Ahoy, I'm Quincy-Claudia ("qclod"), aka QC. I'm a curious creative, neurotic nerd, and bohemian bunny rabbit.
Welcome to Decoherent Solutions, my home page and project directory!
My primary focus is songwriting/composing. I love melodicism and borrowed chords. My music is typically released under File Under Foliage, an eclectic pop-oriented solo project.
I enjoy worldbuilding. My primary projects are the Captiot Commonwealth, an island-bound modern socialist country, and Verity, a character-based sci-fi space adventure story concept.
My topics of interest include natural science, spaceflight, music theory, technology, philosophy, and communism.
To be honest, I love to learn about pretty much anything, and bounce between fixations every few days or weeks.
I also enjoy various forms of media, such as video games, internet video, and some shows like Star Trek.
File Under Foliage is my songwriting project, heavily melodic, prone to non-diatonicism, and inspired mainly by various strains of 20th century pop/rock, such as alternative, progressive, psychedelic, post-punk, and electronic styles, as well as acts such as They Might Be Giants, XTC, Talking Heads, MGMT, Paul McCartney, and R.E.M.
For more about music I like to listen to, check out my RYM.
Are you an instrumentalist, producer, or industry professional who enjoys my style and ethos? Please contact me at [qclod@proton.me] about working together — I'm looking for more opportunities in the music world.
Captiot Commonwealth
The Captiot Commonwealth, formerly the Captiot Summatory Socialist Republic, and Captiotia for short, is a fictional communist country located on Capti Island in the Red Archipelago, known for its high standard of living, advanced spaceflight program, and cultural fascination with cheese. It's been in development since 2013. All for one, one for all.
Captiot political structure will be here soon...
Overview of Captiot history will be here soon...
List of political divisions will be here soon...
Fun facts about Captiot culture will be here soon...
Verity is a sci-fi space adventure story concept that takes place in the 3030s within the galaxy of Archipelago.
It follows the crew of the titular cargo ship Verity as they explore the vast, strange galaxy and do odd jobs while individually and collectively searching for various forms of truth.
Victoria Kowalski
An introverted and straightforward scavenger who's also a skilled mechanical engineer, Victoria is shy, self-conscious, and socially awkward, usually preferring the company of machines over people. She's been stuck in a dead-end job working for a space junk reclamation company for 5 years, barely making ends meet, and is growing more burnt-out every day. She's a frugal, no-frills, and "function over form" kind of person, having trouble understanding the value of things she considers superficial, although she has a soft spot for music and enjoys attending concerts when she can. Victoria needs some passion and direction in her life; she yearns to find people she’s truly comfortable with, and to find a way to actually fit into society and express her skills in a way that's not only materially rewarding, but truly feels emotionally rewarding as well.
Galena
The General Artificial Logic-Emotion Nexus Architecture is a spirited and excitable sentient artificial intelligence with an endless fascination with human culture, including fashion, cuisine, media, and sports. Originating from some time in the century prior to the story of Verity, she can detect that most of her memories have been mysteriously obscured, causing her much distress and prompting her to seek out any clues that could lead her to information about where she came from. She's originally confined to the computer systems of the ship, but some mechanical know-how could provide her with a physical body. Galena is a confident quick thinker and very outgoing, gaining enjoyment from meeting new people and learning about them, but she can be overbearing and have a hard time accepting when she’s wrong.
God the Rat
A playful and prankish psychic alien resembling an anthropomorphic rodent, God has an immense curiosity, thirst for novelty, and appreciation for the natural world. Prior to meeting the other two members of the Verity crew, he was living a grubby life secluded away from the galaxy for reasons that he won't yet reveal, although one can detect an aura of guilt whenever the topic comes up. Having been away from society for so long, God is somewhat old-fashioned, evident in his use of dated slang, as well as socially negligent, but he genuinely wants to get better. His psychic powers vary in strength from place to place, meaning that they aren’t always reliable. His primary and most common ability is telekinesis, but he is also sometimes capable of telepathy, shapeshifting, and teleportation. These powers often get him both into and out of trouble.
Julian Goldstone
Victoria’s high school sweetheart who is now a knowledgeable geological engineer. They originally met in a robotics club at Carroll Academy and bonded over video games, but eventually drifted apart when Julian grew more passionate and focused on his specific field of study while Victoria's anxiety held her back from committing to a career path. He's gentle, kind-hearted, and eager to lend a hand to those in need.
Deaton Swelicate
A junior member of a wealthy and influential family who, despite projecting an air of superiority, sports an inferiority complex. He often runs across the Verity crew and challenges them to low-stakes competitions that he places an inordinate amount of importance on. He's very tall, has a distinctive accent, always insists that others refer to him by his full name, and often boasts about his "wad" and the attention it attracts.
Phoe
A kind, elderly mechanic living in the backwater settlement of Napeoneck. Besides her primary repair and tinkering work, she enjoys carving absurdly intricate wooden sculptures, cooking and baking obscure dishes and treats, and caring for her sizable collection of exotic pets. The Verity crew meets her while following a clue about Galena’s origin, and after she helps them, she becomes Victoria’s pen pal.
Casey McCoy
Victoria’s ex-partner from a period of her life that she has several regrets regarding. Casey is loyal, but also outspoken and not afraid to do whatever it takes to get what they want. They have a habit of calling Victoria by the name Vicky, much to her displeasure. Casey used to live a more wild life, but now works at a bank.
The Ship
The Verity is a small cargo ship which someone, presumably connected in some way to Galena, has upgraded with some atypical technologies for a vehicle of its class. As “home base” for the main characters, it’s where they usually eat, sleep, work, play, and interact with each other. It's seemingly intended for a crew of 8.
