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Exploration Report - Burgundy Collective. 1629. January.
Zone Catamarca mapped successfully.
Zone Catamarca contains high-value mineral resources.
The Queen nodded as she authorised the updated colonisation-priorities. Zone Catamarca's mineral resources had more than justified the decision to use the de Vergy-unit to map the South American interior. A preparatory colonisation-site would have to be initiated first to provide access, but fortunately the Chaco Austral zone offered considerable value in itself.
Meanwhile the assimilation of Bohemia had brought three more heretical sub-units into the Collective. Only two missionary-units were available this cycle, but progress was definitely being made. The erasure of the Protestant heresy would distinctly simplify the task of maintaining Collective stability.
Development continued in the Mexico region, barely interrupted by a minor rogue outbreak in Mixtec. The Queen allowed herself the observation that things were going well.
As if on cue, a missionary-unit malfunctioned in Modena and the Reformist drones took the opportunity for mayhem. But the outbreak was swiftly under control, and another unit completed operations successfully in Romagna the next month. More worrying was a major outbreak in the Brandenburg sub-unit in May. The resource requirement to forestall it peacefully seemed excessive, so the Queen had to resort to the military option. As the red icons began to spawn on the holomap - too many for local forces to control and a long way from the assembly areas of the major strike forces - she wondered if the decision had been justified. Another outbreak - this one even larger - threatened in the Verona sub-unit. This time she had no hesitation in diverting the resources.
Internal Situation Update. 1629. June.
Local stability crisis in sub-unit Verona. Situation approaching criticality.
Multiple communication failures centred on sub-unit Verona.
Estimated 20,000 drones are no longer in communication with the Collective.
Priority Update: Rogue drones are engaged in violence against the Collective.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Verona.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Venizia.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Ferrara.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Friuli.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Trent.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Tirol.
"What just happened?"
There was no immediate reply.
"Sub-coordination units, report!"
"My ... apologies, Directing Intelligence. I ... I think I made an error entering the control codes."
"Apology accepted. Unit M1L-1-E, convey the failed unit to the recycling chambers. And bring all Strike Forces to full readiness."
Internal Update. 1629. June.
New East Indian Trading Protocol now fully developed.
Deployment will benefit Collective resource-gathering operations.
A worse-optimised time to propose a new protocol would be hard to imagine, the Queen thought sourly. Or - was it badly optimised? The description of the new protocol was surprisingly short on information as to how the projected benefit would be obtained. The Queen's eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion as she rechecked the datalink. The sole specified advantage was a naval-construction facility in the Nice sub-unit.
"Why is it designated the East Indian protocol?" she asked.
There was no reply. Apparently the new administrative sub-coordination unit had not yet arrived.
Telling herself firmly that distrusting the Collective was the route to total breakdown, the Queen set her teeth and activated the authorisation.
The missing information - the protocol upgraded merchant-unit efficiency, apparently - arrived soon after. A mere hitch in communications. Probably.
More red icons blossomed on the holomap. Nutrient deficiency in Vermandois sub-unit, then a random outbreak in Tamaulipas. Fortunately the new outbreaks were small and widely scattered. Even more fortunately, the multiple rogue forces around Verona had failed to combine into a single unit, and the Strike Forces were disposing of them with impressive efficiency.
Brandenburg sub-unit was another story. Before the assigned Strike Force could even reach the sub-unit, the rogues breached the control-centre. The Queen felt the tremor in the Collective before she saw the report.
It did not last long - once in position the Strike Force made short work of the rogues, and an associate force from Poland arrived to restore control of the sub-unit - but it was disquieting. That such things could happen, even briefly, showed how far the Mission was from completion.
Two missionary-units reached completion in the Mexico-region. One success, one failure. Unrest among the pagan drones was swiftly suppressed. The de Vergy-unit completed eradication of the indigenes in the Catamarca-zone. Colonial development was completed in sub-unit Timor. The Collective's progess was back on track. For the moment.
Internal Report. 1630. January.
Collective Naval Operations optimised to Level 21.
New sub-unit adaptation "Admiralty" now available.
The Admiralty adaptation appeared to improve programming of naval command-units - hardly a priority, but resources were available, and it would be foolish to reject a benefit. The Queen made to authorise the adaptation.
"Permission to speak, Directing Intelligence."
The Queen's attention was caught immediately.. Unit M1L-1-E never communicated without reason. "What is it?"
"The projected adaptation is sub-optimal. It would prevent the future adoption of the War Office adaptation."
"What does that do?"
"It upgrades the programming of land-based command-units in similar manner to the Admiralty's upgrade of naval command-units. Since land operations are a higher priority, the War Office is superior."
"Why choose between them. Why not implement both?"
"That is not possible. Each adaptation precludes the other."
"Why? And how do you know all this?"
"That information is not available. I only know that I know."
The Queen considered. On the one hand, it was the unsupported - and therefore irrational - belief of a single drone against the sum advice of the Collective. On the other, unit M1L-1-E had never failed her yet.
"Adaptation not authorised."
There were other military matters to attend to. The events of the previous year had indicated that the extent of the Core Collective now exceeded the capabilities of the Strike Forces to cover effectively. A new Strike Force - 10,000 of the latest-model equine-units - would solve that problem, the Queen considered, and be useful for other purposes as well.
Expansion continued. Development continued. Rogue activity continued - the latest among Czech-type drones in sub-unit Plsen.
A missionary-unit successfully completed operations in sub-unit Pisa. A wave of mental activity swept through the Catholic religious network. The Queen chose not to inquire.
Internal Situation Report. 1630. September.
Sub-unit Tlaxcala has turned aside from the darkness.
Sub-unit Tlapanec has embraced salvation. Rejoice, rejoice!
The Queen felt the residual tension in the Collective after the Brandenburg incident relax, a little.
The next month's news was less encouraging. Political unit Vijayanagar continued to expand at the expense of Ming, assimilating four further territories. Intelligence reports continued to insist on the utter backwardness of the Vijayanagar-unit, so its continued success was ... disturbing.
Colonial operations in America were delayed when the initial colonial-unit to the Chaco Austral zone disappeared without trace. In the north, political units Shawnee and Cherokee initiated military operations against Castile, England and Portugal. The Queen analysed the intelligence data and saw no hope for them, but intelligence, it seemed, was not everything.
At least the Collective had plenty of resources available, despite the demands of military, missionary, colonial and development programs. A new refinery-type manufactory-level adaptation, in the Champagne sub-unit, seemed an appropriate way to acknowledge it.
Colonial-units, rogues, rogue units, colonists. The first missionary-unit success in a former Bohemian sub-unit (Lausitz). The first failure (Breslau). A major rogue outbreak, among Danish-type units in Sjaelland. Successful initiation of the Chaco Austral colony-site. Missionary-unit failure in sub-unit Huastec (the second rogue outbreak in six months in that sub-unit). Two nutritional deficiencies in the same month.
Internal Situation Report. 1631. November.
Alas! Alas! Sub-unit Nevers has reverted to its heretical ways! God has turned His face from us!
The tension in the Collective had returned, full force. The successful completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Buru was hardly compensation.
The next year was one the Queen would gladly have purged from the databanks. Two sub-type rogue outbreaks, (Bavarian and Czech), four nutritional shortages, a missionary-unit failure and the assimilation of the Cherokee political unit by Castile more than eclipsed a single missionary-unit success (Modena) and completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Sumba. The Queen told herself that reversion to the mean was inevitable, eventually.
