Life2.0 - An "Of Unity" Narrative (Completed)

[HistoryDude]

In the narrative, internal divisions appear to be making themselves known. Let's hope that Naomi can lead them...

If you feel like you need to restart the game and the AAR, that's completely fine. You'll still have readers.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

It isn't a restart the game issue. Just change the dates of the three pieces written so far.

 

[Nikolai]

Ah, it has begun. Wonderful.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"To The Stars"
18/02/2178
Naomi HaMaadimi​

As I walk to the tent we have set up as our main governance office, I reflect on the interim governance method we have adopted while we formalise something more permanent. I've deliberately resisted using my victory over Hortensus to justify me taking charge.

There has been a vast amount of discussion from dozens of viewpoints. Practically every form of government has been suggested. Most notably for me, Buri led the Xenaya in proposing me as a ruling queen who has proven my right to lead with Minamar blood - which I did have to gently put down. Didn't quite work entirely, as after my speech on our opportunity to work together as equals, they still voted me in.

Buri and I talked afterwards. I joked that at least the lizards didn't get in this time, but... All that happened was it reminded me of one of great-grandfather's odd sayings he picked up - "jokes are like kittens, they don't work when dissected." Buri was very confused when I explained the old lizard leaders conspiracy gag...

Anyway, I have a world to lead.

Food.

My people have only enough food to last a month based on the recovered quantities from the ship that can be stored safely without the fridges; the batteries are starting to run out and we don't have the infrastructure to recharge them until Daas and his team of technicians get the reactor online again, and in any event I must prioritise the more important Arctic-preferring habitation areas. Fortunately for them, this world's winter is expected to hit in a matter of months, so, the hope is they will be able to survive and then migrate north with the cold.

Most of my people here are carnivores, so forage and hunting should stretch our food supplies out for until a few months before the coming of winter would bite too deep to sustain their population size and density - hopefully by then the ship's aeroponics will be up and running again.

I've had scouts go out so that I can have this out on a map. I'm glad there's several Avian races who could fly for me, otherwise I'd need aircraft; Lokra-Kitan scouts have flown north and returned far more quickly thanks to their athletic nature, while Shomba scouts heading south have come up with very artistic maps.

I enter the tent. The other leaders of our peoples are waiting for me. I take a breath, then begin. "After much thought, here's how I see our situation. We can't stay with the ship, there's not enough food to sustain our population, and the soil here isn't good enough for the inefficient farming technologies we will have to adopt. Our Avian friends have charted a route south for us. I know south is not preferred by all of us, which is why we must lay communications lines to keep in contact with each other." I pause to lay out a sketch of the old Marconi original radio transmitters - the easiest to build off the tools available to us. "This is a radio transmitter; with the derivatives of these, we will be able to communicate worldwide once we spread that far."

Buri looks at me questioningly. "Are these transmitters easy to build?"

I lay out more plans for useful things. "I know for many of you, MSI rushed you past technologies that my race built through the hard way, figuring out not just from first principles, but what the first principles were. My great-grandfather raised us to believe that it was not the conquests of a leader that showed his brilliance, but what he built." Then, I lay out some thing a little different; not technical drawings, but artistic renders of each race's homeworld. Yet, somehow not quite; it takes Buri - the Xenaya, they're horned carnivorious oxen who hadn't even started tin smithing before MSI came; he looks like he could lift me off the ground thout breaking a sweat - the longest to realise what he is looking at. "We have all been robbed by MSI. But together, we have the opportunity to build something greater than anything that they can imagine."

 

[HistoryDude]

It's nice to see that a democracy is emerging among the refugees. We'll see how long that lasts.

 

[Macavity116]

I know for many of you, MSI rushed you past technologies that my race built through the hard way, figuring out not just from first principles, but what the first principles were.

Reminds me of that famous scene from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, where Kirk outwits Khan because he knows "why things work on a starship." It's one thing to know how to use technology. It's a whole new world if you understand how and why it works.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Snowfall Day
10th Ykrett, 1 (10/03/2178)
Naomi HaMaadimi​

I feel the crunch of snow beneath my feet. Everyone else is rushing around making last minute preparations - after all, with half the races being desert or arid preferring, many had stayed long past their comfort threshold, while others were only just leaving the fridges for the first time since the crash - for the handover at midday.

I pick up some snow, and gently shape a ball. It never snowed in my ancestral homeland back on Earth, before my parents were taken from there. I get an idea. I turn to Buri. "Do your people ever play snowball fights?"

