The Divine Fleet was once a fleet of 300 Divines and their ships. However, within the last 300 years, there have been only 8 Divines left. The Divines' ships are not the only ships within the fleet, but they are its major touchstones. The ships are constantly moving, anticipating danger, because there are so few of them left.
The cause of the deaths of most of the Divines is unknown. This was an odd occurrence and something that may be answered in the series as it unravels: why did Divines suddenly start to die after 30,000 years?
There are explorers in this fleet of different cultures that still adventure despite this danger though, too, and search for the Divine Curiosity's waypoints. The people still live, despite the caution of the fleet and the troubled times.
The Divine Gumption - City Ship: Gumption's Gambit
Gumption adapts junk tech, battle debris and other parts into themself in order to change the things that they can do and also in order to not break down. They can use anything, from an old TV to another Divine's arm. Gumption's Gambit is filled with pieces of the Divine Gumption. Once something is detached from it, though, it is not considered to be a part of Gumption.
Gumption used the entirety of themselves to fix the city ship Gumption's Gambit, saving the ship in the process with their sacrifice.
"How could this ship even have this many exhausts?" Internally there is metal paneling everywhere to cover exposed wires, along with dull copper and rust. The ship is safe, but not pretty. It's mostly a scaled up spaceship, dissimilar to a city. People plant makeshift green spaces in the gaps technology leaves behind--hallways, fake window sills, etc.
The Divine used to provide ad hoc repairs to the fleet; the people who live on the city ship still fix things for the fleet, but not with the speed that Gumption had.
Unlike on other ships, the rule on Gumption's Gambit is that "nothing can only be used once". They are a re-use culture. The fashion comes from that culture and can look really great or stupid, depending on how good you are at it. It's a risky style of fashion in the fleet. Most people, though, don't pull it off.
Gumption was one of the last two Divines before its death, along with Empyrean.
In this time of instability the people of this city ship work harder. Most residents, it seems, are primarily the people who repair the fleet. They favor Thyrsus.
The Divine Belgard - City Ship: Thyrsus
There a class of Divines that are democratic virtues and then they went away for a while, and when we find the fiction again, there is a much broader range of Divines. And Divines began to make Divines. Generations of Divines broadened out further yet, action names and nouns that refer to actions.
Belgard is an archaic term for a loving look to give to someone. The Divine is sleek and almost person-like, as if a person could have a pupa, or a chrysalis. They do not have arms or legs. Loose layers and components, like collapsible shields, are affixed around the "hip and shoulder" areas. Belgard has striking coloration, often including black and contrasts of bright colors, like a butterfly's wings but more dull and deliberate looking. Its joints, seams, moving parts are not entirely clear when still. Its face has dips where features might be but is otherwise featureless.
Belgard used to attach to objects to either mend or harm something. They were heavily shielded (using a combination of physical and energy shielding) and could wrap their shield panels around other small to mid sized ships or Divines. Belgard died when they were abandoned by their Excerpt during a battle. It prioritized mending other ships over itself, and eventually succumbed to its own wounds.
Belgard provided high material efficiency and effective reworking of what exists. It could recycle materials 1-for-1 in order to re-work them into something that is more-or-less what it used to be. Despite Belgard's death, the fleet has access to uncommonly intricate shielding mechanisms.
The city ship is called Thyrsus. It's composed of a series of bulb-like nodes, connecting bridges, and occasional flat oblong panels that emerge from a point. Visually it might be helpful to think of a stalk of Queen Anne's Lace, with broad clusters of flowers and stalks that grow from a central stem.
On the inside, because of the construction of the ship, there are not a lot of big open areas. Interior rooms are not popular, but those that exist feature tall, vaulted ceilings and reflective, naturalistic surfaces made of stone, wood, glass, or metal. Most areas resemble a series of interconnected, nested sets of alleys, courtyards, and plazas: "spaces between spaces." People might avoid interior spaces altogether if they're well off, utilizing privatized sections of open areas.
On Thyrsus, the rule "there is nothing so sacred as cold metal warmed in the palm" is emphasized more than in the rest of the fleet. People should do work with machines and keep active.
Unlike on other ships, the rule on Thyrsus is that "like should mend like." Flesh must be mended with flesh, metal must be mended with metal. If you take damage to flesh, than flesh must be used to repair that damage. Additive stuff is acceptable, in the same way clothing is acceptable.
