We escaped the ravages of a catastrophic war. Over millennia, we consumed resources and shattered lives as we fueled the engines of industry, expansion, and war. Every nation, every colony in the Solar system used genetic engineering and cybernetics to enhance capabilities of their scientists, workers, soldiers and politicians. This arms race was gaining more and more momentum, until we found the Gate. Hidden in the plain sight, dormant, sleeping in the core of Europa. It activated when skirmishers from the Earthers faction landed there to prepare an ambush - the alien technology did not like the fusion of mechaine and flesh. The cyber-implants failed, the bionic weapons malfuncitoned, the squadron of super soldiers died in excrutiating pain... the Gate shattered Jupiter's moon and emerged, ready to be used.t
Mysterious alien Gate provided instantaneous two-way passage to the Forge. All factions and centers of power scrambled and fought to send their troops through the Gate. The elite troops of cyber-soldiers, the semi-concious bionic spaceships, spacers modified both cybernetically and genetically to survive the harshest space conditions - all disappeared in the Gate and almost none of them retrurned. The ones that did come back were broken, mereley husks of men, barely breathing and insane. The alien technology DID NOT like how humans merged with their machines and altered their genome.
The Primordials emerged. Dug up from gene banks, bred back to existance - pure, un-altered Homo Sapiens. Earth was the only one that had access to such rich genepool, and they used this leverage to access the Gate and the Forge nebula on the other side. But other factions, Lunars, Martians, Spacers, Saturnites would not have it. The war effort was doubled and ended the Solar System and damaged the alien Gate in the process.
The first scouts mostly failed - either their cyberimplants failed them, or their genetic mutations turned on them. Others survived, but with their advanced ships not usable, they were not able to return to Sol system. They lingered, trying to get a foothold in the new, mysterious system of the Forge. But when the Primordials emerged through the gate, ther emered in force, they emerged victorious. Scouts scanned for habitable planets, first colonies and settlement were created. Soon the "civilization" was restored, at least in the systems next to the Gate. The Primordials rose as a new nobility, holding a firm grasp on what was left from humanity. They cautiously used the knowledge of cybernetics and genetics to bring back the super soldiers of the old days, but the alien artifacts sccattered through the Forge made this a risky endeavour. Nowadays the people are divided in several casts:
The Primordial niblity - Founder Clans keeping their blood pure and unaltered. Although the Gate is no longer usable, the initial advantage let them keep all the power and resources
The Mundane - most of the population, unaltered humans. Without the help of cybernetics or bionics, they struggle in harsh enviornments of new planets and though vast in numbers, cannot rise against the Primordials
The Nu - delicately altered specialists, soldiers, explorers and scientists. Selectively bred, cybernetically altered just enough not to trigger alergic reaction of alien technology, or kept in isolated complexes far from any of those. Powerful, but few in numbers - and mostly under the strict control of Founder clans
The Alergens - descendants of the first scouts, those who inherited the "defective" genes that don't work well with Alien technology. The lowest of low, but sometimes capable of extraordinary feats.
The Dwarfs - at first used as a derogative term for those fascinated with "the Forge" and alien technology, now used more and more with wariness and cautious respect. Dwarfs try to recreate the feats of Sol cybernetics, bionics and genetics, but using the alien technology. This is still a very risky business, trial and error, often crossing the boundries of ethical (or even reasonable) conduct, but every day humans learn some new way to use technology left behind by alien civilizations that lived in the Forge before them
Iron vows are sworn upon totems crafted from the enigmatic metal we call black iron. Some say it is a living metal, attuned to the hidden depths of the universe. Remnants of this prized resource are found within ancient sites throughout the Forge and scavenging is currently its only source - although many humans (unsuccessfully) try to replicate it in their labs. It is resistant to damage and corrosion, but can be molded using superheated plasma at specialized facilities. The Ironsworn carry weapons, armor, or tokens crafted from black iron, and swear vows upon it. Implants made from black iron do not trigger alien technology defense mechanisms, making it even more valuable.
Laws and governance vary across settled domains, but bounty hunters are given wide latitude to pursue their contracts. Their authority is almost universally recognized, and supersedes local laws. Through tradition and influence, bounty hunter guilds are given free rein to track and capture fugitives in most settled places. Only the foolish stand between a determined bounty hunter and their target.
Our faith is as diverse as our people. Many have no religion, or offer an occasional prayer out of habit. Others pay homage to the gods of our forebears as a way of connecting to their roots. Some idealize the natural order of the universe, and see the divine in the gravitational dance of stars or the complex mechanisms of a planetary ecosystem. Some Founder Clans encourage a specific view on the religion - from strict "humanist" outlook shunning any supernatural beliefs, through following Old World religions, to worshipping the Primoridials themselves.
Magic does not exist. Some look to superstition and age-old traditions for comfort in this unforgiving galaxy. But that is foolishness. What some call magic is simply a product of technologies or natural forces we aren’t yet equipped to understand.
Information is life. We rely on spaceborne couriers to transport messages and data across the vast distances between settlements. Direct communication and transmissions beyond the near-space of a ship or outpost are impossible. Digital archives are available at larger outposts, but the information is not always up-to-date or reliable. Therefore, the most important communications and discoveries are carried by couriers who swear vows to see that data safely to its destination.
To help offset a scarcity of medical supplies and knowledge, the resourceful technicians we call riggers create basic organ and limb replacements. Much was lost in the Exodus, and what remains of our medical technologies and expertise is co-opted by the privileged and powerful. For most, advanced medical care is out of reach. When someone suffers a grievous injury, they'll often turn to a rigger for a makeshift mechanical solution from the Old World cyberimplants still available (or manufactured based on the old technology). Very often, these implants are both a blessing and a curse. The alien technology often triggers "allergic" reaction to human techonolgy - making the person event worse off than they began, or activating countermeasures that can be dangerous to bystanders as well. There is also a significant social stigma associated with such alterations - being labelled an "Allergen" can drop you all the way down the social ladder.
We no longer have access to advanced computer systems. Instead, we must rely on the seers we call Adepts. Our computers are limited to simple digital systems and the most basic machine intelligence. This is because the energies of the Forge corrupt advanced systems.
A specialized groip of Nu, the Adepts serve in place of those advanced systems. They utilize mind-altering drugs to see the universe as a dazzling lattice of data, identifying trends and predicting outcomes with uncanny accuracy. But to gain this insight they sacrifice much of themselves. They are kept far from the alien technology, quarantined in the dedicated colonies and spacestations.
Professional soldiers defend or expand the holdings of those who are able to pay. The rest of us are on our own. Mercenary guilds wield power in the Forge. Some are scrappy outfits of no more than a dozen soldiers. Others are sector-spanning enterprises deploying legions of skilled fighting forces and fleets of powerful starships. Most hold no loyalty except to the highest bidder.
Over eons, a vast number of civilizations rose and fell within the Forge. Today, the folk we call grubs—scavenger crews and audacious explorers—delve into the mysterious monuments and ruins of those ancient beings. Incomprehensible technologies, inexorable time, and the strange energies of the Forge have corrupted the vaults of the precursors. Despite the perils, grubs scour those places for useful resources and discoveries. But some secrets are best left buried, and many have been lost to the forsaken depths of the vaults.
Put enough alcohol in a spacer, and they’ll tell you stories of ghost ships crewed by vengeful undead. It’s nonsense. Within the Forge, space and time are as mutable and unstable as a flooding river. When reality can't be trusted, we are bound to encounter unsettling phenomenon.