Post by FreelanceZero on Aug 29, 2020 14:10:55 GMT
The Nomadic Puppeteers
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Date of Founding
Vaguely 17 universal cycles prior to Modern Day
(The exact date is unknown to almost everyone save a select few)
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Flag/Symbol
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Xenobiology
-Significant Races-
Puppeteers
The mainstay and name holder of the Collective, the Puppeteers were the fledglings that had once reached to the stars, yearning for its secrets and treasures like all other empires that have been, that currently are, and that will be. Unlike almost all those to predate and succeed them, however, the Puppeteers have survived everything that has been thrown at them. Biologically immortal and having modified and refined their genetics countless times, even the average Puppeteer is a potent psionic.
Puppeteer-Synths
Another mainstay of the Puppeteers, though far more subtly, the Synthetics of the Puppeteers are for all intents and purposes Puppeteers with factory-produced origins than by live birth. As such, it is not unnatural at all for some Worldship fleets to have their population of Synthetics surpass the Puppeteers themselves, though neither side cares much for the difference. At the end of the day, a Synthetic has the mindset of a Puppeteer, the physiology of a Puppeteer, and the psionics of a Puppeteers. To the Collective, that's all that matters.
-Subspecies-
The Puppeteers have no subspecies at all. You are either a Puppeteer, a P-Synth, or a foreigner. Any foreign species who wish to induct themselves into the Puppeteers will ultimately and simply become a Puppeteer almost without exception.
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Languages Spoken
-Official Main Language:
Fayr
The official language of the Puppeteers, the Fayr language encompasses billions upon billions of words in both linguistics and thought. They have a description for every single object, quality, and the such that can be named and sometimes, can't be named by younger tongues. This language can only be described as a beautiful, elegant and melodic yet strangely melancholic language, harkening back to a greater, more prosperous and splendid era of unrivaled power. In all of Puppeteer history, only a handful of outsiders have come close to mastering the intricate, complex, hyper-descriptive, psionic-based and ultra-detailed language that commands the Puppeteer strata.
-Other Languages-
The Puppeteers have categorized a near-limitless number of foreign languages, though few are ever used in Puppeteer society. However, this fact in conjunction with some of the most powerful translators ever devised means that a Puppeteer almost never has to learn a different language outside of pure personal interest.
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Government
Meritocratic Communistic Stratocratic Technocracy
Seventeen universal cycles of creation, segregation, degregation, isolationism, and meddling has created the simple yet absolutely nightmarishly complex political machine that is Puppeteer politics. At its core, the Puppeteer government is ruled by the Adeptus, a group of specially-titled leaders with the appropriate skills, merits, knowledge, and charisma to leverage their position to maximum effect. However, as time passed, small values have been added and removed as a result of changing times and changing ideals. For instance, during the Second Golden Age, the Puppeteer race took a distinctly philosopher-scientist ideal that vaguely persists to current day.
The result is that the modern government, while inherently bogged down by its nature as a time abyss, the actions taken by the Adeptus us ultimately up to their own independent ideals as a result of their all-encompassing power in their specialized fields. This makes politics between Adeptus highly complex, as a Worldship could have anything from a love-hate relationship with one another, to a sense of all-encompassing genuine comradery and free speech amongst peers. This is only made worse when inter-fleet politics are involved, due to the staggering chasm of ideals that could occur between Worldfleets. For those outside of the Puppeteer political machine, it is for the better that you only need to interact with the Adeptus of the local Worldfleet. At such a level, the politics are simple enough that everyone involved is familiar with what is to be done, and what needs to be done.
For their main governmental body on the Worldship scale, the logic is extremely simple. The Adeptus is in charge of the overall operation and is to give out relatively generalized orders to those below him or her. Those people, in turn, collaborate with one another with the Adeptus to maximize the results and in turn pass down their own more specialized orders to those below them to carry out. This streamlining eases the bureaucracy of the Puppeteers and makes it easier to catch interlopers in the system, though it obviously causes numerous other issues in its wake. The list below, asides from the Associate, is only local to the Chorus of Eternity Worldfleet.
-Main Ruler/s-
The Associate, Sovereign Entity
Otherwise known as Osten, the Associate is the de facto 'ruler' of the Collective, without any shred of doubt in any Puppeteers' minds. His combination of being a philosopher-king, the most all-knowing entity they know of, and singlehandedly maintaining the Collective's vast network of contacts and communications has earned him the immovable position as the total ruler of the Puppeteers. However, Osten cares little for being a despot, and instead allows almost total leeway in terms of what a Worldfleet is allowed to do, and is rarely ever involved with Puppeteer politics.
