• 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.

Soyuz Sotsialisticheskikh Mirov

The Union of Socialist Worlds (Russian: Союз Социалистических Миров, CCM), romanized Soyuz Sotsialisticheskikh Mirov - is the successor to the Russian Federation, Belarus and certain members of the CSTO. With deep governmental structures and a loyal populace, it has carved its own way into the stars, walking a separate path from the other nations of Earth.

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History

In the 21st century, Russia’s continuous pushback against NATO and Western influence over its interior resulted in recurring economic sanctions, political and societal shunning. In response to what Russia viewed as institutionalised demagoguery against them, they have sought ever increasing independence from the international community - striving towards full self-sufficiency.

Consequently, this led to a breed of economic protectionism and cultural isolation. Russia focused inwards and fostered domestic development, part of which was aiming to fuse the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) into an enclosed circle of allied states in the 2070s. This led to the return of the iron curtain and a slow transition in ideology. The socio-economic isolation from the West began to build a sentiment of ‘our nation, our people, our future’ and consequently, the resurgence of popularity in communist beliefs. Some members of the CSTO, being post-Soviet states, began to experience a similar shift, as well as being denounced by the West for remaining in a bloc with Russia. Thus, countries holding a close relationship with Russia such as Belarus, Novorossiya, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan opted to merge governments for their own security against the West.

This political maneuver reached its peak in 2098CE, when the formation of the new merged bloc called for a governmental election, placing a new ruling party in charge of all the amassed territories. The result came as a landslide victory for the campaigning Communists of the New Soviet (Коммунисты Нового Совета, CNS), with 73.6% of the votes. Due to the union of the new states, the party sought to reinvigorate the public by honoring its mighty past, thus returning the name of the new nation to the Soviet Union (USSR). In the subsequent years, the party reintroduced many of the old policies and functionalities of the USSR, namely free education, free healthcare, industrial unions, youth development initiatives and a strong bureaucratic state structure. The military was also reformed at its key agencies, resulting in new authority for the Ministry of Defence, revision of operating policy in the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and the reintroduction of the secret police, Committee for State Security (KGB).

An element of democracy remained in the system, albeit restricted to voting for new heads of the CNS which occurs once every 10 years (general secretary election) and election of individuals to join the CNS Duma (parliamentary selection) occurring every 5 years. Other parties were squeezed out through the sheer popularity of the neo-communist wave that overtook the nation on its reformation.

In the year 2100CE, a general secretary election took place, resulting in Gregoriy Mikhailovich Chekhov, an academic of astronomy and physics taking charge of the party. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union began to focus on developing its space program in order to keep up with the efforts of the neighbouring CCP, as well as re-establish themselves as a nation pushing into the frontiers of space. It was able to push itself between CCP’s and AU’s colonisation efforts in 2117CE, settling permanent, albeit small population centers on a distant extrasolar ice planet Kitezh, named after a mythical Russian city which vanished beneath water during the days of the ancient Mongol Empire.

With the acquisition of the new arctic world, the Soviet Union was officially renamed into the Union of Socialist Worlds (CCM) in 2124CE. Kitezh was granted the necessary party delegates to function as a fully developed extension of the CNS on the colony world - and indeed almost every citizen of CCM is a party member of the CNS. The Earth CNS and Kitezh CNS combine into a greater assembly where Soyuz-wide decisions are made - the Communist Party of Soviet Worlds (Коммунистическая Партия Советских Миров, CPSW). The CPSW adopted three new flags - the main being the official flag of the CCM, and the lesser flags of the Earth CNS and Kitezh CNS. These processes and the period in CCM history were dubbed the ‘New Restructure’ (Russian: Новая перестойка), romanized ‘Novaya perestroika’.

