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RvBOMally — Tech Comparison: Consortium of Sovereign Systems
Published: 2016-05-29 05:24:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 3036; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 0
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Materials Science. Consortium manufacturers use a variety of composite carbon-metal meshes for large-scale construction. This material, manufactured en masse by a select few factory worlds within Consortium space, is a tremendously strong and light material, and while it can be shaped in various forms, it gains more strength as angular plates. This material is manufactured most often in hexagonal plates, which interlock together to increase the strength of the structure. Composite carbon-metal is actually stronger than durasteel pound-for-pound, but its more limited manufacture means that Imperial vessels will often have heavier armor than their Consortium counterparts. An advanced material the Consortium utilizes is mimetic polyalloy, a form of programmable "liquid" metal. Actually composed of trillions of programmable nanites, mimetic polyalloy can be used to mimic any solid material, although it will retain the chemical and physical properties of metal. A rare relic technology from the Second Empire, mimetic polyalloy is only used on special infiltration units.Power. Consortium fusion reactors are a primitive technology, but are more efficient than ancient designs. Fusion is a cheap form of power, and Consortium-affiliated corporations throughout the galaxy make quintillions of credits mining hydrogen and helium from gas giants and stars. Hypermass reactors are typically out of the price range for most Consortium corporations, but the largest vessels owned by the largest institutions do have them.
Faster-than-light Travel. While Consortium freighters and civilian transports use warp drives, their PMCs often utilize flux drives. An older form of hyperdrive, utilized primarily during the days of the Terran Empire, a flux drive needs a much smaller catalytic mass of hypermass to enter hyperspace. On the downside, the craft must accelerate to near-relativistic speeds in realspace before the flux drive activates and sends the ship into hyperspace. This limitation has greatly affected Consortium doctrine in space, incentivizing Consortium craft to hang around at the edges of star systems and destroy the enemy from a distance, escaping into hyperspace before the enemy could reach them.
Energy Weaponry. The Consortium does not favor energy weapons as much as the galactic superpowers, on account of their fusion reactors being unable to keep up with modern energy weapons. The Consortium does utilize plasma weapons, but these are older, less energy-extensive designs that suffer from low rates of fire and frequent overheating; indeed, Consortium plasma weapons have been known to explode. Consortium laser weapons are mostly limited to point defense. For battlefield identification purposes, Consortium energy weapons are colored yellow.
Kinetic Weaponry. Kinetic weaponry is where the Consortium truly shines. The iconic Consortium weapon is the railgun and the coilgun. While generally abandoned by the rest of the galaxy, save for the Citizens' Alliance, the Consortium's military industry has caught up with the galaxy's latest energy weapons by developing more efficient magnetic accelerator weapons. This has led to the creation of some of the most power weapons, shot for shot, in the entire galaxy. Consortium railguns are capable of wiping out life on an entire planet, often by showering a planet with thousands of projectiles traveling at relativistic speeds. One main disadvantage of railguns and coilguns is that they are generally incapable of rapid fire, necessitating the use of gyrojets and smart missiles. On the ground, the Consortium favors gyrojet weapons: rocket-propelled projectiles which gain penetrating power at longer ranges. While pitifully weak at close ranges, the Consortium's troops are fearsome at range. In space, the Consortium favors smart missiles. Unlike the other guided missiles used by the galactic powers, smart missiles have a computer brain built within them, allowing them to independently and unpredictably pursue targets. Fired in a salvo of thousands, even the most effective laser point-defense system will fail to shoot down every missile.
Special Weapons. The Consortium makes heavy use of exotic weapons, often developed by military corporations at the absolute cutting edge of science. Outcompeted only by the Duzhonev Imperium's artificers, these computer-assisted scientists eschew the retreading of science that the Rationalist Church favors, and instead want to make discoveries on their own. This has led to the development of new takes on old weapons systems. The Consortium has developed all sorts of mutagens with which to terrorize enemy populations and act as a force multiplier on the battlefield, such as the infamous phage. This mutagen leads to horrifying transformations in almost any organic victim - human or alien - culminating in the creation of an entire ecosystem of parasitic creatures made from the flesh of its victims. The Consortium has also made some experiments with Void technology and energy, although these remain largely unsuccessful and has directly led to the loss of several Consortium worlds.
