Governor/Governor Lore

This lore was posted on the official TerraGenesis instagram account.

The character shown at the front of each picture is the representative of each faction, also shown when you create a new world and choose your faction. The characters behind the main faction representatives are each faction's governors.

A number of governors also have individual lore. This can be found on their individual governor pages.

## Daughters of Gaia

The successful terraforming of Mars drastically changed humankind's role in the known universe, and no other group has embraced this transformation with such passion and ambition as the Daughters of Gaia. Once a small, tight-knit religious community, the Gaians quickly opened their doors to all those who share their core values of nature worship and spreading life throughout the cosmos, with a particular eye for great talents of evolutionary science.

⁣While all those who join the Daughters rise to prominence based on their merit, the organization's unquestioned authority remains in the hands of one powerful family. Traditional worshippers hang on every word spoken by the Rose Queen Rebecca Freyja O’Rourke, whose clerical lineage spans centuries. Her husband, Imperial War Minister Zhou Xi Wang-mu Lee, lays the groundwork to enact her interstellar vision. But while Rebecca and Zhou typically remain to oversee recently hominized worlds, they send their daughter, Vicereine Alana Freyja Lee, to lay claim to new worlds and lead the terraforming process from scratch. Groomed for leadership from birth, and perhaps a more fervent disciple of Gaian theology than even her own mother, Alana has overseen the evolution of many a world from barren, inhospitable rubble to verdant paradise.

Not merely followers or fundamentalists, Gaian governors count among their ranks talented explorers, as well as experts in genetics, biochemistry, and organic architecture. Many never would have predicted they'd fall in with a religious crowd, but were ultimately drawn in by the leaders' commitment to shaping the cosmos to fit the needs of an expanding human dominion. The Rose Queen urges serenity in the face of those who would deny progress through violent means, for the world will soon see her truth: a planet is not a rock to keep hidden behind glass, but a seed just waiting to blossom.

## Sons of Hephaestus

When the suffocating clouds that had defined Venus for eons first began to drain from its surface, it was as if a cry went out across the solar system. On Earth , in response to the boom of the terraforming industry and the Gaian religious fervor surrounding it, a counter-movement began to form. Soon after, encrypted broadcasts began emanating from mining colonies across the system, calling to all spacefaring patriots whose way of life was being threatened by the irresponsible transformation of worlds they'd begun to call home.
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⁣This anti-terraforming crusade was founded by Te Hau Arataki , a seasoned explorer and philosopher whose writings argued that each planet and moon had a unique character that was inalienable and precious, and that humanity had no right to transform a world to suit their own needs. But what Te Hau viewed as a moral framework, her followers have taken as a call to arms. As thousands of homesteaders and workers coalesced into a ragtag alliance, the Planetary Purity movement moved from debate into action. If Te Hau was the mind and heart, Rex Jansson has become the clenched fist of their movement, leading attacks on terraforming facilities (and Gaian settlements) throughout the solar system. While Rex's daughter Pim battles alongside her father, his son Neil seeks a subtler path to victory, one that might avoid plunging the entire solar system into war.
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⁣The news eventually dubbed this movement the Sons of Hephaestus, in mocking opposition to their main rivals, and as a pejorative reference to their macho, working class reputation. At first shunning the labels of others, the Hephaestians have begun to embrace the moniker, as a testament to the "brotherhood" of survivalists, craftsmen, warriors and philosophers their movement has brought together. While they remain divided on the use of extreme measures, all members view themselves as crusaders in an underdog struggle, and know that they must act quickly. For to concede ground to the terraformers would be to see that ground tarnished, transformed, and ultimately destroyed. As guardians of the stars, the Sons of Hephaestus vow to preserve every planet's independence, no matter the cost.

## UNSA

Having overcome tremendous ecological crises on Earth through unprecedented international cooperation after the Sundering, the UNSA has consolidated its political power and cemented itself as the organization most firmly devoted not just to humankind's survival, but also to its prosperity and peace of mind. As a result, representatives from communities and across the world have flocked to the political body, bringing with them deep knowledge of the needs of those seeking a new life outside of Earth's orbit.

While Secretary-General David Munoz represents the friendly face of the organization, and General Buzz Sullivan its strong military arm, those who've had a peek behind the curtain know that it is Layla al-Battani, the UNSA's long-serving Deputy Chief of Staff, who has laid the groundwork and pulled the strings to make their vision a reality. Quietly lauded by political experts for her work enforcing economic and environmental justice across nations, al-Battani is also responsible for the recent rapid growth of the UNSA's governor program, bringing many like-minded public figures into her inner circle.

