Turns of AXT-042, third thread - Page 6

cbn · July 20, 2001, 09:36

Diary of Huxley Soma, Free Drone Intelligence Chief

It was a stroke of genius to pull a few strings and get the foreman's nephew into the Cloudbase Academy. The boy isn't very bright but the look on the foreman's face . . . funding for the academy is now assured for years. Hopefully I won't have to squeeze too many istructors to keep his grades up. the boy seems happy enough there-- If he gets dissatisfied I guess I can always arrange a "girlfriend" to maintain his interest.

Orchestrating the Cyborg factory, now that was a tough sell. Thank God for that locust that came dancing across our lands. Without that, I doubt I could have convinced the foreman to expend the minerals. Nothing like a few panicked citizens to get some funding . . . . Its great when I can attain goals to keep us safer without having to fake a crisis.

The darn foreman is still naively prattling on about peace. He has the gaians and the morganites pacting and now it seems they might be attacking our friends. But he doesn't see that as a threat and is just talking about economic sanctions and whatnot. Then the Cult are out there giving us warnings and threatening unspecified consequences. Their press secretary never once said anything conciliatory or that would preclude war as an option. He could have said that war was not a sensible option or that their greatest hope was to keep the peace but no they sabre rattled the whole time. But the foreman . . . . it was a fight just to get him to increase patrols in that direction and every appropriation for a new unit is a fight . He's oblivious to everything. He seems to think that the fact that we are big will be enough to dissuade attackers.

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Walt · July 20, 2001, 09:52

2207 to cbn.

Guys, the program froze when I loaded it the first time, so I had to do so a second time. Thus, you'll see a tamper warning.

cbn · July 20, 2001, 17:27

2207done--2208 to the Cult

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In a speech to the Chamber of Commerce, External affairs minister Marco Pantini once again called on the other factions of the world to both negotiate an airspace convention and account for any military actions. He went on to praise Free Drone businesses for their interfactional trade . . . . .

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NorthSwordsman · July 20, 2001, 20:13

2208 to the Gaians.

Tenchusatsu · July 20, 2001, 23:01

Year 2208 to Walt.
_______

From: Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre
To: All senior advisors

We have recently halted our Vendetta with Commissioner Pravin Lal and the U.N. Peacekeepers. However, our military build-up programs will continue on schedule. We will convene an all-day meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the situation. Attendance is mandatory.
_______

From: Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre
To: Leaders of all nations
Re: Convene Elections for New Planetary Governor

In order to lead all of Planet into a new era of cooperation, commerce, human progress, and environmental harmony, we Gaians hereby convene a new meeting of the Planetary Council for the express purpose of electing a new Planetary Governor. Although the governorship of Foreman CBN has been a long and fruitful one, we respectfully feel that our beloved leader and visionary, Lady Deirdre Skye, is most fit for this demanding role. As a long-time xenobiologist, pacifist, and Planet empath, there is no one better than her to take on this challenge.

As usual, every faction's leader will have one year to decide who to cast their votes for in this election, if they choose to even participate. We look forward to the coming election and hope that our Lady Deirdre Skye may soon be known as Planetary Governor Skye.
_______

Guys, I hope my calling of the Council was done properly. If not, let me know and I'll replay my turn. In any case, here are the votes so far:

Drones: 180 (Vote for Drones, probably

)
Gaians: 148 (Vote for Gaians)
Cult: 36
Peacekeepers: 122 (Vote for Gaians)
Spartans: 41 (Abstain)
Morganites: 40
Conciousness: 41 (Vote for Drones)

Tally so far: Gaians 270, Drones 221

Walt · July 22, 2001, 12:46

2208 went to Stephen yesterday. I thought I'd posted the turn, but I guess not. Stephen, did you receive it?

NorthSwordsman · July 23, 2001, 08:17

Turn 2209 to Tench.
-----------------------------------

Election Results:

The voting was as follows:

Tench: 310 Cbn: 257

Congrats, Governor Dierdre.

Votes, by Faction.

Lal: 122 votes, Tench.
Tench: 148 votes, Tench.
Walt: 40 votes, Tench.

