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Now this is quite the surprise.
Also, I applaud the dedication. All of the original posts from the beginning of the thread really are blanked out. Best of luck in your endeavor!
Also, I applaud the dedication. All of the original posts from the beginning of the thread really are blanked out. Best of luck in your endeavor!
Chapter I - Part I
The Stars are Ours
Chapter I - To The Stars
Part I - The First Voyage
The cabinet was back together again after another election season. Plenty of new faces surrounded the table, appointments by Étoile to shake up the cabinet she inherited from Jun He. She felt confidant that, after winning an election in her own right, changes were warranted. She had chosen MA's from non-traditional Federalist regions to make it clear this was a new era for a government that was already ten years old. With her cabinet eagerly awaiting her command, she powered on her desk panel. Her ministers followed suit.
"Shall we begin?"
The orders from the Federal Space Agency were quite simple: Survey everything. The government's priority was resource collection to bolster the economy back on Earth. Sol was close to tapped out; resources were needed. At great political risk, the construction vessel procured by the government was outfitted with its own hyperdrive before the highly theoretical form of space travel had even been practically tested. Étoile's cabinet had devised a very simple method for expansion - survey first, construct second. Rinse and repeat. Zhen Shen was to to complete a survey of the local systems before returning home.Chapter I - To The Stars
Part I - The First Voyage
The cabinet was back together again after another election season. Plenty of new faces surrounded the table, appointments by Étoile to shake up the cabinet she inherited from Jun He. She felt confidant that, after winning an election in her own right, changes were warranted. She had chosen MA's from non-traditional Federalist regions to make it clear this was a new era for a government that was already ten years old. With her cabinet eagerly awaiting her command, she powered on her desk panel. Her ministers followed suit.
"Shall we begin?"
Out here audio or video communication was impractical, instead they had to make do with short text messages. Even if it didn't seem like it, sending a few kilobytes across the void of space near-instantaneously was a modern marvel of engineering. That is not to say audio and video could NOT be sent, however no one wants to way six or more hours between messages. It was simply not practical in a solar system populated by civilian ships and stations.
"Message from Earth, Commander"
Shen took the readout from her subordinate.
Code:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//Begin Packet 2197.10.10
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
TELEMETRY RECEIVED X GOOD DATA X PROCEED TO URANUS AND BEYOND X GOOD LUCK
FSA
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//End Packet
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThey looked at each other and smiled in excitement. This was the message everyone was waiting for.
"Inform the crew, and send our reply back to Earth," ordered Shen.
For the next few months, it would be slow going on warp power. It was a fine way to get around the solar system, but it would still take decades or more to reach the nearest star on warp power alone. If everyone did their jobs right, a multi-generation journey would take a week. They passed Uranus in November, and by December they were at the edge of the Solar System. From the cockpit they peered out into the void. Out of the endless stars in front of them, only one had a valid hyperlane. Trappist awaited. It took the hyperdrive seven days to spool up, and the last five minutes were critical.
At that point, a chain reaction would begin and there would be no turning back. To ensure an accurate jump the coordinates had to be inputted as close to the five-minute window as possible. The minds behind the hyperdrive were not quite sure what would happen otherwise and no one wanted to find out. With ten minutes to go the cockpit became a haven of activity.
Shen and her navigator were rapidly calculating the first set of variables to plug into the supercomputer.
"Variables calculated," announced the navigator.
"Same here," replied Shen. "Checksum F5UA7SB?"
"Checksum F5UA7SB."
They nodded at each other.
"Plug 'em in."
They inserted their datapads into the slots on the supercomputer. After about a minute of whirring, a blue indicator light flashed on; SECONDARY VARIABLES CALCULATED. They ripped out their datapads and started work on the final set of variables. A high-pitched buzzing went off. They glanced at the timer, only three minutes left to input final variables. By this time the humming of the hyperdrive was loud enough to be heard across the entire ship.
"Variables calculated!" yelled the navigator.
"Checksum 6H2H13N!"
"Checksum 6H2H13N!"
They slammed their datapads into the slots on the navigation computer. A minute and a half left. For what felt like an eternity, the navigation computer hummed. Forty seconds left, thirty seconds left, twenty seconds left... the five minute window was almost here.
Ten seconds to go.
"We have no solution! we have to abort!," yelled the navigator.
Single digits were now counting down. Shen flipped open the panel for the abort button and just before she was about to punch it the cockpit lights flashed blue, and the navigation computer let out a loud beep. An indicator light came on; SOLUTION CALCULATED. Shen and her navigator let out a sight of relief.
