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The Nature of Predators 2-13
🕑 Added 2024-02-19 12:00:06 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Tassi, Bissem Scientist
Date [standardized human time]: March 17, 2160
The hotel was difficult to miss, seemingly tailored to extraterrestrial clientele; this venue must’ve been where diplomatic guests from across the galaxy were brought in. Certain floors even had unique environmental controls, from what Dustin explained—perhaps some of those could be useful for accommodating Bissem subspecies, who had varying climate preferences. The floor we were brought to was part of the “Standard” lodgings, suitable for most species, including humans. My beak parted with a bit of enthusiasm, as the Terran waved at an indoor pool. I could see primate guests and Thafki being the primary occupants, with the massive natives somehow finding buoyancy. It was strange to see how violently they kicked the water, while moving a single arm at a time in rotational fashion. Certainly not the most graceful-looking technique.
The Yotul’s vitriol left my feathers ruffled, though I was attempting to shake it off. How could I squander the first opportunity to absorb everything about Earth’s culture? One resentful species shouldn’t ruin the entirety of the trip. I would’ve loved to stop just for a brief moment, and enjoy a swim with Haliska, but the Thafki seemed engrossed in a joint call with Nulia. From the sound of it, my first inclination would’ve been to assume they were checking in with Ivrana…but how would instantaneous communication across light-years be possible? I decided to keep my thoughts to myself, until a proper opportunity to question our hosts arose.
The spaceships take time to “tunnel” through space, as best as I understand it. The only way I can imagine FTL comms working is quantum entanglement: some variant of it. That’s a bold assumption though. Even the Selmer, in their frigid polar environment, have trouble keeping it cold enough for quantum computers to function at all.
General Naltor certainly had a brooding look on his face, throughout the entirety of our trek to our quarters. Dustin, meanwhile, was busy going through a speech about having room service laid out in advance; the thought of testing Earth’s culinary delights excited me. After all of that walking, I was downright famished. I decided to trust our hosts, if he said that we could eat their food. The frozen fish they’d thawed out back on the ship hadn’t harmed us, even if the flavor was a bit reductive. The invention of modern fishing techniques was the cornerstone moment of Bissem history—I wondered when, and how, humans began trawling their oceans.
“Dustin, are you sure that Haliska will be alright, with fish being served to us? I don’t want to impact her trauma,” I remarked.
The human flashed his teeth. “Ah, that’s kind of you to consider. I’ll keep an eye on her, but she should be fine; she didn’t have a problem with my choice of food during our training. I think the problem partially was the knowledge that your food was a real, dead animal, not something lab-grown. Knowing that human meat is mainly vat-created has allowed us to…excuse it away.”
Naltor seemed to gag on his own tongue. “Lab-grown? I swear, you and your team threw those words around earlier, but I let you fiends distract me with cure this, predator that. Shit, I was ready to agree to anything to save Ivrana. ‘Vat-created?’ What the fuck do you mean by that?”
“We take stem cell samples from animal embryos, and trigger them to grow into muscles and fat in a lab. Nothing dies, nothing has to be raised: you can create as much as you want, from a small collection of viable cultures. It’s allowed us to supply food to a rapidly growing population, and give our oceans a rest.”
“Don’t tell me this is your plan for Ivrana! It sounds like these cells…metastasize. You’re feeding us fucking cancer! There’s no chance this unnatural shit is safe, or something I would’ve knowingly put in my beak.”
“It’s nothing like cancer: it’s inducing a natural, biological process. Cells for lifeforms are meant to replicate. Actually, the shit that causes cancer is probably the growth hormones you use in your farms. Our practices are sustainable, they save land we need for agriculture…and we can even control how much saturated fat winds up in the final product, making it healthier.”
I tilted my head in thought. “I can see several advantages, Naltor. We’re deeply overfishing our oceans, and this technology could help us. Plus, I doubt they’d eat it themselves if it was dangerous. If this makes Haliska less uncomfortable, then I’m all for it. We need to be mindful of our image, especially with certain statements making the rounds here.”
“We have done nothing to have an image problem, except exist!” the Selmer general challenged. “Though I don’t know what those Tseia fuckwits have done. I don’t think they’ve had any positive contributions to Ivrana, in our entire history.”
“You’re correct about existing, Naltor, but perhaps you should reconsider your hostility toward the Tseia. They probably don’t feel too positively about Selmer or Vritala, since you both tried to invade them. There used to be four subspecies of Bissems, hm? That was before the other nations pillaged Nelmin. Wouldn’t the Tseia have shared their fate, if you weren’t driven back?” Dustin countered.
“That was a long time ago. My country didn’t even exist back then, and the Vritala had a damn fiefdom in those days. I thought you weren’t here to judge our history: that you wanted us not to judge yours. That you’d made your own mistakes.”
“I’m not judging your mistakes. I’m encouraging you to understand a different perspective from your own. There’s no reason you can’t learn from the past’s lessons; failure to do so makes it inevitable that they’ll happen again.”
“That’s all well-and-dandy, but if you want to talk about the past: the Tseia are reclusive and sketchy as Kail. Lassmin is considered to be on good terms with those war-happy nomads just because they’ll humor conversations with us. I’ve always thought they were a threat to our peace; that they’d be the last to ever want Bissem Unity. Now, they’re proving me right by fucking up first contact!”
Concern caused me to clutch my flippers to my chest. “There’s no need to get so defensive, Naltor. We don’t even know what the Tseia have done.”
“It’s alright,” Dustin assured me. “We should wait to have all the facts. I just…I think I already know what I have to suggest. If it’s as bad as the Yotul say, we need to approach the Tseia, or all chances of getting into the Sapient Coalition will be gone. Arranging a parlay on Alsh, we can’t afford such biases. We have to go there.”
“That’s suicide.”
“So is letting Ivrana die,” I countered. “With the up-ice climb we already have, we can’t afford more opposition. I won’t let first contact be ruined.”
“I appreciate your passion. Haliska and Nulia are conferencing live with our monitoring station, back in Ivrana’s system.” Dustin’s words offered confirmation of FTL comms. Makes it much easier for them to communicate across the Coalition, I imagine; and it’ll help us stay in touch with Earth. “Let’s take this into a private venue; this is one of your rooms here. We’ll see what my teammates have to say, and we’ll make a plan to get all of the nations on our side.”
The Gojid sociologist was jotting down several notes for herself, while the Thafki seemed to be listening intently to the latest intel from Ivrana. I couldn’t help but wonder how the people back home were taking the news of first contact; it was clear, given how standoffish the Tseia were behaving, that not all Bissems were welcoming our visitors with open flippers. It was my hope that the Merlei Huddedom and the Confederation of Vrital were a bit more receptive to the aliens. The Lassian diplomats must be working overtime, banking on years of forged relations to make the other nations amenable. Did we have an in-road with the Tseia? How were the other countries handling the fact that the visitors only contacted us?
