The Ananke Conference

On behalf of the Galactic Syndicate of Planets, I would like to welcome you all to this summit, an opportunity for all citizens of the Seven Systems – not just those gathered here today – to grow and learn from each other.

– An excerpt from the welcome speech made by Nuri O’Callaghan on Day 1 of the conference.

• The GSS Ananke was a space station formed as a collaborative effort between each of the Seven Systems.
• The ship was designed to host a pan-galactic conference in the name of unity.
• A variety of factors led to rising tensions both on-ship and otherwise, leading to mass panic when the comms went dark.
• The ship exploded on the eighth day of the conference, becoming the trigger point for a war that engulfed all seven of the Systems.

OC note: all information on this page will be available as print-outs in session.

The Ananke conference was meant to be a nine day conference dedicated to galactic peace and prosperity, as well as an opportunity for every planet to show off their native achievements. Over fifty thousand people were invited, and thousands of stalls, exhibits and panels were held. However, despite the optimistic vision, fate decreed that this was not to be. After heightening diplomatic tensions on the first few days of the conference, the comms went dark on the fifth day and, a scant three days later, the ship itself blew up.

Many people credit the Ananke conference, and subsequent explosion, with being the trigger point that started the War. Even those who primarily blame other diplomatic tensions cannot deny that the revelations made at the conference must have played a significant role in making the War happen when it did.

Among the many scientific marvels displayed at the conference was an experimental time travel device known as the Chronos Machine. While, to all appearances, a functioning time machine, the Chronos Machine was limited in that it could only send people back to locations and periods in which a very specific set of conditions hold. The one reliable cause of these conditions is a Chronos Machine (or similar device) being switched on.

The replica of the machine created in recent years appears to be able to send people back to any time that the previous iteration of the machine was switched on. Aside from extremely limited test conditions, the machine appears to have been switched on every day of the conference, except day one.

The GSS Ananke ship consists of nine main areas, one for each of the Seven Systems (containing both their respective exhibition space and accomodations), one for the GSP, and one as the common space for everyone (this is where the main hall and main conference room were located).

While many events on the Ananke remain a mystery, prior to the comms blackout the conference was heavily covered by news networks. These are some of the major events that took place over the five days we know about.

In addition, the CHRONOS team were able to set up a telemetry system which bypassed use of the main comms system. While the information they were able to broadcast is rudimentary, it gives us an idea of some of the things which may have happened to the Chronos machine after the blackout.

By the time it rolled around, the summit had been almost a decade in the planning. While it passed between hands multiple times, the woman who ultimately wound up in charge of the project was Sonya Ionescu, head of the organising committee.

Ionescu led a team of a few thousand people to run the conference. This included both the core team running the ship from the centre and a number of liaisons with individual systems. It was estimated that a small army of cooks, cleaners, engineers and administrative staff would be needed to keep the conference running smoothly. Tragically, it appears that this estimate was a lowball one.

Some scientists from the CHRONOS project were on the ship. The team was a small one, led by Hesiod Jones and Delilah and Hussein Al’Maktoum. As the first public demonstration of the Chronos Machine, the team attracted a fair amount of attention as the tests appeared to run smoothly, producing the predicted results. The results of the tests were relayed back to the core team until the comms were cut on day five.

While the tests attracted a reasonable amount of attention, of more note was the appearance of a few people, notably including a ‘Kendall Stone’ who appeared to be from the future. While some doubted the veracity of his claims, many more believed them and a general belief in the Chronos machine’s power spread throughout the station.

Some of the interest in the machine was notably commercial in nature. Interest from groups such as Kedalian corporations, the Kybele government and the Eunomian government was generally seen as positive, before a bidding war on the machine and the technology behind it broke out on day five of the conference. The team’s efforts to defuse the situation were proven to be unsuccessful, considering the riot that ensued.

The conference also served as an exhibition of the cultural and scientific achievements of the Seven Systems. Demonstrations, talks, panels and suchlike were common throughout the conference, with topics ranging from Achelian mining technology to a history of Cheimeran dance.

The best teams from each system's Model Galactic Syndicate were invited to the summit on the Ananke Conference as a way of fostering interplanetary links between the youth. Model Galactic Syndicate was a popular educational competition simulating the negotiations which took place in the actual Galactic Syndicate prior to the War.

In the first few days of the conference, the MGS delegates were frequently seen interacting and socialising with delegates from other systems. This was widely publicised, as it was seen as an optimistic sign for the future. On the second day of the conference,they notably took over a slot in the main area and gave a talk about peace. A Cheimeran delegate, Esota Clayborne, gave a memorable interview stating a hope that Cheimeros would end its isolationist policies and start opening up to interplanetary culture. The response of the older Cheimeron delegation is not recorded.

