say. The process will take a while to drill into the planets crust, but you'll open it right away. Perhaps they will be welcomed into your Hegemony, or perhaps they can give you something more valuable...Year 106 of the Resurrection EraThe Life-Vault on Andoen is opened, though you are careful about figuring out what you find. Because of how the vaults work, it isn't exactly possible to isolate one tank at a time, but you can at least minimize risk. After all, how dangerous can a hibernating alien without tools or weapons be?”Finally! We were wondering when you'd find this!””Gah! Help heeeellllpppp!!!”How could this be? No Andon aliens were found in the capsules, instead, worms, biding their time in the pods instead. Were they the species who were extincted on this planet? Or was this an intentional trap? Or worse, did they somehow get into the pods... and eat the original inhabitants?Worse yet is the implication. If the worms were here one hundred million years ago, then that would make them by far the oldest alien races in the galaxy, at least that you know of. That would be congruent with what they've told you, so that at least wouldn't be a lie.
The science team in charge of the unearthing is attacked by the worms. The capsules did not contain the Andoenite aliens, but instead, sleeping worms, ready to pounce the moment the vaults were opened up. Unprepared for this, the science team takes heavy causalities until security and secondary cleanup crews can be dispatched. Thankfully, the worms are prevented from rampaging thru any civilian centers, but it's still bad. The worms are natural predators, capable of killing without weapons or advanced tactics. Several million worms were almost unleashed over the planet's surface, but your security forces and robots have stopped them from escaping and wrecking havoc. Now comes the bloody work of putting them down.”Dammit! Damn those stupid worms- get the best UV bulbs you can and burn them alive. I will not suffer this humiliation laying down!”“What would you do in response, my lord?””Surely, there must be an avenue to counterattack. The worms are well established all over the galaxy.”“As diplomats and aristocrats of other nations, yes. Unfortunately, we do not know of any worm strongholds or homeworlds... unless the mysterious Cyte counts, which is still beyond our knowledge.””Grr... Still, they attacked a peaceful research team, destroyed a bunch of useful ancient artifacts... Those parasites.”“Discretion is the better part of valor, my lord. I doubt your people would see you as impotent if you didn't take revenge on such a faceless and ethereal enemy.””Damn. What about the other vaults?”“The concept of reburying them to see how they work could be useful, if not for the knowledge. But those vaults remained unopened fo a very long time. It's possible they have a very long stint before they activate. Even if it only takes 0.1% of the time they were working to work again, that would be a hundred thousand years, far longer then our civilization could reasonably try to research them. The vaults are also constructed with Azurium, which makes their parts valuable commodities. It's not enough to act as another source of it for large scale projects, but it could result in an economic boom.””Hmm. Alright, let me think about it...”Do you want to rebury the other vaults for research purposes or liquidate their valuable Azurium?>Bury & Wait>Collect AzuriumAnd what to do about the worm attack?>Kill the closest worms you know of (violates international treaties with Esaal & Consortium)>Torture the captured worms as an example>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space>Let it go... for now
>>5989745Man, that's laaame. I wanted to see the andoen aliens.>Bury & Wait>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open spaceSounds like the only way to really hurt them.
>>5989745>Bury & Wait>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space
>>5989745>Bury & Wait>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space>Torture the captured worms as an example
>>5989750>+1 to this. We must restore our reflexive honor!
>>5989745>>5989750 +1Cleaning the whales seems legit, if they are in our area of influence. Ought to irritate the worm collective more than tormenting offspring that they don't care about to begin with. I feel like there's a reason we didn't try to de-worm the whales before, but I can't remember what it was.
>>5989833We were busy with other stuff, like the Stand, the HVS, and the aftermath of the genocides and post-genocide cultural renaissance.
>>5989745>>5989750+1 support. Love the whales, love the migrators, simple as. Hope to see more migrators in the future :)
>>5989745>>Collect Azurium>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space
>>5989745>Collect Azurium>Kill the closest worms you know of (violates international treaties with Esaal & Consortium)>Torture the captured worms as an exampleFuck worms
>>5989745>Bury & WaitMight take thousands of years, yes; but for all we know it might start working near-instantaneously. And whilst we're waiting on them they're basically also acting as financial reserves that we can cash in on in the event of some future economic disaster. Saving for the future, rather then frittering away right now.>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open spaceAre the whales just as ancient as the worms?
>>5989745>Bury & Wait>Torture the captured worms as an example>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space
>>5989750Support
>>5986475We had that. Then we genocided them all.
>>5990327>We had that.That would be the aforementioned 'shit in the soup'
>>5987737I remember how we literally retconned Yuan's name to Yuan and Yaun.
>>5990329The Blue Hazaar were statistically more loyal than Jataxians.Sunshine was one of the few unambiguously heroic characters in this setting's entire universe."Shit in the soup" comes off like when Scooby Doo properties make Scrabby a villain, An in-universe nod to fandom reaction that isn't that backed up by the text.
>>5989745>Collect Azurium>>Go on a Space Whale curing spree in open space
>>5986475Technically, Jaxtians are already a hybrid species, having absorbed a few genetic traits from Vetuckers and Swall through genetic engineering.>>5990386I like the Hazaar, but a deep, borderline pathological hatred for 'gross', 'parasitic' races based on the actions of a few members of the group makes perfect sense for a fascist eugenic-state, regardless of what they did. Sunshine being heroic (ie. altruistic) is probably just another strike against them: he didn't report Yuan, had a kid with him, and then gave into 'absurd' notions of morality which the Jaxtian state doesn't believe in... Though under the last couple Supremes, they've started to drift back towards that kind of valor again.
>>5990386>The Blue Hazaar were statistically more loyalThat would imply they ever had any chance to betray us at any point but didn't. It's easy to say they were loyal when they spent most of their time in positions they couldn't actually use to betray us. There were two relevant blue hazaar, and one of them was Yuan.
>>5990397The other was Bluey, who voters loved so much they put him in charge of the HVS and used one of our incredibly limited Life Machine uses on him.
>>5990467Coincidentally, Bluey hated the Hazaar more than most monkes ever did.
>>5990470...But mostly Reds, and unilaterally created the Green and Yellow Hazaar.
>>5990467Worth, whoever did that write-in was a genius.
>>5990472You're speaking of amazing Hazaar, which gived us the blessed Yellow Fellow?
I keep forgetting I have an actual time constraint to my updates else the arguments start.
>>5990470He was the most based of all wish he lived longer he got the Jaxtian ideal in spades one dude I would trust with nobliese olige.If only the hermaphroditic bro got turned into a girl we would have a lineage of Bluey the Blue with the supreme
You decide to bury the open vaults- the one on Swallia, underneath Myym, the one on Vetuck, and the one on Andoen once you clear it of all of its worms. The one on Jaxt remains unopened, though you question the usefulness of it now if the worms were able to penetrate the Andoenite vault and destroy all of the inhabitants...Over the next few hundred years, the Jaxtians will continually monitor and calibrate these life vaults to attempt to “reset” them, either to figure out how they work or to match the energy signals found in the currently active, yet unopened Jaxt vault. However, after a certain point as technology improves and the simulations are run, it is found that these vaults will not reset by themselves and are a one and done kind of deal, meaning that all this waiting and tinkering was pointless. The Azurium within the vaults does not degrade and is still right where you left it, but the inability to invest it early into new additions for construction projects, weapons testing, high-durability drilling, extreme temperature forging, and magnetic-ring battery production all leads to a less productive and economically rich Hegemony in the far future, where these investments would have returned great dividends. This seems to be a missed opportunity.In the meantime, your efforts in destroying the worms infesting the Andoen life vault are soon completed. In Year 108 of the Resurrection Era, the worms are finally exterminated from the planet, no more random Jaxtians will be consumed by them... for now. You notice that the planet's reliquary defenses, namely the laser turrets that once covered the entire planet, would have been extremely useful to kill worms who appear from “nowhere”, as they seem able to do when traveling through open space. This disregards the long held theory of the guns being placed to stop a Baalathi or other alien invasion from the air, as even with their seemingly limited technology the Andoen aliens could have designed a much better anti-air defense system.However, the existence of these life vaults is still unresolved. The technology seems closer in essence to the great Life Machine, which is an Aristocrat invention, and seems beyond anything the Andoen aliens were capable of according to what little you know about them as of now.
Somewhere within the Andoen vault, a few pods remain unopened. These duds contain worms, or nothing at all, but one is a curiosity. The pod is stuck in stasis, not opening with the others, with a very fat worm inside. Your medical scanners indicate the inside of this worm is filled with biological matter, as though it had just finished a great meal, but the exact origin of it is unknown.”That could be a Andoen alien! Secure that pod, don't let it be opened up or sabotaged. We need to preserve it.”The mashed up, half-digested fossilized slurry may be disgusting and pathetic, but it may be the last remnants of the ancient precursor aliens that once lived on this planet. Of course, even so, getting any useful genetic data out of it remains a dream. The Andoen aliens left many ruins, traces, and fossil remains; but no DNA. You only know scant little about them as beings; other then their large size and triocular vision, so this pod may prove useful in the future. Though even with your advanced technology and AI, being able to perfectly separate the digested bits with the worm predator would be too difficult and require too much guesswork, even to create a clone. It will have to be saved for later.Meanwhile, in open space, you begin the process of getting back at the worms the one way you know how; disrupting some of their natural habitats. The worms are a parasitical species, living in the bellies of gigantic space whales, which is likely their evolutionary path of developing Starsight to jump into new hosts, and many still seem to naturally live inside these majestic animals. While your reach is only a portion of the wider galaxy; at the very least all of the space whales who pass thru the Hegemony's original star cluster and the newly acquired Hazaar cluster, will be rid of the worms. Using ship-sized weapons to perform surgery and UV radiation from nearby stars to fry the worms out hiding within, the whales give off a grand rumbling sound, emitting all sorts of Hyperspace signals, which almost seem to give off the feeling of thankfulness.The worms are furious. Ships who attempt this are attacked by transporting juvenile worms, teleporting into cargo holds in an attempt to eat their crews, but you are prepared for this. As for now, the worms can't do anything about it.Among your civilians; a shift occurs. With treating the Space Whales with kindness, comes a great sense of humility and wonder in living in a wider universe. The Vetuckers, seeing themselves in the gentle giants, feel more appreciated by the Hegemony. Not to mention that crews sent to clean up the whales often need Vetuckers for security and labor, and they claim to feel like they're “really helping” the whales. It quickly becomes considered a great honor among the Vetuck to be selected to join with the “whalers”. They gain a small amount of social weight in the Hegemony.>Jaxtian 75%>Vetucker 20%>Swall 5%
Due to the Hegemony's recent expansion into the HVS, your borders have shifted to include several new neighbors. While communiques with the Esaal and Aristocrats were always possible, you now border them much closer and more intimately then ever before. Now only a thin strip of starless space exists between the space empires, mostly filled with space dust, exoplanets, a few brown-dwarves, and more then one interstellar minefield or hidden spy base. Not to mention the unmarked space stations and shipyards belonging to the mysterious underground. Who knows how many, if any, Hazaar or even rogue Jaxtians escaped from the purge of the HVS and are now living in the shadows of the stars...Over the past 5 years, you have been in an open trade agreement with the Esaal miltiary bases and installations in the Baalathi system. Mostly trading automatically between AI frameworks, in the form of galactic crypto tokens, hyperspace star maps, excess computer cycles, and a limited selection of sensor data to form a more complete picture of the various cosmic bodies in the area. It has been lucrative, but very hands off and small scale. Regardless, it marks a valuable first step in establishing stronger relations with the Esaal, who remain the closest thing you have to an ally in open space...
Suddenly, your ships intercept a new Esaal vessel. This one a communication ship, unarmed, entering Hegemony space. Unlike your species with its instant communication regardless of distance, the Esaal have to deal with a certain amount of light lag and inferior technology. You'd wonder why they wouldn't just get the worms to do it for them, but thinking again, you see why they'd need to it themselves.”Hello, Jaxtians. We represent a civilian installation and the overall economy in Esaal space. Can we speak to some womanfolk aboard your ship for a friendly discussion?””There are no womenfolk on that ship. You can deal with me directly.””Oh! It's the Supreme Ruler. We're terribly sorry, I forgot about your cultural differences. We didn't want to bring the menfolk Esaal along for this. They'd probably get bored and want to start a fight.””What is it?””We'd like to improve our trade relations between our cultures. Namely, trading physical goods...”You sometimes forget about the Esaal's other half. The Esaal, an extremely warlike species who you have had several violent spats with, but yet have also been friends with and seem to share a mutual respect; is male dominated. But this conversation has had more syllables in it then you think you've ever heard an Esaal say before they whip out a gun and start shooting. Female Esaal don't have any of the same violent, self-destructive drives that the males do, and are significantly more intelligent, capable of inventing new technology and establishing social order not based only on violence. If anything, the Esaal species entire society is truly created by the females, to direct the male energy towards their enemies. However, given this meeting, you think it may almost be like two distinct societies in one. How strange...”In short, the Esaal military is focusing its efforts in fighting the Aristocrat nobles just a few stars over, and despite the menfolks determination, the Aristocrats superior computers are making it difficult. We know you have very good computer technology, and the menfolk asked us to increase production of AI cores to help them out- the base unit of any AI network. But, we don't have the industrial capacity for that right now. Too many babies to take care of to replace their numbers, I'm sure your women can relate.”You bite your tongue. Unlike Esaal military doctine, which is basically a meatgrinder, your people actually try to minimize losses. Regardless, you listen to the rest of the message.
”Of course, we don't expect you to produce this for charity. Nor would we insult you with idle threats and demands of tribute; after all, this ship isn't armed and we are no fighters by ourselves! So, we offer to start sending you the following in compensation.””Firstly, Somatotroph hormones, harvested from our own organ farms. We use these to boost the development speed of young Esaal to get them into fighting shape faster. Your biotechnology is better then ours, so with just a few tweaks you can use it on your own populations, but this way you won't have to farm the raw materials yourselves. Secondly, mass Limestone derivatives from our nearby worlds, delivered via kinetic bombardments. Obviously these are only valuable in mass, but useful for building materials for cities and not easy to find unless you own a planet that possesses a fossil record; like our new ocean planet we found! Our AI say that you expanded and took the Hazaar territory recently, so these will be really useful. Third, and finally, we'll provide a few shipments of Tactile Gold to sweeten the deal. Our menfolk really don't care about that kind of thing, and it'd be a waste to just melt it down into circuits. We think this would be a fair trade between our peoples.””I'm surprised you didn't offer anything more strategic. What about the mass deposits of Azurium you acquired during the Baalathi conquest?”She frowns. ”...I don't think the menfolk would like that trade very much, your Majesty. It would have to go much further up the chain of command then myself. I'm sure we can come to compromise without that silly boy stuff. What do you say?”She is correct, those would be helpful in your expansion into the former HVS systems- helping to build cities. You could even use the hormones to boost the population growth of your Vetucker and Swall minorities, though you aren't very much into drugging up your entire population like the Esaal and Consortium seem so eager to do. Finally, the gold is nice, but a simple luxury to improve citizen happiness, not having much objective value.However, one of your biggest advantages in space is your superior computers. While this trade offer wouldn't involve you turning over the secret of the Threemind or your better AI technology, more AI cores is always better, and will lead to exponential gains in their industry, science, and warfare sectors over a long enough period of time. It won't be enough to keep up with you, but it will inevitably shrink the gap between your two powers.How do you want to handle this?>Accept the Trade Offer as is>Grant the request, but give faulty AI cores that can be exploited later>Request Azurium instead (1 in 3 chance to succeed)>"Let's have that ocean planet instead and I'll make all the AI cores you want.">Decline
>>5990650Hmmm....now that's an interesting situation. If i'm gonna be honest, i'm not sure about those 'Somatotroph' hormones. Speeding up growth *after* you've been born feels like it could come with some unforseen consequences. However, those *Limestone Derivatives* seem rather interesting. Therefore, i believe the best deal is >"Let's have that ocean planet instead and I'll make all the AI cores you want."Tactcile Gold and Hormones we can do without, but if we have a new ocean planet, we can- give the Swalli a new world (probably shouldn't be their only world given how close it is to the border, but still)- get a direct source of limestone derivatives
>>5990652I should specify, i still think we should 'Accept' the deal if this is not possible even if to only do something else with the hormones, but since they said it was a "newly discovered planet" i feel like we might have a chance of getting it in exchange for the AI cores given how valuable they are.Hopefully this isn't a trap option.
>>5990650Any chance we could swing the Somatotroph hormones and the planet? I’d like to support the Swalli- figure an ocean planet as a gift world and accelerated breeding will help us out economically and culturally.Give it a couple generations with cultural sanitation, and we could make it a Swalli loyalist planet.
>>5990683I'm honestly not sure the planet is even possible, it could be a trap option that leads to talacent having a gamer moment because the women are trying to talk to him from equal ground. I don't like the idea of permanently reducing the lifespan of our alien friends, but if you think the hormones are fine, then you should just take the deal.
>>5990685>TalacentFuck, i meant Hass.
>>5990685Ain’t lifespan- just development speed. But the main utility is overcoming the generational trauma of the genocides via fresh blood and new perspectives.Way I figure it, the planet’s legit- even if it has mini-Cuthulu on it, the limestone itself is valuable, not to mention the scientific curiosities specifically tailored to keep the Swalli distracted, productive, and happy. It’s worth a shot.The real gamer move is the Azurium- we’d finish the City-Planet in a third of the time, which would open up the Azurium to other uses.
>>5990650>Grant the request, but give faulty AI cores that can be exploited laterIt's good AI cores but we're doing the China thing with backdoors in their tech lmao
>>5990692>Ain’t lifespan- just development speedIsn't that the same thing? Aging is from your cells deteriorating. If you get to the point where you stop growing, aka are no longer 'young', you're starting early on your decline.>But the main utility is overcoming the generational trauma of the genocides via fresh blood and new perspectives.Well that's fine and all but not if it leaves a permanent hole in their lifespan. If it was temporary, sure, but if it's not, then that's an issue.>Way I figure it, the planet’s legit- even if it has mini-Cuthulu on it, the limestone itself is valuable, not to mention the scientific curiosities specifically tailored to keep the Swalli distracted, productive, and happy. It’s worth a shotI agree, but it's also not even certain we'd get the planet alone, getting it ontop of the hormones is just impossible
I'm not allowing write ins for this exact reason. Currently 2 votes, one planet and one faulty AI cores.
>>5990650>"Let's have that ocean planet instead and I'll make all the AI cores you want."Fossiles means possible Xenoarcheology, and limestone, the only interresting part of that deal in my opinion.
>>5990650Do we really want to militarily help the Esaal against the Aristocrats? The Aristocrats might be decadent perverts, but they're also the only major power we border who haven't attacked us and the only one who don't seem to be working for the Worms. Whilst the Esaal have attacked one of our worlds in a raid (into our space, no less) and were quite chummy with the worms during our raid through as-yet unclaimed Balaathi space, however 'business' the relationship might have been.Honestly, I think we should take the news that the Essal are presently distracted as welcome, and look into aiding the Aristocrats or skimming away a few border-worlds that the Esaal aren't openly broadcasting their presence on.If the Esaal had been willing to offer Battleship tech (like they tried giving to the Consortium, our enemies, in the midst of the war we were fighting with them) it might have been enough to sway me; but as it stands... nah. Not enough gain, too much to loose if the Esaal emerge victorious with additional territories and enhanced computers.>Decline
>>5990696Can you clarify whether the hormones would be permanent?>>5990711Counterpoint, escalating the war is good. The Hegemony has spend the past several decades on a genocide, and before that we had our costly war. If we can rebuild the Hazaar Cluster (which the Limestone will allow us to) we will have a much better industrial base. Thanks to the Swalli we also have a much better chance of improving our technology, too.
>>5990712Counter-Counterpart, the Aristocrats might get pissed with us if we help the Esaal, and the Aristocrats are right on the border with the Hazaar cluster. The threat of war with both the Consortium and Esaal together hanging over us was troubling enough, let's not add to the number by annoying the local Fallen empire.If we found a way to escalate the war in the Aristocrat's favour, on the other hand... and the aristocrats can probably pay better then the Esaal.
>>5990650>"Let's have that ocean planet instead and I'll make all the AI cores you want."
>>5990717I'd hardly think that trading with some Esaal women would constitute some manner of insult to the Aristocrats.
>>5990712The hormones would be "permanent" as long as the trade agreement stands, which is an abstracted unit of time enough for it to matter the next time a prompt comes up that capitalizes on it or is the result of the consequences.
This is a bit of a far-shot, but do you think that the Esaal could be eventually convinced to turn away from the Worms? Even if we're rivals, getting rid of a worm puppet would make the situation far, far easier. It also means that we'd have a possibly ally against the Cyte.
>>5990884Oh, and I'm >>5990472, and will verify this when I'm home. I think I also accidentally added a space to the end of my trip.
Yellow Fellow Beyond when?
>Trade the Ocean Planet for the Cores, bit maker sure the cores have backdoors in then we can exploit if we need to.
>>5990650>Grant the request, but give faulty AI cores that can be exploited later
We don't need these hormones and we don't want to share our unique AI technology, however they aren't asking for the technology, just production, so I'm assuming that they'd be giving us their AI specs and we'd be building the cores for them. Therefore:>>5990650>Let's have that ocean planet instead and I'll make all the AI cores you want (if it's habitable, reasonable limits on 'all the AI cores you want').>Also, send us a few of your best soldiers who understand your military doctrine and in a generation we'll send you an army of Jaxtian trained soldiers to reinforce your numbers. We have adequate open land for the moment to contract out development of this army. However, you'll have to provide all the ships, we're just contracting to raise and train the bodies for you. >Invite some of the Esal to an Olympics style competition on some border planet or outpost. Pick some games of dexterity which favor Jaxtians, some games of physical endurance which favor Cowbros, some games of raw strength and tenacity which favor the Esal, and Swali 5d chess. >Remind these ladies that we hate the worms and all that they stand for and will destroy and worms that we find. Fuck the worms. Vermis delenda est. The Essal are cool though.
>>5991085Oh and I'm voting for good, well made cores. We want a reputation for reliability and good product. We're dealing with an honor culture too, so giving them garbage will lead to us fighting them in the future. I also don't think that the Aristocrats will care that we're selling production or troops to the Essal. They might look down on us as petty merchants, especially since we're turning down the gold, but not enemies.
>>5991085No write ins are allowed.
>>5991090"All the AI cores you want" is very poor phrasing. We're obviously not going to make infinite cores for them forever for the ocean world. I'm voting for lots of cores to give Essal a big boost and our economy a temporary slowdown in exchange for an actual livable ocean world.
>>5991093>"All the AI cores you want" is very poor phrasing. Agreed, but we can always alter the deal later.>>5990896Confirming this is me.
>>5991085>However, one of your biggest advantages in space is your superior computers. While this trade offer wouldn't involve you turning over the secret of the Threemind or your better AI technology, more AI cores is always better, and will lead to exponential gains in their industry, science, and warfare sectors over a long enough period of time. It won't be enough to keep up with you, but it will inevitably shrink the gap between your two powers.Technology isn’t the concern- it’s the mass production of such high tech in one of our key advantages that will narrow the competition gap- and they’re always spoiling for a good fight.>>5991094>Agreed, but we can always alter the deal later.I doubt it
>>5991093Yeah it's almost like you have to give them a lot more to get a whole planet out of the deal or something
>>5991128Yeah well "more" isn't "infinite", if the deal is to basically give them cores forever, that's an entirely different thing.
>>5990650>Request Azurium instead (1 in 3 chance to succeed)Making the Essal stronger isn't all bad. They are aggressive towards all our enemies. We could use some azurium combat knives for officers and special forces though.
>>5991090Trading is where write ins can shine with the whole deal of haggling and feenagling for a better deal for both sides.And training soldiers seems deeply interesting it's real proxy war starts used RL and it does allow for some close range genetic sampling and psychological profiling for a combat force with self preservation and figure out how much of them is culture and nurture
>>5990652I am also deeply interested in the fossile record and science there it's so crude to just use it as building material
>>5991128Okay, Bananas, does "all you want" mean "a lot" or does it mean "we make infinite cores forever"? If we can't do write-ins (which is stupid), please clarify.
>>5991258Well, it's obvious which vote has won anyway. I'd have to guess it doesn't literally mean making cores for them forever.
>>5991258I would also like clarification, please.
While still considering the trade offer, a new smaller matter has been brought to your attention. The integration of the various alien races in the Hegemony has continued without much of a hitch, however, one matter of contention is the uniforms.All Jaxtians wear one piece bodysuits. Made of durable synthetic materials, they can be easily washed and replaced and produced on mass. It has been the traditional garment since the Hegemony took power over a thousand years ago. Being slightly elastic means that they can fit multiple sizes the most will have unique ones made just for them to fit their dimensions the best. Even more usefully the inside of the suits are lined with smart materials that can disperse impact forces, electrical shocks, and extremes of heat and cold leading to these uniforms mean very useful safety tools on many different planets and installations. Jaxtians are natural climbers and form fitting clothing suites them best. The Swall have found themselves also well suited to the uniforms, being very waterproof and unobtrusive, with only small complaints about not being able to express themselves. You've already started giving out more color and design options for them- it could act as an incentive for performance.However, the Vetuck aliens are having great issue with the bodysuit. Given how large and bulky the average bovine alien is, their body shape is simply not well suited to the tight form-fitting clothing. Even with the internal thermal cooling systems and elastic fittings, wearing suits is incredibly uncomfortable and stifling for them. They want something else to wear- but it isn't that simple.All bodysuits are capable of connecting to emergency helmets and life support systems. As a space fairing civilization the ability for anyone to be able to immediately get into a pressurized and thermally sealed suit to protect themselves from hostile environments and the vacuum of space is extremely important.Beyond the research cost and potential safety concerns of allowing the Vetuckers to where other forms of clothing, there was also the second concern of conformity and morale. The other species in your society's trifecta may find it a bit unfair that the Vetuck aliens receive a special treatment that is visible when they simply go out among the others. One great important aspect and goal of your Administration is to make all of the species underneath the Hegemony feel like part of the same group, the same team, and having one fixed uniform among all citizens with minor variations based on profession and status is a very important part of your culture.What should you do about this issue?>Design new uniforms for the Vetuckers (Expensive)>Radically solve the problems with their biology (Atrocity)>Let them wear their traditional garments despite them not being "space aged">Normalize them going around naked>Force the Vetuckers to conform to the current standard
>>5991491>Radically solve the problems with their biology (Atrocity)
>>5991491Hmm, good question, but shouldn't 'solving their problems' be literally more expensive than making a new uniform? I'm pretty sure wide-scale surgery or biological manipulation is more expensive than uh...making a new type of clothing.
>>5991491>Design new uniforms for the Vetuckers (Expensive)
>>5991491>Normalize them going around nakedWe had a whole ceremony for just this purpose, it turns out!
>>5991527Anon, as nice as having giant cow women walk around naked sounds, that would become very dangerous very quickly. Clothes are for protection too.
>>5991529Yeah, but they were extinct a couple years ago. Whatever casualties they face, they still come out ahead. And the constricting uniforms are still there for them if they want them or in situations where they need them.
>>5991531They'd still have to wear them in their jobs and in public, which is what matters. I'd say that allowing them to use traditional clothes inside their homes would be fine, but that's barely a patch, and we know we don't get the option to change stuff like this later. If we don't make something now we'll never be allowed to, even if we get more money later on.
>>5991491>Design New UniformsIt's the lost effective solution in the long term.
