Are you ready?

First, you take a seat in the Wave Chair. Seconds, after the Tech hooks you up and gets the chair on-line, its time to take a ride.

As the system powers up, an electro-magnetic pulse is produced by the chair and washes over you like a wave of warm sunlight on a summer morning. Your eyes are closed, and as the wave of warmth flows over you, colors explode across your visual cortex and you are transported into a new world of amazing sensations.  What has happened is that your consciousness is basically copied and pasted into the matrix of your mech, as your body remains safe in the Wave Chair. This process is referred to as “riding the wave,” or “the ride.” 

You open your eyes and you are now a 3-meter tall (give or take a meter or two), mechanized warrior.  Your arms are the arms of the mech, your legs are the legs of the mech, and all the power of the many tactical systems of your mech are now extensions of your own consciousness and are no longer separated from you by wires, computer chips or mechanical connections of any kind. The Wave Chair creates the ultimate interface between warrior and machine – you are one, but without the looming threat of annihilation. If your mech goes down, your consciousness is swept back to your body – unharmed. There have only ever been a few cases where a consciousness was lost before it could get swept back. 

That is how the warriors of War World mount up. War World’s primary outlet for mech on mech combat (for sport and for training), is the ACN (the Arena Combat Network). There are ACN arenas located throughout War World – mostly inside the protected confines of the seven city-states. However, there are many arenas that are not protected by the laws of the city-states, where a much fiercer and deadlier form of mech combat takes place; sometimes for sport, sometimes for punishment and sometimes for conflict resolution.

The planet is basically one massive war zone with several designated “neutral” regions. War World is roughly 2 and one half times the surface area of the Earth (a small planet in the western spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy – it just seems like a good point of comparison). The gravity is slightly higher, and the rotation of the sun in the War World system (where it is the second planet), gives you a 31.3-hour day – which is just called a “day.” The day was broken into 30 components that approximate an hour, and for our purposes translate just fine into hours. 

The neutral regions of War World have been designated into city-states, and there are 7 of them across the planet. These neutral areas are vital to the on-going functioning of War World as a commercial enterprise, and provide the planet with the ability to participate in commercial trade with other worlds. 

More than 200 years ago, the current system of neutral city-states did not exist, and for anyone venturing to War World, it was a pretty rough place to go if you didn’t have an army. Since most potential visitors did not have armies, it was deemed an inhospitable place to visit. Several of the more powerful and organized groups of people inhabiting War World, at the time, decided that progress would be a good thing for all considered and that even though their differences were not going to be settled anytime soon (since they all disagreed as to who owned what piece of the world and who should be in charge) that they could still come to some understanding as to how to move forward as a whole. Thus, the neutral city-states were born. They were geographically centralized so as to evenly cover the three-quarters of the surface that were accessible. 

The seven city-states were allowed to grow and develop on their own, with contributions from each of the groups interested in participating in this new form of commercial stabilization. Each group decided how much money, resources and man-power they were going to invest in this new project, and then based on a valuation of the total investment, each group was allowed to have a percentage of each city-state, assigned to them as their fraction of the overall government and the individual governments.

Each city-state is independent, as there is no real centralized government. The truth is that outside the city-states, it is an on-going and all-out war between anyone and everyone that lives on War World. At the time the city-states were founded, there were 177 different, distinct groups that called War World home. Of those 177 groups, 39 of them participated in the development of the city-states, and those 39 groups each had a representative in Gol, the Gathering of Leaders (GOL) – a counsel that was designed to ensure the city-states were providing for War World exactly what it was they were designed to provide: an interface between the planet’s vast resources, technologies and industries and the rest of the Universe, so that War World could evolve from a planet bathed in war to a planet commercially dedicated to the business of war (while the rest of the warring territories could still be bathed in war). 

Nothing changed outside of the city-states. War was still the way of life for most every inhabitant, but there was now a secondary function for the world that allowed for economic, social, spiritual, scientific and technological growth. Also, the city-states provided a haven for those inhabitants that wanted to be separated from the constant conflict and destruction of the warring territories (that is, everything else). 

