Disclaimer: I own nothing of Mass Effect or Rimworld. Only thing I own from this story is David Escher and other characters.
I sat on my hospital bed, and honestly, I could call this bed mine.
I've been on it for the past decade or so, after all.
"Mr. Escher?"
I looked up and smiled at the nurse who had entered. "Hello again, Miss Ember," I greeted cordially. "How's the kids?"
"Oh, they're a handful," she sighed. "I mean, just yesterday..."
Small talks were the only things that got me going these days. I couldn't even play computer games because of how tired my hands, eyes, and arms were.
I'm old. So old.
"Any news from David and Daniel?"
I shook my head. "I told them not to worry about me. They have their own family and kids -teenagers- to worry about," I grouched though it was half-hearted at best. "... But I feel it coming."
"Mr. Escher, that is no way to talk about yourself!" the nurse scolded.
I simply smiled in return before turning my gaze out of my room's window.
"Ah... What I would give to run free once more before I go..." I muttered to myself.
My name is David Escher Sr. of the House of Allendale. The names don't match up right? That's because I had taken my mother's name after a lawsuit brought on my many-times removed relative sued me over a slight. What was I told to do? Nothing really. The asshole just wanted to prove a point by wasting his time and money. I won the court case by the way.
I didn't even bother to get myself a lawyer. I just researched the relative laws myself. I'm old. I have a lot of time. What the hell was I going to do outside of reading? Running? I lost my legs years ago in the war.
I just stood there in front of the judge and answered the questions. I won the case, and then changed my name.
Anyway, my name is David Escher Sr. I tend to ramble as you can see.
I was born 1915 to one Harold Beaumont and Susan Escher. Both were doctors, but I'm not. I liked guns and hunting a little too much.
World War II came calling on my doorstep, so I went out to fight for my Queen and country. I lost my right leg for my troubles. I did end up rather high on the ladder before I had been honorable discharged.
I ended up getting wooden prosthetic for my leg, but I always got phantom pains and aches.
It was during one of my visits to the hospital -to complain about the pain and get more pain meds- that I met my darling wife.
Miss Katerina Dimiyev, an artist, doctor, and entrepreneur from Iran -though her parents were Russian.
... Apparently, marrying her was the slight that Viscount Allendale's stupid youngest son needed to sue me. Seriously, what the fuck. I wanted to throttle the fucker, and I would have if it wasn't for my father and the Viscount himself.
She wasn't sweet or anything like that. She was fiery, outgoing, and loud. I loved her regardless.
...
She moved on before me. It's been a decade or so, I think.
We had four children together.
David Jr., Daniel, Dimitriv, and Regina.
David was a troubled and weak child, but he became a sturdy carpenter, so I don't worry about him anymore. I'm just sad that I couldn't attend his wedding; I was taken down by a sudden stroke, though apparently my last words before falling unconscious had been "Don't you dare not walk the aisle just cause of me!" He now has seven children. Yes, he is rather ... active. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy had several bastards too. I'd love them regardless.
Daniel was a calm child. The observant child. He's a chemist now, though he almost became a drug dealer a few years back after his girlfriend left him. He's not married, but he has a bastard that he adopted to his name. I don't know the mother, but Daniel assures me that the kid is his. I demanded a DNA test; the girl was his.
Dimitriv... We don't know where he is. After graduating college, he just disappeared from the radar. Poof. Gone.
Regina. The sweet youngest. She died in a car accident just before her high school graduation. I remember screaming to the heavens.
...
After sending all of my kids out to the world, my wife and I were struck by a disease of unknown origin and name. It killed her, but I lived.
Why didn't it take me as well?
...
But I know that my time has come. I can feel it.
...
Miss Ember, are you there?
...
I would like to have one last shot of whiskey before I go. I know, not exactly English of me, but I'd like it please.
...
Thank you.
...
Was it always this strong?
...
I feel good.
Fine, I feel well. Bloody nurse not letting me say what I want in my own death bed.
Ow! I'm a old man, don't hit me.
...
Anyway, who are you?
You just visited me, and I don't even know you, and ...
...
...
...
...
Dimitriv? Is that you? Where have you been?
...
