The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3000 - To the Second Week of 3021 CE.

Here is the second set of turns from my "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

This post includes the two sets of decade long turns, then one year long turn, then two week long turns. The world is pretty fucked at this point, but we still have the final three single day turns to work out who the ultimate ruler of the pre empyrean earth/solar system will be! 

Here is part 1, the first 3 centuries in the game world: http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-pre-empyrean-chronicles-2700-3000-ce.html 

Turn 4: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3000 - 3010 CE:

• There was a huge amount of public discourse regarding SAFE’s creation of a second moon this decade! While initial upsurge in the discussion was very anti SAFE, claiming that the second moon had robbed humanity of the glorious sight of the single lunar, and dangerously changed the earth’s tidal patterns, a heavy PR push from SAFE settled the narrative: The night sky is now much more interesting, and the metal sphere moon has once and for all calmed the angry seas of the world (making them much safer place to swim and sail).
• SAFE unlocked the secrets to human hibernation this decade. With the assistance of fully automated robotic medical technicians, a human being could be induced into vegetative state where all of their body’s functions were in total stasis. As long as the automated medical technicians were operable, a human could remain in this state indefinitely.
• Alec Knight, famed SAFE chaos architect, created designs for spacecraft living spaces that totally nullify the otherwise existential crisis creating and severe depression inducing effects of living in the void. Alec's on board living spaces recreate the ever evolving natural environments of the earth, including complex plant, animal and water systems and visual illusions that recreate horizons and the wide open space of an earth sky.