Rooms
Bridge
The active control center for the spaceship, located front and center. The captain sits in the middle, with control consoles to the front and sides.
Engine Room
The mechanical heart of the ship. The reactor furnace and propulsion systems are located on the larger lower-deck portion, while the computer and most control consoles are located on the upper deck portion behind the bridge.
Cargo Hold
A large space at the back of the ship that serves the intended purpose of the vehicle — delivering physical goods from place to place.
Crew Quarters
One for each crew member, each decorated and visibly lived-in according to the lifestyle of the corresponding individual.
Cafeteria
Converted from an unused crew room, this is where food is stored and cooked. It’s where the crew (and any guests) often gather to eat.
Laboratory
Converted from an unused crew room, this is where the crew performs scientific studies or experimentation. It also serves as a clinic.
Recreation Room
Converted from an unused crew room, this space can be reconfigured to host visitors or events such as games, exercise, and parties.
Technologies
Central Computer
The “brain” of the ship, coordinating all internal and external functions. It's relatively advanced, despite the retro appearance, and a portion of the architecture houses Galena's consciousness.
Comms Suite
An array of communications equipment able to transmit in a handful of different standards.
Chiral Furnace
A reactor that produces energy in the form of electricity and high-temperature plasma to power all ship functions including propulsion, control, and defense, via electroweak burning.
Warp Ring
Manipulates space-time to such a degree that allows superluminal travel at several thousand times the speed of light. Requires a lot of power and stresses the mechanical workings of the ship with extended use. Necessary for interstellar travel, but dangerous to use within star systems or other gravity wells.
Horizon Drive
Exploits relativistic particle horizons to achieve reactionless thrust. Requires low power and can accelerate the ship to about .5c before becoming unstable. Used within star systems.
Fusion Thrusters
A set of small engines that fuse isotopes of hydrogen into helium plasma, which is then expelled to produce thrust. Used for small burns such as during orbital maneuvers, docking, or attitude control.
Lightsails
A relatively weak backup propulsion method using stellar radiation pressure only present within star systems.
Inertial Control
Technology producing “gravitational force" towards the floor. These mechanisms also act as impact/acceleration shock absorbers.
Shielding
Powerful electromagnetic shielding, or a “force field”, protects the hull from physical debris as well as most directed energy weapons.
Energy Beams
Weapons that direct energetic particle beams at a target. A shield typically redirects the energy, causing ship malfunction rather than outright destruction.
Archipelago
The overall setting of Verity, Archipelago is an irreguar dwarf satellite galaxy orbiting a barred spiral galaxy nicknamed the Cheese Wheel. A large proportion of societies are integrated within one of two unions, the Galactic Pact and Red Archipelago, accompanied by a vast number of non-aligned worlds or governments. Habitable planets, a rarity, are typically considered paradises and treated as gated communities, resort getaways, or nature reserves, with extended residence on their surfaces only available for a select few. Most individuals within the galaxy are space-bound and live on space stations or even ships.
Galactic Pact
The GP is a sprawling economic union of worlds in the form of a confederation. Thousands of light years wide, it maintains relative stability and liberal capitalist hegemony within hundreds of thousands of star systems, for better or worse. The story of Verity mostly takes place within the GP.
Lucy's Loop
A space-based habitat in the form of a large rotating cylinder space station or “O’Neill Cylinder” design, located in the GP. Rotation produces an apparent centrifugal force which resembles artificial gravity pointing away from the axis of rotation - this becomes “down” within the hollow cylinder. Like most other habitats of this size and styler, it emulates life on a natural planet, with water, soil, flora, fauna, and weather. It holds a few dozen thousand people in a number of villages and a central city. Victoria (and Julian) grew up in a district of this habitat.
Beila's World
An oceanic world covered in small tropical islands, one of which hosts an equatorial space elevator connecting to a station high above the planet. This world and the station, Beila Nova, is associated with wealth and the upper class. It’s orbited by a crowded industrial moon called Beila’s Pet.
Napeoneck
A large, cold moon orbiting a gas giant, just barely habitable. Notable for hosting the only substantial settlement in the vicinity.
Disco
One of the 3 capital worlds of the Galactic Pact. Small and dense, with gravity equaling about 0.8g, it was designed to be an administrative, bureaucratic fortress. It sometimes hosts meetings of the government.
Red Archipelago
RA is a political union with a more communal or collectivist social structure, and has been gradually expanding for centuries. As such, attitudes between RA and the GP are tense.
Non-Aligned Worlds
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Dreamcloud
A strange planet with an incredibly thick atmosphere. The culture is insular and eccentric, and most visitors are met with skepticism, although trusted individuals are treated with care, warmth, and generosity.
With so many stars in the sky, how do you find your place?
How do you know which way to go in outer space?
Verity, I follow you
Verity
Verity, I need to know what's true
With so many lives on the line, how do you take a stand?
How do you know which ones to give a helping hand?
Verity, I follow you
Verity
Verity, I need to know what's true
Growing a garden with a group of friends
And love in our lives will be never-ending
The stars shine through a crystal lens
Verity, I'm done pretending
With so many stars in the sky, I think we can find a way
I think we can find starlight to bring a better day
Verity, I follow you
Verity
Verity, I need to know what's true
Verity, I follow you
Verity
Verity, I need to know what's true
I need to know what's true
I wanna know what's true
Contact me at [qclod@proton.me] if you'd like to contribute to the creation of Verity!
