Iteration in Action

I've continued to work on the setting summary. Rather than edit the first post (again) I've decided to post the next version of the setting. Since I don't currently stream my design, this is the closest you can get to design-in-real time.

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We became the creator
In the far future, humanity has perfected molecular replication technology. We are able to terraform planets, repopulate worlds with earth wildlife, and produce any necessity from a fabricator. This technology is controlled by the Interstellar Union, which leases its use to the highest bidders.
 
Our planet was one terraform project of many. Six multinational corporations won the bidding war, and started their colonies on its surface. We were told the planet had been made out of nothing but lifeless gas; we were wrong. The Source, an unseen but sentient power, predated our arrival. It could have destroyed us, but instead It welcomed us. It showed us that our machines could craft the physical realm, but there was another dimension outside our physical world; the spirits live there.
 
As our people learned to interact with the Source, our understanding of creation and fabrication technology broadened beyond previous understanding. Even our machines became alive, carrying an Echo of their creators. With the help of this magic, we were able to settle and build on the planet faster than any previous colony.
 
Our success attracted the notice of the Interstellar Union. When the multicorps began paying off the terraform tax at an unprecedented rate, it highlighted the wealth of resources on our planet. In response, the IU raised our taxation rates. Soon we could not keep up with the new burden. The multicorps executives saw our financial freedom slipping away. So they made a choice: cut corners. Ignore hazard reports. Work longer hours.
 
We became the reaper
We made a mistake. That mistake caused the fabrication of a disease that wiped out more than half our population. When the IU learned of the Red Fever, they declared a quarantine on the planet and activated a kill-switch on all fabrication and interstellar technology: the engines of our spaceships self-destructed, our AI units deactivated, digital archives of astrotech locked down, and all of our fabricators imploded.
 
Even as we fought off lethal illness, the IU destroyed our primary source for self-sustenance.
 
We became the cautionary tale
After a generation of death, the IU sent its Overseers and peacekeeping forces to codify the quarantine protocols. We greeted them with relief. The regulations promised order after chaos. The reinforcements offered collaboration after the paranoia of the plague. An outside voice provided mediation amidst the recriminations and splinter-wars.
 
At first the instructions of the Overseers seemed reasonable and fair. Each successive generation brought new changes:
 

• They established the Feed, an aggregate of all digital information, fed by a universal surveillance network. This was to improve our communication, they said.

 

• They confiscated land allotments and moved the majority of Planetborn into the now deactivated fabrication warehouses. The IU staff needed the space for their headquarters so they could supervise the quarantine properly and help us regain our access to astrotech faster, they said.

 

• They initiated the re-education programs, taking children as young as six from their families and placing them in residential schools, to train us in regulations, safety, and proper process. This was to compensate for our risky ignorance, they said.

 

• They discovered the presence of the Source and spirits. They created a new science of magic, controlling and mastering the energies and instituted a license process to use it. This was to improve our skills with this precious resource, they said.

 

• They learned of the Echo inside our machines and began moving us out of the warehouse districts. But our communities were splintered this time, as they shoved us into spare dwellings among the offworlders. This was to create separation from potentially unsafe technology, they said. Of course that didn’t stop them from hiring our people to monitor and interrogate machine Echoes; any who tampered with tech had to be fined—to verify regulations were followed properly, they said.

 
For generations the Planetborn have negotiated for an end to the quarantine. For generations we were told to follow instructions and regulations written in “plain language”, and then faced reinterpretation whenever we filed proof of our compliance.
 
We are the crossroads
Our planet is the nexus of three realms: spirit, body, and machine. As for us? We are the seventh generation since the quarantine began. We know that following the regulations will never change anything. So now we need to find a new way to freedom. We need to resist.​