Precursor Civilization

Humanity had stagnated. Having conquered the stars, they found them mostly empty. Having conquered biology, they had created various sub-races and cowed death. There was almost nothing left to strive for. Humanity asked a most depressing question:  “Is this all there is?”

By this point, humanity had organized into a number of social classes. At the bottom were the Workers, the poor souls whose only possible careers consisted of the manual labor that kept everything above them running smoothly. Just above the Workers were the Mechanics, still forced into labor jobs but requiring a certain level of problem solving and technological know-how. A number of classes shared what might be considered “middle” status: The Artists (performers, authors, and musicians), the Merchants (the businessmen of society), and the Civilians (those whose worked menial but not necessarily labor intensive jobs).  Slightly above these were the Academics, the citizens whose jobs required advanced education (doctors, lawyers, educators, etc). Finally, at the top of the socio-economic ladder where the Bureaucrats, the politicians who kept everything running (usually with much benefit to themselves).

Biotechnology had progressed to the point where genetic engineering had become commonplace. Certain modifications had become so common for certain classes and careers, and had been in use for so long, that a number of distinct sub-races of humanity had come into existence. One look at a citizen could tell your their likely job and class. Eventually, the two became almost inextricably linked. A child born of two Tinker-modded humans would have the Tinker genes as well and would be all but forced into the life of a Mechanic. This helped solidify a lack of mobility between the classes.

Things changed thanks to a chance discovery:  Parallel Worlds did exist and they could be reached. This sparked a civilization wide effort to colonize and study these alternate Earths. Some were already inhabited and were enveloped (either through diplomacy or conquest) into the home dimension (named Prime). Others were empty and open to colonization. Many more were inhospitable, following physical laws that didn’t allow for human life to survive. Thanks to the allure and increased wealth these new worlds  brought to Prime, the Academic class saw a massive growth in their socio-economic power (especially among scientists working off-world).

One of the early discoveries of these trans-dimensional scientists was that on some worlds  (almost all in fact) “Magic” was a force that existed. While the exact laws that governed how this magic worked differed from world to world, the basic concept of an energy that bowed to conscious will seemed almost universal. The field of Thaumaturgy joined the Academic ranks alongside anthropology and geology. As more and more worlds were found to possess magic, thaumaturges began to look back to Prime and ask if magic existed in some form there as well.

Indeed, magic did exist of Prime. It was there all the time. From reports of hauntings to strange psychic phenomenon, magic had always been there and just… ignored. With this newfound knowledge, Prime began a furious study of magic. Advances in magical knowledge, fueled by a complete understanding of science, came to Prime at a manic pace. It seemed as if some new “Law of Magic” was discovered each year. It wasn’t until Prime thaumaturges codified their “Law of Multi-dimension Magic” that magical research appeared to slow down. This law spelled out the common aspects of magic across all dimensions. The major take-aways from this law was:

1. The soul does exist and persists after death.
2. The soul is the focal point for the will.
3. The will can bend the reality around it.

Once these basic tenets were uncovered, the Bureaucracy enacted the Ascension Project. The entire human Senate shed their physical forms and became pure spiritual beings. Free from their petty needs, the Senate was able to enact policy decisions in a purely objective manner.

With the generalized laws of magic codified, human society faced a number of sudden shifts and upheavals. The pattern of life that had been the norm for thousands of years seemingly changed overnight. Factionalism began to run rampant within the halls of power and soon filtered down to the masses. This in-fighting eventually erupted into full blown revolt and war. Cults of personality began to appear centered around the ascended Senators. There were persistent rumors that some colonies had begun to worship their Senators like gods. Soon, human colonies fell into full revolt and society was in the midst of full scale civil war across the multiverse.

**TODAY:**

Prime’s United Human Alliance is still the defacto government, led by the god-like Senate, but numerous revolts on various planets and alternate dimensions has caused a state of unending war for the past 700 years. Your faction makes up a part of the colonization force that has “recently” inhabited PA-517. Your official goal is to prepare this alternate Earth for large scale habitation. The UHA hopes to out-colonize the various rebel factions across the multiverse. Your colonial faction may have their own goals.