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by The Infinite Empire of Cybus1. . 554 reads.

Cultural Dossier

Imperial Culture Dossier:

Architecture: Cybusian architecture is characterized by smooth lines, curves, angular and geometric patterns, and symmetry. Art Deco and Streamline Moderne are the most common styles of architecture in the Empire. Cybusian architecture conveys power and beauty, through architecture. It typically uses darker tones in both materials and paint, offset by the light coming through windows.

Examples of Imperial architecture:

A new black and gold Art Deco skyscraper looms over surrounding structures.

A bustling downtown

A glamorous hotel with airship passing by.

On some occasions, structures will be built around roads rather than vice versa.

A downtown full of sleek cars rushing to and fro.

A riverside structure

Fashion: People who visit the Cybusian Empire are often surprised by the clothing worn by its citizens. Almost every man wears a suit, formal shoes, a hat of some sort(not a cap, probably a fedora, trilby, bowler hat, or the like) as well as either an overcoat, or trenchcoat. Women, if not wearing the same as men, wear very warm yet elegant dresses under some sort of fur coat. Informal clothing is relatively rarely worn, though it is growing in popularity, albeit slowly. Kefta's remain popular options for clothing as well.


Keftas: A Kefta is a long, comfortable coat, designed to keep one warm in the cool and rainy weather of Arcadia, but be light and cool enough to be worn during the spring and summer without being uncomfortably hot. Despite being originally from Arcadia, they spread to the rest of the Empire as Alexanders legions conquered. Most of them are decorated by their owners, nobles often having very ornate and elaborately decorated ones.
Examples of Cybusian fashion:

Ladies exiting a shuttlecraft

A couple strides along a beach


The classic combo of suit, trench coat, and fedora is a common one in the Empire, and also happens to the non-combat uniform of Torchwood Agents.


Due to the cool Cybusian weather, coats tend to be elaborate and fashionable.

A couple dancing

Art: Cybusian sculptures tend to be large and grandiose, sometimes incorporating Art Deco design elements, and often feature Imperial heroes and Saints, in a style known as Mercerist Deco. Several prominent artists are listed below.

Anton Sokolov:
While most famous for his beautiful portraits, Torchwood engineer, occult specialist, and artist Anton Sokolov has also painted a number of landscapes, cityscapes, and what he calls “industrial still-lives”, centering a scene around a particular piece of technology, be it a spaceship floating through an asteroid field, an airship docking at The Rapture Lighthouse, a Hardlight pistol in the hand of a soldier, or a streamlined hovercar heading down a street. His portraits are expensive, but worth the cost. Sokolov has also recently delved into sculpting. He has on occasion conducted live vivisections of Drakul (they technically, they are not alive, merely undead) for paying audiences, though they have drawn criticism from many groups and individuals, most notably the Eichhorsts, The Arcadia Herald, and, most oddly, William Greyson, President of The Collux Ascendancy, who called the practice ‘barbaric and uncivilized”. On the flip side, scientists Nathan Koenig and James Abrasax praised the vivisections, while Rapture artist Sander Cohen remarked “Inspired performance, perhaps I too should venture into…anatomical theater.”

Delilah Kaldwin:
A raven-haired Charodey, she is known for infusing magic into her portraits and statues to make them move. Known for her beauty and her magical ability, Delilah primarily paints portraits and historical scenes. Two of her most famous works are paintings of The Rebellion. One of them, entitled “The Triumph of The Downtrodden” portrays a rather evil, nearly demonic-looking Alexander being struck down by Charles Orson with The Sword of Tritus. The other painting, “Death of The Slave” depicts Charles being impaled upon a triumphant Alex’s right blade-arm, through the back, The Sword shattered in two at Alex’s feet. She also produces statues of herself and others, capable of limited movement and changing facial exspressions. While most well-known for her art, Delilah is a powerful witch, maintaining a coven of her, which Torchwood keeps a close eye on, as they do all covens they are aware of.

Sander Cohen:
A flamboyant and eccentric Rapturite, Sander Cohen is a painter, songwriter, playwright, and sculptor. His paintings are often abstract, though he has painted some cityscapes of Rapture as well. Most of his music is purely instrumental, and most of the songs he has written for others are considered to be rather blatant propaganda for Rapture. However, a handful of the ones he’s written are popular, glorifying individuality. His plays are much the same, and often laud the nobility of the concepts of Andrew Ryan’s philosophy, though he has also written a few conventional dramas, a handful of comedies, and two musicals. He has also produced a number of bizarre experimental short films, one of them simply consisting of a “Please Stand By” logo spinning, set to maniacal laughter and screams, before they are abruptly cut off by a voice calling for silence, followed by a splash of blood, and then the credits. Several of his sculptures are abstract, while the rest are of plaster-covered humanoids in various poses.
Cohen is, however, highly volatile, having physically attacked two critics before, throwing a nearby wrench at one, and punching another repeatedly. He once infamously stated that all critics should be assassinated, a statement earning him the ire of the Rapture Tribune.

Music: Cybusian music is an odd mixture of new and old. "Old Earth" music is highly popular, and you will often hear The Ink Spots, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald on the radio in the Empire. Torch songs are quite popular, and Vera Keyes is a popular torch songstress. The genre known as "electro-swing" is also very popular. An index of popular music

Literature: Classical Cybusian literature is a unique medley of various types. The classical Cybusian plays are rather morbid, mostly tragedies, although there are a few romances here and there. Perhaps the most infamous Cybusian play is "The Golden Sepulchre", in which a man is terrified at the idea of being buried alive. So he builds an elaborate golden coffin, with systems to support life. He dies early on in the play but the coffin works too well. His corpse rises every night, feeding on blood. The play ends with the coffin smashed and burning, having been destroyed by a mob. It is one of the earliest known vampire stories. A rare "horror play" is "The Raven King", a play dealing with a Human king who is mentally unstable and secretly worships Alexander as his court plots to betray him, culminating in a complete mental breakdown of the king, resulting in chaos and horror for the rest of the play.
Popular genres in the Empire include horror stories (particularly cosmic horror), and detective novels (especially hard-boiled or noir style).
Modern Cybusian literature best defined and developed by Edward Mordrake, a hedonist, Anna Lesova, a patriotic author, and Malyen Valdemar, a horror and science fiction author, while Thomas Zane remains one of the Empire's favorite poets:

