Arche (META)

Arche (pronounced AR-kay) is the name given to the brand and universe created by E.R. Starcher for his upcoming novel. It is a sci-fi universe focused on realistic depictions of technological advancement and human expansion into the star systems surrounding Sol. The tabletop roleplaying series, GM'ed by Starcher, is set in the year AD 2694, and the Novel is set 18 years later in 2712.

Name and Branding
Arche is an anglicization of the Greek αρχη, best translated as "Principle" or "Beginning." The word carries weight as a philosophical term, which ancient Greek philosophers used to refer to the ultimate beginning (ontological progenitor) of all things, such as a god or inciting cosmological event. It also is used in the connotation of governmental and military power to refer to the highest power in the land, as well as referring to power structures in general. The APXH logo is simply the Greek αρχη written in all-caps. It features horizontal bounding bars and an overlapping blue cone representing the upward and outward motion of humanity into the stars, the wormholes used to traverse space in the world, and the exponential growth of human population and power structures in the world.

Inception and Production
Arche, while not named until November 2020, was conceived of by E.R. Starcher in early 2017. The First written worldbuilding on Arche came in March 2017. The original idea for the Arche universe came from a thought experiment spurred by the question "How will Air Traffic Control work in the Space Age?" Starcher, a student pilot at the time, then devised a fictional system of airspace division which set the tone for the Arche universe.

It wasn't until December 2017 that the novel in the Arche universe began to take shape. The premise of the novel, as with much of the worldbuilding, was based around the science, culture, and technology surrounding the proliferation of Space Travel in the far future. The main character is a pilot with a deep connection to their ship and profound adoration of spacefaring and piloting. The world of Arche, however, is one where the unyielding expansion of humankind puts pressures on people who are passionate, often forcing them into occupations that are far less glamorous than their childhood caricatures.

In Summer 2020, in an attempt to diversify the universe of Arche, Starcher began GMing a roleplaying game set in the Arche universe. This campaign follows the story of the crew of the IHV Euphretes, an exploration vessel owned by the Eden Project, destined for a newly discovered garden world called Eden 7.

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