Life2.0 - a Broken Shackles Narrative

[HistoryDude]

Alexandra's on her honeymoon? What's the point of dividing power then?

Ah, bureaucracy. Rivkah will probably be happy to hand power back once Naomi recovers. Less paperwork. Alexandra's more of a worry.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"A HaMaadimi Honeymoon, Part 3"
23rd Odoos, 9 (2188)
Alexandra HaMaadimi​

Our little Loveboat is so cozy and intimate, I'm going to miss it. We've had a wonderful time experimenting here. Both between our own discoveries and getting to know each other better and in running the scientific experiments. Mostly verifying MSI survey data as their information is decades out of date.

Still, Kidore I. Looking out the window (actually a camera linked to a screen of course) and it's strangely beautiful; swirling browns and purples in the atmosphere and seas. The moon is just a red rock. Ice caps aren't water, which is inconvenient.

The colony has put me in charge of the military. Not that I can do much from here. Rivkah has the harder job, I have the one with more responsibility when things go wrong.

I... A lot has happened to me. I look at my mostly missing hand with my one eye. I lost so much on the Flagship. I was arrogant, and I... I failed.

Maybe being Haephestion isn't so bad.

 

[HistoryDude]

What is this? Alexandra changing which historical figure she's the reincarnation of? Blasphemy! In all seriousness, it's nice to see some character development there.

Was this the literal Loveboat from before? The one they had sex in?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"A HaMaadimi Honeymoon, Part 4"
24th Odoos, 9 (2188)
Alexandra HaMaadimi​

Thando and I lie awake, tied to the bed together. It's easier that way.

He kisses me. "If someone wanted to make your dreams come true, what would he have to do?"

I think about him. His question. Given he's one of the people actually capable of doing it, I laugh nervously. "Conquer the galaxy."

"Oh?"

"Promise me that you won't laugh."

He kisses me. "I won't laugh."

"I used to believe I was Alexander the Great reborn."

He takes a moment to think, looking into my good eye. "Losing changed you."

I kiss him. "Yeah. Alexander never lost."

"Those who live for the ancestors can never exceed them."

"What do you mean?"

"The problem of empires is ensuring that the children learn what their parents did to give them that empire."

"I grew up reading books on him, studying his life."

"Whereas he grew up in a Macedonian court training to be a soldier and a king from not too far from as soon as he could walk."

"I wasn't prepared. I didn't do scouting the way I should have done. Just charged in and got a lot of good people killed."

He kisses me, slowly, enticingly. "I'm glad you lived."

"I kind of feel at a loss for what I should do now. I feel a failure, and it worries me." I pause. "I'm thirty two."

He kisses me, hugging me tighter. "You are Alexander's heir, not Alexander himself."

I shift uncomfortably. "I'm in a weird place where I'm kind of... Rethinking everything about me."

He stays looking lovingly into my eye. "May I make a suggestion?"

I smile. "Sure."

He kisses me. "Step out of the shadow of the past, and live in what is now. Why live for what's old, when we can make something new?"

I smile. "Thando?"

"Yes?"

"I..." I kiss him. "I need you."

"You have me." He kisses me. "Always."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

What is this? Alexandra changing which historical figure she's the reincarnation of? Blasphemy! In all seriousness, it's nice to see some character development there.

Was this the literal Loveboat from before? The one they had sex in?

Yes, it is. And will be for a good few months yet.

 

[HistoryDude]

That was a heartwarming scene. I agree with Thando. The future is what matters.

Of course, Alexander did more than just conquer - he also founded a bunch of cities! Maybe Alexandra could do that?

Was Alexandra given name Alexandra, or did she rename herself after Alexander because of her belief (or delusion)?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"A HaMaadimi Honeymoon, Part 5"
25th Odoos, 9 (2188)
Thando HaMaadimi​

I listen as my wife sings while she showers.

I've been thinking about her.

I don't doubt her desire to be the heiress of Alexander - he left the empire either to one of his generals, Craterus, or to the strongest. They are practically the same word after all in the Greek, and it wouldn't be impossible to interpret the words of a dying man in a way that skews his position if it opened opportunities for the listeners. Which it undoubtedly did. If the second, then she's as welcome to the title as anyone else; such is the nature of authority gained from the use of force, it belongs to whoever has the greater strength. And if you aren't the strongest...

Her issue is she feels like she's fallen short; I see it in the way she can't hold her gaze when she sees her face in the mirror. I can sort of see where she's coming from, but I definitely don't agree that losing an eye means you stop. In some ways, it's sweet; between us we have binocular vision.

