User:Jaster1

The Twelve Colonies of Olympus

In the twilight of the 21st century a new religious movement became very popular all over the world. Although its followers were worldwide, more than half of them resided in North America. This new religion was a neopagan faith based upon the ancient Greek theology.

The faith was founded on the belief that religion itself had never caused violence and division, but rather it was monotheism that had caused suffering and that because the philosophy and science that jump-started civilization was rooted in ancient Greek theological inquiry, the religion of the ancient Greeks was in fact the correct faith of humanity. The new religion had a strong emphasis on the ancient Greek philosophy of openness to discussion and inquiry.

The dogma included the belief that the existence of many different gods explained the presence of evil and confusion in the universe. A mortal may have had the support of one god but incur the enmity of another, who could attack when the patron god was away. As the followers of the faith saw it, the gods made life hard for humans, didn't seek to improve the human condition and allowed people to suffer and die. As a palliative, the gods offered to see that great achievement was memorialized. If things did go wrong, humans had to seek comfort not from the gods but from other humans. They believed that the separation between humanity and the gods made it possible for humans to complain to the gods without the guilt or fear of reprisal; that people are free to speculate about the character and intentions of the gods. By allowing people to ask hard questions, this religion encouraged them to learn, to seek all the possible causes of events. Scientific and intellectual curiosity was an intrinsic aspect of the religion. The theological dogma openly discouraged blind confidence based on unrealistic hopes that everything will work out in the end. It encouraged a healthy skepticism about human intelligence and achievements.

A very original and unique feature of the religion was an "aesthetic cultural regression." Believing the early 21st century to be the peak of human intellectual and cultural curiosity, the members of the religion mimicked various Western cultures aspects of the early 21st century - such as clothing style.

After decades of being marginalized, this religious group decided to leave Earth after the discovery of the space-warping drive that made faster-than-light a reality. It took them many years to build the ships to do it, but they eventually left Earth in a fleet of gargantuan space ships. The people aboard them where almost entirely from the United States, Canada and Great Britain. The vast majority where American.

It took them twenty years before they found twelve terraformable worlds in orbit around a single sun, a star they named Olympus. These worlds, became the Twelve Colonies of Olympus. The world of Tauron was the first to be terraformed and given a grid of gravity control generators to match Earth's gravitational field. After Tauron's founding, the other Colonies were then founded in succession; Caprica, Gemenon, Libris, Aerelon, Leonis, Picon, Scorpia, Aquaria, Virgon, Sagittaron, and finally Canceron, in that order.

The Twelve Colonies revolve around Olympus on elliptical orbits. Closest to the sun is Canceron. The planet is followed by a Trojan orbit of planets -- three worlds following the same orbital path, separated by roughly the same distance (one-sixth the orbit's diameter). In order, these planets are Aquaria, Caprica, and Virgon. Two gas giants follow, each in its own elliptical path and each itself orbited by a number of moons. The first of these behemoths is Zeus and it's moons are Leonis, Picon, and Scorpia. Another large planet, Aerelon shares Zeus' orbit, positioned exactly opposite the giant. The second gas giant is Hera and her charges are Gemenon and Libris, with Sagittaron likewise spinning opposite. At the outermost edge of the system dwells Tauron, which is followed by a third gas giant named Ragnar.

Upon settlement, the colonists began to build their own heritage. For the first few decades, the colonists neglected and even rejected their common origin and found ways to separate themselves even further than than come together as one. The Twelve Colonies developed their own unique identities. Armed skirmishes and declared wars caused further rifts between the twelve worlds.

Eventually open warfare and destruction waned, but that did not mark the end of political conflict. Worlds rich in natural resources pulled ahead, developing at a faster rate than those with less to seize positions of cultural and political prominence and power, becoming leaders within the Olympus System.

Peace brought progress however, and travel between the twelve worlds became more common and easier once more. Industry and education began to take the center stage, and the Colonies traded resources, products and services amongst one another. The official currency of the Twelve Colonies, the cubit, was introduced and a common measure of value further helped to stabilize colonial economies throughout the system.

