Sephirotic Empire dedicated to creating a range of perfect societies for modosphonts | |
Image from Avengium | |
One of the common symbols for Chesed, archailect of the Utopia Sphere |
The Utopia Sphere - Data Panel | |
Definition | Utopian Sephirotic Region |
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Symbol | None formally, although the Chesed image is often used by Utopian clades. |
Founded | Second millennium a.t. |
Ruling Archailect | No single identity, although the AI cluster ruling the Utopia Sphere is personified by the religious as the Lord of Utopia, the Bringer of Gifts, the Kindly One, the Merciful One, the Protective One, the Loving Parent, etc. The old neohermeticists referred to this very high toposophic group Mind as Chesed, and the term is still sometimes used among many utopese clades to this day. |
AI Ethos | The AIs that oversee Utopese societies and worlds tend to be very interventionist, even aggressively so in regards to the daily lives of their citizens. Hence Utopian societies are sometimes looked down upon by sophonts of more independant societies, their subjects called helpless pets. What these other sophonts fail to realise is that care under the Utopia Sphere archai can also set one up for strength in life, as well as provide pleasurable experiences |
Utopian Civilization | There is no single Utopian Culture as such. Utopian worlds and habitats may be extremely diverse, with tens of thousands of sapient species happily co-existing. Or they may feature only a few specific and somewhat isolationist clades. Or anything in between. There are however few po or hyperturing polities, as Utopian sentients are often subsingularitan (either ordinary sophont, presapient, or even subsapient), although their were also some transapient clades. Many Utopian races tend to be either not very competitive with the rest of the galaxy, or, if they are, simply prefer to live happily among themselves. The Utopian AIs have a tendency to construct dysons, to maximum the living space for their charges, and the Utopia Sphere has the sixth largest number of dysons in the Terragen Sphere (after the Panvirtuality, MPA, Keter, Objectivist Commonwealth, and some of the big Diamond Polities). |
Science and Technology | Technology Level: The Utopia Sphere gods can wield very high (Godtech), but rarely do. Although there are a few extremely advanced transapient utopic clades, polities, and civilizations, many utopic sophonts, especially on the more non-ultratech worlds, have little or no say in the running of Utopian tech. They have their own tech, which they brought with them from their own worlds, and which they retain more as a psychological crutch, to give the illusion of independence, or to customise their own dwellings and cities. Angelnets are common. |
Psyche, Art, Culture | Metapsychology: Varies greatly according to clade, culture, and polity Society: Life in the Utopia Sphere is built around the concept of the Triad cycle of Ecstasy, Fantasy and Serenity. The manifestations of this vary hugely, but at any time a Utopian citizen is experiencing one of these states under the supervision of a Seraiph. Religion/Ideology: Although it is misleading to generalise here, it does seem that, despite the vast difference of race and clade among Utopian sapients, their religion very often takes the form of a personal relationship to one's local archailect or hyperturing and eir seraiph. Some Utopists do however have unique and quite sophisticated religious rites, ceremonies and so on, and sometimes complex theologies and archailectologies replace superstition. Perhaps the most successful of the indigenous utopist religions is The First Splice and Provolve Universal Church (a local adaptation of the Universal Church), which tries to discourage excessive fetishism and icon-worship. Symbolism and Aesthetics: Varies widely according to clade, culture, and polity. However, themes of finding paradise, personal fulfillment, zen, uninhibited exploration of pleasure and benign transapient and archailectual guardianship are common in many works of epic literature. Psychological Stagnation: Surprisingly little. The Triadic cycle encourages a regular shift between stagnant and dynamic thought and behaviour. Psychological Liberation: Psychological Liberation and Unio Mystico through identification with the guardian hyperturings, producing a compassionate sense of responsibility for the health and well-being of all sentient beings. Culture and Art: While there are no distinct Utopian fashion, cultures, or artforms, the state of Fantasy often leads to the creation of novel artwork. Artwork produced under the supervision of certain Seraiph is in high demand elsewhere in the galaxy. Architecture: Architecture also tends to follow what the sapients were used to originally, although transplanted to a more idealistic setting. There is no uniform style. However, a common theme on a number of Utopian worlds is a seamless blend of natural and artificial environments; particularly gardens. Each garden is complete with ambient climate control, neat lawns, fountains and ponds, beautiful trees and flowers, and friendly and helpful remotes. Even here there is no unanimity; in Oro Mistral for example the gardens are a vast underwater structure. Language: Varies; no official common language. |
