How long since a "What faction would you join" thread???

[Blake]

So this thread is the what factions would you NOT join thread. Which factions are just so morally reprehensible or sound so unfulfilling that you'd never willingly join them?

[Blake]

Me personally, of the SMAC factions I wouldn't join the Morganites (Materialism) or the Believers (Fanaticism), the University are borderline on the basis of their lack of ethics and excessive intellectual idealism but there is the cool toys factor.
The Spartan's aren't really all that different except I have a soft spot for survivalism.
Gaians and Peacekeepers are fine on the basis of being tolerant types and Yang's anti-materialism fascinates me.

Of the SMAX factions I'd very willingly join the Data Angels but the others are all iffy. While the Pirates have a somewhat compatible ideology I can't stand the sea. The Drones are probably excessively anti-intellectual but mainly just have too much of a hard work ethic. The Cult are obviously out on fanaticism grounds. I'd have extreme misgivings about the CyC but may join them for the collective mind-trip thing.

[gwillybj]

In no particular order: Hive, Morgan, Drones, Pirates, Fungboy. Each of the others has something attractive; most just a little, some more than that.

[Darrell01]

Oh crap. I chose the ones I would join. Well now I've messed up the poll...

Well I wouldn't join the Hive because of the lack of compassion or importance of the single individual.
I also wouldn't join the Pirates because they aren't really building anything. They are just syphoning off the existing bases.
I'm indifferent to the Peace Keepers because they just have some vague goal of stopping the fighting when they should aggressively unite the colonies on Planet. Any faction could stop the fighting once they take over everything.
I'm indifferent to the Cybernetic because you lose the art and feeling side of humanity.
I'm also indifferent to Fungboy because I gotta sybiote with the Planet mind and may lose my individuality. That and pink contact lenses sound a little off to me.
I'm also indifferent to the Free Drones because ... well ... um ... Well they are Drones! They riot in bases and take your energy credits! Now they are free? Hehe, not for me, but I don't detest them.

Now, just because I don't like the faction ideology does't mean I don't like to play them.

[Kaosium]

The Hive is an absolutely repellent faction in my view, look to North Korea as an example of what they are. Forced to sing songs on cue like 'I crushed my back working for the Great Leader but I'm happy.' Every home fixed with an intercom so the government can impose propaganda on you 24 hours a day. State law requiring all radios have their tuning knobs disabled so all you can hear is the government radio station preaching ridiculous propaganda all day long. The people of North Korea actually believe the rest of the world is a polluted wasteland which forces everyone else to wear a gas mask to survive. They're not allowed to talk to the foreigners who do dare 'vacation' there, so how would they know better? The truth is the vast majority of the rest of the world is less polluted than North Korea--an industrial wasteland.

It's also the ultimate materialist philosophy, except that you're supposed to be producing goods and services for the group, instead of yourself. All you are is a slave to the industry of the group, a thing not a person. A conglomerate of chemical processes Yang can abuse as the mood takes him. It would be better in his view if he could remove most of your mind so all you could do was produce things and want nothing more than to serve like a loyal puppy dog.

I forgot to vote for the Cybernetic Consiousness, but they're basically the same thing, just higher tech and with a hot babe. They remove all your emotion and artistic ability to make you into a clever pocket calculator. No thanks, they're the Borg.

The Cult of Planet is too weird for my tastes. However it's just strange in my view, not evil like the two above. I wouldn't join them, but I'd feel sympathy for those wacked out enough to do so. The Hive and the Planet Cult is who I voted against, though in retrospect I should have included the Cybernetic Consiousness.



All the rest I could live with, though I'd like it better in some than others. I'd prefer the Peacekeepers or the Spartans; two factions dedicated to keeping the human race alive and more or less uncorrupted by bizarre or decadent ideologies. The Peacekeepers in a best case scenario, the Spartans in a worst case scenario. Note I see the Spartans as a tribute to Jerry Pournelle/Larry Niven as recognized in the acknowledgements of the original rulebook, not as others might see them. If the fate of the human race is at stake you ought to be pretty vigilant at times, which is why though I'd prefer the morals of the Peacekeepers, I'd rather a faction who was more dedicated to preserving them.

The Morganites are more or less unrepetant capitalists, and even Karl Marx admitted in "Das Kapital" that capitalism had done more for the human race than any previous ideology, and in fact considered it a necessary step for a society to reach enlightenment in his dialectic.

The Free Drones are basically union guys in my view, fed up with being treated like slaves by their faction masters. I can sympathize with that, who'd want to be considered a 'drone' in the first place? Sounds too Hivish to me, I can't blame them for rebelling, even when it's me whose let it get to that stage because I've been neglecting their needs for too long.

The Gaians are a less fanatical version of the Planet Cult in my view, and are run by the hottest babe in the game. If Aki didn't have a huge hunk of metal in her head she might be more to my tastes, but frankly Dierdre reminds me of all the hot chicks I laid at the UW-Madison who might have hugged too many trees but were really good at hugging humans too.

