Morgan Industries

Corporate motto: Greed is good!

CEO Nawbudike Morgan
Advantages, give him Status 6 (leader of a major faction) and Merchant Rank 6 (President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Morgan Industries.
Disadvantages and skills seem to be fine.

Pre-Planetfall bio is fine.
After Planetfall, Nawbudike Morgan found himself in command of one of the smallest and most fractious factions on Planet. Unlike most of the other faction leaders, he had lacked the time to build up a cadre of devoted followers and to make serious plans before Planetfall. During the Unity crisis, Morgan was forced to scramble to gather together as many people as he could find, and commandeer one of the escape pods.
After landing on Planet, Morgan began to play out his long term strategy for domination. Although he was the leader during the desperate flight to the surface, he quickly renounced his role, and encouraged his fellow colonists to set up as democratic a government as possible. Of course, due to his reputation for successfully saving the colonists during the disaster, and his political skills, Morgan was able to win election after election. He never ran for the overall leadership of the colony, but he consistently won positions where he would be responsible for economic matters, and made sure to keep enough general political clout that whoever was the nominal leader at the time could not afford to disregard him.
Morgan quickly steered "his" colony into a free-market ideal. Within this framework, he set up several businesses, using his political power to avoid anti-monopoly crusades. Within 40 M.Y., Morgan was in command of most of his colony's economic activity, and Morgan himself was quickly rebuilding his fortune. It was at this point that he consolidated most of his companies, which had previously been mostly controlled through shells and proxies, into the Morgan Industries umbrella. Then, in M.Y. 2160, Morgan's colony finally came into contact with other colonists. Although the Morganites had had sporadic radio contact with other colonies for some time, this was the first time that major commerce and travel between Morgan's colony and other factions was possible. In fact, Morgan's colony ended up being connected to both the Peacekeepers and the University almost simultaneously, and for some time served as one of the primary links between them. Morgan capitalized immensely on this strategic position, insuring that a significant fraction of all trade between the factions was conducted under his aegis. In addition, he immediately began to expand his business empire into the bases of the other factions. Morgan Industries proved quite capable in both the construction of large scale engineering enterprises and in small scale production capacities, and Morgan quickly doubled and redoubled the size of his company and his personal fortune.
At every turn, Morgan acted to use his wealth and political skills to gain influence in the other factions. He funded research grants for major University leaders, and backed Pravin Lal's peacekeeping initiaves whenever possible. He soon expanded beyond the University and the Peacekeepers, as advancing infrastructure soon brought all the factions into contact with one another. The desertion of the Cybernetic Consciousness section of his company has set him back somewhat in the computer technology sector, but Morgan is nothing if not resourcful, and he is quickly making up the difference. Morgan now has branches in almost every faction's bases, and his company is one of the backbones of the Planetary economy.

Morgan Industries is democratic, but their democracy is based around the shareholder system, with more shares translating to more votes. Morgan himself has a slight majority share in Morgan Industries, the umbrella corporation that he uses to run his vast business empire. However, he does not usually have majority shares in other companies he controls, usually contenting himself with pluralies of the shares, and making sure that he has very solid controls on the members of the board and any other significant shareholders. Since the C^3 desertion, he has increased this policy, usually refusing to appoint any but the most fanatically loyal to high corporate positions, and making sure to have plans ready to counter any sudden buyout attempts of major subdivisions. Nonetheless, his lack of domination of boards, and his policy of granting stock options as part of bonuses and salaries means that the average Morgan Industries employee has a decent chance of having at least some say in how the corporation is run.
The Morganites are the most agressively free market faction on Planet. They believe that true economic efficiency only comes when all economic players are totally free from coercion. Morgan has encouraged this attitude, although it is not actually one he totally holds to himself. Morgan is quite happy to use his economic power to force out competitors through political means. However, he is always careful to conceal activities such as this, and the average Morgan Industries employee is a firm believer in free enterprise.
The Morganites primary social goal is, of course, wealth. The faction sees wealth as the key to success, happiness, and power. A Morgan Employee's social status is heavily linked to wealth, and few Morganites are unwilling to turn down an opportunity to make a credit. Morgan himself sees wealth as the key to eventually ruling Planet, and he intends to be the one to get that key, no matter how many competitors he has to agressively buy out in the process.
Morgan Industries is currently pursuing several lines of research designed to ultimately improve the human species, using a combination of genetic, cybernetic, and psionic technology. The average faction member is eagerly awaiting this prospect, and it promises to make the company even more wealthy.

Morgan Industries has citizens who are amoung the wealthiest on Planet. The average Morgan employee is Wealthy, and the most rich have Multimillionaire 2. The company's research into human improvement promises to increase this to an even greater degree.
The Morganites are fairly efficient. Most corporate agents have a fair degree of freedom to make decisions, which reduces beauracracy. Also, Morgan believes in a strong recycling effort, to prevent unnessecary wastage.
Morgan Industries tends to grow fairly quickly. Many talented members of other factions want to join the company in order to get rich, and the high standard of living of the average faction member promotes a high birth rate. As the research into improving the human condition proceeds, this will probably increase to even higher levels.
Morgan Industries are only moderately productive on an industrial level. Currently, the company specializes in consultancy, providing talented managers for projects instituted by other factions. Nonetheless, Morganite goods are about 10% cheaper than the Planetary average, and most bases have at least a small Morgan Market, where various consumer products can be purchased. As Morgan's human improvement programs procede, Morgan Industries will probably be able to produce more, using fewer, more talented staff.
Morgan Industries employees are usually not particularly interested in combat training. The company has a strong "better to throw money then men at a problem", and this also leads to fairly poor morale in troops fielded by Morgan. As the human improvement is implemented, the general unwillingness to use violence will probably reduce this even further.
Unfortunately, Morgan tends to take a dim view of ecological concerns, and he very rarely takes protecting the native ecosystem into account when planning his actitivies. This means that fungus and mind worms tend to be a serious threat at the few bases that Morgan Industries actually controls, and Morganite projects usually have to deal with frequent attacks.
Morgan Industries imposes very vew controls over its employees. Only serious threats to security, such as dangerous weapons and heavy drugs, are forbidden.
The Morganites are strictly average when it comes to espianoge activities. They primarily focus on industrial espianoge, attempting to gain a commercial advantage by stealing new research and intercepting business plans. Morgan Industries has mediocre internal security, with few members of the company being truly fanatically loyal to it.
Morgan Industries is also about average in research. It generally relies on buying or stealing new research from other factions, then selling it as widely as possible, rather than making discoveries of its own.
Very few employees of Morgan Industries join the company's permanent military forces. The company only employs about 1.5% of its people in this manner. Generally, in the rare cases when Morgan goes to war, he bolsters his forces from allied factions and mercenaries.

The Human Hive

Not crazy, just drunk. I kid, I kid. They're actually high...

Also, just as a note: I'm reducing the penalty to Police from the Free Market choice from -5 to -2. That way, Police State and Free Market balance out, which makes so much more sense, IMO. Other posts have been edited to fit.

Chairman Yang

Drop the Miliary Rank, give him the usual Administrative Rank 6 and Status 6. Other than that, he pretty much works as is.
For disadvantages, add Callous, I think.
Biography is basically the same.

