The7thLain

Hi, pardon the delay on these questions. I've had some personal events delay these for you and all other applicants. I will ask you four questions, the first I will ask to all applicants and the latter three will be tailored to your application specifically. Consider these questions as being from both myself and my deputy. 1. On balance, how do you see the Human Lore of the server being different with you than without you; what is something that only you bring to the table as a deputy? 2. Your focus on the implementation of more Sinospheric culture on Konyang seems very narrow of an agenda for a deputy to have and may be something better-suited to a canonisation application than tenure as a human lore deptuy. What are some additional ideas for things that you might want to change or add outside of any Chinese culture-related content? 3. I am somewhat confused by your view of our lore being Americentric. We have planets that were colonised by a bevy of different countries and coalitions of countries in the lore, with the United States proper being mentioned in the colonisation of only a handful of planets, those being Xanu Prime, Silversun, Luna, and Venus, the latter three of which all also feature a coalition with the Chinese. Could you elaborate on how you see the lore as Americentric at present? 4. You are a developer and a spriter, and naturally this position comes with a substantial amount of influence and information in server affairs. Your positions as a developer and spriter have not played any part in our considerations about you for the deputy position, however there are some in the community who want to see "new blood" in the staff team, as in someone being hired to staff who is not already in a staff position. Do you have anything to say which may address this concern, should you get the position?

Hi, thank you for your application. In light of the information referenced above, you are not presently welcome and will never be welcome on the Human Lore Team for as long as I am on it. Your application is denied. Locking and archiving shortly.

Hi everyone! The Human Lore team is prepared to open deputy applications up in our search to find a third member of our team. We're excited to see what you all may come up with and are quite interested in seeing how the community perceives your ideas as well. This is something that is very important to me any my deputy @NewOriginalSchwann. We've worked together on the human lore team for over three years at this point and truly love what we do, so we hope that you will take the application process seriously and treat it with the same passion we do if you do choose to apply. The application will consist of seven questions which we expect to be answered sincerely and honestly. Expectations and Standards: Along with the questions we will be asking, there are a few standards that every applicant must meet. They are as follows: If you are chosen for the Human Lore Deputy position, you must be active in the role. You must write and/or contribute to lore team discussions routinely and regularly. Failure to do this will see you removed from the position for inactivity. Simply put, we need people who can consistently contribute to the work we do in the Human Lore team and with other lore teams, and if we do not have that then we do not function efficiently as a lore team. If you are chosen for the Human Lore Deputy position, you must maintain a positive relationship with the community. Once you become staff and become a Human Lore Deputy, your community interactions no longer just reflect on yourself but reflect on the Human Lore Team and all Lore Staff as a whole. This is not to say that you can no longer have any friends or have fun in the discords, but that you should keep in mind that you're no longer just yourself after being selected for the team, and if your behaviour in the community is unbecoming of someone in the Human Lore Deputy position, you will be subject to review by myself and Lore Team Management. Additionally, you will be required to follow all the server rules applicable to staff members. You must be prepared to work with other species teams and not just on the ideas that you want to work on. Being a lore deputy does not mean that you always get to write what you want to write, and often times means that you will write on projects that you did not come up with or initialize. Being able to work on these sorts of projects and being able to accept and implement constructive criticism on your own ideas is essential to being a good deputy. Disagreements can happen often over creative direction within teams and between teams, especially when two teams are working on the same project or in the same area. Cooperation is essential to working as part of a lore team, even if there are differences among its members. If you do not think you can work well with others and acknowledge the ideas of your fellow writers during the writing or idea-crafting process, do not apply. If you would like to comment on any of these above standards in your application, you are free to do so but they are non-negotiable and if they are not kept throughout your tenure as Human Lore Deputy you will not maintain the position. A rule for those commenting on applications will be put in place as well. Anyone can comment on an applicant's application; however, you must maintain good conduct and obey the server's/forum's rules. Brigading or otherwise ganking applications with mass -1's or name-calling without providing legitimate criticisms with the applicant's behaviour and/or positions stated on the lore in their applications is not allowed. Posters that do this will have their posts deleted and may be subject to actions from moderators or admins. Format: Please make your application as a forum post under the applications boards sections and clearly title it in a way that it would imply to a reasonable Aurora forum browser that you are indeed applying for the Human Lore Deputy position. Along with this, please clearly provide your BYOND ckey and how long you have been a member of the Aurorastation community. When answering the questions asked in the application, please copy and paste the questions onto your application and respectively provide your answers to each question. Questions: Now onto the questions! All of the following questions must be answered in your application. You may choose to answer these however you please, however incomplete answers will work against your chances of being chosen for the position. We in the lore team will question your answers in your applications if we see the need to or desire clarification. Be prepared to discuss and defend or adapt your positions against criticism they may or may not receive from those in the lore team and any community members that comment on your application. Applications that are incomplete and do not answer all seven questions will be rejected by default. Time Parameters: I realise this may seem like a pretty daunting and long set of questions; however, they were chosen to help us decide who the best candidate for the job might be and we did not want to compromise on getting good applicants and seeing strong discussion among the community on these posts. For this reason, applications will be open for three weeks rather than the standard two. We in the team do reserve the right to extend or shorten this period as we deem fit, however as of now, applications will close on November 13th, 2023. This post's title and text will be updated along with a subsequent discord announcement if any changes are made to the current applications timeframe. Lastly, I genuinely hope that you, the applicants, contemplate these questions well and enjoy your application process. I know it can be hard to essentially be grilled by the community for your stance on lore for a few weeks, but I hope that this helps you inform your positions on the lore well and can help acclimate you to the Human Lore Team. We hope that this experience is fun and engaging for applicants and community members alike and wish good luck to anyone who applies! If you have any questions about format or questions, please feel free to message me on discord (I am on all of the official Aurora discords) or through the forum's private messaging system. Good luck! - TheBurninSherman, Human Lore Maintainer