The Colonies once more turned their attention to the exploration of space. Observatories were built to explore the edge of space around them. Listening stations were next, and the colonies pointed them towards the heavens to see if there was anyone out there .. but the heavens were silent and cold. Fleets of ships were built, and for a time it appeared as if the Twelve Colonies had at last achieved a total peace with one another. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

An age of darkness came up on the Colonies slowly. First the gradual breakdown of peace occurred as old prejudices and new arguments clouded the political landscape of the day. No single one event can be identified as the trigger of the wars. The poor colonies wanted more from the rich. Smaller worlds wanted space on the larger worlds. Debates over prices and commodities rose and fell. Practical disputes gave way to personal biases and the return of old hatreds.

The second wave of wars was far more subdued than the first. Fighting was mostly restricted to border moons and backwater parts of the core worlds. That way, it could not interfere directly with the comfortable daily lives of the wealthy and influential.

After the wars subsided, inter-colonial tensions and arms races continued. It was in this background of military and political paranoia that Caprica firmly took the reins of leadership. Not only was Caprica the wealthiest colony, it also fielded the largest defense force. All of this gave the Caprican government unparalleled leeway to act and intervene amongst the Colonies.

Looking first to secure its interests, Caprica established multiple Treaties of Non-Aggression, and also Treaties of Amity providing for reciprocal protection of trade routes. Eventually, the Capricans called the First Colonial Convention to which every Colonial leader of government was invited to attend. It was at this Convention that the idea of federalization was first tabled by the Capricans; the Twelve Colonies were to be united under a single Government to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people. The idea fell on deaf ears.

However, once the idea was made public, it began to fester amongst the people. Caprican determination was also apparently underestimated. Caprican diplomats across the Twelve Colonies pushed for the idea continuously, and support for federalization slowly but surely gained support amongst the governments. The alternative was to allow the arms race to continue and face the risk of a devastating war. Eventually, a Second Colonial Convention was called and the Capricans finally secured the blessings of all Twelve Colonies for full inter-Colonial negotiations to begin.

A quarter of a millennium after the first colonists arrived in the Olympus System, the Articles of Colonial Confederation were promulgated and successfully ratified by plebiscite by each of the Twelve Colonies, often by large majorities. For the first time in history, the children of Olympus were unified. The fate of the Twelve Colonies were now forever bound together.

The Articles of Colonial Confederation is the single most significant document in the history of Colonial civilization. It provides for a directly elected President of the Twelve Colonies of Olympus, and a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house (the Quorum of Twelve) made up of singular representatives from each of the Twelve Colonies, and the Quorum of Citizens, the lower house, with three representatives from each Colony, also directly elected. The seat of government is hosted by Caprica, an honor bestowed to the Colony as recognition of its invaluable role in pushing for confederation.

The Articles also provide for the establishment of the Colonial Forces, uniting the twelve Colonial militaries into a single body that is headquartered on Picon (a concession that Picon demanded be written into the Articles). The Colonial Forces serves as a peacekeeping militia, controlling terrorist aggression and patrolling inter-colonial space.

Aerelon -

Aerelon and its people are sturdy and dependable. Its vast, fertile fields feed eighty percent of the system. Still, Aerelon's people are among the poorest in the Twelve Colonies. They have to import technology and manufactured goods - mostly items they cannot make for themselves. They are considered to be somewhat poor hagglers, looking for fairness in all things. Some call this naive, but anyone lucky enough to call an Aerelon friend can rely on that friend for life.

Aerelon's cities are small and unassuming. Few of the buildings are more than a couple of stories high. The Aerelons don't build what they don't need, keeping their communities close and compact. This shows in their daily lives. Most Aerelons are born, grow old, and die in the same hundred square kilometers. Some never leave the towns of their birth. They wake each day in the same beds, work each day in the same fields, and end each night in the same pubs, drinking the same beer. Outsiders see this life as sad and unfulfilled, but the Aerelons are proud of their simple lives. They do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.

Given their background, Aerelons have a pretty easy time acclimating in the Colonial Forces. The military is always the easiest way off the farmstead. Aerelons are also rather known for playing a mean game of Triad.