NorthSwordsman: 36 votes, Cbn.
Aki: 41 votes, Cbn.
Cbn: 180 votes, Cbn.

Santiago: 41 votes, Abstained.

Tenchusatsu · July 23, 2001, 12:48

Year 2209 to Walt.
_______

Gaia's Tribune.com
Front Page Article

DEIRDRE ELECTED PLANETARY GOVERNOR
But recounts at U.N. Headquarters casts shadow of controversy

In the year 2209, Lady Deirdre Skye of Gaia's Stepdaughters was elected Planetary Governor by all the factions of Planet.

However, the election results was held up for over two months due to recounts at U.N. Headquarters. The results were especially close among the Peacekeepers, with Skye holding a slim 200 vote lead over CBN, her opponent. Tensions ran high as the recounts continued on and on, with both political parties accusing the other of dirty tactics.

More controversy popped up over the claims by many voters that the electronic ballot used by the Peacekeepers was confusing. Called the "Razorbeak Ballot," these voters claimed that they had intended to vote for CBN, but instead voted for a third party candidate, Matt Buchanon, by mistake.

NorthSwordsman · July 23, 2001, 13:34

ROFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tench, you are toooo funny!!

*roflol, sides hurting*

Walt · July 23, 2001, 14:02

2209 to cbn.
______

Nice color commentary, Tench...

cbn · July 23, 2001, 19:28

2209 done. 2210 to the Cult

-------------------

Channel 10 News Report

WAR

The Morganite-Conciousness War has come to a head and the Drones have been dragged into the fray. Automatic pacting systems has led to a situation where the Drones are at vendetta with 5 factions on Planet. The early stages of the war have resulted in the Consciousness possession of two former Morganite bases and the destruction of a 3rd.

Free Drone foreman CBN had no comment on this startling turn of events but promised to reveal hus thinking at a later date. Morganite CEO Walt could not be reached for comment at this time.

NorthSwordsman · July 23, 2001, 20:17

2210 to the Gaians.
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WNN breaking news:

A Planet Cult press briefing released late this afternoon from the Diplomatic ministry indicates that high level diplomatic talks are underway between The Drones and The Cult at an undisclosed location. A disreputable Free Drone news publication reports that First Advisor Northswordsman was seen in the company of Foreman CBN of the Drones. The report was not commented on by the Cult Diplomatic Ministry, and attempts to reach the Free Drones diplomatic section at Free Drone Central were unsuccessful.

In related news, as required by the treaty between the Drones and the Cult, pact agreements between the Cult and the Morganites were severed, as were relations between the Gaians and the Cult. It appears that the Morganite-Consciousness conflict has the potential for escalating into a global conflict.

--------------------------------------------
Overheard, military barracks, Dawn's Chancel:

"Oh, CRAP!" Here we go again....

Tenchusatsu · July 24, 2001, 01:43

Year 2210 to Walt.
_______

Video Security Camera
Administration Offices, Gaia's Landing
Mid-day lunch break

Michael: Hey Pete! Come over here and check out what I just downloaded over the Net Nodes!
Pete: What is it?
M: It's called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . It's a movie from Old Earth archived within our datalinks.
P: So what's so special about it? I mean, look at it. Such primitive 2D animation. Those characters don't even look human. A high school student could have done better. ... Why are you showing me this?
M: Because the storyline revolves around the concept that Old Earth had a spiritual life force. Not only that, but get this. ... They call this life force Gaia .
P: No kidding?!?
M: Yeah, pretty neat, huh? Kind of reminds you of here, our Planet, which itself has an intelligence, perhaps a soul. You think the movie writers were already onto somethin', even 200 years ago?
P: Beats the heck out of me --

(The doors to the hallway slide open. A slender, middle-aged man suddenly runs through the doors with a very exasperated look on his face.)

