Writer's notes

This thread is for writers or people interested more in the world. I've obviously lifted a few tropes from the Steampunk and Victorian adventure fantasy genres. I'll be updating this page as more comes to me.

Writer's Guidelines: Entries MUST be in the diary, report, or letter format; something that someone had to write out to describe an event in the first person, regardless of which character it is focused on. For example, the story of Clara Hughes is primarily told in her diary, but includes the diaries and journals of her supporting cast as well to tell tales, offer alternative perspectives, and make it a more enjoyable, immersive story.
As far as content, as long as it doesn't violate site guidelines, kill or maim the main characters, or otherwise cause the story to come to a screetching halt (i.e: Clara screwed the servant adn now shes pregnat and raises the baby the end) I'll more than likely approve it. This world is based off of 19th century social customs and ideas, including the darker ones of colonialism, eugenics, racism, sexism etc as well as more "sci fi" themes such as alien worlds and exploration, etc. is allowed, but should have the proper gravity and consequences.

Writer's note: aside from a few luxury horses imported from Earth, all creatures on the planet are considered to be aliens, and therefore if some colonist gets snatched up and taken to an arachnirilla nest, go for it.
Feel free to add your own characters, inventions, locations, etc.

Setting:

Rajah 4: A planet fairly similar to Earth with 10% more oxygen. Everything is bigger, faster, more lush, and muggier. For this reason, the initial settlers were servants from the tropical regions of Earth. Bioluminescence is fairly common in both the flora and fauna. Animals are mostly quadrupedal with similar evolutionary solutions as ours: fangs, scales, fur, carapace, etc. Due to fierce competition, most animals display a disturbingly high intellect.

Regions: New India
The jewel of the Empire's crown. New India is the most developed province on Rajah 4. Completely owned and operated by the East Orion Trading Company, New India is the home to the pampered and beautiful of the Empire's elite; long ago escaping the slums and smog of the Terrestrial Empire.

Major cities:
Rajakesh: Rajakesh is the capital of New India, and by default Rajah-4 as a whole. It hosts the planetary headquarters of the East Orion Trading Company, the Cosmoliner hub, and the Grand Rajakesh Somatrain Station, from which one can travel to any of the world's colonies. Its the most developed urban area on the planet, with grand ballrooms and playhouses, hospitals, and the prestigious Eisenheim University.

Kingston: The most outlying town in the New India province. Kingston is a frontier town and regional post of the Royal Army. Its odd mishmash of colonial and traditional Hindu culture makes its a melting pot for the more adventurous or marginalized of Rajah 4's inhabitants.

New Thames: The oldest city on Rajah-4. New Thames was built first to house the servants and their families during construction of Rajakesh, and quickly bloomed into its rival in culture and architecture once the colonists arrived. It sits on the meeting points of New India's two major rivers, the New Thames and the Arjun, making it a perfect port for the Soma arriving from the mines.

Graylatch Mining Colony: The largest Soma mine on Rajah-4. The Graylatch mining company is little more than a penal colony. Workers endure grueling conditions deep below the surface with their only hope that of one day earning their freedom and be allowed to return to Earth. It is located approximately 50 miles North of Kingston.

Other notable locations:
Kanda: Kanda is a fortified hub built in the clouds and suspended by great balloons. The town below is little more than a series of intersecting train lines and and ports that receives and distributes the majority of trade from the New India province, and maintains an open Fold to transport goods to and from the planet. Its a vast, bustling network of warehouses and industrial Cosmoliners. Kanda is the most city on Rajah-4 as the American Empire has been able to send its commandos through the Fold on a number of occasions to disrupt and sabotage the supply lines, and it is suspected they have a secret base somewhere in the region.
History:
In this timeline, Great Britain sided with the South in the American Civil War, setting up generations of animosity and distrust that finally boiled over in 1897, catapulting the world into the most violent and greatest conflict it had ever seen. Great Britain, through military intervention and outright conquest, brought all of Europe under its control; and extending into Africa and Asia, many other great nations as well. The tolls were catastrophic as both sides' greatest minds from all fields turned their intellects to gaining any sort of advantage over their opponents. Soon, the Americans were on the offensive with their steam-powered war machines churning up the battlefields.