Shields. Due to their weaker reactors, the Consortium's energy shields are some of the weakest in use throughout the galaxy. Often of the deflector type, Consortium shields cannot take as much of a beating as their Imperial or Federation counterparts. The Consortium's PMCs make up for this deficiency by fighting from such long ranges that they will not get hit at all.
Antigravity. Antigravity tech is relatively expensive in the Consortium worlds, due to their power requirements. Often, it is the rich and institutions such as police and PMCs who have access to this technology. Antigravity tech is a sign of wealth among the Consortium worlds; rich teenagers often ride around on hoverboards, although the cheapest of these are notorious for being nonfunctional over water. Antigravity tech is not a frequent sight among Consortium combat units, which opt instead for legged or wheeled vehicles.
Computers. Computer technology is where the Consortium truly shines. Being exempt from most edicts on software and hardware bans, the only limits on Consortium computer technology are the creation of hedonic engines, true AI, and truly independent "dumb" AI. The Consortium gets around these issues through cybernetic augmentations; when just about every member of society is part of a single computer network, requiring organic oversight over AI is easy. The Consortium has the most developed information network in the galaxy, using microwormgates to connect systems throughout interstellar space instantly. Indeed, while the Empire only has one intergalactic information network, the Consortium has over two hundred. Cybernetic implants are so common in the Consortium that every member of society who actually makes money is connected all the time. Consortium electronics are so advanced that they are the gold standard throughout the galaxy, and barring important military technology, the galactic elite use Consortium machines.
Automation. Automation, while technically banned, is the most well-developed in the Consortium worlds. Entire factories and ships can run with only a handful of organic minders, often managers or some other sophont. It is this productive capability that allows the Consortium to compete, and even dominate, the galactic markets. Both cheap goods and luxury items manufactured by Consortium affiliates are found in stores throughout the galaxy. In fact, the Consortium's production capabilities outstrip those of larger empires, such as Avelov and the Citizens' Alliance, by a factor of ten, and it is only the sheer mass of the Empire and the Federation that allows them to stay on top.
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Comments: 24
Out of curiosity if the Consortium effectively controls the economy of the two largest galactic powers how come they don't have the greatest technology across the board. I imagine the various corps would have been able to over hundreds of years gradually copy/steal/etc both factions tech? I am most curious because of how primitive comparatively their power generators are described.
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They have copied a few things, but the nicest examples of other tech either require resources the Consortium does not have ready access to (like hypermass), requires specialized construction mechanisms that are difficult to steal because of how complex they are, or are so secret that access to them is very limited (like the superweapons).
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Any chance that you will do a biopunk/nanopunk type civilization, with hyper godlike genetically engineered elite that don't even resemble humans and common base line human are plebes.
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That was the Second Empire of Man.
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All glory to the H E X A G O N A L Master Race!
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It wouldn't be cyberpunk without hexagons.
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Currently listening to Cyber Hate, appropriately enough.
We are all slaves to the cyberdome
Computer hacks and machine revolutions
We are all slaves to the cyberdome
Our dreams are what is real
We are all slaves to the cyberdome
Your name = not important
Your soul = one of many
We're all living in this cybernetic hell
Like I said, appropriate.
Hmm. High automation and unrestrained corporate rule sounds like the perfect recipe for sky-high unemployment and a vanishing middle class. I imagine riots aren't uncommon in Consortium space ...
A few questions:
Who is responsible for upholding the Butlerian ban on thinking machines in this setting? Does that fall under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate? And how do the other powers view the widespread automation and advanced computer technology of the Consortium?
You mentioned that electronics and other consumer products are widely exported, which made me think of trade relations in the galaxy. Does the Consortium trade with everyone? Do the pro-Federation and pro-Empire blocs trade anything with each other? Are there any completely autarkic powers?
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Riots aren't as common as you'd think, because corporate leaders love using rioters as material for various non-sapient cybernetic organisms. And of course, slavery is perfectly legal in some Consortium worlds....
The Protectorate interprets the law and issues edicts on AI, but they often call on the galactic powers to enforce it.
