Chapter 0: As The Goddess Wills It, So Do We All
Forged in the dark days after the fall of the Second Empire, the Holy Vanerran Empire has ruled a unified Vanerra for 279 years. The House of Tychos, descended from the goddess Tychea herself, has been charged with the divine mission of governing the world in her name - a right they have defended against all comers as they took over the planet and held it. But even more - Tychea demands that all the Many Children of Earth be brought under her blessed rule. Human, Elv, Durgon, Orc, Psilon and more. And she has chosen the House of Tychos as her instrument.
For centuries, the hyperlanes have been ever-shifting, ever unstable. Travel between systems has been risky and arduous at the best of times. But now, my people, our best scientists have discovered that not only are the Hyperlanes across the galaxy stable, they will remain stable for centuries to come - as long as we remain of unified will and purpose. For it is of no surprise that the Hyperlanes began to change after the fall of the First Empire, during the fall of the Second Empire.
If all the universe is one conscious will, and we are all linked by being made of common starstuff, then of course the links between systems would be affected by the chaos of the galaxy.
We will bring Unity on the Many Children of Earth, all under the House of Tychos, all under the Holy Vanerran Empire.
The tale of the establishment of the Third Empire of Man begins now, my friends. Will you join me, will you join our God-Empress!?
-Supreme Chancellor Thanie Velis in a speech to the Assembly of Higher Minds, 11.1.2198.
12.23.2199
Imperial Palace, Vanerra
Ashal Tychos, God-Empress of Vanerra and, by the Grace of Tychea, the Rightful Ruler of all the Many Children of Earth looked out from the balcony of the Imperial Palace across the ocean that lay before her. The waters of the Emerald Ocean shined their characteristic green in the light of Forni, the star that gave life and light to Vanerra. It was a beautiful, stunning, calming sight. It always centered her will, connected her back to the constant hum of her people's minds ever linked.
"How soon until your ship is ready to leave the system?" Ashal asked, before turning to the High Explorator Ezo Caes
"As soon as I return to my ship, we'll be ready to leave for the hyper-limit of the system in a week, your Divine Majesty."
"And what do we know about the galaxy you will enter into?"
"Very little," the High Explorator admitted. "Visitors are scattered and infrequent, after all. We know that there are at least twenty other worlds developed enough to build hyperlane-capable ships connected to the current network. We know that there is a space-born collection of marauding aliens out there, a threat to all who dare to come near their space. And we know that Space Amoebas and Tiyanki exist as beings alive in the stars, and that there are a few roaming bands of ancient mining drones, possibly dating to the First Empire, that have long since gone rampant."
"Such is the curse of Thinking Machines," the Grand Cleric Acin Nars muttered.
"Perhaps, your Holiness," Ezo agreed noncomittally. Ashal readied herself to hold up a hand to stem the inevitable debate between her scientists and the Grand Cleric about Thinking Machines. They didn't need it to happen.
Again.
All said and done, she agreed with the Grand Cleric that Thinking Machines were a sin against Tychea, against the manifest Will of the Universe. They could not be linked by psychic powers, could not contribute to the collective conscious will of all life. They were empty, a waste of intellect.
But the Grand Cleric, like most before her, went too far, condemning computers and machines that by no means were thinking, by no means were a danger to the Will of the Universe.
"But regardless," Ezo went on, "we know only scattered reports, and we aren't even sure what of these things are where. Humans, Elvhen, Durgonians and Orcs are absolutely among the Children of Earth we will find, but beyond that? There's always been a plethora of localized changes. Not to mention alien life."
Ashal tensed a little at the mention of alien life. Yes, they would encounter it. And it would be up to her to decide what was to come of them. Ultimately, of course, they too were made of the same starstuff that made the Children of Earth, that made Psilons, that made her own physical form. And yet, the thought of peacefully co-existing with such beings? Beings that were not of Earth?
It was a discomforting thought. She held no inherent hatred for the idea of them, and she suspected it would come down to individual response - those that were a threat to the Empire would be dealt with, those that were not... they could be friends, perhaps even let into the Empire. The records said that the First Empire of Man had many alien citizens living within it, and that, despite what the official claims of the Second Empire had been, they had not been any more disloyal than the Children of Earth had been during the First Empire's fall. Or so was the prevailing interpretation of the available sources by Vanerra's leading Academics.
"We just don't know what is out there, beyond a general outline. We can expect that there will be no powers vastly more technological than ours, at the current state of things. Regression was nearly universal, after all, not just our corner of the galaxy."
