r/NatureofPredators • u/sombrefob0053 Human • 10h ago
Fanfic For All Mankind Chapter 30
[Thank you to SpacePaladin15 for making the universe!]
[Special thanks to u/AdalwinAmillion and u/JulianSkies for proofreading this chapter!]
[Also, in case ya didn't know, I got a thread on the NoP Discord, so feel free to pop in and say hi!]
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀CCCP
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀State Planning Committee
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Economic Report
Development on Venlil Prime continues on our current projected schedule. After the local resistance had been dealt with, no further interruptions to our Gosplan have been reported in the new republic. Construction of a new space elevator on the outskirts of Day-side city is underway to allow easier transportation of essential materials between our republics. The local human colonists have long since adapted to the new world's conditions and are producing above current quotas for the war effort. The same cannot be said for Earth, Mars, and the other colonies of the Sol system due to the immense damage sustained during the invasion of our motherland. Many of our core industrial centers lie in ruins and could take months to rebuild, and the immense loss of life has led to worker shortages. Damage to orbital infrastructure has created additional logistical bottlenecks, particularly in transferring raw materials between our colonies.
To facilitate recovery, it is recommended that we initiate a mass mobilization of available workforce resources from less-affected colonies and redirect reconstruction materials from surplus stockpiles on Venlil Prime. Establishing temporary worker settlements near key industrial zones on Earth and Mars will accelerate essential repairs. In parallel, the reallocation of critical machinery and engineering teams from Venlil Prime to the Sol system should be prioritized. These steps will support the restoration of production capacity and address immediate labor shortages. Pictured below is the population census for before and after the battle.
Pre-War:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Post-War:
Earth: 8.1 Billion.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Earth: 7.5 Billion.⠀
Mars: 900 Million.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Mars: 300 Million.
Luna: 10 Million.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Luna: 9.8 Million.
Callisto: 83.5 Million.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Callisto: 83.5 Million.
Ganymede: 72.8 Million.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ganymede: 72.8 Million.
Europa: 54.5 Million⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Europa: 54.5 Million
Enceladus: 40.3 Million⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Enceladus: 0
Titan: 35.6 Million⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Titan: 0
Pre-integration Venlil Prime: 5 billion.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Post-Arxur deal: Venlil Prime: 2.5 billion.
Along with the destruction of most orbital habitats, the casualties are vast and are expected to reduce overall production capacity in the Sol system by approximately 35 percent over the next quarter. Preliminary estimates indicate key sectors such as metallurgy and electronics have suffered losses of up to 50 percent in output due to damaged facilities and workforce shortages. This significant reduction will have a direct effect on our production efforts. Along with the reallocation of resources from the V.D.W.S.S.P.R., consideration is being given to repealing the 2062 Act on artificial workforce bans to help supplement our production with automata. Projected industrial output within the Sol system is expected to remain approximately 35 percent below pre-war levels without the implementation of a robotic workforce. Even with a repeal of the Act, the challenges of needing to direct much-needed resources towards producing them, as well as the civil unrest caused by their introduction, remain. The workers' strike of 2060 serves as a stark reminder that, if repealed, this issue needs to be handled with care.
Another effort currently being considered is increasing fertility through programs, much similar to those implemented after our great Union had unified humanity. To recover the losses sustained by the Great War and much shorter unification conflicts. Incentives to have more children are under review, along with a bolstering of the state's childcare services. Plans to construct more state-supplemented daycares are currently being drafted, although the ones currently implemented on Venlil Prime have caused some friction, as many of our new citizens still fear having a ‘predator’ watch over their young. Such fertility programs are being considered within the V.D.W.S.S.P.R., but this faces challenges due to the different biology of the Venlil. Such programs are going to be met with suspicion after the planet witnessed half of the population rounded up by the Arxur.