• Neither of these projects were put into full scale production, as the ever financially oscillating SAFE was victim of a savage and devastating datagrid security attack which resulted in the massive leakage of most of its banking funds.
• Over the century Halcyon put the first dedicated military space fleet into orbit above the earth. Clearing a path in the shrapnel storm with their fleet of tiko field armored mining drones the Zaibatsu launched a fleet composed of 1 carrier class (holding 50 fighters), 5 destroyer class and 10 frigate class spacecraft. Additionally the military fleet was supported by 4 ferry class craft, whose sole purpose was moving human bodies between the earth and the fleet. Public record does not state what is powering the engines of these craft but they operate incredibly faster and more efficiently than the normally employed nuclear engines.
• 10’000 of Halcyon’s smaller extra terrestrial mining drone craft were repurposed as military “Tiko-Vol” automated ramming class drones. These ramming drones were removed from the mining fleet and joined the military fleet as it constantly patrolled the earth's outer atmosphere.
• As weapon systems have largely remained static in development over the last 300 years, the Halcyon space military fleet is equipped with simple ballistic weaponry (bullets and missiles).
• Halcyon’s military space fleet was fitted with life support systems very reminiscent of VMS’s Closed Ecological System (CES) - allowing the crew of these vessels to stay in space indefinitely. Leaked internal reports suggest that most of the space personnel opt to return to earth as much as is allowed - living in the vacuum of space for too long seems to induce high levels of mental illness (negatively impacting personnel performance).
• VSM spent the decade re-fitting 400 of their 1000 destroyer class naval ships with nuclear rocketry, advanced propulsion control systems (APCS), Closed Ecological Systems (CES) and deep compression armouring (DCA) to be able to launch them beyond earth’s atmosphere and out into the solar system!
• 50 of these destroyers were super cladded with deep compression armouring (SC.DCA), these SC.DCA class craft where to lead the charge at the shrapnel storm - smashing it aside with their super thick armouring to clear a way through the metal cloud for the less (but still impressively) armored craft behind them. This was to be known as the Armored Arrow formation (AAF).
• At the end of the decade the VSM space fleet was launched. Once the fleet had easily brushed aside the "Battle of the Shrapnel-sphere" began. The smaller, ever patrolling Halcyon fleet engaged the newly launched VSM fleet as soon as it broke through the shrapnel storm!
• While a single Tiko-vol ramming drone was enough to take out a VSM craft of any size, the VSM deep compression armour meant that this process was relatively prolonged. As the VSM fleet, each craft being bored through with a Tiko-vol drone, charged towards the Halcyon fleet, Halcyon battle command panicked at the size of their opponents fleet and the fact they were unsure of their acceleration capabilities. This lead to the decision of a blanket Tiko-vol swarm attack, 5000 drones all launched at the VSM fleet.
• The swarm attack quickly caused a nuclear chain explosion reaction across the VSM fleet, all of the craft instantly lost in 400 massive explosions. This blasted out enormous clouds of high velocity metallic shards that flew out across the solar system. About 1000 Halcyon and SAFE mining drones were destroyed by the shard clouds, alongside 1000 tiko-vol drones (who had not activated their armour fields in time) and 2 frigates in the Halcyon space fleet. Back on earth the metallic shard clouds were mostly rendered harmless by the the atmosphere, though several thousand people living in the free zones were killed by stray fragments. The earth's sky appeared to be filled with flames for several hours after the "Battle of the Shrapnel-sphere".
• After the destruction of the VSM space fleet, a clearing, much larger than the one engineered by SAFE, was blasted through the shrapnel storm, making the passage out to the stars much easier for humanity.
• Their actions largely going unnoticed, the Hyperion Order grew in material wealth over the decade. 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.
• Open Mind was beset by severely damaging terrorist attacks through out the decade. Each time, the nuclear diffusement fields were disengaged at key facilities, following by their destruction by nuclear blasts. It is still unknown who conducted these attacks, as no evidence of outside agents has yet been uncovered.
• Accompanying these physical attacks was the slow removal of any reference to the open mind clan across the public data grid. Private records still maintain a record of the clans activities over at least the last three centuries.
• Their production and financial capacity crippled, Open Mind took the distraction caused by the "Battle of the shrapnel-sphere" as an opportunity to launch an on earth attack on VSM.
• Battalions of Open Hearts battle giants, led by smaller humans, mounted assaults on VSM vessels - swiftly gaining control of them as all VSM electronic devices failed or malfunctioned. Several submersible VSM vessels were commandeered in this way, and these transported the battalions directly to UMC1 which too was commandeered.
• While Open Mind remained in control of UMC1, those inside some how causing the electronics of any VSM reclamation forces to a severely malfunction, for several weeks, the "Night of the Mad Giants" brought an end to their reign.
• During the "Night of the Mad Giants" every single Open Heart military giant rebelled against their Open Mind leaders, murdering any non giant Open Mind Clan member with blood thirsty hatred. Alongside murder, the giants wrecked and destroyed any and all Open Mind facility and infrastructure they could see. This took place across the both Free Siach Habitation Region and UMC1. This resulted in the total collapse of the Open Mind Clan in Free Siach, and the death of all aboard UMC1 (due to its subsequent destruction and sinking).
• A new clan composed of ex-Open Mind giants formed after the destruction of The Night of the Mad Giants. "Free Mind" inherited any remaining resources of Free Mind, while being totally independent and divorced from it.
• A decade of rebuilding and reconciliation was had by the Calvert Vally clan, though a secretive one. The clan turned earth ward, toiling at massive industrial works beneath the ground. It is unknown what they built during this time.
• The dry sandy plains of The Zeastra scrub zone were slowly filled with biological horrors over the decade. Massive elephant sized rhino beasts covered in fur with the hands and arms and cunning of a man, alongside winged men covered in fur with the giant fangs of a snake. These horrors - their populations seemingly ever increasing - have made Zeastra an incredibly dangerous place to travel.

Turn 5: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3010 - 3020 CE:

• SAFE focused on recovering their funds stolen from the last decade by releasing a range of mass produced cybernetic limb augmentations constructed of both Marsanium and Venusinium. These limbs, while simple in functionality, increased their users strength tenfold. A basic range of SAFE cybernetic legs and arms was made available for purchase across Earth’s arcology and free zone markets. The product line was a large financial success for SAFE which alongside their constant extra-terrestrial mining operations put them back on safe financial footing.
• The SAFE military and security forces are now all equipped with high end versions of the SAFE arm and leg cybernetic augmentations, and are additionally fitted with cybernetic flesh cladding for very strong and very mobile armouring. These additions have made SAFE’s infantry the strongest on the planet.
• Halcyon researched, constructed and retrofitted their current space fleet with a new type of weapon, the “Plasma Cannon”, this decade. These canons launch truck sized blobs of superheated plasma at a rate of two slugs a minute. Field tests show that the plasma slugs quickly rip through all known metals but “bounce” and reflect of operating “Tiko fields”.
• VSM spent the decade re-fitting 200 of their remaining 600 destroyer class naval ships with nuclear rocketry, advanced propulsion control systems (APCS), Closed Ecological Systems (CES) and deep compression armouring (DCA) to be able to launch them beyond earth’s atmosphere and out into the solar system!

