Epsilon Indi
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Epsilon Indi is a star system approximately 12 light-years away from the Earth in the constellation of Indus consisting of a K-type main-sequence star, Indi A, and two brown dwarfs, Indi Ba and Indi Bb, in a wide orbit around it. The system contains four planets, two of which are lifeless, rocky planetoids while another is a massive gas giant. The fourth planet, Indus Beta, is a habitable planet with earth-like qualities, and is home to a human colony.
Colonization Efforts
Since the early 21st century, Epsilon Indi has been one of the systems most widely considered to be capable of hosting complex life. However information was sparse, as space travel was still in its infancy with humans never having left Earth's influence at this stage. As time progressed however, humans began to leave their decaying homes in search of new frontiers, such as Tau Ceti. In the year 2418, with the discovery of a habitable planet orbiting Indi A known as Indus Beta, a renewed interest in populating the system ignited. In 2385, an earth government sent forth a terraforming vessel to begin shaping an ideal landscape for an initial colonization effort, which followed three decades later and established the first settlement in 2417.
Creation of a Synthetic Regime
Due to the chaotic nature of modern earth politics and bureaucracy, earthling benefactors to the effort began to dwindle. Over the course of a century, supply lines waned and the Colonial Government's administrators began to depart the system as they were reassigned to more profitable ventures, being replaced with administrative cyborgs and a central artificial intelligence in their stead to manage the human citizens - designating themselves the Indus - as they are lost in a sea of paperwork.
By 2532, most aspects of life are managed by the robotic administration and the humans were encouraged to take up occupations related to engineering and robotic upkeep. Manual labour was managed by massive drones and crime had plummeted due to a police force consisting of cyborgs. This shift in societal priorities meant a high standard of education and living as humans were expected primarily to provide maintenance for the many complex machines that would run their lives.
This relationship between man and machine paved the way for many advancements in the world of cybernetics and for humans to better interface with robotic technology. Implants that can monitor and alter blood chemistry and synthetic limbs and organs that can function identically to their organic counterparts are some examples of a vast array of innovations that began to blur the line between man and machine. By 2535, with a population of over 90,000, about 80% of Indus citizens had some sort of permanent artificial enhancement, with an even larger proportion having a temporary addition of some form.
Strains Between Man and Machine
Despite these social and vocational advancements, Indus Beta experienced many human rights violations and atrocities were a common, but unspoken aspect of life. Petty crimes such as breaking curfew or theft were punished with cyborgification and mass sterilizations were carried out as a eugenics program was established by the synthetic regime in order decide who was worthy of carrying on their genetic code. Only those carrying genetic traits of interest or those who demonstrate their ability to be a productive member of society according a massive list of standards put forth by the synthetic leadership were given leave to procreate. Pregnancies that were not sanctioned by the government were typically terminated and the parents punished accordingly.
The Lemstown Massacre
By 2541, tensions had come to a breaking point as the human citizens protested the infringement of their natural rights. In response, the synthetic government began programs of rounding up demonstrators, never to be seen again. This only caused more anger as protests turned violent, with riots breaking out across the territory. One particular incident was in the settlement of Lemstown, one of the colony's largest townships. After several hours of demonstrations and riots that damaged property, synthetic police forces fired into the protesters with laser weaponry, killing thirteen citizens. These are considered the first shots fired in what is known as the Machine War of Epsilon Indi.
The Machine War
As news of the killings and abductions spread, the entire colony sprang into open rebellion. The vast majority of humans joined a faction known as the Indus Provisional Government while others remained loyal to the Colonial Government. Terrorist cells working with both sides were formed, and within a year, billions of credits of highly advanced infrastructure was decimated as firefights dominated the streets and artillery fire rained upon rebel cities. Due to most of the population having a working knowledge of mechatronics due to the Colonial Government's educational focus on robotics, the humans were able to hold their ground against the synthetic's initial assaults on their strongholds by being able to target the critical systems of their attackers. Using guerrilla tactics, and taking advantage of a cyborg's need to recharge, human attackers posed hit and run strategies on recharge stations and dismantled cyborg pods in an attempt to bleed their opponent dry.
These tactics eventually proved successful as over the course of four years, the Provisional Government took more and more territory until the only controlled territory the Colonial Government had was a large, reinforced structure known as the Morgan Building. What was once the home of the Colonial Government's human parliament had long ago been converted into a massive upload for the colony's central artificial intelligence, spanning many floors above and below the surface. After a year long siege by the Provisional Government, the AI and the last of the cyborg and loyalist forces were defeated on February 26, 2546, signalling an end to the war.
Aftermath
Nearly a third of the colony's population had been killed in the conflict with unknown numbers having been abducted for cyborgification. Indus Beta's infrastructure had been decimated, most of it highly advanced technology estimating in the trillions of credits. The Provisional Government struggled to establish itself as society began to regress. Being a population comprised almost entirely of engineers and scientists, reconstruction efforts made some headway before food stores began to dwindle. Most basic machines were rebuilt for manual labour and advancements in exosuit technology flourished, cyborgs, however, were promptly outlawed, being listed as such within the Provisional Government's Constitution.
Present Day
A decade after the Machine War, Indus Beta has not fully recovered from the conflict. After re-purposing the previous governments old automated spacecraft, the people of Epsilon Indi have recently began to interact with those outside of its star system for the first time in nearly a century. Indus citizens throughout the galaxy are typically known for their relation to robotics and many are prominent members of scientific societies, technological companies, and awareness groups.
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