Fiction:Kioskstrum Collective

The First Steps
In the early days, there were small towns and villages. But as times change and people expand, they create cities. The first cities houses thousands of people. These cities became centers of trade and culture and science, places where the world changed first. They weren't always pleasant, but were always alive. The Rise of Cities was a crucial first step for the Collective, a city dwelling entity, to come into existence. With cities came trade, and with trade came views of different ways of life. Empires that had spanned continents and held their people under the thought 'we are the best' started to lose their control. The age of empires, which had lasted from the time of villages and castles, was coming to an end with the introduction of communication and the creation of a middle class. As people began to desire freedom, empires needed to focus on controlling their home territories, and abandoned territories overseas or otherwise distant. Those areas usually reverted back to their former states, but some became powerful factions in their own right. But despite this, trade and communication was dominant over all other aspects of life now. As trade spread and international connections became more vital, alliance empires started to form. International behavior became more important than internal structures in many governments, the flow of wealth and commerce became a global structure. No longer were cities and nations alone in the world, now they needed to communicate and work together in order to survive. As time passed, technologies allowed for almost instant communications across the globe, and then across the solar system. The lines between nation was blurring fast, and governments didn't really like that. So they fought it and tried to isolate themselves in order to stay intact and independent, basically to keep power for themselves. But nothing could stop the march of time. Governments were trying to stop the inevitable, and that naturally led to war between some. Once the first shots were fired, everything broke down and governments collapsed as the people, from the wealthy to the poor, the religious to the scientific, of all background and cultures, rejected the wars absolutely. Governments were upturned without a single drop of blood spilled, and peoples across the system became a single unified entity. They were not a government, but a Collective of people. And that is how the original name came to be. Since trade and communication were the basis of this organization, they became the leaders. Corporations held more power than any government had before, but at the same time, less. The Collective was truly a government run by the people for the people.
 * Rise of Cities
 * Fall of Empires
 * Rise of Globalism
 * Fall of Government

Interstellar Expansion
The Collective sent out many drones and such, but with the sudden invention of a warp drive FTL travel became possible and the Collective positively puffed itself up with anticipation. Corporations put trillions into colony ships and advanced technologies to help build new cities elsewhere in the universe. These vessels were, naturally, well defended, as no one knew what they would meet out there, and all of them remembered their war-torn past. Of the twenty of so ships to be sent out to colonize new planets (which was the most even the best of corporations was willing to send collectively), only 5 survived. The universe was far more dangerous than they had thought, and because of this, they would need to create an official government to represent them to other empires and species. The Collective was taking its first baby steps into the galaxy, and it needed a strong cane to stand on. The Collective, however, was driven by the need to make a profit in the universe. They expanded, gathering up several planets, and as they started to trade with those around them on and interplanetary scale, they began to create a new trade and communications grid. They knew what would happen when people became so dependent on one another that they simply could not survive on their own, and they used that to their advantage. As their neighbors’ cultural values and ideals mixed, they waited for the inevitable wars that would come. When they did come, the Collective moved in and showed the people a different way to exist. And the people made their choices in a single fell swoop. They chose trade and profit over war and destruction. They chose to meld into the Collective, and so it grew. The wars were still destructive, many planets were lost because of the wars, but those that survived were aided by the Collective and those that didn't were mostly evacuated to Collective worlds. The population only halved, despite the loss of almost 92% of the planets and systems that had been colonized when the Collective first arrived (from about 50 systems total to 4), which was due to the Collective's rapid response to the war. They already had 3 systems to their name, and 4 planets, so they haven't expanded much in the 21 years since they officially became the Kioskstrum Collective (named after the man in charge at the time of these vital events, Kios K. Strum) gaining 14 systems and 1 planet. The Collective then entered a period of stability and minor conflict (mostly with pirates). However, they did continue to spread their borders, far beyond the actual colonized regions. And that is how they encountered their first glimpse of the power of the universe.
 * First Contact
 * Expansion by Trade

Alchemy
Alchemy is a form of essence usage that allows for the manipulation of molecules and atoms. Using it, individuals can with relative ease change the elements an object is made out of, as well as simply moving the materials an object is made from to create a new object. The size and level of an object changed depends on an individual’s strength.

