Rosebud

The Méiguī Mandate - “Nipping rogue AI in the bud since 2346”

Planetology
The planet of Rosebud was subject to unintended terraforming as a result of population growth and industrialization in the last 500 years. Average temperatures on the planet were once much lower, but mining accidents and factory emissions created a thick atmospheric blanket that insulated heat from the local star. Most of Rosebud's flora and fauna died off with only a handful of hardy fungi and mosses serving as reminders of what was lost.

Extinct species are kept in zoos and enclosed nature parks. Genomic sequencing may provide means to reintroduce the lost plants and creatures if locals can wrangle the atmosphere back to its former state.

The Méiguī Mandate
Kuafu system colonists founded the Méiguī Mandate 625 years ago as a response to advancements in the field of artificial intelligence. A mirror of an ancient pre-beacon institution, the mandate espoused a doctrine of strict regulation and control of automation and machine learning. To these researchers and philosophers, the first True AI created by humans 623 years ago posed an imminent threat to sovereignty to humanity and all sapient creatures.

A near religious fervor surrounded the Mandate as it spread its influence across the sector. In time, it developed into a significant power as it brokered alliances and confederations with similar endeavors. Various governments and institutions in Beacon Space adopted the regulatory protocols and hard-blocks to limit the growth and power of artificial intelligences based on Mandate advocacy.

The Mandate was also a cultural hegemon. Through the Mandate, Rosebud was made famous sector-wide for its elaborate plays, prolific movie industry, and leagues of tastemakers. Often the speed of fashion and customs surpassed the ability for it to spread; by the time one picked up the newest trends in the sector core it was already passé back in Rosebud. Part of the Mandate’s mission was incorporated into the media that the planet exported. Stories about the dangers of AI and the tenants of the Mandate were fully immersed and interwoven into the messaging.

Critics of the Meigui Mandate often cited the institutional humanocentrism of the mandate’s advocacy. Even if the mandate was nominally incluse, the needs and perspectives of other sapients tended to be an afterthought. Both in the physical infrastructure in Mandate space and the types of stories in Rosebud’s media, a bias towards humans persisted.

Glitch
The devastation of interstellar travel during the Glitch was felt especially harshly on the Kuafu system. Rosebud relied significantly on open trade policies and the industrial capacity of other worlds. Local demand drove investments and infrastructure expanded rapidly to support the population. In a few decades, the industrial capacity of the world finally met the demand of the populous world but secondary effects would spell doom. Unchecked resource extraction and industrial emissions affected the local environment. Atmospheric degradation and planetary warming eliminated much of the zoological diversity and plunged the world into a dark age.

Economic and social recovery over the ensuing centuries was slow but steady. Having learned from their mistakes, Mandate officials regulated the industrial pollution and controlled the recovery efforts to rebuild into a resilient powerhouse.

Whai Presence
TBD

Polyantha
A pale rocky moon with a permanent station. It is often used as a tourist destination for locals that are able to escape the surface. Large recreation centers, shopping malls, and sports complexes dedicated to low-gravity games are commonplace.

Sung House
Sung House is a labyrinthine moon mansion built by Wen Sung, an eccentric and wealthy producer from Rosebud. The construction of the estate took on many stages, each building upon the last to create a complex web of rooms, hallways, and secret passageways. In their later years, Wen Sung grew more and more unstable until former friends and outside investors took the reins of the project. The Sung House has been refitted to serve as a unique all-inclusive resort destination. Spas, racket courts, a five-star restaurant, topiary garden, private shuttle services, and a museum of holo-vid memorabilia, the house has something for everyone to enjoy. Sung still lives in the house and can sometimes be seen shuffling from room to room regaling guests about celebrity anecdotes, insights into the entertainment business, and odd murmurings about demonic entities.

Floribunda
The large icy moon. While orbiting higher than Polyantha, Floribunda appears roughly similar in size to its sister moon on the planet’s surface. A limited mining venture was established on Floribunda, but the mission was plagued by setbacks and disasters. Local idioms often evoke this moon when describing doomed projects or fool’s errands.

Noisette
A sandy-brown rock that resembles a raw hazelnut. It orbits at the outer limits of the planet’s gravitational pull.

Mandate Base
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