Man: Everyone report to the auditorium at once!!!
P: What? What's going on?
Man: Something drastic. Can't explain now, but Lady Deirdre is making a big announcement. All I know is that it could be very bad news for all of us, maybe even all of humanity. But you must come quickly!

cbn · July 24, 2001, 09:34

Deep inside Frre Domes intelligence headquarters

" Chief, we have completed inputting the data into our new super computer. It is analyzing and cross-checking all relevant facts and we should have the output shortly"

The computer began to beep and the output began to stream across the screen

ANALYSIS COMPLETE. INFORMATION PROVIDES A 99.4% CHANCE THAT THE DRUIDS ARE ENGAGED IN AN ACTIVE CAMPAIGN THAT WILL RESULT IN MILITARY ACTION AGAINST YOU. THERE IS A 97.8% PROBABILITY THAT THERE IS AN ACTIVE DRUID-MORGANITE ALLIANCE WHOSE SOLE ULTIMATE PURPOSE IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FREE DRONES. SUGGESTED COUNTERMEASURES INCLUDE . . . . .

" Well, those suggested measures do make for some interesting reading. Thanks to you and your technical staff for some top-rate intelligence gathering. But one thing . . . . There is nothing here on the Cult. What does the computer say about them"

"Sorry Chief but the output on the Cult cannot predict their intended behavior with any more than a 36% confidence interval. The computer seems to haver a hard time computing variables associated with religious fanatacism"

"Send this analysis by rush-vid to the military chiefs at once. Also send it to the foreman . . . . but lose it for a day or two and then send it. Understood ? . .. . . ."

"Yes chief-- you know my loyalty is to you and the FDIA"

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Two days later -- In the foremans briefing room

" What the hell do you mean our forces attacked the Morganites. I gave no such order"

"Calm down foreman. The Air wing commander of sector 2-North ordered the attack. Under DEFCON Amber, he has that authority when there is a clear and present danger. The commander saw that danger in this information. You must understand what this intelligence means"

" Well yes it is patently obvious that the Morganites and Druids are acting in concert and there is a long range plan to destroy us. I also see that acting now gives us some advantage BUT I am the head of state here not them-- The decision was mine to make and I believe that I could have avoided bloodshed here"

"Well sir, now the die is cast. The military has managed the press well. The war has become hugely popular. Losing the governorship of Planet hurt you a lot. If you oppose the military on this, its likely that the Council of Superintendants would replace you."

" So I have to support the war for now to retain power. . . . . "

" Sir, if you fall you would be replaced by Beloki and we all know where that would lead . . . . eternal war"

cbn · July 24, 2001, 21:07

I had hoped to see another turn but no such luck. See you all on Sunday.

NorthSwordsman · July 25, 2001, 09:49

Have fun, Stephen. Wish you the best in finding a place.

Tenchusatsu · July 25, 2001, 17:56

OK, guys, from here until the end of August, the progress of this game will be sporadic at best because of absences and other distractions. We'll just play our turns whenever we can get to them. Hopefully after August we'll get back to our regular rate of one turn per day.

Kind of interesting how the timing works. August is the perfect time to slow down because of vacations and summertime hobbies. Yet only now is our game coming to a real climax. Guess this is kind of like a TV series that just had its season-ending cliffhanger. "Lady Deirdre takes the governor's seat! The Drones are dragged by the Conciousness into a major war! Who will survive? Who will prevail? Will Cha Dawn ever reach puberty? Join us next season, here on 'Days of our Lives' ... er, I mean 'Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri!' "

NorthSwordsman · July 25, 2001, 19:57

Whatta mean, if Cha'Dawn ever reaches puberty?!?!?! He is already IN puberty- look how he acts!

NorthSwordsman · July 28, 2001, 08:21

Personal Log, First Advisor:

Things seem strangely quiet here for some reason. There isn't any communication from outside, and it seems like every single day is the same, over and over. We must be caught in some kind of time loop. I wonder if the Morganites are behind this?

I wouldn't put it past them to tamper with time so they can find a way to make more EC....

Our science folks are trying to figure this out.

cbn · July 29, 2001, 18:51

Turn 2210 passed to the Cult

NorthSwordsman · July 30, 2001, 01:50

with 2211 to the Gaians.

