The Codexian Saga LP

[Ashery]

Not that anymore votes are needed...

A.

 

[Jack]

I get wounded while defending my colony and this is what happens in my absence?
YOU LET THEM LIVE?

Very well, we will deal with them later.
We must regain our former strengh if we are to take them on later on.

But at the same time we should be working on our defence.
The war proved we were years behind the Raumen.
B.

 

[treave]

How unfortunate that a multitude of the voting council have decided to focus our resources wholeheartedly on restoring our shattered economy.

The ravenous Codexian consumer demand, stifled for all those months of war, would now be satiated by our newly freed up industrial capacity. That alone should stimulate economic growth and allow our economy to repair itself naturally. Rather, our technology is utterly and woefully unprepared for further expansion into the galaxy. Our glorious ships are slow and utilize decades old technology. Our brave men and women of the military are assigned with basic needlers as their weapons. We do not have any defensive technology worth speaking about, nor have we mastered terra-forming capabilities to increase the availability of worlds to us. This has to change.

Although Codexia may not require new worlds for now, we will soon, in the future. To that end, we must act for the long-term and invest in developing our technology.


B. Prioritize technological development.

 

[praetor]

i vote B. let the economy sort itself out. the people would probably be grateful that the government that led them to the brink of economical disaster stay out of the economic "restoration" of Codexia. this leaves the government free to pursue tech. developments to close the gap with the Raumen

 

[Angthoron]

While restoring the economy after such a war is vital, history has shown that an economic upheaval will follow on its own if the state is otherwise unhindered and the people willing. There needs to be a goal, and this goal isn't to be self-serving sort of a short-term business! Research institutes will provide jobs to the intellectual elite, and the fruits of their research will create new jobs, and benefit the world for years and perhaps generations to come.

People have seen the War. People have witnessed the magnitude of space and the enemies lurking there, not even considering Codexians to have fought a serious battle but merely a skirmish. This must change. Codexia may be small, but it is strong and proud, and only by swiftly catching up and overtaking the rest will it be able to grow to be a proper power. A power that's not threatened by a clan of unbuggy bug-men! A power destined to glory and place in history until the stars die out!

Glory to Codexia! Glory to the wise leaders! Glory to Codexia's brilliant minds!


Voting option B with a possible wish to covertly strengthen the government. Tighten the reins on the corporations and such, in the name of Great Patriotic Effort.

 

[Black Cat]

I'm voting for A, rebuild the economy, just because there isn't D, become a protectorate of the buggy bugs.

 

[madbringer]

My first instinct is to vote C, as the warlike nature of this particular councilman should be now fairly obvious. Seeing as that's probably not the wisest, nevermind, least popular, choice, as is, i vote B.

Focusing all our effort on rebuilding economy would be an error - we need more advanced tech, it's not a matter of leisure, but of simple necessity. The brave Codexian people will mange on their own for the time being. And they will all surely cherish our very own, new, extreme battle systems and weaponry, once we get around to developing them. So the next time, we will be able to crush those insects under our iron heels!

Er, i mean, so we can establish technological exchange treaties on an even ground, of course. Naturally.

 

[juggernaut]

Option B - finally, bigger guns!

minor nitpick: there is no Proxima Centauri B

 

[The Barbarian]

Shits & Giggles Insert: The Raumen and You.

Physical Description:

The blue, chitin covered, insectoid extra-terrestrials known colloquially as the ‘Raumen’ (a simple phonetic term that is largely meaningless in the insectoid language) generally stand between 1.3 and 1.9 metres tall, and weigh between sixty and two hundred pounds during the adult stage of their lengthy development. Females are larger than males by a significant margin. Although they seem rather uniform to the naked eye (size difference notwithstanding), the many subtle hues of their exoskeleton can impart a great deal of information – from social status, to lineage, to sexual primacy and condition, and, of course physical health. The Raumen are quadrupeds with additional manipulators extending from their bulbous torso, exhibiting excellent overall dexterity and off-the-charts agility, but rather subpar strength, in comparison to the average Codexian. Their compound eyes provide them with unparalleled visual coverage, but poor depth perception and ability to perceive minute detail.

The Raumen are generally long-lived, with their lifespans regularly exceeding two and a half centuries. Native legends often refer to semi-mythical Lazarus-types, who manage to reach their millennial birthdays. Birth rates, on the other hand, are less prodigal. Or, to be more precise, birth survival rates are downright poor, with an infant mortality rate of seven in ten. As a result, population growth is painfully slow, averaging 0.4% per year. Reproduction depends on potent males (most Raumen males are incapable of ‘fathering’ offspring) fertilizing the eggs of the comparatively rarer females over the course of many months. Multiple males are often involved in this process, and a unique genetic profile is inevitably the result for the next generation. Mutation rates are, as such, fairly high.