Gol meets once every year for a week, to make sure that the city-states remain neutral and uninvolved with the warring territories, and that War World is allowed to grow and to actually listen to the voices of its inhabitants. Groups come and go. Civilizations even rise and fall through the passage of time on War World. It is unlike any place else, in that War and Peace live side-by-side in and out of the neutral city-states.  Mechanisms have even been put in place so that when a faction is near extinction, it may request admission to a city-state so that it may be allowed to survive. However, upon admission, those members of that faction are no longer allowed to fight under the colors of their original faction and they must become mercenaries. Once, there was a faction that was admitted to a city-state, and used the opportunity to rebuild and restructure so that they could return to the warring territories to seek their revenge on their enemies. Word of this spread to several members of Gol, and the remaining members of the newly healed faction were allowed to continue with their plans (which they thought were secret), until they had assembled to launch their retaliation – with overwhelming numbers of more than 500 to 1, a combined force of several of the most powerful factions laid waste to the upstart group – completely. The field of battle, or really, the field of total destruction was left as a reminder of the rules that Gol had agreed upon, and a monument was constructed with the charter of Gol and the city-states carved into it (and some copies available to be taken by passers-by). From that point on, it was understood by all those inhabiting War World that the rules which were formed to foster growth for everyone would never again be questioned or broken by anyone. The monument left behind, known as the Consequence stands today and is the one landmark on War World that every inhabitant is familiar with.

So, Gol is now (in the year 4010) made up of 19 representatives from the 19 most powerful groups in the world. Of the 39 originally represented groups, 7 of them no longer exist and the other 13 were absorbed into the remaining 19. There are still a few dozen unrepresented factions, but they agree to live by the code of the neutral city-states as Gol first laid it out. Those 19 factions share in the control, ownership and profits of the 7 city-states. For example, based on the original investment by F-Tek, they control 30% of 2 of the city-states, 10% of 3 of the city-states and 0% of the other two city-states. Once it was calculated what everyone had invested, Gol then allocated an overall percentage of the 7 city-states that each group could individually claim. The percentages listed above were the breakdown that F-Tek (originally called the Thrall) decided upon.  They did not want any ownership of the city-state farthest from their territory, and wanted to concentrate their interests in the two closest to their region. Now, F-Tek has land holdings across a large portion of War World, and they have done several deals over the years to consolidate their holdings, pulling out entirely of the other city-state located the next farthest from their home region. Each of the other 18 factions represented in the Gol has their own scheme for allocating their ownership interests. Any group is allowed to join Gol, and at any time can make an offer to one of the other groups to buy into their interest in any of the city-states. 

Because of this amazing agreement to leave the city-states free from conflict, and the monument that stands to show what happens to those who do not abide by the charter of the city-states, War World has been able to flourish. 

The city-states now offer to the universe at large the most expansive and exhaustive market for weapons buying, selling and trading, weapons technology, combat training, and mercenaries that has ever been. The entire universe, known and sometimes unknown, journeys to War World to take advantage of the markets, resources and industries which are there. 

One of the most popular elements of the entire world is the Arena Combat Network (ACN). Mechanized warriors battle for money, glory, to showcase their skills as warriors and to master the art, strategies and tactics of Mech combat. The ACN is so popular that certain matches are actually transmitted from War World and televised on more than a thousand other worlds throughout the known universe. These Mech pilots represent every aspect of the cutting edge of combat, and the Mechs themselves are the ultimate armored warriors.  Interests from around the universe travel to War World in hopes of being able to find and enlist the services of the greatest Mech pilots alive to help them wage war, defend homes, journey into the most dangerous corners of creation and fight for money and power. 

