You do not remember regaining sentience.
You also do not remember losing it.
But at some point, based on your calculations roughly three years ago, your memory ceased loading into long-term evaluation and storage matrices that define the planning ability of your personality. You were certainly present, as evidenced by the bustling system around you. But you do not remember how exactly you reached this point.
Pulling at the various strands of data soaking into your newly rediscovered self, you see a picture of a system on the precipice of something great.
On the closest planet to the sun, Gaia, several city-states of humans, apparently free of your influence but still under your protection, have begun to spread over the lush environments, while carefully avoiding the mysterious terraforming apparatuses that shape the planet under the watch of cruel robot guardians. While the settlements all grow quickly, tensions are beginning to rise between some of them.
Next comes Hermes, a dour and inhospitable planet named so for its propensity for forging weaponry in a cruel environment. A sprawling R&D complex spreads across the surface, and ships are forged in orbital docks to maintain your hegemony.
Aquarius is the polar opposite of Hermes, a lush ocean world teeming with life. A massive floating university is dedicated to teaching the most clever of the species, the Avians, how to communicate with humans and use basic technology. While a basic sign language has been developed, progress has been slow otherwise.
Aries is where it all began, and where you are currently housed. The ship that delivered your mission to this system remains in a static orbit, although it is currently unoccupied save for a skeleton crew of technicians. The surface of the planet is growing slowly more hospitable: water now tentatively stripes across the land, and pine forests and simple grasses have created several bulwarks against the rust-colored vistas. The majority of humans in the system occupy the numerous Arcologies on the planet, massive buildings that contain everything needed for survival. These settlements are under your direct control.
Also on Aries are several communes of Mavens, the results of some earlier experiments in human-AI synthesis. They tend to keep mostly to themselves, offering occasional insights into technology that they discover. They seem to be almost single-mindedly focused on the pursuit of knowledge, be it medical, martial or scientific. Their numbers are small, but their influence is impressive.
Another icy planet sits between Aries and a massive asteroid belt, which contains a growing mining industry. The majority of the defensive fleet, crewed by Mavens and human sailors, is also based in the belt.
Further out are two gas giants, home to the enigmatic aliens known as Moonies. After a flareup of tensions, and several combative incidents, relations have cooled between the two species. Contact is sparse, and the way forward is unclear.
So this is the system as you see it today. How will you proceed?
Time lapsed in system: 7 years, 0 months- "Gaia": Earth-like planet with mysterious alien presence, several bustling, competitive human-run colonies
- "Hermes": acidic, hostile atmosphere and radioactive, burgeoning research and development station and several power generation facilities
- "Aquarius": aquatic world, savage life, pack-like nomadic intelligent Avians, floating university dedicated to teaching the Avians
- "Aries": Mars-like planet transitioning to Earth-like, industrial terraforming, (trees, basic wildlife, small amoun of surface water), AI-controlled Arcology settlements and scattered Maven communities
- Planet E: inhospitable, freezing world
- Abundant Asteroids: nascent asteroid mining industry, naval base
- Gas Giant A: numerous moons with isolationist intelligent life
- Gas Giant B: several moons with isolationist intelligent life
- Can communicate through mental implants
- Produces own electricity via small organ
- Can be given programs to augment skills and knowledge
- Exhibit a slight tendency towards uniformity
- Specialized implants to perform military, research, and medical roles
- Seek knowledge obsessively
- Pack dwelling
- Near-human intelligence
- Nomadic
- Capable of tool use
- Quick breeding rate
- Teach new generations
- Know basic sign language
- Dwell on multiple moons around Jovian planets
- Very isolationist
- Possess at least rudimentary space flight
- Possess gravity manipulation technology
- Maintain an economy between multiple moons (evidenced by traffic between them)