He waits a while. Answers a little nervously. "Ours are probably nothing like yours."

I throw the ball up gently, and catch it. "Ours involve making the snow into balls, like this, and throwing them at each other."

He stares curiously. "What are you thinking of?"

"I'm just thinking people need a real 'have a bit of fun' time. Everyone is so tense. They could use a few games in the snow, it would bond everyone together a bit. Have them split on fond memories."

"That would be a good idea."

"I'm thinking that I'll start proceedings as a slight delay to the departure south."

"It can't last too long though."

"Unfortunately."

Buri departs towards the other Xenaya, probably to make sure they knew it wasn't a real fight. I keep thinking, listen to the footsteps, to the people. They had achieved so much already. They were already spreading out across the world. People were happy, well fed, those who needed warmth were warm, and those who needed cold were cold. Crime was non-existent. All things I could mention later. I head back to the meeting point to wait, and think of how to say what I want to say.

By the time I'm mentally rehearsing the speech, people are coming in. It's time.

"Today is the day our colony has been looking ahead to for a while now. Snowfall Day. This is the day our cold climate friends leave their fridges, and our warm climate friends head south. In the Spring, we will meet here again. I want to thank each of you for what you have done to bring us all to this point. And I want us to celebrate." I pick up more snow, form a ball. "On my world, we used to play games in the snow with our children, throwing balls of snow at each other." I begin bouncing the ball in one hand. "One quick game, and then we will depart."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Nice and simple calendar system, having just done a 12 hour shift my mind isn't so good at the moment. Take twelve leaders, and assign them one month each like so:

Month Name:	Order:	Equivalent Month On Earth:
Naomi	First	September
Buri	Second	October
Ykrett	Third	November
Pik	Fourth	December
Sor-Gor	Fifth	January
Odoos	Sixth	February
Vorosh	Seventh	March
Qutrok	Eighth	April
Hoggagha	Ninth	May
Daas	Tenth	June
Shendredie	Eleventh	July
Rhizome	Twelfth	August

The year cycles on the anniversary of the crash landing. Which is deliberately 01/01/2178 to make my life easier. But, it's getting late in the actual orbit around the host star, so the actual time of year is a lot later.

Obviously the planet would not have a 360 day orbit length around an A type star that the game spawned the planet orbiting, but equally, I just can't be bothered to adjust the mathematics for that.

 

[Von Acturus]

The annual migration is a nice touch, I imagine the re-encounter will be a very festive occasion, and a great example of the multispecies friendship and harmony Naomi has managed to foster.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"The Buggy Incident"
21st Hoggagha, 1 (21/9/2178)
Buri B'Than​

I do not yet entirely trust the Human sense of danger, as they seem not to possess one. An example. There was this time, very recently when Shomba and Human engineers had built a small rover for exploring the forests nearby; they needed the utility of being able to bring supplies out, travel for longer, and recover more data.

We were walking to inspect their preparations. Naomi sees it, her eyes light up, and she exclaims something in one of her native languages as she runs to them, then mimes excessive steering inputs to the Humans, who promptly looked worried. Which makes me worried. Within minutes, she has borrowed the rover, taken it out the workshop, accelerated harshly, then turned around. She comes back to immediately talk to the Human engineers, who begin looking around the workshop.

I'm listening to the Shomba by this point.

"What do you mean Naomi wants a version with bigger motors in every wheel?"

"She says it would be more, ah, 'fun'."

The Shomba relooked at the calculations on the boards. I like their perseverance, the Shomba. They could do things with mechanical bits and pieces that I would never think of, like the Humans could, but unlike the Humans they collaborated so much better, writing down everything they thought of. I do wonder why they keep rechecking it every few moments though. Probably being thorough?

I don't know.

But they worked through the night, and the next day they had a version with much bigger... Bits. I don't know what they were. Naomi seemed to understand though, she was talking with the engineers like she actually understood these things.

Eventually, she turns to me, smiling. "Come on, come with me."

-------

So, I got in the buggy with her.

It was a bad idea.

They all wore protective suits for a start., which made me feel nervous. Naomi had a seat with a circle thing in front of her, me in a seat which did not, and another Human was holding on to the framework. I don't know if the man was excited or scared. Now, I am a warrior. I am brave. But, when a woman shouts "Pedal to the metal!" while wheel-spinning her vehicle out of the parking area... That is alarming.