Edward Mordrake:
The Charodik son of the wealthy Mordrake family, an ancient and loyal family of Mercerists who were afforded the noble rank of Porokis, Edward Mordrake has proven himself very unlike his ancestors. He was born in 1821, on the lush and beautiful world of Viridian, named for it’s shimmering emerald waters and forests of pine trees. His family educated him with the best tutors rather than send him to a school, and he quickly proved himself an able student, when he would apply himself. He was particularly interested in history and creative writing, proving himself an adept writer of short stories. He lived a life of luxury, before unexpectedly leaving the family Alcazar to become a reporter, seemingly on a whim. He was viewed with skepticism by the Arcadian newspapers, because he lacked any credentials or diplomas, but was hired by the Arcadian Herald, and quickly proved his worth by ferreting out a scandal in The Raven Court involving a court member who had attempted to seduce Dana Mercer, despite being married to a prominent socialite, and who had managed to hide his affair until Mordrake reported it. In quick succession, Alexander banished him from court life, and his wife divorced him. Mordrake quickly became the foremost reporter on Palace affairs, and it was here that he began his slide into a love of hedonistic activity. He was swept away by the lush and hedonistic life at court, yet was able to resist the slavish devotion to the Emperor as court members jockeyed for his favor in increasingly elaborate shows of devotion and worship, which Mordrake would happily cover in his articles. He worked with the Herald for fifteen years, before writing his first short story, a drama which adapted the story of his first scoop. He began to become more flighty, taking frequent vacations to the far corners of the Empire, and began to collect artifacts from across the Empire. One one of these vacations, he befriended Natalia Usher, who he vaguely knew from court. The two had both bid on an antique bell which was reported to ring only in times of great universal danger, and had last rung during the Rebellion. He won the bidding, and the bell sits in his vast collection (ringing during each war between the Empire and Oceara, as well as during any Redlight expansion) on Viridian. The two restless collectors quickly became good friends, Natalia providing him with topics for his reporting. He immersed himself in a hedonistic lifestyle, enjoying alcohol, drugs, and sex in excess, quickly entering and then leaving relationships, throwing elaborate parties that would make Gatsby blush, and using his magical abilities for parlor tricks. He wrote a semi-autobiographical book about a young mans descent into hedonism, showing it to be a positive thing rather than something negative, entitled “Jump Into The Fog”. His works became more political, as he argued that conquest was a costly waste, arguing that Imperial culture and the luxury and hedonism made possible by the lassiez-faire policies of the government would draw worlds into the Empire by themselves, and that the Empire should largely ignore other nations affairs.
Famous as a playboy who throws great parties, Edward is still employed by the Herald, writing under a pen name to avoid any blowback from his reputation. He tours the Empire and beyond, collecting odd and historical artifacts, including a French Revolution era guillotine blade which he has housed in a new frame. He hosts incredibly elaborate parties in his beautiful alcazar on Viridian, and his mansions on Arcadia and other Imperial worlds, and attends other parties and events all the time. Despite the deep religious belief of his parents and ancestors, Edward is not particularly religious, only sporadically attending worship services. Edward is a talented pyrokinetic and hydrokinetic, often using his powers for party entertainment. He has dated numerous Cybusian celebrities, including Delilah Kaldwin and Vera Keyes, and has a deep-seated dislike of Anna Lesova, the Charoda whose writing supports conquest and expansion of Mercerism. The two famous authors constantly feud, in their work and in public, and on the rare occasions they meet in person, their arguments quickly become the center of attention, Edwards sharp and witty tongue ripping into Anna, who retaliates with curses and portents of doom.

Anna Lesova:
A Charoda writer whose works are immensely popular and influential in the Empire and its client states, Anna Lesova is a devout Mercerist, a believer in Imperial colonization and conquest, both of which are reflected in her work.
Born in 1851 on the quaint and agrarian colony world of Urozhy, Anna Lesova was born as an illegitimate child of a local noble and was quickly sent to live in one of the planets many Mercerist covens. In the millions of years since The Rebellion, the planet has become isolated and agrarian, hardly in touch with the rest of the Empire except for the ships which traded with the backwater colony. Raised by a group of highly religious Charodey in a rustic white washed temple and surrounding complex of huts and shrines, she remained with the coven until she was 21, finally moving on to live in a nearby town and undergo a formal education for the first time. Her instructors, used to educating young women who had been raised by the coven, were sympathetic and understanding, and soon discovered Anna had a talent for writing. She soon began writing articles for the local paper, but found herself wanting more. At the age of 25, she moved to the capital, Brehzny, and was both captivated and repulsed by the “big city”. This fueled her writing, causing her to quickly write her first independent publication, the “Guide For The Modern Traveler”, which mostly made common sense suggestions while imploring the reader to keep their faith in the Emperor strong. The book was an abysmal failure. Around this time, the Empire took a greater interest in the backwater world of Urozhy, deciding to bring it and other worlds up to Imperial standards by a steady “reclamation”. Unfettered by the failure of her first book and continuing her work at a newspaper, Lesova watched as Imperial culture and advanced technology became more widespread on her homeworld as the Empire “reclaimed” it. The more superstitious peasants of the rural countryside regarded the Imperial Army soldiers as holy servants of the Emperor as they set up anti-orbital installations and built fortresses, an image that Lesova would later use in her works. She began to write short stories, many of them centering around the new culture and fashions. She began wearing a Kefta, a comfortable black one she purchased and then embroidered with gold thread, creating Mercerist Deco decorations on the fabric, blending the classical Mercerism of her upbringing with the Art Deco of approaching civilization. Anna published a collection of short stories “Tales From Urozhy”, which proved popular and slowly filtered out on the increasingly large number of ships heading out to the greater Empire. The stories within showcased life on Urozhy, both before and during the cultural shift, obviously viewing it as a mixed blessing, many of her stories focusing on the rapid changes and the strangeness of the new world being created by the recolonization.
This quickly changed when she began to explore the Empire, seeing how other worlds were transformed from primitive backwaters to advanced centers of technology and culture. Her works began to shift in time, starting to praise Imperial culture as a bringer of civility and advancement to backwards worlds. Her works depicted ignorant populations being uplifted by Mercerism and Cybusian technology, tales of heroism of “The Emperors Angels”, shining Imperial citadels being bravely defended from heretics and foreigners who are jealous of the glory of the Empire. She traveled to Arcadia for a pilgrimage and was amazed by the beautiful, shining capital of the Empire, writing an entire book of stories about her experiences on Arcadia, the book entitled “The Golden World”. Her writing become more prolific and she grew more popular, her books reflecting her views, and proving popular across the Empire by 1900. In the 2000s, when Oceara first rose to power, she seized on the threat and fear of communism and socialism, writing prolifically on the “The Red Menace”. When Oceara colonized its first planet, she wrote a book called “The Red Tide”, showcasing a future scenario in which the Ocearans launch an invasion of the Empire and commit horrific atrocities, destroying churches, killing intellectuals, and committing other atrocities perpetrated by various communist and socialist governments throughout history, until the invasion is valiantly repulsed by an uprising of the faithful in the occupied territory, coupled with resurgent Imperial forces. The book was a bestseller, and helped fuel the deep-seated suspicion and dislike of the Ocearan Empire, which was compounded by another book she wrote entitled the “Rise of The Red Empire”, a book set on a planet occupied by Oceara, from the point of view of the occupied. Her books and stories continue to be wildly popular, though Lesova lives a fairly simple existence, only rarely responding to the many invitations to Arcadian society functions and parties she receives. She is a familiar sight at The Chestnut Tree Cafe, where she sits in a corner booth and sips tea, wearing her kefta and Bone Charms, hiding her red hair under a robe.
Anna is talented at healing and is a fairly good user of telekinesis, but otherwise she is rather unskilled in the use of magic. She has engaged in several public feuds with other artists, including Delilah Kaldwin, whom she calls a ‘hedonistic woman who paints only to distract herself from her moral failings’, and her ‘arch rival’ Edward Mordrake, the hedonistic heir to the Mordrake family, whose writings emphasize hedonism and indifference to international affairs. Her earlier works idealizing peasant life has spawned a small movement in the Empire, wherein members will settle worlds and live a simple life, the kind described in her works. These worlds are known as Rustica worlds.

