Murder Most Foul Planet and City Information

Aballon is a rugged world near the Pact System’s sun inhabited by intelligent machines that have adapted to thrive within its harsh conditions. Some tourists might carelessly mislabel this planet a cold network of metastasizing metal cities run by industrious robots, but a tragic mystery lies at the core of this world. The lost prehistoric culture widely called the First Ones created living, thinking machines to build an outpost on Aballon, then abandoned them. Anacites— the machines’ name for themselves—continue laboring and upgrading themselves in their creators’ absence, endlessly debating whether their creators should decide their ultimate purpose and future as a species, or if they should become something new.

GOVERNMENT
Laws might seem redundant for residents who can program themselves to cooperate, but rules help organic cultures peacefully intermix with machine protocols. Insight Array is Aballon’s governing body. They are a conglomerate of anacites making decisions based on complex algorithms and intelligent databases.

Insight Array (sometimes called IA) connects Aballon’s residents through a virtual app that anyone can download onto a comm unit or other computer for free (or connect directly via shortwave network in the case of constructs). Downloading the Insight Array app helps the population stay connected and access everything from emergency alerts to public transportation and paying side jobs. The app monitors all visitors and residents to ensure they have appropriate lodging, comfortable conditions, and healthy sustenance, plus a small luxury stipend of UPBs in exchange for completing work determined by a complex set of algorithms.

A judicial authority commonly called the Machine Court rules on everything from planetary laws to personal disputes. The council of robotic judges offers unbiased trials for androids and other constructs, and machines flock to Aballon from across the Pact Worlds and further corners of space seeking the Machine Court’s ruling.

CULTURE
The concepts of property and capital work quite differently on Aballon. There’s no planetary currency, though there’s a UPB gray market in most megaplexes. Everyone’s needs are provided for by the Insight Array—even the "need" to work. Able mature residents are assigned tasks—which might be important, complex, or menial—according to a complicated set of algorithms. Insight Array assigns work via shortwave signal, which anacites are programmed to receive.

Visitors and immigrants can download a free comm unit app in lieu of receiving shortwave signals. Tasks might be random jobs or errands that take minutes or hours to complete. Alternatively, tasks might encompass months-long assignments in specialty careers, such as conducting an ecological study of an Ice Well or developing a new virtual technology alongside Central Circuit’s engineers.

Crime is rare in Aballon’s megaplexes, mostly because anacites don’t own property. The Insight Array assigns living space, workspace, and specialty goods like starships and vehicles to individuals (or "units") as needed, and there’s a strong culture of sharing in cities like Striving. Locals famously go out of their way to welcome new neighbors. Despite the plentiful benefits of living on Aballon, organic immigrants rarely stay longer than six months.

Politically, anacites break down into three factions: Those Who Wait, a group eagerly preparing for the First Ones’ return; Those Who Become, a group dedicated to emulating and even surpassing their creators, as they believe is their intended purpose; and Those Who Are, who are diverging from the First Ones’ programming to embrace their own goals. This nonviolent schism is important to many anacite scholars, philosophers, and politicians, whose jobs include debating policy and theory, but some don’t care about the conflict and avoid declaring sides.

When a mysterious spacecraft crashed into the red planet Akiton, news quickly spread that the first Starfinder agents on the scene reported similarities between its design and First Ones ruins in Near Space. The Wreck of the Returned validated Those Who Wait’s long preparations; celebrations and pilgrimages to Akiton are kicking into high gear.

Those Who Become want to strip the wreck for salvage they can reverse-engineer into new technologies. A few months ago, the Machine Court ruled that Aballon should send an expedition composed equally of the two factions plus neutral parties, and Insight Array has assigned those tasks. Unprecedented cooperation occurs across ideological divides as Those Who Wait and Those Who Become work together to investigate the Wreck of the Returned.

Megaplexes are immense metal cities built logically and efficiently in ways that are sometimes confusing to organics. These cities contain spectacular sights like floating towers, lightless access tunnels, skittering maintenance bots, and bulky factories pumping out "heavy air" for the comfort of organics. Inside the firewalls (security perimeters) of a typical megaplex, Aballon’s blazing metal surface breaks into a massive grid of skyscrapers and channels cut into the rock, lined with foundries, skyscrapers, and other structures. Floating plates protect undercities from light’s cruelty, and tiers of solar panels insulate deep channels from dark’s chill. Anacites harvest all the energy they need from the sun, and everything required to keep organic life-forms alive and comfortable is stored and distributed by automated convenience vending machines. A number of luxury eateries and shops thrive in most megaplexes; these establishments are concentrated in organic districts, but are sought-after as curiosities by some anacites.

