Anonymous

I'm doing it with the Anzaki (Australians/New Zealanders). DU it!!!!

cu bye

I'm doing it with the Anzaki (Australians/New Zealanders). DU it!!!!

I'm doing it with the Anzaki (Australians/New Zealanders). DU it!!!!

I'm doing it with the Anzaki (Australians/New Zealanders). DU it!!!!

The thread title is somewhat explanatory. But let's jump in further.
 
 

 
 

Vat? What? A German* state in Dual Universe
=====================================================================================

A country, state, republic (etc.) with German cultural influences, modelled either after a modern day Germany or a somewhat imperial version (think of WW1 ... not WW2). Ideally filled with / supported by German speaking players but open to others in general in the end. This thread is supposed to promote the idea and to roughly assess interest in this idea through user commentary on the subject.
TL;DR: Interested in (or against) a nation type of organization with more heavy German influences or mostly organized and founded by German speaking players for those and potentially others? Comment below.
 
*Open to any German speaker including those from Austria, Switzerland and beyond - more on this below
 
Inspiration and lore
=====================================================================================
 
Inspiration from this can be found in a game called "Freelancer". Long story short, in the future there is a war in this solar system between an "Alliance" (the western cultures and factions) and a "Coalition" (you may have guessed it, certain Eastern countries or cultures). Over a long period, the Coalition finally gets the upper hand. In a last move, a hand full of Alliance sleeper ships break through a blockade and head for a far-away sector in space where they intend to rebuild, away from their enemy. The unique trait among the sleeper ships is that each mostly contained people of a certain heritage, and each ship would form a new state in the new sector inspired by it - you'd see four states in the game covering a state modelled after the United States, England, Germany and Japan, or those cultural influences respectively.
 
Liberty - Bretonia - Rhineland - Kusari: Each a piece of the past, continued in the future.
 
If you look at it superficially, the story there isn't overly different from the one we have in Dual Universe - sure, humanity does not appear to be at war with each other and rather trying to get away from Earth, just like those sleeper ships in "Freelancer". But is it too strange to assume that old things might be carried over into the new home?
 
Let us look just look briefly at Freelancer again: Despite there basically being just two power blocks left in that long war, the survivors of the last battle still formed new individual states - just like the community in Dual Universe forms new unique factions. Is it that far off to see nations or states form based on culture. I don't think so, thus it seems that no matter how the world may have looked at the time of departure, we might find a logical explanation for this project and endeavour.
 
Doubts? Specifics? That is up for debate - take part in it!
 
 
What do we look for? What don't we look for? Specifics?
=====================================================================================
 
This is essentially Phase 1 - trying to find volunteers for a basic foundation that may or may not grow over time. The German(-speaking) community, and then the general community will have to decide over time whether there is hard demand for this or not.
 
The idea of a German state isn't just self-service for select few. There is a potential unique positive aspect: serving as general anchor or place to go for the German(-speaking) community and players to come later on. Why is it a state? The idea is to go beyond classic organizations and incorporate a wider array of people by default.
 
Let's start with a simple definition or formula of what we need. Georg Jellinek once defined what would somewhat translate to "3-element-theory" in terms of what defines a state:
 
People Territory An authority, a government, a ruling power  
The idea, therefore, is to later have citizens (think of main residents; next to guests, visitors, tourists, etc), a location in space, like a part of a planet like today, a complete planet, a partial / complete solar system or sector and some form of government.
 
But how should it look like?
That's yet uncertain. The initial idea is that it either looks like a modern Germany and parliamentary republic, thus, with votes of some kind or some eventual rotation of offices and what not or some more ... static structure, like some form of monarchy perhaps. This is mostly a choice for structure and changes and then a bit of style so far. There is no intend to revive any parts of actual history in how it progressed. No matter the form, whether there will be some Emperor or Chancellor as head of state/government or whatever, we look for a modern day approach to politics and thus no warmongering state or mentality unless things naturally develop like this. Diplomatic relations to other entities will therefore be expected.
 
 
Who do we look for primarily so far?
Right now, what is needed is people willing to support - either as future citizens or, ideally, as members of the government in some fashion or form who will form the foundation.
 
