The Gaia Initiative

About this story

Hey guys & gals, welcome to my very first story on this site! Before I say anything else, I want to mention that this story is heavily inspired by the fantastic Twilight Eden story by Actiaeon. If you haven't checked it out yet go do that. That story however hasn't been updated in a while so this is my way to have the story I wish I could have read. In any case, don't be surprise to see similar plot points or structure as in Twilight Eden, but I also guarantee you that it is going to be different in many other ways.

This story is meant to be an anthology about the first human colony outside of the solar system. It will be divided into "books" each one following a character during different ages of the colony. Each book will begin mostly linear, with choices that together will either block or unblock different paths that diverge. The path you take will affect how the colony develops and what it looks like in the next book. Since this structure utilizes a lot of chapter linking and conditional paragraphs, you shouldn't rely on the story map to accurately tell which paths is complete. In fact, no decisions leads to a dead end unless otherwise specified or in the case of game overs. I currently have 2 books planned with 3 paths for the 1st, but I hope to be able to add to it at a later date.

The story also has a class system. At the beginning of each book you will be asked to chose a class. Classes grant you access to certain choices marked by a ►. Those choices are always beneficial and are unique to your class.

The Codex is a chapter hub filled with information about characters, locations, lore and all sorts of other stuff. It will be accessible from different point in the story and will be updated as your character discovers new information.

This story is heavily dependant on variables and conditional branches, so make sure to press start game before continuing.

I use a lot of images in this story as I feel they add to the immersion and fun of the game. Finding the right image is hard and time consuming however. So if you feel you have a better image for a situation or, more importantly, an image you feel better matches my description of a character, I encourage you to send me that image so that I may use it if I agree with you. Character images are available in the Codex and will be unblocked as you meet new characters. If you wish to see all the character images straight away, you can visit the codex without game mode on but beware of spoilers.

{if ready == true}For those who wishes to add to this story, it would be my pleasure to get your contribution! Please read the aspiring writers sections for more details.{endif}

Introduction

As the great big ship came into view, you craned your neck to look out of the shuttle's observation window. You jittered in your seat, wanting nothing more than to disregard the seat-belt light and glide weightlessly till your face was pressed against the glass. Alas, you were **** to content yourself with the view of space from the comfy seat of a top of the line space shuttle... poor you.

You were not alone in your admiration. All around you, two dozen other men and women looked on awestruck as your craft made its final approach to the Skidbladnir.

Such a stupid name for such an amazing ship, you mused. You supposed that's what happened when you reached the second to last of 14 arkships. All the cool sounding names were already taken.

The beginning of 21st century was marked by what some call the 2nd industrial revolution. The birth of the internet, the invention of artificial intelligence and the frightening accuracy of Moor's law all contributed to increase the pace of innovation to a rate never before seen. It might have seemed then, for anyone living in those days, that the future laid in computers. But alas, Moor's law reached its theoretical limit as electrons quantum tunnelled past smaller transistors and silicon became more and more expensive until eventually progress stopped.

That is until Artificial Life Engineering, or A-Life, was invented. By the end of the last century, mankind was now able to synthesize artificial microbiological life forms of its own design. A couple of decades later and we could now engineer and program entire micro ecosystems for specific purposes. Cancer was eliminated as engineered cells that attack cancerous growth were introduced to bolster our immune system. Harmless micro-bacteria that feed on CO2 were released in the atmosphere, reversing more than two centuries of climate change in less than a decade. Even world hunger was reduced to small isolated pockets as the international green Sahara project made food so abundant, we hardly knew what to do with it.

By the 22nd century, a 3rd revolution was in full swing. As more and more problems that plagued humanity were being resolved on earth, people began to look to space. Asteroid mining solved the shortage of rare earth material and space tourism took off as a proper industry no longer limited to the obscenely wealthy.

This all culminated with the creation of the Gaia Initiative. A few decades ago, Genetica Inc., one of the largest A-Life developer, unveiled their latest product; the Gaia Seed™. An astoundingly complex ecosystem of extremophiles that could not only survive the harsh environment of space, but even thrive given a few basic necessities. These organisms were engineered to reproduce exponentially and change their environment while doing so. Their success was attributed to Genetica's secret Gaia tech, which somehow managed to **** the engineered ecosystem through rapid evolution, harnessing the universe's greatest optimization algorithm for its own goal. And optimized it was! Everything about the Gaia seed was made for one purpose; ensure the formation and development of a vibrant ecosystem, terraforming its environment. Ultimately, it did in decades what early life on Earth did in millions of years.

Yes, life in 2157 was good. Today, settlers on Mars were able to walk outside with only oxygen respirators while the atmosphere on Venus had begun to condensate into endless rain that would eventually make way to an atmosphere that wouldn't immediately crush you, melt you and dissolve you in acid. But even then, for some it wasn't enough. As we conquered the solar system, people began to look to other stars...

Problem is that other stars are fucking far away! Like... real fucking far.

And the closest ones offered very little when it came to potentially habitable planets. The Gaia seed is good, but it doesn't do miracles. Still, people wanted their government to make their interstellar dreams come true. And so the Gaia initiative was born, funded by Genetica and many other major companies and world powers. The Gliese 1061 system was selected, and two Gaia seeds were launched; one to Gliese 1061 c and one to Gliese 1061 d for the best chances of success.

And that's where you come in. Having worked on the Mars terraforming project, you managed to land the post of a junior officer on the Skidbladnir, leaving Earth for opportunities you would otherwise never have gotten.