Internal Situation Report. 1632. October.
Woe! Woe! The accursed Protestants have regained control of sub-unit Armor! We are undone!
Armor, like Nevers, had been the target of successful missionary-unit operations already. The situation was becoming intolerable. The Queen was forced to admit that there might be merit in the "Deus Vult" adaptation, after all.
Internal Situation Report. 1632. November.
Assimilation of associated political unit Urbino successfully completed.
Urbino no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
The Queen very carefully expected nothing for the rest of the year. Political Unit Sicily announced its conversion to the Reformed heresy. It was not nothing, but it was better than it might have been. Urbino's sole sub-unit was Reformed as well, but that was what missionary-units were for.
Colonial operations were completed in Banda Orientale. Colonial operations were initiated (finally) in Catamarca. The supply of colonial-units continued to be a limiting factor.
Internal Report. 1633. February.
An opportunity exists for Collective self-adaptation.
The arguments were the same as last time. Restrictions on trading-protocols could not be relaxed indefinitely - not without losing espionage-unit capacity altogether - but the limit had not yet been reached and the demand for colonial-units continued to escalate.
Internal Situation Report. 1633. February.
Assimilation of associated political unit Tuscany successfully completed.
Tuscany no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
It appeared that the difficulties with the annexation-protocols had been resolved.
The progress of the Mission was back on the projected course. For the moment.
* * * * * * * * * *
stephanbathory - germanpeon is correct. For EUIII purposes, Burgundian is part of the French culture group - so I may get the option to form France once I annex it, but not Germany. Not that I'd take the Germany option if I was offered it - have you seen that sickly green colour?
Morgon1988 - Arguing anything based on twenty-generations-back ancestry has always been a fairly pointless exercise, not that that's ever stopped anyone. Actually in the early-EUIII period, you could make a case for giving almost every province its own culture - loyalties were mostly to the local region/city/dynasty, language varied significantly over quite short distances and looking down on the neighbours was a near-universal pastime.
coz1 - Patience, I said!
Bohemia wasn't a priority (I'd rather have got Genoa), but it's nice to be able to draw a line.
stnylan -
ColossusCrusher <starts designing orc-type combat-unit>
<assimilates previous combat record of orc-type units>
<discards design>
<starts designing sheep-type combat-unit>
Duke of Wellington - Resistance shall be futile. Even for sheep. Probably.
(You may experience some delay in assimilation. Your province is held in a queue. Please be patient and have your genetic profile ready. Your assimilation is important to us. We apologise for the delay.)
Cliffracer RIP - Easier in the "not going to lose" sense. The long-term timing is still a little tight.
Zone Catamarca mapped successfully.
Zone Catamarca contains high-value mineral resources.
The Queen nodded as she authorised the updated colonisation-priorities. Zone Catamarca's mineral resources had more than justified the decision to use the de Vergy-unit to map the South American interior. A preparatory colonisation-site would have to be initiated first to provide access, but fortunately the Chaco Austral zone offered considerable value in itself.
Meanwhile the assimilation of Bohemia had brought three more heretical sub-units into the Collective. Only two missionary-units were available this cycle, but progress was definitely being made. The erasure of the Protestant heresy would distinctly simplify the task of maintaining Collective stability.
Development continued in the Mexico region, barely interrupted by a minor rogue outbreak in Mixtec. The Queen allowed herself the observation that things were going well.
As if on cue, a missionary-unit malfunctioned in Modena and the Reformist drones took the opportunity for mayhem. But the outbreak was swiftly under control, and another unit completed operations successfully in Romagna the next month. More worrying was a major outbreak in the Brandenburg sub-unit in May. The resource requirement to forestall it peacefully seemed excessive, so the Queen had to resort to the military option. As the red icons began to spawn on the holomap - too many for local forces to control and a long way from the assembly areas of the major strike forces - she wondered if the decision had been justified. Another outbreak - this one even larger - threatened in the Verona sub-unit. This time she had no hesitation in diverting the resources.
Internal Situation Update. 1629. June.
Local stability crisis in sub-unit Verona. Situation approaching criticality.
Multiple communication failures centred on sub-unit Verona.
Estimated 20,000 drones are no longer in communication with the Collective.
Priority Update: Rogue drones are engaged in violence against the Collective.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Verona.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Venizia.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Ferrara.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Friuli.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Trent.
Collective installations under attack in sub-unit Tirol.
"What just happened?"
There was no immediate reply.
"Sub-coordination units, report!"
"My ... apologies, Directing Intelligence. I ... I think I made an error entering the control codes."
"Apology accepted. Unit M1L-1-E, convey the failed unit to the recycling chambers. And bring all Strike Forces to full readiness."
Internal Update. 1629. June.
New East Indian Trading Protocol now fully developed.
Deployment will benefit Collective resource-gathering operations.
A worse-optimised time to propose a new protocol would be hard to imagine, the Queen thought sourly. Or - was it badly optimised? The description of the new protocol was surprisingly short on information as to how the projected benefit would be obtained. The Queen's eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion as she rechecked the datalink. The sole specified advantage was a naval-construction facility in the Nice sub-unit.
"Why is it designated the East Indian protocol?" she asked.
There was no reply. Apparently the new administrative sub-coordination unit had not yet arrived.
Telling herself firmly that distrusting the Collective was the route to total breakdown, the Queen set her teeth and activated the authorisation.
The missing information - the protocol upgraded merchant-unit efficiency, apparently - arrived soon after. A mere hitch in communications. Probably.
More red icons blossomed on the holomap. Nutrient deficiency in Vermandois sub-unit, then a random outbreak in Tamaulipas. Fortunately the new outbreaks were small and widely scattered. Even more fortunately, the multiple rogue forces around Verona had failed to combine into a single unit, and the Strike Forces were disposing of them with impressive efficiency.
Brandenburg sub-unit was another story. Before the assigned Strike Force could even reach the sub-unit, the rogues breached the control-centre. The Queen felt the tremor in the Collective before she saw the report.
It did not last long - once in position the Strike Force made short work of the rogues, and an associate force from Poland arrived to restore control of the sub-unit - but it was disquieting. That such things could happen, even briefly, showed how far the Mission was from completion.
Two missionary-units reached completion in the Mexico-region. One success, one failure. Unrest among the pagan drones was swiftly suppressed. The de Vergy-unit completed eradication of the indigenes in the Catamarca-zone. Colonial development was completed in sub-unit Timor. The Collective's progess was back on track. For the moment.
Internal Report. 1630. January.
Collective Naval Operations optimised to Level 21.
New sub-unit adaptation "Admiralty" now available.
The Admiralty adaptation appeared to improve programming of naval command-units - hardly a priority, but resources were available, and it would be foolish to reject a benefit. The Queen made to authorise the adaptation.
"Permission to speak, Directing Intelligence."
The Queen's attention was caught immediately.. Unit M1L-1-E never communicated without reason. "What is it?"
"The projected adaptation is sub-optimal. It would prevent the future adoption of the War Office adaptation."
"What does that do?"
"It upgrades the programming of land-based command-units in similar manner to the Admiralty's upgrade of naval command-units. Since land operations are a higher priority, the War Office is superior."
"Why choose between them. Why not implement both?"
"That is not possible. Each adaptation precludes the other."
"Why? And how do you know all this?"
"That information is not available. I only know that I know."
