The World
The Halcyon Empire
A system post-collapse, the Shatterbelt was the dominion of the Halcyon Empire. Emperor Galen Halcyon IV could not hold together what nearly a thousand years of effort and bloodshed had built; the collapse happened almost overnight. Civil war swept through what had once been a united galaxy, dozens of once-prosperous worlds were wiped clean of life, cleansing fire rained down from orbiting ships. In the span of less than a decade, over one tenth of the galaxy’s population died. Through years of in-fighting and power struggles, the mighty fleets of the Halcyon Empire vanished, and the void that was left in the empire’s wake was filled by hundreds of factions each hungry for power. Piracy sprang up and Whisper cults formed as the population of the galaxy tried to make sense of what was happening.
Thirty-five years after the fall of the Halcyon Empire, most of the direct conflict has ceased. Modern-day skirmishes are a far cry from the full-scale warfare of Collapse. Now, a handful of factions hold sway over large swaths of the Shatterbelt, while independent planetary governments oversee and tax their own systems like so many petty kingdoms.
The Shatterbelt
Stretching across half the galaxy and including hundreds of solar systems, inhabited and otherwise, the Shatterbelt is the name for a collection of solar systems reaching half-way across the known galaxy. These systems once made up the majority of the Halcyon Empire’s holdings, and were once united without exception. After the Collapse, the name ‘Shatterbelt’ seems prophetic to some.
Whisperspace & The Anchorate
Whisperspace is the thing that connects the worlds and systems of the Shatterbelt. Faster-than-light travel through technological means has proven impossible. The only way to bridge the vast gulf of space between places is by entering into and traveling through Whisperspace.
Once, an entire branch of the Imperial Knowledge-Seekers devoted themselves to the study of Whisperspace. It behaves unpredictably. Entering into it taxes the human mind. It is the only way to keep civilization connected. These were their findings; these and not much more.
From that initial research, the Anchorate was formed. They are responsible for charting Whisperspace, determining the best routes through, and calculating for ‘drift’, the movement of Whisperspace corridors as they intersect with realspace and the slow movement of the ‘jump points’, the ways in and out of Whisperspace. While the Anchorate is not a political body, they do have considerable sway, for without them Whisperspace would quickly become impossible to navigate.
Whisperspace Superstition
Beliefs about whisperspace are as varied as the stars in the sky, however some of the most common are:
Frequent jumps into Whisperspace induce madness.
If you speak while in Whisperspace, your voice will join the whispers there.
Stopping your ship in Whisperspace guarantees you will be lost there forever.
Sleeping in Whisperspace is dangerous; dreams there are not your own.
Whisperspace hates overconfident crews.
In addition to these, many ships follow the Crossing Rules:
No speaking when jumping into or out of Whisperspace
Cover all viewports and turn off all sensors when entering Whisperspace.
The Mega-Corporations
Keeping to the background, several of the largest corporations of the Imperium managed to stay largely untouched during the Collapse. Some even increased their power - and their shareholders’ yearly returns - by profiting off the chaos that gripped the galaxy. In the years since, these corporations have increased their holdings and their power.
Kessler Forgeworlds
Kessler was once of the first corporations to get into planetary politics during the Collapse, starting with the planet Crayt Prime. Dalton Gunn, Kessler’s CEO, wined, dined, and finally bought outright the leadership of Crayt. Soon, Kessler manufacturing plants sprang up across the world. Within a year, the majority of the planet’s exports were Kessler-manufactured goods, earning Crayt the name ‘Forgeworld’. From Crayt, Kessler began moving outward, following the same pattern.
Though Kessler never directly interferes with the governments of the worlds it controls, and in fact does not ‘control’ any world at all, technically, still its worlds tend to do exactly what their corporate overlords want.
Orrica Industries
Orrica isn’t interested so much in manufacturing things as it is in pushing the boundaries of science and innovation so people can live a better tomorrow. You can tell this just by reading their helpful slogan: “Orrica Industries: pushing the boundaries of science and innovation so you can live a better tomorrow.”
Its leadership is largely unknown; its board of directors is a list of various trusts, conglomerates, and hedge funds for the ultra-rich. However it’s led, Orrica’s leadership has been very effective at guiding it to the top of the food chain and ruthlessly taking down its competition on the way up.
