The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 2700 - 3000 CE:

 Here are the first three, century long, turns of a "grant strategy cyberpunk" game I am running with some IRL friends through facebook. The game's procedures (rather than rules) are here if interested: https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/07/pre-empyrean-cyberpunk-ish-freeform.html

After the three century turns, we move to two sets of decade long turns, then one year long turn, then two week long turns, then final three single day turns to work out who the ultimate ruler of the pre empyrean earth/solar system will be! 

The Organisations: 

• Chris, S.A.F.E. (Zaibatsu): 

• Scientific research (focusing on drone technology)

• Robotic production

• Arcology located in Free Neosia Habitation Region

• Brett, Halcyon (Zaibatsu): 

• Mining 

• Energy production 

• Arcology located in Ropa Retired Industrial Zone

• Eddie, Vice Ship Management (VMS) (Zaibatsu): 

• Large craft design and construction

• Large craft engineering and research 

• Arcology located in Amazonic desert region

• Mark, Hyperion Order (Clan): 

• Datagrid intrusion and manipulation (hacking) 

• Data brokering (information services) 

• Operate from the Free Siach Habitation Region

• Kris, Open Mind(Clan): 

• Psychology services (with a focus on mindfulness) 

• High end consumer electronics (focused on improving users psychological states and overall well being)

• Operate from the Free Siach Habitation Region

• Logo: A tear drop beneath a circle 

• Uniform: Robes of peach cream with a circle on the back, one raindrop underneath circle

• James, Calvert Vally (Clan): 

• Industrial upcycling, recycling and scavenging 

• Mining 

• Operate from the Zeastra Scrub Zone

The World Map at the Outset of the Game: 

(AI generated turn art is from https://huggingface.co/spaces/dalle-mini/dalle-mini / )

Turn 1: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 2700 - 2800 CE:

• Though the Earth has largely been drained of all mineral resources, new and valuable mines have been opened in the Zeastra scrub zone.

• The S.A.F.E Zaibatsu devoted a century to drone and robot based extraterrestrial mining. Using remote controlled and automated heavy machinery the zaibatsu was able to employ nuclear rocketry to set up non-human mining operations on nearby Mars and Venus. Without the need for the consideration of human passengers a decent supply of alien minerals were transported to earth from the planets by this method.

• The composite mineral products from the non earth planets are: ultra durable Marsanium and ultra conductive Venunium. S. A. F. E was extremely profitable during this period as they were able to flood the commodities markets with cheap, superior quality ore. The already under performing and over exhausted earth mines were unable to compete with the S. A. F. E. extra terrestrial mining operations.

• While Halcyon's productive output didn't change much over the last century, their profit remained competitive with that of S. A. F. E. While no official report or announcement can directly account for this, analysts point to a drastic reduction of their operating budgets over the decades, costs so low they seem impossible to achieve.

• VMS spent the century amassing the largest fleet of military and transport ships in the world - effectively giving them sole control of the earth’s seas. By the end of the century all new ships introduced to the fleet were capable of submerging beneath the water and sustaining the (sometimes enormous) crew for years at a time. These totally self-sufficient craft were also capable of cruising through the extreme high pressure of the deepest depths of the ocean. Though not yet tested, it appears VMS’s Closed Ecological System (CES) craft could sustain their crews beneath the water indefinitely -the craft completely capable of endlessly regenerating its air, water and food supplies.

• VMS’s fleet, while impressive in size and crew support capacity, was still only equipped with the now ancient ballistic (bullet and missile) armament technology.

• Their actions largely going unnoticed, the Hyperion Order grew in material wealth over the century. No records exist at all across the datagrid that account for the clan’s methods of money making, but most assume it's through trading on the earth’s various stock, currency and commodity markets.

• After a century of experimentation Open Mind began to mass produce nano electronics that have the ability to interface directly with the human brain. This nano psych-tech is now widely used across the globe, in both free sectors and arcologies, greatly boosting the productivity of all workers who use it, and putting them into a near endless state of bliss.
• Unfortunately, some of Open Mind's more extreme experimental technology was not successful. An infamous and charismatic leader of the clan during the century, Maggot, attempted to push the limits of nano psych-tech to unlock the capabilities of the human mind. Maggot was well known for experimenting on his own brain in stadium sized public viewings to achieve amazing feats of intellectual ability. His experimentation was cut short during one public viewing session when over charged nano tech particles exploded his brain and skull. He is now recognised as a martyred saint within the Open Mind clan - killed by the human race's limited intelligence.

