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Fluff (or more commonly referred to as Canon) is a collection of official statements about the world of BS12. You should thus get an overview of the information in this page, and make sure your character's backstory, or your statements in game, don't contradict with the statements here.

Quick Start Guide

You're employed by the NanoTrasen megacorporation to work on one of their stations. When you left for the job, everyone you knew seemed to think you weren't going to come back in one piece, but look, at least the pay is good.
As human, your home might be on one of the inhabited planets in Sol, or otherwise one of the large colony space stations. Your workplace is not your home, however, and you only spend your working shifts there.
The primary mission of your station is to perform research, but all tasks that help keep the station intact are equally important.
You're bound by contract to perform work for NT. You have to follow orders by your superiors, or otherwise risk a permanent termination of your contract.
There's a lot of dark rumours about NanoTrasen, but to the outside they seem pretty okay. If your character has a history with NT, you might have experienced a few things to think of your employer as "profit-centered, murderous, amoral scumbags who could not care less about the lives of fellow human beings", but the majority of people do not really know the details.
The year is 2556 AD. NanoTrasen started going big around the start of the century, so if your characters is around 50 years old, they'll have seen a lot of that development.
Alien species were discovered and started working for NT around 20 years ago. You're probably not quite used to them yet.
All rounds begin at 12:00pm station-time. This is the beginning of the shift and it is generally accepted that everyone who spawns at the beginning of the round knows each other from previous shifts aboard the station.
Life on the station adheres to strict guidelines. Specifically, keep in mind the Chain of Command, Space Law and Standard Operating Procedure

In The Past

Main Article: NanoTrasen: The 26th Century Giant

Present Day

The current year to 2556 AD (As of New-years 2012), a few years after the decommissioning of the NSV Luna. The NSS Exodus is one of NanoTrasen's newest research space stations.

It has been roughly 50 years since the beginning of the so called "Orange Rush." NanoTrasen Incorporated, BioTech Solutions, Einstein Engines Incorporated, and many other leading research corporations continue their struggle to research more uses of (and gain as much profit from) "Plasma." And now, when Humanity thought they had been alone, other races are appearing - some friendly like the Tajaran, others dangerous. It is a brave new world.

Space Travel

Many spacecraft are operated by either a trans-stellar corporation or a colonial militia, but it is not uncommon to find vessels that are privately owned and operated. Large freighters transport cargo, guided by the best profit margins. Warships defend planets and trade lanes from harm. Piracy is uncommon in major systems, but is a fact of life in both distant and less populous systems. Transports and stations are the most common targets of pirate raids, but no ship is safe from attack by these menaces. To the citizens of most star nations, space travel is commonplace.

Commonly, spacecraft are classified by their deployment capabilities; that being how long they can go without being restocked, as well as their ΔV. (Delta-V, or the craft's total capability to change it's velocity) The vessels with the lowest endurance and ΔV are inter-ship shuttles and surface-orbit transports, and are classified as simply "shuttles." In order from lowest to highest, the classifications are: Satellite, Shuttle, Interplanetary, and Interstellar. There is lots of lee-way in each class of spacecraft, where a satellite could be either a orbiting communications relay or a massive battle fort deployed to oversee a major trade lane. Classifications are determined by the Institute of Spacecraft Engineers (ISE), a non-profit standards agency.

Space combat is usually in the form of missile exchanges punctuated by energy fire. The most important part of which is targeting, due to the massive ranges involved. Targeting is accomplished by a variety of methods; LiDAR, RADAR, passive thermal imaging, GrDAR (Gravitational Detection And Ranging; pronounced similar to "grader"), and a battery of passive emissions sensors. When not in combat, most vessels will use their passive senor suite for navigation.

Faster Than Light

While FTL was thought of as impossible in centuries past, it is now a reasonably well developed field of study. While expensive, some trans-stellars have opted to install bluespace derived communications arrays, allowing communications links that are approximately seventy times faster than traditional lightspeed links.

Humanity in the 25th Century

Many planets have been colonized during humanity's rapid growth. Hospitable worlds are largely inhabited, while less livable worlds are marked by heavy industrial presences. Space Law varies from region to region, planet to planet and station to station, as do punishments. The main form of currency is "Credits" which are represented by the symbol "Cr." (e.g. 130Cr) Credits are almost entirely digital, with some smaller stations (and the like) occasionally printing physical currency.

