The results were:
1 - A, Cybernetic Welfare State, and the Self Aware Colony video is definitively involving a Cybernetic Police State, not a Cybernetic Democracy, so those comments are irrelevant, furthermore I do not intend to build the Self-Aware Colony because of "roleplay".
Disregard option 2 because I messed it up, plus the circumstances(of overwhelming numbers of Hive air units) forced a me to ignore it anyway lest a horrible defeat happens and then, it would be Planet buster time!
3 - A, build a few clean airborne units(and eventually Space Marines if I succeed in building the Space Elevators first)
had 3 votes, and so did the similar option B, to build a lot (4+) of them. By the moment this update ends there was not enough of them trained for this draw to even matter, but whatever.
4 - A, authorize the use of mind worms against the Human Hive, has won, but their deployment won't yet happen in the following update
5 had a draw between spamming Orbital Power Transmitters and building the infrastructure to build more well trained units in bases away from the front lines. Considering the numbers of the Hive, I will do both.
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"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi, Datalinks.
"Human" Evolution
Atropos
: It is done, Commissioner. Now the illegitimate Hive will have something to truly fear.
: We better hope we will never need to resort to such a weapon, for mankind will not survive another exchange of weapons of mass destruction and another planetary annihilation, neither will mankind survive as anything remotely human under the rule of Yang. This is exactly why we must do our best to win this conflict without such drastic measures.
: A thousand artillery bombardments happen against the Museum of Jerusalem even as we speak, and their numbers are vastly superior. You better have a good plan, because it won't take long, in my review of the situation, for that warhead to become the only resort left.
: Have faith in these brave men, Morgan Everett. They are willing to fight to the death for their freedom, but they will most unfortunately slaughter many in defense of the liberty and human rights the United Nations stand for.
: We stopped a mind control probe just in time. It was a tough operation, specially considering the security vulnerabilities of our Nodes, but it is done, and the people of Jerusalem are safe, for now. However, we need reinforcements. It is hard to conduct any mission under such heavy artillery fire.
: Excellent work agent! And worry not, more operatives are on the way. We will not let them take Jerusalem like that! For now, your objectives remain the same, for we cannot afford proactive probe operations yet.
: Commissioner Lal, are you aware of the environmental consequences of this longevity treatment being distributed to everyone through our public healthcare system? The population boom may become so massive it will cause ecological damage, and some of our bases are already having ecological troubles in spite of all the precautions of our economic model.
: Death is a disease, Secretary of the Environmental Agency, and after countless thousand years, we are finally getting close to a treatment that will delay it for a long, long time, and eventually, we will find out to the definite cure. I find it extremely unjust that only I should be granted such longevity, and I believe it is our humanitarian duty to have it available to all our citizens, no matter what.
: Besides the more philosophical possibility we will no longer be human by the time clinical immortality may become a reality, look at these projections, I must unfortunately strongly recommend that this treatment should only be given with a severe restriction: only people willing to commit to never have more than one child should be allowed access to the Longevity vaccine, lest we unleash a new ecological disaster.
: *Sigh*, very well, there will be such a restriction, but anyone who agrees to it will be given free access to such vaccine, no matter what.
"Perhaps I should consider implementing an economic model that puts the well being of the human above near worship of an environment as hostile as this Planet's. Although only true artificial intelligences, still not developed after all these years, could lead to an efficient socialist economy"
The Information Agency became, rather than an Information Agency, a training camp for cybernetic Peacekeeper Forces in a war that is getting close to its hundredth year. Jerusalem continues to resist, yet the front of the Armageddon War remains unchanged, the masses of the Hive too many for the Peacekeepers to have a chance of pushing through in the next decade, or perhaps more. Fortunately, thanks to a much wise administration, what the United Nations lacked in numbers they had in energy, and even with the disregard of information security in favor of freedom of information the ideal of Knowledge ensued, there was still a chance for UNATCO to do more than to have successfully stopped a mind control probe that would have been disastrous otherwise.
: The commissars of the Human Hive force besieging Jerusalem were killed, and UNATCO negotiators have convinced most of the grunts of the benefits of defection. From what they understood from debriefing the defectors, the Human Hive is truly every Orwellian nightmare made real. Their support will be very important to give Jerusalem a better chance.
