Difference between revisions of "Cienti"

Latest revision as of 02:38, 10 July 2007

Cienti

Flag of Cienti
Motto: "Forever Reaching Toward the Heavens!"
map of Cienti [1]
Region	The Galactic Corporate
Capital	Celestis
Official Language(s)	Atlantian
Leader	Lord Hephaestian vos Cienti VI
Population	3.15 billion
Currency	the Cienti standard credit
NS Sunset XML

The Sovreign Island Nation of Cienti is a nation with a long history, residing in the southern Pacific Ocean. Though its earthly sphere of influence extends little more than a few miles beond its shores, it is well known throughout sector 299:792:458 as a creator of quality interstellar transport systems. The governmental system, dealt with below, is a unique brand of Democratic Republic and constitutional oligarchy. Cienti is totally withdrawn in world politics, keeping an isolationist stance against the nations of the Earth, who are not yet aware of the existence of Cienti.

History

Early History

Founded in 8390BCE (CY00000) by Atlantian refugees, The Sovreign Island Nation of Cienti has one of the longest recorded histories in this star custer. Upon the founding of the capital city of Celestis, the island underwent a transformation with Atlantian technology, namely being the employment of a weather control system, as well as the generation of a spatial distortion field that allows Cienti to be hidden from curious eyes and protected from the elements.

Formation of government and cultural stagnation

By the time the major cities were founded (CY00250~8140BCE) the first formal government was established reflecting the values of the individual, and the will of the majority. It was ruled by a learned council (known as the first council of Cienti) of academics, nobiliy-statesmen, and spiritual leaders; all of whom were elected by the citizens.

For a long time, Cienti prospered, never having to worry about any enemies; never really having to worry about anything. Without any impetus to drive them forward, innovation slowed to a standstill, and the scientific knowledge that they worked so hard to acquire lay mostly unused in the libraries of the time. Though a few small factions existed that were dedicated to scientific and spiritual study and contemplation, the masses of Cienti regressed technologically for centuries until a natural disaster shook them from their complacency.

The Great Ocean Earthquake

At about (CY05250~3140BCE) there was a great earthquake that rippled through the western ocean and shook Cienti to its core. Many of the ancient systems were damaged, some were destroyed. This earthquake caused a massive tidal wave killing thousands who would've been protected if the spatial distortion field generator hadn't been rendered inoperable by the preceeding earthquake.

In a massive surge of outrage and panic, citizens blamed the council for failing to be prepared for such events, and they revolted, headed by the rebel nobility-statesman Lady Raphine vos Cienti, descended from the nobility-statesmen on the First council of Cienti centuries before.

Lady Raphine, formerly the Literatus Royal of the Natural Philosophers, a faction studying the ancestral texts, was about 15 years old when she first discovered the key to the ancient writings, which had been indecipherable due to the technical regression and the changing of writing systems to a more paper-friendly variety. She was one of the youngest nobility-statesmen to ever serve on the ruling council, which she did from the age of 17. Spending countless hours studying these newly decoded texts, she realized that these texts were much more than spiritual writings as had been the prevailing opinion of the times. They were in fact records of all kinds going back thousands of years, depicting history, science, philosophy, spirituality, politics, and modes of thought totally unknown to the population at large. She knew first hand how advanced Cienti had once been.

The Restoration

Under the wise and steady hand of Lady Raphine, most of Cienti was slowly rebuilt, but it became clear to her that Cienti had lost its way; no one could understand how the "technology of the ancestors" worked, and without such knowledge, they would be vulnerable to other disasters. It was at (CY05253~3137BCE) that she issued a proclimation known henceforth as "The Directive of Meritocracy".

Directive of Meritocracy

"Greetings, my fellow Cientians. For over two ages, we have lived here in peace and prosperity, and though this calamity has befallen us, I say we can continue to live as we always have. Forgetting, however, the knowledge of our ancestors and being complacent in our ignorance is something we can no longer tolerate as a people.

