Necronom VI - Glossary

When members of the automaton dynasty arrive at their destination to parade within the baffled masses they usually bring along utter estrangement and confusion. Since their first emergence some time during the last century no one has been able to determine their exact origin. As they mostly communicate in nonsense verses their history remains up to interpretation. Most people tell about how the first set of robots overthrew their human masters in a brutal massacre and took over everything they had, including their belle époque lifestyle. All members of the group carry royal titles without recognizable pattern, expressing their strong belief to carry on aristocratic herritage and resulting in their excentric and materialistic behaviour. The automaton dynasty is only encountered on their travels, next to nothing is known about where they come from, or how they live there. It has been noted that occasionally members of their group are completely unknown robot models which seems to indicate that they are an actively self-reproducing species. They are mostly observed seeking or collecting fine arts, emulating enjoyment over luxury food or trying to promote their own literature. Even though they always cause trouble, they are welcome guests whereever they go, which may be related to of their apparant lack of discretion in handling money. They seem to have access to a limitless amount of wealth without the most basic understanding of how to manage it. They don't appear to be hostile towards humans and have not displayed agressive behaviour of any kind, which is why they are not treated with the same kind of caution and distrust as other rogue robots. Over the centuries ballistic weapons have been optimized to a point where they leave little room for improvement in efficiency. Blunt explosive rounds used to be a common practice, but that would damage the target in unpredictable ways. For a long time now the use of precise needleprojectiles has been standard. Accelerated by either airpressure or, in more heavy arms, electromagnetic coils, its very easy to disable a person precisely using this technology. The impact of the needles themselves renders the target immobile without causing unnecessary tissue damage, but can also deliver fatal effects by targeting head or spine. Additionally such needles are commonly used to carry biological or chemical compounds that help to deliver a desired sideeffect. In recent years new technologies have allowed the deployment of interesting countermeasures for these weapons. The quick advancement of magnetic technology has made it possible to deploy small devices that allow gaining influence on the trajectory of the metallic projectiles, rendering them useless under most circumstances. Only a limited number of weapons is not affected currently, like flechettes that use airpressure and can shoot ceramic ammunition, or electric weapons. Both of these alternatives come with severe limitations however, which is why close combat alternatives enjoy a renaissance. One of the first enormously successfull human settlements in space was colony Nubia. So successfull in fact that very quickly the political forces in control went through every effort to become completely independant from their home planet, defining their own world order. The colony was governed by various clans that later created an aristocratic system, which is why Nubia was known to be a very luxurious and noble society. Most nubian resources were put into technological advancement and science, which helped the colony to prosper and gain economical influence over the entire human civilization. After decades of rapid development scientists started to alarm the citizens about one crucial problem however: due to the low radiation on their planet the human genome would stop to mutate and as a result the newly formed nubian race would end as evolutionary dead end. Through this awareness the nubians started to heavily promote the idea of genetical engineering, tempering with their genes and thereas optimizing the efficiency of various physical and cognitive abilities. Eventually the nubians would consider themselves the superior branch of the human race, destined to lead the rest of humanity to a bright and prosperous future. When the UCE was founded after the last great war colony Nubia refused to join this union, not accepting Earths leading role in organzing common peace and instead focused on increasing their own sovereign military power. Among other fundamental differences of opinion the UCE strictly limited the use of genetical engineering for its members, believing the technology to be a dangerous and unethical disturbance in natural evolution. Increasing nubian military presence around the most important trade routes and human settlements lead to growing conflicts and decades of open antagonism. As Nubia started to agressivly expand its territory, this resulted in a fierce but short war that ended with the complete annihilation of planet Nubia by a zsigmondian attack. Today remnants of the nubian population, their technology and their culture can be found all over the universe. They could be considered wealthy powerfull nomads, struggling to find their place in the world. People treat them with respectfull distance, both being frightened by their former glory and guilty about what was done to them. Nubian key figures can be found infiltrating societies at many key locations, trading with their now illegal technology or shifting political influence to suit their needs. Easily recognized by their genetically modified grey skin, people often call them "ashskin". While the history of human society has been influenced by countless of catastrophic events of varying relevance it is completely undisputed that a certain one has had the most profound impact: The destruction of Luna, Earths first moon. Historians and conspiracy theorists offer a multitude of explanations for the cause of this disastrous event, the undeniable truth however got lost in an era of chaos and anarchy. Resulting from the loss of the tidal effect, a state of random chaos in the Earths magnetic field and the collapse of the orbit, life on land was facing extinction and the human concensus was that the day of Armageddon had arrived. It took half a century and the unconditional support from human settlements all over the galaxy to execute a plan for the restoration of balance to the planet with precision: A dwarf planet could be pulled from the Kuiper belt und thrown into orbit around Earth. Today it is called Lillith, the second moon of Earth. It would take another century for Earth to reclaim any sort of economical, political or cultural influence. Most colonies ceased this opportunity to gain complete independance, starting with the suspension of the deprecated calendar system moving on to newly founded languages and shifted historic emphasis.   Today the surface of the planet is mostly populated by humans, only a few plant and insect races remain in the biological cycle which is mostly dominated by seabased life. To this very day the planet still serves as the most efficient surface for the cultivation of biomass. Most of the population exist completely seperated from galactic developments and focus on performing their tasks on the planet itself. Only a small elite class controls trade and interaction with the outside world and rarely grants individuals from outside of their circle a chance to participate in space developments. Several religions spreading through known space consider Earth the holy birthplace of the human race, which has allowed the planet to claim a neutral position within human society. When colonies fight out conflicts using embargos or warfare Earth is known to often provide diplomatic solutions. Because of this the UCE was formed as a union around Earth after the last major galactic war. The Society of the LOGOS is a galactic organization that provides guidance and promotes events to spread the teachings of Chronos, which could be considered as god, or the universe in its entirety. Among many topics of concern the society provides insight into the origin and meaning of life, describes humankind's place in the universe and discusses the relationship between Chronos and people. A fundamental principle taught by the society is that completely uncovering and understanding the nature of the universe is impossible for us. They teach that instead we should look into our own selfs and recognize the essence of Chronos contained within each living being. This essence is referred to as the LOGOS, the will or the soul of the universe and deciphering it is a fundamental task of the society. The society claims to have developed equipment that allows them to extract fragments of the LOGOS from human minds and is using this data to equip members of the cult with tools to evaluate their synchronization with the LOGOS in neurographic battles. The purpose of these battles is to find a human being that is in perfect synch to the LOGOS, the one prophet that will guide humanity towards the path of Chronos and bring about the ultimate salvation.