Sturm the Fleetmaster
Representing the armed forces of the Puppeteers, Sturm served as an Adeptus in a Warfleet previously. As such, the man has a methodical approach to his problem-solving that belies an unexpectedly flexible mind for a Puppeteer. Though, for other species, his mind can only be described as intelligent but otherwise remarkably average for what would otherwise be a Fleet Admiral.
Avenia the Tinkerer
A free thinker by nature, Avenia represents all of the non-armed forces in the Worldfleet and takes care of the engineering aspects of the Worldship itself. Her personality can only be described as bipolar, as when working, her personality is exceptionally single-tracked not unlike most Puppeteers, but when given free time she is the most active, energetic, and emotive Puppeteer in the whole Worldfleet.
-Figures of Power-
Hephistotles, Associate's Image
One of Osten's many, many, many look-alike placeholders, Hephistotles is the Image in charge of overseeing the activities of the Chorus of Eternity and reporting back to the big man himself. An elegant and graceful man, his appearance is exactly that of Osten's save for his monocle over his right eye and his 18th century gentleman's attire. Polite and immaculate, Hephistotles acts not unlike a philosopher during the budding ages of human science and is not above making the occasional coy joke.
Lephi the Commander
In charge of all planetary-based armed forces for the Chorus of Eternity Worldfleet, Lephi is a strict and martial man who, despite his no-nonsense demeanor, has his own unusual sense of humor. While not a poor choice to hang around, it is agreed upon by the other five Adepts of power that Lephi is the most boring of the six, but his relatively flat personality belies unexpected loyalties.
Azun the Seamstress
By far the most enigmatic Adeptus aboard the Chorus of Eternioty, Azun is named as the Seamstress fort her special ability involving nanofilament wiring and her inhuman mastery of using them for both utility and combat, even amongst the Puppeteers. However, it is well-known that she often spaces out and sometimes has trouble recognizing her surroundings regardless of time or place, seemingly recalling memories and tales of a bygone life. Easily identifiable by her hair having a single lock of white hair on an otherwise black-haired head.
Fujiwa the Factory
A stoic and serious woman, Fujiwa takes great pride in her studious work. Most of her time spent awake is spent producing the lifeblood of the Chorus of Eternity and it is a rare sight to spy her indulging on a rest period. Her single-tracked mind is not unlike that of her people, but rather her intentions for such hard work, fearing any failure to her people. Such a time is the only time anyone will find the cracks in her facade.
Tanni the Scientist
A meek and shy P-Synth, Tanni nonetheless takes great care in her work and enjoys her frequent spelunking sessions into the Datacore. An unusual point of note is that Tanni and Azun have an extremely personal, yet platonic relationship as it is a frequent sight to see the two women together.
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Empire Culture
Science Cult (Fallen Empire)
Puppeteers have an explicit, insatiable thirst for knowledge and information no matter where they are. This drives them to study and learn about the world around them and stow such knowledge away in grand archives for use and processing. Throughout time and space this is the trait that has dominated the Puppeteer Collective, all the way to the days where the first of their kind raised a rock to slay an animal, instead of with natural claws of fangs. With Osten's intervention and oversight, their path has been a rather pure and straightforward one in comparison to many other races.
However, their single-minded dedication to their craft has resulted in several antisocial tendencies in their society. Even with their psionics, most Puppeteers lack empathy towards other sapient beings, and often feel little to no emotion on the act of killing, provided the killed was not one of their own. Even then, there are Puppeteers who show no reaction upon learning that their kin had been killed, even in gruesome cases involving torture and evisceration. To many Puppeteers, there is only information and the flow of data, with little room for inefficient tasks such as emotion, socialization, or anything outside of basic necessities. This leaves much to be desired when interacting with their kind.
However, it was not always like this. Rather, in some Fleets, such a mentality is very rare. Warfleets, in other words, a Worldfleet specializing in military actions, generally seek and train individuals to have wider lateral thinking capabilities. Going further, Godfleets (or Ascendent Fleets), utilizing technologies from their various Golden Ages, are generally somewhat easy to get along with, even if rather antisocial and aloof as strangers, as well as displaying a wide range of emotions befitting of a race with the wisdom of the ages. Unfortunately, much of this are mere vestiges of what was once an epic empire that very nearly transcended time and space.