I gotta say, i really hope designign new uniforms isn't going to completely tip over the social weight scale or something. Just curing whales made them go to 20%, it'd be kinda dumb if giving vetuckers a new set of uniforms suddenly made them somehow be 'considered more important than jaxtians themselves'
>>5991783Honestly, it makes more sense to redesign the whole uniform in order to promote solidarity- not just for the Ventuckers, for everyone. Maybe even work in those Herd Mentality pheromones into the outfits- it doesn’t have to be strong, just another layer of social control.
>>5991491>Normalize them going around nakedI just find this solution hilarious
>>5991873Hass already had to redeem himself from being an tyrant king, anon, and now you wanna turn him into a cow fetishist?
>>5991879wouldnt be the first
>>5991879He wasn't so much a tyrant as he was a self-centered hedonist with unlimited power.
>>5991899This reminds me of how Eoba II is still buried in Vetuck somewhere. The Cowgirls really did a number on him. >>5991900That's what Tyrant King means in the Hegemony.>The Jaxtians have experienced this before- a tyrant-king, the Supreme Ruler who puts themself over the nation and the mission of the Hegemony proper.This reminds me of how the Hegemony spend like a thousand years post Akule but before Vantix.
>>5991491>Let them wear their traditional garments despite them not being "space aged"It could be worse.
>>5991491>Design new uniformsThe issues appear to be: heads that don't fit in ape bubble helmets, internal thermal regulation, skin pressure. The Swali want something individualized. We want everyone to look and feel like part of the team. Since we're spending money anyway, and people are customizing their suits already rather than having disposable plastic suits we can switch to a 'build your own' living suit with ai and power integration. Build an energy pack and computer into the suit which can run smaller machines so that we don't need to mainline power everywhere. The suits would still be monochrome, with maybe a little electronic screen for badge of office. The power pack can have short term ai-controlled energy shielding and an emergency anti-decompression force field. Stiffening rods for the outer hard-shell, elastic suit for the inner liner. The integrated tractor-field and energy can help with various work tasks. Cowbros can forgo the under suit if needed. This keeps everyone looking the same and justifies the 'expensive' tag. It makes us slightly more ai-vulnerable since the troops will get used to having the personal computer and 'magic' powers integrated into the suit, but such is progress sometimes.
>>5991491>>Let them wear their traditional garments despite them not being "space aged"
>>5991491>Design new uniforms for the Vetuckers (Expensive)Supporting >>5991937's suggestion of upgrading everybody's uniforms somewhat as well.
>>5991491>Design new uniforms for the Vetuckers (Expensive)If these suits can't fit big guys, how do our Alphas cope? Perhaps they're also having troubles and would also appreciate a redesign?
>>5992089I think the Alphas are more lithe, flexible, and graceful than a Vetucker, especially a Vetucker male. They're still arboreal beings. The horns probably get in the way, too.
>>5991491i imagine we should have different size middle point on the elasticity like a medium, large and small, bonus of making one size larger is a suit thats more comfortable for alphas.like you want atleast 3 sizes for as we already have child sized suits that dont compress the body as they grow and the elasticity compressed the body more basically>make one size larger suits will also fit alpha jaxtians better tight but not too tight >>5992089same thoughts as you
This one is gonna take a bit lol
>>5992164Design New uniform clears easily though? That's 7 vs 3 votes. Unless you mean the update itself.
>>5992167hes gonna have to draw options and of course with bqm all his choices have some caveat that will make someone screech, hes probably perfecting it so its that more harrowing to 1 particular autist
>>5992198I thought it was because it'd have to be a double feature with the trade deal update. The planet vote won by a pretty wide margin.
>>5990650OOC bonus side content: I forgot to include the option to "capture the unarmed ship and take the female Esaal as captives". Obviously this vote would not win, but I thought it would be a funny outcome to speculate over. If you would have taken this option, the Esaal would have not been mad at all, and started counter raiding Hegemony colonies to steal your women instead, which to them is little more then cheeky banter between friends. This would have culminated in the joke that the Esaal captured a bunch of Swall, thinking they were Jaxtian women, because they don't know that much about Jaxtians but just know some of them are yellow, so these must be the girl ones since they're so small and slim.Anyway, working on the update, hopefully it'll be ready in about ~12 hours.
>>5992281>the Esaal would have not been mad at allI'm going to guess you're talking about the male Esaal, and not the women we captured. Those ones would probably be pretty pissed.
>>5992289Oh, naturally. However, not caring about what women think is a hallmark of every advanced society, which is also true in Monke quest.
>>5992293Well, compared to an Esaal, a Jaxtian male must look like some kind of ridiculous gentleman, like what a tomboy is to men.
>>5992281Didn't they do dissections on the Swall a while ago? Did that not inform them of xeno-genders?
>>5992625>xeno-gendersAren't Swalli just normal fish-men?
>>5992298A femboy? A bishounen? A dandy?
>>5992629>A femboy? A bishounenNo, i think Jaxtians have more muscles due to being genetic freaks. >dandyMaybe? I don't know what's the male equivalent of a tomboy. Tomboys still look like women. Jaxtians are still violent and strong.
After some brief deliberation with the Esaal women, you decide to make a counter offer for this mysterious ocean planet. Offering even more AI cores then before, you wonder if you've lowballed their offer before the commander smiles.”Oh wow! That's perfect. Ok, sounds good, thank you~”Quite surprisingly, the Esaal have given you a specific planet to fully utalize as you see fit, though it is in Esaal territory, a bit further from the border to be a single contiguous line. Regardless, you investigate the planet with your drones and probes to find it is... totally habitable? There is life on this planet. You're quite surprised, the fact it has a fossil record indicates that it had life on it once, but not necessarily today. And they're just... giving it to you? You suppose the Esaal don't value an ocean planet very highly, given they can't live on it themselves, but you find it surprising. The Consortium would have tried to trick you into buying a dying or inhospitable world you feel, but the Esaal are much more honest.The ocean world, designated as HBTP-OW1 is totally covered in water, meaning much of the planet has very low amounts of bioenergy, but some areas are in the shallows and fed by algae blooms, leading to diverse explosions of life and the possibility of artificial reefs or other structures. Not only that, but the water is oxygen rich enough to support Swall without even needing any filtering, and the planet is only a little cold to the tropical climate they prefer. It's basically a perfect world for the Hegemony to exploit.
By the Year 110 of the Resurrection Era, you have begun exploiting the ocean planet of its natural resources, as well as begun paying the Esaal their end of the bargain. Mass produced AI cores, faithfully made to their specifications, are being turned out of nearby factories and shipped via space freight to the Esaal. Using many worlds rich in silicates as well as some common conductive metals to create the circuits, you are no doubt improving their military technology with this transaction. But on the plus side, a new planet of organisms and expansion opportunities, especially for the Swall population, hopefully will make up for it.The social weight has shifted because of this choice; resulting in the Swall gaining a lot of new opportunities the other races lack, simply due to their ability to live in aquatic environments...>Jaxtian 70%>Vetucker 15%>Swall 15% As for the other issue involving the Vetuckers dissatisfaction with their uniforms, you have decided over the past two years to put out a bounty and contact the greatest minds in the Hegemony to fix it. Not satisfied with cheaper solutions, you make sure to spare no expense. While the advancement of smart materials and super-dense elements had greatly enhanced your basic uniforms and spacesuits, it's still been at least a few hundred years since they've been seriously looked over.Being made of durable and comfortable materials, and going through several iterations of smart material matrices, these new uniforms will be less skin tight and more like breezy cloth, but capable of keeping out of the way. You also go along with the artist's plan to fold in the Hegemony's military spacesuits and shock-trooper battlesuits darker color and use it to replace the more neutral and lighter civilian “state gray” color into something more universal, but with more individuality- perhaps showing rank and experience on the uniform themselves for more social status, something lacking in the previous iteration of Hegemonic dress...
Yino Val has finished the creation of your new Hegemony uniform.>How do you like them, your Majesty?
>>5992771They are very sexy!
>>5992771>Looks dope!>Do we have extra colors for all the variants of random civilian jobs, or do civilians not get fancy colors?
>>5992770>perhaps showing rank and experience on the uniform themselves for more social statusCould be fun to have a festival where the uniforms are all switched, just to mess with people. IDK how well showing rank and experience goes with info security but eh, style is what's important.
Oh also the Migrators should get an outfit as well!>inb4 we unlock the secret Migrator Social Weight
>>5992771I demand a migrator outfit!
>>5992775I don't think they'd enjoy clothing.>>5992771Pretty cool.
>>5992780>>5992775+1
Like a harness with UV lights to keep the nightmares away?
>>5992771Very good. I'm utterly pleased.A few amount of decorations on the uniform is fine. Maybe this will promote the "Culture" and "Spirituality" that starseers seems to require, but at a lesser dose avoiding antisocial behaviors?
>>5992771Nice, that's a lot more stylish. But weren't people able to get pretty free colored stuff back then in the hegemony? I'm pretty sure this 'everyone wears gray' thing is newer.
>>5992860I should specify, I'm not saying to add more color versions, just that I'm pretty sure the "everyone is in gray clothing" thing just wasn't always true.
>>5992771Those are pretty neat!>>5992775Perhaps not full clothing, but they should definitely each have something to secure a UV light upon for their own protection from wormy threats.
>>5992771I guess we're in our Deep Space 9 era of uniforms, huh? Cool. Does the amount of 'stripes' in that weird scarf thing mean something? Not the color, mind, but the amount of stripes.
>>5992771Pretty cool. No notes.
>>5992771>I like them but prefer knives to be part of the military dress.
>>5992771>HeathJust noticed this. I assume this is the 'Health' varient, or does one of the worlds we took from the Hazaar actually have an immense Heathland ecosystem that we need the Vetuckers to make productive?
>>5992771Space kino.
>>5992768By the way, I should say...what are we planning on doing with this world besides limestone? Obviously making it a "New Swall" would be nice, but it's basically an Enclave in Esaal Territory. It'll easily be the first target to go if war breaks out. Not to mention I feel like there's probably a trick somewhere there. It seems weird how easily they allowed it. That can only mean two things1. There's something in the world we don't know of yet2. They are confident they can take it back later onAlso, we need a better name than HBTP
>>5993351I'm placing my money on #2. These are the Esaal, their whole society is based on military gungho autism.
>>5993351Hegemonic Swallia.>>5992864History is whatever the Unspeakable says it is, I guess.
Am i the only one who's curious about how the wider galaxy looks? There has to be other civilizations around, right? Who are the northern neighbours of the Esaal, Aristocrats and Consortium?Bananas, can we zoom out the map a little?
>>5993390Seconding 'Hegemonic Swallia', especially as the original Swallia is now 'Myym'.
>>5992771I demand a Mitigators and Baalthai outfit!>Give Yino a Gold Band for his efforts
>>5993422Oh yeah, the Balaathi. I don't think we've even mentioned them for like, several threads.
You once again are discontent. The Life Pods have deeply unnerved you. You consider all you know about the possibilities, knowing that a rational explanation must be there somewhere."...When one uses Starsight, it is a trick of perception. They slide along the yet unseen axis to view the universe from another angle, like a 3rd dimensional being looking at the 2 dimensional world from the side..."Your discovery of Starsight was several hundred years ago, and yet despite this it feels as though you have barely scratched the surface. The migrators, a high-tiered animal found in your home system, seem very capable at the art and at FTL navigation, due to them being blind and only able to "see" through echolocation- a similar mechanism to being able to "feel" ones way through Hyperspace. Also, thankfully, none of them have been killed by the Absolute Dissociation, the worm's secret weapons to disjoint a Starseer's body and mind. But you know this is a simplification, as the body and mind are one entity. All Supreme Rulers know this innately, you are tutored on this very subject, and the dangers of spiritualism. Spiritualism is the death of the Hegemony and your mission. You will not allow it to creep into you.Yet despite this...Your historical records show that some of the Vetucker and Swall who now live, replicated through life pods, died in a single instant. Obliterated by a bomb or energy beam that vaporized their brain, their being and consciousness, before any possible "transfer" could have happened between their body, where their consciousness emanates from, and the life pod, where they came again. What does this mean?Of course, the Hegemony put such philosophical silliness aside a long time ago during the purge of the State Philosophers. You have more practical concerns to focus on; namely, your budget. You are currently expended on the budget, but not as broke and debt-crippled as Bantam was during his war for the Stand. However, with your recent trade deal with the Esaal producing many more AI cores then you first anticipated, as well as designing new, high-quality uniforms for every single member and race of the Hegemony, not to mention the arduous process of working the Swall and Vetuckers into the fold of your administration. You have no discretionary income left. However, you aren't too concerned, as you have a massive windfall of wealth just around the corner...
Your next Expansion Wave, namely, into the Hazaar cluster. The former HVS states, already cleaned up and nicely marked with territory beacons, yet remain criminally underutilized. You've been so busy with the life vaults, the return of the subject races, and others that you haven't had time to properly begin your expansion.Of course, it's important to remember that your species is not overpopulated by any metric anymore; with so many habitable worlds, giant city-planets notwithstanding, you have no real need to expand to these worlds. They are as of now simply sitting vacant, cleaned of intelligent life, only a skeleton crew of scientists and military members securing the borders from encouragement by independent forces. This is why the concerns of the budget have no impact on you; you know that whenever the Hegemony expands to many territories and colonies; the economic boon and growth will quickly destroy any outstanding debts and downturns. Just like when Eoba II expanded the Hegemony into its local cluster...However, because of your expenditures, you don't exactly have the budget to fund these expeditions and full colonization of every world and planet. And there are a lot of them."The Hazaar were quite skilled in biotechnology, at least in the past before the Baalathi destroyed them, and left behind many habitable planets. While their tolerance level was higher then Jaxtians and the other species your control, it should be noted that the Hazaar systems contain seven habitable planets, and even more semi-habitable moons, so called "life moons" capable of supporting special gene-selected life forms underneath their crust, which could in turn support a small population. Not to mention the various untapped strategic resources. The Hazaar did not seem to have the knowledge of Azurium, BAG, OR the Celestial Blood, meaning if they have any of these resources in their systems, they likely did not exploit them at all." Threemind informs."Now, your Majesty, how do you wish to prospect these worlds for their riches? This is YOUR plunder, after all. No conqueror simply leaves his enemies lands fallow...">Allow Hegemony citizens to privatize excursions into the Hazaar systems>Focus your efforts to a single planet type or finding a specific resources (Specify)>Send autonomous robots to begin infrastructure building using the Baalathi present in the Hazaar systems>Other (Write-In)
>>5993577Now that is a good question...how exactly to expand? I suppose the Balaathi are an option, but I feel like it might not be so easy. Privatizing expansion is right out. There was an option, during Bantam's reign, to borrow money from another Faction to fund The Stand. If we could find a low interest loan, and use it to go full-out on the expansion, would that not pay itself with interest to US?I mean, we should be able to do projections of how much we'd be able to profit from fully expanding. With that in mind we could see the profit ratio.
>>5993577>>Send autonomous robots to begin infrastructure building using the Baalathi present in the Hazaar systems
>>5993577>Try and look for a world fit for the migrators.It occured to me just now that they are all living on the one moon in the Jaxtian home system, so if the Cyte is some big superweapon then their whole population may be in danger. It's best to find some way to ensure their survival should the worse happen, as they are the only citizens in the empire limited to one planet AFAIK.
>>5993696This is a good goal very based species preservation
>>5993696+1>>5993577
>>5993696Supporting.
>>5993696+1
>>5993577>Focus your efforts to a single planet type or finding a specific resources (Azurium)Given that we didn't use the vaults or try to buy from the Esaal, perhaps a good discovery here will help give a bit of economic regeneration.
>>5993696This is pretty good and all anon but that doesn't actually fix the fact that we need to exploit the Hazaar ClusterCould we not do this AND send autonomous robots to begin building infrastructure?
>>5993696>I'll support this. Best not to have all our eggs in one basket. Great suggestion, anon.
I can tell I've been playing this quest too long because when I saw this guy in my ads, my first thought was "who did he kill to attain his current position?"
>>5993876>This is pretty good and all anon but that doesn't actually fix the fact that we need to exploit the Hazaar ClusterYou are 100% right anon. I didn't really expect anyone to vote for the migrators, I just wanted to put the idea out. I think the baalathi automated bots could work they would just need trusted oversight.
>>5994651I just think having our only actual colonization effort be the migrator planet is dumb. We have literally an entirely new cluster. We should be exploiting it to hell and back and doubling our economy.
No update today.
>>5994657Huh, so they're cords. I thought they were on the suit itself. You know, this made me think, I wonder if there are jaxtians outside the hegemony. I remember early into the quest you mentioned some sort of independent "spacer" society. With that whole decades long period where there were a bunch of non-controlled jaxtians in the HVS, I wonder if a few of them made their way somewhere else.
>>5994661Naw they all came back. Except for one.
>>5994665Eoba III having space adventures?
>>5994654Like I said, I am in agreement with you. Just wanted to put the migrators in the spotlight :)
>>5994661I suppose they'd be wearing the old jumpsuits.
>>5994654The Swall should move there , too, and be tasked with tending to the Migrators.>>5993577Adding that to my vote (>>5993701)
>>5993577>Support Migrator seeding efforts
>>5995102>Support Migrator seeding effortsHey wait a second...How long have the migrators been around for? Would they potentially have a vault of some kind?
>>5995104Caplit was kind of a frozen moon until we made it more livable, though, isn't it?
>>5995111Caplit's still a frozen moon. We had (and I assume still have) a scientific base upon the surface, but we never terraformed or altered the fragile ecology.
I think we should encourage the area as a homeworld for Migrators and SwalliAlso I want to push for Migrators to not be legally seen as livestock anymore. I want to live up to the ideals of Maktana.
>>5995481>I think we should encourage the area as a homeworld for Migrators and SwalliThe whole sector? We already gave them a planet. We're supposed to be colonizing that area, not turning it into a wildlife preserve.
>>5995482Definitely not the whole sector, but perhaps a part of it if we find somewhere that works.>>5995111Nah afaik there hasn't been any terraforming or anything to the moon. The migrators were always there.
Besides a second Migrator world, there is one option that was offered earlier I'd like to revisit, I think a world that is kept primative except small zones for offworld transport and planet defense could be very interesting.
>>5995497We have a second world for the swalli, that's more than enough. The rest of the sector should be industrialized so we can actually have a chance of fighting the Esaal and Consortium in a full on war.
>>5995504What we really need is a basic rundown of the Stellar Systems the Hegemony has taken from the Haazar, containing a brief overview of the worlds within them and any other important moons or asteroids. Once we have that we can go though it and suggest various worlds for industry/crop production/scientific installations/major military complexes/system shipyards/wildlife habitats, et cetera. And also give out names to them if they don't have names already.
>>5995530Well that would be nice but that's not the vote we have here. The vote that is winning is the vote to spend all our efforts on a glorified wildlife preserve.
Year 113 of the Resurrection EraThis did not work out as planned.Over the past 3 years, you have been searching the Hazaar systems for suitable worlds for your Migrator population; who are otherwise locked to a single planet, though a decent number more live in captivity in special chilled tanks around the Hegemony. There are actually a few possibilities but..."My Lord, the economic reports. Things are not looking good.""...Dammit. I didn't mean for this to happen. I guess I got sidetracked on a personal project. This isn't the first time. I'll have to expunge some more resources from my personal account, and try to correct this...""Lord Supreme Hass Takar, I am sorry to say this, but that will not suffice this time."The Hegemony economy is based on planned and centralized industry. As the state produces all goods, creates and manages all the business, prints the money, and to an extent controls the demand of goods; a careful balance is required to avoid economic collapse. The Hegemony can create long term expensive projects and lofty but low-return investments like scientific research and ecological protection because of its control over its own industry. However, even with your state control, enough mismanagement can still upturn the system. Every printed Danbo Mark and begun project and day of vacation awarded to workers is done with the full promise of the economy being bigger in the future through its growth and mechanisms. While the intentional market manipulations of the degenerate capitalist past are long gone; mass inflation, supply line shortages, a lack of qualified workforce, or expenditure of resources the Hegemony's otherwise perfect system of industry can eventually collapse.Because you decided to focus your expansion on something with no immediate benefit, you have left a gap in the Hegemony's predicted and planned growth. Without a surplus to fall back on due to your previous expensive project, not to mention the inclusion and retraining of millions of new alien minority citizens, you've reached the breaking point. Over the next few years, the Hegemony will experience a massive economic downturn which now cannot be fixed through investments. The unclaimed lands in the Hazaar space were going to be your big investment as a way to stabilize, but now something will have to be given up...
Sigh, I forget this is monkey quest. Sorry everyone :(
You thought you had grown up a little bit, but it looks like you got side tracked. Even if it was for a "good cause". Have you really changed at all, or are you still a "Tyrant-King", obsessed with yourself? The self reflection will have to wait..."Surely, the Migrators having a new homeworld can pay us back? I mean, we still use them for navigation.""Yes, but they grow too slowly. Ever since their discovery, the Hegemony has only grown their population by a few percentage points, and they are too slow to be used for most piloting, though their Starsight is still second to none.""No benefits from the increased population density?" "They do not produce as much as Jaxtians, or Swall, or Vetuckers- by any stretch. The search was not pointless however- perhaps an ice moon, or that new oceanic world could harbor them, at the polar regions, along with the Swall- but it would require extensive gene modding which we do not have the budget for.""...Well, what are my options?"Threes creates a list of best responses for the incoming crisis. While none of them are good, at least you'll be able to steer this disaster to a less nasty end point.No Write-Ins or One-Post IDs are allowed>Minimize security spending>Contact the Consortium and take out a loan>Beg the Aristocrats for a helping hand>Liquidate assets (Exterminate Swall, Vetuckers, or Migrators at random)>Slash & Burn Agriculture (Destroys a habitable planet)>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several years
>>5995647Is the Slash and Burn agriculture specifically an already-colonised habitable planet?
>>5995647I don't know what's stupider, the fact that people actually voted for such an irrelevant decision or the fact that it somehow resulted in us twiddling our fucking thumbs for three years. We have known the Hazaar cluster for over a literal century. It should have taken SECONDS for Threes to know if there was a fitting planet for literal ice fish to live in, a few months a best to send out manual probes. Yet somehow we did LITERALLY NOTHING FOR THREE YEARS??I know you like punishing players bananas, but this is ridiculous. How is it fair for people who actually read the quest to be fucked over by some fools who just click +1 at the first write-in that appears without a single thought? You KNOW they never change their votes or even visit the thread. They see update, write +1, and leave.This is total fucking bullshit I'm every way. I'm not gonna bother voting if every time we're about to have something good it'll be ruined by morons.
>>5995647>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several yearsLet's just eat the loss.
>>5995655>turn the opportunity for an economical golden age into an crash>OOPs let's just eat the loss lolI almost forgot there were people who were actively trying to ruin things out of spite. Guess they're back.
>>5995658While I personally disagree with the way it was handled, you are embarassing yourself anon.Calling people who make a mistake spite-voters, and whinging and yelling at Mr Banana accomplishes what, exactly?There is no need to be cruel to anyone, whether it is the voters or the QM, just because you are upset. I am sure if we put our heads together we can think up of some way to get over this minor slump!
>>5995662>accomplishes what, exactly?It points out how absolutely idiotic this entire situation is. The actual update isn't even the worst part. It's the fact that it happened at all, both from the perspective of the voters being either purposefully bad or completely stupid, and bananas for using it to punish the people who actually put more than a modicum of thought in a vote.>if we put our heads together we can think up of some way to get over this minor slump!Let me tell you what's actually going to happen - everyone will vote for some stupid non-decision, and then bananas is going to make the hegemony faceplant into the floor even harder than what it already has.
>>5995647>Take out a loan from the Consortium. It's an age of peace and diplomacy. Taking out a loan gives the Consortium a vested interest in keeping us around so that we can pay back said loan. Vermis delenda est.
>>5995647>Slash & Burn Agriculture (Destroys a habitable planet)This is for those that wanted to find a habitable planet. It would be ironic to destroy one that'd be perfect for the Swall or Ventuckers.
>>5995651You didn't do "nothing" for three years, time advancement is abstracted to continue the world at a reasonable pace.I'll admit sometimes the updates are one-note and don't focus on the positives of your choices or other forms of progression until it becomes relevant again, I am often in a rush to get out updates on the weekends, so the may not be as complete as I want.However, in order to make this game in any way have a challenge or react realistically to the players choices, sometimes things like this will happen. It's your mistake, and not based on incomplete information this time. If you don't want this to happen, argue your case and sway voters to your side.
>>5995685>You didn't do "nothing" for three years, time advancement is abstracted to continue the world at a reasonable pace.We quite literally spend three years "searching" for a literal ice pond in a place we've known for over a century.>It's your mistake, and not based on incomplete information this time. If you don't want this to happen, argue your case and sway voters to your sideSway? There is no "sway", you know fully well that 80% of voters literally don't look at the thread after dropping their 1+ on whatever is the first vote to appear. By the time I was awake it was already too late. Literally only 10% of the player base even looks at the thread and could change their vote. The only mistake I did was to even bother trying to argue why this was a dumb endeavor.
>>5995647>Contact the Consortium and take out a loanWhat a stupid choice, I love the Migrators more then anyone else but this was not a good economic investment
>>5995697You think taking out a loan *now* is a good idea? It was a good idea when we had the chance to enter a boom and pay it off before the interest got big.The *smart* thing to do would be to find a world in the Hazaar cluster we could stripmine the shit out of, or even do the same *after* slash&burning it, and THEN, when we got back to neutral, taking a consortium loan to colonize the sector and pay it off with minimal interest. Of course, now that there's an actually good idea, write-ins aren't allowed. Sure wish he did that for the last vote.
>>5995647>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several yearsMy hope had been we could just settle the Migrators in the colder region(s) of our chilly new water-world, while also developing aquaculture there. I guess not, but so it goes.
>>5995711In fact, I'm gonna go ahead and say that if we take a loan, we will literally sink deeper. By the time we use it to "fix" the economy we broke by sitting on our asses, the interest will force us to pick another economy saving measure or default, which will of course lead into the consortium jumping the gun into getting a giant repossession fleet to attack us while we're weak because the worms told them to.It's really amazing how the voters of this quest managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Now we have an whole sector full of potential that will go completely unused for NO REASON. Just wonderful.>>5995718Yeah, just let the economy go to shit while we're surrounded by Rival powers and an ancient race of psychics wants to kill us, that'll work.
>>5995711A loan from a nation we can kick the shit out of again? Basically free money
>>5995729A loan from a nation that was repeatedly stated to be able to destroy us in a war thanks to their gigantic industrial superiority, you mean.
>>5995647>Liquidate assets (Exterminate Swall, Vetuckers, or Migrators at random)
Frankly I'm quite annoyed at all the counterproductive moral fagging in this thread. It's such a change from previous threads where the Hegemony was the epitome of effeciency over morals. The aliens should've stayed dead.
>>5995742>>5995726Oh joy, the very healthy and fun discourse begins again.
>>5995742>efficiency>killing random ass people for because "lol lmao">this will surely fix our economyYou are just as dumb as the people who decided the best way to fix the economy was to make a fucking zoo.>>5995746Don't worry, there's no discourse, because that would imply there's a chance people would actually change their votes instead of choosing something at random, dumping their vote like a trash bag and leaving the thread. Of course, instead of actually trying to prove me wrong and do something right, they'll just bitch at me for pointing it out and do nothing even harder.I give up, the hegemony is doomed. We're cursed with having the stupid ball any time we're about to actually progress and improve.
