Can we make a setting SO horrible and evil that nobody would want to infiltrate it? That people who would want to play it would AUTOMATICALLY be considered crazy evil reprobate?

This is my attempt at such a thing. None of the factions are endearing. If you want to write one as a Mary Sue, you will be a terrible person. Can you play in it? Yes. Can you make awesome stories from it? More than likely.

For now, this is just a Battletech alternate setting and a possible far future of the Inner Sphere, but this could evolve into something completely different.

This is also a work in progress. The different sections will be split into new pages as time goes on. For now it is mostly a dump.

Professor HeyTeeEn.

KRSTL

Ketamine Replacement Synthetic Technical Laurel was discovered by humanity a little before The Great Dark separated most human nations but was not exploited until the rise of the Empire of the Sphere, after the synthetic plant was discovered to have a wide variety of uses, mainly in the medical sphere. While most people view KRSTL as a plant, it is a collection of nanomachines of unknown origin with an extreme reproductive cycle which can be reconfigured into a variety of ways. Unfortunately, the cultivation of KRSTL is devastating for any local ecosystem and cannot controlled outside of very specific environments, which are theorized to be where KRSTL would be native. Those planets which can consistently produce the nanomachines are called Eternal KRSTL and require a very specific set of environmental circumstances. For the majority of the KRSTL production, uninhabited worlds get a strain of the KRSTL deposited on it and a massive workforce starts managing its growth and control the spread as best they can, before in a few decades the entire planet is consumed, leaving it a barren waste.

The most basic product derived from KRSTL is the depression treatment drug Euphoria, which is available without prescription within the Empire, but generally heavily controlled in most other nations. 1mg of KRSTL is all is really needed for the effects to be felt, the rest of the 100mg pills being various products to prevent KRSTL from spreading to the patient. The effects of Euphoria, other than mood control, is minor cellular repair and slow repairs to the patient’s neural network, ensuring long lives for the user. Side-effects include reduction in self-awareness, loss of sensations in the extremities and hyper-focus.

A second key by-product of KRSTL is regenerative surgery. When properly combined with the genetic material and cellular composition of a subject, KRSTL can regrow about any part of the human body into a fully functional replacement. This can range from simple organs to entire limbs, with the time required to create a replacement being only a few minutes to a few hours. The required amount of KRSTL for this varies based on the complexity of the thing being regenerated and the speed at which it needs to be generated. The recipient does need to take a steady dose of hormones for a few weeks after the replacement to prevent KRSTL from spreading throughout the body and potentially killing the host.

The combat drug MetA is also derived from KRSTL, with the opposite effect as Euphoria. KRSTL in the MetA compound accelerates neural activity, reaction time and awareness. This has become the standard for most militaries, where microdosing MetA allows soldiers to react more effectively to larger doses of the compound when required. The increase in aggression and twitchiness side-effects from the compound are not regarded as major issues for soldiers, either. Of course, civilian uses of MetA should be heavily regulated, but in the Empire, some entire planets are running on MetA to keep producing war machines for the Succession War.

Another application of KRSTL which is not often reported on is as a general fuel for spaceships. Compared to conventional reactant, KRSTL-additive reactant is about 15% more efficient, allowing for in-system spaceflight. The expense linked to using KRSTL as a fuel additive, however, prevents it from being a general use additive.

The Great Dark

After the Great Wars of the antiquity, humanity found itself in a golden age of space exploration and colonization, as technology was now allowing for long fold jumps than ever before. New terraforming technologies also allowed planets previously completely inhospitable to human life to be settled by those brave enough to do it. Then, suddenly, things went to hell. Constant use of long-distance fold jumps led to some form of collapse in the galaxy, stopping all interstellar communication, any travel more than a few light-years with incredibly long recharge time between jumps, sometimes years. The Golden Age civilization disappeared in a single generation and for a thousand years, humanity was cut from each other.

While a few minor nations emerged at the time, but three true major powers came out as the Human Improvement Project spread their new version of the KF-drive that allowed humanity to travel the stars effectively again. The Empire of the Sphere had been maintaining the remnants of the original realm of humanity and its nearby colonies. Spinward and coreward stood Granada Sultanate, following the words of the Prophet into better future, while spinward and rimward was the Mercantile Association of Planets.

