First Contact

Chapter 111

There are weapons in the Terran arsenal that those of us of other species would shy away from possessing. Weapons of such terrible power that they risk entire planets, entire planes of reality, risk everything you could possibly imagine.

It is easy to see a Terran, jaunting about the galaxy without a care in the world, eagerly throwing themselves into danger for fun, for respect, for profit, and think they are silly and vapid. If you have been to Terra, you know of the insanity of their species, that their capacity for self-delusion knows no bounds. It is easy to look at their history and decide that they doubtfully are half-crazed.

You would not be wrong.

Terrans are half mad. They have pursued technological developments and theories beyond any that any other species has bothered with. No, not bothered with, dared to research. They discovered how to make themselves nearly immortal and shrunk back from it, as the idea of an immortal Terran is frightening to them. To the risks they take, to the joy the approach life and exploration with.

Terrans are big believers in risk, in taking chances. Much of their philosophy centers around 'no risk - no gain' and 'glory exists in the minds of others forever and females enjoy the appearance of tissue scarring' as well as a belief that what they are currently facing might not kill them.

I, personally, have witnessed a human stare at a tall mountain and ask me if I wished to climb it with them. For what reason? Because it is there. For the 'thrill' of it.

Now, you might be asking why this is important. Well, it is simple.

Terrans believe that there are three parts to a weapon. The ability to manufacture it, the ability to deliver it, and the will to use it.

As you have learned in previous lessons, for the majority of the galactic community, less than 0.01% of a population is able to engage in hyperviolent activities such as war. Less than 0.12% can even engage in violence without serious emotional injury that can require extreme therapy to ease.

For humans it is different. Every single human you ever encounter, read about, see at a distance, or hear of, is capable of violence. Physical, political, emotional, philosophical, and, yes, lethal violence. The majority will not, but humans have something called 'being pushed' and 'across the line' that means, basically, that if you antagonize a human beyond a certain point, and each human is different*, then they will respond with some type of violence. Additionally, their escalation and transfer of violence happens rapidly.*

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The most peaceful and kind human you may ever meet, who weeps over the slightly emotional, political, philosophical, or ethical violence done to them is capable of reacting with lethal violence under stressors.

You may be asking why this is part of this lecture. Well, your confusion will only deepen as I go into human history.

Humans are a young race. They have possessed actual spaceflight for less than 10,000 of their years. Five hundred generations (Human life expectancy was, as recently as 12,000 years ago, measured in a mere handful of decades) ago for them.

Less than 30,000 years ago, they were largely hunter gatherer. You heard that right, hunter gatherer. They quickly moved to agricultural, then metal working, then industrial. It is here that many species end up choking themselves on toxic clouds and poisoning their water. This hurdle was overcome and they made it to the atomic technologies. From there to the information edge. Each hurdle, humans approached faster and faster. Rather than backing off from dangerous technologies until they could overcome the hazardous sections, they jumped to developing technologies to overcome the hazards, faster and ever faster.

To understand humans deeper, you must understand that as recently as 11,000 years ago they were still split into geological region groupings. In order to protect hunting areas and, later, resource extraction areas, they were forced to use violence. Despite the fact they are a "post-scarcity" race and culture, they still violently protect their regions.

We must, as student and educators, admit that humans did not have a warm welcome to the galaxy. Where the majority of our varying species were allowed to explore and settle planets in peace, sometimes for thousands of years, only moving to a new planet when population growth demanded it, humans found themselves under attack from other species within a hundred years.

Once they developed space travel, rather than seek out other areas of exploration, they spent decades building massive fortresses and combat fleets before journeying out into the greater reaches of space again.

Due to this factor, human technological development did not stop when it came to weapon technology. They continued to develop ever more powerful weapons, ever stronger weapon technology, armor, shields. Faster engines, new alloys, new ways of traveling.

And in doing so, they created weapons weapons of great and terrible power.

Yes, every species has developed their own versions of the so called 'planet-cracker' as well as methods of 'glassing' a planet.

You must understand, students, that Terrans developed every single known type on their own and improved upon them.

But those are not the types of weapons, class, we will be discussing. Every race has a planet-cracker, a planet duster, a glassing weapon. The Terrans have weaponized peaceful technologies.

There is a saying: A tool is only a tool until you need to kill someone and then it makes a marvelous weapon. A Terran saying, true.

Which brings us to the saying that involves our subject. The most dangerous weapon that Terrans possess.

