Bar Historian
| "I am what you might call a historian-adventurer; a rogue archaeologist uncovering the history of the Sector despite the danger of this exceptional era. In the course of my studies I often chance upon hints about where certain pieces of technology might be found. Retrieving those artifacts is, naturally, your role in our arrangement... Only if you're interested, of course - but I've done my research on your exploits and I'm sure that you will be interested." | ||
–Bar Historian's introduction to the player | ||
The Bar Historian is a randomly generated character who is capable of providing the player with the locations of blueprints and industry items at the cost of story points. Along with valuable insights into the history of the Persean Sector at large.
Biography
| "See you again soon, somewhere! In my line of work, even I don't know for sure where I'll end up in a couple of months." | ||
–Bar Historian's usual farewell | ||
While the bar historian's name and gender are randomized, their musings provide insight into their lives. They seem to have grown up in Hegemony-aligned space, and vividly recounts Philip Andrada's hero-worship after his victory over Warlord Onesimos Loke in the Battle of Maxios and notes how shaken Hegemony population, themselves included, where after Andrada's betrayal. They lament that many of their friends and acquaintances have died during the intermittent periods of conflict in the Sector.
The historian attended Galatia Academy as a student and then became a professor there for a significant period of their life, they note becoming an enemy of Anahita Baird. One of their former students works in Agreus, notable shipbreaking center, analyzing scrapped memory cores from salvaged ships.
Their comment that the "official population census of the Persean Sector could be off by as much as an order of magnitude" might be a reference to a forum post by Redmoe estimating the maximum and minimum ranges of the Sector's population based on colony sizes: "By this metric, the Core sector is between 177 million and 1.7 billion total population".
Blueprints and Colony Items
| A weary expression passes over the [Man/Woman]'s face for just a moment before [He/She] resumes an energetic demeanor. "I understand why you would assume that; this is a mercenary age. But no, nothing quite so transactional. History is an uncertain trade, and such an approach would lead to expectations, disappointment, and recrimination. All of which I'm eager to avoid, especially the last." An additional wrinkle forms on [His/Her] face at this. "However, if you did find my information valuable, I would gladly accept... donations. Think of it as patronage to fuel my research, which in turn could produce valuable leads. Or it might help to think of it as an investment, but with no obligations incurred by either party. Consider it- you could enrich your own enterprises while contributing to the sum of human knowledge!" | ||
–Bar Historian's reply upon the player saying "I expect you'll be wanting to get paid for this information?" | ||
The Bar Historian is capable of providing the player with the location of blueprints and colony items. Rarer blueprints and items will appear if the player makes one or two donations to their research.
History Blurbs
The bar historian will entertain the player with bits and pieces of Sector history following the option of "...something interesting, but not of immediate import". The historian's musings won't be repeated when encountered again at another time. There are a total of 29 different blurbs that the player can get through the campaign, listed below.[1]
On Personal Life
| "Sometimes I ponder what my life would be in the Domain - an uncollapsed Domain, that is," [He/She] says, contemplative. "A glittering sea of living worlds, each filled with history."
"Though I suspect someone who went needling around asking uncomfortable questions might get into a spot of trouble, eh?" [He/She] gives an unacademic snort. "I've managed to produce enough of that - trouble, I mean - for myself in the here-and-now. If you don't anger the institutions you're not doing good work, I think." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 0 | ||
On 'Infernium'
| "Oh 'Infernium', yes yes. It's a bit of Luddic vernacular, refers to antimatter starship fuel. Though what they really mean," and here [He/She] stresses the word, "is rather more."
"In certain texts the term encompasses all AM applications, or even all high-energy processes. 'The get of Mammon and Belial', one creative firebrand called it. I like that one; I've always enjoyed the dramatic rhetoric of Luddic folk-preaching tradition." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 1 | ||
On Jorien Kanta
| "Now I may be old, but there are older by far. If the records are to be believed - and I do believe, the Hegemony keeps very good records - then the pirate Warlord Kanta was born well before the Collapse. Or shall we call her ex-Domain Armada officer Jorien Kanta?" [He/She] looses a wheezing laugh.
