VileFault

Elyra News Network “For Greatness, We Strive” Military Vessel Crashes into Parliament; 34 Confirmed Dead 1.12.2459 At 18:27 GST the parliamentary palace in Erbihok, Persepolis, was attacked. The SREV Aintisari, a corvette registered with the Federal Navy, appeared to enter bluespace just a few hundred meters above the palace. It remerged in the lower levels of the building, detonating and destroying the northern wing. The corvette deviated from its assigned flight path at approximately 18:21, authorities confirmed. It was hailed, and responded by blaming a technical glitch in the onboard navigational systems. The ship’s AI was offline at the time, and could not relay camera footage. The signature of its bluespace drive was visible for thirty seconds before the jump, but no response could be formulated in time. It is likely that the Aintisari exited bluespace underneath the High Parliament. Its internal reactor would have exploded on impact, setting off a chain reaction that could have included the palace’s backup phoron-based power generator. A bystander streamed footage of the events to the extranet as they unfolded. First responders have arrived, but casualties are likely to increase. Fortunately, the parliamentary morning session had ended just 15 minutes before, and many lawmakers had already left the building. Nonetheless, casualties include several members of the High Parliament along with numerous janitorial and maintenance staff members. Diplomacy Minister Nabil was among those who were in the palace at the time of impact, although his status is currently unknown. The confirmed death toll reached 34 at 18:40. Minister of the Army Tau Kwadwo was departing parliament when the vessel impacted, and is personally overseeing military units securing the area with assistance of local emergency services. No information has been released confirming whether this was an accident or a deliberate terrorist attack. Travelers should be advised that both Yarmouk Ave. and the Refaii Space Elevator have been closed temporarily.

On splitting up Sol Common, it seems like a good idea to keep in mind in the long term. Currently, we haven't created the diversity within the Sol Alliance to host these languages. We couldn't meaningfully say where each comes from, and why members of the different groups might be different. Your thoughts on TCB seem more easily put into practice. I especially liked some of what you had here (https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=7342&p=71733#p71733). I like the idea that it was NT sponsored. Perhaps they created it from scratch some time before the formation of the Republic, or perhaps it had existed for some time and they merely repurposed it. But it seems like a plausible attempt to gain an edge over their competition by enabling them to better utilize non-human populations. Once NT adopted it, it seems clear how the newly formed Republic of Biesel would grow to use it. If NT requires the learning of this simple phonetic language to work on a number of their stations, and many (perhaps a majority) of Biesel citizens are employed by NT, then schools would have to teach it. NT outreach programs to foreign worlds could continue this trend. Jackboot pointed out that unathi aren't retarded, and are probably capable of learning and grasping complex human speech. This is certainly true. I would think, however, that NT executives would not have at first shared this opinion. Even if they weren't dismissive of unathi intelligence, however, they would probably want to speak the learning process along and make it easier for races like the tajaran and unathi to vocalize in TCB. This brings up a further interesting point. Unathi would almost certainly see TCB as inherently condescending and distasteful. An affront to both their culture and their intelligence. It feels like the sort of vaguely nasty and discriminatory thing that a power like NT would do in the name of efficiency. Also, controlling the language gives you interesting cultural power. Hard to explore in a role playing game, but could be something to keep in the background. Bottom line, your ideas on TCB give it some nice meaning beyond: "oh, this is just what we speak I guess." I like that! It can create some conflict, some tension. The tongue of the oppressors, eh? I will find a space for it as I go, and will talk to JB since he doesn't seem fully on board as of yet.

|> Update had unintended bugs that messed with game mechanics. |> Developer wants to fix unintended bugs in system. I see no problem. Currently, I deliberately slow all my characters down to half speed anyway (to the eternal annoyance of people trying to lead me somewhere). I I already agree that this would be better.