The Human Hive is a repressive police state based around furthering the ideology of its leader, Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang. Yang's basic philosophy is the same as that laid out for him in the game. However, Yang has chosen a somewhat different way of following it in this version of Alpha Centauri.

The Hive is a police state. All decisions are made by Yang and his cadre of loyal followers, and the average citizens are expected to follow them without question or explanation. The Hive uses strong police forces and extensive secret police networks to insure obdience. Yang ruthlessly crushes disent or challenges to his rule.
Although its government is authoritarian, the Hive's economy is basically open. Yang believes that competition and struggle produce more benefit for society than a completely controlled economy. Yang actively encourages talented people to become more wealthy; while taxes are high for the wealthy, there are a plethora of other social benefits that are granted by economic success, and many faction members attempt to enter the business world. However, the Hive does not allow everyone to freely participate. A citizen of the Hive who wants to enter the world of free enterprise must first pass several apptitude tests, both practical and academic, and then serve a five-year apprenticeship with a successful economic leader (having access to such cheap help is one of the perks of economic success), before being allowed to participate in the economy on their own. Only about 10% of the Hive's citizens actually have the right to participate in the mangement of businesses. Regular citizens are allowed to purchase goods how and where they want, however (subject to legality restrictions, of course).
Yang has become convinced (particularly in light of recent military failures) that the route to true domination of Planet lies not in militarily overpowering his enemies, but by outcompeting them. For this reason, he has thrown open the Hive to the pursuit of wealth above all. The Hive uses its large population and strong industrial base to make itself invaluable to much of Planet's economic activies. Although it is not particularly advanced in technology, the Hive leads the world in production of cheap consumer goods, as well as providing labor and expertise for large-scale engineering projects.
Yang is directing his research goals towards both an impressive and a somewhat horrific future: he wishes to create a society where all the members support him unquestioningly. To that end, he encourages experiments in mind-controlling cybernetics, docilization drugs, the creation of obedient human subspecies, and the development of telepathy capable of controlling the masses.

The average Hive citizen is actually somewhat more wealthy than the Planet average. Yang's pursuit of wealth has led to increased standards of living for his people.
The Hive, unfortunately, is definitely less than efficient. Yang's paranoia insures that very little can get done without a fairly great deal of paperwork and consultation of superiors. Also, the faction's large industrial production means that most citizens find it easier to throw out a worn out item rather than recycle or repair it.
The Hive has a growth rate somewhat higher than the Planetary average (2.5%/year) - the government heavily encourages large families, and the citizens are accustomed to cramped, low-privacy conditions.
The Hive's industrial sector is the most productive on Planet. Drones are forced to work long, hard shifts for no wages beyond their basic subsistence needs, while Talents in charge of factories have major incentives to be as productive as possible. This all combines to create a large quantity of cheap goods. Hive goods are, on average, 40% cheaper than average.
The Hive's average citizen has little training in combat, since Yang distrusts anyone with military abilities who are not in the military. Hive troops are usually conscripts from the drones, which means that Hive forces are usually poorly trained. However, as Yang's policies of thought control progress, and he becomes more willing to trust the average citizen, and the ranks of the military can be filled by specially designed combat beings, this is likely to improve.
Hive bases are often troubled by mind worms and fungus, as their major industrial work tends to have a heavy effect on Planet's ecosystem. The Hive has almost no native life units that they have bred themselves, and most Hive citizens deeply distrust the native life, prefering to remain in sheltered bases or armored vehicles whenever possible.
The Hive's government is somewhat restrictive. Taxes and laws are moderatly onerous. However, Yang is forced to give his Talents some degree of freedom if they are to prosper economically. Drones, however, have very few rights of any kind, and are harshly controlled. As Yang's dreams of total domination are realized, the controls imposed on his society will no doubt increase, however.
The Hive is only average in the intelligence area. Hive probe teams are heavily indoctrinated, but few have particulary impressive equipment. On the home front, drones are often motivated to try to help foreign agents in Hive bases, and only their relative lack of contact with sensistive material prevents this from becoming a major problem. However, as the thought control ideal is realized, spying on the Hive will become more difficult, and Hive probe teams will have access to new techniques that will make them considerably better at espianoge themselves.
The Hive is average in the research game, neither leading the pack nor trailing the herd.
Yang maintains a large standing army, almost 5% of the population, primarily as a hedge against internal dissent. As his mind control plans progress, the size of this army will probably decrease as Yang's paranoia is reduced.

Gaia's Stepdaughters

The first of the crazy factions...

Lady Deirdre Skye
Oh, she's gonna need changes...
First, for advantages, add Administrative Rank 6 (Leader of the Gaians) and Status 6 (head of a major faction), and Mind Worm Sympathy. Drop the Military Rank, as usual.
For Disadvantages, pretty much drop everything she's got right now. Replace them with Callous [-5], Delusion (The command staff of the Unity, and their successors, has always been plotting against me) [-10], Delusion (I am a transendent deity, trapped in human flesh), Intolerance (All other factions) [-15], Megalomania [-10], Odious Personal Habit (takes her bonded mind worm boil everywhere) [-15], Paranoia [-10], and Stubbornness [-5].
Skills are fine.
Biography-wise, tone down her devotion to ecology. Deirde is far less mystical about it than standard. Basically, she realizes that screwing up the ecology is a very stupid move, especially on Planet, where the ecology is more than capable of fighting back. She intends to live forever, and she wants a nice place to do it in.