Haliska looks worried, and I don’t think it’s about the fish. That can’t be a positive sign.
Dustin clapped his hands, finding plates set out under metal trays. “Ah, food is here! The one with a green sticker is for you, Hallie. Dig in, please.”
Naltor didn’t look exhilarated about sampling the offerings, after learning how they were sourced, so I decided to set an open-minded example. My flippers grabbed a human culinary tool, and I dove into a tender fish cutlet; it was delectable, juicy and falling apart in my beak. Finally giving in to the pleas of his stomach, the Selmer general took some miserable bites from his own serving. The Sapient Coalition hosts picked at their meals, more focused on conferring among themselves. As we ate in relative silence, I absorbed the standard layout of a Terran lodging; the couch and television beckoned to me, granting access to an entire catalog of media. They hadn’t spared any expense. The suite was spacious enough to be an entire apartment, back home!
With my plate cleaned in record time, I found my willpower restored. “Thank you for the meal. It was lovely. We appreciate the generous accommodations—”
“Don’t mention it. We want you to see the best Earth has to offer. Need some reason for why you’d want to join us, with all our baggage,” Dustin chuckled.
“It seems we have our own problems too. If you don’t mind my forwardness, it’s my job to ensure that first contact goes smoothly. I need to know what’s going on back home with the Tseia Nomads, and the other nations.”
“Let’s start with the positives. The Merlei Huddledom and the Confederation of Vrital both are eager to speak with us, and have taken assurances of our goodwill well. I think we should send a representative from our team to both, alongside an analyst from the outpost who speaks their language and some Lassian diplomats. Emphasizing that we intend not to favoritize any faction, or to play kingmaker, is key.”
“I like the idea of opening channels with all nations. I’m sure you know, but be warned that the Huddledom are hypersocial—and their frigid environment would be hazardous to you.”
“We’re well aware,” Nulia answered. “There’s a reason the analysts we trained in each pole’s Huddle Tongue were Jaur. They’ll be able to handle the temperatures, whereas I was planning to volunteer as the landing party’s representative. I don’t mind wearing an environmental suit. Haliska can handle the Confederation of Vrital, who have the closest ties to your country. Hopefully, Lassmin can help coordinate our reception.”
General Naltor set down his fork. “I can make arrangements for your safe passage, but I can’t go with you to Selmer territory. The Huddledom…sees me as a traitor. I was the first officer of my country to defect to a nation created by Vritala. I wouldn’t be welcome there, though Tassi shouldn’t have the same issues.”
“We’ve done background research on you both,” Haliska commented. “The disclosure is appreciated, nevertheless.”
“Given that you read minds, I shouldn’t be surprised by your disregard for privacy.”
“I think they just wanted to know who they were dealing with,” I sighed. “They’d want something resembling a background check, for the first Bissems to cross their borders.”
Nulia drummed her claws on the table. “It’s also that understanding you on a personal level helps us, to avoid offending you. We’re setting the groundwork for relations between our species. If anything goes wrong between us, it could spell diplomatic catastrophe.”
“We’re committed to making sure this entire process goes as smoothly as possible. There’s enough complications as it is,” Dustin sighed. “Nulia, tell them what the Tseia said in their…public address.”
“I guess I get the joy of being the messenger.”
“I had to tell them about the Arxur, and Earth being almost knocked off. You’re getting a softball, compared to that.”
“You do have a point. The Tseia hadn’t been communicating through diplomatic channels, right up until the point they released a statement on their government’s account. In essence, they stated that Bissems shouldn’t trust the aliens, and that they’ll…defend their territory from threats from the stars. It’s in line with their standard distaste for outsiders, yet it’s brazen to outright threaten to shoot us on sight. Lassian diplomats haven’t been able to reach them since then, either, so we can’t even talk it through.”
How could the Tseia be so blind to the bigger picture, treating a non-Bissem intelligence like any other outsider to be shot down? There are too many opportunities for our entire planet. Like Dustin said in his speech, their medicine and mechanical prowess can save lives.
Naltor smashed his fork against the table, earning looks from all of us. “Now, do you see my point? You can’t just fly off for a civil conversation, Dustin. Tell me, how much research have you done on the Tseia? Did you observe more about them than we all know?”
“What Naltor is saying is that, even in the internet age, the Tseia haven’t linked up with the rest of us. They seem to have their own isolated network. The Nomads talk to our diplomats, but nobody lands on their soil. They put metal overhangs atop their cities, just to hide them from satellites. There’s not much we can tell you about their culture, apart from the fact they migrate from city to city, and have one home for each season,” I commented.
“Given how easily they acquired all of the data about us, I was hopeful our alien friends might be able to shed some light. Nobody can say why the Tseia do anything, but they’re fucking strange. During the old space race, never having tipped off any interest in the stars, they launched the first rocket to Ivrana’s orbit, before computers were invented. Then, they went to war with the world over Nelmin, when they’d always kept to themselves; suddenly, it was meant to be theirs. Tell me, does the Sapient Coalition have any inkling on the Tseia’s ways?”
Dustin grimaced. “Well…no. Those things are mysteries to us as much as you. We attempted to tap into their networks, but were unable to crack their encryption, even with quantum supercomputers. It’s impressive.”
The Selmer’s expression was priceless. “You’re telling me those nomads were unhackable, when you got through our military-grade encryption like it was nothing.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. We only learned their language through your databases.”
“Their computer technology exceeds what we would expect from Bissems, given its recent discovery,” Nulia commented. “It’s possible that your date, on the advent of computers, is wrong altogether. That would answer your rocket mystery.”
“And possibly why they’re reclusive. But not why they conceal their technology level from all of you.” Haliska lashed her tail, pushing a forkful of greens around her plate. “Again, we can only speculate. There must be some kind of reason, cultural or otherwise, for the isolationism.”
“And to find out, we need to talk to the Tseia. The way they’re threatening us…fearmongering about our arrival…I think they’re scared, just like Naltor and his military were.”
My mind was reeling from the aliens’ hypotheses, which suggested that the Tseia had made sophisticated advances and kept those for themselves. How could Bissem technology hold a candle to alien marvels, whose capabilities should’ve blown ours out of the water? It was a testament to how we’d underestimated the Nomads, beyond just the obvious case of the surprise rocket launch. My immediate thought was whether they’d tapped into the Sapient Coalition’s outpost network, and learned about the Federation; that was the most logical reason to be frightened. If the war’s horrors were released in an uncontrolled fashion, the effect on the Bissem public could be devastating. I hoped this was a case of isolationist paranoia, but if it wasn’t, I agreed with the human that we needed to get a handle on it.