The Queen considered. On the one hand, it was the unsupported - and therefore irrational - belief of a single drone against the sum advice of the Collective. On the other, unit M1L-1-E had never failed her yet.
"Adaptation not authorised."
There were other military matters to attend to. The events of the previous year had indicated that the extent of the Core Collective now exceeded the capabilities of the Strike Forces to cover effectively. A new Strike Force - 10,000 of the latest-model equine-units - would solve that problem, the Queen considered, and be useful for other purposes as well.
Expansion continued. Development continued. Rogue activity continued - the latest among Czech-type drones in sub-unit Plsen.
A missionary-unit successfully completed operations in sub-unit Pisa. A wave of mental activity swept through the Catholic religious network. The Queen chose not to inquire.
Internal Situation Report. 1630. September.
Sub-unit Tlaxcala has turned aside from the darkness.
Sub-unit Tlapanec has embraced salvation. Rejoice, rejoice!
The Queen felt the residual tension in the Collective after the Brandenburg incident relax, a little.
The next month's news was less encouraging. Political unit Vijayanagar continued to expand at the expense of Ming, assimilating four further territories. Intelligence reports continued to insist on the utter backwardness of the Vijayanagar-unit, so its continued success was ... disturbing.
Colonial operations in America were delayed when the initial colonial-unit to the Chaco Austral zone disappeared without trace. In the north, political units Shawnee and Cherokee initiated military operations against Castile, England and Portugal. The Queen analysed the intelligence data and saw no hope for them, but intelligence, it seemed, was not everything.
At least the Collective had plenty of resources available, despite the demands of military, missionary, colonial and development programs. A new refinery-type manufactory-level adaptation, in the Champagne sub-unit, seemed an appropriate way to acknowledge it.
Colonial-units, rogues, rogue units, colonists. The first missionary-unit success in a former Bohemian sub-unit (Lausitz). The first failure (Breslau). A major rogue outbreak, among Danish-type units in Sjaelland. Successful initiation of the Chaco Austral colony-site. Missionary-unit failure in sub-unit Huastec (the second rogue outbreak in six months in that sub-unit). Two nutritional deficiencies in the same month.
Internal Situation Report. 1631. November.
Alas! Alas! Sub-unit Nevers has reverted to its heretical ways! God has turned His face from us!
The tension in the Collective had returned, full force. The successful completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Buru was hardly compensation.
The next year was one the Queen would gladly have purged from the databanks. Two sub-type rogue outbreaks, (Bavarian and Czech), four nutritional shortages, a missionary-unit failure and the assimilation of the Cherokee political unit by Castile more than eclipsed a single missionary-unit success (Modena) and completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Sumba. The Queen told herself that reversion to the mean was inevitable, eventually.
Internal Situation Report. 1632. October.
Woe! Woe! The accursed Protestants have regained control of sub-unit Armor! We are undone!
Armor, like Nevers, had been the target of successful missionary-unit operations already. The situation was becoming intolerable. The Queen was forced to admit that there might be merit in the "Deus Vult" adaptation, after all.
Internal Situation Report. 1632. November.
Assimilation of associated political unit Urbino successfully completed.
Urbino no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
The Queen very carefully expected nothing for the rest of the year. Political Unit Sicily announced its conversion to the Reformed heresy. It was not nothing, but it was better than it might have been. Urbino's sole sub-unit was Reformed as well, but that was what missionary-units were for.
Colonial operations were completed in Banda Orientale. Colonial operations were initiated (finally) in Catamarca. The supply of colonial-units continued to be a limiting factor.
Internal Report. 1633. February.
An opportunity exists for Collective self-adaptation.
The arguments were the same as last time. Restrictions on trading-protocols could not be relaxed indefinitely - not without losing espionage-unit capacity altogether - but the limit had not yet been reached and the demand for colonial-units continued to escalate.
Internal Situation Report. 1633. February.
Assimilation of associated political unit Tuscany successfully completed.
Tuscany no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
The progress of the Mission was back on the projected course. For the moment.
* * * * * * * * * *
stephanbathory - germanpeon is correct. For EUIII purposes, Burgundian is part of the French culture group - so I may get the option to form France once I annex it, but not Germany. Not that I'd take the Germany option if I was offered it - have you seen that sickly green colour?
Morgon1988 - Arguing anything based on twenty-generations-back ancestry has always been a fairly pointless exercise, not that that's ever stopped anyone. Actually in the early-EUIII period, you could make a case for giving almost every province its own culture - loyalties were mostly to the local region/city/dynasty, language varied significantly over quite short distances and looking down on the neighbours was a near-universal pastime.
coz1 - Patience, I said!
Bohemia wasn't a priority (I'd rather have got Genoa), but it's nice to be able to draw a line.stnylan -
ColossusCrusher <starts designing orc-type combat-unit>
<assimilates previous combat record of orc-type units>
<discards design>
<starts designing sheep-type combat-unit>
Duke of Wellington - Resistance shall be futile. Even for sheep. Probably.
(You may experience some delay in assimilation. Your province is held in a queue. Please be patient and have your genetic profile ready. Your assimilation is important to us. We apologise for the delay.)
Cliffracer RIP - Easier in the "not going to lose" sense. The long-term timing is still a little tight.
Getting there in Italy, but not without a bit of trouble it appeared. That seemed like one massive revolt in Venice. I suspect Genoa is prepared to see the light soon. They had better.
Genoa ought to have seen the light for a long time.
May be their right place is the recycling chambers
May be their right place is the recycling chambers
Good to have those annexation protocols once again operating well. There really is a lot of heresy springing up. I too see a lot of merit in Deus Vult.
Does anyone know if you can permanently "wipe out" protestantism or reformism? What I mean is: if it is eliminated from every province on the map after is starts, will it continue to pop up in provinces?
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1633. April.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
Three in a row would have been unprecedented, the Queen reminded herself. The failure of the unprecedented to occur did not indicate any defect in the system.
Unprecedented success would not have indicated any failure of the system either, of course.
The rest of the year was hardly worth recording. Colonist-units. Development in sub-units Schwyz and Tlaxcala. A massive rogue outbreak threatening Luneburg, prevented at the last moment. A rush of missionary-unit reports - failure in Neumark, success in Tamualipas, failure again in Guachichil. A second failed assimilation of associated political unit Siena. More missionary units - success in Nevers, failure in Breslau. Which made - the Queen rechecked the count - two out of five for the year. It was all so futile. The Collective had more than sufficient resources to try again, and again. Resistance was futile, so why did they insist on doing it the hard way?
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1634. August.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
And that made three. Completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Ambom was very small compensation.
Political unit England completed military operations against Aragon, assimilating four sub-units in the North American continent. The Queen looked at the holomap of France and her foot twitched. The diplomatic projections insisted that an "unthreatening outlook" was essential if assimilation of the associated political units was to meet the projected timeline. The Queen ordered them recalculated. Again.
Rogue activity threatened in Hannover. A missionary-unit failed in Armor. The outlook remained unthreatening.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1635. April.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
The pattern was becoming set. Completion of colonial development (Flores, this time), rogue outbreak (Ratibor), failure to complete assimilation (details immaterial). It continued - missionary-unit failure, rogue outbreak (Bavarian sub-type), three colonial-units and a second malfunctioning missionary-unit. When a missionary-unit actually completed operations correctly in Neumark at the end of the year, the Queen had to upload the report twice before it registered.
