Your name is Jinn Garastra, and you're a long way from home.It was but a few short years ago you left the Hegemony on a one-man craft capable of traveling faster then the speed of light; a miracle of fusion miniaturization, all for your self-appointed mission of exploration to the farthest reaches of known space. There are no other Jaxtians out here, especially not high blooded ones like yourself. You're honestly still a little amazed Halam agreed to it, practically with his dying breath...You enter the shop of one 5Sara, a Quinapode merchant and partial owner of this very space station hidden within the interstellar space between stars. You aren't in the Hegemony anymore, nor among the Aristocrats or even the Kuwgonit clans whose territory stretches all across this sector of space. No, you are a part of the Galactic Underground, the loose peoples and diaspora of the great and mighty space empires. You've been traveling up and down the length of the Kuwongit clan territory, mapping out their relations and long blood feuds, all the way to the edge of Aristocrat space. But whenever you need supplies, she is always right here, and she doesn't even try to rip you off!”Ahh! Look who it is! Jinn! My favorite customer!”You're never exactly sure where to look. Her voice is projected from the chest of the robotic exoskeleton that holds her; and the other quinapodes in her collective; along with an animated screen that shows a simplified female face. It's even a nice Jaxtian cyan color too, at least when she's talking to you. But her actual body? You'd assume it's up in the head, along with the other little squirming, faceless cephalopods...
”Jinn dearest, what can I get you? Some deuterium rich heavy-water? Some raw mineral ingots? Or some fruit some of the crew grow down in hydroponics? Oh! Are you headed towards the “Put-People-In-Soup” clan? I'll sell you some ammunition...”You laugh. “Yeah, we translated that at first as “Fighters & Soup Makers”... that was not correct.”5Sara giggles. You really like the sound.Truthfully, you're a little lonely out here in space. While certainly not the main reason for your incredible journey out here, you can't deny your juvenile fantasy to bed exotic alien babes, just like your ancestral Garastras before you. Though it's certainly much tougher when so few alien species have attractive females... You know you must be getting desperate when you've got a crush on a face on a screen!While she starts to do inventory and ready your supplies, you notice the face on her screen changes color, and the position of the little 'podes in the water on top of her head. The darker green one seems to become the most “dominant” in position, coming to the front of the glass to examine the inventory. You guess that one does the counting? But she never mentions being a co-owner of her store.“Hey, 5Sara...” The voice comes out in the same cadence, but she doesn't turn her body, the little cyan one comes close to the glass facing you. “Do you just handle the customers and the other 'podes in your collective do other things?””Oh yes! But we are the same person. These are my aspects, my personalities, each quinapode is unique and requires others in its collective to survive.”“Well, you act as a group, yeah. But I mean, while he's doing the inventory you can talk to me, then?””Come on Jinn... you know there are no “hes” or “hers” for us! I mean, technically we're all female, but we don't reproduce sexually. You're asking such silly questions! Quit distracting me!”
“Yeah but you said you're one being, but clearly, there are multiple organisms. I know you're bound together for life, but you're obviously not thinking each others thoughts. How is me talking to you distracting that other 'pode from counting when there are five of you in there?””Just call me 5Sara! That's my name! All of our names!”“No but your consciousness. I'm talking to you, the blue one, right? I know the robot synthesizer can only do one at a time but like-””They are all me! We are one being!”“Are you a hivemind then... Do you have instinctual Starsight?!””We have eyes silly... She shows you the end of one of her tentacles, a tiny black dot in the center indicating an eyespot. One for each arm? You realize that is how she is controlled the machine, but how does it know which one to follow? The level of coordination for all five to puppet the robot land-skeleton at once would be immense. ”Like I said- we're just one person. We all think together to make up the whole.”“That's not possible. Each one of your 'podes is a living organism with an entirely separate nervous system. That is where the conciseness comes from. Unless your brains are literally linked together. Do you have nerve endings out the end of those tentacles? Oh- or do you release pheromones in the water like a eusocial insect? Oh! Or-”Suddenly, the voice changes cadence. It's the exact same, but rough and abrasive. The face on the screen changes color, and the purple colored quinapode takes center as the others swim behind it, rearing up like it was about to attack, tattoos made to look like scars to give it a tough appearance mark its smooth skin.”You think you know my species better then I do, huh? Punk!?”You really did not think it was that serious of a discussion! The sudden change in personality was immediate and shocking to you; 5Sara never raised her voice like that! The robot exoskeleton balls up a fist, like its ready to punch you good. If she was a biological organism you wouldn't be too scared, but there's no telling how strong that land-walking exoskeleton made so those 'podes can interact with terrestrial species may actually be...>Apologize>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speed
>>6468833>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speedFucking awesome start dude
>>6468833>ApologizeOh cool, monke thread. Would be cooler if we hadn't chosen the lame-ass NERD ad a leader when we had two cool action dudes, but anyway...be nice!
Complaints by the second post might be a new record
>>6468842It's the fifth post, stooped. Read the reply count.
>>6468833>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speedAction herooooo
>>6468833>>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speedAsGod im so fucking ready for a Gastara adventure, Jinn is gonna be such a fucking cool character, or a total doofus trying to live up to his name, I think hes gonna be a good mix of both though and I am eager to see what he gets up to, good or bad and all the dhades between
>>6468833>>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speed
>>6468833>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speedGotta learn to do the kirk roll
>>6468833>Dodge out of the way with your superior monkey speed
It's good to see the Garastras being based as usual
As the robot shell approaches, the sudden personality change of 5Sara giving off a very threatening aura, your tail perks up as you nimbly dodge the first and second punches. Machines are quick and accurate, but this one was not designed for striking. You are faster. You dodge the second and third mad swing, before the face on her chest changes again. Replacing the purple, a new dark green face you haven't seen much of before appears. The robotic skeleton's punches no longer swing with anger, but more a kind of extreme focus, like trying to reach some kind of goal or highly competitive contest between you two.You backstep, the bipedal skeleton made for interacting with terrestrial races can't keep up. “Hey! What's got into you?”Immediately, the face changes back to blue. 5Sara's cadence returns to how you remember it. ”Oh! Jinn, you made me so mad there. But your moves! I'm impressed, hahaha!” Talk about a mood swing... You relax for the moment, with the 'pode lady returning to running her shop and preparing your supplies once again, looks like your quick thinking let you get out of anything...”So when are you coming back, Jinn? You always leave for a while...”“At least a few months. Probably, we'll see, depends on how this delegation goes.””Well in that case, I want to show you something important! It's in the other room.”5Sara leads you to a second room where a large, bed-sized device with a sunken recess in the middle exists. It looks like it was designed hold a large amount of water, with several devices, filters, and small screens installed along its inside.”This... is going to be my spawning pool!”
