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AKA the Homeworld, Planet of the Golem, the Jewel
Overview: |
The Golem, located on the border of sector B and sector G, have recently begun making a host of goods and services available to the people of the Greater Galaxy. From beautiful vacation resorts and wildlife refuges to the finest blades and armor in the galaxy, the Homeworld provides unparalleled quality and service. The most popular product is SteelWeave, a revolution in utility clothing. By spinning metal into fiber, circuitry can be woven into you favorite shirt or jacket. It's called CompuWear, and is only available from the Homeworld.
After a near disastrous First Contact, the Ecosphere (AKA Ghost World, Shaemen's Home) has decided to allow the Homeworld to handle all its contact with the rest of the greater galaxy. The Ecosphere is a planet of emerald oceans, thick forests, and eternal day. The shaemen's powerful, alien magic is still under study. The sections of this document that refer to the Ecosphere are denoted with an (E). More detailed information about the Ecosphere is available on a separate site; the Golem Homeworld also offers an Alliances Guide. |
CoLC Index |
Index:Q-dex / Technology / Mystic
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Q-dex: |
T 147.8667/330.885A M 343.8667/540.21 (E) T 311.7643/650.435A M 878.2315/575.11 |
Technology: |
Due to the difficulty of working with technology in the Q-zone, the Golem produce few such items. However, what they do produce is incredibly durable. Examples for export include:
SteelWeave: By spinning alloys into fiber, metallic cloth can be produced. Then, by weaving the fibers into circuits, the cloth can be made "programmable." This CompuWear is most popular in data storage and communications versions, but many other applications are possible. Contact the Crystal Peak monastery for high quality SteelWeave and custom designed CompuWear. Blades and Armor: Powerful atomic bonding means the Golem Homeworld can provide the sharpest blades and most protective armor in the Greater Galaxy. Diamond Edge swords can be purchased from the Anvil Plains Monastery, while the Quicksilver River monastery excels in the design and construction of many types of armor. Gravitic Drive: This method of propulsion uses the basic force inherent in all matter within the quantum zone. Acceleration places no stress on the occupant or the vehicle since both have the same frame of reference; providing superior manoeuvrability. Additionally, FTL travel can be accomplished by creating a Projected Singularity, however, only Golem can survive such travel. Contact the FarReach Coalition for information on Gravitic Drive vehicles. (E) The shaemen possess only stone age technology, though their quantum zone can support higher forms. |
Mystic: |
Study of the Disciplines is a priority for almost every Golem. Disciplines range from combat skill to mental powers. Even technology requires magical skill in this low-tech Q-zone.
(E) Living beings create spirits (Essence), which then create other effects (Mana). Common effects include sense enhancement, phantom appendages, spirit companions, and ghostly animal ships. An unusual form of elemental magic is also involved. The shaemen are also strongly empathic. In addition to their individual personas, everything in the Q-zone, even matter and energy, participates in a communal mind. Through this collective consciousness, the feelings of others can be detected and manipulated. They can also communicate in any language. |
Size: |
The Homeworld is the only inhabited planet in the only star system controlled by the Golem. There is little desire to expand.
(E) The Ecosphere occupies a stationary "orbit" between two binary stars. Consequently, there is no night on the planet. |
Population: |
A census is in progress.
(E) As the shaemen are nomadic, specific figures are difficult to produce. However, the shaemen themselves claim that there are fewer than 1 billion of them on the planet. |
Climate and Geography: |
The Homeworld's weather is always warm and sunny on the coasts, with most of the rain falling in the highlands. Metal-rich mountains rise from the Planetary Ridge, their rivers running through forests of gold and silver until they meet the Ocean along a coast that glitters like crushed diamonds. The entire planet shines like a cut jewel hanging in space.
(E) The planet's surface is covered about equally by shallow seas and heavily forested hills. Expansive swamps cover most of the boundaries between the two. Weather is violent and unpredictable. |
Flora and Fauna: |
All life on the Homeworld is composed of metal alloys and converts sunlight into electricity for power. Plants catch light on polished leaves and gather metals through their roots, while animals generate power on their skin or fur and eat other creatures for raw materials. Relative to other Q-zones, biological matter here is incredibly durable. This means that animal hide is tougher than most armors and claws can cut through most conventional protection. Their electrical nervous systems provide lightning fast reflexes, too. Even the most experienced hunter will find Homeworld predators a challenge! The Jeweled Forest monastery operates a preserve for daring hunters.