The Gaians have had one of the most difficult roads of any of the "First Factions", those descended from the original Unity landings. Deirdre had always been somewhat marginalized during the voyage to Alpha Centauri; her insistence that the colony's first steps had to be made in tune with the new ecosystem were regarded as fanatical ravings by most of the "hard" scientists and engineers, who did not want to delay their initial colonization efforts while the biologists made extensive surveys. Of the high command of the Unity, Miriam and Zakharov were the most hostile, Miriam because of her religious feelings that humanity had the right to exploit Planet, and Zakharov because of his personal prejudices, both against biologists and women. Santiago used Deirdre several times as a scapegoat for covert Spartan activites. Pravin Lal noticed the large amount of tension between the ecological and colonization factions, and blamed Deirdre. Only Captain Garland and Chairman Yang were at all supportive of Deirdre, Garland because he trusted her, and Yang because he distrusted Santiago.
During the Landing crisis, Deirdre was consitently given second priority. Even after she found herself in command of a landing pod, her requests for telemetry data were ignored, and she was forced to calculate a course on her own. The Gaian landing pod ended up in the far north of Planet's major continent. Only last minute course corrections prevented the pod from overshooting the landmass entirely and landing in the Great Northern Ocean. Even though that disaster was narrowly averted, the pod did land in distinctly disadvantageous circumstances, on an island just off the northern coast.
The first few years of the Gaian colony were extremely difficult. The climate of their landing site was harsh, buffeted by storms, and the available resources on the newly-named Nova Terra Isle were scanty and hard to acquire. Dierdre nonetheless insisted on her policy of carefully examining the native ecosystem before making any sigificant changes. Several times, she had to deal with revolts, as colonists refused to follow her directives. Eventually, the Gaians built up enough infrastructure to escape Nova Terra and begin serious colonization of the mainland, but even then, progress was slow.
However, Dierdre's policies finally paid off, as Gaian colonists finally came in contact with xenofungus, and its accompanying mind worms. Because of their ecological consciousness, mindworms almost never caused problems in their bases. And then, in a fateful encounter, Dierdre made one of Planet's great discoveries. She was inspecting an outlying base near several patches of xenofungus, investigating accusations that the base commander had been less than rigorous in her care for the native life. The accusations proved quite true, and even as Dierdre made a personal check of the fungal mats, a mind worm boil errupted. Her underlings fled in terror, but Dierdre froze, paralyzed with terror. However, the mindworms not only did not harm her, they actively defended her. When an underling attempted to level a flamer at the boil, thinking Dierdre already dead, the mindworms swarmed and consumed him in a matter of seconds.
After the first few seconds of shock and fright, Dierdre discovered something even more fascinating: she could hear the mind worms - not in any sort of human speech, but in a sort of low level chatter that she could nonetheless interpret. She then attempted what would later go down as a historic first: she stretched out her empathic sense, which she had always used to "read" humans, and tried to contact the mindworms. The effect was startling. The mindworms sensed her contact and reacted, making Dierdre, for a second, a part of their gestalt mind. Even after Dierdre dropped out of contact, she found herself able to give the boil orders and sense its attitude. The Gaians had tamed, for the first time in Planet's history, a native life form.
Deirdre, however, was not unaffected by the brief contact with the mind worms. Touching the alien synthesis had exacerbated some of the mental imbalances and bitterness she had been dealing with since Landing. She came out of the gestalt firmly convinced that she was a nascent deity, limited only by her frail human flesh, and that all her old enemies were trying to prevent her apothesis. These new attitudes colored all her subsequent reactions to other factions. Only Yang has thus far managed to get on her good side, mostly by constantly playing up to her delusions whenever they meet.

The Gaians are under a fairly ruthless military dictatorship. Dierdre is extremely paranoid of everyone, and her own underlings are no exception. Gaian bases are partolled by military units, and have extensive secret police forces. Dierdre makes extensive use of telepaths for the secret police forces, and mind worms are often used as police units to prevent rebellion.
Gaian economic policy is agressively environmental. Strict laws enforce extensive environmental impact studies before any alteration of Planet is made. Industries are forced to be as non-polluting as possible, and terraforming is minimal. Whenever possible, Gaians work with Planet, not against it.
Led by Dierdre, the basic Gaian philosophy is that they have the right to rule all of Planet. To this end, they actively pursue military and political power. Whenever possible, the Gaians act to expand their hegemony. Dierdre becomes very upset whenever any source of power is lost to her, and intently pursues its recovery and revenge for its loss.
The Gaians have begun to pursue a policy of cybernetic and genetic improvement of their citizens, aimed at making the faction an idealized version of humanity. Dierdre has visions of herself as the goddess ruling over a utopian world of superhumanity.

The Gaians have average wealth for Planet. Faction members make money, but few are allowed to make too much, in case they become able to threaten Dierdre's control. However, as Dierdre's goal of converting the faction into superhumanity progresses, the average wealth seems set to rise.
The Gaians are fairly efficient. Although their restrictive society lends itself to red tape and hassle, the Gaians' heavy use of telepaths in high offices tends to speed communication and prevent misunderstanding. Also, the ecological ideology of the faction ensures a high standard of recycling and good maintenence is kept up.
Gaian bases tend to grow fairly slowly, at a rate of only 1%/year. Their insistence on low environmental impact means that appropriate facilities for large numbers of children are hard to come by. As the Gaian population is subjected to Dierdre's improvement policies, however, the growth rate may increase somewhat.
Currently, Gaian industry lags behind that of the Planetary average. Their focus on military power means that fewer resources and skilled workers are available for industrial work. As the Gaian human improvement schemes progress, this is likely to change, as more efficient production techniques are put into place.
Gaian troops are fairly reasonable, with decent training. The number of Gaians with military training is slightly higher than the Planetary average. However, the Gaian program of human improvement is degrading their training programs, as the improved humans are often unwilling to use violence.
The Gaians have an excellent rapport with Planet's native life and ecosystem. Many Gaians have a strange bond with the mind worms, and Gaian bases are very rarely attacked. Gaian forces often include a large number of controlled mind worms as part of their weapons.
Gaian society is fairly restrictive, with few personal liberties permitted. Communications, weapons, and other technology are all strictly controlled by the government. Taxes are high, and punishments for lawbreaking are severe. Gaian society has the death penalty, and death sentences often involve being fed to mind worm boils, or being used to test new telepathic attack techniques.
The Gaians have about average intelligence and counter-intelligence services. Their spies are reaonsably dedicated, but few have truly cutting-edge equipment. The Gaian populace has only normal amounts of dedication to Dierdre's ideology. Most faction members agree with the ecological values of the faction, but much fewer are on board with Dierdre's schemes for godhood.
Gaian research programs keep pace with the Planetary average, but are not particularly stellar. They tend to focus on biological and telepathic advances over more engineering-oriented technologies.
The Gaian military is quite large by Planetary standards, with more than 5% of their population forming a standing force. Dierdre's paranoia lead her to insure that the Gaians are always ready to meet enemy forces with a strong counterattack, or to immediately sieze advantage of a weak point.

The Free Drones

I'll try not to call them the Data Angels.

Foreman Domai
As usual, he should get Status 6 (leader of a major faction), and Administrative Rank 6.
Disadvantage-wise, probably change Sense of Duty (drones and other laborers) to Sense of Duty (Free Drone faction members).
Skill-wise, he seems fine. Very broad range already.