-Class System-
Adeptus
The rulers and leaders by default, members of the Adeptus (Short form: Adept) are chosen either by other Adeptus, or by the decree of the Associate and/or his Images. Candidates are chosen for their general intellect, skill and merit in their respective field, charisma, and management skills to maximize their potential before being tested by a trial run of various sorts. Sometimes, it is done voluntarily and with the nominated consent, but more often than not the testing is done well without the to-be Adept's consent. The reasoning behind it is that a person in such a position should know how to perform under unexpected stress, and is often seen by outsiders as a form of hazing of the most extreme order, caring rather little for the physical or mental condition of the people involved. However, some care is taken to ensure either the subject returns alive or can be reincarnated, and the results are Adeptus who have been hardened by the experiences of their ordeal. A note should be made that this method is rarely used for fleets that understand the definition of sympathy.
Magnus
Only held by those of great esteem, it is entirely possible to be a Sage and a Magnus, or an Adeptus and a Magnus. However, for Sages, the title of Magnus is more important, just as the title of Adeptus ranks higher than Magnus. This rank is only given to those of great merit and/or outstanding contribution, and is an indicator on who can be relied upon both in daily life and in times of need. As such, it is not uncommon to see an Adeptus being flanked by many Magnus, or a Magnus acting as the teacher to a group of Acolytes.
Sage
Those with great experience and age in their fields are often considered Sages by rite of passage and seniority. Generally, the threshold that determines a Sage is an arbitrary one set by the local Worldfleet's Adeptus, and holding the title is widely considered a rite of passage and badge of honor for many Puppeteers.
Acolyte
If a Puppeteer is not an Adeptus nor a Sage, than he can only be an Acolyte. This term is a rather relative one, as a Puppeteer could be a thousand years old and still be considered an Acolyte. The reason for this is a matter of experience and perspective; for a Puppeteer who could potentially live indefinitely, a thousand years is a relatively short span of time. This is especially true of the most ancient of Puppeteers, some of the oldest of whom have seen the Big Bang of the universe they are residing in, and beyond it.
-National Views of Themselves and Others-
Modern-day Puppeteers widely see themselves as the harbingers of hard-earned wisdom, though they do not particularly care if the younger races do not listen. After all, they will learn those same lessons one way or another, and the matters of the fledglings are beneath the task of seeking enlightenment. However, the Puppeteers also consider themselves the guardians against the ever persistent threat of the Nightmare Plague, and seek to dissuade and warn younger factions against its testing where they are aware of it. In the case of a Plague outbreak, the Puppeteers will unhesitantly enforce quarantine protocols of the harshest magnitude to ensure it does not explode into another War of Heavens.
-Education-
Puppeteer children and acolytes are tested by running a gauntlet of neural analysis while going about several menial tasks to determine their aptitude based on their patterns of thought, and assigned to various departments based upon those results. From there on out, it is one part theoretical discussion, three parts textbook on table, and eight parts hands-on apprenticeship. This is the result of Puppeteer conventions on efficiency, and it is considerably more efficient to teach a new student on the fly with his hands on the tools and equipment than filling the student with theory then asking him to build something functional without even the smallest shred of experience or insight. Even in the various Golden Ages, this was the case, and it is extremely unlikely that this form of education will change anytime in the near future.
-Daily Life-
Puppeteer daily life normally revolves around work, more work, some break time time and sleep. The concept of humanitarianism is utterly lost on most Puppeteers, seeing leisure as a complete waste of time. However, in Warfleets and Godfleets, the rigors of life are greatly relaxed compared to the standard Worldfleet, where the concept of rest, relaxation, entertainment and personal fulfilment are more commonly known and respected.
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Religious Beliefs
The Puppeteers have absolutely no spiritual or religious beliefs, as they have technology involving the former and constantly ends up debunking or correcting the latter with their insatiable thirst for knowledge.
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Economic System
-Currency-
None
The Puppeteers have absolutely no form of currency, instead relying on a hard limit of supplies for every period of time, for every individual based on seniority, experience, and merit. For outsiders, trading is done with bartering or a rudimentary credit system managed by the Associate's Image, with the 'cost' of materials depending on its availability and demand.