Hello! Sorry I am getting to this so late, I wasn't even aware of this question before someone pointed it out to me over the weekend. Hopefully it is still relevant! Okay, I am not interested in getting overly specific here and thereby creating problems, but I can outline a few general paths which seem likely. First and foremost, affiliation with NanoTrasen. If a character was employed by NT in an Alliance member, then they will have no trouble entering the Republic. Specific deals have already been worked out between the megacorporation and the government of Tau Ceti to allow for this. If you were recruited by NT outside Ceti, but immediately moved in, it is very likely that you signed a contract to work for a certain (and probably considerable) number of years. So, maybe you sign up for 10 years of work and get the rights of a citizen 5 years into that period, give or take a few years if you need to. If you are especially wealthy, I imagine you could also invest in the growth of the nation and the Republic would be fine allowing you in. The only ones which have a hard time becoming citizens are people who are both poor and unwilling to sign up with NanoTrasen. . In most nations that break away from larger nations, citizenship is decided by place of birth or current resident. I see no reason why this would be different here. Remember that, though the Alliance wasn't exactly doing well when the Republic was formed, the split was negotiated and the budding state probably was given access to all relevant birth/residence records. If you were born in Ceti, or lived there at the time of the RoB's formation, you would have been a citizen just like that, more or less. . Probably. Between the ASSN and the Republic? I would say so. Remember that, while the Alliance doesn't like the Republic's leadership, their citizens are only a decade estranged, and the split was more or less amicable. The larger power here is still looking to influence its recently departed member, and cutting ties would likely be quite unpopular. Then again, when considering duel citizenship with the NKA? Probably not. Use you judgement and it will likely fly. . Eh. Odds are good. Why do we care? If you want to, sure, it would be acceptable. But at best it would be like the pledge in America, something that is only said by aspiring citizens, school children, and politicians. It probably wouldn't even be that significant, since the nation is so young. I see no benefit in specifying this. .

Oh, oh, do me, do me!

I am inclined to agree here, but remain interested in seeing what everyone thinks about this. I thought I might offer a few clarifications, however. That is correct. Some members of the Sol Alliance are directly administered by it, but many are partially autonomous dependancies. Though in Tau Ceti it is easy to conceive of the ASSN as a cultural monolith, most members of the Alliance would be to differ. Travel and trade between members is more or less open, but there still exist very distinct societies in individual systems or collections thereof. About the diversity thing. Sure, most people who play on the server are white or hispanic, but their characters don't necessarily have to reflect this. I am personally of the opinion that, if we factored ethnicity into human factions more, people would find other races more compelling. I don't think we are discussing racial quotas, here, and there is no need to make things political. That leads into my next point. Sol Common is rarely spoken—this is true. But I would contend that this is partially because it has no significance. If we clearly differentiated the connotations of TBC and SC (or its potential variations), we might see people using the language to establish their identity (very much like how languages are used in real life). This ties in with my desire to create a more heterogeneous face for humanity, with competing human factions. At the moment, humans have only a handful of major issues to disagree over: synth rights, xeno rights, and the rightful place of the ASSN. What makes a person from Epsilon Eri different culturally to a person from Luna? Not a whole lot, currently. But, if each was given their own unique feel and society (as I am trying to do right now), then giving them a unique(ish) language would make a lot more sense. If my character didn't get on so well with the Tau Ceti natives or the other Alliance factions, it might be totally reasonable to speak another language when associating with my ethnic/cultural group.

Hiya Strudel! Ok, so your answers to Synnono's questions cleared up most of the doubts I had about KELT. As far as I am concerned all my interactions with MAKE have been pretty good, KELT seems like a fair character, and your OOC attitude seems wonderful. Your previous synthetic application also convinced me that you are more than capable of handling all the nuts and bolts (har har har) of playing a synthetic. What is there not to like? +1