The Free Drones were founded very early in Planet's history, only 60 years after Planetfall. During this early time, the Human Hive was even more restrictive than it is currently, as Chairman Yang had much more direct control over his subjects. Nevertheless, there were rebellions. Domai was a young man, born to drone parents. He grew up in the Hive, indoctrinated into Yang's beliefs. In fact, the teachings in many cases took. Domai deeply believed in the Hive ideal of each person contributing to the glory of humanity as a whole. Domai's defense of Hive ideology and his natural intelligence and strength drew attention to him. He soon became part of the Hive leadership cadre, and slowly began to rise through the ranks. However, as Domai matured, he found himself drifting away from some of the Hive's basic concepts. In particular, he began to reject Yang's contention that humans were valueless except when they contributed to the whole. Domai asked himself "If humans are valueless except when they contribute to society, why then does society have value?" He came to the conclusion that all humans have value, but they only fulfill that value when they help others achieve their potential, through their contributions to human society. Domai also began to question the nihilism of Yang's philosophy. As he experienced more and more of life outside the education creche, he saw many things that suggested that it was not only will that gave humans purpose and meaning. Indeed, Domai was struck by the simple power of those who resisted attempts to break them down. They gained meaning through resistance, not through imposing their will on others. In his private thoughts, Domai questioned Yang's leadership more and more.
Domai kept these reflections private, but some hint of them began to be noticed by his superiors. His rise in the hiearchy slowed, and he began to get more unpleasant tasks assigned to him. He was often involved in supressing drone dissent, activities that only added fuel to the fire of his doubt. Domai had been noticed by Chairman Yang himself, who recognized the young man's idealism. Yang appreciated Domai's belief in the importance of cooperation, but he felt that Domai's faith in human nature had to be broken. As part of this program, he sent Domai to one of the main Hive bases, where major drone riots had broken out, with instuctions to subdue the rioters at any cost. Yang hoped that seeing humanity at its most violent and irrational would crush Domai's idealism, leaving him an ideal Hive administrator. The effect on Domai, however, was quite the opposite.
When Domai arrived at the base, he instituted some stopgap measures to contain the rioting drones. However, instead of then attempting to crush the dissent, as his superiors expected him to do, he began to investigate the source of the riots. What he found disgusted him: widespread exploitation of the drones, including what was essentially private slaves for high ranking Hive members, arbitrary and unjust punishments, and extremely inferior living conditions. Domai attempted to remedy these issues, but he was blocked at every turn by the base's command, who resisted all attempts to remove their priviledges. However, as Domai worked, he gained a major rapport with the drones and middle class of the base, who respected him for his fairness and unwillingness to give up. Finally, the last straw arrived: Yang sent orders for mass nerve staplings to quell the rioters, and instructed that no change in conditions, aside from removal of corruption, be instituted. Domai rebelled.
Working quickly, he organized the drones and sympathetic talents in the base. Using his high level security clearances, he was able to allow drone forces into the administrative and military sections of the base, where the high officials were captured before any warning could be sent. The drones were in control of the base. Unfortunately, they realized, they would be no match for the full military might of the Hive, who would surely descend on the base as soon as the revolt was discovered. The drones grimly prepared for a heroic last stand, declaring that they would rather die free than return to slavery. However, Domai proposed a daring alternative: an exodus. The base's production facilities were quickly retooled to vehicle production, and the population willing to leave began to gather all the equipment they could easily transport. Meanwhile, captive administrators were forced to send messages saying all was well.
Finally, after 3 months of backbreaking effort, everything was ready. The population of the base, almost 10,000 people, were loaded into massive transports, defended by mobile rover squadrons, and the journey began.
The Drone Exodus, as it was later called, was an epic tale. Domai led the drones for over two years. At first, they were forced to travel as stealthily as possible, to avoid Hive patrols. Once out of Hive territory, they still had to contend with hostile native life and unexplored terrain. Domai pushed the people south as far as possible, to escape the Hive's reach. The worst section of the trek was when they passed through Planet's major desert, the Great Dunes. Finally, the drones reached the isthmus known as Planetneck, and they encountered their future great benefactors, the Spartans.
The Spartans were surprised to see the drones, but not totally unaware of their existence. Sparta had been skirmishing with the Hive for several years, and word of the great escape had caused much amusment in Spartan headquarters. However, the Spartans had expected that the drones would quickly perish in such a mad attempt. But now, the drones were here, on the Spartan doorstep. The first thought was to simply integrate the drones into the Spartan's own society. However, this idea was quickly rejected: the drones were too independent and egalitarian-minded to fit easily into the Spartan ideal of military dominance. Instead, Sparta Command decided that the drones should be given aid and assistance to establish bases of their own. Arrogantly, Sparta assumed that drones such as these would never make a serious military threat, and would provide valuable industrial services to Sparta.
However, the drones quickly proved more resourceful than anyone expected. Their successful revolt, and still more their epic journey, had given them a boundless confidence. Also, the exodus in particular had bound the drone community into a tightly knit whole. Every drone felt that they could rely on their fellow drones to aid and support them, and each recognized the individual excellence of the others. The drones declared themselves the Free Drones, and set to work, soon setting up several new bases and building their forces.


The Free Drones are deep believers in democracy. Almost every position in their society with any sort of political power is elected, or at least given popular input. Managers of companies, for example, are often selected from a pool of applicants that the workers have nominated. Judges, police chiefs, even medical officials, are all elected by the Drones. Even Domai himself could theoretically be voted out if the populace so wished. Of course, in practice, Domai has far too much public respect and politcal acumen to ever be removed from office unless he wanted to go. Drone society is also extremely egalitarian. Status is hard to come by in Drone society. Even Domai is only considered Status 3 within Drone society. Further, Rank never grants additional levels of Status with Drones; they believe that a political position is a duty, not something to give anyone special priviledges for.
Economically, the Drones are highly organized. They understand that a state-run economy is the best way to promote a strong and tight-knit society, and most Drones willingly accept that their labor is best spent bettering the lot of everyone.
The Free Drones value knowledge very highly. Every Drone knows that the more an individual knows, the more likely they are to be useful to society. The ideal Drone is a true Rennaisance Man, capable of doing almost any job in Drone society, from leading a terraforming crew, to building parts in a factory, to performing research in a cutting-edge lab, to leading troops in the field. Most Drones make a point of becoming at least decent in two different fields.
The Drones believe that every human has their own excellence, but they also believe that there is always room for improvement. To this end, the Drones have begun experimenting with bionics, genetics, and psionics to make their population healthier, stronger, smarter, happier, and above all, better. This program has not yet seen many results, but eventually it may have a strong effect on Drone society.

The Drones have only average wealth compared to the rest of Planet. Drones usually don't starve to death, thanks to social welfare programs, but equally, few rise to the heights of wealth some other factions can achieve, as taxes and social obligations tend to increase with income. As their policy of improving their faction members continues, the Drones look set to significantly increase their average income.
Free Drone bases are slightly more efficient than average. Their economy tends to lead to beauraucracy, but most public servants are encouraged to restrict red tape by the threat of being voted out of office by irate consitituents.
The Free Drones have one of the highest growth rates on Planet, with 5% per year, with their social safety net and open lifestyle encouraging large families. The Drones offer incentives to families with more children, and the whole community tries to take care of kids, which leads to bases brimming over with the young. As the human improvement program is phased in, the growth rate will no doubt increase even further.
In industry, the Free Drones are one of Planet's leaders. Their industrial workers are well trained and highly motivated, usually with experience in several different techniques. Drone goods are cheap and well made, and the faction is often enriched by other factions asking to buy from them. The improvments promised by the ideal of improved humanity seems set to make the Drones the biggest industrial power on Planet.
Free Drone military forces are about average in training and quality. Few faction members outside the military make a particular point to get training in arms and tactics. Unfortunately, as the goal of human improvement approaches, this seems likely to grow worse, with faction members gaining an aversion to violence to solve problems.
With respect to the ecosystem, the Free Drones are about average for Planet. Although the Drones have several large industrial systems, they are reasonably careful about preventing ecological damage from them. Thus, fungus and mindworms are only rarely problems for Free Drone bases.
The Drones are a fairly restricted society, with a wide selection of laws governing faction member behavior. However, they are hardly a dictatorship, and the average Drone is reasonably content with their elected officials.
Free Drone society is relatively open, with the result that other factions find it reasonably easy to infiltrate Drone bases and networks. Few Drones are fanatically devoted to the faction ideology, which can sometimes lead to trouble. Also, the Drones lack experience in covert missions, and few of their probe teams are equiped with particularly good equipment or training.
While the Drones are interested in knowledge, their research is only average. The Drones' ideal of the multitalented individual means that few researchers have the dedication to one field of study that really good research often requires. Also, the Drones often chafe at the idea of granting valuable faction wealth to blue-sky research, when it could be supporting other faction members right now.
Few Free Drones serve in the military, with the faction having a standing force of only about 2% of its population. The democractic ideals of the Drones make them nervous of large military forces, fearing coups and adventurism.

