The Shanxi Assembly

Welcome to the Shanxi Assembly. The Shanxi Assembly is a soft sci-fi conworld inspired by a variety of sources, in particular Star Wars and combining elements of fantasy and alternate history. The titular Assembly is the name of an interplanetary government located in a solar system known as the Shanxi System several millennia after the Three Races of Earth, three distinct sentient species which all evolved on Earth, have colonized another solar system, with memories of Earth having become mythologized though not entirely forgotten.

The Basics

The Three Races

In the world of Shanxi Assembly three different species evolved to sentience on ancient Earth, including Humans. Over the centuries prior to the development of interstellar spaceflight they all interacted with each other, developed their own cultures, languages, art, and religion, and though by the present day they have achieved a largely multiethnic society, each still retain their own unique traits.

The Three Races are:

Humans: Virtually identical to those from real-life Earth, Humans are the most populous of the Three Races and occupy a wide variety of roles within the Assembly, from leaders to criminals.

The Pack: A wolf-like species, the Pack are the second most populous species in the Assembly. As their name implies, the Pack retain something of a pack-like mentality, the Pack are fiercely loyal to those that they consider to be friends or family. Generally valuing cooperation and diplomacy over violence, the Pack have been more likely to act as mediators and intermediaries between different groups rather than taking sides. They largely consider themselves to be close friends of Humans and are staunch supporters of both the Assembly and multiethnic union of species it represents.

Cheza: A reptilian species, the Cheza are the most independent and 'alien' of the Three Races and often prefer to do things themselves and as such are often viewed with suspicion by Pack and Humans, owing in part to their reptilian nature and biology (cold-bloodlessness, egg-laying, and lacking a traditional 'family' structure as understood by the highly social Humanity and Pack). Insular by nature, many Cheza dislike having to live alongside mammals, and some more extreme individuals and groups would much rather have their own nation.

Technology

Technology in the Assembly isn't that much different from that found on 21st century Earth, with some exceptions. The people of the Assembly live in large, crowded cities and drive cars, but also regularly travel between the different planets in the System as easily as we travel between different continents.

Technological Similarities

• Cars and other terrestrial vehicles are virtually identical in appearance and function to those found in our world
• Telecommuncations are often preformed through wireless, mobile devices similar in form and function to modern day smartphones
• Weaponry and military technology in equally similar, with the most powerful and destructive weapon ever created by the Assembly being the nuclear bomb.

Technological Differences

• Despite being virtually identical to those from our worlds, terrestrial vehicles in the Assembly are either electric or hydrogen powered, with crude oil and the associated pollutants being distant memories.
• Robotics and are artificial intelligence are much more advanced in the Assembly than in our world, with robots and digital assistants fulfilling various roles in daily life.
• As an interplanetary society, spaceflight in the Assembly is much more advanced than in our world, with the peoples of the Assembly having developed artificial gravity, small but powerful engine systems capable of escaping the gravity well of an Earth-sized planet and limited faster-than-light (FTL) drive.

Dating Systems and Calendar

Due to existing on a series of different planets, the people of the Assembly use a different dating system than our own. Typically two related systems are used: one which counts the number of dates after the initial settlement of the System, and another that counts the dates after the various planets and moons of the System were unified under a single centralized government. These two systems are as follows:

• After Landing (AL): Also known as 'After Settlement' (AS), this system counts the dates following the arrival of the first colonization fleet. Currently it is roughly 1914 AL, or one thousand, nine hundred and fourteen years after landing.
• Post Central Unification (PCU): This system counts the number of dates following the certation of the central government. Currently it is 60 PCU, or sixty years after unification.

Dates are typically written with the PCU after the AL, so the date would be '1914 AL, 60 PCU'

Shanxi Assembly