Anyone can in theory take part, but for core government positions we look for German-speaking people due to the fact that despite translations, a lot will later be handled in German in internal or local communication on platforms or in the game, and to keep it somewhat authentic to some level. This may ease up later and change, open up, so to speak, but for now you should ideally be German-speaking, while you do not necessarily have to be from Germany or an actual German citizen. Austrians, Swiss and others can thus take part if they have sufficient language skills.
 
For core government positions on an upper level, you ideally:
 
have sufficient German and English skills (this is why this is in English in the first place and not German) are of somewhat more mature character or mindset when it matters can provide a certain time commitment per week are willing to actively take part and provide feedback while you respect others in the process  
It won't be a walk in the park, thus certain requirement must be set. These are just initial core expectations from what I can tell so far; Multimedia and other skills might factor in as well at one point.
 
 
Interested?
=====================================================================================
 
Simply express it here or send me a message. If there is enough (long-term) demand and participation, a formal organization can be created once certain specifics have been set. Other assets can then also be created or maintained.
 

Hi everyone.
 
Until now, we couldn’t manually manage (remove/promote) Legates in an organization easily on the administration side.
Since Yesterday, we are able to use a feature simplifying considerably the process. 
 
As we already mentioned many times in the past, we (Novaquark) don’t want to involve ourselves in the management of organizations created by players. However, we are also aware that the current (and temporary) state of the management system contains obvious flaws. You know it. We know it. As this is still “work in progress”, we hoped that organizations creators will be reasonable enough to avoid abusing the well-known flaws of the system and would wait that all the rules are implemented before trying to sabotage other organizations. 
 
So we are going to state the obvious here:
It’s ok to “play a bad guy” and use dirty tricks once all the rules are implemented. However, it’s absolutely not ok to start exploiting the flaws of a work in progress system: this is not “playing a bad guy”, this is just toxic behavior and trying to gain an advantage while not playing by the rules.
 
That’s why - despite our will of non-involvement - we will make exceptions until the full implementation of the RDMS (Rights & Duties Management System) for the Organizations.
 
Why did we decide to intervene? 
Two reasons:
1) In the current state, a Legate has much more power than in the final system, due to the minimalistic mechanisms temporarily in place. If in the current system, any Legate has the right to promote a member to Legate status by himself alone, in the final system the default rights will be completely different: promoting a legate will be done only with a vote by majority rule, or the right to promote someone will be given to specific persons and not every Legate.
2) In the current state, a Legate cannot be demoted by any mean (even by the creator of an organization). In the final system, default configurations will allow to demote a Legate with a vote by majority rule. A Legate could also be demoted by specific persons who have been given the right (most probably by the Organization founder) to do so.
 
How is this going to work?
Each organization is going to have one "wild card": if there is a problem with the Legates in an Organization, you can contact the support team at support@novaquark. However, keep in mind we (Novaquark) reserve the right to intervene (or not) on a case by case basis. 
 
Example of a case where we will intervene:
Some Legate using the flaw of the current temporary system to vandalize (or generate troubles in) an organization.
 
Example of a case where we won’t intervene:
Two organizations have merged in one, and now both creators of previous organizations want to mutually exclude each other from the organization. In this kind of case, we won’t remove anyone. We won’t favorize one creator above another. However, we will do our best to help finding a satisfying solution for both parties.
 
As a global reminder:
If someone finds a loophole in the rules in place (that may happen), and this loophole is used to generate trouble and spread a toxic behavior, we won’t stay idle watching the situation deteriorating. 
 
Best Regards,
Nyzaltar.

Stranger in a strange land - we are the aliens...

Stranger in a strange land - we are the aliens...

Stranger in a strange land - we are the aliens...

Reality check.
 
Using our one REAL measure (Earth):
 
Surface area: 501,000,000 km2
 
Dry bits (usuable "territory"): 139,870,000 km2 or about 29.2% of the total surface area.
 
Arable land - example only - obviously mining is different): About 55,948,000 km2 or about 10 of the total surface area...
 
And then to refine it further (for instance) when it comes to human settlement, historically something like 80% of all human settlement was within walking distance of salt.
 
Key takeaway - there is a crap ton of "territory" to be had in a setting like DU - you may consider this "infinite". But only (if modelled right) a very small percentage of that territory will be usable in some way and thus matters - Sovereign Territory therefore is really actually "finite" and always will be.
 
