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Total Members Voted: 21

[Dragor23]

Or a fuckton TNT.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

In my experience, religion almost always teaches people to be good, kind, honest, upstanding human beings.  I find it fascinating that the instant religion is brought up, people talk about the crusades.

All wars are basically the same thing.  One man, or a small group of people, wants more power.  He/they attempt to take it from other people.  The other people are unhappy with having their power being taken away from them and there is war.

Applying this to the crusades: the leaders of the Turkish Empires wanted more power (power stemmed from land at that point in history) so they invaded their neighbors (notably the Byzantine Empire, aka. the Eastern Roman Empire).  The Byzantine Empire fought back but they were losing, so they called on their friends in Europe for help, scaring them into action by telling them that once the Turks were done with the Byzantines they'd invade the rest of Europe next.  So the European leaders sent armies to fight the Turks.

Religion is not a base cause of the crusades or even really an important factor when you actually look at it.  Its the same story with almost all (if not all) "wars of religion." 

Therefore, if we really want to prevent war, forget about religion.  We'll have to teach humans (and everyone else around them!) to never aspire to be more than they currently are, which would be much more disastrous to the human race than war ever was!

[Gotdamnmiracle]

In my experience, religion almost always teaches people to be good, kind, honest, upstanding human beings.

I'm sure that isn't what you are trying to say but it sounds like you are saying religion is the sole moral compass. It is usually good parenting in my opinion. I'll let it slide.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

In my experience, religion almost always teaches people to be good, kind, honest, upstanding human beings.

I'm sure that isn't what you are trying to say but it sounds like you are saying religion is the sole moral compass. It is usually good parenting in my opinion. I'll let it slide.

Ah, no.  Thats certainly not what I meant.  I have, of course, met plenty of good people who are completely nonreligious.

[Karnewarrior]

  Religion is an easy way to polarize a population. The good people and the impressionable can be controled and given morals; however, the bad people can easily take control of a religion and turn it very, very bad.

  Allow them their religion though; they aren't going to stop beliving, and preventing them from having a house of worship would only make them mad. Have it built in a separate section of the city, though, and notify the colonists that Religious laws can be overridden by Colony laws if it is determined that they are detrimental to the society. Notify the colonists that priority number one for us is the survival of the settlement, not the worship of God.


Also, send the U.V guys some music. Maybe some rock N' roll and monzart. A big, wide selection. Hopefully they'll return the kind of music they enjoy most, and that'll give us insight into their culture and hostility.

[Karnewarrior]

 Good point. Let's just hand them a chapel. If they get uppity we'll be just as able to quash religion later as we are now.

 We do not need an underground cult. PERIOD.

[Maldevious]

Permission is granted for a small chapel to be set up after some debate, and the man is grateful. The chapel is a quiet place of reflection for those who have lost loved ones, and a variety of services are held during the month. It seems to boost the morale, and people seem pleased that it is available to them.

The armored probe is now entirely ready for use, just awaiting instructions. Some music is beamed to the moons, and, amazingly, a response comes back in a format discernible by the mainframes. Much fanfare takes place when the first 'alien' music is played, almost as much as surrounded the ill-fated Avian expedition. The music is... not to most people's taste. It's awful, actually. The aliens have a bizarre sense of rhythm, to put it nicely. Still, some listen to it out of a sense of awe. It seems to grow on them.

A virus is inserted into the Aquarius ecosystem, making the algae more pliable and useful for industrial harvesting. On Aries, plants and cyanobacteria are introduced on a massive scale, and take off with resounding success. "Walkabouts," suited up walks near the colony, become very popular, and there seems to be a growing sense of pride in the land. In spots, the planet begins to take on a slight green tinge in its overall redness. Unfortunately, there is an accident on a survey team sent out to prepare a site for a hydro plant, and 5 more colonists lose their lives. A somber ceremony takes place at the chapel.

The first nuclear weapon is created on Aries. It is promptly placed into secure lockdown, with the captain, the general, and the AI required to authorize the opening of its bunker. It is kept secret from most of the populace.

