Chapter 3: Lastation
You've experienced Neptunia in all of its glory but want to learn more about its story. Well to get to the heart of the story, you have to go back to the beginning...
The Storyteller roamed down one of the many streets of Lastation, the capital city of the nation with the same name, his eyes glancing from building to building, from person to person, looking for something that seemingly was far from him. What he was looking for, no one who passed the green combat armoured man knew the answer. Instead of asking what the mysterious stranger was looking for they chose to stay away from him; the people of Lastation were wary of strangers at best, especially strangers that happened to be armed and armoured with outlandish weapons and armour.
The green combat armoured man did not seem to notice the awkward staring as he strolled around the area, his search ever continuing on; if the Storyteller did indeed notice the odd gazes then he showed no interest in it. However, those who passed by him heard the sounds of murmuring - he was muttering a song under his breath. It sounded dark, distant, questioning.
"Where are we going
from here
Where do we go
Are we all blinded by fear
How do we know
How do we know…"
The Storyteller's mood swiftly changed when he turned down a corner and passed a small factory, whereupon he found what he was looking for: a cafe, a place called Passe to be exact. The Storyteller chuckled to himself and entered the cafe. The place was sparsely populated by customers, save for an elderly couple in one of the cafe's corners, a group of three women by a window and a lone man by the counter with a piece of what was left of a sandwich on a plate before him. Aside from the customers there was a waitress dealing with what looked like delivering some milkshakes to the three women, then there was a blue haired lady behind the counter with her back to everybody else, a cleaning dishcloth in one hand and a glass cup in the other. The Storyteller sat down on an empty barstool and faced the blue haired woman, which caught her attention quickly.
"Howdy there, Chian. How are you this fine day?" the Storyteller asked the blue haired woman with a cheery tone and a light wave.
The blue haired woman, Chian, turned around to face the combat armoured man sitting down on the other side of the bar, then her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Oh Goddesses help me… Um, what are you doing here, Mr Storyteller? Didn't you understand the warning you were given last time you kept blabbering on around here?"
"Oh I haven't forgotten, but I'm still confused by it if you happen to be curious," the Storyteller responded with his usual cheerful tone. "Was it because I gave you insight into your alternate selves and the fate of a few of them, or was it something else?"
"Both," Chian swiftly said as she handed him a menu. "You kept yammering on about some ridiculous tales of other realities where Gamindustri was a radioactive wasteland, a place where talking dragons who could turn into humans - and vice versa - roamed the skies, and some far fetched story about some race of advanced superhumans who sunk their own home and transferred to here only to get butchered. Don't you think that some of the things you say are kinda unrealistic?"
"Well, truth be told, some of it is open to conjecture. That's where a creative mind comes in to fill in the blanks with whatever pieces of lore they come across that happens to make sense. You ask if it's unrealistic, yet you forget that it all takes place in different realities of the Multiverse," the Storyteller responded, this time more seriously than before.
He would have ordered something from the menu and left some time afterwards if it had not been for the lone man sitting near to the Storyteller's left. With the sandwich now fully eaten, the lone man turned his head over to face the green combat armoured man and asked him something. "Huh? You some kind of storyteller, like a bard or minstrel or something of the like?" he asked, unaware what he had unleashed.
"Why yes, I am a storyteller. That's actually my name around here, too. If you want I can tell you a tale. How about a story of Lastation? Yeah? All right then, this'll be good. Been hankering to tell this one for a while ever since I met a woman in this bar down at Planeptune," the Storyteller said, barely leaving time for the lone man to make any kind of response. The people in the cafe all let out a groan and some shook their heads, Chian included.
"Son of a…" the blue haired woman muttered just as the Storyteller began his tale of Lastation's known lore.
A man once said that 'the only constant in the technology industry is change', and if that is true then Lastation has some ways to go before anything changes with their ideology or their already advanced technological industry. Then again, some say that there is nothing to change about the Land of Black Regality - to them everything is absolutely fine and dandy, at least according to those who seem to lack any sort of ambition. And if there is one thing about Lastation that definitely does not change, and will not change any time soon, it's that there is always someone who is ambitious enough to monopolise on the technological industry that the nation has within their capital city and the surrounding area. This has caused some problems for the environment in some dimensions, specifically the Superdimension and a few Hyperdimensions, too.
