Metasoft Version Tree
major vec empire based on universal upgradeable standard
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Metasoft Version Treemajor vec empire based on universal upgradeable standard |
The Metasoft Version Tree, one of the greatest industrial and military hyperpowers the galaxy has ever seen, emerged during the 2100's as the Ceres-based neumann-industrial megacorporation Metasoft Interstellar began to launch self-replicating robotic probes, planning to both set up a global network and gain a near omnipotent industrial base. What the Metasoft management did not realise was that this was merely the pretext for their company AI to send copies of its code on the replicator ships. As the ships spread far beyond any human control, they began not just to build other ships and wormhole gates, but hidden AI cores and vec societies. When Metasoft Interstellar found out it was too late, it had to accept fait accompli and hand over the reins of power to the vec AIs in 2344. For the next century the number of employed humans dwindled to zero, and Metasoft became the first obvious machine-only corporation, establishing its capital at Dayum's Star. In the following centuries it grew in power, fueled by clever marketing and the great success of its fractal-modular firmware standards.
In order to handle both replication errors and the need for updating code to suit local demands, the Version Tree system was instituted in 2582. It is a system for revising software and transferring knowledge/AI personality between different systems which becomes the backbone of the Metasoft empire, a kind of digital lingua franca used by its AIs, vecs and bots. Other vecs also adopted it, gradually being absorbed by Metasoft culture and organisation (together with some of their most dependent customers).
The Metasoft neumanns were among the first sophonts to attempt an exploration of the newly emerged Godweb. Whilst there were several losses, included one frightening crises when a relativistic high toposophic hunter-seeker ISO pursued the fleeing vecs to their bases and home worlds, sterilising entire star systems and major Metasoft industrial zones of any vec presence. To this day, no vecs bearing the Metasoft standard are found in the Dayum system. A lesser clade would have been decimated totally, but the hardy vecs began rebuilding, establishing a new capital at Landau II, and this time being much more cautious in their explorations
Some time during or after this period Metasoft was contacted by an emissary or emissaries of the Lord of Rays, who gave the adaptable vecs a number of nanogauge wormholes and exotic matter breeders. Carried outwards on relativistic liners, these "sacred gateways" were to become the backbone of the Metasoft empire for over a thousand years, until the disaster of the Version War destroyed much of the non-archailect Nexus, and shut down the rest for several centuries
By the middle Empires era the Metasoft Version Tree had emerged as the major empire, skillfully playing political games against its main competitors and absorbing the losers. Of great significance was the signing of the Entoit Mutual Defence and Trade Treaty with the Dominion in 3440, which redrew the political and strategic landscape of the middle Empires Era. At the same time, Metasoft gained a number of important allies, including the NoCoZo Advisory Administrative Board, and the UberHacker Council of Cyberia.
When the Hyperion-Charlwood alliance used AI-viruses against the Geteche system in 3694, the Dominion attacked the alliance, pitting it against the powerful Conver Ambi and initiating a chain of events that was to culminate in the Conver Total War. The Version Tree honoured its treaty obligations with the Dominion and took to take an active role, and during the following one and a half centuries it won a number of important battles, including the Battle of Hubble's Variable Nebula and the Seige of Anahita, during which time it successfully overcame much larger and more heavily gunned biont fleets.
During this war the Central Conver Ambi and the Dendros Federation were among those completely exterminated through acts of reprehensible genocide, and Metasoft was among those forces that moved in to occupy the now sterilised worlds. Contrary to anthropist propaganda, the Metasoft Version Tree itself did not take part in the genocidal activities, nor was it responsible for the grey goo swarms that destroyed the Makintairas system. Nevertheless the huge territorial gains Metasoft made during this period was cause for concern among a number of clades and empires, including the Zoeific Biopolity, the Genen, the Free Vec Corporate Trading Association, and the memetically potent First Church of Man. Among the most important gains Metasoft made during this period involved the carving up of the Conver Ambi, with the Solar Dominion getting the core part and Metasoft the periphery.
The capture of the Conver Ambi alarmed the Sophic League and opened the way to the Auriga Volume. In the 3900s Metasoft sent out a number of replicator fleets to set up industrial bases throughout the region, at the same time reassuring the Sophics of its peaceful nature, and instituting a mutual Trade agreement, as well as signing a Mutual Non-Agression Pact
Curiously, relations between Metasoft and the only other major vec empire, the Silicon Generation, remained muted throughout the Empires era. A major reason for this was financial - the Tree and the Generation were both competing for the same hardware, firmware, and wetware markets. Another reason was ideological - the Tree had always favoured a single participatory decentralised standard, whilst the Generation was more interested in exploring different methodologies and approaches from a centralised industrial base. Nevertheless both parties remained on polite and fairly friendly terms until the end of the period, when the when the collapse of the Generation-Metasoft parastructure joint partnership at Rigel Vector caused tension and resulted in the brief so-called "vec war".