• Calvert Vally invested their century in a, ultimately unsuccessful, space program. Recycled and scavenged industrial equipment was engineered at a massive scale to attempt to get Calvert Vally astronauts off the earth. While dozens of rockets were launched out of the atmosphere, none were able to escape the earth’s gravity well. While the space program was unsuccessful Calvert Vally has created an impressive spacecraft and facility production infrastructure across the Zeastra scrub zone, using only recycled resources. With additional investment the program should be a success in the near future.

• Alongside the space program, the visionary clan leader Jack Tackhard, oversaw the creation, planting and harvesting of exotic fruits in secret orchards across the otherwise barren and unproductive Zeastra scrub zone. For a world used to the chemical nutrient paste that has become common fare, Tackhard's fruits were a sensation. The eccentric Calvert Vally would only accept gold bullion as payment for their fruit crop - a rare and dwindling commodity on the drained earth. The ultra rich of the arcologies were willing to pay, and now Calvert Vally now has one of the largest stockpiles of gold on earth in their possession. After a century the orchards remain productive and their location secret.
• It has been noted by those that traveled to the Zeastra scrub zone that members of the Calvert Vally appeared to be increasingly well armed as the century went on, the clan’s agents equipped with cutting edge military equipment very similar in make to that of Halcyon’s security forces.

Turn 2: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 2800 - 2900 CE:

· The world has recorded temperatures a few degrees cooler over the last century, alongside reductions in recorded UV radiation. The shrapnel storm released by Calvert Vally during their “Operation Coin Flip” is assumed to be responsible.

· Industry insider reports indicate that while most Zaibatsu were interested in procuring new weapon systems this century - a general lack of development and resources in the sector meant that weapon tech has largely stalled in progress over the last 100 years.

· An obsession with death sports has spread across the Open Mind organisation, duels and gladiatorial combat has become extremely en vogue.

• Calvert Vally spent the century using their developed space infrastructure to conduct large scale outer atmospheric/space terrorism! Enormous nuclear powered shrapnel bombs were constantly sent into the outer atmosphere and exploded, sending waves of metal fragments out in all directions. Due to the lessened friction of outer atmosphere these fragments were incredibly deadly, dangerous and destructive across the entirety of near earth space. This terrorist program, “Operation Coin Flip” had devastating impacts on any and all Zaibatsu space focused programs!

· A devastating century for the SAFE zaibatsu. Due to “operation coin flip” their extra terrestrial mining operations were slowed to a trickle - greatly impacting their revenue. Additionally the zaibatsu poured their dwindling profits into the “Nu Datagrid” project, a satellite based upgrade of the datagrid. With the endless storm of shrapnel now swirling around the outer atmosphere, this project was doomed to failure! Barely any new satellites were able to remain in orbit without being ripped apart by pieces of metal and falling back down to earth!

· SAFE financial situation is extremely precarious at the outset of the new century, with funds in their now limited and lowered accounts being drained to untraceable non zaibatsu sources, alongside their wasted spending in failed outer atmospheric projects.

· Regardless of the failure of their installation, SAFE does have a large cache of grounded satellites capable of extremely high broadband data transmission.

· Halcyon built their own fleet of drone and robot based extraterrestrial mining craft this century. Atmospheric tests showed that these craft were much more powerful and efficient than the existing SAFE craft. While this fleet was put to work in current earth based mines (the Zeastra veins discovered in the last century being particularly productive) they did not leave the earth’s atmosphere due to the shrapnel storm generated by “operation coin flip”. Several craft were sent towards the asteroid belt to begin Halcyon’s own extra terrestrial mining - but they were all ripped apart by the shrapnel wave. Halcyon’s upper management deemed the shrapnel storm too much of a risk to the drone mining fleet and decided not to launch it.