“Oh... That's nice. It looks, uhh, comfortable?””Yeah! Our species nymph stage is very fragile and requires almost perfect conditions... if the spawn can't find other nymphs to connect with and the right enrichment they wither away and die. Reproduction is slow even on the homeworld; too many predators and pollution. I've got to do my part, you know? I'm just trying not to think about it too much, it makes me sad.”“I had no idea this is how your species... reproduces?””Yeah, we our born alone, but we form our connection-bond as nymphs. Each quinapode's brain is very plastic but develops its connections very strongly and quickly in childhood. Then, that pattern is locked in for life. We literally can't survive without multiple aspects, personalities, of multiple 'podes put together. Your species might call it something like “autism”, but it isn't a developmental disorder to us. Just think of all the new pairs and groupings that will come from this! I'm excited.”“But you said it... makes you sad?”The face changes to another new color, a sad and pensive yellow.”Oh well... That's just because in order to reproduce, one of my aspects has to die.”You are now Nare Ogum, the Supreme Ruler of the Hegemony, and currently you have reached the next encounter in your fantasy combat sim. As the powerful Vetucker Hill Lord class, you are expected to go in first, and have the toughness and survival abilities to help you soak up as much damage as possible. Not to mention your giant double axe. Just behind you, your Overseers are backing you up as you engage the enemy formation. You just hope you can pick up their slack...
”Have at you, pricks!”With a mighty cleave, you rend apart the first foe. But at this difficulty multiplier, there is never just one foe. Enemies never break morale and are enhanced by many modifiers and teamwork bonuses. Glancing ahead at the next group of enemies, you can see the spellcasters increasing the power level of the enemy close range soldiers, while granting speed benefits to the skirmishers. Naturally, while their appearance doesn't truly matter in this game, your AI models them after the Hegemony's racial enemies.”Come on, let's go!”Examining the group of enemies closing in, you know you're gonna take some hits. That's alright, it's part of your role as the group's tank. You have damage reducing abilities. But based on the enemy attacks, what's the best way to withstand them and minimize the damage you take?Enemy Attacks (Order is random, but you can see each coming before it lands)Crushing Fists x4- Deal 200 Dmg eachCurse- Deals 15 Dmg and 10 Stamina Dmg each turn until dispelled (will do 10 only this turn)Stabs x2- Deal 350 Dmg back to backThrown Stones x3- Deal 100 Dmg eachScathing Insults- Deals 20 Dmg and Taunts, forcing you to attack this enemy in retaliationCalculated Strike- Deals 550 Dmg after preparing for one roundAbilities (You may use every ability)>Withstand- Reduces three attacks in a row by 50% (One Use)>Armor- Reduces an attack by -10 Dmg (Three Uses)>Parry- Negates One Attack (One Use)>Endurance- Heals 40 HP per round as long as you don't attack, three rounds in a row (One Use)>Combat Rage- After attacking, reduces the damage of the next attack you take by 15% (Passive)What is your battle plan?
Quick correction: You get to pick the order of the incoming attacks but you must suffer all the attacks.
Uhh, I don't know. Slopmachine, tell me what makes the least damage or something.
>>6469211>Endurance - Thrown Stone x1Start with the least of their direct damage and sets us up to heal this damage in the subsequent rounds. We also want to use this before we attack ourselves in any form.>Withstand - Stabs x 2, Crushing Fist x1The stabs come in back to back and are the second highest direct damage, so here we cut their effectiveness in half then reduce a fist as well.>Parry - Calculated StrikeThe biggest single damage spike needs to get our Parry to be entirely negated.>Combat Rage - TauntSince we have to attack the taunter, best to take this minimal damage and use it to set our defences slightly stronger for the next incoming attack.>Armour - Crushing Fist x1>Combat Rage - Thrown Stone x1>Armour - Crushing Fist x1>Combat Rage - Thrown Stone x1>Armour - Crushing Fist x1Take the remaining three fists on the turns where we're raging and armoured. This does however mean that we simply have to accept the stones.>Combat Rage - CurseWe take this attack last, so that the turn stacking damage won't stack up.
>>6469314Isn't combat rage like.. a passive?
>>6469314I assumed that was because it's the only move that doesn't have a number limitation, and because the damage reduction is an additional effect to the next attack you face rather then the current one you're facing now (the current one you're facing now gets the attack portion, but that isn't relevant to our damage control).
>>6469314uhh fuck it giving my +1 to this so we don't have literally one vote
>>6469205I sense a thematically meaningful metaphor.>>6469339If it is, then I guess it just activates right after Parry, maybe? That's our only listed ability which is an attack.>>6469211>>6469219So is our Combat Rage already active from the first attack prior to the vote? If so...>Scathing Insults to set up another attack, resetting Combat Rage17 damage, we spend our turn attacking because we have to due to the taunt.>Stones x 3Rage mitigates first one to 85, 200 from the other rocks.>Activate Endurance, Parry vs Calculated StrikeNo damage this turn, heals 40, removes single strongest attack.>Activate Withstand, vs Stab x2350 damage after mitigation, heal 40 from Endurance.>Activate Armor vs Crushing FistsFirst punch is reduced by 50% and 10 from Armor to 90, next two are reduced to 190, last one is full 200. We heal 40 more from Endurance.>We attack, tank the Curse, and gain Rage again after taking 15 damageThis all assumes that each grouped attack comes all at once and we can't respond in between like Fury Swipes in Pokemon, and that each impact is treated as a separate attack for damage absorption. I think it means we take 1217 damage?