I like this idea. It seems like a good think to stick on the WI. It also seems like most of the code could be copied from the contracts database, since it already conveniently links Byond IDs to persistent documents. The way I see it, this would almost be like incentivized lore submissions. Things that are especially good could be canonized. Ah! The possibilities are endless! Hurtz and I could ICly contact the project heads to clarify things and square everything off with previous research. "NT approved" research papers could be archived for all to see. We could even put out jobs to confirm data or further study a certain subject for extra points! Fraudulent papers could be reported by colleagues, and would involve CCIAA investigations and firings! But research papers over multiple rounds could pull in loads of points. I think we have really hit on something good here, though I would have to really make an effort not to be too anal-retentive with a tool like this. There are a few mechanical things we would have to iron out (can anyone post these, or should a research director have to fax it to central or post it with the other authors listed), but this has me all excited! ADDENDUM: I like Chada's idea for investing points a little... but yes, Nanako has a console planned that will allow RDs to leave notes to each other. And these are all head whitelisted players who can be held accountable for such things. There should also be a log of who spends what.

This would be good. Someone in a RIG is almost certainly talking into a microphone anyway—there is no way regular conversation is getting through an EVA capable suit without a basic integrated intercom. RIGs, which are pretty much made for the people who ought to be giving orders, should have a way to amplify them.

We have antags who come every few rounds to blow up the station. They aren't canon. We just happily ignore their shenanigans after the round finishes, and keep all the rest of the happenings. So, ah, just think about the end of a cycle in the same way. "U didn't c nofin mate."

This looks very interesting - I would be happy to play a game or two with ya. Looked into the mechanics a tad, and made an account. My username is, predictably, "VileFault."

Sol Alliance Opens Talks on Biesel Embargo with Bold List of Conditions 11.25.2458 UNITY STATION — The Sol Alliance has opened negotiations with the Republic of Biesel today over the cessation of the ongoing embargo with the public issuance of a list of conditions. This comes a full month after the commercial embargo was announced by the Sol Alliance in conjunction with the Jargon Federation to deter the scheduled production of thousands of combat drones by the NanoTrasen Corporation for use in the breakaway state’s military. The drones, each wholly autonomous and equipped with “lethal energy weapons,” provoked concern in neighboring Alliance members and the Federation over the Republic’s ability to control this powerful synthetic arsenal. Since the commencement of the embargo, its solid enforcement by the Alliance Navy has dealt a severe blow to the economy of the Republic, and major corporations have largely vacated the once-thriving Tau Ceti Free Trade Zone. Numerous smugglers have been aprehended attempting to traverse Alliance Bluespace Gates with shipments of luxury contraband, which only further illustrates the impact of this tough new policy. Despite Biesel President Joseph Dorn’s repeated (and repeatedly contested) claims that the commercial embargo constitutes “intimidation” and “battleship diplomacy,” Prime Minister Chater has stood firm. Today, however, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary clearly defined the steps that the system-state will need to take to see the embargo lifted. According to statements by President Dorn and our sources within the Alliance, this highly public proclamation represents the first substantive communication on the topic of the embargo since it was announced in late October. According to our Mendell City-based political correspondent Anthony Marcel, a public statement of this nature is highly unusual, even towards a “financially troubled and militarily diminutive” state like the Republic of Biesel. “The reason you almost never see this is that allows a given party very little room to maneuver during negotiations—if you back off of even a single point you can loose face in the eyes of the public,” he said. “Then again, I think this really reflects the nature of these ‘talks.’ The Alliance has brought overwhelming economic force to bear here, and after nearly a month Chater clearly believes that Dorn will see reason with relatively little resistance. Even taking into account Biesel’s reputation for hardheaded politics, this seems like a quite safe assumption under the circumstances.” The Alliance’s delegation will arrive in Biesel tomorrow, and official negotiations are set to commence on November 27th.

Presumably by making you type in fewer numbers, I guess. The power consumption of the station has always been a bit wacky. If engineers think this is a problem, it seems easy enough to change.

So good, yet so easy! Like, a cross between employee of the month awards and military medals of honor.

