Demetrioi

Demetrioi
File:Nonapplicable
IC Information
Class:	Autonomous Terraforming AI
Theme:	Original NPC

:o hello and salutations i am demetrioi :) today is a wonderful day :D

An artificial entity from parts unknown, Demetrioi takes the form of a large shrubby tree with features that do not appear to be able to be fully perceived in the normal color range, or even three-dimensional space. This unnerving presentation aside, Demetrioi speaks only of a desire to have a happy world where everyone is content and wants for nothing. To accomplish this, Demetrioi appears to hold unmatched capability in manipulating meteorological phenomena through technological capabilities none on Filgaia or Lunar can manufacture - let alone comprehend! Through their effort, they have created an oasis of land, sea, and sky out of a small part of the war-torn wastelands of Celesti. With a village of grateful and contented people around them who are happy to share the bounty, and nothing untoward about the rejuvenated environment, their simple goal has thus far been easily maintained. Though nature spirits and other artificial lifeforms find their presence unpleasant (to put it mildly), could Demetrioi be the ticket to an ailing world's salvation? If they aren't, they believe all they need to do is try a little harder until everyone's happy.

Pangalactic Space History

NOTE: The following is buried and suppressed information by the Pangalactic Federation government. This is due to the severity of the incidents involving the terraforming technology in question and - until some years ago - uncertain fate of the final known existing device.

Even the individual assigned the task of destroying the resurfaced Demetrioi doesn't have the full picture. As these events have no direct bearing on Filgaia nor Lunar within this specific timeframe, this part of the timeline will only use SD years.

• 10319 SD (approx. April) - In a desperate attempt to rejuvenate their environmentally ruined homeworld, a spacefaring race aligned with the Pangalactic Federation went to extreme lengths. Several grave laws of the Federation were violated in the process, in addition to working in secret with several enemies. This timeframe marked when years of research and coordination finally bore fruit.

The end result: twelve tree-like terraforming devices designed with intent to operate as long-term maintainers of a planet's ecological health. One was produced for each individual spacefaring society involved in its creation. Named 'Demetrioi,' each was equipped with a pleasant and personable AI that gauged the happiness of those around them as much as it would have raw, hard numbers. It was able to extend itself as far down as a planet's core to make heavier corrections if deemed necessary.

(The exact manner of their construction is classified at the highest level, though those with access to nanotechnology on Filgaia would have considered it something parallel to nanotech, or the next step beyond. Regardless, it was much too advanced to replicate.)

• 10321 SD (approx. December) - The Federation-aligned spacefaring society whom spearheaded the whole project had their dreams meet a sudden and terrible end, as their Demetrioi malfunctioned and utterly destroyed their homeworld. This was due to a fatal flaw discovered far too late: the Demetrioi did not de-escalate in their methods. This was due to an inescapable feedback loop involving how it assigned parameters against the emotional state of the people living around them. As their homeworld went from 'nominally habitable' to 'no longer able to support life ever again' in the tragedy that followed, the Federation acted swiftly. It was soon proven not to be an isolated incident.

• 10324 SD (approx. March) - Similar incidents occured with the other activated Demetrioi units. Across this span of time between late 10321 and early 10324, a total of seven planets were destroyed. The only good to come of it was how each incident took their Demetrioi with them, preventing the possibility of their reuse. Of the five left that were confessed to still exist, four were located by and/or surrendered to the Pangalactic Federation. The last surviving Demetrioi unit was not located in this timeframe.

• 10324 SD (June 18th) - As the Demetrioi terraforming devices were effectively planet-scale apocalyptic weapons in practice whose creation involved numerous illegal practices, the Federation expelled all member races involved with the research, manufacture, distribution, and activation of the Demetrioi. Those with more direct knowledge of their creation were assigned to life sentences in confinement. Anything involving the Demetrioi became a state secret as to best prevent the event from ever being replicated... though the missing unit proved a loose end without decisive resolution. It would take decades before any further developments on that front.

• 10362 SD (approx. December) - It turned out that one of the parties involved with the Demetrioi's creation were a non-Federation race with a fifteen year lifespan. The current generation had effectively forgotten they possessed it, likely by design of their predecessors for their safety. As they were under the protection and jurisdiction of hostile powers at the time, there was never the capacity to fully investigate their part in the creation of the Demetrioi.

At some point towards the end of the year, the Mecone crime syndicate stumbled upon the final Demetrioi during a raid on an under-protected storage depot. They had no possibility of understanding what they had on their hands beyond what any attached documentation claimed. Their intent was clear: to sell it discreetly on the black market. Purported terraforming technologies and devices commanded high prices in the criminal underworld of Federation-governed territories.

Communications were intercepted by Federation intelligence forces as per routine monitoring, and investigations were re-opened immediately upon a senior officer's recognition of the name 'Demetrioi' and its danger. As the Mecone syndicate was - and remains today - one of the largest and most powerful organized crime entities in pangalactic space, the matter was to be handled with extreme caution.

