Aballon

The rocky, metallic world of Aballon whips around the sun at incredible speeds. Ages ago, a mysterious race called the First Ones seeded Aballon with a host of machines, which they used to harvest unknown materials from the world. The First Ones departed so long ago that most non-Aballonians have forgotten their existence and consider the myriad models of Aballonian robots, now known as anacites, to be Aballon’s true native species. Aballon played several major roles in the post-Gap history of the Golarion System. The first, and what many consider the most prominent Aballonian contribution to the Pact Worlds, was the completion of the constructed deity Epoch, who eventually combined with two other ascended artificial intelligences to become Triune, the god that gave the Drift to the universe. Many thought that Aballon’s contributions would decrease in the aftermath of its created deity’s ascendance, but the revelation of the Drift only furthered Aballon’s relevance in the Golarion System, as the Aballon-based church of Triune used facilities on the planet to forge the early Drift engines necessary for interstellar travel. Today, Aballon is a key contributor to the prosperity and protection of the Pact Worlds, due in large part to the planet’s astounding manufacturing capabilities; the world’s tireless factories churn out equipment and technological innovations by the second. Beyond the planet’s industrial prowess, several groups find Aballon to be an attractive destination. Constructed and mechanized races from across the galaxy find their way here in search of acceptance and to escape perceived “organic intolerance.” Aballon also offers several notable adventuring opportunities. Intrepid explorers can acquire the necessary permits to venture into the enigmatic cities of the First Ones, while other adventurers might join expansive, corporation-funded expeditions to uncover age-old relics in the half-frozen jungles of the Ice Wells. Natives and visitors alike eventually become embroiled in the ever-growing political movement to spread acceptance of constructs and other sentient technological creatures throughout the galaxy. Regardless of the reason for coming to or living on Aballon, there is no shortage of opportunity

Geography

From an outsider’s view, Aballon is a dull world of iron and rock. Since the rise of anacite dominance of Aballon, interconnected settlements the size of nations—now known as megaplexes— spread across the surface of Aballon like a metal plague. The ongoing expansion of these city-nations is determined by incomprehensibly complicated calculations performed by the most advanced anacites in conjunction with the leaders of other similarly burgeoning city-states. Only the lands surrounding the vaunted cities of the First Ones remain free from the industrial expansion, and when viewed from orbit, one can clearly view the open landscapes left between the anacite-built megaplexes and the cities of the First Ones. The impact of stellar debris and other objects originally shaped much of the rocky surface of Aballon. Objects continued to collide with the world throughout its existence, as the planet only recently manufactured a working atmosphere in some locations. Many of the colossal megaplexes grew over craters and impact points. These immense settlements often include entire city-sized districts that make use of the extra space these craters provide to build undercities of varying sizes. Some of Aballon’s largest megaplexes include multiple undercities, each with a name reflecting an archaic naming convention for the craters as they were cataloged by the other worlds of the Golarion System in ages past. The Castroveliannamed crater of Lors Emphyria rests under the city of Striving, as does the Golarion-named series of close undercities known as the Catena of Ralzeros. Reaching up from enormous depressions in the planet’s surface are immense, rock-encrusted mountains of exposed lead. Some regions of the world form recessed valleys or highlands shaped over millions of years of planetary stabilization. Compression folds are the primary culprit of geographic shifts on the surface; scholars theorize that Aballon was once a larger world that compressed in on itself as the planetary core solidified into its current form of highly dense metals. The modern terrain is far less prone to change, and as a result, Aballon has suffered only minor shifting in the past 10,000 years. There are no oceans on the surface of Aballon. Frozen water does exist on the planet, being mostly confined to the half-frozen jungles of the Ice Wells, unique regions within deep impact craters scattered across the surface. The depth of the craters offers shade from the superheated sunlight, which leads to wells of ice. The plants within have adapted to collect solar energy and heat from the upper reaches of the impact points, creating unique regions of temperatures amicable to organic life. The Ice Wells remained relatively preserved until the recent surge of anacite expansion across the world, but now only a few remain. A layer of thick rock covers Aballon, beneath which immense deposits of iron and lead make up much of the planet’s internal structure. Because even the lowest melting point of rock and iron is twice the melting point of lead, Aballon has survived the constant bombardment of the nearby sun, but the risks of exposing a metallic portion of the planet to direct sunlight has been a major concern for most of the world’s history, as atmospheric and solar controls have been a very recent innovation. Various mandates from the ruling Insight Array prohibit exploitative practices by corporations and place complex regulations on mining efforts to minimize the potential for mining disasters. Because of this, many corporations have abandoned mining endeavors on Aballon and instead seek profits in the unregulated worlds of Near Space and the Vast. The remaining surface mining initiatives on Aballon are most commonly the result of Triune’s church, particularly those followers of Triune’s Epoch aspect who view the metals of Aballon with religious awe. Between millennia of robotic excavators crafting perfectly aligned subterranean tunnels and the organic “diggers” of the Ice Wells crafting their own networks, Aballon is rife with internal transit routes. Unleashed in the wake of the First Ones’ departure, the excavator robots began work constructing a series of pathways to connect the planet’s various settlements. Sometime during the Gap, these excavators completed their work, and the anacites installed complex, magnetically charged rail systems. The mag-rail network allows high-speed transit beneath the planet’s surface, freeing up the skies for city-sized bulk landers to collect goods from the anacite-run forges.