>>5995748>>5995651>I give up, the hegemony is doomed.>I'm not gonna bother voting if every time we're about to have something good it'll be ruined by morons.I think for everyone's sake you should probably play a quest you actually enjoy, instead of shitting up this thread.
>>5995647>>Slash & Burn Agriculture (Destroys a habitable planet)
>>5995748Not my problem.
>>5995697Personally, I thought of it as a good way to guide settlement of the new water planet we just got, and to safeguard against the Cyte.
>>5995749You can enjoy a quest and hate its players
>>5995647>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several years
>>5995647>>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several yearsI should have known better. Going after asteroids full of BAG would have been the best way to expand quickly and efficiently. That being said, who knows how many "rounds" of choices we get for this colonization as to what to look for so maybe our choice will end up paying off after all.
This reminds me of the big ecological project at the beginning of thread 2 - in the end it paid off madly.
>>5995647>Contact the Consortium and take out a loan
>>5995647>>Liquidate assets (Exterminate Swall, Vetuckers, or Migrators at random)
I still have faith that investing in the migrators will pay out bigtime down the track. Again, potential life vault for them?And additionally, they are long-lived creatures with a prediliction for starsight so perhaps the Andoen already interacted with them in ages past?
Also quick aside- I regret adding the "Liquidate Assets" choice to the prompt above. I know it won't win anyway, but it goes against the spirit of the game and the choices made in previous threads. I already made my decision after Dreams, we're going with the current set up of the Hegemony and not doing a repeat of the genocide arc.Instead I will retroactively change all the Liquidate votes and future votes to be a general purging of the Hegemony- the useless eaters, elderly, and genetically disadvantaged of all species will be culled to reduce costs and recycled for raw resources and biomatter.
>>5995647>Contact the Consortium and take out a loanLet's see what terms they offer and if they're worth taking. At the very least we could try and start a relationship that is more then just seething and shooting at each other. I assume we can just decline if the terms are terrible, right?>>5995538Hey, I voted for: >>5993757
Here's the thing about taking a loan: The interest adds up. So if you take a loan for something you can't pay back soon, that means your interest will keep mounting up and up and up. Even if the interest isn't ridiculously high, it's *still* going to be mounting up, and this is supposed to be an amount of money big enough to stabilize an interstellar economy.
>>5995647>Contact the Consortium and take out a loanLiterally what should’ve been done with the HVS- but I’m sure it’ll be ignored.>>5995651When I saw the write in, I sorta just shrugged- I knew it’ll end suboptimally, but that’s been my experience with Monkequest in a nutshell.>>5995658Nah- moralist/meme autism took over, it wasn’t spite.>>5995662>upset. I am sure if we put our heads together we can think up of some way to get over this minor slump!No offense friend, but no write ins allowed.>>5995711>You think taking out a loan *now* is a good idea?Yes- because the Worms shenanigans are gonna cause another war and our obligations to repay would be dissolved, assuming we win. Just gotta make sure they give us a fair deal for it.>>5995726Or- hear me out- we declare a short, ‘victorious’ war, and have one of the concessions be debt absolution.>>5995742No offense friend, but the Hegemony was never really ‘efficient’- it only beat morality because of the Hegemony complete lack of single moral fiber.>>5995748>We're cursed with having the stupid ball any time we're about to actually progress and improve.Finally figured that out did ya? It gets better when you give up the delusion of us ever playing ‘smart’ friend.>>5995877How about>Cull the weakWay less connotations to the bad times- reminds me a bit of Eoba’s early reign desu.>>5995977Pull a Germany and just invade our debtors ffs- or make sure the deals is sane and not something the Consortium can abuse, Jesus.
>>5995989>Pull a Germany and just invade our debtorsYou think we can afford a war when we don't even have battleships and our economy is in the dumps?
>>5995990Yes- it’s unironicly what the Nazis did to avoid their economy imploding, they offloaded the cost to their client states. Hell, it’s what the British did to their colonies.If the point is to generate additional capital and resources to cover a short-term shortfall, the loan is a no brainer- if the interest is deemed too high, just pull a Weimar/Third Reich and don pay. It’s not like we ever cared what the Consortium and the Worms think.
>>5996004>Yes- it’s unironicly what the Nazis did to avoid their economy imploding, they offloaded the cost to their client statesRemind me, who won world war two again?>Hell, it’s what the British did to their colonies.Well in this situation we don't have an colony like the HVS to offload to.'Slash and Burn' would be the best option here, but it seems like everyone wants to either let us stagnate or take a loan.
>>5996015Omg, I didn’t know the Seekers were our second fron- oh wait. And the conquered Consortium states would do just fine as the offload point.Slash and Burn- to destroy one of our limited habitable planets (not just the ecconomy- the entire ecosystem) is like chopping off your limb to help feed the crops- it ain’t worth it. IRL nations get indebted to foreign creditors all the time, often to a debt 2-3 times their economy- I think the Hegemony can withstand having their some of their national debt collateralized among the various economic institutions and nations in the Consortium- hell, that’s literally the China model, flash the idea of ‘opening up the market’ the the capitalists and they’re ask how high we want them to jump at the chance.
>>5996024>Omg, I didn’t know the Seekers were our second fron- oh waitAnon, we've already been told we can't beat the consortium in a full war. Nevermind that the Esaal are still a threat and will probably gobble up Hegemonic Swallia if they get the chance.>IRL nations get indebted to foreign creditors all the time, often to a debt 2-3 times their economyOther nations aren't controlled by a shadow cabal of psychic parasites from outer space who want to kill us.
>>5996028
>>5996028Ain’t advocating a full war- just listing it as an option, but we don’t have to repay the Consortium if we deem the cost too high.Remember the Catman sidestory- never saw a fucking worm, and that small time manager owned an entire space station with crew. I’m sure the Worms will try to throw a wrench in it, but the Consortium ain’t a monolith- we’re gonna get enough small time institutions to take a risk, especially for the reward. Besides, the main utility for us is getting the colonies operational and productive. So what if a bunch of capitalists take a chunk of the RoI? We still get the production, infrastructure, and tax base built up to profit from, and while interest payments are temporary, the colonies are permanent.>>5996035Hush
>>5995670I'm really tempted to change my vote to>Liquidate assets (Exterminate Swall, Vetuckers, or Migrators at random)But my spite for people that wanted to find a new planet is stronger than my desire to meme>>5995877So we can't purge them even if we vote for it? Minorities truly are the protected class.
>>5996037>we’re gonna get enough small time institutions to take a risk, especially for the reward.Says who? That option is specifically saying we're taking a loan out of the Consortium, not the 'small institutions of the Consortium that want to take risks'. There is no reason for them to help us other than leverage and control.
>>5996040A cut of the profit- these worlds are rich in resources, waiting to be exploited- that is reason enough. The only reason our catman didn’t jump at his opportunity to profit is because anons wanted dommy mommy to eat him.Again, I reiterate- the Consortium is not a monolith. The only things that connects them into a polity is free trade and the willingness of their many leaders to play with the Worms- I wouldn’t be surprised if Consortium rivals hated each other’s guts more than they do us.
>>5996037>Besides, the main utility for us is getting the colonies operational and productive.No. That was the last vote. This is just for 'stabilizing our economy', isn't it? Which means it's basically just going to be tossed into the void when it comes to actual results.
>>5996050You think the Worms won't immediately make sure they influence any business transaction/loan that has to do with the Hegemony? They wouldn't just allow a faction within their controlled society to act against their interests (at least not without some plan to undermine our power).
>>5996053Actually, we threw away our last vote with the Mitigator shenanigans- I assume we misdirected the expansion effort into a glorified recon for the Mitigator, since the projected economy was supposed to be the actual colonization effort.>>5996054Again, with the monolith thinking- of course the worms are gonna try exerting influence, but the Consortium isn’t ‘their controlled society’, but a true multi-cultural society with different centers of power interweaved by Worm advisors. They already have rival factions acting against their interests- even our catman didn’t bite that bait.Besides, given >>5996035, it less undermining our power and more subverting our willingness to resist their influence. We can tell them to shove off as we damn well please anytime, like we did with Eoba.
>>5996057>Actually, we threw away our last vote with the Mitigator shenanigansYes, and now we need to do something just to stabilize it. I don't think we'd be actually using the loan to expand into the sector. If bananas could clarify that it'd be good, but i really doubt it.
>>5996057I just think it's naive to imagine they won't pull all the stops in order to have things go the way they when dealing with an enemy that is dealing in one of their specializations (finance).
>>5996061>The unclaimed lands in the Hazaar space were going to be your big investment as a way to stabilize, but now something will have to be given up...Notice the ‘were’. I’m assuming it’s a lack of resources- which the loan would solve- but it could just mean social stability. I mean, culling the population wouldn’t solve the economic issues, it’d just exasperated them because of a lack of workers- I’m shocked that the genetically disadvantaged and the ‘useless eaters’ weren’t already culled as apart of normal procedure.>>5996076I think it’s irrelevant, because we have full control and influence over our party- we can always stop the association when we wish, and it’s not like it’s gonna make us any less of a diplomatic pariah than we already are.If you’re that worried about it, just fucking beg the Aristocrats or trade more cores to the Esaal- stagnating while our rivals grow is gonna be more trouble than it’s worth.
>>5996079>notice the ‘were’. I’m assuming it’s a lack of resources- which the loan would solveWere implies that they wont anymore, which is why im pretty sure this "loan" would, again, be basically throwing money into a void to make the economy NOT CRASH
>>5995647>Slash & Burn Agriculture (Destroys a habitable planet)
Lmao what an avoidable mess.But it is entertaining to see moralfags and the like argue.
I had an idea, it's not really allowed right now but it could work as a follow-up.If we choose 'slash and burn', that would 'destroy' a habitable planet...but my idea was, the atmosphere ain't going nowhere, right? So my idea was, why not later use the planet for a china-tier industrial center that has zero regard to the environment since we destroyed it anway? Not sure if that makes sense.
>>5995647>Slash & Burn Agriculture (Destroys a habitable planet)Was going to vote liquidation for the meme but it's not the same anymore so oh well.>>5996297Sounds good, but I don't know if Bananas will allow it.
By the by, how old is Hass? He took power around 64RE, and it's now 113. So he's been ruling for about fifty years. I know that we still need some extra time to give the Vetuckers and Swall some more social weight to truly achieve FRIENDSHIP, but shouldn't we be looking at our successor soon? It used to be we'd choose one *before* we kicked the bucket. me, I hope we can get someone who'll be more open to spiritualism. We will never be able to truly explore Starsight as long as we keep being militant atheists.[/spoilers]
>>5995647>Just accept the downturn- stagnates for several yearsJust gonna accept our comeuppance and not vote to kill off one of our core habitable worlds.
>>5996297Considering our environmental decisions the first thread, it doesn’t
>>5996459>Just gonna accept our comeuppance and not vote to kill off one of our core habitable worlds.Core? I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the worlds terraformed by the hazaar. It would be completely and utterly idiotic if we did it to a place we've already colonized.
>>5996438Many will be angry with me for saying this but the Swall and Ventuckers aren't really that useful. First we have to focus on what can get us out of this economic slump instead of distracting ourselves with wholesome bullshit.
>>5996516>Many will be angry with me for saying this but the Swall and Ventuckers aren't really that usefulSwall are absolutely extremely useful, remember how we were told they had potential to be way, way smarter than Jaxtians? If we can acclimatize them to the hegemony, they'll be an extremely potent tool.
>>5996519Implying we can assimilate the Swall into a multicultural autocracy then that just leaves the Ventuckers.
>>5996544> that just leaves the VentuckersThey're loyal, strong, and friendly. Sounds like the kind of subject you'd want to have. Also serves as a counter-weight to the Swall.
Voting closed. Just Accepting the Downturn wins.
>>5996590Wait what? I swear the Slash and burn had more votes
>>5996592I counted 6/5/5/4, maybe I was wrong. Otherwise it would be a tie. We'll talk about it after this update.
You feel the weight of everything crushing down on you for this decision. The turbulent beginning of your reign, your joy at your victory at The Stand, the brutality of wearing the Death Mask and conducting your own genocide crusade, and now the shock of discovering the Andoen aliens life vaults and secret technology never before known. It's been a long and heavy time; and now the banality of everyday life, something as stupid as economic mismanagement, threatens your reign and your people's future.You think back, back to the start of this, when you killed Bantam and made yourself the Supreme Ruler by force of might. You stood over Bantam's bleeding body, the Supreme Ruler who was both stronger and more skilled then you, yet hesitated in the last moment, allowing you to kill him. Just then, you were accosted by the security staff, agents of Hegemonic control...”Unhand me, you fools! I am Supreme Ruler by right of conquest. I have done nothing wrong, this amulet is mine!”“Yes, your Majesty. You are the Supreme Ruler. But you must come with us now, there is something you must see.””I will see whatever I wish. Unhand me, now!”“No, your Majesty. You must watch this video first. It is a requirement for all Supreme Rulers. If you refuse, we will kill you, and find the back-up Supreme Ruler to replace you. It is non-negotiable.””Why you...”“You are free to punish us afterwards, your Grace. But this is the one thing all Supremes must do. It is not a choice. Once you have seen it, you will see it is necessary. Come with us, just for a moment of your time, your Majesty...”You are sat in a room, the Hegemonic medallion cold on your still flushed skin from your “sparring session”, before an ancient video machine is rolled into the room. Projected on a flat, self-powered screen- physical media playing from a well preserved machine. This has not been uploaded to the AI network, this is something secret. The video is played on, and the men of the secret hegemonic control leave the room, not even allowed to watch this along with you.There on the screen stands Akule, the Unspeakable, the first and last Supreme Ruler. You do not know at what point in his reign this is, but it is a shock to see him; his public appearances and speeches are well memorized and cataloged by the Hegemony. There is no cheering crowd, no court of international officials who judgment is being passed upon, and he is alone.
”...I do not know who you will be, in the future, where you will watch this. I do not know what sort of creations my empire will spawn. You will either be my descendant, or a hated foe that has succeeded in extinguishing my flame. In either case, you will watch, either to secure your reign or to cement your superiority over my Hegemonic dream....My name is Akule Naonae, and I have seen the Unspeakable. One day, people will look back at what I have done and call me a great monster, or a great tyrant. They will call me a perverted monster, a mass-shooter, a terrorist sympathizer; I have embraced these roles. To me, my victory is already complete, my legacy is less important, as I have done what no man has ever done. I have mounted and broken the back of industrial society, the beast which I call Leviathan, the greatest existential threat to the future of the Jaxtian species among the stars. But this is not the primary purpose of this video.My legacy is unknown to me. If my dream succeeds, I am hopeful the future will be kind to my legacy, knowing I did what I could with what I had, and perhaps even acknowledge my great struggle. If my dream fails, then I see no point in trying to hide my family name or actions, as I'm sure technology in the future will be easily able to confirm my guilt. As such, I lay all these things out as they are. I have killed a lot of people, but a falsehood will spread, that I have enslaved people. This is not true. I am not a tyrant, in truth, I am a liberator.”
”Within the Mainlander heart, I have set the flame of racial solidarity and consciousness. I have taught the people to fight only for their own kind, not to live in the shadow of the great industrial lie of racial equity and spreading of resources, that tribalism is outdated and dead, and we are “all in this together”. We were not. That is why I killed the inferior races, and I bid the Mainlanders to do it.The Mainlanders, the scientists and soldiers of my Hegemony, the fair cyan-furred race of beauty among the many primates who evolved separately on this planet, once lived enslaved to neolibral democracy. I use these terms in past tense, as in the far future, my people may have evolved into something else entirerly. But I rose up within them a great racial spirit. I gave the angry, sexless, frustrated, hopeless men; watching their country be invaded by minorities to be given the excess of their resources, to have their own homes become unaffordable, to see their women cower in the crime-ridden cities, to see their politicans fight against their own interests to please the internationals, to see their jobs and careers become automated and their quality life diminish as more and more of the planet is given to the bourgeoisie- and then I freed them.I gave them a gun, and a knife, and imprinted upon them all their woes and fears and gave their enemy a face and a name. No longer was blame spread out among the wealthy invisible elites of the world, no longer was it “everyone's” fault the world was the way it was, no longer was it “just the way things are”, I gave them an enemy to fight and they killed them. They rejoiced in the streets as they maimed and tortured and raped and dominated. Who dares to call me an oppressor? I am a liberator. I have freed them, freed them from the chains of self hatred, of self-restraint, of being rational and civilized and kind and empathetic in a world where their enemies had no such restrictions. I game them their identity and their tribe. Now, we really are all in this together. Because we are all that remain. I gave the Mainlanders their identity. Now, the Hegemony is their identity.But do you want to know a secret...?”>What do you think the secret is?
>>5996597Good question. Now the first thing you're think would be something about how the actual "purity nationalism" didn't matter because it was just about uniting the mMinlanders as a single, united people but that feel waaaay to obvious and lame to be a "secret"
>>5996597>It wasn't enough.
>>5995655>>5995718>>5995783>>5995905>>5996459Accept the downturn - 5 votes>>5995670>>5995766>>5996223>>5996290>>5996303Also five votes, and if you count >>5996297, it's 6
>>5996596Was it that you were secretly disgusted by the atrocities required to achieve your vision and were only able to do it because you hid behind the mask?Or was it that everything you just said was just a pretense, at the end of the day it was about doing whatever the fuck you wanted? The Supreme Ruler is supreme after all.(Probably not, he just just rejected the notion that he enslaved people.)Whatever it is, it probably has something to do with what whatever that bottle like thing to the right of his feet is.
>>5995647This is one reason why I think looking for an ocean world for Migrators AND Swalli would have been better.
>>5995651If you hate democracy so much, why don't you overthrow the thread and replace it with an apolitical fascist hedgemony?I'm sure you can find a mask to fit. :^)
>>5995667+1We can be the China to their USA.
>>5996669(But inverted, with the capitalist oligarchy being the one giving the loan instead of taking it.)
>>5995736>>5995729Remember folks BWm sai din the last quest that winning that battle was a permanent ward away from the Consortium military. So Even if we don't pay them back its not like they can do anything. Its not like we have a credit score to fuck up.
>>5995742>epitome of effeciency over morals.The first few threads were efficient and moralistic for a different moral code than ours.The threads after that drifted into us basically being a generic evil empire faction but with a veneer of philosophizing about it."Klingon larping as Vulcans" was how I coined it.
>>5995877>BQM goes wokeIn all honesty, I would prefer the Hegemony's "evil" choices to be more like that. "Greater good" morality that is so grey its basically black, as opposed to translating IRL ideologies in a "but what if they were RIGHT"
>>5995877I forget what was this a picture of?I think it during the political party crisis.
>>5996028>Other nations aren't controlled by a shadow cabal of psychic parasites from outer space who want to kill us.Tell that to /x/
>>5996659>>5996664>>5996669>>5996671>>5996673>>5996675>>5996679>>5996683Anon, why?
>>5996597>The secret is that the ingroup of Hegemonic Solidarity was then as it is now and will forever be reliant on Outsider Outgroups to maintain its bonds, lest the Hegemony fracture into factions and attack itself.
>>5996695That checks out. I'll support that. It would explain why Hass would watch a video like that and still integrate xenos. How did TALACENT end up so damn tolerant and permissive even in light of this, though? Did he see this little incel rambling about his glorious struggle and just go "ha, nope, what a loser?" Kind of based, if so.
>>5996679>as opposed to translating IRL ideologiesI have never done that. As stated before, Space Monke Quest is not political. It's probably the least political piece of writing I've ever personally experienced, but I might be biased as the author.>>5996612I reread the votes for you. It was as I counted, you missed this one >>5995782I didn't consider this >>5996297 an actual vote, as there is no greentext and it's not a reply to the prompt, though it would be a tie otherwise. For the sake of moving the thread along at a reasonable speed, Accept will remain the winner.
>>5996596>You will either be my descendant, or a hated foe that has succeeded in extinguishing my flameThis is interesting. It implies The Supremacy was originally dynastic. I wonder who was the first person to seize power from an Akulean and how they justified that against Akule's cult of personality. My best guess is they claimed to be the TRUE successor of Akule, but my merit and belief, not bloodline.
>>5996705>It's probably the least political piece of writing I've ever personally experienced, but I might be biased as the author.You can't possibly believe a quest where you just wrote Akule giving a speech about his political manifesto and his hatred of a real-world ideology is without politics. That would be asinine. Why do you troll the anons like this? or are you using some bespoke definition of the word 'political'?
>>5996709Classic Sunni-Shiite split.
>>5996597>Now, we really are all in this together. Because we are all that remain.Fucking chilling. Akule got better writers it seems.
>>5996705>the least political piece of writing I've ever personally experiencedThese posts (and several like them in the quest) seem very political. >>5996597>>5996596I say this not as a "gotcha" but as a genuine ask, what is your definition of "political?"
>>5996705Doesn't seem at all political to me. Maybe a little philosophical.
>>5996719Philosophy of governance and social organization is politics."Political philosophy" and "political theory" are synonyms.
Can I request another parody thread after this? I think the last one is starting to wear off.
>>5996705>Space Monke Quest is not political.Going by the actual definition of politics I just looked up, seems super political to me.You could make a case that the quest is disconnected from RL politics by virtue of being fictional and dealing with a non-human civilization, but no matter how you slice it the quest is political.
>>5996762>the quest is disconnected from RL politics by virtue of being fictional and dealing with a non-human civilizationBut Akule's ideology and the ideologies he overturned and his successors opposed are all transparently rooted in real-world politics, even using the same names for the social and economic models, and Akule himself is based on real-world political actors.
>>5996765I said you could "make a case", how strong that case would be is another matter entirely.
>>5996597All Supremes are retards
>>5996710>>5996718>>5996719>>5996762>>5996765Bananas is trolling, morons.
>>5996597>What do you think the secret is?The secret is that akule is trans btw
>>5996597>Racial purity is the key to Harmony
>>5996941social hegemony but a solid one because a social hegemony of bad will just be bad ect.
>>5996597>That the culture of the Hegemony is mostly just the culture of the Blondes.Or maybe>That despite being only 12% of the population, Redbacks committed 50% of crimes?Or possibly>The greenfaces were genocided for their treachery but also some were preserved for their brilliance.
>>5996841If BQM is, its quite the long game. In another thread, they gave a detailed paragraph sharing frustration that political parties developed in the quest's voter base and how in their mind, the quest is meant as an apolitical exploration of a world where certain taboo ideas about running a society are found to be correct.
>>5996597>At the end of the day, I don't really care about WHY the Hegdmony formed, only that it is mine. My life was sad and pathetic until I seized the power to get what I wanted. There are no ideologies, only self-interest.
>>5996597My guess, he's going to say something like picrel.
>>5996597>The secret is that Epstein didn't kill himself.
>>5997067>>5997065Going to mix these two (with what I believe is my proper ID)>None of this matters. All these high-minded dialogues about racial purity and society, are excuses for power. It is the same for every leader. My life was pathetic until I became a monster, now I have everything I wanted. All life is led by basic self-interest. Know this and you can master an entire species.
>>5997160Third time is the charm. I think this is the ID I used for the first post in this thread.
>>5997234There we gothis post is me>>5997160If you don't accept the backlink I can just copy paste my vote but that seems like it would clog the thread up and be confusing.
>>5996947What is a social hegemony anyway?
>>5996941>>5996606Dunno if we need to write in something ourselves but these two are the most likely.
It seems like he still cares about the future, so 'none of this matters' doesn't make a ton of sense. From what we've previously been told he's supposed to convince the Supremes that spiritualism is bad. Therefore I'm guessing that he'll say that he killed everyone for God/the Unspeakable, and that's why he plunged the world into nuclear fire.
>>5997524Given that the idea is to convince them it's bad and Akule is still basically (and ironically) worshipped, I'm gonna go ahead and guess he's not going to actively say spiritualism is good. If he's going to say spiritualism is bad, it'll be by claiming that it's so jaxtians will worship the Supreme as a sort of state cult religion and must therefore not be allowed to have a higher power to answer to.
>>5997524My interpretation of "none of this matters" was the idea that all his political posturing and speechifying was ultimate bullshit in the end, and the only thing he really cares about is taking power.
>>5996597>That you will always be enslaved to something, and that is up to you to choose your master.
”...The secret is that there is nothing special about them; nothing special and intrinsic to any species or organism or lifeform for that matter. I lied to the people of the Hegemony, and told them they have a destiny and a purpose, but the Mainlanders are not special. Redmanes are stronger, Greenfaces by and large perform higher on standardized IQ tests, Mainlanders are merely at the crux of population numbers and quality to be the best suited for the purpose. And most of all, I am one of them. Even if there was another culture that I preferred, even if a superior lifeform came along that was best and most suited for industrial society, I am not one of them.My Jinoism was predicated on this lie; this concept that we are chosen and special and destined. None of these things are true. Even if the unthinkable happened and the inferior races overwhelmed us and all of society would collapse by the weight; even a mass Jaxtian extinction, it would just be a few thousand years until another ethnicity, another culture took forth the reigns and became in the position of the coveted “master race”. This is the truth. Even if the wet dream of the globalist homosexuals came to pass, and we merged into one blue mixed up mutt race, it would amount to, what? Less then a standard deviation of change in development speeds, intelligence, height, a few cosmetic differences? It's meaningless. All of that would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things; just a few hundred years of proper eugenic policy could reverse that, not to mention the possibilities of technology. No, race is a smokescreen. It is used to motivate. It is used to explain something that is otherwise distasteful- the truth that the success of peoples and nations are mostly down to their physical and economic advantages. Centralia didn't succeed as a proto-nation because of the Mainlander spirit, nor because of its devotion of “life, liberty, and equality”, no, it succeed because it's a massive nation with many untapped natural resources, a strong military, and a location that keeps it relevant as a trading partner. This is the real reason it succeeded; it's military successes and history is merely twisted to support some grand story of moral victory. It's power. When one looks upon the vast spectrum of history, it seems the Good Guys win every time. Why do you think this is the case? Power.”He pauses. For a second, his eyes glare from underneath the mask. Something has changed, almost like he's going off the script.”...I've seen things you wouldn't dare imagine in your darkest nightmares. I've done the impossible thing. I surmounted the Leviathan. Do you have any concept, in your far flung future, of what this means? You will see my struggle as the struggle of the medieval knights and imperialists, you will see it as numbers on a page. But I've lived it. Do you even understand? I've overcome it. I've overcome power.”
”When I was but a boy, I lived on a street down the block from an apartment complex. Nobody lived there, the owners did not want to pay for the upkeep costs of housing tenants in a property with fixed rent. Outside the building, homeless people slept under the fire escapes for a modicum of shelter. My mother told me not to walk by it, because she saw hyperdermic needles in the gutters. Do you know who lives there now? Families live there. Families who check up on each other to make sure their children have a good balanced diet. Families who don't lock their doors at night. Don't you see? I've won. I've beaten it.”Akule stops, his head slowly staring up. He reaches his arms up as if trying to capture a phantom.”...I saw you. I looked you right in the eyes, while I saw dying on the side of the mountain. Look at what I have accomplished. I dismantled comfort. I prevented the last man. I ended apathy. I burned out the eyes of the sneering beast, the one who sits from the back and laughs and laughs as men fight and die pointlessly in circles over and over for the same things. The men who would spend their lives in labor seeking comforts and wet sex and pointless vanity now stand lockstep to solve the problem of their own mortality. They have achieved a species-wide organism. I have ended the “in it for himself”. I have ended the “life isn't fair.” This is impossible. Who could ever do this? Me. I did the impossible, my will triumphant and absolute. I overcame them all. And yet, after all that, you are still going to win. You always will win. The iron laws of this world don't bend for anyone. I did more then anyone else ever did. Nobody has done what I have done. No one will understand the enormity of my work. And yet despite this... I will still fall all the same. They say I don't care, that I am filled with hatred. My true flaw is that I cared far too deeply.”