"Accept solution?"
"Accept solution."
"Begin final preparations for the jump, make sure everyone is strapped in tight," commanded Shen. "And don't forget to send a packet back home."
Code:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//Begin Packet 2197.12.03
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
FINAL COUNTDOWN X SEE YOU ON OTHER SIDE
GRVNEJEM
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//End Packet
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThe message was received enthusiastically back home. For the next few weeks, the coverage was nonstop. It was an estimated weeklong journey between Sol and Trappist through hyperspace. A week came and passed. Then the second week passed. Where was the GRV Nejem? The theories were running rampant. Perhaps it was possible that communication through hyperspace would not be as easy as it was thought to be, or maybe the communication beacon they dropped at the edge of the solar system malfunctioned. As the days passed on, people started to think the unthinkable. Maybe they never made it.
It was a somber holiday season. Prayers and well-wishes for the crew of the lost GRV Najem were abound. Carole Étoile had two speeches drawn up before the launch and it was increasingly looking like she would be using the one she dreaded the most.
Then, finally, it came.
Code:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//Begin Packet 2197.12.25
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
BUMPY RIDE X HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM TRAPPIST X SURVEY DATA TO FOLLOW
GRVNEJEM
//////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE ////////////////////////////
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//End Packet
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIt was going to be a good 2198.
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And this time we actually made it into the game!
Hopefully everyone remembers little so they can be surprised!
Yeah it just seemed strange to have the original just sitting around since some of the plot points are the same. Now that Stellaris is all grown up I don't feel like I am fighting game updates anymore. Trying to carry a playthrough through multiple major patches was a fun time.
Yes its starting again! Now with slightly more narrative and slightly less grammar and spelling mistakes! I know my scatterbrain is gonna leave in a few here or there though.
Ah yes the grammar mistakes, my oldest enemy too, personally I've been using an AI assistant to correct my grammar mistakes. Also I learn too in the process. I've even started something similar to yours, but I'm just going back and correct the atrocious grammar of my older AAR too. Well, looking forwarding to this new version.
I do remember a fair bit about the original series, but Stellaris is a very different game from the game when the original series was been written.
Are you are using mods? Let us hope that this AAR will not be killed by new patches and mod updates like some other great AARs.
This AAR's interpretation of the hyperlane system explains why we can jump straight to the TRAPPIST system which is 40 light years from Earth while much real life closer star systems do not show up on the hyperlane map.
Ah the TRAPPIST system. A real life system that was added to Stellaris in the Banks patch after the discovery of the exoplanets in 2017. It appears in game containing 3 habitable planets - one from each climate category and is a good prize for a new interstellar empire. I wonder having a system with three different planets of varying habitability near Sol will impact human politics and their attitude towards aliens in this AAR because it was a major theme of the OS. There is one continental world that humans could easily colonize but there is also a desert and arctic world that aliens could potentially more easily colonize than humans. The planets of the TRAPPIST are very close to each other and would loom large in the red twight sky. Will the government allow aliens to colonize the other less habitable worlds of the TRAPPIST system and perhaps let the system become a potential bastion of xenophiles or will the system be jealously guarded against alien colonization until the day the less habitable worlds can be terraformed to be more suitable for humans?
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Chapter I - Part II
The Stars are Ours
Chapter I - To The Stars
Part II - The Federal Act
January 9th 2199
The Speaker of the Assembly stood up and shuffled through their papers while clearing their throat, "Reading of government bills; The Right Honourable President of the Assembly seconded by the Honourable Lorena Diaz moves that bill A-4, an 'Act To Amend the Federal Act and Other Acts With Regards to the Relationship Between the Federal Assembly of Nations And Partner Nations to Ensure a Stable and Lasting Relationship', The Right Honourable President." Chapter I - To The Stars
Part II - The Federal Act
January 9th 2199
Carole Étoile stood from her seat. "Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today I am very pleased to bring this bill to the floor of the Assembly for the final time. It represents years of work by this government to do right by our constituent nations and their citizens that humble us with the duties of managing global affairs. This government is also pleased to have the support of our Assembly colleagues from across the aisle, who represent a significant portion of South America. Madam Speaker, it is time to heal old wounds."
There were nods and verbal statements in agreement. Ichiro Shiraishi, the interim leader of the Alliance Party, rose from his seat, directly opposite of Étoile.
"The Honourable Leader of the Opposition."
"Madam Speaker, the President speaks of healing wounds - and yet it was members of her very party that created them in the first place! May I remind the President that there are members of this Assembly that carry the scars from the conflicts they created? The Federal Act is just fine, Madam Speaker. It does NOT need the meddling of any Federalists. The world can do without their destabilizing amendments to the Federal Act!"