: Yang is such a brute, with such crude, straightforward and violent methods of societal control. Never was a good man, always too impatient, always too direct for his own good, too much of a control freak to understand the subtleties that ensure successful and peaceful rule, for even the toughest iron fist will rust and decay, while a sufficiently soft, almost unseen velvet glove can last forever.
: What do you mean, Morgan Everett?
: Just some old rhetoric. Good work out there, J.C. Denton, you are truly among UNATCO's finest.
The gravity of the situation could not be sufficiently stressed. The construction of a perimeter defense around the Museum of Jerusalem was rushed due to such threat, yet there was uncertainty whether it would be enough to hold out or not, for the Hive had a massive army and a massive air force.
Although the Vishnu Air Superiority Fighters were not built for ground attack, the incoming hordes were such that there was no alternative left than to risk them into such missions.
The old guard's last unit survived thanks to pure circumstance. Called to stop a mind worm attack and protect an U.N. base whose defenders perished to the vicious native things, it remained there, vigilant until the same base had a new garrison trained to defend itself. Now, that moment arrived, but before returning gallantly to the front lines as the last of a dying breed of still plain human pilots owing only to their experience and dedication, this unit will be fitted with plasma weaponry instead of its long outdated missiles. May they survive and succeed where all others of the old UNAF have not.
Half a century ago, the United Nations was technologically behind most of the other factions. Now, this has more than changed, a new age of rapid advance happens, not only in knowledge, but in the very boundaries of mankind, shifting, changing. Lal is not completely at ease with what is happening, but he knows it cannot be stopped. Humanity is evolving, or perhaps it is something else that is evolving, but it will happen, thus it is better for such evolution to be guided by the humanitarian initiatives of the United Nations rather than by the totalitarian horrors of the Hive.
: The Gaians are on the verge of a breakthrough, they will beat us to the Longevity project!
: No, I have a plan!
And so, the Peacekeepers had just the quantity of energy necessary to beat the Gaians to such a project, thanks to their immense interest in purchasing Retroviral Engineering research.
Morgan, as always, is willing to trade. Hybrid Forests will be very useful to the United Nations because of how they will make forests better than any other terraforming setup save for bases in very high altitudes, and the occasional borehole, never in excess to prevent ecological disasters, for even the ecological safeguards of a Green economy will not be enough to mitigate all damage they cause.
The Morgans fear what may not be purchased, for a trader cannot comprehend a thing that is priceless.
-- Sister Miriam Godwinson, "The Collected Sermons"
: Secretary Bester, the situation has changed drastically in the last years, and I am therefore lifting all restrictions on the employment of your Psi Corps against the Human Hive. Not only that, but I am open to suggestions on how to operate them.
: *Chuckles* Finally! For a start, Isles of the Deep can be grown, and they would be more suitable for Psi Corps. All you need is a properly fitted Biology Lab. I'd also recommend a Bioenhancement Center in the base where such Isles will be grown.
: That will take a some years, but it shall be done. Now, I must ask: how much control do you have over such worms? Could you make them attack and kill in a less painful way than the methods wild mind worms employ?
: We will try, but I cannot give you assurances to that. Do not worry, Commissioner, you will not regret such a decision.
: I really want to hope so.
Unfortunately, for practical reasons such event will have zero benefit.
Having lost some aircraft during the previous ground attack operation, the first wing of Vishnu fighters was attacked by similarly equipped Hive air superiority fighters. However, Yang resorted purely to numerical superiority, and nothing more, and that was how, against superior numbers, the U.N. Air Force had its first real victory in air to air combat, for the poorly trained Hive pilots were no match to the highly trained and cybernetic UNAF pilots.
Although Planet's native life is based, like Earth's, on right-handed DNA, and codes for all the same amino acids, the inevitable chemical and structural differences from a billion years of evolution in an alien environment render the native plant life highly poisonous to humans. Juicy, ripe grenade fruits may look appealing, but a mouthful of organonitrates will certainly change your mind in a hurry.
-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "A Comparative Biology of Planet"
A Bioenhancement Center shall then be built in the same base.
The fight between the Peacekeepers and the Hive, both covert and overt, continues to ravage the apocalyptic No Man's land across old New Jerusalem.
Fortunately, in spite of constant artillery bombardment and the endless reserves Yang can sacrifice, the defenders of Jerusalem have still prevailed so far.
The worms controlled by Psi Corps are about to finish scouting all the pods in the north, around the vast circle of monoliths.
