From the Gamemasters
     To put to rest everyone's work on gravitic "cloaking devices" and other stealth technology: as stated in the background article on military technology, such things are impossible.
     The gravitic beams used in "stealth" tech cannot in any way hide a ship. What they do is scatter and disrupt emissions so as to make the ship hard to target (while at the same time deflecting and scattering incoming weapon fire).
     The proper term for this is "electronic countermeasures" (ECM), not stealth. If anything, they make a ship far easier to detect; the gravitic beams show up bright and clear on every gravitic scanner in many millions of kilometers. It's just hard to pinpoint the exact location of the ship amidst all the fractured and multiple images being received through the distortions.
     There are ways to hide a ship, but they involve no fancy tech stuff: you merely reduce all emissions and make the ship appear to be a random asteroid, turning off all shields, active scanners and sensors, and engines, while drifting at incredibly slow speeds. As for what can be done with ftl tech, nobody yet has the faintest idea of how this could be even theoretically accomplished.

From the Gamemasters
     Re: New Colonization Rules
     The size of a colony is measured in Colony Units. One FtrVal can carry one Colony Unit. A colony unit can represent a lot of different things. For example, it could mean 100 colonists with an entire automated asteroid mining setup, including prefab power plants, refineries, manufacturing plants, habitats, and supplies of air, water, and food. Or it could equal 5000 passengers on a short trip to an already established colony world, who are only bringing personal luggage. Each colony unit costs 20 MU.
     Colonial production will depend a lot on local resources available. In general you can plan a colony to fit one of two models: a resource producer or a population supporter.
     Resource producing colonies will produce lots of resources which can be shipped to other worlds but will tend to actually cost money to operate. Note that the only raw materials which are economically feasible to ship over interstellar distances are things like iridium and other rare metals. Bulk items like food, hydrogen, water, and iron would cost more to ship between stars than what you'd receive at the other end. Resource colonies can, however, produce these things economically for sale to an industrial world in the same system.
     Population colonies are designed to be self-supporting colonies with large populations, industry, trade, etc. They will produce few resources for export (they'll be producing for local consumption) but will have their own IndVals. If they are in good spots, these colonies will grow even beyond what you ship there due to internal population growth and immigrants arriving on their own. Such colonies are very long term and may take up to a century before they prove profitable.
     Note that after being started, any new colony will take 1-6 years before it produces anything, and pouring more people on during this time will simply delay that time as they use up time and resources building homes for the new arrivals.

From the Gamemasters
     Re: Long Turns
     Remember how we said that there is no limit on turn lengths? But that we reserve the right to ignore anything if it's too long? If it appears that we did not answer one of your questions, then please do not ask us about it. Assume that it was either purposefully or accidentally skipped over (the last happens a lot). Just put it in the next turn. The shorter and more clearly written your turn is, the less likely it will be that something gets left out.

From the University of South Virginia, Kuisti
     [Excerpt from a paper by William Endat, PhD, Astrophysics and Astronomy]
     A large solar collector array has been found orbiting the star Vega. The collector is made of materials that are unknown to humanity. Analysis of the materials was not available in time for this publication. The collectors, which are currently inactive but mostly functional, are directed at a small planet-sized area within the star system. It is estimated that the power production of this array would destroy any materials that were subjected to the full beam.
     An unusual feature of this is that there are no planets orbiting Vega, and there is no evidence that there ever were any planets there. The small amount of dust and asteroids supports this.
     We are vindicated in our belief that there are other alien races in the universe, and this proves it. The solar collectors were obviously put there by some space-faring alien species, and they have been there for many hundreds of years. Aside from the materials mentioned above, we also point to the spherical orbiting pattern of the collectors, which is also not a human development.
     Perhaps this was the frontier area for some stellar empire. There are many possible speculations one could make about why they are there. Our most reasonable theory so far is that they compose some sort of refueling station for large ships. Projects for continued study of this array are being developed. When we have them, materials analysis results and other data about the array will be available to anyone who requests it. Send inquiries to Ministry of Science, Kuisti.