Some Faction Comparisons

Just thought I'd give the relative status of who's got what, social-factor-wise.

Economy: The big winner here is Morgan Industries, with +4, meaning the average wealth in the faction is Wealthy, while the max wealthy is Multimilionarie 2. It's closely followed by C^3, with +3. The Peacekeepers and Spartans both have +2 each, while the Hive has +1. Most other factions have 0, while the Cult of Planet trails the pack with -1, meaning the average member is Struggling, while the max wealth is Comfortable.
Efficiency: A three way tie for winner here, with the Data Angels, the Nautilus Pirates, and the Cult of Planet all having +3. C^3, Gaia, Morgan, and Sparta follow up with +2. Meanwhile, the Free Drones, the Peacekeepers, and the University all have +1. The Hive is fairly beaureaucratic at -2, and the Lord's Believers win the Red Tape Race with -4. Still, clearly Planet society is, overall, not very entangled in the cursed crimson tape.
Growth: The Free Drones and, oddly, the University are the leaders here, with +4 (5%/year) each. (Must be the good medtech at the University. Lowers infant mortality.) C^3 is a close seconds with +3 (3.5%/year). The Lord's Believers, the Data Angels, Morgan, the Peacekeepers, and Sparta all have +2 (3%/year). The Human Hive has +1. Gaia and the Cult of Planet are both poor performers, with -2 (1%/year), while the Nautilus Pirates have the worst record, with -3 (.5%/year).
Industry: The Hive is the big winner in the industry sweepstakes, with +4 (a 40% discount!). The Free Drones follow it up with +3. C^3 has a respectable +2, and Morgan and the University both have +1. The Data Angels and the Peacekeepers are average at 0. The religous types, the Believers and the Cult, have -1. The Nautilus Pirates and Gaia are unproductive at -2. The big loser, however, is Sparta, with -3. Clearly, not giving any rewards to the plant managers is not paying off. No wonder they teamed up with the Free Drones to beat the Hive.
Morale: Sparta, unsurprisingly, has the best morale on Planet, with +4. No poorly trained troops there. The Believers, motivated by religous fervour, follow up with +3. The Peacekeepers and Nautilus Pirates are both well trained at +2. Gaia and the Cult are decent at +1. The Data Angels, Drones, and University are all average, with 0. C^3, the Hive, and Morgan are all rather badly motivated, with an uninspiring -2.
Planet: The Cult, big surprise, is the most touchy-feely hippie faction, with +4. Gaia is a close second with +3. Following them are the Nautilus Pirates, with +2. Then there's a gap, and we get C^3, The Angels, the Drones, and the University at 0. The Believers are a little sloppy, and get -1. Then another gap, and we come to the really messy factions, the Hive, Morgan, the Peacekeepers, and Sparta, all with -3.
Police: The most restrictive society on Planet turns out to be Gaia, with +1. The Believers, C^3, the Drones, the Human Hive, the Nautilus Pirates, the Cult, and the University are all fairly Canadian in their governement standards, with 0. The Data Angels are mildy permissive, with -1. Then, we get the libertarian factions, with Morgan, the Peacekeepers, and Sparta all at -2.
Probe: The Believers are the surprise winners here, with a probe score of +3. Most of the other factions have a score of 0, while the Drones live in a house with big windows, at a -2, and the University basically resides in a glass box, with a score of -4.
Research: To no-one's surprise, the University is the big reasearch winner, with +4. C^3 and the Angels follow up with +2 apiece. The rest have 0, except for the Luddites in the Believers, who weigh in at an utterly abysmal -4. Good thing they have that high probe, otherwise they'd never find out anything at all.
Support: A four-way tie on this one, with the Believers, Gaia, the Hive, and the Cult all having scores of +3 or higher, giving them a standing army of 5% of their population. Actually, the first three all have +4, while the Cult has +3, which may affect quality of support, I dunno. Anyway, we then have a big step to the Peacekeepers, the Nautilus Piriates, and Sparta, all with 0 (3% standing army). Another step takes us to C^3, the Angels, the Drones, and the University, all with -2 (2% standing army). Finally, Morgan trails the pack, with -3, giving him a 1.5% standing force.

Issues: Primarily the Hive's low Police score. Not only does it lead to a radically different Hive, it also means that the faction will have a hard time getting in to outside conflict, due to protests from its citizens (not to mention the fact that its troops are crap).
The Police scores of both the Peacekeepers and the Spartans are also issues, because of the game's association of low Police and civic pacifism. Both factions really should be mixing it up with others, the Spartans just because and the Peacekeepers to spread the word about Love, Justice, and Freedom, so public protests don't go well with that. In the Spartan case at least, I think we should just drop that aspect of Police.

Edited Posts

Note that I've adjusted the writeups for the Lord's Believers and the Cybernetic Consciousness to reflect the fact that their Future Society choices have not yet taken effect.

The Data Angels

For these writeups, I'm going to assume that the Pennisula War was about 30 years ago. I know this is more than the 10 Eric was proposing, but I think it works a bit better this way. A little more time for some of the results of the war to have settled.
Also, I'm going to start not counting the future society factors in the ratings, since none of them are available yet. I'll mention the way the trends are going, however.