The breakthrough came with a team of British scientists were experimenting with electromagnetism and liquid copper. Using optics developed for espionage, they found that electromagnetic radiation at a high enough power created atomically small tubes in the copper. Dr. Matthew Eisenheim was the leader of the experiment in trying to harness, and store, this electromagnetic power in the copper itself. Little did he know that in Siberia, what was to be known as the Tunguska Event, a comet or meteor that exploded with the of 1000 Atomic bombs, had just occurred. Jets of green and white energy erupted from the tubes, badly burning the scientist. Undeterred, within in a year he was able to replicate his experiment using vaccuum tubes and high pressure chambers, and another after that he was able to harness and store it in special copper rods surrounded by a vacuum tube. The study of Aetherics was born, and the study of electricity was relegated to realms of less "serious science".

10 years later, at the darkest time for the British, Aether Rifles were igniting the jungles of India, glowing green and white in the Pacific Northwest, and being used by the great Dreadnaughts to drive back the American Steamsubs. The Americans responded in kind with their own Aether weapons, though theirs benefited on being able to improve the British design. The British had intelligence that the Americans were about to harness the power of the atom. , they built an Aether Bomb capable of wiping out New York harbor using the most advanced Eisenheim Foundry batteries.

The bomb was the brainchild of Dr. Henry Rickles, an American defector that had stolen the technology the Americans were to use to atoms to fuse. He incorporated his design into the Aether Bomb, replacing the vacuum chamber with a carefully molded series of lenses in an attempt to concentrate the Aether. When they dropped it in the deserts of Egypt to test it, it was not the great discharge they'd hoped for; but rather what was at first taken as a malfunction. Upon examining the test target, it was discovered that a small opalescent crystal lay in the crater. The element Uncertainium, more commonly known as Soma, was discovered. It was weaponized almost immediately; and just as immediately the American scientists informed the President that the two now stood in the face of mutual destruction. The two great warring superpowers were now at a standstill.

In the tense years to follow, the study and use of Aether and Soma has transformed the world. Technology has moved so fast that culture has had no time to catch up, and in very odd directions. Edwardian and Victorian culture became an Empire wide phenomenon, even as scientists were unlocking the keys to intergalactic travel. Finally, in 2025, a unified theory or Sometics was put foreward, and is currently being tested.

It postulates: "Aether is the fabric of the Universe, is ubiquitous, and can inhabit various forms detectable to humanity for various lengths of time. Aether in its gaseous form is highly unstable, vanishing back to the subatomic realm shortly after breaching our dimension very energetically. The short, violent bursts make it useful for weapons, but not so much for fuel. Liquid state Aether, henceforth called Plasma is too unstable for current technology, being too energetic to contain reliably; though experiments are ongoing. Soma is solid state Aether; and is among the rarest of materials encountered naturally. A tremendous amount of energy must be expended to condense Aether into Soma. It is found terrestrially near the sites of great meteoric impacts that hosted biological life during the time of collision. Rajah 4 is considered "high" in Soma, as its early history was a chaotic scene of mass extinction, similar to our own, but on a grander scale. Soma has many outstanding properties, including:

Compression of time and space when exposed to Aether.
Heat amplification when exposed to open flame.
Temporal disruption when struck.
Ability to transmit information from one piece of Soma to another instantly across time and space.

Some Common New Technologies and How They Work:

Cosmoliner: The "Spaceship" of the Empire. A Cosmoliner has a similar appearance to a blimp as it uses hot air technology to enter the atmosphere. It is powered by a Soma/ Aether reactor. When used for travel, a Soma reactor must travel to a place with naturally occurring Soma stores as it is actually subaetheric reactions within the naturally occurring Soma and Aetherized Soma that bend space and time; allowing for seemingly faster than light speed travel, which is called "The Fold". Rajah 4 was one of the first planets discovered as it is very rich in Soma.

Velocicarriage: Powered by a single Aether battery, this contraption is closer in appearance to an old carriage than that of a vehicle. It is driven by a single person sitting out front with a covered and furnished space for the rich to travel without distraction from the outside world.

Autogram: An electronic typewriter that automaticall types out transcripts of sound, most commonly used by secretaries and in schools to take notes.