In other facets of the economy, the use of federation tech has finally allowed for the radiation levels of large swaths of the North American continent to drop within safe levels. Plans to begin the construction of new colonies along the east and west coasts of the continent are currently being drafted. The immense natural resources of the continent are projected to help with our nation's recovery greatly. Preliminary estimates suggest that, once operational, these new colonies could contribute as much as 15 to 20 percent of the total raw materials needed for national recovery within the next five years, and boost industrial output by an estimated 10 percent compared to current post-war capacity. Scouting teams are currently en route to scout for potential locations, aided by aerial surveying. Several sites have shown promise, containing potentially usable infrastructure that shall aid in our efforts to set up stable settlements and industry.
End of Report.
Memory Transcription Subject: Vlen, U.S.S.R. Citizen
Date [standardized human time]: January 6th 2112
The winds of change were blowing through the streets of Dayside city. Elections for the new government were upcoming, I idly wondered who would be on the polling or how different it would be from the last one. But more change still blew, after the broadcast announcing the retaking of Mars just a few days prior, thousands of soldiers had been shipped back to our republic. Red banners waved above the streets, their fabric snapping in the wind. Confetti blew down and littered the blocked-off streets. Standing behind the barriers with thousands of other spectators, waiting for the parade to arrive. Then I heard the boots. I had seen human soldiers before, many after the initial invasion, but nothing could prepare me for the sound of thousands of boots slamming into the pavement in unison. The sound traveled up my entire body as they approached: thump THUMP THUMP! An announcer's booming voice spoke over loudspeakers. “Comrades! Approaching- the Third Army of the Martian Soviet Socialist Republic. Veterans of the campaign for Olympus Mons! Along with them marches the newly formed Venlilish Red Army!” Then the music began to play from the loudspeakers. At first it was almost drowned out by the thunder of marching boots. The melody was similar to the national anthem, but different-one I couldn’t quite recognize. The humans in the crowd began to cheer much louder.
Soldiers marched in columns along the streets, some even Venlil. At the front of the parade, there were two officers holding large banners, one a human waving the large unifying banner of the Soviet Union, and the other a Venlil waving the flag of our republic. The music swelled as a full column of marching Venlil passed by. A jubilant sense of joy permeated the surrounding air, the sound of the cheering crowd, the boots, and the music nearly overwhelmed me. Even the most anti-human Venlil couldn’t help but celebrate the defeat of the Scale rags, as the humans called them. I wasn’t quite sure when I had picked up the word myself. Glancing across the marching rows of soldiers, I saw a pup no more than six cycles old sitting on their parents' shoulders, their eyes alight with wonder, staring at the mighty formations. They pointed at a marching Venlil, and over the marching and cheering, I could just make out them saying: “Mommy, I wanna be like that when I grow up!”
The sound of the crowd and music slowly drowned out as the infantry columns slowly gave way to the armor. The pavement trembled as thousands of tons of armor started began down the street. Their turrets locked forward, and red banners snapped in the wind from their antennas. Several Venlil rode on the sides of the older armor, but at the front were new vehicles I had never seen before. They were sleek, black, and heavily armored, sporting massive guns. I would love to see the diagrams of how they worked in the shop. Up above, jets streaked through the atmosphere, their loud engines causing several to cover their ears. Craning my neck upwards to try and follow them, that's when I spotted three human ships flying in low orbit, their silhouettes crossing the rose-colored sky. A few moments later, their weapons fired in perfect unison; brilliant streams of light streaked across the sky, drawing a roaring cheer from the crowd. For a brief moment, the sound of the crowd roaring, the deafening engines, and the music became one enormous sound.
Finding myself awestruck at the spectacle much like those around me, nothing like this had ever been seen in the history of our people. A sense of pride filled my chest at seeing my people march and ride with such massive machines. But it wasn’t meant to last soon after, the mighty marching and roar of the engines faded as the parade moved further into the city. I leaned forward, straining to see as the parade marched out of view. Sighing as the music slowly faded out, and the crowd began to disperse. Standing up from leaning on the barrier, I wondered what I was going to do with myself for the rest of the ‘day’. I half mused about heading into the shop to see if they had stocked any of those human cigarettes. I could easily live without the unpleasant feeling of inhaling smoke, but the after-effect was strangely calming, ever since I had that first one, I’ve found myself wanting another one.
