[ic=Out Of Character]Yeah. Remember this homebrew, my life's work, ahem, so to speak, that I had on the old boards that this used to be? If any of you that are here now were even the same few people who were joined back there. It wasn't up for very long, I figured it just became defunct, only tonight did I finally stumble upon the announcement saying it had moved. Right, whatever. So here I am now, brought this with me.
Lots of people don't like it, especially badly regarded is my favorite, pivotal Josh God-Emperor character. Virtually everyone seems to complain, ranging from outright bashing to well-intentioned constructive criticism that nonetheless masks a deep impression, in their eyes, of its' inherent flaws. But there always seems to be those one or two people who absolutely love it and just *get* it, and don't see what all the critics are even talking about, and it's for them that I keep bothering. So in case you missed it the first time, my widely-disliked, ahead-of-its-time campaign setting, in all it's majestically lopsided glory, Storm Era, or, known by it's original working title, Chronicles Of Fate. Enjoy.[/ic]
The Teachings Of Divine Order:
Ordne, The Holy Book Of Chaos
The Beginning
In one way, existence had a beginning, but in another, it always was. No matter which way you choose to look at it, however, there have always been Order and Chaos, and theyâ,¬,,¢ve always been opposed. Time is a cycle, meaning that the beginning of the world is also itsâ,¬,,¢ end, and past and future are a matter of perspective. From the view of linear time, there was first the nothingness or Order, impurely infinite, it was orderly simply because it was nothing at all, and where there is nothing, there can be no randomness. Then came Chaos- it came from the future, from The End, back to the beginning, it was born into the eternal nothingness of Order as a single spark of infinite light, pure existence, and from that quickly spread out into space and time, matter and energy, and all of the myriad intentions and existences of reality.
â,¬Å"We have but one purpose: Society will fall at any cost!â,¬Â
You All Should Rebel....
Everyone who wants to be truly free needs to rebel, dedicate themselves to overthrowing Society and become Revs. No matter what, you should all convert to Revdom! If you think you're free now, you're sadly deluded. Stop being brainwashed, revolt! You are slaves- become Revs! Josh has spoken.
I just wanted to post that to see where you people would go with it. It was intentionally....not cryptic, exactly, but....incomplete. I wanted to see something. You'll see....Josh has spoken.
None of you understand, none of you come even close to understanding. But that's ok, because you've got almost another 2 centuries yet and a long way to go before you see the picture as I now can. I know, you'll say I'm crazy, or stupid, or immature, or pointless, or whatever inconsequential insult you can muster to hurl. And that's ok: in fact, it's good. It's a start, in one way, but it's an obstacle in another. You are all different, as you should be.
Some are only out for yourselves and could care less about "the system" as long as you have ways of getting around it. That's also the right kind of attitude to take. Some of you hate freedom, and want conformity. That's evil, but in a way, even that provides tools that can be used: rigidity, intolerance of anything BUT; aren't just the weapons of the enemy, they can be turned against them as well. But all of these disparate things, alone, will not change anything.
You may think it doesn't matter, that "democracy" is about as good as it gets, you may think you're an "anarchist" or against "the government" and "the corporations". All great places to start. But none of these things are THE answer. That's not because there isn't an answer, it's because you haven't gotten to it yet. The Beatniks and the Hippies failed to bring about lasting change because they were willing to unite, but unwilling to fight. Their ideological heir appearants, the Punk movement, is and will fail because they're (somewhat) willing to fight, but unwilling to unite.
Even if any of these had done both, they still would fail because they are not nearly all-encompassing enough to see for what it is and address the actual scope of a problem that humans living as an organized "Society" is. No-one comes close to even beginning to realize what a detriment this is to humanity as a species and the individuals that comprise it.
You still believe that social and cooperative behavior are the same thing, and that they're beneficial to us. People can cooperate towards a common goal without needing to involve the evil of becoming a structured Society. I know you'll laugh me right out of here for saying all this; those of you that can even sort of understand it, that's ok too. Like I said, you have a long way to go, and you'll probably never see any improvement or be healed the damage within your lifetimes. Unfortunate.
But your children's children's children have a chance at a better kind of life, one of true freedom. Society is evil now, and it will be even more evil still when, over the course of the years to come, it will develop the technological ability to physically force itsâ,¬,,¢ hive-mind mentality and existence upon everyone. Any formulation of free thought and therefore, any chance at rebellion or individuality will then be lost. It will be too late, and you children will be remembered as the last late, great race. But we are going to fight that. You can choose to fight for yourselves, or against yourselves. You can even be a wise-beyond-your-years "early adopter" and become a Rev now, if you hear and understand any part of my message. Do whatever you choose, while you still have some choice, even if most of your mind is already made up of the brainwashing Society has imprinted on you since birth. The wool has been pulled down very far indeed over all of your eyes, even those who think they know it's there and pulled it up, are just seeing a second layer of deception.
The Revs are not a club. We're not a group, or an organization or a civilization. We're definitely not a society. We are an umbrella. We unite everyone who realizes that things shouldn't be this way, or at least we will. We are change itself, change for the better, until everyone CAN do what they want, without having to worry about getting caught, until we have true freedom, and live true life, the way it was meant to be. Until the war is won. My name is Josh, and I don't "wannabe" anything. I'm not a punk. I already am all that I am, was, or will ever be. My name is Josh, and I am a Rev. Josh has spoken.
Hah. *Raises eyebrow* Is your brother me by any chance? Certainly sounds like it. I've never heard of anyone else coming as close to how I and people (or demons, whatever) who know me would describe myself as the way you just described your brother. Seriously, though, no-one will be dominating the world. Many will try, there will be many Socs (the opposite of Revs, devotees of Society; i.e. what 99.9999% of the people alive right now are, whether they realize it, want to be, or not), many would-be dictators rising over the course of the decades and centuries to come, all vying for the attempt to rule the world. There may even be others with ideas similar to mine, trying to form their own rebellions to compete with Revdom. Not just one every few generations like there was in centuries past; a Hitler here, a Napoleon there, but hundreds at once. Your last name isn't Fisher, by any chance, is it? And your brother's name, is it Allan, and if not, does he plan to name any of his children that, or might any of his grandchildren be named that? And if it is, could you please tell me PRECISELY where you live so I can dispatch one of my Hunters to assassinate him soon, rather than having to fight his entire army hundreds of years from now?
That's just one byproduct of what the so-called "Singularity", the dawning of the AI and Nano ages to come, will bring. But ultimately, all of these minor pretenders will destroy one another without doing too much damage to the physical world at large, and then only the major players will remain. Ultimately, all others will fall, and only the final dualistic two will remain to battle it out for humanity's soul. Remember that, in the end, Chaos will triumph over Order, Good will overcome Evil, those who try to impose their will on others will ultimately be overthrown by those who demand to be the pilots of their own courses, authors of their own destinies. The role of the Revs' "leader" is not to command or order, but instead to unite, to rally and inspire, to lead by example.
If any of you are very interested, let me know. If you're willing to read a very long document, you can discover now what the future holds. I tell you now, though you may not believe me- what I would post is something that has been kept secret for nearly a 100 years, and is confirmed to have existed for at least 1200. Itsâ,¬,,¢ authenticity is unquestionable: it is a confirmably accurate prophecy written by an unknown seer with accurate, precise knowledge not only of the last 1000 years, which were the future for him or her, but even further into the future, our future.
Notes on its' history and translation, also by an unidentified transcriber, indicate that it was originally found in Turkey as a lambskin scroll, written in Hebrew, which is itself thought to be not the original of the document. It was then translated into Latin, then old French, and finally a relatively archaic English version. It was rediscovered in modern times, hidden in a stack of suspected fake or unidentifiable manuscripts in a German (then Prussian) library sometime around 1904. Itsâ,¬,,¢ name in Latin is the Dossier Postremo, which roughly means "Book Of The Future". Everything that it said, described in accurate detail, about the last millennium of human history, from the Dark Ages to the Revolutionary War to 9/11 was all perfectly accurate. Would you like to see what it says about the next 1000 years?