"Well, there will only be one way to find out, I suppose." Ashal replied. "By the time you return, I suspect you will find the Empire much changed. There is much left to do to the worlds that orbit Forni. Stations to be established, ships to be built."
"And of course, changes planetside. Our population is growing, we have slums to clean up, farms to build, solar plants to establish... there is much to be done, when the resources of the stars pour in," Ashal continued.
Author's Note said:
As far as I know, there is no official ruling as to how many people one unit of population counts as. I'm going to go with 1 Pop = 200 Million people, as a general rule, albeit newly settled colonies may not work like that, same possibly with Habitats and Ecumenopolis worlds. Therefore Vanerra is currently home to 4.8 Billion people.
"I pray that I return to a happy and prospering system, ready to bring Unity to all the Children of Earth," Ezo said, bowing his head as he clasped his hands to his shoulders in the traditional pose of supplication."
"So do we all," Ashal agreed, and her words were echoed by all who were assembled in her office. "Go. Return to your ship, and discover what awaits us in the Galaxy beyond our star."
Ezo nodded, bowed at the waist, and left, his eagerness at the chance to finally leave the Forni system rolling off of him, leaving a pleasant aftertaste in the minds of all left in the room.
"What else is there to report," She asked her assembled Ministers. "The Cohybin Fleet has taken station at the Forni Shipyards, I am aware. We will need to expand that fleet when we have the materials, but for now, it will do to police the system against what little threat of internal crime may exist."
"Frozen Shason," the Minister of Space Extraction began, speaking of the fifth planet orbiting Forni, "has been found to have significant reserves of valuable minerals, while Ciapho's geothermal reserves can be tapped, if we establish proper operations in orbit and on the surface." The nearest world to Forni was a mass of boiling magma, but if power could be extracted from it, it would be worth the effort. And the minerals from Shason could be used to create new, mass-agriculture fields on Vanerra, or to fuel the production of alloys needed to create starships."
"Then we shall make ready to establish proper mining and extraction operations over both worlds," Ashal nodded. "Anything else?"
"Bearen has been found to have some extremely curious electrical patterns in its atmosphere that could bode well for our research into improved power generation," The Minister of Science commented, speaking of the sixth world around Forni, "and one of the moons of Faepha," the eight world, "Dianho," the Minister said, after consulting his notes, "has some interesting silicate formations that could be of use to the research of improved warship armor."
"They too could be of use, then. But I'm afraid, Minister, that priority will need to be given to Shason and Ciapho. In the long run, we need more energy and minerals, so we can make use of what our science can give us,"
The Minister of Science's expression fell but he nodded. "Of course, your Divine Majesty."
"And our reserves of food? How do they fare?" This she asked her Minister of the Interior.
"Excellent, your Divine Majesty. I know there were some concerns of localized famine in the Northern Archipelagos last year, but that turned out to be a false alarm. The fisheries have been carefully regulated to ensure there will be no overharvesting, the surface and ocean bed farms are well in hand."
"Very good. Anything else of note?" She looked around the room. No one spoke up.
"Dismissed. Chancellor, remain." Ashal watched as everyone else bowed, making their way out of the room. From their minds, she tasted mostly concurrence with the goals as laid out - the Minister of Science was disappointed, and the Grand Cleric was, as always, bitter, but most were hopeful. This was what her people had been building for ever since her House took their rightful throne
The skepticism and caution from Thanie was of course, a distinct taste from it all.
"Ever the skeptic, Thanie? Even now?"
"It's why you keep me around, Ashal," Thanie offered with a small smile, chuckling. "Someone needs to keep your most holy self grounded to Vanerra as you go haring off to unify all the Many Children of Earth." She sighed. "Is this really going to work, do you think?"
"The Goddess blesses our efforts, Thanie," Ashal replied, the statement nothing but pure truth, matter of fact.
"I do not doubt that, Ashal, you know that. But the Goddess helps those who help themselves. The Universe leaves the hard work to us, as it always has. But the Children of Earth have done this before. The First Empire, the Second Empire. Twice now, we've unified, and twice now, we've collapsed. If you and your heirs succeed in the mission Tychea has imparted to you, and create a Third Empire... will it even last?"
Ashal turned back to the view of the ocean, resting her hands on the railing of the balcony, "Nothing lasts forever, Thanie. Entropy is our constant companion, it always has been. On Earth and after. Even here, on Vanerra, my House had to fight tooth and nail to secure our rightful throne. We were a unified world, once, during the Second Empire. Even a Sector Seat. And then, when the Dark Years came, we divided. It is what the Children of Earth do - we divide, we unite. We create, we destroy. Should we give up just because things end?"