Tenchusatsu · July 30, 2001, 05:39

Year 2211 to Walt.
_______

Personal Log, Year 2211
Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre

As I have feared, we are now at war with the Drones. I had hoped that their declaration of vendetta against us was only a temporary one, considering it was brought about by their Pact alliance with the Conciousness. But they then attacked our IoD trapped near their coast, and I now know that their intentions are truly belligerent.

However, unlike in the past, Lady Deirdre did not publicly call for global peace this time. I think her recent conversations with Planet have changed her attitude toward war drastically, for she now feels determined to enforce our dedication to Planet by any means necessary. Just a short while ago, she gave a public announcement rallying our whole nation into war. She mentioned that the Locusts appearing near the Drone mainland was no accident or coincidence. Rather, it was Planet's "immune system" as she called it, trying to fight a disease. And we humans are the germs.

She went on to explain how the Locusts was a sign that Planet was in considerable distress over the ecodamage caused by us humans. She then accused the Drones of heinous crimes against the environment, although our diplomats in the Drone territories tell us that their ecodamage is under control these days. I wouldn't doubt that the Drones are indeed abusing Planet, since they harbor a curious dislike for our Green economy. In fact, I believe they could be using their Neural Amplifier as a license to pollute more whenever they feel like, knowing full well that Planet's "immune system" would have little effect on them.

In any case, Lady Deirdre has her reasons to fight the Drones. I have my reasons as well, but they are more pragmatic. Our infiltrators within the Drone nation tell us of a massive build-up of Drone choppers. With their Cloudbase Academy and their Cyborg Factory, these choppers will come right off of their ultra-efficient assembly lines as Elite units. Combined with their Fusion Lasers, this air force will be all but unstoppable.

Plus the Drones are obviously very upset over CBN's loss of the Planetary Governor's seat. Their news reporters continually claim that CBN won the popular vote and that we are guilty of election fraud. One of their tabloid reporters even speculated that Lal is actually the younger brother of Lady Deirdre!

Now it seems the Drones feel backed into a corner, and they're itching to press their military advantage against us and our allies. I believe Einstein once said, "You cannot simultaneously prepare for both war and for peace." Based on their militaristic secret projects, I guess it was only a matter of time before we started shedding blood.

I believe it was FDR who said, "Never before had we so much to do in so little time." Truer words cannot be spoken today.

cbn · July 30, 2001, 10:51

Channel 10 News

In war news today, a Gaian IOD was accidentally destroyed by the automated defensive systems in interior Free Drone waters. The defense minister stated that he "regretted the incident but they should have known not to go hanging around in a war zone without declaring themselves"

--------------------------------------------------

Intelligence briefing -- Free Drone central

"Give us your assessment chief"

" We have clear evidence that the Morganites and Gaians were plotting the downfall of the Free Drones and that a military strike by them was inevitable. The Gaians had been lurking an IOD in our vicinity for several turns now"

"Did they realize that we had detected them earlier? (God bless airpower!!)"

"Unknown. Although we believe they thought they were hidden. "

"Now that we are at war, what are their plans?"

" Well it appears that the Morganites are fighting valiantly but the Gaians are offering no assistance. They seem to be beefing up their defenses and are currently building bioenhanceent centres and covert operations centres to better fight a war. The Gaians have been heard to be bragging that their puppet state will drain Drone resources while they grow and further arm themselves. In fact their strategy is to have us fight a series of proxy wars to exhaust our abilities and use up our resources"

"What is the source of this information"

" Many places but the Cult has been a most valuable source. They have pretended to befriend the Gaians while they continued to act on our behalf as demanded by the treaty. The disinformation they spread was very useful and the transcripts of the war conferences. . . . . . Some of the clips were golden ----- the com signals from tenchusatsu were very clear-- remember these. . . .

Nothing that a few conventional cruise missiles can't hurt.

Damn, he probably sees the inevitable

But more importantly, we need to stall him.

"What is your assessment of our chances"

"Only fair. We have a strong empire but our opponents are mighty and will use their forces with intelligence . They are to be both respected and feared"

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NorthSwordsman · July 30, 2001, 15:46

Find another player. I quit.

