Turns of ACS03 (No-Crawlers)

[Qantaga]

Besides, HerrDoktorProfessorProvostChancellor JohnDMuller would have my hide, if I disbanded our standing armies!

[johndmuller]

Player Turn Order
-------------------------
1. Scipio
2. Arima
3. johndmuller
4. Qantaga
5. Smack

It is a little hard to keep track, but if we are still using the orignal turn order (above), with the exception of the exceptions, I think it is currently Provost Arima's turn, Correct?

[Arima]

It is my turn, and I'll play it tommorow afternoon.

Sorry for the delay.

[Arima]

MY 2360-2370

Abstract:
We're only 96,000 EC from cornering the market.
A dull, uneventful turn.

Summary of Turn:
See above.

Seriously, I did what I usually do. I built research structures, since having a good research rate is good for gaining critical techs. So, about 2000 EC were burnt building Research Hospitals Hybrid Forest, and Fusion Labs. As a result, we have tech in four, running demo/green/wealth and 30-20-50 distribution.

I also formed the plan for the University. I call this:

Build the Space Elevator.

That said, we are 1.75 techs away from it, so I think it is a very mangable goal.

Also, I think the cloning vats would be a nice project, so we could run power and 'enlightenment' without penalty. We're two techs away from that, and the Hive hasn't started them yet. Horray!


Diplomatic Summary:
Yang decided to be a jerk, and declared Vendetta on us. I decided to call anyone who would listen to us, and that would be Dedrie. We ended our Vendetta, and ended up with Treaty. Ditto with Miram. So our diplomatic summary is:

Vendetta: Hive
Truce: Santi
Treaty: Miriam, Dedrie
Pact: Morgan

Good luck to the next commisoner.

[Avenoct]

So which commissioner awakens?

[johndmuller]

'Tis my turn.

The HerrDoktor has kondukted exhamminnation; but vill not likely finish der turn tonight, but sometimen tomorrow.

[johndmuller]

As the last few ProvostHerrDoktors have noticed, the AI has not been pressing us lately, although there's some incursions going on all the time, there is nothing major to report in the combat area. There are, however, rumors of various forces assembling and talk about plans of possible invasions heard in certain library stacks late at night.

The Report:

Provost's Report to the University Board of Regents MY 2370-2380

Executive Summary
Fellow Provosts, Yang is AWESOME, but we are still going strong; sometimes I think that The Chairman's policy is to not mess too much with other strong factions, but I am sure that our time will come when we appear in his crosshairs. I am all but sure that he has lots of PBs. Dee has one and Morgan and Santi are building (Morgan is making his in the base we fixed up for him, Morgan Bank). I think that we need to stock up on ORBITAL DEFENSE PODS (we need Industrial Nano (will have it in 2 years), then Digital Sentience to get Self Aware Machines) and PRESSURE DOMES for the coming PB actions. We've been phasing in Clean units in many applications and have 9 each of the Nut and Energy sats (we should launch more as the Hab Dome buildings are completed to feed and charge up the new pops)

Body of Report
Military
Yang BadBoats (5 of them) bombarded our Stalwart Scout Rover off Lomonosov Park pretty the whole turn to no effect beyond the 10% it probably already had (medals all around). In the early '70s we took out a couple of Yang BadBoats off the E. Coast of Morgan Biochemical and one off Academy Park (which greatly cheered the residents after recently suffering the ravages of PlanetBlight). In 2373, Dee declared Vendetta with a pitiful surprise attack - bombarding our SAM Gatling Rover on the SE corner of Das Boot (she didn't want to talk about it and we ignored her a couple of years and eventually sent a copter over to sink her); at the same time, Santi (still with truce) landed a weak unit on the NE coast near Academy Park - we sent a weak unit of our own and a Probe team to deal with them. In 2376, we discovered Miriam testing our treaty by landing a jerkola and not talking about it; we wait for a probe to get into position to deal with it (yeah right, on to plan B). Plan B turned out to be a wild mindworm which apparently took out Miriam's unit for us. Yang's BadBoats continued to waste their shells on our SSR at LP - we are letting them do it for now.

Dee may be vulnerable to some DropUnit action as she seems to be a bit thin, although she's got lots of missiles somewhere, including a PB. There is the beginning of a Drop force in Zvedny Gorodok, but it needs more beefing up. I never got around to using any HoverTank units, although the basic design has been prototyped and is in use in some formers.

A Naval task force is getting together off Antartic Sabbitical (waiting for its SAM Shard Destroyer to finish. My plan was to take it west to help take over the beachhead that Yang has started north of Morgan Ocean Resources; Heavy Metal was established to partake in that campaign too. We might want to put a carrier on the drawing boards and think about sending some heavies and/or some PBs to The Hole of Aspiration (anyone know where it is?) to take out Yangs Hunter-Seeker so we can infiltrate him.