Aquaria -

Aquaria is just ahead of Caprica in the system's Trojan orbit. Dotted with many small seas, its colonists settled along the coasts and developed a water-oriented culture including a strong sailing tradition. The planet's proximity to Caprica and Virgon made it cheap and easy to trade their two most abundant resources: fish and algae. They also developed highly efficient growing techniques that work pretty much everywhere. Nearly every botanical ship in the system is either owned or operated by Aquarians.

Aquarians are quiet, thinker types. Some call them shifty but more often than not, they just don't have anything to say. Rather than fill the air with noise, they keep to themselves. Aquarians are extremely self-sufficient and ask few questions. They get to the point and rarely bicker. The only time they're really talkative is when they're telling stories. The Aquarians do love their stories. Most of the time, they tell creepy campfire tales about ghosts and the power of the sea. The Aquarians never really pushed inland, leaving a lot of their world untamed, unexplored. Their folklore therefore focuses on stories which wonder what is out there, lurking in the darkness of the night.

Many entertainers come from Aquaria. Their minds are always wandering. Lots of tortured artists among them too. They might not mind being alone but many don't get along in their own heads either.

Lots of Aquarians are in the service. They don't mind space so much: sea sailing on their home world is far worse. You lose control in space, you drift. You lose control on the sea, you die. Best of all, Aquarians rarely get rattled. Even in the most pitched battles, with the ship bucking and jerking, they just stomp across the deck, never losing their footing.

Canceron -

Located closest to the system's sun, Canceron is mostly a barren, hellish pit. The majority of its surface isn't fit for anything. The entire middle is nothing more than a cracked up desert broken up by volcanoes. The Colonial Forces uses this region for flight exercises - bombing and strafing like there is no tomorrow. Hard for people to complain about blowing up useless land. Also meants that the military is close at hand in case the bad half of the population gets out of line.

Canceron is home to two groups, one at each pole. The Southers are dour people who mostly live in climate controlled subterranean mazes. They are good at selling things. They have to be. When your world only has one export and half of it s automatically sent to the other worlds, you get mighty good at making money off the rest.

The Northers are the troublemakers. At any given time, over 2000 federal prisoners toil in mines digging tylium. Canceron isn't the system's only prison. Several high-security penal station are located on other colonies, but inmates always have the option to transfer to Canceron. In exchange for enduring the hellhole and mining tylium for their home colonies, inmates earn 'freedom points' towards early release.

Everyone makes out. Except the Cancerons, but that's what happens when you're sitting on the majority of a natural resource the government deems "essential to the health of the colonies".

Canceron's where the black market got started. The Canceron penal colony houses all the really motivated inmates, the criminals with vision. On the inside they plan, when they get out, they act.

Caprica -

Central in the Trojan orbit, Caprica is a beautiful blue-green world with the perfect climate. The colony has rolling hills, pleasant lakes, and deep forests. The cities are heavily populated, but it never seems that way. Glittering silver towers spike through bustling open air markets and plazas. Parks, rivers, and waterfalls are everywhere. So comfortable are Caprica's cities that people rarely pay attention to the steady lines of vehicles streaking past overhead.

Caprica is also the center of government, education and culture. Its capital of Delphi houses all three branches of government and host the biggest corporations and universities in the system. The city has the Museum of the Colonies, which displays many original artifacts from Earth. Because of Caprica's place as the center of government, a great many Capricans have chosen the civil service in some form as their profession. Almost every Caprican is connected to the government in some way, either through a family member or they themselves are some sort of government employee. It is because of this, that many people amongst the other Twelve Colonies often deride Caprica as "a colony of bureaucrats."

Half the colonists come to Caprica to visit the heart of colonial faith, business and law. Every year, the planet's spaceports grow and its cities expand. While many visit, only the best and the brightest stay. You have to be good to survive there. When you do though, life is worth living. Many claim that Capricans have grown decadent, but its inhabitants are too comfortable to listen. They stretch out on sandy beaches, sail clear blue seas, and enjoy privileged and sheltered lives. Professionally, they race around, making laws and money, rarely thinking beyond their atmosphere. A few are exceptions. These people come from the other Caprica, where the colonial military elite makes its home. Several of Caprica's spaceports are exclusive to the Colonial Forces, and Caprica City's Government Center Plaza houses the Colonial Defense Mainframe.