I can picture the mass panic, learning about entire worlds being destroyed, carnivore hatred, and people being eaten. If I’m right, that’s the worst way the Tseia could’ve found out the galaxy’s history.
“I wasn’t scared. I was alarmed about your arrival,” Naltor grumbled.
Dustin’s eyes rotated up toward his brain. “Whatever you say. You know, I was tempted to wave at the snipers, but I don’t think they’d have liked that.”
“You knew about the snipers?”
“We have heat vision cameras. Just saying.”
“And your plan is to touch down on Alsh, where you can’t see the snipers? Where nobody is granted entrance…after they openly pledged to blow your brains out?”
“Yes and no. I was thinking more washing up on their shores, under a Lassian flag. You’re the only ones they talk to, and that means they might hold fire on a diplomatic vessel. I would’ve liked to have a longer holiday here on Earth, but I believe we need to turn back for Ivrana tomorrow. Every day this drags on, the Yotul’s case gets stronger.”
“Won’t it make you look bad, not honoring their request for you to stay away?” I murmured. “You told us you would’ve left, if that was our wish. I also believe they’re serious about their threat to kill you.”
“Hm. I will leave, should they ask politely in person. Perhaps we’re wrong not to respect their ‘Keep Out’ message, but they simply…must recant the public statements, for the sake of our mission. Ivrana is in dire straits. I’ll sleep fine at night, and to save an entire planet, I can stomach the risks.”
“I’ve come to like you, Dustin, and though he won’t admit it, Naltor does too. Neither of us want anything to happen to you. I would feel terrible if first contact ended in a tragedy, not to mention what it could mean between our two peoples. I want to fix this mess as much as you do, but perhaps it should be Lassian diplomats taking the plunge.”
“I agree with Dr. Tassi,” Nulia said, her spines half-raised in alarm. “There’s no reason for you to put yourself in such…grave peril.”
The human slammed a fist on the table. “The reason is that we need to communicate that we’re not a threat. Sending the Lassians alone could make us at fault for the next Global War, whereas if I go, it’s just one of their ships. I believe in Bissems. If I put myself at their mercy, they’ll see that they have the power. That there’s nothing to fear. It has to be me, and I won’t be dissuaded.”
“Then let us go with you,” Haliska countered, nervously preening her fur. “This could be my fault, for the meltdown at the feast. We’re a team; you don’t have to sacrifice yourself alone.”
“If they’re going to kill aliens on sight, there’s no reason for our whole first contact party to die. That level of carnage would give the United Nations pause, despite their commitment to help. I won’t risk our entire connection to the Bissems. There’s been too much blood, sweat, and tears into this program. A decade of our lives.”
My stomach churned, knowing I couldn’t let Dustin venture off alone. “Then I’m tagging along. This is my life’s work, and I have to do my part to protect you. I’ll make sure the Lassian government doesn’t seek retribution…in the event of our demise. I’m representing FAI, not them.”
”There’s not a chance in hell—”
“You’re like one of Kail’s cultists, trying to be a martyr,” Naltor interjected. “If you want a Lassian boat, you’re taking both Tassi and I with you. We’re…in this together now. For all Bissems. And don’t worry: I won’t go spewing my thoughts about the Tseia to their faces. We go the three of us, or we don’t go at all. Got it?”
“You could leave a little room for debate.” The human hesitated, a weary look in his eyes, but was unable to withstand the general’s authoritative assertions. “If you insist, but I don’t like it. Putting people in harm’s way isn’t something I’m used to.”
“That’s why you’re bringing a military man along. Too much naivety, between you and Tassi. This ocean crisis sounds like serious shit, and I won’t let a single country doom our planet. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Ivrana.”
“Thank you. I…guess I’ll have our people get in touch with Lassmin. We know how we’re handling each of the factions.”
Dustin stood from the table, clearly having lost his appetite during our discussion. The flavorful fish cutlet that I had devoured suddenly felt heavy as a rock in my stomach, as it occurred to me what I had insisted on; I’d been watching the human lay himself out on train tracks, and I couldn’t bear it. Just when Bissems discovered aliens, my life could be ending in a few days. There was some solace that I had lived to the point where we discovered extraterrestrial intelligence—and had been the first Bissem to see another planet—but there was still so much I wanted to learn. Sailing toward the continent known for torching unwanted visitors on sight was suicide, even if it was the only way to attempt to save diplomatic relations.
I rubbed the spot where my implant had been placed, feeling stress boiling within me. My first priority was to get a memory transcription before we departed for Tseia territory…in case this was my final week in the land of the living. I wanted people to know that I was willing to sacrifice myself for this cause, and to know how truly excited I was about these newcomers. When Dustin and Nulia got scanned before the ship launch tomorrow, I would quietly have my thoughts taken down. It would take a miracle of good faith from the nomads to depart alive, if the fact that they were “friendly” with Lassmin counted for anything. We had no other choice to find out why the third subspecies had hidden so much from the rest of Bissemkind.
A/N - Chapter 13! Tassi and Naltor partake in some lab-grown fish, and we learn a bit about the other nations, who will be receiving diplomatic envoys; the Tseia having mysteriously strong computer encryption, and threatening to shoot Dustin on sight, makes the visit to the nomads a bit dicey. Dustin is accepting of any risks, to save Ivrana and to stop the Yotul from blocking Bissems' attempt to join the SC...but Tassi and Naltor insist on tagging along if he wants a Lassian boat.
Why do you think the Tseia are so secretive, and why are they passing on their isolationist stance to aliens? How will they react to Dustin's visit?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
Invariance
That quote of yours came after the USSR had already set a good many of its records. In fact, it was prompted by the fact that the USSR had already successfully sent a man to space and back; it's not really accurate to say that it "was always the goal", when it was set so late into the game.
Invariance
@extraintelligence I've never heard it characterized quite that way before. There was plenty of novel science on the USSR's side (all of those "firsts" weren't exactly freebies), and it most certainly was a publicity stunt for the US as well (the motivation for the politicians both sides was looking better than the other). Kennedy's famous speech, about landing a man on the Moon, was prompted by wanting to one-up the USSR, which had already gotten a man to and from space by that point. There were also other confounding factors at play, like the death of the chief engineer of the Soviet space program. I don't think its accurate to say that "they simply hadn't bothered discovering the science and developing the technology" for the space race, especially considering it in its totality. ('course, the US ended up getting the Nazis to do it for them in the end anyways :p)
Adam Myers
@SP (Spelling error?)