-How Goods/Services Are Acquired-
All Puppeteers are expected to work their share to the median of their work group, and in exchange, all necessities are provided to them indefinitely as long as the person continues his work as expected. In general, a Puppeteer can expect about the same resources provided to them as any other person in their social bracket, and there generally isn't an overwhelming difference between the quality of life for an Adept and a Acolyte in most fleets.
-Empire Trading-
Trading with foreign nations is done by barter and credit, and only if absolutely mandatory. Most often, one can expect the Puppeteers to import vast quantities of raw materials to sate the ever-present thirst of their manufactories, while the Puppeteers are most willing to trade scientific collaborations and some of their equipment and technology. However, for those who prove their worth in knowledge, the Puppeteers are known to trade knowledge for knowledge, not unlike their resident god.
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Astrography
-Capital-
City of the Cosmos
The de facto 'capital' of the Accord is the City of the Cosmos, which so happens to also be the single largest concentration of Puppeteers anywhere ever. A Dyson sphere 3AU in radii, the Cosmos is known for its ability to mass-produce Worldships should the need arise, up to eighteen Worldships every century. Home to billions upon trillions of personnel living within its 200,000km thick shell, there is no shortage of space aboard the super construct with its 'datacore' being the very star that the Dyson sphere utilizes as a source of energy. With a single mass of Quantum Plasma Processors making up its Sentient Sun, the neutron star is constantly kept stable by means of excess material extraction and careful monitoring of the living sun's fusion progress as to allow the star to continue its function as the watchful guardian of its own realm and people.
Though today it simply hangs around and provides liaison support for passing Worldfleets, it is undeniable that the Cosmos Worldfleet is one of three Ascendant fleets that the Puppeteers still have in the current day and as such are widely respected for their power and knowledge.
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Military
-Overall Structure (Military Branches)-
Navy Elements
The Puppeteer Navy is the spearhead of all military operations, as space dominance must be achieved before the Puppeteers are willing to land troops on a planet. Many times, army landings have been foregone for the simplicity of harvesting a planet after its space elements have been crushed, any living beings still on planet would be sealed for death by then regardless. As such, control of space is critical and pivotal to Puppeteer operations and as such their navy is built to reflect it.
Army Elements
Though certainly the neglected and underappreciated branch of the Puppeteer's combat elements, the Army is still a fearsome and ruthless opponent on the field of battle, unafraid of smashing and killing any who can't or won't run fast enough from their advance. Puppeteer armies are notorious for their no-prisoners policy, as it is resource-inefficient to return soldiers to the enemy or to supply captured prisoners with any kind of accommodations. As such, while the Puppeteers' armies are notably weaker than their naval elements, that knowledge is cold comfort to the soldiers who have to fight the white-robed, faceless sociopaths that sweep and burn all life in their way.
Necromaton Corps Field Operatives
Rarely deployed as their role is to work on experimental technology, they are still fielded on occasion to test new hardware that would otherwise be extremely hazardous to be handled by the common infantryman. However, the Necromaton Corps is known for far more than that; infiltration, interrogation, psychic manipulation, sabotage and assassination are also within their field of expertise and many of their Operatives can be mistaken for the ghostly Hunter-Killer Teams deployed by the army.
-Fighting Doctrine/Rules of Engagement-
Puppeteer doctrine can be summed up in three words: Unfeeling, Merciless and Efficient. Puppeteer soldiers rarely differentiate civilians from military and they strike mercilessly and rapidly, aiming not only to break enemy morale and cause a rout but to then inflict massive casualties to prevent the target unit from reforming properly in a fallback line. Any action is a valid action and most commanders care not if there are collateral damage caught in the wake of Puppeteer advances. Though some Puppeteer commanders will allow a grace period for evacuation, many more ruthlessly destroy everything that has their enemy's mark on it, without a care in the world if it's a military transport or a hospital ship.
Puppeteers generally favor mobile warfare, rapidly crashing through enemy forces and attacking the entire enemy front from the back as the front surge forward to cause mass damage, and their equipment was largely built to reflect it. In modern times most Worldfleets have a dysfunctional set of military equipment that rarely is optimized for their mobile warfare techniques. However, as a Worldfleet rediscovers lost knowledge, their ability to optimize and adapt grows. A Warfleet is typically well-equipped to carry out mobile warfare while a Godfleet offensive can almost be considered to be unstoppable.