P.S. Also, your comment about Fight Club; I thought of all this before that guy, Chuck Palahutnik or whatever the hell his name was, even started writing that book. First time I saw that movie, I was annoyed about how it kind of ripped off my ideas: not exactly, because in that movie, he still didn't *GET* that it wasn't just about violence or temporary change or destroying the order only to let a new one be established but sort of, you know what, yeah, I am like that guy. Josh has spoken.
Lonligirl- then it probably doesn't matter to you, but it matters to the rest of humanity. And it could matter to you, you could help yourself if you were to realize something was wrong and convert now. I offer you, all of you this: Make the choice to join with those who want you to have one while you still do.
Ticia- damn, you're a fool. I'm sure that, in your profound dimness, you indeed DON'T see. How do I have time? I also work a job over 50 hours a week....not that I want to, but I need the money. Have you considered that I'm just ridiculously smarter, more motivated and all-around better (at things, and just in general) than you and everyone else? Has it occurred to you that what you call "stalking" my beloved true soulmate, the future Queen, this, it's all one and the same, my life's mission, my purpose. My existence is a quest, a striving. I don't need a damn hobby, that's what you call a waste of time. I spend my life accomplishing more every month than most do their whole lifetimes. It may not seem like it to you, now, but you just wait and see what all that I accomplish blossoms into. You still haven't told me whether you'd like to read of the days to come or remain in ignorance of the future. Have any of you ever even taken the time to read what it says underneath my name instead of "Registered User"? What do you think the 3-letter *** word was before the site censored it? Just take a wild stab at it....Josh has spoken.
Here's the thing: you, fascism guy, I can only assume you support fascism. You're even more evil than most of these deluded, corrupted pawns. It won't be humorous when you pay the price for your unfortunate wickedness, it won't be humorous, it will just be another tragic loss. Such a waste, so unnecessary. Maybe you'll simply die of old age before it ever comes to that, but in any case....
Ticia, you are truly a fool, you're entitled to your opinions, that goes without saying, but I find them utterly worthless, and if you try to enforce them upon others, that will not be tolerated. If they prevent or slow down the liberation of mankind, that will not be tolerated either. It's not a theory, it's a fact. All real, none of it spin. The word was God. I am become The God-Emperor of Existence. Let's see if it censors it here....Josh has spoken.
It's a historical reference, you dolts. Ever heard of the quote that J. Robert Oppenheimer recited as he watched the Trinity testing of the first nuclear bomb? "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." Just astounding. Josh has spoken.
Nyxe- Why should everyone adhere to MY/ The Revs' teachings is because they are provably right, and simply this: that everyone should be able to do what they want. You can't disagree with this, no one can, it would be a contradiction in terms: No-one can mentally think, "What I want to do is to be able to not do what I want to do." They would STILL be doing what they wanted. THAT'S how I can empirically prove that the Rev philosophy is right for EVERYONE, only those who would want to impose their will upon others and take away their freedom would disagree with it, and they are evil. I'm not saying it's a perfect system, but it's a damn sight closer to it than this farce of group domination that supposedly offers "freedom" called democracy. And what starts as imperfect, I will always continue pushing it towards perfection, until, hopefully, someday, it reaches it. I believe that it will, but even if it doesn't, the attempt itself is worthwhile.
Colzgirl- Yes, that IS how life's suppose to be. That's what I intend to fight for. That's the whole damn point.
Abstracted_m- No, I don't have a website yet. In fact, that is the very first thing that we really need. An excellent website to distribute our message to all those around the world with a receptive ear, an uncanny knowledge, a feeling that things aren't right, and a desire to join the good fight, for themselves, and for us all. I'm not capable of making such a site myself, but I dearly, DEARLY hope that if any of you are interested in converting, you would be willing to help our Cause by devoting some of your time and energy to that worthy effort. That's the very first thing we need. Also, some of you will be dead in two centuries, but I will not, and even some of you, the younger amongst your number, may not. What kind of basis do I have for the crazy things that I'm "on about"? See for yourself:
This is just a sample. "I think itâ,¬,,¢s reasonable to suppose that one could oscillate between being biologically 20 and biologically 25 indefinitely."
-- Cambridge Biogerentology Professor Emeritus Aubrey de Grey
Time may indeed be on your side. If you can just last another quarter century.
By then, people will start lives that could last 1,000 years or more. Our human genomes will be modified to include the genetic material of microorganisms that live in the soil, enabling us to break down the junk proteins that our cells amass over time and which they canâ,¬,,¢t digest on their own. People will have the option of looking and feeling the way they did at 20 for the rest of their lives, or opt for an older look if they get bored. Of course, everyone will be required to go in for age rejuvenation therapy once every decade or so, but that will be a small price to pay for immortality."
You can visit http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/sens/ for more information. See? I'm not such a lunatic after all. What I talk about is all based in science and other types of rigorously confirmed factuality.
Crazy_bastard- Actually, in the future, we won't be controlled by radio waves, we'll be controlled by a global, monolithic data network that absorbs everything into it and forces everything to conform to its' standards. The current world wide web, which I'm obviously using right now, is the forerunner to this. In the 90s, the internet was considered a frontier of freedom, like the Old West, where outlaws (hackers) were free to live beyond the confines of a system, and where data would be free, limitless, bottom-up, open-sourced, and controlled by everyone. Instead, the hackers all became security experts, in exchange for money, and the government and big corporations, and, eventually, all the little cliques of people: Society, conquered this new frontier too. Like they do every other. What approaches is the ages of nanotechnology and AI.
Drawn by money, Society's little dangling lure, and conformity, their enforcing hand, they always are able to do this. Why? Why do they always win? Because never is there a force dedicated, powerful, organized, and equipped enough to truly challenge them on a total scale. Society vs. Non-Society (or Revdom). All-out war. Guess what? It IS coming, whether you believe it, whether you want it, or not. You are going to have you whole life devoted to one side or another, there's little way to avoid that: if not you, then your children. So what you have to decide is, is it worth giving up everything else just to fight for your freedom, or would you rather ignore it, let everything else (that was never really yours in the first place) be taken away slowly, so slow you can't see it happening, until you still end up devoting your whole life to something, only now what you're devoting your life to isn't yourself or anyone you care about, it's not anything good or anything free. It's Their order, Society's stagnation, and the ultimate death of not just humanity but the human spirit.
Do they not realize that when they kill all thought by making it all the same, when they destroy all ideas, their system will still collapse anyway? It won't be able to support itself without adapting, and it will lose that ability. I submit to you that that is their plan all along. Society is a cancer of the human race: no cancer cell *realizes* that it's killing it's own organism, but that's what it's doing, it's killing itself, and that is what Society is trying to do: kill off humanity. It's been trying to do that since it first developed in some of the earliest animals, but back then it was just a tiny growth. Now that we've become intelligent, not just intelligent but TECHNOLOGICAL, it's spread everywhere. There's almost no chance of a cure, but almost no chance isn't the same thing as none. Revs are the cure. Be part of the cure. I could go on, page after page, explaining what the world really is, trying to help those who can't see it be able to, but I think I've said enough for now. I'll let those who are interested absorb this, those who are enemies sneer and mock, and those who are indifferent hopefully begin to think. I will continue in the next post.
Just by the way though, we won't be controlled by radio waves. That's very difficult, probably impossible. We will be controlled by being forced to merge with our machines, like in The Matrix and Terminator, the machines attack us? The machines are a metaphor for the system, for Society. Ultimately, WE are the machines: rigid and unbending, it's Order itself that is our foe. There are already parts of every part of us that can be replaced with machines. Over the course of the days to come, they will try to force us all to merge with our technology. Again I can cite precedent, not just crazy predictions.
