Synedra

Synedra is a cluster in New Aeon that was once part of Everdawn but is now its own cluster. It is populated primarily by a people called Bone Ringers, or Synvel. Their culture is distinct because of a group of immortals called The Enduring, their fascination with death, and their fixation with living technology called “murvivant”

## History

### 500 NA - Formation

Around 500 NA there was a new wave of immigration from Earth to New Aeon because of a collapse in Earth government. A large percentage created a small cluster near Everdawn. They created a special alliance with Everdawn so Synedra was considered a unincorporated territory of Everdawn, maintaining some independence but benefiting from their economy and military.

### 700 NA - Dissolution

Around 700 Everdawn decided this situation was not acceptable and the Synedran government submitted to being incorporated into Everdawn. This was controversial for both Everdawn citizens and Synedrans. While Synedran culture mixed with Everdawn The Synedra region remained somewhat culturally distinct.

### 900 NA - Murvivant created

The fascination with murvivant further diverged Synedran culture from the rest of Everdawn. As did the increasing popularity of the immortals within this region.

### 1300 NA - Reconstruction

After the fall of the Omniscials, Synedran decided to recreate their own cluster independent of Everdawn. Since Everdawn was scrambling to reconstruct their government and reorganize their cluster, they were weak enough to allow this to happen. Though they assumed they would be able to renegotiate with Synedra eventually but this never succeeded.

### 1661 NA - Death of Sondul

Influential member of the Immortals dies in a thrill seeking accident.

## Culture

### Murvivant

Around 900 NA, in what would come to be called the Synedra cloud, scientists created a new synthetic ivory material which they sold as a revolutionary construction material they called “murivivant”, or the "living walls". It was a white ivory-like material but could be grown on location in flat or organic shapes and used for roads or architecture and required less maintenance because it could self heal when damaged. They eventually were able to design the “DNA” to grow into complex and precise layout specifications and grow entire buildings.  Soon these beautiful white buildings with elegant organic curves became popular among the wealthy (or high ranking citizens?) and became a status symbol. Eventually it became accessible to more people and it spread throughout the cluster. Many buildings and roads in Everdawn buildings are made of the murivivant. But for Synedra it became a point of regional pride and cultural identity. While it was used throughout Everdawn, in Synedra people continued to experiment with the tech and explore a wide variety of odd, less practical, applications of the murivivant. Habitats of that era were filled with bone towers and fields of biomat experimentation that came to be called the bone forests. This is what lead to the name Bone ringers / Bone Vel. Bone dwellers.

Over time the murvivant technology became more advanced. Not only could it be grown in any color desired but multiple physical properties and applications. They created a softer tissue version of the murvivant, called “tunica”, and muscles that can perform certain functions. They starting implementing tunica plumbing made of vein-like tissue. They then went further and designed a sewage system which was essentially one complex organism that feeds off of the human waste to keep the rest of the structures alive. A conductive organic nerve-like cable, called axon, was developed so even the electrical wiring can be grown inside the living walls however needed.

By 1400, the murvivant could reconfigurable. Multiple building layouts could be programmed into the architecture allowing it to morph from one layout to another when needed. A work area could grow from one layout to another in an hour, or the whole building could transform in a matter of days. The plumbing, electrical, and ventilation are all organic as well so everything can adapt to large or incidental changes.

The hard murvivant is used throughout the aggregate, and manufacturing and exporting it remains an important part of the Synedra economy. There is little demand for the more life-like tunica and its applications outside of Synedra where it remains relatively popular and, for some, an important part of Synedra tradition.

### The Host

For some subcultures within Synedra the murvivant not only an important part of Synedran identity but has taken on an almost religious significance. Many are passionate about the living architecture as superior to alternatives, both pragmatically and ideologically. The Commensalists are a group that aim to create a transcendent organism they call “the Host”.

The Host is the theoretical space habitat where almost everything but the hull is living tissue, living in a symbiotic state with the residents. All of the infrastructure is taken care of by the Host. The oxygen level, the humidity and temperature control, the waste recycling, the water recycling, food production, etc are all taken care of biologically by the single organism with no maintenance required. They believe that creating these living space stations are the most ideal next step in space based evolution. In conjunction, they aim to genetically engineer the Bone Ringers to become optimally symbiotic with the Host, much like gut bacteria in the digestive system of an animal, getting a free ride and self maintaining ecosystem.

They feel that this is the next step in evolution and a more “pure” way of living. And since, the murvivant is biologically immortal, it requires no maintenance or repairs or it doesn’t degrade or break down like other electronics. But more than that, they feel that it is a transcendent mission to create this massive, space-dwelling, almost god-like entity that takes care of the tiny resident’s needs and they see a future where all of Synedrans live in Hosts.