Other Characters

In regards to other peoples' characters, your character has no preexisting relationship with anyone without the other player's consent. If you do have the other players consent then you do not know their character from a previous round. Due to things like the station blowing up and people dying, inconsistencies can occur.

Trans-Stellar Corporations

While any company that operates in multiple solar systems could be considered trans-stellar, the term is usually used to refer to the biggest and most powerful businesses in known space. Typically controlling large fleets of vessels, multiple space-stations, and (rarely) whole planetoids; big trans-stellars (by which they are commonly referred) take advantage of the lack of enforced laws and regulations in space to turn massive profits, often cutting corners and disregarding ethical concerns. Often headquartered in in space, they are most commonly known for high salaries, good benefits, and a high chance of injury or death...

NanoTrasen

NanoTrasen (commonly known simply as "NT") is one of the largest corporations in known space, focusing on the development and production of medical technologies. Primarily based in deep space, NanoTrasen is most well known for their quick and brutal actions during the "Orange Rush," which gave them a lead over their competitors in researching "plasma." While this lead to much discontent from their competitors, as well as the ire of those harmed by their rash actions, the profits made off of "plasma" (and derived technologies) is generally considered to outweigh the damage caused. However, half a century after the initial brutality, NanoTrasen is still feeling the repercussions of their actions; terrorist raids and sabotage seemingly have become an everyday concern for NanoTrasen officials. None of this is helped by the rumors of research being preformed which has been made illegal on most civilized worlds.

Overview: Large medical corporation, made people angry, has a lead in research on "plasma"

BioTech Solutions

Einstein Engines, Inc.

Other Trans-Stellars

Generally not as large as NanoTrasen (but as technically advanced), other trans-stellars are often highly jealous of NanoTrasen's success in plasma research and strive to overtake NanoTrasen in terms of profit.

Governments and Companies

While the trans-stellars are the big fish in the galactic pond, they are not alone. These are the corporations and governments that otherwise compete known space.

Governments

There are many governments ruling humanity, be they controlling a single colony or dominating a dozen star systems.

Union of Humanity

Near the beginning of the diaspora into space, the Union of Humanity ruled all human colonies. Within a half of a century, however, the union had splintered as it was unable to maintain timely communications with its distant colonies due to the lack of any Faster-Than-Light communications methods at the time.. Currently remembered as noble, but doomed to fall.

Federation of Sirius

Named for the star near the heart of its control, the Federation of Sirius is composed of four star systems and operates on a distributed representative democracy.

New Terra

Based on Mars, New Terra administrates the Sol system after Earth was deemed unsuitable for the seat of government.

Milky Way Federation

A loose governmental organization spanning a half dozen stars, the Milky Way Federation operates as a Unitary state, with most power over individual star systems delegated to the system's capital.

Colonial Governments

Many colonies are self-governed, and thus will have their own laws and regulations. However, they are not always able to enforce these laws, as many trans-stellars greedily exploit.

Corporations

These corporations are powerful, but not trans-stellar.

Huygens Hydrocarbons

One of the oldest continuously running operations in human, Huygens Hydrocarbons is a mining operation on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, that has been operating since the Union of Humanity was still in it's infancy. Providing water and hydrocarbons to spacecraft operating in the outer solar system, Huygens has almost always turned a profit, even during economic recessions.

Other Organizations

"The Syndicate"

"The Syndicate" is a semi-secret conglomeration of groups opposed to the major trans-stellars, mainly due their disregard for human decency and governmental laws. Mostly this organization targets NanoTrasen, but not exclusively. This organization is composed of a "syndicate" of crushed rival corporations, criminals and pirates, opposing politicians, and others harmed or threatened by the power of the trans-stellars. Most NanoTrasen employees have at least heard rumors of this murky syndicate, while security personnel generally know of its existance.

Overview: Murky group of people who hate trans-stellars. Especially hate NT.

Space Wizard Federation

The Space Wizards Federation (commonly abbreviated to "SWF") is known to few people; generally restricted to NanoTrasen officials. While neutral to NanoTrasen from a political point of view, they will happily infiltrate NT's stations and ships if they desire something aboard.

Little is known about this organization except that it is composed of eccentric humans with a knack for 'magic'. The exact nature of this 'magic' is unknown, be it the result of advanced technology, bioengineering, or some other phenomenon. Either way, the Space Wizard Federation will periodically send out agents to find and (re)claim artifacts and other 'magical' objects; from enchanted crowbars to ancient alien machinery, they will not allow a 'lesser' man to possess these objects. Agents of this organization are considered extremely dangerous, and should be avoided if you so value your life.