Empire of the Sphere

Background

The Empire of the Sphere is the origin of all of mankind, even though the capital of the Empire is no longer the original home of humanity. Compared to all other spacefaring nations, the Empire is so large it cannot really be fathomed by most politicians. In order to keep everything under control (somewhat), the Empire is split into satrapies, which are further divided into provinces, all the way down to the local planetary governors. This neo-feudal government structure generally works fairly well, with each level of government having to pay tribute in men and wealth to the structure above them.

At the core of the Empire and its ability to control such large territories, however, is the KRSTL. A psychoactive substance derived from a destructive “synthetic plant”, KRSTL is pretty much the reason anyone does anything in the Empire. The military exists to protect the production of KRSTL. The Explorer Corp exists to find planets that can be infected by the KRSTLplant, destroying its natural ecosystem to produce it. Citizens spend most of their wealth purchasing KRSTL and KRSTL derived products. Nobles use their power to secure larger and larger stockpiles of it, both of personal use and for sale.

In its most base state, KRSTL leads the user to euphoria and total relaxation, while also improving health by releasing synthetic compounds in the user’s bloodstream which repairs cellular damage amongst other things. While this base compound is the one most sold, KRSTL derived products exist for a variety of purposes, including combat drugs, simple medical product and even more advanced one allowing for the regrowth of lost limbs, as an example. The fact the KRSTLplant destroys entire worlds to be produced is a side-effect the Empire is perfectly fine with, same with buying “resources” (slaves, mostly) to enable the production on those doomed worlds, which are not governed by the same laws as the rest of the Empire.

Internal Factions

The Satraps (their actual titles vary depending on the specific lord) of the High Families are the true holders of power in the Empire. Those High Families sit on the Landsraad Council, where they discuss policies and legalities, when not involved in internal Not-So-Secret wars with one another. Lower noble families sit on their own version of the council, where they can voice their displeasure, but not affect any real change. To balance this, the Emperor or Empress wields veto right on any discussion, and this is backed by the might of the Imperial Navy and Army, which on its own is far superior to any one satrap, but not comparable to the might of all the satraps combined. The sheer power and wealth of any satrap makes them more powerful than any of the other nations of Known Space on their own.

The major problem right now in the Empire is that the nation has been in a constant state of civil war for at least 200 years, as every satrap is trying to secure the Imperial Throne in a weird succession war based on the fact Empress Tanziba Ur-Abouzeid Al-Vitha created a hundred bioengineered “heirs” for herself and married them to each and every satrap in a weird powerplay, attempting to use this as mean of control over the Landsraad. What she didn’t expect, however, was that every unmarried heir, including her heiress apparent, was murdered using a KRSTLborne virus, leaving her without a clear heir, and all the satraps claimed ascendance at the same time. The cousin of the previous Empress took the throne on her death and is family been ruling “in-interim” ever since, while the satrap “debate”.

The Succession War is strange however, as it doesn’t affect the Empire’s general populace in any significant way. People still work, factories still mass-produce consumer goods and weapons and, in the end, the only thing which might change is who they pay taxes to, and who they buy KRSTL from. There is no increase in social mobility as the Satraps and minor lords all have their own recruiting pool from which to draw from. The only real difference is the appearance of foreign mercenaries, hired for plausible deniability, in the various house militaries, sometimes injecting massive amounts of wealth in a single planet before leaving, leading to a monetary crash.

Technology level

The Empire has the most advanced technology of all human space-born power, but its distribution is extremely varied. Most of the population lives in early space age dwellings and planetary compounds, but the larger worlds and capitals are far beyond that. In terms of military technology, local governments will have rather primitive or basic equipment, while as you move higher up in the hierarchy, things become far more terrifying, up to a point the Imperial Navy and Army are capable to suppress a rebellion in a single world with minimal troops.

Kingdom of Dieahum

Background

Dieahum is an offshoot of the Empire of the Sphere, a necessary evil in the eyes of many more sophisticated fellows. A minor lord and an Exploration Corp group gathered and created a new nation after running away from imperial rule to found Dieahum nearly a thousand years ago, and they were recontacted by the Empire about 400 years ago. This actually was a boon to the Kingdom, who now had a massive client for their main export: slaves raised on their worlds and captured in raids against their neighbors and disorganized colonies. While slavery is technically illegal in the Empire, the fact KRSTL-producing worlds are not TECHNICALLY colonies, they are used in large quantities on the collapsing worlds.