Could the Nomads be using some wetware? Based on marine organisms like interconnected hydras or jellyfish, perhaps? :) (Or they just worship Cthulhu or some other interdimensional horror).
Some Lvm
HUDDLE DOME! HUDDLE DOME! HUDDLE DOME! Many penguins enter, not one leaves!
Some Lvm
Actually, I figured your comment was a probably a reply based on the opening quot. But consider this: In Stargate SG 1, the US got FTL starships built with Trinium, a fictional super strong, super light metal that does not exist on earth. The hyperdrive was also fueled by Naquadria, another magical element not available on earth (and part of the reason Goa'uld used to kidnap humans as forced labor to mine other planets). They were able to get all that not because humanity was not native to earth, it is canonically in that universe, but because they had the gate, which let them grab stuff from other planets and contact aliens with advanced knowledge. The Tsia city coverings may not be a stand alone structure. The may be made of interconnected pieces suspended between buildings. That would still be an enormous investment to build and maintain, but would require less intense engineering than a self supporting dome.
Some Lvm
Forget Apollo era - we can't realistically cover a whole city now! Yes, those projects sound insane, but it also bares the question: Why? Why hide an entire city? Surely there is a better, more efficient way to conceal whatever it is they need to hide from other Bissems, especially if they have superior technology. I still don't see enough evidence that Bissems are not native to Ivrana. There are several options as to how one faction limited to one specific area of the planet others have no access to, might have gotten their hands on advanced technology. Also, surely there ways other than satellites to see in to those cities. After talking about network security with regards to Tsia networks seemingly being unbreachable by humans, it occurred to me humanity could have used one of their micro drones to find an insecure physical connection, or at least to fly around a Tsia city, and record some video of what is going on. Even if the drone was eventually detected, it would still serve its purpose without leaving much traces as to who was spying.
PhycoKrusk
This was actually intended to be a reply to Yannis' comment above; I have no idea how it ended up orphaned like this, and that strips away a lot of context that makes it make more sense. As to Bissems not being native to Ivrana, the Tseia Nomads appear to have technology that is significantly more advanced than anything else on the planet, in spite of having an existence that reasonably should have made that (almost) impossible. Not just talking about their encryption, but especially the shields they have covering their cities against spying by satellites: These are substantial megastructures that would demand significant knowledge in the areas of architecture, engineering, and metallurgy (although it did occur to me later that they may be more akin to domes than umbrellas, since to actually be effective, they would have to reach down far enough to block photographs taken from oblique angles; yes, this would require especially powerful cameras to take those photos, but it's still a risk). It just appears that the Nomads are in possession of knowledge and technologies that are far, far ahead of all other Bissem nations with no clear path for them to achieve them that, for some reason, no other nation was able to follow. Never mind where they are actually sourcing all of the materials needed to build and maintain the technology they have. Yes, I know it's been a century since the Nomads made it to space, and it's entirely possible that in that time they may well have developed all of this technology without the need for some Deus ex Astra, but since they trade not goods nor materials nor knowledge nor people, it is simply orders of magnitude more likely that they'd be playing catch-up - if that was even possible - with everyone else without external assistance/interference.
Some Lvm
@Vladi: computers and servers is all you need to have vulnerabilities. Smart fridges is just for kids. I doubt very much the Tsia have anything close to Precursor technology, if they did, they would be dominating the whole planet after the last world war. They may at best have some Fed tech which they probably don't fully control or understand. Also, they do have a public internet, even if it is isolated from the rest of the planet. The humans should have been able to tap in to that, but I think the first contact party just wasn't properly equipped for it. I suspect they were trying to be as non intrusive as possible, which resulted in them only passively monitoring wireless communications from orbit. This is the only way encryption alone could have prevented them from gathering *any* information. If they just snuck in to someone's home and plugged a wire in to their router, they would probably been able to find out what was going on...
Space Paladin
The Selmer nation that Naltor defected from
Alekss Žukovskis
they dont have any networks. all is done on paper.
Alekss Žukovskis
my theory is that the team actively tried to brute force a RNGenerator that was set up to see what hacking methods would be tried.
Yannis Morris
Ah
Adam Myers
“Merlei Huddedom” Merlei Huddledom?
Adam Myers
I am going to put forward an extension of my Yotul Patronizing Hypothesis, the Yotul are the ones who have been leaking tech to the nomads. Most likely they are simultaneously wanting to embarrass the SC in their uplifting goal while also protecting the meat-eating sapients.
Gumcel
“Understood. The other forty thousand are Shield allies?” “The Leshee felt guilty for not sending any ships to Kalqua, some grudge about being iced out of the Federation military. The Jaur saved most of their fleet for today, because, surprise, they wanted to help out with this anyway. The—wait, why am I telling a predator this? I’m sure the motives of forty-four species, and which ones turned up, don’t matter to you. What registers is violence, and there’s forty-thousand Shield ships that want to dish that out.” Ch 163
Willy
Absolutely everything! And I’m here for it ;D
extraintelligence
Another reason the Americans won the Space Race which PhycoKrusk didn't mention is that they were making actual scientific progress. The Russians have a bunch of firsts because they were using the Space Race as a PR stunt, specifically gunning for all the "firsts" they could get. ** This ultimately bit them in the ass: the USSR was still going strong (or at least, they weren't quite in their death throws yet) when the USA put men on the Moon. Not only did they fail to get that first, but they were never even able to get to the point where they could match the USA, because they simply hadn't bothered discovering the science and developing the technology that would allow them to safely get men to and from the Moon. ** This is also why the Soviets switched to focusing on putting up Salyut space stations in the early 1970's: they came to the realization that without doing a rigorous amount of science, they were never going to be able to catch up or match pace with the USA (and in fact, despite their research, they never did manage to catch up).
Willy
Eh I believe it is a bit more complicated than dooming the whole planet. SP’s writing is the reason for this. The Tesia probably have a way of dealing with the oceans but will probably use the other Bissems but humanity might get in the way of that.
Vladi Vladi
You do have to remember the only spyware they have is Yotul and Human. There’s only so many techniques two civilisations can think of without ever actually seeing the technological level of the enemy. The Nomads could have Precursor tech, or they could simply be too secretive. Their network simply has no stupid weakness like a Smart Fridge, they just have computers and servers
Some Lvm
Ah, general Naltor is making a classical mistake of confusing an uncrackable encryption with an unhackable system. https://xkcd.com/538 It is interesting humans where unable to crack Tsia's encryption, but how hard did they try to actually access their networks? Usually information theft avoids dealing with encryption all together and just finds ways to go around, and in a network environment there would be a lot of opportunities. That said, I find it difficult to believe a nomadic lifestyle would be conducive to rapid technological advancement. The Tsia do have cities so they are not really full on classical nomads, but still, I am leaning towards the "penguin Roswell" theory.