Hello and thank you for your submission. For the reasons listed above by many of the other community members we will be denying this application. The Human Lore Team's judgement concurs with many of the criticisms posited by the others in this thread, and we do not believe this would be a necessary or prudent addition to Aurorastation's human lore.

Hi thank you for your application. We will be looking this over and we will get back to you when we have concluded with getting our thoughts together on it.

This application as it stands is far too large and we will not accept it at its current length, it is nearly half the length of the planet it is for. If it was maybe 2/3rds its present size it could be taken under consideration but as it stands right now, we will not accept it.

Hi, thank you for this submission. There are parts of this application that we really liked and parts that we really did not, so we will be accepting this application in part and including the parts that we found acceptable. I will go through the application now. - Entry blurb changes: Fine, accepted. - Gravity Generator and Offworlders on the Moons: Denied. The moons are already noted as being the primary industrial centres for the helium-3 industry and would have no permanent residential inhabitants for this reason. Gravity gens are a little weird, this is true, but this solution isn't one we like for Pluto. - Eridanian Dreg Addition: Denied, we do not want this in Pluto's lore. - Architecture lore: This isn't bad, we will likely accept most of this. AR devices are too gimmicky and weird, they will not be included. The gardening bits are fine but will need to be tweaked. - Sports lore is fine but the eSports lore will be removed, vidya gaming is an "unproductive" hobby that I doubt the Plutonian government would want to support or endorse. - The surveillance lore is p ok, we will probably scale it back a little. - Economics addition: Core concept seems fine, we will likely change the details however. - We agree that Pluto should have a media section but we didn't find any of the selections presented here all that convincing to us. We may add some in the future however.

Hi and thank you for this submission. We are going to tentatively accept bits and pieces of this and include them in the Solarian Government ministries page. The SCA already has some information on it there and we will likely take some points from this submission and use them to better explain the entity on that page soon.

Hi and thank you for this application. We have looked this over and believe that this is a positive addition to the Martian lore and will be implementing it with only relatively minor changes soon.

Thanks for this application and sorry for the delay in a response. We like the ideas here and realise there needs to be more understanding with how Coalition Citizenship works however we cannot accept this application as it stands because clarifying Coalition citizenship will probably need to come along with an explanation of how the Coalition works more broadly. This is an update we intend to write soon, so stay tuned. As for the Eridanian changes, they seem redundant to everyone in the Human Lore Team and will not be added.

If we find the symbol to be acceptable and representative of the Solarian Alliance as a whole and workable with all of the extant Solarian flags, then yes. As it stands presently however, unless the canton flag is included in this application's flag, the application will be denied.

Hi, thank you for the submission. This is good, however eight pages of knightly order lore is far too much for something that has a relatively minor role in Dominian society. It is hard to say what to cut without compromising a large part of what this application is, but the application would need to be about half of its current size if not smaller for us to consider accepting it as canon lore. Please make some cuts and reapply with this topic once they have been made.

Hi, these new uniforms do not look good and the change is broadly unnecessary. The green looks too similar to current Hephaestus uniforms and the highlights clash heavily from a visual standpoint. I do not believe I can say anything more than what Clem and Carver have already said in terms of ICly reasons. The PMCG is a connected group of diverse, distinct identities working together as one. I'd much prefer the PMCG uniforms look even further different from each other than they do now if given the option, and further unifying the aesthetic just defeats the purpose of the faction. People want to see more individuality and uniqueness within the PMCG rather than a centralisation on a nebulous whole. In short, as a player, mod, and Human Lore Maintainer, I do not support this change and would not like to see it implemented.