• Viewers of the launch - mostly hoping to witness another nuclear chain explosion reaction, were amazed to see that the shrapnel sphere spread and parted for the approach of the VSM space fleet, repulsed by some unknown force.
• The fleet was joined by a massive, bulky and asymmetrical craft launched from the Zeastra Scrub Zone by Calvert Vally. The S.S. Assailatros, as it was known, accompanied the VSM space fleet through the shrapnel sphere then sped past that fleet with spurpsing speed. The S.S. Assailatros made the journey to the Jupiterean moon of Ganymede in 11 months, where it remained in orbit at the close of the decade. The VSM space fleet also took the same journey but took 3 years to get to Ganymede, where it remains in orbit.
• Their actions largely going unnoticed, the Hyperion Order maintained their wealth over the decade. 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.
• The decade ended with the eruption of the “Billion Crusade”! Most of the human population across the entirety of the free habitation zones of the earth rose up as one and marched with vitriolic anger to the border of the Halcyon arcology! Several million VSM citizens (all documented Health+ users or the offspring of Health+ users) fled from their arcology and joined the Billion Crusade. While several hundred thousand crusaders died due to drowning or malnutrition getting to the Ropa Retired Industrial Zone, the mass of angry humanity was well supported by a large team of drones that provided shelter, food and other support logistics. No members of other major organisation (including the giants of Free Mind) have thus far joined the crusade. At the end of the decade the “Billion Crusade” is poised to crash upon the Halcyon arcology, a billion super athletic nano-psych tech empowered fanatics ready to bring destruction!

Turn 6: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3020 - 3021 CE:

• SAFE’s 3 million strong, cybernetic equipped, army was mobilised at the start of the year. They were put into active duty patrolling and protecting the Free Neosia Habitation region (which was now empty of human habitation after the uprising of the “Billion Crusade”).
• SAFE recalled 10’000 drones of their automated mining fleet and retrofitted them with super efficient engines over the year. This greatly increased their speed and work capacity.
• Additionally, 1000 of these recalled drones were also retro-fitted with super cladding, reminiscent of VMS’s deep compression armouring. This super cladding was also applied to all of the 1000 drones drilling equipment - making them capable of ultra deep terrestrial mining. These 1000 drones are referred to as the “Planet Scooper” class mining drones.
• The year began with the “Billion Crusade” marching through the endless streets of the Ropa Retired Industrial Zone, the massive Halcyon arcology clearly their target. In the stars above the Halcyon military space fleet moved within the shrapnel sphere and monitored the movement of the crusade from the outer atmosphere. When it became clear that the horde of the “Billion Crusade” would not be retreating away from its approach of Halcyon arcology the fleet above rained down torrents of superheated plasma on the earth.
• While the “Billion Crusade” attempted to flee the rain of melting plasma, massive surges of datagrid interruptions rippled through their ranks - making communications impossible and causing support drones to crush and entrap the nano-psych tech modified humans of the crusade. The several centuries silent Hyperion Order publicly claimed responsibility for the disruptions caused to the “Billions Crusade”’s operations and it is indeed their digital machinations that caused the crusade to be held in place in the rusting streets of the retired industrial zone as they were purged from the earth by superheated plasma. Thousands of plasma slugs were launched by the fleet - turning the entire Ropa retired industrial zone into a cratered slag heap, the “Billion Crusade” vaporized, or turned to ash, or mixed into the molten goop that covered the earth.
• By the end of the bombardment the entirety of Ropa Retired Industrial Zone was a dead flat plane of black and grey melted stone and metal. The region still smolders, smokes and often erupts into spontaneous firestorms. Average temperatures across the earth have increased by 10 degrees celsius since the bombardment.
• A week after the bombardment a VSM submarine was documented using its nuclear thrusters to launch from the waters off the coast of the Amer Scrub Zone and into the upper atmosphere. A trail of blood arced in the sky behind the vessel as it flew. While equipped with nuclear rocketry, Closed Ecological Systems (CES) and deep compression armouring (DCA), the vessel has not been retro-fitted specifically for space travel and is traveling at a very slow speed now that it is outside the atmosphere. By the end of the year this vessel had just left the Shrapnel Sphere. Trajectory calculations plot the vessel as making course for Saturn, and its ETA being 6 years time.
• A datagrid supervirus, known as “Swift Collapse” was unleashed on Earth’s datagrid at the same time the VSM submarine launched from the waves. While Hyperion Order, SAFE, and Halcyon all detected and deflected the threat before it could enter their systems, VSM and Calvert Vally were not so lucky. “Swift Collapse” shut down all earth based electronics within both organizations. While a billion died in the VSM arcology near instantly due to this (due to oxygen, food, water, and health services failing), the remaining 2 billion VSM citizens are expected to die in the near future do to lack of food (industrial food supplies will be exhausted, and further production is impossible without access to electronics. Additionally, traditional and ancient agriculture is unlikely due to the severe global warming induced by the Halcyon plasma bombardment). Luckily, for VSM citizens, their arcologies nuclear diffusion field has miraculously stayed online, somehow immune to the “Swift Collapse” datagrid attack! The more diffused, and less datagrid dependant Calvert Vally, was less impacted by the “Swift Collapse” attack, but about a million have died throughout the year due to the loss of electronics. Many millions more are expected to die in the coming year when food stores are exhausted. While Calvert Vally is competent with ancient, non electronic, farming practices - the severe global warming induced by the Halcyon plasma bombardment will have massive negative impacts on food productivity.
• Additionally the “Swift Collapse” datagrid attack caused the shutdown of the entirety of the Earth based VSM fleet, alongside the sinking of their Underwater Mobile Cities. 10 million VSM citizens perished with the sinking, and/or crashing/exploding of VSM’s flying cities, underwater cities and submarines. The 400 remaining VSM destroyer class ships and 100 water aircraft carriers are currently floating, unpowered, across the earth’s oceans.
• 30 destroyer class VSM spacecraft landed on the Jupitarean moon of Europe, alongside the Calvert Vally spacecraft S.S. Assailatros. 5 destroyer class VSM spacecraft landed on the Jupitarean moon of Galymede. The remaining 165 destroyer class spacecraft of the fleet remained in protective orbit above these two moons. Modification work has begun at the two landing sites, and it appears that the landed craft will be used as a base for human colonies on both moons. VSM’s closed ecological habitation systems have so far ensured the total success of this audacious project!
• Tensions have sparked between the two ideologically different groups of colonists, resulting in several riots and high profile murders. The horror of the “Swift Collapse” datagrid attack back on earth has also put many of the VSM colonists in a depressive and vindictive mood. While this has so far not led to widespread chaos, it has slowed productivity in the colonies.
• Any development projects that VSM had planned for this year were canceled by the chaos and devastation brought by the “Swift Collapse” datagrid attack.
• 4000 of Halcyon’s remaining “Tiko-Vol” automated ramming class drones were sent to the Jupiterean moons where the VSM fleet remained in orbit. The journey took 6 months, and when they arrived they found 82 VSM destroyer space crafts arranged in a sphere around each moon. The Tiko-Vol drones split into two groups and surged towards the destroyers, but were repulsed by some unseen force! Several hundred of the drones imploded on initial contact with the barrier, destroyed. After initial “contact” the VSM fleet maneuvered to catch several thousand of the drones between the invisible barrier fields. The drones were crushed between the force fields, also destroyed. After their failed attack the surviving 1000 drones retreated from Jupiter.
• Undisturbed by the collapse of all electronics across their organisation, the Earth leader of Calvert Vally, “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II, led an army of biological abominations to the northern shores of the Zeastra Scrub Zone. Lizard men with skin shifting colours, giant ferocious lizards as large four storey buildings, Beaked men flying with outstretched claws, scaled horses with enormous bat wings! All these horrors and more were amassed in the north of Zeastra!
• Unfortunately, at the end of the year, the army of horror has reverted to cannibalism due to a lack of food and no means of making their way across the oceans! While some of the winged horrors have begun island hopping north, the vast majority has no transportation after the “Swift Collapse” datagrid attack!