Society & Psychology:

The Raumen are, some would say, a hyper-individualistic people. Their long lives, inherent curiosity and familial ties prove a powerful recipe for developing... personalities. The Raumen clans are extraordinarily tightly knit – clan and family ties override all other loyalties. This is part of the reason behind why Raumen society, as a whole, is generally segmented along clan lines. These units of social organization often conduct their own governmental policies, outside of the aegis of the Confederacy. They raise their own military forces when necessary, and often have unique codes of laws reflecting their clan tradition. The Confederacy, in truth, is a very tenuous link, providing a sort of ‘neutral’ ground for the various Raumeni factions. It can exert very little actual control over its domain. In fact, the two clans involved in the Codexian-Raumeni War of 152-154AU only agreed to the Confederacy-brokered cease-fire because the Codexian offensive had shattered their main familial military bases. The Confederacy still had to pay them a ‘blood’ remedy (monetary and material compensation for lives lost during the conflict), in order to satiate their desire for vengeance.

Raumeni families are largely matriarchal – a byproduct of female reproductive importance and general rarity. Though, it must be said that their physical size superiority certainly does not hurt their standing. The young are nurtured by the entire extended kinship group over the course of two decades, after which Raumeni specialize their education and vocational aptitude. Most Raumeni enter the technical fields, and the species as a whole seems to have a knack for precision work. In this vein, perfectionism is a valued personality trait, as is loyalty (but only to the clan) and general cunning. When compared to Codexian norms, the concepts of bravery and honour are almost entirely absent (insofar as they are considered virtues). The Raumen instead appreciate mental acuity, wit and are enamoured of the idea of outsmarting opponents, whoever they may be.

Technology

The technological products of the Raumen tend to be handcrafted, exceedingly well made, but hideously expensive and time consuming. When compared to Codexia, the Raumeni enjoy a clear-cut advantage in the fields of information technology and information gathering, as well as FTL/sub-light propulsion, machining, weaponry and energy production. On the other hand, Codexians have access to a wider range of consumer service technologies and better means of mass production. The Raumen are excellent engineers, generally speaking and gifted scientists.

***

EDIT:

Juggernaut:

As far as the Barbarian is aware, there is no Codexia, either.

 

[treave]

. Reproduction depends on potent males (most Raumen males are incapable of ‘fathering’ offspring) fertilizing the eggs of the comparatively rarer females over the course of many months. Multiple males are often involved in this process, and a unique genetic profile is inevitably the result for the next generation. Mutation rates are, as such, fairly high.

Sounds highly susceptible to biological warfare utilizing copious amounts of retroviruses.

Society & Psychology:
The Confederacy, in truth, is a very tenuous link, providing a sort of ‘neutral’ ground for the various Raumeni factions. It can exert very little actual control over its domain. In fact, the two clans involved in the Codexian-Raumeni War of 152-154AU only agreed to the Confederacy-brokered cease-fire because the Codexian offensive had shattered their main familial military bases. The Confederacy still had to pay them a ‘blood’ remedy (monetary and material compensation for lives lost during the conflict), in order to satiate their desire for vengeance.

Hm. The Confederacy being instrumental in brokering a cease-fire at their own expense is a good thing. It could show that as a whole, they don't think Codexia is something they should really mess with.

On the other hand, Codexians have access to a wider range of consumer service technologies and better means of mass production.

Does that mean we can influence them with decadent consumerism?

 

[Jack]

On the other hand, Codexians have access to a wider range of consumer service technologies and better means of mass production.

Does that mean we can influence them with decadent consumerism?

this should be our main goal. killing people is pointless, it makes it hard to sell them things afterwards. and we want codexia to be a prosperous nation, do we not?

Their annihilation would certainly benefit us.
We would be able skip years and years of research.
And because we didn't focus on terraforming (big mistake, it did lead to the war after all), their planets are quite valuable to us.

I'd say that we crush them completely once we have the means necessary.

 

[laclongquan]

Nah!

War is Waste! We resort to war either for defense, or because of idiots voting for war in the 1st place. It's weakness of democracy. But what can we do?

Rebuild the economy, start trading with the bugs, trade/research/reverse-engineer their techs, rebuild the fleet. I suspect the bugs have a few more ET trade partners.

 

[treave]

Their annihilation would certainly benefit us.
We would be able skip years and years of research.
And because we didn't focus on terraforming (big mistake, it did lead to the war after all), their planets are quite valuable to us.

I'd say that we crush them completely once we have the means necessary.

Crushing bugs is all well and good but if we can somehow manage to work out a trade exchange of shiny beads and pop Culture for FTL tech, that is even better. Has it been noted that Raumeni worlds are suitable for Codexian habitation?

edit: Take heed that the Raumen Confederacy is a loosely-knit gathering of clans. It seems quite possible to turn clans against one another with the proper prodding and promises of shiny beads. All to our advantage, of course.

