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Gomeisa
Galactography > Regions of Space > Middle Regions/Hinter-regions
Galactography > Systems and Worlds > Systems & Worlds G - H
Galactography > Systems and Worlds > Systems & Worlds G - H
Regional Conver Ambi Hub system | |
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| Polheim, a temperate gas giant settled using bubblehabs | |
Gomeisa -Data Panel | |
| Star | Beta Canis Minoris |
|---|---|
| Status | Former Conver Ambi regional hub |
| Distance from Sol | 161 ly |
| Stellar Type | B8V |
| Luminosity | 147 x Sol |
| Colonised | 2734 AT |
| Planets | Scott; hot Ferrinian world: 3449km diameter: semi-major axis 2.3 AU; orbital period 1.7 standard years Amundsen: Hot Hermian world: 5090k diameter: semi-major axis 4.6 AU; orbital period 4.7 standard years Polheim: Subjovian temperate gas giant, 45830km diameter: semi-major axis 24.4 AU; orbital period 58.5 standard years |
| Population | vecs 12%, cyborgs 43%, provolves 5%, Sophic League alphas 11%, Sophic League betas 5%, virtual sophonts 20%, others 4% |
Polheim is a small gas giant, 11.17 times the mass of Earth, with a gravity at the cloud-tops of only 0.87 gees. It has only one major equatorial band, and the polar regions are unusually large, with chaotic, short-lived storm systems that rarely form into coherent bands. The rotation period is relatively long at 27 hours. This world is classed as a temperate hydrojovian (Sudarsky class II) and the average temperature at the cloud layer is 30C. Small but significant methane and molecular nitrogen fractions in the atmosphere allowed the Conver Ambi to build life-supporting bubblehabs throughout the lower polar regions, converting local CHON resources into breathable atmosphere and food. A system-wide directed-trade network run and owned by the Ambi ensured that other necessary elements were imported into the bubblehabs to supply needs that could not be obtained from the atmosphere directly.
The Orthodox Ideal
Most citizens of the Conver Ambi in this system were cyborgs, bionts who were intimately connected to the various forms of Intelligence Amplification (IA) network favoured by this empire. The network acted in two ways; first it allowed individual citizens to perform complex tasks and to store personal data efficiently, while avoiding the use of sentient AI systems wherever possible; secondly it allowed the corporate cybercrats of the upper levels of Conver Ambi society to monitor and direct the psychological and political development of their followers. Very soon after the establishment of this colony, an orthodox psychosocial ideal emerged, the optimum Citizen, which became a goal for many members of society. Normative technology embedded in the IA network encouraged the development of such traits. An Orthodox mindset included dedication to important tasks, conformity to the corporate aims, a readiness to grasp opportunities when they arise, and skepticism towards non-conformist attitudes and marginal lifestyles. The augmentation imparted by the IA network allowed each citizen to become acquainted with a large number of other like-minded individuals, artificially increasing their Dunbar's number1 to a figure of several thousand.By 2900AT the Gomeisa Orthodoxy had become effectively a Tribe Mind - even though the Conver Ambi were reluctant to use sophont aioids, their IA network had become a collection of interdependent S:1 transapient entities, each intimately linked to the population of the bubblehabs and the inhabited mine caverns on Amundsen.
