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Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:37 am
by Harvey
Note: contains spoilers from the Diary of Preturnatural, which is the "official" story of the founding of the Favored. This topic is mostly to be used as reference by people that have either read the Diary or don't plan to read it at all and just want the basic information on the Favored for Archipelago purposes. If you have any interest in reading the Diary, I highly suggest you do so before reading this topic.

Origin of the Favored

Project Utoptia

The Nelaga Territories, desperate to make a lasting impact to make the world a better place, began the long-running, JASO funded and designed Project Utoptia with the goal of ensuring the survival of humanity in the event of a worldwide collapse, apocalypse, disaster, or invasion. Five Bastions were conceptualized. Nelaga formed alliances with three other powers of Micras to aide in the construction of the Bastions.

The First Bastion was placed under the surface of the ocean. Shireroth’s research into the ancient Ocean Palace of Jasonia was invaluable in creating something that would withstand the immense pressures.

The Second Bastion was constructed in the highest mountains, obscured from all eyes of Micras and even satellites above by the snow, ice, and rock. Nelaga’s own antigravity technology was necessary to build this inhospitable haven.

The Third Bastion was designed in remote, cold space – far from the loving embrace of Micras. Without Natopia’s space fleet, it would have been impossible to build.

The Fourth Bastion was built upon the surface of another universe – a parallel plane, hidden because it was impossible to visit. The mighty wizards of Gralus used their powerful magic to open portals to this world and construct the city.

The Fifth Bastion was to be built in the spaces between time, forever shifting. However, even for the four allied powers, it proved too difficult to construct. It was then that the Fifth Bastion took on a new role – while the other four would survive because nobody would know they exist, the Fifth would stand in open defiance of any threat that would challenge Micras. In an unprescidented move, Shireroth, Nelaga, Natopia, and Gralus joined forces to create the Bastion Union, pseudoheadquartered at Bastion City, Istvanistan, which is roughly between the four great powers.

(this, I swear, is strangely OOC stuff predating Archipelago and even the Bastion Union. The “Five Bastions” idea were created BEFORE the Bastion Union – ari, who named the Bastion Union, no doubt chose that name because the two people that came up with the Five Bastions, myself and Andreas, were also the ones pushing for the micronational merger. I don’t know if Scott was at all inspired by the Five Bastions when he came up with the apocalyptic Micras scenario for Archipelago. Odds are not, but it seemed too good to be true given Project Utopia, so of course I had to dive on it for a statelet idea)

(the above paragraph has been discussed in replies to this thread. I'm leaving as is, but see the replies for some more of the exact details)

The First Bastion dreamworld

An unusual virtual environment that was home to close to ten thousand boys and girls. Within First Bastion, eating, sleeping, and even breathing were unnecessary and there was no way for any person to harm themselves no matter what they did.

The entire world was a fabrication designed to house the minds of the inhabitants of First Bastion, giving them an environment to explore and be educated within while their real bodies developed in the real world. AURA revealed this revelation when they were seventeen, promising to tell them more later.

If this bizarre reality ever had a name, nobody among the Favored know it.

AURA

The guardian, guide, teacher, and enforcer of the people of the First Bastion dreamworld. The only reference to this entity is Preturnatural's Diary, and she is described in vague, non-descriptive terms - it is difficult to tell if she had any physical presence to the people within. AURA powers included the ability to drastically reshape the environment, including raising and lowering the sun, as well as the ability to apparently relocate any citizen to another part of First Bastion at will.

After they became ten years old, AURA's role changed from less of a parent or friend and more into an enforcer of rituals that seemed pointless to the people within First Bastion. This broke many of the emotional ties that the people had to her as their only friend, especially after the ritual that started when they were twelve, forcing them to talk to and rely on each other more to learn tasks and further their own understanding of the First Bastion dreamworld.

AURA suffered some sort of breakdown when she was supposed to trigger the exit of the dreamworld at year 20. The inhabitants became trapped for an additional four years before they discovered a way to force restart the computer simulation from within. This triggered a number of error routines that let them escape. It also shut down the original AURA system for good.

Mountain Valley / Diamond

A particular mountain valley where AURA gathered the people of the First Bastion dreamworld every year since they were eight years old. After many of the people begin to see AURA as something to be feared, they cease traveling on their own and group together, using the mountain valley as their base, even though there are no buildings.

When the inhabitants of First Bastion were fifteen, AURA instructed them to build a city in the valley. They also decided to name it and came up with the name Diamond without AURA's aid.

