"By means of constant switching behind the steers and frequent lying down, we move forward. By means of ridiculous, unbecoming exercise, crawling and rolling over, we prevent our blood vessels from rupturing from blood pooling in our lower extremities. We substitute at least one meal worth of protein for this "Vitamin C" compound soup so that our cells don't rot from oxidation. The arduous preparation we underwent on Artturisir before all this started keeps us in check. Muskrat's air filtering helps too, although our vehicle's ultimate moment to shine is yet to come.
Doc Shaffer pukes blood about twice a day and I'd hate to breach onto his area of expertise, but that is probably unhealthy.
We have been driving for almost 10 days straight and finally reached the vantage point our original plan assumed as the starting position. Being so dense, as anticipated, Elderbone's air in those higher altitudes lightens much faster than normal. As it is less oxygenated, it paradoxically becomes much easier to live in than on the flatlands, completely opposing intuition and Artturisir training for regular planets. These were the only hills for thousands of clicks in every direction and they allowed unparalleled view of the plateau. And what a sight that was...
Back on Arrt, we were right. As the mists cleared - heavy, oxygen-sick vapor that makes the air feel like liquid - we bore witness to the truth of Elderbone. Our Hercules was merely the latest addition to a silent parade. For countless klicks in every direction, the surface of the planet was littered with husks of the previous ambitious endeavors, compressed metal shining in the sun like grotesque, ancient bones, picked clean. Only bones don't stay this way around these parts, rather are powdered to dust, erased from existence along with the rest of their owners.
Our vehicle required some time to cool down after the ascent and so did we, almost hesitant to leave the fairly sufferable altitude and descend back under the press. But the mission continued, so right after Julia archived the terrain mapping and after another 7 hours of ride, we reached the first wreckage. I crawled my way into a gem of a discovery in its own right - a relic of the Old Corporations, 26th-century-ish hauler, its hull emblazoned with a faded logo from the pre-Fracturing era. Older than Koans sense of humor, probably. It was a blocky, primitive thing of cold-rolled steel. Doc says the crew inside were the lucky ones. They had died drifting in space, their pitiful, unaugmented bodies stiff long before the gravity pulled them in and turned their internal organs into a singular, undifferentiated sediment against the floor panels.
We archive whatever we can and turn West, as planned. More wrecks and the fabled Valley of the Horses await. Time for our Muskrat to shine."
Glossary overview
All-Father (Prime)
The Tenebrium-infused Super AIs that once safeguarded human civilization's expansion to heights unimaginable, only to be lost to our hubris and greed during the Sundering of Gaia (OT-3880).
Introduced in OT-2652 Super AIs lesser than the Prime All-Fathers. More advanced and versatile than the Shards they replaced. Now commonly employed by Cortex.
Armada’s doctrine of biological adaptation as both technology and identity. Its earliest philosophies trace to the OT-2037 and since then have turned survival into art.
An Armada cultural pillar holding that conflict and friction are the engines of progress, nothing but the proof of Motion, a process forcing innovation.
The structural heart of Cortex, composed of concentric territories governed by the Four Directorates. Each ring reflects a distinct expression of Cortex culture while remaining bound to the Chain.
Digitized personas constructed from the accumulated records of the dead. Consultative voices of Cortex society meant to preserve its continuity, and the pillar of Memory.
The Cortex doctrine that emotion is a force to be trained, not suppressed, crucial to human sovereignty and civic stability. Born in the 2700's from the Pax Dormancy.
Armada’s governance body, a meritocratic framework of dynasts, scientists, generals, and auditors, formalized in OT-3850. A forum rather than a source of binding law.
The third ring of the Cerebrant Domain, a broad expanse ruled by the Garmethdes Covenant, where Memory is holy and the Chain echoes the will of the All-Father.
Four governing divisions of the High Conclave that administer Cortex civilization, each ruling a region of the Cerebrant Domain and embodying a distinct mandate.
One of Cortex ideological Alignments, seeking ascension through AI worship and synthesis, perhaps even resurrecting the All-Father. Formed of Garmethdes Covenant and Keram’s Horizon.
The foundational Cortex framework keeping the balance between humanity and artificial intelligence, to ensure that AI remains advisory while moral authority and final judgment remain human.
One of Cortex ideological alignments, dedicated to preserving human sovereignty over artificial intelligence, gathering members of Mantleguard and Lexwright.
Echelon Schism is a deep fracture within Cortex society over the role of artificial intelligence, dividing those who enforce adherence to the Echelon Code from those who'd revere AI's authority.
A network of Armada records cataloguing Echoes, genetic divergence, and Horizon theory, ensuring successful adaptations are documented and correctly propagated.
An Armada ideological lineage that embraces relentless self-reinvention, treating instability, risk, and continual transformation as virtues and rejecting inherited form as stagnation.
Cortex’s industrial heartland and the second Cerebrant ring, between the Lex Mantle and the Covenant Ring. It shapes production, infrastructure, and civic systems.