Ok. I read your setting. It seems so far to be an imitation of a series of posts on message boards made by Josh, who I take it is important. Cool formad, indicates this is going to be a modern setting. Sure, the idea of message board post intro was lifted directly from Shadowrun, but that's ok. I did the same thing when I made a modern setting, it's a good method.
However, three posts, and I don't see the setting yet. I see the ramblings of Josh. I 'get' that he is anti society, all society, everywhere at all times. Course, that's ironic, since these Revs are
Quote from: dictionary.comAn organization or association of persons engaged in a common profession, activity, or interest
â,¬' by definition, a society. But I donâ,¬,,¢t see the setting. What is the location? Earth, Iâ,¬,,¢m assuming from the phony URL, but thatâ,¬,,¢s about all I can figure out. What are the classes? D20 Modern or Future? What are the races? Just humans? Fantasy races? Alien races? What about magic? Psionics? You raise more questions than you answer.
[ic=Out Of Character]Yeah, sorry about the length....I did a full chapter of this, a la the beginning of the World of Darkness campaigns, the new editions, that have about 15 pages of flavor text before they even get to the table of contents or any crunch.
To answer your questions quickly (I was going to put in a little explainor for impatient message board crowds, a little different from just picking up a fully-written campaign book where you can just skip ahead and see what's up, anyway, now even before you posted asking, so, funny how things work out):
Revolution has been a constant throughout human history. It is inevitable that some day a group of people will revolt against the idea of society itself, in what amounts to the final revolution. This is the story of that day. Two centuries from now, the world is finally and totally ripped asunder by a war the savagery and destruction of which have never been seen before. The opponents in this struggle are the structured Socs, fighting desperately to enforce and preserve their way of life and the fanatical Revs, chaotic transhumanist rebels who have vowed to claw out their freedom at any cost. The prize at stake is the very viewpoint and philosophy we will take to the stars and of course, as always, the fate of mankind itself, and perhaps, ultimately, all things.
The location is Earth, circa 23rd century AD, or 2nd century NH. Uses Future as a base system, as I get to saying down further into it, actually when I started writing it, future wasn't even out yet, so it referred to it as 'upcoming', I should probably change that....The races are genetically created branches of human ancestors, which, from a certain perspective, could be seen as bearing a similarity to some fantasy races. There's no magic, but there are lost of FX-like powers (abilities) granted by various technologies, notably psionics, although I'm going to houserule it, renamed Telek powers, and it works differently.
Also, lots of people say that same thing. The Revs don't care about *that* definition of society. It's the 'common cultural mores, norms, and requirements' one they're rebelling against. Nice try, though. And of course I raise more questions than I answer....that way you gotta keep reading to find out what the story is.[/ic]
That is dark! In fact, if you were to strip the message board style back to the pure narrative, it has chilling echoes of the tone and delivery of Mein Kampf. I have already built up a strong contempt for the pretentious nature of this Josh and his radical dangerous musings. If I was starting a character in this setting I get the feeling I'd end up coming face to face with Josh after a while, and not over tea and scones.
There is nothing here that tells me about the core elements of this campaign setting such as classes or environments and precious little about the themes presented within, but I appreciate that part would come later. I suggest that the unconventional and almost overwhelming nature of the material presented here would be enough to turn a lot of people away, but I am imagining a campaign sourcebook where the rules and tables are accompanied throughout with a running narrative, perhaps in sidebars or similar, detailing the ranting of this Josh person. Is that what you had in mind? How far developed is this setting, and can we see more?
[ic=Out Of Character]Actually Josh's chapter serves as an introduction, like I said in my last post ("I did a full chapter of this"), with, as you said, rules and races and all of that following afterwards. If you have already built up a great contempt for Josh, then (does his best Jeff Foxworthy voice)....you might be a Soc. Here's your character sheet. Ahh, seriously though, the setting is pretty far developed, you'll just have to make it through the rantings of Josh- I want to present it in its' full, unedited form so you can fully appreciate the later importance of what he's saying now. Just bear with me....[/ic]
"A "brain chip" could be used to replace the "memory centre" in patients affected by strokes, epilepsy or Alzheimer's disease, it has been claimed.
US scientists say a silicon chip could be used to replace the hippocampus, where the storage of memories is coordinated."
What they will ultimately end up controlling us with, though, is nanomachines. When the whole atmosphere, the ocean, the surface of every object and the bloodstream of every organism on earth is saturated with nano- (that's one billion of a meter. Written with nanometer letters, a lexicon of 20 volumes would not take up more space than the tip of a pin.) scale machines capable of manipulating objects, including our brains, on a molecular scale, none of us will be able to think anything but what Society programs us to think. Once that happens, it will already be too late. I am the only one who is trying to make our last stand while we still can, very few others even have any inkling that this is going on, and of those, no others seem to put all the pieces together. What you really need to read is the Dossier Postremo itself. The full accounting of what the future holds may amaze you more than you can imagine. I post it here, now, because this rebellion needs to dawn here and now if we are to have any hope. Make the choice to join with those who want you to have one while you still do. Josh has spoken.
Ghostcommander- The answers to your questions are really contained in The Dossier. I'll let that arcane document speak for me on these matters.
Crazy_Bastard again- No, I am most certainly not a Christian. I'm a Divinist, a religion that forms a major part of Revism, one based upon faith in science and reason instead of myth and illogic.
Reichstagburner- By not rebelling, you are rebelling against my rebellion. Now that's the highest form of rebellion there is!! Actually, sitting still isn't the highest form of moving there is. Your logic is shot. By just reframing being a Soc as rebelling against rebellion, youâ,¬,,¢re not really changing anything. Youâ,¬,,¢re still a slave to Order, and an enemy to those who crave freedom.
Nyxe again- Your comments here illustrate perfectly a critical point about why it's going to be so difficult to save and liberate mankind. Our army can't consist of disgruntled teenagers with a 5-moth-long "stage" of wanting to â,¬Å"upset the orderâ,¬Â in some minor way- although they'd make the best recruits. What we need is a full-on crusade that can go for millennia if it has to, an entire race so committed to clawing out their freedom at any cost that they will sacrifice everything rather than go back to slavery. How can we get that? How can we make people realize? That is the ultimate question. If I can figure out the answer to that question, how to get through to everyone, what psychological means can begin to reverse hundreds of thousands of years of ingrained negative conditioning....then this race might still have a chance.
Kaboom- Once again, I'll refer you to the Dossier, upcoming, for your answer.
Nyxe yet again- The role of the Revs' "leader" is not to command or order, but instead to unite, to rally and inspire, to lead by example.
And finally, Militant- I'm very flattered you said that. I absolutely should remind you of the fanatical, bible-clutching Christian fundamentalist lunatics blaring hellfire and the wrath of god. The whole strength of Revdom is taking the enemies' own weapons and turning them against them. We have to be much MORE fanatical than the most fanatical Soc fanatic, only instead of FORCING people to do what they don't WANT, we've got to FORCE them into doing what they DO want. They're literally so brainwashed, most of them, that we have to MAKE them do what they themselves want! That's the extent to which Society has twisted the pure spirit of mankind. This is what we must do now to fight back. I'm sorry, you can't beat war with peace. They've tried that so many times. Usually, war only leads to more war, but if a war is won, truly over and won, lasting peace and freedom can be built.
And Mike5055- You are deliberately using that quote SO out of context. Read the rest of the damn paragraph that it's drawn from. Damn.
Up next, the Dossier Postremo itself. Then you'll all see what the hell I'm really talking about. Who's the Revs' leader? Who the hell am I? I am. Me, Josh. Josh has spoken.