Turn 7: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3021: Week 1.

• The earth was beset by ongoing violent earthquakes this week, accompanied by near endless rain in some regions. Massive tsunamis also beset coastal areas. As most of the earth is now empty of human populations, these natural disasters did not have much of an impact outside of causing the destruction of already abandoned buildings and structures.
• Terrestrial sensors indicate that a small component of the SAFE mining drone fleet has been active on the surface of the earth. It is unknown whether the mining activity is linked to the ongoing earthquakes.
• Halcyon management council’s unanimous decision to conduct a plasma orbital bombardment of North East Free Siach in an effort to eliminate Hyperion Council was overruled this week. When the ruling executives demanded to know who had the authority to deny their order they were informed by a financial aide that a bloc of anonymous investors who had owned half the company for about the last 70 years was responsible. While the aide was killed shortly after providing this information, and the management council got to work reinstating their directive to slag Hyperion Council with the space fleet, an anonymous and confidential video data transfer was steamed directly to the management council’s meeting room. The contents of this video data transfer are unknown to all but the upper echelons of Halcyon management and who ever sent the video. Several members of the Halcyon management council committed suicide immiedatly after seeing the video, and the rest returned quietly and privately to their lavish arcology private dwellings without any further attempts to continue the plasma bombardment.

• The morning after the Halcyon management council’s meeting in which the decision to plasma bombard Free Siach, the entire Halcyon military and security force found their weaponary disarmed and unpowered. Not long after this discovery was made reports of mass arcology electronics shut down filtered across the Halcyon arcology. Several hours later it was discovered by the Halcyon management council that the 500’000 strong Hyperion Order security force had gained covert entry into the Halcyon Arcology. The Hyperion Council security team was somehow able to shut down any electronic devices that got in the way of their assault as they went. With their weapons inoperable, coupled with the fact they were oblivious to the fighting till it was too late Halcyon’s army was very easily overpowered. A one way slaughter took place, in which 500’000 Halcyon troops were systemetically murdered as the Hyperion Order security team stealthily moved through the entire Arcology seizing key facilities.
• With the Halcyon Arcology occupied completely by Hyperion Order, Halcyon’s financial holdings were transferred directly to Hyperion Order - finally making it the most wealthy organisation on the earth. The bloc of anonymous investors who had owned half the company for about the last 70 years had actually given Hyperion Order the contract to operate Halcyon’s internal datagrid two decades ago - with physical control of the arcology seized, it was a simple flick of the switch to seize all of its financial and datagrid operations too.
• By the end of the week all of Halcyon's earth and extra terrestrial mining fleet had been transferred into the control of Hyperion Order. The members of the Halcyon Management council who had not committed suicide earlier in the week remain under house arrest.
• The Halcyon space fleet datagrid had never come under the control of Hyperion Order, and as such is now a totally independent fleet. The Halcyon Independent (as the fleet is now known), is under the control of Commander Treb Redyier.
• Mass starvation plagued VSM this week - with an estimated 500 million citizens dying within their unpowered arcology!
• The VSM submarine that launched from the earth's ocean's last year disappeared from all datagrid sensors this week. Its last known location was just outside of the shrapnel-sphere. The reasons for its disappearance are unknown.
• The Earth leader of Calvert Vally, “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II, led a massive crew of engineers to recover 10 of the VSM destroyer class vessels that were floating dead in the water nearby Zeastra. The engineers were able to power the engines of these otherwise useless hunks of metal. These boats have been converted into a flotilla alongside masses of scrap metal to make a massive scrap metal floating platform capable of transporting the army of mutant horror in “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II command. Mutated beasts in the water and air, help pull the massive platform along with makeshift harness and scavenged chains. Ancient tools and equipment were used in this undertaking - blowtorches and fuel engines totally disconnected from the datagrid. The flotilla was last seen moving through the ocean north of Zeastra, heading towards Free Neosia.
• On the Jupiterian moons, a Calvert Vally member, Stuart Truffle PhD, has been elected the first president of the “Dual Colonies”. President Truffle launched a program to begin analyzing the minerals across the surface of the moons to see if any exotic meteorite related materials can be procured. Beyond the analysis of the moon’s surfaces President Truffle has been inaduating the Earth information datagrid (that still exists) with appeals to the citizens of arcologies there to free themselves from membership to their Clans and Zaibatsus and begin a new life on Ganymede!