Some Lvm
Why would you think Bissems are not native to Ivrana? The kind of speciation they have would take hundreds of thousands of years if not millions to occur. It is possible, theoretically, that they came or were brought over from a similar planet, but I see no signs even hinting at that. Did I miss something? As for the space race, Neil deGrasse Tyson said in one interview that the best way to get people to Mars is to convince the American government that the Chinese are about to set up a military base there. That would instantly give NASA all the resources they need to develop and launch a viable mission. You are right about the moon being the goal, but it was set as the goal because closer goals - first artificial satellite and first man in orbit where achieved. Had the Soviet Union not been on the brink of collapse, the race would likely have continued, and I think we would be much farther along in space exploration than we are now. Or maybe I just like "For All Mankind" too much :P But I can understand other Bessem nations giving up, if they saw they were too far behind to reasonably achieve victory. The earth space race was fueled primarily by politics, and now that the Soviet threat is gone, it has been going backwards. There are other ways to win at politics... Not possessing computers wouldn't just mean having hard time navigating a space craft. It would mean having hard time even designing one, and figuring out on what path to send it in the first place. The computer in the Apollo lunar module may have been a shoe box with less processing power than a 10$ fitness band has today, but on the ground NASA was using 3 IBM mainframes to crunch the flight data and track the ship in real time. I can't say for sure a moon mission without computers would be completely impossible, but it would be a hell lot more difficult!
Yannis Morris
Wait where did we hear that the Jaur were part of the Shield?
CyberpunkGandalf
I think the Tseia have a crashed alien ship which allowed them to reverse engineer advanced computers. I think they may even have advanced AI which could rapidly advance their tech.
Gumcel
Y’know they mention having Jaurs, a The Shield species working for them. So either citizen Jaurs living outside of their territory or for whatever godforsaken reason they’re allowing The Shield to play a part in this. Or maybe they just left The Shield? Who knows.
Willie
Update.... crack idea sivkits are also migratory and have been heavily mentioned (this is unhinged yarn theories)
Willie
Okay after a long day at work- the tseia clearly have been hiding tech for a while- the encryption can't just be a fluke- a alien data cache? A derelict ship? The feds would have obliterated them short of a conspiracy of predator sympathetics and the arxur wouldn't have left them could this relate to the Kev in some way? There's just not enough details to stitch together I can feel it
PhycoKrusk
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." America won the Space Race by getting to the Moon first because getting to the Moon was the goal, and was always the goal. That doesn't invalidate anything that the Soviets achieved first, and in fact, it is precisely because the Soviets did achieve so many things first that the race was as meaningful as it was. That says, you're right: It _is_ very curious that once the Nomads beat everybody else to space, they all just kind of... lost interest? I'm still not convinced, however, that Bissems are native to Ivrana.
Yannis Morris
So I didn’t see it before. But revisiting the Bissem documents has opened my eyes a bit. People thought it was weird that the Nomads launched a satellite without computers but everyone else chimed in that it was possible and described the Bissem as an example of the Tech Tree not being linear. This could very well be true. It’s also possible that nobody really ever knew what the Nomads are capable of. But anyways: I saw a gap that I think is way more conspicuous in hindsight. After the Nomads famously launched their satellite and won the space race: Everyone else on the planet was essentially so racist it made them look (and act) stupid. So they instantly made space out to be a waste of time just so they wouldn’t have to admit that the Nomads were good at something. (You see, it’s like how America “won” the Space Race because they went to the moon first. Everything the Russians did first didn’t count, you see.) We’ve had a massive gap into the affairs of the nomads since the start. It could be inferred that no Bissem but them even bothered looking into space until Tassi’s division started looking to the stars for friends a near century later.
George Smith
I think that’s more of a migratory thing, though having four cities just means they have to drop four antimatter bomb which is not really that hard for a spacefaring civilization
George Smith
Perhaps, but unless the presence of the other aliens, next to the people freaked them out they probably would’ve said something.
EliasArt2Life
@Space Paladin Thank you! I have trouble keeping track of date based timelines, so this was helpful!
EliasArt2Life
@Yannis Morris Ah, thank you. I see the problem I had with your comment; you wrote that the Tseia made it to orbit “centuries” ago. It was only a little more than 1 century ago, though. Still, that puts it outside of the reach of the Ark ships (or the Yotul, so I need to add a note to my comment).
Jay Scott Raymond
Agreed. I don't think there are humans there, just that they are behaving in a similar way for possibly similar reasons. Frankly anyone whose met or even heard tell of the Federation has good reason to want to avoid them.
DemonVee
Can't remember how long ago their space race was, but their internet seems to be very recent.
Gumcel
Not saying that they didn’t interact with aliens, but if the federation knew about them their information would be in the archives no? Maybe they know of other aliens or maybe they know about the feds but not vice versa.
Gumcel
Not sure why they’d need another Arxur. Also using the Bissem as an Arxur would be bad because they’re meat eaters with side facing eyes which completely contradicts their rhetoric.
Yannis Morris
Notice how the nomads doing space stuff first is at least a century into the past. Before humans even landed on Venlil Prime, before the Federation ever found the Yotul. This is less than implausible. It is straight up impossible for either of those species to have done ANYTHING to the Bissem
Yannis Morris
Favorite comment
Yannis Morris
@Lokyar Nope no absolutely not. Even if the timeline were in any way possible, which it is sooo not, Ark humans seeing a human alive and well wouldn’t be like “Don’t let them see us”
Space Paladin
The Space Race happened a century ago on Ivrana!
Gumcel
Well she’s getting at least 3 more povs, so she must’ve gotten a second memory scan afterwards.
Yannis Morris
@EliasArt2Life https://docs.google.com/document/d/1462mkERRtCZoBkQ0f-AtDwZxaf88DKB5-EOMAAa_21Q/edit?usp=sharing
Space Paladin
Hm, it’s possible, though the ideas I’ve been floating for the immediate future are about the Krev!
Space Paladin
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1462mkERRtCZoBkQ0f-AtDwZxaf88DKB5-EOMAAa_21Q/edit
Gumcel
No way she’s dying lol (at least not any time soon), you can screenshot this and post it if I’m wrong but I’m confident she’ll be fine.
Gumcel
The lore document was posted multiple times on discord, but: https://www.patreon.com/posts/nature-of-2-wiki-95726303 This has information on the Bissem + a link to the lore document.
