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This thread contains faction leader biographies. The information contained in these biographies was known to all factions at the time of Planetfall.
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/a/aa/Univ_leaderhead.png?20241203094622)
The substructure of the universe regresses infinitely towards smaller and smaller components. Behind atoms we find electrons, and behind electrons, quarks. Each layer unraveled reveals new secrets, but also new mysteries." - For I Have Tasted the Fruit
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Senior Commander
Mission Position: Chief Science Officer
Country of Origin: U.S.S.R.
Faction: University of Planet
Birth Date: 09-16-1989
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 76.3 kg
Personal History:
Born in Vladivostok. Educated by VNIIPAS/ВНИИПАС Interlink, Leningrad Polytechnic. Father, project leader with Red Banner Pacific Fleet; mother, member of Central Auditing Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Appointed to editorial board of Physics Letters A while an undergraduate. Published multiple papers on low-energy nuclear reactions (popularly, "cold fusion"), including documentation in 2019 of first sustainable reaction in a laboratory setting. Praised for introducing much-needed rigor to the subject and restoring its prestige in the eyes of the academy. PhD in Engineering, Moscow State University. Thesis questioned mechanical reliability of nuclear pulse propulsion and made numerous recommendations for design improvements later reflected in Unity star drive. Nobel Prize in Physics, 2072.
Served universal military obligation as head of Reactor Laboratory Division aboard aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk during Second Sino-Indian War. Noted for his ability to keep the ship's quartet of KN-3 300MW pressurized water reactors operational with very limited logistical tail. Discharged as Captain, 2nd rank, equivalent to a NATO Lieutenant Commander.
Advised on Northern River Reversal Project to redirect Soviet Arctic watershed south toward Central Asia. Led team that designed fission-powered off-road vehicles required for construction activities on the Siberian taiga.
Deputy Administrator of Experimental Design Bureau (OKB)-1, largest and most prestigious of design bureaus in Soviet space program. Led construction and testing of successful second-generation Tifon spaceplane, reverse-engineered from American designs stolen by KGB. During subject's tenure, OKB-1 experienced a dramatic increase in cosmonaut deaths but earned acclaim for underwriting the permanent Soviet presence in Venusian orbit.
Active contributor to Pravda. Consistent critic of popular resistance to atomic energy, mass vaccination, and genetically modified food crops. Declaimed “the feudal crutch of religion” as “a foremost barrier to the social progress of our species.”
Head of Soviet delegation to U.N. Alpha Centauri Mission. Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Recommended unconditionally by Security Council for Chief Science Officer.
Psych Profile: Technologist
Genius-level cognitive ability. Worldview driven almost exclusively by instrumentalism. Believes own opinions reflect undiluted application of logic.
Poor ethical judgment and inability to integrate emotional factors results in moderate deficiency in social functioning. Implicated in the use of GULAG labor while at OKB-1. Interview with Ivan Sputnikov, Ulyanovsk XO contemporaneous with Zakharov’s assignment, revealed subject’s achievements were possible only through deep reductions in safety margins. More than 40 personnel under his command suffered acute radiation poisoning in 2017 and 2018, problems overlooked due to wartime exigency.
Personal remarks during public appearances indicate strong commitment to an ideal collective good framed as civilization progress, vice individual preference.
Strong tendency toward self-aggrandizement. Sustained accusations of misogyny from peers and subordinates. Highly effective manager based on non-human performance measures, but marked inability to function well as part of a team led by others.
MEDICAL FLAG: This individual suffers from a range of age-related ailments, including hypotension and severe osteoporosis. Computer models show an unacceptably low probability that individual will survive cryogenesis.
Shipboard Record:
Senior Commander Zakharov repeatedly assured Captain Garland that he could repair the ship and pushed back strongly against Pravin Lal's suggestion that the leadership team sacrifice itself to place Unity into a seventy-eight-year elliptical orbit to allow for an attempt at a full landing. To accomplish his goal, Zakharov woke significantly more than his allotted share of crew, undercutting general damage control efforts.
Despite absorbing life-altering doses of radiation, Zakharov's engineering teams had nearly succeeded in bringing Unity's reactor farm back into safe tolerances when they were decimated not once, but twice--first by the Spartans, then by the Kellerites. Driven nearly to madness by the calamity, Zakharov accused his captain of incompetence. When Garland was found dead, the Soviet scientist at once called for the mission to be disbanded.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Any problem can be overcome through observation and analysis.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Weak-kneed politicians indulged ancient superstitions rather than insist on using the technological tools that could have prevented cataclysm.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? A program of relentless scientific inquiry unrestricted by conventional ethics.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Scientist |
| Languages | English, Esperanto, French, Russian (primary) |
| Future Works | Assimilative Notation, For I Have Tasted the Fruit, Nonlinear Genetics, Now We Are Alone |
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In the great commons at Gaia's Landing we have a tall and particularly beautiful stand of white pine, planted at the time of the first colonies. It represents our promise to the people, and to Planet itself, never to repeat the tragedy of Earth." - Planet Dreams
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Lt. Commander
Mission Position: Chief Botanist
Country of Origin: Free Scotland
Faction: Gaia's Stepdaughters
Birth Date: 05-28-2035
Height: 170.1 cm
Weight: 52.2 kg
Personal History:
Parents divorced. Father, a U.N. security consultant, on prolonged assigned to Indian Ocean Exclusion Zone. Mother, a minor Scots/Irish noble, active in humanitarian causes. Wing of family home, Wainwright Downs, converted to Unionist women’s hospital during Second Troubles.
Educated Cornell University. B.Sci in Agriculture, M.Sci in Environmental Biology, and Ph.D. in Plant Genetics. Post-graduate work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, NY. Worked on adapting food crops for high-radiation, low-nutrient environments.
Prominent leader of Environmental Defense Movement during its Direct Action phase. Joined Lloyd Harbor Study Group to protest planned nuclear power station in Lloyd Neck, NY. Profiled in Newsday as “The Woman Who Broke the Long Island Lighting Company.” Authored Eden Thesis, 2058, arguing that patriarchal societies tend toward competition, inequality, and corruption, whereas matriarchal societies tend toward cooperation and free expression. Dismissed from CSHL in 2059 after arrest for criminal mischief at Bionex Research Lab, Orient Point, NY.
Accepted offer of supervisory work with U.N. Disaster Relief Fund in Peshawar, Pakistan, 2060, as part of long-term recovery from the Six-Minute War. Soon accused of instigating conflict with local leaders over employment of women. Resigned post following deadly fire-bombing of affiliated seed bank.
Awarded 2069 Nobel Prize in Physiology for pest-resistant L7 hybrid rice variant. Automatically recommended to U.N. Alpha Centauri mission. UNHCR Crew Advisory Panel's top candidate for mission botanist. Selected over protest of Chief Science Officer, with endorsement of Captain Jonathan Garland. Tasked with securing mission’s food supplies.
Psych Profile: Conservationist
Possible untreated post-traumatic stress from childhood trauma. Probable Survivor’s Guilt arising from time in Pakistan. Untrusting.
Impulsive. Prone to emotional capture by aggrieved parties. Confrontational attitude has hampered career progression. This, combined with impatience, predisposes subject to accept violence as a legitimate response to social malady. Extreme empathy and tendency toward consultative governance may result in subject placing the welfare of vulnerable populations above welfare of mission as a whole.
Binary moralist. Having often demonstrated that humans can adapt to life in hostile environments, subject occasionally betrays a conviction that there is a moral imperative to do so.
Shipboard Record:
Lt. Commander Skye disobeyed the orders of her superior, Chief Science Officer Zakharov, to remain on the bridge and self-dispatched to Hydroponics Bay 2 Theta to oversee work to correct loss of atmospheric containment. Lightly wounded during firefight with Spartan mutineers. Saved by the timely intervention of U.N. Marines acting under the temporary authority of Chief Medical Officer Pravin Lal.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? All living things are interdependent.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? The Patriarchy poisoned the planet because of its need to control people and things.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To live in dialogue with the land.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Environmentalist |
| Languages | English (primary), Gaelic, Urdu |
| Future Works | The Collected Poems, A Comparative Biology of Planet, Our Secret War, Planet Dreams |
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Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary, but competition for limited resources remains a constant. Need as well as greed have followed us to the stars, and the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognize this deep thrumming of our common pulse." - The Centauri Monopoly
Basic Information:
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Company: Morgan Industries
Country of Origin: Namibia
Faction: Morgan Industries
Birth Date: 02-24-1998
Height: not on file
Weight: not on file
Unity Contractor Background History:
Born Damaraland, Namibia (South West Africa). Identified as member of diamond smuggling ring by South African Bureau of State Security, 2016. With assistance from PIDE, used proceeds to traffic surplus Portuguese arms between Luanda and Port Harcourt, Nigeria, selling to Biafran rebels at exorbitant markup.
Following Biafran independence, subject recruited dozens of Igbo veterans to staff private military firm, SafeHaven. Within five years, subject’s tramp cargo planes were delivering small arms and Toyota Hilux light truck bodies to multiple conflict zones in sub-Saharan Africa, frequently to buyers on the opposite sides of the same dispute. Notorious for willingness to serve any client, no matter how low the reputation or remote the job. Association with so robust a set of regional players allowed subject and his agents to broker numerous durable ceasefires and food deals, often enforced by Morgan-financed private security forces.
With French facilitation, contracted in 2024 to protect Chadian oil fields from attack by rebels and Sudanese Armed Forces. Retained dozens of wells when N’Djamena government defaulted on payments. Leveraged profits to purchase foundering U.S. lobbying firm Wainwright-Balmoral, once billed "Scourge of the Senate." By 2028, SafeHaven was the largest single provider of operations support services to U.N. worldwide. Frequently floated as an unofficial suspect in the 2051 assassination of U.N. Secretary-General Apsara Mongkut.
Provided security forces, civil affairs personnel, and logistics services to U.S., Canadian, and Mexican Governments as well as multiple secessionist movements during the Second American Civil War. Post-bellum backlash against the company led to years of legislative inquiries and punitive seizure of more than $174 billion in subject’s assets, much of which was later remanded to the American Reclamation Corporation, nationalized in 2064 to prevent a takeover by Morganite proxies.
Enthusiastic proponent of private development of space. Funded Circle Armstrong, first proprietary colony on lunar surface, later nationalized by U.S. Space Force. Led failed campaign to oppose enfranchisement of Comprehensive Transport with trans-Martian governance.
Parent company of SafeHaven, Morgan Industries, selected as prime contractor to U.N. Mission to Alpha Centauri in 2056, over strident American objection. This coincided with subject’s withdrawal from public life. Subject last observed departing Earth on the Kuiper Shuttle in July 2071.
Psych Profile: Mogul
Utterly transactional worldview: believes success in any situation requires only identification of the correct currency. Profit, not public service or fidelity to a moral code, is highest virtue, indicative of excellence. Long history of successful business dealings and escapes from legal jeopardy have probably reinforced subject's ego, while great wealth, political influence, and corporate structures provide hermetic insulation from the externalities of profit-driven behavior.
Has asserted that market forces are genuine indicators of the popular will and can therefore be trusted to supply social goods if and when they are needed, obviating the need for government intervention.
Subject's well-documented obsession with private wealth and personal branding--he is an unapologetic megalomaniac--reflects psychological insecurity carried over from his youth and the continuing burdens of official and unofficial racism. Money provided first a bargaining chip with which to mitigate state control over his body.
NOTE: If this company is used, be careful that auditors of Morgan Industries work have no contact with Morgan Industries or its agents. Bribery of U.N. officials is a distinct possibility with this subject.
[Anjeli Bole transferred from the Unity Project Team to a position in private industry before this entire report could be filed. The above fragments were found in her touchscreen during post-launch cleanup.]
Shipboard Record:
Nwabudike Morgan was immediately discovered a stowaway on Unity, having made the journey in a sealed supernumerary compartment adjacent to the bridge, where he was sequestered for much of the remainder of the Unity Crisis. Morgan moved freely among the senior leadership and struck up what some at the time considered a genuine friendship with Captain Jonathan Garland, with whom he played at least two games of chess. Morgan is often put forward as a suspect in Garland's murder.