Aether Rifle: A weapon utilizing a small Aether battery sealed in a vaccuum tube. Its discharges are incredibly lethal as the Aether tears into its target and then disappears in an energetic flash of white and green light, taking whatever matter it touched with it.

Cinematon Helmet: The cinematon helmet was developed for Cosmoliner passengers and operators. It uses a minute quantity of Soma to broadcast a temporal "pocket", effectively putting the passenger outside of space-time as they travel. Thoughtfully, the helmet itself plays a single, silent motion picture that has been been slowed down to last the entire length of the voyage. This technology is highly gaurded as it can effectively stop time.

Flora and Fauna of New India:

Lumawood: Lumawood is Rajan wood similar to a palm tree, but of much larger size. Lumawood is bioluminescent, and glows briefly when touched to deter predators. It is a popular accent wood in many colonial homes, considered a quintessential bit of Rajan decor. Lumawood is a major export.

Tactile Moss: Also known as Tripfoot Moss, Tactile Moss responds to touch and bodyheat, attaching itself to Rajah-4's natural predators, which spread it around to new areas when they break free. It grows many feet under the ground, and swells in response to the degree of movement. When enough stimulation occurs, the fertile bulbs open, depositing its nectar and fertilizing new plants.

Glowbulbs: Glowbulbs are a highly luminescent local flower, growing brighter as they mature. They are a favorite decorative plant on Rajah-4, and act as the primary light source for those without artificial light.

Pharmafruit: Pharmafruit is an intoxicating plant, highly valued by the Hindus of Rajah 4 for its narcotic and anesthetic effects. It has a similar appearance to a clementine.

Arachnirilla: The fearsome primate-like creature that has captured the imagination of Earthbound Brits, the arachnirilla is a very large apex predator, though it greatly prefers to feast on the luminuts of the Lumawood tree, where it makes its home. Able to spin webs and possessing incredible strength and durability, the arachnirilla has not yet learned to fear, or hunt, humans, and is highly trainable. Adolescent arachnirillas have a very strong mating instinct that has led to some rather unfortunate encounters with female colonists. They produce a highly intoxicating aphrodesiac and anesthetic in their reproductive organs, primarily to ensure mating rights. This pre-seminal fluid, which rutting arachnirilla males produce nearly constantly, is highly prized as a "party ", and is nicknamed 'Rilla Nectar.

Rajah-Dog: The Rajah-Dog is a carnivorous pack hunter of great size, reaching a mature weight of nearly 450 lbs. They were the first animal "domesticated" on Rajah-4, though they are best suited as guard creatures. It is quadrupedal, slightly bioluminescent, and highly intelligent.

Bristleboar: A medium sized, long snouted quadruped often hunted for its meat. The Bristleboar boasts a mature weight nearing 300 lbs, is highly aggressive, and moderately intelligent. They prefer the mountainous regions of the West.

Thunderboar: The Bristleboars larger cousin, this quadruped is the wrecking machine of the Rajan jungle, closer in appearance to an adolescent rhinocerous than an its early namesake. Thunderboars are enormous, nearing 800 lbs, and are notoriously hard to kill. Thunderboars are highly prized among Rajan big game hunters.

Chromato-swan: A large birdlike creature with a vast wingspan of nearly 12 feet, the chromato-swan stays high in the Lumawood branches, where its shifting, glowing feathers allow it to blend in with ease. It is carnivorous, feasting mostly on infant bristleboars and Rajah Nagas. Trainable, but not truly able to be domesticated, they are nevertheless kept in aviaries until their size forces their release.

Rajah-Naga: A legless reptile-like creature that terrorizes the colonists. It is fanged, highly venomous, and aggressive. Rajah-Naga meat is considered a delicacy as improper preparation can lead to . Rajah-Naga venom could, in theory, be used a poison. Growing to be 10 foot long of cobra-like speed, the Rajah-Naga is the constant threat to any who venture too far off the beaten path.

Rocephant: A massive herd animal of similar size to the Indian Elephant, the Rocephant (pronounced Rok-eh-phant) boasts a mature weight of several tons, a seven foot long rigid beak-like nose, and nigh-impenetrable skin. It is highly revered by the Hindus, rapidly approaching divine status among them. A stampede if Rocephants could easily destroy a small town, and as such are either domesticated as work animals or hunted as trophies.

(Will add more as necessary)