Tech Comparison: Duzhonev Imperium

Materials Science. Like the Empire, the Duzhonev Imperium primarily uses durasteel in its construction, but Duzhonevian durasteel is enhanced with aetheric processing to make it even stronger. This allows Duzhonevian constructions to be very large, and in the Duzhonevian mindset, bigger is better. Aetheric processing does render Duzhonevian durasteel far less malleable than its regular counterparts, so Duzhonevian constructions are even boxier than their Imperial counterparts.

Power. The Duzhonev Imperium has access to two very powerful, but unstable, sources of energy: aetheric reactors and void reactors. Duzhonevian aetheric reactors operate similarly to their Avelovan counterparts, but produce far more power at the cost of creating larger amounts of radioactive particles. These particles, which are very heavy, are mixed with aerosols and released into atmosphere or vacuum as "smoke." Duzhonevian aetheric reactors produce plenty of raw electrical power, allowing Duzhonevian systems to consume more power. Aetheric reactors produce massive amounts of waste heat, necessitating the radiator fins on most Duzhonevian ships. Because these reactors are set to their absolute operational limits, Duzhonevian aetheric reactors have a tendency to explode when too much stress is placed on them. The second form of Duzhonevian reactors, void reactors, are powered by the energies of the Void. Siphoning energy from a parallel universe, void reactors have a theoretically infinite power output, limited only by the rate at which void reactors can process Void energy. Because they are designed by mad scientists, not even Duzhonevian engineers fully understand void reactors.

Faster-than-light Travel. Most Duzhonevian spacecraft use hyperdrives, which operate identically to their Imperial counterparts. However, some more advanced Duzhonevian craft are equipped with void engines. These void engines are nowhere near as effective as their Imperial Remnant counterparts, but they do give the Duzhonevians the ability to strike anywhere in the galaxy.

Energy Weaponry. The standard Duzhonevian energy weaponry is electron-based, and the primary Duzhonevian infantry weapon is the electron ray. Electron rays are larger than Imperial blasters and Federation phasers, and can only fire a handful of rounds before having to be reloaded. However, they are a rugged and reliable technology, and can do a lot of damage even to armored targets. The heavier Duzhonevian energy weapons are known as death rays, and they fire ionized aetheric particles, oftentimes in a stream of rings instead of a coherent beam. Capable of annihilating all baryonic matter, death rays can cut through even the heaviest armor, although they are easily blocked by modern energy shields. Anti-infantry death rays have been designed by Duzhonevian scientists to leave behind charred skeletons of the enemy, as part of a psychological terror tactic. More conventional weapons, such as lasers, are used in the Duzhonevian military, such as point-defense and suppression lasers.

Kinetic Weaponry. The Duzhonevians use all manner of kinetic weaponry. Slugthrowers are still used by the Duzhonev Imperium in the form of artillery. These artillery shells, made of dense durasteel and loaded with aetheric explosives, may move slowly, but they are so massive that they are impossible to stop with most point-defense lasers and missiles. The artillery pieces themselves are often the size of city blocks, and are either mounted on orbiting spacecraft or dropped from orbit. The Duzhonevians also utilize slugthrowers in the form of machine guns, as the Duzhonevians realize that filling the air with bullets is an effective strategy against most of the opponents they will ever face. The Duzhonevians utilize missiles in a more limited extent, favoring large, intercontinental missiles to smaller tactical systems.

Special Weapons. The Duzhonevians have an obsession with experimental weapons and superweapons, which they are always eager to try on their many enemies. This is assisted by their extensive use of modified scientists, who often produce strange weapons, only a handful of which are effective enough to be worth mass producing. The Duzhonevians have developed their own hyperlight weapons, and have also made extensive developments in void weaponry. The Duzhonevians have even created artificial Void entities, operating similarly to the Seeping Ink, and have augmented some of their elite soldiers with Void modifications. The Duzhonevians have also developed their biological and cybernetic enhancements further than almost any other galactic civilization save the Consortium and the Federation. The Duzhonevians often recycle corpses and wreckage from battlefields for use as expendable cyborg troops, or create abominations constructed from several corpses for use as shock troops. They have even modified non-humans to serve as cyborg troops, such as saurian assault troops.

Shields. The Duzhonevians do not utilize energy shields much, as their aetheric reactors cannot provide a consistent enough power output for shield generators to tolerate. Only the largest Duzhonevian ships and bases are equipped with energy shields. Otherwise, the Duzhonevians rely on their durasteel armor, which is more than capable of withstanding most enemy fire.

Antigravity. Duzhonevian antigravity technology is primitive, again owing to the fact that aetheric reactors produce unstable power. Few Duzhonevian vehicles are equipped with antigravity generators, and those that do are large ad bulky compared to their Imperial or Federal counterparts. The Duzhonevians prefer wheels, tracks, or a combination of the two. Even their aircraft are propelled with primitive rocket engines.

Computers. The Duzhonev Imperium respects the Uniform Machine Code, recognizing that disobeying the Code is the one crime they cannot get away with. Indeed, they have overshot the Code's targets, and as a result Duzhonevian computer technology is far behind that of the other powers. Duzhonevians do not have personal computers, and those computers that they do have are the size of entire rooms. Most Duzhonevian computers are dedicated to the telescreen system used to monitor almost the entire Duzhonevian population, and the rest are used for space travel or for research. The most advanced computers are augmented by organic brain banks, the brains either cloned or taken from prisoners. To counteract this deficiency, the Duzhonevians use Void manipulation on some of their people to give them the ability to process information like an AI. While this does work, it has the unfortunate side effect of driving the person insane.

Automation. The Duzhonevians feel that they have no use for automation, as they have oceans of citizen and slave labor to fill any gaps. Most automation in the Duzhonev Imperium is present to help operate high-tech systems, and little else.