Stellaris Play & Learn
Chapter Twenty-One - Iron Age Civilization
Tandy artist impression of a native of Sol III
The First Thinker woke up one morning to find a data package waiting for it in the tele-room. Seems Kashnak and the ISS Yilmassa The Reformer had finally arrived in the system of Sol.
The system was full of planets, asteroids, and, of course, one planet that might be a good one to colonize. Kashnak was very excited to be surveying its first system.
About a week later the ISS Porsam the Shadow landed on Syrma III, which was renamed Syrma Prime, and the settlers started to pull it apart. They started work on making the planet their new home. The ship's reactor was removed and became the colony's first power source as the workers set up housing and turned the ship into a headquarters.
The settlers felt comfortable on the new planet. It was, after all, a Tropical World. Just like their home planet.
Shortly afterwards the ISS Linntyl entered the Ovastivum system. As the ship entered normal space the computers started sucking up the data the Science Ship's sensors were absorbing.
Falatir watched as the glowing hologram started to grow in the middle of the bridge. A map of the system grew as more and more data was collected. There were a few asteroids of interest but the system was made up mostly of planets. None could hold life but who knew what the scanners might find?
In Zarim Darmug was happily spending much of its time on the bridge. It barely slept or ate as the ship scanned the alien Observatory. Even the crew, who was excited about the investigation, were worried about the Head of Thinking. Sometimes they would force it to take a break and have some green protein cubes before escorting it to its cabin to take a nap.
Darmug didn't nap for long and was soon back on the bridge. It checked and rechecked the information pouring into the computers. It was trying so hard to understand what was being collected. But it was too alien and too...well...massive. The information was just beyond its grasp. Which made Darmug try all the harder to understand was it was reading.
Shortly after this the Mining Station about Syrma's star was finished. Then ISS Rukimar was ordered to Syrma IV to start working on another Mining Station.
Then it was announced that the USS Kodram, in the System of Zarim, had uncovered a mural. The artwork seemed to be several different constellations. The problem was nobody could identify the stars. It could be that, due to the age, the stars had moved beyond their positions in the mural. Or maybe some of them had gone nova since the mural had been made? Or maybe they were constellations as seen from the Vultaum homeworld? It was amazing and, yet, also disappointing at the same time.
Darmug and its Science Ship was ordered to get back to surveying the system. The faster they completed mapping out the system the faster they could put in a Starbase and claim the resources there for the Empire.
And maybe find some more ancient ruins? In fact, talking about ancient ruins....
The ISS Linntyl, in the Ovastivum system, announced it had picked up strange signals from a broken dome on Ovastivum I. There was nothing to show if it was related to the Vultaum. This could be a different alien civilization all together.
Sadly, starting a excavation on the planet would have to wait till after the survey was completed and the system was safely within the borders of the Empire. Falatir was told to continue the system survey.
In Syrma the ISS Rukimar had finished the Mining Station in the orbit of Syrma IV. Then went idle as the crew waited for their next order.
But then there was great news. Toiubus Prime had finished setting up the power grid, housing, and other systems. The colony was up and running and needed a Governor.
The Leader was known as Lathira and was 43 planetary-cycles old Official. It was known as a Adaptionist. In other words it liked to adopt new methods and ideas. It was also a Xenophile. Of course the Empire had to go into debt again to pay for the new Leader. But the First Thinker felt it was worth it.
Before being sent to the new colony Lathira told the media that, "Diverse communities are healthy communities."
The NEW Governor of Toiubos Prime decided to build a Agriculture District and then a Generator District. Both solid choices.
Shortly after this the scientists announced they had completed their research on Global Energy Management. A wonderful discovery!
The next project was to focus on Fusion Reactors. If the Empire could have both Fusion Reactors AND Afterburns then the military could have updated warships. If not even get NEW warship designs.
Then a data package from the ISS Yllmassa the Reformer hit the media networks like a nuke. The data package had compiled by Kashnak itself. It reported that Sol III held a proto-civilization. A mammalian race that had yet to develop space travel. In fact they seemed to still be in the iron age and were ruled over by feudal nobles.
The Nobles lived in stone palaces while the common people lived in primitive dwellings. The government looked like a pyramid. The few Rulers on top, with the Specialists in the middle, and the Workers on the bottom.
The news caused ripples among the people, like a rock hitting a pond, and caused all kinds of debates to break out. How would the Empire deal with such a backwards society? Should they leave it alone? Watch it? Guide it?
The Cult just added this new data to their own beliefs. If the Ancient Aliens were there to help the Tandish Assembly than maybe the Assembly could be there to guide and help the primitive mammals? Help them understand their place in the universe.
The Great Tree Of Being was an idea the Cult of Ancient Aliens had come up with. The upper branches occupied by the advanded civilizations and the lower you went the less advanced the civilizations were. And the more help them needed. In other words the Cult put their own spin on the new information.
Critics, mostly among the younger generations, hated this idea. Wasn't the Dream about finding one's own way? The Dream had given life and intelligence and free will to the Tandi and the other alien races. Surely the Dream wanted the races to find their own pathways and not to be influenced by outsiders. Why receive free will if somebody else was going to decide your fate?
The debate raged across the media and the communcation networks. It was rumored that a dozen tele-rooms overheated and broke down every week.
The First Thinker was on the side of the critics. It wanted to have a claws-off policy with the new civilization. Its hope was that it could get the others to agree to that policy. But only time would tell.