"Oh yes, she had a name like anyone else, once upon a time. One wonders if it's expensive biomods or periodic cryosleep that keeps her going. I'd love to find out..." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 2 | ||
On Philip Andrada
| "Hmm, history is not all the study of 'great leaders', but one can't help but admire a narrative of glorious victory, hubris, and ignominious end. Philip Andrada, for instance."
[His/Her] gaze drifts into the past as [He/She] speaks, "I remember like it was yesterday. He embodied all that was proud and good in the Hegemony. Practically deified on every holo following his defeat of the Warlord Loke. Oh, how we celebrated at that news! It was the vanquishing of chaos itself, the dawn of a new golden age. So it felt, once." "His turn wounded us," [He/She] says softly. "It wounded the Hegemony itself, very deeply." [He/She] nods to [Himself/Herself], drifting back into some old memory. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 3 | ||
On Cryosleeping
| "I've considered cryosleep. Pay the fee, jump ahead a hundred cycles to see how everything turns out. As a historian, by the stars, it's quite an appeal! On the other hand - yes, yes - I know the statistics. The failure rates are low nowadays... if you find a good vault. But it still scares me. You could just go to sleep and never wake up."
[He/She] laughs darkly, "Though that's every single day, isn't it? Ah, I have too much work to do, anyway..." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 4 | ||
On Aliens I
| "Aliens! Hah. No, there's nothing well documented enough to be considered," [He/She] stresses the words, "Legitimate History."
"Yes yes, if you want to experience xenolife, visit Jangala and take your pills and quarantine shower." "But that's simply not what is meant, is it. We want there to be someone else out there like us, someone to talk to, someone to tell us we're not alone, someone to give us answers. Someone who cares. Perhaps we're looking in the wrong place? Or thinking in the wrong way?" [He/She] dismisses the thought with the shake of [His/Her] head. "Eh, but this grows into speculation. Not my trade!" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 5 | ||
On Aliens II
| "We've all heard the stories about the Onslaught battleship, the final weapon that stood against an alien threat." [He/She] scoffs, waving a dismissive hand, "As if we live in some milfic holo about brave heroes and vile aliens."
"Grand historical context-breaking contact doesn't work that way, at least in our body of knowledge. It's more confusing; messy and chaotic. It undermines the entire cognitive-ideological basis of society, which is then forced to reform around a great wounding of its very epistemological basis. And always, so many must die to learn these lessons." [He/She] gets a distant look for a moment, then breaks into a sardonic smile. "Not unlike the Collapse eh? Must be aliens." [He/She] winks. "For sure." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 6 | ||
On Old Earth
| "Old Earth, mother Terra. From whence we came, long gone. The Luddics aren't completely wrong in their stories. Though, hm, they possess few qualms about 'improving' details to appeal to their quotidian morale framing."
"The historical record is far more complex than that telling, and far more difficult. Far more relatable in the end as well, I believe. Every day we survive by powerful technologies which any one of us barely understands, and which may unleash truly apocalyptic destruction. Mistakes are made, tragedy results; it's only a question of scale." [He/She] considers this for a moment, then begins mumbling a critical response to [His/Her] own thoughts, "But scale can indeed fundamentally change the quality of phenomena and hence the contextualization of the moral dimension, hmm, quite entirely! Hmm..." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 7 | ||
On Technology
| "Though much of the Persean Sector has been effectively freed from the Domain's technology restrictions - without dismissing the Hegemony's best bloody-minded efforts, of course," [He/She] gives a half shrug to their efficacy, "-this age has not seen any especially great leaps of technological development. Why not? For the Persean League, or Tri-Tachyon among others, the ban is lifted!"
