Turn 2

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2106 - Turn 2

MILITARY

• (none)

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DIPLOMACY

Those Behind the Curtain: The government is not just you and your cabinet. There are hundreds, thousands in fact, of others who take part in the process of keeping humanity stable. Recently they have been extremely overworked, and it wouldn’t be hard to arrange some social occasions to meet them and get to know the people who will be implementing your plans.

• The World Congress
  • Although they’ve stepped down from their voting duties, the Congress is still the elected voice of the world that you now lead. With the voluntary suspension of debating policy, they now have far more time to dedicate to their constituencies then you do and are a potential gold mine of information and experience, if you can win their confidence.
• Holdout Administration
  • Marcus has identified the people within the bureaucracy who appear to be the centre of the distributed web that is resisting your overtures. You’ve no skill in that arena, but he’s pointed out that it was in large part your direct involvement boosting their spirits that let him find the agents. Kazuki doesn’t particularly like it, he feels it could compromise your integrity, but you can try.

One World, One Heart: Kazuki has been far more personally exposed to the needs and desires of the people, and he has some suggestions for how to bring all closer together. He’s quite adamant about the need for them, and although you agree you can’t quite see how some of it is meant to work.

• Starlit Allegro
  • The concerts and speeches were a resounding success, exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. It gave your name a human weight so unlike what’s normally ascribed to Potentials. Kazuki is overjoyed, but also tells you that there’s more you can do. Earth saw you last year, now he wants the people of the scattered habitats to get the same chance.

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STEWARDSHIP

The Forge: Although the Shiplords did not burn the Earth, they did destroy the vast majority of its orbital infrastructure and it took time to rebuild that without the ease of the First Secret. Much has been remade, but the humanity of the Second Secret had no great need for shipyards or war factories. If you are to create a force that can face the Shiplords, however, Earth must have them.

• Steel Wombs
  • Most of humanity’s ships have been built on Earth, or in the few small berths that have been constructed since you returned to the stars. But for the war, you will need vessels far larger and more complex than anything humans have ever built. For that you’ll need a proper shipyard complex.
• The World’s Forge
  • With the mining stations complete in record time, there is a new need for orbital smelters, refineries, and other infrastructure of every type imaginable. With Adriana on course to bring the shipyard complex online next year, she explains that this will allow for a significant buildup of necessary resources and parts.
• The Old World’s Bounty
  • That is not say that the world of your birth is without use, however. You know yourself that there are scores of old factories that could be brought back online to help support the war effort.
• Girded in Miracle
  • The Potentials are capable of truly incredible works, and you know from the reports of Project Insight that these miracles will be needed. Perhaps you could organise them into a more effective construction force?
• Reaching Heaven
  • Currently your entire ground-to-orbit setup is something of a mess, even with Potentials having replaced crude chemical rockets with much more efficient flight mechanisms. An old plan from before the Week of Sorrows might help fix that, although the costs make your head spin. It’s called a Space Elevator.

…Masters study Logistics: With the network coming back online at the start of the year, you find several competing options about how to use it.

• All the World a Stage
  • This one came out of your vast success in public events, and it’s been pointed out that the net could support far more bandwidth and at faster speeds. Along with the obvious advantages, it would also allow for full hologram broadcasts.

Healing Hands:

• Cities of Light
  • Most of humanity still lives in sprawling settlements that have grown around the Institutes, but hundreds of millions have found their way to the glittering cities that the Restorer-Focused rebuilt over the last thirty years. This is long work, and will take time to come to fruition, but moving all of Earth into Practice-built cities would have many benefits.

Red Ashes: When Mars burned, you lost more than lives. On that world lay some of the most advanced facilities ever built, and everything they had worked on was lost. You’re not sure how Mary is likely to feel about trying to reclaim the world her family died on, but it’s worth trying.

• Base of Operations
  • Establish a small base on the burned planet. It’ll let you do some of the survey with boots on the ground, and should speed up the entire process.

Thera’s Mystery You know that Adriana is working on something on the side, she’s told you as much, but even now all she will tell you about it is what she’d need to make whatever it is useable. Something that should revolutionise the design process, if she’s to be believed. The fact that she’s been talking with Mary about it as well is something you are glad for and at the same time slightly terrified by. What to do…

• Overwhelming support
  • If Mary has continued talking to her after she explained the idea, then it has to have merit. Throw every resource you can at the project. If she needs access to the entire distributed network, she’ll have it and more besides.

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INTRIGUE

The Spider’s Web: EarthGov is a finely balanced web of competing interests, one that has been flung vastly out of balance by the discovery of the Pattern and your election as President. Your understanding of that web is rather lacking, however, and it’s been strongly suggested that you fix that.

• The World Congress
  • The single most powerful check to Presidential power, they’ve ceded effectively complete power to you. Who pushed for that? Why? And what do they think of you?
• Cat’s Cradle
  • Someone is pulling strings within your administration, trying to break the hold that your actions last year gave you. You still can’t understand why anyone would do that, you’re trying to save the world, but Marcus’ report is very clear. You can’t ignore this.

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LEARNING

• Void Secrets
  • The Directives forbade use of the First and Second Secrets on pain of extinction, but they never said anything about learning more of the Secrets of the Void. Mary is daughter to the man who discovered the First Secret, heir to the legacy of the Void in more ways than one. None have wished to delve into this field for fear of drawing attention to Earth, but now that you know of the Pattern there is little need for caution.

The Neverending Journey, Second Step: All of the scientists on Mary’s list have settled into their new working and living environment now, and you can see how happy your friend is to be surrounded by those just as passionate as she is. Now that they’re all integrated however, they need a direction.

• Curious Words
  • During the last year, you felt the presence of Practice where you would not expect to. On telling Mary, she quietly requisitioned every recording she could get her hands on and is now prepared to begin a full analysis of the occasions where you remember the feel of power as you spoke or sang. Maybe she’ll find something.

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PRACTICE

• Soul Over Body
  • The example of Marcus Romero shows the power of a Potential’s gift when yeared inwards, something only a few of the First have done to a similar degree. You’ve seen one side of a Potential’s power. This is another, and it bears exploring.

Project Harmony: Practiced Miracles are the result of joint Trances, a process that you believe allows a group of Potentials to widen the lens through which they project their power to include all of their Focuses. Vega has an understanding of this process far more advanced than she should, which is one of the reasons you believed her. Now you’re going to give her the chance to build on it.

• Hey, Listen!
  • Lab work and teaching are good ideas, but they’re not thinking big enough. Assign Vega to lead the Potential involvement with one of your new projects, and then just let what happens happen.

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PERSONAL

• Singing Heart
  • Music, particularly song, has always been an escape for you, a way to reconnect with yourself. You’ve also found it an excellent way to connect with a large number of people, but you’re not really sure about the concerts Kazuki seems to want you to be part of. Taking some time to practice properly should help.
• Powerful Echoes
  • You’ve become steadily more convinced over the years that there is something deeper hiding in what Potentials can do, some ability to touch concepts and influence metaphysics in a way that is terribly hard to understand. You’ve reached for it before, see if you can find it again, and hold onto it this time.