Advent discontinuity

It's not discontinuity it's perspective. From the perspective of the Trade Order the Advent was a deviant society so that's how the story is told. The game cinematic cinches that it's all about perspective when you hear the narrator speak about the Advent. Human history--especially the Western world expansion-- is full of such over the top descriptions and histories of cultures and people they didn't understand.

I'm sure this story will give you a chuckle.

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~thompsoc/Body.html

GoJoe has nailed it. Essentially, "the victor gets to write the history books". That's nicely reflected in the fictional background.

Remember that to take over a planet, the TEC NUKE THE BEJEEBUS OUT OF IT. They're not exactly nice either.

-- Retro

I had suspected that, a historical slant propagated by the TEC, but wanted to be sure. Thanks!

Well, you have to be careful because they might not be as "pure" as they look if you think about of their psychic abilities.

Imagine the breeding programs they must use in order to produce a more genetically superior child. With no men, their genetic lottery is completely rigged. Do they cull children that don't advance their psionic abilities somehow? Are you raised in a society where every moment of your regulated life goes toward the good of your race, and any sort of individuality is brutally oppressed? What sort of people would create a weapon that makes an entire planet go so insane that it kills a quarter of its own population?

The Advent could be a shining race, yes, but they could also be an anthive that is driven solely by duty and racial purity. We don't know at this point, and the truth is likely somewhere between the two.

-- Retro

Where is it said there are no men? More anti-Unity propaganda!

There are males pictured in the losing screen, and one of the race portraits is a male, albeit a rather pretty one.

Bright and enlightened? They don't come off that way to me; they don't give off the sesne that they are akin to Vulcans; rather they seem more akin to religious fanatics with a collective, hive-like mentality.

So they're contemporary christians? j/k

But seriously, that's why we need that expansion with a story line. It will most likely answer these kinds of questions.

Yep there are men. The reason all the prominent roles are filled by females is explained in the lore as well: females have a higher propensity to being strong psychics. So all your military/command roles will likely be dominated by females, and I'm betting that almost all specialist roles (like the Anima, for instance) are all female.

The brown-earmuff portrait *might have been* a guy, but still looks like a rather butch girl to me.

Thanks, tunabreath - I read the lore, and there are definitely guys, but the lore also indicates a burning desire for revenge that's driving the society, so who knows how much actual freedom the men get when "the ends justify the means"? Maybe they're the equivalent of drones in a beehive - in the Advent's zeal to achieve psionic perfection, maybe the males with the best psi-carrying genes get to mate, and then get converted to soylent green once they're past their prime?

Or maybe different factions treat their men differently, with some revering them as a sort of pandered-to leisure class, and others treating them effectively as disposable breeding stock (which could explain why the Advent engage in civil wars on large maps)?

[Note: sign me up for the former. Would give me more time to play Sins!]

It's all speculation of course, but fun to think about.

-- Retro

Good points. And I agree that the "Provoke Hysteria" ability is one of the most awesome yet slightly chilling abilities in the game. I get pleasurable urges I don't quite understand whenever I zoom in on a planet under its effects and just listen as the "glory" of the Unity engulfs the populace...