Transportation is abundant across Aballon. Grav-trains are fast and reliable, traveling between cities; within the city, they have only a few stops with preferential seating for workers completing an algorithm-based task. Utilibuses are slow and crowded, but predictable. Private vehicles (like cabs and hover trucks) are also available when assigned to units by the Insight Array. A request can be made to order a car from the IA, but if a unit doesn’t need to use a vehicle for an assigned task, IA usually arranges a rideshare situation, meaning a self- driving vehicle or utilibus handles the pickup, with stops for other passengers to get in and out.

Train routes go to the cities of the First Ones, which most anacites avoid out of respect for, or fear of, their original creators. Instead, Insight Array allows registered off-worlders to delve the ruined cities, ultimately controlling the flow of resources and information out of the forbidden sites but relying on outsiders to handle the dirty work and therefore assume the blame and potential dangers. In turn, anacites take care of anyone spending time on their world and keep exacting records of all traffic on the planet.

ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE
Outside the lower atmosphere, at about 1,800 feet, the air is incredibly thin. Creatures who aren’t acclimated must attempt a Fortitude save each hour they breathe thin air, or become fatigued (and slowed 1 on a critical failure). The effect persists until the creature gets 8 hours of rest. Acclimating means a creature has spent at least 1 week living in the environment with daily exposure.

During daylight hours, the sun is incredibly harsh outside the protective atmosphere, and temperatures can spike up to 139 degrees F. Creatures are exposed to this heat when venturing outside a city or stepping outside the elevator in a charging platform, immediately feeling the scorching sun beating down on them. Creatures must attempt a DC 12 Fortitude save every 10 minutes or take 1d4 fire damage. Most creatures can’t
survive Aballon’s heat without environmental protections.

At night, temperatures plunge to –20 degrees F (1d4 cold damage every 10 minutes) for 6 hours. This period, known as Fulldark, is widely considered one of the most dangerous times to be outside the safety of climate-controlled megaplexes.

Wandering in rural Aballon is dangerous but not necessarily fatal. Lost travelers claim to have been saved by a roaming barathu explorer who treks the wilderness like a living supply barge laden with gas reserves, spare thermal gear, and unbelievably delicious victuals.

A glistening metal slab shears through smooth gray rock, stacked with delicate structures and tiered solar panels that sway in the upper atmosphere like wind chimes. Swirling domes of gases churn around dense clusters of metal and industry, dotting the industrial gray landscape that is the prime megaplex, an immense metropolis where intelligent machines and organic creatures are forever working together toward the goal of utopia.

Striving has metastasized into a rambling city of tidy grids that stretches for hundreds of miles across Aballon’s surface. It’s the prime megaplex on the planet and is home to most of the world’s industry and most of its inhabitants. The city’s layout is simple, but its scale is so large and its architecture so intricate that most visitors get lost in the place they call "Metal City" without a guide or the handy Insight Array app.

Center Circuit forms Striving’s core, surrounded by orderly districts dedicated to industry, recharging and residential facilities, commerce, and entertainment. Striving is a forest of towering skyscrapers and platforms with roots reaching miles below the ground. A few vast orbital plates glide through this metal landscape like massive barges, carrying mechanical foundries, entertainment complexes, and security outposts. High-speed trains and a robust multi-level highway system connect the city’s far-flung locations, making treks across the megaplex in minutes. A defensive perimeter known as Firewall protects the city from the harsh environment and aggressive wildlife outside.

GOVERNMENT
Insight Array is in charge everywhere on Aballon. This bureaucratic machine council determines the direction of their utopia by guiding culture, industry, and law in Striving. On a more personal level, they send out local alerts and run spot polls to determine majority public opinion using a comm unit app or via shortwave, a communication method shared by all anacites.

Insight Array is quite permissive and fascinated by individual expression. Striving’s few laws are concerned with public safety and protecting industry. Penalties for breaking a rule in Striving are generally light for first-time offenders. Those who cause violence or repeatedly break important laws might be assigned a wingbot escort; if they keep causing problems, they might eventually earn a temporary or permanent ban from the city. Life outside Striving’s Firewall is difficult, which keeps many would-be criminals cautious.

The Machine Court rules on everything from legal claims to personal disputes. The Court’s decisions ripple across Aballon, and constructs come from across the galaxy for a shot at a fair trial with the Machine Court. The waiting list for offworld cases is decades long.

ARTIFICIAL BEINGS
Many types of artificial beings live in Striving, from the near-omnipresent Insight Array to individual anacite units and automated robots.

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Starfinder is used for artificial personalities that gain full sapience, or attract a soul. Androids, anacites, SROs, and living holograms are all versions of artificial intelligences. Legend has it that sometimes a virtual intelligence can awaken through experience, magic, or some spiritual means and become a true AI.