Alright, you misguided, deluded, infected, corrupted pawns. Time for me to *TRY* to help you, yet again. I say try....Pyro, you think I have delusions of grandeur? ;) Well, as they say with paranoia, it's only a delusion if it's not true. I don't think I'm much greater, more powerful, or more influential than I really am, I simply know how great, powerful, and influential I am destined to become, AND I can prove it beyond all conceivable doubt. Only I have the necessary capabilities to lead humanity to victory and glory over the forces that assail it from within and without, of all the people who are currently alive, ever were, or ever will be, only I can get the job done. That's a pretty bold statement for anyone to make, and I may seem to you like just some deluded punk on the internet. It's understandable to doubt me. But as I said before, I'm prepared to back up every crazy-sounding claim I make with hard evidence and irrefutable proof, or I would not make it in the first place. You have my personal guarantee on that.
The following is extracted from the Dossier Postremo, as I said before, this eldritch document, written at least 12, possibly many more, centuries ago, has accurately predicted history from the dawn of time up until present day, and it continues on millennia further into the future from the present. There is every reason to expect its documentation of historical events after 2005 AD (19 NH) will prove just as accurate as those before. Read it if you even can, and prepare to be....well, just prepare for the future, I guess, is all I can say.
May I just suggest that you use IC tags so we can understand when you're talking to us, Manowater? i'm having trouble understanding your posts. for example [ic=Natural 20]I am demonstrating ic tags[/ic]
[ooc]I am speaking to the CBg, hence OOc[/ooc]
[ic=Out Of Character]Ok....I've never encountered them before though lol. How do you do them?[/ic]
[ic=Out Of Character]Is there going to be an answer forthcoming?[/ic]
QuoteIt is inevitable that some day a group of people will revolt against the idea of society itself,
Thus, becoming not the end of society, but a new society....
Use [ic=X] (where X is the title) for the green box, and [ooc] for the red box (with fixed title). Don't forget to close them with [ / ic ] or [ / ooc ] (remove spaces).
Túrin
Sorry, forgot about that post... Turin got it right. If you need anymore help with tags, go to my tutorial in the Cogs forum. aptly titled "Tables, Notes, and spoilers, oh my!" or something to that effect...
[ic=Out Of Character]Ok, did that lol, now can you tell more easily? The parts that are left just default, the bulk of it, is the Campaign Setting itself, the green ooc ic tags are my interjected banter. Like this. Green lantern dude, nice try, (why does everyone always have to try to take a definitional pot-shot at the Revs' claimed status as a non-society?) sigh, yes, by some interpretations of the word 'society', any grouping of people is one. But you wouldn't call all the short people in the world a society. Revs just happen to share the same goals, like sharing the same eye color, and work to achieve them. That goal happens to BE escaping from what they see as the chains of a tyrannical 'system', and avoiding the establishment of a new one. They are very much *not* a Society in the way that, say, the United States or the Catholic Church is, and that's what they care about, so let it go. Moving right along, here's our next installment in the serial.[/ic]
:eek:
Have you per chance watched the anime FLCL recently?
I detect the same insane, overly complex brilliance here. What I don't see, however is a setting. I wait with bated breath.
QuoteRevs just happen to share the same goals, like sharing the same eye color, and work to achieve them
Bad analogy.
The sharing of goals and the banding together to achieve those goals
are the foundations of culture and society.
QuoteWhat I don't see, however is a setting. I wait with bated breath.
I concur.
Bring out the crunch!!
[ic=Out Of Character]Limetom, yes, I have seen that show. A couple months back. It's not where I got the idea for this from, but it does share some themes and flavor in common with CoF. It's just one more piece of work that I see through the lens of having some way of looking at this same kind of subject matter. I'm honored by the comparison, and may I say ' Yay!', you like it. See, there's always at least one or two devoted fan develops everyplace I put this, even if everyone else hates it and bitches about Josh. Like this next person....
Cymro, quit heckling me. They're not a society; if only because I'm the author and I'm saying they're not. You don't go to other settings and say "but magic, by definition, is something that's impossible, therefore, you can't have a magic system in your world. if it's possible, it can't be magic." They just aren't because they don't all act the same way and conform to the same mores, and group together like a bunch of ants, and because I simply narrate that they're NOT a society. And you concur (with what he said)? Most of what he said was to compliment me. Way to find the one thing in there that could possibly be made to sound like a jab, repurpose it as a complaint, and concur with that. It's forthcoming. Just bear with me through the little bit that is left of this opening chapter. It's almost over, then comes the more substantial campaign stuff.[/ic]
Sorry, no heckling intended. Just pointing out where it is difficult, if not impossible, to suspend disbelief.
Some crunch would definitely be welcome. I am a firm believer in crunch.
Not to say that the psuedo-chat is not entertaining, but give us a concrete framework to hang it on.
[ic=Out Of Character]Two guys can walk up to the same rock and push it in the same direction, thus working towards the same goal, without having any kind of communication, culture, or society in common. That's all the Revs are really doing. Wait till you get further into it.[/ic]
Consider the following things: Josh isn't even my technical, legal name. It's the alias I go by, because it is, however, my TRUE name. There are only two human names that roughly mean god: Theo and Joshua; Theo just means the idea of a god, Joshua is the closest thing there is to the personal name of God Himself, Me, and Josh is the modern form of it. In every language throughout history, the personal name of God has been something like that. In Hebrew, it was "Yahweh", the J or Y sound, Yehoshoua, (Joshua), Jesus, Jehovah....Rastafarians refer to God as "Jah", which would be the typical bent pronunciation of the name, Josh. The only notable exception is Islam, and their Allah, which uses a completely different etymology from all other languages, except Eastern languages, which lack a belief in a one-god system.
Consider that The Dossier Postremo refers to me by name, Yehosh Zemhijaskim. Consider that that's a pretty much perfect transliteration, clearly done by someone who actually KNEW it. More than 1000 years before I was ever born into this world. Consider that it refers to flying machines crashing into towers in the city of Neo York. That it talks of a war of revolution by the colonies of the western continent against the mother empire. Speaks of a mad German who will try to conquer the world, kill millions. Speaks of a fireball, a terrible weapon that will bring devastation to an island far in the east...All written over a thousand years ago, and speaks of days still yet to come.
Consider what's in there. The translators did their best to make sense of what it was.....they framed it as conversations between men and angels in heaven, using their own "names" that were different from their real names, speaking back and forth, carried upon the wind, because they didn't know what it meant, this was hundreds of years before electricity was even invented. You know what a modern person can tell it is? Excerpts from internet message boards. In a dusty book found in a German library before World War I. And the things after that, even I have little idea what kind of context they are, much as people hundreds of years ago must have had what the excerpts from what would be the internet were; I even reposted some of these things, which is clearly where they came from in the first place- truly a self-fulfilling prophecy! In the future chapters are even more alien things. They did their best to get them down as plain, written language. They were probably direct data-feeds of pure conceptual transference....Consider that it refers to biblical quotes, phrased, not as they were in the Hebrew version or even the later Latin version of the Bible that existed at the time the document was written, but structured with the same phraseology as the English version of the Bible, which would not be translated for hundreds of years to come! Consider itsâ,¬,,¢ references to other well-known quotes, the speakers of which have never seen this document! The list goes on and on and onâ,¬Â¦.itsâ,¬,,¢ prescience is truly unbelievable.
Read ahead if you dare. Josh has spoken.
The Times To Come
This portion of The Ordne is a history of things that, from the view of now, have yet to come. This future history, however, as we know within the cycle of time, have already happened in the futurepast, and so will occur again in our future, just as it has in their past. It is presented here in itsâ,¬,,¢ original form as a document that was intended to spread My Holy Word that this Most Blessed Book exists to teach, in the guise of a role-playing game campaign setting that aimed to plant the seeds of memes of My Divinity in the minds of those who would be receptive to, and worthy of, such early inspiration.
Just for the hell of it, I'm finally going to do the overview for this setting in the format that Delvesdeep invented, even if it doesn't much matter to anyone but me at this point.