The Kingdom has a heavily structured caste system, starting with the King at the very top, who rules by divine right and is a direct descendant of Akunanse, the Lord of the Night. Underneath him is the warrior caste, who serves at his discretion and serve in all military endeavors. Both men and women are expected to serve in the military if they are from the warrior caste, with the elite Amazon soldiers being regarded as the peak of military prowess and the ideal mother. Underneath lie the Trader caste, who are “Free Men” serving the King and the Warriors, allowed to own property (but not weapons) and engage in trade. Most merchants and skilled tradesmen are in this caste. Below them is the Infertile Caste, composed of eunuchs who are meant to serve all the superior castes. Any male children which cannot “serve the nation” is castrated and trained as a servant to anyone above them. Most members of the Trader caste end up having a few children who join the eunuch caste, often keeping them as servants to their own house. Eunuchs are not allowed to own any property outside what they can carry. Below the eunuch is the Breeder caste, which includes all women outside of the King or Warrior Caste. Women are not property and can technically engage in trade with other Breeders. Unlike slaves, they cannot be traded and are integral “members” of a household, however, and have limited rights, including the ability to divorce an abusive husband. At the very bottom of the caste system are the Slaves, who have no rights, ability to own property or ability to acquire wealth. Children of slaves are slaves, and the caste grows with every raid done by the Kingdom on their neighbors but diminishes quickly as they are sold en masse to various other nations. Anything which cannot be enslaved by the Kingdom is viewed as a pest, and will be exterminated with extreme prejudice.

Internal factions

The Kingdom is living its best life right now, selling massive amounts of slaves and buying everything they can from the Imperial war machine, while also sending their warriors to act as mercenaries in the Succession War. The current king is Ghezo the XVIIth, who just celebrated is 14^th birthday with a massive gladiator fight on the capital, which led to the death of about twenty thousand slaves. The rest of his half-brothers are content with serving Ghezo since he gained the Divine Right after having a dream from Akunanse, which told him he needed to build his army and be ready for a great war.

Malcontent within the Trader class is growing, however, as they lose ground to foreign merchants, doctors and scientists settling in Dieahum.

Technology level

The lower castes of Dieahum live in squalor and with as little comfort and technology as possible, many of them resorting to pre-space age technology to try to survive. Even as you climb up in the social ladder, truly modern and advanced technology is only available to the most powerful and richest, and even there it is only a close approximation of what you would find in the Empire of the Sphere.

As far as military technology goes, Dieahum spends a good portion of their budget importing “mid-tier” weapons from the Empire, as they are not allowed to buy anything more advanced. Local military production is limited by local technological level, with combat vehicles and early-generation battlemechs being produced, while orbital berths produce what would amount to antiquated jumpships and dropships, but more than enough for what is needed for the defense of the nation and the required raids.

Aztematuc Federation

Background

The Federation is a union of “planet-states” sharing similar culture and religion. The Federation developed at the same time as the Empire, but separately, with many colonies separated during The Great Dark uniting under a single banner. The central tenant of the Federation is the religious supremacy of 101 Faced Gods, which is the one true religion, which must be spread to all other human nations, while satiating the Thirst of the Gods.

And thirsty are the Gods. While most Faced Gods require a small sacrifice every day by the Priestly Caste, the Chief God Aztematucamakatal requires the blood of 100 men, women or other a day at least. The citizens are not required to view the sacrifices, but on holidays, it is great family fun, including roast meats and cocoa drinks. The technoziggurats show the blood flow on their outsides, letting people know they are protected from the Faced Gods wrath while they work on feeding the glorious Temple Militaries in gathering future sacrifices and spread the True Word.

KRSTL was illegal for the longest time within the Federation, but recent trade with the Empire has led to KRSTL-derivatives being used for its medical benefits, while the psychoactive compound has been used in small amounts by some of the lower rungs of the society.

Internal Factions

The Temples are the true power in the Federation, and while all Temples exist to serve the gods, they each have their own ideologies and agenda. The Temple of Aztematucamakatal is the highest one, as the Universal Entity is the one which requires the most veneration to keep the universe from collapsing upon itself, and its Temple Guards are generally the best equipped and get the first pick of all prisoners for sacrifice. The hierarchy afterwards is always in flux, with each of the other hundred gods trying to work towards being the distant second in terms of wealth and prestige. Even the Lower Gods who do not require human blood sacrifice also play the game, hoping to one day being worthy enough for the full blood sacrifice ceremony.

