The Deeper Covenant
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The Deeper Covenant |
| The Deeper Covenant - Data Panel
Definition: Major Hyperpolity and Civilization Symbol: no single agreed upon symbol, although a stylised representation of the fourteen (or sometimes twelve or sixteen) sephirotics is sometimes used Ruling Toposophic: several quasi-caretaker-like SI:5 archailects represent the highest ai level Origin: Terragen Founded: late interplanetary age Population: about 50 trillion, mostly artificials. Cyborgs and bionts, and a few xenosophonts Predominant Sophont Phyla: ai, po, bionts, cyborgs, artificials, and virtuals all found Technology Level: UltraTech and Transapientech (some isolated polities may have lower tech levels) Psyche, Art, Culture Metapsychology: pragmatic, empathic, independent, individualist, sometimes isolationist Metaethics: strong sentient rights approach, cooperative Culture and Art: Varies by individual polity Languages: Highly derived variants of the anglic and other Old Earth terragen language families are the most wide-spoken among bionts. Other clades may use different languages Government and Administration Individual Polities : a number of distinct Covenants, Alliances, and Trade Federations Government Type : Varies by individual polity, mostly cyberdemocracy or aicracy Constitution: Declaration of Covenant Legal system: Varies by individual polity Citizenship: , includes members of all clades of sapient level and above. Sentient Rights: good Economics, Local Infrastructure Economy: varies greatly, may be centralised, free market, or post-scarcity Resource base: mostly Brown dwarfs and M-type stars Megastructures: vast network of beamrider-linked stations, some amat farms, large orbitals Stargate Nexus: none Beamrider Network: Very Extensive, the Deepers make up the largest Beamrider Network in the terragen bubble. Some routes and beam stations are co-managed with Sephirotic worlds Data Net: local Nets only Military expenditure: usually minimal (Varies by individual polity) Trade and Good Relations with: Diamond Network, The Objectivist Commonwealth, The Perseus Princes Longrunning Interstellar Disputes: Solipsist Panvirtuality subversion and encouragement of local blights and perversities, Amalgamation remains a source of anxiety, Diamond Network appropriation of resources Sophont Travel Hazard Rating : usually 0.0 to 1.0, in some cases up to 5.0 (depending on clade, polity or world) Freedom of Movement for outsiders: Varies by individual polity. Environmental Requirements : Varies by individual polity further comments: see historical overview, below |
A
beamrider station in orbit around Epsilon Indi Ba, a brown dwarf which
is one of the oldest Covenant worlds
(click for larger image)
Loose, extremely distributed cyberdemocratic civilization living mostly on, in and around the brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets of known space. The Deeper Covenant began as the descendants of the construction crew of the first beamrider after they escaped the solar system to the brown dwarf Yin during the Nanodisaster.
Deepers (as they are generally called) have a deep social ethos of cooperation and service in general and to maintaining and extending the Beamrider Network in particular. They are a relaxed, but hardworking culture that considers itself a part of modern civilization, but at one remove from it (unlike their very distant cousins the Backgrounders and Hiders). Social stability is also reinforced thru the use of 'empathyware' nanotech. When in close proximity to another person using the e-ware a short range LAN is set up and transmits a low power sense of the emotional state of the person to everyone around them. This technology, although rejected by some, is credited for much of the peace and stability of Deeper culture.
Deepers make use of the full range of modern technologies and are made up of virtually every type of clade and species. It is not at all unusual for travellers on the Network to feel an affinity for these pleasant people and to decide to spend a few years or decades or centuries living and working as one of them. Nor is it uncommon for born Deepers to come to live in the hustle and hurry of the Wormhole Nexus for a time before eventually returning to their worlds. Being a Deeper, it is said, is more of a state of mind than a state of being.
Technologically, Deepers are as advanced as nearly any world in the Nexus. Although they are not ruled or watched over by a high level AI God (that anyone knows of) they count a number of hyperturings, powers and even avatars of minor archai among their ranks. This allows them to employ all but the most powerful technologies. They often use advanced fusion 'sunlines' to illuminate the equatorial space of their parent brown dwarf and terraform the extensive moon systems such objects usually possess (cf Apogee Maximal). Perhaps because of their dependence on the beamrider system they also make extensive use of active compression members and Lofstrom structures in their architecture, sometimes on a scale to rival even the MPA (citizens of the MPA will hotly contest this). Depending on the desires of their inhabitants the worlds and dwarfs of the Covenant may be extensively re-engineered or even disassembled to construct macrostructures for habitation and the tapping of the abundant magnetic and fusion fuel resources available.
Although they make only minimal use of it, the Deeper Covenant does have access to the Known Net and the Wormhole Nexus. Their most developed systems will often include a microguage communication link and a number of the Network's stellar boost stations are located in systems equipped with transport wormhole plexi. This permits the Covenant to both access the Known Net (although queries may take months or years to complete due to lightspeed lag between the sender and the nearest commgate) and to use the Nexus to expand into new areas from widely separated points without first travelling across all the distance between. Most recently a Deeper 'advance party' was seen travelling into the region of the Carinae Rush. The group was spotted passing thru the Nexus some 25 years ago and then dropped out of sight. It is estimated that it will be another century at least before the results of their work become evident in the region.
Overall, Deepers are a quiet but all pervasive part of modern society. Although hard numbers are almost impossible to acquire, it is estimated that they have a population of some 190 trillion beings (all types) spread across approx. a billion different locations.
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