Let's talk about the Terrans (Starcraft)

[FaxModem1]

I've been (re)reading Starcraft novels lately, and the Terran Confederacy, and later the Terran Dominion, are culturally interesting.

Earth had nuclear wars, cyberpunk cyborgs, psychic mutants, etc., and eventually fell into a sort of fascism of eliminating anyone who was genetically 'impure', or went against the "Divinity of Mankind". All these people were rounded up and sent as a test case for future colonization. They were put aboard sleeper ships, and sent to an alien system to colonize. The navigation utterly failed, and they wound up in the Koprulu sector instead. Some of the sleeper ships crashed, others landed, and they started forming civilizations of their own.

The Nagglfar, the first supercarrier, landed on the world Tarsonis, and they established civilization. It's from ships filled with refugees, political prisoners, hardened criminals, and minorities that this new civilization was founded, connected, but essentially separate from Earth civilizations.

The commanding officers of those ships were in charge, and eventually established dynasties that ruled the planet, and eventually the rest of Terran space in the Koprulu sector. Like the historical Confederacy it's flag apes, the Confederacy is a government established around protecting the power and wealth of the rich elites at the cost of everyone else. This leads to sizable corruption and problems on the capital world, as well as the later colonies that they establish throughout the sector. Every single planet colonized by Terrans is meant to serve Tarsonis in some form or fashion, whether as a mining planet, a research outpost, agriculture, or simply a giant resort. As expected, people are bitter about this, and try to rebel, or settle out even further to establish their own independent colony.

This leads to military actions wherein the Confederacy starts claiming mines or other properties from independents, and asserting their control over it. Some well established colonies, such as Korhal, worked to militarize so as to fight off the Confederacy when given a chance. The Korhal fighters were so effective at fighting the Confederates that eventually the Confederates showed how little they respected insurrection, and nuked the planet.

It's noted that their ground military is 50 percent neurally resocialized (brainpanned) criminals. Convicted violent offenders, as well as sometimes kidnapped colonists who were taken, processed, brainwashed, and with a new personality to serve as front line troops in combat. Their new personality could be seen as unnerving to normal people, and would not hold up to scrutiny in regular conversation, but they were still used at recruitment stations for the Confederate military. It's also worth noting that such processes could break down under extreme stress unless chemically aided. One of the reforms under Emperor Valerian Mengsk of the later Terran Dominion was to ban such practices.

They have two independent neighboring Terran nations, both former members of the Confederacy itself, the Kel-Morian Combine, and the Umojan Protectorate. The Kel-Morians are essentially a giant corporation protecting their interests on various colonies of their own from Confederate interference, to the point that a war between the Confederacy and the Combine happened, leading to an uneasy peace. The Umojans are, relatively, the Switzerland of the colonies in terms of government, being mostly a democratic government focused on maintaining their independence and keeping their space intact, staying as neutral as possible while also focusing on making sure their civilization does no ecological damage to their worlds, and uniting to protect against Confederate invasion.

So, we have an oligarchy, a libertarian corporate world, and a highly armed Democratic environmental peacenik government all competing against each other, waiting for the other shoe to drop with their rising tensions against each other. Even without the Zerg or the Protoss showing up, there would have been additional devastating wars between these factions over who would rule the Koprulu sector.

Culturally, there's a lot of flaunting of culture and wealth. Entire waves of music, art, literature, etc. that have developed in the Koprulu sector, almost completely disconnected from Earth's own history. In I, Mengsk, Valerian Mengsk makes references to several pieces of literature that are from their world, and not from Earth prior to their exodus, and how what we know as the Art of War is a book without a title as the author and title of the book have been lost to time. Facts about Earth itself are suspect, due to their carrier ships being scrapped for shelters. This has led to interesting interpretations of common facts about conditions on Earth, such as Michael Liberty thinking that all gorillas are King Kong size, and actually did swat at primitive aircraft back in the day. While this affect on their culture isn't examined in detail in the games and novels, we do see appeals to what they think is in the past with their traditions among the elites, and appealing to things like historical symbols from old Earth without really knowing, or knowing and connecting the history behind them, of symbols like the Confederate Navy Jack as the symbol of their government.

With their ships and buildings, there's a real divide between the core worlds and the colonies. The colonies are barebones, focusing on the bare essential technology, if they can even afford that, to survive. While on the core worlds, opulence goes into the design of their buildings, uniforms, and even their starships. Battlecruisers with gold leaf interiors, chandeliers, and opulent lighting, for instance. Proof of corruption in their government.

It speaks of a culture drawing from what they know of Earth, while not really knowing anything about it, and making their own culture about it. A culture that is top heavy with their wealth, and almost purposely designed to benefit the rich elites at the expense of others. Revolution, terrorism, and wars of independence seemed like a natural consequence of such policies and the inevitable conclusion of such a government. It's also interesting that in the face of corruption, populism followed with an appeal to an absolute monarchy, who could be considered just as bad, if not much worse in practice, but eventually, with reforms by the heir apparent, led to a stable and peaceful Terran Dominion.

