JUMP TO... TORT-15s | TCHOTCHKES | FOUNDER TECH | BIOPLASTICS | REGENESIS | AETHERUS | MODERN TECH
TORT-15 TERRAFORMING PLATFORMS
These massive platforms, standing over 1.5km in height, are scaled-up versions of the modest TORT-01 series environmental recovery bots deployed into dead zones on Earth. TORT-15 units made good on the promises of several nations to repurpose ambulatory weapons platforms for civilian use, but due to their frequent maintenance needs on many colonies, and their unusual failures on Nirvana, TORT-15s fell out of favor for colonial terraforming.
The primary failure points for TORT-15s on other colonies were their limbs, which, while dextrous, had difficulty reconciling rugged terrain with variable gravity. On Nirvana their malfunctions were more difficult to diagnose. Navigation systems frequently failed, leading TORT-15s to take meandering paths across the moon’s surface, doubling and even tripling back over previously covered ground. They handled terrain better than their counterparts on other colony projects, but developed what technicians dubbed “fascinations,” deviating from their programs for the creation of Earth-like biomes in specified areas to create “hyperbiomes” of bizarre species density, species variety, or aberrant general structure.
While the original intention was to retire and recover the components of the TORT-15 units on Nirvana after terraforming was complete, the strange environmental situation on the moon is speculated to be sustained in some kind of equilibrium by their continued activity. All units initially deployed to the colony are still present and mobile with the exception of three which sustained damage beyond tolerances and have been left where they fell.
FRĂśHJAHR RELICS, AKA TCHOTCHKES
Frühjahr relics are relatively rare in human space, usually obtainable only through minimally invasive explorations of protected worlds or in pieces after heavy combat. Nirvana is unusually dense with them, to the point that one of the most popular pastimes at bars is speculating about useless Frühjahr “tchotchkes,” as the locals call them. The general order of things is that someone gets drunk, picks up a tchotchke, and begins lying outrageously about its origin and what it can do. This goes on as long as listeners allow before another person grabs it from them and starts insisting they know what it actually is, prompting another round of tall tales. Sometimes the Observer eats the tchotchke out of a person’s hand– if this happens to you, you get a free drink. Lying to tourists about tchotchkes is a tolerated bit of hazing.
It is theorized by some technicians and FrĂĽhjahr-touched people that it is the density of FrĂĽhjahr technology on Nirvana that caused its TORT-15 terraforming units to exhibit the malfunctions they have. A more troubling question is why these technologies would just have anomalous interactions, as opposed to the intensive resurfacing of the moon activating lethal FrĂĽhjahr defenses as large-scale technological incursions have in other human endeavors. Some speculate that the systems have reached a sort of symbiosis that it would be unwise to disrupt.
One notable type of tchotchke is the Garvock Circle. It appears to be a perfect Euclidean circle, and has turned up both as handheld relics, apparent actual knick-knacks, and artistic motifs. The most notable example was once perched as an ornament atop the Ruinroad Tower, but was pushed off to shatter by an Aetherus construction robot, which before it was destroyed could sometimes be found just staring up at it.
EARLY COLONY TECHNOLOGY, AKA “FOUNDER TECH”
The technology first used to settle Nirvana was very advanced for its time, but erred on the side of caution when it came to bulk insulating sensitive equipment from bumps, rugged materials, and multiple redundant functions in a way technology acquired after those difficult early days does not. Most lights were chemical, relying on reactions to cast eerie blue and green glows. Handhelds were made with drops or unpredictable gravity in mind. Inputs for devices added clunky analog input keys and switches on top of holo interfaces. Sometimes even these tough designs were pushed past their limits, though, and many pieces of technology from that time have improvised repairs or exposed components.
BIOPLASTICS
The primary building material on Nirvana is bioplastic created from rendered organic matter, which is used to create modular building pieces or repair parts using injection molding and 3D printing. Because the perpetually overgrowing jungle constantly has to be cut back, organic matter is in no short supply, which means a lot of building can happen as long as people are around for assembly. Weavers, painters, carvers, and other artisans help make these generic pieces personal and aesthetically pleasing.
Due to the annoyance caused by the previously constant noise of the bioplastics printers running, printing is restricted to specific periods where a large queue of prints is run and the community comes together to manage the output. This creates a mundane holiday with the energy of a three-day weekend where the machines run, people bring food and watch each others’ kids, music is played to drown out the machines, neighbors help each other stack printed panels and pop parts out of molds, and children write in still-malleable bioplastic where elders don’t see. Sometimes things show up in the catalogue of options for printing that weren’t previously there or recently imported, and they print with the rest of the queue. Because resources aren’t finite, no one is too fussed about this; it’s treated as an “angel’s share” of sorts, and set aside in an area to be claimed by the embarrassed, forgetful, or even the Observer, who usually doesn’t claim prints day-of.
REGENESIS ASSETS
Regenesis is a biotechnology company, and their technology reflects that. Their devices tend to be utilitarian, neutral-colored besides specific color-coding, and even their spaces give off a “sterile” feeling. The company uniforms largely consist of neutral, interchangeable pieces with colored accents to indicate job category and rank. After the rebranding and specific work done to project a helpful image, the sterile feeling has been emphasized, with more and more use of glass to display the many surfaces they’ve repelled Moce from.
AETHERUS ASSETS
Not much is known right now about the next would-be corporate enclave sited on Nirvana except what can be gleaned from their colony spike and the structures their beleaguered construction robots are putting together. As a pharmaceutical company less invested in biotechnology than Regenesis, it seems their aesthetics focus on luxury and wealth. The plans available to construction site visitors suggest open, warm, minimalist spaces with brass accents to evoke gold. Their construction robots are more utilitarian, so it seems unlikely the company plans to convert them to regular service robots once the human population arrives.
These robots are worth remarking on. While apparently intended for basic tasks, they’re very advanced compared to the robots currently on Nirvana. They seem to have advanced further due to exposure to a specific Frühjahr relic, a perfect Euclidean circle which once sat atop the Ruinroad Tower. Units which observed it have been noted behaving aberrantly: halting in construction tasks to trace complex designs in dirt, laying out paving stones and raking gravel in patterns, and closely observing Nirvana wildlife.
MODERN TECHNOLOGY OF NIRVANA
The settlers of Nirvana have benefited from every other type of technology brought to the colony, whether it was paid for, bartered for, found, or stolen. Founder technology is rarely still in use, but brought out and celebrated on Founder’s Day. The repeated attempts by Regenesis to maintain a presence on Nirvana, and population assimilation after the Second Regenesis Incident, mean that a ton of otherwise sterile corporate technology has been customized and repurposed by settlers. Frühjahr tchotchkes abound, and are used both practically and as decoration, depending on the owner’s affinity for the tech.
The colony’s strong cultural emphasis on self-reliance also means there is a lot of locally-made handicraft and simple technology. Nirvana has a minimal manufacturing base but abundant materials and modern tools, so there’s been a boom in loomed fabrics, woven baskets, jewelry-making, and other artisan items bartered to visitors or among neighbors for everyday use.
Arguably the most refined technology development on Nirvana is done to supply delvers headed into the jungle or to Jahti. Foundertech serves as a guide for creating gear for unknown but inhospitable conditions, refined by the blend of other technologies the settlement has assimilated, guided vaguely by Harbingers to imbue arcane properties, or just for luck. Most personal transports in Garvock-2 were designed for Jahti, whether or not they made it there and back, and are repurposed for a more sedate life.