Research
We finished NanoMetalurgy in 2372; started on Matter Compression, following Provost Arima's suggestion to head for the Space Elevator (Super Tensile Solids, which also offers the Hab Domes). Learned Matter Comp in 2375, switched to Super Tensile according to plan. Learned Super Tensile in 2378; switched to Industrial Nano (only one offered) - estimated in 2382 (we've been running 1 ahead, so perhaps in 2381). Started the Space Elevator at Morgan Mines; not exactly on the equator, but securely attached to the Crater. It currently has 12 years to go at its default pace. We are getting techs every 3 or 4 years, I think partly due to many specialists in our bigger bases; we could probably do with some more facilities too.
.
Development
Starting some Continental Shelf "terra"forming off the coast of Little Italy using the new Super Fungi C-Formers; rolling out 3A-Clean Phot (now Neut) C-SeaShield units in a bold movement to keep our Domestic Waterways safe for Democracy. In 2376, we founded a new base - "Heavy Metal" - in the Uranium Flats on the next landmass to the west; the idea is for it to be an outpost to take over the newish Yang Sea-Bases off the SW coast of that island. Also another new base in the heartland, - "Milano Beach Institute" - mostly to steal back a little land form Morgan and expand Morgan Mines a little so it could have another Borehole to build the Space Elevator SP. Connected our Little Italy and Das Boot, University Harbor got all silted up. Ve thought I had it figured out to leave a sea channel on the eastern side, but .. . . , nice try but no isthmus. Well, we could always put a base at (64,112) to form a pass-thru

Foreign Relations
Kept our truce with Santi by selling her Photon Wave (not even state of the art); then risked it by probing away the unit she landed near Academy Park (didn't get caught). Still have that truce and treaty with Miriam, but now vendettas with Dee and Yang (I think that's right).

Domestic
Industrial Collapse at Morgan Metalurgy 2374 (til '84, I think). I've got a lot of GA action going for the growth and econ effects I suppose, or maybe HerrDoktorProfessor is getting soft on the students. We kept the same SE settings (Demo/Green/Know) throughout, but now that Hab Domes are coming on, Planned may have appeal again if we can keep up with the food supply.

What's Next?
Well, its time to let the dogs out again; building Hab Domes and beefing up the nut production. We'll probably need some more Centauri Preserves to help with the ED, which I think is operating with a clean mineral threshhold somewhere in the mid 30's.at the moment (fortunately, our boys in uniform can handle a few worms any day of the week).

Notes to the next Operations Director:
--Many of our Condensors could use the addition of Soil Enrichers and perhaps Farms too in some cases
--base at (64,112) to connect northern and southern oceans?
--Work to on Mag Tube network
--Upgrading/Cleaning up some more obsolete units
--A naval battlegroup is assembling off Antartic Sabattical, waiting for the Shard SAM Destroyer

Submitted by Provost HerrDoktorProfessor JohnDMuller

Turn Posted here and sent to Qantaga

[Scipio Centaurus]

Originally posted by johndmuller
Dee may be vulnerable to some DropUnit action as she seems to be a bit thin, although she's got lots of missiles somewhere, including a PB.

Have my fellow Provosts taken a look at the eastern end of Lady Dierdre's continent? Verrrry interesting!

- Scipio Centaurus, Chancellor in hiding

[johndmuller]

Scipio, you refer to our Chairman's social call on the Lady?

[Scipio Centaurus]

The very same!

[Qantaga]

Gentlemen, I do have the turn and I will play it a little later this afternoon.

[Qantaga]

Report to the Board of Regents - Mission Years 2381-2390

Ah, now this is the University I know and love. As I ascend the Provost's seat and take a look around at our empire, I am amazed at the improvements that have been made by my predecessors since the last time I sat in this chair. Congratulations to one and all!

2381 - I notice that Deirdre has left U.N. Pillar of Rights unguarded. I could not resist using one of ProvostHerrDoktor johndmuller's drop units to take that base back in honor of our old friend Lal.

2382 - We discover Industrial Nanorobotics. I chose Frictionless Surfaces (on the road to Quantum Power) as our next tech since Digital Sentience was not offered.

While I was in a military mood, I decided to liberate U.N. Headquarters from Lady Deirdre.

2383 - I dialed Deirdre on the commlink, prepared to gift back U.N. Pillar of Rights for an end to our Vendetta. However, she wanted Ind. Nanorobotics, so I gave that to her. I sweet-talked her into signing a Treaty and we still control U.N. Headquarters and U.N. Pillar of Rights.

