Hyperspatial Travel
17-03-2008, 07:50
OOC: I've often liked the idea of having more diplomacy in FT. Diplomacy that isn't "Well, hey. You have a well-reasoned and passionate argument. I have a battleplate. Guess you lose, huh?". The Concilium could best be compared to the United Nations - basically a forum for each nation to voice their views in public, where everyone else who joins can hear them. There are no requirements, bar sending an ambassador, and occasionally participating in the RP. Well, the first one's a requirement. It's a way for diplomatic discussion to be more than the occasional foreplay to a war.
IC: "In times past, wars have devastated the galaxy, even to the point of the ruin of entire alliances. While some wars are conducted out of necessity, such as those against hivefleets and rogue artificial intelligences, others exist for mere prestige, or competition for what, in our time, is undoubtedly limited resources. While discussion remains practically a hidden artefact, and practiced only bilaterally, we will not be able to construct a foundation of trust on which to lay the bricks and mortar of peace."
Unity Mind "Fidelity", Fifth Incarnation
It was a cold winter morning on Hypatia - possibly because it was always a cold winter morning on Hypatia. The planet survived because of massive hydroponic farms orbiting faraway gas giants, and even the tunnels that the Realm had tunneled into its core found only ice. At below fifty degrees Celcius, the planet was hardly the place one would expect to find one of the largest populations in the galaxy. Almost ten billion Travellians inhabited the planet, over ninety-nine percent of their population.
It was rarely visited by others. The strange people who inhabited it - who never spoke with their mouths, but rather communicated mind-to-mind, seemed as inhospitable as their planet was. Geneered as supersoldiers, the fact that they had carved out a peaceful niche in the galaxy for themselves seemed odd.
Hypatia was capital of the Realm, but it was not the focus of attention. Not today. For some three hundred lightyears away, at the very edge of Realm territory, a grand silver orb sat. A prosaic people, they had named it "Orb". A single light-blue ring ran around the silvery orb, a docking ring. For Orb was not a small station. It was almost four kilometres in length. To some, this would be small. For the Realm, in fact, it was dwarfed by the few capital ships they possessed.
Inside, a thousand fabricators sat, each ready to force matter into the states that they ordained, so that each ambassador to the Concilium would have his or her biological needs catered to. In the very centre of the silver-grey orb sat a chamber, about two hundred metres long. The Concilium proper. Seats quivered, ready to form themselves into shapes suitable for their new owners, and, in the middle of it all, Concilium Chancellor Guy Roderick looked out over the proceedings with a profound sense of satisfaction.
It was his child, this Concilium. The results of a hundred years of lobbying, the donations of his own money - the resources of the Roderick-Fenargold Resource Group, and, of course, the campaigns. Media campaigns in the Realm consisted of information packages - video, audio, and other stimuli, so that everyone could experience what you were trying to tell them. Disseminating them across an already stretched neural network had cost him trillions of joules.
But it was done. It was all done, sanctioned by the government. So far, few invitations had been profered. It was much preferred that any who wished to join would do so in an orderly fashion, giving information before they arrived, so that the Realm would be able to ensure all would be in order.
The message, he reminded himself, had been sent. Anyone who wished to join the Concilium at this point would be able to do so - provided they represented a nation, of course.
Greetings. The Realm has recently founded an international station, Orb. This station is home to a new organization, the Galactic Concilium. It is designed to be a home for international deliberation and discussion, and it is most cordially hoped that any nations who wish to either discuss galactic affairs as they stand, or who wish to open relations with other participating nations. It is requested that you send a brief detail on your representative, his or her species, biological requirements, and name. Please do not send a warship - if a ship requires escort once in-system, we will provide it.
[co-ordinates]
Furthermore, note that a FTL inhibition field is in place. There is an exclusion zone of one light-minute. Attempts to jump closer will not succeed.
Yours in good faith,
Concilium Chancellor Guy Roderick
IC: "In times past, wars have devastated the galaxy, even to the point of the ruin of entire alliances. While some wars are conducted out of necessity, such as those against hivefleets and rogue artificial intelligences, others exist for mere prestige, or competition for what, in our time, is undoubtedly limited resources. While discussion remains practically a hidden artefact, and practiced only bilaterally, we will not be able to construct a foundation of trust on which to lay the bricks and mortar of peace."
Unity Mind "Fidelity", Fifth Incarnation
It was a cold winter morning on Hypatia - possibly because it was always a cold winter morning on Hypatia. The planet survived because of massive hydroponic farms orbiting faraway gas giants, and even the tunnels that the Realm had tunneled into its core found only ice. At below fifty degrees Celcius, the planet was hardly the place one would expect to find one of the largest populations in the galaxy. Almost ten billion Travellians inhabited the planet, over ninety-nine percent of their population.
It was rarely visited by others. The strange people who inhabited it - who never spoke with their mouths, but rather communicated mind-to-mind, seemed as inhospitable as their planet was. Geneered as supersoldiers, the fact that they had carved out a peaceful niche in the galaxy for themselves seemed odd.
Hypatia was capital of the Realm, but it was not the focus of attention. Not today. For some three hundred lightyears away, at the very edge of Realm territory, a grand silver orb sat. A prosaic people, they had named it "Orb". A single light-blue ring ran around the silvery orb, a docking ring. For Orb was not a small station. It was almost four kilometres in length. To some, this would be small. For the Realm, in fact, it was dwarfed by the few capital ships they possessed.
Inside, a thousand fabricators sat, each ready to force matter into the states that they ordained, so that each ambassador to the Concilium would have his or her biological needs catered to. In the very centre of the silver-grey orb sat a chamber, about two hundred metres long. The Concilium proper. Seats quivered, ready to form themselves into shapes suitable for their new owners, and, in the middle of it all, Concilium Chancellor Guy Roderick looked out over the proceedings with a profound sense of satisfaction.
It was his child, this Concilium. The results of a hundred years of lobbying, the donations of his own money - the resources of the Roderick-Fenargold Resource Group, and, of course, the campaigns. Media campaigns in the Realm consisted of information packages - video, audio, and other stimuli, so that everyone could experience what you were trying to tell them. Disseminating them across an already stretched neural network had cost him trillions of joules.
But it was done. It was all done, sanctioned by the government. So far, few invitations had been profered. It was much preferred that any who wished to join would do so in an orderly fashion, giving information before they arrived, so that the Realm would be able to ensure all would be in order.
The message, he reminded himself, had been sent. Anyone who wished to join the Concilium at this point would be able to do so - provided they represented a nation, of course.
Greetings. The Realm has recently founded an international station, Orb. This station is home to a new organization, the Galactic Concilium. It is designed to be a home for international deliberation and discussion, and it is most cordially hoped that any nations who wish to either discuss galactic affairs as they stand, or who wish to open relations with other participating nations. It is requested that you send a brief detail on your representative, his or her species, biological requirements, and name. Please do not send a warship - if a ship requires escort once in-system, we will provide it.
[co-ordinates]
Furthermore, note that a FTL inhibition field is in place. There is an exclusion zone of one light-minute. Attempts to jump closer will not succeed.
Yours in good faith,
Concilium Chancellor Guy Roderick