• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

Space Age Imperialism

Ray of Meep

Administrator
Wiki Moderator
The primary idea I want to explore on Zhuque, is how does the arrival of a space faring superpower impact the society and culture of a pre-industrial people who are deeply environmentalist? Would we see similar conflicts during our own Imperialist Age, with the Chinese and the Japanese, or does the even greater gap in technology, fusion, spacecraft, AI; create vastly different changes?

The UES and the Ethunin Hierarchy are meant to mirror Japan and China during the Imperialist era. One that was quick to change and progress, but not without internal conflict, the other slower to it, suffering and declining as a result of the refusal to embrace to new status quo. However, as I've mentioned, there are vastly different technological gaps and base cultural attitudes. Humans first arrived on Zhuque as existentially threatening aliens, committing genocide and the erasure of the Aos Si with very little diplomatic forewarning. The Aos Si were essentially in the medieval era, still steadily declining from their golden age, with several wars accelerating the process. Whereas the Europeans and Americans who arrived in the East brought large wooden vessels, cannons, rifles, and new ideas of government structure; the humans brought to Zhuque fire from the heavens: fusion power, bionetic and cybernetic artificial intelligence, and absolute, murderous tyranny. Both the Chinese and Japanese were somewhat spiritual, but lacked centralized religious institutions, their hierarchies formed by familial obligations and service up the chain of government. Meanwhile, the Aos Si are deeply spiritual, but their communities scattered and decentralized.

However, after a few decades. The internals of the human invaders quickly changed, dramatically shifting to a more diplomatic stance, suddenly looking to aid the Aos Si with very few strings attached. They seemed no longer as genociders, but benefactors. Their society changed from authoritarian to democratic, not that the Aos Si fully understood either system, initially. What impact does all these events have on Aos Si attitudes on modern technology and society? How they view each other?
 
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