Almost raving in anger, Akule shoots his face back at the camera, causing you a sudden fright. The Unspeakable showing such emotion, showing so little restraint, almost in a way lessening the impact the mask has on you as a symbol. To see this side of Akule is fascinating but, in a way, tragic. The legend has faded, but, something else is being taught here.”Listen to me closely, young Supreme! Supreme Ruler of the future, my descendant of blood or descendant by culture, listen closely! There is but one threat that can destroy the Hegemony, one threat that will destroy our mission utterly! And that thing is the soul! The belief in the soul! It is the foundation for spiritualism! It is the end of logic, and the beginning of acceptance! Acceptance that we must simply “be” in this place, in this way! I will NOT ACCEPT IT!”He points at the camera, the terrifying glint of the Unspeakable as he screams.”WHERE DOES LIBERAL DEMOCRACY GAIN ITS FOOTHOLD?! WHY IS THE VOTE OF A WASTREL EQUAL TO MINE? WHY IS THE FREEDOM TO POLLUTE AND “OWN” AND COLLUDE FOR YOUR BENEFIT AT THE EXPENSE OF ANOTHER?! WHERE DOES THIS FREEDOM COME?! IT IS THE SOUL! THE UNTANGIABLE, IMMESURABLE “SOUL”! WHY IS HOMOSEXUAL LOVE EQUAL TO REPRODUCTIVE LOVE?! BECAUSE OF THE SOUL! WHERE IS THIS SOUL!? HAVE YOU SEEN IT? HAVE YOU FELT IT? I NEVER HAVE, AND YOU NEVER WILL! IT IS A FICTION- THE-”Akule coughs. Suddenly, he seems very frail. Underneath the robe, you can see him holding himself up, bow-legged, the weight of the mask suddenly seeming very heavy indeed. He takes off the mask, and you suddenly realize how hold he is. You've never seen Akule aged at all, all of his media and portrait was all like he was a young adult, but he looks absolutely ancient here. He is breathing heavy after his rant, needing a moment to collect himself.”...The Soul is the end of rationality. It is the greatest lie ever told, the vestigial belief; now becoming the extra chromosome that retards our species to become invalid. You must never allow the belief of the soul to gain root-”
Akule has undressed himself now. You are shocked- you did not expect his aging to be so ungraceful. Even without telomere lengthening, he still looks absolutely horrible. The way the skin sags, the muscles, clearly in use constantly and a healthy diet yet results in this. You see how his face and hands and tail are all perfect- clearly the result of surgeries and cosmetics to appear youthful and strong even yet, but he can barely stand.”-Because to believe in the soul, is to believe that everything will get better. That our actions in this world, and the environment in which we live, is secondary or even transitory. That the pointless and endless waste, the pointless and endless suffering, the purposelessness of life, the unsurety of the future- is all really for some higher purpose. To some higher power, the universe or karma or the Gods or “myself looking inward to everything” as any narcissistic reincarnationist will believe in all its blind arrogance.We must not fall for the soul for the siren-song of the soul. Everything is physical. Your brain is physical. Your mind is physical, your memories and emotions and connections- they all exist only as things that can be measured and manipulated and a part of the intrinsic system. This is it. This is what, and who, I am. What you see before you, in all its naked ugliness. Do I disgust you? That is good. This is my soul, bared before you. Yet despite all my will, despite my greatness and all my struggle, this is where I will end up. Do you understand yet?I rebuke the soul. I despise it. The very concept disgusts me. Because if there really was- if there really was a soul, a golden glorious soul...”Akule is tearing up now. It is clear, the video is about to end.”...Then that golden, timeless, endless perfect thing, free from suffering, free from time, free from entropy, free from the bonds of evolutionary psychology, free from this pointless and wretched and limited existence. Then that perfect and glorious thing, is doomed. Doomed to be trapped in this. And that? That is too painful to believe.”>I understand>Hass is not listening
>>5997908Akule dick?>Hass is not listeninghaha get owned idiot
>>5997908Are write-ins allowed, or is the only option to understand/agree with Akule, or be ignorant/dumb/distracted?
>>5997934Sure, we can do a write in. This is a prequel moment however so whatever you write can't change anything up until the present timeline.
>>5997943Thank you.>>5997908>I understand the problem, but don't entirely agree with Akule's solutionIf Hass wasn't listening and didn't care at all, there'd be no reason for him to flip his shit on Maktana for entertaining spiritualist thinking. If Hass fully and truly believed all this without reservation or misgiving, it wouldn't have made any sense to integrate Swall and Vetuckers as he did. I'm not moralfagging, mind you, just trying to steer us away from Akule's hopelessness at the end and to integrate the decisions we've already made in a way that makes sense.
>>5997950>>5997908+1 support. Open to changing vote if one more profound comes along.
>>5997908>I understandI understand belief in the soul is ideological poison to the Hegemony in it's current form, but in this era of Star Sight we've encountered things that cannot be adequately explained through our Materialist science.A Supreme have the most complete picture possible and I cannot keep myself ignorant even if my subjects must be.
>>5997908>hass is not listeningwhy would anyone give a fuck about this political screed? This is a non-political quest, after all
>>5997908Yknow, whether Hass the Hedonist Bastard that he was cared about this, in the end, all this stuff that Akule is saying is pretty much entirely culturally predicted. He says that "the belief of the soul will kill the hegemony because it makes us equal!", but the very idea that having a soul makes you equal is cultural. Everyone has a consciousness, the Hegemony doesn't deny that, but they still go on about not believing that matters, right? By his logic, the very idea of consciousness is something that would destroy it. Just as Akule claimed "who said being alive entitles you to the same rights", we can say the literal exact same thing about the soul. >but the soul can't be measured And? That just means we can say whatever the fuck we want. >but it makes us equalDoes it? Our proof of soul is because there's a literal soul catcher machine. Worms, despite being at the pinnacle of "soul power" are still parasites who are unable to do anything as we fumigate them from whales. >but it implies a higher existenceAnd? Without a higher creator that bestowed objective laws, why does this matter at all? Why does there being an soul after death mean you should be equal? There is literally nothing inherent in it. In the end, I suppose this doesn't matter since it's just Akule's belief, but what I'm trying to say is, even if you follow the in-universe laws, even if you're going by the hegemony's completely materialistic view of things, the idea of a soul changes literally nothing. You have a soul? Good. Who gives a shit? It doesn't make you equal. What makes people equal is the BELIEF that they should be equal. TL;DR Without a proven religion, culture is the only thing that actually matters here
>>5997908>I understand
>>5997950>I understand the problem, but don't entirely agree with Akule's solution
>>5998011Also, i should add, that his final argument that a soul doesn't exist because of the 'limitdness of existence' is literally obsolete, given that we literally found out about souls because of a machine that was able to bring back the dead.Also the life-machine, but, y'know, i don't really like the idea of society-wide eternal youth, that shit just leads to the Aristocrats.
>>5997908>>I understand
>>5997908>I understandAkule makes some great points up until that last paragraph of self-pity.
>>5998107Except...no, he doesn't. See >>5998011 on how he's confused by culture.He is, basically, a fish who says that water doesn't exist, so surrounded he is by it. His entire worldview about 'spirituality' only makes sense with the specific spirituality that Jaxt had before he came along.
>>5997950+1 Support"Perhaps we have it the wrong way around. We claim a soul is 'golden, glorious, eternal', but is that not just espousing the blind beliefs of the deist just to reject them, without seeking evidence and proof of the thing itself? Perhaps, if a 'soul' exists at all, it is a limited, transient thing; a mere projection produced by the physical form into the hyperspatial that dies with the body? Deists once believed that the world was flat, that the rain was the tears of the gods. And we have found that world is round, that rain is produced by a process of evaporation and perticipation. We rejected the belief of the deists in what these things were to find a true solution. Yet that did not stop the world existing, did not stop the rain from falling, just because the Deists imagined them as something they were not."
>>5997950+1 SupportLikely souls are as inequal as the rest of the world, transient and not eternal, not gauranteeing an afterlife, and not a great equalizer as described in the white-light, equity-obsessed religions of old.
>>5998119>>5998137While i generally agree with the idea, i feel like you're forgetting the fact that this is OLD Hass we're choosing for. You know, the lazy selfish degenerate?
>>5997901>>5997904Holy shit you Raidened Akule.
>>5997908>Hass is not listening
>>5998175Deciding he has a special, superior soul, but being afraid that he might end up old, ruined, and despairing like Akule could fit very well with a bout of hedonistic copium. After all, "desperate cope" seems to have been Akule's own ultimate justification. 'There can't be a soul, because if there is, why am I still so roten and disgusting, inside and out?' Turns out the gate he was most filled with was self-loathing. Akule didn't defeat the Leviathan, either. Hass' own tyranny (as well as schemes of those such as Ingar and that one Supreme, Gaftar I think, who masqueraded for decades as 'Helper') goes to show that he didn't cure selfish egotism at the expense of the race, either. Even after acknowledging that subrace is ultimately kind of meaningless in the grand scheme of things, and even after exterminating all those he felt were his lessers, he was STILL seething about long-dead Smallears voting wrong in a long-dead democracy, enabling long-dead homosexuals in long-dead international orders to prevent him from getting laid in his twneties by women he probably rpaed or murdered in his 40s, with his only solace being that he'd put an end to all that and stopped the cycle of sneering beasts sacrificing men (monkeys?) in an endless cycle of violence... But he didn't. What is The Mask if not a permanent, bestial sneer? What is the Hegemony but a veneration of that Beast? And when have we gone so much as a single thread without Jaxtians being terrorized, and their lives sacrificed, in the name of defeating enemies within and without? The cycle never ended, and even the Supreme (soul or no soul) cannot escape it. Akule was right about that.
>>5998403In all fairness to Akule, the Jaxtians would have probably never been able to leave their planet if it hadn't been for Akule. They'd have either died out amidst war, pollution and nuclear warfare, or if they somehow survived eventually got killed by the Balaathi or turned into Hazaar Slaves. He may have created a bloodthirsty demon that seems to periodically awaken and require the blood of billions, yes, but it also allowed people like Vantix, Tallacent and Eoba to come into power they probably never would have gotten their hands on.
>>5998428How do you figure? The Consortium, Hazaar/Aristocrats, and even Seekers all hold variations on the idelogies he so abhorred, and yet they made it to the stars.
>>5998453I'm talking about the Jaxtians in specific, however. We don't know how those other guys went to the stars. The Jaxtians we saw during Akule's times would have probably never made it that far, definitely not fast enough to avoid dealing with the eventual Baalathpocalypse and Hazaar refugees.
>>5998460Those Lien encounters happened like 1000 years after Akule. We have no reason to suspect that Jaxtians acting essentially like Consortium client species couldn't get to the same stage the Consortium did, or even just join the Consortium itself. That Akule and the Hegemony were necessary an ad-hoc justification, based on general gut-feel, and could be true but also could be BS. As far as I can tell, Akule may very well have helped spark the nuclear holocaust and set Jaxtian society back in terms of productivity and technology, given he was a ranking military official before democratic/globohomo Centralia fell, and he was already angling for a planet-cleansing race-war. He even sort of akcnowedged his way wasn't the only way:>Even if the wet dream of the globalist homosexuals came to pass, and we merged into one blue mixed up mutt race, it would amount to, what? Less then a standard deviation of change in development speeds, intelligence, height, a few cosmetic differences? It's meaningless.>Centralia didn't succeed as a proto-nation because of the Mainlander spirit, nor because of its devotion of “life, liberty, and equality”, no, it succeed because it's a massive nation with many untapped natural resources, a strong military, and a location that keeps it relevant as a trading partner. This is the real reason it succeeded; it's military successes and history is merely twisted to support some grand story of moral victory. It's power.It wasn't the genocides and eugenics that allowed the Hegemony to reach the stars. It wasn't a lack of spirituality, or a glorious fascist ideology. They just inheruted all the power and resources of Centralia, and the other nations they conquered.
>>5998477Alien encounters, rather. I'm on mobile, hence the typos.
>>5998477>Those Lien encounters happened like 1000 years after Akule. We have no reason to suspect that Jaxtians acting essentially like Consortium client species couldn't get to the same stage the Consortium did, or even just join the Consortium itself.Did you forget the part where even under the Hegemony's naturalism, they were still having to deal with global warming by the time of the Hegemony's ascension to space? Now imagine if they had 1000 years of reckless consumerist industrialism. Not to mention the chance of the nuclear holocaust happening anyway, but without Akule to unite them after. >It wasn't the genocides and eugenics that allowed the Hegemony to reach the stars. He specifically said they'd need a few hundred years of eugenics to fix it. But without the Hegemony and their obsession with biological advancement, do you think they would have ever done it? While he says that it wasn't specifically because of some great racial spirit, it's undeniable the Jaxtians, IN THEIR SPECIFIC SCENARIO, would have been very unlikely to go anywhere near as far as they have without the Hegemony uniting them under a single flag and strong cultural identity (that was created specifically by Akule)
This argument made me go back to the first threads, and, uh, i gotta ask, did we ever get told whatever the fuck happened with those '500 voices' who apparently got to pick a supreme if the current one died without a heir? They got mentioned literally twice and then never again
>>5998487It's only undeniable if you're predisposed to believe it. Nobody in a 4chan thrwad is going to be able to perfectly predict 1000 years of cultural and technological evolution, myself included. Going off the examples of other species we've encountered, though, there seem to be many means to reach space, including a diversity-embracing consumerist culture full of weird/deviant lifestyles and no real unifying tribal identity. It's possible Jaxtians are uniquely self-destructive without those structures, but we really have no reason to think so based on evidence presented, and even Akule seems to think ideology has little role, and that his radical approach to eugenics and social engineering amounted to "less then a standard deviation of change" in most areas.This isn't me saying "grr, mask monkey bad, antifa forever!", just that it realy seems like an admission by Akule that most of what he did was born of the neurosis and self-loathing of a perennial socia outcast, that we have reasons to believe his theories are flawed/wrong in-universe, and that he doesn't seem to have solved even the problems he thought he solved, which on some level he seemed to recognzie at the end. I find that tragic and poignant, if not a little pathetic as well.
>>5998509>Going off the examples of other species we've encountered, though, there seem to be many means to reach space, including a diversity-embracing consumerist culture full of weird/deviant lifestyles and no real unifying tribal identity.Again, we don't actually know whether that's the case. We know there must have been someone who first formed the consortium, but a bunch of their races seem to have been uplifted. >t's possible Jaxtians are uniquely self-destructive without those structures, but we really have no reason to think so based on evidence presented, and even Akule seems to think ideology has little role, and that his radical approach to eugenics and social engineering amounted to "less then a standard deviation of change" in most areas.That's not what he said, though. He didn't say that ideology didn't matter or that his eugenics barely changed anything, he said that the Mainlanders, in particular, didn't matter. If he was a Greenface, he could have theoretically done the exact same with the Greenfaces, or with the blondes if he decided to stay with his adopted family. Centrallia was the most powerful and he was one of them, so it was the most convenient. But ideology absolutely mattered to achieve his goals. That's literally the entire reason he goes off on an schizoid screaming fit about 'Soul', because of the 'Spiritualism' it brings.>ust that it realy seems like an admission by Akule that most of what he did was born of the neurosis and self-loathing of a perennial socia outcast, that we have reasons to believe his theories are flawed/wrong in-universeFlawed, yes, but not untrue. The Hegemony, while by no means even 'good', has achieved a considerable amount of rather difficult challenges that i doubt would have been made without it.
>>5998521Your proposition seems highly speculative, anon. While I'm citing actual examples of societies different from the Hegemony and similar to the Degenerate Jaxtian Capitalists or foolish egalitarian spiritualists who exist(ed) succesfully in space, your counterargument is essentialy "but maybe they USED to be brutal totalitarians", and you're then using this big, unproven "maybe" to prop up the idea that Akule's ideology was the ONLY way the Jaxtians could have survived and succeeded into the space age. I don't think that's a strong argument, but I also reocgnize we're going in circles. Would you like to amicably agree to disagree?
>>5998532>but maybe they USED to be brutal totalitariansThat's not what i'm saying. I'm saying that we have no idea of how the Consortium actually got to space. They could have been totalitarian, or they could have been capitalists, or they could have been secretly uplifted by the worms as plot to create a servile state they could easily manipulate. I'm saying that we just don't know about the consortium's past to use them as an example of why the Jaxtians could have gone to space as divided warring degenerate capitalists states.
>>5998535I agree that we don't know. We do know Akule's ideology was flawed and didn't exactly achieve the things he thought it would, and that spacefaring societies exist which differ from his model. We also have reason to suspect souls of some form may exist, and that Akule has told a millenium's worth of Supremes to reject that no matter what out of profound self-disgust. Based on these things we know and don't know, I propose it's quite possible Akule was simply wrong about how his universe functions. He might have been right, but we don't really have any reason to believe so, and several reasons to suspect he was fundamentally wrong. Not inherently morally or ethically wrong, though many would consider him such, but wrong in the sense of "having objectively misunderstood the nature of the universe, society, and of the individual, thus coming to incorrect conclusions."
>>5998504IIRC they never existed. They were a falsehood created to make the Hegemony look more democratic. I think the whole Ingar plot had something to do with it, but it's been so long I don't remember anymore.
>>5998559>We do know Akule's ideology was flawed and didn't exactly achieve the things he thought it wouldDid it, however? I mean, yes, the Hegemony has done some pretty fucked up shit, but it's lasted for over a 1000 years, and most supremes seem to have been good enough that 'Tyrant Kings' like Hass seemed to be a rarity. I mean, how many 'bad' supremes have we gotten since Vantix? Agori and Wrix? Even Agori was surprisingly competent when he wasn't having his schizoid rage fits. By no means is it good, of course - it sucks - but it's undeniable that as a society they haven't exactly been the worst given how other people are.>We also have reason to suspect souls of some form may exist, and that Akule has told a millenium's worth of Supremes to reject that no matter what out of profound self-disgustIn all fairness we didn't even have any evidence of the soul until the age of Talacent when Starsight was first discovered. And we only have 'conclusive' proof now that we found those ancient andoen vaults.Akule was wrong about a lot of things, but it's wrong to say that Jaxtians would have been definitely better off if he didn't do what he did.
>>5998573You're the only one spekaing in terms of "definitely" and "undeniable". I'm just saying the guy SEEMS to have been biased and emotionally-driven, and that there is circumstantial evidence that he was wrong about a great many things.>Did it, however? I mean, yes, the Hegemony has done some pretty fucked up shit, but it's lasted for over a 1000 yearsAgain, I'm not delving into moral assessments of how fucked up or justifiable the Hegemony is in its practices. I'm just looking at the things Akule explicitly wanted to eliminate, and comparing it to what we've seen. He wanted a Jaxt without factionalism, without selfishness, without the potential for ecological or political catastrophe, without homoseuxality, and without spiritualism. What his Hegemony produced has included:>the dodgy Supremes you mentioned>Enough Tyrant Kings for the Hegemony to be used to them and have a term for them>The Blackspot Billionaires and the Dulioans>A string of nepotistic Suprmes that lasted long enough and performed poorly enough to create a longstanding taboo>Several attempted coups and rebellions we've had to put down>'Sneering' bureaucrats killing or raping loyal subjects as an object-lesson to educate teenagers about moral relativism>At least one civil war>New races/ethnic groups such as the Indigos and Blue Hazaar, plus Vetucker-spliced Alphas and minority Supremes>the return of multiculturalism, to the extent that we now concern ourselves with adapting our cultural dress to fit aliens and looking for habitats for still other aliens>his direct lineal descendant discovering souls might be realI don't think things went how he wanted then to. If the only reason we have to believe his oath was the ONLY path was his say-so, well... Akule isn't exactly looking like an especilaly prescient guy. The Hegemony is a remarably stable social structure even so, and credit where it's due, but he clearly bound up a lot of his own insecurities and angsts into his assumption of what the 'ideal' path looked like, and we can't say for sure how many of them were actually necessary.
>>5998603>the dodgy Supremes you mentioned>Enough Tyrant Kings for the Hegemony to be used to them and have a term for them>The Blackspot Billionaires and the DulioansWhile those weren't particularly good, the fact that those were pretty much the only (or at least, the most notable) examples of bad supremes just shows that the Hegemony has had an pretty damn good luck. I mean, we're talking about a global empire that lasted a millenia. That's a pretty big amount.>New races/ethnic groups such as the Indigos and Blue Hazaar, plus Vetucker-spliced Alphas and minority SupremesDidn't he have like several points in his video where he went 'unless of course you aren't jaxtians but some aliens who conquered us or some other group that rose up and took over'?>his direct lineal descendant discovering souls might be realYeah, on that one he obviously went wrong. Of course, he didn't know about the life machine allowing his 'shell' to be healed, or the life vault to create an entirely new one.>The Hegemony is a remarably stable social structure even so, and credit where it's due, but he clearly bound up a lot of his own insecurities and angsts into his assumption of what the 'ideal' path looked like, and we can't say for sure how many of them were actually necessary.You're right to say that the Hegemony has a lot of mistakes which come in a lot of ways from his autism that was firmly based on his specific situation at the time he was alive and have well outlived their usefullness (the 'soul' denial) my ultimate point is that i find it unlikely Jaxt would have been 'better off' if he never existed or decided to settle down with the blondes.I mean, even if they did succeed as capitalist degenerates, would you consider being an consortium puppet or esaal colony a good ending?
>>5998627>I mean, even if they did succeed as capitalist degenerates, would you consider being an consortium puppet or esaal colony a good ending?That's a very subjective evaluation. It's a 'bad ending' in a quest where we guide the nation and its leaders, because it means we 'lost', but I don't know enough to say which space-nation has the happier citizenry. If we were playing Democratic Space Monke President Quest, we'd probably still be aiming for independence, but that's immaterial to the point I was making. We don't yet know that Akule's Hegemony will save us from a bad end, or that other models of governance were doomed to subservience.
>>5998562I thought that was 'Helper'/Supreme Baltimian who supposedly acted as the 'voices'.
>>5998682That sounds right!
>>5998403Give this anon a quest.
>>5998627You're engaging in an irl falacy called the historical falacy. It claims that "since things happened this way, it's the ONLY way things COULD" have happened. When that is something no one has the ability to truly know. History irl is the result of a great many folks of the dice.For example, just because the 1776, revolution led to the United States, it doesn't mean if that failed that the colonies would be British for all eternity.A great many things could have happened that led to Virgina no longer being under British rule. (The UK collapsing, the colony being given independence in a pistcolonial wave, the area being reclaimed by Indigenous people, the land being taken by a rival imperial power, Slave Rebellion, Nuclear war...)
I think we're missing a more important piece of the puzzle here. Bear with me.Let's assume souls exist, right?Let's assume souls are how creatures do Starsight stuff.Worms can only _absolute disassasociate_ Starsight using creatures.Ergo, souls are just creatures "activating" their Starsight stuff.So that means souls really are just a temporary extension of the physical, perhaps some kind of perceptual interaction with otherdimensional... stuff.If you know about physics you've probably heard of Spooky Action at A Distance. If not, its relevant to how Starsight might work and is related to Quantum Entanglement.It very well may be that some creatures create constructs (their soul) via a special form of Perception that store all sorts of data about themselves. Think of a brain being a computer and this entangled Stuff being data in the cloud.Maybe when you die, that cloud data is still out there and is used by the Resurrection Pods to bring cretures back.That being said, this same process, but in REVERSE, is how Worms, who are natives of the cloud/other dimensions now(they may not always have been) entangle physical particles in our dimension and create their bodies but they've managed to keep their brains in the cloud/other dimension and just send nerve impulses through quantum entanglement to their bodies.So why do they eat people? To eat their cloud data/souls that perhaps only manifest when willed to(Starsight) or upon death(the last copy) used by the ressurrection pods.
>>5998789>the demiurge monsters feed on soulsChecks out.
>>5998793I saw the image counter go up and thought the update dropped. You disappoint me, anon.
>>5998796I'm working on it.In the meantime; here's the blooper from the Akule bit.
>>5998810Vetucker Women could cure even the biggest racist.
>>5998789Pfffft. Everyone knew this already. Yawn. Try to keep up, anon. Jeez....What is he even talking about?
Akule's voice is quiet now, barely picked up on the microphone. You are listening to what he is saying, you find this fascinating from a historical perspective, but you think that his philosophy, while integral to the Hegemony, may not be the end-point of your race's thinking.”...What a cruelty it is. To birth men into this world and to have them struggle again and again against a foe they cannot possibly defeat. To be born with more dream then life. I couldn't let you experience that, my friend...”From the strange object on the floor from the start of the video, the can opens and Akule pours some kind of oil over his head. He looks at the camera with a terrifying gaze, his mania gone and replaced again with his insurmountable determination.”I am now 60 years old. I will not live much longer. But even if my body can subsist, my mind will not. I grew up in a world ruled by out of touch, mindless geriatric corpses, too concerned with themselves and set in their ways to know how to lead a nation. I refused to become one of them. I have already named my successor, and my Mask remains to you- young Supreme, if you have need of it. Remember it well, for it is the symbol of our race's victory against Leviathan. Now watch closely, and see if you can spot the frame of this video where my spirit takes flight.”The lighter in his off hand ignites, the chemical accelerant covering his body igniting instantly. Akule's body burns, fire consuming him rapidly as he sinks to his knees. You watch in horror, the brightness of the sudden burn causing you to nearly feel the heat thru the screen. Amazingly, Akule makes no more noise. He does not cry or whimper in pain, he is absolutely silent. He holds his arms at his side like a statue. The only time you heard him breathe was the soft raspy choking when his throat's lining boiled to nothing. Akule sinks down to the floor as his body softly smolders, the legend now dead from suicide. Then, the video ends. You leave the room to see the agents of Hegemonic control waiting for first command, and a tailor ready to begin taking measurements for your imperial robes.It is now the present day. You remain Hass Takar, just a bit older and wiser.Because of your decision to simply accept the economic downturn, the Hegemony falls behind many of its stated goals and benchmarks for its economic and military advancements. This has secondary impact on your cultural impacts and citizen morale, which has found itself feeling less confident for the time being.