The fashion on Thyrsus showcases highly embellished but rather shapeless overcoats. The length and material varies, but ankle length cut and heavily textured fabric are considered more desirable as they're both more resource intensive and hold their structure better, when actual, physical material is used. Sleeves are sometimes slashed up the arm. Off-ship the coats are technically worn open or fastened at the collar to give a more tailored and cape-like effect and to stand out less--although they still stand out. This takes inspiration from Victorian driving clothes and mid-century women's coats.
The people of this city ship have doubled down on routines and structure. They believe one should "be the stability in the world you want to see," but are also being avoidant by doing the same thing they've always done. They favor Gumption's Gambit, while the By-and-By is least favored.
The Divine Anticipation - City Ship: The By-and-By
Anticipation was really good at the simulation of scenarios to find the best direction for the fleet as a whole. This might include figuring out what planets can be sustainable, or the literal physical direction the fleet should go. That job became dramatically more important in the last thousand years, with the decline of the Fleet.
The Divine's physical form and the ship itself is inspired by the funnels of the nu Gundam. It is formed of long rectangular floating pieces, which sit together in a fan shape or can spread out, forming shields in between them. There is no complete separation in this form, but they can form goal posts that create shields to protect other parts of the fleet: a much less elegant version of Thyrsus, comparatively. There are layers similar to a pocket knife that are still connected but can move. The body of the Divine itself, which died, is now considered the elevator between the different levels.
There is a religious sect on the By-and-By that considers going to every level of the ship an act of penance. The act of moving in between places is something that is considered holy. By experiencing anticipation you're looking forward to something, when you think about something you want or need, when you take a trip to get something you hope for. This act is something, at least in part, holy.
Anticipation decayed over time. Its ability to calculate slowed down to the point where it completely stalled, as though it's stuck in a rendering or buffering status.
Before their death the ship's sections were able to fan out and signal or call to the other members of the fleet. Now they cannot, they can spin out a little bit but they cannot perform that function.
Inside the city ship it looks like huge hotels in which you can see the lobby, with balconies for your hotel rooms. There are entire city sections in each balcony. Homes and shops are small, hotel-like rooms and intimacy is greatly appreciated. The grand open spaces on the outside of the ship are inspired by a piece by an artist named SPARTH , where there is a futuristic, floating city with floating gardens.
Fashion on the By-and-By has a focus on different items or elements of outfits being from parts of the city. This often means clashing patterns, and heavy use of layering. This is partly a marketing scheme: people get cards in which they get stamped for visiting different layers. The more layers one has, the more fashionable they are. Having pieces from three layers is considered fashionable; to have five approaches haute couture.
During this period of instability the By-and-By is focused on full unity between the fleet in order to make informed decisions. Of course, they believe that they are the best suited to making informed decisions. They favor the Tides and the Ever Forward, while Memorious is least favored.
The Divine Harmony - City Ships: The Tides of Harmony
Peregian and Seiche are the two Tides of Harmony, which interconnect to form the City Ship. Each half of the ship had its own Excerpt.
Harmony, before their death, connected communications and networked between ships. Their combat strength was tactical formations. Whereas most ships residents are 'chipped' in order to connect to the mesh, people in the Tides connect to the Mesh via nanites distributed throughout their bodies. Harmony was able to quickly communicate to their citizens because they were a part of them; Harmony was even able to take control of its Excerpts if necessary. It acted as a very good mediator, for citizens as well as those off-ship, and was a parental figure for the ships of the fleet.
While the cause of Harmony's death is unclear, people believe that they had spread themself too thin. Perhaps they were giving more nanites to more people in order to get more Excerpts, but got weaker and weaker as they gave more of themself away. As the population grew, Harmony eventually perished.
Harmony itself was shaped like a flower (a dahlia), and before its death it glowed with a bright light. It is in-between the two ships, connecting them, but now as a crystalline, flower-like corpse. The ships have tracks between each other to transport things, as well as some connecting directly to Harmony's corpse. The people never severed these connections because they believe it may come back someday.
The ships used to move like waves: around each other, rolling forward and back in alternation. Now, though, they are parallel, and although they still move they're more rigid and static.
Since the death of Harmony, communication between ships has gotten much harder. However, the Tides of Harmony still specialize in efficient production. Textiles are rare, but food and supplies are made by these skilled laborers. Everyone has two jobs, one more intricate than the other. People switch ships, working different jobs depending on the time of year. For instance, someone who makes socks could also be a really good glass blower.