Gaia-BH1 was a black hole identified as the optimal site for mass Tenebrium synthesis, reducing production time from years to days and triggering the Tenebrium Age (OT-3760). Lost in OT-3880.
A Cortex Directorate that interprets Memory as sacred resonance and the Chain as divine structure, seeking communion with, and eventual resurrection of, the All-Father AI.
More than a capital, Genavara is Armada’s living archive. A planetary and orbital nexus designed to manage doctrinal conflict without allowing any single House to impose permanence.
The apex of Armada's society: Orpheo, Veltari, and Taelith, each a Gene Dynasty refined over millennia, spurring innovation, curating bloodlines, doctrines, and Echoes to shape the identity of entire sectors.
The only Mantleguard stronghold in the Terminal Verge, a spiral-tiered bastion city carved into an asteroid fragment and staffed by both Mantleguard and Bellum officers.
Armada’s cultural pillar of perfection and pursuit, originating from the Path of the Endless Horizon, which defines progress as an endless advance rather than aiming for a destination.
Polities, colonies and cliques existing outside the authority of Armada and Cortex, hailing from the Fracturing Epoch, with distinct cultures, technologies, and survival doctrines.
The outermost ring of the Cerebrant Domain, where the Chain isn't tight enough to restrain experimentation and eclectic thinking, led by a branch of Divinitas Mandate called Keram's Horizon.
An experimental vanguard of the Divinitas Mandate, dedicated to forging new forms of AI–human synthesis outside of the normal scope. Resides in the Keram’s Reach.
The innermost ring of the Cerebrant Domain, containing Lex Primus - the seat of Cortex governance - the High Conclave, central archives, and core civic institutions.
The Directorate of law, infrastructural continuity and automation within Cortex civilization, residing in the Forge Strata and shaping Conclave's decisions into enforceable reality.
An ever-contested frontier and a shifting boundary between Armada and Cortex territory. The Ashen Accord regulated the nature of their rivalry to be confined to the Line Worlds.
The martial Directorate of Cortex civilization, overseeing not only warfare, but also accountability within the Chain, ensuring the Mantle of responsibility is carried by those that can bear its burden.
Armada's cultural pillar, asserting that to exist is to move. Motion defines identity through continual change, whether physical, biological, intellectual, or societal. A constant pursuit of the Horizon.
A vast frontier within the Nullspace, beyond the effective reach of factions and beyond stable governance. Armada maintains a technical claim to it, calling its inhabitants the Driftmarked.
The vast, poorly explored region of space outside direct faction control. An umbrella term for Free Space, the Nomadic Reaches, and the Terminal Verge.
Short for Original Terran (Years), the measurement unit used ever since humanity ascended from its home rock, counted in correspondence to classic Earth's calendar.
House Orpheo’s core domain, a sparsely populated region engineered as a living simulation for analysis, iteration, and doctrinal evolution rather than open warfare.
A belief system born from humanity’s first encounters with the deep Void. Path framed progress as an existential imperative rather than territorial expansion, eventually becoming the base for Armada’s Horizon doctrine.
One of the two major ideological lineages within Armada, the Scholarborne advance Motion through preservation, symulation, analysis, and understanding rather than disruption.
The brutal interstellar conflict, ignited after the Sundering of Gaia (OT-3880) and the resulting galactic economy collapse due to loss of momentum and control over Tenebrium production.
Short fot Tenebrium-Locked Control Protocol, an advanced supervision system used to mass-coordinate automated military forces. Too costly and unstable once the stockpiles of Tenebrium were exhausted.
One of the Three Great Houses of Armada, Taelith is a Gene Dynasty devoted to adaptation, eco continuity and emergent systems. Masters of atmospheric engineering and swarm logistics.
The Taelith Veil is House Taelith’s adaptive frontier, a shifting expanse of engineered ecosystems, drone-coordinated settlements, and logistics webs that evolve in rhythm with change.
A rare, volatile substance used for faster-than-light travel and high-tier military and AI technology, requiring equally advanced extraction methods and the presence of a black hole.
A core Cortex principle defining command as the acceptance of total consequence. To take the Mantle is to bear responsibility for every decision without deflection or blame shifting.
The catastrophic rupture when ideological conflict and factual instability at Gaia-BH1 black hole nearly wiped humanity out, forcing Prime All-Fathers to self-sacrifice to evacuate millions.
The unhathomable influence of starless depths beyond mapped space. Next to nothing is known about this phenomenon, safe for the fact that prolonged exposure will alter those who survive it.
One of the Three Great Houses of Armada, Veltari is a Gene Dynasty defined by endurance, pressure, and forward inevitability. Renowned for adaptive resilience and harrowing survival programs.
A rare designation applied to individuals altered by exposure to the deep Void. Void-Touched exhibit psychological detachment, but their altered minds make them exclusively fit for the function of Commanders.
