Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 19:10:50 GMT -5
This topic is a child of the Pseudocrustaceans article directory.
BUT WHY?
Of the many creatures on Set, pseudocrustaceans are guessed to be one of its few genuine natives. They have existed for as long as there have been Loonies on the planet, pre-dating the Pioneer Network and the countless primitive tribes that occupied the planet before. Despite their long history, however, intelligent pseudocrustaceans were discovered late into the Pioneer Network's history, at roughly the closure of the Collection Era and the arrival of the blackworlders. Poignantly, the self-destructive crabs were found only thanks to the mysterious energy beings.
Previously, intelligent pseudocrustaceans were regarded as wildlife. Their tendency to overrun their native environment and literally eat themselves to death did away with any attempts to label them as sentient. When the blackworlders arrived around 770-830 OSC, they approached every species - barring mankind - that manifested any form of sentience. As a result, many pseudocrustacean tribes abruptly found themselves haunted by black spectres beyond their understanding. Many tried to evict the blackworlders. Some even attempted to eat them. The crabs found no success.
On the heels of the blackworlders were many Loonies, militias, and curious onlookers. There, they found creatures of seeming omniscience trying to communicate with primitive tribes of hungry crabs. News of the discovery spread slowly. Ridicule slowed it at every turn. Eventually, it finally sunk in; the crabs could talk. They could use tools, form societies, grasp the concepts of language and culture, even establish diplomatic relations with others. Intrigue sprung up quickly. An entire intelligent species - perhaps even several - had gone unnoticed on the margins of the Pioneer Network. Many sought to begin the careful process of integrating them into Set at large.
The effort took place around the time of 780-840 OSC. It was a failure of unimaginable magnitude. It earned its place as one of the lowest points of the Pioneer Network's tenuous history, a time referred to by various sources as the "crabpocalypse", "crustaceageddon", and "the worst mistake anyone has ever made". Officially, it was referred to as the Native Uplifting Arrangement, or NUA, sponsored only loosely by the Pioneer Network - who by-and-large opposed the project. It was initially headed by Zaschian interests, but eventually gave way to unionite management. Notable opposition included the bulk of humanity and the majority of the redworlders.
The NUA succeeded - for a time - in uplifting several stable tribes of pseudocrustaceans. They began somewhere in the Iron Age and rose to a level of technological sophistication bordering that of the Industrial Age. Swiftly after, the project threw itself into chaos; the growing crab nations grew, as they always did, and began to expand unchecked across Set. Attempts to dissuade them were futile as birth rates skyrocketed under the accelerating pace of technology. Attempts to peacefully corral them saw limited success. In short order, the crabs drove out dozens of towns and exhausted the resources of their home territories. Eventually, their expansion ran up against several major Looney facilities.
What followed was a war that remains the source of limitless Looney intrigue to this day. Just as they had done to towns before, pseudocrustacean armies threatened violent action if the Loonies did not hand over their bunkers and leave their respective regions. The Loonies refused entirely. Threats escalated for months until a final message infuriated them. To the pseudocrustaceans of Ulunsidaen, sent from the Ferrington Command Post; "go boil yourself". Those three words alone tipped the crabs to war.
The Loonies and pseudocrustaceans were not the only participants in the conflict that followed. Innumerable towns, militia garrisons, and even entire cities were pulled into the maelstrom of crabs and men as vast, hard-shelled armies clashed with handfuls of hard-boiled Looney strike teams. Virtually every species on Set was soon dragged into the war against the pseudocrustaceans. The open conflict enabled some crab nations to expand and seize territory. For others, it was a hard-fought failure, an incessant genocide laid upon a war machine that was practically born to die.
In the end, each nation of pseudocrustaceans was isolated, destroyed, and scattered. Few chose to surrender, and those that did often reneged on their surrender terms. A total casualty figure for the pseudocrustaceans was never established; there were simply too many to count. At least twenty thousand on the side of the Pioneer Network were killed over a span of roughly sixteen years, some by crab raiders after the conflict had ended. While most were human, startlingly few were Loonies, who were presumed to account for only 2% of the war's losses.
Pseudocrustacean history largely terminates following the end of the Native Uplifting Arrangement. There have been no cultural scars or interspecies tensions since the NUA; few pseudocrustaceans are even aware it had happened. Fewer still are concerned with it. Only an infinitesimal handful are in the position to do much about it. Only a handful of crab nations have risen since the times of the Splinter Wars and the Big Split. Most have collapsed and been entirely forgotten. On the opposing side, most see the NUA - and every nation after - as little more than a mistake not to be repeated. Little sympathy is offered for the crab.
Among the most significant of lost crab nations were the Gungerud Republic, Tssukuk Nowlo, and the West-North Jundi Federated States. All three occupied territory in the Green Sea over their century-long histories. All three were involved in a catastrophic nuclear war, taking place in roughly 1121 OSC, that completely destroyed each participant. Countless smaller crustacean nations were destroyed alongside them. Few knew any of them had existed until they were gone. Today, the scars left behind have healed, grown over by the Green Sea's thick flora. That there is any evidence to suggest a nuclear war took place is thanks only to Space Looney observations from orbit - and lingering radiation in the region.
Present day crustacean nations include Bisker-Bissel near the Chopping Blocks, the Huralian tribes of the Baclama Desert, and the Kalngus Kingdom close to Shatter Bay. Pseudocrustacean tribes rule the former headquarters of the Fraverian United Trading Company in low orbit, squabbling over the scarce resources of the now-deserted station. The megastructure of Unity Station often sees small explosions of its pseudocrustacean populations during economic shortfalls or station expansions. Crab nations and communities rise and fall on a monthly basis. Few ever stand the test of time. Fewer still ever achieve notoriety.