Sovereign Territory isn't about how much km2 you control - it's about WHAT is in the territory you control, or what controlling that territory strategically gives you access to or control over.

I think people are mistaking journalists for people like...
 
Well, lets just say that if one was to draw analogies to the real world, one would posit that any given org should be more concerned about people who give information to journalists, not the journalists themselves.
 
A smart organisation will be as open and transparent as possible. Secrets always come out. Best you control when and how that happens. Or better yet, don't keep secrets. It didn't work for our society on Earth...
 
But you won't listen to me. You'll clam up against an idea like this, raise your organisational walls. Which will just make the journalists more curious. And sooner or later, you'll piss off an employee, or someone will make them a large offer, and who will then leak your secrets.
 
Twerk - he's got it worked out. Damn the idea to hell. Declare loudly he will execute spais, freedom of the press be damned. History and the journalists love that stuff. He's just guaranteed that the DUHS people will be writing the Legend of Captain Twerkmotor and his hunt for booty and freedom from the press. Unlike the rest of you nay-sayers who will be too closed and too boring to bother writing about. 

@Zeal: Yeah, exactly. That's why a BOO member won't make reports on BOO stuff, and TU members won't do TU stuff
 
@Shynrasq: fair enough if you don't invite someone. And as stated, we'll never going to be trespassers
 
@Novarkian: me for example. Because I'm interested in the history of a game and all the factors which drive a game forward like wars, social constructs and behavior of people

- Yeah, you just have to be open with every piece of information and use every possible means so people believe you
 
 
To the other points of Shynras and ATM:
 
I think you misunderstood the main intention of DUHS. We're not neccessarily only a news site. We record history.
I only mentioned that you would gain access to some areas of an org which ARE NOT public because they want to show off their creation. Like the first org which built a death star. Or the first org which build a city on the moon. If you get a certain reputation and trust that we, DUHS, are only here to record history, we might be contacted by those orgs so that they can brag about it - because DUHS might have a huge reach within the community. This would be the only news we're interested in where we would need access - because such things are historically important.
 
OFC no one in their right mind will grant you access to a base or some secret chamber - and that's not the intention.
 
If some alliance disbands or two orgs form a mega cluster, we would just do an interview.
We would only do interviews in the streets of tortuga for example, recording impressions of the city while talking to cybrex. Or talk to astrophil while we walk the palace of emberstone. Such kind of things.
 
The main difference to eve here is, that we probably don't have perma cloaks - so reporters can't just watch without risk.

I do happen to notice there is no option included for those few members who happen to suffer from none of the above - and happen to be certified sociopaths - psychopaths.

I already said this to you for months now (but I was never allowed to do so in public ) so now I can finally say:
GREAT work, wonderful site, well done!

I am very proud to introduce the latest product from Evil, Inc!
 
We have been working to develop tools that benefit the community, and the first such tool is a new data tracking website for Dual Universe at www.du-stats.com
 
This site will function very much like zkillboard.com does for EVE Online. Right now it is very basic and only shows a map of the community. This will expand as time goes on with new features coming online over time. Most of the back end tools have already been built and feature development is now more a matter of web design than anything else! Upcoming features include forum statistics, friends list tracking, in depth user profiles, change over time displays, alt detection and organization auditing! 
 
Now for some FAQ:
 
What can I use this for? This is a good tool for checking on people who are in your organization, or want to be. It's also a good tool to see which orgs share a lot of members or figure out who that person you are talking to is.
 
Is the data real time? No. The data is not real time and represents the last time when the website refreshed its data.
 
How often does the data update? Depends. It generally is updated once every two days, but sometimes can be a bit faster or slower.
 
Why isn't it real time? There is no need for real time data at this stage. Updating that frequently takes a lot of server resources. The update time will be reduced once there is a need for faster data. When the game comes out, the goal is for a 15 minute update time.
 
Will there be new features? Yes. This is very much an in-development project. Also, I'm not great at web design, so it will be simplistic for a while.
 
How long have you been working on it? About 4 months.
 
What do I do if I found a bug or security flaw? Please either report it here or pm me. 
 
I want my org to be excluded from this, can you remove it? Nope. If it exists on the official site, it exists here. If you don't want people to see it, don't create it.
 
