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Author Topic: Intaki History  (Read 5305 times)

Saxon Hawke

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Intaki History
« on: 16 Jun 2010, 12:53 »

CCP has left unanswered a lot of questions regarding the Intaki people and the Intaki Assembly. This leads to a lot of confusion within the role-playing community. I, for one, am tired of so many RP ideas grinding to a halt because no one knows a history that should be common knowledge to anyone. I've decided that enough is enough and I'm not going to sit around and be a part of the RP community that gripes but doesn't do anything about the problem.

Some people will reject this. I accept that. But from this point forward (unless cannon proves otherwise) these are the facts as Saxon knows them.

http://freeintaki.freeforums.org/from-whence-we-came-t1031.html

The relevant “player driven content” is as follows. :

The first contact between the Gallente deep space exploration vessel ‘Sojourner’ and the people of Intaki was a surprising experience for all those involved. The crew of the Sojourner had recently finished their survey of several temperate planets including Ostingele VII and Vey II. These planets were full of biological life, but devoid of any civilization. Because they picked up no communication signals (radio or otherwise) they assumed the same would be true of Intaki V.

The survey team landed, by chance, in an unpopulated area and set about collecting samples of native flora and fauna. On the second morning of their expedition, the explorers were startled to emerge from their landing craft to find a delegation of leaders from the nearest village waiting for them.

Having no firm protocol for dealing with indigenous cultures, the captain of the Sojourner hammered out an impromptu peace accord between the village leaders and his crew, allowing them to complete their survey mission and leave the planet. Although their planet was in a pre-industrial state, the Intaki proved to be shrewd negotiators and did not allow the Gallente to leave without first sharing some of the secrets of their technology. In particular, the Intaki bargained for communication technology. The Gallente were happy to share what to them was fairly rudimentary technology, launching several satellites and seeding basic communication equipment around the planet.

The effect on the Intaki people was immediate as it confirmed legends that people existed in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Compared to the knowledge that they were not alone in the universe, this might have appeared to be a small wonder, but it was one of the great mysteries of the Intaki whose planet’s equatorial climates had divided its people for millennia.

The revelation did lead to some turmoil as many hundreds of generations apart had created differences in the societies of the northern and southern Intaki. However, because their separation remained intact, physical confrontation was impossible and the diplomatic nature common to both populations of the Intaki prevailed. By the time a full contingent of Gallente diplomatic representatives returned to Intaki five years later, the Intaki people had prepared and united under a single government to represent them in dealings with the Gallente.

Anxious to have the Intaki planet as deep space base, the Gallente offered the Intaki people much in the way of technology and training. Within five years of second-contact, native Intaki were serving on board Gallente space vessels. The first Intaki-born captain was given command of a Gallente ship 25 years after that. Seventy-five years after first contact, the Intaki government purchased its own vessels and began exploring neighboring systems.

In 22889 (in the old calendar) the first Intaki colony, located on Vey II was chartered. Over the next 100 years more than 50 Intaki colonies were created in a dozen different stellar regions. While the majority of these colonies eventually chose to become autonomous of the Intaki planetary government, the colonies located in the Placid Region remained loyal.

In addition to the first colony on Vey II, Intaki expansion also included traditional colonies on the temperate planets of Frarie VI, Frarie VII, Harroule IV, Brarel II and Ostingele VII as well as domed underwater colonies on Annancale VII and Agoze V. The Intaki planetary government also staked a claim on the Eugales System, which lacked an inhabitable planet but contained rich ice fields.

In accordance with Intaki traditions of self-reliance, the colonies in the Placid Region were left to handle their own affairs for matters that dealt with their individual planetary operations and, as a result, various forms of government took shape on them. These ranged from the anarcho-syndicalist commune of Brarel II to the monarchy of Frarie VII. Regardless of their planetary government, each colony was allowed to send representatives to serve as part of what grew out of the original Intaki unified planetary government.

This larger governmental structure was designed to handle issues related to outer space or those that affected the colonies uniformly (such as on-going relations with the ever-expanding Gallente empire). Each colony was allowed two representatives in the Rajya Sabha and a number of representatives in the Lok Sabha proportional to their populations. These legislative bodies then elected from their own membership a Council of Ministers and Prime Minister to serve as an executive body. The various ministries included such areas as trade, defense, health, astral mining and tourism.