Basic Information Byond key: TheBurninSherman Character names: I've got a lot, the most notable ones I've been playing in recently though have been Caroline Matsushita, Song Suen, Mikhalina Khvan, and I plan to start playing Augustina Negrescu again soon. [EDIT 2023-06-14] I've also started to play the Bridge Crew Elise Berlioz. AI Name(s): N/A. I don't have an AI whitelist and have not played AI since before the whitelist requirement was created. Age: 23 Timezone: MST (GMT-7)/MDT (GMT-6) What times are you on Aurora?: Afternoons, evenings, and early mornings. Experience How long have you played SS13?: I started playing on July 6th, 2019. How long have you played on Aurora?: I joined the Aurora on July 6th, 2019 and have been a member of the community ever since with occasional hiatuses usually lasting a month or two. How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: I don't know how Aurorastation's mechanics work in terms of the code aside from a cursory understanding of surgery and medical code, but I know how pretty much every mechanical process in the game works from an input/gui standpoint. I am most familiar and comfortable with medical/brainmed mechanics due to that being the department I've had the most playtime in by a wide margin, but I am familiar with nearly every other mechanic on the station to an adequate degree. Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: I do not have moderation staff experience on this SS13 server or any other. Have you read through the criteria thread; - and believe that you mark off all the criteria?: Yes, I do. If I did not I would not have applied. Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: I've never received a ban of any kind on this server or any other. Personality Why do you play SS13?: I play SS13 to have fun and get good roleplay with fun, but not overly cumbersome mechanics really. My answer will be similar to how I answer the next question because I mostly play Aurora exclusively, but in short, I play it to engage with other roleplayers through a medium and in a setting that is unique and fun. Why do you play on Aurora?: I play here because no other station has the community and emphasis on heavy roleplay in a well-developed and serious setting that Aurora does. The people here and the relationships I've made while here are a serious reason why I play here, but also the great lore and expansive setting that enables me to play characters I am passionate about and can seriously get invested in. The server is well-moderated, has a great setting, and has a diverse and fun, passionate, community. What do moderators do?: The obvious answer here would be "moderate" but of course there is more to it than that. Moderators serve as not only people who moderate the gameplay on the server but also as resources in the community for game knowledge and server rules. They help admins out with decisions and take care of issues as they arise from the game and community forums like the discord server and, well, the forum. Additionally, moderators help admins with more administrative tasks like supervising whitelist and custom item applications, so in that sense they serve a "back-end" purpose too. In short, moderators are a community resource who volunteer their time to ensuring that server rules are abided by, helping community members with rules and sever-related questions, and aiding in the function of administrative tasks in the community ecosystem. What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: Really, being a moderator means being a model community member. You can have fun and be a good player, but also you must abide by all the rules and the like that you are to enforce; mods cannot be hypocritical. Additionally, being a mod means being in-touch with the community. A moderator cannot act in the community's best interest or help mediate disputes in the community unless they are clued into what is going on. This means being observant of interactions in-game, on the discord servers, and on the forums, but also reaching out to community members and trying to understand what grievances they have in the case of disputes. Why do you want to be a moderator?: I want to be a moderator because I love the community and I want to help contribute to it more. I am currently the Human Lore Developer and I adore the position and how it allows me to better the community through ICly methods, but I want to also have a role in improving our community OOCly as well. Additionally, we have at least in recent months, sort of had a mod shortage and such a thing can be detrimental to the community, in my view. Someone needs to be a mod, so why not me? What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: I am exceptionally patient and level-headed, and I think that this would be very helpful as a mod when dealing with stressful situations and upset players. Additionally, I want to hear both sides and try my hardest to be impartial during disputes. Perhaps this is due to my personality or perhaps it is because of the year that I've spent as a law student, but it is something that I think would be very useful in helping understand and resolve disputes when the issue in question is more complicated than a simple and blatant breaking of server rules. I work well in a team, I've worked on a staff team for 2 years and 10 months at this point, being a part of the lore writers team while also leading the human lore team, and think that I'd have no issue reaching out to my fellow mods or admins for help in resolving issues that I don't have the answers for. That being said, I also do some of my best work alone and think that I could definitely be trusted to act correctly on my own once I am familiarized with the system; I wouldn't want to bring the team down by always needing to have my hand held. Also since I've played for as long as I have and have been involved with the staff team for a majority of my time on the server, I am generally familiar with the server's rules and conduct standards and I think that this prior knowledge could help me too. How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: I think I handle stress very well. I think of myself as cool-headed and patient and when I'm put in a stressful situation my first instinct is to usually try and work the problem out and solve it rather than stress about how difficult or trying the situation might seem. Stress can be motivating to me though, it can push me to work harder and make better work, and I find working under pressure to be very rewarding. I'm not an angry person and it takes a lot to get me upset; I've been called many insulting things and had my fair share of negative interactions (though many more positive than negative ones!) with our community and both I and many others who I have worked with in the community and lore team can attest that I generally keep a very cool head. I don't take things personally and try my best to remain cordial and polite with people no matter what, even if I need to tell them something they probably do not want to hear. Anything Else You Want to Add: I am currently a law student and as such my sever/mod activity will likely dip during examination periods, those typically occur in early December and early May. As a related but probably only situationally relevant perk, I can read, write, and speak Russian.