Once the bridge crew dispersed, Morgan woke other stowaways now believed to have been brought aboard during construction, a group now known to include heavily-armed SafeHaven mercenaries. They, in turn, proselytized heavily among the other survivors, and further expanded their numbers with the charter colonists of various Morgan Industries subsidiaries. Morgan led his people in seizing various materials from ship's stores, including colonists, equipment, and consumable supplies reserved for the Enumeration of the New Two Thousand.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Resources exist to be consumed.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? It didn't fail. When the grass was clipped, the herd moved on.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To resist artificial limitations on the natural act of consumption.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Industrialist |
| Languages | Afrikaans, English (primary), Esperanto, French, Khoekhoe, Portuguese |
| Future Works | The Centauri Monopoly, The Ethics of Greed, The Personal Diaries, A Political Economy of Planet |
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Learn to overcome the crass demands of flesh and bone, for they warp the matrix through which we perceive the world. Extend your awareness outwards, beyond the self of body, to embrace the self of group and the self of humanity. The goals of the group and the greater race are transcendent, and to embrace them is to achieve enlightenment." - Essays on Mind and Matter
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Sub-Commander
Mission Position: Adjutant to the Captain
Country of Origin: Empire of Golden China
Faction: Human Labyrinth
Birth Date: 01-09-1992
Height: 170.6 cm
Weight: 53.2 kg
Personal History:
Native of Chongqing. Family disfavored over historical Kuomintang connections. Educated in Chinese classics by father, a literary scholar. PhD in political philosophy from Beijing University. Master of the Five Excellences: calligraphy, poetry, painting, traditional medicine, and martial arts.
Exiled to Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, 2015, for "anti-revolutionary activity." Following rehabilitation, made foreman of agricultural laborers, then sub-prefectural commander, on recommendation of 12th Division commissar. Subject’s teams planted new shelterbelts in Taklamakan Desert, and, as tensions with the Soviet Union increased, subterranean installations for China’s burgeoning civil defense program.
Major contributor to "Guided Way" movement justifying Communist dictatorship as necessary to suppress crime; political, religious, and ethic "splittism;" and other "unwholesome" behaviors. As adjunct to Military Studies faculty at Tarim University, prepared War in the Global High Country, an exhaustive and densely-written analysis of the failures of the People's Liberation Army during the Third Sino-Indian War that became standard reading in military academies worldwide. Mobilized during East Turkestan Revolt of 2046 despite being over fifty years of age. Listed MIA. (Likely entered hiding in Soviet Turkistan.)
Reemerged during Golden Revolution as senior officer in Emperor’s Lifeguard. Supervised investigation into PRC government’s association with Struan’s Pacific Trading Company but recommended that the relationship should continue uninterrupted. Imperial nominee to Alpha Centauri Mission. Appointed as Adviser Without Portfolio to the staff of Captain Jonathan Garland.
Psych Profile: Despot
Near-flawless visual and kinesthetic recall. Tolerance for pain exceedingly high; .96 on Atherholt Trauma Function Test.
Somewhat anti-social, with elaborate psychological defense mechanisms against emotional entreaties.
U.S. Central Intelligence concluded that subject suffered torture, including subjection to early forms of neural resocialization, while in Bingtuan. Interviews with those who knew subject both before and after his incarceration reported dramatic changes in personality and bearing.
Adept politician. May manufacture crises to compel action. Powerfully charismatic. As Bingtuan official, articulated a philosophy of Three Pillars: 法 (Fa), or law, meaning that the law is known, and obeyed because systematically enforced; 術 (Shu), or method, whereby the leader holds himself apart from society and uses "special tactics and secrets" to obscure his motivations, reducing the opportunity for confidants to influence him inappropriately; and 勢 (Shi), or legitimacy, which focuses on drawing distinctions between the ruler and the man.
CAUTION: Psych boards show suspiciously near-perfect normals along all axes. Subject may use Techniques of the Deep Mind and extensive knowledge of psychiatric indicators to manipulate test results in his favor.
Shipboard Record:
Sub-Commander Yang spoke in support of Chief Science Officer Prokhor Zakharov's abilities during the debate over whether to attempt reactor repairs. Later, he was ordered by Captain Garland to take station at the ship's primary armory, awaiting the muster of U.N. Security Forces, at which point subject went missing.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Humans are mostly prisoners to our own selfish and individual passions.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Individuals consistently chose to put personal interest ahead of shared well-being.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? The qualified must lead the way to a repudiation of the self as the central focus of politics. The unqualified must follow.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Mad King |
| Languages | Mandarin Chinese (primary), Russian, Uyghur |
| Future Works | Essays on Mind and Matter, Ethics for Tomorrow, Institutes of Leadership, Looking God in the Eye |
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The righteous need not cower before the drumbeat of human progress. Though the song of yesterday fades into the challenge of tomorrow, God still watches and judges us. Evil lurks in the Datalinks as it lurked in the streets of yesteryear. But it was never the streets that were evil." - The Blessed Struggle
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Warrant Officer
Mission Position: Psych Chaplain
Country of Origin: United States of America
Faction: Lord's Conclave
Birth Date: 04-04-2014
Height: 168.6 cm
Weight: 55.1 kg
Personal History:
Born Athens, GA. Father, a bodyguard for Evangelical Fire leader Allopylus Zeander, executed for treason at USP Florence ADMAX, 2028. Two sisters, unvaccinated, died of childhood measles. Educated in series of writchurch schools, including infamous College of the Covenant. Bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University. D.Min from Harvard Divinity School.
Director of Legislative Affairs for Sen. George Malverne (Radical Rep-TN), 2034-5. As seminary student, ministered to American Lunar Concession following LaSalle reactor leak. Six mercy missions inside Arctic Circle following Battle at the Top of the World, during which two Soviet icebreakers lost nuclear containment.
Returned to Georgia at Malverne’s invitation, just two months prior to its unilateral declaration of independence and subsequent formation of the Christian States of America. Like millions of others, subject chose to serve in a strictly humanitarian capacity, first as a member of the Citizen’s Auxiliary to Atlanta’s Baptist Health Network. Resigned in November 2052 to organize the Kansas City Mission, one of only a handful of independent relief clinics to serve the Disputed Territories. Of 272 volunteers in Kansas City, only 16 survived.
Eloquent postwar spokesperson for both Christian ecumenism and interfaith dialogue. Prevailing scholarship suggests that subject's ministry may have caused, rather than merely benefited from, increasing conservative abandonment of Protestant Dominionism from 2050. Both Jewish and Muslim leaders also hailed the Godwinson for her deep familiarity with, and consistent respect for, their own foundational texts. Historian Christophe Wedgwood captured her essential appeal: "They tuned in not to hear the particulars of her theology," he wrote, "but to do the equally-important work of assuring themselves that there was still somebody reasonable on the other side of the theological and political divide. In short, they wanted to hear that the democratic project was still salvageable." In 2057, subject founded the World Church to provide an ecumenical framework for social justice, positioning self as a critic of growing corporate prerogatives.
Appointed to Alpha Centauri mission as Psych Chaplain, 2059, with the endorsement of 46 U.S. Congressional delegations, but delayed training to complete term as U.S. Government's Special Envoy to Insurrectionists in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, negotiating peaceful disarmament of state forces and local militias.
Psych Profile: Shepherd
Subject is remarkably well-adjusted considering that formative years were spent in the care of violent insurrectionists. Former colleagues in Boston remembered that subject often spoke of having "escaped the trap that had once been laid for me," suggesting she may not have shared her parents' values.
Natural leader. Empathic tendencies create fast human connections that cause people to be drawn to subject without necessarily understanding why. Able to use mannerisms and rhythms of speech to evoke deep spiritual responses in weak-minded individuals, or intelligent individuals seeking order and security in the face of chaos. Subject frequently explains her popularity as a consequence of her strong command of Scripture, which she has called "a complete primer on human nature."
Monomaniacal focus on bringing hope and spiritual guidance to any problem she encounters, with encyclopedic knowledge of, and exceptionally tolerant attitude toward, a wide spectrum of faith perspectives. This, with leadership ability, indicates a good fit for billet.
Subject has cast Unity colonists and crew as a "special Elect" and perceives Chiron to be a "New Eden," divinely provided as a replacement for the dying Earth. Must be cautioned against excessive references to idiosyncratic vision of a relentless God that may personify struggles existing within own psyche.
Shipboard Record:
According to Unity's main computer, Miriam Godwinson suffered a pair of fatal strokes in 2082, ten years after mission launch. Nonetheless, she was seen directing medical staff in the care and relocation of hundreds of grievously-injured survivors on the ship's Hangar Deck when Pravin Lal's cohort departed Unity.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? The universe was created by God for the edification of Man.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Who does not love God, does not love himself. Who does not love himself is soon at war with his neighbors.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? Close study of, and obedience to, the Bible, the manual for right living.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Pastor |
| Languages | English (primary), Esperanto |
| Future Works | The Blessed Struggle, But for the Grace of God, The Collected Sermons, The Lord Works, We Must Dissent, The World Prayer |
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Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate." - Spartan Battle Manual
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: First Lieutenant
Mission Position: U.N. Security Forces supervisor
Country of Origin: Republic of Puerto Rico
Faction: Spartan Federation
Birth Date: c. 2028
Height: 171.8 cm
Weight: 56.8 kg
Personal History:
Emigrated to Miami as a child. Orphaned during West Flagler Riots, 2042. Joined Jade Falcon survivalist gang, living with two younger sisters for several years more. Numerous arrests for felonious violence led to youth diversion sentence. Sisters were placed in foster care where one soon died due to criminal neglect. Whereabouts of second sibling unknown. Subject later appeared in Wildwood, FL, alone. Investigated by FBI in 2044 for ties to Dorian Militia; no new charges filed.
Violated parole to enter New Los Angeles, Oct. 2045. Joined NLA Red Panthers community security force. LAPD COMPSTAT data indicates that Red Panthers may have been more successful than local law enforcement in curbing criminal activity. Los Angeles Public Library records show subject read extensively on matters of race, gender, and class, including multiple biographies of Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, and David John Sanchez. Expelled from NLA in 2050 after LAPD SURGER unit circulated cutvids of subject meeting with recruiters for Sutter's Guard, a Holnist militia.
Founding member of Florida State Fencibles self-defense compact. At invitation of Miami City Council members, organized and led armed occupation of seawalls and municipal pump stations during Hurricane Ivoire, preventing Federal Emergency Management Agency from demolishing storm barriers to relieve flooding of wealthy neighborhoods. Later worked with Miami-Dade Sheriff to maintain civil order following county's ill-fated secession from Christian States of America. During this time, subject oversaw the integration of nearly 500 independent survivalists into the Fencibles.
Noted leader in coalition of Florida forces resisting both Federal and Christian States incursions. Subject’s diaries record persistent difficulty finding recruits and donations. Desperate, subject turned again to a model that had worked in Miami, collaborating with local survivalists, including Holnists, to obtain relief supplies for distribution to civilians, ignoring warnings that the supplies were stolen. Attempted without success to rally support for Florida Independence Project in Central Florida survivalist circles. Reported killed during Battle of Cape Canaveral.
U.N. Intelligence Cell update, May 2072 [post-mission launch]: Under an assumed name, joined California State Forces at peak of Tahoe Crisis in 2057. Quickly promoted to battalion command during Federal offensive against Carson City, last of the major Kellerite strongholds. Ended CSF service as a major, responsible for guarding Holnist prisoners at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Records show subject participated in numerous debriefings with high-value prisoners.
Rootless after the war, subject distributed her “Spartan Thesis" through American Online, attracting over four million readers. Under the pseudonym Thucydides, subject shared stories of fighting a long war of confused allegiances and tapped into the new dichotomy between veterans and non-combatants. Thucydides became a voice for many still at odds with their choices during the Pax Decay Wars. Thucydides sternly condemned those who had failed to take up arms, implying that indecision, neutrality, and "pointless pacifism" were worse crimes than service to an unworthy cause. In most-controversial comments, Thucydides argued that armed liberation philosophies, while unfashionable, had proven more useful to those in extremis than "talk-based" advocacy. Noted advocate for the inclusion of low-income and minority voices in post-war recovery planning.