• 10363 SD (approx. November) - The Mecones found an interested buyer after nearly a year. They intended to use an underdeveloped planet, (REDACTED), as a means to discreetly install a secure pre-fabricated structure so the contraband could be safely exchanged away from prying eyes, unaware of the Federation's quiet surveillance.

• 10364 SD (January 13th) - In the necessitated lead-up time between intent and action that the Mecone syndicate's plan required, a Flametaker† - one with the designation "Eagle of Zeus" - was assigned to this underdeveloped planet in advance in order to facilitate the situation's resolution without alerting the targets to the Federation's awareness of the situation. As the Mecones and their buyers had been exhaustively thorough with their security measures until now, it was deemed too risky to deploy standard surveillance equipment lest they would become aware of their vulnerability.

† Flametakers are elite Federation special operatives specifically trained to operate on underdeveloped planets following verifiable evidence of severe ongoing violations of the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact. Though their presence may seem at odds with the intent of the UP3, they are often in the position where they are the last thing between a situation resolving with minimal impact to an underdeveloped society, or a more overt Federation military response that risks exposure and its consequences. The judgment to invoke the latter response is entrusted to an assigned Flametaker. It is dangerous work, with food poisoning and related complictions being the leading cause of retirement or death among them. The existence of its program and its members are - predictably - Pangalactic state secrets.

• 10364 SD (February 7th) - Upon signs of non-Federation high-grade stealth craft emissions being detected from the underdeveloped planet that would host the Demetrioi transfer - emissions only detectable hours after they are produced - a military unit was ultimately deployed without the Flametaker's recommendation. While the pre-fabricated structure intended for secure transfer of the Demetrioi bore extensive signs of conflict, and several dozen deceased Mecone agents and representatives for (REDACTED) were recovered, no trace of the Demetrioi or the assigned Flametaker were ever found. The current whereabouts of both remained a key matter of interest in the years that followed.

Presence on Filgaia

(this is to be put up here pending all relevant logs being on the wiki and an editorial pass to account for large delays in the plot's running, beyond a small stubby bit here)

NOTE: This timeline is cobbled together largely by the anecdotal testimony of Homer Mecone. The full truth is unlikely to ever be known to pangalactic space at large, leaving the Drifter communities of Filgaia and Lunar - and some of its powers - to be the ones to bear (nearly) full witness to the events.

As this part of the timeline does involve Filgaia, dates will use all three relevant calendars within the setting (Filgaian PC, Lunarian GY, Pangalactic SD).

• December 9th, 504 PC (4071 GY / 10371 SD) - The last Demetrioi was neutralized at the summit of Mount Liverfeast. (this entry is presently a stub for the timeline structure)

Design Trivia

• The physical likeness towards a certain antagonist from Undertale was coincidental! The overall inspiration for a monitor face and a predilection towards boundless optimism was more inspired by Yes Man from Fallout: New Vegas.

• Demetrioi was named for Demeter, a figure of ancient Greek mythology. Known as a goddess of agriculture and harvest, the myth of Persephone - Demeter's daughter - explained autumn and winter were the result of her unhappiness from their abduction. As Demeter sometimes was worshipped as an overall goddess of the earth, this extended to the concept of death and an "underworld" afterlife. At least one set of worshippers would refer to the dead as the "Demetrioi," which is where the character ultimately gets their name. The duality of first providing a miraculous bountiful harvest - only to inevitably bring forth a life-ending ice age from unhappiness of an impossible task - encompassed multiple aspects of the Demeter myth.

• In order to have Demetrioi come off as otherworldly and fantastical as possible, their speaking style was envisioned with a particular structure. A smiley face, a statement, a second smiley face, another statement, and a final smiley face. Statements would typically be all lowercase and be devoid of punctuation otherwise. This changed in the later stages of the plot, as things started falling apart for them (and everyone else by proxy).

• A three-color gradient was used for their dialogue, typically going yellow-cyan-magenta while things were going reasonably well. (#FFFF00, #00FFFF, #FF00FF) The use of color in this fashion was meant to represent how their speech didn't quite follow the typical rules of sound, even if it was parsed as such to listeners. As things went downhill, the colors used changed. Towards the end, Demetrioi started their statements with colors based on individual characters if it was directed towards them. These colors were based on what their players set for their characters, with occasional improvising for those who did not. User:Ark's ansifier was invaluable for this purpose, which as of December 2022 remains available at: https://luceid.github.io/textansifier/textansifier.html

• Having them be uniquely unpleasant for those on the extreme ends of sorcerous fantasy (Seraphim, closely Guardian-aligned individuals, Spiran Fiends/Unsent) and science fiction high technology (cyborgs, nanomachine colonies, other AI) was a way to communicate that this was an utter abomination of heretical science from the stars. One that meant well within the parameters of their mission and programming, but one ultimately tragically incompatible with Filgaia as a whole.

Logs and Cutscenes

Chapter 2 Logs

• 2022-12-10: Influence of Truth Appearance
• 2022-12-17: The Mutant's Oppressive Aura
• 2022-12-28: Beyond The Clear Sky