This sounds a bit redundant. Most of what is here aside from the irl-tied fluff can be accomplished by the XO or someone assuming an Acting Captainship.

Hello and thank you for your submission. We're interested in the concept as a whole, but if we accept this, its final implemented form will have significant revisions from what is currently here in terms of additions, modifications, and exclusions. Some of the ideas presented in the comments are interesting, but I would encourage people to not get too carried away, as while we acknowledge that human lore needs more diversity in terms of their languages, we are not about to take the species from six languages (Sol Common, Freespeak, Tradeband, Elyran Standard, TCB, Sign Language) to gorillions or what have you. Simply put, we will not be able to represent every language group in the world in our setting, nor will factions all have their own unique languages. This may be a good time for us to rework the legacy class-inferred language system we currently have, (Freespeak for the poor, Sol Common/TCB for the middle class, and Tradeband for the wealthy) into something more determined by culture, either from Earth-roots or from the countries that exist in our setting. Really none of us on the team have been content with the implications of class through language that the current human language lore has, and as you may have noticed, we have been trying to move away from it incrementally by making our planet reworks and new additions have their languages determined by culture or the influence of a power, rather than by class. This statement is partially an expression of interest and partially a disclaimer to all in the thread that if we proceed with a retooling of human languages, certain places are definitely going to have their languages changed and you may not like some of those changes. This is *NOT* an acceptance of the application, but a statement of the human lore team's view on the submission as it is. I should also mention that language changes, additions, subtractions, etc, are ultimately not in our hands but those of the head admins. If they do not permit us to change the languages mechanically, we cannot.

