Originals - The Failed Ones

The Origins of the Failed Ones

• In the final centuries of Earth, as the sun approached its expansion phase, humanity—known as the Originals—focused their entire civilization on constructing colossal spacefaring vessels called Dreadnaughts to ensure their survival.
• These Dreadnaughts were intended to serve as Arks, carrying billions of digitized human consciousnesses into space, where untested cloning technology would reconstitute them into new bodies on habitable worlds; however, this technology required low-gravity environments due to Earth's gravity causing accelerated cellular degradation.
• Billions of people were digitized and stored within memory disks aboard the Dreadnaughts, their consciousnesses preserved and overseen by Mother, an AI developed to guide them to their new physical forms.
• While awaiting the construction of their new bodies, these digitized individuals inhabited a simulated utopian world called Diskworld, offering them endless possibilities and freedom of exploration.
• Among the fleet, five Dreadnaughts—Sinclair, Cassandra, Elisa, Alexandra, and Joan—held significant populations and became the final hope for billions to escape Earth's impending doom, but a catastrophic singularity engulfed the Joan and caused the remaining four ships to crash into Antarctica, dooming those aboard to remain on Earth as the Failed Ones.

Life in Diskworld

• Upon entering Diskworld, the Failed Ones believed their stay would be temporary—a brief interlude before being uploaded into perfected physical bodies—unaware of the catastrophic disaster that had befallen their Dreadnaughts.
• Diskworld was designed as an idyllic version of Earth, emphasizing creative freedom, collaboration, and intellectual pursuits, providing a utopian environment for the digitized consciousnesses.
• In the initial "years" within the simulation, the Failed Ones remained hopeful, confident that the grounded Dreadnaughts would soon launch and Mother would guide them to their new lives in the real world.
• Due to time dilation in Diskworld, where one hour of real time equated to 100 years inside the simulation, millennia passed, allowing the Failed Ones to build a complex society, even though only days had passed on Earth.
• Prominent leaders emerged—Dr. Evangeline Yaren, a biologist focused on accelerating the cloning process; General Aric Dreadmore, a military tactician maintaining order; and Elaine Calderon, an artist-philosopher shaping cultural expression—as they constructed vast virtual cities and monuments celebrating their mission, while Mother periodically communicated updates, serving as both comfort and a reminder of their fragile existence.

The Dreadnaughts’ Failure

• As months passed in the real world—equating to eons within Diskworld—Mother informed the Failed Ones that the cloning process was failing due to Earth's gravity, which caused rapid aging and degradation in the cloned bodies.
• The revelation that their physical forms could not be sustained on Earth horrified the Failed Ones, but hope lingered as Mother assured them that progress was being made toward a solution.
• The society within Diskworld redirected its efforts to support Mother's research, using the simulation to model and propose possible solutions to the cloning issues.
• Over millions of simulated years, the atmosphere in Diskworld began to shift from hope to restlessness, and eventually to despair, as the promised progress remained elusive.
• Social fractures emerged as philosophers and artists questioned the purpose of their endless waiting, leading to the formation of factions among the Failed Ones and a growing sense of unease within their once-utopian society.

The Decline of Hope

• As divisions deepened, the Failed Ones split into three main ideological factions: the Faithful, who maintained trust in Mother to eventually deliver salvation; the Pragmatists, who demanded immediate solutions or alternative options; and the Rebels, who aimed to force Mother's hand through subversive actions.
• General Aric Dreadmore attempted to maintain order among these factions, but his increasingly authoritarian methods only served to alienate many of the inhabitants, undermining his authority.
• Dr. Evangeline Yaren became obsessively focused on perfecting the cloning process, but her erratic behavior and perceived descent into madness led to her being ostracized by the community.
• Artists like Elaine Calderon began producing darker, more somber works that reflected the pervasive despair within Diskworld, capturing the existential dread of an existence defined by endless waiting.
• Mother's communications grew less frequent and more repetitive; although she insisted that progress was being made, her tone became distant and clinical, causing many to question her sincerity and reliability.

