Worldbuilding

Introduction…

Humanity has built an interstellar civilization based on the replication of technological artifacts of the Xenoculture, an extinct alien civilization. Interstellar travel is achieved through the “x-engine”. The first x-engine jump occurred in 983 IE (Interstellar Era)

The wealthiest, most populated systems in the galaxy are the seven Primate Worlds. The highest among these is the planet Andar, a temperate world whose landmass is concentrated into one massive supercontinent. These are the other six Primate Worlds…

• Kasika: Considered the closest to nature, they are the most highly developed in the areas of environmental conservation and renewable technology.
• Njorde: The youngest of the Primate Worlds, theirs is a frontier-oriented culture of quiet toughness.
• Mavaros: The most martial and stratified society in the Primate Worlds. The military and police are integral parts of their government and social structure, with conscription as a long-standing policy. Forced labor is a common form of punishment and gladiatorial combat is their preferred sport.
• Chandora: Their culture is based around the study of cosmic cycles and ancestor worship.
• Shuiya: Their society prizes technological advancement and the experimental ethic, as evidenced by their development of the x-engine.
• Anlel: Seen as the most radical of the Primate Worlds, they have produced many of the most renowned writers and other artists, as well as skilled jurists.

The Primate Worlds were settled by sleeper ship colonists. Eight massive arks departed the mysterious Planet Zero, the homeworld of humanity, in 1 IE. These escapees were the last survivors of an apocalyptic event. The various Primate World cultures have different accounts of what doomed Planet Zero and what the planet was even called. The seven Primate Worlds are all located in the galaxy's First Quadrant. It was on these worlds that humans first encountered artifacts of the Xenoculture.

During the millennium of isolation from their peers, the people of the Primate Worlds developed physical adaptations to their new environments. Some developed stockier forms adapted to high gravity, others more graceful forms for low gravity, etc. Some people were also changed by their exposure to Xenoculture artifacts. Despite these changes the people of the Primate Worlds were still interfertile by the time they made contact after the development of the x-engine.

Long before humans left Planet Zero, the Xenoculture founded settlements on worlds throughout the galaxy. The galaxy is littered with their artifacts. It is estimated that they went extinct around 4000 BIE (Before the Interstellar Era). Speculation abounds as to what ended the Xenoculture. Some scientists theorize that multiple species composed the Xenoculture, while others surmise that extensive gene engineering wildly diversified their forms.

Xenoculture artifacts are often “alive”. They may generate fields with a variety of effects. One example is the refraction halo, which distorts the path of fast-moving projectiles within a certain volume. Combat in such a situation places a high premium on one’s melee fighting skills and equipment.

The Quadrants…

The galaxy is divided into five major regions...

• First Quadrant
• North Quadrant
• South Quadrant
• Lost Quadrant
• Core Zone

The First Quadrant encompasses the galactic West. It is where humanity arose millennia ago, on the now-mythical Planet Zero. Political power and economic leverage extends far from the Primate Worlds, influencing events throughout the galaxy.

The North Quadrant is richer in heavy elements than the rest of the galaxy, the remnants of a particularly violent cluster of supernova bursts millions of years ago. As a result, industrial operations dot this region.

The South Quadrant contains worlds that are the most pristine, with the least development by human industry or contact with the Xenoculture. Biodiversity is at its prime here, as evidenced by the existence of Loth: the site of the most prized trophy hunting creatures in the galaxy. Another such lush world is Rishma, the source of the galaxy’s most exquisite fabrics.

The Lost Quadrant encompasses the galactic East. is a large swathe of the galaxy full of hazardous anomalies like high-energy radiation belts and rogue nanite swarms. It is likely that these phenomena are leftovers from whatever destroyed the Xenoculture. There are no known worlds harboring multicellular life in this Quadrant. The largest expeditionary fleet ever fielded for exploring this region was turned back in 2581 IE after many of their ships were consumed by metal-eating lifeforms known as the feraxen.

The Core Zone is bordered by all four Quadrants. At its center lies Titantua, the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. The high density of star systems in this region means interstellar travel times are on average much shorter than in the Quadrants. As a result the Core Zone systems have frequently changed hands throughout galactic history.

Large stretches of galactic history revolve around the expansion of Primate Worlders into the various Quadrants, punctuated by periods of redivisional warfare for the interstellar spoils.