STS Breaks the Terrorist Occupation of al-Hamid Square, Foreign Plot Confirmed, Dominia Ejects Elyran Ambassador Overnight, police allowed nearly 20,000 individuals who wished to leave the square after yesterday’s news and threats to leave unhindered and without meeting resistance. At noon today after some 10,000 sympathizers of the original 30,000 and their terrorist leaders holding al-Hamid square refused to leave, Uthma police and EAF garrison units in cooperation with the STS launched an assault to break through the barricades constructed by the protestors weeks ago. The STS led the advance, using armored personnel carriers and armored bulldozers to push through the improvised fortifications of steel, cement, wood, and other materials, firing stun grenades, tear gas canisters, and machine guns at demonstrators as they moved through. This advance was followed by EAF soldiers and police officers on foot armed with both lethal and less-than-lethal weapons. In a very dangerous act of defiance to halt the advance of the authorities, the demonstrators started a fire near the largest approach of police and STS and then threw tanks of phoron and phoron cells from cars into the flames, starting a phoron fire they used as a barrier to keep the officers out of the square and forcing a temporary retreat from law enforcement. Videos of STS snipers being positioned on nearby rooftops and shooting into al-Hamid square have surfaced on the extranet along with testimonials of the intense fighting that occurred during the push into the square. After nearly an two hours of an intense fighting between the terrorists, their sympathizers, and Elyran law enforcement & firefighters, the battle stopped with law enforcement pushing out the occupiers. Official Ministry of the Interior death counts in what is being called “The Battle of al-Hamid Square,” hold that 46 Uthma police officers, 25 EAF servicemen, 29 STS operators, and 527 terrorist sympathizers have been killed, 66 of which have been identified as Elyran citizens while the rest were NCP’s. Current injury estimates are that over 600 police, 500 EAF servicemen, and nearly 200 STS operators have been injured, and over 7,000 terrorist sympathizers have suffered some injury. Uthma police estimate that roughly 5,000 arrests have been made. Please note that these counts are incomplete and are adjusting as more confirmed injuries and fatalities are recorded. Currently, al-Hamid square is under the control of the STS and Interior Ministry and is being searched in cooperation with the RIIS for any weaponry or further evidence of Dominian involvement in the occupation of the square. Interior Minister Gul has already reported that maps of the square labeled in High Morozi and documents bearing Dominian markings have been found. The Dominian Foreign ministry has called this evidence false and refuses to take responsibility for this grave allegation. Many protestors fled the scene once the assault began and the Justice Minister has announced that those who fled and did not fight the authorities once they had arrived will not be prosecuted unless they were identified as part of the Dominian-infiltrated leadership structure of the terrorist occupation of al-Hamid Square, in which case they will be treated as fugitives and arrested on terrorism and espionage charges. “We do not want to punish those among our people who were unknowingly tricked by sinister interlopers and so, we will not seek them out nor will we take any other action against them. However, terrorists in our country will be found, tried, and executed,” so said Justice Minister al-Abed in an address to the public today. Opposition leader Saban made a statement today as well in the wake of the assault saying, “I was tricked by a foreign agenda much like many of you were. I hope that in the future, we can all exercise more vigilance in our lives to ensure that our people are not used in the name of a foreign power ever again.” Dr. al-Vohra commented as well, saying, “It is obscene that those who would want to strip us of our freedoms have used them against us. May God forgive them.” This evening, Prime Minister Nouzari made an address to the nation as well, announcing that his party will be enacting measures to codify appropriate responses to protests so that demonstrations to the level that happened in al-Hamid square will not repeat. “It is a tragedy what happened in our capital today. I cannot stress enough how saddened this makes me, to see the square I often walked around for most of my life made to be the base of terrorism and the graves of our own people who were disillusioned by the unscrupulous Dominian Imperials who wish to destroy republicanism and everything it stands for. We must ensure as a nation that this never happens again. Today I have enacted legislation that will allow our people to voice their concerns in a protest, but will limit what can and cannot be done in these actions so that our right to protest is not taken advantage of by foreign agents for their own dishonest motives. We must be strong together should we weather this time of crisis.” In light of this foreign conspiracy, many of our analysts have predicted a rise in Prime Minister Nouzari’s popularity which until now, was declining due to the intensification of recent terrorist actions in al-Hamid Square. In another speech, the Interior Minister Gul announced that extranet service would be returning to the general vicinity around al-Hamid Square in the coming days. In response to this address, the Empire of Dominia has recalled its ambassador from Uthma and has expelled the Elyran ambassador from the country. In a press release paired with this duo of events, Dominian Sovereignty Commissioner Antonio Caladius declared, “These pathetic attempts by those petty revolutionaries to their own failings as provocations by a foe already divinely destined for victory in the Orion Spur, such as we, are laughable. Their evidence is fabricated to a painfully obvious degree. This is a game we shall not play. His Majesty’s empire had no business in al-Hamid Square, much like how the Elyran Embassy now has no business in Nova Luxembourg. The Elyran RIIS are not in their right minds for even considering that we would have any involvement in something that their government is solely to blame for. If this blatantly fallacious rhetoric against His Majesty’s Empire continues, we will not be able to guarantee further peaceful cooperation with the Republican neighbors to the northeast.”

STS Deployed to Uthma, Defense Ministry Presents Evidence of Dominian Involvement in Protests Today in an unprecedented turn of events, Interior Minister Gul and Defense Minister Admiral el-Yamin made an joint emergency address to the Elyran public declaring that the RIIS has uncovered evidence of a Dominian-backed conspiracy to infiltrate the al-Hamid protests. “The Elyran people are being used as tools against themselves at the behest of Molnarova, her professional backstabbers, and the corporate sponsors which enable Dominian treachery. These protests are not the will of our citizens, but are instead the machinations of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate made to destabilize our capital and to put our nation into turmoil. People of Uthma, you are being made fools by the primaries in Nova Luxembourg who are using you to attack the country which has protected you and served you dutifully,” Admiral el-Yamin said in this address. Interior Minister Gul remarked that, “In light of the evidence brought to us by the RIIS, these protests are no longer considered legal and are now classified as terrorist acts. The Special Threat Service is being deployed to Uthma this evening and we plan to disperse this gathering and capture its organizers. Demonstrators have until noon tomorrow to leave al-Hamid square and will be considered terrorist sympathizers if they stay. We will use lethal force.” The evidence being presented consists of various holocalls between alleged Dominian intelligence agents and various figures involved with the protests, discussing plans of action and the transfer of funds to the protest leaders now declared to be terrorists by the Ministry of Justice. The protestors have vehemently denied any cooperation with any foreign actors, including His Majesty’s Imperial Intelligence Directorate and repeatedly claimed that they are acting only on behalf of the Elyran people and their needs for affordable energy and phoron products. At roughly 30,000 strong, the protestors have universally refused the ultimatum by the Government after the police announced that the march to the National Assembly was no longer going to be allowed in light of the evidence of Dominian influence in the protests. They have declared that they will hold the square in the name of justice and republicanism. The demonstrators have also called the actions of the Uthma police illegal and have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nouzari for allowing the violent actions of the police to go unchecked. Director of His Majesty’s Imperial Intelligence Directorate Alojzia Molnarova replied to these allegations in a statement saying that, “It is a shame that the Elyrans can’t keep a handle on their own people without alleging that a superior nation has meddled in their affairs. These allegations are preposterous. His Majesty’s illustrious agents have far more important tasks to attend to than squatting in a filthy square in the name of a lost cause.” Our staff on the ground have reported that, alongside local police units, vehicles and operators with STS insignias and markings have been sighted organising around al-Hamid square. Elyran People’s Party leader Lieutenant General Kambiz Ajrman commented on today’s events in an address to his party, saying that “The rebels in the square should sober up if they want to see the sun rise two days from now. It is undeniable that the Dominian threat is becoming increasingly more insidious, and we as a party and as a people must work to stop that Tribunalist imperialism wherever it might be, even if it is in our own capital. Whether against Dominian dogs or godless corporatists, we must defend our republic.” We encourage our readers to stay away from al-Hamid Square for the coming days and continue to fight the spread of false misinformation wherever it is found.

