|
|
Overview: |
The Sosarian Co-operative is a small but thriving empire consisting of one well established star system and one recently colonized star nearby.
This empire is unique in that it spans 2 Quantum Zones within one star system! The recent discovery of this has scientists and researchers at Omnet abuzz with excitement. The inner zone is a high Mana zone, and the outer zone is highly technological. This has been the source of much competition and eventual cooperation unparalleled in the galaxy. Their science is a marriage of technology and magic, each adding its own strengths. The people of the Co-op are varied and distinct. There are four different sentient races originating from the home world. Scientists theorize that the high Life factor of the inner zone contributed to the abundance of sentience developed on one planet. The Sosarians (not to be confused with the planetary Sosaran Empire) of today are very tolerant of other species and aliens but are also fiercely protective of their home. |
Navigation:CoLC Index |
Index:Q-dex / Technology / Magic
|
Q-dex: |
The inner Q-Dex entry is:T 248.2123/783A M 780.7524/43As stated above, this empire consists of 2 zones: The inner zone surrounds the sun and the two innermost planets. It is a highly Mana-oriented zone, but very unstable. It's Quantum Front is not stable and flat as one might expect, but is continually shifting, occasionally bringing the third planet of the system into it's fold. The innermost planet is called Drifkin and is a hot and inhospitable place. The second planet is habitable, and also happens to be the Sosarians homeworld (Sosaria). It has 2 un-inhabitable moons. The Outer zone is the reverse of the inner one. Here Technology reigns. Energy is abundant and technological achievements are fast and furious. The third planet, called Quintainus after the bright young Mage who first traveled to it, is the second habitable planet in the system. It was colonized shortly after the Sosarians managed to build an Interplanetary High Occilliary People-mover (IHOP for short). |
Technology: |
Technology is developed solely on the third planet of the system. Many technologies requiring high power use a unique marriage of technology and Magic, and drawing power from both sources. A good example would be the newly developed FTL craft recently found exploring the second Star reached by the Empire.
Technology levels, not surprisingly, vary greatly between the two zones. The inner zone is mostly agrarian, with sturdy machines used for farming and travel, which are powered by Mana. Many devices such as the FTL ships are brought through the Quantum Front to have Mana using power units installed. More on the development of Sosarians unique form of technology is found in the History section. |
Magic: |
Like in the technology heading, Magic use varies greatly between the two zones. While it is almost non-existent in the outer zone, it is King on Sosaria, literally.
Most everyday tasks are performed with the aid of Magic. Magic ability extends, in varying degree, to all citizens living on Sosaria. Your magic ability determines how far up you go in the echelons of power. |
Size: |
The Sosarian Co-op consists of three habitable planets in two star systems.
In the first System, at the star Sosarus, there are three planets.
The second System consists of 8 planets, 2 of which are habitable. The sun is called Cerrios.
|
Population: |
The overall population of both systems is currently approximately 7 billion beings. |
Climate and Geography: |
Sosarus:
Drifkin is hot and inhospitable. Sosaria's climate is terran-like with large continents and oceans, and varying temperate zones. Quintainus is barely able to support life, although the planet shows signs of being habitable in the past, it now has a thin atmosphere and frozen oceans. Life struggles to survive in its cold climate. Scientists have theorized that it once was a paradise world until the zone boundary shrunk past it, leaving it partially cut off from its sun. Cerrios: The first two planets are much to hot and radiated for habitation. The third planet is called New Sosaria and currently holds 1.5 million colonists. The population is growing fast as colony ships depart the crowded home system. its climate is ideal for life, with tropical temperatures throughout most of the surface and tiny polar caps. On the down-side, it is hot, humid and muggy. Much of the lower surface is covered by swamps. The higher ground is more pleasant, with fairly abundant minerals available. The fourth planet, called New Quintus is a desert world, reminiscent of the original Quintainus with a thin but breathable atmosphere and little water. It is, however, much brighter than Quintainus, with considerably warmer temperatures in the equatorial regions The remaining planets are all much further out, and are either gas giants or frozen balls of ice and methane. |
Flora and Fauna: |
Life in the two star systems is varied and abundant. Each planet which supports life has its own ecosystems.