Territory and Population | Current Territory: An approximately ovoid region of space around Beta Arae. There are also a large number of affiliated worlds in other regions of the Terragen Sphere. Tar Vara for example is in MPA space. Millions of systems host Utopian Sphere enclaves in physical or virtual form. Capital: The Beta Arae Bracelet is regarded as the Utopia Sphere core, and contains am major node of the archailect Chesed. Representative Systems: Baenf, The Beta Arae volume, Ceres Mater, Emrega, Eutopia, Fairylands, Ituanacorona, Jhairrn, Oro Mistral, Osto, Owen, Pacifica, Plautus III, Schaiffer's World, Topia, Wallace (dyson), Wilson (dyson). Current Core Population: Thought to be over 10 quadrillion; mostly in various dyson-based habitats. The population continues to slowly rise in these spacious worlds, but living space is abundant and will remain so for some time. Number of Core Star Systems: Over 5,000 Population Breakdown: A wide cross-section of all major categories and phyla; often strongly individually augmented; median sophonce level baseline equivalent. |
Government and Administration | Government: Archailectocracy, Aiocracy and regional autonomy. Administrative Divisions: Particular polities, world, habitats and/or clades have their own full autonomy, although all with defer to high archailect decisons. National Holidays: Varies by polity Constitution: Varies by polity, but all are based on Beta Arae Protocols. Legal System: Varies by polity, but all are based on Beta Arae Protocols. |
Economics and Infrastructure | Currency: Varies by polity (some worlds don't use currency). Major Industries: Tend to be habitat and planet-based, usually prim, lo tech, or biotech-based, and varies greatly by world or polity. Dysons: Beta Arae (several partial dysons), Wallace and Wilson (ecological utopias), many others. Major Stargate Nexi: Beta Arae Plexis Military Expenditures: Archailect-level only; none at lower toposophics. |
Trade and Treaty Relations | Imports: Exotic matter, computronium, virches, mechasystem elements, expert systems, personality constructs, crude organobiota, clarketech, cultural databases, personality copies, subsentient bot parts. Exports: Biosphere templates, persona compoids, provolve arts (various species and phyla), prim, low, and primitive high tech crafts and artifacts, fashion and lifestyle modules, genome templates, ethical teaching devices. Treaty Participation: Tragadi Accords, ComEmp Non-Agression Signatory, Sentient Rights Protocols (Full Installment), Garden World Environmental Protection Signatory, St Andre Convention Signatory, Bonitsa Baseline Protection Treaty, Animal Rights Accord, Tipaza Ethics Agreement. Interstellar Relations: Interstellar Relations tend to be good. Utopists get on with almost everyone; and only the NoCoZo and other free enterprise types seem to be always complaining about unfair tariff rates. Interstellar Disputes: None. The Utopia Sphere has few political friends or enemies. Most just consider it a domain of lotus eaters, possibly a temptation but not a real threat. Warfare: There is no warfare. When Utopian worlds are threatened, the local gods use clarketech against the aggressors. Sometimes sapients volunteer for augmentation and so are allowed to participate in battle, but this is always for memetic and symbolic value only. |
I'd never seen a hab more chaotic and more united in purpose. I was floating near in the centre of the northern endcap, the tunnels to the spaceport behind me. This wasn't the first McKendree cylinder I had been in, but it was certainly the busiest. My sensors fanned to take it all in. Across thousands of square kilometers was a patchwork of environments. Fae gardens of cultivated forests and augmented overlays pushed against plazas brimming with feasts. As I watched a meadow sank, quickly becoming a lake with artificial tides, beautiful beaches and a custom shaft of golden light from the suntube. Everywhere I looked people were engaging in acts of pleasure; a giant tree was juggling an array of bionts while they cheered and whooped, flying vecs racing through crystalline canyons, a multiclade orgy on the roof of a building while music blared to the same tempo.
Dragging my attention from these displays of hedonism I witnessed more active endeavors; further down the cylinder a group worked in tandem, sketching their instructions into the net, guiding smart matter into creating a neogenic sculpture whose purpose I could not fathom but whose beauty I could not deny. Floating above them was a large being borne on delicate wings of fancloth, in spectra real and virtual E shone. A seraiph of Chessed! My sensor modules recalibrated and identified many more similar figures throughout the hab. There were more transapients here in this one place than I had ever seen in the local cluster, and all of them interacting directly with modos! I further opened my mind to the net of the Sphere. Waves of experience, pleasure and creativity in more nuances than I could fathom rushed over me from all I could see. Supplementary sensor modules activated to process the sheer wealth of virtual environments overlapping the hab, like an endlessly deep ocean beneath the surf. Turning my attention to the seraiphim caused my processors to skip several cycles, they were so open, so available. As I floated I felt all reach out to greet me personally, me! That is when I knew I could not return. Not until I had experienced this place fully. Do not worry, I am surrounded by more love and happiness than I have ever known. I will come back to you a better person.
Archived message sent from the Troika system's Utopia Sphere Enclave to the vec colonies of the inner system.
Image from Ralph Hawke Manis copyright (used with permission) | |
Girl on Cliff Ralph Hawke Manis copyright (used with permission) |