History of the Terran Empire
History of the Terran Empire
However barbaric and warlike Old Earth society was before deep space exploration, humanity was able to put its house in some semblance of order, and thankfully, armed conflict between states rarely escalated above conventional levels. Despite accords struck between the old superpowers, no single political force was able to emerge out of earth's cultural melting-pot to unite all Terrans under one government.
Just before the advent of semi-practical (non-hypershunt) interstellar travel, Old Earth was crushed by the weight of domestic problems. Exorbitant population levels were sustained by technological breakthroughs in food production and waste recycling, but governments were hard pressed to concern themselves with little more than social welfare. In fact, most of the government funds were directed towards this end. Many countries collapsed due to the strain on their economies. This set the stage for interstellar development which deviated from all projected paths for the time. As it turned out, the only institutions with the resources to elevate the "human condition" were non-governmental corporate conglomerates which were so highly diversified that they resembled governments themselves. These bodies developed the technologies to reach for the stars and had the drive of profit to implement them.
Beginning with N-space vessels, and then again much later with FTL starships, there was a land-grab the likes of which had never been seen before as entire star systems were claimed by the first companies to get there. Like any other successful business venture, the new resources at a company's disposal were utilized to obtain maximum profit. Raw materials were used to build more starships which in turn gained more territory and the cycle perpetuated itself. Within each newly discovered system the colonists from Old Earth became the new employees of the administering corporations while those very corporations set up their own autonomous governing bodies to avoid the need for external regulation.
Several attempts were made to obtain a centralized governing body for all of humanity - which was in the process of rapidly diffusing throughout The Worlds - but each was doomed to failure due to the lack of a quick and efficient way to communicate between the newly developing governmental bodies. Transmissions were limited by the speed-of-light (for radio and neutrino communiques) or by the speed of message carrying starships (which were expensive to operate and subject to deliberate or accidental destruction). Without a direct communications link information and technology transfer was retarded, the intent of laws and interpretations was crippled due to the less than universal application, and the normal processes of diplomatic relations were impossible. However, there was another more significant block against a centralized administration; the megacorporations liked autonomous control over all their resources, so from their point of view, what was the use of forming a centralized government anyway? Unless forced upon them, the administrating corporation of each system was not about to accept an outside controlling entity. It is of interest to note that it was often the case that these mega-corporations would evolve into exotic and varying forms of state, which was usually a function of the cultural background or ethical sophistication of the corporation's executive core.
After many millennia of chaos, which brought about ebbs and flows in the tide of man's technological achievements, a limited form of instantaneous interstellar communication was developed. The device slowly spread to The Worlds which were still accepting outside contact and eventually a resolution to reunite all of humanity was sworn by several core worlds (Old Earth included). Several of these core world mega-corporations, which were the governing bodies within their given territories, pooled their resources and built great fleets of military starships to sortie out and reunify (read conquer) the scattered shards of Terran humanity. Most historians argue that this long process of an attempt to achieve a Terran government was nothing other than an utterly endless string of brutal wars but, in the end, a centralized political body was obtained which was declared to be democratic in nature. However, it was a political body only insomuch as it could exercise a minimal influence on its "member planets".
The problem was that there were now just too many worlds with too many diverse interests with too many gripes brought about by the enforcement of an alien governmental form to be regulated by the quasi-democratic state which was imposed on these reunified worlds. The system was not working, but the leaders of this centralized democratic state were beginning to realize something: the unimaginable immensity of wealth that was to be collectively found on The Worlds. The first seed of the Imperial Drive had been sown. Some obscure historian had once calculated that more political leaders were assassinated in the three-hundred-year drive towards the creation of the Imperium than in the preceding twelve thousand years of recorded human history. It was quickly realized that the problem with an Imperial form of government was that there could be only one Emperor. Everyone who could stake a claim on the title did and hence the conflict.