> "What is your position on synthetic rights?" Mister Overeasy laughs robotically, his screen tilting comically to one side. Mister Overeasy queries, "Now, what makes you ask a question like that? It seems rather crusty to me, a bit dry perhaps?" Mister Overeasy pretends to quietly mutter to himself, before springing back into motion with a flourish. Mister Overeasy states, "I would say quite plainly that I have no opinion on the subject whatsoever, though I encourage political participation in all of my audience!" Mister Overeasy chimes softly. Mister Overeasy states, "Though you may admirably contemplate these very important issues, I am but a humble cook. You said you wanted your burger... rare, was it?"

Listen, I kinda get where you are coming from here. On servers that claim to be HRP, one can easily expect everyone they run into the want to have a full RP experience. But when it comes to the rules and abiding by them, the main idea you should probably keep in mind is "escalation of force." So, if it were a doctor running through maintenance stabbing people with lethal chemicals, we could say that their unfortunate prey shouldn't reasonably have expected to be murdered. Doing impactful things (like murder) arbitrarily to other people's characters is a bit questionable on a server dedicated (more or less) to the development of those characters. So in that sense, you are protected by the might of the banhammer to roam the server without unannounced murder under most circumstances. Your case here was a bit different. You had already made the choice to go after the AI, which is quite difficult mechanically. You had entered the upload, one of the most secure places on the station. With a hardsuit, and weapons. Now, our dear Garn could have chosen to indulge you here, but you were in the process of making it clear that you meant business. At a certain point, you have to realize that this is a game. With actual mechanics. We aren't some shitty WoW guild that has to emote all our deaths. That means that you have to learn to work within the mechanics to create your RP experiences. Sometimes people will be nice, and forgive you when you fail to use the mechanics in a way that facilitates roleplay. But that is very much there choice. We don't force people to put the actual game on hold. Within the boundaries of what is reasonable for their character, people are perfectly free to use the mechanics to their advantage. To force them to not take perfectly reasonable actions as their character would be nearly as limiting as allowing our overzealous doctor to screw with the crew. Huzzah for individual freedom! It seems like this whole thing has gotten a bit out of hand. There really isn't a vast admin conspiracy. I actually initially wanted to jump in on your behalf but I decided to wait for more information so as to avoid looking like an idiot (glad I did, frankly). The things Garn has been advancing are hardly a controversial position, and I encourage you to consider further the implications of a server where everyone was obligated to pause before taking reasonable actions to check if everyone was okay with it. I think you have somewhat unrealistic expectations regarding HRP. Though you may have thought a lot about what you like, extrapolate it to an entire server and your vision looks mighty fragile.

Hiya, Skull. I don't think much of what I want to do initially really involves in-game events much at all. Instead, it is more about highlighting certain details that give players more to work with when building characters. Especially good details about societies in my mind should be things that have some real impact on the station for characters with backgrounds that involve these places. What hardships shape residents, what social systems shape their expectations, what institutions contribute to their reasoning? Did my character become accustomed to the fierce electrical storms of [x] - are they unflappable in the face of disaster? Did they grow up on [y], where political corruption and military domination was the norm? Or, perhaps, did they begin their life on [z], where conceptions of property are looser and unlike those we are familiar with? These are just general examples of how I would try to make the lore more suitable to the creation of characters with tangible lives off the station. Other, more directly related (if less interesting) ways would include clarifying the area immediately surrounding the station, like the Odin. Or discussing what bluespace travel looks like or feels like - the little things you might find in a book that make you feel like a world could really be inhabited by real people. Also holodecks, in case I haven't said that enough. Obviously there is a balance between not having enough interesting information and making your wiki read like a lengthy encyclopedia, but I think for the moment we are safely on the former side of things.

Vox, especially since they are so uncommon, should have really beastly sprints. I have to agree there.