From Priest-King Kevin Anthrak to all peoples
     I have disturbing news to report from our survey team at Bella Noche. As we had noticed before, all of the Nochenos disappeared in some strange manner in 2651. All of the databases which we could recover in a short time all end at that time, with no explanation. All databases that we recover are available to anyone interested; please submit request to the Ministry of Information and History on Kuisti.
     However, there are no bodies, in any state of decay. Placement of articles of jewelry and clothing in seats, in vehicles, etc, indicates that the bodies of the Nochenos were evaporated out of their clothes and such right in the middle of daily activities. Once explanation for the lack of bodies could be that there exist on Bella Noche insectoid/crustacean scavengers which decompose bones and teeth by breaking down calcium. With the normal flesh-eating bacteria that exist there as well, all bodies could have been completely eradicated by this time. It was also observed that the Nochenos had no graveyards, which supports the above hypothesis.
     Whatever fate enveloped the Nochenos seems to have also enveloped their livestock and pets. We are continuing efforts on Bella Noche to find out what happened, including recovery of additional databases, examination of the remaining life forms, the terrain, and everything else we can think of.
     We do not see any reason why the quarantine we asked for in 2854 should remain, so at this time I am lifting it. Thank you for your cooperation. We will keep all nations informed of our progress in solving this mystery.

From Kevin Anthrak, Priest-King, People of the One God
     Negotiations for the League of Colonies charter are proceeding very quickly, and I am pleased that all of the colonies want to establish peaceful relations. With the start of interstellar trade within four years, our colonies will become more closely tied together, and I see this as a benefit for all peoples.
     One step toward close cultural ties is the collaboration in scientific endeavors, and this I support completely. So I would like to officially endorse the formation, within the League of Colonies, of a League Science Forum, devoted to encouraging collaborative research efforts, keeping records of all non-secret research that Forum member nations are involved in, and fostering an attitude of cooperation and scientific integrity. In addition, I would like to see the Science Forum publish international journals for the spread of research results to all peoples.
     The People of the One God remain devoted to the pursuit of truth, and the spread of knowledge to benefit all peoples.

From the Tyrell Colonial Corporate Co-Prosperity Sphere
     The TCCCP is now entertaining all offers for shipments of rare transition metals. We require 4 FtrVal per year until other sources are located. Please contact us this year, with amounts available and price. Payment will be rendered in MU, manufactured goods, and/or non-defense related computer equipment. All other payment offers will be carefully considered. The Tyrell Corporation will personally guarantee the safety of any freighters and escorts, as long as all visiting ships (type and number) are cleared in advance with a Tyrell Corporation representative. Any ships not so cleared are subject to search and seizure.

From Mars
     Mars is pleased to announce, with Lockheed, the formation of a Solar Trading Consortium to link all of our far flung planets and habitats together. More details will be disclosed as obtained.

From Suenteus Po of Aurora, Chairman of the League of Colonies Formation Conference
     Re: Proposed representation system for the League Assembly
     The following representation scheme is based on a cube-root progression by population and a square-root progression by industrial value, then normalized and averaged to get the figures shown below.
     Note that, with the exception of Sol, the administrative groupings have been made largely by system, not by individual government. The votes allocated to the governments within these groupings should be divided among them in a manner appropriate to their populations/ economies. It is a matter beyond the League to decide which elements shall get exactly which votes, especially with cases such as the anarcho-individualism of Luna or the complex nature of "citizenship" in the Auroran systems.
     In Sol, it is entirely too complex to lump all the nations into a single "system", so subsystems have been made out of each major politico-demographic grouping. Again, it is up to each entity in this group to allocate votes. By the mechanics of representation, however, this gives the Solar nations a slight edge vote-wise. The combined votes of these nations is greater than if they had been considered one group, but I feel this is justified by the fragmentary nature of political divisions within Sol and the historical and psychological importance of the system.

From the Martian Planetary Fleet, Engineering Wing
     We would like to announce the first interstellar symposium on FTL travel. A call for papers will go out through the usual scientific channels. The symposium will be held next year at the University of Mars, Olympus Mons. FTL comm links will be provided for those presenters unable to be personally present.
     The purpose of this symposium is the free exchange of ideas. Specific technologies will be discussed at the presenters' and attenders' discretion. We hope that all nations will benefit in some way from participation.