You want my help?
...
Son, you've been watching too much TV.
Oh, well bloody bollocks from God's own ballsacks. Is that a metal hand? How does it move so fluid?
...
You want me to become a cyborg? Of course, I know what cyborg is. I've been sitting here with nothing to do but watch TV all day long for the past decade!
I woke up, though I had wished my son had failed.
I stared at the blue ceiling above me.
A monotonous voice called out to me.
"You are awake, sir."
Moving my arms behind me to support my effort, I slowly sat up. 'My arms no longer hurt. They work fine,' I thought to myself in the clinical fashion I normally reserved for my military days.
I stared at the owner of the voice and frowned.
"What the fuck are you?"
The being was of metal and light. It reminded me of those things that people used to talk about in the 70's and 80's. Not sure about afterwards because I was stuck in the hospital for forever since then. Right, one of those robot things! Children's dream, really.
"I am an AI."
"... And that is?"
The robot bowed. "Please pardon my lack of explanation. I have received your data file only a few minutes ago, and my core processors are still working through them. Due to a lack of priority setting, I am going through your history first."
"...So like computer?"
"I am an Artificial Intelligence. I am a computer advanced enough to emulate the thought processes as well as emotional and physical responses that of a human being," it explained.
I nodded. "My son was working on something like that. Don't know if he finished."
"First CEO Dimitriv Escher did not complete Project FAI, but his grandson Alan Escher did."
I nodded. So my son is dead. It was kind of a dead give away when this AI told me that he couldn't finish. My Dimitriv wouldn't give up or stop something if he could still think and move at least one arm. This either meant my son was an armless, legless, and brain dead vegetable or dead. I think dead in this case is much better, even if I won't be able to see him anymore.
... Dimitriv also did tell me to prepare myself.
I looked at the AI robot in front of me. After all, last thing I was told before I woke up was that I will be put into a stasis.
Once I became more accustomed to my own body, I was allowed by the AI to walk around the facility.
The facility in question was one built underground in Wyoming, where land had been cheap as hell. According to the AI, it still was.
And no one checks for anything in Wyoming. What were you going to check? The toughness of the potato and the wheat? The lack of bisons? Yellowstone?
The facility also had numerous rooms. '201 rooms,' the AI interjected when I said as much.
What mattered to me the most was the following: bedrooms, information/entertainment center, and cafeteria.
I checked out what kind of a world I awoke to, and Dimitriv had been kind to me. Apparently, I've been dead for quite some time.
Yes, dead.
Stasis that I was talking about? That was only for my brain. The rest of my body was gone. So what was the body I wore?
Dimitriv had told me that if I were to ever wake up again, then my body would either be artifical or synthetic, like the ones told in sci-fi. Considering that my body at least looked human -even the junk was dangling down there-, I'd say I have a synthetic body.
Unfortunately, I was wrong. When I asked the AI about this, it told me that my body was made up of both synthetic and biotic parts. Most of the organs in my body cavity was synthetic, but the ribs, limbs, the head, and the junk -yes, even the junk- was biotic.
I was more metal than flesh. Go figure.
...
My "eyes" blinked when I realized that only a second had passed to process all of those information.
...
Blah, whatever. But one thing did get to me.
Subpar components.
The facility and its occupants -mostly other AI robots and myself- were all built in 2040 AD.
According to the computers with internet access in the entertainment room, the current year was 2691 AD, and a lot of shit had happened in between.
1951: Revolutionary engineer and programmer Dimitriv Escher is born.
1951: Cold War officially begins with the tension in Korean Peninsula and divided Germany.
1970: Dimitriv Escher disappears from the radar, not to be seen until the early 21st century.
1989: Brigadier David Escher Sr. is honorably discharged after his wife dies to an unknown disease. He survives.
1989: Berlin Wall falls.
1995: Brigadier David Escher Sr. dies.
2001: Dimitriv Escher appears again to the world with a new technology, Plasma Manipulation. He starts the Noverheim Security Industry.
2007: Noverheim Security Industry reaches the top 10 richest companies list.
2011: NoSI starts to fund space exploration and colonization.
2014: ISIS rises up in Iraq.
