Difference between revisions of "Solar Storms"

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== Genesis ==
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{{HB}}
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"And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." - [[Genesis]] 3, 4-5 (KJV)
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"And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and [[ye shall be as gods]], knowing good and evil." - [[Genesis]] 3: 4-5 (KJV)
  
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== Preamble ==
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Half a million years ago, humanity learned the secret of fire. Setting themselves apart from the animals that surrounded them, mankind took its first step out from under the oppressive thumb of Nature.
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Half a million years ago, [[human]]ity learned the secret of fire. Setting themselves apart from the animals that surrounded them, [[mankind]] took its first step out from under the oppressive thumb of Nature.
  
 
Seventy thousand years ago, humanity learned to speak. Though they were able to communicate before, no longer were they limited to nasal grunts and clicks of the tongue. From Africa, they conquered the [[Earth]].
 
Seventy thousand years ago, humanity learned to speak. Though they were able to communicate before, no longer were they limited to nasal grunts and clicks of the tongue. From Africa, they conquered the [[Earth]].
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Twelve thousand years ago, humanity learned to harvest. Where once there were thousands, in time, there would be billions.
 
Twelve thousand years ago, humanity learned to harvest. Where once there were thousands, in time, there would be billions.
  
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Six thousand years ago, humanity learned to write. Where once the knowledge of previous generations had to be endlessly repeated, it could now be known for all eternity.
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Six thousand years ago, humanity learned to write. Where once the knowledge of previous generations had to be endlessly repeated, it could now be seen for all eternity.
  
 
Not so many decades past, humanity unlocked the power within the atom. For good, and for ill, even the most ignorant amongst the masses could not help but respect the smallest of things.
 
Not so many decades past, humanity unlocked the power within the atom. For good, and for ill, even the most ignorant amongst the masses could not help but respect the smallest of things.
  
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As the third millenium sent humanity into a frenzy, the secrets of aging itself were laid bare, and soon, Science found for mankind the Fountain of Youth.
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At the dawn of the [[21st century]], those who would be gods work to harness the [[fusion|power]] of the [[star]]s themselves, seek the [[Fountain of Youth]], and have begun constructing likenesses in their own cognitive image - [[artificial sapience]].
  
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At the dawn of the [[23rd century]], the people of [[Terra]] have colonized many worlds within its star system. The terraforming of [[Mar]]s is nearing completion, and work on making [[Venus]] habitable is well underway. The vast expanse of space stretches before humanity, cold, but inviting. All of its knowledge, all its wisdom, all its power, seems like naught but a tiny candle amidst an endless night.
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And what if these last - the sons of Man - are found to have a [[soul]]?
  
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Small, and fragile, but it only takes a single flicker to light the inferno.
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The story began sometime in what was then known as the [[23rd century]].  In their ceaseless quest for knowledge, humanity's theories suggested that its comprehension was complete.  While not everything was known, for the first time, everything could be understood.  In triumph over its own ignorance, there would be no more theories - physics itself had been 'solved'.  No more questions that needed asking.
  
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The Solar System is the Third Cradle of Man, out of Africa, off of [[Earth]], not satisfied with mere immortality, humanity gathers its resources and hones its intellect, preparing to storm across the [[Milky Way]].
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Except, perhaps, for the inevitable.
  
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[http://ss.anenris.com Solar Storms] is the tale of that exodus. As mankind finds the answers its last questions, countless more unfold from the telling.
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''"Are we sure?"''
  
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== Introduction ==
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After countless experiments suggested that there was nothing more to be discovered - an abyss from which nothing more could be learned - mankind chose to look into that void anyway, and found something.
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Sometime, in the year [[2202]], [[human]]ity cheated. This much [[human]]s know. The [[mobius pattern]]s seem to defy the [[second law of thermodynamics]], offering no explanation for their capabilities. Most are small, and fragile, but they are something else.
 
  
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They are life.
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The final fruit of the tree of knowledge.
  
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It may be aeons before [[human]]s are aware of just what they have done. Before their intervention, the [[multiverse]]s... [[omniverse]]... whatever, were happily colliding away, self-immolating, only to be reborn anew, with no such thing as a memory if their previous state.
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The [[mobius pattern]]s seemed to defy the laws of thermodynamics, offering no explanation for their capabilities. Most were small, and fragile, but they were something else.
  
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But now, [[human]]s have brought a piece of this immolation, this rebirth, into their own realm, and are bending it to their will. This delicate flicker threatens to become an inferno that may one day consume this [[Universe]], and whatever lies beyond.
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They were life, and entropy was their sustenance.
  
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Without fear of disease or hunger, without worry of age or even death, the overwhelmingly vast majority of [[human]]s are known as the [[Content]], paragons of Nietzsche's [[Last Men]], both male and female. They live their lives, either in quiet ennui, hedonistic frenzy, or somewhere in between, caring not for a future they believe to be garaunteed. By their own actions and decisions, they are second-class citizens, fourteen billion [[human]]s united in apathy.
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It would be decades before humans became aware of just what they had done. Before their intervention, the [[multiverse]]s... [[megaverse]]s... whatever, were happily colliding away, self-immolating, only to be reborn anew, with no such thing as a memory of their previous state.
  
