The Grove

Organization and Daily Life

The Grove has no major (physical) cities. Everything about its organization is a bit haphazard. Most people live in villages that may or may not have a leader. Some people live entirely on their own. There are also wandering groups of (primarily) Mangaro. They are some of the very few people who live in the Grove without being connected to the Network.

The Grove has a center, where the first Network Trees were grown. This might be called the capital; at least, it’s where most Sysadmins are trained and where a number go to retire. This, and the area that immediately surrounds it, is the Inner Grove. The Inner Grove is made entirely of Network Trees. The line between virtual and physical worlds is blurred, and even some denizens of the Grove find it a bit unsettling.

The area surrounding that, and making up most of Grove territory, is the Middle Grove. More often than not this area is just called the Grove. In this area, every village has many Network Trees to connect its population, and there are a number of Network Trees in the uninhabited areas between villages. However, in the Middle Grove there are still “dead zones”, areas where there are no Network Trees within range.

The relentless growth of the Network Trees reached beyond the edges of the jungle and swallowed up whatever land was in front of it. This is the Outer Grove, and its borders are continually growing. The area is a bit of a strange mix, as it is less densely forested than the rest of the Grove yet every inch of it is Networked.

Most of the Grove is sustained by highly nutritious genetically modified Network Fruit Trees. The Network Trees also emit a signal (Terpenes) that wards off dangerous wildlife. Many in the Grove find this to be enough to meet their physical needs, and instead focus on development in the Network.

While the Sysadmins usually handle Network-related technical difficulties, they can also be called in to settle legal disputes. They may or may not respond. Most legal issues are settled by a (physical or virtual) community's own standards of justice. There are rumors of some power within the central Grove that is able to cut off individual Trees or entire regions from the Network. It is best not to think about what would cause that to happen.

Relationship with Other Nations

Khemet - The Grove has no idea what to do with Khemet. They see them as backwards traditionalists who keep attacking them for no reason.

The Trilith - The people of the Grove tend to get along with the Trilith, even if they think the Trilith are a bit too exclusively focused on physical crafts. There is a bit of tension as the Network Trees have begun to overgrow the borders of historically Trilith territory.

The Network

The heart and soul of the Grove is the Network. The Network is generated by the Trees. The Network is a virtual space that people in the Grove use to communicate, organize, and simply exist. People connect to the Network by connecting themselves to Network Trees.

The Network has unlimited (as far as anyone knows) space and anyone can create things for it. New areas of the Network often arise from many people working to realize a shared vision, or possibly from a single very determined person. Groups usually form around common interests, and many feel greater connection with their Network groups than their physical communities.

Those with a physical body who die while connected to the Network might have some echo of themselves "saved". Often times these Network Ghosts are harmless, and are left to interact with the living as they see fit. Other times, the trauma of death can cause the Ghosts to become hostile and dangerous. At this point, the Sysadmins are usually called to handle it.

Network Terms

Most technical Network terms are taken from semi-equivalent processes/terms for normal plants, but re-interpreted by the Sysadmins to apply to the virtual, but almost real and physical-feeling, realm of the Network.

Mycorrhiza - (“Mics”) - The special trees/plants/parts thereof that make up the Network and allow the connection. “We’ve got to get some Mics set up so these villages can talk to each other.” (Originally taken from normal plant communications, the connective fungi and roots that bridge the gap to other plants.)

Strigolactones - (“Tones”) - The communication that happens over the Mics, and the connections between/among people/plants, through which they send Flaves. “We can’t seem to get any Tones out of that village. Better check if there’s something stuck in the Mics.” (Taken from normal plant communications. Technically, plant hormones that establish a symbiotic association between the plant and fungus, and increase nearby parasitic Network growth.)

Rhizosphere - (“The Sphere”) - The area taken over by the Network. (Taken from normal plants, the soil that is directly influenced by root secretions and associated soil microorganisms.)

Flavonoids - (“Flaves”) - Colloquially, the term for most social-Network messages and Network products, including basic messages (“Personal Flaves” or just “Flaves”), audio-visual messages (“Visi-Flaves”), food (“Flavor Flaves”). “She sent out her new Visi-Flave through the Tones to all who wished to see it.” Some people spend a great deal of time creating new types of Flaves. (Taken from a broad category of normal plants’ excretions that travel through Mycorrhiza.)

GLVs - (“Gloves”) - The Network emergency alert protocol. Signals other network nodes that something is attacking the Network or its denizens. (Technically, stands for “green leaf volatiles,” from normal plants.)

Terpenes - (“Terps”) - The Tones used to scare off threats. “Gimme some Terps to keep the bear away while I fix these Mics.” Not usually used by your average Network denizen - mostly known to Sysadmins. (Taken from normal plants, where it refers to chemicals used to ward off predators.)

Myrcene - (“Mercy”) - Broadcast emitted on demand by the Network, used to help heal people and keep them calm and active in emergencies. It is sometimes used to calm one’s nerves after a stressful encounter in the Network, but it can also cause similar effects to sedative/depressant drugs when abused. (It’s not literally a physical drug, but rather the Tonal equivalent through the Network.) (Named based on a chemical in normal plants, which has an analgesic effect and anti-inflammatory properties.)

Sysadmins

The average citizen of the Grove has no idea how the Network actually functions. Usually this is not a problem as the Network Trees are pretty good at keeping themselves in order. But sometimes things go wrong, or the physical environment causes the Trees to malfunction. This is where the Sysadmins come in.

Sysadmins understand how to grow and care for the physical Trees of the Network. Because of this physical knowledge and connection, the Sysadmins are able to use the Network’s energy in the physical world. This is useful on the rare occasion that the Sysadmins are called to act as peacekeepers in the physical world.

The Sysadmins learn the grafting process that connects a non-Networked plant to the Network (generally this is used to incorporate new species of Flora). They also learn to grow Network plants directly on their bodies using their lifeforce, so they are never without their Network connection.

The Sysadmins are responsible for most advances to Network tech.

The Sysadmins are also trained to soothe and to destroy angry Network Ghosts.

Your group of Sysadmins are going to fix a physical part of the Grove where the Network is reporting problems. There is a local Sysadmin who will meet you there.