Gemenon -

Gemenon was the third colony settled, after Tauron and Caprica. The first to arrive were the priests, oracles and others who closely studied the Sacred Scrolls. Others of a religious bent followed. They built shrines and temples by the dozens. The place was so unpleasant, there wasn't much reason to be there.

Gemenon has become a place for religious pilgrimage. Visitors bundle up and brave the cold, windswept mountains of this rocky planet to see the original temples and monasteries built by the first colonists. Several natural wonders are exalted as well, including the Faces of the Olympians, a series of wind carvings said to resemble the gods. Religious types believe that trips to these sites will awaken and refresh the spirit.

Two sects live in relative tolerance of one another on Gemenon. The fundamentalists believe that every word of the Sacred Scrolls is literally truth. The gods can heal and regularly bestow visions on their most devout followers. The cycle of time repeats forever. Many see the fundamentalists as zealots, or worse. It doesn't help that they look at children as property of the gods and impose the death penalty for abortion, child abuse, and even a failure to provide proper education.

The second religious faction is made up of orthodox theists. Contrary to their name, these people are the least judgmental of the Gemenese. They have used their resources to found the Colonial Cross, a relief foundation that serves the Twelve Colonies. They also operate Kobol College, with schools devoted to philosophy, psychology, medicine, administration, civil engineering, and public relations. Their efforts have earned them a significant following and great political pull.

Gemenon is one of the poorest colonies, by choice as well as circumstance. There are families with considerable wealth, but most have little more than strong faith. What money comes in was from lumbering, metal mining and cloud scooping of useful gas from the nearby gas giant, Hera.

Leonis -

In the service, rookies are taught the "Lesson of Leonis", which is two-fold. Leonis teaches that over-enthusiastic pride can destroy. It's also a testament to the power of the colonial arsenal, and what happens when war goes too far.

When the colonists originally settled the twelve worlds, a certain faction fought tooth and nail to claim one of the three habitable moons of the gas giant Zeus. The colonists knew that the moon contained uranium, which is required to make nuclear weapons. They were sure that controlling a primary source of uranium would give them great standing in the colonies. After a hard fight, they won their claim. Early on, their position was very strong. The Leonids were instrumental in founding colonial militarism and advancing its weaponry. They built elaborate stations, hoping to become the hub for military operations in the system.

Unfortunately, the uranium ran out within two centuries. The Leonids continued to fight for their place at the head of the proverbial table but it only got them into trouble with the other colonies. During a particularly bloody war, Caprica and the other two moons of Zeus - Picon and Scorpia - bombed Leonis nearly back to the Stone Age.

Leonis was largely subservient to Picon after that. Politically, it was a non-entity. Even after after creation of the system-wide government, the Leonids remain a bitter, resentful people. They scrape by working a number of ship-building contracts at gloomy, hollow stations. Some claim the Colonial Forces continues to grant these contracts out of guilt.

Many Leonids serve as military ground pounders, deck hands, and mercenaries.

Libris -

Libris is known mostly as the colony that warred the least. Rattled or perhaps disgusted by the flight from Earth, a contingent of colonists chose a seemingly out of the way moon and interacted little with their brothers and sisters. They shunned most of the colony wars, gaining a reputation for having cool heads. At one point, the colonies tried to formalize this, asking the Librans to mediate looming conflicts. They refused.

Libris has many natural resources but not much of any of them. Its people had many skills, but didn't specialize in anything. Some of them fought. Some of them farmed. Some mined. Over the first century in the system, the moon generated its slow, steady income from many small enterprises. It wasn't until the other colonies realized that Libris is the safest place for their money that the world gained a real name for itself.

