Rosebearers (PMMM Space Opera) - QQ Edition

[Reinhard Von Lohengramm]

Rosebearers (PMMM)

241, Year of Ascension

The Galactic Federation is locked in a cold war against the Incubator Collective.

The Galactic Federation, a supranational organisation consisting of myriads of interstellar states, first-contacted the Incubator Collective 10 standard years ago. Although this initial contact was peaceful, extreme political and philosophical differences rapidly spoiled relations between the Federation and the Incubator hivemind.

The leading superpower in the Galactic Federation, the Rosebearer Republic, is a vast intergalactic nation whose population consists of the synthetic organisms called "Rosebearers" - a species of synthetic individuals with almost unparalleled mastery of the physical world.

Ten years ago, when the Galactic Federation first contacted the Incubator Collective on the previously unexplorable edges of its space, it discovered a certain set of facts. The facts were thus:
The Incubators formed "Contracts" with the females of organic species. These Contracts granted the "Wishes" of those females who had acceded to them and they became Puella Magi. The price that had to be paid for these contracts was their Soul and a lifetime of battle with the creatures known as "Witches", creatures that feasted on organics. These "Witches" were in fact Puella Magi who had run out of energy. This was done, because the explosion and discharge of emotional energy that respectively followed the birth and death of a Magical Girl was a means of reducing thermodynamic entropy.

However, this alone was not the catalyst for what was to happen next - other advanced spacefaring states were known to engage in all sorts of scientific experiments with primitives, some of them in the Galactic Federation themselves - so who were they to criticise the Incubators? It took another straw to break the rosebearers' back. Indeed, if the whole point was to preserve the universe, shouldn't it be understandable that a species would want to resort to such measures, no matter how twisted the logic?

This process was known to be risky. Beyond a certain point, Witches would do more than eat organics - they would begin to destroy cities and countries. Indeed, rosebearer agents witnessed an entire planet and its inhabitants being consumed by a Witch on Korvin Tertius - completely ruining the point of minimising entropy.

The Galactic Federation's leadership, wresting with the moral and ethical implications of this discovery - if Witches could destroy planets, what would stop a sufficiently powerful one from destroying stellar systems and the entire galaxy? -, made a decision - they decided to be brutally honest.

A transmission was spread through the entire Federation and beyond. Every Federation world received the message detailing the entire truth about the Incubators and their entropy-reducing operations. Contracts, Wishes, Witches, Magical Girls, the reduction of entropy - this was all revealed in earnest, nothing was concealed.

Not only that, but the transmission was meant to also go beyond Galactic Federation territory - aside from carrying the message in the Galactic Federation official and working languages, it was also designed to be recognisable, decodable, translatable by any SETI (Search for extraterrestrial intelligence) program of any industrial Type 0 civilisation that happened to exist out there. It was also further designed to be retransmittable by any civilisation that then developed FTL communications.

The Incubator Collective's reaction to this broadcast was in no-way muted. Previously described as "rational" and "emotionless" upon contact, the hive mind seemed to evolve emotions for the first time - from this one interaction with the Rosebearer-dominated Galactic Federation, the Incubators learned what hatred was.

The Incubators developed a hatred for the Rosebearers - and thus, by extension all synthetic life. Synthetic life not only had revealed the truth about its operations to the entire galaxy, but it was also uncontractable - no emotional energy could be extracted from it.

Thus, relations between the Galactic Federation - in particular, a member state, the Rosebearer Republic - and the Incubator Collective began on an extremely unpleasant note.

Now the Federation - with the Republic leading it - and its hiveminded rival are locked in a galactic cold war - a contest involving the never-ending construction of anti-stellar supernova weapons, an arms race to spread and block communications, a race to claim new worlds and planets of primitives as their own.

---

You are Rosebearer #340191272751590. This number however, is not the one you like to be referred to. It is but the serial number of the 340191272751590th Rosebearer that exists. Starting from today, your 21st birthday, you will embark on a customary coming-of-age ritual to find a worthy name, something more than a number - the 'Nominatio', the 'naming ceremony'.