· With extra terrestrial mining crippled due to "operation coin flip", Halcyon was able to capitalise on its earth based mining operations - leading to bumper profits in the starved mineral markets, and making Halcyon the highest financially performing zaibatsu this century.

• VMS continued to grow the size, strength and capacity of its fleet this century, maintaining its control of the earth's seas. Research and development was invested into the fleet's atmospheric propulsion systems, leading to very powerful nuclear jet propulsion and cardinal magnetic rotor hover systems. Air based fleet carriers were the biggest breakthrough of the century - enormous floating platforms that allow the rapid scrambling of super fast air craft near instantly anywhere around the world. These massive floating platforms resembled metallic flying cities. This century cemented VMS as the leader in earth based craft construction and operation.

• A marked and dramatic improvement in the health of all freezone citizens was observed this century with the mass adoption of Open Minds "Health+" nano-psych tech based fitness program. The product was both extremely effective in super charging the physical fitness of the user, and super low cost, encouraging its ubiquitous use in the freezone.
• Offspring of Health+ users also exhibit the increased physical capacity of their parents, as it seems the impact of the nano-psych tech is passed on in utero. Autopsies of Health+ users have revealed both severely enlarged organs, and in some rare cases additional organs (hearts, livers, lungs, etc).
• Life expectancy in Health+ users has risen gradually to 150 years over the century, with users who adopted the product earlier in their lives expected to live even longer.
• While a large demand exists within the zaibatsus for Health+, it has largely been banned due to its experimental nature (this has not stopped it being sold on arcology black markets).
• Their actions largely going unnoticed, the Hyperion Order grew in material wealth over the century. No records exist at all across the datagrid that account for the clan’s methods of money making, but most assume it's through trading on the earth’s various stock, currency and commodity markets. With the poor performance of SAFE, it is assumed that Hyperion Orders financial holdings are greater than that Zaibatsu’s, and possibly even match VSM’s.

Turn 3: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 2900 - 3000 CE:

• The secretive fixer organisation, tasked with handling anonymous jobs between zaibatsus and clans, issued an earth wide reminder that zaibatsus must keep their jobs posting both specific, and within the capacity of the clan’s abilities. Additionally they warned that clans attempting to go beyond the parameters of the posted mission would be met with punitive action. Open Mind was given a 100 year ban from the fixer agency service for their multiple infractions over the last two centuries. An instant ban (of a length depending on severity) will now be placed on any Zaibatsu that requests a clan develop or build anything - missions are to be operative in nature only. Clans who attempt to develop new technologies to complete accepted missions will now receive a ban for the rest of eternity.
• The century began with the fireworks of a nuclear missile onslaught. Hundreds of nuclear weapons exploded in the atmosphere and the surfaces of nearly all of the free zones. The strikes were largely ineffectual due to all major organisations having operable nuclear diffusion fields protecting them. Several million of earth's poorest and least protected were incinerated in nuclear infernos, as they had no access to diffusion fields. The biggest impact from the strikes was the onset of three decade long severe winter, the cooling caused by smoke in the atmosphere (coupled with the ever present shrapnel storm in the outer atmosphere). The long winter was largely a non issue for the arcology and clan citizens of the earth, but another several million without the resources of these organisations perished due to freezing or starvation.
• It is largely believed that Calvert Vally was responsible for the strikes due to the fact the Zeastra scrub zone was untouched by nuclear blasts. Calvert Vally's world famous fruit orchards perished in the long winter (the vast majority of the world’s populations vat based food supply was not affected).
• Desperate to get their extraterrestrial mining operations back to the pre-shrapnel storm output capacity, S.A.F.E devoted themselves to creating a path through the metallic debris. A fleet of micro drones laboriously magnetized and melted the tiny metallic shards into an ever growing sphere. Once a path had been cleared to allow the extraterrestrial mining fleet to operate at full capacity again the operation was paused. Only S. A. F. E. would have access to the stars. This was known as the “Clear Sphere” initiative.
• A second moon, smaller than the first but shining much brighter, now spins around the earth beyond the layer of shrapnel. A metallic, magnetic sphere.