The Prime Minister was also responsible for the annual selection of the Council of Judges, a group of 12 colonial representatives who also served as a supreme court for the Intaki colonies. The two legislative houses, along with the Council of Ministers and the Council of Judges were known collectively as the Intaki Assembly.

When the Gallente proposed the creation of the Federation joining the Gallente with the Intaki, Caldari and Mannar, the Assembly debated the matter for a period of 18 months. In the end, the Assembly voted narrowly to join the Federation, surrendering its sovereignty to the Gallente central government. The shrewd negotiators among the Intaki contingent did ensure that certain aspects of autonomy remained intact and the Assembly’s original structure remains today — although it has no authority to act outside the confines of its nine-system territory.
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Ken

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #1 on: 16 Jun 2010, 13:35 »

Excellent stuff.  Thank you, Saxon.  In your opinion, would it be fair to describe that early Intaki state, pre-fed but post-space, as a confederacy or even an alliance of independent nations?  And would that be the model for a future free Intaki state?

Also, maybe we should kick up an "Intakisphere" discussion thread in the OOC Summit or CCP Library subforum to cover everything that is known and presumed about the bloodline from Syndicate to Mordu to the ILF.  As you say, finding stuff on Intaki PF is not easy.  I've found that to be especially true with regards to the topic of the homeworld itself.
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Saxon Hawke

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #2 on: 16 Jun 2010, 13:44 »

Excellent stuff.  Thank you, Saxon.  In your opinion, would it be fair to describe that early Intaki state, pre-fed but post-space, as a confederacy or even an alliance of independent nations?  And would that be the model for a future free Intaki state?

Also, maybe we should kick up an "Intakisphere" discussion thread in the OOC Summit or CCP Library subforum to cover everything that is known and presumed about the bloodline from Syndicate to Mordu to the ILF.  As you say, finding stuff on Intaki PF is not easy.  I've found that to be especially true with regards to the topic of the homeworld itself.

I think a confederacy would certainly be a way to look at the pre-Federation Intaki state. Prime Fiction in several places tells us that Intaki value independence and self-reliance, but they are also skilled diplomats adept at skilled at working with people of differing view points. I think it logically follows that people with those personality traits would favor a confederacy with a lot of local autonomy.
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Arvo Katsuya

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #3 on: 16 Jun 2010, 18:53 »

Say, Saxon... is there any PF detailing the technology the Intaki use for the rebirth process?
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Silver Night

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #4 on: 16 Jun 2010, 20:31 »

It would be cool if there was. As it is, the only reference is that cloning tech is involved, somehow (though that wasn't always the case).

Ken

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #5 on: 16 Jun 2010, 21:25 »

On that topic, I'm curious whether the modern reborn are actually reincarnated in some measurable way or if its merely a holdover spiritual tradition from pre-modern Intaki society.  Are they dressing up mainstream cloning with culturally specific hocus-pocus or is rebirth a truly alternative process? 

If the latter, I imagine there is still some kind of nervous system engineering and/or personality download involved, but I suppose it could just be an educated guessing game of "find the new child-Idama" a la the Nepalese Lamas.  That was probably how things were done before cloning tech became involved. 

PF and gameplay shows us that the fatal brain scan and consciousness download works well, especially when in the pod.  So if mainstream cloning tech is involved in Intaki rebirth, there's got to be some sort of brain scan (slow and survivable or fast and fatal) and a subsequent implanting of the scan onto a host.  The fundamental difference here is that the hosts are infants, as far as I understand it, rather than fully-formed adult bodies.  The reborn go through complete life cycles over and over, from birth to death.

How are the hosts chosen?  Are family members honored by having their newborn or unborn babies dedicated to the purpose of carrying on grandpa's personality?  Or are they cooking up an infant clone of the to-be-reborn individual and dumping his brain scan into it?  Additional repercussions of this line of thought include how much information you can cram into a baby's brain and whether this is a fuzzy personality transfer or a full/partial download of the Idama's consciousness.

Another alternative might be simply cloning the Idama after his death and raising the child normally, that is with no scanning or downloading at all.  This would be combined with the ancient spiritual practices associated with rebirth and a rigorous education for the child in the deeds and philosophy of his late "self/selves".  Now that I think about it, that may be the most fitting explanation.