See More: Alchemy
 * Note to Self: Expand on Alchemy

Culture
The Kioskstrum Collective has two distinct cultures, that of the advanced and modern City Folk, and that of the primitive and primal Plain Folk. Each set of people have their own beliefs, ideals, and heroes.

City Folk City Folk are the society that the rest of the universe will always see and imagine when thinking of the Kioskstrum Collective. They have space flight, FTL travel, interstellar colonies, massive metropolises will millions of people in a single city, and hyper-advanced technologies that make them a viable space-era civilization. They are the only important power in the Kioskstrum Collective. Plain Folk The Plain Folk are a primitive, simplistic society. They have no technologies more advanced then the medieval age. No guns, cannons, or even steel-level technologies. They are entirely naturalistic. They are also such an insignificant faction in the Kioskstrum Collective that most people just ignore them utterly.


 * Note to self: Expand on Cultural Information

People
Corporations Corporate owners and CEO's are among the most powerful people in the Kioskstrum Collective. They hold the wealth, power, and influence that the Collective runs with. These are the true movers and shakers of the Collective.


 * - The current CEO and majority shareholder in Paloin's Products, Mr. Paloin is a skilled businessman and a dangerous economic foe. He is also a bit of a nut.

Government The Government leaders aren't all that relevant to the going ons of the Collective. They can make minor policies, and their jobs are easily the most stable of all jobs in the Collective (few want them) but they do almost nothing.


 * - President of the Kioskstrum Collective. Able to declare a state of emergency and a state of war if needed. Otherwise useless.

Underworld The Underworld of the Collective is more important to it's existence then the Government itself is. The leaders of the underworld are generally anonymous, like the mysterious leader/founder of the Koins, but some are more... visible.


 * - The dangerous leader of the Kings Donnie, Blackjack is only his codename, only the people closest to him know his actual name. He is one of the most feared people in the Collective.


 * - An ubergenius child born to an Alchemist and a Bioengineer. This child has an IQ of approximately 700, and is probably the least naive person in the Collective after his discovery of the Tyranny's trickery.
 * He doesn't enter the underworld until after the storlyline is complete.

Members
Yamitian=

Yamitians are humanoid creatures with a large base and a tall torso. They have thick, wideset legs (bowlegged) and a long, rat like tail that comes out directly downward from the body. They are about 12ft(4m) tall and 4ft(1.3m) wide at the shoulders. Their arms are slightly longer then their legs, and come with a retractable set of spikes, three on the forearm and one that comes out of the elbow. Their hands are similar, complete with minispikes. When retracted, the spikes in the arms and hands strengthen the bone structure. Yamitians come in any color combination imaginable, from neon green skin, scarlet hair, deep blue eyes, and rosy pink bones to single-color bodies.

Yamitians are the most common and adaptable of the species in the Kioskstrum Collective, though they are not a founding member. They generally live around 150 years or so, with a more long-term thought process then some other members of the Collective. For the most part they are ambitious, seeking to spread their influence and power, as well as personal wealth, making them a powerful driving force behind the economics of the Collective. Kions= 200px|left

Kions are a peaceful insectoid species. They have a family memory, that is, the hatchlings have all the memories of their ancestors within their heads, all the way back to their earliest intelligence. This generally prevents aggression between them, as well as ensuring the survival of all individuals even if the adults are killed. They are born capable of surviving on their own, and once they grow to their adult size they have to work for their housing. They look like large, flat centipedes, but with only 6 limbs and a set of small, flightless wings that allow them to 'speak' by buzzing them against their bodies. Atilic= 200px|left

Atilics are a canine species. They have 12 limbs, mouths about 3ft long, and teeth that could be stuck into a sharks mouth. They have a toxic bite due to bacteria that live within their mouths. Their eyes, however, are as kind as they are. The species is carnivorous, but they long ago learned their lessons on war and abusing the natural world. They do not eat meat that was once a sentient being, only eating meat that was grown in meat farms (literally, legs, arms, chests, other parts can all be grown, and thats all the Atilics eat). They are a very happy-go-lucky species with a hint of wisdom in their eyes. Atilics communicate using pheromones. Lifir= 200px|left