Boos rang out from the government benches to drown out the cheers from the opposition benches.
"Order! The Assembly recognizes the Right Honourable President!"
"Madam Speaker!" She waited for the ruckus to die down. "Madam Speaker! If the Leader of the Opposition wishes to dredge up the past, he would do well to remember they themselves tried the very same reforms! Unlike the members opposite, Madam Speaker, this government presents a unified front that is capable of delivering the changes humanity needs. He speaks of wounds and I say for shame, Madam Speaker. Shame on calling for thirty-year-old ghosts to fight the battles of today. We are here to heal, Madam Speaker, not dig into the past!”
Étoile was of course referring to the implosion of the Alliance Party in the late 80's. The Federalists stood and cheered for their President, giving her a standing ovation. Shiraishi had no reply.
It was all for show anyways, with a Federalist majority in the Assembly the bill was sure to pass. Support from the Unionists was just the icing on top.
After the session the top minds of the Alliance Party were licking their wounds in the opposition lounge.
“Look fellas, we have to do something – that was bad.”
“What we need is a leader we can rally around, someone popular.”
“I thought that’s who the Chancellor of Africa was? Look how that turned out.”
“We need someone better.”
“Don’t say it.”
“You know who I am talking about”
“Don’t you goddamn say it.”
There was a pause.
“Any man – who can get one BILLION votes – in twenty-two eighty-two, is a man who can win an election. That's a man who can beat Étoile!”
“A man I might remind you, who was crucified over the very issues we debated today. You know damn well the Feds are going to ride this Federal Act thing all the way to the polls in a few years and the last person we need at the helm is a guy who screwed this up last time.”
“He didn’t screw up, we pushed him out and people know it.”
“What were we supposed to? We are called Statists for a reason you know.”
“Yeah, and statism died on the Assembly floor today. Look if you want to spend the rest of your career on the opposition benches being talked down by some French upstart, that’s your problem. I for one, would rather win an election or two before I die.”
“You know he’ll never agree to it.”
It's true. He never would.
“I know some polling people. I’ll get them to run one of the leadership polls with his name on it; generate some conversation. We’ll get some friends of some friends to start a write-in campaign. He might deny us but he won’t deny the people.”
The senior Alliance members thought about it for a second. It was a decent plan, and being out of power was not a good place to be as a politician.
“Alright, make your calls – but I hope you know what you are doing.”
The Situation on Earth
Humanities oasis in the void was well weathered by 2197. In fact, it was in good shape for a planet that over a century ago had plunged itself into global nuclear war. The eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera soon after did not help. Humanity was resilient though, and they had picked themselves up to the tune of a world population of four billion. Since the 2150's the workforce had become increasingly automated and by 2197 there were roughly 800 million robots toiling away, mostly in mining and agriculture. For the one and a half billion unemployed, there was always a generous social welfare program thanks to the Assembly of Nations. Society was still very much geared towards basic production, leaving a shortage in the way of the finer things of life. In addition, housing was becoming increasingly scarce, especially with the hesitancy to free up more land for construction. You can't launch over fifty thermonuclear weapons across the globe without adding to the fragility of nature. No one was interested in being the ones to break the camels back with some misplaced luxury condos.
Activities of the Federal Space Agency
If ever there was an age of space exploration, it was surely now. Humanity could go wherever the hyperlanes could take them - supposing they did the math. Before civilians could follow the brave crew of the GRV Nejem into the void, they needed to wait for the system surveys. A hyperspace jump required highly exact coordinates calculated for both sides of the jump. Proper motion and gravitational wells needed to be accounted for. These calculations were incredibly complex to compute when only one systems variables were accurately known. However, once the science vessel collected accurate readings from the other side of the jump and beamed them back to everyone waiting at home, the process became exponentially easier.
Without civilian infrastructure, communication was also very brief. To save resources it was decided that only two packets would be sent back home relaying critical information for each system. The only exception to this was an emergency situation.
Code:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//Begin Packet 2198.09.29
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
////////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE //////////////////////////////
TRAPPIST SURVEY X 1 MOLTEN 2 BARREN 3 TOXIC 4 DESERT 5 CONTINENTAL 6 ARCTIC 7 X
ENERGY 4 SFU X RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES X ASTROBIOLOGY CONFIRMED 2198.07.13 X
FLORA X FAUNA X BASIC LIFEFORMS X SYSTEM CLEARED FOR CIVILIAN USE
MOVING TO BARNARDS STAR ETA 2199.01.09 X NAV INFO TO FOLLOW
GRVNEJEM
////////////////////////////// FSA PRIORITY MESSAGE //////////////////////////////
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
//End Packet
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAnd that would be that, for system after system. Once the civilian constructors moved in they would pick up the detailed survey information and relay it back to Earth via better communications infrastructure at a newly constructed system outpost.
