Game Lore

TODO: This page should be split into multiple pages under the "Lore" category

One of the strengths of eMush is that it takes place in a coherent universe. Each character has their own story, interconnected with those of other characters, which you are free to reuse during your games. These stories can help you better understand certain elements present in the game that are not otherwise explained (for example, Gioele is Paola’s father, which explains why they cannot flirt with each other), and make it easier to associate characters with the roles linked to them.

The stories are also intentionally vague enough to allow you to imagine certain aspects of the characters yourself, especially their personality or the reasons that led them to act in one way or another. Do not hesitate to be creative and bring the character you are playing to life. Beyond your actions, you will see that the other players will gladly help you write your own story aboard the Daedalus!

The Mush

Generalities

The Mush is a vast subject; its philosophy is expansion through peace. This parasite, a distant cousin of Ophiocordyceps, seeks to conquer everything. It evolves at extremely high levels of consciousness, allowing direct communication between all individuals infected by the Mush.

Aboard the ship, the infected will do everything possible to contaminate as many crew members as they can and destroy the Daedalus. The Mush cannot allow humans to escape, and the infected Federation will hunt you relentlessly.

Each Mush can extract spores from their own body to convert humans into Mush, and can communicate with other Mush over a still poorly understood distance. Certain research projects have allowed humans to intercept these communications, as well as jam them over a short range.

Known timeline:

3132 - Tamina accident. Only Zhong Chun survives unharmed.

??? - Infection of several political and financial leaders of the Federation.

3141 - The fungal infection spreads to Tau Ceti; Professor Nils Carlsson works on a vaccine without informing the colonists.

3143 - Creation of the first anti-fungal vaccine by Nils, following his experiments on Chun.

3147 - Finola Keegan establishes a link between the Tamina accident and mycelium strains found on site. The term Mush is used to designate this new phenomenon. She publishes her first scientific work with the help of Eleesha Williams, but it is ignored or dismissed by the government. At the same time, Ian conducts tests using the sample left by Finola and sends her the results of his research.

3149 - Following the uprising of Ross 154 and the battle of Tau Ceti, the Federation officially accepts the Mush theory.

3150 - The scientific department of Enceladus develops a weapon supposedly capable of destroying a mycelium strain without damaging human organs: the IOMs.

January 4th, 3150 - An alert is issued by Nils within the Federation, indicating in a medical report the Mush contamination of an alarming number of people, including President GL Maubrick. The alert is silenced and ignored, proving that the Federation is likely far more infected by the Mush than the report suggests. Meanwhile, Paola Rinaldo and Kivanç Terzi identify parasitic anomalies on their olfactory broadcast channel, which they eventually decipher in 3151.

3151 - Creation of the mycoscan prototype by Finola Keegan and Ian Soulton, capable of detecting spores on an individual, though useless if the subject is fully infected.

3152 - The medical report proving President Maubrick’s infection circulates within certain circles, including the Magellan project team. The team hastily assembles the Daedalus in hopes of continuing anti-Mush research safely once the ship launches, while the FDS leadership conducts trials for “fungal genocide.”

3154 - Captain Baranov, the Federation official supervising the Magellan project team, is assassinated. Although visibly infected, the Federation decides to immediately suspend the project. Fearing this decision, the team launches the Daedalus ahead of schedule.

Non-playable characters

GL Maubrick

Main article: GL Maubrick.

Nils Carlsson

Nils is a renowned professor and scientist responsible for the first anti-fungal vaccine. He protected and used Chun, who was immune to the Mush, as a test subject for his research, but the vaccination campaign he later launched in secret caused mistrust and rebellion; a scientific and ethical failure, and a victory for the Mush. Pursued by the Federation, he sends Chun to Xyloph-17, issues an alert about the infection among high-ranking officials, and hides for several years before finally being able to join her. Worn down by declining health, he never gets the chance to take his place aboard the Daedalus.

Known biography:

3115 (~30/40 years old) Nils is a professor at the Copernik Exploration Institute, where he notably teaches Hua.

3132 (~45/55 years old) On Federation orders, Nils retrieves Chun upon her return to Earth and begins analyzing her immune system. Chun remains cryogenized for nine years and continues serving as his research subject after awakening. He explains the details of the fungal infection from Tamina and Tau Ceti to her, but she must keep silent.

3143 (~55/65 years old) Nils succeeds in isolating a Mush strain to create the first anti-fungal vaccine.

3145 (~55/65 years old) The vaccine is a success, but the vaccination campaign is not, having been launched under false pretenses. Scientist Finola Keegan uncovers the deception, but Nils cannot provide explanations without causing panic and endangering the silent war being fought against the Mush invasion. The rumors grow and trigger the miners’ rebellion, culminating in an attempted invasion of Sol. To make matters worse, his son Viktor, whom he had infiltrated into the Federation university, is arrested for conspiracy.

3153 (~65/75 years old) Nils succeeds in isolating a new Mush strain, which he integrates aboard the Daedalus. Severe health problems unfortunately prevent him from boarding the ship.

Kivanç Terzi

Kivanç met Paola during their studies, helped her develop her pirate radio, and became her boyfriend. They were tragically separated and could not reunite before the departure of the Daedalus. Many years later, Kivanç unites much of the anti-Mush rebellion within the Sol system.

Known biography:

~3130 Birth in Turkey.

3149 (~20 years old) Kivanç studies at the University of San Lorenzo in Rome, probably structural biology. There he meets Paola and helps her set up antennas for her pirate radio. Together, they invent an olfactory communication process.

3150 (~20 years old) Kivanç detects parasitic anomalies on the olfactory broadcast channel, but pays little attention to them.