Defences upgraded in sub-unit Luxemburg, rogue outbreak in Nevers. Colonist-unit, missionary-unit, land developed in Sumba, rogue outbreak in Holland. A surprise among the intelligence reports - rogue units in zone Vendee spontaneously segregated from political unit England and declared themselves political unit Brittany. England's futile efforts to reassert control provided a small measure of satisfaction.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1636. October.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
This report was not at all surprising. It should have been, but the Queen found herself inured to failure. Was it like this for the organics, to expect futility and so accept it?
Shivering slightly, she activated the datalink and threatened the Diplomatic Nexus and with mass recycling unless efficiency was improved. It did not appear to have much effect. The Catholic nexus contained data on a location designated Limbo, where units waited, unable to act until released by some external event. If this was Limbo, perhaps Purgatory would be a release.
Internal Situation Report. 1637. April.
Sub-unit Armor is freed from the grip of heresy.
The lies of the Protestants no longer infect the Collective.
Resistance would be futile, the Queen told herself.
A rash of defensive upgrades - Brescia, Flores, Mainz. Land developed in Armor.
A full year since the last rogue outbreak, so a rogue English force made up the deficiency by advancing into Picardie from Calais. A viral outbreak in Friesland. A second successful missionary-unit operation, in Huichol.
Simultaneous rogue outbreaks, in Massachussetts and Tarasco. A colonist-unit dispatched to open another colonial-zone, Halmahera. Missionary-unit operations reverted to the mean, with a failure (and associated rogue outbreak) in Ancona.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. January.
Collective productive efficiency optimised to level 22. Efficiency will increase.
Collective internal organisation optimised to level 22. Options available for Collective self-development.
Option Smithian Economics - Collective productive output has proved adequate. Rejected.
Option National Bank - Collective resource stockpile has proven adequate. Rejected.
Option Viceroys - Overseas operations represent an increasing proportion of Collective operations. Economic return estimated greater than options Smithian Economics or National trade Policy. Under consideration.
Option Military Engineers - Increased speed of reduction of hostile control-sites would improve efficiency of military operations. Under consideration.
Option Deus Vult - Infiltration of the Collective by heretical memes has proven difficult to prevent. Multiple interfaces now exist with heretical and infidel political units. God demands-
"Authorise option Viceroys." The Queen was in no mood to hear God's demands, nor to let the Collective believe that such demands were worthy of consideration.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. March.
Coordination-unit "Charles II" has ceased functioning.
New coordination-unit "Charles III" has superior capacities in the military operations sphere.
There was something the report did not mention, and the Queen noticed it at once.
"Diplomatic capacities?"
The report should have been a surprise. It was not.
Diplomatic capacities of Charles III-unit estimated as minimal.
"Has the Genetics Nexus received any reports from the Diplomatic Nexus on Collective requirements?"
Normal data-transfers were completed.
"Does the Genetics Nexus have any final data-transfers to complete?"
It was disaster. Complete, undoubted. Projection of the assimilation process at updated levels suggested a minimum deficiency of ten years. Ten years that were not available. The Mission would not be concluded - unless an alternative plan could be found. Powering up the datalinks, the Queen began to search.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. August.
Infection event! Sub-unit Armor has fallen to the lies of the Protestants.
God has turned His face from us!
The Queen privately conceded God the point and authorised a missionary-unit. Resources were not an issue. Resistance - even his - would be futile.
Missionary operations were successfully completed in Tohancapan. Nutritional shortages led to rogue activity in Zeeland. Political unit Ming suffered rogue activity of its own, sub-units separating under the designations Timurid and Khazak.
Optimisation of land military technology allowed the deployment of the new "swivel cannon" artillery-unit unit. The Queen, busy planning, authorised the upgrade absently. It would be useful, but hardly critical, in what was to come.
Nutritional shortages led to rogue activity in Venizia. Colonial development was complete in Catamarca.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1639. May.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa successfully completed.
Genoa no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
The Queen blinked twice, carefully rechecked the report, and transferred the plan to the pending file. The primary protocol might not be beyond recovery after all.
* * * * * * * * * *
ColossusCrusher - The sheep of war never lose.
stnylan - What do you know - I get handed a DIP 3 monarch and he annexes Genoa first try. Now to do the same for Siena...
coz1 - There are two revolt events. One gives you one stack of rebels and is an empire-wide tax hit to buy off, ther other gives you about six stacks but can be bought off with a tax/RR hit to a single province. Not sure about the design philosophy there, but choosing options is normally a no-brainer. This time I made a slight digital error.
Lordban - If there was only a way to recycle them before assimilating them...
Duke of Wellington - I keep telling myself that Deus Vult isn't worth it - I can't afford the BB from no-CB DOWs and I think the reformation-spread events end in 1648 - and I keep regretting it. Viceroys was a bad decision - I decided at the start I didn't need money and then talked myself into going for an economic NI when I couldn't decide on anything else.
germanpeon - That's the idea. Provinces only flip if they're adjacent to Protestant/Reformed provinces, so if I can just get them all...
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
Three in a row would have been unprecedented, the Queen reminded herself. The failure of the unprecedented to occur did not indicate any defect in the system.
Unprecedented success would not have indicated any failure of the system either, of course.
The rest of the year was hardly worth recording. Colonist-units. Development in sub-units Schwyz and Tlaxcala. A massive rogue outbreak threatening Luneburg, prevented at the last moment. A rush of missionary-unit reports - failure in Neumark, success in Tamualipas, failure again in Guachichil. A second failed assimilation of associated political unit Siena. More missionary units - success in Nevers, failure in Breslau. Which made - the Queen rechecked the count - two out of five for the year. It was all so futile. The Collective had more than sufficient resources to try again, and again. Resistance was futile, so why did they insist on doing it the hard way?
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1634. August.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
And that made three. Completion of colonial operations in sub-unit Ambom was very small compensation.
Political unit England completed military operations against Aragon, assimilating four sub-units in the North American continent. The Queen looked at the holomap of France and her foot twitched. The diplomatic projections insisted that an "unthreatening outlook" was essential if assimilation of the associated political units was to meet the projected timeline. The Queen ordered them recalculated. Again.
Rogue activity threatened in Hannover. A missionary-unit failed in Armor. The outlook remained unthreatening.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1635. April.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
The pattern was becoming set. Completion of colonial development (Flores, this time), rogue outbreak (Ratibor), failure to complete assimilation (details immaterial). It continued - missionary-unit failure, rogue outbreak (Bavarian sub-type), three colonial-units and a second malfunctioning missionary-unit. When a missionary-unit actually completed operations correctly in Neumark at the end of the year, the Queen had to upload the report twice before it registered.
Defences upgraded in sub-unit Luxemburg, rogue outbreak in Nevers. Colonist-unit, missionary-unit, land developed in Sumba, rogue outbreak in Holland. A surprise among the intelligence reports - rogue units in zone Vendee spontaneously segregated from political unit England and declared themselves political unit Brittany. England's futile efforts to reassert control provided a small measure of satisfaction.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1636. October.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
This report was not at all surprising. It should have been, but the Queen found herself inured to failure. Was it like this for the organics, to expect futility and so accept it?
Shivering slightly, she activated the datalink and threatened the Diplomatic Nexus and with mass recycling unless efficiency was improved. It did not appear to have much effect. The Catholic nexus contained data on a location designated Limbo, where units waited, unable to act until released by some external event. If this was Limbo, perhaps Purgatory would be a release.