It doesn't happen all at once, but instead over the next few years, the resource shortages and lowering of the quality of life for the Hegemony's citizens. You perform the normal forms of damage control, both from propaganda and literally. Biocubes rationing isn't required, instead handed out as a punishment for anti-social behavior. New science projects are halted and large scale construction on Myym and other industrial sites are temporarily slowed or put on hold. Many of the factories on your moons and planets are finding themselves being turned off for the first time in centuries. The social weight is unchanged, as all citizens are equally affected by it, though perhaps the Jaxtians in particular feel the sting the most, as their nation's glorious leader has to live out the remainder of his reign in mediocrity. The Hazaar systems yet to be exploited, but at least for now, they are safe and still belong to you...Suddenly, an Esaal warship appears in orbit around your new ocean world. There is great fear for a moment for the Swall colonists on the planet, as this great ship is unlikely any they have ever seen, but it is revealed to be friendly. The ship is huge, and extremely powerful.The Esaal, one of your neighboring rivals, already have Battleship technology; the most powerful type of warship your species can currently envision. This makes their military superior to yours, but this ship is another beast entirely. It's even better then their old ones! During your downturn, it seems your rivals are gaining strength. You are surprised they would reveal this ship to you- is it a show of force..?”Hello, funny monkey warriors! The womenfolk told us not to come over here, but we couldn't resist! The front has an Azurium ram now, we smash asteroids and little moons apart and blow them up! Hahaa. Cool, huh?”The ship is heavily plated with Azurium, likely from the motherload in the Baalathi systems, and is extra reinforced. Unlike their previous battleship design, which was more focused on dealing with swarms of smaller ships, this one is much more suited for taking out capital ships and entrenched points. As far as you know of Esaal military doctrine, they don't like to use fighters or drones, and as such this may be a way to shore up their weakness in attacking enemy hardpoints. While a battleship isn't strong enough to defeat your whole fleet on its own, this is a massive advantage, as this ship is roughly as powerful as a planetary defense network or a heavily fortified space station. Who knows what other kinds of weapons they've got cooked up in there anyway. Best not to tangle with one of those until your species can catch up...
Meanwhile, the Consortium have also gained ground. While your DanboMark was once a competitor in the money market, at least as far as economic value was concerned, the Consortium's economic stability and popularity, as well as advancements in their cryptology and computer tech, has given rise to the new Consortium Credit, or just Credit. This new form of currency is incredibly well encrypted and protected by an advanced blockchain system, making it a type of digital currency immune to being duplicated or stolen freely from accounts- even by your Threemind. Before, the Consortium was very weary of allowing the Hegemony to access its digital treasuries and networks due to your AI technology, but now, that is no longer a problem. You could still force people to willingly give up their currency, but AI can no longer be hacked to steal it. The coins are also untraceable and leave no digital signature on their own, making them the new trading currency of pirates and the galactic underground. While it may seem illogical for the Consortium to not put in such security features; it appears their capitalist perversion is strong enough to even override their sense of authority and keeping bad actors away from using their money.The Credit has become the defacto currency among the galactic powers for trade and transaction among the various alien races, factions, and businesses of your chunk of the galaxy. It is ratified in a small economic council of species, and the vote is unanimous. You were, naturally, not invited.At the same time, the Aristocrats have gained a foothold among the many races in terms of cultural and societal development, creating new advancements in entertainment and social capital. It seems the Aristocrats, and the lifestyle of their various social classes, have quickly become the new envy of the galaxy. The elites of the Consortium, Esaal, and even some less principled Hegemonic higher ups want nothing more then to join the wild parties, opera, and occasional inter-species orgy held in the palaces and lush estates of the Aristocrats. Recordings of their dances and songs have become a bit of a sensation among the Hegemony's citizens. Many lament the fact they will never be able to visit the Gardens of Osk'Tluath, to attend the Symphonies of Ully'Andule, or experience the pampering and worship commonplace at the bathhouses of Jom'Sulithy. Given how much more connected the galaxy has become, and the value in your diplomacy especially in your weakened state, you cannot justify enforcing a total information embargo between your culture and the rest of the galactic community. You might cringe when you hear a young Jaxtian using a term common among the Aristocrats, but your spartan and utilitarian worship of the Supreme Ruler is simply not as flashy...
Year 117 of the Resurrection EraYou are visited by Maktana Naonae III, the third and final clone of that once great figure. He is looking even older now, but he is also one of your closest friends. It is hard to have people to confide in as the Supreme Ruler.”...I wish I could serve you more, my liege. One great last project! But I'm afraid our budget and lack of qualified geneticists greatly limits our ability during my final year as your Overseer of Science; if you permit my retirement that is. That Deepscales Swall fellow will have to suffice in that case.””Of course I will allow your retirement, Makatana! You saved my life, and you have served this Hegemony more then anyone. Look at your accolades- I am quite proud of the new uniforms. Really shows the prestige of someone as lofty as yourself.””Please, Master. I am but your humble servant.”He pauses.”...I would not say this if Bantam was still the Supreme Ruler, my lord. But I have an idea. It's something sacrilegious to most of the Hegemony's ideals, but yet I can't stop thinking about it...””You can tell me anything, Maktana. My ears are always open for a friend.””...It's about the eugenic project. The ever advancing pursuit of perfection for the Jaxtian species, constantly advancing our DNA. We have incorporated the genetics of many alien species now, but never has anyone thought to take something away...””What do you mean, Maktana?””Truthfully, with the resurrection of the Vetuckers... do we need Alpha males anymore, your grace? I was considering the prospects of it. While we don't have the budget or economy to support trying to add a new alien's DNA into the Jaxtian gene pool during yours or my lifetime; all of the research of my father and clone-progenitor still exists. He infused the size and strength of the Vetuckers onto our Alpha-Jaxtian phenotype, leaving no more room for other enhancements from that species...”
”Ah. So you're saying, if we remove the Alpha-Phenotype from the Jaxtian genome, it would allow us a different enhancement. But those greatly improved our soldiers.””That is true, my lord. But the other truth? We have the Vetuckers now. We could make them our soldiers and laborers. It is true that Alpha-Males of the current generation have the size and strength to match a fully grown Vetucker male, but only in snap muscle and grip strength, naturally. Vetuckers are still tougher, have more endurance, are less susceptible to shock, sleep less, and are less aggressive. Which while often a useful trait for a solider, can just as often be a detriment. In essence, their entire male population already grant us the advantages just a small portion of Jaxtian men can give, with fewer of the drawbacks.”You consider it for a moment, nodding.”It make sense, given our empire now being multi-species. Plus, I imagine that it would be achievable even during our downturn, because Alpha-Males are more expensive for food, medicine, gym equipment, uniforms, anti-social enforcement... removing them from the genome would pay for itself.””Exactly. And in their place we can place a different mutation of the Vetuckers. In this case, it would be adapting their diet & gut flora. This would increase the Jaxtian's range of edible foods, making us more resistant to disease and poisoning, and even possibly increasing the Jaxtian average lifespan and overall health- for ALL Jaxtians, women and non-Alphas included. It was strongly considered in Maktana II's time, but ultimately dropped for enhancing our Alpha Males to be closer to the Vetuckers themselves.””Hmph. But Alpha Males are part of our culture, something preserved over generations, even when the rise of intelligence caused our race to select against brute force...””Indeed. This is why I would be hesitant to suggest this to any other Supreme, but I know you will give it a fair chance. Of course, this is still ultimately be your decision. The loss of the Alpha-Male phenotype from the Jaxtian genome forever, in exchange for a different evolution. I guess it would ultimately come down to if you think the cultural value of the Alpha against the efficacy of having a smaller, more lean and intelligence focused primary population. Letting the races of the Hegemony fill in their own specific roles. What do you say, my Lord?”>Remove the Alpha Gene in exchange for an upgrade for all Jaxtians>Decline the Project>Kill Maktana III for his suggestion (greatly shifts Social Weight back to Jaxtian Supremacy)
Oh and, no-write ins or 1-post IDs allowed for this one either.
>>5999222>Kill Maktana III for his suggestion (greatly shifts Social Weight back to Jaxtian Supremacy)
>>5999222>Remove the Alpha Gene in exchange for an upgrade for all JaxtiansIt's cowbro time.
>>5999222>Kill Maktana III for his suggestion (greatly shifts Social Weight back to Jaxtian Supremacy)We need to invent new slurs
>>5999222>Remove the Alpha Gene in exchange for an upgrade for all Jaxtians
>>5999222>Decline the ProjectAlpha Males have a verticality and ability to move in three dimensions that Vetuckers lack.Vetuckers will be a great 'bulk' to our future ground forces, but our Jaxtian 'Marine Corps' fighting in three dimensions in space are better off remaining as Alphas.
>>5999222>Decline the ProjectI dunno, while Maktana makes a very good case do we really want to become the kind of alien empire where the warrior caste is a separate race to the ruling caste? Now that we're a multi-racial empire we're only one retarded decision away from Jaxtians not having all the guns.
Well, would you look at that, deciding to accept an economical decline was a dumb idea. All this to safekeep a planet we're not even going to use anymore now that we're poor and weak.>>5999222>Decline the Project>>5999268explained it better, Alphas, as Jaxtians, are still considerably more 'lithe' than Vetuckers. I think using them as Marines while Vetuckers become our 'Shock Troops' makes a lot of sense, if you know what i mean.
>>5999268>>5999287Wait, is this actually true? I was thinking, it had to be, right? Since Jaxtians have specific verticality abilities, even an Alpha should be far better at it than a Vetucker, but is this actually true?
>>5999222>Gonna need more about this ‘different evolution’ if I’m to entertain this MaktanaAh, yes- genocide the Alphas on a lark of ‘muh economic prosperity’ after we already paid for the consequences of the downturn. Truly, you’re ‘brilliance’ astounds me.>>5999287Deciding to meme the Saving the Whales plot from Star Trek and not going for a diplomatic solution (loans or begging) was the problem, friend.
>>5999315Loans should be used for quick returns. If we want a loan, we'll take it when we can actually use it to exploit the colonies.If we ever actually get the option to that is, lol
>>5999222>Decline the ProjectI just think Alphas are cool!
>>5999222>>Kill Maktana III for his suggestion (greatly shifts Social Weight back to Jaxtian Supremacy)
>>5999315We never used those Bio-bots embedded in the structure of the consortium, did we? Perhaps we need to use them to funnel funds illicitly from inside the consortium's projects to help our economic recovery.
>people unironically voting to kill MaktanaObvious samefagging spitevoter is obvious.
>>5999436The only one post ID vote that's in favor of that is >>5999433In fact it's the only 1 post ID in this current vote.
>>5999440ID counts don't change whether something is a spite-vote. I can easily keep multiple permanent IPs If I use different phones or Wi-fi networks, too.
>>5999447Also, it's extremely obvious you're a spite-voter, as you LITERALLY announced wanting to change your vote solely to spite people before.
Could we not start this? Just vote how you want and don't sabotage the game to "get back at people you don't like". It's extremely dumb and basically gives me zero reason to actually run the game if you're just going to set up some elaborate multibox just to spitevote.
>>5999457>It's extremely dumb and basically gives me zero reason to actually run the game if you're just going to set up some elaborate multibox just to spitevote.Pretty sure that's the entire point of spitevoting, ruining everything so no one can have fun. Saying that is basically giving them exactly what they want.
*Or accuse people of doing that
>>5999447Yeah I agree, and it's unfortunate that it is possible. But that would take tons of time, effort (maybe even money) and autism to do that sort of thing consistently, so I'm hopeful it's not likely that sort of thing is being done here. But who knows, in qst there's tons of trolls and autists. Maybe it would be good to have Bananas not allow 1-IDs to vote in this anymore, to at least make it more difficult to samefag.>>5999452If I was this "spite voter", then I would've samefagged to win the vote there.Yeah I was mad people voted for the write-in. Didn't you mention you were angry about it too? I mostly just wanted an ironic/poetic "we spent too long in our desire to look for a habitable planet, we must now raze another one to make up for that mistake!" as a funny counter to obsessing over colonizing a planet for so long.
>>5999222>>5999416I'll change my vote to>Decline the ProjectI was mostly voting for the meme and because I don't think Maktana III would've died so easily and wanted to see the possibility of a punished Maktana but if there's going to be drama over it it's not worth it.
>>5999468>Yeah I agree, and it's unfortunate that it is possible. But that would take tons of time, effort (maybe even money) and autism to do that sort of thing consistently, so I'm hopeful it's not likely that sort of thing is being done here.I wouldn't call using the wifi from the gym, or your job, or school, or literally any other place "tons of effort"
>>5999469Its good that you changed it, but how exactly did you think he'd survive? He's an elderly man. Maybe if he had way stronger magneto genes, but he never developed those beyond party tricks.
>>5999477It's mostly just a gut feeling. He was able to have Wrix killed in a humiliating and ironic way with some planning, I feel like he's clever and influential enough to have a contingency plan of some sort.
>>5999481That's different. Wrix was an old man with no formal power who was scheduled to die anyways. Hass is still the Supreme. Threes probably knew about his plot and allowed it because giving him happiness was deemed to be worth more than Wrix dying in peace.
>>5999482That sounds likely, but I'm still inclined to think he would have something planned just in case of emergencies. He probably wouldn't of come out unscathed, but I don't think someone like him could die so easily.
>>5999222>>Decline the ProjectAs much as I want to shift social weight back to Jaxtian Supremacy... not like this.
>>5999222>Remove the Alpha Gene in exchange for an upgrade for all JaxtiansUsing my trip, will verify when I'm home.
>>5999222>>Decline the ProjectThe advantage of the Alpha Gene is that, should the time ever arise where Jaxtian intelligence is needed less then Jaxtian strength, the species can survive in and of themselves.
>>5999222>>Decline the Project
Post # id Remove Alpha Decline Kill Maktana 1 post id? >>5999226 I+QSrTFX 1 >>5999228 br5hU9AJ 1 >>5999233 DNVfU1Ec 1 >>5999268 K/IH7I/H 1 >>5999269 8OzEN4Kk 1 >>5999287 PkT2kvi1 1 >>5999362 5kyBTriu 1 >>5999416 hwaM9sdm 1 switch>>5999433 y6NxdH7M 1 yes >>5999469 hwaM9sdm 1 >>5999652 Z+6x3Vxq 1 >>5999672 4h5QMbEh 1 sum: 2 6 4 corrected sum: 2 rem, 6 decline, 2 kill
+2decline = 2 remove, 8 decline, 2 kill
>>5999222>Decline the Project
>>5999222>Decline the ProjectCan we please not kill Maktana III or get rid of the Alpha Gene?
>>5999222>Remove the Alpha Gene in exchange for an upgrade for all Jaxtians Alpha Pros:StrengthJataxian PrestigeAlpha Cons:Mental Health issuesBlock another upgradeThe strength advantage is negated by the fact we can just use VentuckersThe prestige advantage is mitigated by the fact Ventuckers are at the bottom of the social food chain by a fair margin so we have "room" for them to get a status boost.With the Alpha Pros so low, I think it is worth it to remove the gene so we can get rid of the cons, the biggest one being opening a slot for a more advantagous gene upgrade
>>6000038As others have said, aren't Jaxtians way better at 3D navigation? I feel like that'd be pretty valuable in a marine soldier.
"No, Maktana, I'll have to decline. The Alpha-Males are part of our culture, and still provide useful value. More soldiers is always good. Besides, we don't have to use them if we don't need them, so no reason to get rid of them."He almost looks disappointed. He would never dare to question your decision, but he sighs at the refusal."...Why do you seem upset, Maktana?""No, my Lord, your word is final. It's just... I've already lived through to see our alien friends outlive their usefulness once... I don't want to see it happen again."Year 118 of the Resurrection EraIn a high-energy science lab in the Hegemony, doing routine work on particle physics calculations- a Swall researcher happens across several solutions to a few calculations, earning some praise from his boss, a Jaxtian of higher ranking."...Thank you, Sir. Mathematics was my passion on Swallia.""Of course, Clearwaters. Or I guess Abraham. I always get the family name mixed up since it's written first, my apologies.""No problem! We always say the family name first too. It's more important then my name anyway.""Well, anyway, I'll be packaging the results together from the others in this department and submitting to them to the Hegemonic authority under my name. We'll be getting a nice juicy grant soon, I'm sure of it! Even if they are a lot skimpier then they used to be..."Abraham turns from his desk."Hold on... With all due respect, Sir, I did most of the work on these calculations. It should be posted under my name.""No. This is my department. It's a team effort anyway, but I am your supervisor.""Are you... are you stealing credit from me? This is my accomplishment.""Enough, Clearwaters. I am your commanding officer. That is how it works in the Hegemony- you've done good work which is why I came to congratulate you, but I am the one who put this team together, who organized the resources, who set our goals and capitalized on our opportunities and talents. That's how it goes in the Hegemony, we are a hierarchy, not barbaric capitalists seeking their own enrichment.""But... I did that work! You can't take credit for it! That's stealing!""I'm willing to overlook this Anti-Social behavior. I've already recommended you to the advancement algorithms, but I'll rescind my recommendation if you bring this up again.""You- You can't! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"
*KSSTPPT*"AHHHGG!!! HE SPIT ON ME! I'M BLIND! AIIIEEEEE! HELP!!!"The Enforcers are called and rapidly arrest the Swall. In the meantime, the matter is quickly forwarded to the Supreme Ruler, as this is the first time this has happened...The Swall and Vetuckers in the Hegemony are the ones slain by the genocides. However, the new social order has been working hard to integrate them into your culture and workplace. It seems that the Life-Pods may have some sort of psychological calming effect, similar to the Life-Machine itself, but extreme emotions can seemingly break through this barrier...The Swall mathematician Clearwaters Abraham is a low grade technical workers in the Hegemony's science division. Having spend a few years catching him up to speed with the Hegemony's current technology, he's been plying his trade of mathematics from his old life, now interrupted by this unfortunate misunderstanding.The Swall, being individualistic, sometimes have problems adapting to the rigid and heriarchal structure of the Hegemony. This one is no different, but what will happen to him? He attacked a Jaxtian after accusing him of stealing credit from him- but at the same time, he is the victim of trauma and maybe did not understand the ethical values of the Hegemonic system. It doesn't help his Supervisor made a big scene and drew a lot of attention to it; a few rounds of treatment and the Swall poisonous spit will be cured easily. What a big baby. The Enforcers knew that what happens now will certainly change the social weight of the Hegemony, so they left it in your hands, Supreme Ruler. What will you do?>Execute the Swall & make an example of him>Pardon him>Punish the Supervisor instead>Other (Write-In)
>>6000075Okay, now, this is an interesting situation. In one side, this behavior is just stupid. Even if he was "stealing credit", you can't just freak out over it and acid spit someone. Now this may be part of the whole "Genocide PTSD" thing, but Swall as a whole are individualistic. I don't doubt they don't like the idea of stuff like having their credit stolen. Credit to them, that's kind of an ineffective thing to do. Individualism aside, if we want to maximize the usage of our workers, we need to know who exactly managed to accomplish what. Some prospective genius getting stuck in a low tier job because the supervisor gets all the credit and didn't feel like giving him what he deserved is just not good.Therefore, I'll propose this solution>Punish the Swall (Re-education, not execution) but attempt to increase "transparency" in crediting processesI suppose you could call this a lame "fencesitter" idea, but I feel like it makes total sense. When that one fat laborer went on an anti-social rant because he was way smarter than the others, we gave him a position. The Swall need to learn to fit in, but also to understand that we're supposed to be meritocratic.At least, we were supposed to, right?
>>6000075>>Execute the Swall & make an example of him
>>6000080I should specify, by this im not trying to get some "haha everybody happy" choice. What I want is to establish the idea of being "Tough, but Fair" - we will NOT tolerate uncivilized behavior like that, but at the same time, we are also just, and will reward those who deserve it. Abraham had a point, but spitting acid, even if something easily cleaned, is not something you can do for such a lowly excuse.
>>6000075>Punish the Swall who attacked. Re-education not execution plus take his poison glands seeing as he cannot use them responsibly.What in the goddamn!? Didn't know the Swall could do THAT!
>>6000075>>6000080I like this idea, so I will support it. +1 support.However, I would like to make it clear to the Swall Abraham that what he did is blatantly as childish as the manager's whinging. He refused to deal with the situation in any way other than violence, he did not petition a higher authority. He could have very well sent a message to the new Swall head of research guy, but he chose to attack someone violently because he was upset.
>>6000092You think we could make a swall with an ultra-strong spit?Actually, when do we get to start Gene-editing our new alien buddies? The jaxtians may not have any 'gene-slots' left, but they sure as hell do. And this time, we can implant Jaxtian genes into them. Imagine a Vetucker that was as smart as a Swall, or as Dextrous as a Jaxtian?
>>6000080+1. Seems like a fair enough choice, frankly. The supervisor was being a cunt and Abraham had a fucking hissy fit. I think it balances out to warrant not killing him but he should be punished.
>>5999672Belatedly verifying, alas.>>6000075>Execute the Swall & make an example of him
>>6000080+1
>>6000075>Punish the Swall (Re-education, not execution) but attempt to increase "transparency" in crediting processesSeems a fair outcome.>>6000080+1
>>6000075>>6000080>Punish the Swall (Re-education, not execution) but attempt to increase "transparency" in crediting processes
>>6000075>Execute the Swall & make an example of him
>They still haven't noticed
>>6000290Unironically what did he mean by this?Also, i checked the threads, and no, 'Clearwater' or 'Abrahams' is not a name that shows up in any of the thread from the discovery of the swall up to their genocide.
>>6000066Someone analyze the fucking screen, thats clearly morse or some shit and I cant be bothered im at work
>>6000333Wait, is that frogger? Is that what the secret is? That it's frogger?
>>6000290You got dubs, but missed the big get?Maktana's increasingly transparent treachery because he hates his own race?Or is it... well I'll let them figure out THAT by themselves.
>>6000337I think the secret is just frogger, dude.
There actually is a secret in this thread but the thing I'm talking about is way more obvious. I'm a little surprised nobody pointed it out yet is all.Update in ~12 hours.
Alright.>>5995626What are those 3 eye-looking things? Threemind?
>>6000333wait, is this a starsight vote in disguise? Can we vote to take his eyes? and maybe study that acid spit
>>6000356Bananas, you should know by now that we fail all the secrets/puzzle tests, even when it’s explicitly stated.I learned long ago that Monkequest is a struggle for mediocrity in democracy, not of excellence.>>6000075>Eye for an EyeProbably not the secret, or the obvious hidden ‘win’ option, but it seems fair.
>>6000075>Other>Organize a mediated session between them to form a solution.The Swalli has a valid emotional reaction to feelings of having their hard work ignored, but they should not have escalated to physical violence.The Jataxian supervisor was following protocol,but was unnecessarily aggressive in the dialogue. We get then together have them explain their perspectives in a non hostile manner and then apply appropriate corrective actions. For example, I don't see any contradiction between Hegemony values and crediting all people involved in a project. The research could just have a credits page for the entire team listing all their roles. There's nothing individualistic about that, if anything, compressing an entire teams with of effort into one name is MORE individualistic.It won't solve the core issue at the root of the problem if we punish one , none or both of them. This isn't something that can be solved by a prison term or an execution.
>>5990647Is it the 'Fat Worm'? Is that resurrection vault the 'place full of worms' that the mind of the Overseer-Starseer-Sensi went, followed everyone else who tried to pull him out? Is that 'meal' actually Jaxtian Starseer, rather then Andoen precursor alien?
It's the two new alien races ffs
>>6000424Oh, those guys.Well I mean, they're cool designs, but like...we've already seen like 10 consortium races, and the only relevant ones were the leeray, and in a lesser version, the elephants, and the sleepy dude. They're cool, but it's not like they're a new state, right? One is a consortium member and the other an aristocrat slave.
>>6000426Each "head" represents a faction in the "Credits" sub image panel here >>5999222 People asked for a zoom out so I'm adding some more full factions to interact with. More on them later. Gotta check the boxes for generic sci-fi races lol
>>6000426I don't think he means the species pictured. The Green ones we even know, they're the Urgi; though we only know of them as Pirates, and the yellow ones might be excessively gene-modded aristocrats or something specifically created.I think he means this pair (Pic)
>>6000428Oh, that's kewl. Hopefully we'll get through the economic slump so we can colonize the new sector and actually actually stuff and interact with them. I mean, the option was "for a few years", and it's already been 5.
>>6000429
>>6000430Actually do*
>>6000431rock people and robots
>>6000471Those look more like they could be either living coral, or some sort of weird ascended energy race.
>>6000075clearly they just can't get along. have the swall reassigned to a similar or less prestigious post
>>5985353 - Black Cat-like Clawed Hand>>4987158 - Yino wearing new style clothes before they became popular>>5990647 - Fat worm genetics>>5990649 - The Reds are wusses who can't lift weights and also have a split tail, which may indicate them stealing our starseer genetics. Damn those Reds, stealing our precious bodily fluids!>>5992770 - QR Code to a video with a Gray singing 'just the two of us'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c60plY12kqw >>5993577 - Maybe something in the starmap or red screamer?- The mask now apparently has a green muzzle when it didn't before. So the original mask may be gone. Memoryhole.>>5996705 - Bannanna's AI is into sheep. >>5997901 - Colorful map. Centralia vs. the other states? The dark reds had little geographic territory whilst the Greens had significant held territory, making one wonder why they developed exclaves when they were not a wandering people. Possibly several lost phenotypes. >>5999222 - New aliens, the Honeybees and the Goblins. Also the space-heaters and maybe the yellow menhir.
>>6000620I don't think the mask covers tge muzzle. The green muzzle is becuase Hass himself is a Greenface descendant. The art of Kima wasn't AI. The artist just misinterpreted her flower. I think it was Olympus QM, who subsequently fixed it in the one posted in the Kings & Queens tourney prelimminary thread.
Fair. It's a well crafted image.
You decide to punish the Swall for his outburst, but not outright execution. Learning more about the case, the Supervisor was also somewhat to blame. Though the Swall was both an alien and also not adapting to Jaxtian culture, the Supervisor showed a lack of grace, that lack of noblesse oblige... You ultimately decide to spare the Swall, but have his venom glands removed as a punishment. You also look over the systems of reward in the Hegemony. Typically, a high-class worker or researcher would received a Golden Band, but they were always designed as extremely rare and prized accolades- not something easy to achieve. Usually just give to someone the first to do some great task, and as such, they've become harder and harder to achieve. You decide to retire them, instead moving towards "Colored bands" around the wrist, matching the colors of their uniforms to show exemplary service. Hopefully this interaction stays as a one-off, if the entire Swall population doesn't understand the concept of your Hegemony's heriarchal system of reward and advancement, then your ability to integrate them would be impaired...Meanwhile, when conducting routine diplomatic calls, you are harassed by one high-ranking businessman in the Consortium, who messaged you on the off chance for the Hegemony to accept Consortium Credits as your new currency. Naturally, you are taking the opportunity to insult them as much as possible."I don't think so. How pathetic you capitalists are, even trying to whore yourselves out to your most hated rivals. After we smeared you at The Stand, and yet you STILL want in your banking system. What a delight.""Of course- your BACKWATER civilization seemed like it needed the help. After all, your "DanboMark", whatever that is, is recovering. I suppose the value of sticks and stones is increasing the Hegemony.""Indeed, wormbait. Well, this was fun, but I think I'll be ending this transmission now-""Hah- the worms told us you'd never accept civilization! After all, we all thought your expansion was halted for so many years without their starsight- guess even an ape can find their way in the dark eventually."You're reaching for the dial to shut this asshole up, but you pause. What did he just say?"...Without starsight?""Of course! You managed to take the Hazaar culture despite not having the worms navigate for you. After all, only they can use starsight. Well, them and the Oon, but who knows how they think. If your species isn't capable of it from evoution, then Starsight is impossible. Everyone knows that."...Do they know? You have an opportunity here. Have the worms lied to them? Of course- this is the Consortium we're talking about, anything you say can and will be diced up and used for all sorts of real politik. But if the worms have lied to them all this time... what could that mean?>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of Starsight>Say nothing and end transmission
>>6000871>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of StarsightDon't tell them about the migrators, just tell them off-handedly about it and watch the fireworks go. Also, what are our social weight percentages up to, anyway? It seems like the swall slice is slightly bigger. We really should find some way to equal the vetucker share soon...the alpha removal just wasn't a good way to do it.
>>6000871>Say nothing and end transmissionI don't trust the Consortium to not twist things. Telling the Essal, on the other hand...