Malyen Valdemar:
A famed Orsonian horror author from the Imperial colony world of Tolchkovo, Malyen Valdemar was (and still is) one of the best-selling authors in Imperial history.
Born to Nikolai and Anna Valdemar in 1560, Malyen was born to a prosperous family that had grown wealthy as traders, commanding a small flotilla of trading vessels for trade within the system and nearby systems. Malyen was expected to take his fathers place, and after his education, he was placed in command of a small freighter, the Volhy. Always an artistic soul, he wrote poetry and worked on a history of Tolchkovo in his cabin when not busy.
After several successful (and profitable) runs, Malyen was running a shipment of medical equipment to a newly established Followers outpost in 1589. During the Jaunt jump, there was some sort of freak accident leading to the ship crashing on an uncharted world. Malyen was grievously injured in the crash, both of his legs being badly damaged, but the ships doctor managed to stabilize him. The superstitious and fearful local population investigating the crash at first believed them to be demons -particularly the Evolved, whose shapeshifting terrified them- but Malyen proposed that the medical equipment be used to help the locals and gain their trust. After several painstaking months, Malyen had gained the trust of the local population and began to help the ships doctor teach them the basics of germ theory, contagion, and sanitation. Though the world had no ability to help repair the Volhy, the crew settled in to their roles as missionaries -not religious missionaries, since Malyen and the majority of his crew were agnostic Orsonians, although the handful of Evolved did begin to share Mercerist doctrines- but of Cybusian civilization. However, their rule was short lived.
Approximately a year after the crash, a pirate vessel fleeing Imperial authorities landed on the world -which Malyen has christened Novo Tolchkovo- and encountered the stranded crew. Demanding medical care and aid in repairing their ship, they began to horrifically torture the locals until Malyen relented. After helping them, the pirates broke and disfigured Malyen’s legs, further crippling him, because he had not complied with their demands immediately. Shortly afterward, an Imperial Navy patrol vessel tracking the pirates discovered Novo Tolchkovo and rescued the surviving crew of the Volhy.
This ordeal forever scarred Malyen both mentally and physically. His legs were deemed impossible to heal correctly unless Malyen were made into an Evolved, which he rejected as an option. Due to this, for the rest of his life, he was confined to a wheelchair. Returned to his fearful parents -who had searched for him the entire time and put out a reward for his safe return- he began to write, not wanting to leave Tolchkovo ever again.
At first continuing to write poetry and continuing his history of Tolchkovo, Valdemar was troubled by nightmares and horrific visions. Judged to be the result of his torture at the hands of the pirates, he was encouraged to write his experiences down. He did so, but rather than keep it just for himself and his doctor, published it as My Year of Sorrow. My Year of Sorrow sold well on Tolchkovo, and, inspired by the success, he began to write full-time. Publishing a book of his poetry next, he then turned to horror fiction. His first short story, The Stalker From The Crypt, was published in 1593, and was a somewhat primitive vampire story, but made excellent use of setting and atmosphere, something he would be known for throughout his career. By 1605, he had written 25 more stories, working in a feverish frenzy of inspiration, also writing two playlets and numerous poems, and publishing his History of Tolchkovo.
In 1610, his latest short story, The Stained Shroud, based on the burial customs of the population of Novo Tolchkovo and featuring a corpse which seeks revenge on it’s murderers, was discovered by the broader Imperial audience after publication in a magazine. The story proved a success, and this led to his fame growing across the Empire. By 1619, he had published a book collection of all of his short stories written thus far, to critical acclaim. At this point, Valdemar began to gain an interest in the occult, and his stories reflect this; many feature spirits, hypnotism, mesmerism, mediums, time travel, consciousness transfer, among other things. He started to befriend those who ran in occult circles -to improve his stories, or so he professed- and attend parties with them, though his wheelchair rendered such things difficult.
In 1623, he wrote his first novel, The Whispering Darkness, a tale of mysterious voices and sounds driving a man mad and revealing horrifying secrets about his bloodline. It was an immediate best seller, the first of many.
His writing was prolific; by the 1650s, he had written no less than 125 short stories and 40 novels, most of them bestsellers. He continued to be interested in the occult, and his stories reflected this. In the late 1650s, his health began to decline, but his writing continued. He began to be afflicted by a gradual degeneration of his body which could not be stalled by medical means. Despite this, he kept writing until his death in the 1678, at the age of 118. His death was remarkable; one newspaper said that his death wouldn’t have been out of place in his own stories.
Knowing his end was nigh, Valdemar asked a Charodik friend and medical doctor, Michael Quinlan, to Mesmerize him at the moment of his death, to see if it had any effect on him.
Right before his death, Quinlan mesmerized Valdemar. Confirming his death, he then asked the not-yet-cold corpse to speak, to signify he was somehow aware of things. Valdemar’s body rasped out “I am asleep - I am dying”. Confirming that there was no pulse, respiration, or other signs of life, he asked again, and Valdemar again rasped out that was asleep and not to awaken him, and when further pressed, it said “I have been sleeping - now I am dying."
Startled by this development, Quinlan showed off this bizarre state to his fellow occultists. Fearful of what might happen if he tried to awake him entirely, for the next sixteen months, he showed off the talking corpse but no attempt to do more than ask it one or two things at a time before leaving it be. Finally, he decided to try to put his friend to rest rather than leave him in a hellish limbo.
Unable to elicit a response, he tried again with greater effort, and now he heard something from his friends corpse -which had shown no signs of deterioration-. It moved, which hadn’t occurred before. It slowly sat up, and it said “For God's sake! -- quick! -- quick! -- put me to sleep -- or, quick! -- waken me! -- quick! -- I say to you that I am dead!” Malyen Valdemar’s corpse began to chant “dead” and reach out for Quinlan, before instantly putrefying into a horrible black goo.
Valdemar’s death gained national attention, and has been adapted into stories a great many times.
Despite his gruesome death, Valdemar is remembered as a great author whose literary productivity was astounding; in his lifetime he wrote over 100 novels, 50 novellas, over 200 short stories, and 190 poems, as well as 15 plays or playlets. He chiefly wrote horror and suspense novels, but is also famous for his private detective character, Adrian Volkov, who appears in 35 novels and numerous short stories. His books continue to be printed to this day, the royalties earning the family a not insubstantial fortune, and inspiring creative minds across the Empire and beyond. In addition, owing to his “efforts at expanding the. Empire and promoting Imperial culture” by “founding” Novo Tolchkovo -now a thriving world which willingly joined the Empire- he was named a Detrosi, a title his family holds to this day; one of the few Orsonian noble families, the Valdemars avoid the politics of court life and because they are agnostic, are exempt from the various ceremonies that Mercerist nobles perform, and as a result they rarely interact with fellow nobles.