Lifir are an aquatic species of jellyfish like creature. They have a central bell portions with an advanced brain hidden in the center, except for the electric sparks it creates which are completely visible to others. They communicate using these electric sparks in a mind to mind communication system, which doesn't work outside of their watery cities. They are an advanced species with very complex eyes and internal organs, despite being made of water. They also have a form of immortality in that they can return to their larval stage and reset their lives from that point whenever they wish. However, they do not retain memories, and so don't often do this. They are a rather... chaotic species, preferring jokes and happiness to wealth and power. Deerit= 200px|left

Deerit are an avian species with an immensely fast wing-beat. They can hover, fly backward, and do various other acrobatic stunts. They communicate via high pitched chirping similar to bats, and can't hear something at the level of a lions deep roar. They are a fast species, living only 10-12 years, but they get much more done in that time then many species get done in a 100-120 year lifespan. They do, however, have a tendency to not look in the long term, which caused their near extinction before the Kioskstrum Collective found them and literally bought the species as a form of cheap, biological mail system. Axtii= 200px|left

Axtii communicate using low-tone sounds (like elephants and lions, but even lower) that a human cannot hear, but rather, feel. Their ears cannot hear higher pitches, like that of human speech. They are an immensely massive species, growing to be up to 150ft long and living lives up to three thousand years (the Grandmother of Grandmothers). Because of their size and long life, they are a slow, but powerful species. They look similar to giant caterpillars, lacking any form of fur or hair, incapable of moving or closing their eyes, and always hungry for food. They are a rather rare sight due to having few children over time. Chelli= 200px|left

Chelli are a blind species that had no knowledge of the stars before they were encountered by the Kioskstrum Collective. They are 12ft long, have a scaled bodies like snakes with short stubby limbs every three feet, and lack eyes. They communicated through human-level sounds as well as pheromones and vibrations in the earth. Any of their legs can be used as a grasping limb, making them an able bodied mechanic. They have no head, per say, having a mouth at both ends of their bodies and removing waste by excreting it though their skin near the middle as liquids. They have a set of massive whiskers on each end of their bodies around the mouth in a ring that they use to ensure they won't crash into anything, though their ability to smell and hear things is almost as useful for the task. Chimera= 200px|left

Chimera are any form of created hybrid life. They can be any of the above species combined with each other, animals, even plants on rare occasions. Creation of chimera is illegal, but that stops very few people from doing so, as they are usually already paying a steep price and willing to destroy multiple thinking beings to achieve their goals. Chimera existing is not illegal, and they actually get benefits and support from the government (as well as corporations that seek their aid for various reasons). Due to being multiple creatures, chimera are usually better as tasks then any pure species could be. Cyborgs and Androids= 200px|left

Cyborgs and Androids are not considered 'living' creatures, despite being intelligent. They are often sold as slaves and tools between various corporations and individuals. They can become free, but only if their master says they can. a rouge Cyborg or Android will be hunted down and captured at the expense of whoever hunts them down. If you capture it, it's yours, is the genera philosophy of the Kioskstrum Collective. Cyborgs and Androids have no rights whatsoever in the eyes of the government.

Language
Language(s)

Government
Governmental Purpose "Government exists to protect the people from external and internal threats of a physical nature. That is it's sole purpose."

- Book of Government

The government of the Collective has but one purpose: take care of the physical needs of it's citizens. That means that it ensures that people aren't being killed in the streets to the best of it's ability (which is minimal due to the lack in support for such activities), monitoring the general health of the population, keeping a census on the population for public record, and protecting the citizens of the Collective from external and internal conflict (war). Beyond that, the government is not permitted to have any power or purpose.

Governmental Power "Governments should not have too much power. If you give them too much power, they begin to make mistakes that have greater impact on the world around them."

- Book of Government

The government of the Collective is very limited in it's power. This is due to several power hungry governments leading to large disastrous events in the past, from wars to economic collapse. Government in the Collective is restricted to being a business. They run the prisons and act as security on the streets. They cannot interfere with economics, cannot print money, cannot have a standing offensive military force, cannot require people to use their goods or currency, and cannot force people to do their bidding.

The government exists to help the people, so all jobs and projects it works on are projects that only a government sized structure with that level of income can undertake, and even then they usually have competition for the project. Such projects are building skytowers, terraforming planets, and constructing/outfitting colony ships (the latter of which is the only government monopoly). They uphold the general peace and order, and have placed laws that the populace votes in as acceptable or necessary. Such laws are on the level of 'no stealing', 'no killing', and 'no kidnapping'. All governmental laws are specifically required to be in defense of citizens of the Collective, no laws can be made if they can't be proven to the populace to be good for them in some way.