Overview: Secretive group of people with special powers of some sort.

The Order of Nar'Sie

The Order of Nar'Sie an obscure and hidden order; little is known about them, and few know of their existence. Only those with extensive theological learning have any inkling as to their religion or methods.

Their magic is based around blood runes, sacrifices and ghostly constructs. They work to further the goals of Nar'Sie, and work to bring Him into our world.

Overview: Cultish religion, wishes to bring their god into our world.

Locations

Humans come from a wide array of planets and colonies. The entire Sol system has been colonized, as has much of the outer lying systems and galaxies beyond.

Earth

Planetary Capital - N/A. The home of the Human race, it has become a large poisonous ball of pollution and industrialism. Long, brutal wars have scarred it's surface and overpopulation has caused irreversible effects in the planet's atmosphere.

Luna

Earth's moon.

Mars

Planetary Capital - Lowell City. Primarily an industrial and mining colony, Mars has been supplying the fleets of Earth with resources for years. Home to the illustrious Martian Institute of Technology, it is the industrial capital of Sol.

New Magnitka

Planetary Capital - Labourtown. A mining colony with a handful of NanoTrasen research facilities. Violent civil war in 2548 was forced to end 4 years later by NanoTrasen in order to protect its facilities.

Other Life

It is a well established fact that we are not alone in the universe. Multiple alien species have been discovered by the human race. Some are friendly and well understood, while some are rarely seen and never caught, presumed dangerous and usually avoided. Due to the significant scientific breakthroughs with alien research most NanoTrasen crews have at least one Xenobiologist.

Tajaran

The Tajaran hail from Ahdomai, the smaller of two twin planets. It is very cold and icy, and they possess fur for the purpose of self-heating and feline attributes for stability in their environment.

Soghun

Originating from the planet of Moghes, the Soghun live in an extremely sexist society, with women being considered property. War is common in the history of Moghes and is deeply ingrained into Soghun religion. Most who follow the religion shun dishonourable guns. All Soghun possess a strong family tie to their clan.

Most Soghun working for NanoTrasen seek safety and freedom from the Soghun military. Members of this military are part of a peon caste on the homeworld.

Outcasts are branded with crescents and generally considered pariahs on the homeworld.

Skrell

A amphibious space faring race currently more technologically advanced than humanity. They emphasize the study of the mind, over progressing in other fields.

Metroids

Metroids are a common and dangerous pest on many worlds. The body of a Metroid consists of a thick gelatinous membrane and contains a set of three or four red, raspberry-shaped nuclei.

Blobs

A mysterious life form similar to Earth fungi, but much more destructive. The term 'Blob' is an informal one, as no one knows much about them. They are gelatinous, translucent green organisms that have immensely powerful enzymes capable of dissolving steel and almost everything else, and can somehow survive in the vacuum of space.

Blobs begin their life as tiny spores floating through space. When they land on a suitable surface - for example, a station - they will grow, consuming the material. Many blobs can grow to be kilometers across. When they are large enough they will eject more spores to continue the process. Blobs are complex organisms and are composed of several different 'organs' - Blob Cores appear to act as the energy sources for growth, for example, and other nodes can discharge small 'mini-blobs' that patrol the organism and attack any intruders.

Their composition and origin is unknown, but classified as a bio-hazard under NanoTrasen classification. If any NanoTrasen vessels happen to come into contact with it, research on its structure, and prevention of damage, is utmost priority.

Space Carp

Space-dwelling, four-eyed, gigantic pink carp. Supposedly a genetically engineered weapon designed by either NanoTrasen or the Syndicate, the experiment failed and the carp were ejected into space. However, the carp proliferated and have become renowned pests, stalking space facilities and attacking those unwary enough to venture outside.

Xenomorphs

Xenomorphs are not an intelligent civilization, but predatory creatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat. Like wasps or termites, Aliens are eusocial, with a single fertile queen breeding a caste of warriors. The Aliens' biological life cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in many ways their signature aspect

Religion

Over the years religion has come and gone. Some faiths have faded out entirely on one colony but remain strong on another. Due to this many religions have been founded. Some worship gods, others, technology. Atheism is perfectly acceptable and common. However, not all faiths are permitted by NanoTrasen.

Some religions include:

Acolysm; the unifying of many major Earth religions.
Technologism; the belief that robots and cyborgs are holy
Order of the Great Lady; the belief that the human race was gifted with the knowledge and ambition appropriate by a large, dragon-like alien who we now call Lady Elzra.