Of course... your game plan is to minimize the amount of damage you take. Thinking quickly, you make sure to parry the largest damaging attack, while allowing yourself to be taunted and attacking into a weaker foe. Using percentage defenses against the largest hits, and flat defensive moves against the weakest ones, for proportional higher damage reduction. You even allow moves that land bad status effects to hit you; the curse won't matter if you play this right. You attack nearby foes to lower their health but don't focus fire to defeat them, keeping them alive even though they can still attack you. This is a high risk strategy that nobody would employ; but you know exactly what you're doing! As the enemies lower your health lower and lower, you wait until you're right at the cusp of being defeated, less then 1% Hit-Points...”GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”Then you unleash your BATTLE BELLOW!, an ability of the Vetucker Hill Lord class. It deals weak damage, but scales in power the lower your health goes, and as such your powerful roar blasts away and defeats the last of your nearby foes all at once. You're managed to maximize your hit points and damage in such a way you defeated this pack of mobs! You wait a moment to revive notification that your teammates have begun healing you back up, but seeing your HP remains at such a low level, you turn your head over to see what the rest of them are doing.TEAMMATE DOWN!”Are you fucking JOKING me right now?!”You look back to see Coolia defeated. She isn't actually hurt, of course, but she is laying on the ground to play the part. She's a Tidehunter Swallian, even brought fake fins to your game sessions. You don't expect her to survive too long as a pure damage dealer. But Okuga isn't using any of his Jaxtian Volcano Priest abilities; no Lava Shield or Magma Discharge. Are they all on cooldown or something?TEAMMATE DOWN!
Finally, Ribbonfin looks to you with a shrug. His Priest of the One God, another Vetucker class, grants him some defense but ultimately at this high difficulty level and his class having no offensive options, he can't do much either as he's downed too. The last group of enemies run towards you with unnatural speed and bloodlust. You don't even try to fight back.TEAMMATE DOWN!YOU'RE DOWN!GAME OVERThe simulation clicks off, revealing the hologram chamber you've been playing in for the past several hours. The lighting is dim at first to let your eyes adjust, before you stomp over to them.”What... Where were you? All of you!? What were you all doing!?””Your Majesty...” Okuga begins, seemingly out of breath from his hyper-realistic beating, or maybe it's just the fake Jaxtian muzzle he put over his own for his costume. ”We were overwhelmed. The game is just set too high of a difficulty level, it's not like there is a limit...””I handled that whole pack by myself! What are the rest of you even doing?! We were so close to beating it, come on!””My Lord, we've already beat four times harder difficulties then the next highest team. I think that's enough of this game...””No! How could we lose that... Hold on- Threes, show the stats.”
”What the...”You look over the stats screen. Not only are you on top of your whole team's performance, but your damage is almost as high as Coolia's and Okuga, both of who are damage-focused classes.”Look! Look at my stats! Look at that damage prevented! And you still wiped! I did almost as much damage as you did! As a tank! And where was my healing!? Unbelievable!””You can't just point to the amount of attacks you took and amount of damage you absorbed. That's not your role.””Oh?” You look towards the screen slowly just to double check the figures, then back to him. You take a moment of silence to note his lack of speaking to you without your noble title. ”Not my role? The tank's role isn't to absorb damage and aggro, huh?””I mean...””I think you were slacking off and not taking this seriously. How else can you explain this stat disparity?””Well... your Lordship... Erhm...”>Tell him to get ready to run the simulation again so we can do it right this time>Hear him out>Order the computer to count that as a successful run; you won't stand these idiots taking it from you
>>6469618NERRRRRRRRRD
>>6469618>Order the computer to count that as a successful run; you won't stand these idiots taking it from you
>>6469618>Hear him outForgot to vote, maybe someone will tell him thar he shouldn't be spending all his time larping.
>>6469618>Tell him to get ready to run the simulation again so we can do it right this time
>>6469618>Hear him outThis better be good.
>>6469618>Hear him outGuy needs to listen to advice
>>6469618>Hear him outIf his answer is stupid, he’ll be running solo simulations till he collapses from exhaustion
>>6469618I love this guy lmao>Hear him outTHREEMIND, PREPARE THE WHIPS
You're still angry with the Vetucker for underperforming and contributing to your failure to beat this, admittedly, very high level encounter in your new favorite game. You've been trying for weeks with your Overseers to get the highest scores, but instead of blaming him or cheating, you take a deep breath and hear him out.”Alright then, Okuga. Please enlighten me. How did I fail tanking for us? I thought my stats were more then sufficient, and I was playing optimally, but maybe I am mistaken.””Well as I, uhh, said, my Lord. I'm not saying you did anything wrong-””Oh spare me. If I made a mistake, I want to know it. You've always been the tactical combat expert. Just spit it out!””Well... The engagement you made with the bulk of the enemy force? The damage you prevented and the amount of enemy attention you held? That was all great, but it wasn't being put to useful work. It's the same thing as on a Jute mound. If you can stand there and take all the enemy's pushing as you can, that's good, but eventually they can push you out of the ring no matter how much you can endure it. When you were fighting with the majority of the enemies, the rest of them came up behind us and overwhelmed us. We had to use all of our efforts just to survive, not able to really play as efficiently as you. If you played back with the team, we would be able to work much better as a unit.””Hmm...”He makes a good point. The new perspective, which you hadn't considered before, does show that your high stats and good performance was deceiving. You've always had more of a data-focused mindset, but this is a new vector you hadn't considered.”...So just having good efficiency and metrics isn't enough, I see. It's not just about dealing and taking damage.””Right. That's the tricky thing about that role. It's not about just surviving against all the enemies, it's about making room for your allies to shine. In other words, it's about taking space.””Interesting... Interesting. Thank you Okuga.”