Establishing a sustainable presence on the hostile surface of Kitezh took a lot of resources out of the CCM, particularly in the sphere of manpower. The CPSW thus presented a grant scheme to multi-child families in order to nurture population growth in the long term. However, as a temporary solution the CPSW resolved to direct the industrial unions’ resources to provide foundation for growth. In addition, the policy employed by the Ministry of Justice has been temporarily changed from sentencing repeat offenders with firing squads to retaining them in prisons with the others as manpower for controlled labour where necessary, until the new generation comes of age. Though the old policy is still applied to those who refuse to work in the name of the CCM, or misbehave frequently.

As such, the CCM is still fully at work on strengthening itself from within - resulting in its lack of involvement in the affairs of the interstellar community. Though it is not averse in attempting to seize a potential advantage that would serve its interests, it remains a mostly ‘closed’ and secretive nation with a loyal populace and a strict hold over what comes in, and what comes out.

Culture

Having coped with relative isolation from foreign nations, the CCM has spent centuries focusing on developing its interior and sheltering it from mingling with external cultures. As a result, the level of national unity is incredibly high and cultural diversity limited to those who assimilated into the New Soviet. Over time, any of the culinary traditions localised to particular regions developed variations elsewhere. For example, it is not uncommon to find central Asian food halls and dishes in the Arctic Circle on Earth, with some having made their way to cater for Kitezh as well. Dishes which were historically popular in Russia such as Plov, Borsh, Korzhiki, Blini, Pirozhki, Lagman, Shashliki, Golubtsy all remained within the new state borders in their original forms as recipes were passed along through generations. Overall, Russia’s historical experience with managing low supply and basic food ingredients led to creation of dishes that anyone could make with whatever was around, which was particularly useful on Kitezh.

The continuous struggle for survival that came with holding a presence on Kitezh, as well as the historical political and economic struggles on Earth have toughened the population of the CCM into a very tightly knit collectivist society. As such CCM world citizens are generally selfless and family orientated, but also highly cautious of outsiders, whose entrance to CCM territory is strictly controlled. It is not uncommon for a CCM citizen to sacrifice elements of their own life in order to help their fellows in need, with personal wealth contributions going to the State in times of crisis, or cycled within local communities to act as a safety net for those who fall below a particular level of poverty. As a result, homelessness for a CCM citizen is short-lived or rare in general. This system has been exploited in the past by those who did not wish to work as hard as the others to maintain the community, in response to which the CPSW imposed a 3-strike system with increasing community service penalties, the final being imprisonment and forced labour.

The character of the people of the CCM varies, but most generally subscribe to a blunt and no-nonsense attitude. In social situations, they recognise moments to be polite, particularly when it comes to speaking with elders or strangers - though their attitude takes a quick turn if they sense that someone is being rude or not treating them in kind, and will confront them about it. Generally, friendships in the CCM are highly valued and built from childhood, resulting in life-long bonds. This, combined with a ‘no man left behind’ mentality ingrained at an early age, means that Soyuz-born individuals will do almost anything for those they hold close, and potentially strangers in need. On the other hand, it also means that the average CCM citizen finds it hard to emotionally divest, leading to stubborn behaviour.

Due to extensive State sponsored youth programs and free education, as well as encouragement from families and communities, the CCM boasts a 99.8% literacy rate. The remaining 0.2% are generally prisoners, as CCM prisons do not conduct educational programs. Any CCM citizen of any age is able to apply to an institution appropriate for their intended studies. Studies always have a mandatory work placement, which comes from course partnerships with the industrial unions. This brings CCM-wide employment rate to 100% - the real problem being an occasional deficit of workers in other areas. Instead of resorting to child labour, prisoners are used to fill some of the gap, with the rest being occupied by automation. Though robotics is a popular industry in the CCM, hardware is used as a first choice for particularly hazardous jobs, and as a second choice for the general industries. This is to ensure employment remains at its peak and the character, competence and physical health of the nation does not degrade. CCM citizens are mostly highly educated, skilled workers with particular emphasis on STEM fields, resulting in the CCM being host to a booming scientific community.