I searched for my name and didn't find anything. Why? The map that is currently there only shows people who are in an organization. If you are not in an org, your name will not appear. Future features will show accounts even if they are not in any orgs.
 
Does it work on mobile devices? Maybe. It isn't currently designed for that, but hopefully will be in the future.

Hi everyone!
 
To answer your questions:
 
@MinerMax555:
The Novark is the 17th Arkship to be launched.
Correction in the Lore Bible: 
"2510-2536: The first Arkships leave Earth" becomes "2510-2536: The Arkships leave Earth."
 
@Aetherios:
- To go from Earth to Alioth takes roughly ten millenia.
- The Neutron Star reaches our solar system just a half millenia from present day.
- In the end, Humanity has no time to send an expedition to Alioth or make extensive research (at least not better than data gathering from a space telescope like the James Webb one).
- Before the launch of the Arkships, a list including thousands of potentially habitable planets has been finalized the 15th March of the year 2137. As information about each planet was far from being enough detailed to be 100% sure to find an habitable on first try, the list was uploaded in each Arkship AI memory. As an Arkship approach a potentially habitable planet, a short range scan ("short" compared to the size of the galaxy) is made by the AI to see if the planet is indeed compatible with human colonization or not. So while the coordinates of Alioth were known from before the Arkship Launch, the decision of landing on it was made by Aphelia, while approaching the planet. This also implies that Novark passengers don't know where the other Arkships might have landed.
 
@Smacker:
1) Surprisingly, the atmosphere IS compatible with humans. The similar specs between Earth and Alioth (without terraforming efforts) is nearly miraculous.
2) Cryo-pods and Resurrection nodes are two completely different things: the first preserve the physical body on a long period. The second could possibly resurrect a possibly dead (or recreate a destroyed) physical body.
3) As said in the Lore Bible, the Arkship speed can approach Light speed. There is no other data on the topic as the Arkship engines are undocumented.
 
@Kurock:
The decisions for the remaining temporary names/placeholders should be announced before the end of the week.
 
@Stark:
Who knows?
 
Best regards,
Nyzaltar

My impression from the story was that many ships were sent out in different directions, constantly scanning systems as they passed through, looking for worlds which would support its passengers.
 
If that is so, then Alioth was discovered, en route, by the ship itself.

It's true what they say about pivotal moments becoming burnt into your mind.  Some moments are filled with joy, like the day I got married, the day my son was born, even the day I got my pilot license, or the day I landed my first job.  Other memories are tarnished with pain, like the day the authorities showed up to tell me my whole world had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.  I remember opening the door and them asking for me by name.  I remember being concerned that they were here to arrest me and that maybe my last job hadn't been as successful as everyone had assured me, but no, they were here to inform me that my family was gone.  Tragedy, industrial accident, no amount of safety regulations could have foreseen, it was an unfortunate accident wrong place, wrong time.  The outcome to me was the same, wife and son killed, by a runaway mining drill.  I thought about the possibilities, the what-if's, the if only's, for what seemed like an eternity.  What if I'd of driven them myself?  What if I'd of paid for the more expensive security conscious hopper, one with reinforced plating in front and back?  Would they still be alive?  I sat for a long time after the statements had been taken and I was given the reassurance that they would investigate 'just in  case', but the way they had said it, made me realise that this was never about comforting a grieving father and husband, but more about trying to prevent a claim before it began

 

Life took on a bitter taste from that day.  As if the water I had been sipping from for so long had suddenly become tainted.  Friends and family tried to console, tried to heal, tried to pick up the shell I had become and fill my life with something, but truth be told I had always been more of a lone wolf and many of those friends were more Holly's than my own.  It was draining for me as much for them, I just wanted to be left alone and eventually I got my wish, as soon one by one the close friends and family become more distant, the personal visits become less frequent, then replaced with vid comms and finally no contact at all, and I was left alone in my anguish, guilt and pain.  My job was mainly freelance, so I had no boss to chase me back to work, our home had all been paid off thanks to some speculative lucrative trading, so equally no banks came asking for money and payments.  So the universe continued to dance around me, the same waltz it had before, but with me sitting on the sideline isolated in a protective vacuum of nothingness.