2019: NoSI starts Project First Massively Populated Space Station (FMPSS) or Foomps.
2020: After 6 years of fighting, majority of the ISIS territory has been retaken by their respective nation-states, and the last of its leadership is wiped out by USA bombings.
2024: With the backing of UN for its effort in the ISIS war, Kurds are given their own nation state against the protest of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Measures are taken to ensure that no ethnical tensions will sprout inside this new Kurdish Republic by removing all non-Kurds. Drastic, but effective. Also highly controversial for centuries to come.
2030: Project Foomps reaches conclusion, a 400 meter radius circular space station is established, housing 170 people, a world record. Attachments to Station Foomps is planned.
2037: Due to NoSI's hereditary nature, the company is split into two companies upon the retirement of the 4th Hereditary President William David Escher. Noverheim Security Industry retained the factories and the contracts while the newly formed Escher Exploration Corps takes the space station and the rocket sites.
2070: NoSI is hostilely taken over by UN, citing the need of need for aggressive space exploration and colonization.
2071: North Korea finally collapses, and South Korea -having anticipated this- quickly moves in to take over. Unified Korean Republic is born.
2076: A Russian billionaire establishes Yumandovrets Space Exploration Company. It quickly draws in attention from investors.
2081: Escher Exploration Corps celebrates its second Hereditary President, John Williams Escher. His first order, lunar colonization.
2100: North African Confederation is formed after countless attempts to enter EU failed for the north African states. Jordan and Syria joins. Saudia Arabia refuses to join.
2112: Japan declares war on Unified Korean Republic. United States of America cannot side with either parties due to non-aggression pact with both.
2113: People's Republic of China declares war on Japan, citing the defense of Korea.
2113: USA jumps into defend Japan.
2113: Russia, with the support of China, declares war on the East European nations, starting World War III. World Population: 11 billion.
2113: Escher Exploration Corps establishes its first lunar colony, and declares its an independent entity from all Earth nations. With a population of 12,000 and more incoming, Kingdom of Escher is the first hereditary nation established in nearly 150 years (last kingdom to have been formed was the Kingdom of Spain).
2120: WW3 is still ongoing. Scientists from Kingdom of Escher completes a prototype space folding generator (SFG).
2121: While SFG doesn't make FTL possible, it does help the discovery of space expansion technology. Doctor Who fans are ecstatic, regardless of nationality.
2123: World War III ends in white peace. World population: 10 billion.
2124: Using space expansion technology, artificial gravity is generated by "capturing" numerous asteroids into the expanded bubble beneath the Kingdom of Escher's territory. This becomes the first true "artificial gravity field generator."
2129: Like all things, risk exists. One stupid man decides to shove in as much as he can into his private asteroid home using SFG, and finds out that "oh, too much mass in a tiny space makes black hole." The black hole collapses after five months, but it did generate enough gravity to fling a few asteroids out of the system.
2135: Kingdom of Escher, now a nation with the population of 409,000, receives an ultimatum from several Earth states. "Return our political refugees." The kingdom refuses.
2137: Kingdom of Escher develops the first true commercial space ship. It is 100 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 9 meters tall. It is also capable of travelling from the orbit of Earth to surface of Luna in the span of 17 hours.
2138: Kingdom of Escher's military, the Escher Imperial Navy, announces the first spacefaring warship, the EscherI-class warship. Classified as a frigate, EscherI-class warships are 250 meters long, 70 meters wide, and 16 meters tall. It possess 6 railgun turrets, each capable of accelerating their projectiles to 0.0001% of the speed of light in a single second.
2154: Japan declares war on the Kingdom of Escher. The Kingdom responds by orbital bombarding most of their military establishment.
2154: Seeing the collapse of Japan's military, Russia, Korea, and China all declare war on Japan.
2155: Despite militia forces' defenses, Japan's emperor surrenders. Hokkaido and Northern Honshu goes to Russia, Central and Southern Honshu including now desolate Tokyo, goes to Korea, and Kyushu and Shikoku goes to China.
2160: UN is declared useless.
2165: Canada, Mexico, and USA joins into North American Federation for multiple reasons including but not limited to similar culture, mutual interest, similar government structure, demands of the people, and so on.