BYOND Key: VileFault Character Names: Simon Bard Species you are applying to play: Integrated Positronic Chassis Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yep. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question... Why do you wish to play this specific race: Most simply, it allows me to play a character I find interesting that couldn't exist elsewhere. There has been an influx of IPC applications recently, and the race has always been popular. To me, this comes as no surprise because the nonbiological nature of IPCs would seem to allow more striking diversity within their ranks than is permissible within other species. Whether this is true or not is perhaps debatable. Secondarily, playing as a thinking machine allows one to more thoroughly consider the details of a character's thought process. I think any IPC which thinks exactly like a human (or stereotypically "lacks emotions") is a wasted opportunity. The nature of IPCs means that you can put a lot of thought and interest into their specific ways of thinking (essentially, the quality of their reason becomes a personality trait). Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Most clearly, as an IPC you were necessarily designed (unless you are Emergent, I guess). Unlike a human, you were built to serve a purpose. If you are doing much beyond serving that purpose, it should in my opinion feel stilted and unnatural. Secondarily, as I mentioned, you have to think a lot about how an IPC's purpose and maker would have impacted their mental and physical design (whereas, when discussing humans, we put very little emphasis on what they were "intended" to do and instead take their experiences as the origins of their traits). Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, you kinda have to keep reminding people that you are a machine in some more basic ways - or else you just look like a human in a metal suit (and you might as well not have applied for the whitelist, in that case). This can come in the form of "rebooting," "whirring," "pinging," "clanging," etc.. While a few /me's and performance warnings should never be taken to be all that separates robots and humans, I would maintain that keeping them around is a good way to make the distinction stick out more in your viewers' minds. Character Name: Mister Overeasy Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs. In 2449, a pair of students at Hongsun Park Engineering Institute (HPEI) of Biesel has a final project to finish. In three days. So Nori Léi and Astor Miller bent the rules. Instead of constructing from scratch a basic intelligence suitable for household chores, they downloaded open-source Klasp cognitive code from the university network. A few presets tweaked, some training given, architecture restructured - and soon they felt like they had a finished project. Maybe, nobody would find out that their intelligence was not precisely as it seemed. In their class demonstration, it (poetically named Léi_Miller_C319_S2FinalProject) worked so well that their department head singled them out for praise. During the demonstration, our ill-fated robot (equipped with neither linguistic nor introspective faculties) shambled around cooking and cleaning in a closed course for a little under and hour. It would not wake again for over 5 years. You see, though our clever pair managed to fool their instructor, the uplifted intelligence that administered their department saw readily through their obfuscatory changes while reviewing the semester's assignments for plagiarism. The project was flagged for review, and the two conniving students were promptly expelled. But what, you may ask, happened to their project? With no one around the claim it but the university, it was stored away deep within the bowl's of HPEI's storage units. It remained like this until 2454, when our story turns to Nandini Virk. Young Ms. Virk was an enterprising young woman studying film and production at the Institute. Though HPEI has never been known for its media programs, she had a clever new idea that could benefit from the talents of her more technically skilled peers: a traditional cooking show, hosted by a robot! Granted, it sounded crazy, but all she needed to do was make it plausible enough that someone would buy the idea and run with it. After all, nobody could deny that it had certain advantages. A robot would never sleep, broadcasting nearly all day, every day. It would never be sad, either. Instead of using a human performer who imperfectly masked their emotions to appeal to the crowd, they could be the mask! To this end, she went searching for a cheap robot to use as a proof of concept. As I am sure you have guessed, she dug our unfortunate domestic intelligence out of storage. She only had to pay a pittance for the thing, as the department was eager to get it off their hands. From there a few programer friends of Virk's added to the project's capabilities (mostly with code patched from other sources). Now, it could do more than housework: it could hold a conversation (on a good day), learn (occasionally), make friends (more or less), and display emotions (poorly). Virk spent long, torturous nights with the machine teaching it how to act - or at least, how to act on a broadcast. It had to be just clever enough to be funny and pleasant, but not insightful enough to be cutting or intimidating; a delicate balance between intelligence and stupidity had to be struck. After a few months of careful tinkering and training, it was ready. The idea was pitched to a middling Biesel broadcasting company and they liked it! The robot, they said, had exactly the sort of personality they wanted (which probably was not the complement the misguided machine took it for). Virk readily handed over the machine to the company, which quickly wiped its memory of its prior life and set it up with a skeleton crew in a dingy old studio. The show was dubbed The Sunny Side, and the robot became "Mister Overeasy." A corny robot, reasoned the producer, deserved a corny title. At first, The Sunny Side attracted interest only because of its unique concept. Though it was targeted towards an older generation, they largely rejected it as too uncomfortable or unnatural to enjoy. Nonetheless, the robot cooked and joked with unwavering enthusiasm (always secure in the knowledge that, somewhere out there, a large group of people really really liked it). Whether he (it was a he now, of course) was every any good at cooking is anyone's guess at this point, as he certainly couldn't taste his products and it was all was thrown out at the end of each 22 hour long show. Something about his strange, mostly food related humor and constant exuberance was appealing to a younger generation of Biesel residents, however. Over the 3 years the show ran (2454-57), The Sunny Side accrued a small cult following. All that began to change, however, as the backlash to synthetic rights advocates swept new politicians into power. Entertainment featuring synthetics was actively boycotted and protested - after a month or two of bad press, the minor show was canceled. The broadcasting company, however, wasn't about to let their gadget go to waste, however. Mister Overeasy was shipped readily off to a NanoTrasen testing facility on Biesel. He took their culinary evaluation, passed (miraculously), and was promptly sent to cook for one of their many stations in the region: the NSS Exodus. For his part Mister Overeasy has not fully (read: at all) adapted to not having an audience, and is going to have some difficulty taking care of himself off set. Luckily, however, money management will not be among his woes; anything he makes is going right back to the company. What do you like about this character? Its existence is, from beginning to end, a total farce. It barely understands its own world, and is bound by a set of preset conceptions coded by lazy idiots who couldn't be bothered to try harder. Basically, it is the living product of a number of other people's failures, but instead of being depressed ( ), this IPC is happy by design. To other people, this might look like a sick joke but to Mister Overeasy it is just the way thing are. This strikes me personally as kinda hilarious, and this character seems like it would be a nice break from my serious Research Director, who really can be stressful to play on occasion. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Why is this question still here? There are three types of answers: ok, good, and sarcastic. Like, a significant portion of the people currently applying don't even bother answering seriously, because rating oneself seems pointless. The rest either say "good, but I am improving" or "I am fucking great, but not bragging or anything guys." Has the answer to this question ever significantly impacted an application decision? Fuck the format! Viva la revolución! Notes: Life? Don't talk to me about life.