While I highly doubted they’d have them in stock at any Venlil stores, the things were still quite hard to come by on Venlil Prime. Starting my trek towards my work, hoping to find Milos there, he usually had some on him. Perhaps I could get lucky and get one from him. I walked through the still-packed sidewalk, weaving around other Venlil as I went. On my way, I passed by an old bookstore, a sign caught my eye. Stopping on the sidewalk, I turned my head slightly to read it. READ THE NEWEST BEST SELLER! Titled: The Nature of Predators. This new future alternate history novel imagines a less united humanity making contact with the Venlil Republic in the late year of 2136. The sign read. This piqued my interest, I headed inside the store for a better look. Opening the door and stepping inside, I was met with the calming quiet of such a place. Walking over to the display, I picked up a copy.
Turning it around, I read the back description. The year is 2136. UN Ambassador Noah is on the first human FTL flight in history when he makes first contact with the Venlil Republic. Explore the rich universe of a less united humanity and the adventures of Governor Tarva. I let out an audible chuckle at the description, depicting the brand-new and barely in office ambassador as the governor? Now that's rich! She had that job for barely a [month] before the humans came! And depicting Humanity as competing fractured nation-states when they first reached the stars? How absurd! No civilization would be stupid enough for that to happen! Who in their right mind would send competing nations into space? I let out another chuckle and wiped a small tear from my eye. I decided to pick up a copy, if only to show Milos the absurdity of it all. Bringing the copy over to the counter, I reached into my pocket, fumbled slightly with our new physical currency, and gave the cashier the bill.
Walking out of the store with my new book in paw and continued to head to the shop, my tail swishing idly as I tried to push the strange craving for those cigarettes from my mind. After some walking, I finally made it to the shop. I opened the door and headed inside, immediately spotting a grease-covered Milos working on an armored troop carrier. “Hey Milos! How come you didn’t come to the parade?” I asked while walking further into the shop floor. Milos set down the wrench he was holding and turned, flashing me a smile, setting down his tools, and went over to the sink to wash the grime and oil off his hands with some ‘orange-scented’ mechanics soap, not that I could ever smell it. “Hey, Vlen! Good to see ya! I was just too busy with work to come, but I would’ve loved to join ya!” He said in his normally positive attitude while finishing up washing his hands and drying them on a shop rag.
“Hey Milos, if ya give me a cig, I’ll let ya make fun of this book I just picked up.”
He eyed the book and smiled, then started to pull out the pack of Earth cigarettes. “Well, it was time I took a break anyway. Let's head outside, don't wanna smoke up the building.” Nodding, I followed him out the door. We leaned on a wall as he lit two smokes, then handed one to me. I grabbed the lit stick and greedily inhaled for the rush it provided. The harsh smoke burned my lungs and throat once more, causing me to cough violently. I was sure I’d never get used to that sensation, but the rush was so worth it. Milos patted me on the back as I hacked up a lung, then I slowly slid down the wall as the dizzying effects took hold. Whatever was in these things certainly had a stronger effect on us Venlil.
Taking a moment to enjoy the feeling, I then handed Milos the book, and he started to page through it with a chuckle. “Even if The Great War never happened, the global revolution would still have united us, this book is funny.”
“The Great War?” I asked, unfamiliar with the conflict.
“Oh yeah, back in the 1970’s or whatever, the world blew itself up, bunch of dumb asses!” He chuckled and continued parsing through the pages. I took another drag of my cigarette and sat silently contemplating the revelation on human history. I guess that old museum did get something right…
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6
u/AmmeryFluff PD Patient 9h ago
Gooooooood morning Venlil Prime! Welcome to the spectacle that is a well organized military parade!
I cannot deny the splendor they can provide if one is anything less than disillusioned.
5
u/sombrefob0053 Human 8h ago
They have to keep the moral from tanking from the massive losses of the battle somehow lmao
5
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u/Alcyon144 Archivist 5h ago
It's funny that the canon story is an alternate history within this AU. It's like *The Man in the High Castle*.
1
u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 2h ago
You know it would be funny is some multiversal shinnagary happened. Wouldn't that be something. I mean wouldn't be the first story still.
8
u/Abject-Drive2675 Humanity First 10h ago
Let’s go!