 

I was dreaming again, I knew it was a dream because Holly was in it, she standing side on about 10 feet from me holding Ben tightly to her chest, they were both facing away from me and looked so at peace.  I'd had the dream many times, and knew the ending so desperately tried to wake myself from it before it could continue further, but it was no use.  In the dream, I started walking towards them as if to catch them up.  As I reached out a hand I was screaming stop, this was the part they turned and I saw their disfigured faces and bodies, only this time as they turned something was different.  They looked like the Holly and Ben that I knew, the one's I had shared my life with.  It gave me an enormous sense of tranquillity, but also wonderment.  In the dream, Holly seemed to pick up on this "Time heals John.  Even in dreams.  It's time you healed yourself."  She turned and lowered Ben down to the ground.  The whiteness we had been shrouded in morphed into a beautiful clearing surrounded by deep lush forests and mountains in the distant.  Ben turned and looked at me, a vivid life displayed upon his smile.  "Goodbye Daddy, I'm going to go play"  His smile grew deeper and the joy showed in his eyes, I wanted to stop him and hold him, but my mind was giving me a gift I didn’t want to wake from.  Ben ran off into the distant spinning and singing gleefully as my wife turned towards me again.  Her smile appeared forced and I knew it well.  Many a time she had given me this smile and then scolded me away from prying ears when the time was right.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  "Your love for us is a wonderful thing, but it serves no purpose John."

"But I…"

"No.  Listen to me.  You need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.  That was your mantra, that was what made me love you.  Your natural resilience,   there wasn’t a thing that could ever beat you.  You would move mountains with your head and shear determination if you needed to.  But now look at you.  Where is the man I loved?  Where is he John!  He appears to be as dead as I am."  Holly turned her head slightly away from me, and a lone tear formed in her eye and glided down her check.  I instinctively reached out to wipe the tear away and my hand past through the offending tear and face as easily as passing through a cloud.  She reached up and dried the tear with the sleeve of her jacket before she continued.  "We don't have much time John, you must listen to me.  What I am about to say is going to hurt you, but you must hear it, and you must become the man you were.  Are you ready John?"  She looked at me, and I nodded.  "Our deaths John, they were your fault, just not in the way you think."  It was as if life was playing a cruel trick on me, showing my wife and son in glory and then giving me a sucker-punch of blame to take it all away.  I shook my head, devastated by the news, it confirmed all my fears and my mind started going overdrive, I could see Holly growing concerned.  "It was no accident John.  It was Terran Union, they were after something you stole.  Something they wanted back.  We weren't the targets John.  You were."  I could feel my heart start beating faster, the dream started to fade as if going through interference, it started to fade to red which matched the rage I was feeling.  In the dream I started to glide backwards and Holly started to run with it, trying hard to keep up with me and the elastic force that was gaining momentum pulling me back to reality.  "Answers are coming John.  Be open to them.  Be the man I married.  Be the Father your son deserves, and know this John.  We don't blame you, we only love you."  I felt an enormous force yanking me on my back as if pulling a -10g high-speed manoeuvre and I felt wind rushing past my face and hair.

 

I screamed for them, only my vision was no longer of the forest clearing, it was now back to my bedroom wall.  I was sat bolt upright in bed, my body dripping in perspiration and my breathing laboured and heavy.  The dream remained vivid and clear, and I replayed the conversation through my mind as my heart rate normalised.  Was my subconscious trying to tell me something?  Had I missed something?  Many of the statements rang true, my last employer hadn't named the target as TU, but the label on the package had clearly stated it, along with strictly confidential and priority 1 clearance only, but how could they know it was me?  And if they had killed my family why?  Why not kill me?  One thing I could not deny was that I was no longer the headstrong unstoppable force I had once been.  I had been sailing through life at speed and with purpose, like an asteroid that did not deviate from the mission it had been assigned and smashed through any obstacles with either guile or brute force whenever the need arose.  That mission that purpose seemed to burn new life within, if there were answers to be found and if they were coming, then I better be damn ready to receive them when they did.  And if Terran Union had indeed killed my wife and son, then a whole lot of pain was going to be coming their way.  For the first time in a long time I felt alive, as if the chains that bound me had relinquished their hold and I was free to move again in whatever direction of my choosing.  Free to live,  free to die, sure, but my freedom would be focused on the pursuit of the truth, and if TU were behind this, then I was also free to start a war.