"Perhaps it is that development of highly complex, advanced technologies requires a stable foundation: a large population base with excess theoretical and engineering capacity, a willingness to devote resources to pursuits beyond mere survival. Or war. And yes, war drives innovation - of a sort. But imagine the possibilities if those billions of credits had not been vaporized alongside so many foolish youths... like those I once knew." [He/She] goes very quiet for a moment. "Those old production chips and nanoforges offer a ladder with the middle rungs missing. We fight to reach toward the top, doomed to fall as the step falters..." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 8 | ||
On The Domain
| "The Human Domain split key industries into separate worlds, although yes, with redundancies - set well apart from one another. If one world which produces hyperdrives tried to leverage their specialization against the Domain, well, what good are they without raw materials? Or AM fuel? Or, indeed, the basic necessities of life and access to markets?"
"How can one rebel when the Domain need only control the local Gate to lay a complete siege? Which one world could possibly stand against the entire Domain?" [He/She] gives a grim smirk. "Now we're stuck here, besieged by the Domain. There's no one to accept our surrender but some dead Gates." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 9 | ||
On Galatia Academy
| "The Galatia Academy? Oh yes, yes, I once attended. And taught there too, if you'll believe it. For quite a few cycles. They figured me as a troublemaker soon enough, but I was slippery. I played the game. Me! Hah, would you believe that?"
[He/She] laughs at some old memory. "Made a few enemies too, I did." "Did you hear who they put in charge of the Academy? Anahita Baird! Can you believe it? The wolf is tending the sheep now, and that's the truth. The Hegemony has no idea what they've done." [He/She] cackles, "No idea!" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 10 | ||
On Baikal Daud
| "With Baikal Daud in the office of High Hegemon, I can't help but wonder at what mark his administration will make on the 'Phoenix of the Persean Sector'. The old guard still dominate the navy - that's the Eventide contingent. Those families go back to the arrival of the 14th, of course. It's not an old aristocracy by any historical standard, but the pattern is established quickly enough given agreeable conditions. Where was I- yes, Daud. Man of the people. Ruffles feathers. Like when he intervened personally in the Sphinx ensigns scandal. Hegemons simply don't do that! But he's a born leader, none can deny it."
"That's what is really going to get him in trouble," [He/She] says, then goes quiet, lost in thought. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 11 | ||
On Artemisia Sun
| "In my circles- that's historians, mind you, not just old folks hanging around the bar," [He/She] chuckles at [Himself/Herself]. "We've made a rule not to argue about Artemisia Sun unless legitimate new information appears. And it never does!" [He/She] pauses for a moment, tapping [His/Her] book. "But you're not a historian, so the rule doesn't apply. Wonderful, you get to hear me out!"
"So: Why was she voted off the board just in time for the crucial military disaster of the Second AI War, then able to sweep back into her office with the credibility of all who opposed her absolutely annihilated? Was it merely a ruthless recovery, or was this a calculated sacrifice of Tri-Tachyon assets in order to consolidate her personal power from the start?" [He/She] smiles. "Maybe we can hash this theory all the way through one of these days." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 12 | ||
On Ludd I
| "How we long for some incidental recording of even one of Ludd's supposed speeches or acts. Incredible, is it not, how all evidence of a prophet seems to have disappeared? This, hrm, 'miracle' is of course a point of faith among followers of the Church of Galactic Redemption."
[He/She] raises an eyebrow at you. "It is also, officially, a point of policy for the Hegemony to cooperate with this nonsense in order to appease those Faithful." [He/She] furrows [His/Her] brow in frustration, "As a historian, of course, this vexes me to no end. History as experienced by the common person may be a story society tells itself, and distorted as such. Even still! It must be grounded in fact." "Of course if I did discover a holovid of Ludd's Trial, some fanatic would try to murder me soon enough for distributing it. Not that I could help myself." [He/She] smiles impishly, then considers. "If you do ever find something like that in some old derelict, you'd give me a copy, wouldn't you?" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 13 | ||
On Smuggling
| "You wouldn't believe how much of my work is built upon cargo manifests. I have a former student working on Agreus; they send me copies lifted off scrapped memory cores. The real secrets are wiped, of course, but the story is all there, in the lines of onloaded and offloaded cargo compared against the hull mass calculations used by navigation to say nothing of the hyperdrive. History is written in logistics!"