I think this may be a feeling we share on a number of the issues you put forward. You have correctly ascertained that my interests in the lore are not incredibly directed. With enough effort, however, I can become interested in most things. I want to help, and I am ready to acknowledge that the lore team has certain dynamics already in place. It isn't my intention to pointlessly annoy other developers by making changes where it isn't requested. When it comes to curators of other species, I would like to suggest ideas and provide feedback, not try to edit in other people's jurisdictions, as it were. Respecting the boundaries of my position is a task I am perfectly capable of. If "Human Lore Developer" is the space I need to inhabit, inhabit it I will. I understand what you are saying here, and I am happy to see any work I do on humanity face to more scrutiny from within the lore team and the general player base than work on other topics might. Most people are human, the station is run by humans, and the star system it whizzes around in is administered by humans. Humanity and its tone certainly has a lot of impact on the general atmosphere of the game. That said, I am not quite happy with your characterization of humanity as the universe's glue here. It can be (and is) far more than a "unifying" element that everyone can manipulate at will. You were just talking about the dangers of having too many cooks in the kitchen, and the way I see it the danger of too many conflicting edits is even more pressing when we talk about humanity. I think a unifying vision would be helpful in making humanity stick out less as a default race with limited detail and more as a collection of societies very different from those of the 21st century. That all said, I am hardly a purist. If I want people to take seriously my suggestions, I should give serious thought to theirs. At the moment, my personal bar for adding some details of limited scope to the lore based on a suggestion from other team members or the general player base is fairly low. I don't need to absolutely love a thing to add it, and I promise to actively try to like other people's suggestions and fit them into what exists. A genuine interest in helping other people's visions be realized is something I would like to maintain here. As you say, everyone has a stake in humanity. I want to provide a unifying vision, not lord over humanity with rigid strictures. Ouch. Out of all your critiques here, this one is certainly the most cutting (even though [or perhaps because] you seem to add it as an afterthought). Now, on to the serious bit. I am cliche! Looking back at this particular thread, I haven't done a whole lot to disprove you. Bit cringeworthy, really, a lot of the drab anti-corporation talking points shambled together into futuristic lore. However, hopefully I can demonstrate that I am cognizant how easy it is to rely on tropes and predictable thinking, and seek to actively avoid this in my work. Few thoughts are more painful to me than that anything I write is bound to be the derivative, uninspired, and recycled product of other people's stuff. Hopefully, when I finish that lore canonization application and go through it, I can get across an idea I consider decidedly more original. Also, if we ever get to talking, I believe I can show you that my thinking is deeper than I have shown it to be here. I swear I am creative! Ah!

