Oooh, What's This?
Well, I tried out my first WorldEmber just last year in 2022 (despite having an account since 2019), so now I guess it's time to try out some of the other events? This is also my first time making one of these articles because I just sort of winged the absolute shit out of whatever I was going to work on for WorldEmber. But, hey, I managed to make the word count in the end (by the skin of my teeth) and even won something! Maybe we can do it again.
Am I doing this right? *literally just throws stuff at the wall*
Theme 1: W-R-I-T-I-N-G POWER
(Yes, it's a reference to the song from the original TMNT movie.)
Which are the powerful organizations within your world setting? Who are the powerful individuals? What kinds of power do they wield and what are their weaknesses and needs?
Power in the Nebula Burning universe is a lot more of a fickle thing than it used to be. Once upon a time every government in the Cluster answered to
The Core Senate (think the Senate in Star Wars in the grand old days before Palps threw Mace Windu out a window, killed a bunch of Jedi using the Clones, and turned Anakin Skywalker into James Earl Jones). Since the Collapse, only a few of the star systems follow the beck and call of The Core Senate. The remainder of them, no longer trusting the government post-Collapse, split off and either survive on their own or have made allegiances with other systems.
One of the other major powers in the Cluster are the
Companies. While few have persisted since people first settled the area, those that survived the Collapse and rose after it have their hands in many pockets. For example, companies are the ruling class on places like
Elysium Station.
Some Articles to Expand On
Theme 2: To Boldly Go
(Well, of course it's a Star Trek reference.)
Where are the frontiers in your worldsetting? And why would anyone want to go there?! What about metaphorical frontiers, like the "frontier of medicine" or space, the "final frontier"?
Given that everything takes place in space already, we've already reached the "final frontier". All of known space has already been explored. However! With the Collapse, the entire make-up of the Cluster was entirely changed. Technology old and new went offline because of the EMPs and changed how every day life changed for everyone. Researching that old technology or ways of life or even what happened during the Collapse itself could be considered a frontier given that that world is largely unknown to those currently living.
There is also the mysterious metaphorical frontier of the supernatural elements in the Cluster. How much of The Other is out in space with the mere mortals? Can the
The Planes of Hell be actually reached and explored? If so, what more is there that what is described in their base article?
Some Articles to Expand On
Theme 3: X Never Marks the Spot
(Except when it does. Sorry, Indy.)
What aspects of the past are revered today in your world setting? Which peoples are remembered? And which are forgotten, and why?
Any technology that managed to survive the Collapse is a relic at this point. Much effort was made to shield technology at the time from the effects when the EMPs were fired in 3213 but very few actually survived. Current technology is built off of the survivors - howver, much was lost and few even of those survivors exist, as many were taken apart in order to reengineer their functionalities.
One of the surviving relics of pre-Collapse technology are the
HAEMs or Human Assistance and Enhancement Machines. Massive marvels of technology, HAEMs were built for not just war but to aid the residents of the Cluster with whatever was needed from speeding up farm labor to aiding in moving large materials in construction. After the Collapse, only the facilities on
Ilaan in the
Alalus System kept the knowledge to work on such machines. While some HAEMs have been built in modern times, the majority of the frames are pre-Collapse originals with post-Collapse parts.
Rarer than relics before the Collapse are Old Terran relics that have survived the years. While most of the technology that came over with the original settlers is no longer functioning there are other items that have survived. While a lot of this material has ended up in museums, there is some that is still in the hands of private citizens. Other pieces of it could still exist in the ruins of places like
Daant Arga or the ruins of cities like Lirfield or Aneburgh on
Strana.
Some Articles to Expand On
Theme 4: Communications Array Damaged
(But air conditioning is fully operational.)
How do people and organizations from different backgrounds or cultures communicate with each other? How does communication happen over short and long distances? Who in your setting communicates secretly or carefully, and how?
Given that everything is set in space, of course we have to have some high-tech communications lying around. Across short distances there are small comm devices, either discs that will stick to a surface or small pieces that will clip to an ear or clothing. These can be used on ships, space stations, and on planet in order to communicate (although most comms don't work across the entirety of a planet). Over longer distances, there are other means of communication but the most key one is the Link Network. Constructed after the Collapse, the Link Network is essentially space Internet - a vast network of communication and information that anyone can access. So long as they are in the range of one of the sats (or satellites) that broadcast the signal. This makes the Network easy to access in civilized areas but harder to access when traveling through the fringes of space.
Beyond actual communication, when humanity took to the stars to find a new place to call home, they did bring all of home with them. Not just animals and plants but also tradition and language. While a great deal of tradition has morphed into new traditions since 1AFT, many languages have survived. Most people speak the same language as everyone else but there are some places that have another language as their main language. Sometimes this is a language from Terra...sometimes it isn't.
Some Articles to Expand On
For more Summer Camp, here's my article for the reading challenge!
Whoohoo have lots of fun writing towards the copper badge! :D And yes, you're doing this right ^^ These pledge documents should help you during summer camp to give you some kind of direction and plan.. Only to throw it away when the event actually starts of course, but that might just be me. XD
Whew! Good! I could never figure out what I was supposed to be doing during WorldEmber this past year for the article so I just didn't do it. lol I might end up throwing it away myself when the time comes, we'll see!
When in doubt, you can always take a peek at what other people have made for some inspiration ^^