The other powers are deeply skeptical of the Consortium's computer technology, but they see it as necessary due to the sheer scale of economic transactions they have to deal with, and they can't do anything about it because the Consortium practically owns their economies. The Consortium as an organization primarily exists as mutual defense against the rest of the galaxy, and this has evolved into cartelizing their economic interests outside of the Consortium member organizations' worlds. If the Empire or the Federation were to ever invade the Consortium proper, they can expect to have their entire economies practically deleted in an instant.
The Consortium's member organizations trade with everyone, and they have a free trade policy within the Consortium and outside of it. It's only when the Consortium is under attack that they will cut off trade. They trade with aliens, would trade with the Remnant of they weren't trying to kill them, etc. The Solarians officially have an embargo against the Consortium (for being, you know, the Consortium), but in truth there's a lot of black market dealing, to the point that Solarian "mana" is a recognized currency among the major Consortium financial institutions. Same with the Duzhonevians, who see the Consortium as degenerate hyper-capitalists, but still buy their luxury technology. The Consortium, economically, is a cross between Japan in the 1980s and China today.
Come to think of it, the Consortium does have a bit of a conspiracy theory angle to them (fitting, given Deus Ex as a major influence). They do rule the galaxy from behind the scenes, or at least exert so much control over the galactic economies that they could tell the elites to do whatever they please. They're the unpleasant left-wing stereotype of the greedy Wall Street capitalist and the unpleasant right-wing stereotype of the Jewish/NWO conspiracy mashed together into one.
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Hmmm. Now, my grasp of economics is even shakier than my understanding of relativity, so forgive what must be a dumb question, but: How does a militarily inferior power manage to "own" the economy of a superior foe? In the Middle Ages (roughly the latest time period where I somewhat understand politics and economics 
So if, say, the Empire decided they were simply going to wipe out those sneaky cyberpunk gits, what could the Consortium concretely do to harm the Imperial economy? Can't the Empire just unilaterally decide to confiscate all Consortium property in Imperial space, nationalize all Consortium-owned businesses, cut all trade, cancel all debts and issue a fiat currency?
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The Consortium gained economic hegemony in the early days of the Empire's formation by providing assistance to Imperial-loyal nobility in the form of manufactured goods and war machinery. This managed to begin the relationship of Imperial nobles getting loans from the Consortium banks, and not the Imperial central bank. As the Empire grew, the Imperial central bank retracted in size to accommodate only central government affairs, while the entire nobility relied on Consortium finances. The Federation was independent of the Consortium for a while, until they decided to do away with currency altogether, pretended to be post-scarcity when they were far from it, and created a massive black market that the Consortium eagerly filled. Although technically illegal, the Federation black market is practically the real economy of the Federation, to the point that even the government deals regularly with it.
As for your scenario, what would happen is the demise of both societies. While the Imperial central government and military are all but independent of Consortium financial institutions, the nobility isn't. Since the Empire has no comparable financial institutions to the Consortium's (the central Imperial bank deals only with the central government's assets), practically the entire nobility of the Empire has sizable assets in Consortium banks. Consortium banks lend to nobles rather liberally, knowning they can literally take the entire star system if they default. This is why nobles who have their planets repossessed by the Consortium are not defended by the Imperial government: this is considered the collection of private debt from a private person, even if it's an Imperial world being seized and Imperial subjects being sent to the slave pits. Remember, the Empire itself is only responsible for defense and for some "moral" law; they do not have an obligation to their non-noble subjects, and the nobility owns the systems and planets they have a charge over more or less as personal property (with some responsibilities). They also buy many of their luxury goods from Consortium-affiliated corporations. It helps that this is also a great way to evade taxes. If the Imperial government were to decide that the Consortium needs to be wiped out, they will have the Navy, Army and Imperial Intelligence on their side, but practically the entire nobility will have their assets seized by the Consortium. They can't cancel debt to the Consortium, because that debt is not owed by the Imperial government, but rather by the nobility. The Imperial military can make short work of the Consortium alone, but they can't defeat them and fight a civil war against a majority of the nobility at the same time.
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But what would happen if the Empire declared Consortium loans to Imperial citizens null and void, that the Imperial navy will protect any Imperial noble from Consortium repo fleets and that it is indeed a crime to pay back your debts to the Consortium? The Consortium would have to take on both the Imperial navy and the local system governor's forces if they tried to seize any assets. The nobles could pay off their armies with their newly-freed up resources previously earmarked for loan payments.