The University is pretty tame compared to the others; though there's implications Zak might be not unlike Mengele--willing to forgo any ethical considerations in the pursuit of knowledge. Betcha the reason he comes to 'Secrets of the Human Brain' first is because he tested mindworms on unwilling subjects either captured or criminal in his own faction to produce the 'trance' defense. However, like with the Spartans I can forgive a little vigilance in the defense of the human race.

Too much religion can make my teeth ache, but at the bottom of it is a decent message, unlike what we get from the likes of slave-owner Yang. Plus, judging by their base names, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" must be their faction anthem, and as that's an absolutely beautiful song in my view and with such wonderful historical conoctations: it was the song of the (US) Union Army as they crushed the slavery imposed on this country by others.

The Datajacks are just supreme libertarians, much like the Nautilus faction in my view. I like drinking and wenching just as much as the next guy, though I'd like to think there's more to life than pure hedonism. I could be a pirate or a hacker, but I'd yearn for more.

[Solver]

Hm, most of them I guess, if SMAX is taken into account .

First, Believers. Religious fanatics that hate science. No, no, no. Next, the Hive - they're the ultimate socialists. Men are seen as a wheels in a huge clockwork machine, though I admit I'm fascinated by some of Yang's up-front statements. Third, the Spartans - I'm just not a militarist person.

Morganites are borderline to me - yes, materialist, but I don't see them as really doing anything evil or strongly against my morals. They're more like misguided in my book. But hey, the produce cool things.

The University are my faction, I'd be with them. The Gaians and Peacekeepers I don't really care too much for either way ideologically.

Out of the SMAX factions, I like the Datajacks (they're hackers and about information, after all) and the Cybernetics - because they're also about technology. The rest of them I wouldn't align with, though the Pirates have some compelling isolationism.

[Xian]

These threads always devolve into philosophy because except for the Morganites and Hive, ***ALL*** of the factions have potential to be absolute nightmares or flawless paradises, depending on anthropological factors and leadership.

The Morganites and Hive are exceptional in that they require inequality, unfairness, and injustice to exist. Democracy and human rights are fundamentally at odds with their ideologies - unlike even the Beleivers or Cult.

[Darrell01]

Whoah, whoah, whoah... The Morganites require inequality, unfairness, and injustice? Where did you ever get that idea?

[CEO Aaron]

Wow, I can't believe that, before my vote, as many people would refuse to join the Morganites as the Human Hive. Apparently such trivial concerns such as human rights and civil liberties are of little consequence. Silly me.

[Hydro]

This is easy: Believers. A given Truth (with a capital T) is the cause of so much willful ignorance in the world that it is hard to believe that the extreme version in SMAC would allow the survival of humanity. Or if it did it would be h*ll on earth (or, as it were, Chiron).

The other repellent factions, in decreasing order or rankness:

Hive – fascinating, but a faction that strives to stomp on the face of humanity forever (to use a little 1984 imagery) is frightening and horribly dark.

Cult – not much different than Believers

Spartans – just one step away from fascists

Pirates – thrive on death and destruction to enable their twisted version of liberty: no thank you.

Cyborgs – it's rather chilling to lose one’s personality to an algorithm

Morganites – well, we’re witnessing what unbridled capitalism can do to the Earth. Rinse and repeat anyone?

The following would be acceptable:

Angels – I’m not a big fan of anarchists (after all, someone has to make the rules), but the emphasis on liberty hopefully tempers the chaos

Drones – rather ridged and dogmatic, but probably not a horrible place to live

PKs – noble goals and inoffensive, if stifling

Uni – I’m all for science, but the unethical bit leaves me a bit wary

Gaians – more of a philosophy based on science than a given Truth; plus, who can argue with dancing naked among the trees?

[Illuminatus]

There are more people who would not join the Believers under any condition than those who would not join the Cult. Interesting.

[Solver]

I think the Believers are worse. The Cult basically worship the Planet. The Planet is, after all, a sentient being. Yes, they also worship Cha'Dawn, but maybe the planetvoice IS speaking to him.

The Cult isn't a faction I'd love to be a part of, but I find them much less opposable than the Believers, who are pure fanatics, and aggressive ones at that.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

The two I couldn't support are Hive and Cycon. Both are attempts to eliminate the individual in my estimation.

[Solver]

Gee, what do people see wrong with the Cyborgs?

[Darrell01]

You know, they way I'm seeing this if you lived in a faction, you would end up playing a certain role in the faction. If you totally agree with a faction, you'd be a Talent. If you were indifferent, you'd be a Worker. If you didn't agree with a faction at all, you'd be a Drone. If you detested the faction and rallied against it, you'd be either a Super Drone or a specialist, because the faction would have to change you into a doctor to keep you busy.