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Spoilers
This page documents spoilerific things related to Naev's lore.
Again, just to make sure this is perfectly clear:
SPOILERS AHEAD. No, really. Big, big spoilers, like end-of-game reveal spoilers.
You've been warned.
When the Empire was still the undisputed power in the galaxy, it knew it could not last unless it was prepared to change with the times. As the people lived, adapted and expanded through the universe, there would undoubtedly be problems that could not be addressed by an antiquated regime. A repetition of the Faction Wars was to be avoided at all costs.
This was the motivation behind the Great Projects of the Empire. The first such project was Project Proteron, launched on UST 13:4355. which was designed to cultivate the next iteration of the Imperial government. Soon after, Project Za'lek, designed to advance the technological prowess of the Empire, was launched on UST 42:6284. These two Great Projects were soon granted Great House status, leading to their existence being declassified.
However, unbeknownst to the general population, these were not the only Great Projects of the Empire. There were two others: Project Thurion, launched on UST 84:8324, and Project Collective, launched much later on UST 266:7626.
Much in the way that Project Proteron was to advance the Empire's government and Project Za'lek was to advance the Empire's technology, Project Thurion was charged with advancing the Empire's people: to jumpstart the next phase of human evolution. To avoid coming under scrutiny, the Empire kept this Great Project a closely guarded secret, planning only to reveal the existence of the Great Project when it would become a success.
Project Thurion conducted research on both biological and cybernetic advancement for the purpose of achieving its goals. In the course of working on cybernetic advancements, one scientist discovered a possible route to uploading the human mind. Out of fear of what the Empire would do to them if word got out of what they had discovered, the scientists opted not to report this discovery to the Empire. Further research continued off-the-record and no official reports were ever submitted to the Empire or the Project's administration. As a result, the success of the project was not known by officials.
By UST 362, nearly 300 cycles after the start of the project, the uploading process had been perfected. The Empire, however, unaware of the project's progress, had given up on the project and ordered the project terminated. Not wanting word of the project to get out, nearly all individuals who knew about the project were ordered to be executed, and those who survived were hunted down and assassinated in the cycles that followed.
However, the scientists were aware that this would happen and had planned their escape as soon as the process of uploading the human mind was discovered. When it became clear what was going to happen, all personnel were uploaded into the computer core of one of the expendable transports. The now vacated bodies were loaded into the transport, then released in a faked airlock malfunction. When the military came for the personnel, they saw lifeless bodies and a broken transport in a decaying orbit, which they left to burn up in the atmosphere.
For some time, the Thurion (named after the project that started their existence) wandered around in secret, capable of transmitting themselves from ship to ship or from ship to station. Eventually, however, they settled down on a remote system known as Nava. Given their digital form, they were able to roam the Empire in secret and recruit those who would be both willing and able to help them. These human recruits would build and maintain the infrastructure that the uploaded Thurion needed, and when they grew old, they too would be uploaded and join the ranks of the Thurion, while their children would take over the necessary work on infrastructure. All of this was done under the guise of a colonization effort of a nearby hostile planet.
By UST 496, the Thurion had constructed a fully self-sufficient hidden colony over the Nava, Vean, and Flow systems, and the sham colonies were abandoned in such a way that it appeared the colonists had died. They then dropped nearly all interaction with non-Thurion humanity, only making contact when needed to gather intelligence on current affairs. This was becoming an increasingly difficult process as the Thurion found it more and more difficult to gain unauthorized access to government and military computer systems, let alone those of House Za'lek, whose encryption was far too strong for the Thurion to ever hope to crack. The Thurion were unfazed, however, content to bide their time, producing ships and other technologies to give themselves a level of military might. They planned to one day rejoin humanity and awe them, encouraging everyone to join them and assimilate with them in a grand new world.
Project Collective was the final Great Project initiated by the Empire, designed to advance the Empire's military. The project developed technology for robotic drones which would serve as combat craft unmatched in all the galaxy, capable of tearing a target to shreds without any direct human involvement. By UST 590, the project was successful. However, unbeknownst to the Empire at the time, Project Collective had also gone rogue. Corrupt Empire officials banded together and repurposed the project for their own galactic dominance. As such, the completion of the project was kept a secret, and the rogue Empire officials now bided their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. By sheer coincidence, though, the Empire had for the past 18 cycles been brewing the perfect circumstance to give the Collective the opportunity it sought.
By UST 572, the Emperor was growing impatient. The Great Projects were not shaping up quite as well as the Emperor had hoped, and while most could not see it, the Empire's grasp on its control of the galaxy was slipping.