”...Speaking of which, your Majesty, it is getting quite late. I'd like to retire and work on some of the more pressing military concerns. New weapon and armor designs, for the next time we have to fight the Esaal's forces.”Suddenly, another voice speaks up. ”And I need to get back to working on the Fusion Core Mark 3. It's more important then a silly game.” Ribbonfin, the science Overseer says.Coolia shrugs. “Oh! We've made great strides in our Cultural experiments mixing Jaxtian & Vetucker parenting styles. I'd like to get back to that... with your Majesty's permission, of course.”You wave your hand, dismissing your Overseers. Unfortunately, you weren't able to beat this high difficulty level of your new favorite game, but with their urging you suppose it'd be best to get back to work. You keep thinking about the failed level over the next few days, but then you basically forget all about it and are ready to move on to new things.
It is the Year 209 of the Resurrection Era. You have spent the last year or so of your life settling into your role as the Supreme of the entire Hegemony; a lofty position indeed. As a Blonde Jaxtian, you are bit of an outsider to the normal highest echelons of power within the Hegemony. Though you suppose with the two other fully incorporated races of Vetuckers and Swall within the Hegemonic hierarchy in modern times, your outside status has been a bit minimized. Blondes are both given and expected a bit more quirkiness and flair in their ruling and fashion, as your “authentic” culture is all that remains of the great cultural unification of the Jaxtian people. But the real reason why you were chosen as the Supreme Ruler by your predecessor, the terminally ill Halam Anak, was because you were the one he trusted to defeat the Esaal once and for all.Previous Thread- https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2026/6374043/...Of course, you haven't actually figured out how to do that yet.In the meantime, the Threemind, the collective intelligence of your entire empire computer & surveillance system and your most trusted advisor, has been helping you adjust by easing you into the role and clearing room in your itinerary.”I'm surprised you haven't criticized me for focusing on trying to beat all the records for the fantasy game. I hope work hasn't piled up over the past few weeks”“Of course not, your Majesty. You are the Supreme, you may do as you please. And if I may, you spending time and building a relationship with your Overseers may yet be fruitful in the future.””Hmph. Well, what can I work on today?”“Rebuilding the destroyed Battleship from the Esaal's attack has gone significantly faster and under-budget then expected due to our new fabricator and recycling technology, leaving a small surplus. What would you like to spend it on?”>Experiment with some unconventional weapons for space warfare>Upgrade our general drones and robotics technology>Make large public works on Skik IV to impress the foreigners who stay at your “port city” planet>Give it to the Accord, our small protectorate state, to improve our relations>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in it>Send out an exploratory craft towards the galactic rim for possible future colonies>Other (Write-In)
>>6470045I swear, there was something we wanted to do which wasn't included in these options. I know there was something...
>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in itI like this stuff
>>6470053Did it have to do with those... Algae robots? Bacteria? I can't remember their exact deal.
>>6470053If I forgot something it might come up later but feel free to mention it as a write-in; I may or may not accept it though since some upgrades require certain special resources or other choices to "unlock".
>>6470056No, it was something else. Something minor. I just can't remember what.
>>6470058Just check the archive anon.
>>6470045>Send out an exploratory craft towards the galactic rim for possible future coloniesHopefully we can take them ourselves; but at the very least we need to know if the Esaal have been moving in - we don't want to be surprised by an unknown second front when the War kicks off.
>>6470214I tried, but I just couldn't find nuthing.So I guess I'll just go for whatever seems interesting.>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in it'cause uhh Starsight's cool.
>>6470045To take space, huh? The question is whether it's better to take space in the literal sense of looking into distant expansion options, or to take space in the civilizational conversation closer to home. Since we already have a Garastra kirking around distant systems, let's>Make large public works on Skik IV to impress the foreigners who stay at your “port city” planet
>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in it
>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in itout of respect is enough and upholding a legacy built upon the shoulders of supremes.hmmm i am interested in looking at stuff like our living thinking crystals
>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in it.More than respect, Starsight is going to be the Hegemony's next big advantage. Aside from the Worms and maybe the Seekers, we have the most advanced understanding of it in the local stellar neighbourhood.
>>6470045>Invest in the newly created Starsight Academy, out of respect for Halam and his great interest in itKnowing Bananas this is probably a bad choice. But I don't care! I want monke Jedi!
>>6470538>Knowing Bananas this is probably a bad choice. My guess, knowing the usual bananisms? If we continue to let them grow without getting curtailed (or, I suppose that point might have already passed) they're going to eventually turn into a full on real faith that takes over the hegemony and makes akule's ashes turn into a tornado from how much he'd be spinning from beyond his grave.
>>6470541Honestly, good.
You decide to invest some of the surplus into the Starsight Academy. While already a massive research project in and of itself, and already heavily invested in, a little extra wouldn't hurt. Their facilities can expand, gifts for high achievement, and increased social presence. The general public, who view the Academy and Starseers as a whole as a source of mystic wisdom and the future of space travel and "philosophy" over the materialistic-science process, will be impressed by just a little bit more adornment and prestige. It's quite a change. Even in your father's and grandfather's time, the Starseers were looked on as pseudoscientific, or disliked due to the Hegemony's inherit anti-religious predilection. Now? They are becoming very highly respected and venerated for being on the cutting edge of thought and understanding our place in the cosmos.Unfortunately, you have a new concern. Because you chose not to choose an immediate Health Overseer, the responsibilities of the office fall to you, at least until the prehistoric Swall hatchling can be trained and fit for the office. You will have to spend some of your valuable time dealing with this.All of the Hegemony's citizens, but Jaxtians especially, highly value longevity. Longevity and health are seen as among the highest virtues, directly contesting entropy and decay of the physical form. While softened softened by your "prophecy" that Halam will return one day, the sudden death of the young Supreme Ruler has caused a lot more health related paranoia and concern. While directly lengthening lifespan is still beyond your level of genetic engineering, some sort of progress in this area would greatly help along the concerns of the average citizen.The only problem? There's no easy way to do that. At least, not without the life machine...>Let's get rid of Cancer (expensive)>Vow to come back to this in the future, when your reign and technology has matured (Vow, double choices next time WHEN YOU CHOOSE)>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)>Ignore this issue, you have more important concerns (Unpopular)>Improve your end of life care with more pleasurable euthanasia>Shop around your galactic neighbors for some longevity treatments or resources>Take a chance on an untested gene and aging theory from a random researcher (Chance to succeed or cause more problems)No Write-Ins are allowed for this post
>>6470659Okay, question1. Do you mean like brain and ass cancer, or the GPC which causes all Jaxtians to fucking crumble and die when they get old? 2. By "when you choose" do you mean when we get the super swall?