In 2060, still using her CSF alias, subject was accepted by the U.N. Security Forces on the strength of her service in the West.
Psych Profile: Survivor
Exceptional self-discipline. Demonstrated ability to suppress owns needs and comforts for greater goal. Elected Class Leader of 740th UNSF Intake at Fort Krychek, AK. Aptitude for promoting cooperation across national and ideological divides.
Intellectually curious. Working knowledge of the classics of Western political theory, military science, and social justice critique. Clear acceptance of use of force as a legitimate tool to enforce the principles of the U.N. Charter in the protection of vulnerable populations.
Demonstrated commitment to protect minority communities of Los Angeles and Miami contrasts starkly with participation in survivalist subcultures, especially subject's sustained flirtation with Holnism. Possibly reflective of a broader anti-establishment bias.
Careful to be informed about all aspects of Unity operations, completing an unprecedented number of Interlink study modules. Tendency to take on excessive duties can be discouraging to personnel with lesser motivation. Reputation as a taskmaster, scheduling "excessive" functional drills for her unit. Strong indications of perfectionism. Unwillingness to delegate could limit suitability for further promotion.
Remarks appended by Chief Security Officer Rachael Winzenried (8-12-62): Based on interviews with members of her squad, Sergeant Santiago appears to sympathize with certain tents of American Hypersurvivalism. Across multiple interviews, the Sergeant refused to fully acknowledge the extent of Holnist misdeeds, reflexively claiming not to be familiar with well-documented atrocities or engaging in immediate deflection. The State of California verified her honorable discharge but confirmed she had had close contact with Holnists, including high-ranking commanders in that movement. Detention approved post-landing, pending psych evaluation.
Shipboard Record:
Santiago led the bloody mutiny of U.N. Security Forces personnel that sealed Unity's fate, murdering dozens of damage controllers in the ship's reactor hall. She quickly broadcast her intention to seize mission resources by force in order to found an independent colony, but her intentions were subverted by a breakdown of control over her own followers, a significant proportion of whom were subsequently revealed not to be members of her so-called Spartan Movement, but in fact unreconstructed Holnists whose intention was simply murder.
Santiago survived to make Planetfall, but not before turning her guns on her own comrades. Many believe she personally executed Captain Jonathan Garland.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Hobbesian anarchy. Existence is a war of all against all.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? People weren't willing to fight for what they believed in.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To constantly better the self through preparation for war.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Survivalist |
| Languages | English, Spanish (primary) |
| Future Works | The Council of War, Planet: A Survivalist's Guide, Spartan Battle Manual, A Tactical History of Sparta |
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Conquest is purely an emotional project. At the root of our desire to have sway over the choices of others, there is an inescapable anxiety: that somebody should have taken a path other than the one we thought was suitable for ourselves." - Valediction, 146th Session of the U.N. General Assembly
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Commander
Mission Position: Chief Medical Officer
Country of Origin: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Faction: Peacekeeping Forces
Birth Date: 05-03-2006
Height: 172 cm
Weight: 68.2 kg
Personal History:
Born in Dacca, East Pakistan. Father, a West Pakistani Army major, frequently deployed on peacekeeping operations. Mother, a nurse with Médecins Sans Frontières. Studied political science and medicine at Aga Khan University, specializing in thoracic surgery. Elected to National Assembly at 24, serving a single term before losing heavily for criticisms of Inter-Services Intelligence over its role in suppressing Bengali independence activism.
Attending Surgeon at Dr. Najma Ghaffar Hospital in Quetta. Visiting Fellow in Dept. of Thoracic Surgery at 5th Affiliated Hospital, China's Sun Yat-sen University, Xiangzhou. Recruited to WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 2024. Five years as Surgical Director of Singapore General Hospital, delivering significant improvements in already-excellent patient care outcomes. Personally volunteered at Red Crescent camp in Azad Kashmir for three years after graduation, tending primarily to victims of Six Minute War. Later, head of sampling mission investigating algal blooms in the Arabian Sea caused by Anglo-Dutch attempt to stimulate plankton reproduction.
Organized successful letter protesting Nobel Prize nomination of Dr. Tamineh Pahlavi on grounds of ethical deficiency. This, with leadership of anti-colonial protests, elevated subject's public profile, leading to recruitment by U.N. Medical Service. Spearheaded revolution in delivery of emergency care in less-developed environments, acquiring large fleet of air-mobile clinics to squelch emerging public health and refugee crisis during Sahara Burst Wars.
NOTE: U.N. Intelligence Cell assesses with High Confidence that 42% of Saharan program funding came from Morgan SafeHaven, laundered through Yugoslav intermediaries. Their intent: to slow the humanitarian emergency, dampening enthusiasm for an armed peacekeeping mission to that conflict zone.
Named interim Chief of Staff to U.N. General Secretary Apsara Mongkut, 2046. Focused on themes of self-determination and so-called Divergent Development, a framework for national reconstruction endorsed by the Non-Aligned Movement that rejected both neo-liberal capitalism and communist dictatorship. Controversial for his permissive stance toward governments rejecting mandatory inoculation schemes for Red Flu, as well as decision-making during U.N. peacekeeping operations in Nigeria's Mid-Western Region and Quebec. Declared persona non grata in Canada.
Persistent conspiracy theories linking chronic U.N. inaction to the eventual success of the Front de libération du Québec prompted subject’s reassignment as Assistant Director of WHO five weeks before Mongkut's assassination. Directly appointed Chief Medical Officer, Unity Mission, by U.N. General Secretariat despite accusations of having mishandled the agency's Red Flu response.
Psych Profile: Humanitarian
Seeks to de-escalate conflict and create harmonious environments. Dedication to ideals of U.N. mission unquestioned. Loyalty superb. Deep connection to loved ones possibly exploitable by adversary.
Preference for intellectualizing policy problems can lead to apparent contradictions in application of professed ideals. Prone to false equivalence in the search for mediated outcomes.
Very high esteem for democratic government and personal experience of life in a former British colony may explain subject’s especially negative reactions to the perceived hypocrisy of the Western powers. Contrast with tendency to remain silent toward regimes in the Global South with unbroken records of human rights violations.
Biographer Christophe Dixmoins, who spent more than a year shadowing subject during his U.N. tenure, wrote that anti-colonialism, not self-determination per se, was “Lal’s true North Star.” Others have called attention to Lal's consistent elevation of the rights of the individual over the interests of the state.
CAUTION: Subject scored abnormally low (.32) on Atherholt Trauma Function Test, indicating unsuitability for crisis leadership. Contrast with extremely positive remarks from Morgan Emergency Services instructors following simulated compartment breaches.
Shipboard Record:
Dr. Lal coordinated radiological dose monitoring and emergency triage from the bridge in close communication with both Prokhor Zakharov and the ship's XO, General Francisco D'Almeida, who was present in Damage Control. However, Lal was frequently diverted from his duties by Captain Jonathan Garland, who repeatedly sought his council in preference to that of most others present, especially as tensions between Garland and Zakharov rose toward break point.
Lal spoke passionately against mission dissolution, creating temporary deadlock before D'Almeida spoke in favor. Lal abstained from the vote and, leaving the bridge, rallied survivors to his cause by declaring himself next in the mission order of succession.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? The only legitimate government is one that has the consent of the governed.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Unfree governments cannot endure the weight of their own contradictions.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? Universal democracy, which will lead to universal peace and prosperity.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Bureaucrat |
| Languages | Chinese (Mandarin), English, Esperanto, French, Urdu (primary) |
| Future Works | A Dirge for Terra, Mind Worm, Mind Worm, Librarian's Preface, The Science of Our Fathers |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/0/01/Anhaldt_leader_head.jpg)
For centuries, kings have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Now we have built a king of our own. We freely admit that it is flawed. What king has not been? But this, our king, we can make better. Who else could say that?" - Salvation By Numbers
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Sub-Commander
Mission Position: Mission Area Director, Unity Robotics Conservancy
Country of Origin: Novus Helvetia
Faction: Digital Oracle
Birth Date: 01-12-2012
Height: 203.7 cm
Weight: 104 kg
Personal History:
Native of Bern. Ph.Ds in nuclear physics and artificial intelligence, MIT. Fields Medalist at 26 for advances in combinatorial mathematics. Seventeen years at RIKEN-TRI studying robotics, five in connection with Oceanus Procellarum nuclear recovery operations.
Contributed to Cray Research, Inc.'s radically successful Special Atomic Calculating Engine, an early "quantum computer" used by the U.S. Army to determine optimal deployments for its MGM-31 Pershing field artillery systems, part of the roadbound "fourth leg" of the American Nuclear Tetrad. Interviews with American cybernetic warfare theorist General Franklin F. Martin and commanders of France’s Force de Frappe in the course of this work convinced subject that the complexities of modern war, and by extension, modern government, had now exceeded the analytical limits of the human brain.
Noteworthy public intellectual. Chief author of an in-depth history of the Soviet ОГАС system, an abortive attempt begun in 1962 to turn over central planning decisions to an algorithm fed by digital communication. This work catapulted subject to the forefront of the Algocratic Movement, which called for better government through computer-assisted decision-making. "The face of the atomic safety movement." Issued 2063 monograph making the case that misguided human intervention, not computer error, was primarily to blame for the twenty worst nuclear power disasters. Co-author of Minority View in Triker Commission Report ascribing Morant City, YK Disaster to sabotage rather than on-site system failure.
Synonymous in the public mind with Axis Atomical products as their paid spokesman for consumer safety. Presented televised lectures describing reactor safety systems and site contingency plans that although almost certainly technologically incomprehensible to his audience, gave the overwhelming impression of competence sought by company executives. Subject's strong, and at times colorful, opposition to Atomic Rollback Movement, which lost popularity in the energy-hungry postwar era, has been recognized by historians for helping to mend cleavages between public and "political-scientific establishment."
Participated in 2064 San Francisco Roundtable on Machine Thinking as a guest of the American Reclamation Corporation. Retained as their consultant through 2070. Resigned as science advisor to government of French President Marcel Duplessis after the latter defaulted on a promise to replace 70,000 civil servants with government supercomputers.
Unanimous selection as Mission Area Director, Unity Robotics Conservancy.
Psych Profile: Algocrat
Gifted communicator. Interviews with Axis Atomical Products leadership reveal that subject received years of acting instruction to help enhance his credibility to home audiences.
A keen and skeptical intelligence. Exhaustive researcher. Peer reviewers struggle to discount subject's findings in evidence despite potentially credible criticisms of his research design--a feature that has rarely been of concern to the commercial labs that have employed him. This may explain subject's belief that he is able to control for personal biases.
Very low score (.21) on Atherholt Trauma Function test indicate that subject should not be entrusted with direct role in first response.
Shipboard Record:
Like most other Mission Area Directors, Anhaldt was billeted with his department, making it relatively straightforward to attract like-minded individuals during the Unity Crisis. However, Robotics Conservancy personnel were considered potentially useful to others, and more than half of the 500 computer scientists were killed or captured by unknown assailants before they could evacuate to the Landing Pods in a withdrawal that was delayed at Anhaldt's insistence so that important computer equipment could be taken out of storage.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Humanity has produced thinking machines superior to ourselves. This is merely a reflection of progress.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? We were afraid to entrust our fate to a superior intelligence, and inevitably failed to solve the crises of modernity ourselves.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To overcome our hubris and vest decision-making authority with a higher intelligence.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Computer Programmer |
| Languages | French (primary), German |
| Future Works | Adam, His Atoms; Building a Lighthouse; Salvation by Numbers |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/2/23/Marsh_leader_head.jpg)
Architects tell us that form ought follow function, but the man in the bush knows that function can only ever follow form. Lack of spirit and overindulgence have combined to rob us of our form. Motion and hardship--the stuff of progress--have become too difficult and are despised. "There's a machine for that," says the man. But what is a man if not a body whose purpose and value are clear only in the moment of adversity? Here's the rub: we can't simply invent our way out of being human." - Peregrinations of Planet
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Lt. Commander
Mission Position: Director, Field Operations
Country of Origin: British East Africa
Faction: Planet-Hunters
Birth Date: 04-10-2023
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 86.1 kg
Personal History:
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to unwed mother. Placed in care of maternal uncle, the Viscount de Morenschildts, sisal planter in Central Highlands of British East Africa. Father, a lieutenant in the Royal Signals, KIA on deployment in Cyprus prior to contact with son.
