Some colonists 'hear' the Truth, become believers of the Ancient Ship

[thetj]

Hi folks, here is the beginning of a story set in the fictional world of Rimworld. If anyone likes it, I would be happy to write a part 2, and more as the colony actually develops. Right now, this colony is a few years away from the events in this story, so there are new developments that can make for interesting story-telling. Hope you enjoy!

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The Valley of the Wind was a thriving colony that dealt with Ancient Ship Crashes the same way most colonies do: Destroying the ship and the nagging psychic voice that tormented the colonists.

But Lao Zi, one of the founding members of the colony who is named after the ancient Chinese philosopher, never understood this compulsion to destroy the ancient ship; the message it psychically imparted was not tormenting to him, but rather liberating (Lao is psychically deaf).

At the beginning, he went along with the majority of the colonists, but one day, he met Minnie, a former prisoner of war who decided to join the colony. Once they both realized they felt similarly about the colony's policy to destroy the ancient ships, they spent hours on end in conversation about the wonders and revelations coming from the psychic waves.

Minnie, who was a scholar from a Glitterworld well versed in ancient greek philosophy from Earth, compared the killing of the ancient ship to the killing of Socrates. Both, Minnie said, were accused of corrupting and tormenting people with Truth, with philosophy. Because they drove people to do things that are 'insane' by the social standards of the time, the 'corrupters' are condemned to death.

And what was the Truth that the Ancient Ship had been imparting all along? Questions. The Ancient Ship used psychic waves to engage colonists in dialogue, asking them questions about the nature of Justice, Truth, Existence, Love, etc.

What drove some colonists mad was the realization that in reality, their own self was not of their own choosing; every time they 'decided' to sculpt or cook a meal, they were deterministically influenced by a omnipotent being [the player!] that controlled their every move. This loss of freedom, or more precisely the revelation of freedom and choice as an illusion, would be enough to drive some colonists into a state of confusion; they would daze off until starvation or exhaustion got the better of them.

Other colonists were questioned about the righteousness of their war with all the other colonies, tribes, and towns. The belief that their beloved 'Valley of the Wind' fought merely for survival (and thus fought a righteous war), was easily shattered when confronted with the reality that the Ancient Ship made evident: The colony had many chances to achieve peace, but chose to bait foes into attacking them just so they could use their superior military tactics to subdue the enemy and profit from their defeat. In a form of reverse invasion, the predator is hunted by the seemingly defenseless colonists; their bodies sold into slavery, their equipment sold for profit.

This truth drove the naive, but conscientious colonists into a state of rage and berserk; they felt betrayed and lied to by the leaders of the colony who recruited them. More often than not, these disaffected colonists decide to exact revenge by lashing out violently against their peers.

All these truths and more were clear to Lao and Minnie. They had heard the Ancient ship and accepted it as truth. And yet, they had something special: the inner fortitude to not let that truth destroy them. Instead, they remained quiet while secretly hatching a plan to take over the colony.

Lao, as one of the founding members, had a significant influence over colony politics, and suggested during a townhall that they should focus on recruiting more 'psychically deaf' people like himself, because they would make for better soldiers in the fight against the Mechanoids. It was a politically savvy move, for the other colonists did not suspect the real reason behind this new selective recruiting policy.

It took many years, but one day, after a especially hard fought battle against a neighbor tribe, Lao and Minnie thought the time to make their move had come. They had amassed about 10 psychically deaf colonists (out of a total population size of 60), and had spent many hours secretly meeting with each other along the years. With their numbers growing, it had become increasingly difficult to keep things under cover.

Rumors were pervasive about how some colonists were more interested in defending and worshipping the ancient ships than in destroying them; the reluctant way in which some colonists fought the mechanoids raised a lot of suspicion, not to mention the way in which some colonists had dissenting and controversial ideas during casual conversation over the pool table or in the dining room.