The worst the Consortium can do, in my understanding, is cut off trade of goods, which would inflict some damage on the Imperial economy, but not to the extent of collapsing it. They would also not be willing to lend any more money to Imperial citizens but, well, that becomes kind of a moot point if the Empire simply conquers all Consortium territory.
I can't really think of a historical example of a militarily inferior creditor state enforcing its claims on a militarily superior defaulting state. The British occupation of Egypt and the American occupation of Haiti both involved much stronger states enforcing their claims on weaker states.
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At that point, the Consortium tells the entire galactic community that the Empire is making an unprecedented power grab and that their assets are under threat. It's also likely that not every Imperial noble will go along with this, particularly those with a lot of assets outside of the Empire. So now, the Empire is at war with the entire galaxy. I suppose it is possible for the Empire and Federation to cooperate against the Consortium, but why would two sworn enemies set aside their differences to take down their financial backer? The Consortium does little to either power but occasionally repossess a system. In a society of tens of millions of inhabited systems, that's no price at all.
All of this assumes, of course, that the idiot emperor trying to do this won't get assassinated or cloistered away and replaced with his successor. There are too many people with something to gain from an ambitious emperor's demise.
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Sure, if all other powers cooperate to enforce the Consortium's creditor rights, the Empire is in tough shit. But if anything, you'd think they'd be delighted! If the Consortium can't enforce its claims on Imperial assets, the Federation would have the perfect opportunity to similarly default on its payments, as would all other powers with Consortium debts. You'd have to imagine what would be most profitable for the Federation: Attacking the Empire in defense of the Consortium, or join in the feeding frenzy and grab as much Consortium space as possible.
As for not all nobles going along with the debt cancellation, that would have to be the ones with resources in Consortium space worth more than all their likely future debt payments. And if they are many enough to matter, shouldn't Imperial citizens own the Consortium, rather than the other way around?
I think a decent comparison would be the revolutionary government of 1918 defaulting on all of the Russian Empire's debts. Not a single one of its creditors attempted to enforce their claims on the Soviet Union, because, well, that would entail invading Russia! Still it doesn't really compare, because Russia owed debts to the US, the British Empire, France ... which combined dwarfed the Russian economy, even the Russian military. In your scenario, it would be like if, say, Italy was the major creditor of not only Russia but also the UK and the US. Would the Anglo powers really invade Russia in the name of Italy's creditor rights?
Edit: I should say that I'm far from certain in my conclusions, and that I might very well be wrong, but I think this is the one part of the great worldbuilding you've put into this setting that just seems a bit off to me. I understand the greater powers keeping the Consortium around because they're very useful as manufacturers, go-betweeners and legally gray tech creators, but my understanding of history is that any weaker power that seriously threatens to own a greater power's economy is quickly wiped out.
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The Consortium doesn't have much in the way of systems (half a million or so) and they have a stated scorched earth policy. All of the wealth that the Consortium has is mostly technological, and that can be scuttled easily with their weapons. If they're in serious jeopardy of being conquered, the conquerors will get little but slag. The Federation wouldn't be fighting the Empire to conquer it, but to assist the inevitable rebel movement that will throw out the Imperial government responsible.
There are a lot of Imperial nobles who have debt outside of the Empire. Indeed, a lot of very powerful ones. The Consortium has control over these assets as trustees. The same applies for the Federation.
As for the Russia analogy, doesn't really work. For one, the Empire doesn't have debt to the Consortium, the Imperial nobility does. This is a weird concept for those of us who live in non-feudal societies, but the Imperial government and its nobility are separate institutions connected only by mutual agreements for fealty and defense. A repossession by the Consortium is not directed at the Empire as a whole, but rather the specific noble. The Imperial throne doesn't take out loans from the Consortium, because its revenues come from tithes. As for the Federation, since Federal officials are taking out loans on the black market, if the Consortium targets them, the Federation central government claims that they were engaging in illegal activity and have what's coming to them (selective enforcement, what a wonderful phrase...). It's simply cheaper to throw bad creditors under the bus than to start a war.
In the end, you are right: the galactic superpowers could smash the Consortium to bits. But what would that gain them?
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Ah, I think I understand better. 