The Golem themselves are humanoid, though slightly taller and more massively built than average. They have dark gray skin, which glitters from the solar cells within, and hair of polished silver or gold. Most possess one or more cybernetic Augmentations, which may or may not be plainly visible. Common Augmentations include DataLinks (increased memory), SenseLinks (enhanced vision, smell, etc), and weapon systems (retractable claws, projectiles, etc). (E) The Ecosphere is home to an almost infinite variety of flora and fauna. There are few fish or amphibians, with most of the ocean life consisting of marine mammals and sea birds. All are empathic, and none require sleep. |
History: |
In the beginning, the Golem were nomads who spent more time warring with each other than they did supporting themselves. Then the Monasteries began to appear. By studying the Disciplines, Golem learned to create technology despite the constraints of the Q-zone. With the rise of architecture, formerly warring communities had less and less contact with each other. Isolation, rather than enlightenment, has led to peace on the Homeworld.
(E) Largely unknown. Their mythology hints at a civilization contemporary with the Kendis-dai Imperium, but any remnants of that civilization were eroded away long ago. The Ecosphere was discovered under less than ideal circumstances. A flight of Hawk ghost vessels unwittingly flew across a quantum boundary and into a zone unable to support their magic. The ships dissolved, exposing the shaemen to space. Their psychic deathcries echoed through sectors B, G, and H. A Golem yardow ship, investigating the screams, was discovered by another flight of Hawks. Unfamiliar with quantum wave fronts, these shaemen concluded that the Golem ship was responsible for the deaths. As the first Hawk dove in to attack, it dissolved as well. The others fled. Under the Omnet's First Contact Protocols, the area was sealed off from the greater galaxy until the matter could be cleared up. Now, the Homeworld has been appointed Galactic Contact for the Ecosphere, handling all its communication and travel. |
Government: |
Each Monastery is an autonomous community governed by its Elders. While the official purpose of these compounds is teaching the Disciplines, they also support populations of Seekers (see castes).
(E) The Ecosphere is "governed" through the communal mind. In theory, any shaeman is capable of making decisions for the entire planet. However, the nomadic tribes are far too fractured for any real consensus to be formed this way. To date, only two things have been agreed upon: the refusal to adopt any form of technology, and the decision to let the FarReach Coalition act as their political intermediary. Foreign Policy:Each monastery has its own foreign policy, but most have decided to actively promote tourism and/or trade. The group of monasteries known as the FarReach Coalition, who developed the Gravitic drive, handle most of the Homeworld's extraterrestrial contact. Through them, other monasteries can be reached. (E) Many shaemen, especially those of Dolphin tribes, are very curious about the greater galaxy. The Omnet is to be permitted a single citadel on the surface, located on a remote island. No trade is expected, although other treaties are being signed. Domestic Policy:Again, each monastery is in charge of its own domestic policy. Generally, laws protect the right to study, with punishment usually involving some kind of solitary confinement. (E) The only rules in most tribes are those imposed by Nature. Survival of the fittest is far more than a theoretical construct to shaemen. The tribe's Totem spirit is often consulted on tribal issues. The spirits have great prescient and clairvoyant powers. |
Society: |
Built to teach the Disciplines, monasteries are primarily scholarly. Less studious Golem live around the main structure, supplying the monks with food, clothes, and other necessities. Each community is known for one Discipline or commodity, and almost every citizen will be at least somewhat familiar with this area of knowledge.