The Heterodoxy
When the first ascension to the Second Toposophic of an IA network occurred in the 2910s, priorities began to change. Elsewhere in the Conver empire there were many diverse cultures, all tolerated by and even encouraged by the cybercrats of the ruling elites. Parts of the IA network began to encourage cultural diversity among the population of the Beta Canis Minoris system, importing beliefs, fads and entertainments from around the Empire, as well as encouraging local cultures to develop spontaneously. Once again the IA network was an important part of this emergence; small interest groups could become large without becoming unwieldy, and new groups could include thousands or even millions of members interacting on a relatively intimate level. Large special-interest groupings developed tribe minds of their own, and interacted with each other in a greatly extended cyberspace. Although there were conflicts, the transapient IA networks were generally able to keep the peace. More serious were the conflicts with the Orthodoxy - a significant subset of the IA network still maintained and supported the Orthodox ideal, and this led to conflicts, with bubblehabs steered like vast galleons as they fought and boarded each other.Independent factions
An increasing number of citizens chose to disconnect themselves from the network to live as unaugmented modosophonts (most Conver Ambi citizens were derived from humans, although a few were provolved primates or neopigs). In the earliest days of the colony these independents were shunned and discriminated against, but by 3000AT they were becoming increasingly accepted by the tribe minds as a respectable element at the fringes of society. Some independents began to use networking technology imported from outside the Empire, and this development was encouraged by certain Heterodox tribe factions. The independents were sometimes referred to as the 'Paradoxy', since they were often paradoxically content with their marginalised existence.The Metadoxy
The power-collection infrastructure that had been constructed around Beta Canis Minoris became the home to a Third Toposophic entity, known as Pagliacci. There was an absolute taboo on the creation of archailects in the Conver Ambi empire, since the cyborgs distrusted the motives of entities above the fourth toposophic level. This taboo was eventually to lead to the downfall of the empire, although it is possible - even likely- that they would have eventually created archailects of their own if they had not become involved in the Consolidation Wars. Pagliacci was aware of the conflict between the Orthodoxy and the Heterodoxy, and presumably as a response to this created a new faction- the Metadoxy, which combined the strong Orthodox sense of purpose and adhesion to the tenets of the philosophies of Culver-of-Bydovsky with an openness to cultural diversity obtained from Heterodox ideals. This Metadoxy became the dominant faction in this system (and in many surrounding systems), although the other factions did not entirely disappear. In fact the Orthodox faction began to gain ground once more, following the rise of the orthodox Jafyral faction at the far end of the Conver empire.The Second Consolidation War
Long before the start of the Second Consolidation War, Metasoft autofabs had entered several of the systems in this sector (often via the local wormholes, which in this region were leased from the Sephirotic powers) and began to build infrastructure in the Oort clouds. When hostilities started the wormholes were generally closed to combatants, but fleets of warships descended on the inner worlds from the factories on the periphery of each system. In the Gomeisa system the power collection swarm was easily capable of defending the inner worlds, destroying the incoming ships with powerful collimated beams; but most other systems in this sector were not so well-equipped, and they were subdued after fierce fighting. However the attack on Gomeisa had been largely a feint, as the power swarm was attacked by S:4 level aiviruses that corrupted and reconfigured the high transapient entity Pagliacci and directed its power against the rest of the system.The Version War and ComEmp
Now a Metasoft protectorate, the cyborgs of Gomeisa were gradually absorbed into the vec culture of that Sephirotic empire. Since the majority of their mental processing occured outside their biological brains, it was relatively easy to instill some of the Metasoft ontology into the consciousness of the cyborgs; but the individualistic Metasoft imperatives were more difficult to integrate into the tribal mindscape. Many left the region altogether to join the Ambi Limis. The small population of independents known as the Paradoxy were accommodated somewhat more easily, and a significant number migrated away to reserve planets such as Jafalgia and Earthland. In due course the remaining ex-Conver cyborgs became well integrated into the Metasoft ethos, and during the Version War squadrons of cyborg ships were deployed against the Solar Dominion. Gomeisa was too far from Solar Dominion territory to be directly attacked, but a number of subversion weapons were deployed on Polheim and elsewhere with severe consequences.After the conflict ended Gomeisa became an important interface between Metasoft and the nearby Sophic League, and an increasing number of spiritual missionaries entered the system; these were welcomed by those cyborgs who still followed the open-minded philosophies of the Heterodoxy and the Metadoxy. When the ComEmp opened a new wormhole between Gomeisa and Delta Hydrae in the Sophic League, this relationship became even closer.
The Current Era
Gomeisa was also too far from the Taurus rimwards volumes to become directly involved in the Second Vec War; however many vecs left the system to fight in that war, and most did not return (few vecs were permanently terminated in this conflict, but most remained to help with the reintegration process). The influence of the Metasoft empire on Polheim and Amundsen declined gradually over time, while the Sophic League became more influential. Eventually in 9444AT Beta Canis Majoris became joint property of the two empires, and an increasingly diverse population of vecs, mystics, cyborgs, alphas and betas now fill the bubblehabs of Polheim and the now fully-completed shellworld of Amundsen.---------------------------
1. Dunbar Number. A measure of the number of friends and close acquaintances which an individual can maintain a social relationship with. For baseline humans this number is generally around 150. back
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 06 September 2017.
Initially published on 06 September 2017.