The Government has the single absolute power to collect 5% in taxes or stock from each and every citizen of the collective. It cannot increase the tax/stock amount in people, nor can it decrease the tax/stock amount in people. This gives them an average tax/stock income so massive that it seems incomprehensible. The number rests somewhere around 100 quintillion in most Corp Credits, which is such a vast number even for the megacorps that the government usually struggles to spend it all every year. However, it is required to do so, but must spend it on civilian projects.

All military activities of the government are funded by the prison centers and other non-tax/stock based income sources. They are not permitted to use the peoples involuntarily given income to fund military activities except in times of external conflict (war with other governments/collectives/factions) in defense of their own people. They are not permitted to function in any offensive wars.

Governmental Securities
 * Ghosts - Governmental Security Drones, though generally called Ghosts due to their nature, are the primary source of security on the streets and around government projects. They consist of a small hovering sphere that uses the maglev technology built into cities, as well as the networking of the cities, to move itself from location to location. They project a pale white freeform image around them and have the capacity to influcence and individuals emotions by changing the electronic signals within the brain. They can pacify almost all ordinary individuals (those who are entirely biological) and most cyborgs and Robots in this manner. They patrol the streets at various levels within cities and are capable of summoning duplicates of themselves at any location within a city.
 * Prison Centers - All government-owned prison centers are built the increase to governments income. This means that the inmates are forced to work in order to survive. This is done by have an internal prison currency that allows them to purchase items and foodstuffs for themselves or each other. In order to make prison money, they need to work for the prison and in turn the prison itself makes a profit. Various prisons do this in various manners, with the prisons central income based on the danger of the prisoners inside. A prison with lower level thieves and such generally work closely with the public, sometimes even being parks or shopping centers for the outside world. Prisons with higher level criminals like murderers or sociopaths generally work hard labor. Prisons with death row inmates are generally arenas where people can place bets on who will win and who will die in the matches. Regardless of what level the prison is, each and every prison is required to have a profit.

Infrastructure
Maglev Roadways Built into all the buildings and other structures of a city are power electromagnetic systems that allow for the easy lifting of items weighing hundreds of megatons. This is done through the use of maglev technology, a simple but effective and cheap method of transportation. Using maglev you can have flying cars, trains, even entire buildings that can be moved and shifted depending on need. The largest of the space ships that can enter the atmosphere do so using the maglev systems both within themselves and within cities to prevent themselves from collapsing under their own weight. Flying vehicles float on electromagnetic fields generated by the buildings and other vehicles, which means that no matter how hard you try you can't actually collide with another vehicle (due to being pushed away by it's magnetic field) or buildings (same reason). It's one of the single most important systems in a city because EVERYTHING relies on it to function, from the floating buildings to the vehicles themselves. Without it, structures would be limited in size by the distance from ground level. With it, you can have parking garages at any level in a city.

Buildings The structures and buildings in cities are all massive. They can be up to 4 miles tall and have a base half a mile across. The average population within a building is between 10 and 50 million people. Then there are the buildings that can be moved or simply float always on the powerful maglev currents, they are rare but not unseen. All structures in a city, regardless of size, have self-contained power grids and systems using fusion generators, and all buildings and structures have some level of maglev field around them. All said and told, the buildings in a city could each be called a city unto themselves, and are an vital part of the city infrastructure.

Cities There are no real towns or villages in the advanced collective. All the population that uses technology can be found in supermassive cities that can contain hundreds of billions of people (Star City, the capitol, has 342 billion residents). They are always surrounded by a massive wall to prevent wildlife, natives, and primitives from entering or exiting the cities at will, as well as to protect against invading armies. The largest of the cities generally surround a Skytower (see below). Even the smallest of cities have around 700 million inhabitants, and are built with structures that can reach a height of 4 miles above the ground, housing (as individual structures) 10-100 million residents at a time. Slums, insofar as they exist, are found built up over time out of junk jammed in between the towers, which generally lack windows on the lower halves due to the limited views you can find there. These slums are generally referred to as 'trench slums' and the inhabitants of them 'trenchers', 'trenchies', or 'trench scum'. The tops of these slums are usually thick with waste that slowly works it's way down to the bottom, where the most desperate of people go due to the perpetual warmth created by the decay of waste and the closeness to the under-workings of the city. In a city with 100 billion inhabitants, around 500 million of them will likely be living in the tench slums.