Thomas Zane was a popular Charodik poet, known for his ocean and space themed poems and his mysterious disappearance in 1973.
Thomas Zane was born in 1765, on the colony world of Konovce. The young man was intelligent and sensitive, composing poetry and short stories from a young age. Zane excelled at school, but eschewed higher education in favor of a tour of the Empire, exploring, searching for something, a muse. He explored many places within the Empire, visiting places of great natural beauty; towering mountains, emerald forests, frozen lakes, storm-tossed seas. He developed a fascination with ships and the void; one of his more famous poems is “The Lake”, a brief poem about self-discovery. His first poems were self-published in a small pamphlet in 1796, which was discovered by an aristocrat with a passion for the arts; Hans Gruber. Gruber, who worked for Unity Through Joy, contracted the young poet to work for JSR. There, he traveled the universe on the organization’s dime, getting inspiration and writing poetry promoting the nobility. Some of the poems he composed were engraved in the walls of JSR facilities, such as “The Ship of State”. Zane worked with JSR for many decades, and became relatively well-known, and, having built up a sizable nest egg thanks to JSR and Gruber’s patronage, he began his career as an independent poet after parting ways with Unity Through Joy.
His first book of poetry, published in 1857, was entitled “The Labyrinth of Me”, a collection of the poetry he composed for JSR. It sold well, and is still available in JSR bookstores today. Zane continued to tour the Empire, until he found the world where he would reside for much of the rest of his life, and from which he would ultimately vanish.
Krasna Hlubina (“beautiful depths”) is a gorgeous world in the northwestern sectors of the Empire, known for its beautiful lakes and rivers, towering mountains, thick forests, and temperate climate. Jednota Szrke Radost maintains several lodges on the planet for guests to use, and a handful of artists retreats, where creative minds working for JSR can relax, recharge, and draw inspiration wandering through the thick Imperial Forests (lands administered by the Empire). Zane first visited Krasna Hlubina on one such retreat, and was immediately enthralled. He particularly liked Cauldron Lake (Kotlove Jezero), a crater lake formed from the water-filled caldera of a long-dormant volcano. Zane returned to Krasna Hlubina in 1871, and camped out on an island in the lake, and felt inspired, gazing up at Mirror Peak in the distance, rising up from Elderwood Imperial Forest. Zane proceeded to construct a cabin on the island, a comfortable but ultimately still rustic two-story cabin. He had an extremely productive period immediately after settling in to the cabin, writing several books of poetry; In The Temple of Shadow and Mist (1872), Kept From Sleep (1874), The Lake and Other Poems (1881), and others. Zane also took up diving, wanting to experience the lake and stride through it’s waters, finding that “lake walks” in his custom-ordered diving suit helped his creative process.
In 1881, shortly after publishing The Lake and Other Poems, he met a beautiful Charoda in the nearby town of Bright Falls. Barbara Jagger was a bookstore employee, had long black hair, a talent for hydrokinesis, and a sensitive soul. He met her while doing a book signing in the town, and the two immediately fell for each other, beginning a romance that would last the rest of their lives. Barbara proved to be another muse for him, the words flowing strong and sharp. In her, he found more inspiration, and wrote several more books of poetry; In Her Dreams To Prevail (1884), The Lady of The Lake (1892), Memory and Thought (1900), Haunted (1905), The Void and Light (1908), and In Dreams (1912).
Following the publication of In Dreams, Zane experienced a prolonged creative drought, despite the charms of both Jagger and Cauldron Lake. He began to have cryptic dreams, of shadows shifting beneath the lake, something stirring, while other dreams were of strange yellow figures, a living doll with a crown fused to her head, and a lake with twin suns setting behind it. He published more sporadically, writing less, living on royalties and guest appearances. When Earth was discovered, he was invited to tour the world and promote his monarchist poetry by JSR. He did so in 1952, and while visiting the UCP in Wagondia, became interested in a typewriter he saw, an emerald green Zerefino Flyer model with black highlights and glass-top keys. While Zane wrote most of his poetry by hand, he typed up his completed poems and used a typewriter for more general writing, and so he purchased the Flyer, taking it back to Cauldron Lake with him. The last two volumes of poetry he wrote were typed up on his Flyer; In The Forests Dreams (1957), and Light and Shadow (1965).
Thomas Zane vanished without a trace while on a routine visit to his cabin on Cauldron Lake. Having had to visit Kozrova for a JSR function, he arrived on Krasna Hlubina on August 3rd, 1973, and immediately went to the cabin. Barbara met him on the island that evening. A call was placed with the local emergency services at 12:55, requesting medical assistance; Barbara had apparently drowned in the lake while the two were swimming at night, and Zane was attempting to resuscitate her. He was unsuccessful, and Barbara Jagger was pronounced dead an hour later at the local hospital. Zane was stricken with grief, and retreated into the cabin to find solace in his work. His fingers flew over his Flyer, finding comfort in poetry. Early next week, on the 7th, he went into Bright Falls for supplies; tea, coffee, cigarettes. Eyewitnesses claim he seemed somewhat dazed and confused, his eyes glazed over, and he was muttering to himself about the importance of poetry, and having met a new editor, and a fan in yellow. He was also overheard talking about how he had to “write her back to me.”
An intense thunderstorm rolled in over Cauldron Lake on the night of the 15th. Strange “moving shadows” and bursts of light were spotted along the shoreline and in the direction of the cabin, followed by gunshots, and when someone went to check on the famed poet, he was nowhere to be found. A few partially complete poems were found in his typewriter and on his desk, and his diving suit was missing, but Zane himself was nowhere to be found. An extensive search of the lake found no trace of the poet. Curiously, when Barbara Jagger’s corpse was to be taken for Mercerist funerary rites, it was nowhere to be found. An explanation was never found for this, and there is no evidence that Zane ever came to claim the corpse or stole her remains.
The last writings of Thomas Zane vary fairly wildly in their topics. One of them is a long, rambling poem entitled My Dark Disquiet, while another is an extremely brief one sentence poem; “Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle illuminated.” My Dark Disquiet references such diverse concepts as haunting melodies, thunder, blood, and marionettes, suggesting an increasingly scattered thought process.
Unbeknownst to anyone but Torchwood, what appears to be the original copy of “Cassilda’s Song” was found among Zane’s final writings. This short rhyming song has since retroactively appeared in every copy of The King In Yellow, and is the song which Cassilda Corvikian sings as part of her ritual to drag a planet to Carcosa. Because Johannes Vanderberg has long been known to be drawn to artists of all types, from classical composers to architects, from poets to writers, it is strongly believed by Torchwood that the “fan in yellow” referred to by Zane was Vanderberg, and that had something to do with his disappearance. Others theorize that the “new editor” was, in fact, the Yellow King himself or perhaps some other supernatural force; perhaps one Vanderberg was opposed to, thus explaining the gunshots and bursts of light seen from the shore.
Thomas Zane’s works, including his final poems, have since become even more popular, and several of his poems have since been adapted into song, or referenced in other media. Torchwood has discreetly established a presence on Krasna Hlubina, monitoring for Johannes Vanderberg’s presence, seeing if he ever returns. Zane’s works continue to be popular, even today, and several documentaries and books have been written, struggling to explain his mysterious disappearance. Some theorize he drowned Barbara and then stole her body from the morgue, but there’s no real evidence to support this. Some claim to have seen a bright light under Cauldron Lake at times, supposedly Tom’s ghost in his diving suit, looking for Barbara, while others say they have seen a woman in a black veil and gown wandering the island, supposedly Barbara Jagger’s spirit looking for Tom. Thomas Zane’s cabin on Cauldron Lake has become a minor tourist attraction, and occasionally a writer will be brave enough to rent the cabin, seeking inspiration from the ghosts said to haunt the lake. His typewriter is on display at the JSR museum on Arcadia, and is occasionally shuttled around the Empire as part of a traveling exhibit.

