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The Order of Meru


yamamushi

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The Order of Meru

 

 

The Order of Meru

 

 

I am often asked "What is Meru?",  "What does it mean?", "What is the backstory?", "What do you plan to do with Meru?", "Why would there be a religion in Dual Universe?"

 

So I decided to finally put some of those questions to rest in the form of a series of stories taking place in what I imagine to be a distant future of Dual Universe, while also maintaining some artistic license to stretch the boundaries of what we know of as "Dual Universe" today. There are no aliens in the stories that will comprise this series, and I've tried to adhere to the rules of fan fiction for DU.

 

 

 

I don't know how long this series will go on for, but don't expect to have any questions answered in any straightforward manner for at least the first several posts. Some posts will be very short, and others will go on for several pages. I apologize ahead of time for the inconsistency in length. 

 

The series will begin very slowly, expect parts to end abruptly. Expect questions to be left open for quite some time. Expect plotlines to jump in ways that are hard to follow. Expect characters to not be touched upon again for many updates. Expect typos. Expect to be confused. Expect sporadic updates (writing is hard, yo). As time goes on, things will come together, be patient.

 

As the game comes out, I will go back and update parts of the story to match the game more closely. For example, there will be mentions of materials that don't actually exist in the game, simply because we don't know that much about the game so far. I hope that the narrative around the terms which I've made up will help explain what I'm going for when making up a material.

 

 

 

I've heard people have banned their org members from joining Meru only because they don't understand what it actually is. It's humorous to me that they feel threatened by Meru, but maybe this will shed some light to alleviate some fears. Perhaps as time goes on, these stories will also help explain why I believe Meru goes beyond the current understanding of what an organization is, and can be. More importantly to me, perhaps people will stop considering Meru a threat and see it as a path in the game some people want to follow at worst.

 

 

 

* I am also open to working with others on these stories and integrating their org backgrounds into everything. I know everyone wants to do things their own way though, and I'm okay with that too. 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

  • FAQ - Updated July 24th 2017
  • Glossary - In progress
     
  1. Who is Alda Sorai?
    * New Dawn Arrives - July 24th, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

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FAQ

 

 

  1. If there are no Aliens, who are the "Elarians"?
    - I didn't want to use any groups that currently exist in the community portal so as to not upset anyone or to make people feel like I singled them out for any particular reason. For that reason you will find that I make up many groups in the stories that follow. They may sound like Alien names, but think of them as Org names or Alliance names.
     
  2. What does "proceed Alpha Whiskey Papa Tango at Five Point Impulse" mean?
    - It is my take on ATC lingo in space when docking at a very large station. Alpha Whiskey Papa Tango would be the path that the New Dawn was given as a course to follow towards their assigned bay.
     
  3. What is "Meru?"
    - All I'm going to say now is that Mt Meru is the center of all the universes (physical, spiritual, metaphysical) in Hindu Cosmology. 
     
  4. Why should I join Meru in the game?
    - I'll be honest - RP. I'm trying to develop a background for the religion, so that not just Meru can take from it, but so that maybe others will find something they like about it to be inspired from.
     
  5. Why does this take place in the future? How does that set the background for a current-day organization?
    - You'll have to wait for the future posts to find out.
     
  6. Will these stories only be about Meruism? 
    - No.
     
  7.  Help! I don't understand what -insert word here- means
    - Please refer to the glossary in the next post. If you don't find what you're looking for, let me know and I'll add it :)
     
  8. Your story sucks.
    - Okay :(
     
  9. This is all becoming a little encyclopedic
    - Sorry?
     
  10. You shouldn't have taken up so many posts for this thread!
    - I foresee needing the space. I apologize.
     
  11. I'm in Meru, now what? 
    - Follow along as the updates come out and you'll see.
     
  12. Is there a discord for Meru? 
    - Yes. 
     
  13. Can I be in Meru?
    - Of course, anyone is welcome to join the organization. If you're asking if you can be in the story, sure but I feel weird about writing other peoples backgrounds.
     
  14. How can I help?
    - Just kidding, nobody ever asks that.
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New Dawn Arrives

 

 

 

“Good morning Carrigan Station, this is the New Dawn requesting docking permission on approach from vector Two Eight Dot Two Five”

 

“Good morning New Dawn. We’ve got you in line for Landing Bay One Two. There are engineering bots all over the landing pad cleaning up a mess an Elarian cargo shuttle left us this morning, but they’re almost off the deck now”

 

“E-T-A Carrigan?”

 

“Twenty minutes New Dawn, please proceed to Sierra Two Eight and hold on approach vector”

 

“Roger, Carrigan”

 

“Typical”, Erik muttered sarcastically while lighting a cigarette he rolled together from dried mushrooms he had stashed away from his last visit to Vezu that gave a slightly sweet and cinnamon-like scent when burned and kept him calm and focused, something he needed after a 37-hour warp haul. “Seven weeks on contract, and now we’ve got twenty minutes waiting in line because of Elarians”, he exhaled, “The alliance should have revoked their docking privileges years ago, they never clean up after themselves…” 

 

Sam, who was sitting next to Erik wearing a suit he very well may not have taken off since the last time they docked at Carrigan Station, covered his headset with his hands and groaned “So help me god, if we get held up in customs again Erik”, turning to face him, “do I need to remind you of the last time we came to Carrigan?”