Negotiations Between al-Hamid Protestors and Police Begin, Protests on Damascus II Fail, Prime Minister Nouzari Speaks Since last week, al-Hamid Square has been the site of repeated violent confrontations between demonstrators and police attempting to remove them from the square. In these exchanges, 10 more officers and 49 more protestors have been killed, with dozens on both sides sustaining injuries. Numerous arrests have been made as well, with some under a new law made in response to last-week's misinformation scare criminalizing the spread of false information with intent to cause disorder and civil unrest. After multiple days with little-to-no progress and mounting injuries on both sides, the police announced at 7am local time this morning that they will not attempt to advance on the square anymore and then entered into negotiations with the protestors. The police requested that the demonstrators hand over any firearms, fireworks, and explosives that may be in their possession in exchange for providing the protestors with medical supplies and allowing for those most critically injured in the square to leave and seek medical attention in Uthma’s hospitals. The protestors have also requested to be able to march in peaceful protest to the Elyran National Assembly. Reluctantly, the police have agreed to these terms, with the addition that a large fence and barricade will be erected to separate the protestors on the street from the National Assembly proper. During these negotiations, the organizers of the protests reasserted their position yet again that they do not intend to leave al-Hamid Squate until their demands for lower phoron prices are met. Despite these negotiations, the Uthma police have called upon the local EAF garrison to reinforce their lines around al-Hamid square and ensure the Elyran government presence in the area is stronger than ever in the lead-up to the permitted march. A counter-protest encampment some two miles from Al-Hamid square has grown to number nearly 10,000, though they have yet to leave their position nor have any confrontations with the al-Hamid protestors. Phoron Minister Saheni responded to these demands by once again restating the position of the Elyran government that phoron prices will not be reduced. A smaller demonstration of roughly 6,000 people protesting energy prices also broke out today in Erum on Damascus II. Local police were quick to disperse these protests with non-lethal methods and no deaths have been reported. When asked about the situation, Damascene Captain Hafez-Ali Esmaeili told us that, “The home of Elyra’s revolution will not be embarrassed by the levels of law-enforcement mismanagement that are currently being seen in Uthma. I understand what the protestors want and I sympathize with their plights, but they must know that our country fails or succeeds together. Destroying public order over phoron prices when all of known space is having similar problems only serves to wound our civilization in the face of an already present crisis and weakens us to those who would wish to destroy our great society for selfish gains. We must show that we can be responsible with the country and the freedoms our ancestors secured for us and not fall victim to anger and untrue misinformation.” Prime Minister Nouzari has also addressed the al-Hamid protests personally, disparaging their efforts but also affirming the decision of the police to allow a march to be held to the National Assembly, so long as it is non-violent. “I affirm your rights to voice your opinions with your presence, but a right to violence is one that you do not have. I admire your bravery in standing up for what you believe in, but if escalation continues, your movement will be stopped. I call on you all to return to your homes and to your families. Times are tough now, but they will not be forever. When this is over and we are once again prosperous and rich from the resources that God has blessed us with, do you want to be spending those bright days rotting in a jail cell or enjoying them with the people who matter to you the most?”