Internal Situation Report. 1637. April.
Sub-unit Armor is freed from the grip of heresy.
The lies of the Protestants no longer infect the Collective.
Resistance would be futile, the Queen told herself.
A rash of defensive upgrades - Brescia, Flores, Mainz. Land developed in Armor.
A full year since the last rogue outbreak, so a rogue English force made up the deficiency by advancing into Picardie from Calais. A viral outbreak in Friesland. A second successful missionary-unit operation, in Huichol.
Simultaneous rogue outbreaks, in Massachussetts and Tarasco. A colonist-unit dispatched to open another colonial-zone, Halmahera. Missionary-unit operations reverted to the mean, with a failure (and associated rogue outbreak) in Ancona.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. January.
Collective productive efficiency optimised to level 22. Efficiency will increase.
Collective internal organisation optimised to level 22. Options available for Collective self-development.
Option Smithian Economics - Collective productive output has proved adequate. Rejected.
Option National Bank - Collective resource stockpile has proven adequate. Rejected.
Option Viceroys - Overseas operations represent an increasing proportion of Collective operations. Economic return estimated greater than options Smithian Economics or National trade Policy. Under consideration.
Option Military Engineers - Increased speed of reduction of hostile control-sites would improve efficiency of military operations. Under consideration.
Option Deus Vult - Infiltration of the Collective by heretical memes has proven difficult to prevent. Multiple interfaces now exist with heretical and infidel political units. God demands-
"Authorise option Viceroys." The Queen was in no mood to hear God's demands, nor to let the Collective believe that such demands were worthy of consideration.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. March.
Coordination-unit "Charles II" has ceased functioning.
New coordination-unit "Charles III" has superior capacities in the military operations sphere.
There was something the report did not mention, and the Queen noticed it at once.
"Diplomatic capacities?"
The report should have been a surprise. It was not.
Diplomatic capacities of Charles III-unit estimated as minimal.
"Has the Genetics Nexus received any reports from the Diplomatic Nexus on Collective requirements?"
Normal data-transfers were completed.
"Does the Genetics Nexus have any final data-transfers to complete?"
It was disaster. Complete, undoubted. Projection of the assimilation process at updated levels suggested a minimum deficiency of ten years. Ten years that were not available. The Mission would not be concluded - unless an alternative plan could be found. Powering up the datalinks, the Queen began to search.
Internal Situation Report. 1638. August.
Infection event! Sub-unit Armor has fallen to the lies of the Protestants.
God has turned His face from us!
The Queen privately conceded God the point and authorised a missionary-unit. Resources were not an issue. Resistance - even his - would be futile.
Missionary operations were successfully completed in Tohancapan. Nutritional shortages led to rogue activity in Zeeland. Political unit Ming suffered rogue activity of its own, sub-units separating under the designations Timurid and Khazak.
Optimisation of land military technology allowed the deployment of the new "swivel cannon" artillery-unit unit. The Queen, busy planning, authorised the upgrade absently. It would be useful, but hardly critical, in what was to come.
Nutritional shortages led to rogue activity in Venizia. Colonial development was complete in Catamarca.
Intelligence Report - Burgundy Collective. 1639. May.
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
Assimilation of associated political unit Genoa successfully completed.
Genoa no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
The Queen blinked twice, carefully rechecked the report, and transferred the plan to the pending file. The primary protocol might not be beyond recovery after all.
* * * * * * * * * *
ColossusCrusher - The sheep of war never lose.
stnylan - What do you know - I get handed a DIP 3 monarch and he annexes Genoa first try. Now to do the same for Siena...
coz1 - There are two revolt events. One gives you one stack of rebels and is an empire-wide tax hit to buy off, ther other gives you about six stacks but can be bought off with a tax/RR hit to a single province. Not sure about the design philosophy there, but choosing options is normally a no-brainer. This time I made a slight digital error.
Lordban - If there was only a way to recycle them before assimilating them...
Duke of Wellington - I keep telling myself that Deus Vult isn't worth it - I can't afford the BB from no-CB DOWs and I think the reformation-spread events end in 1648 - and I keep regretting it. Viceroys was a bad decision - I decided at the start I didn't need money and then talked myself into going for an economic NI when I couldn't decide on anything else.
germanpeon - That's the idea. Provinces only flip if they're adjacent to Protestant/Reformed provinces, so if I can just get them all...
If God is continually able to resist the Borgundians, does that mean that God is more perfect than the Borgundians?
Great to see that the Queen does not accept the authority of this 'God' figure, even if he did win this round. I've been in that position quite a few times when one can't decide upon a NI until you've chosen the wrong one. Well at least the Reformation events shan't be troubling you much longer.
God seems to have had a lot of points lately
And the way the Queen handles the selection of the new National Idea reflects your own trouble nicely
And the way the Queen handles the selection of the new National Idea reflects your own trouble nicely
If you mind not, i need some contact with you. Talk to me via my MSN - kfijatass@hotmail.com . Thanks
Doing well with missionaries so Deus Vult isn't needed. Good choice with Viceroys.
I suggest you send poor Charles into battle and hope he gets his non-diplomatic head lopped off. At least Genoa was finally a success. It's like Daffy Duck says, "If at first you don't succeed...keep on suckin' until you do succeed."
I suggest you send poor Charles into battle and hope he gets his non-diplomatic head lopped off.
At least Genoa was finally a success. It's like Daffy Duck says, "If at first you don't succeed...keep on suckin' until you do succeed."
Burgundy Collective - Central Nexus. 1640. January.
The primary protocol was not beyond recovery but the time allocations involved allowed only the smallest margin of error. Despite the unexpected success of the Genoa assimilation, the abysmal diplomatic capabilities of the Charles III-unit continued to degrade the Collective's progress. The Queen searched the databanks repeatedly, seeking a mechanism that would allow the substandard unit to be replaced before it miscoordinated the ongoing assimilation processes to failure. Surely the control protocols contained procedures for this contingency.
Premature removal of the primary coordination-unit will trigger the Regency Council protocol.
So much for the contingency protocols. But - the Queen's eyes narrowed abruptly - there might be another way. While the Charles III-unit might be wholly inadequate for diplomatic functions, its military capacities were listed as "superior". Surely such a unit would function best as the command-unit of a combat-force. And if its service to the Collective should happen to be terminal, well, that would hardly constitute premature removal of the coordination-unit. Not by the Queen, anyway.
It was more than a little frustrating that the rogue outbreaks that struck in the first part of 1640 (Massachussetts, Caddo, Lausitz) were so minor. The Queen regretted that inspiration had not struck prior to the previous year's uprising in the Anjou sub-unit, which had occupied two entire Strike Forces for several months.
The Collective was not the only political unit affected by rogue activity. Rogue units in sub-unit Calais actually self-segregated from England and declared themselves political unit Flanders (a designation unknown to the databanks). The demonstration of organic inferiority was gratifying, but the diplomatic projections suggested that the continued existence of the Flanders-unit might hamper long-term operations against England. Organics, it appeared, could not even go rogue in an efficient manner.
Internal Situation Report. 1640. June.
Sub-unit Huastec has embraced the True Faith. Hallelujah.
Internal Situation Report. 1640. July.
Woe is us! The accursed Reformed heresy has taken root in sub-unit Firenze!