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For the record, the Consortium's member states do not just show up for repossession action and start hacking away with their planet crackers and shortman fleet. They actually go through the central government where the target resides and get permission, after providing proof that the debtor has been delinquent on debts for the contractually-mandated amount of time, and thus the Consortium creditor has earned the right to repossession. This is almost always granted, because it's likely that a debtor who isn't paying their loan to the Consortium is also delinquent on their taxes or tithes to the central government (irresponsible local governments will borrow from the Consortium creditor to pay their taxes, which eventually leads to them owing money to both parties), and they too will get a cut for the repossession. In fact, if the debtor is particularly threatening, the Consortium creditor will often ask for assistance from the central government's navy. The conflicts between the Consortium and the other galactic powers often come about when their PMCs are hired by opposing sides in a war (although they have a rule that no Consortium member will ever engage another in combat in a war between foreigners), or when a debtor is paying their Consortium creditor in lieu of paying their taxes and tithes, and the central government sends in a force to force payments. The latter is normally hashed out in one of the Protectorate's courts, and is actually the most useful service the Protectorate provides in the modern galaxy.
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Aah, that makes a lot of sense.
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I'm wondering, what degree of leeway is allowed in regards to hedonic engine research? Would any sort of simulated world be banned, or are there loopholes that states like the Consortium can exploit for great profit?
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The intergalactic rule is a several-factor test: realism, permanence, and pleasure. Realism being how convincing the simulation is: if it is unclear that the simulation is a simulation to all users at all times, then it's banned. Permanence is also several factors, including life support; voluntary removal from the simulation must be available at all times. Pleasure is more variable, but outright paradises are banned, as is anything involving chemical, electrical, psychological, or other modification of a sapient's brain to be more accepting of the simulation.
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I love the use of micro-wormholes as a way of instantly transferring data. I use the idea myself as a way to have instant interstellar communication without having something like subspace or hyperspace. I figure it's also really secure since it's sending data directly from the transmitter to the receiver: there's no way the data can be intercepted or eavesdropped on.
It sounds like the Consortium would benefit greatly from armor plating on their ships incorporating heatsinks into the surface. If their shields aren't the best then having hull armor that can diffuse some of the heat from lasers would give another small layer of defense. They might also benefit from heavy use of small fighter craft in conjunction with their missiles. Point defense systems on enemy ships would have to split their focus allowing more of the missiles to get to their targets. A good tactic would be to launch a salvo of missiles and follow that up with the fighters: the enemy point defense systems would focus on the missiles while the fighters could focus on taking out the point defense systems and/or the larger enemy weapons with greater range.
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Consortium materials are fairly decent in absorbing heat, but considering the sheer firepower of what they're expected to go up against, it only helps so much.
As for fighters, the Consortium does make heavier use of drone fighters and bombers than most other galactic powers.
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After posting that I got to thinking about lasers. Not much you can do about particle weapons, but lasers have a major flaw in their design as an offensive weapon. Any high powered laser is going to have to use some kind of mirror in their resonating cavity, which means the mirrors used to make them viable as a weapon also make excellent armor against them. This of course isn't a major drawback as you could still cut through the armor by boosting the power of the laser. You would just have to replace the mirrors in the resonating cavity more often. Aluminum, for instance, is very resistant to the kinds of lasers used to cut it, but they still cut it. Maybe a good armor design would be to have the mirror-armor on the outside and the heat-absorption armor on the inside with a layer of dense coolant gas between them. The gas layer would be especially effective if it could be ionized without compromising its heat-absorbing properties so that it could "stick" to a polarized hull instead of just leaking out as soon as the outer mirror-armor is cut through. Do the galactic powers also use directed energy weapons for their ground forces, or do they use conventional weapons? It's my understanding that directed energy weapons aren't particularly useful in terrestrial atmospheres because dust and air particles cause loss of cohesion and significantly reduced beam power. If you had a compact enough device capable of generating enough power though that might not matter.
I do love these tech descriptions you do. They make me think about things like this and help me research things I could use for my own worldbuilding.
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The galactic powers primarily use variants of plasma weapons, which will just melt mirrors. Lasers are also high-powered enough in the setting to just melt through mirrors. The sort of "weak" energy weapons you're talking about haven't been in use for tens of thousands of years.
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