: We shall fight to the end, and Jerusalem must stand! All UNATCO agents will be give as much support as possible for further operations to ensure more defections.
: They have lived their entire lives in a communal and totalitarian abyss where freedom does not exist even as a word, yet, they were so eager to join the Peacekeepers after their slavemasters were wiped out, something that gave me hope: hope that perhaps the human nature is not as malleable as Yang wishes it to be, that the desire for liberty will always remain in everyone, even as a dormant kernel.
: Like victims of a cruel master freed from their cages, they lashed out on their oppressors with far more hatred and determination than even the most resolute of our Peacekeepers. They did not care about their odds, and they were determined to never surrender now. Something died inside them because of what the Hive did to them for so long, and I fear it cannot ever be revived.
Another horde thus was successfully defeated, the brutal war seemingly unending, and Yang naturally sacrificing more and more, and even more, into such meatgrinder.
A new weapon is being prepared as the Battle of Jerusalem continues over many years.
Yet, of all gains, none was greater than the artifacts Psi Corps brought from such xenofungus-infested northern wastes.
: The Gaians put their environment ahead of themselves to an extent that can be considered a borderline humanitarian disaster. Perhaps we must reconsider the points of Agenda 23.
: The Warrior's bland acronym, MMI, obscures the true horror of this monstrosity. Its inventors promise a new era of genius, but meanwhile unscrupulous power brokers use its forcible installation to violate the sanctity of unwilling human minds. They are creating their own private army of demons.
-- "Report on Human Rights"
: Unfortunately, even those who willingly implant themselves with MMI in a free society might be losing something in the process, but such advances cannot be denied: what can be done is fighting for a future where nobody will be coerced and where such technology shall never be used as a tool against human free will.
: We have everything ready to commence the nano-augmentation project, Commissioner, all we need is your approval.
: If this process redefining the meaning of humanity cannot be stopped, it would be better for future generations if those ahead in it are those who stand for humanity and freedom.
Fitted with many cybernetic augmentations, including Brain-Computer Interfaces, the newly developed units after this breakthrough: the Space Peacekeepers, could turn the tides of this war. However, their operational range remains limited, and for them to gain orbital drop insertion, and fall from the skies, landing anywhere on Planet like a steel rain, further technologies and projects must be developed first.
The first Attack Helicopter of the United Nations, the Bengal is more expensive than attack fighters, but also more strategically and tactically flexible. Once air superiority becomes assured, their deployment will begin. Some also suggested transport helicopters, but because of range issues, they have yet to be approved.
Note: Copters can "crash land" if they run out of fuel, losing 30% of strength instead of being destroyed, which gives them, in theory, a much greater operational range than needlejets. They also can hit and run, while needlejets lose all movement points in a turn after attacking something and thus are more vulnerable to interception.
The war, it will not end any time soon. The Hive continues to train more and more troops, deploying them to the front lines, almost all their bases are dedicated to war. However, in this there is a hope: only a fraction of the U.N. bases is focused on this conflict, yet Jerusalem is not lost, and the rapid economic development in other bases in spite of the war means that it is only a matter of decades before the Hive ends technologically backwards.
If only Jerusalem holds, victory could be at hand.
Could they be retreating? Or is this an elaborate trap?
The first Airborne forces of the U.N. are formed, but for now they are too few to be risked in any offensive operation.
Brave UNATCO operatives are sent in a suicidal mission, as it becomes clear the odds involved will require sacrifices for enduring freedom. Thanks to their brave stand, an offensive that could have crushed Jerusalem was distracted long enough for the base to stand against such odds. These brave heroes who gave their lives for liberty shall never be forgotten.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming numbers of the Hive are not the only problem the U.N. faces, having lost another wing in battle due to such numbers. The bureaucracy due to the integration of the former Lord's Believers bases has worsened public services to a level that increased the number of drones considerably, and unfortunately this problem is starting to grow serious. While the Longevity Vaccine will ameliorate it, it will not, by itself, solve it. Fortunately, there is an expensive but practical way of solving such problem, and once there is no other alternative, investment of energy in Psych projects instead of economy or research will be necessary.