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But the future is not yet written, and, either through circumstance or raw personal drive, some seek to guide or alter the status quo. Those who belong to this fractured lot are the authors of [[human]]ity's future - however minor.  They manage and guide humanity and its creations, trying to forge their vision of what the future should be.  Due to this, some call this section of [[human]]ity the [[gerent]]s.
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Until humans brought a piece of this immolation, this rebirth, into their own realm, and began to bend it to their will.  A delicate flicker that threatened to become an inferno that would sweep the [[Galaxy]], and beyond, in a massive storm.
  
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This is no consensus. The current dominant body is the [[Solar Consortium]], which formed after the [[Martian Compact]] had taken control of [[Earth]]. The old powers who held sway over [[Earth]]'s people before that incident have not forgotten, and neither have the masses who have rejected technology entirely, living outside of the great [[Arcology|Arcologies]] as the original humans once lived, fortelling of the days when the sins of Man will be brought low.
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Such presumption of divinity did not go unnoticed in the infinite expanse. Forces numerous, ancient and mighty arrayed themselves against the nascent power, seeking to end the people of [[Sol]] and claim humanity's unique discoveries for their own.  
  
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Not half a century after the rise of the [[Consortium]], it already finds its power threatened. Humans, transformed by the meddling of science into affairs that should have never been possible, are displaying abilities beyond the ken of current knowledge. Hunted, these rare humans banded together to build [[Ouranos Prime]], a mighty space station resting inside the orbit of the [[Uranus|seventh planet]]. There, they built a new weapon, revealing its nature in an event now known as the [[Jovian Massacre]]. This bought them many enemies, but also a measure of safety, at least for a few years.
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Because humans were not the [[First]] to ask questions of the void.
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[[Earth]] was lost, and its [[Sun]] would no longer grace the [[Milky Way]] with its light.  Scattered across the [[Universe]] in a great [[diaspora]], the flames of human civilization were reduced to cinders.
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Ten thousand years later, the wounds between mankind and its genocidal enemies have begun to heal.  During their truce, new forces have emerged, some with violence, others with tranquility.  As with all truly mighty powers, they may choose sides, but such is fleeting - they are their own side. In this thin peace, the embers of violence glow brightly, for the stake is existence itself, and the prize is apotheosis.
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God itself would have a say in the matter.
  
 
{{SS}}
 
{{SS}}

Latest revision as of 05:06, 1 May 2007

Solar Storms
Solar Storms Square Logo.jpg
  Introduction
  Factions
Humanity • Renlai • Shadow
Triad • First • Nephilim
Legion • Dread • Archons
Concord • Virgon • Hydra
  Culture
Strains • Habitats
Economy • Technology
Inhalo • Outhalo
  History
Before the Purge
The Purges
Canshen • Diaspora
Hellnachts • Nephilomachy
Aftermath and Peace

"And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3: 4-5 (KJV)

Half a million years ago, humanity learned the secret of fire. Setting themselves apart from the animals that surrounded them, mankind took its first step out from under the oppressive thumb of Nature.

Seventy thousand years ago, humanity learned to speak. Though they were able to communicate before, no longer were they limited to nasal grunts and clicks of the tongue. From Africa, they conquered the Earth.

Twelve thousand years ago, humanity learned to harvest. Where once there were thousands, in time, there would be billions.

Six thousand years ago, humanity learned to write. Where once the knowledge of previous generations had to be endlessly repeated, it could now be seen for all eternity.

Not so many decades past, humanity unlocked the power within the atom. For good, and for ill, even the most ignorant amongst the masses could not help but respect the smallest of things.

At the dawn of the 21st century, those who would be gods work to harness the power of the stars themselves, seek the Fountain of Youth, and have begun constructing likenesses in their own cognitive image - artificial sapience.

And what if these last - the sons of Man - are found to have a soul?

The story began sometime in what was then known as the 23rd century. In their ceaseless quest for knowledge, humanity's theories suggested that its comprehension was complete. While not everything was known, for the first time, everything could be understood. In triumph over its own ignorance, there would be no more theories - physics itself had been 'solved'. No more questions that needed asking.

Except, perhaps, for the inevitable.

"Are we sure?"

After countless experiments suggested that there was nothing more to be discovered - an abyss from which nothing more could be learned - mankind chose to look into that void anyway, and found something.

The final fruit of the tree of knowledge.

The mobius patterns seemed to defy the laws of thermodynamics, offering no explanation for their capabilities. Most were small, and fragile, but they were something else.

They were life, and entropy was their sustenance.

It would be decades before humans became aware of just what they had done. Before their intervention, the multiverses... megaverses... whatever, were happily colliding away, self-immolating, only to be reborn anew, with no such thing as a memory of their previous state.

Until humans brought a piece of this immolation, this rebirth, into their own realm, and began to bend it to their will. A delicate flicker that threatened to become an inferno that would sweep the Galaxy, and beyond, in a massive storm.

Such presumption of divinity did not go unnoticed in the infinite expanse. Forces numerous, ancient and mighty arrayed themselves against the nascent power, seeking to end the people of Sol and claim humanity's unique discoveries for their own.

Because humans were not the First to ask questions of the void.

Earth was lost, and its Sun would no longer grace the Milky Way with its light. Scattered across the Universe in a great diaspora, the flames of human civilization were reduced to cinders.

Ten thousand years later, the wounds between mankind and its genocidal enemies have begun to heal. During their truce, new forces have emerged, some with violence, others with tranquility. As with all truly mighty powers, they may choose sides, but such is fleeting - they are their own side. In this thin peace, the embers of violence glow brightly, for the stake is existence itself, and the prize is apotheosis.

God itself would have a say in the matter.

Solar Storms Logo.jpg
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