It only got worse.

I clench my seat as the world blurs. This was terrifying.

At least to me, the two Humans were laughing - the man was even stood up waving his arms around, reaching out as they passed trees...

The first turn was properly... Distressing. I shut my eyes. But, she didn't slow down. I feel my inner organs sloshing to one side as the vehicle yaws then snaps into place as she steers into the slide. I felt sick. She did slow down, a little, enough I started to look at her.

And that's when I felt even more scared.

They were traveling faster than I have ever seen the land go by, and I expect Naomi to be concentrating. She wasn't. In fact, she was looking around seemingly anywhere other than the field in front of them. Then she sees something that really gets her attention in the forest. I close my eyes again, and silently vow never to be a passenger beside a Human again.

Bang.​

------------

She's... defending her driving. "It was only a little rock, we landed fine. We didn't even pop the tyre."

I shout. "We could have all died!"

"We were fine, we were only doing twenty miles an hour."

"It was much too fast."

"No, much too fast is the time my great-grandfather's brother flipped a smaller buggy than this on a family outing."

I look at her. She's smiling away. My people are brave; the Humans are just crazy.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Reminds me of that famous scene from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, where Kirk outwits Khan because he knows "why things work on a starship." It's one thing to know how to use technology. It's a whole new world if you understand how and why it works.

Yes. And naturally, MSI are not going to share that deeper understanding, not when they can charge call-out fees for servicing and repairs.

It's nice to see that a democracy is emerging among the refugees. We'll see how long that lasts.

It will last; even once they switch to the MegaCorp governance form much later, it will still be democratic.

The annual migration is a nice touch, I imagine the re-encounter will be a very festive occasion, and a great example of the multispecies friendship and harmony Naomi has managed to foster.

Precisely. Little Unity-building moments like these are essential if they are to build up a civilisation of their own.

 

[HistoryDude]

I liked the migration chapter. The snowball fight for bonding was a nice touch!

Humanity is of dubious sanity. Even humans say that!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Unity"
16th Daas, 2, (16/10/2179)
Buri B'Than​

I take a breath, calm my nerves. I carefully walk in. She's sitting on a wide chair, reading paperwork. Breathe. "Naomi, how exactly do Human marriages work?"

She turns, and her eyes light up in a way that tells me she has just had half a dozen ideas spark all at once. Then she smiles. "Is this curiosity, or are you asking me for a reason?"

I approach her, and take her hand. She trembles lightly, but still smiles. "Naomi, I have followed you ever since the day you came to us clad only in the blood of our enemies. You proved then to be a leader, worthy of my respect. But you are more than a WarChief, you are something greater, a High Queen. And you have proven a friend and more to me."

"Buri, are you asking me to marry you?"

I feel... Awkward. "I am asking about whether I can ask I suppose."

She leans back in her chair, and holds my claws. "Buri, if you were Human, I would absolutely say yes. And my inner xenophile is telling me that I have to say yes simply because of that. You're my best friend, we've gone through so much together. I feel like no one knows me like you do. But I have dozens of questions running through my mind..."

"Can I help with them?"

"Well, in Human cultures, especially the highly traditional one I come from, Marriage is not a small commitment. It's for life, and I believe it is eternal."

"My people have the same."

"Great! At least we have the same expectations in that." She pauses for a moment. "Would you want children with me?"

I look at her. Yeah. "We would have to adopt."

"Yes, we're definitely not having children the normal way." She laughs.

"Is that a dealbreaker for you?"

She switches to serious. "My child is my child, whatever species they are. You?"

Oh. "I've already had children. How would your family feel?"

"Not too sure, I'm the only one left, as far as I know. I think they'd approve. In my culture, I'd take your surname."

"And HaMaadimi would be lost."

She laughs again. "He would be the first to say Naomi B'Than is more suitable than Naomi HaMaadimi."

"Really?"

She nods excitedly. "I can just imagine him pointing out HaMaadimi means 'The Martian', yet none of us ever went to Mars. He knows that if I became Naomi B'Than, it would be because like him I dream of greater things - we would be a symbol of the new world we are building."

I shuffle as I think. It's obvious. "We could chose a new name together."

She tilts her head. "What's wrong with B'Than?"

I lower my voice. "It means 'From Slaughter'. My ancestors earned the title breaking a fortress." I shake my head. "It doesn't fit our new world."

