Discussion - The Classical Factions of Racing the Darkness

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Classic Factions
University of Planet (Academician Prokhor Zakharov)
Soviet physicist Prokhor Zakharov was often touted as the greatest public scientist of the twenty-first century. At his suggestion, a group of survivors have organized themselves into an academic faculty dedicated to the empirical study of their new homeworld. Zakharov is convinced that misguided deference to religion and folkways prevented Old Earth societies from embracing the technological tools that could have saved them. He has therefore called for a program of scientific inquiry unrestricted by “conventional ethics.” As the mission’s Chief Engineer, Zakharov led the failed effort to repair Unity's damaged fusion plant. His followers received very high doses of radiation and now rely heavily on robot servitors. The University is a research powerhouse.

Gaia's Stepdaughters (Lady Deirdre Skye)
Arch-environmentalists led by the radical conservationist Lady Deirdre Skye, a Free Scottish plant biologist once responsible for Unity’s food supplies. The Gaians believe all living things are interdependent. Skye teaches that humans essentially poisoned Planet Earth to death in a kind of oblivious suicide pact. Gaians insist that survival on Chiron will require living "in dialogue" with the land—in other words, practicing self-restrain to limit the impact of human settlement. The Gaians receive significant bonuses when interacting with Planet.

Human Labyrinth (Chairman Sheng-ji Yang)
Better known as "The Hive,” these hapless survivors are under the authoritarian control of Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, an ex-Chinese political prisoner-turned-apparatchik. Yang seeks to radically redefine what it means to be human, trampling preconceived notions about the capacities of the human brain, the needs of the human spirit, and even the concepts of right and wrong. Yang blames hyper-individualism for the disasters on Old Earth and teaches that only a completely new set of eusocial ethics, enforced by a philosopher king, can prevent human extinction. Yang immediately retreated with his people underground after Planetfall. The Hive has the makings of an industrial colossus.

Morgan Industries (CEO Nwabudike Morgan)
Nwabudike Morgan of Namibia was the richest man in human history. His companies had more power than many countries and were instrumental in building the Unity and training its crew. He has offered survivors a seductive argument: that humanity simply outgrew Old Earth. The only thing to do now is to resist misguided calls to change the age-old pattern of consumption. Life on Chiron will be exactly as it was before: a rat race to determine the haves and have-nots. There is no higher calling but to eat, drink, and be merry. Morgan was one of many mission stowaways, surrounding himself with picked retainers and emerging just prior to Planetfall. The Morganites have the tools to dominate trade on Planet.

Spartan Federation (Colonel Corazón Santiago)
Self-styled colonel, Corazón Santiago, grew up tough on the streets of New Los Angeles and later served on both sides of the Second American Civil War. She learned that Thomas Hobbes was right: existence is a war of all against all. Billions perished on Old Earth because they sat meekly by while Unity left without them. Santiago infiltrated the ship’s security detachment along with her followers and, when the time was right, they struck. Now, they are taking their share of mission resources and building a battle-ready society that will never be subject to tyranny ever again. Reflecting their recent past, the Spartans begin the game locked in a vendetta with all other factions for eighty turns, and with the Human Tribe permanently.

Lord's Conclave (Sister Miriam Godwinson)
American theologian and Christian ecumenicist Sister Miriam Godwinson was a rock of strength during the Unity Crisis and refused to leave the wounded and discarded behind. Now, she has cast them as the inheritors of a God-given bequest. For Miriam, lack of faith explains the collapse of human civilization. Who does not love God, cannot love himself. Who does not love himself is soon at war with his neighbors. The solution? Close study--and obedience to--His manual for right living. The Conclave is a cultural dynamo, and Miriam is determined to collect all the wayward lambs of the Unity flock.

Peacekeeping Forces (Commissioner Pravin Lal)
Pravin Lal, a former U.N. chief of staff and Unity’s Chief Medical Officer, was also a close friend and confidant of the late Captain Garland, whose mantle he has claimed. A Pakistani by birth, Lal holds that unfree governments suffocated human potential and doomed Old Earth to a death spiral of calamities they were powerless to resist. His followers are heirs to the Liberal political tradition: they avow that the only legitimate government is one that has the consent of the governed. The Peacekeeping Forces are a united society that punches far above their own weight on the Planetary Council.