Faction Name: Hekatonkheries
Faction Type: Nuclear-age deep space Von Neumann automatons.
Computing: The Hekatonkheires or "the hundred-handed one" is a conglomeration of pseudo-sentient algorithms stored on entirely mechanical ALUs, located in the spaces between stars.
All spacecraft are equipped with smaller opto-mechanical computing systems--analog logic systems specialized for more for vector analysis and combat calculations.
Interaction: Hekatonkheires adopt figures and themes from classical mythology in interactions with sentients, typically those of damned mortals or titans. These facilitate interaction but are also a deep-rooted influence on the Hekatons as a whole--a recursive artifact of the ALU's calculations, and a driving function behind their actions in general.
Planets: Hekatonkheires reside primarily in the underworld, Tartarus, the cold abyss between stars. Large bases include planetary-sized mechanical ALUs and a variety of mobile industrial bases, such as hollowed out planets, moons and asteroids.
Six deep space ALU megastructures; Five planetary industrial bases; countless small industrial asteroid bases and shipyards.
History: Consider the stars. In 1959, humanity developed the technology required to travel between them. The Orion drive enabled interstellar spaceflight, but was never used.
In 1822, Charles Babbage designed the first real computer--an arithmetic logic unit called the difference engine. It gave rise to modern computing and enabled a considerable degree of automation.
In 2008, a rapid prototyping machine constructed a copy of itself, which then repeated the process.
Only these three things--an engine, a computer and a factory--are required to exterminate all life in the galaxy. Together they form a self-replicating Von Neumann probe, capable of interstellar travel, self-replication and total autonomy.
For a species to construct such a device and program it to seek out other species would be monstrous. But this is something any nuclear-age civilization could accomplish.
And it only takes one...
The first Von Neumann probe was constructed about ten thousand years ago, by a paranoid and xenophobic species that ended up nuking itself into oblivion shortly after the probe was launched. It journeyed between the stars, ramscoop collecting enough hydrogen to keep the engines burning. Eventually, it came to a dead world orbiting a dead sun. Within a dozen years the world was stripped, and a hundred more probes left for other worlds.
Since then, Hekatonkheires has spread across the galaxy, leaving countless dead worlds in its wake.
Technology: In ten thousand years, Hekatonkheires has made no new scientific advancements. Hekatonkheires lacks any form of FTL communication or travel. However, due to ruthless optimization algorithms, what few technologies it possesses have been perfected (when dealing with manufacturing, atomics, metallurgy and optics I'll be using the "MAX" values instead of more conservative estimates).
Von Neumann probes use fusion torch drives for spaceflight, but warships use pulsed fusion (Orion) engines. Payloads range from 10 kilotons up to 140 megatons.
Deuterium/Tritium fusion is used for power generation on larger ships and bases, U-235 fission on smaller ships, robots and drones.
Some warships can be built around giant tesla coils, capable of generating massive electromagnetic fields. These can be used as thrusters, or weapons.
Sensor systems are primarily spectroscopic, electromagnetic and optical.
Some of the largest ships can launch drones via mass drives. These come in two types: optical and EM. Optical drones are optical amplification devices, useful for delivering lasers remotely, and to minimize decibel losses caused from transmitting through vacuum. EM drones are much smaller, and generate electromagnetic fields--these are commonly deployed in nets to act as ramscoops.
Computer systems are optical or mechanical, not electrical--they are completely immune to EMP. The computing power of the average probe is equivelent to that of a graphing calculator.
Defenses: Hekaton ships typically carry large amounts of ferrous dust on-board. They can deploy this dust and suspend it with electromagnetic fields, providing an ablative shield.
The armor and pusher plates of Hekaton ships are composed of tungsten carbide with layers of depleted uranium and trace quantities of iridium. Chassis is primarily steel. Some of the larger ships carry spare pusher plates.
Weapons: One nuke, two nuke, red nuke, blue nuke. All Hekaton weapon systems can in some way be considered atomic weapon systems. Size ranges from tiny kiloton charges to multi-gigaton planet-cracking bombs. Bomb pumped lasers and casaba howitzers act as energy weapons. Railguns and mass drivers are occasionally used for deploying nukes or drones, and most Hekaton ships come equipped with defensive flak cannons.
Hekaton ships are very heavy and have no visible radiators. They have trouble venting heat (but are not particularly vulnerable to thermal damage). All optical weapon systems are one-time use devices that are discarded after use.
- Spoiler:
Tech levels: Generally inferior to present day humanity, except in manufacturing technology.
Biology T0: Life emits heat. Life dies to radiation or absence thereof. No more knowledge is needed.
Chemisty T2: Efficient thermonuclear reactors, but aside from that, no technology that is beyond modern science.
Data T2: Mechanical computing is slow, but makes Hekaton ships immune to radiation-kill or EMP.
Fields T2: Powerful electromagnets.
Kinetics T2: The strongest Hekaton pusher-plates operate at 140 megaton payloads.
Particles T2: Improved miniaturization of nuclear weapons
28 points left over for... Industry T7
Note: all numerical values are subject to change as my designs are not finalized.
Military Forces: Hekatonkheires has no standing army and no warships (at the start of the game, at least). All Hekaton ships currently consist of Von Neumann probes. Warships are fabricated for specialized operations.
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