Tenchusatsu · July 30, 2001, 17:23

Well, Randy just quit, and it seems there is zero chance that we can convince him to stay this time, so I won't bother to try. I say we should get Tau Ceti to burn his bases down to the ground, but that's just me. Stephen, you might feel differently, but I guess we'll have to wait for Walt to return before we come to some sort of decision.

cbn · July 30, 2001, 19:44

I have emailed all you guys with my reaction.

I can live with burning the bases as long as there is no fire-sale of facilities to give cash to the Gaians and Morganites.

cbn · August 3, 2001, 05:58

The foreman woke with a start to find his aides all around him.

"What is it?"

"Sir, all Cult citizens have disappeared from our empire. The embassy is empty and not a Cult tourist is to be seen. "

"Did they withdraw their people in preparation for war?"

" Thats the problem sir. We have no record of them leaving. As you know, our border controls and records are quite extensive. Yesterday there were 1347 Cult nationals within our lands including tourists, diplomats, students and persons on work visas. Today, none of them can be found".

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11 HOURS LATER AT FREE DRONE HQ

" Any news on the Cult?"

"Yes foreman but it is most odd. Hotel staff, Work camp operators and university officials all report that the accomodations used by the Cult citizens still contain all their belongings. Vidcoms are left on, meals are partially eaten, sonic showers are still running. Its as if poof . . . . they disappeared"

"What else?"

"Well sir, 16 hours ago all foreign nationals in Cultist lands were rounded up, sequestered, stripped of all communications gear, and sent by slow transport home"

"ALL foreign nationals??"

"Yes foreman. Reports indicate that each and every faction was treated in this fashion. Also the Cult nationals have disappeared from every other faction. So where it stands now is that 16 hours ago every non-Cult person was summarily evicted from Cult lands. Then about 12 hours ago, every Cult person in non-Cult locations just disappeared. At this moment, we cannot make contact with any Cult member anywhere on Planet. Further, reports indicate that no one else can reach them either"

"Analysis?"

" Frankly foreman, we just do not know. Our equipment is registering an odd psionic pulse emanating from Cult HQ but we have not been able to figure out what it does. We have no idea why or how our Cult visitors diappeared and they gave no explanation for the eviction of our citizens.

NorthSwordsman · August 4, 2001, 17:20

Stephen, good opening there. Thanks.

I'm home and awaiting my final turn.

Tenchusatsu · August 4, 2001, 19:21

I resent the turn to Walt late last night. (Or maybe last night was the first time I actually sent that turn ... I don't remember.)

In any case, I've got SMACx loaded up on my work-issued laptop, and though I'll be away from my home computer all week next week, I still be able to play my turns.

Oh, and Randy, I'm sorry to see you go. I guess you had a bum rap from the moment you joined, considering the mistakes your predecesors made. Then again, I guess the Cult is a rather difficult faction to win with in the first place. Oh well.
_______

From: Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre
To: All senior personnel
Subject: Security breach

From the point on, all confidential and top secret electronic communication is to be suspended. This includes vid-comm, audio-comm, and e-mail. Our counterintelligence has informed us of a possible security breach in our net nodes which is allowing foreign factions to hack into our communication.

Please make sure that this order reaches all levels of the command heirarchy, even down to the lowest of fungus tenders. In the meantime, please be patient as our CI personnel work with our net node admins to eliminate this security breach.

NorthSwordsman · August 4, 2001, 19:45

Thanks, Allen. I enjoyed playing this game, even if I did get burned... :-/.

I'm still waiting for Walt to send our 4 games we play- haven't heard from him in nearly 2 weeks.

. I'm glad I have some other games to fall back on.

When you guys get done with this one, let me know who won. I think I will keep looking at this board so I can keep up with the news.

Once hooked...

I will be making a special statement when I post the turn.... :-). Nothing bad. Nothing bad.

Walt, if you ever read this, drop me a line, boyo. I know you are busy, but you could say hi now and then.