"Take for instance the sheer quantity of food and supplies that 'disappear' on trade routes skimming the edge of the Core Worlds. Statistical sampling suggests that a significant percent of all economic activity in the Persean Sector is 'off the books', and a significant portion of that goes straight toward those who are called 'pirates' as well as the so-called 'decivilized' populations... to say nothing of undocumented populations within the Core itself." The historian leans close, "The official population census of the Persean Sector could be off by as much as an order of magnitude. It's simply astounding." [He/She] smiles, and shaking [His/Her] head. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 14 | ||
On The Hegemony
| "Ah, like I was just telling those young folks over there," the historian waves [His/Her] hand toward a small group which seems to be avoiding eye contact, "- after the trials of the Cold Passage, the 14th Battlegroup limped across the Persean frontier to discover a sector dominated by the Warlord Leonis. The joint command of the 14th struck down that cruel reign and were hailed as liberators, laying the groundwork for Admiral Kali Molina to make a declaration of Hegemony over the Domain colonies of the Persean Sector with the Eventide Diktat of cycle 49."
"The untarnished Hegemony of that time was too overshadowed by memories of the Domain to truly appreciate the political capital at the High Hegemon's command. Short-term thinking prevailed in anticipation of Gate reactivation. Indeed," [He/She] puts on a look of sad understanding, "How could they have known that discontinuity would persist for so long, perhaps forever?" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 15 | ||
On Ludd II
| "Whoever Ludd was, they were not a mere uneducated rabble-rouser. Besides," [He/She] lowers [His/Her] voice, "I subscribe to the theory - held by more than a few secular scholars, though quietly, quietly indeed - that Ludd was not one, but many. I would argue that the present format of the Holy Ecumene Council of Archcurates is a reflection of the early Luddic leadership network passed down through history, institutionalized in the early years post-Collapse."
"Heresy, of course. But the truth generally is," [He/She] says with a smirk. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 16 | ||
On The Luddic Church
| "The contemporary form of the Church of Galactic Redemption has proven remarkably stable in spite of, or perhaps because of, the chaotic political arrangement of the Persean Sector immediately post-Collapse."
The historian cradles [His/Her] hands, unconsciously repeating the old motions of lecturing. "The Holy Ecumene Council of Archcurates rule on matters of canon, authorize and delegate executive functions, and perform certain exclusive sacraments. However they may be censured and even laicized by a supermajority of the Curates-popular! The members holding those more common positions are ratified by local congregations but must be ordained by an Archcurate in good standing." [He/She] sips some tea, then frowns and looks at [His/Her] cup as if the tea had gone unexpectedly cold. "Of course, it's rather more complicated than just that in practice..." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 17 | ||
On The Knights of Ludd
| "There are those among the Church of Galactic Redemption - the Luddics, in popular parlance - who hold that the Knights of Ludd are an aberration at odds with the original Luddic vision of the Church. Doubtless true," the historian raises [His/Her] eyebrows at this small heresy. "An examination of what are agreed by scholars to be among the more authentic passages of the Book of Ludd suggest that themes of militancy and 'a knighthood of the faith' are likely intended as abstract references to a sort of semi-sacral militant volunteerism which would range in practice from a civic protest movement all the way to, arguably, insurrectionism."
"The practical benefit of a standing militant order during the Post-Collapse chaos and following wars must be admitted, however," [He/She] leans back in [His/Her] seat, contemplative. "And the most vocal objectors within the Church proper argue that the Knights err by degree rather than in whole. The less vocal objectors? Well, we may not know their thoughts for many, many cycles indeed. The Knights see to that." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 18 | ||
On Andrada's Succession
| "It is speculated that Admiral Andrada, the self-annointed Supreme Executor of the Sindrian Diktat - or 'Sindrian Mutiny' per the Hegemony viewpoint - is facing a dictator's all-too-common problem of succession. Until now, behind the unified facade of the Diktat, it appears that he has played his major supporters off one another to maintain political stability. Declaring a clear successor would have disrupted this internal balance."