Woe is us indeed, the Queen thought sourly as she authorized the dispatch of a missionary-unit. Of all the sub-units in the Collective, Firenze ran second only to Venizia in the cost of missionary-unit operations and the chance of failure. The heretics certainly seemed to be choosing their targets with unexpected efficiency. Was God somehow involved? Did it truly wish to degrade the Collective, or was it simply as inefficient as everything else on this planet?
Or does he favour the Reformists after all? she mused. Too late, God.
The rogue units made up for their previous inaction in the second half of the year. 13,000 in Piedmont and & Nice, 10,000 in Liguria. The Charles III-unit terminated the outbreaks with impressive efficiency (level 5 command capacity). The rogues' efforts in the other direction proved unfortunately futile.
Missionary operation were successfully concluded in sub-unit Armor, for the third (fourth? the Queen would have to check) time. Even the Collective found it hard to greet the news with much enthusiasm.
There were other parts of the plan that required attention. Previous military operations against political unit Castile had been conducted fairly adequately with minimal naval forces, but those operations had been strictly peripheral in nature. The Castile-situation, however, could not be permitted to continue for much longer, and decisive operations in the Castilian core sub-units would require naval dominance in the Iberian region. This could not be achieved with the current level of naval forces and naval-combat units took time to construct.
As a first stage towards rectifying this situation, 12 heavy naval units, of the latest "Wargalleon" type began construction directly.
A major rogue outbreak threatened in the Karnten sub-unit and surrounding zones. The Queen told herself that refusing to divert resources represented a prudent decision. Proper field-experience for the combat-units was valuable in itself after all. She did however authorise a diversion of resources when a similar outbreak threatened in the Brandenburg sub-unit the next month. The Charles III-unit could only be in one place at once, after all.
Colonial operations were completed in the Tidore sub-unit. A missionary-unit successfully complete operations in the Liguria-sub unit, so maybe God did not favour the Reformists after all. A second missionary-unit failed in Parma the next month, so maybe he did. Or maybe, the Queen told herself firmly, she was simply reading patterns in streams of random data.
The Charles III-unit finished off the last of the rogue units around Karnten in time to pacify Parma, then transfer north to take over the local Strike force in operations against Hannoverian-type rogue units in Oldenburg. Rogue efforts continued to be futile. Colonial operations were completed in sub-unit Ceram.
Central Nexus. 1642. January.
"Directing Intelligence, I have an Intelligence report from South America that I think you should see. Forwarding it now."
The Queen briefly scanned the report. "Political unit Sweden is not in South America, drone. Do you require your parameters re-adjusted?"
D1P-1-J hesitated only slightly. "Actually, Directing Intelligence, political unit Sweden is in South America. That is why I forwarded the report. They appear to have assimilated at least one sub-unit from the Incas political unit."
The Queen froze. Political unit Incas was targeted for the third stage of the plan, a low-cost high-yield operation that could be fitted in before the final assimilation of political units Castile and France. But the plan assumed that Incas would remain backward and undisturbed for another twenty years. If a European political unit got there first...
"Only one sub-unit, sub-coordinator?"
"Only one that we know of. Mapping in that region is still incomplete. There could be others."
"Are military operations still ongoing?"
"No, Directing Intelligence, they are not."
The Queen paused. A false alarm. Probably. Could she risk it? Or should she adapt the plan, risk delaying both operations against Castile and assimilation of the remaining associate political unit, and move at once to secure the Inca territory?
Immediate operations were not a realistic option. There were not enough combat-units in the region and the Collective lacked a base of operations adjacent to the Incas political-unit.
"Begin colonial development in the Jujuy zone on a priority basis. Keep monitoring the reports from Sweden and alert me immediately if the situation changes."
Another twelve wargalleons began construction. A rogue outbreak of unprecedented size threatened in the Bohemia region, so large that the Queen considered it prudent to divert resources, Charles III-unit or no.
Apart from a minor flicker in the St Kitts sub-unit, that proved to be the only rogue activity for much of the year. The Collective celebrated the successful conclusion of missionary operations in the Guachichil sub-unit in October, but missionary operations in Firenze (inevitably) failed that next month. The Charles III-unit was dispatched to clean up.
Internal Situation Report. 1642. November.
We are undone! Sub-unit Normandie has succumbed to the lies of the damnable Protestants!
God, it appeared, had a point to prove. Fortunately, the Queen had plenty of missionary-units, and the resources to deploy them.
1643 saw another twelve wargalleon units constructed, the Jujuy-zone cleared of indigenous organics and colonial operations begun, the successful conclusion of missionary-unit operations in sub-unit Parma, and two minor rogue outbreaks, neither of which impeded Charles III.
1644 was very similar, except that naval construction switched to frigate-type light units. Missionary-unit operations were successfully completed in Atakapa, tha last of the Reformed sub-units assimilated from Genoa. Colonial development continued.
Internal Situation Report. 1644. November.
Collective internal organisation optimised to level 23.
New sub-unit adaptation "Tax Assessor" now available.
The tax assessor adaptation, it appeared, allowed a sub-unit to transfer a proportion of its resource turnover directly to the Collective central reserve without impeding long-term development. The Queen approved. Even better, it appeared that no Tax Assessors had been mysteriously installed prior to the inception of the Mission.
A minor rogue outbreak - so minor that the Queen did not even think it worthwhile transferring Charles III - flickered in the Bermuda sub-unit at the end of the year. Sub-unit Normandie was reclaimed from the grasp of the Protestants.
The start of 1645 saw the inception of twelve frigate-type naval-units, and no fewer than ninety-five tax assessor provincial adaptations. Resources were plentiful, and the Queen saw no reason to delay.
Internal Report. 1645. February.
An opportunity exists for Collective self-adaptation.
Little had changed since the previous adaptation. Espionage unit operations, the Queen was forced to admit to herself, had proved extremely infrequent. An additional relaxation of restrictions on trading-protocols would retain minimal espionage-unit capacity while increasing the conversion-rate for ongoing colonial-unit operations.
A minor tremor in the Collective's internal organisation - theologian-type coordinator-unit de Roye, after 61 years' operation, was withdrawn and replaced by a more modern unit of similar capacity, designated de Donzy.
Internal Situation Report. 1645. April.
Praise the Lord! Sub-unit Firenze has been cleansed of the Reformed heresy.
Heresy has been purged from every sub-unit of the Collective. Let us rejoice!
It would not last, of course, but it was ... enjoyable while it did.
The year saw a single rogue outbreak in the entire Collective, small and quickly erased. On the one hand, this should probably be considered a positive development. On the other...
Relying on rogues was evidently a futile operation. Fortunately the next stage of the plan would provide other ... opportunities.
The opening of 1646 saw naval construction priorities switch to transport-units. With the first wave of tax assessors now operational, the Queen authorised a 10% resource transfer rate from the sub-units to the central reserve, which had been further diminished by the initiation of a further eighty-five tax assessor adaptations. The Queen's brow furrowed as she noted the existence of an unauthorised and unaccountable tax assessor on Collective-associated territory, under the control of the Papal States. It appeared to have been in operation for some considerable time, but the technology had not been transferred despite the obvious benefits to the Collective as a whole. God would have his secrets, it seemed. But not for much longer.
Intelligence Report. 1646. January
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena successfully completed.
Siena no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary successfully completed.
Hungary no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
Assimilation of associated political unit Austria ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Papal States ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
The Queen allowed God to hold on to his secrets a little longer. There were other matters to hold her attention.