Drifkin is inhospitable to Sosarians, but it is rumored that non-sentint life may exist there in the form of silicon based lifeforms. Sosaria overflows with life of all types. Grains for food, orchards producing a wide variety of fruits. Great coniferous and evergreen forests are harvested to the point of extinction to provide housing for the ever expanding population. There are many domesticated animals used for food, milk producing, eggs. Many magical creatures once existed, but have been driven to extinction due to their hostility towards sentient inhabitants. What was once a wild planet full of adventure and rewards for enterprising heroes and explorers is now tamed and sedate. Quintainus has no native life left to speak of. Tiny insects burrow under ground searching for water and warmth, and moss and lichen cling to sheltered surfaces of rock outcropping. The Sosarians have imported plant and animal life to be grown in hydroponic farms situated in huge caverns underground or in their covered habitats. New Sosaria is covered by jungles and swamps. The life there consists of a huge variety of tropical plant-life, lizard-like creatures of all sizes roam the swamps and swim the oceans. In more temperate zones, great herds of horned mammals roam the steppes and plains. New Quintushas large worms and insects crawling across the surface or burrowing deep underground to find the huge subterranean lakes which exist there. Grass-like plants and small scrubby bushes dot the surface and weather the huge sand-storms which blast across the desert seas. |
History: |
The beginnings of recorded time on Sosaria find small bands of sentient beings fighting against nature and each other for their rightful space and existence in a rough and tumble world full of magic, monsters and legends in the making.
There are four different species initiated civilizations on different corners of the world at around the same time. The Sosaran Empire was by far the largest and most successful. Its people were humanoid, with pale to dark skin, large ears and pointed chins. It's people were adept at magic, and built huge cities, some of which are still standing today, albeit in very different forms. Their empire spanned the largest continent and at various times included some of each of the other species cities as member states. The Theldian empire was the next largest and occupied a smaller continent. The founding species were powerfully built bear-like beings which were strong physically but had little magic ability. The Melkarans were scattered across the two largest continents and had no real empire of their own. They were accomplished builders and artisans, and were used as slaves for eons. They are a squat humanoid species with broad shoulders and long arms. The final species are the Elovan. They lived on a third, smaller continent refining their vast magic skills and building huge crystal palaces. They are the least human looking. The bluish tinge to their skin is the least unsettling thing about them. Their faces appear as something out of nightmares, with a forked tongue, ears curved back almost to a full circle and sharp fangs which often protrude out of their mouth menacingly. They have two small horns on their heads and small useless wings folded on their backs. Despite their menacing appearance, they are actually the most intelligent and civilized beings on Sosaria. Each species lived in isolation until the Age of Discovery approximately 3000 Sosarian years ago. The current Sosarian calendar counts from this date. This calendar is not to be confused with the Galactic Standard calendar as mentioned below. In AD 0001 The Sosaran empire discovered the scattered villages of the Melkarans and promptly enslaved them, recognizing their superior building capabilities. Around the same time, the Theldian Empire landed a fleet of ships near the Sosaran Capital city of Cerros and promptly occupied it. This stared off a brutal 100 year war between the two mighty empires, which only ended after an uneasy truce was called in order to face a more urgent threat. The Elovan had arrived. The Elovan had arrived in peace, on a voyage of exploration. However, the two armies and their generals only saw huge fanged and horned monsters landing on their shores. As with all tin-pot generals, they decided to attack first, and to heck with asking questions. This unhappy event started a slaughter with the two humanoid armies turning on the invaders and the Elovan being forced to defend themselves. Being powerful magic users, they managed to hold off the two armies long enough for several of their ships to escape with little casualties. The casualties on the other side, however were severe enough that both empires signed a lasting peace and allied against the 'Monsters' The only good thing that came out of all this was that