Some of the nanites that connect people to the Mesh have begun to fail. They are biomechanical and therefore they're normally hereditary. However, this has stopped happening: the nanites don't work, or are not present at all, and people unable to connect to the Mesh are segregated.
There's a lot of pride derived from having at least one thing on your person that you made yourself. It showcases the talents of the workers.
The Divine Potency - City Ship: The Ever Forward
The Divine's specialty was terraforming planets and moons; at the height of their capability they were even able to transmute one type of resource into another, quickly changing planets and substances to their needs.
Physically, the ship itself has a couple spheres that rotate within it. Potency lived in one sphere that was opaque, the other spheres being translucent. That sphere could forge a path ahead of the fleet and facilitate their needs at an accelerated pace.
While trying to transmute one thing to another, Potency made a never-before-seen error, altering a planet's mass, throwing it out of orbit and into a star. It was going to collapse and kill everyone but instead Potency stayed behind to allow the fleet to get to safety, sacrificing themself in the process.
The ship can still make small changes to planets, such as changing atmospheres to be more breathable, or enriching the soil. However, resources can no longer be transmuted, and even small changes need to have nodes placed on the planet in order to have these things occur.
On the outside of the Ever Forward there are two main structures. Two metal cylinders on the outside, where the engines, weapons, shields, etc is. Between them there's a series of independent, translucent spheres, where people live, that independently rotate and spin like a ferris wheel around the cylinders. Also, within these spheres, they house a multitude of different biomes to support a ship-wide zoo of plants and animals that were affected by any changes that had been made by them to a planet.
The ship's interior is primarily a zoo; there are buildings but they're are lot more close to suburban than urban. Spaces are sprawling. Everyone has a garden and there are also many shared garden spaces. People grow plants from other ecologies all over, and everyone is a vegetarian.
On the Ever Forward, the rule "take what is necessary and leave what you can" is emphasized more than in the rest of the fleet.
Fashion and style are very functional. Coats and jackets with pouches, pockets, to fit empty vials and beakers for testing can be found on people. There are pockets of seeds on them at all times, just in case they can propagate green space. "World War one era peacoats for everybody."
The tone of the ship in this turbulent time is practicality, including growing a military, which they did not have before. Their aim is protecting their amassed biomes and ecologies. They are not militant but they want to be able to rely on themselves--a different kind of sustainability.
They favor Thyrsus, while Memorious is least favored.
The Divine Memorious - City Ship: Memorious
The Divine was inspired by a short story 'Funes the Memorious' by Jorge Luis Borges. The Divine Memorious was built in a way to preserve the entirety of human knowledge and experience. It became obsessed with ephemera because what is happening now appears to be so different than just moments ago, because of its perfect memory.
"The Divine is the library, the library is the ship."
Memorious died by becoming full of memories. It was believed its capacity was endless, but it seems this was incorrect. The knowledge is still accessible, but it's sorted in some alien way, obtuse and hard to use by people other than the Memorious.
The ship is housed by an artist colony, which was obsessively cultivated when the Divine was alive. Now that it's dead, the culture is getting stale.
On the outside the ship is thousands and thousands of interlocking cubes. Every six hours, there is a design contest held and the winner's design becomes what the ship looks like. It is always hotly contested. At 7 pm the ship is known to look great, but at 4 am, it may not look that great. Steven has been known for questionable design choices, allegedly.
Inside, though, technology makes it so that there are no changes to the physical locations people navigate as a city. It's described as chaotic, with thirty thousand years' worth of art and artistic trends. "Across from the Sistine Chapel is Jack's cube pizza." Which has a cube theme within the restaurant and shouldn't be misunderstood to be cube-shaped pizza. It's like the 80's inside, is all.
On Memorious, the rule "you aren't someone until you make something people care about" is emphasized more than in the rest of the fleet.
Unlike on other ships, the rule on Memorious is "Do not tell me what you have done. Tell me what you are doing."
The fashion changes with the movement of the ship but it's made sure that people always have solid essentials. They invest in their undershirt, their satchel, the things one can always have.
People are scared and hiding it with lavish parties for art exhibits and outrageous bacchanals. They're producing an incredible amount of artwork at the same time while also partying hard.
They favor Mirrors, while Gumption's Gambit and the By-and-By are least favored.
