This is only an idea right now, I'm working on it.
Here, have five pages of stuff.
In the white deserts of Galmorra, cities of steel burrow. Giant drills, using gyroscopes to balance the interior, even when the drill changes direction, make their way to seemingly random destinations calculated by the pilot A.I.s that direct them. The pilot room itself is locked away in the bowels of the giant machines, inaccessible to the populace of their shell. Originally designed for militaristic excavation and research of strange minerals found in the lower depths of a dense rock layer. These minerals were found to have adverse effects on the human body, and specific types of machinery. Traditional equipment was damaged when used to excavate these minerals, or, at least they seemed to be damaged on first inspection. But on closer looks, it seemed that the machines, that had no intelligence whatsoever, seemingly refused to mine it. This led to the production of machines that independently mined the mineral, newly named “SoulRock.”
Little is actually known about SoulRock, but what is known can send shivers down even the most hardened soldier’s back. People in close proximity to it have gone missing, disappearing off the face of the planet. Video recordings project the subjects in question starting to display a negative, highly depressed or distant attitude, sometimes phasing in and out of consciousness with the same blank, open-eyed expression. They are recorded to have difficulty sleeping, lack any sort of appetite, have a strange tendency of crying uncontrollably when within sight of the SoulRock. After displaying these odd psychological symptoms, they are examined physically, and it is shown that the subjects often show an incredibly slow pulse, and other faculties begin to shut down. It is unknown why this occurs, as anyone who has tried to study it has disappeared after four days in close proximity. When farther away from a small amount, these effects begin showing themselves after a few months or years. When living far from a large amount of it show effects after an unknown amount of time. The SoulRock itself is, when mined, a bright, glowing green color, but it has been seen that after a person disappears, it turns white, similar to the sand on the surface.
Machinery is affected in a much stranger way. When machinery is nearby this mineral, this applies to machines with artificial intelligence as well as “dumb” machines, machines lacking any kind of awareness, and even some things that aren’t machines, like weapons in some cases. This takes place quicker in things that have no intelligence like, say, a drill, or a crane or similar things that are operated without intelligence of their own. However, things with intelligence, after long periods of exposure, after a odd randomization, it can take place after weeks, months, years, or even decades. However, white SoulRocks take quite a while longer to affect intelligent machines, a difference of years at most. White SoulRocks also affect machines differently than green ones. While green ones seemingly make machines seemingly refuse to mine them, white ones cause some degree of self-awareness in them. This applies to ALL machines, not simply ones capable of motion. After a degree of time, SoulRocks, in close contact with certain weapons or machines, lost their white color, returning to their fluorescent green color, as if newly mined. At this point, machines that have been in close contact to the mineral display a strange capability to think, on par with low tier A.I.s. This effect is massive on artificially intelligent constructs.
The societies of the massive Drills vary heavily in ideology, religion, appearance, governmental systems and sometimes even technology. However, some things remain true for most of them. Most trade people, supplies, weapons and other resources with one another, they all have similarly built facilities, and they all fear going topside at night. All of the drills contain sensors that assist in finding deposits of SoulRock, which are meaningless to the current residents, and other drills, as well as burrowing creatures of any kind. Each drill is named as one of the letters of the Greek Alphabet, Alpha through Omega.
Alpha: High-class, believed to be the best of the cities, ruled by the people, lacking certain technologies that other cities have due to being created first. Currently longest running city, being active for over 100 years in a fully functioning state. Huge difference between the rich and the poor, based on libertarian philosophies, altered to suit the ones in control. Capitalistic.
Beta: Beta, being the second oldest city, has been running some 90 odd years, the oldest records dating back about 93 years. The city itself is in some trouble, having more than half its population disappearing in the course of a month. The remaining residents are young adults and children, only a few people older than that still remain. Based upon socialist ideals, and using a type of economy based around equivalent exchange, with worth of each item being calculated by material, weight, appearance, and other such factors.