the two empires flourished, massive trade deals were set, adding wealth and prosperity to both lands (well, except for the Melkarans). The Elovan became an insular closed society, which allowed no contact outside their continent for centuries. Finally, after 700 years, a Theldian ship managed to land on the Elovan shores to explore and establish trade routes, not realizing that they had landed on the mythical lost continent of the 'Blue Demons'. They were lucky enough to avoid the army patrols and found a monastery made of crystal and glass. They were astounded to find the abbot was a 'Demon' immediately assumed they were in a Temple of Hell and ran screaming from the temple. After a short chase they were caught by the temple guards who returned them to the abbot as prisoners. The abbot questioned the 20 Theldians about what their purpose for being there and took them prisoner to the Lord of the Elovan. The rest of this story is recorded in the publication titled 'The Explorations of Theros Iron-Stomach' which can be found in the Omnet Library. Suffice to say, both the Elovan and the Theldians came to trust each other immensely and the Elovan were finally welcomed as a civilized nation by the other sentients. In the year 1208 AD all three empires signed the Cerros Accords which, among other trade related things, abolished slavery. The Melkarans suddenly found themselves to be a free people, after centuries of slavery. They celebrated their new-found freedom by, well, doing pretty much as they did before, except they charged exorbitant fees for it. In the year 1378 the theory of interplanetary travel was put forward at the University of Light in Elkona on the Elovan Continent. One Eldon Korbit theorized that it would be possible to push small amounts of material into orbit around the planet, or even reach the moons of Sosaria by using the force of Mana. After numerous experiments, where he apparently teleported small bits of material out into space, he decided to try it on himself. He stepped on the platform and his students, including one Elmer Quintain, performed the necessary incantations. Eldon felt a whoosh of Mana and saw himself speeding through a tunnel of light, only to arrive on the Moon of Demat surrounded by the various items sent in his earlier experiments. His jubilation was short-lived however, due to his untimely death on the airless world. he never lived to report his success to his students. Quintain and the other students spent 30 years theorizing what went wrong. Finally they decided that some hostile force existed on Demat, which required magical defenses. Quintain dressed himself in an old suit of armor, magically enhanced to be airtight and tough enough to withstand an attack by a Drakon. He had his students carefully repeat the incantations of Professor Korbit 30 years earlier. With a whoosh of light, he found himself standing on the remains of Pr. Korbit. The enhanced armor provided enough time for Quintain to understand the situation and the dangers on the near-weightless and airless moon. He quickly grabbed his professors pointy hat and performed the necessary incantations to return himself to his starting point. He popped back into his lab, in the midst of the startled students, who were arguing about who would get to replace the 'late' Dr. Quintain. Quintain spent the next 60 years (Elovan are long lived) developing the Inter-planetary High Occilliary People-mover (IHOP for short). After several successful trips back to Demat he pointed the device to the third planet of the solar system, which was called Sosarus III at the time. Joined by a team of Delkaran engineers he stepped through the IHOP and into legend. The team found themselves dazed and confused by the punch through the Quantum Front (which the hapless scientists had just discovered at that moment) on a dark world with a very thin, but breathable atmosphere. They quickly set out to set up a research center on the new planet which later became the Quintainus Colony. During the next 400 years, virtually all the Delkarans of Sosaria had relocated to Quintainus to take advantage of the riches and technological advantages available there. By the year 1897 AD Quintainus had grown into a thriving colony which, however, was totally dependent on Sosaria for food. The United Planetary Government of Sosaria took advantage of this mercilessly since they controlled the IHOP's which were the only source of food for the colony. Taxes were raised until almost all of the mined riches of Quintainus were going through the IHOP's in exchange for food. This continued for 3 hundred years until 2206 when suddenly the gold and other precious metals stopped flowing. Indignant taxation officials and Sosarian dignitaries marched out to the massive outdoor IHOP to step through in order to determine what the holdup