 

“Don’t worry Sam, Maarna has a connection that took care of the permits for us this time”, Erik kept his eyes forward.

 

“Is this the same connection that gave us the ‘clue-in’ on a haul of Aeurilium that took us 25 jumps into the middle of dead space with nothing to show for it?”, Sam turned back to his console as he keyed in navigation coordinates to the approach lane for the bay they had been assigned.

 

“I seem to recall you being quite happy about the detour we made to Grenner V on the way back to Vezu”, Erik grinned.

 

“Yeah, well, I seem to recall sightseeing on Grenner not paying for a new pulse pump array!”, Tyler’s yell came in over the ship’s radio, the roar of a fusion core cooling down under visible strain after coming in from warp deafening anything else he had to say about the matter, which Erik surmised was full of cursing and something about now needing a new superposition stabilizer.

 

“No, but I don’t remember it coming out of your pocket the last I checked, either”, Erik spoke sternly followed by a long line of muffled cursing over the headset. Ignoring Tyler, “Now get the cargo bay pressurized, I want the deck ready as soon as possible!”. 

 

Erik glanced at a status console overhead momentarily to verify Tyler had heard him, and that the pressure was changing. Seeing an incoming message on his console, he returned his attention to Carrigan Station’s control tower channel.

 

“New Dawn, This is Carrigan Station”

 

Erik inhaled on his cigarette, “Go ahead, Carrigan”

 

Bay One Two is in standby for entry pressurization, proceed through to Alpha Whiskey Seven, you are clear for final adjustment to Papa Tango Nine at Five Point Impulse”

 

 Turning a knob on the control panel in front of him, “What’s the weather like today Carrigan?”

 

“We could use a breath of fresh air here New Dawn”

 

Smiling to himself, “Thank you, Carrigan”

 

“Welcome back New Dawn

 

The large solar shades obstructing the view into space lowered, revealing the towering station that stretched as far as the eye could see in any direction from Erik’s seat on the bridge. Small shuttles and civilian craft moved about quickly to and from, and in all directions around it. 

 

A symphony of brightly colored billboards scattered the docking lanes on almost every station in the inhabited galaxy, and by no means was Carrigan Station lacking in that regard. Carrigan’s entrepreneurs were a bit extravagant by comparison, though, and in fierce competition with one another they had funded the construction of massive glowing billboards that lined every lane around the station and certainly dwarfed a light freighter like the New Dawn. 

 

Erik, of course, grinned. In every billboard, all he could see was money for the taking. 

 

New Dawn drifted through the narrow lanes, Sam keeping a close eye on the inertial sensors in front of him, Erik taking note of the lane designations as he navigated towards the bay they had been assigned.

 

Bay Twelve’s massive hangar doors retracted as the New Dawn groaned from its inertial dampeners engaging, followed by a jolt that could be felt throughout the ship as the landing thrusters deployed in sync with one another lowering the ship at a controlled rate onto the docking platform. The New Dawn strained audibly under the station's artificial gravity but quickly settled into place ready for its cargo bay to be lowered onto the platform below. 

 

Red flashing lights illuminated the bay as the hangar doors slowly closed again behind the New Dawn, followed by a long burst of hot steam from the life support ventilation ducts opening. A siren roared throughout the bay before the flashing lights faded into a stable but dim fluorescent green color that brought a lifeless aura to the deck signaling the air was safe (by station-inhabiter standards) for breathing. 

 

The New Dawn had arrived.

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

: April - 2427 - Earth : 

: Luz - Located in what was Colorado within the former United States - Known for Heavy Luminous Influence in the region :

 

Katherine kept a pack of menthol cigarettes hidden away at the bottom of her purse. She let no one in on her dirty secret. It was only in times like these, stuck in line waiting for the next shuttle to the city, that she would dig one out, look cautiously around for any familiar faces, and let a nicotine buzz ease her problems away.

 

The line began to move again. She dropped her cigarette without putting it out and sprayed a dash of Burberry Brit, practically as valuable as liquid gold, on her neck. Even the closest loved ones to her were unaware of the secret habit, something that would become a recurring theme in her life.

 

 

 

Her boyfriend Greg, a label he self-applied in a drunken haste, gave Katherine a hug as she walked into his apartment. He was too caught up in his own elation and eagerness to return to his work to notice the lack of emotion in her reciprocated advances. Over the past few months Katherine felt as though she was forgetting who she was, and in doing so had forgotten why she loved the 30-something-year-old artist holding her now.

 

She could dye her hair again, that was her typical response to these fleeting moments of emptiness. 'No, that just won't work this time', Hiding her discomfort as she kissed Greg on the cheek. "I'm going out tonight", barely giving him a moment to say goodbye before the door was closed and the apartment was quiet again.

 

That was the last time he saw or heard from Katherine.  

 

 

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