Gamma: Off the radar, unknown location, presumed destroyed.
Delta: Known by other cities as the Stalwart City, staying the same if it can, afraid of changing, complete opposite of known uses for the letter Delta. Unknown location, extremely against mingling between cities, but allows it due to the requirement of genetic diversity in its own population. Democratic, capitalistic. ∆
Epsilon: Location known, believed that the residents were assimilated by Lambda.
Zeta & Eta: A twin city structure, two drills, one gyroscope, twice the size of any other city. Both of the cities are walled off from one another by huge metal walls, built by the residents to keep each other out. Both societies are warrior societies based upon different values of combat. The two sides often clash in battles over the many weapons scattered about the center point on the drill, and the food and water generators located in the same areas. Zeta is highly based on a strength=power tribal philosophy, in which the best warriors are the best leaders. Every person from the Zeta side of the drill is given a weapon of their choice at a specific age dependant on gender. Males get a weapon at the age of six, females get a weapon at the age of eight. Zeta’s war code is that of ruthless killing efficiency above all else, preferring to use powerful ranged weapons, like guns, to kill enemies quickly without allowing them any mercy. Eta, on the other hand, is based heavily on samurai-like principles, holding honor above anything else, even their own lives. Citizens of Eta are trained with close range weapons like swords, axes and similar weapons. Only ranking officers in their army are allowed to use firearms, and even then, they use them sparingly if they use them at all. Warriors of Eta are not restricted by any gender based restrictions, but are restricted by health problems, age, and similar things. Children are trained from the age of four to become warriors, being trained in martial arts and swordsmanship. People over the age of 60 are taken away from the front lines and treated as elders, teachers, and leaders. Crippled warriors, if they cannot go back to the battle, they will try to care for other wounded and assist as they are needed.
Theta: When Theta was being built, it was intended to be a third part of the current twin-cities Zeta and Eta, and markings found on several locations within the drill indicate this, as well as markings supposedly indicating that a whole other, giant portion was to be added. But, whether through error or intention, Theta was not added, and, if a completely new drill was made, it has never been seen, heard from, or found. But, sometimes, people say they saw a machine of some kind with the Theta symbol on it aboveground.
Iota: Located topside, near the former location of the city of Traus, is the corpse of the once fully operational drill, Iota. It appears to have been torn in half, and the residents are nowhere to be found, seemingly disappearing into thin air like anyone who stays above for a day without being in a drill.
Kappa: One of two drills known to be run entirely by robots, Kappa was originally designed to house military hardware in huge numbers, namely Combat Medbots, Warbots, Excavators, and Mining machines. When the drill submerged on the day Traus collapsed into the sand, it house about three thousand military personnel, five thousand civilians, and ten thousand robots. Over time, people disappeared at an extreme rate, unheard of even by residents of other drills, and as they all disappeared, the robots and various other machines began functioning better and better, as if their own programming were being upgraded. As of now, they have the ability to reason, simulate emotions so convincingly they seem real, and think on their own. This goes for all the machines on board.
Lambda: While Theta is a mythical drill, unknown to anyone if it exists, everyone knows of Lambda, and it is all the more terrifying because of it. People who’ve seen the residents know why this drill is to be feared. The residents were, originally, cybernetics and biomechanical prosthetics scientists, researching the uses for SoulRock in their implants and prosthetics, and the knowledge they had on how to construct, recreate, and install cybernetics and the like were passed down to the current residents. Currently, the people living in Lambda are more machine than anything else. Augmented with anything from strength boosters to optical scanners to built in beam weapons, these people are as warlike as they come on the surface. But, no matter how it seems, they all think of their own accord, making decisions on their own. They will not attack someone augmented with technology like theirs because they believe that the person in question is similar to them. Little else is actually know about Lambda, other than the fact it has destroyed other drills in the past and taken their entire residency back to the Lambda drill, presumably to change them, or “upgrade” them.