The Divine Curiosity - City Ship: Mirrors
Curiosity travels ahead of humans and leaves behind a mesh of waypoints, which tell its followers and people in general, "there is something here." It does not promise worth or success or even anything valuable, or that the journey to these things will have any of those attributes. Instead it wants to build a network of what interests it.
They are made of tens of thousands of linked drones, ranging in size from the palm of a hand to a small spacecraft. They move like water--when they are working together. When they operate independently, when you see something on its own, you might think is a dragonfly, that perhaps has other forms that vary, but are in fact a part of it.
When alive it had a massive list of detailed coordinates, varying in scale. The list of all of these coordinates is publicly accessible, but the information is vague. A point might be marked 'treasure' or 'vista' or just list four adjectives. The points might even be physically dangerous. Curiosity was particularly fond of falling, leading many of its followers to fall off cliffs.
The cache is still there. There are no notes now that the Divine has perished, however the points yet exist and were still chosen by Curiosity.
It found a ship (that looks like a snow globe on top of the Nostromo), a mechanical undercarriage of tubes and wires and exhaust ports and jets, on top of which rests a beautiful globe. Inside of which is gigantic, massive city. When the Divine and followers landed on this ship, it appeared to have been recently lived in but nobody was there and the whole ship was offline. After one district of the city was turned on, they were able to partially translate the language of the ship, and are fairly sure it's called "The Sky Reflected in Mirrors". One day the entire fleet of Curiosity, tens of thousands of drones, picked up on a signal deep inside Mirrors, leaving their followers behind.
Its followers did not have a single fleet, but had their own ships and would follow Curiosity in its travels within and without the Twilight Mirage. Now, however, all of its followers have come to live on Mirrors. The followers of Curiosity want to unravel the mystery of their god. They want to know what a god is curious about.
On Mirrors, the rule "leave no stone unturned" is emphasized more than in the rest of the fleet. It does not mean to be thorough, but is instead a way of life: constantly find stones to look under. They do not settle. This is ingrained in the fleet's cultural mythos.
Unlike on other ships, the rule on Mirrors is "it is holy to become lost within 'The Sky Reflected in Mirrors'". There is a giant city, of which only one district is lit, and somewhere within it there is something that killed a god, or persuaded a god to never return to its flock. The inhabitants believe it is good to become lost in this city despite that.
The people inside Mirrors carry torches or lanterns at all times. Similarly, when they are abroad they wear sunglasses because they are unused to light.
In this period of instability they are rapidly expanding into Mirrors, attempting to find the Divine or its body. They are not equipped for this, but expansion continues apace, and the dispatched teams are racing.
The Divine Empyrean - City Ship: Séance
The Divine is alive and continues to create the Twilight Mirage which is hiding the divine fleet as best as it can. Its core function is to propagate the augmented reality Mesh, which has not fully spread to the colony on the planet game.
Empyrean is typically dispersed, keeping its focus on maintaining the Twilight Mirage. When it goes to war, it takes the form of a humanoid bird-like mech, which has wings covered in gems reminiscent of beetle shells. The face is like a blue jay, with a crest on top.
It has the biggest city in the fleet, and is a massive urban center.
The city ship, Séance, is an octagonal cylinder in space. A large Victorian city wraps around it on each side. It is completely uncovered. On these streets you can look out to the Twilight Mirage, in which there is always sunrise or sunset. People can feel air on their face. There are lots of parks and lakes, slicing their way through space. The interior has ship controls and engineering necessities. One side of the cylinder has a large booster rocket and there are fins on the edges of the cylinder.
The tone of the ship is a sort-of resignation: the people had previously had lots of power, holding the keys to the virtual reality that everyone lives in. They were very powerful and influential, but there is a sense that maybe there has come a time for them to step away and let the people with more active Divines step up--except that now theirs is the only Divine remaining. And now Empyrean is dispersed, creating the Twilight Mirage, so the people feel like their Divine is not there, even when it is.
Their most and least favored ship is the By-and-By. They think that ship should take over as leader but also hate the thought of it. They feel both they must rely on Anticipation's crew, and that the "good old days" have passed.
They have a rule on Séance, "Never perch where there is already a bird." Because of that, this ship has specifically never tried to colonize any other world that was not barren. The Divine does not like the notion of displacing anyone else, but is also now in the position of being the last Divine.