I don't expect anyone necessarily knows the answers.  I'm just putting questions out there to get a sense for what we do/do not know, what common sense tells you, and what remains to be written.
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Bong-cha Jones

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #6 on: 17 Jun 2010, 01:21 »

I can get down with this history, Saxon.  I like your work  :D  I really agree that local autonomy is very high and I suspect the Assembly is as much, if not more, a way of dealing with outsiders as it is a way of self-governance.  I wonder how the Assembly members are assigned:  by area, by population or by some more arcane function?

Ken, I know I read somewhere that the Intaki helped perfect the cloning process.  I'll try to dig up the source; one of the problems with having so many threads saved is that it's hard to remember where, exactly, things are.  Also, I know (but will have to track down the source) that the Idama's did not undergo new cloning techiques, using traditional methods instead.  I think, but can in no way confirm, that the Intaki got a hold of some memetic techniques from their pre-collapse society that they've kept up.
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Ken

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #7 on: 17 Jun 2010, 06:39 »

I would love to see anything you can find, Simon.
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Alain Colcer

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #8 on: 17 Jun 2010, 08:56 »

Saxon, very good material, but i would suggest you give a reading to the Homeworld 1 fiction detailing the survival of the tribes in the desert world.

There are many good details as to how the Intaki got adapted so quickly to the Federaton, but there are a few points i would like to provide some feedback.

I can't buy the fact the planet was divided in two by the weather, people always find the ways to discover and break the barriers of what nature put in front of us, is a common human trait. Personally i think the "diplomatic" and "self-reliance" traits that are often described for Intaki should be the by-product of a complex city-state inter-relation across the planets with sailors and caravan leaders who crossed the dangers of the hot tropical world. They are after all a single bloodline so populations couldn't be so isolated as to have the planet split in north and south.

Having a hostile weather often triggers a "be in balance" answer from the culture that lives in it, food, work hours, rituals, all could point to some Hindu and malasyan-like roots. Angkor Wat (old city temple) could be a good example of how great a civilization under harsh tropical climate can go. They were also mentions of "cities in mountain ranges". Which would be similar to the nepal temples and cities, or the Machu-Picchu incan city.

Mix and match a bit and you would have a good background to also support the nature of the Syndicate, with its city stations as representation of their past pre-space era.

When i get back from work i'll try to provide more feedback.
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Saxon Hawke

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #9 on: 17 Jun 2010, 10:17 »

I went back and forth on the idea of separate Intaki cultures divided by the hemisphere. Eventually it came down to the Idama's statement "The equatorial oceans are exceedingly hot, and few living things survive around the equator. The rich and varied life of Intaki V has been confined to the polar regions, and in constant struggle for land, food, and shelter from the environment."

I made the decision that the pre-Industrial Intaki would find it nearly impossible to make it across the equator. That doesn't mean that it was never done, just that it was exceedingly rare and the knowledge of it wasn't widespread.

I guess an example would be the Vikings who came to the "new world" a few hundred years before Columbus. It was a daunting journey fraught with peril. Nearly everyone assumed it was impossible so few tried to make it and since most who tried it died, the assumption prevailed.
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Ken

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #10 on: 17 Jun 2010, 15:47 »

For a long time, European exploration south of the equator down the west African coast was limited in part simply because of superstition.  Logistics had a lot to do with it as well, of course.  Remember that it wasn't until the last half millennium that we managed to bring all of Earth's continental human populations together and create a complete understanding of the planet, and our obstacles were mostly just long distances. 

If Intaki V experiences average temperatures of <140 degrees F in the equatorial/tropical regions, I think that'd be more than enough to strongly discourage settlement and travel to any pre-industrial society.  People simply wouldn't go there.  Add to that the normal challenges of distance, ocean travel, hostile flora and fauna and a civilization completely bisected by the hemispheres seems reasonable to me.  It's also more interesting, frankly.  :D
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Alain Colcer

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #11 on: 23 Oct 2010, 18:45 »

Saxon, sorry to necro this but i have a request, can you leave Eugales system out of your list for a bit?

I got some ideas i want to write about that system, making description much like the ones you have been posting but it will take me at least a week, need to scan the moons first.
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Saxon Hawke

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Re: Intaki History
« Reply #12 on: 23 Oct 2010, 21:54 »

Bruno, as Eugales has no habitable planets, I hadn't intended to write anything for it. I didn't get into lunar colonies as there are way more moons than I wanted to consider.
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