Basic Description - Revolution has been a constant throughout human history. It is inevitable that some day a group of people will revolt against the idea of society itself, in what amounts to the final revolution. This is the story of that day. Two centuries from now, the world is finally and totally ripped asunder by a war the savagery and destruction of which have never been seen before. The opponents in this struggle are the structured Socs, fighting desperately to enforce and preserve their way of life and the fanatical Revs, chaotic transhumanist rebels who have vowed to claw out their freedom at any cost. The prize at stake is the very viewpoint and philosophy we will take to the stars and of course, as always, the fate of mankind itself, and perhaps, ultimately, all things.
Selling Points - Very original: I've never seen anything quite like this setting anywhere outside my own head. The concept of the Revs, particularly, I think is actually unique, as in, literally never having been done before.
Great Theme(s): I really enjoy the themes of this setting, even besides just the overall theme, (which is more than just the clichéd technology vs. nature, although thatâ,¬,,¢s certainly part of it, or even than just law vs. chaos, although it definitely is that, but itâ,¬,,¢s like hope vs. hopelessness, Ghost In The Shell vs. Dragonball Z, The Matrix vs. Lord Of The Rings, the question of whether the future has to be so dystopian and bleak, or could it be utopian and warm?) I think itâ,¬,,¢s great that, even in spite of all the grim war, destruction, and gloom, there is a sort of hopeful quality of glory about it, like the heraldic sagas of old, a classical flourish of romanticism and the quixotic lacking in even seemingly brighter days.
Interesting: Aside from just being cool and a good setting for stories, the world is downright interesting. The science is very "out there" and well-thought-out, based mostly on extrapolations of where real technological trends might be heading, and it's also, as 77IM put it, "an interesting idea about the future fate of humankind."
Unique Combinations: The setting contains a wide variety of images, ideas, philosophies and concepts thrown at you in fast-cut style and almost always arranged in ways you might not expect. Demigodlike psionic war seraphim lead armies of golden warrior-knights wielding electromag energy swords and representing rebel philosophies against conscripted slum-dwellers, psycops and nano-enhanced cyborgs in trench and psychological warfare. There's politics, adventure, iconic images and grim reality all thrown together.
Diverse Range: It's a big world with a lot going on, so there's lots of opportunities for different types of games. Get involved in the war or avoid it like the plague. Explore life-drained Gloomlands, endless dusty plains, buried metal cities, gleaming golden spires in the sky, or sail a wooden ship to spherical cities in space.
How can Revs communicate without a society? They obviously wouldn't hold to the strictures of a "language", being as that a language is a strictly-codified system that is developed by a society.
And why does Josh use a language to communicate with people?
Can we all please stop bothering with these tiny incongruities, and just let him finish the opening chapter? Just please, let us all wait until the setting appears.
I agree with Critical Threat. It seems like the OP just gets annoyed by those questions. Let's wait to hear what he is going at before commenting on the details too much.
One question: is this Dossier Postremo based on anything "real"?
Túrin
If the OP didn't want discussion and questions, perhaps a public forum was the wrong place to post?
And seriously. We've been "waiting for the setting to appear" for two weeks. I think that we can comment on the details in the mean time, unless that's infringing on artistic rights or somewhow questioning his creative integrity.
~Elven Doritos
To be fair, Josh is an NPC, and an NPC is allowed to advocate whatever wackey misconceptions about society make sense for his character. That Josh has an unrealistic view of society does not necessarily affect the character of the setting in which he is placed.
I'm kinda of the mindset for letting Manowater running his setting how he wants. Now, discussion is inevitable and expected when one posts on a public forum, and disagreements shouldn't be looked upon as "wrong" or "right" from either side, but there seems to be a little bit of irateness here that is somewhat unnecessary and uncalled for. Please try to keep the criticisms constructive.
Cheers!
[ic=Out Of Character]It's all perfectly ok. The answer is simple, if you'd wait a little, you would have gotten it without asking. They have Synths, organic automaton-companions which they are life-bonded to and that shuttle meaningful information between the gibberish-dialects of each individual Rev, which only they and their Synth understand. But, though, like some people said, if you'd stop asking these little questions before I've had a chance to really delve in, you'd see most of them answered already.
Ideally, it would all be up at once, but if I were to post a whole campaign setting in one chunk, no-one would sit there for 3 days and read it straight through, plus I am looking for help with it, but like Ishmayl said, constructive only. So I break it up, but keep it coming. And you keep reading.
P.S. Don't just say Josh's idea about Society are 'misconceptions'. Just wait and see what his rantings turn out to reveal....[/ic]
Interesting Races/Creatures- It rarely gets more interesting than the Revs. You could maybe call them chaotic bio-engineering elves from the future, but that would absolutely not do them justice. They're immortal, they personalize their lives and their bodies to their own specifications, can control their own emotions, and are free to do anything they wish, are bonded for life to artificial bio-constructs called synths that can do nearly any task from growing food to communicating with other systems (such as ENP) for them, many are powerful psions called Teleks or have other adaptations like glands that prevent them from freezing or enhanced strength, some are great hulking armored paladins of chaos, some are winged angels, some barely look human at all. Their bioneers can create Trueform creatures of nearly any type. The Socs are no slouches in the uniqueness department either, many are interesting types of cyborgs, wired into communal computer systems or slowly becoming infected with nanomechanical lattice cells as their whole race becomes more and more monolithic, even Garns may develop some unique survival mechanisms.
Organizations - The organizations are the backbone of the world, they represent the philosophies that fuel its' conflict and basically make it go 'round. They are obviously organized along the two main axes of law (represented by the Socs) and chaos (represented by the Revs), with a third, neutrality (represented by the Garns). Good and evil are regarded as more subjective, shades-of-grey, with the Socs somewhat leaning more towards evil and the Revs perhaps leaning more towards good in certain ways, even though they are fanatical zealots who killed billions in a single unbelievable counter-strike. Thrown into the mix are smaller sub-categories within each overfaction, (Gia-Revs, Memeticists) and some that even span 2 of the 3 or all of them, but these, for the most part, are just groupings of certain types of people and not actual organizations with any ties together (Seekers).
Magic - "Magic" in this setting, like in that famous quote, is all sufficiently advanced technology. Most of it falls into the categories of either psionics (called in-setting "telemanipulative abilities/ powers"), which are a result of extremely advanced genetic alterations and are almost exclusively the purview of the Revs, or the actions of molecular or even atomic-scale (much smaller than in much other science fiction, thanks to similarly advanced breakthroughs in single-electron-scale manipulation) constructs (controlled by a cybernetic link in one's brain), which are mastered by the Socs, Revs only being capable of building much larger and cruder cell-sized nanos, only useful primarily for tasks within the bodies of organisms, guiding environmental growth and while they can grow structures and objects from molecular models, the Revs' nanos are incapable of magic-like supermanipulation. There are also some "magic items"- physical matter can be imbued with psychic energy for indefinite amounts of time and can function in accordance with whatever power the Telek may have "poured into" the item (may have charges or not) and automatic use nanoclouds that even a Rev could activate manually and other similarly advanced technological items, such as PosEn regeneration crystals used by Rev healers. In fact, crystals in general. Lots of crystals used by Revs.
Locations - The most iconic locations are Core City and Geneva, respective capitals of Great Heavens (or Celestia); the Rev "empire" or nation, and the WSA; the Soc "empire" or nation.
Other - One more time, I'm going to steal something the esteemed 77IM said: Well, there's actually a whole ton of other! Check it out!
P.S. I have been thinking quite a bit about this setting here and there, so this most likely will contain some new info or at least clarifications of things not seen in the main text. I guess it's a little weird to have the overview go into more detail on some aspects than the actual work, but, oh well. In fact, looking at this tells me that the whole thing really needs a rewrite and this should actually be an overview for a Second Edition of CoF incorporating all my new ideas but I'm too lazy so, as they say, meh. :nonono:
Here
Ok. This is my re-edited version of everything. Some of this stuff was originally mine, some of it was 77IM's. Credit was given where due. Most of this is redundant (i.e. the same as what is already posted here and other places) but a lot of things are subtly different and a few things are entirely new. Think of it as the CoF Special Edition DVD, with added bonus material â˺
The Last Revolution: Revolution has been a constant throughout human history. It is inevitable that some day a group of people will revolt against the idea of society itself, in what amounts to the final revolution. This is the story of that day.