"Status of combat-units?"
"Approaching final assembly positions now. All units will be prepared and in position for offensive operations by the start of March."
The Queen looked at the holomap. The Collective's attention had been distracted from France for far too long. "Very good. You may initiate operations when ready."
Intelligence Report. 1646. March.
Priority Report: Hostile elements from political unit Cyprus have compromised Collective security.
Counter-espionage operations are continuing.
"Cyprus?" The Queen had not even bothered to register the weathercock political unit's support for France. "What did they do, disguise themselves as circulating entertainment-units?"
"Actually, I believe a chemical agent known as "ouzo" was used to impair the security agents."
"Locate them, recover any information and recycle them. Then find the hole and block it."
At least military operations were proceeding smoothly. Against the offensive, France had deployed 11,000 combat-units in three field forces. They had lasted less than three months. Ile-de-France was the first control-site to be secured, in August. Morbihan followed two months later, then Languedoc and Provence.
On previous experience, the Collective had expected a surge of fresh French combat-units at the start of 1647, but France appeared beyond even that. The Strike Forces were withdrawn to Collective territory to regroup. Newly-constructed naval forces, patrolling the Atlantic coast, intercepted and destroyed ten French transport-units in the Cote d'Argent zone.
Internal Situation Report. 1647. January.
Primary coordination-unit "Charles III" has ceased functioning.
New coordination-unit "Philippe XII" has superior capacities in the diplomatic operations sphere.
The Queen smiled.
* * * * * * * * * *
stephanbathory - Futile resitance - even extended futile resistance - does not equate to superiority. But the Borg will be evaluating the situation for future adaptations.
Duke of Wellington - Borg superiority will be maintained. Fortunately I'm far enough ahead of the game that NI choices don't matter a whole lot.
stnylan - Not really; I had inflation 0% and was one tech level off Tax Assessors when I made the decision. If inflation gets anywhere near high enough to trigger the bankruptcy events I have messed up but good.
Lordban - The reformation-spread events were a consistant annoyance but no more than that. But it doesn't take much to make the Queen paranoid.
As for the NI choices, the problem was that most of the military ones are very weak, while I already have more money than I can use. I was tying with something like Espionage or cabinat, simply because it's a bonus I can't get any other way.
kfijatass <raises eyebrows> You can PM me through the board (now I've got round to turning PMs on).
coz1 - I tried, but he ended up dying naturally after all. Not that I'm complaining (new monarch is DIP 8). And waiting for <1 BB and +3 stability did seem to help the annexations.
The primary protocol was not beyond recovery but the time allocations involved allowed only the smallest margin of error. Despite the unexpected success of the Genoa assimilation, the abysmal diplomatic capabilities of the Charles III-unit continued to degrade the Collective's progress. The Queen searched the databanks repeatedly, seeking a mechanism that would allow the substandard unit to be replaced before it miscoordinated the ongoing assimilation processes to failure. Surely the control protocols contained procedures for this contingency.
Premature removal of the primary coordination-unit will trigger the Regency Council protocol.
So much for the contingency protocols. But - the Queen's eyes narrowed abruptly - there might be another way. While the Charles III-unit might be wholly inadequate for diplomatic functions, its military capacities were listed as "superior". Surely such a unit would function best as the command-unit of a combat-force. And if its service to the Collective should happen to be terminal, well, that would hardly constitute premature removal of the coordination-unit. Not by the Queen, anyway.
It was more than a little frustrating that the rogue outbreaks that struck in the first part of 1640 (Massachussetts, Caddo, Lausitz) were so minor. The Queen regretted that inspiration had not struck prior to the previous year's uprising in the Anjou sub-unit, which had occupied two entire Strike Forces for several months.
The Collective was not the only political unit affected by rogue activity. Rogue units in sub-unit Calais actually self-segregated from England and declared themselves political unit Flanders (a designation unknown to the databanks). The demonstration of organic inferiority was gratifying, but the diplomatic projections suggested that the continued existence of the Flanders-unit might hamper long-term operations against England. Organics, it appeared, could not even go rogue in an efficient manner.
Internal Situation Report. 1640. June.
Sub-unit Huastec has embraced the True Faith. Hallelujah.
Internal Situation Report. 1640. July.
Woe is us! The accursed Reformed heresy has taken root in sub-unit Firenze!
Woe is us indeed, the Queen thought sourly as she authorized the dispatch of a missionary-unit. Of all the sub-units in the Collective, Firenze ran second only to Venizia in the cost of missionary-unit operations and the chance of failure. The heretics certainly seemed to be choosing their targets with unexpected efficiency. Was God somehow involved? Did it truly wish to degrade the Collective, or was it simply as inefficient as everything else on this planet?
Or does he favour the Reformists after all? she mused. Too late, God.
The rogue units made up for their previous inaction in the second half of the year. 13,000 in Piedmont and & Nice, 10,000 in Liguria. The Charles III-unit terminated the outbreaks with impressive efficiency (level 5 command capacity). The rogues' efforts in the other direction proved unfortunately futile.
Missionary operation were successfully concluded in sub-unit Armor, for the third (fourth? the Queen would have to check) time. Even the Collective found it hard to greet the news with much enthusiasm.
There were other parts of the plan that required attention. Previous military operations against political unit Castile had been conducted fairly adequately with minimal naval forces, but those operations had been strictly peripheral in nature. The Castile-situation, however, could not be permitted to continue for much longer, and decisive operations in the Castilian core sub-units would require naval dominance in the Iberian region. This could not be achieved with the current level of naval forces and naval-combat units took time to construct.
As a first stage towards rectifying this situation, 12 heavy naval units, of the latest "Wargalleon" type began construction directly.
A major rogue outbreak threatened in the Karnten sub-unit and surrounding zones. The Queen told herself that refusing to divert resources represented a prudent decision. Proper field-experience for the combat-units was valuable in itself after all. She did however authorise a diversion of resources when a similar outbreak threatened in the Brandenburg sub-unit the next month. The Charles III-unit could only be in one place at once, after all.
Colonial operations were completed in the Tidore sub-unit. A missionary-unit successfully complete operations in the Liguria-sub unit, so maybe God did not favour the Reformists after all. A second missionary-unit failed in Parma the next month, so maybe he did. Or maybe, the Queen told herself firmly, she was simply reading patterns in streams of random data.
The Charles III-unit finished off the last of the rogue units around Karnten in time to pacify Parma, then transfer north to take over the local Strike force in operations against Hannoverian-type rogue units in Oldenburg. Rogue efforts continued to be futile. Colonial operations were completed in sub-unit Ceram.
Central Nexus. 1642. January.
"Directing Intelligence, I have an Intelligence report from South America that I think you should see. Forwarding it now."
The Queen briefly scanned the report. "Political unit Sweden is not in South America, drone. Do you require your parameters re-adjusted?"
D1P-1-J hesitated only slightly. "Actually, Directing Intelligence, political unit Sweden is in South America. That is why I forwarded the report. They appear to have assimilated at least one sub-unit from the Incas political unit."
The Queen froze. Political unit Incas was targeted for the third stage of the plan, a low-cost high-yield operation that could be fitted in before the final assimilation of political units Castile and France. But the plan assumed that Incas would remain backward and undisturbed for another twenty years. If a European political unit got there first...
"Only one sub-unit, sub-coordinator?"
"Only one that we know of. Mapping in that region is still incomplete. There could be others."