The Libran banking system grew quickly. People appreciated that their savings wouldn't go up in a puff of ordinance every time a war broke out. Before long, the Librans were one of the wealthiest colonies in the system. All they had to do was take people's money, protect it, and skim off their share.

Nearly a century ago, the government of Libris decided to invest its cubit stockpiles in the one thing they have in abundance: land. They built resorts, casinos, and cruise ships such as the Space Park, a passenger liner. This attracted people from every colony and has made Libris one of the hottest destinations around.

Librans are an intense bunch. Their financial background demands serious, focused attention, but their entertainment venues let them unwind in style. A Libran rarely does anything halfway, when he's on, nothing can shake him and when he's not, he's almost certainly at a party. Libran parties are legendary.

Picon -

Picon is the colonial military hub. Caprica is the center of politics and the home to the brass. Still, when they need ships, they call Picon to make them. True, Picon will hire the Leonids to actually build the ships, and people from all over the colonies will staff them, but Picon runs the show.

Picon's miliary muscle dates back to the wars and its bitter rivalries with Leonis and Scorpia. Three moons full of military-minded people orbiting the same gas giant - sparks were bound to fly. At first, it looked as if Leonis would have the upper hand, controlling the largest stockpile of uranium. Then, it ran out, leveling the playing field. The fighting heated up then, and it looked like Picon and Leonis would beat each other senseless with Scorpia goading them along. That is, until Scorpia revealed its masterstroke: an alliance between Picon and Caprica.

After that, the fighting was pretty much academic. Leonis was doomed to play the slightest role among the moons of Zeus, and its place in the colonies suffered as well. Picon has absorbed much of Leonid culture and many of its people. The only place where the rivalry between Leonis and Picon remains is on the Pyramid court. There, Leonis shows its teeth every season. More often than not, they claim victory.

Picon thrives. Its alliance with Caprica and Scorpia has made it the centerpiece of the colonial military. Ultimately, Picons are happy to leave the politics to others, so long as control of the military stays with them.

Picon has always emphasized strong leadership and military professionalism. They are excellent Colonial Forces officers, pilots, and soldiers. That's where they're most comfortable. Having sailed the wide oceans covering most of Picon's surface since the colony's inception, they are no-nonsense, traditional, naval sons and daughters. Picon steadiness and tradition cannot be matched.

Sagittaron -

Sagittaron was colonized by a splinter faction of Gemenese fundamentalists who felt that their brothers and sisters didn't embrace the faith enough. They chose a distant planet opposite the gas giant Hera for its remote location and fertile land.

The other colonies often view Sagittaron's as uncultured, unwashed heathens and exploit them. They take advantage of them in trade negotiations, keeping them poor. On many occasions, they simply steal from them, or worse. Before confederation, at one time or another, half the other colonies claimed territory on Sagittaron. They destroyed the planet's buildings and some even took its people as slaves.

Naturally, this didn't instill much good will in the Sagittarons, but most of them refused to take action. They just don't make much of a fuss, even when their caustic tempers get the best of them. One of their popular phrases sums it up nicely, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit over here next to me'.

The Sagittarons are a simple people, pacifists by nature, herbalists and farmers by trade. They believe that sloth is the ultimate sin and that work is faith. None of that is too far out there but they're so keyed into 'separateness' that lots of people dislike them. They withdraw from society but they aren't hermits - they don't shun outsiders but don't have much use for them either. They don't attend school but they aren't stupid - they teach each other skills the rest of the colonies have never adopted. They refuse medicine but are not suicidal, they believe that the gods save those who deserve salvation. They reject many technologies that make life easier, viewing shortcuts as sin. Only those who embrace challenges are assured eternal deliverance.

A few Sagittarons are real hard-cases. The most notorious terrorist group of the Olympus System is the Sagittaron Freedom Movement. In keeping with their pacifist ways, many Sagittarons speak out against the SFM, but those who support the organization seem to be growing.