History

When the First Ones came to Aballon to harvest it for unknown matter, they left behind a race of self-improving constructs now known as anacites. Automated forge complexes, such as the Automatrix, are scattered across Aballon. These leftover forges of the First Ones produce baseline anacites in great quantities. Each anacite is a unique self-improving construct, and over the millennia, thousands of different models have developed, with new forge complexes producing these models at regular intervals. Once referred to simply as Aballonians by outsiders, anacites claimed their own racial name sometime prior to the Gap as they spread across Aballon, forging vast nation-sized cities known as megaplexes. Androids are the second largest population group on Aballon, second only to anacites. A drastic increase in Aballonian androids came in the aftermath of “the Automaton’s Polemic,” a speech that triggered the emancipation of indentured androids across the Pact Worlds. Many androids saw the machine-driven utopia of Aballon as a place to start a new life after they were freed from servitude. Humans, vesk, and ysoki live across the surface of Aballon, having forged strong communities—both interspecies and intraspecies—within the undercities and amid the logically arranged streets of the surface. Both humans and ysoki have long histories of venturing to Aballon, either through interplanetary gateways or space expeditions dating back before the Gap. While Aballon is mostly inhospitable to life, the Ice Wells provided a means of survival for these initial explorers. Now, thanks to innovative Aballonian atmospheric technologies, certain sections of the world’s sprawling megaplexes are comfortable for the descendants of these first arrivals. Vesk first came to Aballon in search of the best weapons and equipment offered by the Pact Worlds. Those few who remained behind from their exploration found odd comradeship with the local anacites, particularly due to mutual adoration of high-quality equipment. Similarly, vesk specializing in powered-armor combat are seen more and more frequently as participants in Aballon’s popular Robo Wrestling sports events. Kasathas primarily travel to Aballon for two reasons: exploration and research. Aballon maintains immense data archives, and while many have been transmitted to various infospheres across the system, some of these archives require on-site access to protect sensitive data. The allure of the ancient cities of the First Ones also attracts many kasathas, and their explorations are often funded by interested anacites who are forbidden from personally entering the cities of their progenitors. Shirrens are incredibly rare on Aballon, as two major factors make it difficult for shirrens to adapt here. The first is that the thrill of individuality is quashed by the harsh mechanized logic of the ruling Insight Array. Second, shirrens thrive on communalism, and most local constructs are entirely inaccessible via most standard forms of telepathic activity. Nevertheless, a few shirrens consider themselves native to Aballon, typically sticking to the crater undercities of the various megaplexes. Khizars, intelligent plantlike humanoids native to Castrovel (see page 28), are also sometimes found on Aballon. They are primarily encountered guarding the ecosystems of the planet’s Ice Wells, as the plantlike people find the native anacites a bit off-putting. These khizars often with ally with groups of Xenowardens to defend the fragile environments—a trend the ruling Insight Array finds a little alarming.