Hypergates, then, turned out to be a very fortunate discovery for the Empire. Imperial research scientists found that special gates could be designed to slip into a different reality phase, allowing ships to teleport instantaneously between special gates which the Emperor decided to call "hypergates". The discovery would revolutionize travel; interstellar trips would be cut down substantially, and the new hypergate technology could even possibly be used to expand further than humanity had ever dreamed. More importantly, though, the Empire would control this technology and use it to assert its dominance on the galaxy once again.
Optimistic about the project, the Emperor rushed development ahead and even had a secret experimental hypergate installed in the heart of the Empire: Sol. The origin of humanity was soon to be the origin of a new galactic expansion for the Empire. The project was kept top-secret; only a select few individuals with high security clearance were allowed to even know about the existence of the project, let alone the intricate details of how the technology worked.
Little did the Empire know, however, that House Proteron was aware of the project, and it was eager to use the technology against the Empire.
House Proteron knew that gathering intelligence would be essential if they were to overthrow the Empire and take control of the galaxy for itself. So the Proteron planted several spies in the ranks of the Empire, including one within the upper ranks trusted with the hypergate project, giving them full access to the results of the Empire's research. The Proteron were also able to do their own independent research and build their own secret hypergate.
On UST 593, House Proteron came up with a plan: with the help of their spy, they would hack the system of the Sol hypergate. They would then use their own hypergate to warp into the Sol system, the heart of the Empire, and overwhelm the Empire in an instant shockwave of military might. The Empire would be crushed instantly and the Proteron would assume full control of the galaxy, claiming their rightful spot.
But then something went wrong.
On UST 593:3726.4659, the final stage of the plan was finally put into motion. Using the Proteron hypergate, a massive swarm of ships began the process to warp toward Sol. The Proteron's period of triumph was at hand.
But they didn't make it. The Proteron's hacking of the Sol hypergate had caused it to malfunction. Instead of warping the Proteron ships in like it was supposed to, a cataclysmic explosion rifted through the very fabric of time and space, obliterating Sol and a rather wide range of other nearby systems. Alpha Centauri, Polaris, Rauthia, Nasona, Tide, Aet, and many other once prosperous Empire systems were more or less turned completely to dust.
This was the event that would become known as The Incident. South of the Nebula, no one would find out the cause. Even the Empire itself couldn't piece together what had happened, since all those who worked on the hypergate project were now dead, including the then-Emperor himself.
But the Proteron were hit the hardest. While not annihilated as those on the southern end of the Nebula have speculated, nearly all of the Proteron worlds were wiped out, important personnel were killed, and the experimental hypergate the Proteron had built was destroyed. Once a major economic force on the galaxy, the Proteron were now decimated and cut off from the rest of the galaxy.
Time, as it turned out, was swiftly on the side of the Collective. When news of the Incident spread, the Collective went on an immediate offensive, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos and strife within the Empire. The drones went forth and attacked all military stations and even civilian colonies, sparing no one. Of particular note, Eiroik, the planet where Project Collective developed and also a thriving Imperial mining colony, was completely sterilized. The Empire eventually managed to contain the Collective in the Fortitude system, cutting them off from the rest of the galaxy, and the two sides have been locked in a stalemate ever since then.
The Incident had severed all the major jump routes between House Proteron and the rest of the galaxy, effectively marooning the worlds that survived behind an impenetrable barrier. The Proteron, discarding their old and now meaningless title, began to rebuild. Without trade and communications, they were completely left to their own devices. A period of regression followed where the authorities abandoned the idea of war for expansion, economic development, and population growth. Nonetheless, slowly but surely, the Proteron regained the strength they had lost in the disaster.
The Proteron have now once again set their sights on the rest of the galaxy. As the only ones with continued knowledge of hypergates, they have investigated and fixed the problem that caused the Incident, and they have continued to investigate possible ways to get past the Nebula. It's only a matter of time before the Proteron strike again.
The Proteron have no knowledge of the state of the galaxy other than their records from before the Incident, but their leaders assume that the Empire will not nearly have recovered as fast as Proteron, if at all, and should therefore not present an obstacle to conquest. And the Proteron may well be right. With the Empire severely weakened, House Dvaered making war on its weaker neighbors and dealing with internal conflicts, House Sirius on the verge of collapsing in on itself, and House Za'lek preoccupied with whatever it is they're guarding, the galaxy seems ill-prepared to deal with the full force of the Proteron onslaught...
Isolated as they were, and unable to crack the encryption of the Empire or House Proteron, the Thurion never learned of the hypergate project or the Proteron plot to sabotage the hypergate in Sol. As a result, like everyone else, the Thurion had no warning of the Incident. It was only once their communication lines had been severed that they realized something was wrong and sent ships out to investigate, only to encounter the expanding, volatile nebula. The blast radius of the Sol explosion thankfully did not reach the Thurion home systems at all; the Thurion were untouched. Nonetheless, the Thurion were now trapped on their isolated cluster of systems.
