To Boldly Go: The People of New Earth

Originally published May 5, 2014

The people of New Earth recently experienced a large shift in their social structure. The bioroid, artificially created people made for tedious work, have achieved full civil rights. The mega-corporations that dominated the administrations were dissolved. The Federation claimed their world as a protectorate. No one is sure what will happen next.

Here are a pair of pivotal figures in this world's recent history.

Sand

Once known as Helot 5830, Sand led the Bioroid Liberation Movement until recently. Sharing the bland features of the typical Helot Model with hundred of thousands of other bioroids, Sand makes a splash with his distinctive garb, a white jump suit with two broad blue stripes across it. He has also, like many “free” bioroids, chosen a name for himself.

While many on New earth believe the movement by bioroids for freedom began with a defective training routine, Sand's creation largely predates that. He overcame his conditioning due to his own experiences and not through any flaw or couching from others. He just realized that treating intelligent beings as machines, even one that were artificially created and brainwashed, was wrong, a step way back in the progress of humanity.

Sand sincerely believes in the cause of bioroid equality through peaceful means. He has carefully recruited bioroids and humans who belief the same thing as him. Together they staged strikes, protests, and gained media attention for their cause.

Now he has achieved the first step in his goal. Bioroids are free. The factories have been shut down. But he has been pushed aside as leader of the movement by former manufacturer Samsung. He is beginning to suspect his allies in the Federation may be behind this.

• High Concept: Peaceful Resistance Leader
• Trouble: Trusts the Wrong People
• Other Aspects: Built in Expiration Date
• Skills: Rapport +5, Will +4, Stealth +3, Empathy +2
• Stunts: Violence Solves Nothing: +2 to Rapport when convincing someone to stop fighting.
• Stress: 2 Physical/4 Mental [Mild consequence]

Bioroid Freedom Movement

Advocates for bioroid rights, this vast movement includes thousands of bioroids and a hundreds of ordinary citizens. The peaceful resistance leader Sand began the movement almost a decade ago. Starting with a bare handful, its numbers surge day by day.

Democratic to the extreme, decisions once had to be made by consensus. This slowed progress but also limited the more violent sects within the movement. Now led by the charismatic Samsung, progress marches rapidly but the old character of the organization is fading.

• High Concept: Determined Freedom Movement
• Trouble: Slow Consensus
• Skills: Rapport +5, Will +4, Provoke +3, Empathy +2
• Stress: 2 Physical/4 Social [Mild Consequence]

CEO Donald Hite

Donald Hite, leads the Hite Corporation, the more successful of the two minor partners in New Earth’s economy. As the trailing second to Samsung, he attempted to ally with the Federation in an attempt to overthrow Samsung and gain a dominate market share. Instead he and his allies bungled their end of the operation, leaving them weakened for when the Federation turned on them. Now jobless, his company in ruins, it is unclear what his next action will be.

• High Concept: Arrogant Billionaire
• Trouble: The Smaller Fish
• Other Aspects: Propaganda Expert
• Skills: Deceive +5, Empathy +4, Provoke +3
• Stress: 2 Physical/2 Mental [Mild Consequence]
• Stunts: Memetic Expert: gain a +2 bonus to Deceive to create advantages against large groups of people.

Hite Corporation & ICP (Interstellar Consumer Products)

The second and third largest megacoporations on New Earth respectively, they lived in the shadow of Samsung. Licensing the top company's designs, cutting corners to keep some of the market, they were known for cheap work.

Together they plotted against their overlord. Under the guise of allying with the Federation they hoped to get Samsung and the Federation to come to blows. By playing one off of the other, they planned to goad Samsung into attacking, possibly by supporting a bioroid revolt. They thus expected to eliminate one or both of their competitors in this sector.

Instead they were the ones destroyed as the Federation turned out to be much smarter than them. They botched a sabotage operation, were revealed for the liars they were, and suffered a punishing PR campaign by a justly upset Samsung. This left them critically injured when the Federation turned public opinion against them. Their stock prices plunges and they went bankrupt.

• High Concept: Backstabbing Vultures
• Trouble: Sniveling Cowards
• Other Aspects: Lying Smiles
• Skills: Deceive +5, Empathy +4, Provoke +3, Stealth +2, Rapport +1
• Stress: 2 Physical/2 Social [Mild Consequence]