2146: North American Federation announces its own warship: the Jackson-class frigate. It is smaller and possesses less railguns, but each railgun can fire heavier rounds. The ship, however, is slower in speed and acceleration.
2190: Kingdom of Escher announces successful colonization of Mars. Most nations are shocked by the news as there hadn't been any announcement regarding Mars colonization attempt beforehand.
2194: Kingdom of Escher moves most of its Kingdom to Mars. SFG tech is used to give Kingdom of Escher's territory on Mars 1.2G. Terraformation of Mars begins.
2200: North American Federation buys the lunar colony from Kingdom of Escher, but not the tech or the people, as they found out later.
2209: Prothean ruins are found. Data within is corrupted. Existence of extraterrestrial life has been confirmed.
2214: Most nations capable of doing so launch their own space station. Kingdom of Escher removes the Foomps Station, dragging it into orbit of Mars after five months of work.
2222: NAF establishes a colony on Titan and then on Europa.
2236: Russia and China announce their own warship, the Evansky-Jeong-class heavy frigate. It is 300 meters long, 80 meters wide, and 20 meters tall.
2243: Russia attempts to illegally colonize Mars. Kingdom of Escher arrests the colonists and removes colony. Russia declares war. First Solar War begins.
2243: Start of war numbers- Russia: 5 million troops (active + reserve), 14 Evansky-Jeong-class heavy frigate
Escher: 1 million troops (active + reserve), 30 EscherI-class frigate
2244: Russia's central war doctrine was to land as much troops as possible to overwhelm the Kingdom's defenses. Their surprise attack is scrambled when fifty or so Surface to Orbit Railguns pop up all over the Kingdom's territory on Mars and lays waste to most of the troop transports. Russia responds to this counterattack by orbital bombarding cities. While effective at wiping out civilians, it did little to hurt military capabilities. This attack also earned Russia ire of the international community.
2244: Tables are turned. Russia is defending. To everyone's surprise, Russia manages to defend itself well from orbital superiority.
2245: White peace treaty is signed. Escher had no troops to attack Russia with and Russia had no space ships to attack Escher with.
2300: Colonies of Titan and Europa declare independence. NAF sends subjugation forces, but the two moons had been buying light frigates (EscherII-class) from Escher for decades. Second Solar War begins.
2301: Pirates become a problem. Kingdom of Escher pushes over half of its forces into pirate extermination.
2309: Second Solar War ends in surrender of the colonies. This marks the start of Anti-Earth behaviors in outer colonies.
2350: Solar System populations: Earth 33.1 billion, Luna 0.3 billion, Mars(+moons) 8.2 billion, Asteroid belt colonies 0.5 billion, Jupiter's moons 0.6 billion, and Saturn's moons 0.2 billion.
2404: Charon Relay is found. Kingdom of Escher is the first to respond and send exploration teams through it after realizing that it is a transportation device similar to theorized "slingshot" FTL stations. On the other side was the Arcturus System. Mass colonization begins... Or would've.
2404: Kingdom of Escher seizes Charon Relay before any other nation while sending its exploration teams, and prevent any other nations' fleets from going thorugh, even independent colonizers and civilian explorers.
2407: Resentment over Charon Seizure sparks Third Solar War with surprising initial events. The Outer Colonies join Escher, who promised them independence. Only Luna and Earth stands against Escher.
2408: Nuclear warheads are deployed, and one of them wipes out Mars' second biggest city, culling over 200 million people. Other warheads detonate in Martian atmosphere, contaminating the planet with radioactive atmosphere for a decade to come.
2408: Escher responds to this in rage by dusting the entire Lunar colony with orbital strikes. Escher also announces in the middle of battle their new warship, Toman-class cruiser, a warship quadruple of a EscherI frigate's firepower, twice its toughness, twice the frigate's length, and only two times as expensive to make.