(E) Tribal/nomadic. Tribes are familial groups who worship a common totem animal. Tribes whose totems are associated with the same element are organized into loose clans. Land and religious battles are common, especially between tribes whose totems have been in ecological or mythological competition. Languages:Golem communicate through a form of touch telepathy where electrical signals are conducted between individuals along the skin. This "language" is fast and highly conceptual. Because they do not need to breathe, Golem lungs are small, weak, and vestigial. Subsequently, they cannot produce loud sounds. They do, however, have a spoken language, little used as it is. Many Golem possess cybernetic Augmentations, called DataLinks, which allow them to speak and understand any downloaded language. Via the Omnet, 90% of the galaxy's known languages have been downloaded. (E) "Life has but one tongue." One of the most common uses of their empathic powers is overcoming linguistic barriers. They can understand virtually any language, and convey their own words to others. Religion:The only religion taught in the monasteries is Reason. Tranquility and introspection are highly praised traits, as the study of the Disciplines requires a mind free of distraction. This philosophy, combined with biology, results in an unemotional race. (E) Shaemen revere their Totems, and all of Nature, not as deities, but as equals. They ask the spirits for favors and advice in return for keeping the Totem's covenant. Castes:There are four classes in monastic society, and all are based on one's immersion in the Disciplines. Seeker: These are Golem whose primary occupation does not involve one of the Disciplines. Examples might include farmer, fisher, homemaker, or herder. Seekers wield little influence. Monk: A Golem who studies one or more Disciplines. These include soldiers, weavers, metallurgists, and others. Some monks become fairly wealthy, and employ Seekers. In this way, they obtain some measure of political power. Elder: Once one has mastered a number of Disciplines, s/he can become an Elder. Elders make, interpret, and enforce a monastery's laws. They also teach the Disciplines to others. Ancient: Few Golem ever become powerful enough to call themselves Ancients. These Golem are above the law and rarely concern themselves with the rest of society. Many simply disappear. (E) Tribal structures tend to mimic that of the tribe's Totem, whether it be school, flock, pack, or solitary. The "fittest" members dominate the others by right of force, cunning, etc. |
Economy: |
Before contact with the Greater Galaxy, Golem society was agrarian. In truth, much of it still is. (The exception being those Golem who build and implant cybernetic Augmentations.)
However, most monasteries have decided to actively promote tourism and/or trade with the Greater Galaxy. Blades, armor, SteelWeave products, and gravitic vehicles are expected to be the largest exports. Desired imports include currency and technology. (For a list of monasteries providing goods and services, see population centers.) (E) Barter is the most complex economic system to be found in the Ecosphere. For the most part, there is not enough material wealth to necessitate an economy. They are hunter/gatherers. |
Military: |
While the Golem Homeworld has no conventional standing army, most Golem are trained in some form of personal combat. The Homeworld realizes that not all the galaxy's citizens are interested in peaceful trade, so mutual defence treaties are being sought.
(E) There is no planetary defence force, but the communal mind is capable of calling for united defence. Shaemen roam space at will, and fight likewise. Knife and spear are the usual weapons. |
Sports and Leisure: |
Art is considered a powerful creative catalyst, so the Homeworld produces many beautiful stone and metal sculptures. Popular Golem percussion is just beginning to hit the galactic music scene.
Besides combat-based activities similar to "capture the flag", Golem play a wide variety of sports and games. In fact, most monasteries have their own unique assortment. Grav-boarding, which began in the FarReach Coalition, has become widely popular. (E) Tribes tend to develop their own unique sports and games. Storytelling is almost universal, however. Starrunning, in ghost vessels, is becoming more common. |
Major Population Centers: |
Most monasteries are of approximately equal size. The following is a list of those locations most likely to interest visitors:
FarReach Coalition: Manufactures Gravitic Drive and associated vehicles; handles initial extraterrestrial contact. Diamond Coast: Operates a luxurious Ocean-side resort featuring boating, hiking, sports, entertainment, and relaxation. Jeweled Forest: Home of the Jeweled Forest wildlife preserve. Hunters should purchase local weapons, as others are almost certainly ineffective. Crystal Peak: Renown tailors of SteelWeave and CompuWear. Quicksilver River: Makers of custom fitted AtomBond armor. Anvil Plains: Forgers of high quality Diamond Edge blades. (E) None. |
Chronic Problems: |
Because there is no planetary government, dissension is always a problem. Currently, there is an alliance of monasteries that wish the Homeworld to close its borders to the Greater Galaxy. This "Alliance for Tranquility" considers the recent growth of industry a threat to their peace and quiet. Some fear the more militant members might attempt to sabotage foreign relations policies.
Many Seekers have begun calling for greater participation in law-making and governance. Inspired by the examples of the many democratic empires, some are calling for equal representation. (Many believe the Alliance for Tranquility is an effort by worried Elders to eliminate such influences on the lay Golem.) (E) Contentious and warlike, many fear that the Shaemen are not ready for the realities of galactic citizenship. Travelers should exercise caution in dealing with them, as they have few reservations about violence. The exception to this are the members of Dolphin tribes, who tend to be remarkably peaceful. |
Submission Information: |
Submitter's Name: Daniel Pond
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