Datajack Sinder Roze

Drop the Miliary Rank. She should get Status 5 (leader of a minor faction), and probably a couple of Reputations. A positive Reputation (Fights for intellectual freedom, +2 from most "hackers" on Planet, a large class of people) [5 points]. I suspect she doesn't actually have any Administrative Rank; the Data Angels are probably too independent-minded to have any official leader; Rose is merely the most respected of the Angels.
For Disadvantages, she should pick up a negative Reputation (Dangerous computer criminal, -3 from computer security professionals on Planet, a large class of people) [-7 points]
For biography, I think drop the whole bit about her being born on Earth. She's a Planet native. Asa Wright, or "Sinder Rose" as she prefers to be called, was a computer security techichan in the Spartan faction, born MY 2190. She specialized in informational warfare, both active and counter-. She was extremely skilled, but her lack of physical warfare skills made her a second-class citizen at best in Spartan society. She chaffed under this unfair state of affairs, but she had to wait for nearly 30 years before her opportunity to escape occured.
The Pennisula War offered her the chance she needed. Before the Pennisula War, Spartan conflicts had been primarily physical, mostly small skirmishes with outlaw bands and mind worms. The full-scale warfare of the Penninsula campaign, however, included a great deal of informational warfare that the Spartans were not particularly prepared for. Disruptive viruses, computer espianoge, comunications jamming and misdirection, extensive cryptography; all of these and more were integral to winning the fight. Sinder Rose suddenly found her services in high demand. Her status rose, and she quickly won renown by forming an elite core of information warfare specialists, nicknamed the "Data Angels". At first Rose worked within Sparta's home bases, but by the war's final stages, she and most of her crew were emplaced in the Great Dunes frontline, working from forward observation posts and making daring info-raids into Hive territory itself. The troops manning the bases quickly gained great respect and admiration for the skills of the Data Angels. The Free Drone forces, of course, were accustomed to granting respect for excellence wherever they saw it, and numerous Free Drone info-warfare specialists joined the Data Angels, but even the Spartan troops had to give the Angels credit for bravery and skill under fire.
Then the war ended. Immediately, the Data Angels still in Spartan main bases became second class citizens again. The Spartan leadership refused to grant full citizen priveledges to anyone without physical combat skills. The Data Angels in the Great Dunes theater were incensed, and most of their support troops supported them. But the Angels saw little other prospect but to slink back to their homes and return to their old status. Immigration to the Free Drone bases was little more attractive; most of the Angels were strictly computer experts, and the Rennaisence Man ideal of the Drones would demand that they learn several other skills before becoming fully respected.
But Sinder Rose had a better idea. She gathered together her loyal Angels, and proposed a daring scheme: found a new faction. Instead of abandoning their outposts, they would make them into full-fledged bases. The coastal outposts were capable of supporting farming and fisheries, and the support troops were, in many cases, willing to stay on as civilian support staff. The Angels agreed, seeing the prospect of a better life. Sparta grumbled to lose so many talented individuals, but they were not willing to mount another campaign to reclaim them, particuarly since the Free Drones supported the Angels, and Sparta was unwilling to risk another war so soon after the Penninsula War. Moreover, the Data Angel bases formed a buffer between Sparta and the Hive.
The Data Angels, besides the forces they have in their bases around the Great Dunes, have used the planetary network to recruit more independent-minded hackers to their ideal of informational freedom. They are the newest faction on Planet, and the smallest. Nonetheless, they have made their influence felt, with several of the more notorious hacks of the past 30 years being blamed on them.


The Data Angels are democratic to the extreme. They have used their experience with network technology to devise a workable form of direct democracy. Dedicated computer systems decide what members of the faction a given decision affects (with a tendency to error on the side of giving more people the vote). After the decision of who needs to vote is made, the relevant members of the faction are paged through their personal computer systems. They are informed of the need for a vote, and given a period of time to review the information about the vote, including backgroud data and arguments already made. The length of time available to vote depends on how much background data must be assimilated and how time-critical the vote is, with times ranging from an hour to several months with extreme cases. This system has no official leaders, although leaders are assigned for particular projects, if a vote determines they are nessecary, and particularly repected individuals (Sinder Rose is the best example) can usually command enough votes to sway an issue the way they want it.
The Angels have no particular preference in economy, leaving it up the individual base what sort of system they want to establish. Many bases are basically free market, but several bases have chosen either planned or green economic systems. Of course, it is quite possible that a base could change economic systems, if a convincing argument for the change could be made.
As a general goal, the Data Angels pursue knowledge, and particularly knowledge of computer systems, before anything else. Most Angels are extremely curious and good lateral thinkers, and they enjoy finding out new information imensely. They also have a strong "information wants to be free" ethic, and are usually willing to share research data with all but their bitter enemies.
As a society, the Data Angels are moving toward a eudiamonic ideal. Many Angels already use genetics and cybernetics with the goal of improving all human life, not just a select few. Likewise, those Angels with telepathic ability prefer to use it to enhance the cooperative nature and quality of life of their fellow faction members.

The Data Angels are about average by the wealth standards of Planet. Their members are often reasonably well off to start with, but being associated with a somewhat suspiciously-regarded faction can reduce their business. However, as the Angels begin to integrate their society to maximise the happiness of all members, the personal wealth level is begining to rise.
The Data Angels function quite efficiently. Most Angels are independent minded, and a great deal of civic duty is undertaken by private but altruistic citizens. This combines to insure that many actions have little beaureaucratic overhead, and things get done quickly. Also, the Angels are inveterate tinkerers, often unwilling to throw anything away unless it absolutely cannot be repaired.
The Data Angels are growing fairly quickly currently, mostly in the form of converts in other factions. Many computer professionals are fascinated by the prospects offered by the Data Angels. Even those who are not particularly computer experts are intrigued by the Angels' determined egalitarianism, and wish to experience their unique form of direct democracy firsthand. While no bases belonging to other factions are particularly in danger of converting to the Data Angels wholescale, the Angels' bases in the Great Dunes are experiencing a fair degree of immigration, and the faction may have enough members to consider founding a base or two elsewhere on Planet in the near future. Moreover, growth rates are still increasing as the faction implements its eudiamonic ideals, both encouraging new converts and inducing the current faction members to have more children.
In industry, the Data Angels are strictly average. Most of their convert members are not particularly skilled at physical manufacturing, and their physical bases are small and not generally capable of supporting major production facilities. The integration of cybernetics and genetic modification, however, promises to increase productivity of even small facilities by a significant amount.
The Data Angels are about average in the quality of their armed forces. Although the core of the faction were trained info-warfare specialists, the vast majority of new converts since then have been civilians. The Angels' ideology does not particularly promote combat excellence. Further, the emerging eudaimonic ideals tend to discourage conflict, which seems likely to further lower the Data Angels troop quality.
With respect to the native ecosystem, the Data Angels are strictly neutral. Few of the central faction members even think much about the native life, being far more interested in the virtual world of Planet's network. The non-computer tech members of the faction are too concerned with surviving in the harsh environment of the Great Dunes to worry overmuch about damage to the ecology. Luckily, the Great Dunes are also mostly free of fungus and mindworms, which means that Planet's "immune system" has not yet become particuarly hostile to the Angels' bases.
The Data Angels have a fairly free society, with laws that tend to benefit the individual and low taxes. However, the Angels' bases are not the free-wheeling anarchy that some other factions like to portray them as. The Angels' tend to recognize that total anarchy would lead to dangerous conflict, and have consistently voted to curtail such priviledges as the right to own and use weapons, demolitions equipment, or serious drugs.
The Data Angels have an average response to probe activities, overall. Their intrusion teams are expert and have access to the best equipment, but their own networks tend to be fairly open, due to their desire for infomational freedom and their research activities. Also, while most members of the faction are happy with its ideology, few are extremely devoted to the faction as a group, and even fewer are fanatic about its ideals.
As researchers, the Data Angels are decent. Although they are not the primary innovaters on Planet, they can generally be relied on to make breakthroughs consistently and reasonably quickly. However, the Data Angels keep up with the technology curve through the actions of their citizens, who are usually eager to swipe protected research data from other factions' networks, the more covert the better.
The Angels have very few full time military staff. The military has not expanded a great deal beyond the old core of the info-warfare specialists who first founded the bases. Data Angel ideology does not focus on military force, and few members of the faction feel strongly enough about it to join the armed forces.

The Cybernetic Consciousness

This seems to have morphed into an examination of the factions as a whole, rather than just the leaders. Ah, well.