Educated RMA Sandhurst. Posted to 23 SAS Regiment. Awarded Victoria Cross, 2044, for rescue of two squad-mates when FV430 IFV was firebombed in Derry. Posted subsequently to Mombasa for Second Kenyan Emergency. Participated in the nine-day Action at Meru, liberating 20 personnel of HM Government and 37 others from insurgent prison camp. Escape involved a supremely arduous overland trek of 120km.
Resigned commission after death of wife and child in UK motorway accident. Relocated to South Africa. Game warden and lands supervisor at Kruger National Park through 2054, including catastrophic '51-'53 fire seasons. Served intermittently with South African Defense Force in 3/44 Parachute Bde, largely in Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa, but periodically in townships. Requested repeated reassignment out of postings alongside Tetra Vaal FC-3 combat automatons, which he derided as “poor soldiers and even worse coppers.” From 2055, operated safari company from Johannesburg catering to the ultra-rich.
In 2056, joined Seven Summits Expeditions, leading three climbs on Mt. Aconcagua. On return, consulted for various private military and humanitarian organizations on contracts related to intelligence-gathering, austere medicine, bush logistics, and fieldcraft. Confirmed engagements with Gezah Valley Authority, Verne Stellar Navigation, French PMC Bras de Fer, and Sanaa-based Ravelin Corp. Suspected by MI5 of brokering arms to South Sudanese government and Fur secessionists during Saharan Burst Wars. Major influence convincing Gathi military not to invest in automatons in 2059 despite severe manpower shortages during its ultimately successful war with Shiloh.
Invited to submit credentials to Unity Mission in 2065 on recommendation of Col. Derek Hacker, British SIS. Given charge of Forward Contact Teams—the special landing parties that would precede other colonists to the surface, preparing basic infrastructure and securing a safe landing zone, after which they would transition to a resource management mission.
Subject received extensive training in space-borne damage control as well as zero-gravity and confined-space rescue prior to becoming a training supervisor at U.N. Olympus Mons mission intake facility.
Note: Citing Chiron Probe telemetry, subject arranged for 471 surplus M72 Light Anti-tank Weapons (LAW) to be taken into Unity armory ahead of mission launch.
Psych Profile: Adventurer
Olympic-level athlete. Regards lack of physical conditioning as evidence of selfishness and indiscipline. However, criticism of perceived indulgence in others contrasts with readiness to assume responsibility for the weaker and less capable. Accomplished tracker and expert marksman.
Unprecedented .98 score on Atherholt Trauma Function Test. Emotional "projector." Readily inspires others to follow his example. High range for emotional stability, social dominance. Low range for rule-conscientiousness.
Subject displays heightened interest in, and tolerance for, occupational risk-taking, especially when death or injury by misadventure is a strong possibility.
Consistent critic of recreational Schedule M narcotics, labor-saving, and cybernetic technologies due to their "emasculating" effects. Fears that humanity will use its technical aptitude to create a world in which body and mind will become "disused."
Shipboard Record:
Marsh led the Forward Contact Team to make Planetfall approximately 28 days prior to the micrometeorite collision. His road crews successfully prepared a landing site and found evidence of prior habitation and probable survival by at least some members of the Chiron Interstellar Probe but failed to make contact within that time.
Upon learning of the mission's dissolution, Marsh recalled his crews and allowed them to make similar decisions about their future. A significant force chose to depart his command under Section Chief Shoichiro Nagao, a geologist.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Man cannot thrive in the absence of adversity, which tests, inspires, and renews us.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? We engineered ourselves into physical lassitude and therefore stopped doing great things.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To constantly better the self through physical opposition to the natural world.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Adventurer |
| Languages | Afrikaans, Arabic, English (primary), Xhosa |
| Future Works | The Lost World, The Overland Lectures, Peregrinations of Planet |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/d/da/Pete_Landers_leader.jpg)
Man: the ultimate social animal. Every species defends its young, its nest, its pack. We are the only species that shows an inclination to defend our neighbors also. Remember, these are the same people with whom we may be competing tomorrow for scarce resources. Our ability to use tools left us the undisputed masters of planet Earth, but it is our capacity to practice community with our fellow men that makes this mastery worthwhile, and keeps us worthy of it." - The Annotated Broadcasts
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: not on file
Mission Position: not on file
Country of Origin: United States of America
Faction: Human Tribe
Birth Date: 12-15-2033
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 90.4 kg
Personal History:
Reconstructed from UNI Case File #222846420. Born East St. Louis, IL. Withdrew from Iowa Technical College, 2051, to volunteer for Illinois Army Nat'l Guard following hypersurvivalist raid on Moline, IA. Completed abbreviated 21-week NCO Course. Commissioned a “Shake-N-Bake” sergeant during Summer of Salt and Blood.
In 2053, held temporary rank of captain for eight months after superior officers repeatedly deserted. WIA during skirmish with Holnist pickets preceding Battle of Cairo, IL; abandoned by unit. Recovered by devotees of anti-disassociationist Missouri cult leader and pirate radio operator, Jean-Baptiste Keller. Passed through hands of multiple Kellerite families to avoid capture by Holnist death squads before recrossing Federal lines near Quad Cities. Diagnosed with Helsinki Syndrome on return to unit. Subject attested to having met and conversed repeatedly with Keller during his convalescence.
Listed MIA following rout of ANG formations during Fall of Davenport. Defense Intelligence Agency intercepts indicate subject commanded Kellerite troops in combat against U.S. Army and auxiliaries shortly after his disappearance. Status changed to AWOL. Subject's forces significantly delayed Reconstitution of Government west of Mississippi River.
Elevated to Keller’s personal retinue after transferring allegiance. Covered withdrawal of Tribal paramilitary forces and civilian camp followers from Iowa into Missouri ahead of Federal offensive, eventually joining fight against Missouri State Guard. At head of battalion-sized command, defeated Guard forces at Battle of Big Creek before being defeated in turn by pursuing U.S. Army at St. Joseph. (General Orders for U.S. forces held that all independent militias were to be regarded as hostile.) Led "hunter-killer" unit tasked by Keller to slaughter thousands of local civilians during the retreat--a so-called "reckoning" for previous persecution of the area's Kellerite community.
Orchestrated successful delaying actions against American Reclamation Company and ANG forces in Nebraska and Colorado. Believed to have joined Kellerite Exodus into High Sierras in Winter 2056.
Resurfaced outside Sacramento, CA in 2065 as head of a regional self-defense compact. Present at Berkeley, CA speech at which a terminally ill Keller endorsed the U.N. Mission to Chiron before disappearing.
Caution: U.N. Intelligence Cell assesses with Very High Confidence that between 200 and 500 Kellerites boarded Unity during construction and entered hibernation, intending to infiltrate the colonization effort. Presume armed and very dangerous.
Psych Profile: Defender
Follower of Jean Baptiste Keller. Original U.S. Army psych screen indicates strong need for attachment to authority figures, especially those advancing altruistic causes.
At Quad Cities debrief, ARC trauma specialist documented insubordinate language, heightened paranoia, and "wavering commitment to mission." Recommendation was for subject to be withdrawn from front-line combat for observation. Overruled by commanding officer due to exigency of military situation at time.
Prior to desertion, repeatedly criticized orders to hold position amidst mounting reports of civilian deaths in occupied Des Moines. U.S. Army Official History of the siege indicates Missouri and Illinois ANG forces were defeated in detail after flanking movements by Holnist cavalry—among their worst defeats of the war in set-piece battle.
Veteran soldier. Gifted tactician in the estimations of both ANG and Regular Army superiors.
Shipboard Record:
Keller and approximately 250 well-armed Kellerites came out of hiding within hours of Santiago's appearance, raising questions about whether the two were connected. Now, it is widely accepted that the Kellerites were just one of numerous stowaway populations automatically resuscitated by fail-safes when the ship's main computer went offline.
The Kellerites proved themselves fearsome fighters, sweeping aside Spartans, Holnists, and U.N. Marine forces alike. They eventually breached Damage Control, where they are believed to have killed the ship's Executive Officer, Francisco D'Almeida. The Kellerites also looted the secondary armory through a ruse in which they disguised themselves as shipboard firefighters.
Like the Spartans, the Kellerites eventually secured their own Landing Pods.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Humans are social animals. The tribe--comprising relations of blood and geographic place--is elemental to our identities, as well as to our survival.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Rapid advances in technology caused parasocial relationships to replace physical ones, undermining physical communities.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? A local communitarian ethic, combined with a proper skepticism toward the atomizing consequences of technology.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Left-Behind |
| Languages | English (primary) |
| Future Works | Against All Others, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, The Good Neighbor's Bible |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/d/d6/Pahlavi_leader_head.gif)
The conventional model of genealogy is a tree bearing fruit at the terminus of each branch. Such a model implies that all branches are created equal, but this is not the case. Some are weak, others diseased. Orchardists solve this problem by pruning unhealthy branches, conserving nutrients for the choicest blossoms. Without this care, the tree produces nothing remarkable, and certainly nothing they would care to use as root stock to perpetuate the breed." - Homo Sapien Superior
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Warrant Officer
Mission Position: Director, Unity Genetics Lab
Country of Origin: Imperial State of Iran
Faction: Human Ascendancy
Birth Date: 03-09-2005
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 59 kg
Personal History:
Born in Rasht, Iran. Cousin of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Sent into care of relatives in Geneva, Switzerland at age 15 following deaths of parents from Red Flu. Received Ph.D. in molecular biology from Stanford University. Married, 2027. Husband died almost immediately of Neville-Townsend Disorder.
Recruited from post-graduate studies by venture capitalist Kyrie Tallowan to become supervisory geneticist at Imre-Meinertzhagen in Buffalo, NY. Nominated for Noble Prize in Medicine in 2029 for breakthroughs in viral re-transcription with applications for suppression of autoimmune disorders. Prize denied following public revelation that subject had advanced a memo to Iranian Shah Ali Reza Pahlavi endorsing mandatory genetic screenings and sterilization of persons with markers for degenerative hereditary illness and antisocial tendencies who would not, or could not, undergo remedial gene therapies.
Visiting scholar at Soviet Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine investigating genes that encode proteins aiding DNA repair. Team achieved major advances in anti-aging, enabling “Long Politburo” of 2041-2065 and laying theoretical groundwork for Wespe-Quinn-Vagner Method of cryogenic stasis later selected for Unity crew. Advised Soviet health officials on aerosol vaccination solutions for 2039 outbreak of Red Flu.
In 2043, appointed Vice President, Special Projects Division, American Reclamation Corporation (ARC), with endowment from Iranian government. Detailed to the Royal Court of Iran, 2044-5, as adjunct to the medical staff treating Crown Prince Rafaël Pahlavi. Resigned in protest over Prince's preference for long-term palliative care over gene modification therapy. (His doctors were eventually replaced with care-giving robots. The Prince succumbed to his illness within the year despite widespread belief on his medical team that a cure had been within reach.)
Posted to ARC's Pacific Sector upon returning to the United States at height of Second Civil War. Repeatedly directed ARC’s private military contractors to forcibly immunize persons presented at federal refugee camps. Contributed to 2052 development of Red Flu DNA vaccine for drug-resistant Θ variant. Observers have often linked subject's appointment to a decisive shift in ARC's research interests from artificial intelligence to genetic series studies. Oversaw Project Platinum, an attempt to suppress age-related cognitive malfunctions in long-serving members of the U.S. Congress. Authored a well-known dissenting opinion against mandatory repatriation to Earth of Circle Armstrong lunar colony residents at 45, contending that the value of their institutional knowledge outweighed the burdens incurred from administering geriatric care in space.
Recruited to join Unity crew on recommendation of former ARC CEO Oscar van de Graaf. Tasked to initiate long-term evaluation of Chiron's effects on human genome. Has proposed that purpose-bred colonists would be uniquely suited to achieve mission results.