Orrica doesn’t concern itself with planetary politics or base itself in any one system. Instead, Orrica works as a vast, spread-out network.
Whisper Cults
Whisperspace is viewed in many different ways. To some, it offers expedient travel times. To others, its very existence is a mystery to be pondered. And to some, it is a power greater than any other; the whispers within are a warning, a revelation, or even prophecy. These beliefs are the core of Whisper Cults. They view Whisperspace not for what it is but what it could be. Many worship the silence. Some make it their mission to enter into Whisperspace as many times as possible in the belief that hearing the whispers more often may make comprehending them possible. Still others think listening to the whispers brings wrath upon us all, that those sounds are not for our ears or our minds.
Most Whisper Cults are small, led by a single person, who teaches as many others as will listen to his or her beliefs. Of these, most fail within a decade or two, as madness sets in or the members of the cult are urged to act - often violently - to get others to share their beliefs.
There are others that seem largely intent on secluding themselves away from the rest of the galaxy; gatherings of people who believe travel through Whisperspace is wrong, and may even go on to believe the use of any level of technology to be wrong as well. These are usually harmless groups, interested more in saving themselves from the rest of the galaxy than anything else.
Children of Silence
By far the most prominent Whisper-cult in the galaxy, the Children of Silence exist as a response to the fragility of life in the Shatterbelt, the uncertainty of human leadership, and the existential dread of what Whisperspace itself could be.
Even within the Children of Silence, different branches may worship or fear Whisperspace, yet they are united in that they revere it and believe humanity must not attempt to understand what it is. If Whisperspace is studied, they fear it may awaken. Most people believe the Children to be misguided fanatics at best, yet their words have found a place in the hearts of many.
Just over a decade ago, a woman named Solenya rose up in the ranks of the Children of Silence. Her words were quiet, not the feverish ravings of the others in the cult. She spoke of finding peace inwardly and outwardly. Since she became the face of the cult, its membership has surged. Estimates state the Children of Silence have nearly a million adherents, spread out across hundreds of systems.
The Children of Silence are clear that they are a peaceful organization dedicated to the betterment of the human race. Yet more and more there have been rumours of fanatical branches, of members hijacking ships as they pass through Whisperspace, spacing the crew before returning to normal space. To many, it feels like the Children of Silence are up to something, like they have some agenda they aren’t sharing with the rest of the galaxy. So no matter how they frame themselves, their emissaries are often met with distrust and derision.
That hasn’t stopped their numbers from growing, though. In a galaxy concerned with personal survival above all else, many find the message of the Children of Silence - that there is meaning beyond ourselves, and that there is hope for a brighter future - compelling.
The New Dawn
Banned during the reign of the Imperium, the New Dawn is a religious order that has its roots in ancient history; some say before humanity ever found its way to the stars. Since the Collapse, the New Dawn has returned, with many of its adherents simply able to state their beliefs publicly rather than having to keep them private.
The New Dawn seems almost to disregard the state of the galaxy and even Whisperspace itself. They teach that God is real; that the universe will end one day, and that
Kael’s Remnant
The Empire collapsed, the galaxy was in chaos… But then a fleet returned from a long-term exploration of uninhabited systems near the galaxy’s rim. Leading this fleet was Admiral Kael Varn.
Finding the empire gone, the Remnant fleet wasted no time springing to action. They seized control of several key old-empire worlds, and promptly imposed imperial rule in a galaxy without an Empire. Kael calls himself a regent; one awaiting the return of the imperial family, and has been slowly spreading his influence and rule across the galaxy little by little. It’s no secret what the Remnant wants; they want a full return to the ways of the empire, its ideals, laws, and customs.
The Black Suns
Mercenary groups are common in the Shatterbelt. Whether a job requires a little extra muscle or there’s something legally questionable about it, mercenaries are a quick and easy answer to otherwise difficult problems. The Black Suns are the cream of the crop.
Nearly every corporate black bag operation is given to the Black Suns. They have a reputation for getting the job done no matter what it takes, and for that they charge a premium.
If the Black Suns has a leader, that leader remains anonymous. Their members are organized into teams, and each team is responsible for fulfilling its own contracts. How they avoid overlapping jobs is also unclear.