3151 (~20 years old) Kivanç and Paola identify exchanges in an unknown language on the olfactory broadcast channel. Kivanç begins research to decipher this language and manages to translate some of the most recurrent messages. They mention “cleansing the Sol system,” “transfer of violent subjects,” and “spore banks.” He is arrested the following month after an FDS anti-fungal inspection and placed in a detention center in France.

3152 (~20 years old) At Paola’s request, Kivanç is transferred to one of Gioele’s mining operations on Titan in preparation for organizing his escape.

3154 (~25 years old) Paola must leave the Sol system 48 hours before Kivanç’s planned escape date.

3170 (~40 years old) Kivanç unites a large part of the rebellion within the Sol system. Once contacted through the Xyloph Database, he can assist with decoding rebel base messages.

Captain Alexei Baranov

Federation official responsible for supervising the Magellan project team. Assassinated in 3154.

Locations

Eden (planet)

A mythical planet whose coordinates could supposedly be identified by recovering and analyzing fragments of a star map... Does a peaceful haven free of Mush contamination truly exist?...

Antemis (planet)

(Fictional) moon of the star Tau Ceti. It is on Antemis that the Mush infection first spreads in 3132, and where the miners’ rebellion begins in 3145.

Callisto (moon)

Moon of Jupiter. Janice and Raluca were both born there, and Janice and Terrence established their research laboratory there.

Enceladus (moon)

Moon of Saturn, transformed into a military base and Federation laboratory. It is also Terrence’s birthplace. The scientific department of Enceladus created the IOM cannon. The base was under Mush control in 3152.

Ganymede (moon)

Moon of Jupiter, home notably to the Faculty of Economic and Space Sciences where Jin-Su, Kuan-Ti, Janice, Raluca, and Terrence studied.

Ross 154 System

A red dwarf star near the Sun and Barnard’s Star. Its satellites host Federation colonies and rich boxylium deposits that fuel Gioele’s prison industry fortune. The system is explored notably by Jin-Su starting in 3103, and the second miners’ rebellion erupts there in 3149.

Tau Ceti System

A star near the Sun and the origin of the Mush. Its system is explored by Jin-Su, Frieda, and Hua from 3127 to 3143, and the discovery of rich boxylium deposits revives the space exploration industry. The first settler installation, including Chun, Ian, and Finola, took place between 3129 and 3132. The Tamina catastrophe in 3132 is the origin of the Mush invasion, and the rumor about the “slave vaccine” sparks the first miners’ rebellion in 3145.

Xyloph-17 Station

Main article: Xyloph Database#Lore.

Organizations

Sol System Defense Federation (FDS)

In the year 2800, the FDS became the spearhead of political management within the Sol system, handling conflicts and wars, sometimes orchestrating them from the shadows. As intergalactic travel intensified, it gradually became a powerful colonialist organization seeking to extend its network and laws throughout the galaxy.

At the borders of known space, certain ships hungry for freedom gathered beyond the reach of the FDS to form autonomous communities, usually led by renegades enforcing their own laws.

The higher spheres of the FDS then orchestrated a counteroffensive against these pirates: the forced application of Sol law! Since they controlled all spaceyards within the Sol system, they implanted a Spy Artificial Intelligence into every new construction. Soon, aerospace engineering could no longer function without these SAIs; the FDS surveillance system (officially presented as life-support assistance in space environments) had become unavoidable.

Thirty years later, the system’s true purpose began to emerge. Faced with criticism, the FDS orchestrated several “disappearances” of its most dangerous detractors, then launched a “security” campaign based on the people’s fear of pirates.

Mesneral, the Supreme Judge of the FDS, nearing the end of his life, transferred his intellect into a pseudo-neural network: Ordaelum. This module was tasked, in connection with the SAIs, with organizing the instant judgment of all troublemakers aboard ships throughout the galaxy denounced by their crewmates. The FDS relied on the Judge’s supposed objectivity to impose the system. FDS justice spread everywhere!

Following the success and acceptance of this system (sometimes through force), other judges agreed to merge with the Ordaelum network, seeking to endure beyond death within a multiple, intelligent entity. Over decades and centuries, the network grew into hundreds of modules composed of different minds. Through their diversity of personalities, origins, and eras, they forged a global omniscient, autonomous, and impartial entity, tirelessly judging the countless complaints arriving from across the galaxy.

Shortly after 3100, the Mush disrupted this autonomous system.

Mush agents infiltrated within the Federation seek to reach the powerful AI module network in order to transform it into a surveillance and judgment center glorifying the Mush...

3144 - Explorer GL Maubrick is appointed Minister of Space Conquest after the release of a documentary by Eleesha.

3145 - Beginning of the Sol War, opposing the Tau Ceti miners against the armed forces of the FDS.

3146 - Maubrick becomes President of the FDS. Following Jin-Su’s advice, he grants funding for the construction of the Magellan ark.

3150 - Eleesha discovers the Mush alert declared within the FDS; Maubrick is notably infected.

3151 - The FDS organizes “anti-fungal inspections,” whose true purpose is to arrest political opponents.

3154 - The FDS plans a counterattack after the assassination of Captain Alexei Baranov, but the Daedalus crew manages to escape.

Gonzak

Ship tasked with exploring the Epsilon Indi system, commanded by explorer Maubrick.

3116 Hua fails the entrance exam to join the Gonzak, while Jin-Su and Frieda join the crew.

3118 Gioele travels aboard the Gonzak as a passenger.

3123 Jin-Su and Frieda leave the Gonzak to explore Tau Ceti.