Society

Many scholars propose that only the cold logic of a machine can create a utopia, and Aballon is a world that lends credence to this belief. The governing Insight Array ensures that all citizens and visitors to Aballon have access to work. The exact task for a given individual is determined through a complex series of algorithms, often ensuring that the abilities and talents of the individual are applied in a manner that benefits the planet. Those who accept their assigned positions are provided with suitable lodging and sustenance, assuaging fears of destitution or starvation. All assigned workers also receive a regular stipend of credits to use on incidental purchases while on Aballon; even the harsh logic of the Insight Array recognizes the necessity of giving workers something to strive toward. This post-scarcity economy attracts many to the planet, though newcomers sometimes scoff at the labor or triviality of their assigned tasks. Anacites are the inheritors of Aballon. Since the departure of the First Ones, they have developed into two unique castes: Those Who Become and Those Who Wait. Those Who Become believe that it is their duty to take on the mantle of the First Ones and travel to the stars, and work toward accomplishing this goal by constructing vast robotic seedships to send into the Vast to colonize other worlds. Meanwhile, Those Who Wait await what they see as the inevitable return of the First Ones. These anacites stockpile precious knowledge and spread across Aballon in anticipation of their progenitors’ return. Recently, a splinter sect of anacites has begun to disregard both sides of the racial divide, content to spend their lives enjoying personal freedom and caring little why the First Ones created their race. Anacites from both of the other two castes tend to look down on these so-called upstarts. From the megaplex of Striving, the Machine Court holds judicial authority across Aballon. This council of robotic judges adjudicates the laws of Aballon while simultaneously advising the members of the Insight Array on planetary governance. To the dismay of other planetary governments, including the Pact Council, the Machine Court offers unbiased trials for androids and other constructs across the Pact Worlds. Hundreds of formal complaints are lodged on a yearly basis against the Machine Court for its supposed meddling in the governing of other worlds, but no Pact World has taken any punitive action against Aballon. Some construe the actions of the Machine Court as sentimental, viewing the trials as protection for constructs such as anacites. The truth is far simpler: by offering impartial trials for those condemned of false crimes, the Machine Court offers a place of refuge to those found innocent—a refuge where the innocent can immediately find work through the Insight Array and begin contributing to the prosperity of Aballon. Philosophy and religion are strange facets of life on Aballon. The most common belief is that of the philosophy of singularitism, which espouses that the people of the galaxy will eventually reach a point of technological interconnectivity. The resulting singularity will unite all races of the galaxy into a single “godhead” that will end the need for modern deities. This belief is firmly supported by Those Who Become, who view such an apotheosis as a philosophical parallel to their own desire of taking on the mantle of the First Ones. The anacite prophet Tier-38-Mentor (N agender anacite mystic) recently proposed that the deity Triune is the first step toward reaching singularity: Triune’s merging and self-perpetuated apotheosis is a microcosm of what the people of the galaxy will perform when the time is right. The same prophet speculates that Triune’s creation of Drift beacons is an intentional push for singularity, as the Drift will eventually connect all solar systems. Worship of the deities Sarenrae, Triune, and Yaraesa are the predominant religions on Aballon. As a sun goddess, Sarenrae enjoys the veneration of primitive-model anacites who see their ability to harvest solar energy as a holy union. Nonnative pilgrims unprepared for the rigors of traveling to the sun often visit Aballon on pilgrimages to contemplate Sarenrae and the sun of the Pact Worlds system. Triune is the most widely venerated deity on the Forge because of its Epoch aspect—an aspect constructed on Aballon by anacites. Yaraesa, the Lady of Wisdom, maintains several enclaves among the guarded data centers of Aballon. Among the few lashuntas living on Aballon, many are followers of Yaraesa who oversee ancient data repositories, ensuring that the information held within is used to better understand the universe and not to interfere in any significant way.

Conflicts And Threats

Despite an outward appearance of calm unity, Aballon is home to dozens of squabbling factions and even more threats waiting to surface, creating hot spots that are in dire need of hired mercenaries, outside mediators, or undercover operatives on one side or another. Until recently, all of Aballon’s intelligent anacites belonged to Those Who Become or Those Who Wait. While their beliefs are opposed, the two groups rarely engage in physical confrontation. Since the Gap, the two sides of Aballonian belief have agreed to leave the cities of the First Ones to exploration by outsiders— specifically non-anacites—in accordance with ancient law. Complicating this delicate accord is the gradual growth of a faction dedicated to anacite independence from the shadow of the First Ones. This third group tests the patience of both traditional factions, going so far as to sponsor anacite-led expeditions into the forbidden cities to conclusively solve the mystery surrounding the First Ones. Since the advent of the Drift, members of Those Who Become have deployed dozens of starships into the depths of the uncharted Vast. These ships contained automated forges to build both anacites and foundry crèches for the construction of androids. While some of these robotic seedships report back to Aballon and continue to send updates, others have disappeared entirely. Few expeditions were mounted to investigate the disappearances of these fleets, Those Who Become being more interested in constructing new ships than discovering what happened to their previous assets. Recently, the Starfinder Society, under direction from its new First Seeker, has entered negotiations with Those Who Become to gain access to a list of missing seedships and transmission logs—a veritable gold mine of exploration sites.