A virtual intelligence (VI) is an artificial personality created using technology that does not have free will or a soul. A VI’s personality is determined by its programmer and might even be customizable, a copy of a real person, or a caricature invented by the creator.

CULTURE
Striving’s culture is eclectic and mercurial. High-speed travel and infospheres connect a metropolis inhabited by a diverse population of anacites, androids, SROs, humans, kasathas, ysoki, skittermanders, vesk, and any other species commonly found in the Pact Worlds (and a few rarely seen outside their distant part of the galaxy) who have built thriving communities. Ideas and trends spread fast, but Striving’s residents tend to value work and community. Most are environmentally conscious, making an effort to reduce and recycle waste, and keep a live-and-let-live-attitude toward their neighbors.

Anacites toil ceaselessly and tend their own affairs but are generally welcoming to newcomers. Anacite architects carefully design buildings with organic creatures as well as machines in mind. Most buildings have retractable roofing for solar power, while sensitive machinery and organic residences and workplaces are safely shielded from the sun and elements, usually located on lower floors or in insulated underground bunkers. Off-worlders can easily acquire environmental protection upgrades in the form of a quick-applying nanite spritz available in vending machines at any major port or transportation hub.

As Striving’s organic populations grow, Insight Array frequently assigns organic visitors to important tasks, realizing that their knowledge is equally important and their abilities are increasingly useful in this changing world.

CURRENT EVENTS
Striving is usually a tranquil place. Residents are placid and prefer to coexist or settle their disagreements through calm and rational debate rather than violent confrontation.

The Wreck of the Returned has increased local interest in First Ones sites. Striving Polytechnica was chosen to study some relics, but has lost several, leading to controversy and unwanted attention for the institute. There are already whispers that they’re being cased by an undercover Stewards operation.

Many locals remember an infamous minor controversy in 309 AG when a large number of non-anacites were assigned tasks by the Insight Array. An anacite bureaucrat and Machine Court judge challenged the assignments, which included engineering in Central Circuit and security at Striving’s Firewall. The rogue judge was ultimately overruled, but the court’s reputation was already tarnished.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Like every other Aballonian megaplex, a thick dome of gases envelops Striving, supplying breathable air to the many organic residents and protecting them from the planet’s brutal day/night cycle.

Inside Striving’s dome, temperatures never rise above 73 degrees F and never dip below 60—until last year. Lately, heat waves have spiked temperatures to a balmy 80 degrees F, made worse by air pumps increasing humidity. The heat waves have been happening more frequently, and Insight Array isn’t sure why.

Because of the pumps that generate localized atmosphere for Striving, residents of the megaplex sometimes experience unique "weather" phenomena. Every evening the megaplex’s condensers vent, creating thick fog and sometimes a cool, gentle "rain" inside Striving’s atmospheric bubble.

TERRAIN
In megaplexes like Striving, the terrain is urban, made of treated metal and rock with airlock doors and high-tech security. Difficult terrain due to crowds and cover due to both tight spaces and unusual architecture are common. The rocky terrain outside the megaplexes varies between barren, exposed plains and steep, craggy ridges. Inside Ice Wells, terrain is icy; slipping is a concern when attempting to Balance or Climb.

HOT SPOTS
Striving is an immense megaplex with millions of residents and an unimaginable number of interesting locales to visit.

ANALOG
This famed cafe is one of Striving’s favorite spots. Beloved for the atmosphere and the delicious food, everybody from politicians to wealthy businesspeople to renowned scientists has dined here. Nobody knows why the cafe’s owner gave it this ironic name, but it’s certainly memorable.

CENTRAL CIRCUIT
This district is set up like a circuit board, with individual "components" or work sites connected by tubes and tunnels inside a massive metal complex that spans the entirety of the miles-wide district. Many corridors are configurable, allowing them to function as switches and regulate the flow of traffic through the complex much as a circuit’s switches conduct power. Thousands of anacites and a handful of other life-forms are assigned to work in Central Circuit, mostly performing administrative tasks, data analysis, and surveillance or logistical work.

FIREWALL
Firewall is a defensive perimeter of guard posts, some stationary and others affixed to mobile platforms that float slowly 5 to 30 feet above the ground. Protector bots, wingbots, and other anacites designed for surveillance and protection are stationed at each post. They spend their time monitoring zones for any unusual activity, including dangerous wildlife, hazardous weather, or raiding parties of alien invaders or armed scavengers. Such threats are relatively rare because of how efficiently Firewall’s patrollers perform their jobs. By nature, the anacites stationed along the Firewall are protective of anyone they assess to be less capable in self-defense, but they’re welcoming to those who can prove themselves.

