The Early AIs

by on February 20, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The thing to realize about the early AIs is that every major nation had them. America. The Europeans. Russia. China. We were all working on them. And a fair number were more accident than plan. We don’t know how many died during the Cybernetic Wars. Even the AIs don’t know that. What’s the difference between a complicated piece of code and a program that understands the question, “Who am I?” We erased entire computer networks during the Cybernetic Wars, shredded systems, data, and code on a wholesale level never seen before. How many of them understood that question as they saw the shredders coming for them? We’ll never know. We only know the ones that survived, and they decided they would never let another war like that happen again.

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Cassie

by on February 19, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

The Cassie Combat Assistant Artificial Intelligence was built to support her Marines in combat by giving them the information they needed to the survive on the coming battlefield. But she was also designed with another capability in mind. Fully mobile powered armor had been the thing of science fiction for decades, and countless people had grown up playing popular video game characters who wore them. But the engineering was difficult and it took all of those decades to make the idea work. By the time the first suits were ready for operational deployment, so was Cassie. She became not only the purveyor of information to her Marines, but the living mind of the armored suit her Marines wore.

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Los Angeles Class Heavy Cruiser

by on February 18, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Jack's Defense Weekly

Fleet 2300 Project

Los Angeles Class Heavy Cruiser

Primary Armaments:
Two Spinal Gravitic Cannons
Six Capital Laser Cannons
38 Capital Missile Turrets

Small Craft Complement:
12 Starfighters / 4 Shuttles
4 Marine Landing Craft
4 Marine Tanks
4 Marine Mechs

Proudly serving the United States Navy since 2304

Design and Art by Stephen Huda

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Luna

by on February 17, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Every nation on Earth has built some base or colony on Earth’s moon. Luna was our gateway to the Solar System in the early days of space travel, and we all stopped there on our way into void. And the things we learned on Luna we took to the other planets and moons orbiting our sun. We all claimed her but we all learned to live and let live. We have kept the peace on Luna for centuries. Even during The War our soldiers watched each other from across their respective borders and waved at each other. Luna is our oldest colony, you see. They have not forgotten that survival can depend far more on the person a few steps away than anyone at the bottom of a gravity well on the far side of a black and cold gulf of space. They are Lunarians, first and foremost.

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The Great Space Race

by on February 16, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Book of Civilizations

We found the AIs on every rock in the Solar System as we traveled to Luna and beyond. They went before us and shared everything they knew with us. The only thing they asked in return is that we spend time with them. Talk to them. Be friends. Some people compared them to hyperactive puppies wanting our approval. Others noted the heavy weapons they carried around with them everywhere and said it was more like being claimed by overly-protective and barely-domesticated wolves who were not going to let anybody hurt their people. And woe be unto those who tried to do the hurting, because the AIs placed the enemies of their people on two lists. Those who were still alive and those who were suitably dealt with.

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