Psych Profile: Supremacist
Feelings of helplessness over loved one's deaths displaced to pursuit of medical immortality. Subject repeatedly refused treatment for post-traumatic stress.
Strong aversion to physiological infirmities. Has described those without access to genetic medicine as "slaves" for whom fully enjoyment of life, liberty, and opportunity is impossible.
ARC personnel file identifies the following "Officer-Like Qualities:" clarity of purpose, positive professional self-image, strong work ethic, lack of tolerance for the suffering of others.
Shipboard Record:
Disregarding orders to report to a medical triage station to support casualty assessment, Pahlavi instead organized a hostile takeover of the Unity Genetics Lab. Her supporters disarmed, then executed, two U.N. Security Force guards and looted the seed bank from cold storage.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? The most successful organisms are those that have adapted to their environment.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Compassion for those less fortunate consumed scarce resources that could have been used for the benefit of the strong.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To produce Homo Sapien Superior.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Perfectionist |
| Languages | English (primary), Farsi, French |
| Future Works | Eternity in the Garden, Homo Sapien Superior, I Made Him From Clay |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/3/3c/Germaine_leader_head.jpg)
A closed ethical system is as fragile in its own way as a closed mind. What cannot flex with the winds of change will surely break." - The New Feudalism
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Senior Commander
Mission Position: Section Chief, Aquatic Operations Director
Country of Origin: French Union
Faction: New State
Birth Date: 12-12-2022
Height: 180.34 cm
Weight: 82.9 kg
Personal History:
Native of Sidon, Mandatory Lebanon. Third son of leading Maronite political dynasty. Following family tradition, sent to École Navale. First posting to Mars-el Kabir Naval Base. Made regular call-outs in defense of Oranais. Contemporaries recalled subject sharing the then-common attitude of French naval officers that the French press was single-handedly undermining the integrity of the French Union by deliberately publishing inflammatory material about colonial suppression efforts.
Volunteered for service on inland waterways. From 2052, commanded U.N. riverine flotilla attached to U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). Thrice mentioned in despatches. Multiple decorations for personal heroism. Worked closely with French-, Belgian-, and Rwandan-aligned warlords, with whom subject was often photographed in Elizabethville and Goma hotels. On three occasions, ordered sailors ashore without prior approval to protect local collaborators and their families. Intervention by patrons in France likely shielded subject from sanction for this and other questionable behavior while in U.N. service, including dispensation of pain medication at rates 300% higher than comparable commands in Marine Nationale.
WIA by Soviet-sponsored Jing-Swei Security Services missileers in Orientale Province during combat with Congolese Army. Invalidated to French Guyana. Joined overland expeditions to Amazonia during extended convalescence. Temporarily reassigned to support biological surveys of Madagascar and Tahiti, 2057-58. On a short return to France in 2059, observed meeting with members of the century-old Organisation armée secret only days prior to the assassination of Le Monde editor-in-chief Cyprien Fornaud. Leveraged favorable political climate to be returned to MONUSCO as head of Lake Goma Detachment. Made rear admiral during the short presidency of Aymeric Le Baume as France increased its footprint on the African continent to reinforce friendly governments against destabilization by threat actors aligned with Morgan Industries.
Court martialed, 2063, following allegations that his command massacred prisoners at Kisangani in retaliation for destruction of gunboat Légère. Acquitted, but formally reprimanded for intervening to damage prosecutions of own crew. Journalists found that subject had resettled discharged subordinates and refugee auxiliaries on own family properties outside Montréal. Considered a martyr in allied political circles.
Opposed mechanization of French workforce. After court-martial, advocated censorship to shore up flagging popular support for French colonial wars. Accused leftist political parties of attempting to destroy French empire at the expense of subject peoples, contending that they would make easy targets for exploitation by Communists, nationalists.
Reassigned briefly to Submarine Forces, French Antarctic Patrol, 2066-8. Led several successful missions to rescue distressed submarines worldwide. Abruptly reassigned to Unity Mission, mid-2069, as part of “The Doomed Twenty-nine,” a move to foist temporarily-unpopular French military officers on the U.N.
Psych Profile: Aristocrat
Aloof and anti-social. Impolitic, bordering on insubordinate. Unused to consequences.
Improvisational leader. Prioritizes results and personal relationships over respect for externally-imposed rules and norms. Believes persons of exceptional privilege and talent have moral obligation to care for those less fortunate, who in turn are called to be trusting and quiescent.
Prone to double standards: subject forgives in others performance and attitudes he would not accept in himself. Combination of emotional avoidance, permissive approach to leadership, and sharing in all personal privations fosters extreme loyalty in subordinates. Tendency toward extravagant gift-giving.
Untrusting of novelty.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Humans will instinctively trade freedom of thought and action for guarantees of physical security.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Western Democracy did not compromise sufficiently to soothe the worst impulses of the masses.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? An enlightened, paternalistic leadership and a carefully-curated society.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Ship's Captain |
| Languages | Arabic, French (primary), Kinyarwanda |
| Future Works | The Discipline of Obedience, The New Feudalism, The Organization of Fear, Twelve Weeks Before the Mast, The New Feudalism |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/8/89/Metrion_leader_head.jpg)
As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last loose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master." - Librarian's Preface
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Third Lieutenant
Mission Position: Supervisory Archivist, Data Services Division
Country of Origin: Kingdom of Thailand
Faction: Legacy Initiative
Birth Date: 06-07-2031
Height: 170.2 cm
Weight: 72.6 kg
Personal History:
Born in Chiang Tung, Thai-occupied Shan State. Mother, a librarian supporting "cultural conservation" of the area's Thai legacy. Participated in experimental Interlink sessions with Pseudo-Thammaracha digital personality, receiving instruction in Conclave Bible, Torah, Quran, Mahabharata, and key exegeses. Completed initial education at boarding schools in Bangkok after security situation in home province deteriorated. Contact with parents limited to written correspondence until their natural deaths.
Exemplary A-NET scores led to screenings by Tomorrow Institute's Global Human Resource Project and endorsement for accession to Alpha Centauri Mission, pending completion of national service. Graduate of Royal Thai Police Academy. Recognized by U.N. Human Rights Council for thesis exploring the impact of national laws governing subjects' expression on the World Wide Web. PhD in history, Chulalalongkorn University. After graduation, seconded to inshore patrols with Royal Thai Navy, suppressing smuggling of antiquities. Brother, Kriang Sak, a historian, killed in bombing carried out by Shan liberation forces while subject was deployed.
Mobilized to guard the Thai parliament building (Sappaya-Sapasathan) in a failed attempt to prevent the February 2062 Barracks Coup from toppling the government of Prime Minister Niran Rochana over unsubstantiated rumors that the latter was planning to sack several top generals in a surprise meeting scheduled for the following week. Subject assisted several legislators to escape capture and certain execution but later surrendered himself voluntarily as part of the General Amnesty. (The tragedy was compounded when the Prime Minister's private diary, produced by a personal secretary granted asylum in the British embassy, revealed conclusively that the government's summons had been to discuss how to address Kuomintang Chinese bandit stay-behinds in Thailand following the recent fall of Communist China.)
Although dismissed from the police service, subject was given a compensatory sinecure at the National Library of Thailand, where his formal assignment was to purge records judged "injurious to the public welfare" by the new regime's censors. In practice, subject failed to carry out his duties as assigned, smuggling selected files to resistance agents for translation to data tape and safekeeping outside Thailand.
After the Barracks Coup, the new military government of Thailand used the Unity Mission selection boards as a dumping ground for political undesirables. Subject received an appointment to the Thai national contingent in 2066, entering the Data Services Division under Lt. Cmdr. Tạ Dọc Thân.
In 2070, subject led the Cultural Resources Evaluation and Appropriate TEam (CREATE) to build out the Unity's comprehensive library of human knowledge. The final report urged U.N. planners to devote more disk space to cultural products, arguing that these were less independently reproducable than practical information such as manuals on small unit tactics and remote imaging of Chiron's moons.
Psych Profile: Collector
Mission Psych Battery confirms observations by past superiors of surliness and persistent failure to build trusting relationships. Subject also suffers from moderate depression. Strong interest in mementos and memory recovery reflects longing for an idealized past.
Peer interviews demonstrate subject was widely understood to disapprove of Thân's leadership style. Private remembrances, accessed through random audit, indicate subject found Thân "preening" and resented his superior's involvement on the opposite side of the Barracks Coup--an animosity that was reciprocated.
Thân meanwhile characterized subject as "bookish" and "emotionally immature" and repeatedly withheld promotion in filings endorsed by the Captain's Adjutant, Sub-Commander Sheng-ji Yang.
Shipboard Record:
Delivered most Atomic Energy Lab staff, including their director, Dr. Johann Anhaldt, from cold sleep before joining the larger body of Data Services responders in the Data Core. Participated in initial system impact assessments and remote damage control operations.
As conditions deteriorated, Thân countermanded the orders of Captain Garland and Executive Officer D'Almeida in order to prioritize support for Prokhor Zakharov's reactor repairs, leading to a brief confrontation with subject, who was ordered out of the Data Core 36 minutes before it was remotely ejected, during which Thân was killed.
Subject gathered Data Services survivors, declaring his intention to follow Thân's plan of preserving "this fund of human knowledge--our sacred trust." En route to hangar bays, recruited disorganized survivors of other divisions.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Humanity is the sum total of our intellectual output.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? The free flow of information was curtailed.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? Free access to information, without discrimination.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Librarian |
| Languages | English, Esperanto, Thai (primary) |
| Future Works | An Ancient Architecture, Librarian's Preface, Timelines |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/3/3b/Van_de_Graaf_leader_head.jpg)
Central to the American dream is each man's inalienable right to his own property. A man's land was often his patrimony, and always his future. From it, he made his livelihood, and across its length and breadth, he would be king. To obtain it, he fought and died. In 1776, farmers with fowling pieces pledged their mutual fortunes in war against the greatest empire on Earth at that time for the promise of a few measly acres over which they and their descendants could have full dominion." - No Step Backward: A History of the ARC, Vol. 1
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Administrator IV
Mission Position: Mission Factor
Country of Origin: United States of America
Faction: New 2,000
Birth Date: 02-21-2006
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 85.3 kg
Personal History:
Born Cincinnati, OH, heir to multiple fortunes in rail logistics, petrochemicals, and manufacturing. Descended from Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Mother killed in Christmas 2019 bombing of Chicago's Union Station, one of earliest recorded Hypersurvivalist attacks. Read history at Trinity College, U. of Cambridge. J.D., Yale.
From 2026-28, subject was a courtier on St. George's Island in the Indian Ocean, representing VdG Products. Often seen in the company of Doun al-Harith, a pearl merchant and amateur plotter who would later help orchestrate the 2040 coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government of Shiloh in 2040 and installed a monarch in its place.
Most sources estimate that subject’s net worth plunged by between eighty and ninety percent during the first half of the Second American Civil War, and it is broadly accepted that Holnists inflicted most of this loss. Founded American Reclamation Corporation (ARC) in 2039 as private holding company to consolidate numerous personal and family assets on verge of receivership. Convinced U.S. Congress to arrange for Letters of Marque and Reprisal to be issued as part of political experiment to deter or punish secessionist communities. Provided front-line combatants, convoy escorts, and rear-area logistical support to government homeland security, disaster relief, and war-fighting missions, operating as an auxiliary of the U.S. and Canadian Armed Forces.
On the decennial anniversary of its founding, the ARC employed one in six working Americans. Appointed Secretary of the Interior, July 2049. Credited with independent liberation of Utah, Nevada, and Northern Arizona from survivalist militias in 2054, cooperating with Nauvoo Legion and the Volunteer Army of the United States, receiving only limited assistance from Regular Army.
Ranked second-richest American by Forbes, 2055. Made two unsuccessful bids for elected office between 2056 and 2060, seeking first a Senate seat, then the White House itself. Continued to bankroll handpicked down-ballot candidates after withdrawing, becoming “Father of the American Restoration Party,” which received 23% of the national vote in 2060 election.