Lokyar
The Tseia could be harbouring an Ark Ship of their own. Would explain their isolationism
EliasArt2Life
@Yannis Morris That doesn’t sound right, and I can’t find the information you referred to. Can you please link or direct me to that lore document? I’ve been trying to figure out when exactly they had their space race.
Tazeell
Well seems this may be nearing the end of the transcription Tassi which is a shame. This seems like an incredibly bad idea.
John
I think the general would have a much more comfortable set of interactions if he engaged with a front line military man, like a UN Admiral or other command officer.
Ron1990
this seems to be possible, but i get a really creepy feeling about the fate of the jaslip. I hope SP doesn't like horror or thriller genre. On the other hand, reddit is child safe. What could go wrong :-D?
pogman
Like what if they started to war for (Nassmin was it?) to resettle the native's descendants. That would make me look at Tseia with a positive light and Humanity's history of genocide wouldn't be entirely repeated on Ivrana. It would give them all a second chance with the help of SC to bring the natives back :)
pogman
That would be cool as fuck. SPACEPALADIN, IF YOU SEE THIS, THEN, PLEASE!
Danny Luca
I’m loving this side story happening in the comments. Will printPath regain the thrown? How will Paperclip handle the new found power! Find out next week in the comments!
Ron1990
what could go wrong? :-D
Ron1990
how did first contact protocols of the federation evolves over time? In 3043FI the global war begins, this is 2136 terran standard, Fed' was on its high. Perhaps Ivrana is getting fed'formed, and the federation saviors would rescue and cure the survivors in 3100FI - 3150FI, if the plan had succeed. But all plans shattered in 2137. So now you have Tseians, who are highly xenophobic, because they had contact with the feds, and a planet on the brink of disaster. And a nice but slightly naive human...
Tyler Ellis
He dropped it on discord a while back but I think it might still be on Reddit, I can try to find it though idk if patreon supports links
T___
Ok, I'm going to reveal my shameful cluelessness. But where are all these documents people are mentioning? I somehow remember one with basic information about the Bissem, but can't remember where I saw it. A lore document?
Lunam
Calling it now. We're dealing with Space Penguin Wakanda. And I love it.
Apogee
I think this is the most plausible
Brianreal
Alright. So we either have a different faction of aliens feeding technology to the Tsea without the SC knowing, them somehow gathering info on alien technology before first contact, or maybe they are just ahead of the game naturally. I'm betting on the second option. They probably caught a whiff of the outside galaxy by intercepting signals and decided to prepare for when the feds finds them. Said signals may have also included instructions for advanced technology, explaining the technological gap between the other nations.
Cartoon dinosaur
hmm ok Hay space paladin what are the chances of a bonus ser5ies following a farsul or kolshian in the future? I would realy like to have a POV of thairs in this time period Are we going to get an update on how they and there planets aafa and talsk are doing anytime soon?
Ron1990
Perhaps the Tseia Nomads calls themselves Yaslips?
Guardian
Hey, PsychoKrusk, i'm curious about how you know that. It sounds like something I would enjoy looking into. For the record, I'm jot arguing your point; I just "need input", to quote a beloved 80s robotic character.
Jay Scott Raymond
A simple observation: The Tseia are acting a lot like the humans from ark ship 3, though more aggressive about it.
Guardian
It makes sense for that to occur. Otherwise, from a literary standpoint, we'd be reading two separate stories; I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it does make for a somewhat disjointed continuity. Glad I'm not the only one beginning to think a connection between the two narratives will be revealed at some point.
Yannis Morris
Guys, hear me out. The Nomads are hiding their descendants of the Fourth Subspecies
Yannis Morris
Guys, hear me out: The Krev Consortium relocated the Jaslip to Ivrana
Yannis Morris
@PhycoKrusk Yeah it’s like making 4 inch thick steel armor that can stand up to an RPG when everyone on the planet shouldn’t even be capable of a machine gun
Yannis Morris
The timeline, guys
Yannis Morris
@DemonVee Timeline
EliasArt2Life
The plot thickens. I let it slide on NOP1, and then realized that I shouldn’t have, so I’m going to point it out here; Tseian culture shouldn’t work. Isolated societies tend to be technologically inferior, due to a lack of trade of goods and information, they also tend to have strained economies as time goes on. The Nomads have 3 cities they migrate between, meaning that at any one time they’re only using 1/3 of their land, and are somehow MORE technologically advanced? And feats of engineering like giant metal plates above their cities? That would be insane for us NOW. I think that it’s very clear that the Tseia Nomads had contact with alien life, resulting in a boost to their society’s technological capabilities. I can think of a few suspect, but only one stands out: The Federation; they would inspire fear and paranoia, and have the technology. However, their cybersecurity is inferior to ours, so that doesn’t work unless the Nomads have been improving it for ages. (Even then, it only really makes sense if the Farsul or Kolshians are the ones who made contact.) The Consortium; I doubt this, since they have given up expanding and we don’t know if the Bissem are even near Consortium space. It just doesn’t seem like their style, although given the little we know of them, it is possible. The Arxur; the Nomads stance suggesting they deserve to inherit the world seems similar to the Arxurs’ old philosophy. Also, it would be like the Arxur to drop the tech off and leave. However, this doesn’t seem like something that Dominion Arxur would do, they never mentioned it, and the current Arxur are quarantined to their part of space. The Yotul; before, I would never suggest that they would do any form of first contact, but seeing as they have been willing to turn to blackmail and spying to get what they want, I think it’s a possibility. They could have dropped the tech on the Nomads, along with a warning of what other aliens will do to them and their culture if they show up, and left. The Yotul ARE one of the only species to have cybersecurity on par with humanity. They also don’t strike me as being able to recognize their own hypocrisy. It’s possible that they did this as a way to manipulate the Nomads into causing a row of the Technocracy couldn’t stop first contact, planning to use it as ammunition against the upliftment. It is notable that they picked this info up even quicker than the rest of the SC, as if they knew where to look. This theory falls apart if the Space Race the Bissem had (the only historical event mentioned in this account) happened more than 20 years ago, or at least farther in the past than the Yotul have been in space, since that would make that an impossibility. I’d say my prime suspect is the Yotul, baring an actual date for the Nomads’ strange (and technologically advanced) actions starting. Edit: @Space Paladin AND @Yannis Morris have both shown me the dates for the space race; roughly 109 year before first contact, which rules out the Yotul. The Federation has retaken the lead as prime suspects, but I suspect there may be a further twist.