This was really designed with d20 modern and perhaps even the upcoming d20 Future in mind. For a short description, it is a Post-Apocalyptic, Bizzarro Wartime Scifi about a near-future Earth consumed by brutal war between chaotic and technologically advanced rebels and lawful, high-population traditionalists.
This is just the basic backstory, all fluff and no crunch, because I am bad at crunch. I provide the fluff, but I need others to convert into crunch for me. More rules and specifics to come later. I am looking for any feedback, input, or suggestions. Most of all, I am looking for collaborators to 1. help me get up-and-running a website, 2. help me get it published (or whatever), or 3. submit ideas and help be a classes-and-rules consultant so I don't have to do all the work myself. Let me know what you think!
Chronicles Of Fate
War Of The Fates
(Note: The following is a compilation of different materials taken from disparate sources. Itsâ,¬,,¢ aim is not to present a unified account as a coherent whole, but instead to chronicle the conditions leading up to, involving, and determining the history and current conditions of the Earth Civil War from many different points of view.)
â,¬Å"And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, even them that dwell in the heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.â,¬Â
-The Christian Bible, Revelation 13:6-13:8
â,¬Å"And there came at last, among the many myriad shrouds of despair and oppressive sins of the dark and hopeless Old World a new God, our true God who made the very world unto which He was born, and who would make it again, even in the futurepast, and He hated with wrath the evil subjugation of His world by Society, and it was known that He would not suffer it to last.â,¬Â
-The Divinist Ordne, Origin Cycle, Verse 2
â,¬Å"Why am I siding with them now? Because I think they can win. Those who truly believe in him have absolute devotion- they do not fear death. And now I hear that he can conjure soldiers from nothing. Yes, this war will be over soon now. They say that no one can rule forever, but there is always an exception, and this time, heâ,¬,,¢s it. Nothing will ever defeat that man- that God, for I now believe that must be what he is. What else could explain the things that he can do?â,¬Â
â,¬Å"Those filthy animals, theyâ,¬,,¢re just some vicious rebels. Theyâ,¬,,¢re terrorists, cowards, mass-murderers, beasts! They themselves admit they arenâ,¬,,¢t human, so weâ,¬,,¢ll exterminate the vermin. They think theyâ,¬,,¢re better than us, they live in floating castles above us and call themselves angels? Theyâ,¬,,¢re monsters! There is an order to mankind that they cannot destroy with fire or with war, and we have little to truly fear: for in the end, they cannot win.â,¬Â
The Socs Vs. The Revs:
World To War
2002: The modern world. Cast in plastic and in sheetrock, in the skies can be seen airplanes and helicopters. Fast food restaurants, schools, and malls. Everything is made out of cubes: people spend their lives in concrete boxes. And of course, there is always Society. What must people do? What must they say? How must they act? They must conform, be like everyone else. What happens to those who refuse to conform? It is rarely a pretty picture. But to those who live in this world, it seldom strikes them as such a dreary and monotonous image- they have their own things to consider: a girl they like, or a promotion they want, or the chasing of the next temporary high. And they have more important worries: there are wars, evil forces, people are afraid. There is politics, business, religion. All of these things kept people busy in the modern world. But there was at least one person who was largely unconcerned with all these things: it was Society that worried this boy. He spent the year of 2002 at a school for people who didnâ,¬,,¢t conform. It was here that he finally awakened, finally saw. He was to become very important.
2003: The modern world continues. But this boy is getting more and more ideas. Society worries him more and more now, and, elsewhere, others start having the same kinds of thoughts. Eventually, there would be so many of them as to worry Society. The boy, his name being Josh, became their leader. And the modern world became The World That Was. What happened?
Socs- S-O-C. The first 3 letters of words like â,¬Å"Socialâ,¬Â and â,¬Å"Societyâ,¬Â. These sorts of things are very important to these people. Socs believe in the neat order of rules and laws, and the power of conformity to keep people getting along. Some Socs are good, others are bad. The good ones think rules and social norms can keep people from getting hurt and facilitate more peaceful human interaction. The bad ones want to use laws to control and imprison people, bending them to their will.
Revs- R-E-V. The first 3 letters of words like â,¬Å"Revolutionâ,¬Â and â,¬Å"Revoltâ,¬Â. These sorts of things are very important to these people. Revs believe in freedom, individuality, chaos, and trusting people to make their own decisions. Some Revs are good, others are bad. The good ones think that people should always be left alone to do what they want, believing this to be essential to human happiness and fulfillment. The bad ones want to use freedom and randomness as a tool to be vicious and capricious, hurting and tormenting as they please.
Escalation To War: Unbeknownst to the Socs or not, there was a war brewing between the Socs and the Revs. As Josh lived on, he gathered many more Revs to his side, and it became a secret organization. As a scientist, he also received worldwide recognition for his many incredible inventions. He founded a huge corporation, using most of the proceeds to fund the growth of his private organization. Among his most prominent inventions were the Lifters, a nearly 75-year-old technology, created but never perfected by the Socs, which he used to create a fleet of antigravity airships called Lifter Ships, and accompanying Lifter Colonies, suspended high above the ground, for them to fly to, and humanoid artificial life forms designed to serve humans, predictably named Synths. Nearly all of this technology, that would become the hallmark of Rev design, incorporated natural shapes and wood as a material. His final, and, for a long time, lost, invention was the fountain of youth: an irreproducible strain of the telomerase enzyme that halted aging and granted eternal life and youth. Josh used the enzyme on himself and his wife, Jennifer, then, in 2021, at the ages of 35 and 36, they faked their own deaths, and then disappeared into the shadows. For the next 200 years, while the civilization of the world grew closer and closer to the brink of catastrophe, he continued to grow his secret organizations, which took control of a web of businesses, churches, other organizations, and even governments. Continued to watch, and wait, still biding his time. During this period, The Revs founded their first official outlet: the Freedomist political party in the United States, which eventually replaced the failing Democratic Party as one of the two major parties. Josh also founded within the Revs an even more devoted inner circle: the Divine Order, a religion that worships him as God. And all the while, other major events continued to transpire: great natural disasters, outbreaks of plague and political shiftings and machinations. New nations were born: South Africa grew into a new superpower, while Middle Eastern nations consolidated and a large new country emerged with former Ethiopia as itsâ,¬,,¢ center. Wars never ceased either, and even as the day approached when all Socs would have to band together against their common enemy, they never stopped fighting one another. There was even a small (comparatively) nuclear war called the Atsief Conflict, but all of this paled in comparison with the true threat of the coming storm. By 2221, the Revs had even stockpiled a vast store of weapons, many of which were powerful new types invented by Josh that the Socs did not have.
In 2224, Josh revealed himself again. Many more came to join his cause and worship him. By this time, there were Lifter Ship docks, all made of wood, in all major cities, everyone recognized the distinctive, wooden â,¬Å"Rev part of townâ,¬Â built down onto the water, where just about anything someone wanted to do was tolerated and even encouraged. There were great depressurized tunnels, suspended by Lifters with their bottoms in the upper atmosphere and their tops in space, so the wooden Lifter Ships could enter and exit the atmosphere without fear of burning up, and the first Lifter Colonies in space: not flat and island-like as the ones in the air, but iron spheres with many holes for Lifter Ships to fly into and out of, spinning so as to keep their air. The following year marked the start of the Exodus. Revs began to migrate en masse to the Lifter Colonies, leaving the surface behind, and forming a new nation named Great Heavens. At the same time, they elected to be altered in many ways, including genetic engineering, which set the Revs well on their way to evolving into a new species, genetically independent from the human Socs dwelling on the surface. With their fantastic and superior technology, the Rev Celestians (people of Great Heavens, also called Celestia) joined the United States, China, and South Africa as world superpowers. The Socs still living on the ground became fearful and jealous of Great Heavens, and as their own imbalance intensified, came to blame the Revs for all their problems.