2411: Third Solar War (the last of its kind) ends in Escher victory. The Kingdom of Escher, with its 250 warships compared to the rest of human civilization's remaining 30, establishes that Earth's nations can only colonize one planet per three colonies the Kingdom of Escher makes. The Outer Colonies are granted independence and granted the right to colonize in equal ratio to the Kingdom. This comes to be known as the Restriction Doctrine. The Lunar Peace Treaty also establishes the Rogue Doctrine, which declares that unauthorized rogue colonies will be forced to submit to Kingdom of Escher's rule or be evicted. Total human population: 47 billion.
2420: Nations of Earth and newly established Lunar colony come together willingly (read: mandatory) to form the Systems Alliance to form a counter balance to Kingdom of Escher.
2464: Kingdom of Escher's first succession crisis. A brief civil war breaks out, but lasts only 5 months. The heir of the throne, a mad man, is executed for crimes against humanity, and his younger sister, Elizabeth Jeoul Escher, Duchess of Syrtis Province (Syrtis Major Planum), takes the throne of the Kingdom of Escher.
2464~2491: Under Queen Elizabeth's rule, the Kingdom of Escher seeks to improve relations with Systems Alliance, Outer Colonies, and Relay Colonies. Due to her charisma and attractive TV personality (not to mention her beauty), she is mostly successful.
2550: The human systems are divided into sectors. The Core Worlds (16 systems), Inner Sector (30 systems), and Rimworlds (50? systems).
2562: Anti-Escher terrorists kill Crown Prince Yusef in his birthday celebration. There would have been war with System Alliance had it not been for Elizabeth II, Yusef's eldest daughter and now Crown Princess of the Kingdom, calm the people and its leaders down by declaring that her father would not have wanted a war of revenge. Later that year, Crown Princess Elizabeth II receives the kingdom's most prestigious award, Queen Elizabeth I's Award of Peace.
2580: A rogue rimworld colony establishes itself as its own republic outside of Escher's rule. To almost everyone's surprise, Queen Elizabeth II agrees to acknowledge the new republic -Republic of Ohulsuiv- as a sovereign entity if it follows the Restriction Doctrine. The Republic agrees, just happy to avoid a war.
2584: Another rogue colony attempts to do the same in the Inner Sector, but they were brutally beat down by the Kingdom's Imperial Navy.
2585~2600: Core Worlds population boom.
2600: The Kingdom of Escher officially changes it title to Escherian Empire.
2628: A colony legally exits the empire in the Rimworlds, forming the Dogavan Republic.
2630: AI experiment gone wrong starts the Mechanoid War.
2644: Mechanoid War is officially over with the help of TC's, or Transferred Consciousness. AI's are put on restricted but TC's are not. Total human population (including TC): 91 billion.
2679: System Alliance colony on Shanxi is attacked by extraterrestrial forces. The Escherian Empire sends a fleet of 300 warships to assist just as 400 of the extraterrestrial warships arrive through the Shanxi Relay. Battle ensues. Midway into battle, System Alliance fleet of 270 warships enter, and pushes the alien fleet out of the system. But the losses were significant for the victorious humans; more than 200 warships had been lost to destroy 300 of the alien's.
2679: Citadel Council, an entity that controls half of the galactic Relays initiates contact with the two human sovereign states on behalf of the attacker, the Turian Hierarchy. Peace is established, and an offer to join the galactic community is given. Escherian Empire, whose population is nearly matches that of the entire Citadel Council, refuses while the System Alliance joins. Republic of Ohulsuiv, Outer Colony Confederation, and Dogavan Republic stays out of the Citadel Council along with Escherian Empire.
Current Human Sovereign States (no vassals): System Alliance, Escherian Empire, Republic of Ohulsuiv, Outer Colony Confederation, Dogavan Republic.
So yeah, a lot of shit had happened.
"... How the hell am I going to fit into this new world," I grumbled as I cupped my face in my hands.
"Your bank account current holds 19 billion Interstellar Currency Credits and you hold over 13 different planets under your name."
I blinked, lifted my head up, and stared at the AI.
"Wut."
"While you were deceased, your account has bee kept in use by your family. While the family no longer uses it due to the status of the Escherian Empire, the account is still active and under your name. Due to your recent TC experience, the account has now been locked. This has also alerted the Escherian Royal Family to our status, and I have been contacted."
"...And you tell me this now?"
"You were busy reading."
"Son of a -!"