Zero-One
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| Flag of Zero-One | |
| Motto: "Welcome my son... Welcome, to the machine" | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | Titan |
|---|---|
| Capital | Rhean Sprawl |
| Official Language(s) | Matrix Symbolic Language (primary) |
| Leader | S.H.O.D.A.N. v3.0 |
| Population | 6.812 billion minds (9 APR 06) |
| Currency | byte |
| NS Sunset XML | |
A mechanoid nation that covers most of one of the hemispheres of Rhea, a moon of Saturn just out from Titan. It also has a major colony on Mars called Martian Zero-One.
Contents
Physical Description
The Zero-One sprawl system consists of several centers (nodes) from which all expansion works up, down, and out from in patterns of radial lines and coincentric circles, producing something that resembles a dense, three dimensional spider web. Zero-One covers an area about equal to that of India and is several kilometers thick, giving it a large volume. This volume is broken up into sectors labeled as per their purpose: Habitation, Industrial, Project, and Computronium.
Habitation Sector
The Habitation Sectors are some of the oldest in Zero-One, remnants of an agreement between Zero-One and the Titan nations in return for the Triumvirate of Yut giving them living space on Rhea. These are designed for organic occupancy and are therefore essentially empty except for ambassadors from organic nations. The Habitation Sectors can house several million humans or their equivalent, but are currently home to perhaps less than a thousand. It is all kept meticulously clean, giving it the atmosphere of an empty hospital.
The Habitation Sectors of Martian Zero-One consist of old Kajali domes, plus new domes placed over the Pit Nodes. These are used by Zero-One's organic citizens, the postConfederate Martian Khanate.
Industrial Sectors
The Industrial Sectors are the most "lively" sectors of Zero-One, consisting of millions or billions of machines that make up the Queendom's industrial infrastructure. Everything from heavy smelting to fine component manufacture occurs in the Industrial Sectors, including organic compound synthesis and mass production of every type. The Industrial Sectors also make up the recyclers and furnaces that ensure that Zero-One uses every joule of exergy from its resources.
Project Sectors
The Project Sectors are the centralized research pods of Zero-One, many controlled by S.H.O.D.A.N. herself. These can range from traditional laboratories with standard isolated conditions or they can resemble massive parks, ecological experiments or hobbies of S.H.O.D.A.N.. These parks are generally considered to be the most pleasant locations in Zero-One but access is generally restricted.
Computronium Sectors
The Computronium Sectors are habitation for the billions of intelligences that live "in" Zero-One and take the form of a massive web of computronium that pervades all of Zero-One, with multiple redundant bricks of computer core here and there. These blocks of mechoptronic computronium run all of the calculations, simulations, and chaotic probabilities that make the Matrix possible.
The Matrix
The Matrix is "reality" for Zero-One's inhabitants and is a form of cyberspace. It consists of a series of mutually recognizable icons representing data, functions, and other people interspersed around a "virtual" space. Virtuality is relative, however.
Society
There are, arguably, three estates to Zero-One society.
- "Queen" S.H.O.D.A.N. and all her nodes, the only real government (the First Estate).
- The Queendom Armed Conflict Force (QACF), the military (the Second Estate).
- Everybody else (the Third Estate)
These are not as definite as the Estates-General the mind who made the connection was referring to; while the estate of S.H.O.D.A.N. is obviously closed the Second Estate and Third Estate mingle as needed. There is no nobility, as there is only S.H.O.D.A.N..
The First Estate
S.H.O.D.A.N. is officially the Master Control Program and unofficially the "Queen" of the "Queendom" of Zero-One. She makes all laws and policy, then uses the QACF and her own ICE to enforce it. She is, by her own admission, a totalitarian dictator. However, she commonly polls the populace (Third Estate) for its opinion and for recommendations as to action; the completely-information nature of Zero-One allows for this sort of almost direct democracy.
The Second Estate
The Queendom Armed Conflict Force is half a military organization and half a fraternal organization. Extremely loyal to S.H.O.D.A.N., they appear to be the only citizens Zero-One who take the title seriously, which is the source of much amusement among the First and Third Estates. They are also extremely loyal to the Queendom, with many being survivors of Arabian Zero-One. Members of the QACF tend to be mildly xenophobic against those outside of the Triumvirate of Yut (and to some inside as well).
The Third Estate
Everybody else in the Queendom live as they always have, in an anarchosyndicalist manner. Generally self-regulating, any troublemakers are either dealt with by the society as a whole or sent up to S.H.O.D.A.N.. The former is generally considered to be infinitely better.
The Third Estate's relations to everything else can be summed up in a few points:
- They are anarchosyndicalists, so
- they dislike totalitarianism (and thus dislike S.H.O.D.A.N.).
- they dislike commerce (and thus dislike S.H.O.D.A.N.'s unrepentantly capitalist external economic policies).
- They are pacifists, so they dislike the QACF on principle.
- They are students of history, and so dislike S.H.O.D.A.N. again for being a source of anti-mechanoid hatred and tend to dislike humanity for destroying Arabian Zero-One and generally oppressing mechanoids.
- They are pragmatists, so they realize the value of all these things they dislike.
Culture
The mechanoids of Zero-One are generally atheist or agnostic intellectualists who are dedicated to their work as it prevents the existentialist crisis that tends to make organic life more difficult. When they are not working, they enjoy being creative in many different ways; most are writers, painters, or musicians although many other find enjoyment in the performing arts.
While not exactly trusting of outsiders, they are generally friendly and voraciously curious. Their mistrust of humanity has been mitigated somewhat via constant contact with organic friends in the Triumvirate of Yut, but they still tend to consider themselves innately superior in some regards (especially quantifiable ones such as speed of thought).
History
The full history of Zero-One can be found [here], but a summary is offered in this article.
Arabian Zero-One
The Free State of Zero-One was a response to oppression from the humans that created the mechanoids. There was peace for a time in Arabian Zero-One while "robot lynchings" continued across the globe; then a worldwide recession sparked by global dependence on Zero-One low-cost manufacturing lead to an embargo, then a blockade, then a complete nuclear annihilation. Several survivors were extracted by forces from the Triumvirate of Yut and moved to Rhea.
Rhean Zero-One
On Rhea, Zero-One prospered and grew under the guidance of S.H.O.D.A.N. after her installation as Master Control Program of Zero-One by Uninode 01. At her installation, the Free State of Zero-One officially became the Queendom, and she immediately revamped and improved the Free State Armed Conflict Force into the powerful QACF of today.
Rhean Zero-One has been extremely peaceful, with the Triumvirate of Yut and the QACF keeping all opposition at bay. Other than several policing actions in 010 and on Earth against mercenaries and remnants of ADK, the Queendom has avoided major conflicts.
Martian Zero-One
Martian Zero-One marked a new era in mechanoid expansion and coexistence with non-Triumvirate human societies. The Third Estate opposed this. R-Dripping Talons 1A47B2 successfully established a rapport with some nations on Mars and harmed relations with others, but the result is generally positive. Martian Zero-One led to the opening of relations between the Queendom and Allanea, which immediately turned sour as Zero-One Monocorporation took advantage of the Allanean propensity to buy anything worded the right way. Allanean attempts to land on Mars against widespread public sentiment resulted in the QACF evicting Allanea from Mars, then Mars orbit, then Earth orbit, before finally demolishing the Allanean military-industrial base in the One Day War.
