Achelia

“They say that from the wind's first sigh
Achelia glistered in the sky,
But as greed grew and business flourished
Its natural riches were malnourished.
The brutal planet went to battle
For promises of wealth and chattel.
But this greed was soon elided;
Achelia - a world divided.”

• Achelia consisted of a solar system with one settled planet and an assortment of surrounding planetoids, asteroids and other celestial bodies not fit for long-term habitation.
• Before the war, Achelia was a corporate hellhole filled with sweatshops and greedy businesses.
• The Tungsten Roses allied with Kedalion to change that, executing a swift revolution against Klaycorp.
• Several years after the war, Kedalion exerts a significant amount of control over Achelian affairs and the Roses, among others, are making an effort at resistance.

It often comes as a surprise that Achelia didn't begin as a simple business venture; most people assume that the planet famed for its mineral wealth has always been a production base for the raw materials that power the Seven Systems. Originally, however, people settled for the planet's natural beauty and the captivating manner in which surface crystals shone in the darkness, making Achelia appear as a giant gemstone in the sky. It was only later, when the first settlements grew into a phase of heavy industry, that Achelia gained its reputation as a harsh, greedy planet. Once people realised that their planet's mineral wealth could be traded away for a profit, all bets were off - in a cutthroat dash to pick the world clean, corporations sprang up practically overnight. The successful stayed in power for centuries, whilst those who failed were destined to become Achelia's lower classes, toiling away in sweatshops for their former competitors.

By the time the Ananke Conference was held, Achelia was under the control of its moguls. A nominal government had been put in place; the so-called 'Regulators' acted as a diplomatic organisation and a trade watchdog, supposedly ensuring that Achelia's businesses would be protected whilst also giving its working class a tolerable living standard. To no-one's surprise, the group was corrupted. People soon stopped asking if government officials were on a corporate payroll, and instead started wondering which corporate payroll they were on. With vast wealth disparity now the planetary norm, the downtrodden needed someone to turn to - and that salvation came in the form of the Tungsten Roses. Initially a grassroots artistic movement, young sculptors, architects and metalworkers banded together to try and bring creativity back to Achelia, by combining the brutalist style of the planet's mass accommodations with the vibrant colours of idealised planets like Kybele. For the Roses, the Ananke Conference was an opportunity to show to the Seven Systems that Achelia was no longer merely one vast factory.

After the conference, the Roses really came into their own. A deal made with Kedalion gave them the edge over Klaycorp in exchange for some concessions that seemed comparatively minor. Although the revolution was fairly bloody, it was also quick, and peace settled over the planet. However, before too long Kedlaion began exerting more and more control over the Achelian way of life, leading to rumbles of discontent against the people’s former allies.

Internally, there has been a great deal of strife over the past 20 years. The Tungsten Roses, formerly just an artistic movement, banded together to make a concerted and organised effort towards resisting corporate control, and after a few years, they even managed to gain majority control of the planet, vastly improving the quality of life for the average Achelian.

However, while the Roses had some help from the Kybele Blue Carnation house, their triumph was largely due to Kedalion support, and in exchange Kedalion corporations were allowed to set up shop in all of the former Klaycorp factories. This also led to a lot more cultural integration between the two nations, up to an including the introduction to Achelia of the enhanced, people who have had integrated optis installed into their heads. These optis come with significant advantages, but many are worried about the potential loss of autonomy and the constant computer surveillance.

This has led to rising tensions again in recent years, as more people become enhanced and Kedalion corporate control grows. While living conditions are significantly better than previously, many are concerned that human automation is stifling creativity and freedom. Many Kedalions appear to agree, having fled to Achelia to avoid the increasing integration of human and machine at home. The Tungsten Roses and their allies have retaliated with a series of strikes against Kedalion factories, using uprisings and forcing industrial accidents, rather than outright provoking war at any point.

Achelia is a moderately divided planet - divided between those who cling to the old Tungsten values of art and freedom, and tohse who prefer the ease and comfort of Kedalion optimisation. The majority of people work in factories, though generally as overseers to the sea of machines that waves everywhere that wasn’t actively occupied by people. In addition to this, Kedalion has established several 'embassies' and 'security centres' on the surface of Achelia, to ensure co-operation from the general population. That isn’t to say that the Achelians have been subdued, however: small sweatshop skirmishes, always a feature of corporate life, have been growing into a larger movement headed by the remnants of the Tungsten Roses.

Many of the Tungsten Roses are now based in asteroids and moons around the planet, out of the ever watchful eye of the optis. From there, they make the occasional strike and send out regular broadcasts, maintaining a tight-knit network of communicants.