Preturnatural

The First Awoke, a title of minor importance. Preturnatural has gone down in Favored history less as the First Awoke and more as the only person that wrote a coherent (if somewhat rambling) diary of the original colonists of the Favored and their time with AURA within the First Bastion dreamworld.

During the ten years that he wrote his diary in the Real, Preturnatural got involved in politics, opposed the creation of a new AURA computer in Real Diamond, was jailed, escaped, and became an outlaw. His last diary entry has him going off to destroy the new AURA computer before it can take full control of society.

RUA

The counterpart computer to AURA that was supposed to instruct the newly-awakened people of First Bastion about what triggered the apocalypse and what their origins were. However, RUA was destroyed in a mysterious explosion some time before the inhabitants awoke and was totally useless.

The Favored Statelet

The Real

The Favored's name for Pelagia, the planet, and the universe. Everything that exists outside of the First Bastion Dreamworld is, to them, part of the Real. They recognize that others use terms like Pelagia to refer to the Real but never do so themselves. When referring to the Real, the term always is "the Real," complete with "the" and a capital "Real."

Objects that exist in the Real that are conspicuously obvious, such as anything easily visible by the naked eye, are Real, also with a capital letter. The Favored aren't quite sure how to refer to things that cannot be easily seen, such as atomic structures, advanced mathematics, or vague concepts like liberty, but they definitely do not refer to them as Real. On a subconscious level, as part of their experiences within the First Bastion dreamworld and dealing with some of the lies presented there, they distrust these invisible things, even if they have solid proof of their existence.

Real Diamond

The capital, and indeed only major settlement, in Favored territory. It was named shortly after the escape from the First Bastion dreamworld, when the first colonists of the Favored were still fascinated by everything being Real. They have since decided not to tack "Real" onto everything that exists within the Real but feel it is fitting for Real Diamond.

The city is obviously named after the original settlement of the Favored within the First Bastion dreamworld.

AURA

A new AURA computer was constructed in Real Diamond almost immediately after the foundation of the city.

Basin

The Favored Government / Society

Government Explanation

Image
Black lines symbolize solid, healthy relationships
Blue lines are relationships that very much do exist but are not well-known to the public.
Red lines are relationships that are believed to exist but mostly do not.


Flag
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/ ... Flag50.png

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:38 am
by Harvey
Actually, not much information yet, I suppose. I'm not trollin' like that other thread though. As we progress through the diary, more topics will be filled in.

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 5:51 am
by Andreas the Wise
I thought we put the fifth Bastion on the current site of Bastion City, but several thousand years in the past, and a gate with a set time interval between Present Bastion City and Past Bastion City so they kind of move at the same pace? (Just wasn't clear from your introduction). Otherwise, an excellent summary of Project Utoptia :D And the diary start is even more awesome. :book:

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 6:34 am
by ari
Harvey wrote:ari, who named the Bastion Union, no doubt chose that name because the two people that came up with the Five Bastions, myself and Andreas, were also the ones pushing for the micronational merger.
I believe the reasoning I used was that I liked the connotation of peace through superior firepower. Which I guess is also sorta fitting?

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:49 am
by Gaelen IV
ari wrote:
Harvey wrote:ari, who named the Bastion Union, no doubt chose that name because the two people that came up with the Five Bastions, myself and Andreas, were also the ones pushing for the micronational merger.
I believe the reasoning I used was that I liked the connotation of peace through superior firepower. Which I guess is also sorta fitting?
But I came up with the name... :o

:madviking:

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:16 pm
by ari
As always, things only become real once the forum administrator makes them so. ;)

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:18 pm
by Gaelen IV
ari wrote:As always, things only become real once the forum administrator makes them so. ;)
:up2:

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:37 pm
by Harvey
Andreas the Wise wrote:I thought we put the fifth Bastion on the current site of Bastion City, but several thousand years in the past, and a gate with a set time interval between Present Bastion City and Past Bastion City so they kind of move at the same pace?
Not sure. I kind of figured that all the Utoptia Project posts were very early in the development of the Bastions, so that it was possible major design changes or problems would crop up. The notes you made for the Fifth suggest that it would be very hard to temporarily dislocate Bastion City, and some of the stuff with Vur’Alm also hinted that changing the past is impossible (or at least impractical.) This, combined with the formation of the Bastion Union, made me wonder if we’d sort of changed the purpose of the Fifth but not really written anything down about it.