The Nominatio isn't exploration for everyone - for some, it involves the discovery of another scientific advance. For others, it is some great exabyte-size essay on history that creates another perspective to view events from. Some even go further and discover great xeno-archaeological artifacts. Climbing the ladder to seize a position in the Galactic Parliament is also a legitimate means to fulfill the Nominatio, although there is a certain stigma to it. However, for a great, restless, significant minority, the main means of accomplishing Nomination is by exploring the edges of known Rosebearer space - something that has cooled quite significantly since first contact with the Incubator Collective, but that's another matter for another time.

Your spark-mother and your code-father were relatively average Rosebearers. They weren't completely dependent on the Unconditional Energy Stipend, but they weren't the corporate moguls of the Red Arm either. They were mere scientists - occasionally, they would be sent to some remote sector to do some tests, but otherwise, there weren't exactly the great heroes of old - such as the diplomat "Sanford" (literally meaning Sand-Ford, for he brought back to the table two factions whose trust had been destroyed in the metaphorical desert of war), that saved a pre-interstellar species from plunging themselves into a nuclear abyss with a single sentence, the Galactic Razor "Guillotin", who efficiently, ruthlessly yet righteously purged Mazdan Sector of space pirates or the Progenitor Eva - the first Rosebearer, who had to dig her way from the depths of the planet she had awoken from, who built her code-husband and started this synth-species' progress to the stars.

Come to think of it, looking back to the great heroes of old isn't exactly completely heartening - For the name "Rosebearer" is one that refers to an immensely distressing origin story - that's for another time.
And so thus, today, you begin your great Nominatio - one that you have decided will take the form of a great adventure through the galaxy, to find something worthy - or rather, make you feel worthy enough - to bear a name inspired by.

---

You have finally arrived at Cerulean Jewel Mass Driver Spaceport - an intermediary facility before going to the Starport in orbit and one that also facilitates intraplanetary aviation. You leave the hovercar, as do your parents. They accompany you as you begin to make your way to the travelators - from there, you will enter the spaceport proper.
Your hesitate for a nanosecond, but realize that your fears amount to nothing, as the Creators protect.

You:

[]Hug your spark-mother: boys love their mothers.
[]Hug your code-father: to feel the security of a daughter's father's comforting synth-arms.

 

[Reinhard Von Lohengramm]

Canopeum
The home planet of the Rosebearer species, Canopeum also serves as the capital of the Rosebearer Republic. Canopeum is the third planet of the Stella system. A sun-baked, extremely arid planet with a relatively thin atmosphere and no magnetosphere, the planet is not suitable for the vast majority of organic life - with average temperatures around 90 degrees Celsius (~194 Fahrenheit), travel as an organic without EVA (extravehicular) gear is strictly regulated. Despite this, in order to strengthen ties with the Republic as much as possible, some spacefaring states still endeavour to gain heavily conditioned embassies on Canopeum - tourism in EVA gear is also a lucrative business for Canopeum.

Rosebearer Republic
The Rosebearer Republic is a federal state which controls the vast majority of Galactic Federation space. The majority of its core systems are located in the Grand Rose Galaxy and the majority of the Galactic Federation's expansion occurs through the Rosebearer Republic's colonisation programs - a heavy 50% of all Galactic Federation territory is Rosebearer territory. Thus, from a certain viewpoint, the Republic is synonymous with the Galactic Federation.

The Rosebearer government is a semi-presidential system, with a tripartite division of powers. The Rosebearer President, the head of state, leads the executive. The Prime Minister appoints the Cabinet, yet as a Member of Parliament, is also part of the legislative branch. At the top of the judiciary is the High Court, consisting of seven justices, with the power to interpret the Rosebearer Constitution and override unconstitutional legislation.
The Rosebearer Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives allocates seats based on planet-sized electoral divisions, taking into account population. The Senate allocates seats based on star systems, with a minimum of one seat per system.
E-democratic practices happen to a certain extent - referendums and elections do not require a venue, as secure voting information may be transmitted directly through the Galactic Internet to Rosebearer brains, although some accommodations are made for organics and other synthetic species.
A question that often occurs regarding Rosebearer politics is why a race of synthetic organisms couldn't simply share their experiences and reach consensus through that - the answer is the same for a host of other questions - rosebearers are not a fully networked intelligence and their neural system simply does not allow for such a procedure - their nature as individuals necessitates constitutional government rather than consensus.

 

[Reinhard Von Lohengramm]

For your Nominatio, you intend to study the histories of Gestreitis. There was a probability that there was something in those manuscript-now-files worth naming yourself after. Perhaps there was some noble knight or a brave sergeant-in-arms of elfinkind, embellished as a dragonslayer who could provide you with inspiration on what path you should set your life on.

