2047 SummerOpportunity ResultsThe man, weathered from age and scarred by the times he lived in, clasped the warm cup as if it could help him to stop trembling. Fleeting heat tingled in his deadened fingertips as he looked out of the window, seeing the white wastes of the Antartic. He could not believe it. Moments ago he was in the Alps, shivering like right now, but not huddled in a blanket in a heated halftrack but desperately trying to keep the flame going. The physical firepit, which his family erected to melt the sooty, dark snow that surrounded them and the flame of hope inside. That things will be better.
Now they will be, he thought as he hastily drank the beverage inside the cup, offered by one of the soldiers that found them, gave them medicine to, helped them bury those who were already succumbing, to radiation sickness, to dysentery, to a cold heart. Quickly he drank, closing his eyes. If he drank it quick enough he could fool his body that this was truly milk not some sort of artificial powder poured and stirred into water. It invoked a powerful sense of nostalgia, of better times were he was a simple cattle herder in the Swiss Alps. Then, the aftertaste settled in. He knew reality was far more bleak, but he heard the talks of the soldiers, speaking of this Initiative. First he thought these strange men wielding guns he had never seen before, wearing gas masks and goggles that made them look like some sort of science fiction alien, were there to kill them. Everyone heard about the Initiative. Some said they were responsible for the Bright Nights, were the world succumbed to madness, to noise and destruction.
This seemed to be not the case, however. After they got in guarded and hardened ships, into the dead muck of the old oceans, under the masks were people, like him or his daughter and her children. Weary, forlorn. But grim in purpose and hopeful in the future. They talked about a way away from Earth and they would bring everyone they could with them. Not all humans, but enough to start anew, somewhere else. Through a portal.
They seemed dead serious, describing in detail how the Initiative even started to exist. Kindling to the almost snuffed out flame in his chest. Finally, he smiled. And asked for another cup of milk.Intitiative Agents around the globe identify refugees and helpless people and rescue them. They were brought back to the Antartic, receiving medical attention. While many die still from radiation posioning or other complications. However, the sheer mass made up for it. The Phoenix Project researchers were not happy about it, however, considering most of the people had duplicate genes for congenital diseases and introduced new ones into the mix.
Very Large Civilian Team obtained!The carcasses of Earth were ripe with the skeletons of bent steel beams and decaying concrete slabs slowly dusting away from the harsh winds of this „summer“, although a Nuclear Winter slowly set in in the early days of July. Military bases and headquarters were, obviously, the first victims to vultures feasting on abandoned positions or bombed quarters. Although many of them died from secondary exposure, warlords, raiders and survival groups picked clean many obvious military bases and secured stockpiles for themselves. The Initiative seen wisdom in not engaging them to get weapons but rather seek out deeper claims.
Luckily, with the Area 51 knowledge secured and Boleslawich remembering some of his time in the former Russian Federation agents managed to secure military materiel and munitions. To simplify logistics they only took what were there in sufficient quantities to not afterproduce too much.
AT-4s obtained!
L16 81mm Mortars obtained!Project Phoenix members were upset over their recommendations being ignored and stalled the project a little due to a „strike“ and their upset over „endangering the mission“, but ultimately continued to compile and catalogue the new people and trying their best to integrate them into their projections of genetic diversity, health and protocols.
Fact is, some genetic drift will likely occur, they concluded, thus they try ways to reintroduce these genes when they are bred out. These projections stumble over the fact they don't know which genes will be lost in the first place and how to store them for generations without any decay.
While much still in the theoretical state, basic tissue engineering went on strides and printing sections of intestine or liver became much more easier, using mice as vessels to grow human organ nodules. On a larger scale, this could be used to replace lost organs and limbs when it will inevetably be perfected. Mayhap, however, this will need to be done at the colony as time begins to run out.
Project Phoenix advancedFooddrive chugged steadily along and some promising concepts are working out for smaller populations of humans to subsist of completely closed off aquaponics and umbraponics – systems using not sunlight but thermal and rot to thrive, such as mushroom colonies.
The food quality is something else, but technically even on war-ravaged Earth they could be built, although they are heavily labour and electricity dependent.
Designs for more classical Hydroponics are more difficult due to a lack of sunlight on Earth, but done easily on the other planet, if predictions are true to reality.
Classical herding and animal husbandry was very difficult to implement on such a tiny scale, but the next best thing has been introduced – embryos and zygotes were put into the seed library, to be grown in some way on the other side if compatible to the flora and fauna on the other side. This was their best guess.
Chickens, however, seemed a good addition for many hydroponics and added, as their eggs provide good protein, although most species chosen are dwarf ones.
Ponics integrated into Genesis Library
Seed Library obtained!
Small Food Stockpile obtained!There is division within the Initiative about the upcoming Project Endgame, as everyone discusses the next steps. What will happen with Earth after they left? Is it their responbility to try and fix it after all? Should they maybe abandon the project and instead try and dedicate all their resources to recovering Earth? Four „political“ groups formed out of this dilemma.
Many of the founding members and a good chunk of the civilians remain the position that they have to leave, but think that they have to return to Earth to relief the people surviving and the planet itself, revitalizing it with resources, new research and labour after the colony has been set up. Earth is still the home of Humanity and it could not be abandoned. Even when it takes hundred of years before they are able to return, the promise to save Earth should remain their top priority.
These have been dubbed
Horkorists, after the God of Oaths of Ancient Greece.
Project Phoenix lead elements and others, weary of the calamity of Humanity, think that Earth is just a rock that has been exhausted by foolishness and unimportant to the survival of Humanity. They see the colony as the most pragmatic way to restart and that the mission should be unburdened by the worries of where they came from. All needs to be left behind – mere soil does not make the human spirit, but the people that strive to survive and prosper. Neither can happen on Earth.
These have been dubbed
Exodites, after the biblical story of the Exodus.
Another group, mostly older personnel and soldiers, think that leaving Earth behind is only one way to let Humanity survive, far in the stars. With the technologies developed, shepherding humans left on the planet and introducing technology for the ultimate survival of humans even on this Earth they are served best. The colony's purpose is to thrive, yes, but ultimately help to rebuild Earth, much like the Horkorists, but with the idea of a contigent of Intitiative members remaining behind to watch over Earth and help to establish a foothold of civilization still on Earth.
These people call their group
Custodians, for obvious reasons.
The
Fidelists, especially found amongst the newest civilians rescued and the desertwalkers, is the position that the Intitiative should abandon the project altogether and instead solely focus on the rebuilding effort, spurned on by the tenous successes of Project Endurance and Project Foodrive.
There needs to be a decision.
What is the future of the Initiative?Projects
Project Phoenix 50% done
Initiative Status
Military Force (experienced, scouts)
General Boleslawich
Small Weapon Design Department
Small Programming Department
Small Physics Department
Tiny Biology Department
Engineering Team
Large Civilian Team
Upgraded Lab Equipment
Genesis Library
Seed Library
“Honey Bee” Prototype
AVH-23s,M16s,MP5s
Naja Armor, AT-4s, L16 81mm Mortars
Light Support Weaponry
Small Food Stockpile
Eisbär Half track squadron
Delivery Capacity
90% full
Author
Topic: And Boldy We Stride (SG) (Read 9712 times)