She looks at her hands. "Well, it is true, but it definitely isn't an aspect I want to glorify."

I take a seat beside her. "We could make something new, a new tradition."

She moves to face me, I feel like she is looking straight through my eyes into my mind. "What do you have in mind?"

I take both her hands in my paw. They're so small next to mine, and she entwines her fingers between my claws. "HaMaadimi means 'the Martian'?"

"Yes, in one of Humanity's oldest languages."

"It gives me an idea. Your name is after one planet, but we haven't decided on a name for this world yet."

She nods. "The council have been debating what to call our world for over a year. Everyone has agreed we do not want an MSI selected name, but beyond that no agreement yet..."

"I have an idea for that. What do you think of Naomi and Buri, of Unity?"

"I love it! I love it! Yes, definitely, Unity is the perfect name for our world!"

"Much better than Kidoror or whatever the MSI charts call it."

"Absolutely. I will put it to the Council at tonight's assembly, and tell them our news."

We pause, looking into each other's eyes. "Are you really sure about this?"

She nods. again. "If you will have me, then I am yours."

"Really, really sure?"

She sighs, still smiling. "Oh Buri... In my heart, I believe in our world, our shared dream of freedom. Enough to kill for it, enough to break the shackles. It would have been enough for me to lead us to become a single united bastion of liberty and freedom. But here? Holding hands with you, looking into your eyes, I see a vision of love that reaches across time and space, that truly lives for more. I have no idea how we will work out as a couple. Like, I still have dozens of questions to figure out on that. But now that I perceive this option, there's not another moment I want to delay pursuing this. If you want me, I am yours."

We breathe, together. "I want you, Naomi."

 

[Macavity116]

​

Buri carefully walked in. She was reading paperwork. "Naomi, how exactly do Human marriages work?"

He could have started the conversation a million different ways, and Buri goes straight for the deep end. He's admirable.

On the whole, this was a fascinating dialogue to read. You got me cheering for the couple, and I got to take in a little more info about the world they live in. Well done.

 

[Von Acturus]

My child is my child, whatever species they are. You?

That's gonna be quite the challenge! If dual nationality kids sometimes have it rough with discordant things in their parent's cultures, imagine what'd be like for a child/hatchling/cub/larva to be raised by a being of completely different biology and psychology.

But certainly fits the new culture of intermingling and harmony, and they make a very cute couple!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

He could have started the conversation a million different ways, and Buri goes straight for the deep end. He's admirable.

On the whole, this was a fascinating dialogue to read. You got me cheering for the couple, and I got to take in a little more info about the world they live in. Well done.

He knows it's one of the things she likes about him, that he's direct.

Judging the dialogue is tricky; obviously, it's all in an MSI constructed language, and that is something they will have to change long term. It's a project Naomi has set in motion though. (Edit 6/6/2023 - re-reading the thread, and it needed an update: this has been retconned to use the Synthesiser, a form of Universal Translator developed by MSI; people speak their native language, which is then translated by the Synthesiser through psionics)

That's gonna be quite the challenge! If dual nationality kids sometimes have it rough with discordant things in their parent's cultures, imagine what'd be like for a child/hatchling/cub/larva to be raised by a being of completely different biology and psychology.

But certainly fits the new culture of intermingling and harmony, and they make a very cute couple!

She's thinking about all those challenges, and more than those, as she's thinking about the whole system - the children, the parents, the local people and the societal structure around them. One couple doing what they do is a sweet love story; a billion couples doing what they do is a massive demographic block that is going to need a very substantial amount of support in order to overcome the challenges that they face.

It's absolutely not as easy as the xeno-Compatibility perk makes out, which is why I switched it off and have never run it. Theoretically, you could use genetic engineering to start off with the baseline genome of either parent and tweak a modified genome to have traits of both parents, or build a new lifeform that duplicates features from both parents, but Naomi knows that kind of technology is decades away at least.

But equally, Naomi sees the opportunity, and she realises that her and Buri could set an example for all the couples like them in the future. She realises that they can leave a standard to aim for, that they fought side by side to break free together, then chose each other, and decided together that they would face every challenge absolutely committed to each other and to making it work no matter how hard it gets.

 

[HistoryDude]

Awww.. Hopefully this is a happy marriage!

Unity is an interesting name, even if it isn't the most creative.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Wedding Day"
30th Naomi, 3 (2180)
Naomi HaMaadimi​

I get married today! At midnight, when my month ends and Buri's begins. We just had to do that way around; if everything goes right, I say my vows the last moments of my month, and he says his on the first moments of his.