From the Auroran Civilization Network
     {Warning: Sudden exposure to Auroran culture may be simply too awesome for the uninitiated mind. Please use caution while viewing.}
     The Auroran Civilization Network has commenced broadcasting. The generation ship containing what would become the Auroran populace left Earth seven hundred years ago to the day; now the incredible legacy of centuries of intellectual and creative achievement explodes onto the interstellar scene, finally reaching all of humanity just as it was destined to do.
     Welcome to the new culture.
     Welcome to Aurora.
     Experience It.

Kuistic Ship Arrives
     The first ship from Kuisti (a frigate) arrived in Sol, carrying mostly journalists, who set up offices on Luna and Mars.

New Shipping Companies
     Athens Space Lines, a joint venture of Athens and CorpCo, began runs in Sol. No profits were made in their first year, but they appear to be gaining ground. (They have 3 FtrVal.)
     Lockheed Shipping, a subsidiary of Lockheed Corporation, was founded to handle Lockheed's growing fleet of interstellar cargo carriers. 32% of the company is owned by Martian corporations who will be responsible for pilot and escort duties (the latter provided by an agreement with the Martian government, who will be paid to provide military ships as escorts), while Lockheed is responsible for maintenance of the ships. Division of iridium costs associated with the company will be handled in a complex schedule of fueling responsibility. The ships will fly under Lockheed Corporation registry, and will be treated as Lockheed property for all purposes.

First Tyrellian Visitors Arrive in Sol
     A ship from Tyrell made a short stop in Sol on its way to Athens, making quick visits to Mars, Luna and the Jovian League. The ship carried no diplomatic personnel.

Luna Attempts Crack-down on Terran Artifacts
     The Lunar government announced a ban on the sale of Earth relics. This does little to deter the trade, however, and the government's commitment to this policy came into question when reporters noted many such relics in the offices and homes of high-ranking Lunar politicians.

Luna Enters LOC Talks
     After two years of ignoring the League of Colonies (and much behind-closed-doors debate), President Mannion began negotiations with other nations to enter Luna as a full member of the LOC.

Lunar Involvement on Earth Grows
     Luna vastly expanded its 1g training facilities, now able to process 10,000 people a year, all of whom are sent to Earth. This number should double in the next two years.
     The expanded facility and its allied corporations are known as the Earth Rejuvenation Center, and provide organization to help Cookies colonize the Earth. The system is mostly funded by the participants, who pay extravagant amounts to receive the specialized training, though they are also funded by companies who pay to have employees trained for use in Earth-side water processing and shipping plants.
     Luna also formed the Earth Research Facility, which works jointly with the Martian terraformers to help restore the Earth. Luna will contribute 10 MU a year to the project. Many Lunar scientists and universities also volunteered their assistance. Various governments and companies in the Habitats and the Jovian League are also contributing an additional 10 MU per year, all added to the 20 MU a year being spent by the Martian government.

Popular Pressure Against Kuzakland
     Intensive lobbying from Luna and the Habbers was directed at Athens to convince them to build Kuzakland near the Earth. Cheaper power costs due to proximity to the sun were noted, but most supporters admitted that their reasons are mostly sentimental: they believe that Earth should be the cultural center of the system, and thus deserves this new facility to help it out.

Large Fleet Leaves for Sol
     Six large CorpCo freighters left the Auroran systems, en route to Sol with goods for sale in order to alleviate their large debts in Sol. They carry a diplomatic mission from Imbri to Mars, including a group of terraforming specialists.

Aurora Begins Regular Interstellar Broadcasts
     Hundreds of commercial media channels throughout the Republica were opened up to ftl broadcasting. The great majority of the shows are simulcast in their original Latin, along with full audio/video-edited versions in Francey, Anglesh, and Kuistic, with either audio- or title-remixing for all other interstellar languages that translators could get their hands on.
     The "Human Reunion" theme is echoes in most of the programming, aimed specifically at the interstellar audience; others simply present a de-intensified portrait of the culture, and some purists broadcast the unadulterated product. This latter can be quite an assault on the senses for non-Aurorans, but there is already more of this kind of programming, as people get used to it, as the year progresses.