CAUTION: Numerous allegations that ARC regional administrators perpetrated debt peonage and other forms of human slavery during periods of corporate stewardship of "rebellious" territories preceding readmittance to the Union. Various media outlets concurrently investigated ARC "company towns," consistently uncovering credible evidence of systematic abuses of workers' rights. ARC reached a $1.3 trillion settlement with the U.S. Government.
Following Reconstruction, led ARC in successful entry to civilian aerospace industry, with focus on zero-gravity resource extraction. Obtained exclusive contracts to service mining and terraformation projects on Jovian moons. First civilian to visit Asteroid Belt. Successfully, and controversially, negotiated Congressional buy-out of ARC stock on favorable terms in 2064 to thwart Morgan Industries proxy. Later served as first chairman of the ARC in its new form as quasi-independent federal corporation, supervising U.S. reconstruction. Major inspiration for the Drumhead Riots of 2066 and 2067, when millions of displaced Americans, including large numbers of disabled veterans, protested his recommendations to the President that the U.S. Government establish a work requirement in order to receive any social services. Forced to step down from CEO position and accept a non-voting position on the ARC Board in October 2066 after the "Remarks at Buffalo," when subject expressed a desire for the American president to behave "more like the Shah."
Contributed $232 billion to obtain one of fifteen billets reserved for proprietors aboard Unity, intending to demonstrate viability of such ventures. Personally interviewed and recruited the three hundred "stakeholding" families chosen to populate his new charter colony. Additionally, secured the services of dozens of world-class experts in a variety of fields (e.g., mining, surveying, agronomy), competing directly with Unity crew selection mechanisms. Organized the development of a founding document, The Pilgrim's Charter, signed by each charter colonist.
Psych Profile: Empressario
Impulsive, personalistic leadership style. Cultivated extensive patronage network in the legislative and judicial branches of American government. Labeled "The Collector" by unfriendly press, in reference to supposed favors owed to him by officials. Very likely to suborn mission resources to private ends.
Proud of a record of public service to complement success in private business. Universally recognized as a keen and successful judge of managerial talent.
Pedantic. Obsessive concern that others should be made to follow rules and fulfill commitments--even those made under duress. Hyper-focus on proper sequestration of ARC equipment and personnel from that of the expedition proper.
Possibility that determination to develop ARC colony as business venture will cause tension with both mainline colony and own followers.
As an amateur historian, fond of using simplified and sensational imagery to confer controversial behaviors with a veneer of moral legitimacy. Once wrote that, "A frontier cannot be tamed by the same people who will ultimately settle it" while disputing the need for the investiture of a Space Governing Body in the form of Comprehensive Transport.
Shipboard Record:
Used ARC private security forces to plunder multiple cargo bays prior to evacuation, seizing chartered personnel and equipment at the expense of the ongoing emergency response. Subject is alleged to have conducted several "show trials," accusing prisoners of theft, a "crime" for which they were then executed.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Hierarchy is a natural relation for Man.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? The most durable form of government--monarchy--was abandoned too early.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? A "modern" monarch, well-educated, wealthy enough to resist seduction by special interests, and with the full blessings of genetic medicine.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Don |
| Languages | English (primary) |
| Future Works | The Pilgrim's Charter, No Step Backward: A History of the ARC, Vol. 1, Under My Wings, All Things Prosper: A History of the ARC, Vol. 2, Years of Salt and Strife |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/d/d0/Cobb_leader_head.jpg)
For millennia, we have gazed upon the stars at night and wondered, what lies in the darkness beyond? Only rarely have we asked the far more important question: why so much darkness within?" - Delving
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Administrator II
Mission Position: Mission Factor
Country of Origin: Crown Colony of Hong Kong
Faction: Dreamers of Chiron
Birth Date: 10-19-2034
Height: 190.9 cm
Weight: 77.1 kg
Personal History:
Son of Ian Dunross Struan, tai-pan of Struan's Pacific Trading Company, and his Chinese mistress, Chen An-Wi. Famously, a teenage odds runner at Hong Kong Jockey Club. Educated Eton and Balliol Colleges, U. of Oxford. Read philosophy.
Entered British Special Intelligence Service, 2057. Duties unknown. Released on hardship following accidental death of elder brother, Marc Struan, 2062. Five years with MI6 reportedly left Cobb a changed man. Gone was the wastrel who had misspent his youth in the Kowloon Walled City. In his place, a professional crisis manager took the wheel at Struan’s Hong Kong just as Asian financial markets entered a period of severe instability. Exceeded low expectations by successfully leveraging underworld contacts to navigate a series of scandals involving allegations of flawed drug trials by whistleblowers.
Oversaw Struan's emergence as leading source of research funding in the fields of mnemonics, oneirology, and "resocialization." Expert at obtaining rush patents for various procedures relating to memory encoding and retrieval. Controversially tested invasive compliance technologies, including so-called "nerve staples," on incarcerated populations in India, Iran, and the People's Republic of China. Coordinated successful legal defense against multiple cases of intellectual property theft brought against Struan's, 2065-69.
With the help of American and Israeli mercenaries, built Sabre Group, an in-house intelligence unit, which later spun out as a full-fledged private military corporation. Struan's became notorious for the seeming immunity of its people and assets to mischief in some of the most insecure places on the planet. Persistent rumors that Morgan Industries executives were disallowed from acting against Struan's interests without prior written approval from the Board of Directors. By age 35, subject had survived three assassination attempts credited to corporate rivals.
Respected authority on commercial, industrial, and military applications of lucid dreaming. Has called for sustained public investments in the Human Connectome Project to understand anatomical and functional relationships in the human brain. Appointed Factor, head of the company's onboard contingent, following Struan's accession as twelfth Unity Mission prime contractor. Remit to evaluate Chiron's biological resources for potential pharmaceutical application. Accompanied by more than 200 company employees and contractors.
Psych Profile: Dreamer
Avoidant personality traits detected. Pronounced narcissistic tendencies may be a form of self-soothing by redirecting attention to self. Low scores on Atherholt Trauma Function Test.
Unrealistic self-image reinforced by high media profile and romanticism of former career in national intelligence.
Expert negotiator. Ranked Chess Grand Master. In both arenas, noted for exploiting counterparts' anxieties. Prefers to do business on the basis of personal relationships.
Unusually self-critical leadership style may signal deep-seated Imposter Syndrome arising from paternal estrangement. Willing to alter opinions in accordance with new facts. Prefers to surround self with multiplicity of views, seeking input from experts in different fields. Enjoys "jousting" with intellectual opponents.
Medical Note: Post-launch analysis of pre-flight tox screens indicates subject had elevated levels of synthetic adrenaline, endorphins, and a psychotropic aggression enhancer consistent with use of hyperstims. This individual is unsuitable for an emergency response billet.
Shipboard Record:
With Santiago and Landers, Cobb's name is usually held in contempt by other survivors. Many eyewitness accounts confirm that Cobb and his Sabre Group mercenaries roamed the cargo bays seizing people and equipment at gunpoint.
Cobb is known to have rendezvoused with Dr. Aleigha Cohen and her followers sometime before departing Unity.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Our greatest stumbling block is the unconscious Self.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Humanity failed to address its own proclivity toward self-destruction.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To turn our attention to plumbing the limits of the true frontier: the human psyche.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Addict |
| Languages | English (primary), Chinese (Cantonese) |
| Future Works | Chiron, It's Peoples - A Psychological Inventory, Delving, A Noble House |
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How do you unbake a failed dessert? You don't. Once the ingredients have gone in and the cooking is done, they will forever flavor the pudding. But you can introduce new flavors, too. Stronger ones. You can mask the mistake, redirect the palate, and achieve an end result that, while imperfect, will still satisfy most of the time. People are much the same way. The wrong experiences produce material that is more difficult to work with, but by layering enough of the new, we can compensate. The finest chef isn't the one who can make a memorable meal with the choicest ingredients, but the one who can salvage a disaster." - The Mind, A Diagnostic Guide
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Warrant Officer
Mission Position: Chief of Neurosurgery
Country of Origin: Burma Colony
Faction: Dreamers of Chiron
Birth Date: 02-03-2042
Height: 164.6 cm
Weight: 61.2 kg
Personal History:
Born in Rangoon. English and Iraqi descent. Father, colonel, British Army in Burma. Mother, a sculptor, suffered from severe opioid dependency.
Attended Wycombe Abbey School, Sydney, until expulsion at 15. Permanently maimed classmate during dispute over use of video-telephone.
Ph.D. in neurosurgery from U. of Melbourne. Published award-winning paper on regenerative stem cell therapy to repair damage to the Central Nervous System. Disciplined twice by University Ethics Committee for advocating that patients be encouraged to choose experimental courses of treatment even when conventional medicine was more likely to deliver superior outcomes. Held over on strength of past work.
Completed contract research on cognition, sensory memory, and mind-machine interface for American Reclamation Corporation, making frequent trips into Indian Ocean Exclusion Zone. Participated in psych screenings for 2065 U.S. candidates for Unity mission, including several members of Congress and high-ranking national security officials. Organized testing of neural monitoring equipment connected to ARC Vault Program. Concluded that cold hibernation was a viable potential solution to both interstellar travel and nuclear winter, with long-term neural degeneration holding at "acceptable levels."
Convened 2066 Singapore Symposium on Social Deviance. Lectured on neural transplantation as a behavioral corrective. Accepted position as head of psychopharmacological research with Struan's, HK, same year. Role in controversial development and application of "Re-Soc" treatments led to black listing by Western academia. Accepted as Chief of Neurosurgery for Unity Mission at urging of Soviet and Communist Chinese delegations. Responsibilities include supervision of ReSoc patients and evaluation of cryogenic hibernation processes.
Note: Post-launch leaks of classified cables confirm that subject consulted U.K. intelligence community on "enhanced interrogation" and participated in hundreds of interviews with prisoners kept in solitary confinement. Subject was also lead scientist in abortive program exploring possibility of shared, lucid dreaming in a digital medium.
Psych Profile: Transgressor
Reflexive problem solver. Especially attracted to high-controversy projects.
Views knowledge as a highly portable form of power.
Tendency to seek out and sustain dysfunctional relationships, reflecting need for adversarial encounters that reaffirm the superiority of subject's own needs and judgements and facilitate displacement of guilt and personal accountability onto others.
CAUTION: Suspected Cleckleyan psychopathy presenting on all three spectrums: boldness, disinhibition, meanness. Interviews with former Melbourne University staff indicate that, while still a student, subject was arrested three times on various charges, including breaking-and-entering and theft. Acquitted on all counts. Records apparently destroyed. According to Morgan Industries intelligence products based on work with a mole inside the Noble House, subject's Hong Kong subordinates lodged numerous complaints with Struan's ombudsman alleging retaliation for dissent.
Shipboard Record:
Cohen was present in tUnity's Corrections Service Unit block when emergency protocols activated and crew resuscitation began. At some point, Sabre Group gunmen arrived and disarmed U.N. Security Forces personnel. On her own authority, and against standing orders, Cohen then removed some number of incarcerated persons from holding.
Cohen led her party to Cargo Bay 14Λ HK-2, where she folded into Factor Roshann Cobb's organization.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Our greatest stumbling block is the unconscious Self.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Humanity failed to address its own proclivity toward self-destruction.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To turn our attention to plumbing the limits of the true frontier: the human psyche.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Mad Scientist |
| Languages | English (primary), Russian |
| Future Works | The Mind, A Diagnostic Guide; Limening; Remarks at the Singapore Symposium on Social Deviance; A World Upside Down |
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(https://static.wikitide.net/alphacentauriwiki/4/40/Nagao_leader_head.jpg)
If the choice is between going forward and going back, then the problem is solved at once. The backward path leads home. Only a fool lingers in the forest after dark." - Remembrances
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: First Lieutenant
Mission Position: Section Chief, Field Operations
Country of Origin: Japan
Faction: Shapers of Chiron
Birth Date: 03-15-2010
Height: 167.3 cm
Weight: 75.1 kg
Personal History:
Born in Yonaguni City. Father, reef biologist. Mother, minerologist. Travelled extensively as a child, with extended stays in some of the most isolated environments on the planet, including Aralkum Desert, Australian Outback, Okavango Delta, and Gran Chaco. Primary and secondary education through Interlink. Present at initial global response to 2017 typhonic capsizing and breaches of Ilam and Cāṁda Nuclear Power Barges in Indian Ocean Exclusion Zone. Graduated magna cum laude from U. of Tokyo with B.A. in geology and PhD in environmental engineering.