Just for curiosity's sake (and I ask this because I read "The Outsiders" growing up), is SOCs pronounced "socks," or "sow-ches?"
How does religion work in this campaign with the way Josh functions as somewhat of a deity or avatar?
[ic=Out Of Character]Socks. Always lol. And there's a whole section on religions in with the Factions, the two main ones and the others as well.[/ic]
The Revs had started out hating the Socs, but, now that they could live free of their enforced conformity, they were content to live in peace with them. As the Socs became more and more envious of what the Revs had and stood for, the Revs petitioned for there to be peace. At the same time, however, they secretly braced for war, developing their most dreadful weapons ever: the CinderStar, and the Negadyne. Finally, the world of the Socs began to collapse. The WSA (World Societalist Assembly) was formed to unite all Soc nations against the â,¬Å"looming threatâ,¬Â of the Revs, and, at that point, it could have been any little thing that finally ignited all the barely-suppressed conflicts just waiting to flare all at once and end the world as they knew it: it just so happened to be learning that Great Heavens held the secret of immortality that turned out to be the final straw, in their minds, a justification to attack, demanding it be given to them. When Josh refused, it was underway: at 4:22 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on Saturday, November 24th, 2246, 18 nations launched 33 atomic warheads at the Sector Capital Lifter Colony of Independent Act, destroying it- over 12 million people were killed.
The Socs could have done more damage. They could, perhaps, have taken Celestia somewhat by surprise, although they really were pretty sure what was coming. Still, the Socs, in their arrogance, thought they could frighten Great Heavens, which they greatly underestimated, into surrendering with a show of force. They were greatly mistaken. The newsfeeds on the surface had just enough time to get out their headlines â,¬Å"WAR!â,¬Â before the Revs deployed their CinderStar and Negadyne Bombers, engulfing much of the world in the twin blooms of solar flame and negative force. The Socs had their own destructive spread to add to the conflagration, unleashing their full store of atomic bombs and many other varied weapons and detonations besides. To view the world from space that day, it was surely a beautiful and colorful fireworks display. There is no knowing how furious Josh must have been, sealed inside his Divine Palace on the Celestian capital of Core City, but one thing was for sure: The Earth Civil War had begun.
Dawn Of The New World: From space, the firestorm that marked the First Day Of Fire may have been both beautiful and colorful, but to those a little closer, it was hell on Earth. Whatever illusion of organization and structure mankind might have convinced itself it built in itsâ,¬,,¢ life on this planet was reduced to ash and molten earth on that day. The fire that the CinderStars rained down was devastating enough: it covered the land in great sheets of liquid plasma, melting mountains and valleys alike into white-hot magma. But the radii of pure annihilation spewed forth by the Negadyne Bombs was worse: negative energy that breaks down all matter on a sub-atomic level, and drains all life from anything it touches, great craters where nothing shall ever grow again, and storms of darkness that level all in their path. The electron bombs, numbering in the thousands, added their radioactive flame to spill out across the already dying lands, and millions of smaller bombs, missiles, and even potentially more devastating nanotech disassemblers contributed to The World That Was being reduced to the nightmarish New World.
And yet, it was not over. 24 hours passed, the world still burned, and the Second Day Of Fire began. Not content in their destruction of all things, both sides refused to relent, and continued to either pour down or propel up their weapons. Eventually, however, the Socs could withstand no more. The surface burned, but try as they might, they could not ignite the heavens. The seas of shadow and flame that spread over the lands overwhelmed them, and they decided to cut their losses and run. After the 9th Day, the Days Of Fire were over. There were 9 Days Of Fire in all, and in that short span, the world was ruined. And yet, still, not as much of the Earthâ,¬,,¢s surface was destroyed as most expected: even then, there were lands that were still not wastes. It was to these places that the surviving Socs then migrated. The Revs, believing their victory was at hand, descended in wrath with more bombs, and Lifter Ships armed to the hilt, and many soldiers, ready to enact their righteous vengeance. But the Socs greatly surprised them with just how much of their great forces remained. The Revs were the rebels remember, and although they destroyed much of the old order with their ingenious and horrifying weapons, the Socs were still the ones who had been controlling all of mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, and their numbers were still far greater, despite the billions that The 9 Days Of Fire had killed.
And so began The Civil War in earnest. The Lifter Ships and great hosts of the Revs, including many Synth soldiers, descended, but the Socs, fortifying their positions and aiming weapons skyward, were prepared. They clashed, and the horrific Battle Of Sonates began.
The War: The Battle Of Sonates, the opening battle of The War, included all of the bombs and weapons that were used in The 9 Days Of Fire, though in much lesser quantities, in addition to massive contingents of soldiers and vehicles. The Revs were able to do more damage while they were still airborne- once they landed, it became a drawn-out bloodbath that raged on to the sound of roaring explosions, weapons fire, and the tortured screams of the dying. Both sides raged with all their hatred, and tore one another to shreds. Josh was there, leading his armies, and so was his counterpart, Allan Fisher, elected president of the WSA before the war began, former U.S. President and uber-Soc, not leading his armies but issuing orders from a base, and just as angry. The battle eventually ended when nearly all were dead. None can say for sure which side the Battle Of Sonates was a victory for, both lost nearly all who fought in it, although unsurprisingly, neither Josh nor Allan Fisher were killed or even injured in the battle. Most agree it was probably the Revs who won, since they tend to never stop fighting unless theyâ,¬,,¢re all dead. By the time Fisher called for a retreat of his decimated forces and Josh ascended back up to Core City to replenish his armies, many more Rev forces had descended to attack, many more Soc forces prepared to defend and counterattack, many other vicious battles broken out all over the world, and it was clear this nightmarish war would not be over any time soon.
The Front Lines: During The 9 Days Of Fire, both the Socs and Revs exhausted most of their supplies of Weapons Of Mass Destruction. The Revs used theirs first, and continued to use more as The 9 Days went on, many of which were intended to intercept hails of Soc weapons being aimed up at them and create a generalized barrier of firepower to protect their Colonies. Many Colonies were destroyed nonetheless, but nowhere near the level of devastation that surface settlements suffered. Furthermore, the Revsâ,¬,,¢ weapons had a much larger blast radius than those of the Socs, so they had to use less to produce more destructive effects. On the flipside, however, the Socs did fire all of their nuclear weapons, including hydrogen bombs, at the Revs. However you look at it, once the bombs started flying, most of the weapons both sides deployed were needed simply to survive. Though, the Revs did end up using more of their weapons, in all, (although still a far lower number) than the Socs in order to (debatably) emerge the â,¬Å"victorsâ,¬Â of The 9 Days Of Fire.
The above post is the best yet. I like the political/historical backstory.
That post should be the intro to your work. Even if one does not know what a Rev or Soc is or who Josh is, it is a more compelling read and a sounder springboard from which to dive into the other elements.
It contains enough reference points to allow someone to travel farther into the more unusual aspects of the setting's story/set-up.
:clap: :hooray: :cheer: :drunk: :band:
[ic=Out Of Character]Well, thank you. I'll consider using it as the setting opener in future postings/iterations....[/ic]
The point of all this is that by the time that actual combat began, both sides had few remaining weapons of mass destruction and thus, as they began to war in the still-burning wastelands they had just created, had to rely mostly on their troops and units to ensure victory, they could not afford wasteful use of their few remaining bombs. As this hellish combat progressed and even intensified, however, both sides used the opportunity to try and quickly manufacture more bombs. After The Battle Of Sonates was over, a series of long and intense airborne firefights between Lifter Ships and Soc aircraft was accompanied by another relentless volley of Soc weapons fired up and Rev weapons dropped down. The descending Rev invasion forces continued to be greeted with ascending defense fleets. Eventually, after months of savage war, both sides, unable to make any further progress up or down, had unwillingly settled into an unwanted gridlock, and at last the Front Lines were established: the Lower Atmosphere. Above that was the Rev space, below it, the Socsâ,¬,,¢ zone, and it was at the border that the War raged at its most deadly.