The Lake by Thomas Zane:
For he did not know,
That beyond the lake
He called home,
Lies a deeper, darker
Ocean green.
Where waves are
Both wilder
And more serene.
To its ports I’ve been,
To its ports I’ve been.

Untitled poem no. 1:
Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle, illuminated.

Untitled poem no. 2:
Ever the light casts a shadow,
Ever the night springs from the light,
Deep in the ocean of darkness,
In the mirror of light,
Balance becomes a stranger,
And he rides a storm on your peace.

Untitled poem no. 3:
Screaming, a new darkness descends on this frail frame,
I drown in fathomless black space, will I never scratch the depths of this domain,
I see not, yet nothing could be worse than the shades my mind calls herein,
Alone, at my own wake, the unraveling of reason’s skin.

A three stanza excerpt from The Ship of State:

In the oceans of chaos, tempests arise,
But nobles steer the ship with wise advise,
Their wisdom flows like a river true,
A beacon of light for the humble crew

Through noble veins, a current runs,
Like tides that bathe the dying suns,
Their purpose clear, their duties vast,
Preserving harmony to the last

As waves that kiss the distant shore,
They guard traditions, ancient lore,
Like lakes or the ocean, their essence profound,
Preserving order, where serenity is found.

A two stanza excerpt from My Dark Disquiet:

We are marionettes by strings animated,
Yet like lovers of strings liberated,
I’m ready to fight,
To run from the light,

Without names we’re fantasizing,
Dancing like flames, mesmerizing,
My dark disquiet playing such eerie harmonies,
Making waves and driving under,
Lightning to the sound of thunder,
My dark disquiet singing such haunting melodies.

Cassilda’s Song:
Along the shore, the cloud waves break,
Twin suns set behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen,
In Carcosa,
Strange is the night, where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle, through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa,
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa,
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou unsung, as tears unshed,
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.

Magazines and Newspapers:
The Imperial Scryer is the more conservative of the Big Three newspapers, with The Cybusian Chronicle being the more liberal, and The Arcadian Herald being the most balanced and impartial of the three.
Popular magazines include things like Popular Science, The RobCo Report, Arcadian Science Magazine, Guns and Lasers, Motion Picture Magazine, Society, and the original foundation of the Dark Adventure media empire: Dark Adventure Mystery Stories Magazine, which publishes short horror, thriller, mystery, and science fiction stories from across the Empire.

Dark Adventure Mystery Stories Magazine:
One of the most popular magazines in the Empire, Dark Adventure Mystery Stories Magazine is a monthly magazine produced on the world of Kozrova, and has been in serial production since 1750.
Dark Adventure Mystery Stories Magazine began as one of over 350 pulp fiction magazines on Kozrova. Led by editor Nathan Hale, a Great Reconquest veteran who also wrote stories for the magazine based on his combat experiences, the magazine was financed by Micheal Makechek -of the highly successful Makechek Motion Picture Co.- who sought to expand into print media. Hale proved to be a highly adept editor, accepting stories from future hits like Vorena Siskachov (prominent female author and later director, her first story published was “In The Crypt of The Witch”) and Thomas Neumann (author of many crime stories such as “In the Fog”, and “Long Shadows”, both later adapted into films), though he found Makechek’s insistence on personally approving every story in each issue deeply frustrating. The magazine also quickly became known for its lucrative rates; they paid a credit and a half per page, attracting talent which otherwise would have remained independent. This talent was combined with beautifully illustrated covers created by Madeline Holmes, who continues to illustrate them to this day. These factors, along with Makechek’s wealth and advertising, led Dark Adventure to become very successful very quickly.
By 1813, Hale decided he wanted to get out from under Makechek, and proceeded to give him an ultimatum that either Makechek surrender control of the magazine and let it be independent, or Hale, along with other staff such as Holmes, would quit. Makechek, though furious, agreed on the condition that he be granted a 1 credit royalty for every magazine printed, in perpetuity. Hale agreed, and became the CEO of the newly created Dark Adventure Media Group.
Piggybacking off the tremendous success of the magazine, Hale launched Dark Adventure Radio Theater in 1815, and Hale himself voiced several characters, including the private detective Adrian Volkov in various adaptations of stories by Malyen Valdemar. The first host was Thomas Capek, and the use of sound effects and professionally scored music for each episode helped make the radio program just as popular, if not even more so than the magazine.
Since then, the Dark Adventure media empire has also expanded to television, with The Dark Adventure Hour being founded in 1910. In all of its forms, Dark Adventure continues to be an incredibly successful franchise, with Hale continuing to lead the company as CEO.

Radio:
Radio is still surprisingly popular in the Empire, due to the continued popularity of radio shows. Some of the most popular radio programs in the Empire include Dark Adventure Radio Theater, a very popular anthology horror and “pulp” radio theater hosted by the charismatic Erskine Blackwell, The Black Ship, a biweekly military-themed radio drama, and The Imperial Review, a hit variety show style program with celebrity guests, music, comedy, and drama, hosted by Emma DeWitt. Radio drama is considered to require a higher caliber of acting, because more has to be done and successfully conveyed without resorting to visuals.

Cuisine and Diet: Evolved require lots of protein and energy to operate, so meats, breads, and rice are very popular dishes, as are stews and soups. The grain known as Britvazerno, or "razorgrain" is a staple of Cybusian cuisine. Cybusian dishes tend to be hot, and are often spiced as well, to ward off the cold rain of many Imperial worlds. Many dishes include the meat of the Ormann, a Cybusian herbivore very similar to a cow. Coffee and hot tea are roughly equally popular and are a staple of Imperial life.

