LOCATION: PORTAL TECHNOLOGY GROUP
AREA: ASHEN CITY, NOCTURNUS
STARDATE: 4205771x27 | TIME: EARLY MORNING
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System Message:
The following includes truncated excerpts from the Portal Technology Group training manual. This historical Record was reconstructed from a memory archive voluntarily released after the subject Trevor Gant’s return.
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Portal Technology Group
Training Manual
Introduction:
Welcome, Aspirant, to the Portal Technology Group.
You have been hand-selected from among millions of Empire subjects based on your aptitude test scores and your demonstrated commitment to the Obsidian Empire.
If you are reading this manual, you and your family have been vetted and found to be exemplary subjects. Congratulations.
Should you remain in good standing throughout your training, you will find that a comfortable life awaits you. You will work hard, but your life will be filled with purpose.
Section I: Training Regimen
Your training in the PTG begins with this manual itself.
You will be provided a time limit during which you must complete each module and pass a short test ensuring that you have retained the material.
The tests are embedded in the tablet, and will appear at the end of each section.
We will begin with a high-level introduction to the physics of portal technology so you have a frame of reference from which to work.
Next, we will examine the history of the glorious Obsidian Empire, and our mission to bring order to the chaos of the multiverse.
After the foundation has been laid, we build upon it.
You will learn about the various resources that are required to run and maintain an Empire the size of Obsidian.
Next, we will delve into the structure of the multiverse itself. This is crucial to understanding the potential range of our portals.
Finally, you will learn the unique technology we have developed to combine Mana and Science into the portals that have allowed the Obsidian Empire to become such a dominant force in the multiverse.
Section II: High-Level Concept
The concept behind portal technology is actually quite simple. A field is generated at the source using the Empire’s proprietary technology.
Once the field is stabilized, a similar field must be created at the destination. You will learn more about this in the advanced modules.
When both fields are stabilized, they are connected by a bridge, and passing through becomes possible.
Livestock is always used for the first passes to ensure all is working as intended. This rule must always be followed.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Finally, once the purpose of the portal has been achieved, it is shut down following the reverse procedure. The field at the destination is collapsed, the bridge is shut down, and the field at the origin may then be safely terminated.
As a member of the Portal Technology Group, you are providing the Empire with an incredibly important service.
Section III: The Obsidian Empire
The Obsidian Empire was formed out of the ruins of our original home on the planet Genus.
Our people lived a peaceful life, but once we developed a System to manage our daily lives, we were attacked.
90% of our population was killed in the space of three cycles, and those remaining successfully stole a transport and escaped to non-controlled space to regroup and reform.
We gathered resources and expanded our forces until we were able to return to Genus. The invading armies had embedded themselves so deeply into the planetary structure that only one choice remained before us.
We burned the whole planet until it was nothing but a large ball of glass.
Obsidian.
Our Empire never knew weakness after that day. In all things, we stay true to our core motto. It is written on our buildings, our ships. It is drilled into our children in school, and recited as part of our daily work.
Power through Order.
Order through Strength.
Strength through Obedience.
Obedience through Devotion.
We have grown strong and expanded far beyond our original galaxy.
The multiverse is ruled by entropy.
It is the Empire’s purpose to bring order to the chaos, to rule the multiverse with strength backed by unquestionable might.
We tolerate no dissent, and make swift examples of those who try. We do not reward compliance, but expect it.
Only those who provide unequaled service to the Empire and its goals are worthy of reward, and even then we ensure it is limited.
In the end, an Empire of such vast size and divine purpose requires resources.
Section IV: Resources
The Obsidian Empire requires many resources to maintain its function and to fuel its divinely mandated expansion.
In pursuing this end, we use a multipronged, long-term approach.
Exploration:
Our exploration vessels are outfitted with faster-than-light travel and extreme long-range scanners. Those scanners search entire sectors of space for three key resources: water, minerals, and life. Those on board these vessels are the scouts for the Empire, and are well-rewarded. They are provided with near-indefinite life spans. Their missions are long, and they are provided with entertainment on board and a Level V lifestyle when back home.
Water:
Water is critical to a healthy expanding empire, and ours is no different. When large sources of water are discovered, word is sent back to the nearest operations center, and special vessels are sent to extract it. This precious resource, like most others, is distributed on an as-needed basis without favoritism.
Minerals:
A burgeoning empire requires and expansive manufacturing base to support all of its efforts and activities. For this purpose, ore can be converted into steel and other metals through extremely efficient processes.
Silica is converted into concrete for foundations and other structures. Some minerals are ingested to support health. When mineral-rich asteroids are discovered, all-purpose vessels are deployed.
These vessels are able to moor to the asteroid. They can mine, grind to dust, and form ingots all in a straight-line process. The ingots are stored in a hull that is later transported to the nearest storehouse until needed.
Life:
When a life-bearing planet is discovered with a scan, the Empire initiates a standardized evaluation protocol.
Rather than a direct planetary invasion, which would risk unnecessary destruction of infrastructure and labor potential, we open portals to test defensive capability, coordination, and societal response.
These incursions are carefully measured and observed to assess technological parity, command hierarchy, and willingness to submit to superior rule.
If a population demonstrates organized resistance or ideological hostility, decisive force is applied. Militant societies are either subjugated through overwhelming power or eliminated entirely to prevent future instability.
Populations that lack unified resistance are integrated. Surviving subjects are categorized, assigned roles based on aptitude, and relocated as needed to maximize utility. Cultural identities are abolished, and these new subjects are indoctrinated into their new way of life in the Empire.
Energy:
The ultimate resource, in many ways, is energy.
The Obsidian Empire employs numerous methods of energy generation, ranging from stellar harvesting to subspace vacuum energy extraction. However, one method is unique to our long-term strategy.
When a life-bearing planet’s labor force has exceeded its utility, all biological activity on the world is terminated. In its compassion, the Empire ensures this process is swift, unexpected, and mostly painless.
The planet is then prepared for future extraction.
Atmospheric composition is altered, tectonic activity is encouraged, and large-scale burial events are induced. Organic matter is preserved, compressed, and subjected to sustained heat and pressure over extended time.
These worlds are cataloged, sealed behind automated defense systems, and left to mature.
After sufficient time has passed, the planet may be reclaimed as an energy asset, providing fuel and chemical resources capable of sustaining entire sectors of the Empire for generations.