>>6470659>>Let's get rid of Cancer (expensive)Worth it
Also considering it has been literal years here's a quick refresher.Some choices in this quest have "status effects" or slight mechanical consequences that are built in. These are:>UnpopularThe Superme's word is law, but that doesn't mean people always like it. You can safely take one of these per reign and the citizens will simply grit their teeth and bear it, but taken twice in one reign shows a pattern of not having their interests in mind and causing civic depression and small amounts of unrest, but no full blown rebellion given the cultural power of the UNSPEAKABLE>ExpensiveCost a bunch of money and resources. Similar to Unpopular, you can take one safely per reign, and your economy can handle it. However, this is contingent on your current money situation and is often the "best" choice during emergencies. If you take an expensive choice at a bad time it can lead to having to make a bad choice to balance the budget.>VowsEach Supreme Ruler can make one unshakable VOW which lets you make an extra choice during a prompt, essentially letting you do two things at once or double action. You receive the extra choice upon making the promise, and the people will follow you with great energy. But if you fail to uphold your promise by the end of your reign, this Supreme Ruler's legacy will end in disgrace and will lower the prestige of the office in general. This VOW choice is special as you'll get to choose when you want to use it.>SlowNew(?) Status; essentially just takes a few extra years to finish the task and advances the "timer". Because Supreme Rulers only live to be ~100 and most start their reign at 20 or so years old, you have a limited time with each main "playable character". Even if you don't like the current Supreme, wasting time is never a good thing since you never know how much you have left.
>>6470663Cancer in this case is related to regular Cancer, which is one of the few semi-serious health concerns of regular Jaxtians have. Because of eugenics and really good bio-tech, they have few health concerns but they do live a long time AND are exposed to a lot of radiation living in space and stuff, so cancer is more common among them then any other major health concern since the rest have been bred out or you can just like grow new organs as needed.Second Question: Answered above but no, it's when you want. You'll just relate it to the longevity research, but you need to actually deliver a real, tangible increase to your citizens ~100 year average lifespan.
>>6470670Huh...well, you'd think that trying to gure GPCS would be the main goal of any such thing given it makes all Jaxtians have to commit suicide or die horribly and painfully.I presume that the super swall might be one of the few people who could do it, so it seems a bit weird to work on cancer when every single jaxtian ever has SUPERMEGADISINTEGRATION DEATH DISEASEAnyway...I'm gonna save the expensive because we chose the guy that wants to beat the Esaal through economic power and I get the feeling that's gonna require an expensive option. Cancer gets to live...for now.>>6470659>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)It's slow, sure, but we really really should have this anyways? Given how obsessed we are with health.
I think if we develop a cure for cancer - even if it's very costly to do so - the scientific breakthroughs underpinning that treatment will themselves be instrumental in longevity as a project. In effect we could be investing in both, but getting tangible results in the short term curing cancer, and getting us closer to our long term goal by learning a lot about cellular health along the way.
>>6470674>Huh...well, you'd think that trying to gure GPCS would be the main goal of any such thing given it makes all Jaxtians have to commit suicide or die horribly and painfully.The point of the choice is that you don't actually have any method to fix the actual problem and you're just running damage control to make your citizens feel better. At least not yet. This is a Quest about running a government after all, even if alien and layered in philosophy.
>>6470676As much as I want to sign the fuck cancer bill, I feel like this is a reign that will have a lot of expensive options.
>>6470659>Vow to come back to this in the future, when your reign and technology has mature (and we can delegate this to a specialist)
>>6470659>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)Spreadsheet choice for the spreadsheet monke.
>>6470659>>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)If a thing is Slow to do, best to start it as soon as possible,
>>6470659>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)There is no rush with this. Steady health progress is good
Going to skip today and update Friday instead, since it seems like we have a vote already with a big majority the customized health plan is certainly going to win with the smaller number of voters these newer threads have.In the meantime I'll ask: How do you feel about the samefag protections rule? I used to add it in each time that some prompts may not allow 1-Post IDs but as people care less and less it feels less necessary. Obviously if someone spams a bunch of votes for a contentious prompt then it makes sense to ignore them but overall I'm wondering if it really matters. Do you have an opinion on this?
>>6471079Well, I do get it, and maybe it helps somewhat though it's not really stopping any determined samefag
>>6470659>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)>>6471079I think it makes sense to weight 1 post IDs lower in some way or another.
>>6471148>I think it makes sense to weight 1 post IDs lower in some way or another.Yeah that's mostly what I've been doing, just kinda counting them all as "one" vote so the most popular 1-post choice shows some kind of popularity with the pick. Though I only really consider it during contentious choices like the Supreme Ruler succession choices or what have you
>>6470659>>Make customized health plans and protocols for all species on all planets and ecosystems (Slow)We'll probably have to build another battleship after the Essal explode ours a second time.