After the dust had settled, the Empire was a reality. It initially consisted of the Imperium, a great volume of space encompassing many worlds, and twenty-seven Provinces. The Provinces were areas which could not be handily controlled by the Imperial court exclusively, and as a rule, encompassed upwards of ten star systems in relatively close proximity. The Emperor's court was founded on Old Earth, roughly at the astro-geographic center of the Imperium. The Provinces were granted to "responsible" mega-corporations or other governing bodies which had also evolved over the past few thousand years and were represented in the parliament of the recently deceased democracy.
The Imperium controls the Empire for one reason only: it has enough military clout to crush any group that opposes its will. We begin in Imp.470, the four hundred and seventieth year of the Terran Empire
The Imperium
"The pulse of the Empire." "The heartland of Terran humanity." "The political core of the race that will one day rule the entire galaxy." These are a few of the more commonly used euphemisms that the Imperial Propaganda Corps has chosen to bludgeon Provincial citizens with. Enlightened Empire subjects know the Imperium for what it truly is; a privileged clique of hawkish self-proclaimed nobles bent on leeching the wealth of Imperial and Provincial territory alike. Remember that it was greed for riches and lust for control which fueled the three-hundred-year drive for the Empire. As expected, (and hoped for on the part of the Emperor and his Court) the nobles of the Empire live in the lap of luxury and many others have profited from the formation of the Empire. Most notably, Provincial leaders, smugglers, and other criminals. From this scant overview, the Imperium superficially appears to be rotten to the core, but upon closer inspection the view just gets worse.
So why has the Imperium lasted for nearly five centuries? If any disillusioned Imperial subjects should incite others to rebel for an anti-Empire cause, the Imperium could field no fewer than twenty-five combat-ready Starmadas, forty gunboat squadrons, and two elite gunboat squadrons to invoke a Piat Fiela (scorching death) against the insurgents. Few have been foolish enough to test the Imperial Fleet at their own game, as the result has invariably been the thorough destruction of upstart revolutionaries. The Emperor truly rules with an armored gauntlet. Recent revolts against the Empire have been called wars by their instigators but tend to be nothing more than extended guerilla actions. However, no insurgent group has ever been able to garner enough support to declare its independence from the Empire within its present boundaries. Several oppressed cultures have been able to alienate themselves from the Empire, shipping entire flotillas of colony, development, support, and warships into unexplored space. The Empire is always hungry for news of these renegade powers, although none of them have ever been heard from publicly. If any were to be found or make their presence known, the Emperor would spare no expense in declaring war on them. It is believed that the resulting Piat Fiela would be an exercise of utter obliteration.
As if twenty-five Starmadas were not enough, unit for unit Imperial starfleets tend to be far more powerful than their Provincial counterparts. Imperial crews are also better trained and more skilled than comparable forces. At present the typical Imperial Starmada has the following composition breakdown.
1 Dreadnought or 2 Flag Cruisers
4-5 Line Cruisers
Support Cruisers
10-12 Gunships
7-8 Support Transports
200 SMAC Fighters [300 when combat ready]
800 Marines [1200 when combat ready]
If nothing else strikes fear into a rebel Province, an Imperial Dreadnought will. These brutes are nothing less than mobile cities of armor and armaments. They carry their own compliment of 200 SMAC fighters and the equivalent firepower of half a Starmada. There are only three in existence, and they are the pride and joy of the Emperor.
To increase security the Empire's first leader - Emperor Macedon I - as his first official act, decreed that the production of thermonuclear, enhanced radiation and biotoxin attack delivery systems was to cease immediately and that any further production was outlawed. Along with this ban was a prohibition against building sublight motive systems large enough to propel great quantities of mass close to the speed of light. This was due to a popular method for destroying whole planets which was to accelerate a mass close to the speed of light on a collision course with the planet in question. As the translight threshold was approached, the rest inertia of the mass became so great that the resultant collision was often devastating enough to destroy the planet. This decree led to what has now been called the Great Hoarding. To strengthen their territories through retaliatory capability, Provincial leaders stored away every holocaustic device that they could lay their hands on. To reduce these still dangerous hoards and therefore strengthen the Emperor's position, the penalty for many interprovincial capital crimes often includes the forfeiture of hoarded atomics and biotoxins.
