First Echo

[echo_of_a_jedi]

[Video]

[A serene-looking woman sits before the camera, cross-legged on one of the tiny couch-futon-hybrids they put in these apartments. Some people might recognize her from the other night, though she's currently not wearing the big hooded brown robe, but instead a cassock-like tan garment.]

I've met some of you other "Extraterritorial Guests" already, but for those I haven't, my name is Meetra Surik. I'm a traveler here, like we all seem to be, and I seem to have gotten even more lost than I thought I was - and I was heading somewhere with no real maps in the first place.

So, my request to the network is...tell me about Earth. We seem to be on Earth, and most of the people here seem to be from different "Earths"...which I guess could mean a kind of planet, but from context, it sounds more like multiversal theory turning out to be true. At any rate, I'm new to this planet, so please, tell me all about it. In return, I'll share what I can say about the Galactic Republic, where I'm from. Deal?

Comments

[greyerrant]

That doesn't sound nearly as sensible as a galactic empire.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Someone I respected a very great deal had the same thought once. Three years and a few billion casualties later it didn't seem like that clever of a plan.

[greyerrant]

I saw that many casualties in a day on Istvaan III, where men decided that freedom and the worship of false gods was more important than Order, duty, honor and truth.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I caused that many casualties in one order on Malachor V, where men decided that the glory of battle was more important than the continuation of life.

[And thank you very much for bringing up planetcide.]

That doesn't mean galactic societies should make a habit of it, the way the would-be Emperors that emerged from that fight did.

[greyerrant]

If it can be avoided, no, but there has only ever been one Emperor, and I've seen him. It is hard to explain, I suppose. Imagine a figure that is to me as I am to you in terms of size, and then... make him a radiant being of light.

It would be a poor start, but that is all I can make for it.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

We're all luminous beings, last time I checked...but I've never heard of this Emperor. I wonder where you're from...

[maxwells_silver_scythe]

Mind if I go first? As I understood physics, there's no way around the light speed barrier. But you must have figured out a way, or there's no way you could hold any kind of galactic government together.

So how'd you do it?

[greyerrant]

Chtonia, but like all humans, I'm from earth's stock, genetically.

[ Though he's a little big to be a human by her standards. ]

[echo_of_a_jedi]

The basic theory is you use a lot of energy to flip your starship into an alternate dimension where the speed of light is much faster. There's a lot more involved to keep physics from killing you while you do that, but I'm not exactly an expert.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

The leading theory on human origin where I'm from says we originated on Coruscant. How far back does your history go?

[greyerrant]

Over 30,000 years.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Well that's the Republic beat by around ten millennia, unless we're counting years differently. Tell me about your people.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

Uh... it's big, and round, and it's got a lotta oceans, and... darn it, I knew I should've studied harder in geography.

[greyerrant]

What's there to tell? They have all the virtues and folly of humanity.

[epicbraille]

There's a lot to be said for Earth, you know. It's a big place with a lot of history. Perhaps it would be easier if you focused on one or two things at a time in order to build up the big picture.

I'm from the 21st Century, for what it's worth.

[autofocus]

Regular school life.

[His life is pretty normal. Oh wait, he forgot that his school has some weird system.]

... And ESB system.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

What about your history? You're from an interstellar Empire, right? How did it come to be?

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Yeah, I think I read a public article here that said the surface is around 70% water. Pretty wet, but it explains the big, individual cities like this one if you don't have any interstellar trade.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

Alright. Tell me about the 21st Century. What do you number that from, and what was happening then? Or is happening then. Either time or calendars to be a little inconsistent here, too.

[echo_of_a_jedi]

ESB system?

[maxwells_silver_scythe]

Great. Now I just need enough understanding of theoretical physics to be able to actually do something with that.

Are there aliens?

[greyerrant]

It was forged in war, built from the ruins of the old Dark Age of technology. Several thousand years ago, mankind was cut off from everyone by storms in the warp, which made interstellar travel impossible. Mankind grew insular, was plagued by xenos and... internal rot, and devolved to barbarism. During this time, our homeworld, Terra, was continually wracked by wars. Eventually, one man, the Emperor, stood forth, and brought peace with his genehanced warriors, first the Thunder Warriors, then men like me, the Legiones Astartes, and his 20 sons, the Primarchs, fathers to the Legions. The warp storms calmed, and we spread out from Terra, bringing light back to the places that had been surrounded in darkness by Old Night.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

To be fair, 17th Century transporation was like riding a bunch of snails compared to the crazy stuff I see around here.

Interstellar's like... like going into the stars, and getting cheese from the moon and stuff like that, right?

[epicbraille]

[ That sure is one way to narrow down a topic. Too bad it's still a pretty large topic and Snake is a pretty smart guy with something to say about near enough everything. He doesn't quite know where to start with this. A lot was happening back in the 21st century, even more so when you're from 2027 and not 2012. That's 15 whole blank years to fill in.

In situations like this it's always best to start with the foundations and work your way up. Although that's pretty difficult when you're dealing with abstract concepts like time. ]

The first thing you should know is that even though we call it the 21st Century, the Earth is around 4.54 billion years old. I could go into the reasons behind this discrepancy but it would prove rather tedious, so I'll skip straight to your next question. If you can't contain your curiosity then I can explain it at a later date.

[ With that subtle pun under his belt, he gives a thoughtful sigh. ]

Rather, I would go onto an explanation of the 21st Century but we're still dealing with a wide topic. If you could narrow it down to a specific subject such as technology, art or politics, then I would have a better idea of where to begin.

[autofocus]

Exam Summoning Battle. Summon weird avatars and stuff.

[Would probably go over the details, but he's lazy.]