"Are military operations still ongoing?"
"No, Directing Intelligence, they are not."
The Queen paused. A false alarm. Probably. Could she risk it? Or should she adapt the plan, risk delaying both operations against Castile and assimilation of the remaining associate political unit, and move at once to secure the Inca territory?
Immediate operations were not a realistic option. There were not enough combat-units in the region and the Collective lacked a base of operations adjacent to the Incas political-unit.
"Begin colonial development in the Jujuy zone on a priority basis. Keep monitoring the reports from Sweden and alert me immediately if the situation changes."
Another twelve wargalleons began construction. A rogue outbreak of unprecedented size threatened in the Bohemia region, so large that the Queen considered it prudent to divert resources, Charles III-unit or no.
Apart from a minor flicker in the St Kitts sub-unit, that proved to be the only rogue activity for much of the year. The Collective celebrated the successful conclusion of missionary operations in the Guachichil sub-unit in October, but missionary operations in Firenze (inevitably) failed that next month. The Charles III-unit was dispatched to clean up.
Internal Situation Report. 1642. November.
We are undone! Sub-unit Normandie has succumbed to the lies of the damnable Protestants!
God, it appeared, had a point to prove. Fortunately, the Queen had plenty of missionary-units, and the resources to deploy them.
1643 saw another twelve wargalleon units constructed, the Jujuy-zone cleared of indigenous organics and colonial operations begun, the successful conclusion of missionary-unit operations in sub-unit Parma, and two minor rogue outbreaks, neither of which impeded Charles III.
1644 was very similar, except that naval construction switched to frigate-type light units. Missionary-unit operations were successfully completed in Atakapa, tha last of the Reformed sub-units assimilated from Genoa. Colonial development continued.
Internal Situation Report. 1644. November.
Collective internal organisation optimised to level 23.
New sub-unit adaptation "Tax Assessor" now available.
The tax assessor adaptation, it appeared, allowed a sub-unit to transfer a proportion of its resource turnover directly to the Collective central reserve without impeding long-term development. The Queen approved. Even better, it appeared that no Tax Assessors had been mysteriously installed prior to the inception of the Mission.
A minor rogue outbreak - so minor that the Queen did not even think it worthwhile transferring Charles III - flickered in the Bermuda sub-unit at the end of the year. Sub-unit Normandie was reclaimed from the grasp of the Protestants.
The start of 1645 saw the inception of twelve frigate-type naval-units, and no fewer than ninety-five tax assessor provincial adaptations. Resources were plentiful, and the Queen saw no reason to delay.
Internal Report. 1645. February.
An opportunity exists for Collective self-adaptation.
Little had changed since the previous adaptation. Espionage unit operations, the Queen was forced to admit to herself, had proved extremely infrequent. An additional relaxation of restrictions on trading-protocols would retain minimal espionage-unit capacity while increasing the conversion-rate for ongoing colonial-unit operations.
A minor tremor in the Collective's internal organisation - theologian-type coordinator-unit de Roye, after 61 years' operation, was withdrawn and replaced by a more modern unit of similar capacity, designated de Donzy.
Internal Situation Report. 1645. April.
Praise the Lord! Sub-unit Firenze has been cleansed of the Reformed heresy.
Heresy has been purged from every sub-unit of the Collective. Let us rejoice!
It would not last, of course, but it was ... enjoyable while it did.
The year saw a single rogue outbreak in the entire Collective, small and quickly erased. On the one hand, this should probably be considered a positive development. On the other...
Relying on rogues was evidently a futile operation. Fortunately the next stage of the plan would provide other ... opportunities.
The opening of 1646 saw naval construction priorities switch to transport-units. With the first wave of tax assessors now operational, the Queen authorised a 10% resource transfer rate from the sub-units to the central reserve, which had been further diminished by the initiation of a further eighty-five tax assessor adaptations. The Queen's brow furrowed as she noted the existence of an unauthorised and unaccountable tax assessor on Collective-associated territory, under the control of the Papal States. It appeared to have been in operation for some considerable time, but the technology had not been transferred despite the obvious benefits to the Collective as a whole. God would have his secrets, it seemed. But not for much longer.
Intelligence Report. 1646. January
Assimilation of associated political unit Siena successfully completed.
Siena no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
Assimilation of associated political unit Hungary successfully completed.
Hungary no longer has an existence separate from the Collective.
Collective resources increased in proportion.
Assimilation of associated political unit Austria ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation of associated political unit Papal States ... not successfully completed.
Assimilation process will continue.
The Queen allowed God to hold on to his secrets a little longer. There were other matters to hold her attention.
"Status of combat-units?"
"Approaching final assembly positions now. All units will be prepared and in position for offensive operations by the start of March."
The Queen looked at the holomap. The Collective's attention had been distracted from France for far too long. "Very good. You may initiate operations when ready."
Intelligence Report. 1646. March.
Priority Report: Hostile elements from political unit Cyprus have compromised Collective security.
Counter-espionage operations are continuing.
"Cyprus?" The Queen had not even bothered to register the weathercock political unit's support for France. "What did they do, disguise themselves as circulating entertainment-units?"
"Actually, I believe a chemical agent known as "ouzo" was used to impair the security agents."
"Locate them, recover any information and recycle them. Then find the hole and block it."
At least military operations were proceeding smoothly. Against the offensive, France had deployed 11,000 combat-units in three field forces. They had lasted less than three months. Ile-de-France was the first control-site to be secured, in August. Morbihan followed two months later, then Languedoc and Provence.
On previous experience, the Collective had expected a surge of fresh French combat-units at the start of 1647, but France appeared beyond even that. The Strike Forces were withdrawn to Collective territory to regroup. Newly-constructed naval forces, patrolling the Atlantic coast, intercepted and destroyed ten French transport-units in the Cote d'Argent zone.
Internal Situation Report. 1647. January.
Primary coordination-unit "Charles III" has ceased functioning.
New coordination-unit "Philippe XII" has superior capacities in the diplomatic operations sphere.
The Queen smiled.
* * * * * * * * * *
stephanbathory - Futile resitance - even extended futile resistance - does not equate to superiority. But the Borg will be evaluating the situation for future adaptations.
Duke of Wellington - Borg superiority will be maintained. Fortunately I'm far enough ahead of the game that NI choices don't matter a whole lot.
stnylan - Not really; I had inflation 0% and was one tech level off Tax Assessors when I made the decision. If inflation gets anywhere near high enough to trigger the bankruptcy events I have messed up but good.
Lordban - The reformation-spread events were a consistant annoyance but no more than that. But it doesn't take much to make the Queen paranoid.
As for the NI choices, the problem was that most of the military ones are very weak, while I already have more money than I can use. I was tying with something like Espionage or cabinat, simply because it's a bonus I can't get any other way.
kfijatass <raises eyebrows> You can PM me through the board (now I've got round to turning PMs on).
coz1 - I tried, but he ended up dying naturally after all. Not that I'm complaining (new monarch is DIP 8
). And waiting for <1 BB and +3 stability did seem to help the annexations.
WOW!! for being an abysmal diplomat, ole Charlie sure was persuasive in getting those other nations to renounce their sovereignty for the loving arms of the Collective...A total of three was it not?
Just remember...God does not play dice with the universe...
Just remember...God does not play dice with the universe...
Those tax assessors are going to be sweet when they kick in. And at least Charles is finally gone...but what am I saying? He actually got the job done, right?