• S.A.F.E’s extremely high broadband data transmission satellites (built last century) were launched through the puncture hole in the shrapnel storm. The metal cloud around the earth’s atmosphere is currently limiting their range - only the SAFE arcology benefitting from them so far - but this has greatly increased the transmission speed and thus control feedback of the extraterrestrial mining fleet.
• With the return of an abundance of Marsanium and Venunium to earth’s commodity markets, S.A.F.E’s financial situation drastically improved at the close of the century. Economic analysts also note that S.A.F.E’s operating costs have dropped to a near magical low level (similar to those of Halcyon’s two centuries ago).
• Over the century Halcyon's grounded drone mining fleet was retrofitted with “Tiko Field Armouring”. The Tiko field is a sheet of super powered plasma that can be cladded across heavy machinery. When powered it has the ability to instantly vaporize all known elements in the solar system (while not damaging the machinery on the “inside” of the cladding). Halcyon’s Tiko Field equipped drone fleet was able to easily punch through the shrapnel storm and finally begin the mining of the asteroid belt. The result of this was the flooding of earth’s commodity markets with “Astronium”, an alloy of several exotic minerals found only in the asteroid belt. Astronium is famed for its durable and conductivity properties.

• Halcyon purged thousands of its upper management team, along with about a million of its arcology population, all accused of either ingesting Open Mind’s "Health+" nano-psych tech or being the descendant of someone who had. Each was ritually beheaded in public with a Tiko field blade (wielded by remote controlled drone executioners), in a speciality built quarantined blood pit. The blood and corpses (preserved in factory sized giga-vats) were held and analyzed for several decades before eventually being vaporized for hygiene’s sake.

• Alongside the purging, Halcyon has placed an import ban on any and all Open Mind products for the foreseeable future (punishable by instant Tiko field vaporization).
• While Halcyon suffered a slight dip in its productivity after the purge and ban of Open Mind, it easily recovered - its asteroid belt mining program alongside its miniscule operating costs and three centuries of strong growth put it in the strongest financial position of all earth’s Zaibatsus.
• Alongside the constant growth of their air and water fleets, VSM greatly expanded the capacity of their Closed Ecological Systems (CES). The crowning achievement of this program was several mobile underwater cities - totally capable of supporting human life beneath the waves ad infinitum. A mass migration of the VSM arcology population took place this century, with the land based arcology emptied out into the much more modern, luxurious and appealing UMCs (Underwater Mobile Cities). Millions now live their lives totally under the water in VSM’s UMCs (the cities are known as UMC1, UMC2, UMC3 and UMC4). While the UMCs are currently based deep in the ocean, they could easily exist in any other environment as a closed bubble of human habitation (outside of superheated plasma fields).

• Their actions largely going unnoticed, the Hyperion Order’s material wealth plummeted over the century. No records exist at all across the datagrid that account for the clan’s loss of money. It is assumed this is due to bad investment decisions this century.
• Open Mind invested their century in using their nano-psych tech to greatly change and empower the human physical form. The “Open Hearts” program led to the creation of a subclass of humans, hugely altered through nanotechnology, to resemble the giants of the fantastical past. “Open Hearts” humans are anywhere from 12 to 20 feet tall behemoths capable of extreme feats of strength and athletic prowess. While there are examples of “Open Hearts” giants existing in the free and wild zones, the majority of this population is kept close to the Open Mind clan centers throughout the Free Siach Habitation Region. While normal levels of intelligence is generally observed in these giants, most working within the Open Minds security and military forces exhibit severely lowered critical thinking intelligences, coupled with extreme mental pliability (making them incredibly easy to give orders to). These forces, while impressively armed, generally are geared sub-par when compared to the cutting edge weapon technology of the zaibatsu military and security forces.

• While the The Zeastra scrub zone was not victim of nuclear bombing this century, it was none the less ripped apart through civil war and revolution! Discontent within the Calvert Vally Clan came to a head in bloody conflict, different factions each wielding heavy military equipment about a century old (though modified with upcycled scrap). Factions within the clan disagreed with both operation coin flip, and the nuclear bombing of the earth. These revolutionary factions even claimed a second, larger operation coin flip was in the works. By the end of the century the clan was reunited under common leadership but the plans for grand underground structures were not realises (though some initial engineering for the project has begun).

Stay tuned for more!