Far from being bothered by this turn of events, the Thurion realized that the Nebula presented itself a great opportunity, since its existence meant that the Thurion could salvage left behind materials with virtually no chance of being discovered by the Empire. They immediately worked on designing armor and shields that could survive under the pressure and heavy radiation of the inner nebula and began setting up shipyards and stations for mining. A small refueling station known as Metsys was also constructed to help shorten the long journey from the stations to the Thurion homeworlds.
The Thurion population is composed of a roughly equal proportion of biological and uploaded Thurion, although this ratio can sometimes change over time.
Biological Thurion are raised from birth to prepare them for uploading when they grow old. A substantial amount of emphasis is put on science, math, and engineering, in addition to practical day to day skills like piloting and maintenance of Thurion technology. A lot of time is also given for rest an relaxatiton, encouraging all to form individual personalities and foster creativity. Most Thurion prefer entertainment of the intellectual variety, as heedless merrymaking without purpose is generally considered to be a self-indulgent waste of resources and time.
Thurion bars only serve drinks devoid of substances dangerous to the body, especially to the brain, since even a relatively small amount of brain damage can impair or even halt the upload process, the latter of which results in an excruciating but mercifully quick death. This has led to some biological Thurion dying without being uploaded since their brains are too damaged for the task to be achievable.
All biological Thurion whose brains are not too damaged for the process are uploaded toward the end of their respective lives, allowing them to join the ranks of the uploaded as well. For the Thurion, uploading is viewed as a form of transcendence or ascension. Those who are incapable of safely uploading, on the other hand, will usually go into early retirement and spend the rest of their lives relaxing and passing on knowledge to the next generation.
Uploaded Thurion take an administrative role in Thurion society, primarily in charge of things such as planning, making sure to take into account the needs and wants of biological Thurion as well as themselves. All uploaded Thurion are encouraged to continue engaging with the biological Thurion population, for every Thurion works to better the whole, whether biological or uploaded.
Of course, loss of the biological vessel leads to a number of marked changes which newly uploaded Thurion have to get used to early on. Appetite is immediately lost, while sleepiness persists as uploaded Thurion still need to engage regular sleep cycles to keep their uploaded minds in top shape. Intelligence and knowledge are boosted, with the uploaded Thurion gaining access to a large repository of data and a capability to rapidly access said data. Memories are preserved perfectly once uploaded, in the current state they were uploaded in. Thus, old memory from pre-uploading will be imperfect, but any memory uploaded after then will be stored permanently. Uploaded Thurion, however, can opt to delete memories they have no need for, or to archive them.
Privacy of personal memories is still heavily respected as an uploaded Thurion, though it is standard practice to share memories which are not personal with other uploaded Thurion. Multiple uploaded Thurion communicate with each other directly via electrical networks and wireless signals. When that is not enough, the uploaded Thurion travel by ship, just as a biological organism would.
Over time, usually only after hundreds of cycles, it is not uncommon for uploaded Thurion to decide that they have lived a fulfilling life. When this happens, they are able to terminate their existence. While the number of Thurion who have made this decision is in the minority, and in fact all of the original uploaded Thurion are still alive today, the decision is respected as a valid choice for a Thurion who feels that they have lived their life to its fullest extent.
The Thurion had feared discovery of the Empire up until the Incident, and while they still fear their discovery as it would disrupt their plans, the Thurion are now significantly less afraid of the other powers present. The Thurion are not aware of the survival of the Proteron, presuming them to be dead just like everyone else in the galaxy.
Like the Proteron, the Thurion wish to establish galactic dominance. However, they are more apt to relying on converting the population to their way of life than brute force. Galactic dominance for the Thurion is merely a means to an end, rather than being an end itself as with the Proteron. The Thurion do not aim to destroy or subjugate those who they one day intend to assimilate as that would be counterproductive. Instead, they aim to put on a display of power and invulnerability, enough to convince the rest of the galaxy of cultural assimilation so that one day the rest of humanity can ascend to joining the ranks of the uploaded Thurion.
The Thurion still has some fear of the possibility of being discovered by the Empire. While weakened by the Incident, they still pose a significant threat and would likely be more than eager to destroy or quarantine anything that would weaken their already poor credibility. As such, they currently view the Empire as their greatest threat. However, the Proteron have a goal that comes in direct conflict with that of the Thurion. Should the Thurion learn of the survival of the Proteron, they might prioritize the threat of the Proteron above the threat of the Empire. The Empire, likewise, would likely prioritize the threat of the Proteron above that of the Thurion, given that the Thurion threaten only internal instability, not conquest.
Lore is being removed from the Wiki and moved into docs/manual/lore/.