The Sectrons…

There is a reclusive faction of sentient machines called the Sectrons. They were created by a group of scientists in 4096 IE to serve humans as a labor force. The scientists then decided to purge them because they showed signs of sapience in the mid-4100s. By 4200 IE, all Sectrons who survived the Discontinuation fled to distant sectors of space in the Core Zone. In more recent years they have branched out to worlds in the Lost Quadrant, beyond the easy reach of humans. As mechanical lifeforms, the Sectrons are uniquely resilient against the Lost Quadrant’s dangers.

Some Sectron worlds are host to populations of humans who have elected to have their brains placed into life-sustaining vats as the culmination of many years of enlightenment training. Known as the Ascensionists, they are something between a monastic order and an ambassadorial corps.

The Ravelers...

The expansion of the Universe is a perpetual unraveling, a fabric that stretches at every point. Some people can sense the flow between every atom.

Most people are not sensitive to this because they have evolved to block out their awareness of this expansion. If one could perceive the flow, they would see their own cells drifting apart, the floor crawling under their feet, and air molecules slipping away into the distance. They would be driven to madness.

The brain has developed a neural dampener that blocks this sensation automatically. It is like ignoring the blind spot in your vision or the feeling of your own tongue.

There are ways to pass through the inner firewall. Different organizations use different techniques but it typically requires years of meditation, sensory deprivation, and controlled exposure to cosmic radiation to recalibrate one’s neurology. Many who tried to do this have died or lost themselves in a waking nightmare of dissolution.

Those who pass typically have an unusually thin firewall, a high degree of psychological resilience, and privileged access to trainers. But this ability comes with the price of constant alertness. Maintaining the sense is like holding a muscle flexed indefinitely. One moment of distraction, be it from fear or complacency, and the barrier will shut again. It may take weeks of intensive re-sensitization to pass through again.

With sufficient attunement to the expansion of the Universe these “Ravelers” can temporarily direct the cosmic flow and effect superhuman abilities. Telekinesis, levitation, and illusionary apparitions are but a few of the strange manifestations of these individuals’ extraordinary powers. Ravelers are the subject of legends and rumors, often the target of persecution. It is known that they existed in a raw and unguided form on Planet Zero; some say these proto-Ravelers contributed to that world's demise.

Sectrons, being non-biological, cannot become Ravelers. However their monastic allies the Ascensionists are famous for the strength of their raveling powers.

The seventh millennium…

The present date is 6134 IE.

The dominant power in the galaxy is the theocratic Andarian Kingdom, with its capital on the Primate World of Andar. There are outside powers that have varying relations with the Kingdom; chief among these are the privately-owned domains of Interworld Incorporated and the Sectron Autonomous Assembly.

The state religion of the Andarian Kingdom is a sect of the Demifaith known as the Ultimatum Doctrine. Near the end of the sixth millennium, the Ultimatum waged a bloody war against the Triadists, the founding sect of the Demifaith. Now the Triadists are all but extinct, their holistic and peaceful teachings corrupted by the power-hungry Brotherhood.

Power within the Andarian Kingdom is contested between the King, who derives his divine rulership rights from the Ultimatum Brotherhood, and the House of Worlds, a secular legislature composed of lawmakers from the settled systems throughout Kingdom space.

The largest corporation in the galaxy by revenue and employees is Interworld Incorporated. They own subsidiaries that provide nearly every good or service imaginable. Entire star systems have been purchased by Interworld executives and now operate like company towns. Unlike the zealously religious Kingdom, Interworld is known to do business with the Sectrons.

The most militant opposition to the Kingdom is the Allied Revolutionary Coalition (ARC), a network of urban councils, labor union representatives, dissident intellectuals, and militia groups. They were formed in response to the Brotherhood’s consolidation of power. Though various segments of ARC differ in finer ideological points, they share the goal of overthrowing the Kingdom and building a society beyond class divisions and private property. On more than one occasion ARC has fought against the extremist group known as Black Horizon, another faction which claims to oppose the rule of the Kingdom.

The Freewinders…

Another distinct culture is that of the Freewinders. They are the descendants of one of the eight sleeper ships that left Planet Zero. Unlike the other seven ships, these travelers found a world rendered uninhabitable by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. They have since adapted to space-dwelling life and are the most noticeably distinct from baseline humans of all the sleeper ship descendants. They are playfully called Windies and derogatorily called Nonworlders.

They were chased out of the First Quadrant around 2000 IE and have since diversified into new branches in the North, South, and the Core. At various points throughout galactic history they were permitted to undertake pilgrimages to the Iton system, where they pay respects to the world that died to give them their way of life. The Freewinders live on the fringes of galactic society and face discrimination based on stereotypes.