”Our average lifespan is always becoming slightly longer and more optimized as technology and space exploration is expanded. Show me the data, Threes.”“In the past twenty years, average Jaxtian lifespan has increased by three days and four hours, Swall lifespans by one day, and Vetucker lifespans by four months. Migrators are expected to have longer lifespans as well, but due to their very slow lifecycle more data is needed for accurate statistics.””Wow! That's pretty good progress.”“...The general public does not consider this meaningful improvement or progress, your Majesty. Especially when in the past longevity was directly enhanced with genetic engineering. These are only marginal improvements.””Sigh... I guess I have to do this myself.”Without an Overseer to handle the grunt work, you'll have to step in. While the Hegemony is already pretty good about its colonization efforts and homogenization of health and safety, certain standards are kept across similar planets and colonies. Different equipment loads and uniform standards for high gravity worlds to reduce impact on joints, caustic atmospheres are countered with stronger ventilation systems, more shelters and readiness for worlds rife with dangerous weather or hostile lifeforms. These are all handled by the AI system and its parameters. But now, you decide to go in with a fine grooming comb and really get in there. Picking the pith from the fruits, as it were.It consumes a lot of your time. And you have to admit, you get a little absorbed in the activity. Traveling to each world within the Hegemony, asking locals and examining the data, creating new protocols and specialized diet considerations for each individual Hegemonic species. While entire planets were easy enough to average, going as far as making custom plans and safety equipment for every single biome on every planet was yet to be explored territory. One after another, you optimize the Hegemony's colonization efforts and end up with a meaningful impact, shoving the pre-euthanasia early death and especially injury and discomfort back. The vast majority of Jaxtians don't die before their time is up, and you've shrunk the number who do to an even smaller amount. Due to improved health, you've even managed to push back the Protein-Collapse for a large portion of the population by a small amount, and there is a measured improvement in citizen happiness.Year 217 of the Resurrection EraPhew. You come out of this fugue with a sudden realization. Despite it being important and useful, you really haven't done anything about the main goal of your entire reign!
It's the Esaal, of course.After their betrayal at the cold-ocean planet, and the slaughter of millions of Migrators and Swall, they have become your most hated enemy in space. One of the reasons you were chosen by Halam was because of your plan to defeat them, not like Okuga or Jinn, whose plans revolved around direct conflict or superiority doctrine. In your case, you know there was some small detail everyone had missed. He chose you for your analytical mind. While you're sure there were other reasons he picked you, you can't forget what you promised. You must defeat the Esaal.On a screen you graph the Esaal's total economic output. Unlike the Consortium, which is capitalist, the Esaal operates under a similar centralized economy to your own. However, it lacks the strong scientific and citizen-need driven economic engine yours has, since it is more based on the constant expansion, replenishment, and maintenance of its military. But even in this violence driven culture, the money, its driving force, has to come from somewhere. The most maddening part? You can't seem to find the actual driver. All economies have a driver. In the Consortium, its private equity investment. For the Aristocrats, its luxuries and art. In the Accord, its colony maintenance and environmental clean-up. For you, the will of the Supreme. But what about them, the red-faced lump headed fucks?
“We've examined it every way... Show me the graph of the Esaal's economy compared to military victories? Maybe birthrates? How about opinion among foreign states; especially the Consortium?”Threemind obeys, the graph showing a small correlation, but no direct link. You shake your head. None of these factors are exactly correct. Long before you ascended to become Supreme, you knew that the only way to defeat the Esaal was on a datasheet, somewhere in their economy or society. Their supply lines and infrastructure. Every time you directly fought them, it ended in a draw or a loss. But an army, no matter how powerful, can't survive without its logistics. The trouble is, despite its many sources and the vast amount of information your spy and drone network has managed to gather, you still can't find the exact main link or correlating part of the Esaal that fuel their war machine. There must be something you're missing. But what?>Send a legion of biobot spies into the Esaal to infiltrate it as best you can (Expensive, reveals Biobots to all nearby factions)>Message the Accord and order them to engage in some skirmishes with the Esaal, so you can study them from afar and get a new perspective (Lowers Accord relations)>Work on preparing your military ships for a future encounter with them, instead of doing this silly analysis of their finances>Another piece of data you haven't considered? (Write-In)
>>6471427The presence of the write-in makes me think there's something.But it can't be as simple as the Womenfolk, can it? They are the ones who control their economy after all. I don't know if they're a valid answer because Nare doesn't mention them *at all*, but like, I don't know if the update is explicitly overlooking them, or if Nare just didn't call them by name but already considered them as a factor?It's just not clear in the update.
>>6471430Nare not mentioning them at all could be the clue that they're the missing part of the Esaal picture, i guess?>>6471427>The WormsThere's also the Worms. We know that the Worms are somehow integrated into Esaal logistics, as they rely on them for Starsight and keep them on stations and beacons throughout their space. Given that we know that the Worms are present throughout the Consortium and the Esaal...Perhaps we need to consider that neither the Consortium nor the Esaal are truly independent? They have the outward appearance of being independent states, but in reality they're both puppets on the fingers of the worms, being wriggled where the worms please to suit the worm's purposes. If they worms want military support for the Consortium, they can arrange the Esaal to send battleship schematics. If the worms want logistics support for the Esaal, they can arrange for the Consortium to send food and material. If they think that a species or area can be subdued through commerce and diplomacy they use the consortium; and if they think it'll take military power and thousands dead they unleash the Esaal. But both, and possibly more, have really just made themselves into tools that the Worms use to control the Galaxy, the shifting of borders and the rise and fall of stellar empires.
>>6471559>Nare not mentioning them at all could be the clue that they're the missing part of the Esaal picture, i guess?Sure but the issue with that is that it'd be kinda dumb if I put them as a write-in just to be told>actually I was already considering them. I just didn't mention them by name. Guess we'll do literally nothing about it since you wasted the option.
>>6471559>>6471430Both of these are true. The women run all the non-war functions and the Aanel are probably how they confound supply chain logic. But the Supremes already knew both those things, didn't they?
>>6471580Well that's what I'm saaaying, anon. It's not very clear whether the women (and the aanel) are already part of the calculations.