Genetic disorders are generally looked down upon in the CCM, the vast majority being rooted out by a State sponsored eugenics program introduced in the 2160s, born out of a mass healthcare crisis. The policy prescribed that those with genetic illnesses work closely with youth organisations and orphanages in order to adopt ‘pure’ children without a home. If individuals with a genetic disease were found to have procreated and their child bearing a genetic illness or deformity, it was punished by the Ministry of Justice as a criminal offence, citing undue cruelty to a fellow citizen of the CCM.

As with its socialist predecessor, the USSR, the CCM has reintroduced State sponsored atheism, rooting out religious beliefs in order to increase cultural and national cohesion while also removing conflict potential. Consequently, spiritualism is minimal as almost all people of Soyuz view the universe around them through a scientific lens.

Despite racing into the future alongside other nations, Soyuz made a substantial effort to return and preserve the feeling of the old USSR within its borders - music from the 1900s and movie classics can still be encountered in retro-themed bars; the old national anthem and world war memorabilia can still be found; certain fashion shows still demonstrating items from the previous millennia. Though broadly, the CCM achieved the dreams of the future held by the old USSR in its science fiction.

Following the discovery of the Aos Si on Kitezh, Soyuz has been making an effort to educate them on CCM culture and integrate them into their society with some measure of success. It is no longer a rarity to see Aos Si within the borders of CCM cities on the frozen planet, typically manning static defences due to their physical constraints - and advising the Science Institutes on their knowledge of magic.

The State


The government of the CCM is comprised of 5 major institutions in order of authority:

  • The Grand Assembly of the Communist Party of Soviet Worlds (CPSW)
This is the highest governing house within the CCM, composed of an assembly of both Earth CNS and Kitezh CNS as well as representatives from each union and organization. It deals with decisions and policy making that concerns the entire CCM. It also acts as central command for GRU. This body is composed of both General Secretaries of Earth and Kitezh communicating proposals (which were submitted to them) to a combined assembly of Earth CNS Duma and Kitezh CNS Duma. The proposals are discussed and either approved or disapproved. If approved, a discussion of the execution of the proposals follows. The Grand Assembly is hosted in a stadium-sized building in Moscow which is divided into 3 rings as vertical levels. The General Secretaries and Duma members reside on the bottom circle, with the smallest number of seats. Representatives of each union have separate sections on the middle ring, allowing them to oversee the discussion of the Duma and participate when necessary. The top ring contains the most seats, reserved for CCM citizens who wish to spectate the Grand Assembly, though they are not permitted to participate unless an assembly-wide discussion takes place. Due to the inability of Kitezh CNS to leave for Earth to participate, proxy robots were created to be paired with special helmets using quantum entanglement, allowing Kitezh CNS Duma members to be present and speak at the Assembly in metallic shells.

  • The Communists of the New Soviet parties (Earth CNS, Kitezh CNS)
The CNS is the original party which took over Putin’s legacy upon the merging of several post-Soviet territories in 2098CE. It has been divided, with the original branch remaining to govern over the Earth CCM territories and it’s somewhat smaller extension governing over Kitezh. The parties are referred to as separate for both worlds because they are self-sustained in both locations. Both Earth CNS and Kitezh CNS have their own General Secretary and Duma (parliament). The building of the CNS Duma on Earth is a large domed structure, with its Kitezh CNS counterpart being an exact copy. Elections for membership of the Duma occur every 5 years, and are involuntary. This means that individuals do not campaign for their election, but are selected by popular vote within their organisation, be it ministerial, union or educational . If selected, they must join the Duma. Typically there are 60 candidates in total, and as they enter, 60 of the oldest serving Duma members retire. In total, each Duma is composed of 720 members, with one General Secretary being elected from the active Duma every 10 years in the same fashion. Entering candidates must be between 20-80 years of age. Most candidates spend their lives working in the Duma, but if any should choose to retire before their official dismissal (or is voted off the Duma), the next election will adjust the maximum number of entering candidates accordingly to maintain the total number of serving members.