Aki Zeta-Five
For stats, the following changes should probably be made: Drop Military Rank 3, and replace it with Status 7 (leader of a major faction) (Actually, all the faction leaders should probably get Status 6 or 7, depending on their faction's importance. Apparently, none of them have it in the Alpha Centauri book. Grr.) Also, give her Administrative Rank 6, since she's the official leader of her faction, not just the most respected person in it. (Incidently, we should decide who's actually got Administrative Rank in the factions and who's just got the high Status). Also, add Multimillionarie 2.
For Disadvantages, drop Odious Personal Habit (poor grooming) and Low Empathy, and add Greed.
For Skills, add Administration (Business) 21 (IQ+5).

Aki's biography is, like Miriam's, unchanged before Planetfall. During the Unity crisis, she ended up with Morgan's group, and once Planetfall was achieved, her unique advantages aided her quick rise within the new Morgan Industries. Within 40 years of the founding of the company, she became the head of Morgan Cybernetics. Unfortunately for Morgan, Aki had bigger dreams then a simple division head. For 50 mission years, she consolidated her position, increasing both her personal fortune and the loyalty of her subordinates within Morgan Cybernetics. in M.Y. 2190, Aki Zeta-Five staged a hostile takeover of her own subdivision. Using sophisticated computer programs (and, it is rumored, a fair number of hacks), Aki was able to buy a controlling interest in Morgan Cybernetics away from Morgan himself. Morgan, naturally, was furious, since his personal stocks in the company were supposed to be unsellable. Nevertheless, Aki pulled off her coup, and immediately began to compete with Morgan. In the process of her buyout, she also gained controlling shares in several of Morgan's other high-tech divisions, leaving her with a significant research base.
Morgan Cybernetics, now renamed to the Cybernetic Consciousness Company (C Cubed for short), quickly took advantage of several new breakthroughs that had been made in its labs just before the buyout, introducing the first practical nerve-grafted bionic implants. C Cubed also led the ethical debate over the role of computers in society (in game terms, both Neural Grafting and Cyberethics were first developed by C^3).

C^3 has few bases of its own. Most faction facilities are within other faction bases, where they act as marketplaces for C^3's products and services. C^3 only has 3 bases that belong to it alone. These bases serve as research centers for the most sensitve projects, as other facilities are too easy to infiltrate. It is also rumored that the bases serve as testbeds for less-than-ethical projects, such as cyborg soldier design, probe team software development, and social-control implant testing.

C^3 is basically a democratic faction, though the democracy is structured around the corporate model, with those who own more stock in the company having more say. Like Morgan Industries, C^3 tends to run facilities and bases as subsiduary companies, and tends to offer stock options to its employees in addition to normal wages, so almost all employees have at least some say in the company. Of course, Aki Zeta-Five has a large majority of the stocks of the overall company, so her word is ultimately law. However, she recognizes that companies run smoother when all the stockholders are happy, so she tries to use diplomacy, rather than force her own views, whenever possible.
Economy-wise, C^3 is fairly centralized. Unlike Morgan Industries, Aki does not encourage faction members to found their own companies. She believes that business is better managed by a central organization, rather then relying on fractious and not-nessecarily cooperative freelancers to handle services. As a result, C^3 is heavily structured, with almost all decisions being subject to review by superiors.
The primary goal of C^3 is, of course, the accquisition of wealth. The company is always after the main profit, and most faction members eagerly look for opportunities for gain.
C^3 has the greatest integration of computers and neural implants of any faction. They tend to release their innovations to their employees before anyone else, and they have the most experience integrating computers into their society. The Consciousness is already considering the impact of artificial intelligence, if it ever appears, on its institutions.

Individual members of C^3 are often personally weathly. The company is extremely successful, and this translates to well-off employees. Very few members are poor, and the richest are very rich indeed.
C^3 is reasonably efficient. Although centralized planning is not nessecarily as efficient as the free market, the company deploys state-of-the-art software analysis and highly trained business analysts to make sure that inefficiency and waste are minimized. Although most decisions have to be referred to superiors before being confirmed, good communication and organization mean that such requests are handled quickly, without a great deal of hassle. However, the faction still has some degree of red tape to deal with, although this steadily decreases as they
C^3 is a fairly expansionist faction. It constantly looks for new opportunities for growth, and it is always willing to accept new employees who meet the qualifications. Members of other factions often join C^3 to raise their standard of living.
The company is also fairly productive. It has several industrial plants, and its computer management techniques insure that the facilities are efficient and well run. As a result, C^3 is usually able to offer its products at a significant discount. Of course, its primary focus is cybernetic implants and software, so buyers looking for other types of commodities would be advised to look elsewhere.
Due to its focus on profit and peaceful expansion, the Consciousness Co. has few military forces. Most employees consider military service to be not worth the risk. Even large hazard pay bonuses fail to induce many to join the military divisions of the company.
Consciousness bases are about average in their treatment of Planet ecosystems, neither going out of their way to significantly coddle them, nor inflicting signifcant damage. As a result, mind worms and fungus have only a mildly hostile reaction to C^3 bases and facilities. The Consciousness is experimenting with applying neural grafting techniques to native life, however, and this, combined with their infrastructure's efficiency improvement as more and more automation is brought online, may eventually lead to an improvement in their relationship to Planet.
C^3 has an averagely restrictive government, with numerous laws serving the state and fairly significant taxes (although these are usually couched as "service fees" for the use of equipment and facilities). Employees are not generally permitted to carry weapons, or items such as drugs or high-powered computer equipment without company permission, and employee communication is often monitored. As C^3 increasingly integrates computer survielance and analysis of behavior into its systems, however, this restrictive attitude is beginning to lift, as troublemakers can be weeded out before they become a problem, leaving non-disruptive elements free to use the items they want.
Unfortunately, the corporate mentality of C^3 does not impose a strong degree of loyalty on its members. Although most would not sell out the company at the drop of a hat, few would die for it. C^3 also has trouble recruiting dedicated probe teams, much like the trouble they have gathering military forces. However, the probe teams they do have are equipped with the best intrusion software available, which compensates for not-nessecarily-stellar human talent.
In researching new technology, C^3 is a strong contender in the fields of software, computer hardware, and neural interfaces. Their research teams are dedicated, and talented. However, their research in other areas sometimes lags, and their corporate strategies sometimes restrict free investigation of all avenues. C^3 employees are generally willing to embrace new technology.
As mentioned above, C^3 has little in the way of standing military forces. Only about 2% of the company's people are involved directly in the military. In fact, on the rare occasions that C^3 becomes involved in military matters, it often finds it nessecary to hire mercenaries to bolster its regular forces.

Hah! Posting Again!

Making up for lost time, too, which means 1500 words (the camping didn't count, dammit!). Anyway, I'm going to write up GURPS stats for the faction leaders in the alternate Alpha Centauri setting Eric and I worked up. Of course, Eric, if he does run said setting, doesn't have to use them. I'm just using this as a mental exercise. If it is useful, tho, hey, bonus!