Some hope that the entire habitat could be murvivant but currently that’s not possible, the computer systems can only be be done with traditional electronics, and the bonewood is not strong enough to use as the hull. But some look forward to the time when this is possible and they can make the first true space lifeform that can live and propel itself through the vacuum of space biologically.

There is only one Host habitat in the aggregate so far, adafsdfadfa. Many of the Commensalists live in this city. Some outsiders see the Commensalists as extremists and are afraid of how passionately they want to transform the other major habitats into hosts.

### Death

Synedra is somewhat unique to the aggregate culture because of their view on death. Most of the cultures in the aggregate were founded with dreams of transcending the limits of humanity and one main such limitation is mortality. The Shtal hope to achieve immortality by replacing their organic bodies with steel hardware. The Nocturnals hope to find the solution to prevent all illness and aging. And the Luminists belive they can follow the example of the Luminaries and find a way to become multi-dimensional beings which can exist in a different state of matter. But the Synedrans have lived among immortals for a millenia. At first, there was excitement and great anticipation as scientists tried to reverse engineer the solution to their immortality. But after hundreds of years most accepted the fact that it was not meant to be.

In addition, the words of Sondul, one of the immortals, has greatly impacted the culture. Sondul was a prolific writer. For hundreds of years he wrote all sorts of works. inspiring poetry, explorations of moral philosophy, comedic plays, and allegorical novels.  But eventually he wrote more and more about the downsides of immortality. The boredom, the fact that death gives life meaning, makes life more precious and decisions more important. He wrote about getting numb to the repeated experience of watching loved ones age and die. He wrote about the boredum. That after several lifetimes of study and exploration and experiencing all that life has to offer, everything became less and less impactful and more and more meaningless.

He continued to chase riskier challenges and death defying thrill seeking until one of these daredevil ventures ended in a terrible accident that resulted in his death at 1041 years old. His fans/followers were confident that this was for the best. His funeral was a massive ordeal, (since at this point not only was he a legend to everyone but also thought of as a god by some people) and one of his poems was read which described death in beautiful peaceful terms. This event solidified the idea in the culture that death is a tragic but important and even beautiful part of life and immortality should not be sought after.

### Traditions

They display their dead in the digestive uses of the base of their homes. The flesh dissolves overnight but the skeleton remains for a couple weeks.

Day of the dead type celebration.  On the death date of Sondul.

### Religion

The largest relgion in Synedra would be to The Enduring. The Enduring are a group of immortals who have lived in Synedra for over a millenia. They have been influential in politics, sciences, arts, and entertainment and their longevity has taken them from celebrities to legends and, for some, demigods. They are an important part of Synedran culture and history.

A small percentage of Synedrans are still Luminists.

### Subcultures

Default culture

People who want to be part of Everdawn again since they’re doing so well now.

Commensalists.  People obsessed with the murvivant and the Host.

The Enduring. People who worship the immortals

Cult of Pierjul (reclusive Enduring extremists) RE8 town

Anti-immortals who think they're an abomination by the Omniscials

## Gov

### Government - The Veiled

After the fall of the Omniscials, Synedra established the Tabula Raza system of governance.

The government of Synedra is a Lottocracy, meaning that the regional and highest levels of leadership (called “Tabulas” and the “Prime Tabula”, or maybe the “Veiled” and “Veiled King” ) are chosen by lottery. Anyone in the cluster is eligible. But when a person is selected to be a Veiled/Tabula, they are given a brain implant (partially made possible due to the gov mandated genetic engineering) which blocks all personal memories. They retain any academic knowledge but they forget who they are, where they come from, their family, and any other attachments or experiences.

This Tabula Raza system was inspired by taking the philosopher John Rawl’s “veil of ignorance” literally. The Tabulas are removed from any bias and even if they are selfishly motivated they can only hope to help themselves by making decisions that would benefit as many people as possible.

During their 5 yr terms, the Tabula are prevented from meeting with people one on one, since friends or family could try to tell them who they are, and even their own appearance is altered to hide any possible clues. And when their 5 yr term is over their previous memories are unblocked but the memories of their time in office are erased. This is so they can’t abuse any classified info but also so while in office they are unable to set up any benefits for themselves to access once they’ve returned to their old lives.

The people can voice their opinions on policy though regular polls and town halls and can sometimes schedule one-on-one meetings. The Veiled are sovereign but can be influenced by persuasive people or by a general consensus of the public.

### The Enduring’s influence on government.

Currently only Vessara is in a political position as a regional governor. Several have spent some time in positions of political power in the past but most have grown tired of that kind of work. Even so, they don’t need to be in office to influence the government. Being such influential figures, just publicly stating their opinion may sway a percentage of the population. So they are often spoken to by the leaders, both to genuinely seek their wisdom, and to superficially use them to gain political support from the citizens.