Cute chart.
 
Some advice:
* Size does not equal political power
* Political power does not equal influence
* Who isn't on a list can be as, if not more, important as who is.
* The strongest alliances are rarely official or obvious.
 
Take as you will. I don't appear on your lists or chart, even as a Legate, so you can probably ignore me. ????

In response to the more recent posts, there is a relatively high(er) entry barrier or success threshold due to many factors - if you want a professional approach, that is.
 
Hence, I would not bother if you can't bring a set of skills, people or a plan. In terms of just having members obscured, I would also recommend just not using the DU organizations or obscuring it.

Cute chart.
 
Some advice:
* Size does not equal political power
* Political power does not equal influence
* Who isn't on a list can be as, if not more, important as who is.
* The strongest alliances are rarely official or obvious.
 
Take as you will. I don't appear on your lists or chart, even as a Legate, so you can probably ignore me. ????

Hi all
 
So as promised, here's the entry I was going to submit for Novawrimo round 1 before time and life collided with each other.
 
On the upside, I took a couple of extra days to have friends proofread, so no spelling mistakes!
 
Authors Notes / Glossary:
 
Anzaki - derived from the old acronym ANZAC (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps), referring the to Armed Forces of two 21st century nation states. The Anzaki were the product of an inter-generational  genetic program designed to produce better soldiers. Originally a culturally homogenous Australian & New Zealand population drawn from the family and members of a large semi-permanent deployment of troops who were effectively stranded and isolated overseas when the governments of those two countries collapsed. The results of Anzaki gene tailoring include improved immune systems and physical health and well being (a way to explain the general lack of sickness and minor injury in MMO's), and notably, an almost complete suppression of the flight reflex, through careful application of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. To the common person, the Anzaki were renowned for exhibiting virtually no fear in battle, never having retreated, fierce loyalty to their comrades, and surviving at any cost.
  Australia - 26th century Australia is largely uninhabitable, largely due to extreme climate conditions. Much of the population that remains is centered on the South East Coast, and around the Perth Metroplex. Port Drum, the southern hemisphere's major launch site for Lunar and in-system traffic is located some 2000km east of Perth.
  Genie - Slang term for genetically engineered or tailored people. By international consensus following bioweapon attacks during the 22nd century, such individuals are readily identifiable by the synthetic gene tailoring of pteridine pigment xanthopterin within certain chromatophores called xanthophores located in the iris stoma, resulting in a bright amber eye colour similar to that of the Great Horned Owl.
  Tomorrow Men - Slang term for convicted individuals who have been sentenced to military penal unit. Such individuals are traded between governments and corporate interests as assets. They are kept in cyrogenic storage until needed, and then deployed into conflict areas where the loss of life would be considered prohibitive for regular troops. The life expectancy of such individuals is quite low (17 days on average). The use of the term stems from the dark joke that each prisoner's release date is usually listed in a system simply as "tomorrow" (or today + 1), because tomorrow never comes... the_tomorrow_man.pdf

<< I don't know why you insist on this course of action. You are only going to die >>
 
"Fugoff." The words blended into one as I grunt, moving another rock.
 
<< You are reacting emotionally. You should accept that there is no place for you here. You are not listed. There is no record of you >>
 
"Fuck. Off." Two rocks are heaved, punctuating the words. The sentiment is lost on my tormentor. Programming kicks in and it corrects my semantics.
 
<< I am bound to the Novark. I cannot 'leave', per se >>
 
I stop, standing, stretching the kinks out of my muscles and joints. Is this the simulation? The endless-media feeds in the last days had said that colonists would be put through a simulation upon waking. I decide not to engage it. This was my reality - simulation or not - working out if it was real was pointless.
 
In silence I continue building, one rock, then another. For half an hour I am left alone to my own devices, but I can sense it, watching. When it speaks again, the voice in my ear has lost some of its irritation - replaced by... curiosity? Did it "feel" things like that? 10,000 years is a long time for an Artificial Intelligence to change in so many ways.
 
<< What are you doing? >>
 
"You don't know? That's funny. You act like God but you don't grok"
 
There is silence again in my ear as it processes this.
 