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At this point mistakes are part of the charm haha. When I was removing the OG series temporairly I did read some of it and it was in rough shape. I tried correcting most it sometime ago but I never finished.
Interstellar travel would be way easier if nothing but ships moved in spaceVery interesting interpretation of the hyperlane travel.
So many opportunities to change up the narrative! I expect the major plotlines to stay the same, but how we get there will change. I am only using graphical mods. So the worst case scenario is the skyboxes and galaxy look a little different in the future.
Mod is a strong word. I just changed the date in the save file. In the OG series Étoile was just someone who got walloped by Robertson in 2199(?) before the game started to get the AAR going. It seemed a little unfair for the person who replaced an unpopular President and brought the party back from sure electoral defeat. Now she gets a bigger role and is the President at the start of the game.
I see that you changed the human template to suit your backstory. I also see that the starting ethics include pacifist instead of militarist as was in the case in the original. I guess it makes sense that a humanity that experienced nuclear war would be more pacifist in outlook. Will humanity refrain from imperialism and aggression towards other spacefaring species in this iteration, go down a similar path to the original series, or go a step further than the original series to create a galactic empire this time around?
Why did you take the mechanist origins for the human civilization? Do you want to explore robots and AIs more in this iteration than in the original series?
Why did you take the mechanist origins for the human civilization? Do you want to explore robots and AIs more in this iteration than in the original series?
Oh boy, it's back! Damn, I need to re-read previous chapters, I forgot that is happening japanese/chinese robots something-something. Also what are settings of your game and how large the Galaxy is?
Wait a second... you deleted all oldchapters and old AAR?
Wait a second... you deleted all oldchapters and old AAR?
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I struggled with the third ethos because even if it doesn't get elaborated on in the AAR (a consequence of skipping a lengthy prologue) the unification of humanity was really bonded together by a large peacekeeping force and the Assemblies authority was in some circumstances enforced at the end of a gun barrel. Between pacifist and militarist it became a question of which one was the real driving force.
Also the three ethos are supposed to represent the spirits of the three original (or I guess surviving) parties. There just was not a place for the militarist ethic as one of the key drivers because it seemed weird to have the Unionists as the militarist faction given they were reasonably anti-war in the now non-existent prologue
See for that robots would have to think. Which is not a problem in this game... right? Right???Awaiting the robot revolution.
Yup the old chapters are gonzo until the new AAR is finished. Given some of the major plot points remain the same I didn't want to spoil new readers. Don't worry I have them saved though!Oh boy, it's back! Damn, I need to re-read previous chapters, I forgot that is happening japanese/chinese robots something-something. Also what are settings of your game and how large the Galaxy is?
Wait a second... you deleted all oldchapters and old AAR?
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Chapter I - Part III
The Stars are Ours
Chapter I - To The Stars
Part III - The 8th Assembly
The New Age of Exploration
If there is one legacy historians can agree on for the second Étoile ministry, it was kicking off a golden age of space exploration and scientific innovation. The demand for scientists exploded once the GRV Nejem made its first jump. The opportunities for research were endless. No longer did PhD students have to write thesis on increasingly obscure and niche topics; there was real research to be done from all the data being shipped back to Earth.Chapter I - To The Stars
Part III - The 8th Assembly
The New Age of Exploration
Concerns of Cabinet
It did not take long before alien life was confirmed. Nor did it take too long to confirm that at one point they had once traveled the stars long ago. Invariably the question withing cabinet became what to do if humanity every ran across aliens traveling the stars. Some wanted to enthusiastically seek out fellow spacers. Others were concerned that those spacers might not be of a friendly persuasion. With her cabinet split, Étoile decided to er on the side of caution. It would be best to take a wait-and-see approach before initiating any contact.
While they could solve the consumer goods issue, producing more food had everyone scratching their heads. Perhaps orbital hydroponics? Federal Station could be retrofitted for such a job. Extensive research would be required, and no one had a solution to the loss of logistics that Federal Station provided to extrasolar mining. Others suggested repurposing urban land for agriculture - an expensive and time consuming option that would only exasperate the housing crunch.
For more creative dreamers, the solution lay beyond the solar system.
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