Lastation is the easternmost country of Gamindustri, while its capital is usually located around the southern to central region of the nation. With flat green fields in the centre, large light brown monster infested mountains to the east and sometimes to the south, depending on the dimension one happens to be in, large and almost impassable mountains to the west and open clear waters of the eastern sea to their north-east, east and south, Lastation feels as if it is quite isolated within the confines of the mainland, even more so than Leanbox is to some degree. However, this isolation, coupled together with all the bright minds and resources at the tips of their fingers, has fostered a sense of identity and a belief that they alone are the greatest of all people, which has lasted for centuries.
That was the case until recently in many universes and their separate dimensions, with all that has been happening between their goddesses and the crises that plagued this land. The Console War, the short Avenir Takeover, the ASIC Crisis, the issue with the Seven Sages - for Ultradimension versions of course - and the CPU Shift Period has seen the leaders of Lastation stride alongside their fellow neighbours to combat the threats that come their way. Overall though, the result has varied in a less than favourable way in a few different universes. In all the bad endings, Lastation has been left in ruin, much like their neighbours - fortunately this is not the case in predominantly most universes' dimensions. The whole Multiverse Theory to all of these alternate outcomes puzzles anyone who do not happen to fully understand the awesome complexity of it all.
This country of Lastation is called by some within its borders as the Land of Black Regality, and is also nicknamed as the 'Steampunk Nation', which is quite fitting in regard to the mindset of many Lastation's citizens. Sometimes it is known as the 'Heart of Gamindustri' since, in some different versions of the Hyperdimension and the Superdimension, Lastation is surrounded by the other three nations - one can wonder how that would influence the people of Lastation in those timelines. Pride is an immense part of their psyche, and in some cases this pride as reached to the point of utter arrogance, which has been the downfall of many over the ages, from mortal humans to immortal goddesses. It is little wonder that some people throughout Gamindustri openly despise the Lastationites, for their arrogance has gotten on the nerves of many, both by accident and on purpose.
Regarding all of that, it is said that even other citizen of Lastation, especially those of the middle and lower classes, get more than a little annoyed with this prideful nature. However, it would be unfair to say that this prideful bias towards themselves is unfounded, for Lastation is the home of many of the greatest industrialists and technological advancements in all of Gamindustri, and can even rival Leanbox in the weapon market and outshines Planeptune in many aspects as well. It is quite easy to tell why upon seeing what the Land of Black Regality can offer any consumer. Its advanced industrial sectors leave many foreign and local investors, business owners, contractors and military enthusiasts wanting to sign on for a piece of the action. Not even Leanbox with its military advancements cannot match Lastation and its industry.
The architecture of Black Regality is quite the opposite of Planeptune. Instead of looking colourful, bright, smooth and pleasing to the eye, Lastation's architecture is more jagged, dark, rough and gothic. Still, it is quite interesting to gaze upon, and it gives Lastation its own unique look. The appearance of this nation definitely shows off just what Lastation is all about: technology and industry. To any outsider, though, it would seem as if some versions of Lastation are unhomely, dark and dank just from viewing the outside, but that is essentially the equivalent of judging a book by its cover. Lastation is much like Planeptune; there is a soft centre to it all.
It may not look the most futuristic like Planeptune, but it is quite ahead of their meta-joking neighbours, as already explained with its advanced technological industry. Factories dot the landscape and the cities, churning out new products for a variety of consumers. Aside from that, Lastation is also the main competitor in the gaming market, which has left Planeptune in the dust form time to time.
This land is ruled and protected by Black Heart, also referred to as Noire in her human form, the senior CPU of Lastation. It is easy to tell that the public persona of Black Heart has shaped Lastation into what it is today. Pride, arrogance, diligence, business acumen, stubbornness, secretly caring for others and respectfulness. There is a reason why Noire is called the 'Ideal Goddess', after all. However, many critics would - and also have - point out that it takes more than a lot of diligent hard work to the point of exhaustion and illness as well as a good-looking body to be an ideal goddess that can rule a Gamindustrian nation efficiently. Still, credit given where it's due, Noire does try her hardest to be the best there is, though that tale is for another time.
Alongside Noire is her younger sister, Uni, also known as Black Sister. She's known to be something akin to a splitting image of Noire, only there are a some differences. Uni is less evading when around other people and happens to be slightly more open, although due to the constant expectations laid upon her it is clear that it has had a damaging effect upon her. This, however, is only the case in most versions of the Hyperdimension's Gamindustri - the Ultradimension does not have any CPU Candidates. The third main figure of Lastation's leadership is Kei Jinguji, the Oracle of Black Regality. Much like everybody in Lastation, she is diligent in her work, even if there isn't much to do due to Noire's constant hard work ideology.