  • The Ministry of Defence (MoD), Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and Committee for State Security (KGB)
The Ministry of Defence has retained the same duties under the ruling party, but was granted governance over the entire police force as well at the end of the 21st century. The intelligence department of the MoD, GRU, was modified to reflect the change in the international situation as the new Soviet Union became increasingly isolated, namely putting increased funding into counterintelligence operations and training of officers and agents for foreign intelligence. The KGB acts under the MoD, working as part of the new police by default. But what sets them apart from a typical police force is their training to bloodhound illegal foreign presence and domestic traitors, thereby making them the primary enforcers of GRU’s counterintelligence operations.

  • The Committee of Industry, Science and Development of the CCM (CISD)
The Committee is composed of the elected representatives of each industrial union, scientific institute, cultural centers and the CCM development board. There are 5 representatives from each union, Institute and community cultural centre, who attend meetings with the CCM development board, a non-governmental organisation which hosts a discussion among the present parties about current issues and what should be done, as well as requests for funding on particular projects and other varying matters. Select proposals are communicated by the CCM development board to the General Secretary of their planetary CNS, later making an appearance in the Grand Assembly of the CPSW. Representatives change with every meeting, unless the same individuals are elected again.

  • The Committee of Youth Development, Education and Sport (CYDES)
This Committee primarily focuses on managing the Youth of Soyuz. Participating parties include Komsomol, Young Pioneers, the Education panel, the Sport Association and Event managers. The Committee itself serves as a channel for CCM citizens between 6 - 22 years of age to develop a portfolio of involvement in improving the community around them. The Sport Association holds within it all sport clubs in the nation, with most children getting involved through advertisements being passed through CYDES. The Committee, in particular the Sport Association and Event managers, host internal Olympics with select CCM citizens of all ages participating. The Education panel is also part of the Committee, primarily concerned with availability of education for all citizens of the CCM. For this reason, the Committee is also where university applications are sent.

Social Classes


All classes of citizen are treated as equally important, their occupation typically divided into fields on their CCM citizen ID.

* Member of the CNS Duma

Individuals with this designation have been elected to participate in the CNS Duma, making them a government official of the CCM. On membership, their name is prefixed with ‘СНС’, the cyrillic version of CNS.

* Member of the [X] Ministry

The Ministries are governmental offices which manage the CCM day to day. Different departments having different responsibilities, for example: The Ministry of Finance, The Ministry of Defence, The Ministry of Transport and so on. To become Ministers, CCM citizens must go through specific ministerial education courses, which are provided by universities after Master’s level degrees. Following completion, the individual takes up a Ministerial office and is known as a Minister.

* Member of the People’s [Industry] Union (Majority of citizens)

There is one industrial union for every field of profession, for example: The People’s Miners Union, The People’s Engineers Union, The People’s Medical Union and so on. They each have their own administrative buildings in business districts of major cities on both Earth and Kitezh, and are the primary employers of the CCM public. Each union acts as a holding company for several fully owned ‘subsidiaries’. These are named as ‘sectors’ and correspond with each ‘Oblast’ in the CCM. If a CCM citizen wants a job with a particular union, they attend a branch in a business district and apply for a position. The branch then assigns them for relocation to an understaffed sector where they undergo training (usually at a local university) and are provided with living quarters on-site.

* Member of the [City] Institute of Sciences

Scientific Institutes work in much the same way as the industrial unions, though each has a dedicated ‘Academ-gorodok’ (Russian: Академгородок) - a science park. Institutes only accept STEM graduates for employment at their Academ-gorodok, where orthodox as well as frontier science and analysis is conducted.