I am sure that Provost General Smack can cut through Deirdre's territory like a knife through butter if he desires, but I took this opportunity to focus on development and research. (I know you love that, Smack)

2384 - Yang again calls a vote to try to elect himself Supreme Leader. The vote is 784-754 in his favor, nowhere near the 75% needed.

Morgan founds Alpha Sector which significantly cuts into our northwestern territory and takes away several productive squares from two of our bases. I called him on the commlink and offered to buy Alpha Sector from him. He told me that he was setting it up as a non-profitable prison sector and that he could part with it for 214 credits. I gladly paid the price to get our territory back. I then gifted him with Unified Field Theory to keep him happy with us.

2385 - Yang takes two Believer bases.

We discover Frictionless Surfaces. I chose Digital Sentience as our next tech. It was very difficult to keep from approving Quantum Power for our researchers, but ProvostHerrDoktor is very wise in his assertion that we desperately need some orbital defense systems in place and we must get Dig.Sentience to open the path to Self-Aware Machines.

2386 - Wow! ProvostHerrDoktor's words are proving prophetic this year. Sister Miriam has unleashed a Planet Buster on the Children of God base. Yang then returned the atrocity by dropping a Planet Buster on New Jerusalem. Our former friends from the Unity have gone mad!

Deirdre called a vote to approve the Global Trade Pact. It would have passed with a 3-2 vote, but Governor Yang vetoed it.

I feel compelled to pronounce Vendetta on Miriam after her atrocity, but she refuses to answer my commlink communiques, so our treaty with her still stands.

After the Planet Busters, I decided to try to speed up our ability to get missile defense, so I risked a probe action against Deirdre. Our probe team came away successfully with Digital Sentience and even managed to frame Miriam for the espionage. Unfortunately, the only replacement tech offered was Sentient Econometrics..

I switched our SE settings to Cybernetic.

ProvostHerrDoktor's navy is now on the move toward Heavy Metal. However, it is a few years later than intended since I left it close to home for a little while to make sure Deirdre wasn't going to come after us.

2387 - The Prometheus Virus epidemic breaks out at Social Artery in the extreme Northwest area of Planet. Many Hive bases are infected.

2388 - Morgan transferred a Shard Penetrator to our control at UN Headquarters.

Yang seizes 3 Spartan bases and 2 Gaian bases.

We discover Sentient Econometrics.

Hallelujah! We are offered Self-Aware Machines. We will soon have orbital defenses and the mining satellites won't hurt either.

We complete The Space Elevator.

2389 - Yang seizes a Spartan, a Believer and a Gaian base.

2390 - We discover Self-Aware Machines. "I swear sometimes they're watching me" - Bozon Pete

I chose Quantum Power as our next tech.

Our first Orbital Defense Pod will be up in 2392. I also have some Nutrient, Energy and Mining pods in production, so feel free to switch those over to Defense if you wish.


General Notes

-Yang is unbelievably strong and he is starting to work his way across the Gaian continent. However, I can't think of a more qualified Provost General than our very own Smack to handle anything the Chairman may throw at us. He did not make any moves towards us in my 10 years, except for the 5 Fusion Battleships off our northwest coast who seem content to ineffectually bombard our Scout Rover.

-My years were spent following the advice of the good Doktor by trying to get Soil Enrichers and Mag Tubes online. I also tried to get a number of new Boreholes operational.

-I focused on trying to get our labs as productive as possible. I also threw a lot of Power pods and some Nutrient pods into the atmosphere.

-Most of our largest bases have completed the Habitation Domes they started under the good Doktor's leadership. I also tried to build Hab Domes in the bases that would need them soon.

Best of luck to Provost General Smack!

The turn is posted and has been e-mailed to Smack.

[Avenoct]

I was very tempted to smush Deirdre, but I gave her Lal's old bases instead. Yang build 3 SP's the turn he discovered Homo Superior, and we are dueling it out in space. I spent these 10 years fighting back the ocean, which is rising. But I also got a chance to finish a lot of infrastructure. If we can keep up with the ODP race we should be in position to nab the Ascent when Yang builds the Voice. Sure, it might be possible to wage a war at about 1 turn / day. I wasn't up for it!

-Smack

[Scipio Centaurus]

I have the turn. I am too tired to play it tonight [with notes]. Look for it sometime tomorrow.

Are we all agreed that if Yang gets himself elected Supreme Leader (and I think he might), the University of Planet Collective, will spit in his eye and triple dog dare him and his stooges to come and get us?



- Scipio

[Avenoct]

Absolutely!

Speaking of which, now that we are Quantum, it'd be a great time to build a couple PB's and a carrier.

-S-