Plasma

When Plasma was new, it was hailed as the new Oil, relatively easy to extract, required almost no refining, and burnt like a Roman candle out of hell. Everyone wanted it, only one corporation could supply it fast enough, and eventually outbid all competition. Enter NanoTrasen. With plasma monopoly established, prices shot up and profits soared, despite increasing reports of its excessive toxicity and difficulty to contain the substance. The arcologies of Earth /needed/ energy. Any energy, to stem the inevitable collapse of society just a little longer, Plasma was a godsend. And NanoTrasen its prophet.

Most accidents of containment breaches or uncontrollable plasma fires were swept under the rug, much like how a addict will forgive his dealer for his character flaws. Falling apart even as he craves his next fix.

Super Matter

Super Matter is extracted from the cores of super plasma giants, at great expenditure of effort and material, by robotic armored probes, shielded and designed to withstand the intense pressure that solidifies Plasma into a stable almost inert but highly volatile form.

The super matter has a similar density to neutronium and expels a massive amount of energy and gaseous plasma when properly processed. - Being super-dense, Zero Point Lasers are used to shave off plasma molecules from the crystal lattice matrix. These lasers can not interact with less dense matter in a significant fashion, such as organic tissues and are thus perfectly harmless. The Super Matter however is not.

Extensive and costly experimentation have determined that while stable at the near vacuous existence of hard vacuum or one standard earth atmosphere, super-matter begins to come unravelled when reaching pressure levels similar to its origins, - thus attributing to its expenditure in harvesting it. Heat further weakens the crystal matrix structure.

Should the matter come unraveled, it will do so extremely rapidly and explosively, ripping not only through the hardest alloys like wet tissues, but the very fabric of time itself, thus giving rise to the curious phenomena where one can in fact survive a Super Matter detonation by simply outrunning the explosive wave as it tears steel bulkhead to shreds. Slowly. It is still recommended to evacuate the site of such a explosion without delay.

Super Matter is currently only used in the NSV Luna for fuel and propulsion purposes. And is estimated to outlast the ships service period by a factor of 15. With proper care and maintenance. And barring any accidents.

Death

With the advancement of science, new ways of cheating death became available. No longer potential victims of fate or luck had to hold on to life to be saved but now could be called back even after death. While many religions found some of those ways unethical, economical profits and mankind's natural fear of death helped them become regularly and openly practiced especially in environments where there was shortage of properly trained personnel, such as space colonies, stations or high-class star ships.

Cloning

Most controversial of them all, an idea stemming from the almost ancient past became improved upon to the extent allowing total recreation of organism from just a couple of samples, including general knowledge and skills of the subject at the moment of sample-harvesting. Additionally, newer models of DNA-restructuring equipment became connected to some of ship's components providing general outline of the events happening in the time-span between a person's DNA backup and their original death, allowing for, for example, technical personnel to quickly return to work.

At the same time though, cloning is being looked down upon by some as there is no way for practitioners of most religions or otherwise spiritual people to make sure whether it's really the person - including the soul - who gets another chance to live or just a copy, completely different human being with memories, raising, experiences and skills stolen from the individual who already passed permanently (or, depending on belief, is on his way to be reborn traditional way).

Cyborgization

Common name given to the process of transplanting subject's brain into machine body. If done properly, patient becomes half-machine and so, such procedure is being undertaken only in case of emergency and/or with both patient's and his commanding officer's permission. Reason for that lies in trauma caused by existence in the shell so different from regular human body. Because mechanical bodies are created with practicality and efficiency in mind, they lack substitutes of many organs or glands and so, have limited possibilities of feeling - both by senses and feeling of emotions. Additionally, to prevent situations where traumatized - or even brought to the brink of insanity - cyborg would start wreaking havoc, all standard models have coded blockades in the form of Laws (typically hard coded into artificial intelligence personalities). Aside from that, cyborgs created for specific tasks in the same facilities usually share their own communication channels and are permanently connected and commanded by main computer and it's AI, although they still possess some degree of autonomous behaviour in case of lack of any watcher (even if it's greatly limited as by default those machines often are to be just extension of an AI construct). It should be noted that to cut on costs of deploying specialized cyborg models, general frame is first constructed and then outfitted for it's job. This way, no new cyborg model series has to be created for every work necessary.

Becoming a cyborg is usually undertaken by desperate people, strongly driven by their devotion to their work and corporation, or simply those who take the perspective of losing a large part of their own humanity lightly.