Maybe her option is to succeed in a different way. A strong sword arm does not make a king; the logic that says it does becomes self-destructive. There are other ways.

I hold out a towel as she leaves the shower booth.

She looks at me. "Were you watching me?"

"I was just listening."

"You understood it?"

"A little. The Odysseia, right?"

She's smiling now. "Yes."

"I've been thinking."

She laughs as she finishes drying off. "Careful Thando."

"Apart from his military success, how else does Alexander inspire you?"

She pushes off the wall back to our bedroom. I follow, and wait by the door. Then exits, having gotten dressed. "Thando, I grew up on Earth, before my family were sold to MSI freighters. In Thessaloniki, not far from where the ancient Macedonians had their capital city. English father, Greek mother; they called me Alexandra after him. And I always knew Humanity needed another Alexander to free us."

"He wasn't just a conqueror."

She looks at me as she puts her hair in a bun. "Thando, where are you going with this? Your sister is the colony's best administrator. I've seen I can't match her there."

"I'm thinking maybe you could draw on his other achievements."

Her face falls. "I... I don't know. I'm not the woman I was, back before the Flagship. The old me used to be so ambitious." She taps the bubbled flesh where her eye used to be. "I'm nervous, now." I take her hand.

She looks at it.

I let go.

She laughs. "Thando, I've already washed once."

I smile. "I only meant to offer emotional support."

She kisses my cheek. "Thank you, husband."

"You're welcome, wife."

She laughs. When she settles, we just float together for a while. "What do you believe I could do?"

We spend a few moments staring eye to eye. "Maybe you failed at being a sword on the Flagship so that you would realise you are a shield." She looks at me, dozens of emotions in her face. I start to get worried. "Have I upset you?"

She kisses me, then heads to the bedroom. I wait.

She brings out a bronze shield; painted with a star of Macedon on it. "Your sister gave me this. After the Flagship, I returned it, and she gave it back as a gift instead of the military insignia it was originally." She pauses. "Maybe you're both right about me."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"The People's Democratic Republic of Terra And Colonies"
25th Odoos, 9 (2188)
Naomi Of Unity​

The perk of being confined to rest is that I have time to study. I've been reading historical pieces, catching up on Earth's history.

From the Archives, I've learned Yehoshua nuked the Iriphubliki in 2058. MSI invasion finally took place in 2145, at which time Mum was taken from Earth, and HK and the Holocron were left behind. Thando also brought with him modern history up to 2186.

Best of all, there's a formal letter of endorsement from "Yong'xing Tian", the First Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Terra And Colonies. They're Communist revolutionaries who successfully had a glorious revolution against the corporate lackies of MSI, backed by the only old Earth superpower that didn't get subsumed into the corporates.

She has given me a letter - technically there's two letters, one addressed to me personally and the other addressed to the colony in general terms - of endorsement and formal recognition of independence, signed by a Galactic Community member. It is the most help they can give, as it means we have the first step to becoming a fully sanctioned Galactic Community member state; independence recognition by a GC member.

Yong'xing Tian, outside the 'Centre Of Terra', Shanghai, 2186

The PDRTC covers Sol and many stars within twelve light-years; Barnard's Star, the Centauris, Procyon and Sirius are the most developed. Committed to Egalitarian and Spiritualist ethics, and Shared Burdens and Environmentalist civics, the PDRTC is committed to undoing the damage done by MSI, and routinely engages in diplomatic confrontations in Galactic Community meetings. A militarily weak power, they are backed by several MegaCorps licensed by the Arishkan Galactic Empire, and therefore are untouchable by MSI.

We aren't alone.

And for the first time in my life, that isn't an uncomfortable feeling.

I've always been described as a Fanatic Xenophile.

Tonight, I lie with my very non-Human husband looking up at the night sky, and I am thinking about digging up the slave ships' communication antennae that a younger-me ordered left in a Faraday cage in a subsequently blocked up cave.

 

[HistoryDude]

Yes! Earth is free from MSI! That's very good news. I hope the communists aren't a repressive dictatorship here, though - maybe they actually managed to get past the initial stages of the revolution?

Alexandra as a shield, huh? Interesting...

Was Alexandra singing the Odyssey, or is this a different song or text I'm not aware of?

 

[Macavity116]

PR China evaded MSI? I can see that. Their vast population alone would give them an edge.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Yes! Earth is free from MSI! That's very good news. I hope the communists aren't a repressive dictatorship here, though - maybe they actually managed to get past the initial stages of the revolution?

Alexandra as a shield, huh? Interesting...

Was Alexandra singing the Odyssey, or is this a different song or text I'm not aware of?