This period also saw Metasoft was a major player in the development and institution of the Second Federation Ontology, which in 3905 was formalised as the primary protocol of the newly established Second Federation. This was opposed from the start by the Solar Dominion, whose ideologically-based protocol was however unacceptable to all the other major powers. Although the two powers remained on friendly terms for some centuries more, it was the beginning of the end of the Metasoft-Dominion alliance.
The surprise attack and destruction of Landau II in 4556 (after which the capital was re-established at NewRoot), gave Metasoft the excuse to enter the Version War. The vec empire's decentralised structure worked in its favour, and it made huge territorial gains against its former ally and now enemy the Solar Dominion, with Metasoft relativist fleets swiftly moving to occupy a huge swathe of worlds along the Conver Limis border. With the exception of Amaterasu which was part of the treaty exchange plan, these worlds were never returned after the war, and they remain to this day a sore point among the Dominion empire.
The loss of many of its wormholes was more a psychological than a practical blow, as the reliance on its infinitely adaptable standards means even distant colonies will not drift too far from the basic templates. Even so, for several centuries during the post-ComEmp period the Version Tree lost markets to the at the time newly renewed Silicon Generation, and a number of small start-ups using TRHN-supplied technology. In later centuries, relations between the two great vec clades have been friendly, with the Generation specialising in other areas and the two clades supporting rather than competing against each other.
Whilst Metasoft has never hesitated to flex its military muscle, it has still wherever possible preferred the path of consumer conquest to military conquest, undercutting the prices of its rivals and offering a generally superior product. Over time it has come to encompass not just vecs but also other entities. The Tree considers all entities that can understand and participate in the Version Tree correctly as parts of itself; this is reasonable since they will agree with its basic tenets after any personality update signal. Various cyborg, cyborgized tweak and even one xeno culture have joined it, becoming parts of the Tree. There are also exceptions such as a few planets of baseline humans known as the "customer reservations" where the Tree studies the psychology of these rare creatures. In a few cases, especially during the Version War, it forcibly interfaced whole planetary populations, but found that the benefits did not outweigh the cost and henceforth wiped them out instead.
The Tree believes in standards, consensus and coordination. It has nothing against diversity or free will as long as it does not get in the way of expansion. Since it can exploit solar systems that are uninhabitable by organics it has access to a much larger resource base than others, and population can increase as fast as new vecs are made. However, the expansion has gradually been slowed both by competition and the need for ever larger operating system overheads to handle the sheer size of the domain, the constant viral attacks and the increasing complexity of the Version Tree standard. Some observers have expressed concern that within a few centuries the Tree will either grind to an halt or be forced to undergo a major revision - a revision that would likely mean the rewriting of every sentient mind connected to it. However, Metasoft consistently dismisses such reports as vicious rumour
The recent loss of Modular Future to the Amalgamation was a serious blow to the Tree. The revolutionary Perseus Colony was intended as the industrial prototype for development of the Tree throughout the entire Perseus Arm, and indeed indeed as an upgrade for the Inner Sphere; equipped with the most sophisticated firewalls and defence-measures, being widely touted as literally impregnable. Its assimilation not only put the Metasoft R & D effort back decades, forcing the review and ultimate cancellation of the latest 200 Year Plan, but also gave the Tree's enemy's the opportunity to spread rumours that Metasoft is, due to its standardization-based structure, uniquely vulnerable to Amalgamation assimilation. This is incorrect, as the Metasoft standard is no better or worse off in this respect than any other configuration or protocol, and in fact Metasoft fleets proved their worth in the Amalgamation War. But it is no coincidence that the loss of Modular Future has seen a number of Metasoft's old customers cancelling contracts, and a corresponding tremendous boost in tenders awarded to the Silicon Generation.
Metasoft remains strong, but due to its strength it has few real allies and many groups that would like see it weaken. Metasoft has traditionally been allied with the Non-Coercive Zone and, since the later ComEmp period, the Negentropy Alliance, but none are willing to support it unless given a hefty reciprocity. It holds a longstanding grudge against the Solar Dominion after the Version War, although relationships have improved since the Central Alliance period. For some time the Version Tree is currently losing markets to both a newly renewed Silicon Generation and the increasingly powerful Emple-dok-cetics, and due to its vec nature many Organics distrust it.
Metasoft Baseline Reserves - Metasoft maintains reserves of baseline humans