* Member of the Komsomol (All students)

The Komsomol (Kommunisticheskiy Soyuz Molodyozhi, Communist Union of Youths) is a prelude to the Industrial Unions and the CNS Duma, with members ranging from 16 - 22 years of age. Alongside partaking in additional studies and being at university, members of Komsomol are guided through the more complex dynamics of the CCM, such as governmental structure, personal finance and a basic outline of CCM law, allowing them to have a headstart in moving into adulthood. In addition, the Ministry of Defence runs a mandatory training program for Komsomol members, in order to prepare every civilian for armed conflict.

* Member of the Young Pioneers (All children)

The Young Pioneers is a children’s organisation akin to the Scouts, having been reestablished shortly after the election of the CNS. All CCM children mandatorily join at the age of 6, and are assigned to various Summer Camps around the nation. Alongside basic discipline and chores, they are taught teamwork with other children, guided towards intelligent reasoning and basic survival skills such as hunting, cooking and shelter preparation. In addition, they are taught about the culture and history of their nation, the CNS as well as service to the state and their comrades. This helps them fully integrate into the collectivist society of the CCM and make many lifelong friends on the way. Camps only open in the summer, with school time taking up the rest of the seasons. Young Pioneers remain with the organisation until they are 16, after which they ‘graduate’ into the elder equivalent organisation, Komsomol.

Technology

Due to the nation’s centuries-long isolation, the technology it has developed has largely evolved in exotic directions when compared to its neighbours. Much of it can be described as either rudimentary and robust, or extremely advanced, with not much in between. The main principles under which the CCM developed technology in the 2100s were longevity, efficiency and compatibility. Because of this discipline, much of the architecture and infrastructure remained intact within lesser cities, creating a stark yet harmonious contrast between the old world and the spacefaring nature of the current age. In major cities however, the CCM fully embraced the future - constructing angular buildings which scraped the clouds, draping reg flags bearing the CCM insignia over much of the urban areas screaming national pride.

CCM technology is typically themed with angular designs, colours of white, black, red and gold most frequently seen either on their own or as a mix. This is particularly noted on their vehicles, which tend to be brawny in appearance, in full black. Most CCM tech was developed in a way so that parts can be easily replaced and repaired, making the service life unusually long. This is especially true for hardware that, by its nature, was intended to be treated roughly - such as military and industrial tech.

With an emphasis on self-sufficiency, Soyuz pushed substantial funding towards Institute projects involving sustainable energy and agriculture. Fusion took over from nuclear fission in the 2060s, but was further diversified and expanded upon after 2110CE, resulting in use of greater density fuels and power output. To this day, domestic fusion remains a valid power generation method in a CCM household, though it has been shelved as a backup option in the 2250s due to a more efficient option being developed. The primary method of power generation in the CCM today is far-field microwave beamed power, with thousands of geostationary solar satellites housing complex photovoltaic arrays being present above the Indian Ocean of Earth and Kitezh. Despite this fact, CCM citizens are able to change to fusion in an emergency scenario.

With Russia being a largely agricultural nation before returning to communist ideology, the CNS sought to maintain the status quo and if possible, enrich the supply of food and produce to reach a consistent surplus. As well as keeping many farms safe from urbanization, the CNS directed the Institutes to formulate a solution in advance of any food issues that may arise. As a result, the CCM is a top-tier manufacturer of high-grade hydroponics, base meat cloning and EWF systems (Environmental and Water Filtration) - systems which cater to the high demand on Kitezh. With food in surplus, the CNS ordered the preservation of perishables that exceed the threshold, subsequently to be stored in emergency bunkers in case of disaster. This strategy keeps the nation eating only as much as they need, as advised on an individual basis by the People’s Medical Union, resulting in maintenance of fitness levels and controlled obesity rate.