Skytowers Skytowers are cities in and of themselves. With a base between 50 and 150 miles in diameter, they are capable of transporting truly vast amounts of resources ad supplies at any given moment. Most plants have three or four of them along the equilateral regions of the planet. They are usually surrounded by vast cities, oftentimes the largest cities in the system in question. The largest city in the entire Collective and the Capitol of the Collective is such an example, with a 143 mile diameter skytower at it's heart.

The Forest The Forest is an immense network of ftl communications. It is called the Forest because of the fact that each planet is a trunk, and each city is a branch, with more branches breaking off of it until you reach the leaves (individual terminals). It's a very accurate description of their communications network, the Forest. On the forest you can find various individuals, organizations, and leaves (websites/terminals/ext). The Forest allows for the near instant transfer of information between the cities and ships of the Collective, and is one of the most important pieces of the Collectives infrastructure in relation to security, trade, and information communication.

Locations
The Kioskstrum Collective has 27 colonized systems, with 9 planets total. The majority of the systems they have do not have colonized planets, but rather, colonized moons and asteroid belts. They also have space stations and mobile colonies (space ship colonies).

See more: Locations

Economy
The Kioskstrum Collective's economy is rather... different from most civilizations their age. They do not have a government controlled form of currency, theirs are controlled, printed, and backed by corporations. These corporations have done an excellent job of preventing economic collapse or failures in their time in control. They do not print too much currency because they want their currency to hold value, but they print enough to prevent the value from becoming so great no one can use it. The currencies compete for the top position in the economy, and are always backed by insurance companies to prevent any one currency from failing completely. When one currency loses value, another gains value, ensuring that the general currencies (all of which are accepted by everyone) does not lose or gain value often.

Beyond the currency system, people have the option of incorporating into the system, selling stock in themselves to others. The limit on this amount is simple: you must own at least 25% of yourself. This is an absolute rule that corporations have been trying to do away with since it was created, and is one of the few things that the government has absolute power over.

The corporations of the Kioskstrum Collective are the government, the military, and the economy itself. Since people living within the cities almost always make their choices based on what is best for them economically, the economy has never failed. Wars are profitable for most ship-building companies, as is trading. If there is profit involved, there is a 100% guarantee that the Kioskstrum Collective will weigh in on it to determine the risk. And even if the risk is too great for an official stance by the government (which is usually what happens) corporations will still often participate. Only in the very rare occasion when the government decides it could be so risky to participate as to intervene and make such participation impossible will the Kioskstrum Collective not play at least a tiny role in things.

Military
The Kioskstrum Collective does not have a military like most empires in the universe. It's military is owned and run by Corporations, and usually work for the highest bidder. Indeed, the government is not even permitted to have a standing offensive military, though they do have a standing defensive military an a standing emergency response fleet (or fleets). The corporation-owned militaries are generally better because they compete for each customer.

See More: Military

Tech

 * Note to Self: Expand on this.

The Kioskstrum Collective is an average Tier 4 empire in their technological advancement. They have the basic warp drives, antimatter weaponry, and access to the planet buster, but also have a few technologies more primitive (but equally effective) like their electromagnetic cities, or more advanced, like their mastery of bioengineering and synthetic supplies.

Nuclear
Fusion Fusion is used, for the most part, as an energy source. The Collective is capable of generating the needed pressure to fuse Hydrogen, which in turn allows for the creation of miniature stars within their cities. By placing these safely deep beneath the actual cities, any energy that manages to escape is generally contained by the earth and rock between the fusion core and the city. The thick shielded walls that surround the core don't hurt either. Fission Fission is a primary energy source for newer colonies due to the ease of transport and the power involved. Since you can use the vacuum of space itself to cool the reactor, Fission is also used on most older model ships, as well as ships that are cheap (as in, low price).

Fission can also be used as a weapon, but is overly destructive and vastly inaccurate, as well as leaving long term damage and vast amounts of cleanup work. All in all, not profitable unless you never intend to return to the location targeted.