Thanie smiled again, the corners of her mouth ticking up ever so slightly as her eyes sparkled with amusement. "No, I suppose not. But still... are we ready for this? There is so much unused space on Vanerra alone. Land that could be dedicated to farms, to mines, to housing, to geothermal power, solar power... do we need to reach for the stars now? Do we have the resources?"
Now it was Ashal's turn to laugh, "Thanie, asking obvious questions doesn't really count for much when it comes to being my Court Skeptic. We need more minerals than we can get from here. The Asteroid Belt has been tapped out completely... the Forni Shipyards never did stop, even during the Dark Years, and prospectors have drained it dry. Shason will only do so much for us."
Amusement flared off Thanie, but the taste quickly then trailed into hesitation. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now... before you tasked Ezo and the University of Ishkayos with surveying the hyperlane status five years ago... you had a meeting with the High Mystery of the Oracles." Ashal could pick up concern, worry... an undertone of fear coming off of Thanie.
It was a sour taste on her mind.
"What did he tell you?"
"Many things," Ashal said softly. She took in a breath, let it out, and stared over the expanse of the Emerald Ocean. As a result of their changes by the Skreeth, at the true direction of Tychea, Psilons generally required high ambient moisture in the air for optimum health, making ocean worlds the most comfortable to them. Still, some primal part of Ashal, dating back to Earth itself, perhaps, felt lost at the dizzying expanse of the ocean before her.
I want to see a desert someday before I die. I want to visit one. Either an entire desert planet, like legendary Allure, or a desert on a more temperate and varied world. She'd have to be careful on it, yes, or only stay a short time, but still.
But even if we find such deserts, I can't really travel offworld for an extended period...
Such was the price of her Divine Duty.
"He told me many things," she repeated. "The Oracles forsee great times of trouble for the Children of Earth. Many planets will suffer shortages, plagues, death, bombardment, invasion, before this is done. Billions, trillions, even, will die. Perhaps not at our hands, but at the hands of many of our own kin. Bloody-minded monsters, barely civilized barbarians... but even more. He warned of something worse. That there would be something else... some great crisis, from beyond the Children of Earth, that could destroy us all, if we weren't ready for it."
The fear coming off of Thanie only intensified. Ashal wished she could reprimand her, but when the High Mystery had detailed the full extent of his order's visions, she had nearly lost control of her bladder, sharing in just the outer taste of what those visions had done to his mind.
"You feel terrified, Ashal."
"I am. The crisis could take many forms, he said. But the one he worried off most was of some... hungry force, clawing at the walls of our reality. Hungry, demanding, pure evil. Something... unbidden, unwanted. It would enter, without invitation, and destroy us all, if we were not ready for them. That is why I ordered Ezo and his team to look at the Hyperlanes again. We must unify - at least more. We must spread, so we are not vulnerable to so few worlds. You know how many colonies must have died off completely since the fall of the Second Empire. We nearly did ourselves, before new farms were established, before asteroid mining began."
Ashal turned, "we must prepare. Build up our reserves. And make ready to survive against unspeakable odds. We must have more resources - and as many of the Children of Earth as possible must be unified under a common banner."
"You make it sound as if we are preparing for Armeggedon," Thanie forced a laugh, obviously hoping she could make light of it. That Ashal would tell her no.
"We may well be," Ashal murmured. She sighed once more. "I believe we can face it, if we prepare. If we expand, if we raise resources, reestablish lost technology and rediscover the great ways of our ancestors. There was a time when every known star system had at least one terraformed world for settlement. When Dyson Spheres were being built across the Galaxy. If we can even recover a quarter of the glories of the First Empire, we will succeed, I know it."
Thanie laughed more genuinely now. "There is the hopeful optimist I've always known."
"It is no virtue to expect the best when you do not know there will be hard times ahead," Ashal pointed out. "But knowing that we will face hell... and knowing we can make it through to the otherside, Goddess willing? Believing in her blessing, in our Unity? That is the true virtue."
As Ashal gazed on the horizon, the sun began to set, painting the sky and water in many colors.
The sun is setting on the age of ignorance and despair that came before. Now... now we may face a time of chaos, but it is also a time of hope. The House of Tychos will create the Third Empire. The Many Children of Earth will survive all that comes to threaten us. From within, and without. Someday, the Third Empire may fall to Entropy, but we too, will be known for not going quietly into that good night, and we will be remembered for the good works we did.
As the Goddess wills it, so do we all.
