woensdag 4 juli 2007
woensdag 20 juni 2007
The story
AD 2120 -- Location: Peace and Unity, Earth, the original international space station…The President of MAPS - the Major Alliance for Planetary Settlement -- is delivering a speech to the world, informing the inhabitants of Earth about a revolutionary new ship capable of traveling thousands of times farther than man has ever traveled, a new ship capable of colonization...."Today we launch our prototype colony ship, the ‘Galaxia One’, on MAPS' first mission of colonization outside the Solar System.
With the successful installation of permanent colonies on Mars, Europa, and Pluto, we are confident the Galaxia One will easily establish the first link between Earth and the rest of the Galaxy.
The colonists onboard will travel to P3X-235, the second planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, Alpha Centauri.
The planet has been scouted and secured by ships testing our new Star Drive - the very prototype engines that will allow the Galaxia One to reach its destination - and it has been deemed suitable for terra-forming and colonization.
These missions have been ongoing for the past 165 years, when the Star Drive engine had been perfected for travel inside the Solar System.
It is only now that we have enough data to send the colonization effort.
Our Scout ships have found a vast array of buildings left over from an ancient civilization.
We cannot tell how long they have been there, or how long they have been abandoned, but we do know that the planet is suitable for living, and these buildings will make the effort significantly easier.
The buildings we have found seem to consist of production factories, warehouses, and living quarters.
Others exist, but what they were used for we are not quite sure yet.
We do know, however, that we can adapt and use the factories, warehouses, and homes in a brief period of time."It will take approximately 80 years for the Galaxia One to reach P3X-235, but because of the extreme speed of the ship, it will only seem like 10 years to the pilots.
The colonists will hibernate throughout 99% of the journey, and will awaken in orbit around P3X-235.
We expect the full colonization to be complete in another 100 years, at which point we will send another team to check on the colony.
Unfortunately, instantaneous communication has not been sufficiently developed to stay in contact with the colony, and therefore they are on their own upon departure of the Solar System.
Good luck to the crew of the Galaxia One.
May we see them again in 200 years."
AD 2200 -- Location: Bridge of the Galaxia OneAs the Galaxia One began its approach to P3X-235, an alarm sounded throughout the ship.
Confusion erupted on the Bridge and chaos prevailed until the ship's doctor entered, breathless. He grabbed the Captain, barely able to speak, but gasped nonetheless, "Captain... t-t-the colo... the colonists are fighting! T-t-there... there was an error... in the... the awakening sequence. Their hormonal balances... have been disrupted... too much testosterone... very aggressive." The doctor leaned over for a minute, recovering his breath, the continued: "Worse, their bodies will adapt to this increased testosterone production in a few days and this aggression will become permanent.
Even the women have become extremely aggressive." A sudden jolt sent everyone on the bridge reeling.
The helmsman shouted, 'The ship is not responding! I can't control her!" The Chief Engineer arrived in a similar state to that of the doctor's. "Everyone, " the officer yelled, "the colonists have stormed Engineering and killed everyone! The engine core is about to blow, we have to land now!" The captain responded immediately, launching himself to the controls and deploying the emergency thrusters with his command codes.
As the ship careened into the atmosphere of P3X-235, the Captain ejected the engine core, hoping the ship could get far enough away from the blast radius.
The core exploded almost immediately and the shockwave knocked out even the emergency thrusters.
The ship careened faster and faster towards the ground, spinning out of control.
The Captain had only one choice, a last-chance option given to him to preserve the mission.
With his last few moments, the Captain initiated a fuel transfer to the Emergency Colony Protection System.
With only a few thousand meters between the ship and the ground, the colony pod was ejected from the ship, as the ship plummeted to the ground.
The thrusters on the Colony pod were braked sufficiently to save the colony, but the ship crashed, exploding into a fiery ball of destruction.
The shock of landing knocked all of the colonists out, and they remained unconscious for days.
AD 2200 -- Location: Surface of P3X-235Once the colonists came to, self-preservation overpowered their aggression.
The ship's explosion had scattered debris everywhere, and colonists swarmed to salvage what they could.
The scientists who had survived the crash had been transformed with the rest of the colony by the hormonal imbalances; yet with their superior intellects, they had thought to commandeer the warehouses and improve the fortifications still left over from the Ancients.
These scientists controlled all warehouses, and soon created a monopolistic business, charging massive amounts of metal and energy for goods to be distributed.
Some scientists who were not so lucky to get hold of a warehouse converted their homes into a different kind of shop, voluntary selling their knowledge for extravagant prices.
Because of this entrepreneur instinct instilled by aggression, however, the colonists were on their own.
In their aggressive state, the colonists were initially unable to work together, and soon began to split off into individual camps.
Each colonist commandeered a homestead, each ensuring that only he occupied his claimed territory.
Fortification began almost immediately after the occupation of these homes, for competition for resources was very high, and defense was required from raids.
Colonists purchased knowledge from the scientists with the resources they had scavenged, and the scientists in turn used the resources to conduct further research.
Once colonists realized the potential of factories to produce their fortifications, adaptation and immediate war over the possession of those factories ensued.
The scientists worked hard to master the technology left to them by the Ancients. After a brief period of isolation, the colonists realized they could not survive without each other.
The instinct for self-preservation again overrode the desire to kill, for there was just too much work to be done for any one person to survive on his own.
Colonists with similar interests began to band together, initially with non-aggression pacts, and then clans.
The clans formed began organized attacking patterns and resource pooling for more effective defense.
Working together, all clan individuals became stronger, and all clans became stronger in turn. The competition between clans became intense, survival was just as difficult as before, but knowledge kept increasing as scientists were paid off.