Mu: After many years, the newer, more powerful A.I. of Mu gained a strange ability to think for itself, make decisions on its own, and speak to the residents. While Mu’s A.I., dubbed “Mu G2” by the residents was intelligent, it wasn’t able to defend the residents from the invasion of Lambda, and the residents were all taken away. After an even greater amount of time, Mu G2, now calling itself just plain Mu, gained two abilities it didn’t know about. It could display genuine emotion, and jump to machinery whenever it wanted. It didn’t know how, but it knew it was lonely, feeling abandoned and horribly sorry it couldn’t protect its own residents. The drill itself is located deep in the earth, and, on occasion, when drills wander near it, a girl’s desperate, heartbroken crying can be heard through the speakers on board. But it rattles almost anyone, and everyone is too afraid to get near it. Oddly, the SoulRocks have no effect on Mu whatsoever.
Nu: Designed as a twin to Mu, Nu had a very similar design, and almost identical artificial intelligence to Mu. Over the years, it has evolved similarly to Mu, existing as a sort of “big sister”. But, while Mu is alone, Nu is still inhabited, and the residents treat Nu like another person, even going so far as building a humanoid body for her to inhabit. But some people couldn’t forget she wasn’t human, no matter how human she seemed. A group of seemingly xenophobic people had a massive rally of similarly minded people and elected to either destroy her or get her to leave. While people wanted her gone, they didn’t want her destroyed, and so, she was dropped in the desert to wander, alone in the heat. She holds no bitterness toward those who forced her away, only hating those who wished her dead. At a distance she seems very human in appearance, her body being designed to be that way, but when you get close you see the veins of bright blue light, and the bright green eyes, and you know she isn’t human. Nu wanders, searching for her sister, Mu. Don’t get in her way.
Xi: By design, almost every drill is the same, but Xi is the outlier in this. Xi was never actually a drill at all. In fact, Xi was designed to be a flying base, used to monitor the locations of the drills and scan for deposits of SoulRock and then direct the drills toward them. Xi was built with staying off the ground in mind, and it used solar power, which was easy to get with the powerful blue star blazing onto it. According to various records, Xi was never finished, but was still launched, lacking parts to keep it afloat, so it eventually crashed. It is unknown where, but people with knowledge of this giant have been looking for a very long time. It was roughly the size of four drills put together, could contain over fifty thousand people without so much as a dent on the food and water generators’ creation capacity, and could fly for 200 years without any kind of stop.
Omicron: The second drill to be run solely by robots, this drill never had a large human crew, instead housing semi-intelligent robots that ran the machines to keep it operational. Its cargo is unknown, but highly protected, seeing as how every robot on the drill is a combat ready security bot with heavy armor and high powered weapons. It continues on a course that sets it toward the former location of the city Traus, ready to deliver whatever it contained.
Pi:
Technology:
Gyro Drills:Gyro Drills are massive excavation and research vessels brought to planet Helios designed to burrow through the soft exterior sand and through the hard rock beneath with relative ease. Designed with a gyro-system to keep the interior upright at all times so as not to disturb those living and working within. Still a noticeable shift when the drill changes direction. Heavy, heat resistant armor designed to withstand a cave collapse with little to no damage whatsoever and prevent internal problems related to exterior heat. Each of these machines is outfitted with an escape pod bay, a food manufacturing center, water recycling center, gyro control, drill control, armory, living quarters, commons area, and heavy, airlock blast doors to prevent intrusion or escape of specific contaminants or individuals. Capable of sustaining 1,500 individuals with no strain on resources. Limit of 2,500 before strain on resources is too great to continue. Size of a small country, some inaccessible areas require military or scientific identification to access.
Each Gyro Drill is labelled as a Greek letter, Alpha through Omega.