The saying, students, is simple: There are no dangerous weapons/technologies/items, merely dangerous Terrans.

Why? On the evolutionary scale your various races took millions of years, hundreds of thousands of years, to merely approach each Paradox Boundary. There was the subtle hand of micro-evolution, to encourage cooperation, trust, hegemony. Without exception the invention of basic agriculture resulted, then, in hundreds of thousands of years, possibly millions, before the wide-spread adoption of smithing base primitive metals.

Every one of your ancestor spent more time arguing over whether or not the plow would be too disruptive to your society than humans did going from primitive planting to detonating atomic weapons upon their own cities.

I will wait for you to recover because you heard that right, the first use of atomic power was first a weapons test and then two detonations upon human cities during a war.

Interestingly, this may have actually been a boon to their species. By detonating only two, it made the Terrans aware of the damage and horror of atomic weapon use. This use may have been why they passed that Paradox Filter, because they understood, at more than an academic level, what kind of damage atomic weapons could provide.

But no, they did not turn away from the possibility of using atomics as some of you with raised hands are likely to suggest. Instead, they armed wildly. With only one world, they prepared, if necessary, to destroy that world in order to save it according to ethos.

Which is why, if you continue to study humans, both academically and empirically, that you understand a simple thing about humans.

That they will destroy anything that threatens them. A human will fight a planet and declare victory if he adapts to it or forces it to adapt to him.

That, dear students, brings us back to weapons of such terrible power, that no other race has been willing to use them.

A Terran.

Imagine, for a moment, if you would, students, that you lead a government of a planetary cluster. Now, you are being threatened by another government, species, or ethos. Think of every weapon you know of.

Now, imagine putting those weapons in the hands of Terra and stating: Kill them.

Let us wait until your classmates have recovered.

As this is Terran Studies, you should know: You will be exposed to violence of all types, just in studying their history. You will be exposed to aggression just watching infant humans play. You will be exposed to their artwork, music, and culture.

This is the reason this course study, this major field of expertise, requires medication and therapy unlike many other educational paths.

During this course, you will learn as much as possible about the greatest paradox the universe has ever created: The Terran.

Turn your textbook, Caves: Artwork and History, to page one.

--Human Studies - The Children of TerraSol. Day One.

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The examination of this so called "Terran Confederate Space" has proven that several initial assumptions were based upon a flawed understanding of the Terrans themselves.

The Terran Confederacy of Aligned Governments covers a startling twenty-two different species, not counting the thirty species that were 'uplifted'. Two species are extinct but still are considered a part of the Confederacy: Terran Descent Felines and Terran Descent Canines, two failed species that should be nothing more than an anthropological curiosity but instead are kept in some kind of revered status among not only the humans but several other species.

The Terran Confederacy covers 18,284 planetary systems, ranging across all known star types. Of interest to the Unified Military Council planning any military operation is that one cannot depend on the existence of a planet within the Green Zone to delineate which systems may have Terran industrial or military operations within the system.

A recent scout probe of a Chthonian Planet discovered Terran mining operations as well as a heavy military presence. Another scout probe discovered a mining operation on the surface of a Brown Dwarf star. In another probe of an unusual stellar mass a probe discovered some type of Terran structure involving a Neutron Star orbiting a Singularity although the probe avoiding getting too close.

Reliance upon scout probes by vehicles launching from within the Oort Cloud of the system has proven to be both a boon and a hindrance. While Terran sensor systems are well known to be extremely sensitive (A fact that must be reconciled by our peers in the Unified Military Council, just based on observed evidence during the so called PreCursor War in the Neo-Sapient Systems) passive system only probes have worked well. Unfortunately, the few active system probes have never returned and several vessels had very close calls with Terran Confederate Navy ships that have gone to investigate the probable source of the probes.

Terrans appear to be willing to live on planets inhospitable to their species. From high gravity to toxic atmosphere to extreme temperatures, Terrans are willing to use genetic engineering as well as technological means to overcome these difficulties.

This means that the stellar systems within the borders of the "Confederacy" could very well harbor Terrans, their allies, or their rivals. No system can be left unexplored and unsurveyed without running the risk of missing any large forces of Terrans.

It is believed that several of their allies, most notably the Rigellian Compact, the Sky Nebula Alignment, the Treana'ad, and the Mantids are only allies of convenience and may abandon or otherwise fail to assist the Terrans in any large scale conflict. This is due to the Terran Confederacy's history of brutality toward those species during past wars that are quite recent in the scale of history.