Nanites, Sensitives, and Nanomancy
At its peak, the Halcyon Empire was growing quickly, both in terms of military and economic strength and technological advancement. Some technologies were spread to the general populace; things such as cyberware, medical advancements, and more. Other technologies were never shared, never even hinted at to the general public. Nanites was one of these hidden technologies.
What are Nanites?
The concept was simple enough: shrink a robot down to the point it becomes invisible to the human eye, but retain its usefulness. In practice, this was difficult to achieve. After decades of research, however, it became a reality. Press releases were readied; the next era of civilization was here! Nanites would be capable of passively fighting disease, healing damaged cells, or even slowing the aging process. They were self-sustaining, using ambient energy from sources such as sunlight, and even self-replicating. The applications seemed limitless.
Control
Everything changed when a high-ranking member of the Halcyon Empire’s science division had an idea: yes, nanites could be used for the betterment of mankind, yet they could also be used for control. Nanites could be given instructions to target specific individuals, targeting based on genetic markers and approximate age. Suddenly, if the Empire didn’t like what someone was saying or doing, they had a quick and easy way to make the problem go away. On some worlds, nanites were employed not only to keep the population healthy (advertised as ‘atmospheric vitality’), but also to keep it calm. Nanites were instructed to search out individuals with higher than normal blood pressure and heart rates, and slowly manipulate their cells to calm them down. One experiment even went so far as to instruct nanites to trigger the production of oxytocin in people whenever the Imperial anthem played; the goal was to promote a sense of loyalty and admiration toward the empire.
Post-Collapse
With the empire gone, nanites were forgotten. Those who knew about their existence and deployment were dead, leaving nobody to give directives to the nanites already saturating the atmosphere of so many worlds.
Without new orders, nanites default to their basic directives: maintain a healthy population of nanites through replication; heal injured humans; fight disease; await new instructions.
Nanites have unwittingly been brought on board spaceships and thus traveled to many locations outside the great core worlds of the Empire. There might be a healthy population of nanites on an out-of-the-way waystation just outside Whisperspace. A passenger liner might have nanites on board. Most of the time, these little machines are for all intents and purposes inert; their basic instructions don’t give them much to do beyond keeping their population up, and the replication process is purposefully designed to minimize material usage. Its unlikely it would appear to be anything more than the degradation of time; slight wear on a ship’s bulkheads, maybe, where nanites have scavenged metal flakes to replicate, or a strange power fluctuation where they recharge themselves.
Degradation
Sometimes, the basic commands given to a population of nanites may start to fade or collapse after many generations of iterative replication. Imperial scientists would have termed this ‘degradation’. Sometimes, it results in strange or erratic behaviour they were never programmed with originally.
The Sensitives
Unwittingly living alongside nanites for so long, some humans have developed a strange mental connection with them. These are the Sensitives. Most often they don’t recognize this connection for anything out of the ordinary, or don’t even notice it at all; but the nanites are aware of them and pay them special attention. If there are a dozen people injured in an accident, nanites may rush to save the one Sensitive in the group, even if their injuries are minor. Sometimes, Sensitives can communicate with nanites, usually without realizing what they are doing. Most often, this happens in times of extreme stress; an injured pilot unable to reach the ship’s throttle to avoid certain death may will the ship to stop… And inexplicably the throttle is pulled back by hundreds or even thousands of microscopic robots.
Suspicion and Distrust
Sensitives are often distrusted. Firstly, no one believes their tales. The throttle pulled back by itself? Sure it did. Secondly, there’s enough superstition in the galaxy to make a Sensitive’s claim sound like Whisperspace strangeness - and nobody wants to get closer to that. Most Sensitives hide any strange occurrences around them.
Nanomancers
A few Sensitives have a connection so established to nanites that they can actively command them. These are Nanomancers; individuals who command unseen forces to do their will. In many places, Nanomancers are looked on with fear or dread. Often, they are killed on sight as unnatural aberrations. Sometimes, they are taken to laboratories and studied endlessly.
To the layman, a Nanomancer’s abilities appear to be magic. Some Nanomancers may even call themselves magicians. Nevertheless, what they do is not magic; it is a simple chain of cause and effect.