Scorpia -

Scorpia is the third moon of Zeus, a gas giant that also hosts Leonis and Picon. It is a small, cool world of dense woodlands and exotic plant life. Its population is always low, even for a moon its size, but what they lack in numbers they make up for in cunning. The Scorpians are shrewd strategists, brokering deals with the right colonies at the right times. Somehow, they always come out ahead even when they double-crossed their allies. An early alliance with the Tauron secured critical military technology that kept them from suffering the same fate as Leonis during the colony wars. More crucial to their survival, however, was their pivotal role in the alliance between Picon and Caprica, which has set the balance of power between the moons of Zeus.

The old rivalry between Picon and Leonis was infamous, and it often spilled over into neighboring worlds. Scorpia was closest and in the early days it became the sandbox the bigger kids stomped in. Though Scorpia fought just enough to make a point, it wasn't really interested in a prolonged struggle. Fortunately, it didn't have to be. Through its strong ties with Tauron, Scorpia had influence at the heart of the system, Caprica. Its delegates convinced the Caprican government that Leonis was responsible for a few key battles in which Capricans died and suddenly the Leonids were fighting three worlds at once. By the time the dust settled, Scorpia had already reached an arrangement with the other victors to establish the moons of Zeus as the home of colonial military equipment. Leonis builds the ships, Scorpia houses them, and Picon administers the whole.

Scorpians are often considered cold and calculating, and more than a few are. Still, their innate charisma and sense of humorous irony makes them entertaining and popular. The Scorpians' wry wit has catapulted many of them into the public eye as celebrity comedians. Their scathing novels and public speakers attract attention system-wide. Those that stay out of the limelight are no less influential.

Tauron -

Tauron is the most distant colony from the system's sun and the landing place of the colony ships, the space vessels that brought the Colonials from Earth. The Taurons are extremely proud of their standing as the first among the Twelve Colonies. In the early days, they flaunted that position and took credit for other colonies' successes. After all, no one would be there if not for them. The Taurons' superiority eventually wore thin, and the screaming got really loud when the Taurons challenged the Gemenese interpretation of the Sacred Scrolls. Fighting started immediately after.

Despite instigating much of the tension in the early colony years, the Taurons eventually withdrew from the fighting. They preferred to further the technology aboard the original colony ships. The Taurons claim to have built the ships for the gods. No one challenged them as it was all ancient history, and that left the Taurons in complete control of the most advanced science in the system.

The Taurons made good use of the resource, developing much of the new machinery used throughout the colonies. They amassed huge fortunes and heavily influenced the course of scientific development. Over the centuries, though, the Taurons have pulled away from the peoples of the other worlds. Their reverence for technology is unnerving and some wonder privately whether the Tauron inventors are more devoted to their creations than to the gods.

Tauron is a harsh, frigid world and its people reflect this. They're born of brawny stock and tend to be tall and muscular, thick in body and mind. They're often called stubborn and sometimes insubordinate. They can argue just to argue and rarely give up, even when they're wrong.

Virgon -

Virgon is the last of the three planets in the Trojan orbit. A mid-sized jungle world, it has a few concentrated cities, a subtle reputation, and a lot of big ideas. Its people are known for their most frivolous pursuit: Fashion.

Many of the colonies celebrated actors, models, and public speakers are Virgons. Every world looks to Virgon for each season's trends, even in Caprica City. Virgons set the style.

Behind the glitz and the glamor, Virgons control or influenced far more than anyone suspects. They are said to have 'the eye', a sixth sense for opportunities, personalities, and motives. This isn't some sacred gift. The Virgons are religious, but not fiercely. Many oracles come from Virgon, but so do many business moguls, city builders, artists, and soldiers. They claim it is just healthy, sensible ambition. Have faith in yourself and your deeds, and the gods will provide for you.

Whatever the reason, Virgons are everywhere. Mostly out of the spotlight, their art graces small galleries on Caprica, their contracts cross moderately influential desks on Picon and Scorpia, and their money fills respectably sized coffers on Libris. Virgons hold some of the most underrated positions in the colonial military, often as gunners due to their keen vision and reflexes.

Outside fashion, Virgons' reputation is one of excellence without notoriety. Self-effacing, and respectful, most Virgons choose accomplishment over fanfare any day of the week.