was. Which was exactly what it was. A massive ship of a type never seen before shot an energy weapon at the IHOP, vaporizing the structure and landed in it's place. Out stepped Quintainian military officers and soldiers, much to the astonishment of the Sosarians. The meeting was swift and to the point. The Colonists had developed their own means of returning to the mother world, and no longer needed the IHOP, what's more, taxes were to be reduced to nothing (at which the tax collectors collectively fainted) and the two worlds were going to enter a period of cooperation.. or else. In the end, the IHOPS were still in use, along with transport ships strong enough to punch through the Quantum Front and scout ships able to explore the entire solar system. In 2402, a competition developed between the two worlds to see who could reach the nearest star first. The greatest Mages of Sosaria gathered to develop a massive Hopper (As the IHOP was known now) to sling an exploration team to the next star. Unfortunately, the method was not accurate enough at such long distances so they often ended up somewhere half way floating in space. Meanwhile On Quintainus the race was on to develop a FTL ship which could fly exploration teams and scientists to Cerrios. However they could not generate enough power to complete the flight. Eventually the two teamed up and invented a ship powered by Mana which could approach FTL speed. And thus began a long history of cooperation between the two planets. The ship would be built on Quintainus and shipped to Sosaria to pick up the Mana power units. In 2546 The first exploration team reached Cerrios. While exploring the planets for a suitable colony site, they ran across their first alien species. It was Humans from an Omnet exploration/catalog team. And so, contact was finally made with the greater galaxy. The newly established colony at New Sosaria was the first to gain a representative of Omnet. The empire switched to Galactic Standard time, which was a few hundred years behind the empires old time. In 2058-GS Omnet was welcomed to Quintainus, but is not yet allowed to visit Sosaria. The Elovan refuse to leave Sosaria, for the most part, so little is known of them outside the empire. |
Government: |
The government is ruled by a 'cooperative council' representing the three original major empires of Sosaria, the Mages Guild and the leaders of Quintainus and New Sosaria. A legislative body of 1000 beings representing the above parties sits to determine empire policy and law. They elect one being from one of the groups every 10 years to become the head of the Council.
A sore point for the other beings is that almost every leader in the past 100 years or so has been a Sosaran, due to this species large population base. Domestic policy, as a result tends to favor the Sosaran empire on the largest continent of Sosara. In some administrations, corruption is rampant, with bribery, cronyism and mis-use of funds. The current administration promises to clean up much of the domestic problems. The councils leader, Parton Gammis, claims to be dedicated to cleaning up corruption and bringing social change to the empire. There are no official opposition parties, but there are various lobby groups supporting anything from more social reforms to outright rebellion. Magic ability was used to determine suitability of leadership, until the Quintainus colony rewrote the constitution at gunpoint a few hundred years ago. Now, while Magic is important to local governments on Sosaria, the Interplanetary Council does not include it as a factor when screening candidates to sit on the legislative body. The government on New Sosaria is a colonial government which is headed by a governor. The governor answers to the Interplanetary Council back home, but otherwise has close to autonomous powers. Foreign Policy:The Sosarians have yet to be contacted by other empires for trade and diplomatic exchanges. With the knowledge the Omnet has brought them of the greater galaxy, they are eager to make contact. Domestic Policy:The government is formed based on the ideals of cooperation between the various species making up the sentient population of the Co-op. Therefore civil liberties and rights are fairly relaxed. There are, however, strict laws covering civil disobedience, with punishment ranging from work prisons on the moons to death for the more heinous crimes. |
Society: |
Cultures in the Co-op vary among the different peoples. The citizens of Quintainus are very practical and family oriented. Among them are a majority of Melkarans, with a mix of Sosarans and Theldians thrown in. The citizens there tend to be law abiding and corruption is low. There is an underground group which advocates a split from the Sosarian interplanetary Government and an immediate war but this group is marginalized.