Turn 7: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3021: Week 2.

• A massive wave of absenteeism rolled across the SAFE civilian population this week, believed to be mostly due to a series of videos being streamed incessantly across the public datagrid. These videos, reminiscent of now ancient 200 year old Open Mind marketing material, encouraged SAFE workers to leave work for the day and go outside and experience “nature”. While several million spent several days at home rather than going to work, about a million SAFE citizens left the Arcology for the first time in their lives. The endless decaying and abandoned skyscrapers of the Free Neosia region hosted many campfires this week, as the absentee SAFE citizens got back to nature - “roughing it” in rotting buildings.
• Some of the “camping” SAFE citizens were accidently shot and killed by the SAFE army still patrolling the outskirts of the arcology. Commander Borgsey offered no sympathy for the families of the slain citizens.
• A successful launch took place from the SAFE arcology this week of a re-branded Halcyon troop transport spacecraft. The craft is currently in orbit above the earth, beyond the shrapnel sphere.
• As Hyperion Council began to relocate its core infrastructure from their old headquarters in the North East Free Siach, The Halcyon Independent Fleet (now totally disconnected from the Earth’s datagrid) commenced its orbital plasma bombardment.
• Thousands of plasma slugs were launched by the fleet - turning the entire North East of Free Siach a cratered slag heap, all of Hyperion Council outside of the Halcyon arcology vaporized, or turned to ash, or mixed into the molten goop that covered the earth.
• By the end of the bombardment the region was a dead flat plane of black and grey melted stone and metal.
• The Halcyon Independent fleet also ordered its remaining 1000 tiko-vol drones to strike the Hyperion Order Arcology (the arcology that was owned by Halcyon up to a week ago). The drones were totally disconnected from the datagrid before launch, so those within the Arcology were powerless to stop their relentless approach. The 1000 plasma field armoured drones quickly melted through the armoured outer sphere of the Arcology and most within were incinerated as the drones drilled through the city en route to the surface of the earth. One, or several of the drones collided with the core reactors of the Arcology, which resulted in the largest explosion ever recorded on the earth. The reactors of Halcyons unknown, non nuclear, power source erupted into a plasma ball that engulfed most of the already melted Ropa retired industrial zone. The resulting cloud of ash and debris and smoke has plummeted the earth into total darkness ever since. The Ropa retired industrial zone is now largely under water, due to the size of the crater from the explosions. Millions would have died from the resulting tsunamis, if the surrounding coastlines were not already empty of humanity.

• 5 nuclear powered jet troop transports were seen leaving the Halcyon arcology minutes before the tiko-vol drones began their assault. It is assumed that these vessels were used by Hyperion Order high command to escape the destruction. It is assumed that about 5000 people were onboard the crafts.
• The Halcyon Independents strikes this week have killed an estimated 3.5 billion people.
• Mass starvation plagued VSM this week - with an estimated 100 million citizens dying within their semi-unpowered arcology!
• On the coast of east Free Neosia, the flotilla based mutant army led by “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II scavenged the abandoned cities. While the "swift collapse" datagrid super virus means that much of the abandoned electronic weaponry is useless, Calvert Vally engineers were able to get some basic rifles and explosive devices operational. The absolute abundance of scrap metal that this available has resulted in many of the biological horrors in Jack's army are now cladded in custom suits of scrap metal or wielding blades or augmented scrap talons.
• “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II cemented himself as alpha in the mutant horde by defeating certain key mutants in single melee combat. Jack consumed the flesh of any mutants he defeated, which has led to his own form erupting in chimerical changes (fangs, claws, scales wings and increased mass and appetite). Some of his minions have taken to referring to him as the Zombie lizard king.

• On the jupiterian colonies President Truffle has launched a program to release certain gasses from the colony’s Closed Ecological Systems out onto the surface of the moons. It is believed in several thousand years these gasses will form an atmosphere on Europa and Ganymede. President Truffle has continued to appeal to Earth citizens to join the colonies, but there has been no mass migration as yet (possibly due to a lack of transport options available to regular citizens).