Talancir

I have internet again! Such a good feeling. Let's celebrate!

There are two sentient species on Mobius. The most numerous are the demi-human multi-species known collectively as Mobians. Mobians are the half-human, sentient analogues of the planet's fauna. They range in height, depending on what animal analogue they derive from, but on average, Mobians can range from Small (between two and three feet), Medium (between four and five feet), and Large (between six and seven feet). Mobians have a shortened lifespan: physical development is considered complete at the age of sixteen, and the average life expectancy is sixty five years. 

Mobians are the most socially stable of the three races. In the less accessible places of the world, Mobian Civilizations have been at a much lower level of development. They range from pre-Industrial to Industrial Age in terms of technology, economy and society.

The other species are Humans. This species are split into two sub-species, known as Overlanders and Bunker Dwellers (this term has fallen out of use; the common reference is now "Human"). Overlanders are the descendants of humans who had existed on the surface for a time, or are descended from humans whose Bunkers became prematurely uninhabitable. A slight degeneration of their genome over time resulted in a lower than average birth rate and lifespan, and a shorter average height.

Humans are descended from those refugees that lived in multi-generational underground structures called Bunkers. Dating from the time of the Cataclysm, these Bunkers sustained their populations many, many centuries until emergence. Genetically, very little variation occurred in isolation, and are considered the benchmark when rating the other two species.

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StH:WoD now has a bibliography! This is what I've got so far for my resources. More to come as the universe is expanded upon!

References

Shorto, Russell. Amsterdam. New York: Random House LLC, 2013. Print.

Ingelbien, Raphaël. 'Paradoxes Of National Liberation: Lady Morgan, O'connellism, And The Belgian Revolution'. Éire-Ireland 42.3 (2007): 104-125. Web.

Kishlansky, Mark A, Patrick J Geary, and Patricia O'Brien. Civilization In The West. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995. Print.

Brucato, Phil, and Stewart Wieck. Mage. Clarkston, GA: White Wolf, 1995. Print.

During Labor Day, I moved out of my parents' house into my first apartment. My own internet is planned, but that will have to wait until I finish furnishing my new place. Updates are slow as a consequence.

I've also reevaluated Soleanna's position in the world. I originally equated Soleanna to Amsterdam, but upon more research into the history of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Soleanna would match up more easily within the storyline if it was Antwerp (Brussels?) instead. I could easily replace it with Venice just to keep with the game continuity, but I feel that it's needed elsewhere.

This leaves, of course, the question of Princess Elise. Where does she fit? Is she the relative (by blood or by marriage) of King Leopold I? Is she rather the representative of the Belgian Resistance? Questions, questions. If she hailed from Northern Italy, I suppose she could be the daughter of a Venetian Doge, but I kinda need it to work with her with a Dutch background, rather than an Italian one.

Anyone have any input on this?

I've considered the many different ways that I can get STH:WoD off the ground, and a forum must be the central feature of the RP. It wouldn't work otherwise, especially if I'd want people to participate. As to the visual aspect of the RP, I suppose I'll have to get drawing again. People love a good webcomic, after all, and my Liberation of Soleanna story might be a good platform for that.

The datadumps I've been making will have to be in a wiki-style format. Perhaps a wiki attached to the forum would be nice. Otherwise, a massive interlinked Google Docs setup might be okay.

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Finally, I've been doing some conceptual work on the process of Roboticization. First off, I should talk about HIT Marks. HIT stands for Hyper Intelligence Technologies. This is a whole series of things made by the Technocracy, but said things are codified into the creation of artificial life. The word "Mark" is a reference to the iteration of the creation.  HIT Mark I's were essentially golems. Imagine the Chinese Terracotta Army, but actively trying to kill you. HIT Mark II's were like clockwork automatons. 

The standard model in WoD is the HIT Mark V, which are cyborg clones. hidden weaponry and such. a HIT Mark VI is in the prototype stage, which is a "T-1000"-like being made of nanotech robots. But Robotnik's procedure is considered Mark VII.

Roboticization takes a living being and changes the genetic and chemical structure of a person. It makes them physically compatible with man-made technology. For example, it converts all Carbon in a person's body (Carbon being a polyatomic non-metal), and replaces it with Silicon, a metalloid.

The process is obviously quite painful, and so Mind techniques are employed to erase the memory of the procedure. The technique used was imperfect, however; it ended up wiping their entire memory. Robotnik therefore had to copy the subject's memories onto harddrive so he could upload relevant data needed for the subject's basic operation. Menials didn't need more than knowing how to breathe or how to walk, for example. the more complex the duty, the more data needed to be uploaded.

With the subject being based on silicon, and the mind being converted to data packets, finer controls could be uploaded. and the subject could then be augmented according to their task. muscles replaced with mimetic polymers was one such 'upgrade.' But these are the people who go on to become HIT Marks. a reduced form of the procedure involving the Mind techniques is used en masse for suggestive purposes. It's not as effective due to its being broadcast instead of being directly applied, but it's successful enough to where subtle changes can be observed in test populations. There's also low risk of paradox due to the nature of people anyway. "either you believe it or you don't," but the more you believe it, the more it tends to build on itself.

So that's the background for Roboticization; now to apply the correct Spheres to the spell.

I totally want to do a Let's Play Final Fantasy VII before the Remake comes out.

Work has been exhausting, but the planning for Central City has taken almost as long. It's been an overall good thing for WoD because it'll let me add some inner contention to the UEF.

Central City is unique among the Human city-states because it has a strong, primarily Mobian identity. Its Bunker inhabitants assimilated into the native culture (the Kingdom of Prussia) and very few of its original aspects are left. The city weathered the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire and led the alliance against the Imperium Francais with distinction. In the aftermath, the Central Eurish Confederation was formed as a protectorate of the UEF as a means to unify the various Mobian states following the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine, an Imperial client state.

Founded with the best intentions, the CEC is becoming defunct as its central government becomes increasingly weak and ineffective. A further rivalry between the Osterreich and Central City threatens to split the CEC along factional lines.

For now, political tensions are stable,  but a young, royalist Junker named Otto Von Bismarck is making waves in the Central City legislature. Bismarck's star is in the ascendency, and the emergence of a modern nation-state is only decades away. What this will mean for the rest of the UEF, only time will tell. For the men and women of the mystical societies, Bismarck's future plot will be a major victory for the New World Order and the Technocratic Union. The Ascension War continues...