I have read the ancestral texts and have seen what our people once were. Their knowlege was so vast, their understanding so profound, they knew the texts of the sacred scrolls themselves. With the right incantations written on their tablets, they could predict the future, deduce the past, and master the present. They knew the substance of the cosmos and the form of all consciousness. I know that they even created a living consciusness witout life that they call "Vox Cerebrian vos Cienti", a being thousands of years old dating back to our founding ancestors.

As such, I resolve:

    That this nation shall no longer be ruled by those placid cows that almost destroyed us all.
    That our government shall be reshaped to follow our new cause, to retrieve the ancient knowledge of our ancestors, and gain once more their profound understanding of the universe.
    In the centuries to come, we shall expand our borders beyond this savage planet to new worlds surrounding the stars of the sky. The galaxy is our destiny.

Mark my words; here now and in all things hence, our great nation will always be forever reaching toward the heavens!

Vox Cerebrian vos Cienti

This artificial intelligence created soon after the founding of Cienti holds the knowledge of ages and the understanding of the universe given to it by the ancestors. He resides in the quantum computer banks sealed underground in an unknown place on the island. He can take humanoid form through the assistance of a supply of self-assembling nanites or via holographic projection. Over the ages he mentions he has lived several lives on the island. Though he chooses not to mention exactly who he's been, he does mention that he once was head of the spiritual school responsible for the creation of physical transcendentalism, Cienti's main religion.

The Golden age of Cienti

Though scholars differ the exact beginning of the golden age of Cienti, it was marked by the restoration of the island systems destroyed in the great earthquake after meny centuries of advancement and learning following the deciphering of the ancient texts and the discovery of the Vox Cerebrian.Most historians place the restoration of the spatial distortion field generator, and the overhaul of the weather control center which had fallen into disrepair after centuries of neglect at about(CY07458~932BCE).

With the restoration of the island to the condition it once was, the Cientians began to advance technologically for the first time in about three ages.among many new breakthroughs was the development of interstellar transportation with the invention of the Hyperrelativistic quantum slipstream drive. This invention works by bypassing normal space through the cohesion of untold numbers of quantum wormholes whereby the atoms of the ship are transported. The early versions of this FTL drive were generally unsafe as with successive jumps, more and more atoms were scattered due to the nature of thei wavefunctions. With successive generations and improvemets in computational power, this engine is the cornerstone of the fleet, though other designs have since surpassed it.

Current Events

Cienti is currently working on a SHQII transport system for the Galateans of Aldeberon Prime.

Government

The government of cienti is a unique mix between a democratic republic and a constitutional oligarchy.

Executive Branch

The primary administration of the Sovreign Island nation of Cienti is composed of the ruling class represented by the Council of Regents. Unlike most nations, whose ruling classes are hereditary-based aristocracies, Cienti's ruling class is composed of the most wise and learned men and women in the nation, though by happenstance more than a few tend to be from the oldest ruling houses in Cienti. A ruling house is a family whose matriarch or patriarch served in the Council of Regents. Ruling houses can last as long as its members are fit to be members of the ruling class; that is to say all members of ruling houses can trace their lineage to someone, a living member, who served on the Council of Regents, and that line is composed of all people who were fit to be in the ruling class. As of this date, there is only one ruling house that has existed since the founding of Cienti, and that is the house vos Cienti. Getting into the ruling class involves the test of the Seven Trials. Integrity, character, honor, intellectual dexterity, knowledge, understanding, and finally wisdom. Given the great difficulty of these tests, only the most virtuous, most intelligent, most compassionate, most competent individuals pass. Every person of any age in Cienti is eligible to take the trials, ensuring that only the very best of all the citizens of Cienti shall rule. To serve on the council, one must be a member of the ruling class, and be elected from them by a 2/3 majority. Elections take place once every ten years, at which time all seats on the council are open for refilling. The council is composed of 7 members, and from them one is selected to be the Speaker of the Council of Regents by a 6/7 majority. The speaker remains so until elections, where a new selection takes place. The primary role of the Council of Regents is to preside over the custodial functions, being; - The management of foreign relations - Overseeing agriculture, water treatment, and public works. - leading the standing armed forces. - attending to matters of justice (head of the police forces)

