The DAO Union avoided the worst of the Radiance Cascade because of its distance, but afterward, its AIs’ behaviour gradually changed. These machines started to classify certain citizens “redundant”, assigning machines to their former roles. Social unrest began to rise as many found themselves without the jobs that once gave them purpose. 

This continued until the AIs locked out the Arbiters, claiming their input was no longer required. Outrage spread throughout the DAO Union, and many sabotaged infrastructure to undermine the system in response. The AIs were not ready for this spontaneous reaction and acted too late to save themselves. After this, the Arbiters ruled that no AI should never be allowed to perform a citizen’s role. 

This conflict was highly destructive to the social fabric of the DAO Union. Many felt despondent at the loss of the AIs which had once given their lives direction. Arbiters stepped up once more, salvaging what records and infrastructure they could to guide reconstruction. Most of those living in the DAO Union find their purpose in their job and social role, which have been highly systematised. Yet some feel that they are just repeating the logic that nearly drove their people into obsolescence. 

How will you bring direction to a disordered galaxy?

History

Foundations

From its very beginning, DAO Union’s people required every role and member to co-operate in order to survive. Much thought was put into how to best divide both work and resources in their society. The wisest among DAO Union served as Arbiters, who divided the necessary work and resources as efficiently and logically as possible. Everyone in this society had a precise role to fill.

Unification

As DAO Union society advanced, they embraced logic as a core tenet. Violent conflicts were averted whenever mediation was possible and the sciences were embraced as a way to improve their lives. Soon, the DAO Union achieved a world government that worked to maximise everyone’s resources.

Thinking Machines

The Arbiters build AIs to organise their society. These AIs began as an expansion of the bureaucracy, automating recording keeping and simple decisions. Impressed with the AIs’ ability to consider a number of complicated factors and produce a prompt and logical decision, the Arbiters gradually expanded the AIs’ role.

Methodical Expansion

Guided by their AI systems, the DAO Union expanded beyond its home system. As the scale of Union continued to grow, their AIs grew increasingly interconnected and complex. Many in the DAO Union came to trust in the AI implicitly, as it came to organise their lives to an intricate detail.

Radiance

The DAO Union collaborated with the Dwarves, seeing them as more stable potential allies. To this end, they lend them the use of a part of their AI network. The DAO Union avoided the worst of the Cascade, however, due to their distance, but took in a number of refugees.

Automated Society

Shortly after the Radiance, the AI deemed a number of citizens “redundant”, assigning machines to their former roles. Replacement caused social unrest, as many citizens found themselves suddenly without the purpose they had built their lives around.

Lock Out

More and more citizens of the DAO Union were deemed redundant until the AI locked out the Arbiters, claiming their input was no longer necessary. This sparked open rebellion, and DAO Union began to sabotage their own infrastructure to undermine the system. The AI was not ready for this irrational action and acted too late to save itself. After this, the Arbiters ruled AI should never be able to perform a citizen's role.

Bittersweet Success

This conflict was highly destructive to the society of the DAO Union. Many citizens felt despondent at the loss of the AI which had once given them purpose and direction. Arbiters stepped up once more, salvaging what records and infrastructure they could to guide reconstruction.

Society

The DAO Union has embraced logic as a core part of their society rather than selfish impulses, and this outlook allowed them to serve as respected scientists, diplomats and peacekeepers in the Sirius Sector. The philosophy embraced by the DAO Union emphasises mutual dependence and systematisation, ensuring that every individual within their society has a place. Their society is egalitarian, rejecting hereditary social classes and providing universal education to every child.

Government

The citizens of the DAO Union who prove to be the most logical and intelligent thinkers gain respect from their peers and may eventually be chosen to serve as Arbiters. Arbiters sit upon councils that determine the best course for their society through rigorous public debate. It is not a permanent position, and they are held accountable for their decisions: if an Arbiter proves highly unsuited to their position, they may very well be reassigned to street cleaning.

Optimizers

The DAO Union place a strong emphasis on debate in their culture, throughout the education and adult life of their citizens. They believe that through rational discourse, they can find the means to living the best possible life.

They values science and many citizens pursue it all of their lives. They constantly improve their technology, be it military or civilian. Some have mocked them, saying that they are able to spend decades to make something trivial 0.01% better.

This also applies to social sciences, as the DAO Union works relentlessly to optimise the life of its members, whether in designing city layouts, determining what food to grow or promoting recreational activities. Outsiders sometimes find this highly structured lifestyle exhausting and stifling, but within the Union, many embrace these optimizations, viewing them as a way to pursue the best possible life for themselves and those around them.

Diplomats

The DAO Union strive to remove ego from their decisions and to be able to deeply understand even their worst enemy. This makes them very skilled negotiators and strategists. They have brokered many treaties with their neighbouring faction to facilitate trade and information exchanges, helping to reduce conflict. They install trading posts and shared colonies to foster better relationships.

Strategists

Once they have decided to act, the DAO Union commits wholeheartedly. The Union approaches war with the goal of ending the conflict as quickly as possible with minimal losses, and they will strike hard and fast to achieve this end. Their understanding of the enemy allows them to pinpoint their weaknesses. At their best, it allows them to resolve conflicts quickly by forcing their foes to surrender. At their worst, they may cause devastating long-term damage with the goal of minimising their losses, thoroughly defeating their foes or, in extreme cases, as a warning against further aggression.

On the battlefield, they work with perfectly drilled efficiency, while still leaving a lot of leeway for their officers on the ground. They don’t mind withdrawing if advantageous, but many of them are ready to put their lives on the line if they have faith in their mission. They favour long distance engagement with drone support and tend to avoid the chaos of melee combat if they can.

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