Technology level

The Federation has been advancing its technology with massive imports from other nations, especially the Empire. The standard of living has been going up, but the dependence on KRSTL has been growing in the population, which might cause issues down the line. The military industry in the Federation has been advancing, copying more advanced technology from the Empire in a very functional way. While not copying the most advanced pieces of hardware, this has allowed the modernization of both the ground forces and fleet to an extent not seen before in the Federation.

People’s Union of Democratic Socialist Worker’s Planets

Background

The People’s Union of Democratic Socialist Worker’s Planets won its independence from the corrupt influence of the Empire in a glorious worker’s revolution, orchestrated by a disgraced priest, an academic scholar, and a military genius. Since freeing the people from oppression, they have been living by the maxims of the ancient Terran prophet and philosopher, Karl Marx, with the most important being “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.”

Of course, to make sure is properly managed, the Communist Party needs to keep a grip on the planets to make sure capitalist subversive elements are not introduced. The presence of the Bureau of Confidential Affairs is a necessary evil, as the monarchist reactionaries are everywhere. The role of the Worker is to work so providing your service to the Revolution is mandatory, and your skills will be used for the betterment of the state.

Never mind the fact the leaders are massively rich; the industrialists have an incredible amount of power quite like the capitalists they so abhor; the military is always the first to receive resources.

Internal Factions

The Party is master of the Union, and to have any real power, you should be a member of the Party. The workers are too busy working, in the end, to manage anything. Within the Party, of course, there are a few different groups. The Bureau of Confidential Affairs is the secret police of the Party and of the State, making sure that Members and Workers are following the important guidelines put forward by the Party. The Estate of the Commissariat is responsible for morale and political affairs in the military and is key in linking the objectives of the military with the goals of the Party, along with giving critical instructions to the soldiers on the front line. Unfortunately, they also must deal with military discipline, which is swift and expedient. The Revolutionary Guard is the military arm of the Party, serving to bring the Revolution to new locales and bring worker’s liberation to the corrupt monarchists and capitalists out there. As there is unfortunately little time for peace in the current day, the Department of Logistics and Rationing is responsible for keeping the necessary quotas in check, along with distributing the necessary supplies to those in need.

Technology Level

The technology in the Union varies wildly from world to world, as it is “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.” If you don’t require advanced fusion power plants, you don’t need one, do you? Of course, the regional capitals and the Party Headquarters are very well of, since they do require advanced technology and science to stay ahead of the Capitalist and Monarchist game. The military also follows these principles and the local militias do not require the same equipment as the People’s Army, and the Revolutionary Guards must be equipped with the best equipment out there, to spread equality against the oppressors and the reactionary forces.

The Mercantile Association of Planets

Background

The Empire might be the humanity’s oldest nation, but the Mercantile Association has been at the forefront of humanity ever since The Great Dark. Greed, for all intents and purposes, is good. The production of wealth and the movement of capital is essential to a strong humanity. It is also the government role to make sure this happens, and the corporations need to be protected to guarantee this. Full employment must be guaranteed for this to happen. The efficiency of the Association’s banking institutions and market led all other nations to accept the All-Mighty Dollar (actual currency name) as the reserve and trade currency over the Imperial Talent, whose value is tied to KRYSTL.

The Association is a democratic system, even though it is probably more of a controlled democracy where it is understood that the corporations have the best interest of the people and the state at heart. The politicians are there to make sure both the population and the corporation rights and duties are observed. Every citizen has the same rights, but those rights also extend to corporations (corporate citizens), who can also use their influence. Unions are encouraged, of course, but they also behave like corporations in the end, with an end goal of making a profit.

Citizens are encouraged, of course, to spend all their time working, and there is little actual protection for the worker. The inability to work due to injury, illness and such leads you to have a “negative balance” on your worksheet, which you need to reimburse. All education needs to be paid for as well, from primary education to higher degrees, which is added to your ongoing negative balance from birth, which needs to be reimbursed to the megacorporation which employs you, the union which your family is a part of or the state, in extreme cases. If you are ever arrested for any crime, make sure you have a good balance on your worksheet, or termination might be the only true option for you. Termination is both figurative and literal in this case, as well. If you are not employed or working to get employment through training and education, you will be terminated as to not be a burden to the state.