Antimatter
Reactors Antimatter Reactors are the most common source of energy for cities and ships due to the massive amounts of energy they can generate. With the proper containment for such generators long since perfected (the Collective excels in antimatter technologies) they can be safely used in cities (every building has it's own large reactor at the base) and ships (usually in the center of the ship). The energy provided is used to power the warp drives in space ships and the EM technologies of the Collective's cities. Bombs By taking the same basic theory they powers the reactors, one can create an uncontrolled reaction using antimatter. Depending on the payload of antimatter, you can either have small antimatter bullets or massive planet-destroying bombs. However, the larger antimatter weapons are risky to allies and overly destructive. It's not profitable to destroy a planet, that wastes all the resources that could have been gathered from it. Anything with antimatter is, however, considered a bomb due to the fact it detonates on impact.

Chemical
Plants Chemical Power Plants aren't very common in the Collective, though you can find a few that have been turned into history museums. They have mostly been replaced by antimatter plants, which have no waste byproducts. They function by, essentially, burning something up and releasing the energy contained within it during the process. Unlike antimatter, however, they aren't even slightly efficient, and are only minimally profitable. Only the sums use chemical power plants, and those are in the form of open fires and candles and such for heat and light and warmth. Bomb Chemical Bombs are usually found in the form of a containment unit with heavily pressurized acids that corrode away at ships and structures, hopefully doing structural damage. These are used instead of nanotech because it's far safer to use a chemical that will not reproduce then it is to use an ever expanding nanotech cloud that could go berserk. Chemical Bombs are usually the last to be deployed, or they come in the form of acid mines that do damage to unsuspecting ships.

Thermal
Generators Take thermal energy (like that from a planets innards) and converts it into electrical energy. This is a simple and cheap technology, but doesn't produce the kind of energy needed for a proper Kioskstrum city. Increase Creates a beam of energy that increases the heat of anything it collides with. This increase in heat can cause structural damage to objects if it reaches their melting point, or physically harm creatures with a low melting/boiling point (carbon life that has water in it). Decrease Pulls the heat out of a target, causing it to freeze. Can be used on objects to make them more brittle (lowering their strength) or living creatures to damage their cellular structure or equivalent by causing it to freeze.

Electromagnetic
Maglev City Maglev Cities are common in the Collective. They are cities where every structure, from the buildings all the way down to the signs and vehicles, generate an electromagnetic field of great power (larger it is, greater the power). This allows for such things as floating buildings (somewhat common) and flying vehicles (as common as cars, their 21st century counterparts). These fields are also generates by ships to allow for easier landings in spaceports and by worms (equivalent of a flying train) which are efficient hauling vehicles. These fields can also be used to help with lifting heavy objects and even allowing people who are crippled to move as though they are uninjured. Maglev Weaponry
 * Railgun - A railgun in the Collective is defined as anything that uses a solid, kinetic projectile as a weapon. The 'rails' have been replaced by electromagnetic fields, which are self-repairing and easier to shut down. They are also far more powerful, with the field creating the force that launches the projectile along it's length. They are the most common weapons in the Collective, existing from a hanheld level (like handguns) to a city-defense system (mortars, planetary anti-ship guns, and inter-continental missiles).
 * Pulses - EM Pulses are simple. They can breach most shields due to their pulse nature, and disrupt any and all electrical systems within the target. They can even be set to screw up a persons nervous system (if it runs on electricity). This is solely a disabling weapon, as it has minimal physical effects.
 * Plasma - An experimental technology, this allows EM fields to manipulate plasma like you find in stars and fires. This is still experimental, but holds the potential for the engineering and manipulation of entire stars!