BUT WHY?
Of the many creatures on Set, pseudocrustaceans are guessed to be one of its few genuine natives. They have existed for as long as there have been Loonies on the planet, pre-dating the Pioneer Network and the countless primitive tribes that occupied the planet before. Despite their long history, however, intelligent pseudocrustaceans were discovered late into the Pioneer Network's history, at roughly the closure of the Collection Era and the arrival of the blackworlders. Poignantly, the self-destructive crabs were found only thanks to the mysterious energy beings.
Previously, intelligent pseudocrustaceans were regarded as wildlife. Their tendency to overrun their native environment and literally eat themselves to death did away with any attempts to label them as sentient. When the blackworlders arrived around 770-830 OSC, they approached every species - barring mankind - that manifested any form of sentience. As a result, many pseudocrustacean tribes abruptly found themselves haunted by black spectres beyond their understanding. Many tried to evict the blackworlders. Some even attempted to eat them. The crabs found no success.
On the heels of the blackworlders were many Loonies, militias, and curious onlookers. There, they found creatures of seeming omniscience trying to communicate with primitive tribes of hungry crabs. News of the discovery spread slowly. Ridicule slowed it at every turn. Eventually, it finally sunk in; the crabs could talk. They could use tools, form societies, grasp the concepts of language and culture, even establish diplomatic relations with others. Intrigue sprung up quickly. An entire intelligent species - perhaps even several - had gone unnoticed on the margins of the Pioneer Network. Many sought to begin the careful process of integrating them into Set at large.
The effort took place around the time of 780-840 OSC. It was a failure of unimaginable magnitude. It earned its place as one of the lowest points of the Pioneer Network's tenuous history, a time referred to by various sources as the "crabpocalypse", "crustaceageddon", and "the worst mistake anyone has ever made". Officially, it was referred to as the Native Uplifting Arrangement, or NUA, sponsored only loosely by the Pioneer Network - who by-and-large opposed the project. It was initially headed by Zaschian interests, but eventually gave way to unionite management. Notable opposition included the bulk of humanity and the majority of the redworlders.
The NUA succeeded - for a time - in uplifting several stable tribes of pseudocrustaceans. They began somewhere in the Iron Age and rose to a level of technological sophistication bordering that of the Industrial Age. Swiftly after, the project threw itself into chaos; the growing crab nations grew, as they always did, and began to expand unchecked across Set. Attempts to dissuade them were futile as birth rates skyrocketed under the accelerating pace of technology. Attempts to peacefully corral them saw limited success. In short order, the crabs drove out dozens of towns and exhausted the resources of their home territories. Eventually, their expansion ran up against several major Looney facilities.
What followed was a war that remains the source of limitless Looney intrigue to this day. Just as they had done to towns before, pseudocrustacean armies threatened violent action if the Loonies did not hand over their bunkers and leave their respective regions. The Loonies refused entirely. Threats escalated for months until a final message infuriated them. To the pseudocrustaceans of Ulunsidaen, sent from the Ferrington Command Post; "go boil yourself". Those three words alone tipped the crabs to war.
The Loonies and pseudocrustaceans were not the only participants in the conflict that followed. Innumerable towns, militia garrisons, and even entire cities were pulled into the maelstrom of crabs and men as vast, hard-shelled armies clashed with handfuls of hard-boiled Looney strike teams. Virtually every species on Set was soon dragged into the war against the pseudocrustaceans. The open conflict enabled some crab nations to expand and seize territory. For others, it was a hard-fought failure, an incessant genocide laid upon a war machine that was practically born to die.
In the end, each nation of pseudocrustaceans was isolated, destroyed, and scattered. Few chose to surrender, and those that did often reneged on their surrender terms. A total casualty figure for the pseudocrustaceans was never established; there were simply too many to count. At least twenty thousand on the side of the Pioneer Network were killed over a span of roughly sixteen years, some by crab raiders after the conflict had ended. While most were human, startlingly few were Loonies, who were presumed to account for only 2% of the war's losses.
Pseudocrustacean history largely terminates following the end of the Native Uplifting Arrangement. There have been no cultural scars or interspecies tensions since the NUA; few pseudocrustaceans are even aware it had happened. Fewer still are concerned with it. Only an infinitesimal handful are in the position to do much about it. Only a handful of crab nations have risen since the times of the Splinter Wars and the Big Split. Most have collapsed and been entirely forgotten. On the opposing side, most see the NUA - and every nation after - as little more than a mistake not to be repeated. Little sympathy is offered for the crab.
Among the most significant of lost crab nations were the Gungerud Republic, Tssukuk Nowlo, and the West-North Jundi Federated States. All three occupied territory in the Green Sea over their century-long histories. All three were involved in a catastrophic nuclear war, taking place in roughly 1121 OSC, that completely destroyed each participant. Countless smaller crustacean nations were destroyed alongside them. Few knew any of them had existed until they were gone. Today, the scars left behind have healed, grown over by the Green Sea's thick flora. That there is any evidence to suggest a nuclear war took place is thanks only to Space Looney observations from orbit - and lingering radiation in the region.
Present day crustacean nations include Bisker-Bissel near the Chopping Blocks, the Huralian tribes of the Baclama Desert, and the Kalngus Kingdom close to Shatter Bay. Pseudocrustacean tribes rule the former headquarters of the Fraverian United Trading Company in low orbit, squabbling over the scarce resources of the now-deserted station. The megastructure of Unity Station often sees small explosions of its pseudocrustacean populations during economic shortfalls or station expansions. Crab nations and communities rise and fall on a monthly basis. Few ever stand the test of time. Fewer still ever achieve notoriety.