You made your way into the spaceport. It was densely packed - the ordinary state of affairs.

You entered a mass driver shuttle. Spaceport to starport - that was how space travel was done in the Republic. A mass driver on the ground, a proper starport high in the heavens, so that the natural heritage of all sentience was not tarnished.

You arrived in the starport. As you head for your ship, you notice that the flight to Gestreitis had less passengers than the other ones. The ones that were here seemed to be tourists. It made sense - there wasn't much business to be done on a recently uplifted medieval world, unless you were a diplomat or scientist.

You boarded the passenger ship. Gestreitis was far enough that you could reposed for a good while if you wanted - an android's nap, so to speak.

[] Repose
[] Do not repose

 

[Reinhard Von Lohengramm]

Rosebearers
The rosebearers are arguably the leading species in the Local Supercluster. Roughly two-and-a-half centuries ago, the first rosebearer Eva finished her ascent from the rosebearer home planet Canopeum's mantle. From Eva's Ascension - as it is known - rosebearer civilisation came to expand across the whole planet, then the whole system, the whole galaxy, then across other galaxies and beyond.
Compared to other synthetic species, rosebearer machine biology seems a rarity. The rosebearers are neither hive minds, nor mind hives - they are individuals. Programmed with complex emotional capability, they defy the Supercluster's stereotypes about synthetics. Each individual rosebearer is a "multicellular" organism, consisting of differentiated nanomachines as building blocks, analogous to the cell biology of organics. Once differentiated, nanomachines generally cannot be re-purposed for other functions in their bodies.

Despite this seeming limitation for a synthetic species, rosebearer biology is extremely resilient. A rosebearer has no need for air, water nor food - although gourmets amongst them are known to modify their bodies for organic cuisine - they can survive extreme heat, radiation, pressure and other forces that would kill not only most organic species, but synthetic species as well.
Rosebearers however, lack one thing - full knowledge of their creators. Despite extensive studies and analyses of their synthetic tissue and processes, no real progress has been made regarding useful knowledge of their Creators. No dissection of rosebearer brains have yielded any results whatsoever - the rosebearer brain is a literal solid black box with no evident inner circuitry - , and no patterns pointing to Creators have been discovered in other parts of rosebearer biology. Such is the lack of evidence regarding any Creators that it is speculated by elements in the scientific community that Eva was spontaneously formed in the mantle, that rosebearers are actually organic siliconic life that evolved in the mantle or that they originated off Canopeum. Whatever the case, the rosebearers will most likely not know about their origins for centuries to come.

(In-progress):

Rosebearer: Biology
Rosebearer: Culture
Rosebearer: Government

Rosebearer: Military Doctrine

At the grand strategic level, rosebearer military doctrine - whether in direct service to the Republic or through a contingent in the Federation's Fleet - is explicitly political - "war is a continuation of politics by other means". This does not compromise the civilian control of the military that even militaristic elements among rosebearers take pride in - if anything, it strengthens it. When war is prosecuted by rosebearers, whether it be a border conflict or a galactic invasion, extensive but to-the-point consultations occur between the relevant civilian authorities and the military ones to determine the purpose of waging the conflict - sector governors convene with squadron officers, galactic governors convene with flotillas' captains and the Rosebearer President and the Galactic Federation's President consult with their Chiefs of Staff. At any end of the spectrum, full staffs of political commissioners assist to aid as liaisons between the civilian and military elements for the sake of determining the goal of a particular conflict. It is anathema for rosebearer politicians to wage war for the sake of war or to lose a war because its objectives were not clear enough or not feasibly achievable - the typical outcome is a political career devastated for the rest of their immortal synthetic lives.