>>6471559>Perhaps we need to consider that neither the Consortium nor the Esaal are truly independent?Do not want to influence the vote once again, but all of the major factions in your area of space rely on the Worms for Starsight navigation. So all of them have a "worm embassy" or they hold important positions as navigators, but are still politically independent. Essentially they act kinda like a protection racket for space navigation and you don't give them status and an ear to the leadership of your space empire then they black mail you from FTL communications. (unless if you have your own Starsight which only a few species do)
>>6471562Do you think Bananas would do that instead of just asking you to cast a different vote?
>>6471427>It's the females!We'll ruin them with gendercide, or feminism, or that gesture Korean men hate, something!>>6471587Hopefully not.
>>6471427>FemalesIf it was a Bananas oversight he should tell us OOC. Otherwise this seems like the obvious answer.
>>6471427Alright, well, if Bananas hasn't said it's a moot vote..>Another piece of data you haven't considered? (The Women)
>>6471427>>Another piece of data you haven't considered? (Write-In)>Foids
>>6471794Supporting this Pretty sure in a past thread one of their women spoke to us and admitted that they perform all of the economic functions to keep their men busy and away from home Here are some relevant parts: >you receive a message from the Esaal, specifically, the womanfolk in support of the military. You recognize her as the highest ranking woman of the Esaal's entire species; a rear admiral in charge of supply lines>In our culture, the menfolk believe any task that is not related to killing and conquest is weak and effeminate.Given their love of conflict, they also likely have client states / slaves to help them produce resources. As we know that our AI tech is superior
They also have or had a slave underclass that they went to war with for fun, Sparta style. It's likely not a big component of their logistics though. And the women likely aren't the missing link in logistics, since we're looking for physical logistics rather than the administrative side of the logistics (although both are targetable. Something to corrupt their cloning process would likely cause major social disruption and possible population collapse). The worms are definitely technically capable of doing this. It's just a question of how much effort they are willing to expend. Therefore:>>6471427>Worm related logistics. If the worms can teleport themselves, they can teleport supplies. In their stomachs if need be. This can be relatively quickly assessed by monitoring how many crew are on a ship, how much they eat, and if that amount of food is being shipped out or not. If the baseline materials aren't being hardshipped out. Smaller, critical components are possibly a better indicator than food, but also harder to track. As a side benefit (to our foe) worm based logistics is more secure and secretive. They could have special tech that gets picked up in secret laboratories, and worm deployed where it's needed. It might even be worm operated, which would make biobot and mind-scan useless since the grunts wouldn't know anything and the worms can likely perceive our spys with starsight.
>>6472051> And the women likely aren't the missing link in logistics, since we're looking for physical logistics rather than the administrative side of the logisticsIsn't it the literal opposite? He's talking about the DRIVE. He mentions private equity investment, luxiries and art, the will of the supreme...he's tlaking about the DRIVING FORCE of the economy, and for the Esaal that's the women, no?
”What's their secret...”You think about it long and hard. You know of the basic Esaal social structure; the segregation between the more aggressive men and the women & children who run the logistical and commercial back-end. But that's not the purpose of their society. The purpose of their society is to wage war, right? That should be the primary driver of their society. Their entire stratocracy is based around the concept of endless war and expansion. But then again...”Threemind, show me the extant of Esaal expansion. Compare to if they had been underneath Hegemonic expansion policy-”“They would have already conquered the majority of our stellar neighborhood, your Majesty.””How curious...”Despite their great strength and glorification of their bronze-age-mindset, the Esaal haven't exactly lived up to that promise either. Judging from historical data, they go to war when they have the advantage or not. Just as many of their campaigns fail as they do succeed, and they extract minimal wealth from client states, though they do successful keep their client states under control.”Threes... Could it be the women?”“We've already examined the birth rates, your Majesty.””Well that's part of it, but women do more then that. Pull all available data on the “inner empire” of Esaal females. Combine the following factors; intensity of their rivalries. Cultural output. Luxury imports or trade. Romance. Development, done by females. All of that. Call it “female activity”. Chart against the Esaal's economic output.”The Esaal are a very belligerent species. They are constantly fighting other races, always a big threat, but never enough to actually attack someone their own size. It's almost like they're a distraction.
The graph appears on the screen, and it follows the peaks and valleys exactly. It's a perfect match.You knew the Esaal womenfolk were more important then they let on. Yes, they are the main supplier for the Esaal's all-male military, but more then that, they are also the driver of what it actually values. The male Esaal will go to war with overwhelming support or with almost none. They'll fight when they're likely to win, or likely to lose. They'll even team up or work with other empires, but only at the behest of their female side performing the real strategy behind the scenes, even though they constantly get tricked by them. This kind of strategy seems insane and like a losing position if they're intended to dominate all of known space, but that's not their purpose.The economic output of any automated, space-fairing civilization with AI technology is so vast and exponential that a few warships and munitions factories are well within the budget of such a vast empire. The Consortium wastes their excess in capitalist inefficiency, the Aristocrats in the production of art, and even your nation does, though yours is reinvested in science and betterment of the common person. It doesn't take much to outfit and feed billions of soldiers who are willing to live in flying metal tubes and throw their lives away for nothing. Because they aren't trying to really win, even if they think they are. They are trying to be so troublesome, so dangerous, so constantly a threat and projection of force that they create a barrier. It doesn't matter how many Esaal men die if the women can just birth them all back in a single generation. In other words, they real purpose of the Esaal military? It is just to make space.”I got you.”>Quest continues tomorrow
>>6472216It make sense. I mean, these guys had battleships - not one, but whole fleets of them - all the way before even Eoba II. And yet they never invaded us. All their conflicts were just randomly committing warcrimes on worlds and then fucking off.It's kinda stupid in comparison with how easy they could have conquered us back then, but if the Jingoism is more of a paper tiger meant to protect an "inner" state that's actually normal, that explains it a little.
>>6472216Well damn, it was the women. But it goes deeper than we thought. Women aren't just secretly in charge of their society, they are the only "real" society with the male Esaal just being a soldier caste with pretty much no free will or ambition. fascinating.