Despite the stockpiling and the intention of use that has accompanied these dreaded weapons throughout their long history, the past five centuries have been significant in that there has not been a single utilization of one of these attack delivery systems against a mass civilian target. Although one would suspect that this stunning lack of use was caused by the now famous production ban and the subsequent Hoarding, this is in fact not the case. Many historians trace the non-utilization phenomenon back to the first Truthsybils (often called Truthsayers) of the Galactic Court of Humanity. The order of Truthsybils has been a group of telepathically adept Neo-humans whose primary function has been to determine the truth of statements made under oath at the Court. Faced with such formidable mental opposition, no political entity would dare initiate a holocaustic attack lest a party member be called forth to deny involvement in front of a Truthsybil. There is little doubt that aggressor factions would be discovered by Truthsybil agents which would in turn lead to that faction's summary annihilation by the collected forces of the rest of the Empire. The balance of terror intrinsic to these weapons is again as prevalent as it was after their initial conception.
No balanced human could now envision the use of such destructive weaponry against non-military targets. It seems that humans learned after their "Planet Busting" period that any strategic gain brought about by such destruction just was not worth the inevitable retaliation wrought by the allies of their target cultures. Superficially the citizens of the Empire appear safe from mass attack systems, but there now exists a danger posed by the unknown forces of renegade Families which have escaped the Empire's realm. If they should someday seek revenge upon the Emperor, the kid gloves would be shed in favor of attack systems which guarantee the annihilation of the target populace.
After all these millennia it is perhaps fitting that the seat of power in the Terran Empire finds itself on Old Earth. Almost all industry has been moved off-world. Only parks, agriculture and administrative centers remain along with the Imperial Palace. However, the fabricated pastoral facade that has been set up there is still hard pressed to coverup the most wily, clever, and treacherous band that the Terran man has ever been subjected to.
Several concessions were made by the Imperium from PreImp.40 to Imp.0 to expedite the formation of the Empire. The most significant of these was the erection of the Galactic Court of Humanity. This court, along with its police arm, Vegapol, operates independently of Imperium and Province alike. It is their function to investigate and adjudicate matters of diplomatic, economic, and criminal dispute between the Empire's territories. It should be noted here that, when possible, most Provinces seek their own "out of court" settlements when inter-family disputes arise. As the name Vegapol suggests, the Galactic Court of Humanity (GCH) and its policing component are in the Vega system on Vega IV (Valhalla). To facilitate fair decisions on the part of the court (which are often dependent on the adjudications of the not wholly trusted Truthsybils), all evidence to be presented in each case must be independently confirmed by Vegapol. Therefore, it is common to find Vegapol detective-monitors permanently attached to the security offices of many Empire territories.
The other institutional resident of Vega IV is MERLOGH, the Mercantile League of Great Houses. This financial regulatory body acts as the Empire's stock market, monitoring the flow of stock and bond capital between Imperial and Provincial governments and corporations. MERLOGH sets the value of the standard Elmonit, the electronic currency in use throughout the Empire. It also rates each Province's Monit (hard currency) against competing currencies. The GCH, Vegapol, and MERLOGH are mentioned here because although they do not fall under Imperial administrative jurisdiction, Vega is to be found within the boundaries of the Imperium. The Vega system was chosen for these essential services because there are a plethora of natural obstacles within the system, namely asteroids, which make it easily defensible through military force. The asteroid rich system renders large scale naval invasions impractical, and Vegapol has set up an unrivaled defensive network in the system utilizing the abundant natural firing platforms.
It was the advent of limited-range instantaneous interstellar communications which brought together the once isolated bands of humanity (although in a rather violent manner). Such communication is still an integral part of the Imperial means to rulership. Due to the constant expansion of the Empire's boundaries and the proliferation of Frontier Provinces, translight communication (Tachyon Beam Dictor) relay bases have become more important than ever. Utilizing dead planets and asteroids in stabilized orbits around insignificant primaries, these relay stations have formed the skeleton upon which the flesh of the Empire has grown. Because the practical range of subspace communiques is only about twenty to thirty light years, there are thousands of relay stations throughout the Empire. To get a priority message from the Emperor to the most distant Frontier Province only takes about an hour despite the fact that the transmission must be relayed through a web of about one hundred TBD bases. Of course, these relay stations are heavily guarded and regularly patrolled.