PhycoKrusk
We're getting a lot of great discussion and brainstorming out of this chapter. Here's one I haven't seen suggested yet, and it mainly comes out of the fact that nothing is really matching up the way it should. The Nomads launched the first spacecraft on Ivrana, before computers had been invented. Yet we see now their computing technology is at a point where the quantum supercomputers used by the Coalition cannot break their cryptograms. That's unusual, to say the least. They migrate between four cities; nobody can get close enough to actually see what's going on, and once satellites were developed generally, they erected what are functionally giant umbrellas to protect against prying eyes. I don't think anyone else reading has really clued into how gigantic a project this would be. Even if the cities aren't _that_ large, these shield still have to be several miles across, have to hold up their own weight for years, have to resist wind and storms, and have to be maintained. This is an enormous undertaking that we, during the Apollo program, would not have been able to do. The most common hypothesis is that they somehow came into contact with the Federation and adapted their technology. I propose an alternate hypothesis: That, yes, the technology we see employed by the Tseia Nomads did not originate from Ivrana. If the Bissems' technology did not originate from Ivrana, then why should we assume that the Bissems did either?
Wingit98
.....what have you done...
print Path
Awwwww Thank you
Spencer M.
The humans of 20 years prior could hack and shut down the entire Federation network. I'm thinking that the Tseia achieved spaceflight centuries ago, found the Federation, and put in a policy of extreme hiding.
Andrew Boivin
I’m wondering if maybe they’ve been talking to the other alien coalition who’s been hiding from the federation. Maybe they’re being uplifted by them or trading info and hiding they’re technology from the supposed federation while hiding underground like the Genii from Stargate
Kilo Rat
Oooh, maybe first contact was really second contact after all!
Gavin Pierce
Yea we do know federation encryption was a joke
DefaultyTurtle
I’m wondering if the Tsea are another result of the federation dropping space tech on authoritarian regimes, but in this case instead of space Nazis it’s a space North Korea. Just spitballing, but the war might have disrupted this uplift the Feds had in mind to maybe cause another Arxur-like race to force another front of the predation war to gain more control of the population.
PhycoKrusk
Even quantum computing can't crack quantum cryptography; as soon as you observe the data stream, it changes and becomes unreadable. You have to decrypt it 100% correctly on the first try, or not only do you not decrypt it, you don't even get partial data. You are literally starting over from scratch every time you fail to decrypt it. Now, I don't have evidence that's what's going on here, but it's still impressive encryption. How did they get it?
Space Paladin
Dustin, Naltor, and Tassi are going to the nomads. Nulia and Haliska are visiting the other two (amicable) nations with a team of SC diplomats
Byron Ritchie
Ah I see can’t wait!
Space Paladin
The word I’ve always used about the Consortium is “complicated.” I think Chapter 15 will start showing what I meant!
John
You need riot gear right now. Im always watching.
Space Paladin
Might need riot gear for next Monday!
Space Paladin
They’ll be back in 15 and 16, with the Jaslip drama and more…
PhycoKrusk
They can absolutely accept that they won't be killed off for eating fish while simultaneously being distrustful of an imperialist galactic superpower.
PhycoKrusk
You'll always be my 1P.
PhycoKrusk
Paperclip, what have you done?! You've changed the future! TAIMU PARADAKUSU!
Thomas Hardy
I doubt it. The Yotul see that as a cardinal sin right now. It's more likely a Federation offshoot or other alien faction yet unmet.
John
Me who wanted to continue the ark humans storyline:
Yannis Morris
Damn. And here I thought the lore doc was entirely accurate. I guess history is a story told by the “victors” still
Jay Scott Raymond
And Naltor demonstrates that the Yotul are wrong about Humanity acting like the Koshians by asserting control over how the approach to the Tseia will go and Dustin accepting it over his own misgivings. Humanity is working with the Bissem, not riding roughshod over them.
Luiz Henrique Alves
The Yotul were feeding them tech I bet
Dragon Writer Luc
I feel pretty sure there's been alien contact with them before and that they had a very bad experience. The fact that they still hide might be a combination of factors, between trying to dodge annihilation, hiding secrets, or possibly hiding that they have aliens among them.
DemonVee
Or... (Which I'm sure will be the go two when ever something strange happens in this universe) Their world was the landing sight of another ark ship, though I don't think they woukd fare all that great if thatbwas the case
Yannis Morris
Check the lore doc again. It’s possible they encountered *something* after reaching orbit but it was centuries before any Ark ship
DemonVee
The first interesting thing is that they already have quantum computers. I think we're only now getting working ones. The second is that the nomads seem to be on par computer wise as Humanity, seemingly inventing computers before any other nation on their world or somehow stumbling upon something before anyone else on their world. There is a reason why they're hiding cities from space, though if it was due to the Feds wouldn’t they try to hide the entire planet? Maybe it's some lost civilization that left traces on their world, or a Fed ship that they got only a part of the story.
Tyler Ellis
Wait wait, so they’re hiding themselves not long after space launch? Sounds very familiar. Maybe (if no one minds the stretch) they somehow got in contact with one of the Ark ships and learned how screwed up the galaxy is, then again idk how they’d do that without the SC knowing.
Bunten44
Nothing spells respect and consideration more than ignoring the wishes of a sovereign people and attempting espionage, and what is it with the unwillingness to help them unless they become SC members? The yotul are right in my opinion that they are making a mistake by trying to "uplift" the bissem because they could help them with less disruptive means.
Yannis Morris
@Elliott Well *every* mistake is a bit of a reach. There’s no herbivory conversion in the cards for the Bissem
T___
They have to be very familiar to hacking to create such good encryption. So they had computers and rocket launches before other Bissem. Perhaps they managed to listen in on ftl comms by aliens? Federation? Clearly they know how to hide their cities, and even if a city being found there's only 25% chance their there. On the other hand, if there is traffic between them and the other, exposed Bissems, they'd not be safe. Something spooked them and made them pour resources into shielding themselves.
Yannis Morris
And also how advanced they are *compared to the rest of the planet*. Technological advancement a lot of times is like an arm’s race. We don’t know how advanced Bissem cybersecurity and espionage is but there shouldn’t be a gap that large if they were just trying to hide from the rest of the planet. Unless it’s sheer f**king paranoia driving them: Mayhaps the nomads were competing internally?
Elliott
I know most people are saying that a Fed ship fell down giving them some sort of Covenant-Forerunner advantage, but I don't think so. 1, it would be too obvious, and 2 it wouldn't make sense for many reasons chronologically. More likely, I THINK, is that they were always ahead of the curve due to environmental determinism and possibly luck in rare-Earth (rare-Irvanra?) metals. Their satellites could've been a monitoring array to observe space and potentially make virtual contact with aliens like the Krev, Yotul, Arxur, or Federation. I doubt they'd be able to just reverse engineer a Fed ship without even computers, so it's my guess they got contacted by or stole from intergalactic transmissions.