A similar group exists on Sosaria but finds little support. Sosarians follow the cultures of their own original empires for the most part, although global and interplanetary transmissions are spreading the dominant Sosaran culture throughout the planet and empire. The Sosarans and Theldians still have feudal style governments, although the royal families and nobles have little power other than as figureheads. The individual Planetary councils rule in their place and enact the domestic laws passed down from the Interplanetary body. The antics of the various royal families are entertainment and fodder for the tabloid style press. Morality in Sosara and Theldia is rather loose compared to the Quintans and Elovan. Social interaction is common between the various groups, although mating is out of the question due to biological differences. Melkarans are now rare on Sosaria, as most left to colonize Quintainus. The Elovan accept the interplanetary rulings, but are very much insular and autonomous within their own lands. Family structures do not exist as the Elovan are hermaphroditic. Elovan tend to be very private, keeping to themselves for the most part, except when duty or expedience required them to deal with others. This trait is common to much of the population, except for politicians and others who have direct dealings with other beings on a regular basis. To ask an Elovan about it's 'personal life' is considered the height of bad manners and could provoke a rather violent and messy reaction. The inhabitants of New Sosaria are too busy building their own colony to worry about the goings on in the home system. They are a mixture of all species, except for Elovan, and tend to work together to achieve their common goals of a self sufficient colony. Languages:Each species has its own language except for the Melkarans who speak a slightly different dialect of Sosaran. Sosaran has become the common language among inter-species dealings. Religion:Religion has become less of a force on Sosaria. Each species has its own God whom they believe resides on one of the moons. The Gods, according to the newly established Church of All, reside on the biggest moon and form their own council, much like the interplanetary government. This idea has caught on in some areas, but individual church groups are still standard. Castes:There are no class structures prevalent in the empire as a whole. The royal families enjoy special treatment for historic reasons, but hold little power. |
Economy: |
The economy on Sosaria is trade based. Food products are traded with Quintainus for mineral resources and gold. Tourism is also big, with vast parks and mountain areas waiting to be explored, or re-explored. The interplanetary government is being pressured to allow alien visits to Sosaria in order to take advantage of the riches of other empires.
Quintainus is the economic powerhouse of the empire. Most of the production of every sort of necessity is done here. Pollution has become a serious problem, and environmentalists are lobbying for industry to clean up its act. The monetary system is simple, with a standardized set of coins of varying value being used throughout the empire. |
Military: |
The military is broken up into domestic, planetary defense and interplanetary defense branches. A large spacegoing fleet resides at Quintainus, with a smaller attachment at Cerrios. The government is being lobbied by hard-line groups to spend more money building a huge space fleet to protect the colonies from other empires.
Planetary defenses include planetary shields, missile bases and short range fighter jets. Large numbers of Theldians make up the military ground troops. Sosarans also make up much of the troop compliment as well as the army leaders. |
Sports and Leisure: |
(The following are exerts from a travel brochure obtained by Omnet)
*Sports and leisure opportunities abound on Sosaria and Quintainus. Come visit to try Mana Skiing on Mount Elsbrgzttt, or body surfing at the spectacular Cerros beach resort hours away from the thriving metropolis and capital of the empire! Join in mock battles with legendary monsters, or lay siege to a life size castle at the the Terodial Amusement park in Theldia! Come visit the Sosaran Zoo to see the last known dragon in existence! Watch as this fierce (but tame) beast flies overhead and roars for the crowd! Or see the legendary Tri-corns and Minotaurs in their natural habitats! Join a cruise from Terois, Theldia to Exzerbad, Elovania to retrace the route of the great explorer, Theros Iron-Stomach as he bravely searched out the lost continent of the Blue Demons! Try the outdoor glacier slides at Quaretes Prime on Quintainus Prime or explore deep caverns under the glaciers! Pan for gold in the ancient underground mines and try your luck at the Gold Bar Casino.* |
Major Population Centers: |
Quintainus Prime is the first and largest city on the planet. It is also the only potential stopover in the Sosarus system. Currently it is the only port of entry to the Sosarian Empire. However, this is expected to change once council has bowed to the Tourism lobby and changed the law.
Cerros is the largest city on Sosaria. It is on the Sosaran continent, and is the capital of the empire. It is at the mouth of a large river beside the Pecara Ocean. |
Chronic Problems: |
Currently the empire is quite stable. Groups which oppose the government are too small and disorganized to pose any serious threat.
There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction among non-Sosarans who feel left out of the governing process. In addition, there is tension between natives of Sosaria and natives of Quintainus. Derogatory terms are occasionally used, including Quint and Sosak. |
Submission Information: |
Submitter's Name: Brian Jennings
|