"And now," the historian speaks slowly, rubbing [His/Her] chin, "with the cycles' inevitable turn and Andrada in rumored poor health, will he make a surprise announcement to designate an heir? There would be a wave of arrests and, dare I say, executions as those loyal and disloyal to the Executor-apparent are... sorted." "Or perhaps Andrada has a secret family, or a mind-simulation, or a clone, or some wilder scheme?" [He/She] barks a laugh. "Speculation on this point seems to say as much about the speculator as about anything Andrada is thinking. I should ask you for some insight!" [He/She] laughs again. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 19 | ||
On Andrada's Genius
| "If Philip Andrada, the self-annointed Supreme Executor of the Sindrian Diktat, were the strategic mastermind he was claimed to be - first by Hegemony propaganda and then his own - then why then did he not simply sweep the Persean Sector in a conquest to rival his greatest vanquished foe, the Warlord Loke?"
"Well!" The historian raises a finger like an orator, then, thinking better of it, lets [His/Her] hand drop to the table. "Matters abound! Andrada took a portion - but only a portion - of the Hegemony navy in the course of his mutiny. He took possession of the Askonia system and was immediately faced with the catastrophic consequences of the Opis incident, ongoing rebellion, complete lack of logistics, and the pressing need to maintain a credible military force against a vengeful Hegemony. And, indeed, all of this while fulfilling the expectations of key supporters!" "The true testament to Andrada's genius may well lie in his scheme not immediately collapsing in upon itself!" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 20 | ||
On Spacer Culture
| "The culture of transient interstellar starship crew and infrastructure workers - "spacers", if you like - has become particularized in the era post-Collapse. Rather than existing in vast diffusion across the Human Domain as a mere statistical category, impossibly detached and undistinguished, they've been localized to the Persean Sector and now form a critical mass of intra-cultural contact out of which distinct commonalities arise."
[He/She] takes a moment to catch [His/Her] breath before proceeding. "Indeed, the majority of interstellar logistics have shifted from Gate to hyperspace journeys. Spacers bear everyday witness now to the ruins of the Collapse and AI Wars. These journeys are haunted," [He/She] takes on a jovially grim tone. "Haunted, one might say, by history. Indeed, one might suggest that Spacer culture has become quite superstitious in the last two hundred cycles." [He/She] trails off, letting a breath go, looking upward toward unseen stars. "The great dark filled with death and mystery as never before," [He/She] says, quoting something. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 21 | ||
On Mairaath
| "Old Mairaath, the center of the old Mayasuran stellar polity, was primed to blossom as a shining beacon of culture and civilization in the Persean Sector, a light to outshine Opis perhaps, once the terraforming came into true fruition."
"Both those lights are extinguished, now," the historian says gloomily. "I suppose they lacked the hard-hearted military-industrial alignment of the Hegemony's Eventide-Chicomoztoc axis, to say nothing of Kazeron and its League. And so on, for the rest of them." "The worst of us thrive in these violent times, it seems." [He/She] seems to realize in the moment who [He/She] is speaking to and adds, without conviction, "Uh, present company excluded, of course." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 22 | ||
On Confiscated AI
| "What precisely the Hegemony does with the 'forbidden' AI confiscated by its technological inspectors, particularly during the post-AI Wars crackdowns, is not - yet - a matter of historical record. And unlikely to ever be, if COMSEC has their way," [He/She] says bitterly.
"Obviously," [He/She] continues, "the Hegemony is more conservative in exploitation of AI relative to the Domain at its height. The grumblings of the Luddic population ring loud in any Hegemon's ears, and Baikal Daud knows better than to spark unrest under the present peace-of-compromise." "Now that said," the historian leans closer, lowering [His/Her] voice, "The paranoid provide entertaining speculations. One theory tells of secret overminds hidden in far-off planetoids simulating worlds which hold in thrall the minds of billions of bio-suspended human slaves; cruel scenarios playing out in the sick imagination of uncaring AI-gods. Nonsense, of course," [He/She] smiles reassuringly. "What purpose would such mistreatment serve?" |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 23 | ||
On Cryosleepers
| "Those who awake from cryosleep who were laid to rest in the time of the Domain are perhaps the most lost of all. Many, though not all, imagined they would populate the far end of a rich frontier; they accepted that they would leave behind all they once knew. Now they all find themselves cut loose from all reference, unmoored in history."