On the third day of the conference, Oscar Letts, leader of Briareos, announced planned trade sanctions against any systems threatening war. The gerontocrats hoped that by refusing to trade with belligerent planets, Briareos would be able to maintain peace between the Seven Systems.

Unfortunately, rather than encouraging peace and stability, this move served to heighten tensions between systems. As Briareos supplied a significant proportion of the food eaten in the Systems, several systems saw this as a significant threat, though it is noted that some Kedalion delegates described this as ‘a unique business opportunity’.

One of the most significant announcements of the conference wars the Kedalion-Eunomian weapons deal. The two nations had a longstanding alliance, and the deal was not necessarily unexpected. However, when it was revealed to the Systems as a whole by an enterprising Kybele journalist known as Jem, the scope of the deal was seen as a large and immediate threat.

The details of the deal were never revealed to the public due to the Kybele comms cut on day four of the conference. Whether this is related to the complete failure of the comms on day five is unknown, but it is known that Selas in particular took the deal as a threat and immediately strove to make protective alliances against it. This could be to blame for some of the worsening tensions within the War.

There were rumours of a fungi-based Selasi bioweapon being smuggled onto the Ananke. The GSP were informed of this, which resulted in a full-scale search of the Selasi Petal. No trace of bioweapon was found. The Selasi delegates protested heavily at this act of mistrust, but the seeds of doubt were planted and it is difficult to tell how much this rumour affected the attitude of the Systems towards Selas in the aftermath.

It is known that during the later stages of the war, Selasi agents released a devastating fungal contaminant onto the surface of Eunomia, perhaps lending credence to the idea that such a weapon was brought onboard.

Princess Eusenia, daughter of the ruler of Eunomia, was present on the Ananke as an ambassador of peace. However, on the fifth day of the conference, she was the subject of an assassination attempt on live television shortly before all the comms died. The last thing heard on broadcast was the heroic sacrifice of another delegate, Visionary Augustine, and a panicked accusation thrown at an Achelian delegate by someone off screen. The assassin's identity was never confirmed, as the Ananke was lost shortly afterwards.

The following is a report compiled by Mirza Ruan, general secretary to the CHRONOS team. It summarises known events on each day of the conference.

• 11:00 The ship is declared open. Delegates from across the Seven Systems start to arrive.
• 13:00 A light lunch is provided in the central zone to encourage delegates to mingle.
• 15:00 Opti Automation Solutions, in a display of incredible organisation skills, open up their demo lab, allowing conference attendees to test out the latest generation of Optis in a simulated environment, and see how they perform in various situations.
• 19:00 A welcome dinner is provided. The food was themed around traditional Cheimeron cuisine. A number of delegates announce hitherto-unreported shellfish allergies at the revelation of the meal, consisting mostly of shrimp paste and algae. The Cheimerons present were reported to express surprise at how good the food was.
• The Chronos Machine was not switched on, although it attracted a fair amount of attention form curious delegates. The scientists noticed some minor technical issues with the machine, but these were quickly resolved.
• Delegates with exhibitions set them up and ensure that everything was running effectively to open the next day.