Internal Factions

Each corporation is, in essence, its own faction in the Association, with their corporate security effectively serving as the military of the Association. The only coercive strength the government has is the police force (which is fully militarized, but still). There are a variety of political parties in the Association vying for power in the senate and congress, but really, they are bought and paid for by the megacorporations and unions, who also control most of the committees, along with the supreme court.

Technology Level

While they can afford to buy some of the best things around, one of the massive strengths of the Mercantile Association is the fact that Mandatory Full Employment allows them to have factories working at full capacity for all sorts of things and that they have both internal and external customers for all of it. While maybe not as advanced as some of the most powerful Imperial factions, the Association has been serving as a mercenary during the Succession War and acquiring many new things that they are working on copying and improving on.

The Granada Sultanate

Background

The Sultanate is two distinct cultures within one nation: the members of the Sultan’s family and extended family and everyone else. Looking from outside, the Sultanate is an incredibly pious nation which has its roots in a religion founded during the Great Dark, with the capital being where the Prophet last took steps before Ascending. You are expected to live up to the standards of the Prophet, respect the Hadith, the Fatwas and fully embrace the Shariah Holy Law. Everyone is invited to come and live in the Sultanate and take advantage of what is available to the faithful and walk in the steps of the Prophet… until they are not. Any criminal (anyone who deviates even a bit from the Shariah) will immediately be punished, usually with forced labor all the way to complete forfeiture of your rights. The Sultanate also imports many slaves from Dieahum to maintain the standard of living of its population, as slavery is perfectly legal here, if the slave is not One of the Faith.

To be an emir, however, is an entirely different thing. To an emir, a prince, or the Sultan himself, there is nothing in life other than the search for pleasure and comfort. Anything which comes to mind can be indulged, due to their immense wealth and absolute power over all their subjects. While the Hadith states what is Haram, to those in power, this is a suggestion of what to do instead of what not to do, breaking the taboos being such a fun thing to do. Anyone in the Sultanate calling this out is quickly removed, often ending in front of the emir they called out who takes morbid pleasure in torturing them to death. While the average subject of the Sultanate lives well, the emirs live in a level of luxury which is unheard of anywhere else in space, even in the Imperial Court.

Internal Factions

With absolute political power, the various emir rule over their planets and regions with impunity. Disagreement between princes do occur, of course, and regional conflicts between them is far from uncommon, especially if they start feeling a bit bored of their day-to-day life. However, the Sultan always has the ultimate say in things, and can squash any situations instantly and depose any unruly emir at will. A thorn in the side of the Sultanate, however, is the Prophetic Revisionist Movement. The entire movement started at the very bottom of the nation and has slowly been growing, with various Iman starting to spread their radical ideology who wants the Sultan to be deposed to be replaced by a true religious and pious government led by the Ayatollahs. While unrest is growing, it has still to grow into anything more than a few armed uprisings and riots which are easily quelled.

Much of the wealth of the Sultanate comes from the transformation of hydrogen into spaceship fuel, along with the production of germanium cores for ship jump drives. The Space Worker Union is the only real “civilian” organization with any power in the Sultanate. While subservient to the Sultan, the Union often gets into it with various emir as they break Union regulation, leading to less than friendly “negotiation” between the parties, sometimes leading to entire portions of planets become uninhabitable as the Union used orbital drops as a means of showing they are serious.

Technology Level

Civilian industry within the Sultanate is at the peak of what is generally available for humanity, especially regarding raw material transformation and refining. Civilian spaceship industry is also rather massive, providing civilian spacefaring equipment and space stations to many other nations. This came at a cost to the local military industry, which is limited to production of more basic technological equipment, with massive imports from the Mercantile Association of Planets and Stoepker Princedom maintaining the Sultanate military standard of operation.

Yonrena

Background

The galactic region of Yonrena was a rich inner galactic area with many inhabitable planets, rich ecosystems, and tons of mineral wealth. During the Long Dark, many colonies prospered in the area, and when humanity reconnected, both the Sultanate and the Empire laid claim to the area. The wars over Yonrena were incessant, but colonies were established, planets were mined for all they were worth, ecosystems were strangled by KRSTL and populations were forcefully migrated with little care. After a thousand years, the region had been exploited for all it was worth and left to die.

The locals didn’t want to let this go, however. While there is no real “unified” power in what remains of Yonrena, all the local warlords have agreed to put aside their differences (usually) to strike back at those who hurt them, namely the Sultanate, the Empire and the Mercantile Association which enabled them. Pirate fleets come and go, massive raids are organized before the individual members disappear with whatever loot, slaves, and weapons they grab. When they come back to their fief, those warlords’ rule over their subjects with a iron fist and exploits every bit of resources they have left for their benefit and the benefit of their soldiers.