>>6000877>I don't trust the Consortium to not twist thingsTwist into what? Maybe I'm stupid, but I don't see how they could twist that in a way that's bad for us. They probably don't even know migrators exist, and we eliminated all their spies. What does it matter if they start thinking that Jaxtians can use starsight?
>>6000880The only way I could see not saying it being better would be that we could use it as a bargaining tool later on.
>>6000871>>Say nothing and end transmission
>>6000871>>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of Starsight
>>6000871>Say nothing and end transmissionOne single great adversary in the worms is better than every rogue Consortium breakaway becoming another Starlight-capable existential threat on its OWN. Right now, defeating the worms would allow us to monopolize Starsight for OURSELVES ALONE.
>>6000871>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of Starsight"Are you too busy sacrificing your children to learn the most basic things about the universe? Any race can use Starsight."
>>6000871>Say nothing and end transmissionNever reveal a hidden trump card to an enemy without knowing it will cause you victory
>>6000871>>Say nothing and end transmissionLet's run this past Threemind and our best social engineers to see what they come up with before spounting off. We want maximum shock value IF we reveal.
>>6000876The social weights have not changed.>>6000929No write-ins are allowed. This is your chance to tell them about it, or not.
>>6000871>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of StarsightAny distrust we can sow between them and the worms is worth it.
>>6000905>>6000905>>6000877Right now the Consortium are puppets for the worms purely because they believe that the Worms are the only Starseers. I'd rather have even a fraction of a 'splintered' consortium with us as allies against the worms then let the thing remain a massive pro-worm conglomerate.
>>6000871>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of StarsightYeah, "Impossible". You got us.Bananas, how are the Space Whales going after our cleanse?Are they becoming a common occurence in our cluster? Can we perform non-intrusive genetic sample or learn Biotech from such big organisms? Are They Battleship-sized?
>>6000871>Say nothing and end transmission
>>6000871>Tell or Imply that other species are capable of Starsight
Good time for a check in. How are you guys liking the thread so far?
>>6001309I've gotta say it's been one of my favorites in the quest, save for this recent string of stupid decisions. It's nice to see the Hegemony not being comically evil for once in a while. I'm hoping we'll get to go back to doing projects and stuff soon with the Danbomark stabilizing and the prospect of colonizing a new sector. The Stand buildup only had micro-projects.I will say that I specifically like seeing the galaxy become more living and less of a collection of hermit states who want to kill each other. Hopefully the Hegemony can soon Graduate from North Korea to China in the galactic marketplace.
>>6001309It's pretty good. The start was a bit shaky in its justifications for what was happening and why, but I think we cleared that up okay. I felt a bit like the "do you know the secret?" and "do you understand Akule?" vites were weak excuses to make us read your political philosphy treatise though. As a flashback, they couldn't even change anything or inform Hass' character directly.>>6001313I seocnd this generak sentiment, too, about the universe being fleshed out. I'm not necessraily against being North Korea or Eritrea, though. We're currently mroe like if isolationist-era Japan had the military might to resist being opened up.
>>6001309Needs more ableism and racism but otherwise AMAZING.
>>6001339No, what we need is to bring Supreme Kinja from the dead so he can make a sequel to his indigo movie about Vetucker girls.
>>6001309Very good for now. I like the fact you listen to your playerbase and allow us to get Swalli and Vetucker back, with the problems they provide.I like a bit less the consequences of what I thought was a good write in for our smol space whales.I still hope our choice for Navigator planet could have arbitrarily been interpreted as a long term bonus because of a wider pool of starsight pilots, or starsight breakthrough.I also hope we'll get positive consequences for that Swalli planet and our whale-cleansing could lead to upgrades as I asked in >>6001023
I like it better than some previous threads. Would like to see more teching, but it seems like that's on the agenda with the new overseers.
>>6001608>it seems like that's on the agenda with the new overseers.First, we gotta fix the economy, which is why i believe we should really initiate the colonization of the Hazaar Cluster as soon as possible, even if it requires something like taking an Consortium loan.If we can take the hazaar cluster, we'll be able to basically double our economy. Hell, even more, since the Hazaar Cluster has way more habitable planets than ours apparently.
>>6001643Weren't Hazaar able to survive on shittier worlds than Jaxtians, though.
>>6001651True, but what matters is that the most annoying, time-consuming part of getting started is gone.
>>6001341>no shy nerdy Swalli getting BluedTurn it into a harem romcom kek
>>6001669Do female swalli even have the kind of parts necessary for that?
>>6001670We have the technology.
>>6001678you joke, but i'm pretty sure that mammalian reproduction would be a serious improvement to the hazaar birth-rate since right now they use a lot of resources on a single egg
"Of course, you would think that. I figured your people were a bit too selfish to understand Starsight. I'm sure your precious free market will find a way to wrap up and sell enlightenment in a box though, best of luck to you.""Wait- wha-"*click*Let them chew on that. Instead of trying to go into detail, you'll just give them a little tease of the possibilities. Much better to come to their own conclusions then talk their ear off about it and make them think you're setting it up for something.Then again... you haven't considered the biological aspect of Starsight. It's true, Jaxtians have been able to develop Starsight both with and without being blinded, but do you know of any others? The Aristocrats seem to have some level of it, at least enough to interface with their Life Machines, and the Seekers had some races who could do it.... but who knows if it's universal. What if some intelligent species in the galaxy simply do not have the brain power or mentality that allows for Starsight? Then they would be truly trapped and helpless before the worms...Year 119 of the Resurrection EraYou are contacted by your new Overseer of Research, Deepscales Elijah. He has noticed the increased flow of funding into the scientific divison of the Hegemony, specifically deep space and physical sciences, as opposed to bio-science which has more fallen under Urik's new role."You can't decide what project to begin working on? My my, I thought Swall were more independent!""I would not wish to waste our- your- money on something not useful. Sir."The titles and honorifics are not natural for him to say. Cute."In that case, let me see what projects we have ready for you to focus on...">Battleship Research>Starsight-Blocking Screens>Fusion Reactor Mk III>Celestial Wine Prospecting>Troop Weapon UpgradesNo write ins
>>6001801Can we get any details about what each upgrade means, or are we just going off the names?
>>6001801Fusion Reactor? Is it explicitly a military reactor or an general purpose one? Either way...>Battleship researchThere is no way we can lose the opportunity for this.
Also, i noticed, this is the second time an Supreme calls the Swall "cute". Eoba II said the exact same thing when he first met them.
>>6001801>>Battleship ResearchEnough delaying
>>6001802I would also like some explanation
>>6001801>Starsight-Blocking ScreensSounds interesting.
>>6001679Swalli birthrate, you mean?>>6001801>Starsight-Blocking Screens
>>6001823>you meanYes, of course. The Hazaar are dead, so their birthrate is zero, and forever will be, thank akule.
>>6001801>>Fusion Reactor Mk IIIBest thing for our economy.
>>6001879Is it? For all we know it's just an military engine that'll boost shields. That's why I think we need a little more description.
>>6001825Unless you count the Aristocrats.
>>6001889Do aristocrats even have children? They seem to be immortal, ageless hedonists.
>>6001890The Hazaar had to come from somewhere. And what about those yellow dudes in >>5999222? It seems like Aristocrats may use their unique form of reproduction to create lesser genders and mixed-race servants.
>>6001882Maybe it'll miniaturize it so we can use them on vehicles and the Mark V gets us ironman suit powering pocket reactors.
>>6001801>Battleship ResearchCan't delay forever. Hopefully we got some nice scans when the Esaal took theirs close.
>>6001801>>Battleship Research
>>6001882
>>6001801>Starsight-Blocking Screens
>>6001801Battleship
>>6001965
>>6001801>>Fusion Reactor Mk IIIWe'll need such to power up Battleship anyway.
>>6001801>Fusion Reactor Mk IIIA ship is a ship, plus we don’t have enough of our special space metal to build one anyway A new reactor means we can make every ship in our current fleet better via upgrades + bring our economy out of the slump it’s in
>>6001801>>Fusion Reactor Mk III
>>6001801Oh I forgot to say one thing about my likeness of the thread :The art.Your updates are always complemented with quality pictures which I thoroughly enjoy. They're an inspiration for my own quests, although I lack the consistency of yours.
>>6001806They are cute.
>>6002235>I also enjoy the art
>>6002392Calling a grown man cute is kinda gay, bro.
>>6002423They have women.
>>6002425Well it's not a female that's being called cute right now.
They...:D
>>6002392
The Essal apparently also think that they are cute.
>>6002427True. Maybe Hass has been chatting with Aristos too much, kek.
>>6002451>called cute multiple times>the males would have gotten mistaken for women and bride-napped in one of the options
>Battleship ResearchWe galaxy must learn of our peaceful ways, by force!
I for one one would like to see more characters that aren't straight.Almost every queer character in this quest has been a fan favorite. (Sunshine, Brun, Bluey...)
>>6002918My Quest already has plenty of queer representation, and that would be the voters!Ran out of time to update. Sorry. I'll get right on it.
>>6002918Calling the Hazaar gay isn't really correct, it's just freaky alien reproduction. Bluey ended up with Kima.
>>6002918The tragedy of Brun was pretty touching.
>>6002942It was more tragic and more stupid, the way I see it. Akule's reasoning was just kinda dumb.
>>6002950Prequel Akule was a shit character with shit writing.BQM salvaging him in this thread took so much skill I would be jealous if I was more insecure as a QM.
>>6002960I still think the only reason Brun died was because we kept saying he was safe since his family lived on. There being cloning that early into the hegemony felt like a recon, we didn't even have real cloning until the age of Vul Takar and Kinja, much less doing it from decades old genes from like, hair and only getting a split tail end as an mutation.I will say akule immolating himself was metal, though. you now realize that small child Eoba II was exposed to this moments after being forced to stab Agori to death with his bare hands.
Guys, remember, the social weight minigame will only last as far as Hass is alive. By the end of his reign, which should be close given how much time it's been and the max jaxtian lifespan, the social weight will 'ossify'We need to get it to at least 20% each, we made an whole big deal about making them proper citizens instead of merely slaves.
>>6002940Bluey was like a Kinsey 5, even as a Jataxian
>>6003931All are slaves to the Hegemony
>>6003957That's because he still had two centuries worth of Hazaar memories, he seemed to become normal after Kima awakened his normal jaxtian chemistry.
>>6003981But it's not like Hazaar only found Jataxian males attractive, they can poke Jataxian women all the same. Bluey was consistently shown to show romantic and sexual attraction to men all the way until he met Kima.There will always be shifts in moving from a genderless society to a gendered one but I think it is fair to say that Bluey had a particular preference for Jataxians with masc traits .
>>6004060>But it's not like Hazaar only found Jataxian males attractiveHave we actually been shown that? I think Hazaar just don't really have women, biologically, so jaxtian men are the closest. Like I said, it's just freaky alien biology. Bluey's interest held over from his time as a Hazaar. And he got over it.
>>6002968That poor kid. What a badass life he lived, though. Top tier Supreme.>>6003981He named his first kid after the dude he had an obsessive decades-long crush on. As fro normal Jaxtian chemistry, Bluey even told Kima shortly before he kissed her that there are still gay Jaxtians, even after centuries of eugenics and other avenues to try to eliminate deviances of that sort.>>6004060He even married a tomboy girlboss, in the end: a female who acts oftentimes like a male.
>>6004068>He even married a tomboy girlbossOkay now that's just retarded, don't try to push tomboys as a sign of being gay just because you want "queer representation" or whatever the fuck.
What zero updates does to an MF
>>6004072I'm just saying he obsessed over male Jaxtians even as a Jaxtian, and when he finally found a woman he liked it was the manliest woman around. It fits a pattern of behavior.
>>6004074>I'm just saying he obsessed over male Jaxtians even as a JaxtianBecause he was a monogendered species for 100+ years>when he finally found a woman he liked it was the manliest woman aroundYes anon, liking a female gymnast literally genetically handcrafted to be a physically perfect woman is gay. Sure. Why don't you go write an essay about how the real message of the unspeakable sidequest was akule being a repressed homo or something else.
>>6004073There's an pretty easy answer for that.
”I'd like you to get to work on our ship technology, specifically Battleship technology.”The Swall is taken aback for a second. There was an unspoken belief that his role, as well as Urik's role, would be more ornamental and subject to other administrators in the Hegemony, given he is not born and raised in the Hegemony, but really a survivor from a previous, conquered civilization. This is a level of trust he was not expecting.”...It is not as simple as building a bigger ship, as the AI will show you. All systems, crew supports, the fusion core... with exponential increases in power and potential for mistakes. I entrust this task to you.”“I- I will! Yes, your majesty! I will do this!””Excellent. Carry on, Deepscales.”Because of the great degree of trust and the importance of this program, especially to something as important as military secrets, the average Swall has been brought up in the level of importance by allowing the Overseer to study something so important. The social weight has shifted slightly in favor of the Swall in expense of the Jaxtians, given their social monopoly over high-end research projects like this up until this point.>Jaxtian 65%>Vetucker 15%>Swall 20% Year 120 of the Resurrection EraAmong the more and more inter-connected factions of the Galaxy, the Aristocrats have begun experimenting with the luxuries, art, and high-culture of the various species in the galaxy; no matter how elitist and selfish they are, even they seem to get bored of their own cultural output eventually. Not to fall behind, you have invited some of the lower ranking nobility of their species to your own corner of space.However, most of the Hegemony is either preserved and clean natural environments on livable planets, large and highly complex city-scapes, or autonomous production facilities; with the majority of your species cultural artifacts on your home planet of Jaxt. Which you aren't quite ready to just open up to whoever wishes to go there...Instead, you bring along the Aristocrats to the great city of Myym, the large planet-sized city built on the ruins of Swallia. Such a large project and work of civil engineering seems to be exactly the kind of marvels that can get the Aristocrats excited.
“Oh look, look! The tasteful architecture, the use of organic spaces and living materials, the open flowing water acting as both a civil utility and a means of humidifying the air. It's just like being in a forest canopy! It's so fine!” The first says.“Not only that- but the Hegemony's social programs keeping the undesirables out! It's so fine to see beautiful, healthy, quiet people. Unlike that ghastly Consortium. Do you know we were invited to one of the finest restaurants in the Consortium, and they had the gall to just let anyone in if they could afford to pay the entrance fee. Oh just pay the fee to get in?! Absurd!””I assure you, all of our citizens are desirable.”You have shown them around a carefully cordoned part of the city, with drones on the lookout for any sort of trickery or bad actors, both your own and the Aristocrats themselves. You don't doubt your own people in any way, but seeing what to the common onlooker look to be the Hazaar again so soon may be disturbing. Not that this entire city history is not equally disturbing.“Fascinating! You've built this city not just for your primary species. The big green ones- the cattle?””Yes. The Vetuckers are all a bit claustrophic, and not as vertically able as Jaxtians are, they have larger social spaces and rooms that can be built on the main fairways, reinforced for machines to support heavier weights then the light Jaxtian steps. Large plaza spaces allow one to see other citizens at work or relaxation so that one does not feel isolated; very important for such a communal species as they are.”“And what about the fish ones, the yellow species?””This was their homeworld once. The entire city is underwater, constantly filtered for algaes to help provide biomass for the farms and deuterium to power its fusion generators. While the city is a bit too deep for them to swim openly, much of the water from above is filtered through the city's internal canal system, acting as a useful shortcut for them.”“This live in such strange places.””They are the opposite of the Vetuckers, more agrophobic. So instead, we give smaller passages and rooms built into the city's support structure as useful spaces for them. Once marked as storage rooms and utility closets have become the Swall's new useful hideaways.”“How strange! It's almost like the city was designed for all three of your Hegemony's species! But I thought those two were extinct while it was being built. How strange.””Yes... it is quite strange.”“It's like a city built for ghosts. I love that! The City of Ghosts! Haha, how fun!””...And now, I'd like you to meet the city's foremost designer himself. Yino Val!”
“Oh! Oh! You do such wonderful work here- I love the colors of this city. It's quite a nice place. Reminds me of some of the palaces back home!””Thank you.” Yino says, not exactly what to say.“Such an old monkey you are. It's must be strange being old. I thought you'd be white and blue, not white and yellow.”“WAIT!””Uhmm...”The aliens come to a sudden realization.“It's the music one! No no, a clone!”“I think they're just “related”. It's a gender thing.”“Ohhhh! That's explains so much. That's why their names are the same, but only half of it.””What are you talking about?”“Won't you play us a song!? You are like that one blonde. The one that belongs to Ully'Andule. What's his name-””Belong- you mean our diplomat? His name is Far-”“-CAJAMAT!”They point and laugh.
Yino Val looks so confused. Oh no. What happened to Farro isn't exactly given out as common knowledge to all Jaxtians, left to the Aristocrats as a peace offering by Cijan all those years ago. You bite your lip, this was not what you intended to happen during this little meet up. You thought the Aristocrats would be overjoyed to meet one of the Hegemony's foremost artists, but then this...”What are you talking about? That's an instrument. My great uncle's name is Farro Val. The Aristocrats made him immortal, with the life machine, right?!”“Yes- he IS an instrument!”"Esteemed guests, let's move on..."”Wha-”“We heard him at the symphony, you know. He had a whole set dedicated. Only skilled Aristocrat fingers can make that Jaxtian voicebox sound so good!””I don't- what did you do to him?!”Yino balls up a fist. He's getting angry now. The two aristocrats laugh at his apparent confusion.On the one hand, Yino getting angry is totally well within his right. Frankly, these Aristocrats have been getting on your nerves this entire trip. Every since you escorted them through your systems to try and find something “fun” for them to do. They're like spoiled children. Letting them get some comeuppance from Yino's cane would be a fun change of pace to this miserable last few months of your life. He's old, and you've got security ready. He's not going to seriously hurt them, and perhaps, put a little fear into the Aristocrats heart. But then again, you really don't want to make an intergalactic incident out of this...What should you do?>Stop Yino from doing something dumb>Let him take out his anger on the arrogant Aristocrats, but prevent him from doing any real damage>Give him the chance to kill both of them>Have both of them arrested and tried for Ully'Andule's crimes against the Jaxtian race
>>6004326>Stop Yino from doing something dumb>Demands heavy, heavy reparations from the Aristocrats insultLet's get our economy flowing again.
>>6004334Point is : "Just pay the fee to get in?" Such insults are a good way to get shown the way out. You'll have to make amends.
>>6004334+1BASED
>>6004334Anon, do you have any idea of what amount it would take to make such a reparation matter? That's ridiculous. It's not gonna work. We should just let Yino demand they excuse his honor in his own way. >>6004326>Stop Yino from doing something dumb>But let him demand satisfaction for the insult
>>6004326>Let him take out his anger on the arrogant Aristocrats, but prevent him from doing any real damage
>>6004334+1
>>6004326>Stop Yino from doing something dumbYou don't let people slug a diplomat.If you wish to reprimand a visiting dignitary, there are proper ways to go about it.
>>6004334Supporting
>>6004334God damnit you went and fucked our choice by making the first write-in which people automatically pick.Let me repeat it again: It is extremely stupid to demand billions of dollars worth of reparations for a small insult.
>>6004326>Stop Yino from doing something dumb>But let him demand satisfaction for the insultEveryone is going to pick the stupid ass write-in again aren't they?
>>6004530This is why i hate it when bananas's update is late in the night when i'm not awake, because most voters just pick in the first write-in that appears and give it zero thought, no matter how dumb it is.
>>6004530>>6004536Bananas didn't even give 'write-in' as a prompt this time, and all of the 'write in' options are including one of the given options in their vote anyway. So Bananas might just take that vote and ignore the write-in component?
>>6004065I am not sure he "got over it." He named his kid after his husbando.
>>6004326>Demand they turn Yino back and send him home.We can send a new diplomat to replace him with the understanding they aren't to be harmed.
>>6004613Anon, it's been like a 100 years. If Yino was still sentient back when they turned him, he sure as hell isn't now.
>>6004326>>Have both of them arrested and tried for Ully'Andule's crimes against the Jaxtian race
Do you remember when I said "no I don't really want to allow write ins" and "your write ins are bad and boring and don't really add anything to the game" and you were like NOOOO YOU HAVE TO LET US HAVE WRITE IN OUR OVERLY COMPLICATED VOTES! YOU'RE NOT LETTING US DO THEM FOR NO REASON YOU'RE RAILROADING GRRRR!!!Cuz' I remember that. Just saying.
>>6004728>Some people do stupid write-ins>That means all write-ins are stupid!We had multiple good write-ins this thread. This one just sucks.
>>6004730And before you say "Ooh, it's the same thing", it's really, really not. The sheer lack of even the most basic knowledge of what an economy actually is ridiculous to even be an option for an educated leader. This isn't even like the migrator thing where it was dumb but had some manner of reason, this is literally schoolyard-level thinking. Even considering that you could somehow ask for "enough reparations to fix the economy" should be ignored with laughter. If people voted to shit their own pants and dance the macarena, would you allow that option to win?
>>6004740And you're being a buthurt faggot.What kind of things do the Aristocrat have? Celestial Wine, Life Machine, and ample amounts of culture.A significant reparation can help us jumpstart research with exotic ressource or get us relevant in the international scene by promoting Jaxtian culture, thus fixing the economy in the long run. Relax. Take a deep breath. We all know this game is by essence deeply unpredictable.
>>6004744>A significant reparation can help us jumpstart research with exotic ressource or get us relevant in the international scene by promoting Jaxtian culture, thus fixing the economy in the long run.Nigga do you have any idea of what amount of money you're talking about???? Do you think this is a fucking paradox game where you can cheese the AI to give you a 1000 space gold coins or some shit? The fact that you even think "Ask for reparations to fix the economy" makes sense just shows how utterly ignorant you are. You'd have to be an actual, unironical child to think that you could fix an economy with "reparation money"Do you know what reparations actually are? Do you have any actual idea of what you are actually trying to say here?>You insulted one of my high ranking nobles? GIVE ME 100 BILLION DOLLARS NAO!!!!!!
>>6004751Alright, you're being a faggot too.>Get a few exotic ressource, which are proper reparation as the gifted celestial wine proved>Jumpstart research with it>Find more in HVSAlso, the literal child are said Aristocrats. If anyone is gullible enough to get scammed in this galaxy with a menace of cutting them to our culture, it's them.
>>6004774>Get a few exotic ressource, which are proper reparation as the gifted celestial wine proved>Jumpstart research with it>Find more in HVSBitch what the fuck do you mean "get Exotic Resource"???? Have you just gone plain insane???? >This one thing that happened a 100 years ago and you agreed to is pissing off this guy, give us a lot of secret special resources!!!!!!I must repeat, this is not an fucking paradox game where you can cheese the AI into giving you free shit. Stop being completely stupid.
>>6004780No, this is Monty Hall where we only have painted doors and the correct one is never obvious
>>6004821You're right. What you have chosen, however, is the door that leads to the bathroom
The aristocrats seem to have a high value placed on "noble" blood. We could hold the ones we have hostage in demand for reparations. We don't need a herd number just something big . I think the aristocrats would understand the concept of "buying" their diplomats back.Also if it comes to violence I think we could get the Essal to held us out by raiding them.
>>6004864We literally just invited them in to improve our relations so we wouldn't continue to be seen as the galactic north korea and now you want to turn them to shit again.
>>6004864We could. And they could decide to use their fallen-empire tier technology and unleash a gene-plague upon us to turn us all Blonde, cause our tails to drop off, or perhaps have our whole populous mutate into Swall.These our our GUESTS. They are GUESTS from the one power we border who we haven't actually fought yet. They are stupid upper-class twits making a stupid, offensive, joke; and they have JUST talked about how they seem to distain those who ask them to pay a fee. They're not going to respect us for taking them hostage, and doubly not for attempting to gain financial compensation.If we do anything, perhaps we could simply - and POLITELY - state our displeasure. They are offending our Hospitality as their hosts by making a mockery of our esteemed servant without our permission to do so. We'd be more likely to get an apology - and perhaps some trinket - from that whilst retaining the appearance of a Sophisticated Monkey. Holding our GUESTS hostage would likely trigger the 'YOU DARE?' response from their nation and then, fantastic, you've made us another enemy upon our borders for no significant reason.
>>6004927Forget it anon, we're fucked. People don't change their votes. We're going to end up asking for a billion zillion credits like utter retards and bananas will use it to sink the hegemony right back into the mire of shit we were about to leave. It's the third time it's happening in this thread, people only vote for the first write-in that appears and then ignore everything else.I mean sure, it makes absolutely zero sense for anyone with even half a brain to do such a stupid thing, but Hass is still going to do it because muh reparashions or something.
I would be more inclined to change my vote if the people arguing for a change of vote weren't such pissy, aggressive twits.
>>6004936>I will purposefully vote for something stupid because you called out how stupid my vote wasThat's called "spite voting", and it kills quests.
>>6004728>>6004082>>6004740>>6004744>>6004751>>6004774>>6004780Oh cool, we're at the part of the Space Monke Cycle where everyone, including the QM, gets their backs up and starts being unreasonably shitty to each other. Love this part.>>6004326>Let him take out his anger on the arrogant Aristocrats, but prevent him from doing any real damage
>>6004931I'll stand with my vote and OG write in for two reasons.1st is I hope our Heavily Groomed into position life-dictator politician will not act as retarded as you think i am. Still, the intent of stopping Yino is to leverage that properly and give them a diplomatical frown. As the only source of enjoyable culture, it should be effective.Second, Bananas said no write in allowed. That's why I wrote my vote as is. I wanted to state clearly my intention, while leaving open the possibility for QM to disregard if he thought this was stupid. Bananas is not putting us in Unwinnable spots. We have upwinds and downfalls.Now, with those elements in hands, how much different my vote is from yours?
>>6004976>1st is I hope our Heavily Groomed into position life-dictator politician will not act as retarded as you think i am.Except that's not how it works, just like how picking the migrator choice back then still ended up with dumb results. The vote to do something stupid won, so he did something stupid.>Second, Bananas said no write in allowed.If they weren't allowed, he would have replied directly to your post saying so.>Bananas is not putting us in Unwinnable spots. We have upwinds and downfalls.And yet we keep getting downfalls by voting on stupid decisions.>Now, with those elements in hands, how much different my vote is from yours?The difference is that mine isn't completely illogical.
>>6004941My original vote was genuine. You catch flies with honey, not vinegar, buddy.
>>6004991Are you an child? What kind of petty pride do you need to have to willingly choose something you know is wrong and will backfire solely because someone said 'this is dumb and will backfire'?
>>6004996'Scenario 1:>Make a vote X>AUUUGHHHHH EVERYBODY WHO VOTES X ARE MORONS I HATE THEM I WISH I COULD KILL THEM WITH FIRE HOW DARE YOU VOTE X AUUUGHGHHHH I AM GOING TO SHIT UP THIS THREAD FOR 20 MORE POSTSScenario 2:>Make a vote X>Hey! But what if Y happens? That's why I'm going to vote Z.
>>6005001What actually happens>Hey guys this vote is wrong, [x] will definitely happen>[crickets]>the vote wins, and it's exactly wrong as i said it would go>"Hey guys this vote is not going to work, it's going to end like [y]">[crickets]>the vote wins and it's exactly as wrong as i said it was>"Can you PLEASE stop voting for stupid votes?">HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU SAY MY VOTE IS WRONG! I WILL ACTIVELY START VOTING EVEN WORSE NOW! HOW DARE YOU!
>>6005008>cricketsI was asleep and woke up to 20 posts of sperging. You have consistently made this thread a more unpleasant place to be.Here's your (you). Spend wisely.