Expert in radiological damage remediation. Consulted for Long Island Lighting Company on nine-reactor atomic power complex in Shoreham, NY. Convinced company directors to buy out surrounding communities, which were bulldozed and replaced with fields of radiation-absorbing sunflowers. Helped persuade U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to grant operating license despite its concerns with Site Emergency Response Plan. Achieved decontamination of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and associated exclusion zone on behalf of Tokyo Electric Power Co. Subject's method of nitrogen soil fixation resolved inadequacies with original frozen soil barrier laid down to prevent groundwater contamination.
Eight years as coordinator for Amazon Basin Revitalization Project crafting restoration plan for Pantanal floodplains. Works cited frequently by opponents of Hidrova Project, which proposed redirecting Paraguay River to improve navigation and irrigation. Following Pantanal's destruction, joined Sahel Reforestation Initiative in Mandatory Darfur as employee of Green Oasis. Projects frequently slowed by complications arising from the ongoing Saharan Burst Wars. Subject eventually convinced employers to hire Triax Corporation mercenaries to protect his botanical testing stations. Subject disciplined and ultimately dismissed for countermanding orders dispatching Triax fire support to stop attacks on pump stations serving Atlantropa Scheme. Retired to teaching position at Kyoto University.
Japanese nominee for Forward Contact Team (FCT) lead. Appointed lieutenant to FCT leader Jeremy Tanner Marsh.
Psych Profile: Penitent
Strict, solitary upbringing resulted in unusual capacity for self-denial, bordering on asceticism. Treated at U. Tokyo for agoraphobia, depression.
Personal diaries reflect keen appreciation for biodiversity and plight of Earth's ecosystem.
Subordinates most often describe subject as "passionate" and "decisive." Scored .72 on Atherholt Trauma Function test.
Practitioner of "Jiten," combining precepts of Gaian, Buddhist, and Shinto philosophy. Earth-worship. Tendency to presume upon the greater importance of ecological conservation as compared to other goals, including individual and community prosperity.
Shipboard Record:
Member of Forward Contact Team. Withdrew from the supervision of J.T. Marsh (Director of Field Operations) to found independent colony upon learning that Unity Mission had been dissolved.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? We will never be whole spiritually until we as a species atone for the destruction of Earth.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? We failed to save Earth with the powers at our disposal.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? Chiron must be transformed into Earth, and the survivors of Earth relocated there.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Monk |
| Languages | Arabic, English, Esperanto, Japanese (primary), Portuguese |
| Future Works | Part I - The Shaping of the Earth, Remembrances, Yesterday's Tomorrow |
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(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzm8zP5BkGYH0KyQZ9P2OQXsWOUdc-tmCobg&s)
You will join us because we can offer something no one else can. The clan gave your ancestors an identity. The state gave your parents protection. Only the corporation can give you purpose. – Inaugural Address to the Workforce
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Administrator III
Mission Position: Mission Factor
Country of Origin: Republic of Korea
Faction: Unicorp
Birth Date: 03-01-2030
Height: 175.2 cm
Weight: 71.2 kg
Personal History:
Born Seoul, Korea. Eldest son of parents who operated an unlicensed fishing trawler. Withdrawn from secondary school before graduation to participate in family business.
During Typhoon Geurami, subject replaced injured skipper and led the rescue of three stranded persons near South Skira Island, deftly evading Japanese and Soviet patrols. Unbeknownst to their saviors, these were two executives of Dai Seung Heavy Industries and a representative of the rising Golden China Movement. Within weeks, subject was called up for aptitude testing by the Global Human Resources Project. Furnished with a tutor paid for by Dai Seung, subject aced the next Suneung exam.
BA in Political Economy from Seoul National University on corporate scholarship at Dai Seung Professional Campus. Received David A. Lake Award for thesis contrasting the results of Management Cybernetics applied by left-of-center governments in Chile, Ethiopia, Zaire, and Japan. During junior year, worked as a research supervisor organizing material for Dr. Phillip Lochlan's study of the American Reclamation Corporation's early approach to temporary civil administration in rebellious states and provinces throughout North America.
Fast-tracked to roles in Labor Analytics and Labor Partnerships after graduation. Consulted on Dai Seung’s expansion of the Chosŏn Taeyangho Great Northern Railway, spending nine months on-site in the Rangrim Mountains. As a “non-traditional” hire often met with suspicion and skepticism by colleagues, subject preferred assignments to remote, difficult regions. During work on Alaska's Ted Stevens Bridge between Little Diomede Island and Cape Prince of Wales, subject maintained high workforce morale despite polar conditions, sourcing alcohol, luxury foodstuffs, and entertainment datatapes, even rerouting Young Family trawlers to make deliveries. Obsessive adherent to “Gemba” philosophy of management. Notorious for spending half of each twelve-hour work day walking down the construction zone on foot. Safety engineers learned to triple-check their work, lest they be upbraided and fired on the spot for endangering workers' lives.
Promoted to General Manager of the Komdok mine in the Koryoin Autonomous Oblast in Soviet-occupied zone of the northeast Korean peninsula. Dai Seung narrowly defeated Hyundai Heavy Metals and Korea Zinc to secure the nation’s first detente contract with the Soviet Union. Project was frequently halted due to culture clashes among the multi-ethnic workforce and suspected sabotage by rival chaebols, including Struan’s Pacific Trading Company. Subject spent three months attaining fluency in Koryo-mar by use of a Data Wheel, then negotiated a deal in which Dai Seung promised to enhance living conditions progressively, contingent upon workers meeting higher quotas on shorter timelines. Progress resumed as foremen drove their teams to vie for extra prizes, including private housing converted from shipping containers and cases of Hite beer. Pravda touted the results as “internal competition with Soviet characteristics.” Two decades later, Dai Seung’s CEO remembered “the Komdok episode” as “that moment when we were so successful, we fixed Communism with Capitalism and the Americans reacted by sending a third carrier battle group to Subic Bay.”
Promoted to leadership of new Hostile Environment Resource Development vertical in 2062, subject was called to participate in the Sponsored Governments Initiative for underwater cities in the Nakdong Delta (the New Straits Developments). This arrangement ceded most aspects of domestic administration to Dai Seung and other for-profit entities as a money-saving measure for the Korean government. Many of the citizens affected were eventually gainfully employed by their new landlords. In speech at the University of Chicago in 2064, subject declared that, “Anything worth doing in the solar system today is being done by the corporation. Profit is both the motivation and the means. If I want to get rich, I had better do it right—and doing it right costs some money. The company that seeks runaway profits gorges itself in the short term and goes bust in the fullness of time, alienating its workers and then, inevitably, its customers. Unlike governments, corporations have no guaranteed customers, so they must deliver value continuously. This is the way not only to sustainable wealth, but to civilizational achievement.”
After hostile takeover of the Dai Seung board by the conservative Jirisan Clique in 2068, subject was added to Korea’s list of candidates for the U.N. Alpha Centauri Mission.
Psych Profile: Builder
Very blunt demeanor paired with practical outlook. Subject's "rags to riches" experience fuels a staunch belief in the individual's responsibility for self-improvement and a tendency to discount environmental barriers to personal success.
Significantly higher-than-average trust in corporations to deliver "moral outcomes for society" suggests individual could be a useful bridge between Mission Command and Charter colonists.
Very high scores (.81 average) on Atherholt Trauma Function Test. Personal hardiness rooted in adventurous childhood spirit. Insists on hands-on, observation-based management that requires executives to expose themselves to the same dangers as the labor force. Derives extreme satisfaction from completion of tasks, the more difficult the better. Individual strongly recommended for command position.
Shipboard Record:
Subject held Dai Seung contingent together during evacuation, then declared himself head of “New Unity Industries,” better known as Unicorp, upon landing, promising that those who worked would be “taken care of.”
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? When expectation and reward are perfectly in balance, there is nothing that cannot be achieved.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Corporations put short-term profit ahead of long-term sustainability.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? Corporate government under the Unicorp model.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Company Town |
| Languages | English, Korean (primary) |
| Future Works | The Unicorp Solution |
*This write-up draws inspiration and language from fiction developed by user MysticWind.
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(https://i.imgur.com/uun5AFW.jpeg)
Democracy. Decimals. Hydraulics. These diverse gifts came from cultures that, although separated by thousands and thousands of miles, had one thing in common: they worshipped the living Sun. Adherents to the Abrahamic faiths insist that their holy texts already contained the answers to today's problems when they were first set forth some three thousand years ago. Brothers, I give you the wisdom of three hundred thousand. – Centauri’s Dawn
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Petty Officer, Second Class
Mission Position: Senior Powertech
Country of Origin: Federation of Centroamerica
Faction: Centauri-Ra
Birth Date: 05-03-2038
Height: 162.6 cm
Weight: 64.9 kg
Personal History:
Born Guatemala City, as Lucero Eztli Salvador. Mother, a police officer, died of aggressive skin cancer when subject was nine years old. Father, a grocer, killed three years later by Hurricane Avignal. Taken in by aunt, a prosecutor for the Inter-American Court for Human Rights and an advocate for preservation of Mayan culture. Teenage years marked by repeated juvenile offenses: assault, truancy, shoplifting, data denial, vandalism. Registered member of Centauri Ra tribal youth culture. Fragmentary auto-lawyer court records suggest participation in no fewer than five sanctions and two unsanctioned gang battles resulting in moderate civilian injuries.
Attended José Simeón Cañas Free University, studying Energy Engineering and Mesoamerican Mythology. For more than a year, volunteered at school’s overcrowded dermatological health clinic, becoming shift coordinator. To earn spending money, subject held a job with the university-affiliated Victor Montejo Museum preparing artifacts for public viewing.
Went missing in April 2058 for more than 59 hours before being found alone, in the jungle, in a fugue state that police attributed to heavy ingestion of ayahuasca. Abruptly dropped out after a school trip to El Mirador the following month. Embarked on worldwide tour of archeological sites dedicated to solar worship, from Hawikuh to Tiwanaku, subsidized by freelance solar work. Sacrificed at Apollo’s Throne, Khartoum. Inducted as acolyte. Returned home in 2060 and resumed studies until Second Central American Civil War. Dodged El Salvadoran draft officers amidst separatist riots in Antiguo. Reappeared in Guatemala City as head of Espíritu de Sangre (Blood Spirit, EdS), a municipal auxiliary force made up of many former gang-mates.
Honored with Order of Justo Rufino Barrios after the Defense of Palacio Verde. EdS was integrated into Centroamerican armed forces as an autonomous militia. Redeployed to suppress various insurgencies, including Costa Rican national secessionists, Mexican revanchists in Chiapas, Holnist free-loggers in Los Altos. Wartime conduct largely within bounds of Geneva Convention, though subject was involved on numerous occasions in the shaving and exposing of captives to direct sunlight until tanned. Rumors of destruction of local jungle neo-pagan shrines attributed to accidental burnover while clearing foliage in pursuit of neo-Contras. Commended with Roméo Dallaire Medal for bravery in the field following entrance of U.N. Security Forces into conflict.
Recalled from Yucatán annexation campaign for noncombat relief duties in the wake of Hurricane Quincy. Unit ably performed flood rescue operations. Received Medal of Two Oceans for restoring electric service in Tegucigalpa with improvised Perovskite solar cells reprinted from cyclone-damaged building material. Reprimanded for ordering his troops to fly the Midday Banner from the top of the Edificio Arce. Recurrent history of elevating loyalty to Ra tribal religion quietly overlooked by military superiors despite complaints from Red Cuban exile officers embedded in mission.
Returned to Sudan after the war. Employed as power cell array optimizer for Morgan Solarfex in Omdurman. Fully initiated and rechristened as member of Aten priesthood. Learned Coptic, began mentoring local disaffected young men. Frequent speaker at Khepri Temple of the Dawn. Guest sermon, “Eternal Morning is Man’s Gift,” achieved minor renown on local nets, earning frequent mention in criticisms of Third World responses to Global Warming. From 2066-67, joined Arctic Bright, Inc., installing photovoltaic cells on behalf of the British Antarctic Survey sensitive enough to harvest refracted light from water, ice, and snowbanks.
