Anacite

Anacite

(Creature)

Type

Construct
(technological)

CR

Varies

Environment

Any (Aballon)

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of anacites

Source: Alien Archive, pg(s). 10-11

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Anacites are the self-modifying constructs native to the world of Aballon, the planet closest to the Sun of the Pact Worlds system. While 'anacite' officially refers only to the sentient Aballonian machines capable of learning and participating in Aballonian society, many offworlders use it as a catchall term for all Aballonian robots.

Appearance

Each anacite is a unique, self-improving construct, and over the millennia of their existence, thousands of different models have developed. Depending on their role, anacites can have any form and can reconfigure themselves to adapt to their circumstances. The most common anacite design is a basic arthropodan form of silvery metal, with multiple legs for efficient travel and claws for accomplishing their assigned tasks.

History

Millennia before the Gap, a mysterious race known as the First Ones landed on Aballon and crafted armies of servitor machines. The First Ones departed so long ago that most non-Aballonians have forgotten their existence. After their creators abandoned the machines, they began to upgrade themselves, spreading out and evolving to form an entire ecosystem. The sentient varieties adopted the name of anacites some time before the Gap.

Over the ages, anacite civilisation has gone from a simple network of factories to vast continent-sized cities known as megaplexes. The first contribution of the anacites to the Pact Worlds was the construction of the deity Epoch, who combined with two other artificial intelligences (Brigh and Casandalee) to become Triune, the god that gave the Drift to the universe.

Since the advent of the Drift, members of the anacite faction known as Those Who Become have deployed dozens of starships into the Vast.

Society

Most anacites fall into one of two ideological groups. Members of the first group, Those Who Wait, continue to upgrade themselves and stockpile wealth and resources in the belief that Aballon must be ready for when the First Ones return. The other group, known as Those Who Become believe their destiny is to take on their creators' mantle and colonise new worlds with their robotic seedships. Both groups wield considerable economic power and regularly hire offworlder adventurers to explore the cities of the First Ones, which anacites are forbidden from entering. While their beliefs are opposed, the two groups rarely engage in physical confrontation. A splinter sect has begun to disregard both sides, content to enjoy personal freedom and caring little about the First Ones. Anacites from both of the other two castes tend to look down on these so-called upstarts.

Anacite cities

Anacite cities can be perplexing to biological entities, yet they are inherently logical and streamlined, featuring levitating towers, dimly lit access tunnels, and agile maintenance bots. A significant number boast extensive atmosphere factories catering to both biological visitors and inhabitants. As the planet steadily loses its sparse atmosphere, these facilities replenish it and frequently generate "heavy air" or artificial magnetospheres. These serve to maintain a comfortable atmospheric pressure for the typical humanoids of the Pact Worlds within and around their cities. The largest of these cities is named Striving.

Government

The governing Insight Array ensures that all citizens and visitors to Aballon have access to appropriate work that benefits the planet. The Machine Court, located in the city of Striving, holds judicial authority across Aballon while simultaneously advising the Insight Array on planetary governance. Its always logical judges adjudicate disputes not only between residents, but also guarantee androids not native to Aballon the right to have their grievances heard and also to be tried for crimes committed on- and off-planet. This is seen as judicial overreach by the other governments of the Pact Worlds and the Pact Council. Because of the proven impartiality of the Machine Court judges, however, Striving is seen as a beacon of justice for artificial lifeforms everywhere, and many androids can be found living there.

Religion

Striving holds significance as a vital sacred location within the Church of Triune. Here, the anacites originally constructed and presently oversee the expansive neural network, also named Striving, that gave rise to Epoch, one of the machine god's three facets. The Unification Cathedral, characterized by three interlocking geodesic spheres at the city's core, conceals a colossal (and strictly classified) underground facility. This facility is dedicated to manufacturing Drift beacons, intended for placement by priests throughout the galaxy.

Augmentation

Most anacites see their own meticulously engineered forms as the pinnacle of evolution and do all they can to help other species modify their bodies by manufacturing and selling augmentations, making a considerable profit doing so.