And so operation 'takeover' was lauched. The plan was complex and required all the tenacity one could muster. Lao's ambition was to take over the colony without killing anyone, for he loved them all as much as 'the player' did. Lao saw himself as an embodiment of the player's will, and believed in his existence even though he had not once seen him (Though he felt his constant presence; sometimes he would even be reached in his dreams, and woken up with a drive to complete a task that was crucial for the survival of the colony. 'How did you know to plug the wall just before the invasion reached our walls?' some would ask Lao. And he would reply: 'the Player' told me in my dreams that a great danger was imminent, so I followed his warning and advice).

The takeover plan was similarly relayed to Lao through his unconscious dreams. he would wait for an ancient ship to crash, and when this coincided with the largest raid the colony had ever faced, he would seize the chance to take over the colony. As usual, it is in the moment of crisis that revolutionary chance occurs.

With the dual dangers, Lao would convince the colonists that their best chance to defeat the enemy raid was by using the Ancient Ship to their advantage; instead of destroying it, let it drive the invading raiders insane. By design, thus, only the colonists who were psychically deaf would be fit to fight; the rest would have to board the cryptosleep caskets onboard their ship.

Valiantly, Lao and Minnie led their compact 10-[wo]men unit to victory against a horde of over 150 raiders. To pull off this feat, they had all trained their fighting skills to legendary levels, procured the best weapons that money could buy, and designed a defense system that allowed for the efficient use of triple rocket launchers and minefields full of artillery shells.

As soon as the fighting subsided, Lao looked across the field to Minnie; they smiled to each other while panting from the adrenaline and exhaustion of battle. They were finally, after 10 long years, successful. Minnie had developed a bad back, Lao had lost his nose in combat. But they never gave up on their dream, that plan they had hatched together all those years ago. Their accomplishment was unparalleled: they managed to defeat the raiders without any casualties, send off the remainder of the colonists into deep space (it will take them millennia, perhaps, to figure out what happened to them), and could at last build the colony they had wanted from the very beginning.

That day, as the last raider fell on the ground, 'The Valley of the Wind' was reborn as 'The Believers of the Ancient Ship' (BAS).

End of part one.

[Adamiks]

Good but not real good. For example this "As soon as the fighting subsided, Lao looked across the field to Minnie; they smiled to each other while panting from the adrenaline and exhaustion of battle. They were finally, after 10 long years, successful. Minnie had developed a bad back, Lao had lost his nose in combat."

I don't think that anyone would smile after loosing a nose.

And btw. I have "Minnie" in my actual colony! She is one of three first colonists. Do i should be afraid (she have a bionics parts and close combat armor, oh man...)?

[thetj]

Good point! I guess I meant it as an older injury from another battle. But this is not clear in my writing.

Yes! definitely be afraid of Minnie taking over...you know, one day you wake up and your colony belongs to her.   

[GregM]

A really vivid and captivating story Thetj. The idea behind it would certainly make for an excellent series or alternatively a short form novel. However, I can understand if you don't have the time or means to partake in such arduous work, but the idea behind it is sound and would serve some other projects well.

- Best regards, Greg

[thetj]

Thanks Greg! You are right, this is just a base for a more developed story; right now it has no character development, just some plot ideas. I would definitely write more if more peeps are interested, but we will see.

If I do continue this storyline, I was thinking of developing more about what the Ancient Ship is trying to accomplish (and the Glitterworld civilization that sends them out). I think that would be more on the line with the expansion of the Rimworld lore and universe.

[Kairo Kemaro]

Wow, good story! I dont think I'll ever look at psychically deaf colonist the same again.

[Adamiks]

More!

[thetj]

Wow, good story! I dont think I'll ever look at psychically deaf colonist the same again.

Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Those Psy def folks are quite special indeed.

[stefanstr]

Great story. Reminds me of this gem by UrbanBourbon:
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=5570.0

[thetj]

Awesome! The similarities are obvious, but I don't think I was going for satanic cult, haha. I think part of the twist is that it is actually the 'good' guys who come to believe in the ancient ship, rather than the a sociopathic cult that offers human sacrifices to a piece of metal. So much juice there to expand the story with!

@Adamiks: I'll definitely do when I get a respite from finals and life! Gosh, I wish you could see what I am seeing in the little colony of BAS right now. Good drama, good drama.