• 0:00 The Chronos Machine is switched on to begin its warm-up phase. A few moments after the machine is switched on, a group of 23 people appear adjacent to it. The CHRONOS scientists are initially shocked, but adapt pretty well on account of already being aware that this is a theoretical possibility. One of the strangers quickly pulls the scientists aside to give them a debrief, the rest disperse.
• 06:30-18:30 Visionary historians deliver a public lecture programme on the history of the galaxy from 0 GC to the present day. The programme, delivered in the Eunomian exhibition hall, lasts the entire day, with short breaks for refreshments.
  • The tone of these programmes is, on the whole, very hopeful, with a focus on unity and the achievements of Eunomia. Attendees at these lectures remark that the programme was, on the whole ‘very compelling’ and ‘made some good points’.
• 12:00 The Chronos Machine is turned on for its first demonstration in a central exhibition stage. Two scientists from the project are sent back with a recording device, given a message to write down by a member of the audience, and return after an hour or so. Through the whole demonstration, a box is on the stage. The recording they took shows them appearing in a lab, writing down the message, and placing the note and a chronometer into the box, before returning. On their return, the box is opened - with the note as dictated by the crowd, and the chronometer showing a time a couple years later than that on the recording.
  • Several members of the CHRONOS team, in particular a scientist called Mana Ralone, are described as looking ‘shaken’. This is put down to nerves at the first test.
• 13:45 The Achelian petal hosts a display of what is termed in the programme as ‘interpretive strip-mining’. The large rock that formed the majority of the centre of the petal is quickly hollowed out by an expert team, making more room for later events.
• 14:00 Once the CHRONOS demonstration is concluded and packed away, the team of scientists make contact with one of their interns working on the newly-built Prometheus station, Grayson Stone. They ask him to set up a secure, remote storage facility on an asteroid near the station, which he does.
  • This done, they also start work on a remote telemetry system that doesn’t rely on the station’s Zidar arrays. This information is not made public, but is broadcast to the CHRONOS team and to the remote storage facility.
• 15:00 A corner of the Kybele petal is rapidly reallocated to so-called ‘Man of the future’ Kendall Stone, who conducts an interview with the major singing groups Delta-V and Egoistic Lily and, to everyone’s surprise, a couple of minor journalists called Jem and Hiro.
  • While there is initially some doubt about Stone’s status as being from the future, the musicians seem to believe him and word quickly spreads throughout the station. This is seen as a more interesting and compelling proof of the Chronos machine than the earlier experiments.
• 17:45 The leader of the Briarean delegation, Oscar Letts, fails to appear for a scheduled slot on the main stage. The slot is instead taken over by a group of delegates from the Model Galactic Syndicate conference who deliver a programme focused on interplanetary co-operation and peace.
  • The MGS are generally received positively. Buoyed by their success and restless after a long day of social programmes, a number of members go to set up a ‘philosophy cafe’ in a corner of the Briarean petal. Drinking and discussions of a ‘better tomorrow’ go on late into the night.
• 21:45 The Eunomian delegation report a theft from Princess Eusenia’s quarters. The delegation, in particular those close to the Princess, are on high alert.
• 23:58 The Chronos machine ends its cooldown phase. The visitors, by now widely accepted to be from the future, have mostly congregated back around the machine. They disappear as the machine is switched off.

• 0:00 The Chronos machine is switched on to begin its warm-up phase.
• 06:20 Oscar Letts appears, looking dishevelled, and announces that he was effectively ‘pushed into a cupboard’ by a group of children claiming to be his relatives. Fire in his eyes, he charges into the central area of the ship and announces an ultimatum demanding formal promises of peace from all systems, threatening food trade sanctions.
  • No formal response is recorded, though the Kedalion delegation were reported as appearing ‘less concerned’ than one might have expected.
• 09:00 – 18:00 The first day of the Model Galactic Syndicate conference starts.
• 10:00 Myriad Manufacturing unveil their new rapid prototyping station, able to quickly make small batches of just about anything. Early reports suggest that the system can create and build with composite materials with any required physical properties (e.g. rigidity, elasticity, thermal conductivity, or electrical properties), but can't mimic chemical properties, or radioactivity, and the resulting prototypes would not be safe and sterile for use as cybernetic implants.
• 12:00 The Chronos machine is given its second demonstration - the same as before, but this time with a volunteer from each system's delegation (though it is noted that none of the systems sent anyone particularly important). While some dismissed the previous day's demonstration as a magic trick, the visible surprise on several of the delegate's faces helps to convince more people of what they are seeing.
  • The crowd watch eagerly for the appearance of more people from the future, despite being told repeatedly by the CHRONOS team that ‘it doesn’t work like that.’
• 13:00 – 17:00 A selection of research, hand-picked by the government, was shown on the main stage of the Selasi area. Reviews of the display were poor, with many saying it felt more like a sales pitch than an exhibition of scientific merit. Some were disappointed, saying that they expected better from a nation known to be on the cutting edge of research.
• 15:16 A display of new and improved gasbag technology in the Briarean petal goes wrong when one of the gasbags explodes, causing an unpleasant smell to fill that sector of the petal.
• 19:54 Princess Eusenia reported as being involved in a fierce public argument with an Achelian delegate regarding a new mining technology developed by Eunomia and the environmental impact of asteroid mining.
• 21:30 Xanthe Criss, a prominent Kybele singer, suffers a wardrobe malfunction on stage. She blames it on Tulip Aster, leader of a rival group of singers, who denies all knowledge.
• 23:58 The Chronos machine ends its cooldown phase and is switched off.
• Many hushed conversations between politicians were reported in the wake of the Briarean ultimatum.
• Along with the Eunomian delegation, observers note that the Selasians also appear to have increased security.