Preparations Made for Colonization of Beta Comae
     Live views of Beta Comae Berenices were broadcast over ftl channels. This is the closest and most promising colonization world found by Aurora, and enthusiasm among hundreds of millions of would-be colonists is running high. Terraforming firms are already bidding on contracts.
     For most of the year, Auroran policy-makers were still trying to figure out what to do about the native anaerobic life forms present (mostly primitive lichen and algae analogues) on the world, which would be destroyed by any attempt to terraform.
     Late in the year, Auroran investigative reporters uncovered a scandal in the Republica's exploration program. While exploring the terrestrial world around Beta Comae Berenices, two crew members traveled to the surface without first going through decontamination, releasing possibly deadly terrestrial bacteria into the fragile pre-oxygen ecosphere.
     The captain, outraged, discovered that this "oversight" was actually purposeful--the two women, fanatic pro-colonizationists, were hoping to destroy the native biosphere in order to remove any obstacles to terraforming the world. Shocked by the whole mess, the captain reported back to his superiors, who attempted to hush it up, but the story was leaked to the press by unnamed sources, and all records were later revealed to the public under court order.
     What effect the contamination will have on the native life of Beta Comae is as yet unknown, though experiments are already being conducted.

Economic Reorganization in Beta Canum
     The Auroran economy dramatically pulled out of its slump after a major power shift among the chief economic decision-making bodies in the system. After two months of marathon negotiations, the entire Auroran economy was overhauled, many agencies were disbanded, new ones were formed, financial regulatory systems rewritten from scratch, and the current dual currency system was reformulated with an experimental third system representing intellectual property (eg. copyrights, patents, artistic contributions, etc).
     Many economists blame the recent recession on the fact that it has been nearly thirty years since the last such reorganization.

Free Cithara Changes Social System
     Free Cithara switched its society to a modified syndico-democratist omnicracy, similar to the governments of Sherwood, AudiCo, and Gran Badgad, but without the pentacameral judicial/economic council so commonly associated with such a governance.

     The People of the One God founded the Institute for Genetic Studies, an extensive center devoted to genetic research with animals and plants, using the genetic database received from Aurora as the core of their projects.

     Kuisti, Lockheed, Mars, Athens, and Aurora began full-scale negotiations to open up trade relations. The Sol nations and Aurora found few difficulties and quickly established preliminary working agreements. A number of peculiarities of Kuistic regulations on ship travel and restrictions on foreign visitors and imports (medical exams and weapon checks) proved to be sticking points, but negotiators are hopeful that they will reach a compromise agreement within a year.
     Athens and most of the nations of Sol installed huge amounts of ftl-communication devices throughout their worlds, bringing them up on the growing interstellar communication system. Tyrell, Cimmer, and Kalahari continue to use their old single channel ftl communication systems.

     A series of confusing messages have arrived from Kalahari. Apparently, some sort of war is going on. By the end of the year, a group of Outlanders were in control of the ftl-communication array, claimed that the Corporation had fallen, and that the Corporation's assets were now in the hands of the Confederation of Economic Resource Places, a conglomerate of former corporate mines and farms.

     The AAZ colonists began setting up habitats in the Cimmer asteroid belt, their shipboard factories going to work to build homes and support systems for the new population which is slowing being awakened from cryogenic sleep.
     Cimmer agreed to sell food to AAZ in exchange for metals and manufactured goods. Making use of Cimmer's ftl communication array, AAZ opened preliminary negotiations with other nations, offering their services in mining, refining, and other operations in which their skills may be useful.
     Reports from Cimmer indicate that the AAZ colonists are even more dramatically altered than the Belters of Lockheed, genetically transformed to the point where even a low gravity field would kill them. In general appearance they look much like the Belters, though their skin is much lighter, almost white.