Provinces
It was realized during the drive for Empire that the now great expanse of occupied space could not be administered from one centralized location, as had been attempted during the time of the Terran Democracy. Enter the feudal component of the soon-to-be Empire. In those last few Prelmp years the gelling Imperial court claimed outright ownership of all colonized territories and explored systems and threatened to use their vast naval forces against any party who disputed their jurisdictional authority. The court then introduced the Empire's Liege Lord agreement to several favored Pre-lmp quasi-governments in the outer reaches of explored space. Through this agreement, a defined area of space encompassing several star systems (a Province) would come under the administrative authority of a sub-power directly answerable to the Imperial court. In return for this grant of power, the Provincial administration was expected to forfeit an initially colossal tithe to the Emperor to be followed by regular Elmonitary installments - lest the province be handed over to a group of more competent governors capable of meeting their Imperial payments.
The first twenty-seven Provinces were inaugurated along with the Imperium on Imp.0. The provincial leaders were, at the time, a few of the Chairmen, Dictators, and Prime Ministers of the mega-corporations and other governmental bodies which were once represented in the now defunct Democracy. Although the newly appointed provincial leaders kept their old working titles for many years after the Empire came into being, there has recently been an emulation of the Imperial form of figurehead taxonomy resulting in most Provincial leaders declaring themselves nobility. This led to the founding of the Provincial Royal Families whose courts rule their designated territories.
During the intervening half-millennia from Imp.0 until now, the number of Provinces bordering, or within, Imperial space has doubled, and exploration (or conquest if you prefer) has generated an additional hundred provinces beyond the borders of the Empire. The Provinces to be found within or bordering on Imperial space are called Inner Provinces, each of which is ruled by a Royal Family whose roots hearken back to the first leaders of the Province in question. The remaining "outer" territories are called Frontier Provinces, the rulers of which are often Minor Clans who wield much less power than the Royal Families. Under the terms of the Empire's Liege Lord agreement, each Royal Family is entitled to field its own Provincial Defense Fleet, train, and keep its own soldiery, and mint its own hard currency. But because the Emperor charges regular tithes in proportion to the economic and military strength of a given Province, there is little incentive for a province to become very powerful and a great incentive to hide one's true strength — which is of course a capital crime. On the other hand, the Minor Clans are outlawed from maintaining private armies and must use the Imperial Monit for intraprovincial commerce when need be. Each Minor Clan territory is granted a garrison force of Imperial troops for defense purposes and the Clan is allowed to maintain their own exploration vessels. These expeditionary fleets seldom lack Imperial "observers" or "advisors" to keep an eye on the resource wealth of star systems newly discovered in the Frontier. Although the advent of the Province, Family and Clan have created a vehicle for somewhat autonomous states, it is quite apparent that this feudal structure has efficiently extended the realm of the Imperium without the corresponding expenses.
Technological Level
Sentient cloning and alterant replications of all carbon-based lifeforms whose genetic structure is encoded upon DNA strands.
Controlled mutation of genetic material to create new extremely simple life forms. This is normally performed on the microbial level to produce biotoxins
and antidotes.
Cryogenic suspension of lifeforms.
Gravitic field control to annul, enhance, or manipulate gravity on the sub-planetoid level.
Artificial sentience brought about by growing molecular superconductor brains.
Controlled Matter/Antimatter reactions are the most powerful energy source available to man.
Microfusion reactors provide the limit for efficient, productive, and portable energy sources.
Present technologies allow faster-than-light travel at the rate of about 0.4 light-years displaced per hour.
Tachion Beam Dictor allows instantaneous messages to travel out to about 30 ly
Manipulation of atomic force fields and electromagnetic radiation allow the assimilation of defensive screens.