<< Stranger in a strange land. Heinlein. Nineteen hundred and sixty one in the old time. What else do you remember? >>
 
There is definite curiosity now. I answer it with a question, keeping it occupied, relying on it's programming - responding to queries is apparently a first order sub-routine, over-riding other activities.
 
"Who am I?"
 
<< Do you mean, you remember who you are? Or that you do not, and require this information? >>
 
Another few rocks, another few precious minutes and I answer, repeating myself. "Who am I?"
 
It responds again, inferring that I meant the former.
 
<< I can find no entry for you in the colonist register. This is... concerning. Perhaps planet-fall has affected the quantum integrity of my data stores. I will run a diag... >>
 
"5421135-2"
 
Again, minutes of silence.
 
<< I have a record of that string - it is the serial number I have against Environmental Test Unit 26 >>
 
I had once heard that a thousand years ago, well before drones existed, energy miners would take small animals in cages down underground because poisonous gasses would kill them before the miners. "Environmental Test Unit? Fancy name for throwing me off the Novark with nothing. Remember that?" It was a stupid thing to say. AI's didn't forget.
 
<< Standard operating procedure is to validate all environmental and atmospheric readings with a testing unit before allowing Alpha Teams to venture into the safe zone.>>
 
The curiosity it had shown briefly was replaced with cold machine logic again.
 
<< As there is no corresponding record - you are not slated to be re-purposed as a colonist and your function is therefore complete. You are no longer required in order for the wider mission parameters to be met >>
 
Was this some sort of cruel test? Probably. It was designed by humanity after all. "Well if you don't need me, all the most reason for you to fuck off and leave me alone then." My small bivouac of rocks and foliage is finally complete and I stand back, admiring it. "It's been fun. Goodbye". I remove the small bud from my ear and crush it underfoot.
 
Crawling into my shelter, I grunt with the pain of muscles getting used to working again. Can you feel pain in a simulation? I banish the thought. Perhaps it's the air, but I feel bold - the pain made anger, determination. 'Assume it's all real - why would it do more than it has to. Your mind isn't needed to test human suitability to a physical environment'.
 
I look out over the impact crater, as on the horizon, past the towering Novark casting it's long shadow over me, the first sun sets while lighting up the cloud filled sky. Summits covered in blue snow catch its last rays. It’s not exactly like on Earth; the geometry and the colors are inhuman; the temperature is warm enough to not worry about needing a fire (even with the tattered utility suit I wore - a garment for modesty more than usefulness) and the gravity a bit lighter than on what I was used to.
 
I can see small lights moving tentatively around the Novark's base - the structure is so large they don't even notice each others existence, seemingly having exited from a variety of locations - it is the Alpha Teams, starting to venture out. Kadpacks and morphers making them a soft herd, reliant on their new 'God'. I can barely make out a figure at the top of the Novark. I wonder what that person makes of all this? Do they notice the same things? Doesn't matter...
 
'Fuck 'em all and good luck to them - won't be long till reality sets in. Not me. I'll survive. Gotta survive...' I mumble to myself as I close my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep, exhausted. For the first time in 10,000 years, I dream.
 
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"NO!!" My eyes snap open, and I bolt upright in a sweat, before swearing, my head connecting with the roof of the bivouac. It is daylight - the sun, oddly tinged, seeps into my refuge.
 
<< Good morning. Do not be alarmed. Your cortical region indicates you were dreaming. Anamnesis is to be expected. What do you remember? >>
 
The voice is everywhere, in my head and without - my senses can't tell either way. "HOW THE... !?!"
 
<< The communication earpiece was required only to instill a feeling of comfort in you. As you have destroyed it, the need for pretense is removed >>
 
"How are you... I'm in the simulation, aren't I?"
 
<< Communicating? I infer that is what you mean. It would appear that you have been equipped with implanted communication and tracking functionality at some point in your existence. While those pieces of hardware are now otherwise redundant from their previous purpose, I can access it> >
 
It pauses again, processing the second question.
 
<< Be aware - colonists undertaking the simulation are only told it is a simulation if it is necessary >> the AI says, it's 'voice' taking on an almost comforting yet patronizing tone.
 
<< Now. What do you remember? >>