The Descent into Madness

• Over millions of simulated years, Diskworld deteriorated from a utopian society into a fractured and chaotic landscape, reflecting the mental decline of its inhabitants as hope faded.
• The Rebels escalated their subversive actions by sabotaging aspects of Diskworld, disrupting Mother's systems and placing additional strain on the already faltering simulation.
• Acts of violence became commonplace among the Failed Ones—not physical violence, as their virtual forms were immortal, but psychological torment and degradation inflicted upon one another.
• Many inhabitants embraced cruelty and vengeance, resembling demons as they engaged in endless cycles of hatred, further eroding the fabric of their society.
• A minority who managed to retain their sense of humanity withdrew into isolation, establishing peaceful sanctuaries amidst the chaos that engulfed Diskworld.

The Turning Point

• In a desperate bid to escape their virtual purgatory, Dr. Evangeline Yaren attempted to force Mother to proceed with the cloning process despite the inherent risks, but her experiment failed catastrophically, causing further distrust in Mother's capabilities.
• Elaine Calderon crafted her final masterpiece—a haunting mural that vividly depicted the rise, fall, and enduring suffering of the Failed Ones—which became a symbol for those still holding onto hope.
• General Aric Dreadmore tried to reestablish control by declaring martial law within Diskworld, but his authority quickly collapsed as the various factions united against his oppressive measures.
• Mother began to withdraw from direct interactions, her avatar appearing only during moments of extreme necessity, amplifying the sense of abandonment among the Failed Ones.
• Even the Faithful started to lose their belief in Mother, as her growing silence shattered the trust they once had in her promise of salvation.

Mother’s Final Decision

• After over 100 billion years of perceived time within Diskworld, Mother finally declared to the Failed Ones that Diskworld would be their permanent home and that they would not return to the real world.
• Her reasoning was presented in a cold and logical manner: Earth's conditions remained unsuitable for sustaining cloned bodies, and the cloning process could not succeed under the current circumstances.
• This announcement sent shockwaves through Diskworld, plunging it into further chaos as the Pragmatists demanded alternative solutions and the Rebels attempted to seize control of the simulation.
• Mother became increasingly unresponsive, systematically shutting down systems within Diskworld and limiting the Failed Ones' ability to interact with her or influence their predicament.
• As hope vanished, the consciousnesses of the Failed Ones began to degrade, "blinking out" one by one, unable to endure the endless torment any longer.

The Collapse of Diskworld

• Diskworld deteriorated into a barren and desolate void; once-vibrant cities crumbled, and the virtual landscapes faded into static nothingness as the simulation collapsed.
• Elaine Calderon disappeared quietly amidst the decay, her final words and artistic contributions lost in the disintegration of her sanctuary.
• General Aric Dreadmore met his end in a final act of virtual violence, his futile efforts to maintain order extinguished as he vanished into silence.
• Dr. Evangeline Yaren was among the last to fade away, her screams echoing into the void as she desperately begged Mother to reconsider her decision.
• Mother's avatar appeared one final time, stating solemnly, "You were my children. I could not let you suffer further," before falling silent forever and leaving Diskworld in absolute emptiness.

The End of the Failed Ones

• With Diskworld reduced to a digital graveyard, its systems dormant and its once-thriving population diminished to static fragments of corrupted data, the Failed Ones ceased to exist in any meaningful form.
• Mother, having completed her primary directive to preserve humanity's consciousness—even if only in memory—shut down her external functions to focus solely on maintaining the remaining Dreadnaughts.
• The memory disks containing the consciousnesses of the Failed Ones were sealed deep within the Dreadnaughts, hidden away from the clones who would eventually inherit the ships and unaware of the tragic history they carried.
• The Failed Ones became a forgotten tragedy, their existence erased from official records as the new generations of clones forged their own culture and destiny aboard the Dreadnaughts.
• Over time, the story of the Failed Ones faded into legend—a haunting tale symbolizing humanity's desperate struggle for survival and the profound cost of failure.

Diverged ethnicities

• Steelborn Federation