 

[Jack]

Their annihilation would certainly benefit us.
We would be able skip years and years of research.
And because we didn't focus on terraforming (big mistake, it did lead to the war after all), their planets are quite valuable to us.

I'd say that we crush them completely once we have the means necessary.

Crushing bugs is all well and good but if we can somehow manage to work out a trade exchange of shiny beads and pop Culture for FTL tech, that is even better. Has it been noted that Raumeni worlds are suitable for Codexian habitation?

edit: Take heed that the Raumen Confederacy is a loosely-knit gathering of clans. It seems quite possible to turn clans against one another with the proper prodding and promises of shiny beads. All to our advantage, of course.

We would indeed profit on a civil war.
And in the end we would be able to finish the victorious clan off.
We would then claim their technology and planets to strengthen our power.

 

[laclongquan]

Sell to both sides, too?

 

[Jack]

Look at what they did to my face.

I'll never smile again thanks to the Raumen.

 

[treave]

The Raumen may be shrewd but their individualistic tendencies will be detrimental in the face of the Codexian hive-mind. Now that we have learnt plenty about their behaviour and organization, I think we can all agree that Raumen are a minor threat to further growth of Codexia that can be controlled with diplomacy and localized applications of force where necessary - paying reparations to the Confederacy in terms of trinkets for annexation would seem be an optimal outcome - and any hints of any particular clan becoming strong enough to unite the clans and obtain leadership of the Confederacy should be met with black-ops operations to turn the other clans against them.

Codexia should learn from its mistakes in this recent war and prepare for future threats instead of constantly antagonizing the Raumen.

A ruined smile or two is nothing compared to the Greater Goal of Codexian Ascendancy, bro.

 

[laclongquan]

That's a manly face, Jack! I bet chicks flock to your heel.

 

[treave]

By the way, not too sure about my mathematics skills but I think Options A and B are now tied at 7 votes each?

 

[laclongquan]

One note: The bug's way of manufacture is handcrafted, so let's flood their market with our cheap factory-made knockoff products. Let's ruin their economy in peaceful ways, gain trade advantage, and subtly probe for their weakness in not so obvious areas.

 

[treave]

I'd still prefer to focus on R&D for now. If we can't outfight a bunch of traders and merchants, what are we going to do when we encounter the really orky races? Our economy can heal by itself, and if need be just grant licenses (for a fee, of course) to some of our merchants to engage in trade with the Raumen. No need to invest our resources into restoring our economy just yet.

With regards to Raumeni trade, we WILL have to be cautious. They are a race of cunning artisans. Make sure trade is regulated carefully, at least for the first few years or so, or it may somehow backfire on us.

 

[Jack]

Codexia should learn from its mistakes in this recent war and prepare for future threats instead of constantly antagonizing the Raumen.

A ruined smile or two is nothing compared to the Greater Goal of Codexian Ascendancy, bro.

Albeit I am too bloodthirsty sometimes, I do see the benefits of a strong defence.
We should be prepared next time we make contact with an alien race.
Don't underestimate the Raumen threat though, they are crafty little buggers.
We should atleast weaken them.

That's a manly face, Jack! I bet chicks flock to your heel.

They did before the war, nowadays they are too afraid of my appearance to even get close.

 

[treave]

You mean the Senate did not confer upon you the status of a war hero, a shiny medal and a few spanking hot Codexian babes to nurse your war-torn body?

Those politicians! :evil: Rest assured I shall lobby for official recognization of Jack's sacrifice in defense of Codexia when the next general assembly comes around.

 

[treave]

Well, their race as a whole may be more well-versed in extra-terrestrial trade. I just don't want Codexia to be caught up in a galactic Ponzi scheme because some of our greedy merchants took the bait.

Fashion trends are a luxury for a population that has just recovered from a damaging war. In the initial stages our military economy will be redirected to produce consumer goods, which should sustain the economy without the need of too much government input. Besides, to satisfy our Codexian need for alien bling we only need to purchase a single shipment. Then we can begin to reproduce it for cheap in our factories. Like China.

Good idea on selling vaccines, though. I like that.

 

[Jack]

You mean the Senate did not confer upon you the status of a war hero, a shiny medal and a few spanking hot Codexian babes to nurse your war-torn body?

Those politicians! :evil: Rest assured I shall lobby for official recognization of Jack's sacrifice in defense of Codexia when the next general assembly comes around.

I am evidently all for engineering a virus (we are reasonably advanced on medical sciences, are we not?) and selling them the vaccine at criminal rates.

Brilliant, not only would it bring us economical prosperity, it would force them to be our allies in future wars.