Getting Back on Track

Kicking off 2024 for Bima Sakti.

So it has been (a day) over a month since we made an update. A shame, but not entirely unexpected since this is a side project for the both of us. With that being said, I want to get back on track. One of my writing goals for 2024 is to turn Bima Sakti into a legit series.

With a lot of things, I think it would be best if we start from the beginning. AKA, how did Bima Sakti come to be. In-universe, that is.

Origins of the Space Empire

Scoot and I both have agreed that it all started with a revolution, an overhaul of world politics as we know it. At the risk of being outdated within the next few years, I see geopolitics today as a clash between the Global American Empire and the Anti-American Coalition.

One side we have the Atlanticists led by the Americans, and on the other we have the various powers of the Eurasian landmass uniting against the American hegemony (that would be Russia, China, Iran, and so on).

So where does Indonesia fit into all this? Not very well, to be honest. I actually had a brief discussion with my little brother about Indonesia and how they it fit into the whole America v. China rivalry (if we can call it that). We both agreed that Indonesia is sort of stuck between the two sides. Culturally, Indonesia is closer to China. Not just because they’re both Asians, but also because the country has a lot of Chinese ethnics. But geographically, it would make more sense for Indonesia to side with the US.

Why? Because Indonesia is an island country sitting at the intersection of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. And when you’re in that position, you don’t want to piss off the US Navy. Look up the MacKinder thesis for context.

From my understanding, China has been working closely with Indonesia on certain things. The same can be said for the United States. All this is to say that Indonesia has no dog in the fight. Or rather, they’d rather have the dogs play nice.

Thus, I can Indonesia setting herself up as a mediator nation between two sides vying for supremacy. At some point, in the middle of the 21st century, the United Nations was able to get the world together by focusing on a single project: a space elevator. Indonesia, the diplomat of the world, was chosen and thus a space elevator was constructed north of Jakarta, at Sunda Kelapa, the location of the city’s old port.

The space elevator, known as LASK (short for Lift Antariksa Sunda Kelapa, Indonesian for Sunda Kelapa Space Elevator), revitalized the former capital which had been decaying ever since Indonesia moved its capital to Nusantara.

But Indonesia became a puppet of the world powers. And one man had had enough. For fun, I decided to call him Napoleon Marpaung (don’t worry, the name is subject to change). Anyways, Napoleon was a high ranking military officer. Out of the blue, he launched a coup which seized the national government in Nusantara and the nascent “Space Command” in Jakarta.

The question now became, how did Indonesia fight off both the Atlanticists and the Eurasians? With the Americans, the Chinese, the Indians, the Russians, the Europeans, and many others gunning for them, how did the Indonesians fight off the entire world?

The answer is, they didn’t.

Napoleon was not a fool. He knew that he would drew the ire of all Earth once he launched his coup. But he had a plan, a sword of Damocles. As it turned out, he had jury rigged the LASK with explosives. In essence, the space elevator became a hostage. Indonesia told the world, “you attack us, we blow up the project you’ve worked on for decades”.

It was a risky plan, but it worked. All of the powers agreed to play by Indonesia’s rules, which began the Indonesian gatekeeping to space. As it turned out, Indonesian supremacy over the Earth was not something that was achieved quickly. It happened slowly, but Indonesian monopoly over space turned them into a superpower by the 23rd century.

At least that’s how I see the “origin story” of Bima Sakti. Now let’s go Beyond Earth.

Aliens

Yes, once more I’ll talk about aliens. In the spirit of the Age of Exploration, I’m thinking that there should be alien powers. However, I see them being weak and decadent. Basically, think the late Roman Empire, and the Indonesians are the barbarians. Except this Roman Empire never had a Constantine figure so they’re steeped in a religion they no longer believe in.

This is also where the religious aspect come into play. As I have said before, the Space Indonesians are a very religious people, whether they be Muslims or Christians. What does this mean for the galaxy? Well… imagine a vigorous group of people with missionary zeal mixed with a decadent high civilization who doesn’t believe in themselves anymore.

When I said “jihad” in my Sultanate of the Stars post, I’m not kidding.

A Question

While a lot of issues are starting to be settled, there’s one that I’m still fuzzy about. And that would be the overarching story. How down to earth (pun not intended) should this universe be? Should we go full space opera with some big threat beyond the galaxy (Mass Effect style) or should this more focused on humanity in general (I remember Scoot bringing up a scenario where other Earth nations decided to have enough of Indonesian gatekeeping and build their own space elevator). I’m fine with either way, though it should be settled as soon as possible.

Awaiting your thoughts and answer to this question,

Scoot

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