Enemies

The various Yonrena warlords more or less have agreed not to fight each other as long as they cooperate towards hitting higher value targets. Of course, they hate each other just as much and will find any opportunity to go in and steal what their neighbor has. While the constant raids and attacks against the Sultanate, Empire and Association are a problem, none of the nation is ready to commit a large enough force to pacify the area, fearing the other two will mobilize in response and lead to another major shooting war over what amounts to scraps of land. While this ensures peace between the major powers, it also ensures that the Yonrena pirates have free reign in their sphere of influence.

Technological level

There is no industry in Yonrena anymore. Basic subsistence farming and basic, localized industry is all that remains after everything of value was stripped by the Sultanate and Empire as they left the region. Rebuilding is impossible for the locals, as any resource which could be traded or processed has already been strip mined and shipped out. Piracy and theft is the only real industry remaining, and the Yonrena people will make it everyone’s problem, even though the Sultanate and the Empire are to blame for their problems.

The Stoepker Princedom

Background

The Stoepker Satrapy was an Imperial Satrapy until the first Prince dumped enough KRSTL on the Emperor’s doorstep to become fully independent, effectively buying its independence. Since then, the Princedom has built its wealth by exploiting “the outer colonies”, which are a set of worlds under the influence of the Princedom, but not directly affiliated with them. Production quotas and wealth generation from the outer colonies keep the Princedom incredibly rich for its core citizens, same with the colonial governors and managers, but the exploitation of those colonies often is regarded poorly if analysed. The idea is just not to let any of those pesky journalists ever get on those worlds, of course.

The Prince is at the top of the food chain in the Princedom, and technically, all the outer colonies are his property. The Prince word is law in all of these colonies and he is the one to name any colonial administrator, as needed, and sets the quotas (with the help of his ministers). For people inside the Princedom itself, the parliament is the focus of the political power, kept in check by the Prince who has veto power on most laws and edicts. The various noble houses and families are allowed to maintain their estates, but they are considered as regular citizens and get no special dispensations or rights. Slavery is illegal within the Princedom, so is the use of KRSTL outside medical use.

Internal Factions

The recent independence of Matuombo has hurt the prestige of the Prince, which led to various internal factions pushing to get more power over the nation. The first are the Communists, who want to overthrow the government and establish themselves into a new, freer and more equal nation. Generally supported by the intelligentsia and academics, the Communists are worming their way into people’s mind and the media. Opposed to them are the Radicals, who want the Prince to regain some of his lost powers by abolishing parliament and restoring the old neo-feudal system championed by the Empire. This is mostly championed by the upper and lower nobility, along with the colonial employees, who would get additional power from it. Beside all of this is the Militarist faction, who wants the military to restore peace and order within the Princedom, while removing many of the nobles who they see as not wanting to sacrifice enough for the Princedom and establishing a more strict citizen rights system based on military service. Finally, you have the Royalists, who are trying to make sure the whole system stays as is.

Technology level

The Princedom has some of the most advanced civilian and military technology in Known Space, comparable to the core of the Empire and Imperial Forces. Citizens of the Princedom proper have some of the highest standard of living in Known Space, with very little to care about in general other than their personal lives. Of course, the citizens in the colonies are not as well-of in terms of standard of living, but they are leagues above the “colonials”, which they generally regard with pity. In terms of military hardware, the factories of the Princedom, along with its orbital shipyards, sell surplus weapons to the Empire for “the defense of Humanity and Freedoms”.

Matuombo

Background

Matuombo is a small region of space with a group of incredibly resource rich worlds which were under the control of the Princedom until very recently, when a bloody revolution kicked “the colonialists” out. While there was a short honeymoon period, the local government quickly realized that “winning your independence” and “maintaining your independence” was two different things. The new Provisional Government (which is not quite provisional anymore, but who’s asking?) quickly had to setup production quotas for the various worlds, push for the creation of new political officers to keep production of resources (especially the incredibly lucrative KRSTL from one of the rare Eternal KRSTL world which is not dying from the presence of the plant) and finally, make sure the military was always ready for any outside threats.