"And who is to care for them? Certainly the Luddics suggest the comfort of their religion. Others take up drink or drugs, or nihilistic detachment which too-often spills outward into destruction. Not a few of the most brutal pirates are former sleepers, you know." "Where records persist, sleepers who are uniquely skilled are sometimes... recruited, drafted - 'kidnapped' is perhaps the word - by parties seeking insight into some old tech or lost secrets." A troubled look crosses [His/Her] face. "I admit that if I could, I would arrange for the systematic interview of the sleepers. They would prove an excellent resource to our pre-Collapse histories, provided we keep a realistic understanding of the limitations of firsthand sources." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 24 | ||
On Sensor Ghosts
| "I find myself with a growing affinity for the developing itinerant spacer culture," [He/She] gestures to the patrons around you. "They have developed a colorful millieu, worldview, and even a shared mythology."
"Although," [He/She] leans in, "on a personal level, I cannot but wonder if something of the world itself has changed since the Collapse. Has hyperspace become more chaotic, mysterious; inhabited, almost, by alien phenomena? Or was it simply unobserved, or unreported before? Or were the reports suppressed? Or was there simply not enough intra-spacer contact to reinforce their observations - or shall we put it, for the skeptical - these shared narrative projections?" "I am a mere historian and, now," [He/She] smiles sadly, "I am bereft of the corrective presence of my colleagues in the Academy. I both fear and admit that my documentation efforts might appear to drift toward dilettantism." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 25 | ||
On The Collapse
| "The mind reels at the loss of the Collapse," [He/She] says. "Set aside even the Domain for a moment, with its population inconceivable to our barely-civilized human brains. Just the fringe world of the Persean Sector witnessed untold death as the thin thread of logistics from the Core, and the Domain itself, was cut. Food, life support, medicines, essential machinery - bled out, spilled into space to become so much debris..."
The historian stares off into a corner, [His/Her] eyes darkened, [His/Her] attention become lost in the imagined scene of past horror. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 26 | ||
On Opis
| "Ah, the tragedy of Opis. The sheer scale of loss is incomprehensible to the mind. To this day there are those who fight and kill over the finer points of whose fault it was. I have my position, but that argument over-dominates the story of the Opisean polity itself. Why should those countless dead be defined by their murderer? I find that the beginning of a story is necessary to illuminate the end, don't you agree?"
[He/She] doesn't wait for an answer, but begins to lecture. "Opis was a center of population, of art and commerce. Not heavy industry as-such, however - that they exported to Sindria; and agriculture, to Volturn. Out of sight, out of mind. The rulers of the Chartery of Opis grew to see little need in appeasing any but their local patronage networks. Wealth flowed to the center, where influence coagulated; the edges were forgotten." "Was it once again the sin of the Domain re-enacted on a smaller stage?" [He/She] raises [His/Her] eyebrows. |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 27 | ||
On Paper Books
| "This?" [He/She] pats the paper book [He/She] keeps close, and consults often. "It is... something of an affectation fitting with my self-image."
"There are independent high-tech manufacturers of such objects which range far from traditional papermaking. The integrated digital interface paper-analogs are impressively functional, but my own notebooks? I purchase them from a Luddic craft guild on Tartessus. Indeed, it is mostly composed of dead cellulose." "I do produce digital backups," [He/She] admits. "It is not in keeping with full faith in the spirit of the material, but the archivist and researcher in me cannot abide the risk of losing my notes." |
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–Bar Historian - Blurb 28 | ||
References
- ↑
rules.csv; Historian Blurbs section. Starsector API.
- Characters
- Lore