Leaks of an Elyran attack on an SCC Vessel! Institute Protestors Disperse, First Deaths of the Phoron Protests Recorded This morning at around 10am local time, demonstrations near the National Institute for Phoron Sciences in Uthma became violent as frustrated protestors began to taunt and throw bricks at police barricades when told once more to disperse. Some demonstrators even shot fireworks at officers and threw pieces of sharpened rebar into police lines. The police responded by firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades into the crowd coupled with repeated instructions to disperse. In defiance, the demonstrators refused and began to topple nearby automobiles in order to form a barricade between themselves and the officers. This violence has stemmed from alleged leaks from within the Elyran Defence Forces of an after-action report that details an assault operation on the SCCV Horizon, a Stellar Corporate Conglomerate research and phoron excavation vessel currently operating in the Valley Hale region of space. The report details that an Elyran Extraterrestrial Brigade team, codenamed "Eagle Claw" attempted to board the vessel and occupy it in order to force the eviction of it from Valley Hale and reassert Elyran control over its rightful territory. The report also goes on to detail that all four operatives in the operation were shot dead by the security and mercenary accompaniment of the vessel. The Elyran Ministry of Defence has disavowed this report and declared it to be “blatantly fabricated on its face,” and has published various materials debunking the report in various ways. Our own analysts have also examined the report and have concluded that it has been faked and is indeed false. The Stellar Corporate Conglomerate has denied that any breach of Elyra’s territorial sovereignty took place, as well. Defense Minister Admiral el-Yamin in an emergency release today said, "This false report is a work of subterfuge that is intentionally trying to undermine our democracy and our great Republic! Foreign interlopers in our territory will be seen wherever they are found, but we must oppose misinformation wherever it may be found and not let it hijack our right to protest! The people who we ‘attacked,’ have even said that they did not cross our border and our own military doctrine prevents us from taking aggressive action not in the name of defending our interests, people, and territory." Despite these facts, protestors have chanted “They didn’t die for Elyra!” all of this morning and have made ad hoc speeches in outrage of what they see as further evidence of the Elryan Government’s preference for phoron profits over the well-being of its citizens, including those in the armed forces. We at ENN know this to be false and encourage our readers to educate themselves with reliable sources and avoid harmful misninformation. At 2pm local time, Uthma police launched a pacification attempt on those occupying Institute grounds using shields & batons, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and large trucks equipped with water cannons used to breach protest barricades. After roughly a half-an-hour of conflict between the officers and the demonstrators, many protestors fled the scene in a rout towards al-Hamid square, looking to join up and seek refuge with the ongoing occupation there. As of this writing, 248 people have been arrested by the Uthma police, all of whom are claimed to have been violently protesting at the National Institute. There are 9 confirmed fatalities resulting from the expulsion of protestors from the grounds of the Elyran National Institute of Phoron Sciences at this time, 8 protestors and 1 officer. Officer Tulum Bayar was killed when a protester drove a piece of sharpened rebar through his armor which pierced his carotid artery and caused him to bleed to death. The causes of death among the dead protestors are still unknown at this time, however, those participating in the protests claim that the deaths were caused by police firing live buckshot rounds into the protesting crowds rather than rubber pellets. The Uthma Chief of Police and Uthma city administration have denied these accusations while asserting that only non-lethal means have been authorized in dealing with the protests, and our own reporters on the ground have confirmed this. The Chief of Police also said today following the death of Officer Bayar that the Elyran Police will be calling up their volunteer reserves to deal with the growing protests. The Elyran Ministry of Internal Affairs announced today that all extranet towers and access terminals in and around al-Hamid square will be shut down until the protests subside in order to stop the intensification of the protests through the spread of misinformation. At around the same time as the action to disperse protestors from the Phoron Institute commenced, Uthma Police advanced on al-Hamid square, attempting to dislodge the protestors there with similar means as they had used in deterring the Institute protests, however their efforts were unsuccessful in breaching the barricades of the demonstrators. It is currently estimated by our analytics teams that approximately 20,000 people have occupied the square and are refusing to leave. The protestors have affirmed their position that they will not disperse from the square until their demands of the Elyran government are addressed. On the other sides of the barricades a few blocks away in the nearby Republic Plaza, a camp of counter-protestors has begun to form and is also being monitored by police. Estimates currently place their numbers at between 4,500 and 5,000, though they are growing. Muslim Democratic Conference leader Dr. Samir al-Vohra spoke to the protestors today personally, arriving at the al-Hamid barricades and using a megaphone to speak to the demonstrators. He encouraged their protests to remain peaceful and for the protestors to disregard the false reports, but did not tell the protestors to disperse. He also stated that among the rights that Elyran citizens have, a right to protest perceived injustices was among them. “Our republic and its revolution was not built on people who kept quiet and did as they were told. I agree that not being able to afford energy is hard, and that there needs to be a redress of the situation. It is your right to ask for changes in a civil fashion, but do not be led into violence by the information of deceivers wishing to break what is good about our people and society. Instead listen to your hearts and do not give into false temptations! God willing, we can all come to an agreement and you all can go home.”