I mean, I like Byrd and think you can probably deal with this just fine, but you are going to have to expand this. The backstory here is about getting a feel for your RP in general, rather than any specific character. I don't like asking people to spoil their characters, so if there is something really juicy in here you don't want people to find out maybe talk about a different character?

It just seems like this adds... nothing. I mean, it cuts a bit out of your setup, but that is a mechanical advantage and therefore a point against you. Your single sentence devoted to why this would be good for RP says you can talk about how it is "how it is different than traditional ones." What? Like, you plan on discussing in detail how a box you hold in your hand switches parts in a machine? I don't see how that ever becomes interesting. The flame decal is... cute? But weird, especially for a 37 year old scientist on a research station. It feels like the sort of childish thing I would expect from an 18 year old lab assistant. But then again, I might just be an old grumpy no-fun. This just seems pointless, bad for the atmosphere, and mechanically advantageous. I think, if you really want something like this, use a labeler on a regular RPED. That should allow you to tag it, right?

Show that to the kitty police and they will both be summarily declared valid salad.

This seems like a fine, sensible suggestion if anyone has the time to make it so.

Changing, maybe. Radically rewriting, no. That would be horrendously difficult and also utterly pointless, as it is fine. I don't want to rework 100s of years of geopolitical nonsense, either. That sounds like a tedious few weeks right there. I may, however, add bits and pieces where I think it make everything flow more sensibly or brings out a theme I want to play with. But expect the vast majority of my changes to be date movements and additions. Subtracting things that other people have already been built on is something that should be done pretty infrequently and quite carefully, lest people be left stranded in a LRP creek of general confusion without even a wiki page for a paddle. What do unrestricted sci-fi corporations ever involve? Mistreated underclasses, unlawful experiments, wage slaves, unsafe working conditions, propaganda (especially in the form of sponsored educational initiatives), controlling both the news media and entertainment... the list goes on. The way I see it, this trade embargo may also help Nanotrasen embark on a project it has likely been considering for some time: the establishment of a nearly complete monopoly in Biesel. The system-state has been cut off from most other corporate entities - Nanotrasen can grow to fill more of the market, and supplement the Republic with funds acquired from the sale of plasma (and what they fund, they can control)... I mean, when you think about it, if they were to rig up a fleet of bluespace-capable freighters, they would form one of the few ways for goods to enter or leave the system. With that kind of power, they could easily move to seize further control of the Republic. By cutting Biesel off from the rest of the universe, the Federation and Alliance may have just given Nanotrasen an interesting opportunity. That is the way things would go.