What are your thoughts on the Terrans from Starcraft?

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Wait, so you're running on about what's in the novels, which is probably volumes more than you ever get from the games, or the first one up to Brood War at least. I only started the Terran campaign and see that Arcturis is a scandalous dictator or something.

[FaxModem1]

Wait, so you're running on about what's in the novels, which is probably volumes more than you ever get from the games, or the first one up to Brood War at least. I only started the Terran campaign and see that Arcturis is a scandalous dictator or something.

Yeah, I'm basically deep diving into their civilization, because I find the idea of human civilization that is connected, but estranged from us culturally, fascinating.

Anyway, the story of the games pretty much is:(SPOILERS)

In the first game, Arcturus Mengsk is the head of a 'terrorist group', the Sons of Korhal, that fights against the Confederacy. Mostly because the Confederacy nuked Korhal with a thousand gigantic missiles, and because a LOT of people on the fringe of Terran space are dissatisfied with getting the short end of the stick by the Confederate leadership. The utter mismanagement of the Zerg situation by the Confederacy gives Mengsk the tools, followers, and ships he needs to destroy the Confederacy and establish the Terran Dominion.

Brood War has them invaded by the UED, the government from Earth. The Zerg eventually beat them back. Ex-Confederate forces were used by the UED as conscripts to fight Mengsk's regime. By the end of Brood War, most of them were wiped out.

By SC2, he's pretty much dictator of Terran space, and the Terran campaign is fighting against him and trying to free the Terran people. What's interesting is that Mengsk has become the very thing he was fighting against, someone only concerned about his own power rather than the welfare of his people. It's pretty much canon that this was hid end goal the entire time, people were just swept into his rhetoric and charisma when he said he was doing it for the good of the people.

[Madner Kami]

Yeah, I'm basically deep diving into their civilization, because I find the idea of human civilization that is connected, but estranged from us culturally, fascinating.

Get into the lore of EVE Online. It's much more interesting, multifaceted and meta-commenting on modern humanity. Mankind there is not only detached from humanity by distance, but also by time and, argueably, dimension, as there are hints that the laws of physics are subtely different from what is going on in our reality. There are men like gods and gods among men, as humanity has achieved transcendence indipendently of each other in various ways. The conflicts of old still lead to conflicts in the present, playing along all too well known lines, without actually being caused by the conflicts of old. And despite all that makes EVE's humanity so much more than humanity is today, they still are humans full of errors. Greed, hate, but also love. It's brilliant, especially if you read into the old (and discontinued) EVE Chronicles.

[Wargriffin]

Arcturus is the classic case of If someone has to be in Charge it should be me

"One day he's the Righteous crusader for the downtrodden now... He's the Law and We're the outlaws"


and to be fair Mengsk ends up being a lot more effective then the confederates... It just then ALL the factions show they've been pulling their punches

and THEN the UED shows up

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Weirdly with StarCraft, I was much more fascinated with the Xel'naga, Protoss, and Zerg. Raynor was my boy of course, but I never really thought much about the Terran dynamics between Duke, Mengsk, DuGal, Stukov, and Jim. In game storywise, I thought Kerrigan and Stukov were considerably tragic.

[FaxModem1]

Weirdly with StarCraft, I was much more fascinated with the Xel'naga, Protoss, and Zerg. Raynor was my boy of course, but I never really thought much about the Terran dynamics between Duke, Mengsk, DuGal, Stukov, and Jim. In game storywise, I thought Kerrigan and Stukov were considerably tragic.

I could never get into the Zerg. They're an icky hive mind that slaughters the innocent in the name of evolution. They're either a conscious biological Borg, or a wild predator that needs to be put down for the good of all. It's why I always found the Zerg campaigns really hard to play through.

[Madner Kami]

"Natural" Zerg are indeed instinct-driven predators, though the more evolved versions are clearly capable of higher reasoning. "Hive-minded" Zerg are not truely a hive-mind in the sense, that each individual mind contributes to the or even an overall gestalt-conciousness. The "hive-minded" Zerg are a race of slaves, slaved to the will of the Overmind, who in turn is a creation of an eldritch abomination and a slave of said elder evil itself, thus making them not a hive-mind, but a telepathically controlled army of brain-washed zombies.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

The way I thought, most each controllable unit of the zerg is operated by the overlords, which are themselves directly ordered around by the cerebrates, which serves the role of the player themself. Cerebrates are fully minded creatures that serve the Overmind, which was created by the Xel'naga. I don't remember any modern connection between the Xel'naga and Overmind.

[Madner Kami]

I don't remember any modern connection between the Xel'naga and Overmind.

Have you played StarCraft 2? I don't quite get what you want to say there.