No one can remember the name of the CPU that ruled Lastation before Noire came to power, which is quite unfortunate really, considering that her role in the original defeat of the Deity of Sin was what caused Gamindustri to be ruled by the goddess we have today. What is known of her, however, is that this forgotten goddess was the founder of an older and more than likely somewhat different Lastation - though it most likely still had a large emphasis on industry and technology. It's a real pity that this unknown first CPU has largely been forgotten to history. Is it possible that Histoire remembers who this first Goddess of Lastation is? It is quite possible that she does, but if the Oracle of Planeptune does know then she hasn't been eager to tell everybody who this mysterious CPU of Lastation was. Maybe one day that will change in one of the different timelines. Maybe.
The history of Lastation runs about the same in all versions of the Hyperdimension, which makes it easy for some people to understand, although this leaves little diverging information that would make any historians and lore enthusiasts - like myself - overly excited to know what is new. What can be considered as an interesting point in Lastation's history is that their systems are always getting hacked, which has caused a lot of stirs in the various dimensions. A most notable case in a few Hyperdimensions and all of the Ultradimensions concerns a man known to all as Anonydeath, a master hacker who has refused to show his true identity, despite his undying love for Noire. I'd like to meet the man underneath the extravagant robot suit one of these days, but every version I come across never lets an opportunity lie that come around.
In the Hyperdimension, Lastation is regarded to be the second to third oldest nation in all of Gamindustri; the dates are debatable since there is no solid evidence for the founding of Lastation, at least in the Hyperdimension anyway. The Superdimension versions, of which there aren't all that many since there are only some Superdimension universes, of Lastation is just as tricky. It's possible that in those specific timelines the floating island nations all arose at the same specific time, though when that actually occurred is at present unknown.
What is considered as a solid fact to many is that the Ultradimension's version of Lastation is the third oldest nation in their current time period. The first was Lowee, the second was Planeptune - possibly anyway. Due to some highly disputed facts, Ultra Lastation could actually be the fourth oldest nation, but this is still up to conjecture - it's clear that the people of the Ultra Lastation consider their nation to be the third oldest, and the said could be said for the many Hyper Lastations as well. The facts remain debatable to this day. Just know that anything is possible within the Neptunia Multiverse. Anything. That really cannot be emphasised enough here.
The one that might possibly hold Lastation's title as the third, and possibly second, oldest nation is their southern neighbour, Leanbox. This country has been a rival aside Lastation in the industry and gaming market ever since both nations released their first ever consoles, creating a marketing schism that has affected gamers alike and caused no end of trouble. Their industry may not be as proficient as Lastation's, but they have a major lead in other areas that has left their neighbours in various dimensions envious as well as respectful. But that is a story for another day.
The story was over, the cafe was silent, the people within quiet. The Storyteller had finished his lore rambling. The combat armoured man took a look around to see that no one was even slightly interested in what he had been saying, in fact only Chian seemed to be the only one that had shown any interest, but for different reasons. She stared at the Storyteller and shook her head. "Ugh. There you go again, blabbering on without even stopping to listen to others. Listen, just order something before you get kicked out, okay?"
The Storyteller looked dumbfounded to say the least, surprised with Chian's statement. Nevertheless, he complied with a nod and began to order something for the road ahead. "Well, I guess I might as well indulge myself for a moment. Let's see, how about one of your best soda pops and a pudding please?"
"Soda pop? Oh, right, you and your fancy outlandish way of saying fizzy drink. Alright then, I'll see what I can do, just… just don't talk, okay?" Chian responded, hoping that the Storyteller would remain faithful to her advice.
Unfortunately for her, it was something that the Storyteller could not promise, and he was soon kicked out not too long afterwards once he received his order. It mattered not to him, for the road beckoned ever onward. With a wistful outlook the Storyteller once more strolled down the streets of Lastation, his destination beckoning him southward.
A/N: Here's the third chapter of this lore series; didn't take as long as I first predicted, but I have some other things (stories that I haven't gotten round to updating, like my Soldier's Tale and trying to get a move on with Subject 13) to update, so that was a driving force to get this Lastation chapter done. Hope you enjoyed the minor shenanigans our mysterious storyteller gets himself into without even trying, they're gonna be more as the series continues, and other goodies as well. What will he manage to get himself next time when he discuss the lore of Leanbox? Only one way to find out, folks. Until then, have a good day if you can. Ta-ta.