Yes - MSI are gone, and Earth now has a small fleet of ex-Arishkan naval vessels to defend it.

I thought so too. Especially as the colony moves away from Naomi's original warplan.

Yes. Thando worked it out from the names.

PR China evaded MSI? I can see that. Their vast population alone would give them an edge.

Evaded isn't so much the right word; MSI largely just bought slaves being sold by the megacorps that supplanted western national governments. Easier than getting slaves themselves, with only a few targets selected for that.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

So, after the last few Dev Diaries of note for Life2.0 being major disappointments, the latest one, #310 - Matters of Life and Death, has some genuine positives for Life2.0, as a Worker Cooperative is almost what I have in mind for them.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

​

MSI Classification:​	What It Actually Means:​	Typical Living Standard:​	Typical Species:​	Applicable Characters:​
Shareholder	Life of unimaginable luxury, far beyond a 21st century trillionaire on Earth.	Decadent Lifestyle	Olinbar	Agrippina*
Executive	Almost, but not quite, a Shareholder. Ruler jobs.	Utopian Abundance	Olinbar	Valerius*
Manager	The various middle-management positions overseeing the lower classes. Ruler and some Specialist jobs.	Social Welfare	Olinbar	Caeso*
Operative	The lowest a non-criminal Olinbar can go. Still above the Uplifted Client species. Specialist jobs.	Social Welfare	Olinbar	Hortensus
Indentured Asset	Normal non-Olinbar level; a wide variety of roles outside leadership. Most Specialist and Worker jobs.	Decent Conditions	Most species	Most of them
Culinary Asset	To serve man.	Livestock	Kyaese	Qutrok
Companionship Asset	Comfort-women.	Basic Subsistence	Humans preferred	Naomi, Gillian, Sophia
Industrial Asset	Hard physical labour, until the inevitable.	Servitude	Most species	Duxanek
Computational Asset	Hard mental labour, until the inevitable.	Servitude	Bevkiran	Ykrett
Criminal	Imprisonment, beatings, crucifixion in serious enough cases.	Undesirables	Any	Thando
Reformers	Crucifixion is the only remedy.	Undesirables	Olinbar	Valerius, Agrippina, Caeso

Note - listed by descending order of opinion held by the MSI Board.
* before joining the colony.

 

[Macavity116]

This chart is fascinating. It greatly helps me keep a handle on who is what to the Olinbar and works as a perfect worldbuilding tool.


*I am definitely going to take this chart and "copy your homework" for my next AAR.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

If you want to expand it, Indentured Assets have the most room for staggering subdivisions so that MSI can pit different classes against each other in various ways.

Some ways that have already been mentioned are using media on Companionship Assets being to hyper-focus on the successful ones as a means to turn people against them by making the popular perception think they are living it up, or how Odoos and his wife felt they had a bad life, but at least it wasn't as bad as others had it. I figured people would be able to extrapolate other means from there.

 

[Macavity116]

If you want to expand it, Indentured Assets have the most room for staggering subdivisions so that MSI can pit different classes against each other in various ways.

That's something I was thinking of. I'm working on a story set in a Payback empire that is internally divided into various "ethno-linguistic" groups. MSI would give the Sutharian Empire an experience very similar to Rwanda under the Belgian Empire, the Olinbar will elevate certain ethnic/language groups above others as a "divide and conquer" tactic. I want to use your template to create an internal layout chart for the Sutharian Empire. Probably something like this:

Ethnic/language Group (% of total population)	Stratum	Typical Living Standards	Rights
Valdemar (46%)	Ruler, Specialist	Decadent Lifestyle	Full Rights
Tiess (23%)	Worker	Dystopian Society	Soldiers Only Population Controls Enabled Migration Controls Enabled
Berken (13%)	Specialist, Worker	Stratified Economy	Soldiers Only Population Controls Enabled
Tnara (4%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Kantu (3%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Ranvia (3%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Folo (2%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Kunde (2%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Military Service Forbidden Population Controls Enabled
Enturi (2%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Ilimrig (>1%)	Worker	Basic Subsistence	Soldiers Only
Psionic (>1%)	Undesirable	Purge	Displacement
Olinbar-Kunde (>1%)	Undesirable	Assimilation	Assimilation

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Olinbar-Kunde?

 

[Macavity116]

Olinbar-Kunde?

A mixed-race group. Olinbar who interbred with the local Sutharians during the Uplift.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I see now. Guessing that's a hint in some way of the next narrative.

 

[Macavity116]

I see now. Guessing that's a hint in some way of the next narrative.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, I I can only hope your post-MSI empire handles Xeno-Compatibility better than mine will.