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Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat - Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sports hold little interest to the Group of Seventeen, but the event draws enough foreign dignitaries that they send an emissary to negotiate, offering data on the Stevens ansible in exchange for data on other recent innovations, past kindnesses, or future goodwill.
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores* (contingent on Org GM answers) to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOB, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander - Irin Sakar (general, Mil 9, tacdoc to be done)
  Irin Sakar is the niece of the aging Sakar chieftain. As a youth, she first distinguished herself in the war against the Steel Baronies ten years ago; her star has been on the rise ever since, and she is now a respected warleader among her clan. Unlike many of her fellows, she makes a point of training and fighting alongside the Loop-born militias, rather than sticking closely to her kin and the Orid, and has even taken a Loop-born husband. Many speculate she will succeed the chief when he steps down; for now, however, she is trusted with both leadership of her clan's warwheels and a position of authority in the newly formed Security and Defense Group.
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.
• Send a polite* note to the Imperial College of Sciences reminding them that the Loop exists
  The Imperial College of Sciences' request for funding - and promises of shared findings - catches the Castaways' interest in a way the Empire hasn't managed in a long time. For sixty years they have neglected the Loop-born, marred only by the inexplicable and unasked-for largesse of naming them to the Elect - a boon they would happily have forgone if Ophon had offered to send scientists to try to break the Loop instead. They still aren't sending people to the Loop, but perhaps the College's research can be directed. A message is composed, reminding the Imperial Court that just under two hundred citizens of Ophon remain trapped inside the Loop, dying a fiery death every few hours before being reborn. Even if the Court cares nothing for its vassals (the elder Loop-born are not very good at hiding their bitterness), surely they have a duty to their own people? And surely the Loop is one of the most fascinating scientific problems of our time?

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat - Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sports hold little interest to the Group of Seventeen, but the event draws enough foreign dignitaries that they send an emissary to negotiate, offering data on the Stevens ansible in exchange for data on other recent innovations, past kindnesses, or future goodwill.
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores* (contingent on Org GM answers) to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander - Irin Sakar (general, Mil 9, tacdoc to be done)
  Irin Sakar is the niece of the aging Sakar chieftain. As a youth, she first distinguished herself in the war against the Steel Baronies ten years ago; her star has been on the rise ever since, and she is now a respected warleader among her clan. Unlike many of her fellows, she makes a point of training and fighting alongside the Loop-born militias, rather than sticking closely to her kin and the Orid, and has even taken a Loop-born husband. Many speculate she will succeed the chief when he steps down; for now, however, she is trusted with both leadership of her clan's warwheels and a position of authority in the newly formed Security and Defense Group.
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.
• Send a polite* note to the Imperial College of Sciences reminding them that the Loop exists
  The Imperial College of Sciences' request for funding - and promises of shared findings - catches the Castaways' interest in a way the Empire hasn't managed in a long time. For sixty years they have neglected the Loop-born, marred only by the inexplicable and unasked-for largesse of naming them to the Elect - a boon they would happily have forgone if Ophon had offered to send scientists to try to break the Loop instead. They still aren't sending people to the Loop, but perhaps the College's research can be directed. A message is composed, reminding the Imperial Court that just under two hundred citizens of Ophon remain trapped inside the Loop, dying a fiery death every few hours before being reborn. Even if the Court cares nothing for its vassals (the elder Loop-born are not very good at hiding their bitterness), surely they have a duty to their own people? And surely the Loop is one of the most fascinating scientific problems of our time?

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sports hold little interest to the Group of Seventeen, but the event draws enough foreign dignitaries that they send an emissary to negotiate, offering data on the Stevens ansible in exchange for data on other recent innovations, past kindnesses, or future goodwill.
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores* (contingent on Org GM answers) to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.
• Send a polite* note to the Imperial College of Sciences reminding them that the Loop exists
  The Imperial College of Sciences' request for funding - and promises of shared findings - catches the Castaways' interest in a way the Empire hasn't managed in a long time. For sixty years they have neglected the Loop-born, marred only by the inexplicable and unasked-for largesse of naming them to the Elect - a boon they would happily have forgone if Ophon had offered to send scientists to try to break the Loop instead. They still aren't sending people to the Loop, but perhaps the College's research can be directed. A message is composed, reminding the Imperial Court that just under two hundred citizens of Ophon remain trapped inside the Loop, dying a fiery death every few hours before being reborn. Even if the Court cares nothing for its vassals (the elder Loop-born are not very good at hiding their bitterness), surely they have a duty to their own people? Surely the Loop is one of the most fascinating problems of our time?

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores* (contingent on Org GM answers) to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Little Moon or the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Little Moon or the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

• The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job.

  Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are.

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Little Moon or the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.

  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.

  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.

• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.

•  

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Little Moon or the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors

• After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it.
  
  Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem.
  
  The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter.
• As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her.
•  

Castaways of the Loop

Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62)
The Group of Seventeen
D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4

Round Seven

Actions

• [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat: Arbor
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky
  Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation.  The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Little Moon or the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments.
• [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition
  Sub-actions:
  • Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals
  • Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores to WTU to repay favors
  • Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOF, and MSQ
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail
  • Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns
• [Military 5] Recruit Commander
• [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers
  Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era
  Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations.
  
  The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard...

  Hyperlight Transceivers

  Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource

  Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1.

• [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor
  As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out...

Non-Actions

• Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round
• Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts
• Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions
• Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination
  The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff".
• Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement)
  With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown.

News and Rumors