For so long, I never even thought I'd get one. A decade spent as a Companionship Asset, feeling utterly alone. I don't know if Buri really understands, but when those massive arms of his pull me close, I feel so safe. He's more than twice my mass, and he can pick me up one handed.

They have a slightly unusual mating practice, the Xenaya. It's similar to a standard mammalian rut, only the male fights the female; if she wins, he backs off until he tries again. If he wins, he mates with her. It's a proving his strength type of thing. I can see the logic to it. The Xenaya women looked at me and said when he does, I should just lay down somewhere comfortable for me, and accessible for him until he is finished. It's safe advice; there's very little resistance I can offer against the sheer physicality of being pounced on by a strange mix of Ox, Sabre-toothed Cat and Gorilla intent on mating with me. Buri has promised to be gentle, as much as he can be with the hormonal changes that take place.

It's done then for two years, roughly. Timed to have the birth in the spring, and weaning over the year, not that it applies for us. Should have a few months of married life before mating season begins. I'm not complaining - I'm marrying an apex predator, these kinds of behavioral traits are expected. Truthfully, there is a part of me that is excited by the prospect of Buri having me any way he wants.

It does actually explain quite a lot about the Xenaya. They were the lowest technological tier of all of us, but equally their way of life doesn't need it; even in our society, the main thing the Xenaya utilise are things that help them hunt, recover from injuries and preserve food. Night vision googles are popular, and they've adopted thermally self-regulating tents and clothing to extend their environmental reach from the colder climates to warmer ones. From what we can find of local wildlife, they are the most dangerous predators in the region. Not like us Humans, who have to rely on our technology.

We go out hunting together - I cling to his back as he sprints on all fours - and I hold on with one hand free for operating sensor scans, while he mostly relies on scent. Once we find something, he flushes out the prey while I'm laid in cover with a self-stabilising telescopic sight Gauss rifle. We work well together. He is slowly getting used to cooked meat; I can't eat it raw, so he chooses to wait to eat with me. One of the little ways he loves me. I get the fire going, then he invites me to lay with him, and sometimes we talk, sometimes we lie together in silence listening to the fire.

Being with him is definitely the right decision.

It isn't just us of course. There are only a few pioneers like me and Buri, but there's enough of us that it is worth doing a communal wedding together; I'm so looking forward to vowing "Now, and forever."

 

[Macavity116]

I enjoyed this chapter! I'm happy for Naomi and Buri, and a communal wedding with several other species participating sounds like an opportunity for fun storytelling. Or a good excuse to write a chaotic party scene.



The mental image from this line:

We go out hunting together - I cling to his back as he sprints on all fours

Strongly reminds me of the 1997 movie Princess Mononoke.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I enjoyed this chapter! I'm happy for Naomi and Buri, and a communal wedding with several other species participating sounds like an opportunity for fun storytelling. Or a good excuse to write a chaotic party scene.



The mental image from this line:

Strongly reminds me of the 1997 movie Princess Mononoke.

View attachment 960968

Never seen the movie, but I envision Naomi and Buri as much more closer to each other in size than these two are.

---

As to the communal wedding, I first have to figure out names for the other participants. The easiest idea is just reusing the twelve Leaders I generated to get names for the months, plus the twelve potential recruits. But, there's really only a few options that would be marriages and not really good friendships between members of completely different biologies; the species I've got to work with just aren't that suitable.

On the bright side, I've been doing some more fiddling with the observe command, and I happen to have a pop from the pre-FTL civ that got the Payback Origin, which means I have a natural Leader for the militaristic faction within the story. He doesn't know it yet, but 10 pops of his people are slaves in the MSI still. (only 18 on the homeworld)

And the Sol-Humans are in a fairly good location; there's only one prospective conqueror nearby (Life2.0 has Minamar, a randomly generated empire and the Prikki relatively nearby, and two of the Arishkan factions...) and there's only one hyperlane connection nearby between the two spiral arms. 15 Human pops will need to be liberated from MSI though.

What is interesting is that there are relatively few species represented in both MSI and Life2.0; Life2.0 actually has more different species than MSI does, and only three species are common to both.

To me, this says that the system definitely needs refinement; I know pops as a unit are deliberately vague, but the game's behaviour doesn't match up properly.