Ad Astra

Almost as powerful as one of the major nations of the Star Ocean is the Psitech League. Without Espers interstellar travel would be impossible and the League is the largest and most influential group of Espers in the Omega Centauri cluster. But although the Psitech League could easily misuse these powers they’ve decided against doing so. Instead they always strive to work in the best interest of all humans: Espers and “normals” alike.

“Millenia ago, an alien species, we call the Elohim, tampered with human genome to create humans with extraordinary abilities. Espers are today the backbone of our species’ voyage to the stars. We are the Elohim’s legacy!” – Unknown esper

When human astronauts found the remains of an alien space ship on Mars, humanity was changed forever. One result of the research of Elohim technology was the “Prometheus Effect” that allowed to awaken the dormant gene that the Elohim had introduced into the human genome. When an esper’s abilities emerge they are often uncontrolled and it takes some training to master psionic abilities. So the Psionics Institute was founded to research psionics and train new espers. In these years the majority of society had a cautious if not hostile stance against espers. Especially people with strong telepathic abilities were feared. So the Institutes second mission was control of espers and their abilities.

As reaction on the Institute’s new mission espers started to organize themselves in the Espers Union, that was organized similiar to a worker’s union. The Espers Union fought for the rights of people with psionic abilities and gained more and more influence over the years. When the colonization of Halley II began, especially espers saw this as a chance for a new beginning. When the jumpgate closed the Espers’ Union took control of all Psionics Institute facilities. In the turmoil of the early years the goverment of the colony grudgingly gave in and didn’t move against the espers. Over the years espers showed their value to humanity. Without espers a lot of the secrets of the Elohim would never have discovers and fear and hostility were replaced with respect.

The Psitech League of today is the modern version of what the Espers Union and the Psionics Institue were back in the early days of Gaia. When someone with a latent psionic ability is found the Psitech League will use the “Prometheus Effect” to awaken his potential and train him in his abilities. But the Psitech League is much more than that.

With the discovery of the Elohim data cache on Alexandria the League created a xenoarchaeology and exploration division that was meant to find out more about the Elohim and their psionic-based technology. With the discovery of the psitech hyperdrive the espers actually gained monopoly on interstellar travel, because only espers are able to initiate a hyperspace jump sequence. So it’s no surprise that the League grew in money and power. But instead of misusing their influence the League has always tried to work in the best interest of all humanity.

The Psitech League owns and finances not only the Gaian Academy for Applied Psionic Sciences on Aeon, but also organizes xenoarcheological digs all over the Star Ocean and several of the leading hyperdrive technology experts are members of the League.

Of course not all registered espers are members of the Psitech League. Especially the Tovenaar Empire has made sure that the espers in their employ have severed their ties to the League. Their espers are mandatory members in the Mindwalker Corps, a quasi-military organization totally loyal to the General-Emperor.

The next installment of my Ad Astra series will finally shine some light on the most secretive organization in the Star Ocean: the Twilight Star.

As promised I will now share some information on the only corporate state in the Omega Centaury cluster:

The SpaceCorp Corporate State (Quick Facts)

Main World: Kobe, 4th planet of the Kansai System
Government: Corporate State
Head of State: CEO Moriann Sakata
Official Language: Japanese
Official Currency: Yen
Military: Professional Army/Navy
Major Religions: Buddhist 62%, Atheist 28%, Other 10%
Major Worlds: Kobe, Toshima, Nerima, Shinjuku, Arakawa, Kanto, Chiba, Kyoto

“Contrary to the vulgar belief that men are motivated primarily by materialistic considerations, we now see the capitalist system being discredited and destroyed all over the world, even though this system has given men the greatest material comforts” – Ayn Rand 20th century writer

One of the corporations that took part in the colonization efforts in the 22nd century was the Japanese SpaceCorp Corporation. SpaceCorp not only supplied a lot of the space ships but also sent thousands of highly trained and qualified workers, engineers and managers to the new world beyond the wormhole.

The mainly Japanese employees of SpaceCorp clinged to their langauge, tradition and work ethic even after the wormhole collapsed. The Gaian branch of SpaceCorp survived all hardships and as the first Gaian space ships travelled to the stars they were built by SpaceCorp engineers.

In 387 NR the newly elected CEO of SpaceCorp Ken Watanabe convinced the Gaian government to grant extraterritoriality to his corporation. A few decades after that SpaceCorp bought the Kobe colony from the Gaian Republic for an undisclosed sum. Until today the SpaceCorp Corporate State is the largest supplier of space ships and heavy machinery.

As a corporate state, SpaceCorp is not governed but managed. Minor rules and regulations are set by corporate bureaucrats at all levels. The major day-to-day operation is handled by the CEO. The board of directors, which advises and directs the CEO is directly elected by the stockholders.

The standard of living in SpaceCorp is very high, especially in higher branches of the management.

SpaceCorp is the faction of the Ad Astra campaign setting that changed the most from my initial ideas. In the beginning it was just another corporation. And it was still American. In a later version I made it a Japanese-Americam corporation with extraterritorial rights (much like the megacorps in Shadowrun). When I was leafing through GURPS Space for inspiration I reread the section about corporate states and decided to remodel SpaceCorp into a fully-fledged corporate state. While doing so I made it Japanese to give it a more unique flavor. But there are still a few details I have to work out. But since my campaigns focus will probably be on the Gaian Republic and the Tovenaar Empire, this can still wait a few more weeks.

SpaceCorp tries to stay neutral in all conflicts but has several trade agreements with the Gaian Republic.