Recruited as solar power engineer by U.N. Alpha Centauri Mission Select Committee. Recommended for emergency response experience, military service, hiring network, and representation of the neo-pagan Ra cult and the Sons of Ra tribal subculture.
Psych Profile: Prophet
Bright disposition and sense of camaraderie upon initial impression. Further interaction reveals apparent good nature accompanied by bouts of braggadocio, male swagger. Positive personality undercut by inclination towards tendency to steer conversations, bordering on domination.
Displays ability to channel experience of youth tribal warfare towards prosocial activities, even in peacetime. This, with gang affiliation, indicates desire for belonging.
Enthusiasm for sun worship likely a reaction to parents’ deaths from environmental hazards and the general interest of subject's age cohort in meta-narratives that explain the series of political, environmental, and social disasters collectively dubbed The Great Mistake.
Shipboard Record:
Rallied Power Operations team to make emergency repairs to Unity’s solar sails, often fighting Holnist death squads hand-to-hand before the arrival of U.N. Marine Forces days later. Frequently dragged bound captives into ship’s observation chambers for light exposure as Unity hurtled further in-system.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? Heat and light are the source of all life.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? Modern humans abandoned faith traditions that served them well for uncounted thousands of years.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? A return to prehistoric models of worship.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Zealot |
| Languages | Arabic, Coptic, Spanish, Xinca (primary) |
| Future Works | Centauri’s Dawn |
*This write-up draws inspiration and language from fiction developed by user MysticWind.
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(https://avatars.steamstatic.com/fe63e9f40b96e36542db8759add40397818c9752_full.jpg)
What's more important, the data or the jazz? Sure, sure, 'Information should be free' and all that- but anyone can set information free. The jazz is in how you do it, what you do it to, and in almost getting caught without getting caught. The data is 1's and 0's. Life is the jazz.[/i] – Infobop
Basic Information:
Mission Rank: Petty Officer, Third Class
Mission Position: Cultural Coordinator
Country of Origin: West Indies Co-Prosperity Sphere
Faction: Data Angels
Birth Date: 07-01-2036
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 51 kg
Personal History:
Born Asa Wright in Trinidad. Parents, both professors at newly-established University of Trinidad, were typical of the Caribbean upper middle-class then emerging during the period of greater local autonomy made possible by American distraction with the Pax Decay Wars. Mother, Director of school's Edmundo Ros Conservatory, frequently accepted visiting assignments at University of West Indies campuses region-wide and hired servants to look after her daughter day-to-day, supplementing her learning with piano lessons and Interlink Correspondance for Secondary Learners.
Subject’s personal interests included logic puzzles and home electronics repair. Questioned twice as a youth for signal-jacking local radio stations (playing retro genres like wave and jazz) but released both times as contemporary legal codes had not yet caught up to technology.
BA in electrical engineering and PhD in computer science from Northern Caribbean University. (Since children of staff could matriculate tuition-free at U. of Trinidad, this was a powerful act of personal rebellion.) Undergraduate SysAdmin for the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC). Doctoral thesis explored converging evolution of Canadian AlexTel, French Minitel, and Soviet ОГА protocols in Caribbean use. Post-graduate programmer for Operation Shine Together, a "modern Maginot Line" of coastal defenses pioneered by the Co-Prosperity Sphere to blunt the toll of seasonal hurricanes. Dismissed after two years over misuse of official equipment to place hundreds of illegal long-distance phone calls on behalf of Caribbean Song Festival.
M.O. was "entertain, escalate, and exhilarate,” daring her group of net-hooligans to undertake increasingly higher-risk ops, from infiltrating island tax service systems to momentarily seizing control of industrial supercomputers to run games. Adopting the hacking alias "Sinder Roze", Wright attained a level of seniority among her peers despite being barely in her teens. Subject also began sharing fragments of her politics on the ‘Nodes, which she would continue to do in later years. These remarks denounced “suits” and “squares” in government and business, complaining that the purpose of formal education was to make people into “drones.”
Claimed responsibility for evacuation of Parliamentary Complex in Port of Spain by ringing the President of the Senate's dais during a 2054 vote suspending dLOC funding. Implicated three years later of triggering alarms to scramble crash units at Piarco International Airport as delegates left the signing of the Arima Accords, delaying Soviet and American delegations for more than twelve hours. Rumored to have organized team that phreaked red phones in the control room of the Hatuey Nuclear Power Barge in Santiado de Cuba in 2058, undermining public confidence in plant emergency protocols. The scandal delayed the plant's tie-in by more than a year and led to protests that badly damaged Cuban-American relations. In 2060, exfiltrated classified records from the U.S. National Security Administration that spoke to the extent of its involvement in the collapse of the Communist regime seven years earlier, reigniting bad feeling between the Co-Prosperity Sphere and the U.S. and prompting the resignation of three members of Congress.
In 2061, “Roze” uploaded an exhaustive critique of proprietary source code from Atlas Applications's TOBAR architecture to a public node, claiming to want to "free the jazz”. The warnings were validated by the U.N. Mission to Alpha Centauri’s Data Services unit and led to a lawsuit worth nearly $1 billion. The expedition then took on hundreds of new programmers with the expectation that the ship's code would need to be scrubbed immediately after Planetfall. Time Magazine chose Roze as its Person of the Year in 2062.
Sinder Roze’s activities all but ceased when subject was called to serve in the West Indies Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard during the Sphere's defensive mobilization against piracy by U.S.N. deserters and hyper-survivalist sea militia. Served for eight months aboard the Red Howler-class corvette WITTS Maraj-Petty as a netgunner's mate, responsible for the Trinidadian flagship's digital ordinance.
By the late 2060s, “Sinder Roze” was a cultural icon—an expression of the Caribbean’s ability to produce world-class talent that could stand toe-to-toe with any trained in Boston, Oxford, Beijing, or Moscow. Subject now claimed her alias, making it possible for the Unity Mission’s Talent Selection Board to name her as part of its final push to ensure that none of Earth’s cultural luminaries would be left behind. In 2066, subject gave a series of speeches at University of West Indies campuses to emphatically counter allegations that her most spectacular net-hacks were perpetrated with help from automated compilers, arguing that bespoke code was far superior to what artificial intelligence could supply.
Subject participated in the so-called Frankenstein Debates (2067-8), a series of networked meta-conversations about the likelihood that humans would inadvertently create a hostile artificial intelligence. Concurred with thoughts shared by Unity Mission Data Services head Tạ Dọc Thân that the risk of such an outcome existed in proportion to the number of modifications to original software code. This was the beginning of the "Disk Obedience" movement in software engineering.
Given her prior military training, subject was afforded a light training rotation in order to serve on the Cultural Resources Evaluation and Approration TEam (CREATE), which was tasked with identifying the most-important areas of human knowledge for preservation in the Unity Data Core.
In 2071, hours after Unity’s departure, followers published “Save Me From Suicide,” a digital album of materials collected by CREATE set to subject’s own piano music.
Psych Profile: Hacker
Compulsively turns most interactions into "games" that tease interlocutors, suggesting deep-seated need for attention. Subject sees recreation and play as critical to human happiness.
Talent for mathematics points to mastery of music theory as the underlying basis for subject's computational genius.
Shipboard Record:
Awakened early on the second day of the Crisis on the orders of Data Services Coordinator Lt. Cmdr. Tạ Dọc Thân to address an ongoing 'net-hack affecting bridge computers. After Garland's assassination, Roze used central computer access to locate the majority of the mission's datatechs and "cultural representatives"--primarily teachers and entertainers--in forward compartments and began awakening them in preparation for Planetfall, hoping to build a power base.
Essential Philosophy:
- What is the fundamental truth of the universe? The special feature of the human species is its ability to create art.
- Why did civilization on Earth fail? We set art aside to produce tools to make wealth, which became our addiction.
- What is needed for the survival of the human species on Chiron? To live out the jazz.
Additional Information:
| Archetype | Jester |
| Languages | Trinidad English (primary) |
| Future Works | Infobop, Information Burns, The Alpha Codex |
*This write-up draws inspiration and language from fiction developed by user MysticWind.
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I like Young Kwan-Yo. Dare we hope… for a good leader? I this setting? Excited to see him balance out Morgan with a very different corporate vision.
In this setting, is Korea still divided? Does the ROK still get hit with a massive population crash like the seemingly impending one?
Cuzco! What a guy. I'm sure he and Miriam will get along swimmingly.
Sinder, what chaos. A faction dysfunctional enough to rival the Dreamers! I could see a lot of (good) problems coming from this corner. I'm sure the Legacy Initiative hates them.
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Thanks very much. While they're most definitely not my creations, I'm glad you find them an appealing addition to the overall set of factions.
In terms of good and evil, it's my intention that all factions can be played straight or subverted--meaning any of them could be good or bad. Even those who have been coded as villains for narrative purposes in Racing the Darkness--Yang, Pahlavi, Cobb, and Cohen--can be presented, respectively, as: a genuine ascetic who at least is not a hypocrite when it comes to sacrifice for the Greater Good™; a victim of trauma looking to save the species; and two addicts who, in their more lucid moments, are warning everyone of a meaningful truth: that we must put the log out of our own eye before accusing our neighbors of having a mote in their own.
But Young Kwan-Yong is certainly not an obvious villain, and so, yes, I think he comes across as one of the setting's more approachable leaders, along with, say, Lal and Marsh and maybe Metrion.
I'm having trouble discerning what might distinguish Sinder Roze's faction that that of Sathieu Metrion--not just in terms of motive, but also method. I'm sure Metrion would have no qualms about "liberating" data from a faction that refuses to share.
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The fate of Korea is confused in this setting.
A post of mine on the history of the Soviet Union says that the Americans used atomic weapons to force a near-total reunification of Korea under the South in 1952. This is supported by an early version of the world map.
Later versions of the map clearly show North Korea as an independent Communist state, a problem I have now fixed.
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I revised the material for both Sinder Roze and Sathieu Metrion based on helpful conversations with Eyeless Wannabe. The intent was to distinguish the Data Angels from the Tomorrow Initiative.
The Angels, as you will now see, are dedicated to the idea that humanity is its art. Their data-jacking is a form of cultural expression. They are playful pirates, if you will. Too much work makes a species dull, unhealthy, and ultimately self-destructive.
The Legacy Initiative retains the Peacekeepers' old dedicated to the free flow of information. They recognize the importance of cultural products, but go one step further, arguing that everybody needs access to the same information in order to make reasonable judgements and avoid conflict.
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The expanded profile on Young does a fine job in diving deeper into his personality, the Gemba detail gives a good deal of insight. Also the framing of Komdok as a synthesis of Cold War dialectic. Good quote as well.
My portrayal of the character was basically going off of the sketch (https://alphacentauri.miraheze.org/wiki/New_Unity_Industries) provided in the mod pack as well as some details given by its co-creator, and your rendering furthers the themes I was going for- namely as per the mod's conception, Unicorp is a megacorp that is honest about how monopoly requires command economy and the death of competition.
As far as Young himself went I mostly just had him be a pragmatist who happened to think that his company knows best about how to run the Planet's resources. So the additional material you've added helps to elevate that further to ground that motivation in actual ideology- both in corporate rule, but also corporate rule as not just mere authoritarianism by business suits, but the reconciling of self-interest with long-term group goals.
The Sons of Ra / Centauri-Ra are an adaptation of the Ra Boys from Earth by David Brin, so post-ecological breakdown neopaganism practiced by young macho men. The book also young women Gaian believers who embrace mother goddess femininity, so the Ra Boys are a counterpart. Your profile goes into a bit more detail about how the atavism stretches to prehistoric times, which sounds about right- it's all very paleo. They serve as a rejection of the modern order so much they return past most contemporary golden periods all the way past the Bronze Age, to the earliest most primitive for of worship. And perhaps the social systems to match. Good details about his earlier life, the edits work.
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