Byron Ritchie
Oh yeah some former feds or the consortium are proabbly involved I still believe the consortium is more morally ambiguous then evil but this adds to the ambiguity
Elliott
Like I said before when we first met the Bissems I'll say here, Bissems could become the Imperium of Bissem Man or a new Bissem Arxur Dominion if humanity isn't careful like the Yotuls warned. We're on the path to make every single mistake the Kolshians made.
Elliott
Same, I was thinking "if the next chapter isn't her POV she's as good as dead"
Elliott
Penguin North Korea is sounding more and more like a threat. Imagine having any kind of better tech than the intergalactic aliens souring through the galaxy at FTL. The Yotul are sounding more and more right by each chapter.
Youre a swedekisser arent you
The Tesia are certainly interesting. I'm worried about just what's coming from them, and what exactly they're doing. Their society being secret is pretty interesting. I imagine keeping to themselves probably meant they had more time to focus on technological advancment rather than war or everything else that plagues the other nations as a result of being welcoming to others. Hopefully they're willing to cooperate, otherwise they'll doom everyone on the planet.
Charles Michael Santos
What if the nomads actually got advance technology after a random encounter with a fed scout ship, or they might be in kahoots with the consortium as others commenters have mentioned. Are dustin, nulia, and haliska gonna be part of the diplomatic team going to the nomads? Is there no one else in the galaxy a better diplomat than these three? I mean i like dustin and nulia coming back but it makes the galaxy feel really really smaller
Corporal Chunk
I am still the king's loyal advisor, whoever that king is
TheArchivist
So glad some people connected the dots between Tseia having a potential connection to the Consortium. We know the Consortium has made painstaking efforts to keep themselves a secret, and the secret mentioned in the last chapter may have been why one of the Ivranan races was wiped out. I am fully expecting the two story arcs to do a full merge at some point in the future, and the clusterfuck that WILL happen.
REDemon14
Tassi getting a mem. Transcript recorded makes me nervous for her...
print Path
I give on to you the golden Crown for beating me But enjoy while you can Today was a fluke, I shall reclaim my spot soon enough!
print Path
I know :arxur_sad:
Yannis Morris
Yeah like they aren’t buying s**t about the SC… But Dustin’s appearance and both his and Nulia’s non-issue with the feast should have tipped them off that they’ll be fine. Maybe they don’t have enough insight into Federation insanity? Maybe in the Ark 3 chapters we’ll learn how comprehensive the Krev’s data on the Federation is. It’s also possible that Haliska’s freakout at the feast hurt their chances more than they know. Like they’re taking her as proof that not enough has changed for the galaxy to be safe for Bissem
paintmelikeyoudoyoursheilas
Wow. To get the drop on people with ftl capabilities and learn their secrets without them knowing is fucking bad ass. They are not to be reckoned with and would be a tremendous ally. There is the possibility this is more federation meddling though, or some other as of yet unknown player.
Yannis Morris
Imagine if the isolationist faction has a similar backwards rhetoric that “binocular” individuals are pure evil of the highest order. Like they got that from observing the Federation and are similarly convinced of the destruction they’re “destined” to bring. (Plus the prions. So they also have lab-grown meat and aren’t sharing because they think all other Bissem are destined to fall to “The Hunger” from eating meat that they didn’t personally lab grow.)
Yannis Morris
I hope Tassi shares her opinion that alien life with FTL should be miles ahead of anything Bissem were capable of and a member of the SC shoots that thought down. I hope the exact words are something like “I can’t believe they had tech this advanced this whole time!” “Why wouldn’t they?”
Yannis Morris
The isolationists actually are best buds with the Krev Consortium and are working off the knowledge that humans are part of the Federation… despite Dustin being human and oh so clearly not being something the Feds would accept. (Plus Nulia having no issue partaking in the feast)
everything very
:D
Paperclip
Putting my thoughts as a separate comment: I can see the overarching plot unfolding and all of its spooky mysteries. Very curious as to how the Krev and the Bissems tie together. My first guess on the Tseia is that they procced upon something to give them an up in technology, like if "ancient aliens" or something interacted with them or they secretly dove into research on some anomaly. I might be getting the timeline wrong, but maybe they initially isolated themselves because of how they were almost eradicated during the colonial era and that mistrust carried over to present day. Getting a lot of authoritarian vibes from them, with how they're locking everyone else out. Maybe North Korea-esque, by how the lack of information on them from other nations might suggest that their citizens aren't allowed to freely leave and tell other countries about the internal state of the Tseia Nomads. But then again, I know nothing about politics and can't even remember the previous chapter, so I might be yapping rn.
everything very
Yeah ‘torched’ was definitely a suspicious word to use
HiMyNameIsFelipe
I don't like Tesia, that is too suspicious. Maybe a technological advancement from stray feds that crashed? Another alien force? Bit of both? To have encryption that resists an aliens one? No man, that is too suspicious. Something really fishy is going on with them (pun intended)
Hello There
Hmmm, I wonder if some of the Tseia have former-federation members among them. It kind of makes sense for all of the secrecy, the rocket launch before the computers, and of the hidden cities plus nomadic movements. There is one answer, it’s the SIVKITS!!!
John Benjamin Cate
Boy, with the introduction of lab meat, I fear that some species in the SC will try to demand the Bissem give up all forms of fishing in favor of it if they want any of their assistance. But now there seems to be a hyper advanced isolated society on the Bissem world! Wonder how that happened, as trade is a strong incentive to spread tech.
jervictor jer
Why I Am thinking that the nomands stumbled upon something or better yet someone after their first rocket, and they granted them technology, to shield themselves from the rest of the universe
Kingarthur
Hmm. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that at some point in the past a fed ship crashed in thier space and tried to cure them and they're all super advanced cannibal cyborgs and they don't let anyone come near to keep from spreading the cure. Also they have a time machine and saw that the sc would land wear they did and tried to intercept the arrival thinking it was another fed ship
Invariance
Hmm, with advanced computers and superior spacefaring ability to the rest of the Bissems, perhaps Tseia has already been in contact with aliens? There are a number of candidates for that, but if the Krev or one of their allies (or enemies, for that matter) already warned them about dangers like the Federation, that would tie the two storylines together.
Alekss Žukovskis
no, you are Thirst
Alekss Žukovskis
i have come Forth
Wesley Rigg
THE KING UAS FALLEN!
print Path
First
Corporal Chunk
Awh, second. Still unbeadable second tho! :D
Paperclip
I DID IT!!! I'D LIKE TO THANK MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO STUCK WITH ME ALL THE WAY TO THIS MOMENT