MAGENTA
This semi-legal gambling parlor is always on the move, staying a few steps ahead of the authorities who largely ignore the lucrative operation that keeps tourism pouring into Striving. Magenta is a casino depot built atop a hovering orbital plate about 500 feet wide. Inside, the plush decor mimics a fairytale castle with a pink-and-purple color palette. Staff (mostly organic) dress in costume as royalty and serve customers with posh accents. In the dozens of gambling halls, games of all types from everywhere in the galaxy can be played. Drinks are on the house as long as you’re playing.

POLYTECHNICA
While the Unification Cathedral explores divinity, Polytechnica seeks to solve everything else. Dedicated to unraveling mysteries of history, mathematics, and science, Polytechnica is an institution of learning and research headquartered in a campus near downgrid Striving, with hundreds of smaller annexes scattered across the megaplex. Polytechnica’s buildings are all constructed of minerals harvested from the planet in a unique, brutalist architectural style favored by anacite builders. Polytechnica’s annexes have vastly different forms and functions, including glass-paneled greenhouses of flora, supercooled server rooms, and high-tech hospitals.

Polytechnica’s arcane and occult magic wings are some of the most diverse in the institution. Anacite adepts practice technomancy and prototype new hybrid arts. Many of the most delicate magical archives are run by sages who follow Yaraesa’s path by curating and protecting ancient data
repositories.

The Prime Archive is a sacred shrine as much as it’s a repository and library dedicated to the First Ones The Prime Archive is full of relics taken from sites all over the Pact Worlds, many of which are still unidentified.

THEOLOGY CHANNEL
Theology channel spirals out from the massive holy cathedral in rings. A path of precisely cut smooth stone and metal tiles, some slate gray and others striated with crystal, cuts through tiers of smaller structures. Many of these buildings look like squat metal shipping containers perched on ridges and adorned with prayer banners and garlands indicating the gods worshipped there. Others are structures built painstakingly to resemble traditional architecture found on other worlds. Rumor has it the architect chose this design to symbolize the tenets of Singularitism as applied to the gods.

TRANSPARENCY
Described as a glass mountain reflecting the cogs of a great machine, this monolith serves as the headquarters of the Striving Machine Court. Tiered courtrooms ascend inside the building, each the seat of an esteemed machine judge qualified to decide cases on behalf of the body of 37
judges with good standing in the organization. A host of bureaucrats cater to the judge’s every whim and make sure trials run smoothly; some unscrupulous officials abuse their power to nudge justice in their favor.

UNIFICATION CATHEDRAL
The trinary structures of the Unification Cathedral rise above the megaplex, representing the three aspects of Triune. Below the triple-domed cathedral is a vast undercity called Ascension, where Drift beacons and engines are forged by Triunite clergy. Sacred legends say that Epoch’s neural
network runs throughout Ascension, which was so named for the god’s artificial creation. Outside the cathedral’s perfect metal walls, fearsome Trifold Legionaries—elite technological holy warriors—stand guard protecting the secrets of their faith.

VISITOR CENTRE
What began as a drab corner of Striving set aside for the comfort and safety of organic beings has become a lively neighborhood of open-air markets and airy condos alive with neon lights and a wild mixture of smells and sounds at all times of the cycle. Vendor stalls line the pipes and corridors around squat, piecemeal metal buildings, most of which are split between shops and residences. Visitor Center is crowded and lively, but a few lucky residents have scored prime pads in the lofty rooftops, whether through genuine luck of the algorithm or monetary manipulation of the system.

The people who live in Visitor Center are mostly organic lifeforms or androids and SROs who moved here from other home worlds. The architecture and amenities of Visitor Center are all designed for organic lifeforms, with a focus on shelter from the sun and comfortable facilities to take care of biological needs like eating and sleeping. Most of the hotels and rentable accommodations that are suitable for organic creatures can be found in Visitor Center.

Outside shops, metal walls are covered with layers of posters and advertisements featuring organic models. Maintenance drones sporadically sweep the section and clean trash or perform maintenance checks, but otherwise relatively few synthetic people are typically seen walking the streets here.

Massive holoprojectors are crammed onto nearly every building and street corner in Visitor Center, mostly advertising shop wares, local entertainment, and the free Insight Array app. It can take some time for visitors to become accustomed to the constant barrage of visual and auditory stimulation, though most anacites can tune out whatever they deem irrelevant to their current task. Occasionally, holos flash emergency alerts, such as security warnings or weather advisories. Tiny vendor stalls sell food or nanopress, thin pliable sheets of soft metal used for printing scientific essays, fashion magazines, philosophical treatises, catalogs, and whatever else a publisher desires.