     By Investigative reporter Ross Tavolli,
     Interstellar Associated Press
     FTL technology has changed the way we all live. Goods from many worlds are even now winging their way through the space lanes. In Aurora and her surrounding colonies a yearly run has been set up by CorpCo. Even now the run is bringing these long separated colonies back together.
     The information exchange between the Human worlds has increased the rate of scientific advancement many times over. With this great advance, however, comes the threat of war. This article will attempt to inform readers as to the current state of FTL technology, including the hows and whys of new technologies in communication and sensor equipment.
     To understand the implications of these new technologies one must first understand the theories behind them. To this end I have interviewed several top researchers here at the University of Mars at Olympus Mons.
     First there is the FTL drive system process. In the FTL drive chamber of a ship, a small amount of iridium is first injected. Next, the iridium is put into an excited state by the input of energy. This is usually accomplished by power either from a fusion or antimatter reactor. Iridium has a special property that when several highly excited atoms share a close proximity, they collapse creating a small black hole. As this superdense mass deteriorates, a spatial distortion occurs. This distortion manifests as a spherical warp in the fabric of space. The sphere has quantum levels of its own; the first is a distance of 342m, the second is 684m, and the third is hypothesized to lie at 1026m. Which level is accessed depends on the efficiency of energy transfer from the source to the iridium and the amount of iridium which can be induced to simultaneously collapse. Each of these "warp shells" corresponds to an FTL speed; that is, 342m gives FTL-1, 684m gives FTL-2, and 1026m gives FTL-3.
     An important side effect of the drive is the production of high energy gamma radiation from the decaying black holes. While the drive is in operation this presents no problem as the warp shell effect actually drains the energy from the photons, so that the total effect is little more than that of a weak light bulb. However, when the drive is turned off, the final gamma rays from the last black holes escape into the iridium pile, causing a number of atomic and chemical changes which render the iridium inert to further manipulation until it has cooled down and been flushed free of impurities, a process which takes many days at a major refining facility. Current drives bypass this problem by simply replacing the pile with fresh iridium; however, this is still a one to two hour process as the initial iridium pile must be cooled before it can be safely removed. During this period the ship is unable to use its FTL drive.
     The other important advance in FTL technology is that of faster-than-light communication. The oldest devices of this kind worked by generating a carrier wave of immense energy that was able to literally rip open a conduit to another location in space through which light could pass. This is why old laser communication stations were able to receive the first FTL transmissions.
     Due to new advances in communication provided by Lockheed Corporation, these large power consuming arrays are no longer necessary. Current technology allows a communication array to generate an FTL carrier wave. The delay between transmission and reception using this method is approximately 1.35 seconds, equivalent to making a call to Luna from Earth using radio transmission. This means that essentially real-time conversation can take place between any two communication units in the human sphere of knowledge.
     FTL sensors work in much the same way as ancient sonar, and are based on the same principle as the communication units. An FTL carrier wave is generated by the sensor; this wave is reflected back when it contacts a spatial distortion, such as that caused by a ship's drive at FTL speeds. The portion of the wave that is reflected and the time that it takes to return is then processed, giving a very close estimate of the position and speed of the object. Size, however, cannot as yet be determined by these sensors as they detect only the "warp bubble" and not the object inside it. The current effective of these sensors is a sphere some three light-years in radius.
     Navigation is one of the problems currently plaguing scientists in the field of FTL studies. Ships moving faster than the speed of light have the distinct disadvantage of seeing things only after they have passed them. The only solution to this problem currently is to stop the ship's FTL travel approximately every light-year to take new bearings and scan for navigational hazards in the region.
     Another solution proposed by several scientists at the Martian Institute for Trans-Einsteinian Physics is a network of signal buoys that emit an FTL communication pulse. These could be detected by ships with either FTL communication units of their own or those equipped with Lockheed's FTL sensors. While this solution would require a large start-up cost and several ships to lay buoys, the benefits would, in the mind of this reporter, far outweigh these disadvantages. If such a system had been laid, perhaps the CorpCo tragedy of 2853 might have been avoided.
     [This reporter wishes to thank all of the agencies who have advanced this science, including the government of Kuisti, Lockheed Corporation, ITEP of Mars, the government of Aurora, and especially the researchers of Athens to whom we all owe so much.]