Rosebearer military organisation is considered middle-of-the-spectrum in the Supercluster - there is a centralised command structure insofar as achieving the political objectives are concerned, but individual units readily call upon and utilise fire support and heavy armaments without the need to request permission from superiors. For example, unless specifically prohibited, units are free to use armaments up to and including kiloton-yield nuclear weapons - so long of course, it is truly for the sake of fulfilling an objective.
Of particular interest is rosebearer naval doctrine - as far as the Rosebearer Republic's military doctrine is concerned, naval doctrine is the most important element. When at peace, the purpose of the Republic's navy is to absolutely intimidate any and all potential adversaries into submission, whether preserving a favourable status quo or "persuading" with a fleet review to effect a change. At war, the keywords of the Admiralty are supremacy, annihilation and attrition. Supremacy - the Fleet seeks to obtain absolute command over an enemy's space, that the Army lands where it wants, how it wants, whenever it wants, in order to achieve territorial goals and to allow an unhindered line of supply. Annihilation - in that utter destruction of enemy vessels and fleets is sought, extending into the tactical scale with shield/armor penetrating weapons, so that the enemy no longer has any meaningful war potential to even allow guerilla resistance. Attrition, in that if the former two are not yet achieved, all the material and technological resources of the Rosebearer state and the Galactic Federation will ensure that the enemy is outnumbered, outproduced and outmatched.
To date, thousands of enemy interstellar states have been destroyed, i.e. debellatio, by the Rosebearer Republic and its overwhelming sledgehammer of a war machine. Save the Incubators, it is clear that no force in the Local Supercluster can even hope to match Rosebearer firepower.

Rosebearer: Origins and Creators
The origins of the rosebearer species is a riddle, wrapped in mystery, inside an enigma - to date, there has been no definite information about their Creators or origins. Speculation about rosebearer origins is the norm rather than the exception. The progenitor rosebearer Eva herself has not made any contributions towards academic understanding of the rosebearers' history.
The vast majority of information about the prehistory of the rosebearer species is inferred rather than observed directly, using a reverse-engineering approach. From the higher-level components and processes that interface with software and hardware external to rosebearers' bodies, it can be directly observed that these higher-level processes ultimately use binary code. For example, a rosebearer can easily use an neural socket adapter or their wireless capabilities to operate a printer or a monitor as if they were a simple computer themselves - from these observations, it may be inferred that rosebearers are built to interface with external hardware and software applications. In other words, the Creators used binary coding.

The same is not the case for the lower, "close-to-the-metal" parts of rosebearer neurology. The rosebearer brain and its associated low-level processes remain truly inscrutable - although vital for a rosebearer's continued function, thus far, no reverse-engineering attempts have been successful and thus no inferences can be gleaned in this field. The inscrutability and inaccessibility of the lower processes of course, necessitates that any mutual interfacing be done through higher processes - that rosebearer minds cannot directly interface with each other to share perspectives leads to another question, one about their behaviour's origins.

From the behaviour of rosebearers, it may be confidently inferred that the purpose of their creation was to serve as artificial subjects in sociological experiments and simulations - it is scientific consensus in the scientific community that rosebearers - with their unusual-for-synthetics social and political capabilities - were probably created in order to model how organic societies evolved in different circumstances, unbreakable tools for physical simulations in order to achieve a individualist utopia - this of course, is only speculation, confident inference or not. Emotional capabilities in synthetics however suggest sophisticated, massively parallel processing capabilities within the rosebearer brain, adding credence to this so called "utopian simulation" theory - or serial processing capabilities beyond the norm.

Other theories however, abound. It is suggested by a minority scientific elements that rosebearers were never "designed" with a purpose in mind, rather spontaneously emerging in the mantle of Canopeum, a theory disdained by comparative synthetic biologists. Other theories include:

• The abandoned warbot/polbot theory, which - taking in account the rosebearer ascendancy in the Supercluster - suggests that rosebearers were the remnant of some forgotten empire's war industry
• The domestic servant theory - which explains rosebearer psychology and behaviour as a attempt by their organic Creators to traverse the "uncanny valley"
• The malfunction theory, also known as the "rust bucket", "tin-can" or "mad toaster" theory, which posits that Rosebearers are malfunctioning robots, who have replicated Eva's corrupted code, such that their original function can no longer be deduced.

Assuming the rosebearer form does not correlate with the form of their creators - for example, quadrupeds and tentacled lifeforms creating bipedal synthetics for "fun and giggles" -, then no inferrences can be made about their own Creators' form. However, if rosebearers are based off of their Creators forms - there is as of yet, no evidence for or against this possibility - then it may be inferred that the Creators were bipedal tool-using, hunter-gathering, persistence-predators that once terrorized wide, open plains - a somewhat common evolutionary model for countless sentient species in the Local Supercluster.

Rosebearer: Religion