Ormann:
A gentle Arcadian herbivore, very similar to a cow, they even go moo. They have spread throughout the Empire, and are used as sources of meat and milk. Ormann can be easily distinguished from cows by the tiny tentacles which emerge from their mouths when feeding to more easily devour grass and herbs, and their unique defense mechanism. Ormann, when threatened by Blacklight-enhanced predators, emit a very mild pheromone which calms and pacifies anything in the area, allowing them to move away from the predator in peace. Imperial corporations, especially Stoneheart Pharmaceuticals, have extracted these pheromones for use in stress relief products such as the painkiller Med-X. In addition, their milk has a mild calming effect, though this is obviously removed from milk before it is sold or used. Raw Ormann milk is sometimes used in home remedies, due to its calming and analgesic effect.
Ormann meat is a very common ingredient in Cybusian cuisine, and Ormann have been introduced to Earth in quantities sufficient to feed the Cybusian population without being an invasive species. Ormann meat is a staple ingredient, used in tons of dishes across the Empire, ranging from steaks to Ormannburgers.

(OOC: Yes, Ormann are Lovecraftian tentacle-equipped cows with calming pheromones. But they are still pretty much just space cows, they even still go moo.)

Razorgrain, also known as britvazerno, is a Cybusian staple crop. Originating on Arcadia, britvazerno is a hardy, weather-resistant grain, covered in small blade-like stalks to ward off birds or animals who would attempt to eat it, hence the name “razorgrain”.
Britvazerno is used in a variety of foods, having spread across the Empire. Most commonly used to make dough for bread, it’s also used to make light, fluffy biscuits known as vlodeki, a common breakfast or snack food. Vlodeki are often served hot with butter, or as the base of a sandwich, having been sliced in half and used as the halves of a sandwich. Smaller and harder vlodeki are sometimes served with coffee or tea.
Britvazerno is the staple of Cybusian bread making, and bread made from the grain is seen at almost every table across the Empire, from the the Raven Court to the furthest-flung colony, and is eaten by all, from the humble manastyr to the powerful admiral. Britvazerno sourdough is especially popular, as are pretzels made from a britvazerno dough.
A curious product of the pre-Rebellion era that endures today is a delicious mixture of ground britvazerno and water (or milk). The resulting porridge-like dish is called kupriča. Slave owners sought a cheap way to feed Orsonians, and, rather than make bread, they created what is now called kupriča by mixing ground britvazerno with water or milk over a fire. The resulting mixture was thick, hearty, and made an excellent base into which cheese or meat could be added. Modern variations usually add butter and salt, but for most owners of Orsonians, this was enough and proved a cheap and hearty dish to fulfill nutritional needs of their slaves. Kupriča has been reclaimed by the Orsonian population and is the basis for a large number of dishes, ranging from meat dishes to fried kupriča cakes. A particularly popular dish is a combination of kupriča, ormann cheese, and ground ormann meat with chopped up peppers and spices for extra flavor; this tasty, savory and spicy dish is known as Kupriča Ormanni, and is often enjoyed for supper. While most popular among the middle class and below, Orsonian chefs such as Spiro have been responsible for popularizing various kupriča dishes among the aristocracy, including variations of Kupriča Ormanni.

Cybusian Coffee and Tea Culture:

In the cold expanses of the Cybusian Empire, coffee and tea are a staple, a comfort food, and a part of traditional Cybusian culture. Both are roughly equally popular, with coffee being consumed in the morning and tea generally being consumed later in the day or evening.

Cybusian Coffee:
Cybusian coffee is made from a bean known as kavovak, which grew on the warmer islands of the Nhokotral Ocean on Arcadia. Kavovak was quickly exported to off-world colonies for large-scale cultivation, due to the immense popularity of the drink. At first, access was restricted to the royal family and nobility, but over time coffee became more accessible. Cybusian coffee is traditionally roasted over an open flame to allow a smokey element to permeate the beans, ground, and either boiled, prepared using a drip filter, or prepared by forcing hot water through the grounds at high pressure, creating a much stronger, espresso-like coffee. The latter is one of the more common methods of preparing coffee.
Coffee is traditionally consumed from elaborately decorated cups or mugs made of ceramic or enamel, and flavored with Ormann milk, cinnamon, or nutmeg; this combination of very strong but also very creamy and sweet coffee is a distinctive Cybusian coffee, known in Novo Wagondia as the Cybusiano. Coffee is traditionally consumed in the morning or afternoons, and the idea of decaffeinated coffee is seen as bizarre and counterintuitive by most Cybusians.
Coffeehouses are a major element in Imperial culture. Generally, a patron of a coffeehouse will pay a nominal fee as well as cups of coffee. This will allow the patron to sit and relax for hours, reading the dozens of newspapers or magazines made available, listening to the radio, smoking cigarettes or eating small pastries (such as cookies or pastries prepared from britvazerno dough) or cakes, or chatting with other patrons. Many coffeehouses will have small libraries as well, for patrons to read from. This notably more relaxed atmosphere somewhat clashes with the broader Cybusian culture, and has been cited by some historians as helping to democratize the Empire, as the experience of lounging in a coffeehouse was something everyone could relate to. Intellectuals, writers, journalists, political figures, priests, nobles, commoners, and people from every stripe of society can be found in a traditional Cybusian coffeehouse.
Coffee chains are less common than in other nations, but several large coffee chains have emerged. Kafe Brezina is a large chain, known for it’s signature Brezina Blend which is distinctively smoky and sweet. The Barit Group is in stiff competition with Brezina, Barit’s chain of coffeehouses being known as Kafe 77, named for its founding in 1277. Both Kafe 77 and Kafe Brezina locations also boast samovars and tea supplies to make Cybusian-style tea.

