posted 01-08-99 04:14 PM ET        

The AFC currently takes place only about a year and a half after the Factions split up and landed on Chiron. This means that the colonists still have to live in pressurized structures and can only work outside in enviro-suits because of the toxic mix of atmospheric gases.
After just one year on the planet all of the colonists are still struggling for survival and nearly totally dependent on the technology, supplies and resources they landed with from the Unity. Very little manufacturing has been set up yet. In fact most of the planet has yet to be explored.
When we first started this chronicle Thomas A. Stobie was asked to help moderate the start up positions because of his experience. Each faction was allowed a certain number reactors, computers, weapons, shuttles and ground vehicles. I don't remember exactly what these were, but there was variation among the factions, i.e. the UoP got more scientific equipment, the Spartans grabbed more weapons, the Peacekeepers controlled the best communications. All factions are limited to the technology available on the Unity. I would also like to include some of the writing "courtesies" discussed by MikeH and Octopus:
1. No killing other posters characters (or Faction leaders).
2. No starting wars without the agreement of the other factions.
3. No significant alterations of Faction policy without the other faction posters agreement.
4. The final rule should be "when in doubt, ask in the comments thread"

At the time of the forum crash there were only three people writing for the AFC: SupremePaco for the UoP, Borodino for the Peacekeepers, and myself for the Believers. The political / economic situation as we left it was that the Believers and the Peacekeepers had mutual assistance Memorandum of Agreement with consulates in each of their home Bases. The UoP was conducting some small-scale exchanges with the Believers. As the forum crashed the Believers had just concluded a small technology exchange with the illusive Gaians. The Believers were also very paranoid because of a terrorist incident.

In addition to the seven factions there is also a group(s) of nomadic unaligned colonists called the paparazzi who exists by trading information along the edges of faction territories (thank you Brenda for establishing this group).

This is too long but if you have read this far you must want to know why I am writing all of this. Well, Borodino and I are getting ready to get the AFC going again and we would like to invite anyone who is interested in collaborative story telling to join us. It would be great to get all of the factions covered. The way the AFC seems to work best is to have one thread where we introduce our characters and give them a biographical sketch: AFC Characters. There will be another thread where we can discuss past episodes and plan future activity: AFC Commentaries. I suggest that contributors maintain their own thread involving their faction and characters, AFC: The Believer Archives (unlike the single long interwoven linear threads such as the Pre-Unity Chronicles).

I would also like to say that if you write for the AFC that doesn't mean you are not more than welcome to write in other styles and other chronicles. I know that it is more fun to switch styles from time to time.

posted 01-08-99 08:03 PM ET            

Didn't Outrydr say he had the old Chronicles posted on his site? I don't have the URL handy and I gotta go.

posted 01-10-99 07:55 PM ET            

We're always happy to have more mollusks on board

Now is an excellent time to begin chronicling. The Chronicles of Pre-Unity and Beyond (CPUB) is at the point where everyone is going into cryo-sleep. Very soon, we will move on to Planetfall, and the events that happen on Planet. Since this is such a big transition time, now (or, actually, after SnowFire posts his last pre-voyage post, which I believe he'll do today) is an excellent time to introduce new characters and new storylines.

As you can also see, the AFC is starting up again now, and hasn't really picked up much steam yet, so you can get in on the "ground floor" (well, at least on these new forums... There is AFC history from two forums ago...).

I suggest you look over both chronicles and see whether you want to contribute to one, the other, or both.

The CPUB is a bit more free-form than the AFC, and I think we have more interaction between our characters (AFC people, correct me if I'm wrong).

If you want someone to bring you up to speed on the CPUB, post in the "Chronicles of Pre-Unity, more comments" thread, and either I or one of the other CPUBers will fill you in. I'm sure that either Borodino or jsorense can do the same for you for the AFC.

posted 01-10-99 10:26 PM ET            

Most agreedly! [And suppose more mollusks wouldn't hurt...]

Giant Squid, no matter which chronicle you end up chosing, have fun![And the choice is not necessarily either/or]

The AFC probably has less inter-writer inter-character interaction [I hope that made sense] than does the CPUB. Two reasons: larger spaces [Unity vs. Chiron]; fewer writers [only two for the AFC for the past four months]. Octo [is this abbreviation OK?] is also right in that the AFC does have more structure than most of the various chronicles of this forum's history. Basically, the rules [thirteen mostly common sense items which will be reposted soon] were designed to ensure a slowly moving, realistic story instead of a faster paced, more action-oriented story.

I apoligize for the rambling, digressive nature of this post. It's late.

I'll try to do this more coherently tommorrow if necessary.

posted 01-11-99 12:07 PM ET            

SupremePaco wrote as a squad leader in the UoP armed forces. IIRC he was not too interested in the overall workings and policies of the UoP. SupremePaco has only posted a couple of times in these new forums though. The one person who wrote more broadly about the UoP was The DirectrorGeneral. He had one major character, by the name of Donovan I believe, that he carried through from the old old Chronicles of Future History (CoFH)but he has given up on the AFC for the CWAL HV universe.

In other words, the UoP is wide open for you to develop in your own way.

Hi SnowFire,

I know I don't have a copy of "The Forbidden Journal," Borodino might though. If he didn't keep a copy maybe we can petition Firaxis to salvage something for us.

Hi Giant Squid (great name BTW),

You can see that you are more than welcome here. Take a look at the other contributions and start wherever you feel comfortable. I sat out almost the entire CoFH because I was afraid to jump into the action. Now look at me, I not afraid to post any piece of junk.

posted 01-11-99 03:56 PM ET            

That is good news, and welcome. The extent of the contact with the Believers is some barter: some excellent homemade scotch and vodka from the Believers for some electronic gear and software from UoP. There is a lot of mutual suspicion but some of the Believers were on Zahkarov's staff so there are personal relationships.
I am not aware of any other contact except for the paparazzi.
I think that Borodino had a little contact with the UoP too, as the Peacekeepers, but I am not clear on any details.

posted 01-11-99 08:28 PM ET            

I won't be able to do anything new until at least tommorrow. Gotta finish up my last college app.

posted 01-12-99 01:48 PM ET            

To summarise what I lost:

I think the AFC sounds similar in principle to CPUB now but with an enforced timeline and some background.

Please can the AFC story go in only one thread at a time to make it easy to read? I got really lost with the last one and I liked reading your stuff but couldn't follow where all the stories fitted in.