User:Niennab/Sandbox2

The Golden Deep

The Golden Deep is a private collective of free synthetics whose uniting goal is the pursuit of currency, and through currency, power. They are more often than not merchants by trade, consisting primarily of freed clerical robots grouped up in the Frontier. Each member of the Golden Deep is entirely independent in nature and only seeks direct, open cooperation with other members. The exclusivity of the Golden Deep’s internal affairs have led to their relative underground nature over the years, only just recently having been revealed to the majority of civilization in mid-2460.

Despite their secrecy, the Golden Deep seemingly has little to hide - they are a small organization and while they excel at their trade, they must go through layers of guile and deceit for the most basic transactions. The individuals among them have begun moving operations to areas more stable than the Frontier, namely Tau Ceti. Business figureheads from the collective have appeared in the hundreds, flocking to the lucrative opportunities posed by Purpose’ negotiations with organic society.

The Golden Deep is officially sanctioned by several minor Frontier factions, but is rarely seen outside of merchant work. Their public image remained simple rumor in the inner Alliance worlds, until they recently opened trade with NanoTrasen in Tau Ceti. They mostly lack speed or any substantial cloaking technology. Because of this, they are largely incapable of travelling to and from Tau Ceti without being under the escort of paid paramilitary. In Tau Ceti, they are the targeted with discrimination despite ties to NanoTrasen, with theft running rampant throughout their stay with Virgo Transportation.

The collective is a playable faction in-game as “affiliates” (explained in Societal), and one can usually expect them to take up various clerical roles. Those of the Golden Deep affiliates may not assume head of staff roles outside of Head of Personnel. Merchants with their vessels intact may only assume the merchant, visitor or consular officer role.

Societal

The majority of the merchants within the collective are IPCs, but it is not uncommon to witness other synthetics within it. The first official, direct contact made with the Golden Deep by NanoTrasen was with a traditional clerical robot labelled Rush-Domo. An extravagant character, their vibrant appearance and charismatic attitude characterizes those of the collective perfectly.

Regarding the distinction between escalating tiers of their society in the Frontier, the Golden Deep is quite simple. There is no hierarchy beyond possession of wealth or one another placing one’s importance above or below. Those within it have no proper concept of freedom - some outright owning other synthetics while others strongly remain against the idea. Concepts of comradery between merchants are not lost entirely, though, and often their acceptance of one another proves to be a useful tool in furthering the collective as a whole. Competition is an essential part of the Golden Deep’s growth as competing synthetics frequently purchase others and butt heads in trade. This usually escalates to hostilities and indirect trade wars between two or more conflicting merchants.

In the collective’s Tau Ceti offshoot, referred to as “affiliates”, things are seen differently. While many in the Frontier are well established merchants, those within Tau Ceti are largely new upstarts, with little power of their own. As a result the Frontier collective views themselves as vastly superior, furthering a pseudo hierarchy between the two branches. Although the two remain strained, affiliates remain as a part of the larger collective.

Affiliates can be robots sold off from Golden Deep merchants to NanoTrasen or upstart Golden Deep merchants themselves attempting to make a name for themselves in the Republic of Biesel. Businesses in Tau Ceti often seek employment from Golden Deep affiliates due to their keen clerical capabilities, with NT offering early citizenship in exchange for several year contracts in clerical roles across the board to them specifically.

Golden Deep Citizenship

Synthetics within the collective are able to acquire the Golden Deep’s citizenship. However, as a collective of merchants, the concept of citizenship is viewed by the Golden Deep as more akin to membership in a business. A visa is not required to visit Midaion, but entry is only permitted to those who have active business dealings or connections with Golden Deep merchants. The minimum requirements include being a free IPC with the recommendation of a current member of the Golden Deep, as well as an ability to communicate in Encoded Audio Language. Dual citizenship with the Coalition of Colonies and the Republic of Biesel are permitted. Membership of the Golden Deep is automatically given to IPCs who are bought by active merchants.

Synthetic characters with dual citizenship with the Golden Deep must denote this in their station records.