Cybusian Tea:
Cybusian tea comes in many varieties, though the base for most of them is a black tea simply known as odvar. Odvar is grown on the archipelago’s of both of the great oceans of Arcadia, but was quickly exported offworld for plantation-style cultivation, just as kavovak was. Odvar is traditionally prepared by mixing a concentrate of the tea and then placing however much one wishes into a glass, pouring hot water into the glass at moderate pressure from a samovar, and then using a special spoon to muddle it together, often with sugar or honey. This allows one to control the strength of one’s tea as one wishes; unlike the popularity of strong coffee, tea strength is generally a matter of personal preference. Odvar is often mixed with Ormann milk, sugar, orange (and, after the 1940s, lemon), or honey.
Among the most popular varieties of tea is a mixture known simply as Arcadian Spiced Tea, somewhat like chai masala on Earth. Supposedly created by a Mandrite attempting to make the limited quantity of odvar at his ermitzha stretch, and, not wanting to brave the cold to collect water, combined various herbs and spices into his odvar concentrate and then used milk in a samovar to supplement what was left of the water, creating a unique and delicious beverage which quickly caught on.
Arcadian Spiced Tea combines a small amount of odvar with a blend of flavors from various herbs and plants native to Arcadia, creating a warm, aromatic, blend, all combined with the creaminess of hot milk. The tea is incredibly popular across the Empire, but is still closely associated with the Mercerist Church due to its origins in an ermitzha. Due to many Mercerist services starting before dawn, churches will traditionally serve Arcadian Spiced Tea or coffee in a separate building following a service, allowing an opportunity for fellowship and socializing among the faithful.
Another popular blend is the blend simply referred to as “travelers tea”, a calming minty or lavender blend. This tea supposedly originated with the dawn of aircraft and later spacecraft, and is a complimentary beverage offered to those traveling on trains, planes, spacecraft, and airships, meant to soothe the nerves of the traveler and help them relax. It, being quite popular, is consumed at other times, but is still served under the moniker of travelers tea.
There are countless varieties and grades of Cybusian tea, and “white tea” (only lightly dried odvar leaves) is growing in popularity, having a lighter and more delicate flavor than traditional black odvar.
The water for tea is prepared in a large device known as a samovar, a kind of large boiler for water, which is then dispensed into a glass which holds tea concentrate. Samovar’s tend to be intricately decorated, and are almost always kept full throughout the day, so that a glass of tea may be had at any time.
Cybusian tea is traditionally served in a glass, often an etched or engraved or otherwise decorated glass. This glass is held in a metal holder known as a podstakannik, which the glass rests in, allowing tea to be consumed without burning one’s hands on the glass while also keeping the glass stable in a moving environment such as a train car or airship. Podstakannik’s are often ornately decorated, bearing symbols of the company they are served by (Taggart tea services would bear the Taggart logo and scenes of spacecraft, airships, trains, etc, for instance), Mercerist Saints or the khorovod, or small scenes of national glory, such as a triumphant soldier looking mighty in his power armor, or a new battleship being launched or a missionary enlightening the foreign masses. In this way, even the humble tea glass holder can be used to promote Cybusian culture, Mercerism, and national pride, and one foreign diplomat condemned the cheap sale of samovars, tea glasses and podstakanniks, and tea as “promoting subversive propaganda though tea”.
Teahouses are less common than coffee shops, since a coffeehouse will usually also have tea supplies. There is only a single nationwide teahouse chain in the Empire, also operated by the Barit Group, known simply as Barit Tea, although there are regional chains.
The reading of tea leaves is a common method of amateur prognostication, and some Charodey gifted with the arts of clairvoyance or scrying may use tea leaves in their rituals.


Above: Samovars
Below: A glass of tea held in a podstakannik, with lemons

Cybusian Smoking Culture:

Smoking is a common activity in the Empire. Cigarettes are generally more common than cigars. A tobacco-like plant known as ishkatar was found to grow on the small islands of the Cytroxian ocean on Arcadia; the highest quality ishkatar grew in abundance on the Opukhava archipelago, and Opukhavan cigarettes are still considered the best in the Empire. The earliest references to smoking it are from scouting reports from members of the Marasip Dynasty, who observed members of local kingdoms smoking bound packets of ishkatar, and found the sensation quite pleasing. Ishkatar cigarettes produce a smooth, satisfying smoke, quickly becoming popular among the boyars (pre-Issacar nobility).
Ishkatar quickly became a popular trade good, and several boyars rose to prominence by cornering the market. Even the brutal Issacar Dynasty, which stamped out all sorts of “heresies”, did not try to ban smoking, but did suppress any use of it within church interiors.
Ishkatar was quickly exported across the Empire during the initial colonization of the stars under the Rakovsky Dynasty, and this persisted under Alexander. The first large cigarette company was the Arcadian Ishkatar Company, founded by several nobles to consolidate and control the growth and sale of the lucrative cash crop. The AIC was, by decree of Emperor Mercer, the only firm permitted to grow and process ishkatar into cigars and cigarettes, under penalty of death. AIC security ruthlessly burned the fields of those who would try to defy their monopoly, before sacrificing them to Lord Mercer under the supervision of local Sviatari. Millions of Orsonians were forced into service on ishkatar plantations.
The AIC maintained this monopoly until The Rebellion, when it’s headquarters was destroyed and staff killed by furious Orsonians.
Following the Rebellion, several large cigarette companies arose. Though there are hundreds of local brands, there are three big cigarette brands in the Empire; Morleyoshka, Verigin, and Grigorov. The Morleyoshka family, an Orsonian family who “inherited” a large ishkatar crop, created Morleyoskha Cigarettes, a major brand which persists to this day. Morleyoshka’s (often shortened to Morley’s) are a cheap and satisfying smoke, but are not particularly high-quality nor as good as other brands. Morley’s are particularly popular with the working class, and this has garnered the family a vast fortune.
Verigin Cigarettes are a much higher quality brand but are more expensive, being most popular among the nobility, diplomats, officers, and celebrities, using much higher quality ishkatar. Verigin’s are also available in metholated and flavored varieties.
Grigorov produces an assortment of high quality cigars and unique cigarettes such as mentholated cigarettes or using flavored ishkatar to make flavored cigarettes. Grigorov cigars are the Imperial equivalent of the famous Cuban cigars.
Cigarettes are smoked across all spectrums of Imperial society, which is sometimes something of a shock for visitors from other countries where smoking is less common. Companies even have their own branded cigarettes; Taggart Trans-Imperial partnered with Verigin to create their own Taggart “Streamliner Smokes” brand cigarettes, with a distinctive streamlined metal carrying case with the Taggart logo, offered to every passenger on a Taggart plane, airship, train, and more. Red Rocket, in addition to selling the big brands at their refueling stations, has a “Red Rocket Blend” cigarette with a distinctive flavor and a rocket-shaped cigarette holder to smoke them in.

Radium in Cybusian Society, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Radioactive Cocktails
Due to a bizzarre quirk of the biology of Evolved and the incredible durability of (and the trivial ease of fixing any errors in) Blacklight biomass, in low levels, ionizing radiation can actually create a pleasant feeling in Evolved, helping to relieve pain or lift moods. As a result, radium spas are popular, as are mildly irradiated products.
The birth of the Cybusian radium craze began during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Rakovsky. The banyak system had become a hugely popular one, a cultural institution, and around the same time, Cybusians discovered radium for the first time. Dr. Gregor Masik discovered radium and radioactivity in late 29,700 BC. The element, dubbed masikium, fascinated the public, and triggered a “Masikium craze”, especially once it was discovered that mild irradiation had analgesic effects in Evolved. Masikium beverages and spa treatments became highly popular, and the Barankov Bottling Company, one of the Empire’s largest beverage companies got its start bottling water from a naturally irradiated spring. By the time of the Rebellion, low dose masikium treatments at banyaks were massively popular, even with the Emperor and his sister. Indeed, to try to ease the pain of her brothers death, Dana Mercer was administered medical doses of masikium by Dr. Koenig, until she insisted he focus on trying to resurrect Alex.
Since the Rebellion, the use of radium in products has only increased. Trace amounts of radium can be found in make-up branded as giving off a “healthy glow”, while glowing radium cocktails are all the rage in Evolved high society; a fashion model awed onlookers by using radium-infused dyes in her kefta to give off a spectral glow in the dark. Uranium glass is popular for both decorative and functional glassware, used in everything from glass artwork to drinking glasses said to infuse the water with “invigorating radioactivity”. There are limits to how much radium can be used in products, and irradiated products must be clearly labeled as such and they must kept separate from other products in stores to avoid contamination, but otherwise there are few limitations.
Obviously, non-Evolved are utterly bewildered by the use and popularity of irradiated products. Orsonians can indulge in low dose radium immersions in banyaks for pain alleviation, but, unlike Evolved, must take measure to purge themselves of radiation afterwards, using Radaway (originally developed specifically because Orsonians were more vulnerable to radiation) to flush out radioactive particles. Because Earth is inhabited by species to whom radiation is harmful, local Cybusian legislation forbids the sale of most radioactive products, though radium and radon treatments in spas and banyaks are still quite popular. Czechia, being the home of uranium mining and a historic producer of uranium glass, has a thriving uranium extraction industry, and there are several famous radium spas. Prior to coming to Earth (or, more generally, going abroad), all Cybusians must undergo a Radaway treatment to flush out radioactive contaminants.

Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous forms of entertainment in the Empire include freak shows, cabinets of curiosities, expositions of new art or technology, and the public dissection of a body donated to science. Also, unlike most nations, we still have radios in our homes, as well as radio shows. Evolved, due to their relative immortality, are interested by death, and tend to be morbidly interested in anatomy, disease, and other things most species would consider unusual.

Cybusian Bathing Culture:
Cybusian Bathing Culture:
The Cybusian people have always had a strong history of bathing. It might surprise people to learn that a viral species has an affinity for bathing, but exterior Blacklight biomass is essentially impervious to water.
Since the Rakovsky dynasty, Cybusians have had a fondness for ritualized bathing. Pyotr Rakovsky, to try to demonstrate his commitment to the people via public works, created a series of large public bathing facilities, luxurious and extravagant in the foothills and mountains of Varykino and on the various islands in the Nhokotral and Cytroxian Oceans. Each bathhouse, or banyak, consisted a beautiful series of buildings, gardens, and Mercerist temples, drawing their water from springs or the ocean. One particularly famous banyak in Varykino, Voronezhy, is fed almost directly by a waterfall, the facility being just below the waterfall, water being drawn from the river to supply the buildings on either side of the river (elements of the banyak are built over the river as well).
These facilities had large swimming pools, and then individual hot and cold bath and shower cells, hot steam rooms, and corridors of cool mists. One would take a cool bath, plunging into the cool bath, the cold sharpening the senses. After being anointed with oils, scrubs, salts, and other such things, they then proceed to the more relaxing hot bath for a time. After a brief shower to remove any more oils and salts, the bather would proceed through a cooling corridor of mists to cool themselves down. Afterwards, they would enter a small steam chamber to sweat and supposedly sweat out impure biomass (this is not actually the case). From there, they proceed back to the cool mist corridor and then back to another hot bath, this time without any oils, just hot water to relax in. To cool off, the bather then returns to the cool mist corridor and a brief cool shower before clothing themselves and proceeding to the gardens and temples which accompanied such public baths: banyaks located on islands or the shore tended to have access to the beaches or shore walkways, while mountainside bathhouses offered stunning vistas. Due to the length of the bathing process, the bather would be advised to indulge in hot or cold drinks, bring a book or listen to the music or poetry being played or recited, or talk with other patrons. Spa treatments (ranging from things like a massage all the way to the exotic like soaking in radium water) were also available at most banyaks, as were food, drink, and accommodations. These public baths proved immediately popular and Alexander decided not to close them down after assuming power.
Since then, traditional Cybusian banyaks have expanded across the Empire and beyond. Noble alcazars tend to have smaller versions of a banyak for the use of the family and servants, and the Imperial Palace itself is home to a very luxurious banyak centered around a vast indoor swimming pool. Every Mercerist ermitzha tends to have a small-scale version of a banyak for the monks to use.
Even less formal bathing is heavily ritualized: it is not uncommon for a Cybusian to first shower to clean themselves, take a soak in a hot bath after applying oils and such to relax with a glass of wine, tea, or a book, and then briefly shower again to remove remaining oils, then briefly soak in “plain” hot water again; a shorter version of the banyak routine. Cybusian bathrooms tend to have large and ornate bathtubs and showers, combining both form and function.

An example of one of the larger swimming pools in a banyak

An example of an individual cold bath

Homosexuality in the Empire:

Unlike many other cultures, wherein homosexuality is associated heavily with both a taboo and liberalism, Cybusian homosexuality is surprisingly associated with conservative beliefs, both politically and socially. There have been several attempts at explaining this phenomenon. One pseudo-scientific belief common to homosexuals in the Empire is the belief that their strains of Blacklight are “purer” because they aren’t “diluted” by intercourse or exposure to strains from the opposite gender. Due to Cybusian gender roles dictating that men, in general, should be traditionally masculine (strong, aggressive, highly patriotic, etc), and that, women, in general, should be traditionally feminine (beautiful, gentle, less aggressive, etc), some studies have found that a large proportion of homosexuals internalize these roles to a greater than average degree, claiming that to be what they “should be”, it is only right to be with a member of the same sex (common explanations include “what is more beautiful than two women in a perfect union” or “how masculine can you be if you love a woman”, and other such things). It follows that other traditional ideas would also be internalized. A more simple explanation is simply that many Cybusian homosexuals in positions of authority are more likely to be conservative, providing fewer liberal role models due to the generally more conservative nature of the Empire’s population as a whole.
Whatever the logic, homosexuals in the Empire tend to be ardent Mercerists and Imperialists. Mercerism makes no claims or judgments about sexual behavior, and there are several gay Saints who are worshipped just as much as their heterosexual counterparts.
Gay Cybusians tend to be active in their church communities and patriotic organizations such as local JSR chapters. Many support the nobility and continued Imperial expansion, combining gay pride with pride in the Empire. There are several gay nationalist organizations, the largest of which is the Homosexual Loyalty Bund (HLB), directly inspired by the Orsonian Loyalty Bund.
Cybusian “gay culture” is rather different than the kind in other nations. Reflective of broader Cybusian attitudes towards sex, casual sex is rare and sex typically only occurs after a relationship has progressed for a while. Cross-dressing is rare; there are certain outfits associated with gay culture. Unlike the rainbow, which is a prominent gay symbol on Earth, the traditional symbol of homosexuality in the Empire is a green triangle pointing upward; the three sides of the triangle are of equal length, representing love, faith, and Empire. Gay pride does exist in the Empire, although it is often subordinated to or made part of displays of pride in the Empire; the HLB works with JSR to organize pride parades and other such events which proudly display both the Imperial flag and the emerald triangle.
Bisexuality is comparatively rare and considered unusual; because of the emphasis on monogamy in the Empire, it is considered counterintuitive that an individual can be “pulled both ways” because it is believed this would make searching for a permanent life partner more difficult. Despite this, the taboo around bisexuality has been eased by the promotion of the openly bisexual Alexander Vosch to the Imperial Consulate, who has quickly become a gay icon.
Transsexuals exist in the Empire, though due to the trivial ease of modifying one’s body either naturally (for Evolved and some Charodey) or through medical science, gender dysphoria is less of an issue for those who identify as trans-gender.

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