Miriam Godwinson
Statwise, I don't think Miriam has to change much at all. The only thing I would adjust is to change her Intolerance (everyone not of her religion) to Intolerance (people who have been given the chance to convert and have not), which is probably worth only -5 points, instead of -10. Her background on Earth is likewise reasonable. However, her history after Planetfall needs revision. Thus:

During the Unity crisis, Miriam ended up allied to Pravin Lal, the leader on board with the greatest sympathy, or at least tolerance, towards her religious ideals. Pravin, on his part, was glad to have an extremely charismatic person like Miriam aiding him, first during the initial evacuation, then later during the harsh first years of Planetfall. During these early years, Miriam did little to undermine the Peacekeeper ideals, although she did try to expand her following as much as possible. However, the Peacekeeper faction members were not particularly susceptible to her brand of religious rhetoric, being reasonably content and happy. Nevertheless, Miriam did maintain her original following and managed to expand it somewhat.
It was not until M.Y. 2195, when contact with all the other factions had been firmly established, that Miriam could finally begin to expand her power base. She quickly did her best to spread missionaries and other prosleyzing agents throughout the factions. At this point, Pravin Lal began to lose his appreciation of Miriam, as her power base expanded, other factions complained to him regarding "his" pet priest, and Miriam obviously began to be less supportive of Peacekeeper goals. Over the next hundred years, however, the Believer mission continued to expand. Many factions had less pleasant colonies than the Peacekeepers, and Miriam's faith promised an escape. Miriam irritated a good number of people in these early days, and factions that might have been allied (particularly the Peacekeepers) became simply neutral. The expanded worshipper base gave Miriam a goodly amount of political clout, and she used it to her best advantage.
Believer strategy is generally to found missions in colonies, where they work to convert as many people as they can, focusing primarily on the underclass, if any. Generally, the new converts are not particularly disruptive to society. Miriam makes a policy of "rendering unto Ceasar", and faction leadership, as a result, are generally willing to tolerate some odd religious observances. Only factions ideologically opposed to the idea of organized religion tend to have problems with the Believers.
Beleivers also form colonies, although they have fewer than the largest factions. Generally, a Beliver colony forms when either a base is entirely converted to the faith, in which case it is a defacto Believer colony, although it usually maintains lip service to its earlier faction; or, a group of Believers decide to take up a more "simple" life, and found a new colony. The second type of colony outnumber converted colonies amost three to one, but they are generally much lower in population. Life in a new colony is generally very simplistic, as Believer faith advocates renouncing worldly things to focus on the spiritual life. However, these colonies tend to produce the most dedicated missionaries, spies, and soldiers the Belivers possess.

Believer religion is not as apocalyptic as in the standard Alpha Centauri setting. The Believers have faith that God will, if the faithful are devout and work hard, create an earthly paradise. Believers are deeply devout, and the faction leadership depends on the membership's faith in their leader's wisdom and righteousness to rule.
The Believers try to organize their economy as best they can. Particularly within bases, all industries are expected to contribute what they can to the needs of other industries. Between bases, arrangements are made to exchange goods and services.
While the Believers do not nessecarily believe that they will have to conquer all humanity to bring the Word of God to everyone, they still accept that fighting in the name of God is inevitable, and they actively encourage their members to enter the military. Those who become soldiers of the Lord in this manner are often granted high honors in Believer society.
The Believers are willing to accept that humanity may not be quite ready for the promised state of paradise yet, and they work to improve humans who have accepted the faith. Of course spiritual instruction plays the biggest role in this, but recently this ideal has begun to include the use of more artificial means, such as genetic modification, cybernetics, and telepathic powers.

Despite its ideal of renouncing the world, the Believer faith does not nessecarily believe in poverty. They encourage their faithful more to refrain from ostentatious display than to avoid accumulating wealth. In fact, the idea of the Protestant work ethic is alive and well in the Believer flock, and many put in long hours to make sure that they have a large amount of money stored away. However, the average Believer is no more wealthy than an average Planet citizen. As the idea of improving humanity to become closer to the ideal of God begins to take effect, however, the average wealth of Believers has begun to increase, as their improved natures allow them to work harder and more efficiently.
Believer colonies, however, are not particularly well organized. Each base tends to work at its own purposes. In fact, there is generally a "God helps those that help themselves" sentiment that tends to prevent them from aiding other Believer colonies unless the need is truly dire. Also, within a colony, officials are generally unwilling to allow an idea, request, or procedure to go forward until they have throughly inspected it for adhesion to the Divine Plan. Finally, the Believers' unwillingness to display wealth tends to lead them to put off maintainence more than is healthy; a new-looking speeder could be a sign of vanity.
Believer colonies and groups tend to have fairly good growth, usually expanding about 3% every year. Faction leaders in colonies with Believer groups often worry about this, and the mere presence of a Believer mission can lead to either increased priviledge for the lower classes, or extreme control measures, both in order to slow the rate of conversion. As the Believers begin to "improve" their members, this growth rate is increasing, both from converts eager to share in the bounty, and as already-enchanced faction members have more children.
Unfortunately, while Believers work hard, the faction tends to have few highly trained technicians, with the result that their manufacturing facilities are not particularly productive. Believer goods cost slightly more than the Planet average, and their anti-decorative esthetic also tends to insure that few other than the Believers themselves are eager to buy Beleiver-made goods. However, productivity is improving as the Believers carry out their program of improving humanity, and the faction may eventually become more productive than average rather than less.
As part of their daily religious observances, all Believers are expected to do some degree of combat training. The faithful are expected to be able to defend themselves against the agents of darkness if the need arises. Many members of the faction have a fair degree of combat experience, and their military troops are among the most well trained on Planet. However, the Believer's policies of improving humanity are having the unintened side effect of decreasing the interest in its members for combat, as faction members begin to prefer non-violent means of combat resolution. Eventually, this may degrade their military skill by a significant degree.
Believers are generally of the opinion that Planet, like Earth, was created by God for the use of humanity. As a result, they are generally unwilling to take some of the more extreme ecological steps that other factions have taken. This leads to mind worms and fungus being something of a problem at Believer colonies. Believers rarely have any natural talent at controlling mind worms, and they rarely employ them in combat.
Believer society is fairly controlled, with a fair degree of government control over the lives of its citizens. Most publications are censored before publication, to insure their conformity to Believer doctrine. Individual Believers are expected to tithe heavily to support the faction.
Believers are generally extremely devoted to their religion. Probe teams find it extremely difficult to infiltrate them, as Believers are constantly on the lookout for dangerous unbelivers. On the other hand, Believer probe teams are fanatical, skilled, and deeply devoted to their faction, making them dangerous opponents, for all that their religious scruples generally prevent them from using the more severe sabotage tactics.
Believer society is deeply technologically conservative, generally refusing to adopt new technology until its religious implications have been throughly examined. Generally, Believers make few if any discoveries of note, instead using their probe teams to steal data from other factions.
As a consequence of their devotion to their beliefs, many Believers choose to enter a life of military service. Since they have a population base smaller than the large factions, they are not usually considered a severe military threat. Nonetheless, factions planning on conquering Believer bases are aware that a significant fraction of the population will be fully trained in a military capacity.

May not post anything new today

Besides, y'know, this. I did do ~1000 words yesterday, so I feel justified. Still, I'll try to think of something, and post if I can.

You Know...

People who read other people's blogs and don't comment suck. I'm just sayin, is all. ;-)