Soon the more intelligent clans began to dominate, utilizing tactics never before conceived. These dominant clans began to sweep over the countryside and control everything, leaving only destruction in their path.
It was then that the remaining colonists realized that the only means of survival was to learn and master the SECRETS OF WAR...
With the successful installation of permanent colonies on Mars, Europa, and Pluto, we are confident the Galaxia One will easily establish the first link between Earth and the rest of the Galaxy.
The colonists onboard will travel to P3X-235, the second planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, Alpha Centauri.
The planet has been scouted and secured by ships testing our new Star Drive - the very prototype engines that will allow the Galaxia One to reach its destination - and it has been deemed suitable for terra-forming and colonization.
These missions have been ongoing for the past 165 years, when the Star Drive engine had been perfected for travel inside the Solar System.
It is only now that we have enough data to send the colonization effort.
Our Scout ships have found a vast array of buildings left over from an ancient civilization.
We cannot tell how long they have been there, or how long they have been abandoned, but we do know that the planet is suitable for living, and these buildings will make the effort significantly easier.
The buildings we have found seem to consist of production factories, warehouses, and living quarters.
Others exist, but what they were used for we are not quite sure yet.
We do know, however, that we can adapt and use the factories, warehouses, and homes in a brief period of time."It will take approximately 80 years for the Galaxia One to reach P3X-235, but because of the extreme speed of the ship, it will only seem like 10 years to the pilots.
The colonists will hibernate throughout 99% of the journey, and will awaken in orbit around P3X-235.
We expect the full colonization to be complete in another 100 years, at which point we will send another team to check on the colony.
Unfortunately, instantaneous communication has not been sufficiently developed to stay in contact with the colony, and therefore they are on their own upon departure of the Solar System.
Good luck to the crew of the Galaxia One.
May we see them again in 200 years."
AD 2200 -- Location: Bridge of the Galaxia OneAs the Galaxia One began its approach to P3X-235, an alarm sounded throughout the ship.
Confusion erupted on the Bridge and chaos prevailed until the ship's doctor entered, breathless. He grabbed the Captain, barely able to speak, but gasped nonetheless, "Captain... t-t-the colo... the colonists are fighting! T-t-there... there was an error... in the... the awakening sequence. Their hormonal balances... have been disrupted... too much testosterone... very aggressive." The doctor leaned over for a minute, recovering his breath, the continued: "Worse, their bodies will adapt to this increased testosterone production in a few days and this aggression will become permanent.
Even the women have become extremely aggressive." A sudden jolt sent everyone on the bridge reeling.
The helmsman shouted, 'The ship is not responding! I can't control her!" The Chief Engineer arrived in a similar state to that of the doctor's. "Everyone, " the officer yelled, "the colonists have stormed Engineering and killed everyone! The engine core is about to blow, we have to land now!" The captain responded immediately, launching himself to the controls and deploying the emergency thrusters with his command codes.
As the ship careened into the atmosphere of P3X-235, the Captain ejected the engine core, hoping the ship could get far enough away from the blast radius.
The core exploded almost immediately and the shockwave knocked out even the emergency thrusters.
The ship careened faster and faster towards the ground, spinning out of control.
The Captain had only one choice, a last-chance option given to him to preserve the mission.
With his last few moments, the Captain initiated a fuel transfer to the Emergency Colony Protection System.
With only a few thousand meters between the ship and the ground, the colony pod was ejected from the ship, as the ship plummeted to the ground.
The thrusters on the Colony pod were braked sufficiently to save the colony, but the ship crashed, exploding into a fiery ball of destruction.
The shock of landing knocked all of the colonists out, and they remained unconscious for days.
AD 2200 -- Location: Surface of P3X-235Once the colonists came to, self-preservation overpowered their aggression.
The ship's explosion had scattered debris everywhere, and colonists swarmed to salvage what they could.
The scientists who had survived the crash had been transformed with the rest of the colony by the hormonal imbalances; yet with their superior intellects, they had thought to commandeer the warehouses and improve the fortifications still left over from the Ancients.
These scientists controlled all warehouses, and soon created a monopolistic business, charging massive amounts of metal and energy for goods to be distributed.
Some scientists who were not so lucky to get hold of a warehouse converted their homes into a different kind of shop, voluntary selling their knowledge for extravagant prices.
Because of this entrepreneur instinct instilled by aggression, however, the colonists were on their own.
In their aggressive state, the colonists were initially unable to work together, and soon began to split off into individual camps.
Each colonist commandeered a homestead, each ensuring that only he occupied his claimed territory.
Fortification began almost immediately after the occupation of these homes, for competition for resources was very high, and defense was required from raids.
Colonists purchased knowledge from the scientists with the resources they had scavenged, and the scientists in turn used the resources to conduct further research.
Once colonists realized the potential of factories to produce their fortifications, adaptation and immediate war over the possession of those factories ensued.
The scientists worked hard to master the technology left to them by the Ancients. After a brief period of isolation, the colonists realized they could not survive without each other.
The instinct for self-preservation again overrode the desire to kill, for there was just too much work to be done for any one person to survive on his own.
Colonists with similar interests began to band together, initially with non-aggression pacts, and then clans.
The clans formed began organized attacking patterns and resource pooling for more effective defense.
Working together, all clan individuals became stronger, and all clans became stronger in turn. The competition between clans became intense, survival was just as difficult as before, but knowledge kept increasing as scientists were paid off.
Soon the more intelligent clans began to dominate, utilizing tactics never before conceived. These dominant clans began to sweep over the countryside and control everything, leaving only destruction in their path.
It was then that the remaining colonists realized that the only means of survival was to learn and master the SECRETS OF WAR...
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