• 0:00 The Chronos machine is switched on to begin its warm-up phase.
• 06:00 - 21:00 An all-day religious ceremony (open to all) is held in the Eunomian chapel. Throughout the service, alongside the sermons, there are music and dance performed by Eunomian artists sponsored by Princess Eusenia. Famous Kybele artists make guest appearances. Some see this as a gesture of reconciliation between the two cultures that are traditionally hostile to each other, others are simply confused.
• 09:00 – 18:00 The second day of the Model Galactic Syndicate conference starts. While the conference itself seems to go smoothly, the breaks are filled with what seems to be quite urgent planning. A lot of it focuses on the Briarean delegation.
• 12:00 There is another demonstration of the Chronos Machine. This time, volunteers are chosen from the (by this point quite large) audience. People ask for alternative demonstrations – but these requests are refused by the CHRONOS team, who seem rather on edge.
  • A series of informational leaflets are handed out in an attempt to forestall more questions about ‘when will the future people turn up?’
• 12:20 A Kybele journalist known as Jem (last name unrecoverable) sends out reports that expose the Kedalian-Eunomian weapons trade deal to Kybele and the whole galaxy. Despite eager inquiries made by a number of news outlets, no further reports are made.
  • It is suspected that the Kybele comms array went down shortly after the announcements. The cause of this is unknown.
  • Jem is suspected to have died in the immediate aftermath of the comms failure. Her body was recovered the next day with wounds fitting the profile of electrocution.
  • While tragic, this is also seen as further proof of time travel, as it is now clear why Jem was asked for an interview.
• 16:00 The Briareon delegation, attempting to recover their dignity from the previous day’s gasbag disaster, unveil some bioengineering said to allow people to survive with less food. The results are described as ‘horrifying’ and ‘ingenious' in equal measure.
• 22:15 Selasi delegates announce that they have signed a protection and nonaggression treaty with Briareos. Some of the delegates seem reluctant to announce this, with some describing Letts, off the record, as a ‘crazed old man’.
• 23:58 The Chronos machine ends its cooldown phase and is switched off.
• Unknown to the public until after the conference, at some point during this time an official alliance was forged between Kybele and Selas in response to the Kedalian-Eunomian arms deal.

• 0:00 The Chronos machine is switched on to begin its warm-up phase.
• 11:23 The GSP receive a report from a Kybele journalist known as Hiro (last name unrecoverable) that the Selasi delegates have smuggled a highly dangerous bioweapon onboard. The GSP security forces make enquiries and conduct a full-scale search of the Selasi petal, but no bioweapon is uncovered.
  • Selasi delegates make a formal protest against the GSP.
• 12:00 The Chronos machine is again demonstrated. The crowd is smaller this time, as it becomes clear that it will be more of the same from the previous days - and many people have other concerns.
• 17:45 A bidding war breaks out for the Chronos Machine in the main hall of the ship. Scientists responsible for the development of Chronos, led by Hesiod, attempt to calm people down, revealing that the machine was still in development stage and in no state for sale.
• 18:00 The Tungsten Roses hijack the gathering and the onboard speaker system, blasting music and spray painting slogans. This quickly devolves into a riot that spills out into the main conference room next door.
  • This conference room was in the process of broadcasting a peace talk led by Princess Eusenia.
• 18:15 A number of MGS delegates, released from the final day of the conference, burst into the main room with clear intent to deliver some sort of pronouncement, but are unable to in all the chaos.
• 18:40 Princess Eusenia is the subject of an attempted assassination. Fortunately, one of the Eunomian delegation, a Visionary called Augustine, notices the shooter and jumps in front of her, sacrificing his own life for the princess. Someone off-screen accuses an Achelian delegate of the crime.
• 18:42 The comms go out. No further broadcasts are made from this time.
  • Long-ranged sensors (ZIDAR arrays) suggested that the ship was still extant, but the internal fate was unknown.
• 23:00 The nearby planets of Achelia and Selas both send out probe ships to attempt to establish what happened on the ship.

No information could be gleaned publicly from the ship - communications efforts failed to make contact, but the ship still appeared on long-range sensors.

Information stored on the Prometheus asteroid shows a blip occurring some time around the middle of the day, suggesting that something happened to the machine. It is known that the machine was turned on at midnight and off at the next midnight, as had happened on the previous days.

No information could be gleaned publicly from the ship - communications efforts failed to make contact, but the ship still appeared on long-range sensors.

Information stored on the Prometheus asteroid shows an event in the machine’s readings leading to an instability growing within the machine’s core. It is known that the machine was turned on at midnight and off at the next midnight, as had happened on the previous days.

No information could be gleaned publicly from the ship - communications efforts failed to make contact, and at 15:00 the ship disappeared from long-range sensors.

Information stored on the Prometheus asteroid shows that the instability detected in the machine on the previous two days grew to extremely dangerous levels. The recording cuts out at the point where it reaches a critical level.

Events known to have been planned for this day include a closing dinner showcasing the finest cuisine from all of the systems, and a collaborative performance of cultural highlights from each system.

Investigatory ships from Selas and Achelia arrived at the last known coordinates of the Ananke. They found exotic matter which suggested that some the cause of the destruction may have been a collision between the station and an object travelling at faster than light (FTL) speeds - something that should not have been possible given the design of the station, as any FTL object should have decelerated to rest at a safe distance.