>>6004326>Let Yino take out his anger on the AristocratsYou can give them a caning Yino, but they'll probably enjoy it.
>>6004326>>Stop Yino from doing something dumbThese two arent in charge of the Aristocrats. If we want our man back we'll have to get strong and STEAL him back and take revenge, not act against these pawns, these proxies. That's weak shit.
>>6004326>>6004530I'll change my vote to>Let him take out his anger on the arrogant Aristocrats, but prevent him from doing any real damage
Working on update now.
"You... Why you filthy little-""Yino."With but a word, the fire insides him balks. He looks back at you, his anger quickly turned to embarrassment. This is an important diplomatic first step between your people and the Aristocrats, and you will not let a little embarrassment over a single starship captain from over a century ago ruin that. Yino is clearly upset; not only at the treatment of his relative, but also the fact the Aristocrats are so seemingly uncaring. It is the massive difference in culture. They do not understand; to them, all of your citizens are as their serfs and pets, little more then toys to be played with. They do not even reproduce sexually; would they even understand the pain of a family member lost."I think it sounded like a- Crin~ Shring~ Drun Drun Shring~""No no, it was more of a Krik- Brik- Durink druink- kind of sound!""I wonder if the blue ones would sound different?""Come now, guests. We have much more to see..."With the meeting with Yino a bit of a wash, you resume your tour, hoping the Aristocrats have warmed up to your culture more. It may be a very important first step.Because you did not allow Yino any petty revenge and did not enforce your will over these aliens, as they are guests after all, the social weight of the Hegemony shifts away from the Jaxtians.>Jaxtian 55%>Vetucker 20%>Swall 25% By the end of the year, the two Aristocrats have gotten a good tour of your Hegemony's greater accomplishments, art, music, and monuments. It's not much compared to their own society, but they seem to have enjoyed it."Well, I'll see you off to Aristocrat space with an escort. I hope you spread the word of our society to all in the Society.""Oh, we will! It was great fun. Very rustic and rough, but the apes were well behaved.""...I am an Ape as well, honored guests.""Errmh... Of course, your Majesty! We'll make sure to tell the others. To us, it's exotic! Much better then the Consortium and their complete lack of class, that's for sure. And the Esaal... ugh. Nothing to see there besides factories and training camps. Yuck. Yeah, your war monuments are just blocks of rock. If only you had some of the Celestial Wine, then it would feel less like roughnecking and more like a fine place of tourism-""...Best be on your way now, honored ones.""Goodbye, Supreme Noble Monkey! We shall come back, and tell the others of the wonders we saw here. Goodbye!"Finally.
Year 122 of the Resurrection EraYour searching and early explorations of the HVS have proved fruitful. For the first time ever, Migrators from your frozen, under-ice ocean on Caplit have finally managed to live on another world. The Esaal's ocean planet you earned in your trade deal with them ended up being ideal; at least near the polar regions. While mostly staffed by Esaal colonists, the planet's fossil record is a joy to record and useful limestones pulled up might help with colonizing other nearby planets. Of course, you realize now that it would upset the delicate food web on the planet quite a lot for heavy strip mining, meaning safe extraction wouldn't be as efficient if you just let the Esaal do it and ship it to you. Oh well.Speaking of the Swall, a small matter has come to your attention. As you know, the Swall have significantly less sexual dimorphism then Jaxtians or Esaal do. While their males and females are still otherwise split as your race is, it's important to remember the differences in biology and psychology that define the sexes in ways more then just reproduction. The Swall aren't even mammalian! It is brought to your attention that a woman, the first one of her kind, has passed several of the exams in relation to piloting and commanding ships in the Hegemony's fleet; one of the main filters that prevents idiots from being given command or putting them behind the controls of a powerful Hegemonic military asset. It was often theorized that the Jaxtians and Swall would be pilots of similar skills, given their racial histories with 3d movement and fast reflexes, though with the Jaxtian's inner ear upgrade belonging to all of your youngers members, you might actually have an edge now. The Threemind informs you that the female Swall, who is so named Broadfins Agatha, has passed the basic piloting test and combat simulation tests, which are quite rigorous."I could see her being useful for piloting training and data for the AI system.""She is requesting a higher position- a Starship captain.""Well, she'd have to pass a command test for that, and have leadership experience.""She has done both of those, Sire. Not since Kima have we seen a female with such scores.""...Hmpf."Objectively speaking, of course, this woman is capable of leading a starship, commanding your forces in deep space, and could have been right there in your defense of the Stand had things been different. But... there's a problem. The Hegemony by and large does not allow women to ascend to the same positions as men, regardless of competence, especially for combat roles. This is done for several reasons; namely the innate and fundamental differences in psychology between the sexes, as well as providing the space for men to prove themselves as an artificial societal form of sexual selection, and finally, to protect your carrying capacity and future generations.
Of course, in terms of pure scores and efficacy, there is no real reason to deny this woman a post. She is a Swall, not a Jaxtian, and will not be as prone to certain feminine traits that would get in the way of leadership or war. There are several species in the Galaxy where females are equally aggressive, or perhaps even moreso, as the males of their kind. It's relative to the species, not a universal rule.However, your culture is also important here. The Swall may have their ideals of independence and achievement, but Jaxtians play a much bigger game, which is one of the reasons why you succeeded, and they went extinct. The truth is that females are more valuable then men in every biological sense of the word. Putting them at risk unnecessarily, when a man can perform the same task, is evolutionary dumb. Furthermore, your culture is entrenched and has existed for a very long time, your military tradition especially. As the Supreme Ruler, you have some control over your own people; you simply say something, and by your words it becomes true. You already know you can simply allow a position to this woman and no more trouble will come of it. You're sure she is professional enough not to cause problems; fraternize or be a whore for status, similar problems with anti-social women of your own species. Swall even mate for life, further decreasing any potential problems like that in the future. She may even be more reliable then some Jaxtians in that sense; she'd be a fighter, trying to get back home to see her mate again instead of dying in battle for some pointless chauvinistic drive....But is that worth it? The erosion of your long held culture? Forcing Jaxtians and Vetuckers, very male-dominated cultures, to be dominated and subordinate to a female? Even though you can easily keep discipline, it wouldn't be a genuine and deserved keeping of her post. Imagine the Supreme Ruler parading her around, telling everyone to take her seriously and not to treat her any different- what difference would that be from the degenerate era of capitalist and democratic "equality" where the inferior was paraded as equal to the rest? It is foolishness.But once again, you cannot simply deny Agatha her promotion and the respect she has earned, as any Hegemony citizen would, just because of her sex; at least not without it weighing on your conscious. It may not be worth the trouble, but she is capable as any man in the Hegemony for the same status and seeking the same position. Being a captain is no small feat, and awards a certain amount of respect. She past the same objective tests that any man would; and the Hegemony is too objective and results-oriented to ever attempt lower your standards, regardless of sex.What should you do?>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobility>Make an exception for Swall females only>Deny the request>Send out a survey to see what the average Jaxtian wants
>>6005539>>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityWe have billions if not trillions of Jaxtians. I don't think "evolutionary biology" is that much of an issue any longer. Sounds like it's more of a cope for Akule's long-dead /pol/ opinions.I would also be open to a survey.
We suck and need to catch up with other societies, we need better performance instead of Akule’s sperg ethos.
>>6005539I'm tied between >Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityand>Make an exception for Swall females onlyBecause I want the Jaxtian civ to retain that politic of majoritory male fighter as the argument make sense in a number policy. If write-in are allowed, I'd love to be>Allow females of all race social mobility - but they need to be exceptional.We are still sexist, but allowing 5 to 10% females in military with as good score as our top50% males and in accordance to quota increase our elite fighter pool without hurting our demographic if we need to launch the meat grinder.Thoughts?
>>6005547It sounds like most females already don't pass the military qualifications (though how much of this is not being able to train for it is unclear).The military bias makes sense, ish, but the fact that we don't allow women into any high position anywhere in the Hegemony is frankly silly. Imagine the productivity we'd unlock by actually tapping the potential of the genius high-achieving women out there, instead of making them rot as baby machines. There's no need to lower our standards, per the update, but there's no reason to arbitrarily reject women who meet the standards anymore. We can literally clone monkes en masse if population growth takes a hit.
>>6005539>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityIf a Woman can prove herself BETTER then a man, then there's plenty of use in allowing her to progress higher. But there's no sugar coating, no special treatment, no diversity hiring. If she gets teasing, it's up to her as superior officer to enforce discipline - that's just part of the job.
Women in the Hegemony are already allowed very high positions, by the way, they are just typically underneath more senior male supervisors and don't have the same level of experience/focus because of the social engineering that emphasizes raising a family and child-rearing as being more important. This does not apply to military roles, in which they are almost totally absent, as explained above.
>>6005539>>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityThe thing is that given our sheer size as an empire, it's not like we really need to care THAT much about 'evolutionary biology'. Now, back in the early days when our space travel was ass and we had no actual AI? Sure, yeah, we were still grounded by that.Making an exception for Swalls only feels like it would be a spit in the face towards the other groups and a survey feels like it would just auto default to "Deny it lmao". Though maybe I'm just assuming there.I can see a point in denying it to keep our culture but I don't feel like doing half measures.
>>6005539>>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityI'm all for more waifus
>>6005587Thanks for the clarification, but that's still silly. The % of women who will actually make it to the top ranking positions, and possibly not breed or not breed enough because of it, has to be a drop in the ocean compared to the whole population. And, again, "breeding" is kind of a silly perma-goal now that we have efficient cloning (and have had it for centuries) + clones are totally accepted in society.
>>6005595You already had the option to turn everyone into a clone and maximize your genetic output. You declined it.
>>6005587I suppose it's already been equalised the other way within the Hegemony - Matakana II had his clone-son Matakana III without being married. Males in the Hegemony can already have offspring without a female being directly involved in the process through cloning. Permissions probably vary a lot by status of course, but that's something that Hegemony breeding-rights already control anyway.
>>6005539>Deny the requestAre we seriously going to erode even more of our culture? The Swall have already been given a boost to 25%, now we're going to do even more?Aliens are one thing, but now we need to turn onto a bunch of egalitarian liberals? What's next? A female Supreme?
>>6005594Choosing this will mean LESS waifus. Because then instead of wanting to be mothers, they'll just want to get jobs.
>>6005610This clone reproduction is a rabbit hole that ends up with everyone like the aristocrats. And again, our culture. Why are people so eager to destroy all our culture and turn us into a generic state with modern day real life values?
>>6005526Our share is uneven, i don't like that.
>>6005539>Deny the requestThis is so we can get back to 60% and the Swall can go back to 20% and we'll get an even number. I don't like being so uneven. Jaxtians should remain at the top.
>>6005614Jaxtian culture aside, i'm voting no because this will give a lote more power to Swalli women than to Jaxtian women, they've got less dimorphism, they don't act as nearly as much like women like jaxtian women do.
>>6005539>>Deny the requestno
>>6005539>which is one of the reasons why you succeeded, and they went extinctThat’s retarded. The real reason jaxtians won and swall lost is because jaxtians evolved from glorified fat bubbles in the ocean to a spacefaring species roughly 0.000001% faster than the swall did.
>>6005539>Deny the requestThe short term gains and and benefits are nice but on the long long term this would be disasterous.
>>6005695Also, there's the swall thing. It's good that others are voting to deny, but they're forgetting that Swall Women would disproportionately benefit by this, far more than Jaxtian women. So if you care about them, you should vote to deny too.
>>6005539>Deny the requestAh, no
Also holy fuck i just remembered, did Hass ever remove this guy's punishment after he stopped being a tyrant?
>>6005539>Deny the requestIt's a man's world
>>6005728I thought that was hilarious.
>>6005697Hrmmm. Now here's a thought, would approving this for swall women counteract a disproportional population increase from the Swall Egg Gene?I could be swayed to change my mind if there were evidence in the affirmative.
>>6005735>Hrmmm. Now here's a thought, would approving this for swall women counteract a disproportional population increase from the Swall Egg Gene?What do you mean? Are you saying that you think approving this would balance the fact that Swall women have less population due to their egg reproduction?
>>6005539>Deny the request
> More mobility for women.We are past the point where we must protect women to preserve our species.They will serve, as so all in the Hegemony Also, Swalli in general are physically weaksauce, so it's not that much of a change.
>>6005754>Also, Swalli in general are physically weaksauce, so it's not that much of a changeHow isn't it? This would give them even more influence...we're already down to 55%, any more and we'll end up being an social minority in our own state.
>>6005763I would've voted to just let Swal women move up but that's obviously not going to win.
>>6005539>Deny the requestMostly, I fear the consequences of making too many non-fascist decisions in a quest about a universe where fascism always works and doing the opposite inevitably dooms you. Sorry, Agatha.
>>6005539>Deny the requestDamn, I wanted to see what the survey option would lead to.
>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityIts just pragmatic. We don't need to worry about cultural backlash because the wearing the Mask means we have perfect cultural loyalty for the rest of the game.The biological downsides are negligible because our population is so high it's not like we would be at risk of any population ding.If we let anyone who passed the competency scores ascend, regardless of birth status we will have assets in the place where they can do the most work for the Hegemony, rather than being wasted in suboptimal positions. Think of all the potential scientists, generals admirals pilots etc we have the potential to put to work now. There is a good chance we may get a tech bonus or something like that from the new workforce.
>>6005878>The biological downsides are negligible because our population is so high it's not like we would be at risk of any population ding.That's what the chinese said.
>>6005880Correctly.
>>6005896Why did you delete it anon? It's right.
>>6005887>>6005887Well they regret saying it now. Their work force is aging and they don't have enough kids to replace them since there aren't enough mothers.>>6005897Cause I forgot this last part.
>>6005898There were other factors than letting women (theoretically) ascend to equivalent positions as their male colleagues. Like the speed of transition from agrarianism, one child policy, and others. Jaxt is not China. Drawing upon real life can provide useful examples, but there is really no one-to-one Earth analogue to the all-encompassing multiplanetary surveillance state with psychological dominance of its citizens and a focus on the enviroment which is The Hegemony.The Hegemony can prevent and punish infanticides and unauthorized abortions. It has tons of lebensraum and also has specifically cultuvated communal structures, social engineering programs, and lived environments to encourage their desired population demographics and family structures. If letting some women climb slightly higher totally upends all that, our order is truly fragile...Or that's what I'd normally say, but I'm >>6005779, so I'm still voting against women's lib. Sorry, ladies.
>>6005539>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobility
>>6005539>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilitya complete ban on women serving in these roles was always a stupid idea
>>6005898China isn't a hyperadvanced multi planetary sci Fi empire with a totally docile population in the trillions and futuristic bio engineering technology.You may as well be worried about the price of gasoline.
>>6005949The reasoning is the same, though. Doing this would discourage having children and encourage pursuing an career.
>>6005951That isn't a major concern for us. We have a very very very large population and technology so advanced we don't have a supply issue for warm bodies. And if we ever have population growth issues, we can easily establish breeding quotas and have our issues solved quickly because or populace is unquestionably obedient. At the stage our society is right now, we don't need to hold back qualified workers because we need breeders.
>>6005962I feel like you're forgetting the cultural aspect, anon. If women are choosing to pursue careers instead of having children, that not only fucks the population pyramid, it also fucks up our familial structure. Someone has to raise the children.
>>6005965We reverse the policy or start using Threes to manipulate women into being babycrazy again like was done to Kima. Simple as. Hell, if we keep that social programming up, the vast majority of women will still prefer family to careers, at least among the more traditional masculinist societies of the Jaxtians and Vetuckers. Swalli gonna' swall.
>>6005971If we only make the policy in name, it'll just end up making the Swall more powerful. We're down to 55% social weight, This would surely add another 10% or so, and boom, the Swall are almost more important than us and we're suddenly a minority.
>>6005975>minority You mean "underclass", I think, but even that seems bizarre to me. If anything, our culture would just become swallified, as Jaxtians and Vetuckers start looking to Swalli as natural leaders and adopting their cultural practices. Still not great if we want the Supreme to remain such, and culture to remain Jaxtian-dominated and sunservient.
>>6005992Given that the swall would probably choose to join the consortium, being swallified sounds pretty fucking bad to me.
>>6005965The cultural aspect doesn't have many if any , in-game downsides.Because we had an unspeakble the populace will never rebel or resist the supreme. That means there wont be any backlash no matter how our action clash with previous cultural norms.We can see this in practice with how the populace totally accepeted alien races into our society. That means the primary value of the cultural apsect is "flavor." I personally argue the shift in gender still fits with the utiliatrian hyper pragmatic aspect of the Hegemony. If you think it is a shift, I woudl argue that a slight difference in flavor is worth the "hard" mechanical upside of extra workers and soldiers.Esepcially when we are in a relative down period where a productivity boom could really help us out. >>6005995Becasue we had an Unspeakble, if the populace at large ever starts behaving in a way we don't want, we have the power to just tell them "no."I believe it is actually impossible for the people at large to do anything we the voters disagree with.
>>6006038>The cultural aspect doesn't have many if any , in-game downsides.You do know that this isn't true, right? Even if they will never rebel, this doesn't mean we can just do anything. We were literally told that if we failed a vow after becoming unspeakable, the population would become all shitty and unproductive because their unquestionable supreme ruler is an retard.>Becasue we had an Unspeakble, if the populace at large ever starts behaving in a way we don't want, we have the power to just tell them "no."Again, no, not how it works. We have the power of the unspeakable to make people not REVOLT. Bananas has EXPLICITLY said in the beginning of the thread that however social weight change we make, it'll solidify by the end of our reign.
>>6006040I know the social weight will solidify. This anon >>6005995Suggested if the Swalli got enough social weight, we would join the Consortium. The game mechanics make that impossible unless we want it to happen.
>>6006113>The game mechanics make that impossible unless we want it to happen.I am saying that getting Swallified would be bad because the Swall would want to join the Consortium, and would therefore be a bad culture to dominate us. Furthermore, you've forgotten that we absolutely get stuff we didn't choose to. We didn't choose to invite the Aristocrats here in the first place, and yet they still came.
>>6006118The Unspeakable boon covers societal obedience. Wanting to defect to a foreign power would fall under that. A populace that is more Consortium friendly may have downwinds similar to how our economic slump has led us to being more open to other powers. But it wouldn't be able to make us join the Consortium without a vote for the Supreme's decision in the matter.
>>6006123Anon, read what i said again. I'm saying that the Swall, who would *want* to join the Consortium, would influence us in a negative way, and since Supremes still do things we don't vote for, they could end up doing things like opening our economy and making us capitalist even though we didn't vote for it.I mean, did you forget how the economic slump resulted in us not being able to block off the cultural influence from the aristocrats? And how even young jaxtians were using aristocrat slang?
>>6006126>they could end up doing things like opening our economy and making us capitalistThat seems like an enormous, enormous stretch.
>>6006132Remember the entire reason we had to revive the Vetuckers and Swall in the first place?You haven't read enough monke quest if you think characters won't do things we didn't vote for, and that having the Swall overtake our culture will have zero meaningful consequences.
>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobility
>>6006135I didn't say there would be no meaningful consequences. I said the populace can't make us join the Consortium.
>>5985554I predicted telling players "the socially taboo option is correct in this universe" would lead to players choosing options they don't want.>>5985554I am saddened to see it in practice>>6005903Here we see a logic using reason and analysis of the lore to make a reasonable choice, but being turned away from it because they believe the QM personally disagrees with it. I don't think that is an enjoyable dynamic for a quest.I may be getting on a soapbox but I encourage players to vote for the options they truly want and for BQM to "punish" or "reward" players based on gameplay hints and clues, instead of out of universe comments. I don't want the threads to be all sunshine and roses, but I don't think any vote that falls outside an "alignment" should be an automatic fail.
>>6006183I mean, we also had characters talking about how species couldn't cohabitate, but we seem to be doing pretty well with our species so long as we keep them under control.
>>6006186I think the quest would be served if BQM came in to clarify the misconception. This isn't the first time I saw someone post something along the lines of "The fascist choice is the only right one so what's the point?"
>>6006192I feel like that's just an issue with the players in specific, but it's not as though that one vote would tilt over the results either.
>>6006205It's not about this specific vote, it's about the end pattern of multiple players holding that belief affecting the quest overall.
>>6006192Reading the discussion has been fun but these past two threads it's become irritating. I don't want to sound pretentious but people still really are not "getting" what I'm going for. Just vote for how you want and don't try to metagame some type of philosophy. I'm also annoyed by people saying the "fascist choice is always the right one" where players have been getting nothing but objectively rewarded for their more egalitarian and compassionate choices for the entire Quest.Even worse when people use Akule as an example when he's literally shown to be an unreliable narrator. Every single character in this quest speaks from their own personal bias and opinion and PoV in this quest, I don't think that's ever been implied or shown otherwise.
>>6006268Post 5922282 led me to believe otherwise, since you framed it as a syory where characters wpuld be forced to accept repugnant/non-mainstream ideals or "struggle impotently", plus the earlier one where you said that "anti-fascist cultural zeitgeist" was to be portrayed as a great satan for the purpose of your vision. Kind of sounds like a "be fascist sometimes or get rekt" universe. Have you changed your mind, or did I misunderstand your intent?
>>6006272>literally says that wasn't his intent>"did I misread your intent?"Honestly bro you keep saying this every single thread it's getting kinda tiring.
>>6006268Thanks for chiming in. I think you and I are on the same page. In defense of the other anons, I believe what led them down the "metagame philosophy" path was when you said>Realizes that a certain political viewpoint considered repugnant by pretty much everyone is the only way to survive and thrive in this universe which is supposed to be very close to the real world>Notices how even the monke characters often dislike or refuse this, but are forced to accept it because of forces outside of their control>Multiple large story arcs ended with a choice to embrace fatalistic truth or struggle impotently against it>Doesn't piece together this may be intentional and simple accepts a surface-level reading of the material that this must be a political power fantasy of the author despite numerous times being told this is not the caseI don't think its unreasonable to conclude that the intent of this post was"Stuff that is seen as 'evil' IRL is 'correct' in this universe, but that doesn't mean the quest is pushing a political agenda."You are clarifying that's NOT what that post meant (I think), which is good, but I don't think anyone who had that idea was totally off base.>>6006274My reading of that post was that "It's not my intent to make a political tract quest." Basically, BQM trying to make clear this wasn't a Jack Chick/Ayn Rand/ Steve Dikto/Frank Miller style fictional universal where the author's personal politics are always right.
>>6006275Woah dude, I think that's a bit extreme. This is just a game and the person you replied to was asking you a question in good faith. There's no need to go all Low Tier God.
>>6005738I thought they had MORE kids, isn't that why we wanted their egg gene way back?
>>6006287They're pretty explicitly stated to spend way more resources on a singular egg.
>>6006272Everyone except you is an unironic nazi and just hiding it really well as a way to make fun of you. Its why I'm crawling inside of your walls and whispering aggressively at you. POINT AND LAUGH! Heil Hitler.
>>6006275>>6006274What was that post even supposed to mean, then? I guess we don't have to struggle impotently and liberalism isn't the great satan? Good to know. Won't be killing myself though, lol. You just keep complaining that we aren't understanding you or playing in good faith and I was trying to understand your intent and do as you requested.
>>6006282I regret being more transparent about it in the first place, but I was trying to be more accommodating to players. I should have just emphasized it as being a game. The philosophical stuff is meant to be secondary, and it's spoiled now because everyone has talked about it too much and is trying to "metagame" it. I'm tried of talking about it.
>>6006312Just...don't talk about it, then. It's just one guy who keeps saying the same stuff every thread and will probably post it again in the next.
>>6006287>>6006291It was a choice between an inner-ear and brain augmentation, but the brain one would lose our tails.>>6006312I'm willing to change my vote in light of your clarification, so it is appreciated.>>6005539>>6005779Changing to>Allows female in the Hegemony more social mobility
>>6006318Well, with that, I do believe it's still 13 vs 10 for Deny.
>>6006322Or, actually, 9, since >>6005547 is a different write-in.Update soon?
>Allows female in the Hegemony more social mobility
>>6006332You're multiboxing, bitch In >>6006163 you say "I didnt" when responding to a post made replying to >>6006132, an ID that already voted.
>>6006332>>6006335
>>6006339I can't tell whether you're posting that to say I'm accusing him, or to say that he's very clearly been caught. But yeah, stable IPs aren't really a safe way to prevent samefagging. See? He had two different IDs at the least.
>>6006339Hey Banana, what is your opinion on Cake?
>>6006342I know this is a joke but I would like some more "civilian" lore drops here and there. I really liked the little extra breakdowns about nutthiefs and such.
>>6006380Honestly, If the next thread was an sidequest about the life of average Joes dealing with average Joe issues, I wouldn't mind.As long, uh, as it was more "Dreams" and less "Boys and Girls". I think most people liked the Dreams thread.
>>6006335The rest of that post was>I said the populace can't make us join the Consortium.These posts are me. The ones that are making that point. They have different ids because I was posting these at work (4:23 est)>>6006113>>6006038It was replying to Ldv (who was having a discourse with my posts such as in >>6006126)I just clicked the most recent ldv post to reply toIf br5hU9AJ was FbyStLpe (me) we wouldn't have opposing votes as seen in here>>6004613>>6004340
>>6006398Took you this long to make this cope? Yeah anon, sure, you specifically replied to that with "I" but it wasn't you.> br5hU9AJ was FbyStLpe (me) we wouldn't have opposing votes as seen in hereOne of the votes being some "differnet" utterly hopeless option doesn't exactly change muchHonestly, just accept that you got caught and stop being the kind of faggot that does it.
Can we get a beancounter?
>>6005540>>6005547 (Write-In, technically doesn't count)>>6005584>>6005588>>6005594>>6005754>>6005878>>6005924>>6005940>>6006159>>6006318>>6006332Allow female mobility.>>6005614>>6005626>>6005679>>6005695>>6005708>>6005731>>6005743>>6005763>>6005846>>6005854>>6005864>>6005883>>6006179Deny female mobility.So unless I've counted wrong denying female mobility wins by one vote, two if we count the write-in.
Allow Deny >>6005540 br5hu9aj >>6005614 opfcfiqw>>6005547 myebfreu >>6005626 ldvfq9wh>>6005584 k/ih7i/h >>6005679 ebfzilnd>>6005588 lhzuf0pe >>6005695 xqxbqllx>>6005594 dnvfu1ec >>6005708 bpod6zz9>>6005754 gol2+x9s >>6005731 5kybtriu>>6005878 zxsosmpb >>6005743 hwam9sdm>>6005924 /z47usda >>6005763 8h72ajbh>>6005940 l0gsqata >>6005779 Gk6n0pvr - x>>6006159 j7py0nay >>6005846 f2pqefvk>>6006318 ifo5adi6 >>6005854 kqe5r/z6>>6006332 fbystlpe >>6005864 io0apgac >>6005883 ghpsge6u >>6006179 zt/adcsc 12 13 >And I'll vote against, making it 12 Allow vs. 14 Deny
>>6006477Make that 14 to deny.>>6006476*two if we don't count the write-in.
Hey thanks, I really do appreciate it even if I have been shitposting a lot in this thread.
>>6006482I'm going to break my usual ethos because I see a lot of myself in you. I think you are neurodiverse and have a particular emotional investment in your quest as I do. This is not rare, especially in the creative arts. I have noticed you sometimes have intense emotional reactions to the ongoing of these quests. I urge you to try not to internalize how this quest goes. I have had my own mental health struggles in my quest. While I do not agree with all your perspectives I recognize we are kindred spirits and hope you seek comfort and healing in a way that you find acceptable. I honestly and truly wish you the best.