Research

Artificial Gravity

In early 2500, after several catastrophic losses of life caused by malfunctioning prototype gravity plates¹, NanoTrasen stood at a minor crisis. Their entire fleet of ships and stations had been laid out with the decks parallel to the thrust provided, thus preventing the use of inertial gravity. With grav-plating proving unviable, and crews proving unwilling to work in zero-gravity², a new solution had to be found. NanoTrasen approached this with a characteristically... Lateral.. Solution³.

NanoTrasen's fledgling Cloning Laboratory located the corpse of infamous 20th century reality bender MC Escher, and ordered him to find a solution. Applying his particular brand of insane genius, he was able to utilize inertial gravity in spite of the obvious physical difficulties. Despite some early psychological issues⁴, which resulted in the thruster units being sealed away from the crew to hide the issue, this solution worked wonderfully. Mr Escher - or a clone of him - is now happily working in the Blue Space Research Division, where he is very happy⁵.

1: See Incident Report 75-AXB-12H-FINEPASTE

2: Logged crew remarks include: "Oh Christ, the lab monkey's been sick again..." "GAAAH! Why do they not teach the difference between mass and weight at crate handling school?" and "Dear Christ pouring sulfuric acid in zero-g hurts!" The only positive evaluation was received from the Security division, who reported that with proper bracing it was now possible to knock a suspect the length of a primary hallway with a good baton swipe.

3: Cross-reference: Singularity Drive (destroyed); Crew Morale Program (abandoned following Clown Riots); Employment Pre-Screening Checks (still outsourced to Lucky 8 Ball).

4: Audio log: "CAPTAIN! Oh god!" "Remain calm, crewman, there's nothing to worry about.." "Captain, you just walked out of a light switch, and are now standing on the wall." "This closet is full of stars! Who BUILT this thing!"

5: Employee Happiness Measurement Accounting techniques not available at your pay grade - nevertheless, all employees are happy.

Psionics

Since ancient times people believed in forces and phenomena not tied to the material plan of existence and different orders, cults or research institutes were exploring notions and possibilities connected to such beliefs. Over years many occult paths leading supposedly to the ascension or command over mystical forces unknown to grey masses were developed but only one, grounded the most in scientific background surfaced and had drawn interest of corporation executives. Psionics, allowing access to the great power through rigorous training - usually backed up (and in even more extreme cases, substituted with) high-level grade implants connected to the brain and nervous system - offered greatness to those who were determined, possessing proper mindset giving them necessary potential, bold and rich enough to try to claim it. While as a serious area of research with importance big enough to grant industrial uses, psionic is young and so - very crude, recent developments in high energy systems and DNA restructurization (mostly discovered by NanoTrasen mega-corporation) are like a promise for it's bright future.

Space Sleeping Disorder

Space Sleeping Disorder (SSD) is a common condition affecting about 50-60% of humanity. It is caused by the combination of a lack of day/night cycle on board spacecraft, the presence of the inky black void in all directions, and long hours. In these conditions, in some individuals, adenosine production is stunted, and the human body "forgets" to become tired and want to sleep. When SSD occurs, the person afflicted, after working for long periods, suddenly has the overwhelming desire to sleep. This is caused by the body realizing that it needs sleep and producing vast amounts of adenosine. Once they fall asleep, the sleep is intensely deep, and they cannot be roused. The person wakes up normally about 8-12 hours later.

A variant of SSD is known as Rapid Onset Space Sleeping Disorder (or ROSSD). This occurs frequently in those working on extremely long shifts with a lack of stimulation. In ROSSD, the body, instead of creating an intense sensation of tiredness, instantly falls into deep REM sleep. This usually happens during periods of no stress or stimulation, but occurrences of this during more "exciting" times have been reported. Due to its resemblance to the popular conception of narcolepsy, ROSSD is occasionally mislabeled as "space narcolepsy". A somewhat uncommon term for people who have this occur is that they have been "rossed". Some sufferers have mistakenly been declared "brain dead", however, ROSSD causes no damage to the brain or body on its own, barring any external trauma from the sudden loss of control or the body hitting the ground. Once asleep, there is no fundamental difference between ROSSD-caused sleep and SSD-caused sleep.

Editing this page

The Fluff page is for IC additions to the world (which includes the backstory). Fluff is also used partially for game design decisions and is therefore relatively important. Due to this now being the de facto fluff, only specific users are allowed to edit any fluff pages. Please post any proposed fluff here: http://baystation12.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=767