Excavator Class A-B: Human sized drilling and excavating robots designed to retrieve minerals and ores and return them to a specified location entered into their programming, normally one of the larger excavators, or a research bunker on the surface. Two long, sharp legs that allow them a foothold in the soft sand of the surface, while their arms as well as their legs are outfitted with powerful, compact cutting lasers, each operating on their own independent battery, which can fire for three minutes before burning out and requiring a two to three day recharge period. The limited A.I these robots run on are simple but effective at defending themselves and their load. Class A Excavators are outfitted with heat resistant armor and sharpened points on their limbs, increasing their combat capability and reducing the chance of rampancy through heat based malfunction. Labelled according to their place of origin. Zeta through Lambda.
Combat Medbot Class A-D: Combat medbot designed to defend itself and its patient on the battlefield, civilian version classified as class D, lacking the cauterizing laser and sharpened pincers of classes A-C, and lacking any combat situation programming or self preservation routine. Class C has heavier armor than Class D and B, but simpler A.I than A and B, while maintaining its combat capability, it is better at fighting than at saving lives. Best for defensive situations and times when crude surgery is better than no surgery. Class A and Class B have similar armor and weapons, however, Class A has full function of both its combat programming, self preservation routines, surgical methods, and minor self awareness, as well as a small surgical buzzsaw, and a morphine pump, in addition to the the other models' singular morphine shot, laser incisor, bolt hammer, and precision tweezer-claw for shrapnel removal. All models feature grasping back mounted stabilizers for carrying patients when immediate evacuation is the best decision, and for equipment retrieval. Lambda through Omega
Cybernetic augmentations: Strength augmentations are classic and are in short supply, only ever used if required by a soldier, or to save a limb otherwise unsaveable. Augmentations include muscular strength increases, increased brain-signal speed to increase reaction time, titanium bone casings, and titanium-skin augmentations that all run from a single power source. If this power source loses function, so do the cybernetics. Also applies to bio-mechanical prosthetics. Alpha through Omega.
Bio-mechanical prosthetics: Implantations of technologies to replace body parts, like legs or arms, ears or even noses. Designed to be able to feel the sense of touch of a normal limb if connected to the nervous system, and designed to be capable to lift ten times as much as a normal limb, and capable of replacing vital organs in case of irreperable damage. Incredibly scarce and incredibly painful to get installed. Runs off of the same internal, self recharging battery that cybernetics do. Zeta, Eta, Lambda, Gamma, Phi, Omega.
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Weapons:
C-F4 Dual Barrel Shotgun: Heavy shotgun that has two barrels, requires two High Explosive Shells per barrel, capable of tearing a hole in the outer hull of a Gyro-Drill, use with extreme caution. If used within Gyro-Drill, immediate exile occurs.
Blakk Shatter Pistol: A Small armament capable of blowing off a Class A Combat Medbot torso with relative ease. Fires Shotgun shells, heavy knockback, might hit you in the face if you are too weak, knocking you out.
Hurricane: A fast firing rifle that fires metal shards at a velocity 12 times greater than the speed of sound, causing an audible sonic boom, hearing muffler advised, no reload required, once out of ammo, generates more ammunition by mixing chemicals and similar things. Nobody knows exactly how it works, except maybe the guy who built it.
Shield 3.0: A large slab of highly malleable alloys capable of formind into almost any shape within a specific area, namely about four feet by four feet. The slab itself is a defensive mechanism alone, but the true power behind this is weapon is the five millimeter chaingun that deploys after the slab has been placed, effectively creating a small, mobile base. The slab is heavy on its own, but adding the chaingun makes this weapon weigh in at about 100 pounds. Only the strongest people could carry this thing around.
Special Weapons: Only found in specific places, often they require great strength to wield, and can be almost anything. Only a few Gyro Drills have one. Known Special Weapon locations: Phi(reserved), Lambda, Beta, Zeta, Onicron, Omega.
Subject: A Thingy About a Thingy. 
Wed 06 Mar 2013, 9:16 pm