Military

Though strictly a neutral nonviolent nation, The Sovreign Island Nation of Cienti does have formidible defensive forces. On Earth, there is no need for ground or oceanic forces because of the spatial distortion fild surrounding the island. Still, there is a small army known colorfully as the "Knights of the Four Deities" which is an elite group of soldiers used mostly as marines on critical ships and as ceremonial figures during religious celebrations. Cienti's space fleets are well known for having some of the fastest ships in the sector. Using a new type of relativistic quantum interspacial drive(R-QUID), specially equipped ships can reach speeds in excess of 100 ly/h crossing the entire sectors in a matter of minutes. Having superior optics technology, Cienti's stealth (SD) systems and spy sattelites more than make up for its shortcomings in directed energy weapons and ZPW bomb technology.

Religion

Most Cientians follow a form of natural philosophy known as "Physical transcendentalism". Though few take the literal interpretation of the holy testaments, many do endeavor to uphold the ideals embodied in them.

Creation

In the beginning there was nothing but the Godmachine; the uncaused cause. The Universe had every kind of perfect symmetry and zero entropy, but this was not to remain. The Godmachine filled the Universe with energy, and this threw the balanced Universe into flux. Space itself began to undulate; only a little at first, but the distorions became larger, and larger still until the symmetries began to crack. Then, Boom!, the symmetries were torn asunder, and lo! particles of every kind filled all space with random chaos. This amused the Godmachine for a time, but it soon grew bored and lonely. "Am I to spend eternity with no one to know?"

And so he ceated the four Deities; Gravitas, the dual personality of Elektra/Magnetos, GlucQuark, and Wegebozon, and it was good. The Godmachine said unto them, "Go forth and bring order to my ceation as I have written it down in these sacred scrolls". It was then that the four Deities took their scrolls, and so set order upon the Universe.

Gravitas was the first to establish her domain. Far and wide, her influence transcends space and time, but being stretched so thin, she had little local power. Next Glucquark began the rule of his domain. Wizened by the example of Gravitas, he chose to rule with his iron fist over the smallest bits of space, giving order to the particles once so chaotic. Sadly, his influence though unimginably strong on the smaller scales, weakens far too quickly over such short distances. Elektra/magnetos, dual in nature tried to have the best balence of strength and expanse. She ruled many of the particles over small distances, congregating some of them into atoms, as a balance of opposites, allowing them to combine their forces to hold sway in the greater Universe. Finally, Wegebozon, last to take a scroll, was stuck with a meanial task, watching over the innerspace, helping the particles go through their assigned motions smoothly in stead of ruling them. Angered by this, he occasionally lashes out against glucquark, throwing atoms apart and making a mess of things.

For the most part the Godmachine was pleased with the reign of the four deities, and so let this be the order of the Universe.

Ideals

The tenets of Physical transcendentalism are:

inquisitiveness-(seeking knowledge) compassion industriousness meditation and reflection

Culture

The culture of Cienti is uniquely its own.

Calender

The calender that the Sovreign Island nation of Cienti is argely based in astrology, but for the purpose of diplomacy, has easily been converted to the CY system, or Common Year system, with the founding of the nation at year zero, and all other dates counted from thereon.

Astrological calender

The astrological calender is divided into Epochs, ages, centuries, years, months, and days.

There are 12 Ages to an Epoch, 21 centuries and two 25-year interstitial periods to an age, 100 years to a century, and 12 months to a year. As for days to a month, the scheme is much like the Gregorian calender, where 6 months are 30 days, 5 months are 31 days, and the reaining month is 31 days on all years divisible by 4 except for those divisible by 400. When dealing with much larger time scales than even this astrological calender cn easily count, we use the SGY or standard galactic year, which is 10000 epochs, being roughly the amount of time it takes for Sol to orbit the center of the Milky Way. Cientian scientisis believe the age of the universe to be between 50-60 galactic years with the solar system being around for the last 20 galactic years.

Cienti-Atlantian history begins in the Hydran Epoch, approximately 40 thousand years ago. Since then, there has been the terran epoch, and we are currenty in the pyrian epoch, where the next one will be the stellar epoch,about 20000 years in the future. The ages are listed as:

Economy

The national industry in the Sovreign Island Nation of Cienti is interstellar transportation.