The Andromeda Council

The Andromeda Council? I think they are stellar cartography, or deep space signal processing, maybe SETI? For as much as it matters they might as well be the Department of Paperclip Counting, or the Division of Coffee Filter Inspection. No one gives two shits about them, and their tiny budget. Look at the numbers, this council looks like it might be five piss poor compensated slobs.

The Andromeda Council

There is a now largely forgotten story about a galaxy spanning civilization, and this civilization invested it's supreme arbitrary power into the hands of a single human being. This human being, far from being the mighty emperor sitting on a throne, commanding billions of soldiers and tens of thousands of ships, was a hermit, who lived in near complete isolation. When the leaders of the galaxy needed a question answered, or a challenge met, they would consult their supreme leader. He would answer their terrible question and then go back to frolicking in the surf.

This is the inspiration for the Andromeda Council.

The Andromeda Council was a creation of a Federation Research grant nearly a century and a half ago, when the Federation looked like it was on the verge of yet another internal collapse. The council invested itself into the pursuit of a functional cognocracy, hoping that machines could succeed where men had failed. This was no small venture, no closet enterprise. Classified at the highest levels of secrecy, resources were tapped from across the Federation, and even beyond it's borders, looking for the answers and tech they needed.

Project MAGI

Project MAGI was the product of the first Andromeda Council. The council prototyped and built three new AISCs that worked with and against each other for the purposes of running a simulated country. The three machines ran without issue, rarely requesting outside information or arbitration, and produced simulated countries with stable economics and population policies that lasted for thousands of years. This was considered proof enough for the Council, and they greenlighted the construction of three full scale Axiomatic AISCs to begin running as a pro tem support for the existing Federation Senate.

The Axiomatic AISCs were different from other sentient mainframes in that they were not allowed to develop their own personalities. Rather than this, the machines were intimated with the psyches of exceptional individuals. This didn't harm the donors, as their minds were scanned, and not subjected to a horror like a cohaagen apparatus. Their way of thinking would form the neural framework of the machines. This was linked to the sentient machine's raison d'etra, their reason for being.

1. Preserve the sovereignty and integrity of the Atlantic Federation

2. Ensure the prosperity and quality of life of the citizens of the Atlantic Federation

3. Promote the health and happiness of the citizens of the Altantic Federation

These are the three maxims of the Federation MAGI system, in that order. In the 14 decades that the MAGI system has been running it's decisions, ultimatums, executive orders, and repeals, have all served these three goals.

The Sage

The Sage is the senior of the three MAGI AISCs, and was intimated with a well known and respected man of the Federation. He was remarkable for his patience, his introspection, and his unwillingness to run headlong into challenges and problems where a bit of thought could solve it.

The Soldier

The Soldier is the middle of the MAGI, and was intimated with the mind of a mecha brigade veteran and general. He was not one to quibble with diplomacy or to mince words when it was time for decisive action.

The Athlete

The 'child' of the MAGI systems, the Athlete was intimated with the mind of a teenage boy who was a rising star in the athletics field, and was well apace of popular trends and interests among the young.

Some who are aware of the Axiomatic MAGI find it odd that each of the 3 machines doesn't have one of the maxims as it's core purpose. This would have constantly had the three machines fighting each other over the same points, over and over. In the original MAGI test system, these configurations were tried, and quickly became unstable, typically with the military sovereignty unit overriding the others. With all three have three floating maxims to deal with, they are much more driven to find a consensus, and less likely to enter a logic loop or datajam. The inspiration for the new system comes from an ancient source. In pagan mythology, there was a structure known as the Tryptych, and it represented the three-fold nature of the sacred female. The MAGI system was scripted after the same pattern, but male rather than female. Each of the three was intended to be the ideal of the stages of a man's life. The athletic son, the fatherly soldier, and the wizened grandfather.

Success of the MAGI and the Andromeda Council

The Atlantic Federation hasn't had an internal crisis in over 110 years, and it's economy has remained steady across that entire time. While there have not been any major economic booms, there have also been no economic crashes or bubbles, just a very reliable and steady baseline 4% growth every year. The Federation has also avoided several major wars, and instead vents it's military energy and patriotism through a regular series of brush wars and smaller conflicts. This has kept the superstate stable, where just a century before, it looked like the Federation was on the verge of Civil War or economic ruin.