The locals are now free, but there is no change in their actual lives. In order to keep the wheels of trade and industry going, they must work harder than ever, in conditions that are barely better than when they were under the heel of the Princedom. Any orphan is drafted in the evergrowing Free Militia, which is meant to defend the nation against “its enemies”, which is more often than not just malcontents on local colonies, further creating more orphans to be drafted in the force. The only real law is the law of the jungle, along with how much you are able to bribe the Peacekeepers to get away with things.

Enemies

Matuombo is a small nation, merely a few planets, even though they are extensively rich in terms of raw material, ressources and possess one of the rare Eternal KRSTL planet. Their independence from the Princedom was hard won in a war which became too pricey and that gave The Prince too bad optics, but they are still constantly being pushed by Princedom forces who have yet to fully recognize their independence. Another major issue comes from Dieahum now seeing Mauombo as a prime target for raiding for slaves, not being under the protection of any major nation.

Technology level

Everything in Matuombo is imported or stolen from other sources. Local industries are limited to very basic subsistence industry like food, ore and raw material processing and basic fuel refining. With their fight against Dieahum and The Princedom ongoing, a lot of that trade is for more advanced weapons and equipment, which is often given to barely trained children in hope they can at least deal some damage with them. Luckily for them, the Empire is happy to sell surplus material to them against Krytal, while surplus population might very well be put on transports to the Federation for “processing”. The ruler of Matuombo also often makes advances to the United Democratic Socialist Planets, while refusing to “officially” join the Union but getting basic technology and tools from them.

The Human Improvement Project

Background

The Human Improvement Project (or HIP) is the result of the Great Dark, as a group of humans which were stranded in the stars beyond normal civilization began working on improving their lot in life. Science is all that mattered to them at the time, doing everything they could to allow their kind to survive the Great Dark. Unfortunately, the weak had to be culled, those who had less than excellent characteristics could not be allowed to move forward in this new society and only the best and brightest could be afforded a chance. Natural selection was no longer enough, as things were too scarce for it to function correctly. When the Great Dark ended, the HIP was there to bring humanity back into the light.

It was the HIP which returned technological marvels to most of humanity, from simple things like the advanced KF-drives which did not damage the fabric of space to advanced things like full-body control suits for battlemechs. They also gave guidelines to all the leaders they could meet on how to make sure their culture and their genetic lineage could be maintained and improved upon, setting them apart from the competition. HIP Genitors are common on most worlds in Known Space, helping with selecting for desirable traits in future mates, doing basic genetic adjustment to embryos and preventing “derivation” to the human genomes due to genetic mutations. The fact they might very well be manipulating all of humanity to do their bidding doing this is not lost to some, but the benefit of their actions far outweighs any conspiracy theories.

Only a few planets are under the direct control of the HIP, those worlds also being completely off-limit to any foreigners. To meet with regular HIP employees and members, one generally goes to one of their Colonyship and attendant fleet, massive organized worldships carrying the equivalent of a small planet on them. While any “control portion” of those fleets are off limit as well, seeing the high standard of living of the average HIP member is a source of wonder to many.

Factions

The HIP shows a unified front to the rest of humanity, but two major factions reside within the core of the organization. The first one is the most seen one by the average human, the Genitors, who exist solely to guide humanity into its promised future as the supreme being of the universe (not just the Known Universe). While lowly Genitors is no more than a matchmaker and a glorified ob-gyn, as one climbs in the hierarchy, you start meeting with Genitors who are controlling entire genetic family tree on a single planet to generate a particular individual which they want to then use as a genetic basis for further experiments. The secrets kept by the Genitors are beyond understanding and one must wonder just how far their reach goes.

On the other end of the spectrum lie the Creators, who no longer believe that humanity can naturally reach the point the HIP wants to reach in terms of evolutionary science. Instead of taking the slow and steady eugenics approach of manipulating entire populations, the Creators use Iron Wombs to create entire generations of engineered children which they then select and improve upon with every generation, creating specialized phenotypes for specialized roles.

The conflicts between the two factions are more ideological than physical, but the occasional heated argument ends with the destruction of a colonyship or two.

Technology

While their production capacity is limited based on their territorial holdings, the HIP compensates by making some of the fanciest and most powerful devices, both military and civilian. Colonyships often have their own attendant fleet which gathers resources for them to process and transform into whatever comes to the mind of the Scientists. If what the HIP sells is so advanced, can you imagine just what they are keeping for themselves?