-Approx Troop Numbers-
Across the multitudes of fleets, there is no real estimate for how many soldiers that the Puppeteers could bring to bear should their entire Collective wage war on a singular target. That being said, it is extremely unlikely that such a scenario is to happen outside of a potential War of Heavens scenario, and as such each Worldship can only realisticly rely on locally hired support or their own local troops. Still, their numbers are in the billions, and the average Puppeteer trooper is well-armed and well-armored. Combined with their liberal use of combat robots and the Puppeteers' own namesake Puppets, a Puppeteer army rarely suffers a shortage of manpower.
-Approx Naval Numbers-
Currently, the Puppeteer Collective has direct contact to a total of 2800 ships and super-constructs. However, the numbers are estimated to be considerably higher at 1.4 million unconfirmed fleets that could be roaming the multiverse. Each Worldfleet and above are expected to have, at minimum, one million other ships to support it in its activities and security.
In Ancerious, the Puppeteers are limited to a few thousand ships in their local fleet as a result of somehow losing their entire fleet minus their Worldship. In addition, the Associate has taken personal interest in the actions of the Chorus Worldfleet and has decreed that they can have no more than a set number of ships.
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Goals
The Puppeteers are relatively simple people with relatively simple aspirations. As a result, despite the amount of sheer power that the Puppeteers can come to wield, it is rarely ever used against others, save for their eternal enemy the Nightmare Plague. Their only real goal is to study and travel to places to further those studies, an endless journey through an endless multiverse.
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First Contact Procedures
First contact with the Puppeteers can vary from overbearing all the way to benign, depending on the philosophy of the Worldfleet involved. The greatest example of differences is between that of the Sky Rift Fleet that the Accord had fought their Great War against, and the Chorus of Eternity Fleet that is currently in Ancerious. Where the Sky Rift immediately demanded a planet with a cache of rare resources on it and resulted in an interstellar war of genocide and survival, the Chorus of Eternity chooses to ease their way into the community, preferring diplomacy and tact over brute force and scare value.
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Technology
Puppeteer Technology Compendium
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History
Puppeteer History - The Nine Eras
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Optional:
Motto
"Enlightenment Guides Our Path."
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Anthem
The Star of Princesses
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General Affiliations
-Affiliations-
The Associate
By being their god and the most knowledgeable being that the Puppeteers know of, Osten AKA The Associate is by default their overarching ruler. Yet, Osten's position is officially detatched to that of the Puppeteer hierarchy, marking him as the holder of a highly unusual position in any empire, faction or nation.
Triarch Industries
Having become one of Triarch Industries' new major benefactors, it would not be entirely correct to call the two powers "allies," but they are most certain entwined with one another as a result of the standing pact both sides have agreed to. Despite their differing objectives in life, the two factions are amiable with one another, having found common ground on the topic of efficiency and effectiveness.
-Allies-
The Gardeners
An elusive and even more enigmatic faction, their origins and loyalties remain forever shrouded in mystery. However, one thing is undeniable; they show up where the Nightmare Plague show up, and they seldom interfere with Puppeteer quarantines. Whenever they appear, it is in the aid of any subjugation of an outbreak situation. However, as the Gardeners reveal extremely little of their goals or objectives, it is impossible to accurately discern their motives behind such actions. As such, the Gardeners are considered an ally of circumstance but by no means are the Puppeteers comfortable around any of the Gardeners, nor do any of the Puppeteer leadership trust the Gardeners by any meaningful stretch.
-Enemies-
The Nightmare Plague
Though not an official faction nor race of their own, the Nightmare Plague is what caused the Fifth Era by its lonesome. Once toted as the solution to entropy and the miracle matter to end all future engineering issues, now it is eternally and unanimously scorned by the Puppeteers for its uncontrollability, destructiveness, and alienness of its inexplicable properties that cause no shortage of headaches for those who have to deal with its quarantine.
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Greatest Accomplishment
By far, the greatest achievement of the Puppeteers was the heights they had reached not simply once, but a multitude of times. They have shown their tenacity and dedication to their art, and the results that follow. That ember of ambition still burns within the heart of their people, no matter how subdued.
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Additional Empire Information
The Puppeteers do not research so much as they recover ancient technologies from their once-golden past. They are also very apprehensive about using foreign tech, and as such will rarely reverse engineer the technologies of others.
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