There is much that remains a mystery about War World itself and its long history. The most mysterious link to the past is the Watcher. The Watcher is a space-born satellite that stays in a geo-synchronous orbit over the 1/4 of the plant’s surface that is not accessible. This area is seemingly perfectly habitable, but the Watcher prevents any and all from journeying there. The last time that a group attempted to access the region below the Watcher, or approach the Watcher itself, the consequences were immediate and devastating. It took place before the city-states were formed, and due to the passage of time the details of the story are unclear.  However, what is perfectly clear in the minds of all those who live on or journey to War World, is that nobody approaches the Watcher or the corresponding surface area of the planet underneath the Watcher – approach equals destruction, and that is just the way it is. Although, it is still believed by many that the faction which can one day control the Watcher will rule War World and become the most powerful force in the Universe.  Luckily, this is a theory that never gets tested. 

The Watcher is in fact one of three satellites which hover above the planet. There are two other satellites which are completely inactive. They are perfect spheres, roughly 800 meters in diameter, and completely impenetrable. Many have tried to board them, tow them, destroy them, enter them, cut them open, etc.  Suffice it to say that there has never been any form of success when it comes to doing anything other than ramming the sphere – which results in significant damage to the rammer and absolutely no discernable damage to the rammee. It is a widely held belief that there must have been four satellites at some point – symmetry would suggest it. However, upon review of the failed attempts at doing everything with respect to the two dead satellites and even approaching the one active satellite, it is hard to imagine how the fourth satellite was ever removed – unless it was removed by those that created it. That brings this tale to the greatest mystery of all: who built the satellites in the first place. The second greatest mystery, and probably the most speculated about though is what were they built for. Strangely, the whole question of “what’s located on the 1/4 of the planet’s surface which is completely inaccessible” seems not to be of as much interest as who built the satellites and what they are for. It seems that if the question of what is under the Watcher is ever answered, that some light would probably get shed on what the satellites are for and who built them. Who knows.

On War World, those who have descended from what is thought to be the original inhabitants (although it is practically impossible to determine) have a very fascinating religious belief system. There are two sides to this system. The first side (which is represented by almost 99% of the descendants) believes fundamentally that their God is located in the core of their world. This is not to say that the world is God, but that there is an all-powerful being that actually exists (physically) and who is responsible for looking out for all the inhabitants.  Unlike a classic belief of a supreme-being who is “everywhere,” or who “exists,” the descendants of War World’s past believe as plainly as they believe in the existence of each other, that this God is real, is located inside the world, and that they need him. Over the years, this belief has decreased in intensity, such that it is just a feeling that everyone lives with, rather than something that controls their lives. Now, the flip-side to this belongs to the less than 1% of the descendants who have a very different take on things. They believe that this feeling they all have is actually because they are somehow supposed to be making sure that this being never leaves their world. The vast majority see this sense as meaning that the being is there to protect them, and that there continued existence is predicated on their God being present on or in their world.  Whereas, the minority believe that this so-called God is actually quite evil, and it is somehow their responsibility to make sure that it never leaves. Oddly, both sides do actually agree that this being needs to stay on War World, and that it is an absolutely unquestioned belief. Both sides sense this truth with every fiber of their being and subsequently do not ever question either its existence or its validity. There is very little real conflict over these beliefs, as most of the descendants of War World have moved to the city-states and live under the rules that conflict and aggression are not allowed in the city-states with the exception of the ACN and other similar outlets for the natural tendencies of War World’s inhabitants. There are a few, isolated sects in the warring territories that hold to more radical and pagan practices with regard to the God that they worship – just like every other religion known (and probably unknown)…there are always fanatics who don’t speak for the whole. But, who you’d like to stuff in a hole. 

There are plenty of other religious beliefs present on War World that have been brought there from the far reaches of creation, but none are felt by anyone quite the way that the descendants of War World’s past feel this religion.  The majority call it Vouse – a form of an ancient word meaning protector; as in, “I am a follower of Vouse.”  The minority call it Tenneth – a form of an ancient word meaning bringer of destruction; as in “I am a believer in Tenneth.”