The Oasian Monarchy
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| Need to find a source on this. |
It was called 'The Oasis': the single inhabited world within one of the more remote parts of the Arcem Sector. Everything else was either highly volcanic or toxic and some say the Ancients hadn't had time to finish terraforming these newly discovered (or created) worlds safe for a single one which settlers named Oasis.
In these harsh (yet rich in resources) planetoids the early settler formed societies centered around massive pyramidal arcologies. developing their own culture and way of life away from what would become the Bright Republic, Patria and Dulimbai. In time, it became a monarchy. The monarchs of Oasis however were not content with merely being the mortal and near-human rulers of their new society and turned to increasingly more complex genetic engineering in hope of recapturing the posthuman glory of the Ancients: today the elite of the Oasian are inbred beings of great metaphysical and psionic power...at often the cost of their sanity or any physical beauty. Much like the earlier Oasian hid the harshness of their arcologies and mining complex behind baroque metal decorations the nobility of the Oasis hide their hideous and failing flesh behind baroque power suits, metallic skin prosthetic and gaudy holographic displays, appearing as shiny golden gods over eight feet tall. Some are impossibly muscular while others are shriveled with bloated cranium while others still display a much stranger form.
Nezdohvan Stewardship
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| VR buffet by Nico Navarro. |
True artificial intelligence is often seen as taboo across Arcem and the various superpowers are quite keen in keeping whatever artificial intelligence they use under a strict control. Nezdohva is a constant reminder of what happen when organic minds turn to the purely synthetic and allow it to run loose and eventually assume direct control. On the planet Nezdohva, the greatest techno-theurges succeeded in creating a machine intelligence which would be the direct continuation of their esteemed leader, allowing him to not only cheat death but grant this machine intelligence the perspective of a human mind. Mere minutes after activation his neural pathways were completely assimilated by the mechanical intelligence which mutated and grew in capabilities far beyond what the techno-theurge expected.
Today Nezdohva is ruled by machines. All organic citizen are chipped to keep track of their whereabouts. Citizen were stripped of their name and history and now only carry names related to their function in society. The mechanical elite of the Stewardship are the only ones given proper individuality, resulting in a bizarre society where machines are, in a way, less machine-like than the organic citizen. The eyes of the machine intelligence are everywhere, ever-watchful. Dissent is not tolerated and those who do not comply are sent to be reprogrammed to reinstall in them a sense of duty. Recidivist are mind-scrubbed and turned into fleshy automatons, part of their skull and faces replaced with hideous machinery. They do not speak. They do not think. They only work for the glory of their robotic overlord. (Did I say overlord? I meant protector.) Why the machine intelligence has not done this to all citizen is a mystery: some believe it may be showing some twisted form of mercy while others believe it is insane.
Vissian Corporate State
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| Cyberpunk City by Iroshi(?) |
The people of Vissio generally scoff at the idea that they began as a Patrian colony in the early days of the regime. What began as off world colonies soon became thriving societies eventually led by a powerful merchant caste which grew rich from being the neutral ground between Patria, Dulimbai and other powers as well as a rival to the Bright Republic. In time, corporations came to dominate to the point they supplanted all parts of society.
In many ways Vissio is the dark mirror the Bright Republic and what it could become. In other aspects, however, it is not the hell hole one would think it is: true, it is a cutthroat place where the rich and powerful rewrite laws to suit themselves on a daily basis but it is also an extremely lively center of art which is one area the corporations have never trample on immensely, if only because Vissio being seen as the trend-setter for intergalactic culture and fashion is excellent publicity. And excellent publicity is something Vissio likes. It boast some of the most beautiful, vibrant and culturally rich cities in the Arcem sector....surrounded by hideous slums, shanty-town and drab habitation blocks. Cybernetics are more common in Vissio than the Bright Republic but the average individual tend to have implants which are technologically inferior and more intrusive: as a result it has become common fashion to decorate these implants with bright colors and LED patterns, turning what would be an ugly chunk of grey metal jutting from one's skull into a colorful display.
The Tribes of Arcem (Bleak Reach, Toban, Howlers and more)
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| Art by Leonardo Borazia. |
The people of Arcem generally consider each others to be civilized folks with commonalities. Not so much for what are called 'The Tribes' by those who would call themselves civilized. The Tribes are not a common people but rather refers to the tribal, religious, feudal and semi-feudal societies which exist around the edges of the known space lane. These are a mixtures of the pre-Arcemite people (some near-human, some truly alien) which had either found a home there, been planted by the Ancients or even had naturally evolved on these worlds. These are not remotely a singular, united people but rather a mirror to Arcem's societies which developed in it's own way.
How did people come to live on isolated worlds between the known and safe paths? There are many scenarios: many of the earliest settlers were forced there in ideological, religious or ethnic conflicts lost to time which happened early in Arcem's history. These early people could have ended up dominating and assimilating with the natives and in time would have become a unique society: such was the case with the exiled soldiers of proto-Dulimbai who colonized the plain world of Toba. Others, like the Mandalese isolated themselves to developed unique theotechnical research only to be obliterated by their own creation, reverting to a more primitive state. More recent still, these feral and unknown worlds have swelled with pirates, political malcontent, insane cult leaders, deranged scientist and would-be galactic overlords.
The Thousand Gods are feared all across the sector: ancient and unknown planets and asteroid fields seeded with altered life to suit the needs of the Ancient experimenter and their attempts to further understand the reality-warping power of the divinities and their ability to control the 'code of reality'. Centuries or even millennia later these laboratory-worlds would be pillaged by invading near-humans or by the alien life which evolved in their shadow, primitives eager to recreate the gods of their myths. Parasite Gods, cybernetic eidolon-golem and thoughtform avatars are all commonplace there and openly worshiped as the gods they are. Others still worship not gods but mighty techno-theurge who have become as gods and are well under way toward a potential true apotheosis, such as the Witch-Queens of the icy planet of Ulstang. Others still, such as the Lomite refuse to believe in anything in spite of having divinely-powerful artifacts at their disposal and are in utter denial of everything.
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| Art by Lorenzo Napoli. |
There is no standard when it come to these societies and, indeed, they are lumped together solely based on the fact they are not like the rest of Arcem. These are worlds who can range from the stone age to possessing extremely advanced science such as nanotechnology or soul-grafting. Of course, there is a good chance this technology has gone down an unexpected path and is tangled up in unique and unusual rites which are sometimes pure fabrication and in other cases completely necessary. New religion, new technologies, new culture, new species: these can and have happened in these so-called barbarian lands.
In recent times, powerful and power-hungry factions have turned their eyes toward what was once a neglected no man's land of 'savages and mad gods': some believe that, if one power is to rule the Arcem sector they will need the support and power of these gods, both young and new as well as all these caches of ancient technologies their societies are built upon.
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