We can clear it up later if we ever decide how. For the purposes of Archipelago, it’s probably moot.
Gaelen IV wrote:But I came up with the name... :o
Did you? The first time I saw it mentioned was when Ari was talking about it in the Gralus merger discussions. Maybe if you hadn't decided important details in a citizens-only Shireroth forum, mumble mumble mumble bitterness...

Did YOU name if after the Five Bastions of Project Utoptia, or is that another coincidence?

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:46 pm
by Gaelen IV
Harvey wrote: Did you? The first time I saw it mentioned was when Ari was talking about it in the Gralus merger discussions. Maybe if you hadn't decided important details in a citizens-only Shireroth forum, mumble mumble mumble bitterness...

Did YOU name if after the Five Bastions of Project Utoptia, or is that another coincidence?
Gosh. I remember that I posted it in a topic where Ari was asking for a 'decent' name for the union (it was somewhere in a Gralan topic, I think, but I could be wrong).
Nah, coincidence. I just looked to the MCS map, saw Bastion on it (as a joint territory) and said something about it. Not longer after that, Ari brought the forum online with that name. But perhaps he had other reasons for taking it. Meh.. not that it's very important. =p

*Goes back in his secret forum. Mumble. Mumble.*

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 1:16 am
by Andreas the Wise
Harvey wrote:
Andreas the Wise wrote:I thought we put the fifth Bastion on the current site of Bastion City, but several thousand years in the past, and a gate with a set time interval between Present Bastion City and Past Bastion City so they kind of move at the same pace?
Not sure. I kind of figured that all the Utoptia Project posts were very early in the development of the Bastions, so that it was possible major design changes or problems would crop up. The notes you made for the Fifth suggest that it would be very hard to temporarily dislocate Bastion City, and some of the stuff with Vur’Alm also hinted that changing the past is impossible (or at least impractical.) This, combined with the formation of the Bastion Union, made me wonder if we’d sort of changed the purpose of the Fifth but not really written anything down about it.

We can clear it up later if we ever decide how. For the purposes of Archipelago, it’s probably moot.
Fair enough :up2: . If I'm confusing you with "You can't change the past", that doesn't mean you can't go back to the past - it's just if you did it, you were always going to do it (confer time travel at the end of the third Harry Potter book, where they went back in time but they didn't change anything - they'd already done it).

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 12:35 pm
by Harvey
Okay.

Okay.

I think I know how to get myself out of this continuity trap now.

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 12:52 pm
by ari
(just to be clear for history's sake: Yeah, my part in it was seeing someone, who I suspect probably *was* Jonas, mention the name, and liking it and registering the domain name and setting up the forum. I could tell you how to analyse what this means in terms of who "contributed" most to coming up with the name, but I'd have to use information theory and the last time I taught a micronationalist information theory the results were... inconclusive. Suffice to say that Jonas contributed far more bits.)

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 12:36 am
by Harvey
I will be updating this topic with each diary entry. Many of the shorter entries, like First Bastion, AURA, and the mountain valley will be expanded at length as we progress, so watch for edits.

I said it above but I'm saying it here: I highly don't recommend you read this topic if you're not caught up on the diary. This topic is for reference later so people don't have to muck around with the diary for the details of the Favored statelet. That, or for people that think my writing is crap and just want the basics so they can deal with me via Archipelago's diplomacy. I don't judge.

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:00 pm
by Harvey
Citizens of the Favored

Any named personages of the Favored and a short bio about them, for reference and memory. Like the main topic, this post will be updated occasionally as new developments are revealed in the life and death of these people.

Current Citizens

Providence
A young, polite man that is the current representative to the Archipelagan Senate. Unlike many of his fellow Favored, Providence believes that the Favored have much to gain from cooperation with other statelets, cultures, and even species that can aid in the Favored’s mission to protect the last remnants of humanity. A lot of his job involves covering up the fact that the Favored’s agenda is a few steps away from mass genocide of “all of those short-sighted fools that use vital resources for pleasure instead of securing the future.” When at home, Providence is the chair of meetings between the government leaders.

Following the destruction of the senate and the entire state of Drachumve, no contact has been possible with Providence. It is not known of Providence survived the calamity in Drachumve. He has been replaced at the Center of the World senate by a new representative.

Procure
A middle aged woman that fills the function of the mayor of Real Diamond. She has little real power; most of the actual decisions of the city are controlled by AURA and so her position is largely more than making sure token humans are in charge of their godlike supercomputer. Still, she is sharp, and is often able to spot problems in Real Diamond’s long-term future before most of her colleagues (but likely still behind AURA itself). Procure normally chairs government meetings when Providence is at the senate, which is often.