Bioengineering
Regens Regens are individuals who have had their genetic structure engineered to improve upon themselves. This can change appearance, strength, or even add new abilities (like venom or the ability to fly). These people are usually the elite of society, or soldiers (or former soldiers) and mercenaries. The technology allows for creation of superbeings capable of much greater feats of power or intelligence then ordinary creatures. Degens Degens are people, or creatures more like, who have used genetic engineering to return to the animal state. They are usually cult followers are extreme naturalists, but sometimes eccentrics do this, keeping a copy of their intelligence elsewhere if they should choose to return to normal. This is also used on criminals of the highest levels (murderers, rapists, and pedophiles) as it is a 'pacifistic' method of removing them from society. Biowars Biowars are creatures that cannot reproduce on their own. They are created for the sole purpose of warfare, and are usually used when one doesn't care about the population, only the raw resources. They can come in many forms, from smaller hoards of creatures to a few gigantic creatures, but they are always filled with rage and hunger, which drives them to attack cities. They are far more dangerous then Epic Creatures or Regens, and usually more effective then mechanical counterparts due to not needing someone to direct them. There are few cases where they become capable of reproducing on their own, or interbreed with a species already existent and stable. Those cases are left as is unless it interferes with business. Disease Warfare Disease has always been used in warfare, but it holds high risks and low rewards, so it is usually a last resort or terror weapon. It is easy to engineer a virus for a species to be destructive, but the easier it is to do so the easier it is to create an antivirus or immunity to the disease. They are unstable and can backfire if used incorrectly.

Nanotech
Synthetics With nanotech of a high enough complexity and small enough size, you can change the electron count of atoms. This allows for synthetic materials to be manufactured en-masse. While some would think that this would create a post-scarcity society, synthetics aren't free, they require energy, nanotech, and transportation like anything else. Besides that, the technology isn't perfect, and still holds the risk of malfunction, which in turn requires that there be defensive nanotech and barriers around the synthesizers which then costs more money. The final reason this isn't 'the thing' is because no matter where you go in the Collective, you will always get the exact same thing with synthetics. Self-Repair Nanotech is used on ships and cities to allow them to self-repair, fixing damage to the physical aspects of any vessel, structure, or weapon within the range of communications. They are always set to only function within a certain range, which is decided by a radio broadcast to all the nanotech. If it passes out of range, it deactivates. Deconstruction Deconstruction Nanotech, or DeconNanos, are used to destroy. They are an ultimate weapon, designed to slowly but surely wipe out entire planets. They are classified as an Ice 9 weapon due to their completely uncontrolled and rapid spread. They are extremely unstable and a high-risk weapon used only once (due to the destructive results) in the history of the Collective.

Allies
Allies are people that can be trusted to aid the Collective in times of need, and whom the Collective will aid when they are in times of need. Trade is common and economies have become joint when allied.
 * - A primitive but vast empire consisting of over 100 stars and colonies. They are a friendly and honest people, and a people with whom trade has begun and will hopefully continue into the future.

Trading Partners
Trading Partners are empires with whom the Collective is closely related in terms of trade. They are almost always importing goods from the Collective and exporting goods to the Collective, and are closer to allies then being neutral.
 * - The Draconid Imperium, lead by the noble Draconis, is a powerful, advanced, and ancient empire from the Andromeda Galaxy. They have set up several trading colonies near the Collective, and trade with them has been steady and profitable.
 * - The Dominion is the closest empire to the Collective in terms of technology and expanse, though they have more advanced synthesizers then the Collective. There has been a steady, if black-marketed, system of trade between the Dominion and the Collective, which has been profitable for both sides.
 * - The Tyranny is a powerful intergalactic empire with far greater military power then the Collective. Their ways are mysterious and diabolical and lemon scented (according to several Axtii). They are a trading partner of the Collective, but this is likely to change in the near future.

Neutral
Neutral Empires are factions the Collective has recently met, or otherwise not set relations with yet. They are neither friends nor foes, and are generally considered irreverent to the Collective's doings, except when trade is made with them.
 * - The Drodo Empire is a large, moderately advanced empire native to the Milky Way Galaxy. They commence trade with the Collective on occasion, but do not have close ties to with the Collective.

Truced
Truced Empires are empires with whom the Collective has or has had negative relations with. They are nations that have attacked the Collective's allies, or the Collective itself, but have since achieved a peaceful relationship with the Collective in which neither will attack the other. Trade can occur with these empires. They are still greatly disliked though.
 * None Yet

Enemies
Enemy Empires are empires currently at war with the Collective. These people are shoot-on-sight enemies with whom trade cannot be made legally.
 * None Yet

Trivia

 * This was made using concepts from the following Books/Series/Shows/Images:
 * Unincorporated Man
 * Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood
 * The Pic For This
 * this pic too :D