The Psi Corps expeditionary force will be truly a psychological weapon: Isles of the deep carrying legions of mind worms, they are planned to land somewhere far behind the front lines, and with the infiltration thanks to the fact Lal regained his status as Planetary Governor, the Peacekeepers can identify any weakness in the overwhelming defenses of the Hive. Most importantly, the Hive perimeter defenses and underground bunkers are useless against the Psi Corps unique "weapons".
Despite their numbers, the Hive has yet to take control of Jerusalem, and they are suffering far worse losses, but they can afford such losses.
Yet, how long can they continue to send out so many to die for their unjust and totalitarian cause?
The vast air force of the Hive is being assembled over the conquered husk of Sparta Command, almost forgotten now, after decades of brainwashing and subjugation. To defy such a number of aircrafts will be the greatest challenge UNAF has ever faced.
Note: And this is why the Option 2 was completely ignored. Until this really big problem is gone, I will be building exclusively air superiority aircrafts.
On more positive news, soon, like what doomed the Believers, the Hive may end fighting a two-front war. Hopefully this could be the beginning of the end, for the Peacekeepers have been at war for way, way too long already.
Hoping the Xenofungus will provide a modicum of "stealth", a new wing of Vishnu fighters begins an offensive against a large number of Hive aircraft, before they have a chance of annihilating the defenses of Jerusalem.
When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
-- The Conclave Bible, Datalinks
: We have failed in our most important duty, and we must take the harsh lessons from it, to ensure this humanitarian disaster shall never, ever happen again.
You are the children of a dead planet, earthdeirdre, and this death we do not comprehend. We shall take you in, but may we ask this question -- will we too catch the planetdeath disease?
-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "Conversations with Planet"
Note: This project is just an overpriced The Merchant Exchange for Free Market economies(not that it would be a bad choice for a Morgan base that already built The Merchant Exchange), but for the other models, it reduces the number of drones in every base, specially for Planned with -2 drones.
: I loved my chosen. How then to face the day when she left me? So I took from her body a single cell, perhaps to love her again.
-- "Time of Bereavement"
: Morgan, I cannot stop thinking: is that truly her, or merely a copy, a completely alien, different sentience infused with her memories, while my true love will remain lost forever?
: That is a philosophical question, Lal. Does it matter in the end? Is there any difference in behavior that points to her not being her?
: That does not ease my doubts. In any case, I find the idea of such Cloning Vats very dangerous for a free society. I understand that many have died already in this war, but if we resort to mass cloning to beat Yang's vast numbers, we will be lowering ourselves to his level.
: Not if these clones are given exactly the same rights and liberties as any other U.N. citizen, we will not conscript them to the war, as Yang would, but the population boost of mass cloning will nevertheless increase our chances in this difficult conflict. We are changing, clinging to the past will go nowhere: we must look up to the future.
: I will think about it, but I am very reluctant to approve such a project. But I understand there is no turning back now. I am authorizing this research to make mass scale adoption of nano-augmentation to all willing citizens through our public healthcare system practical, and may I not regret what this shall lead us to become.
: Superhuman beings, perfect, flawless. We will achieve in decades something vastly superior to what eons of random evolution brought, and once our transformation happens, not even Yang will be able to stop the manifest destiny of the United Nations.
Once again, Lal is puzzled about certain polemic matters and consulted public opinion.
1) In spite of its ethical implications, should the U.N construct The Cloning Vats?
A) Yes
B) No
2) The maximum benefit of The Longevity Vaccine will only be gained under a Planned economy without the population control restrictions to anyone who wants to take the vaccine. However, a planned economy means inefficiency, and thus it could be a horrible idea to abandon Agenda 23 considering the number of bases the U.N. currently controls, at least until a Cybernetic Future Society happens. What will be the economic future of the Peacekeepers?
A) Retain the Green economic model forever. Wasteful planned economies will cause ecological damage, and the larger bureaucracy will worsen the drone problem more than unrestricted distribution of longevity treatments will improve on it.
B) Immortality for everyone! Switch to a socialist economy ASAP. The Industry and population growth benefits will make up for the efficiency loss.
C) Once artificial intelligences exist to manage such a planned economy with high efficiency, abandon Green economics, but until then, continue with Agenda 23.
3) Copters are more expensive than Needlejets, but also more flexible and capable of achieving better results in numerical asymmetry. Should the UNAF switch to them as their primary chassis for both air superiority and air strike roles?
A) Yes
B) Only for air strikes
C) Only for air superiority
D) No