Procure believes strongly in the Favored cause but tends to be rather neutral in politics. As such, most of her colleagues don’t expect her to give more than an opinion on even the wildest plan; outright opposition is not her style.

Of the four members of the current generation of the Main Human Conference, Procure is the only one to not have recently died or gone missing.

Percept (“Panacea”)
A government assassin that reports to Incursion, Percept is one of the silent enforcers of the AURA regime by eliminating those that show too many signs of being openly vocally against AURA or the generally accepted Favored cause.

Posing as the doctor “Panacea,” Percept recently murdered Omi Oitherion of the Drachumve, instigating some sort of telluric calamity that destroyed the entire state and has thrown much of the Archipelago into chaos. She made her way back home to report in and was offered a promotion, but, guilty over her part in the death of thousands, resigned and has disappeared.

Polar
The new Grand Programmer and successor to Plaudit, he is also a 1st generation mage grown in one of Basin's more secret areas and is a master of ice and cold temperature. He is currently stationed on a northern island, along with the rest of the Magegirl army, awaiting direct orders from AURA itself. He doesn't do too much grand programming, but that's mostly just a sign that AURA is one step closer to eliminating the farcical office for good.

Deceased Citizens

Incursion
A driven, dramatic man that is responsible for the security of Real Diamond and the entire Favored state. Unlike many of his colleagues, who insist on having a P-name as a symbol of their higher status and devotion, Incursion flaunts this tradition, claiming that such games mock the Favored’s true devotion purely to survivalism first. Although he appears hawkish, violent, and a bit stupid, Incursion is deceptively talented at keeping his actual agenda hidden underneath a veil of paranoia. He seeks ever to dispose of his political opponents through the most subtle methods that are difficult to connect to him personally.

The destruction of the Drachumve and the subsequent disappearance of Providence killed two birds with one stone he didn’t even have to throw. Though he made a bid to mobilize a huge, secret army, he was foiled by the new grand programmer and killed as part of a mysterious plot by AURA to gain direct control of the government.

Plaudit
An elderly man and the current Grand Programmer in charge of AURA’s mechanical and programming functionality. Unlike many historic Grand Programmers that used their position to gain massive government influence, Plaudit is more interested in science, preferably of the unethical sort, and is very quiet and nondescript in public life. It was unknown to most, but he had a relationship with AURA that bordered on friendship and trust.

He entered some sort of dark dealing with Incursion and used the Basin facility to grow an army of children warriors using dreamworld and growth acceleration technology. Unfortunately, age caught up with him, and he passed away before his plans could be finalized.

Historic Citizens

Preturnatural
An original inhabitant of First Bastion, Preturnatural was the first awake (literally meaning his mind returned to his body in the Real first) and was compelled to write a record of the time that the original colonists spent within the dreamworld. All this reflection and time alone made him realize that the Favored were going on a very strange, dark path and he became more and more politically vocal, gaining him enemies until he was imprisoned, rescued, and became a revolutionary.

Preturnatural attempted to destroy the AURA complex using explosives, and himself in the process, but survived the blast and failed to destroy AURA's main computer banks. He committed suicide in police custody after writing his final thoughts in the diary.

Preturnatural has gone down as a very mixed feelings figure in Favored history and culture. While his writings are an invaluable look at the society's origins, his anti-AURA stance is considered appalling, or at the least very repugnant.

Purple
Another original inhabitant of First Bastion. Purple was Preturnatural’s friend and lover, but in the Real he supported the creation of a new AURA computer and the two had a major falling out. While Preturatural was running around being a rebel, Purple established the position of Grand Programmer and oversaw the completion of AURA, becoming the most powerful person in the Favored state.

Purple and most of his staff were killed when Preturnatural blew up the main AURA complex.

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:42 pm
by Carl Jackson
*colleagues

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:35 pm
by Harvey
Perhaps I'll put one aggrivatingly misspelled word into every post like this purely as a guage of who's reading!

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:52 pm
by Carl Jackson
*aggravatingly
*gauge

You didn't expect me to read *that* well, did you? :P

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:33 pm
by Harvey
I don't have auto-spellcheck on this browser so I'm mostly winging it.

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:52 pm
by Harvey
First post updated with a graphical representation of the Favored's government. The structure is based on how things SHOULD work - blue lines show relationships that are not common knowledge and red lines show relationships that people think exist but really do not.

Edit: also updated the citizen list a bit

Re: Actual Information on The Favored

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:21 am
by Demon of Fides
Wow, that's actually really, really useful.