Whether community organizers, traditional military paragons, or experts in the medical sciences, the governors of the newly interstellar UNSA coalition seek to build up and populate massive settlements on new worlds, with equality and continued scientific advancement as their foundation. While many less scrupulous experts are drawn to the fast-paced culture of private industry, Layla and her staff know the corrosive impact of greed, and refuse to repeat the mistakes which once put their home planet on the edge of ruin! For the UNSA doesn't simply seek to conquer a new world... they hope to build a better one, for all.

## Horizon Corporation

The rapid increase of The Horizon Corporation's extrasolar holdings has necessitated an equally rapid workforce expansion, leading founder and CEO Appolo Matiba to seek out exceptional talent that understands how to turn a new paradise into profit. From corporate bigwigs, to new media experts, to young business savants, the governors hired to oversee Horizon's assets all understand one thing: the unstoppable power of credits.

While many academics feel strongly that the work of planetary development should be designed to favor those poorer inhabitants seeking refuge from Earth's excesses, Matiba contends that his company's fast and well-funded approach is the only realistic terraforming solution, and he has taken steps to keep these decisions out of the hands of government bureaucrats for future generations, with the help of his eccentric daughter Vivica and brilliant granddaughter-turned-protege Nubia.

Such is Horizon's power in terraforming circles: while many continue to question the corporation's self-serving outlook, all must admit that they get the job done.

## Far-Future Institute

In the early decades of space exploration, the most powerful spacefaring factions all vied to secure the expertise of humanity's best and brightest. While many notable geniuses chose their allegiance based on personal ideologies, some of Earth's most unique minds refused to be tied down, working as contractors on a limited basis only. These independent thinkers viewed the goals of profiteering, preservation, population spread and sheer transformation as ideological impediments to true scientific discovery, however noble they might be. One way or another, most of these mavericks have ended up as members of the Far-Future Institute.

Founded by a group of scientists, futurists, inventors, and philanthropists at the darkest moment of the Sundering, the FFI is an international society dedicated to reshaping humanity's future through the pursuit and application of bleeding-edge science, and securing humanity's destiny against any future extinction-level events. Very few Nobel laureates or MacArthur Fellows in the last 150 years have been unconnected to the FFI, and almost all of the greatest scientific and engineering achievements in that time have been spearheaded by FFI members.

While there exist no direct rivals to the FFI's cause, the growth of this forward-thinking faction has ruffled the feathers of the leaders who were once privileged to call upon its members' unique wisdom. But after a century of breakthrough discoveries, world-changing inventions, and colossal construction projects, the FFI is no longer satisfied to simply advise the splintered factions of humanity as they bicker amongst themselves. The Far-Future Institute envisions a world beyond petty corporations, religions, and governments, a world where policy is guided by science, where reason is king, and where even the sky isn't the limit for long. And under their ambitious new director, Keahi Malae, the FFI stands poised to take the reigns of humanity's future once and for all.

## Neutral

Since update 5.9, the governors in the neutral faction are now all part of the Far-Future Institute. This is what the description of the neutral governors used to be.

While the notable factions of the terraforming race and their attendant governors aggressively vie to achieve independence before their rivals, there are those with a skill and passion for the planetary sciences who have no such ambitions. Many seek to terraform simply due to pride in their work, and often the most eccentric intellectuals are the ones least willing to conform to the whims of any organization.

⁣Initially the Daughters, Sons, Horizon and UNSA all shunned those who would not in some way pledge their continued loyalty to their cause. However, as planetary expansion efforts took these factions beyond our solar system into TRAPPIST-1, and their leadership sought to engage in more advanced historical terraforming simulations, they all realized the need to engage with those who might not share their values, but would be willing to contract with their group if the work appealed to them. Thus terraforming opportunities have never been in short supply, and highly regarded experts have begun to emerge in their respective fields while maintaining a high degree of independence.

⁣These celebrated virtuosos span many generations, and include maverick scientists, philosopher businessmen, and mathematics and engineering prodigies. While their self-determination streak frustrates fellow governors who wish they'd simply pick a side, their unmatched talent is indispensable in the terraforming game, and shall ensure their continued autonomy. After all, scientific progress is not always meant to manifest itself as a contest of ideas. Rather, progress for the sake of progress is often enough to drive the most talented among us, and society itself, towards an exciting future.