>>6005539>>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobility
>>6006573It sure is curious how the allow vote keeps getting new voters every single time someone counts and they're losing, especially when we know there's a guy cheating for their side. I mean you waited until the middle of the night to vote, just so you could even out the score when your option was about to lose.
>>6006477Also, you're counting the samefagged vote that was proven, bean.
Serious question , what is it about Monkequest that summons so much vitriol, including from the QM? I have played a few quests over the years and none have had this kind of energy.
>>6006834No fucking idea, but I imagine its because it's a quest that deal with non-medieval politics. I mean the current vote is literally on whether or not to give women more rights.
>>6006834>multiboxes votes and samefags in an attempt to cheat his side into victory>why are they so mean to me :((((Please never come back.
>>6006837That seems about right. BQM did point out the quest had formed literal political parties. I don't imagine many other quests have done that.
>>6006842Also because BQM was said many times they hate politics I imagine having their quest turn to a political arena especially pisses them off
>>6006843To be quite honest, if you hate politics and don't want politics in your quest, you pribably shouldn't have major votes about what to do with fractious minorities or women every couple threads, let alone have scenes where characters give multi-paragraph speeches about the evils of homosexual global neoliberalism. That, and constant vague alusions to some grand philosophical point we aren't getting, probably form the core of this repetitive cycle. The subject matter and focus attracts the most political people on the board, and the quality keeps them around and makes them highly invested in the outcomes even if they are not actually having fun or suspect people are cheating.>>6006834But that's just a theory... A game theory!
I didn't feel like updating earlier after the above drama so I'm going to bed. I'll be back at it again tomorrow, please don't be gay and get the thread deleted by the mods with dumb bullshit please.
>>6006856Sorry you're feeling upset, I hope the rest goes well.
>>6005539>Make an exception for Swall females onlyIt's the obvious choice really, but it's not even in the running. Whatever, casting muh vote anyway.
>>6006880>It's the obvious choice really,Did you miss the part about not wanting Swall to get too powerful?
>>6005539>Send out a survey to see what the average Jaxtian wantsEh may as well.
>>6005539>>6006889Actually no I'll change my vote to >Deny the request
>>6006856It's ok mate, it's not bad to take a break when the drama autism becomes strong.
>>6006891>Fag IDKek I can't believe this shit.
>>6006893It's just the chan's way of saying it loves you anon.
>>6005539Is there a>Wait, the Swalli aren’t female?!?meme option? ;^)Otherwise, I’d probably promote a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy- if only to help weed out the truly exceptional genes in females for. Merit should be respected and rewarded, but so to should culture.Really like Agatha though- shame autism wins the day ;_;
>>6005539>Deny the request>>6005878not allowing those movements has worked well for us having both working and becoming rival against eachother would slow down the birthrates.
>>6006882Also, if I can just chime in here, I sorta suspect that they wouldn’t- do to their low natural birth rate, allowing their females more social mobility will actually put a soft cap on their influence over the long term just on population demographics alone. Really, from the Jaxian perspective, this could be considered excessively cruel jape to a fellow ‘Brother species’, having Swalli woman be more ‘manly’ than their males. Could actually lower their influence over the Jaxian/Ventucker population outside of the chain of command, do to lack of male respect.Just a thought.
>>6006980>Deny the request>Make an exception for Swall females onlyis where my vote is at mostly only due to the different species allowing all females would be a sweeping huge change that we have no idea of the consequences beyond lower birthrates
>>6006970Which are you the most comfortable with of the two options most likely to win (Deny the request or allow more mobility)?
>>6006987If I’m being honest? Neither- both are unsatisfying.It’s why I also didn’t vote during the Yino/Aristocrat vote- pragmatically, we did the right thing, but emotionally I was all for letting Yino get justice for our diplomat. Fuck the Aristocrats.Here, it’s different- wouldn’t mind letting the Swalli tomboys some leniency, but the whole ‘species influence’ mini-game throws the whole conversation off kilter, especially when it’s a complicated decision with no solid indication of what the options mean quest-wise other than inferences.
>>6006982>Also, if I can just chime in here, I sorta suspect that they wouldn’t- do to their low natural birth rate, allowing their females more social mobility will actually put a soft cap on their influence over the long term just on population demographics alone.Except...not really? The Swall mate for life, so even the tomboy girlbosses are going to be taking a single dude. Also, they're not mammalians, so they don't have the constrains of pregnancy that Jaxtians and Vetucker women have.Furthermore, it's also about culture - allowing more mobility would be eschewing Jaxtian traditional culture (where women are caretakers and encouraged to stay as wives) for Swalli culture (individualistic, capitalist, anyone who can take a job takes it including women)As we've seen in the literal same update, denying Yino hurt the Jaxtian social weight because it denied him his 'rightful' revenge. Therefore, accepting this would further increase Swalli social weight. And then we'd go under 50% and become Swallified.
>>6007007>Except...not really?>The truth is that females are more valuable then men in every biological sense of the word. Putting them at risk unnecessarily, when a man can perform the same task, is evolutionary dumb.Their birth rate was already lower than Jaxians- I imagine that allowing ‘Career Women’ would only lower said birthrate, with Jaxian/Ventuckers already outpace. It’s simple mathematics.>Furthermore, it's also about culture - allowing more mobility would be eschewing Jaxtian traditional cultureAllowing an racial exemption for Swalli isn’t eschewing Jaxian traditional culture- it’s arguably reinforcing it. Akule himself allowed the Blondes certain cultural exemptions according to their race, this would only be the same for the Swalli. I do imagine that such a racial exemption would hurt the Swalli influence wise with the other collectivist male-dominated species, in actuality.>Therefore, accepting this would further increase Swalli social weightOnly true in totalitarian gender equality option, I’m afraid.
>>6007019>Their birth rate was already lower than Jaxians- I imagine that allowing ‘Career Women’ would only lower said birthrate, with Jaxian/Ventuckers already outpace. It’s simple mathematics.Except, like i said, no, because they're not Mammalians. Swalli woman can proably have a child *and* work because they don't walk around pregnant for months.>Allowing an racial exemption for Swalli isn’t eschewing Jaxian traditional culture- it’s arguably reinforcing it. That's not how it works, anon. In this 'minigame', it's about social weight. And giving in to Swalli values means increasing that social weight. This normally might not be a problem, but we're on the brink here.
>>6007030>Swalli woman can proably have a child *and* work because they don't walk around pregnant for months.Eggs require a lot of time investment- this was originally why the Swalli wouldn’t have out-reproduced the Jaxians via WoG. Allowing for Career Women would put negative pressure on birthrates precisely because the workplace interferes with reproduction- she’ll be far away from her family for years, and if she dies, there are no more eggs.>And giving in to Swalli values means increasing that social weight.Allowing an racial exemption isn’t giving in though- it’s declaring to the rest of the male-dominated species in the Hegemony that Swalli males are so unfit to service the Hegemony’s needs that the Swalli females will have to make up for the deficiencies in what is required from their race. Outside the chain of command, this will lead to a loss of reputation and respect for the Swalli, at least their males. It’s the perfect poison pill that also reinforces Jaxian social weight, since it tracks with Akule’s traditional cultural exemption for the Blondes.I do find it hilarious that anons went for diametrical opposites instead of the perfect compromise, lol
>>6007040>Allowing for Career Women would put negative pressure on birthrates precisely because the workplace interferes with reproduction- she’ll be far away from her family for years, and if she dies, there are no more eggs.It doesn't seem like that's the actual case for Swall, though. >Allowing an racial exemption isn’t giving in though- it’s declaring to the rest of the male-dominated species in the Hegemony that Swalli males are so unfit to service the Hegemony’s needs that the Swalli females will have to make up for the deficiencies in what is required from their race.Anon, i realize that you think that's what it would be interpreted as, but it's not. In the end, we would be allowing women into a military position. So Jaxtian MEN would be being led around by WOMEN. To an masculine culture like Jaxtians, taking order from women will make them feel as though their culture is being lessened. It'll give the Swall more influence.
>>6007004Fair point on the species percentage. This post led me to go back and read the update. The Swalli are less sexually dimorphic than Jataxians, which leads me to believe that there are currently a large number of physically capable Swalli assets that are "on the bench" due to our gender laws. I think making the new gender laws uniformly apply to all species would let us use these assets while minimizing species bias. I am not saying there will be np shift at all, but giving Jataxian women the same privileges as Swalli women would let us use the Swalli women most effectively while minimizing the racial power shift.
>>6007083Here's the thing you forgot anon, giving it to all women would also count as 'eschewing Jaxtian culture', and would therefore count against the Jaxtian social weight. Especially since there'd suddenly be Swalli Women giving orders to Jaxtian Men.
>>6007007>And then we'd go under 50% and become Swallified.I don't think that's how it would work. Bananas bolded the sexual dimorphism which I believe is a hint. Here is how I think the four options would work out in gameplay terms.>Allow female in the Hegemony more social mobilityThis would apply to all species evenly and give us the largest workforce boost. Because Swall are less dimorphic they would benefit a bit more.++Productivity -Jataxian prestige +Swall prestige>Make an exception for Swall females onlyIt is logical to conclude that giving the boon to just Swall would make for a larger prestige shift than one that included Jataxians. Because the Swall population is far smaller than the Jataxian one, this would give us fewer workers+Productivty --Jataxian prestige ++Swall Prestige>Deny the requestThis keeps the status quo. No worker boost or change in prestige>Send out a surveyI think this may give us an option down the line to enable pseudo-democratic elements for Jataxians that would boost their prestige, but his vote would not have any immediate effects.To conclude, this vote is asking us how much we are willing to trade off the Jataxian slice of the pie for a boost in productivity. I think we should pick an option that has a productivity boost because we are in an economic slump. Of the two options that boost our productivity, letting all women have more mobility gives us the highest productivity boost (because it affects the most people) with the lowest hit to Jataxian norms (because it would only set up standards Swall tend to perform better in instead of legally giving Swalli unique privileges.)
>>6007090>I don't think that's how it would work.Anon, i doubt bananas made it specifically a piechart for no reason. Something WILL happen if we go below 50
>>6007093I don't think "Swallification" would happen unless they were a majority or at least a plurality.>>6007085 I am aware that both options that change our workforce laws would cost us Jataxians racial points in exchange from the productivity boost of more engineers, pilots, generals etc. As I broke down here>>6007090I believe its logical to conclude the Swall exception would give the Swall a bigger boost than a blanket law. So between the two options, the blanket law gives us the highest upside (the most extra workers) with the lowest downside (the smallest culture shift)Deny is the status quo "neutral" option but I think given the Hegemony's weakening economic and now cultural weight (in the past I doubt we would be importing foreign pop culture and using our planets for alien tourism). We could really use the boost. I think we can afford the smaller ding. Especially because we have a 30 point lead. I don't think the change in policy would have an effect large enough to make the Jataxians no longer the top race.
>>6007099>I don't think "Swallification" would happen unless they were a majority or at least a plurality.If we go down by 10% , we'll be down to 45% while the Swall are up to 35%. Not only would this mean that the collective social weight of ALIENS would be higher than that of JAXTIANS, it would mean that the SWALL ALONE have almost as much social importante as Jaxtians.
>>6007100Bananas did tell us Swall were sort of "us but better", didn't he? Shortly afte rthe genocide?
I think this vote is the best approximation of the shift a blanket law change would cause.>>5992770>The social weight has shifted because of this choice; resulting in the Swall gaining a lot of new opportunities the other races lack, simply due to their ability to live in aquatic environments...This was a vote we made that didn't specifically call out the Swall by name, but that they were just better suited for due to their biology. The same applies for a blanket rule change. That law would effect all species but because Swall women are physically loset to Swall men, they would perform a bit better under a rule shift.If we use the ocean planet vote as a baseline the predicted stat shift would beJataxian -5Vetucker -5Swall +10That would make our new splitJataxian 50%Swall 35%Vetucker 15%Which still has the Jataxians in the lead. Looking back this reminded me that the Vetuckers are also heavily sexual dimorphic (I think more so than Jataxians) so the blanket law shift will probably take away just as many, if not more, points from them than it would Jataxians.
>>6007104No, he said that the Swall were more like an 'idealistic' version. They actually made capitalism work in the way it's "supposed" to instead of devolving into corporatism, and that it would have turned out they just weren't fit for the galaxy alone because they were too good.He also said that Swall had the 'potential' to be smarter than us, biologically.
>>6007100The last time a Swall favored vote happened, it took an even amount of points away from Jataxians and Ventuck. The Ventuck are also highly gendered so I don't believe any of the options would make Jataxians specifically go down by such a large amount. Both rules changes would boost the Swall at the cost of the Jataxian and Ventuck. The puzzle is to figure out which shift (if any) is an acceptable price for the reward.
>>6007110>The puzzle is to figure out which shift (if any) is an acceptable price for the reward.I'm gonna say "no" here. We don't know how many more choices we'll have until the minigame is over and Hass kicks the bucket. Even if we only go down to 50 - which by the way, is pretty fucking bad - all it would take would be another vote for us to become an cultural underclass in a state where we're 99% of the population.
>>6007112Suddenly, that April Fools gag where Jaxtians are Africans is secretly foreshadowing. Welcome to Swalldesia.
>>6007129Jaxtians can actually farm, so no. What happens is that we have to add the Swall to the ever increasing pile of (((merchant))) species in the Monkeverse.
>>6007112,BQM can clarify but I don't think the swalli and ventuck count as a block. That is, a hypothetical 49/30/21 split would still leave us top banana.
I'm sorry to say this to swallbros, but they will never become truly integrated with the Hegemony for one singular reason - you can't fetishize them. If jaxtians began to have an issue with vetuckers, we could easily pull a Kinja and make a propaganda movie about big tiddy cowgirls. But swall women are not only flat and have no place to bang, but they're also individualist and headstrong.
>>6007171>thinking there's no market for flat tomboy dom mommiessmdh
>>6007176Alas, Jaxtians don't seem to like tomboys. Athletic women sure, but feminine ones. And since I doubt divorce is a thing, even the "mate for life" thing wouldn't be that much of a draw as it might sound to us.
>>6007176>Pride and Prejudice, but it's with an high-ranking jaxtian and an swall tomboy I'd watch it.
>>6007112>an cultural underclass in a state where we're 99% of the populationI mean, when you think about it, it’s wild this minigame continues to exist- if we kept the pods producing population, maybe it would be relevant- but we’re effectively cucking to the majority of our culture a 1% minority lol
>6007171>imagining a athletic tomboy Swalli, either as the calm, collected surfer or a bratty tsundere in need of correction>a harem romcom with a traditional Mainlander, enthusiastic childhood friend Blonde, strong big tiddy rural Cowgirl, and a tomboy Swalli
>>6007197Knowing how these series go, the protagonist would end up just settling for the generic mainlander girl just because she was the first to appear.
>>6007210It’ll only fuel the shipping wars, which plays into our machinations!
>>6007219None of them compare to the TRUE best girl, Migrator-chan
>>6007130>everyone begs for Swall back>they get them>they accidnetally elevate their importance too much>OH NO THEY'RE JEWS, GET THE MASKPottery.>>6007197>>6007210>>6007219>>6007220Someone should run it.
>>6007222Do we have any examples of quests set in the same universe done by different QMs?
>>6007220>Migrator-chanmy love, always forever
There is something to be said for the loss of qualified personnel and potential gains from high ranking females of all Hegemonic races; but the cultural change is a lot to take in all at once. Plus, the Swall and their sexual differences with the other races would mean they would obviously receive preferential treatment overall if females were allowed the same ability as men. You decide to deny Agatha's advancement, and further entrench your culture against the feminist ideals. Women are just as valuable and equal to men in your society, simply guided and directed towards roles that make them the most useful; Swalli included."...While we will not be assigning you a starship to captain, Broadfins, I am advancing you to a good position in the military administration. Many young captains and officers will be trained using algorithms and techniques you will help create. I'm sure you understand that putting you in the line of fire is an unnecessary risk of resources, especially since you do not have any children yet- and Swall are such a minority.""Oh... I had wished to destroy the enemy's of the Hegemony. I thought my scores would make up for-""Destruction of the enemy begins in the home. The next generation of warriors lay within your precious eggs. Am I understood?""Oh... of course your majesty. Thank you."While disappointed, you are sure this is for the best overall.In the meantime, another small matter concerns you, specifically about Starsight. Starsight is the ability to navigate FTL hyperspace that seems exclusive to biological creatures. Against all common logic, computers and AIs are simply not as good at it. Once thought to only be possible by creatures without sight, though still in the vast majority, the Hegemony makes good use of them to help create routes between star systems and drive FTL ships. With the Hazaar systems a new edition to your empire, finding more efficient routes between the stars seems a quality goal. However, at the present time, the only race in the Hegemony who have developed the ability are the Jaxtians, no Swall or Vetuckers have ever developed the gift. You even gave it its own uniform; despite it being such a rare career. Even now, few Jaxtians are willing to be blinded to pursue it.
While the Vetuckers and Swall may have the ability to use Starsight and it may be worth investigation, there is a slight other concern. As of right now, Jaxtians make up the vast, vast majority of people in the Hegemony, and as such more are going to be of the small rare class that can become Starseers- and secondly, the ability to become Starseers is a point of prestige among Jaxtians, as the skill was thought to be impossible to species not inherently capable of it. You are sure the knowledge of Jaxtian starseers may give you some more prominence and status among other races in the galaxy.Of course, the Seekers once also possessed the ability, though it has been hundreds of years since their disappearance from the galaxy. Likely the knowledge with how they accomplished their Starsight was lost. You know that their computers, self-aware and with full freedom unlike your own AIs that are throttled for safety reasons, were almost symbols of religious worship over there, and the Seekers were deeply spiritual. Despite previous Supremes wanting to make these distasteful witchdoctors their allies- the results speak for themselves. You know that the Vetuckers were once deeply religious as a people, which could hint at some latent ability for Starsight.After all, it is known that the ability to cope with loss and overcoming of trauma, character growth, abstract thinking, and a few other similar traits are linked to the ability to develop Starsight. So much so that some members of the Hegemony have even developed it without losing their eyesight, though such a gift is rare even after many years of trying to replicate it. And the current generations of Vetuckers and Swall are both literal survivors of their own genocides, born from tubes that seem to in some way assist with their mental stability and progress. If your concern was with keeping the status of Jaxtians high in the new Hegemony you are creating, then maybe it's best if it's something you don't know... but at the same time, the potential gains in starship routes, not to mention new potential insights or developments into FTL technology from races with entirely different brain chemistry could also be huge...What are you going to do?>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight ability>Only test Vetuckers>Keep it a Jaxtian only tradition
>>6007377>Only test VetuckersCowbros are linked to nature, were formerly deeply religious, and very loyal. In fact, they literally developed an cultural link with the whales. FURTHERMORE, Swalli are far too small in number, and since they mate for life and spend lots of resources on a single egg, a starseer would have a way harder time raising kids. Also, if this removes 5% from Jaxtians, this would put us at an perfectly divided 50/25/25
>>6007377>>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight abilityWe need to figure this puzzle out.
>>6007404I honestly would support you, but you know it's going to bring us down to 45/30/25 and then all of a sudden Jaxtians will be a minority culture in their own state where they're 99% of the population. The 1% of aliens will have more weight than all the billions of jaxtians combined.
>>6007409Even worse, since it's a particular point of pride, what if it was 10% per species? We'd go from 55% weight to /35/% and Swalli would literally have as much weight as us.Normally I'd love to choose both, since starsight is interesting. But I don't want Jaxtian culture to be replaced by the aliens.
>>6007377>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight ability
>>6007409But what does that even mean? Hass is still supreme, right? We always knew the Swall had the potential to be the superior spacefaring species.
>>6007422>>6007409There hasn't been a vote this thread with a point swing that high. I don't think starsight is valued culturally so much that it would be a bigger swing than an entire ocean planet for the Swall.
>>6007429SMARTER. We knew they had the potential to be smarter. Not a better Empire. And even then, does this mean we just roll over and let the Swall control us? Just give up the Empire we ourselves built so we can start larping as fish capitalists? Even if Hass is still the Supreme, he's getting old. What if he retires after this vote, or if there aren't any other chances to remove a 5% from the swall to give us back our majority? We'd be stuck as an underclass culture.
>>6007431Even if it's only 5% per species that's still enough to get us below 50. Creating a scenario where several hundred billion jaxtians are worth less to their empire than less than a billion aliens.
>>6007439If race is very important to the Hegemony, the Swall and Vetuckers would all still be dead or would be slaves and not citizens.
>>6007341I want more Migrator stuff. Is that overseer candidate still alive?
>>6007448You can't possibly think having a small minority be worth more than the literal founder species of the state is a good thing. It's Supreme space MONKE, not Supreme space FISH
>>6007451He doesn't know about the ferrets.
>>6007451You seem to be operating under the belief that1. Any culture shift is likely to take the Jataxians below 50%and 2. That the Jataxians going below 50% will make them an underclass, even if they still have the highest numberI do not think the evidence in the quest supports those notions.
>>6007404+1The Swalli are oceanic which as we learned from the Migrators makes then good at straight.And having the Ventuck lumped in as well should balance out the culture shift so that no single alien race gains too big a slice of the pie.
>>6007480>Any culture shift is likely to take the Jataxians below 50%It is specifically mentioned starsight is a point of jaxtian dominance and superiority. Removing that will increase the share of the species that are allowed. This means 5% for Swall and 5% for Vetuckers, so -10% for jaxtians. We have 55%, QED>That the Jataxians going below 50% will make them an underclass, even if they still have the highest numberIt means that the collective social weight of the entire jaxtian species is smaller than the collective weight of the aliens. How is that not an underclass? Imagine if the Irish had more social power on England than the English themselves.
Best of both worlds, get data from testing and science gains. Then genocide them AGAIN.
>>6007377>Keep it a Jaxtian only traditionMonkies and Migrators only, stinky fish and cows need not apply
>>6007377>>Only test Vetuckerscowbosscaptcha: H0G MR
>>6007377>Keep it a Jaxtian only tradition
I'm honestly quite surprised how the majority of players haven't been trying to make all three of the races equal for this thread.
>>6007521Kek. Can you imagine?>>6007588What? Why?
>>6007588at the end of the day, this is 4chud, a place sympathetic to conservatism and racial supremacy. in fact, I think the only reason players disapproved of the swall and vetuck being wiped out was because it was a major decision that came out of nowhere with no player input.
>>6007377>>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight ability
>>6007588For what reason? Shouldn't we just do whats best for the Hegemony and assume that if everyone is, actually equal, then it all will just turn out ok?
>>6007588Bananas, I know the thought of it makes you uncomfortable, but you've basically recreated the political dynamics of Texas in this thread. (Small rightwing majority with intense and significant left-wing minority) The result is a quest that generally arcs towards the conservative choices, but with *just* enough liberals to have hope they can change things (and therefore stick around). This leads to a quest filled with tension and contention, which is why it has the reputation it does and why you felt the need to impose so many safety valves (i.e. the one post ID rules. How many quests on this board get people os riled up hey even CARE to commit voter fraud, let alone having it happen enough the QM needs to intervene.)You may not have designed the quest to be political and you may not believe it is political, but the audiences have made it political. Denial wont put the cat back in the bag. For better or for worse a significant portion of these threads is symbolic (and sometimes literal) political conflict, I don't see anyway to move past that.
>>6007650I'm sure Bananas knows all about Texas and is definitely not Scottish or something.
>>6007377>Only test Vetuckers
>>6007377>Only test VetuckersI find the lack of Migrator appreciation in the post concerning - especially since we got them new planets and all.
>>6007377>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight ability>>6007588Why would we want to make them equal? I voted against the Mask and every step leading up to it, but we're playing as monkes, not as fish or cows.
>>6007377>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight abilityWe're only testing capacity here, right? We've already got the nearly 100% Starsight-Capable Migrators as the 'perfect' Non-Jaxtian option anyway, so I think the knowledge we gain here is going to be more important then the 'risk' or putting Aliens into a field where many of the leading specialists are already Aliens.
>>6007588>equalThat is literally impossible, you can't equally divide 100 by 3
>>600786734/33/33 is still basically equal. At that point, one faction having 1% more influence is meaningless. Since we would've made Jaxitans far less overwhelming and brought the others up.
>>6007869The minimum we'd need would be 40/30/30, or 35/35/30.
>>6007869There is a future choice where the Supreme Ruler chooses a color of napkin to wear at a dinner that changes it by +1.11% if you pick the color corresponding to that race or I'll just equalize it to 3.33% at the end of w/e
>>6007876Well, if you're saying that it's a "future" choice, then that means that Hass is probably not gonna die right after this oneIn that case i'll change >>6007381 into >Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight abilitySince it means we can go back to having a majority. Testing everyone out is a gigantic opportunity.
I will say though, even if we end up going for 'equality', i really, *really* hope it won't mean we'll become xenophobic. I still want the hegemony to rant about how the consortium and esaal are racially inferior vermin species to the Jaxtian/Swall/Vetucker alliance.
>>6007893we'll become less xenophobic*
>>6007377>Keep it a Jaxtian only tradition>Only test Vetuckerscant we test for it while keeping it as only a tradition for us?i am careful about leaning the social weight to much as well looking at all other species societies lends itself to internal conflict and also infiltration by worms. and also generally social weight not being proportional is bad enough and we have a system we have been refining for ages for a stable society that has worked for thousands of years, we are doing alot of things that either has a unpredictable or bad outcome for the collective.it would have been nice to have to have that swali woman be a exception to the rule there species would have lend itself to it more due to there biology, but sweeping changes that has clear reason to stand the birth down to or below the replacement rate
>>6008007>i am careful about leaning the social weight to much as well looking at all other species societies lends itself to internal conflict and also infiltration by worms. Isn't that kind of a bad option if you want to avoid this? Literally the only reason anyone tolerates the worms is because they're the "only ones who know starsight". If more species in our state know starsight, the more we'll be able to fight the worms.Also, remember the 'cyte'? That shit's still going to grab us. We need to improve our starsight knowledge as much as we can if we want to survive it. Normally i'd be against sweeping changes, but this is an REALLY good opportunity we're looking at. More starsight means better routes, better knowledge, and better research.Also literal psychic powers.
I wish there was an option to make some more migrator tests too...the little guys are actually sapient intelligent being, they're just slow.
>>6008014too bad there is no write in allowed only binary or trinary choices or moderation on write in
>>6008016no moderation i mean
>>6008014>>6008016Migrators are already known to have starsight, but they're way too lethargic to be able to make more. They don't even know the concept of space, they just think it's a big ocean.What we have here is the choice to either research Swall or Vetucker starseers, or to not do so. And choosing not means wasting all that possible knowledge that could literlaly save the hegemony from the cyte. If you're worried about social weight, we can just change it back later. There'll be more options.
>>6008018Fair point, I guess. I still want migrators to do more stuff, but the cyte seems like kind of a big thing.>>6007377>Fully test Vetuckers and Swall for their Starsight ability
>>6008024problem with the vote is if they test positive must we include them? does it happen automatically or is there another vote?
>>6008028Is there really such an big issue with including them? Like i said, if you're worried, we'll have more votes to swing back the social weight, and using starsight is the *cure* to worm subversion. Vetuckers, for example, literally consider it a cultural honor to be on worm extermination duty.
>>6008028It just says "test" on the vote, but I think it does mean auto-inclusion.