The Uthma Protests Grow, Protestors Entrench Themselves in al-Hamid Square Since last week protestors have occupied al-Hamid Square and have gathered around the National Institute of Phoron Sciences in Uthma, demanding that their grievances in regards to rising phoron, energy, and phoron product prices be addressed. In one week the protests have grown from under 1,000 participants to what is now estimated to be nearly 12,000 people, with a majority occupying al-Hamid square. Police have repeatedly attempted to force protestors away from the Institute with non-lethal measures and have encouraged them to disperse, promising that no arrests will be made if the protestors return to their homes and leave the streets surrounding the Institute. Phoron Minister Saheni has made a statement on the protests, explaining the rationale of the government’s current phoron policy. She explained that in order to both safeguard the economy from foreign corporate influence and continue to ensure the survival of Elyran domestic industry in these trying times, Phoron prices are pivotal in ensuring that the government has enough revenue to fund not only its normal welfare services for its citizens, but also the numerous diversification and relief programs extended to many Elyran companies. “It is no secret that phoron is the lifeblood of our country, and now more so than ever, we must use the wealth it has given us to buoy our nation’s economy in the face of a spur-wide crisis. Given the current circumstances, in order to ensure that our country and its many auspices can continue to function, phoron prices will remain as they are for the foreseeable future.” From our reporters on the ground, the demonstrations seem to be growing still, with citizens and NCP’s from Persepolis and New Suez travelling to join the protestors, calling for a fall in Phoron prices and the government to front the losses. Those in al-Hamid Square have set up tents and small shacks as semi-permanent structures and many occupying the square seem to have been living there for the duration of these events. Large ramshackle barricades made from what local authorities allege to be stolen construction materials have been observed to be under construction as well. The protests have remained peaceful, however both the police and protestors themselves report that there are provocateurs in the ranks of the protestors trying to incite violence.

Phoron Protests Grip Uthma For the past year and a half since the beginning of the Orion Spur-wide phoron shortage, the Elyran government has maintained a strong position of halting phoron exports to the rest of the Orion Spur under a policy of ensuring a national self-sufficiency of the valuable element. Recently however, even as Elyra’s phoron production has managed to fulfil its domestic needs, market pressures have raised the prices of phoron-produced energy and products made with phoron components. These pressures have been felt in Elyra and for the first time in nearly 60 years, phoron prices have risen dramatically. Yesterday in Uthma, Persepolis, protestors organised in front of the National Institute of Phoron Sciences and in al-Hamid square, the largest square in the city, demanding government intervention in the Elyran phoron market to keep prices low. These protests are led by Elyran citizens claiming that their way of life is under threat due to the ongoing scarcity, however they have been joined by many non-citizen persons also protesting the recent drastic spike in energy, medicine, and transportation costs. Reports estimate that the protests are small and at this time peaceful, numbering only a few hundred split between al-Hamid Square and the Institute of Phoron Sciences. They do also appear to be growing in numbers, with NCPs and citizens alike from the Capital arriving to the areas to participate. Uthman Police are on the scene and are currently attempting to contain the protests to the two locations only and ensure they do not spread to other districts of the capital. The Elyran government has made no comment on these protests thus far, however opposition leader Azer Saban released a statement in support of the protests and claimed that the current situation is a result of poor planning by Prime Minister Nouzari and his Constitutionalists. “By failing to account for the strain that rising phoron prices will have on the lives of our people rather than on the corporations that buoy government coffers, Prime Minister Nouzari has made a mistake with his policies and must be held accountable by the Elyran people.” Organisers of both protests at the Institute of Phoron Sciences and al-Hamid Square have stated firmly that they will not leave until their requests are acknowledged.

The Elyra News Network has been purchased in a joint venture by Yazmani Broadcasting and the Elyran Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Hello and thanks for your submission! After extensive discussion on this application, the human lore team has decided to reject this application. We do however think that geneboosting can be revisited in the future with its effects changed, potentially, but this submission does not line up with how we would want to achieve that. Thank you for applying regardless though.

This is hard for me to say as this was an incredibly difficult decision to make, however after discussion with my team and the lore team as a whole along with considering my own thoughts, we will be going with another candidate. I sincerely hope this doesn't discourage you from continuing to contribute to human lore on Aurora as you have in the past, as we genuinely do appreciate your writing and contributions.