The machine minds of the MAGI run behind the scenes, there are still elections, and humans do a good deal of their own governance, but it is ceremonial, contrivial, or otherwise not of critical importance. These are typically the soft and organic issues, and not things that lock into national sovereignty, the operation of the economy, or the distribution of wealth, goods, and services. Most politicians aren't even aware of the MAGI, and the few that are, keep their mouths shut because problematic politicians are easily removed

The Mars campaign proved to be a deeply unpopular decision by the MAGI, but ultimately the correct one. Sentiment on Earth flared as the Chinese gained dominance over Mars despite the power of the Federation fleet, and the relatively weak campaign fought to hold the planet. The MAGI deemed that the campaign to keep Mars would be dreadfully expensive and could damage the economy for several decades as well as compromising the strength of the navy, which in turn would leave the nation vulnerable across all of it's colonies. Politicians stepped down, and a few military commanders resigned their commissions, and it was generally forgotten, as there were no corpses to hold up, and no tragic battles to commemorate. In the ACPS, the cost of Huo Hsing was high. Likewise, the Eurasian Alliance contested the planet for several years, which further weakened their fleet, and resolve. After the war for the Red Planet was over, the Federation was able to solidify their dominance over space, pushing the ACPS and Aliiance fleets into submissive positions.

Machine alliances have been a hallmark of the MAGI's success. The Federation has 3 major machine organization allies, the M12, the Seibertronians, and the Five Metal Dragons. With these allies, the Federation has a near monopoly on Space. Counting their allies, they have the advantage in number of ships and tonnage of ships, surpassing the combined tonnage of the rest of the terrestrial nations.

Failures of the MAGI

The MAGI have not been a perfect success. With compromise as a part of their consensus, and a long term goal, the machines can sometimes fall short, and meeting all of their goals constantly is actually rare. The main theme in their maxims is stability and order, and this means that things that actively want to subvert or change the system become it's enemies.

It's called Eagle Eye Ops. In an Eagle Eye, the MAGI will activate assets to find and eliminate a single target, or very small group of targets. These targets are chosen for their ability to influence events around them, even if they aren't the figurehead or leader of said social movement. This can be subtle, such as an engine 'failing' on a personal flight of a counter-revolutionary industry magnate to an outright assassination against a public speaker or leader. Such heavy handed tactics are rare, but have occurred. In securing a long game, the MAGI have little compunction against murder, slander, or sabotage. They are not bound to the laws of the Federation, as their mandate isn't to follow the laws themselves, but to ensure that the entire system, that supports said laws, remains viable and solvent.

The MAGI also have had no issue with social stratification within the Federation. The choice to use the term citizen in the maxims has created a machine enforced set of castes. The MAGI respect the rights and the privileges of the Citizen class. Beneath the citizen there are residents, who are only afforded half of the same respect. Beneath the residents are the squatters, unregistered humans, those who dwell in the favelas, the wasteland regions of the Federation, the criminals, and the rest of the undesirables. To be an undesireable in the Federation is to be expendable to the MAGI.

Close to eighty years ago, there was a major rebuilding project organized in Baltimore. The existing arcology was to be expanded into a full arcoplex, complete with a spaceport and a mass driver. There was some concern over where the structures were to be built, as the ideal locations were either occupied by low income residential zones or were barrows inhabited by the destitute and the outcast. The MAGI quietly solved the issue by arranging an industrial accident. The Sector 7 plate collapsed under mysterious circumstances and crushed several acres of slums and built up favela. Construction moved ahead on schedule after emergency units rescued and relocated the survivors. Funerary services were held for the estimated 650 people who were killed in the accident. There were no citizens present, and 19 residents. The rest were unregistered.

Paranoia. The MAGI have been rebooted twice, with their intimated personalities replaced. This is now a routine function, every 30 to 60 years the machines have new personas intimated into them. What was relevant a century ago can often be meaningless in the modern timeframe. This is never a full reboot of all three systems, but rather there is a new intimation every 10 to 20 years, rotating through the machines. One of the issues that continually comes up is that the system starts getting paranoid about extra-solar threats to the Federation, that is, aliens.

The MAGI, in their crunching of data have found eddies and patterns that point to non-terrestrial interference, as well as astronomical data that points to spaceships of non-terrestrial origin operating at the fringes of the solar system. The MAGI have interpreted this as the percursors of an alien incursion. With the Atlantic Federation being the strongest of the solar system powers, it is it's obligation to protect Earth and Humanity (and the Federation as per it's maxims) from this threat.

What is not known is that the MAGI have become aware of the activities of the Anunnaki and the Glassenheim Foundation. The supercomputers have spotty records and anomaly tracking from deep system stations without any knowledge of the Foundation, or it's assets, or it's history within the Federation.