In the 2180s, Soyuz experienced a ‘cybernetic revolution’ as implants and prosthetics from the supersoldier programme were redesigned for civilian use by the People’s Engineers and Medical Unions. The CNS had dictated that after several generations of Soviet people pure in both mind and body, it was time to begin a separate New Soviet People program, permitting transhumanist ideas to flow through domestic markets and Committees. At first, it was limited to only those who were missing limbs, but it quickly spread through the rest of the population once the ability of the prosthetics exceeded the limitations of the biological body. With continuous evolution and demand, CCM brand cybernetics have become very sophisticated and powerful. Today, physical augmentation is permitted after the age of 20, with immune rejection tests taking place between 18 - 20. It is very rare for a CCM citizen’s immune system to reject cybernetics, however the People’s Medical Union has enough resources to provide such select individuals with gene therapy in order to allow cybernetics after a few years. With the entire population taken into account, excluding those under 20, 87% have at least one cybernetic enhancement, 72% have at least one limb replaced and 37% have substantial body-wide augmentations. Due to such extensive statistics, more recent generations of CCM cybernetics have increased security against tampering and sabotage, including insulation against EM interference and reinforced nervous system links.

Military

Russia did not focus much on space warfare in the early stages, instead investing most of its military focus into strategy and establishing a hard military line on the western border. As such, CCM inherited ground forces which were and remain very formidable, using mixed tactics, advanced support systems and numbers to their advantage. Following the massacre of the neighbouring CCP at the hands of their Zhùlǐ, the CCM eugenics program experienced a military offshoot - resulting in the supersoldier initiative which is more focused on deep cybernetic enhancement. It began as a precautionary defence against the potential of a Zhùlǐ invading force, continuing past the formation of the Daqin Diguo and thereafter to enhance the potency of Soyuz military ground forces as a security measure.

As the initial race into space went ahead, Soyuz developed a moderate Navy with a number of advanced capital ships, kept mainly as a defensive barrier against other nations. Some of the Navy vessels have periodically been converted into haulers, with others acting as escorts for cargo. This happened several decades after Kitezh saw its first outpost, and remained the same until the end of the century. However, hearing that the Zhùlǐ developed into an Empire, the CCM began a modernization effort, thereafter constructing new vessels of varying classes for its Navy to increase its potential for space battles. While some of them have taken off to join the fleet in the orbit of Kitezh, the fleet in Earth orbit receives a group of new vessels every few years. The Soyuz swarms act as transit points from which haulers depart and arrive.

After decades of integration efforts, the Kitezh Aos Si have joined Soyuz in their joint struggle against the hostile zombie onslaughts during the summer seasons. Some semblance of a symbiotic relationship has developed between CCM humans and the Aos Si, with the elves providing guidance, magical aptitude and combat support while the humans provide them with shelter, food, protection and CCM citizenship. Though neither is close to solving the problem of the zombies, the cooperation and adaptation to the hostility of Kitezh have hardened the population in both combat skill and survival. With Kitezh cities typically heavily fortified against land and air, some cities on Earth have begun implementing the same security measure.

Though partial ammo compatibility with the Tiān Zào Gònghéguó was a product of GRU peering over the fence, CCM has turned to weapons utilizing ammo with Soyuz-made propellant dubbed ‘Вещество - Ц2’ by the Scientific Community, otherwise known as Chromatic Gunpowder. This takes the form of small, iridescent pellets which are loaded into conventional steel-base-reinforced ammunition, or polymer composite tipped hollow point. Upon the firing pin striking the primer, the Chromatic pellets rapidly excite into an extremely hot explosive reaction, resulting in the bullet being propelled at high velocity. Due to the pressure generated within the barrel, CCM firearms have been redesigned around the barrel for reinforcement. Resultantly, heavier Soyuz weapons typically appear in sleek rectangular fashion with prominent integrated handles and thumbholes in the weapon body, to compensate for substantial recoil with superior handling. Lighter arms on the other hand remained much more malleable in their design.

Asset Directory

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  • Earth - Sol System (Russia, Belarus, Kaliningrad, Crimea and Novorossiya, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan)
  • Kitezh | Soroka | Molot - Yasny System

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