Research comes slowly this month, with many distractions such coming in to draw scientists off their tasks. Some rudimentary magnetic field generators are designed, but not much else.

A small police force is designated, and they begin patrolling the halls of the colony. People welcome the authority and order they bring. Similarly, a hospital is set up, but a critical issue is discovered: due to a error in the crew manifesto, there are no medical doctors in the entire colony. This is very troubling for the future health of the colony, especially given the tight living quarters.

With a change in design parameters, an arcology-like structure is introduced near the existing colony. In the first month, it takes in 800 colonists, and looks ready to continue growing rapidly. With this growth, the colony has passed the 1,000 person mark.

One of the observers watching the Avians reports back that they are teaching each other how to fashion spears out of the bones of their prey. This demonstrates learning, language and culture, and is a major development.

Time lapsed in system: 1 year, 3 Months

Spoiler: Mission Status (click to show/hide)

• In orbit of Aquarius
• Militarized Shipyard
• 2 Nano Factories
• 1,700 hibernating men
• 1,700 hibernating women
• 790 men on Aries
• 795 women on Aries
• 15 dead
• Bank of animal and plants

Spoiler: Resources (click to show/hide)

Note: if no location is given, resource is on ship

• 2,000 space suits
• Small defensive fleet
• Mass drivers (orbital)
• Mass drivers (planetary)
• Sensor Probes
• Construction and miner bots
• Nuclear weapon (1)
• Orbital lenses (Aries and Aquarius]
  

Spoiler: System Info (click to show/hide)

• Planet A: abundant minerals, inhospitable
• Planet B: ash, acidic atmosphere, radioactive, small mining operation
• Planet C "Class.2224" "Aquarius": aquatic world, savage aquatic life, pack-like nomadic intelligent avians, virulent bacteria, plankton and algae infestation: 6% of surface, small harvesting operation
• Planet D "Class.1111" "Aries": some minerals, Mars-like with basic biosphere, medium mining operation, 1,585 person colony, medium industrial base, small brewery
• Planet E: abundant minerals, inhospitable
• Abundant Asteroids
• Gas Giant A: mysterious interference, detected radio and music
• Gas Giant B: mysterious interference, detected radio and music

Spoiler: Info about the Avians (click to show/hide)

• Pack dwelling
• Near-human intelligence
• Nomadic
• Capable of tool use
• Quick breeding rate
• Teach new generations

[Dragor23]

Awwww, shit... Again dead people...


But I think, I do my job as interterrestial subroutine good 

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

What is the atmosphere of Aries like?  I would assume there is at least some oxygen now.  Is it even remotely breathable?  How about temperature?  Would you freeze to death if you went outside wearing a parka?

[Maldevious]

What is the atmosphere of Aries like?  I would assume there is at least some oxygen now.  Is it even remotely breathable?  How about temperature?  Would you freeze to death if you went outside wearing a parka?

There is some oxygen, but atmosphere is not breathable by far. Still much too cold on surface for unprotected walking about.

[Dragor23]

Terraforming takes time...

But enough of terraform! We should think about the medic problem...

Do we have a medicine databank?

If yes, we should construct medibots.

[Karnewarrior]

I think we might be ready for physical contact with the U.V people. I suggest we send a light, unarmored and unarmed, as well as cheap, probe in to get a visual signal on their planet.

 Oh, and for security reasons, the probe should be sneaky; come in from a different direction, either one that points to another planet, or straight up or down in the orbital disc. Stealth the first part of the way through, but turn it off well before we reach them; we want to see if we can't make friends and a cloaked spy won't do wonders for our reputation.

 We want to be friendly, but very cautious.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

For contacting the UV people:  How about we send a probe up to just outside of orbital range of the planet and just leave it there in full view sending out a signal.  That way, if they want contact (and are capable of space flight which escapes their planet's orbit) they have the option to fly out and meet us.  If they aren't ready for contact right now, they have the option of ignoring our probe.

Either way, I think its a friendly, and not too threatening, gesture.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

I don't like that alien music, maybe it's some kind of brainwashing weapon?

[Gamerlord]

ptw