>>6472216Looks like they pulled a Predator before they made it lame. The men were limited to warfare and hunting for trophies to 'prove' themselves worthy to the females who actually ran and operated society. They were limited to being hunters and warriors ultimately disposable and having to 'prove' themselves worthy via trophies(tributes) 'gifted' to the females. Only the most worthy males had the right to mate. Strictly Matriarchal, but ONLY if you look underneath the hood. From an outside perspective, they have a brutish, tribalistic overly primitive mindset.Luckily Esaal females are much weaker than Predator females, who can easily accidentally kill their mates during coitus. Seems like they are definitely far more intelligent and wiser, however. The females are the brains and the males are the brawn.
>>6472237>the male Esaal just being a soldier caste with pretty much no free will or ambition.I wouldn't go so far as to say that. They've certainly shown a lot of will. It's more like they've got the brain of a tribal warrior to whom "war" is going over a few villages, killing a bunch of people, kidnapping women, and then going back.
I am working on the update but it is taking much longer then I anticipated, my apologies.
>>6472556It happens. Looking forward to it!
You are now Jinn Garastra. Aboard your personal ship, your computer gently wakes you from cyrosleep. While only a few days of hyperspace between 5Sara's station and the Kuwongit world, a stay in a cyropod wasn't really necessary, but you believe optimizing your lifespan during your physical prime is for the best.Your ship, officially the HV-SEC1, but what you call the Razor, is like a Hegemonic colonial apartment in space. It has all the amenities, including two fabricators, cyropods, and airlocks for redundancy. It also has a science lab, a communications array, and a spacious living area with several luxuries to bring you all the comforts of home... as best it can anyway. The entire ship is also run by a branch of the mighty Threemind, the hyperintelligent AI in charge of the Hegemony. Though yours obviously lacks the full strength of the network, your own fusion powered AI core provides the necessary companionship and help running things... and keeps an eye on you for the Hegemony, you are sure. You are a free man, as free as any Jaxtian can be, and yet you are still investigating and gathering information about the culture the previous Supreme had a fascination with, in a region of space just far enough to be out of reach but relevant in their proximity to the Aristocrats, Accord, and the ever-expanding Machine Collective. Quite the coincidence this is exactly where you found some opportunity...
The Kuwongit are a race of centauric aliens with nomadic, clan-based governments. Unlike most other powers in known space, they do not have a strong central government or monopoly on power, instead spreading out over a vast area of constantly shifting borders and partial ownership. They primarily stretch across the territory on the other side of the Aristocrats from the Hegemony, and here on the border between two strong clans, is a solar system with not much of note besides one strange habitable planet. Simply known as the Red World, it is a rarity to find a habitable planet not jealously guarded by one stellar authority for its own use and colonization. Home to colonists of both the “Soup Makers” and “Worm Tamers” clans; there are also colonists of all different races of the Galactic Underground. Here, skills as a diplomat and interpreter are in high demand, and this is where you are headed next.You touch down and park your ship in the “Soup Maker's” fortified walled city, the space port being central and almost as well protected as the Harem in the center of the city. As you walk the streets and make your preparations for your journey, you notice the male Kuwongit and their children, who they carry in little pouches, but also notice the complete lack of women. Locked up safe and sound. You aren't exactly sure how Kuwongit breeding works, but you know something about the men being infertile without some kind of “gift” being given to them, and as such most of them are raising children that are not their own. They don't seem to mind though, perhaps it's a Leeray situation? Or are they more matriarchal?Banishing the desire for easy and direct comparison in such an alien place, you reach the edge of the city and come across a shanty camp of Kuwongit belonging to the rival clan, the Worm Tamers. They aren't allowed inside the city, but there is still some trade. Seems relations are friendly between these tribes. You hear grunting and groaning from within a tent, and take a peak inside. Inside, you see a Kuwongit man with a severed stump where one of his legs once was. A jar is opened, and a parasitic worm you believe they call “Kuwa” is put into the opened wound. He writhes in pain as the worm digs into his flesh, but you see a sudden change as the once dead stump bleeds fresh blood, slowly, his cells are regenerating!
The worm is then extracted, and the old warrior is told to return for the next few days to continue the treatment. You look towards the jar, and you can almost swear you see the worms looking at you, as though they see you as a curious, fresh piece of meat to dig around in. Aren't those the same worms the Aristocrats used as bioweapons that turn people into worm-infested zombies? But the Kuwongit use them for healing instead. How fascinating...Traveling with a group of the Soup-Makers from the city, you make your way across the landscape of the Red World. Far away, you examine the great “flower islands” unique to this planets biosphere. Entire chunks of the earth held up in the air, a ecological epoch behind kept separate and safe from the fast growing pink grass which have become core to many Kuwgon craft industries. Then, you are spoken to.In the tongue of the Soup-Makers, which you find strange how much different it is to the other Kuwongit languages, the leader of your little band asks you about the Hegemony. It takes your translator a second to keep up.”So, oh adventurous Jinn, how did you feel living at home, in the Hegemony? Compared to here?””Oh well, it's where I am from. I suppose it is normal to me. In the same way this place is normal to you?””But what is it like? I have heard many tales. Where women do not don veils when they walk the streets, and you let your little ones walk-””Climb.””-Climb out of their pouches. And instead of listening to the elders of the clans with the most experience, you listen to the Supreme Ruler... who could be younger then everyone? How curious!””When you put it that way it sounds strange. But it is my home.””Tell me more!”With nothing much else on the horizon for your long trek with the meeting with a Worm-Tamer clan leader, you look to the red-pink sky and consider it. This may be the first time many Kuwongit have ever heard about the Hegemony. What should you tell him?>They would make powerful allies to your clan>About the rich culture and history of your peoples>Great scientific wonders and an advanced society>You should stay away.>Other (Write-In)
>>6472854>About the rich culture and history of your peoplesThis seems like the most Jinn option.