Remember, the current Confederacy is less than 5,000 Terran years old. This prevents long-term allies from developing as far as the Terran Confederacy goes.

The Terran Condfederacy consists of several main targets.

DIGITAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS: Inhabited by advanced artificial intelligence, layered virtual intelligence, and advanced virtual intelligence, these systems are largely devoted to research, industry, and resource extraction. After three wars with the Terran Descent Humans, it is likely they may be approachable to at least stay out of any conflict.

BIOLOGICAL ARTIFICIAL SENTIENCE SYSTEMS: Largely populated by "uplifted" and laboratory created species, the BASS is another ally that has a history of conflict with the Terran Descent Humans. While many of them identify as humans, the question of 'genetic legacy' makes them a body that must be planned to subdue through military means.

RIGELLIAN COMPACT: A group of six sentient species, it appears to be entirely saurian in nature. Given the genetic and evolutionary tendencies of saurian species, it is likely that any response from the RIGELLIAN COMPACT would be slow in coming. An estimation of their strength shows that the RC mainly prefers to peaceful settle worlds and carry on with their own lives. It is suggested that no pressure is put upon the members of the RC, this should keep them busy with discussion rather than coming to the defense of Terran Defense Humans.

TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS: A insectile race that may be related to the Mantids, the THW is largely interested in settling worlds. They have deeply integrated into the Terran government, military, society, and culture. It is without a doubt that the THW will come to the aid of Terran Descent Humans, as they largely view Terrans as their 'liberators' due to the introduction of birth control. They will need approached in the same way the Mantids had been approached: With force.

MANTID FREE WORLDS: Despite our initial dismay to hear that one of the Precursor Races have survived, we have determined through investigation and genetic examination, that the Mantid Free Worlds can be turned against humanity through the simple act of genetic repair. The return of the Mantid ruling castes would guarantee not only the withdrawl of Mantids from the Confederacy but Terran Descent Humans would be forced to divert signifigant military strength to suppress the ruling caste as well as guard themselves from any Mantid predidation. Approaching them with a combination of force to start a military buildup followed by the return of their ruling caste will not only eliminate them from the Confederacy but would also generate another threat to the Confederacy. If the MFW were to survive, they would be easily handled by standard Council methods. Suggestion: Military threat, genetic warfare.

Sky Nebula Alignment: Little is known of this government body. Requires further investigation.

CLONE WORLDS DIRECTORATE: This organization is made up of vast worlds full of clones. Clones are well known to become unstable. They have billions of members across several 'genetic lines', each with their own 'genetically optimized task' that is much the same as the Council uses to determine what profession a being is most suited to. Their military capability is unknown at this time, but it can be assumed that they are able to field vast quantities of troops as well as extensive space navy forces. As these are genetically Terran Descent Humans (with sometimes vast genetic alteration) they must be eliminated militarily. Genetic pacification will not be of use, as they will undoubtably have unaltered gene-stores. They must be eliminated completely and scoured.

TERRAN DESCENT HUMANS: This xenospecies is highly dangerous. Capable of high and low G planetary occupation, wide range of atmospheric tolerances, and many other unique abilities, they have not only highly aggressive as a species and culture, they are naturally inquisitive into scientific matters. Terran Descent Humans are capable of violence at nearly every level. This species, however, has been careless in its expansion as well as its spread, meaning that they are going to be thinly spread across their territory. TDH must be eliminated quickly and cleanly. Genetic attack is an option for the complete elimination of this species. Biological warfare additionally has shown great promise. It is doubtful that a species as impulsive and careless as Terran Descent Humans have taken any precautions against extinction events.

CONCLUSIONS: The Terran Confederacy is a hodgepodge of loosely aligned cultures, societies, and governments with no real centralized authority. Their planets are widespread with little social or cultural connectivity. Striking directly at TDH planets through a wide matrix of attacks should result in the elimination of TDH military forces and presence, allowing for a leisurely elimination of the xenospecies from the galactic stage. It is estimation that with proper planning, the presence of the xenospecies Terran and their loyal allies can be eliminated within a few years.

NOTE: While Terran technology is largely advanced compared to our own, the basis of their technology has already been investigated and the Unified Scientific Council should be able to quickly advance our own technology past the current Terran technological curve as well as to find methods of countering current Terran technology. By devoting at least 30% of the Unified Scientific Council's resources toward this effort it is estimated that the Unified Science Council should be able to offset the Terran Confederacy's technological advantages before the genetic warfare testing upon the first three sites has been completed.