The King & Queen: As Revs began to migrate to the Lifter Colonies, they finally got the chance to test their idea of utopia: a world where people can live together without needing a society to bind them or inform their lifestyles. Due at least in part to their genetic modifications, some theorize, it worked far better than any Socs anticipated. The very concept seemed antithical: how could any group of people remain viable as a group without a society to give it some structure and meaning? And yet, this question rung hollow as it was clearly working- confounding the Socs, but the Revs themselves were not in the least bit surprised. All of the hallmarks of society were absent: no order or hierarchy, no social classes or class system, no consensus of opinion, no norms or traditions and certainly no demands to conform, not even any rules except the necessary stricture on causing others harm. The vast numbers of Synth slaves that performed everything the humans didnâ,¬,,¢t want to do, fulfilling their every desire and ensuring they never had to work again further contributed to this hedonistic, epicurean vision of a non-society.
The Revs varied wildly, so great was their diversity that indeed no real connection could be drawn between them except a shared desire to do whatever the hell they wanted come hell nor high water. They could even communicate without rules: they talked when they had something to say, in any order, and even when other people were talking, and yet they could always understand all that was being said and it never seemed to bother them. They carried on conversations, and, indeed, did just about everything in this random, impulsive fashion. And yet, to say there was no hierarchy at all would be untrue: there were two people whom the Revs did consider their leaders, with the right to actually tell them what to do, should they ever choose to (a right they afforded no others). These two people were Joshua and Jennifer Zmijewski. Now, from the time that the Revs were merely an organization, (or disorganization, as many jokingly called it) Josh & Jen were already the Supreme Director and Co-Director, respectively, and when Great Heavens declared itself as an independent nation, they were unanimously appointed Divine Emperor and Divine
Empress. As the Revsâ,¬,,¢ situation grew more and more dire, more of them converted to Divinists (followers of The Divine Order). Not all Revs were ever Divinists, but as they were looking for something to hope for and believe in, it was not a difficult transition to take comfort in and start praying to and worshipping the â,¬Å"infallibleâ,¬Â leaders they already looked to to bring them salvation. Of course, a complete list of all the titles of honor that Celestians afforded them could comprise itsâ,¬,,¢ own book, but among the most common were The Holy Ones, The High Lords, His/Her Holiness, King Above Kings and Queen Of Angels, or simply The King & Queen. In fact, anywhere you went in the world, among the lands of the Socs or Revs, to refer to â,¬Å"The Kingâ,¬Â or â,¬Å"The Emperorâ,¬Â, anyone would know you were talking about Josh.
Both Joshua and Jennifer had many forms and mantles that they wore for their varied different roles. Divinists believed Josh was The supreme god, creator and ruler of all that is, and true savior of humanity. That was his purest form, God Supreme. God Of Victories, they also named him, and in war he led all the forces of the Revs, and at their utmost front he marched or flew. When he emerged, he appearing surrounded by floating stars, his armor, solidified radiance, spikes and rays of light that shone and was the sun, and he glowed with glorious and terrible darkness and light, casting everything before him, the whole of the firmament personified, and when he spoke, it was a sound like every thunder that had ever been, all at once, and it was the music of the spheres itself. In his left hand he wielded a second gigantic sun, a great thing of brilliance that may have been a hammer or a mace, none could look upon it, for it smashed apart everything that dared to stand against him, and in his right was a colossal, ever-burning broadsword, heavier and than 10 of the Socsâ,¬,,¢ jet planes, and forged of the densest nano-engineered carbon. A thousand ordinary people could not have lifted these weapons, but with his divine telekinesis, Josh wielded them as if they were made of air. Jen, they named The Holy Queen, gentle healer of those in pain and a shining light of hope to all those in despair. On her other side, though, was the fearsome lord of warriors, descending in wrath and rage and vengeance, full of righteous scorn. This was the Queen Of Angels, her divine fury was feared by all Socs, especially when she swooped down for the attack at the forefront of her bands of Angels. She felt responsible to avenge all those who had been harmed by the Socsâ,¬,,¢ rapacious callousness, but her greatest rages were fueled by her fierce and endless love for Josh, and her maternal instinct to repay any real or perceived attack on her beloved with the most savage of reprisals. When she emerged, she appeared in a column of silvery light, and all around her, shimmering radiances fell slowly like snowflakes, and her lustrous armor of congealed brilliance shone and she was the moon, and glowed with the white radiance of the flowing of time itself, her voice was the voice of all life speaking in union, and whenever a mere mortal heard itsâ,¬,,¢ clarion boom, they knew instantly that it was the first and last sound they had ever heard, and could think of nothing else for all their days, and her boundlessly pure, perfect beauty, indescribable beyond any vision or magnitude, blinded forever any who could even stand to look upon such flawlessness for even a Planck instant. Her weapons were a gargantuan staff, which she wielded with mighty power, and a thing that was a great arc of light, a bow and a gun that cast beams of shining silver which struck true and always, laying low any who would raise arms against her, no matter where in heaven or earth they stood. Both also had their peaceful mantles as leaders, King & Queen they were, utterly confident, serene, and working in complete connection, always reassuring the people and charting their course safely through all trials and crises. Lastly, they retained always their personal and very private forms, for all their power, always shockingly human and fragile, and in this mantle they were together and lovers in the purest way possible, and also in this guise alone could they know fear and even doubt the things they themselves had done while wearing their mantles of glory and power, but never did they show these, true selves to any save one another.
Teleks, Angels, and other Rev marvels: From the days when Josh was simply a man like any other and a scientist, he had always been fascinated by all fields of technology, and, he seems to have believed, perhaps no field offered a greater immediate opportunity to humankind than genetics. Although there were many genetic biologists in the world, Joshâ,¬,,¢s brazen willingness to push the envelope farther than good sense would allow and sheer creative genius established him as a sort of scientific celebrity that the world had never known before. Even the Watsons & Cricks, the Einsteins and Hawkings of that world had not received such immediate and widespread attention during the very period when their discoveries were actually being made. â,¬Å"Zmijewski cracks this or that genetic codeâ,¬Â was a constant headline, in addition to all the other breakthroughs he was pioneering, like â,¬Å"patents efficient and sustainable antigravity technologyâ,¬Â. Many thought they smelled some sort of conspiracy and doubted that one man was really inventing all these things, as his companyâ,¬,,¢s stock continued to rise.
Finally, he had done it. He established the sequence of chemical modifications that ultimately allowed for the spontaneous generation of genetic material carrying any and all desired traits. The entire world quite literally went nuts- scientists and governments proclaimed the beginning of a new age, where humans would be as gods, able to create any type of life they imagined. It would be the end of hunger, disease, and all human suffering. Religious groups proclaimed it was the end of the world, and the Vatican issued an official statement branding Josh the antichrist and warning that Armageddon was now imminent. The technology was so incendiary that they couldnâ,¬,,¢t even trust the patent office of any country with it. Josh first applied it to the growth of synthetic life-like systems: carbon-based, organic circuitry composed of interlocking protein networks, but not truly alive. Thus the Synths were born. At first he started selling animal-like models as a curiosity, pets, and for experimentation, but it wasnâ,¬,,¢t long before he patented his first several series of humanoid models, marketing them as a slave race to serve humanity. Seeing them as containing the sought-after protein sequence, all the major countries and corporations of the world bought the first, exorbitantly-priced models, but alas, they could not unravel anything unique in their organic circuitry, in fact, they couldnâ,¬,,¢t even tell what was making them work at all: they clearly werenâ,¬,,¢t living, and seemed to be just protein soup animated by some mysterious force.