The winner was B, by a fair margin, by the way.
***
The Rise of the Tyrant, the Loss of Heaven’s Mandate
Evil? Me? Where you see evil, I see only the will to achieve an end. All the greats were ‘evil’. They just weren’t evil to you. Is that not apparent? How small your universe must be. Good, evil... you bandy these words about like they matter. They are nothing but fodder for simple minds. Ahh, but ‘victory’... now, there’s a word I could always appreciate.
- From ‘Conversations With the Devil’ by Leon Jai-Hoskens
The Tyrant (real name believed to be Alexander, Iskander or Ander, though before he was the Tyrant he was simply known as ‘John Newman’) was ‘born’ around 491AU, on the colony world of Sand, deep in the old Phyr Dead Zone. A poor, infertile place, terraformers saw little value in making it properly hospitable to its rapidly expanding, yet impoverished population. In truth, the only reason why habitation of the small planet continued was because Sand produced significant quantities of heavy metals, and there was a living to be made there for the willing and the reckless. Of course, one would be remiss in not mentioning that it also doubled as a regional hub for sin, vice and many depredations of the worst sort. The latter may better explain Sand’s popularity with a particular ilk.
Most things were legal on this misbegotten chunk of rock, by way of an administrative quirk contained in the planetary charter. For better and for worse, this meant that a huge array of peoples was drawn to it like moths to a flame. Trans-humans , especially, saw Sand as an escape from persecution and prejudice, and their community in Jarvis – one of the few major urban centers – was particularly large and clustered. If anything, however, their multitude exacerbated norm/trans-human tensions. Hate killings were relatively common – general violence and public unrest even more so. While the 2nd Respublica was stable and its authority unquestioned, this was not an issue of vast import. Local authorities, while often impotent, were nonetheless able to keep a lid on the worst of the problems.
However, few living at the close of the 5th century AU could predict how quickly strength can turn to weakness. In truth, the inevitability of the decline of this gigantic state should have been more apparent to onlookers and analysts, quite early on. Some would say that is the perfection of hindsight talking. But even they would at least have to acknowledge that the symptoms of the malaise were evident enough, by any measure, as early as the 470s. Essentially, the fabric of the 2nd Respublica began coming apart at the seams, as conflicting societal factions began pulling at the strings holding it together. Gradual liberalization and increasingly planetary autonomy meant that restrictions on various measures against moral deviance were stripped away in many places, piece by piece. Gen-mods, bio-mods and tech-mods came back into vogue quite suddenly – the number of modified humans exploded within a generation. And with them came conflicts of a nature unseen since the 2nd century AU.
Norms (that is to say, unmodified humans) objected by every available means to what they saw as an Age of Moral Danger, including subjecting perceived deviants to horrifying violence. Even as the 2nd Respublica itself prospered culturally and economically, its bonds of nationhood were slowly and perceptibly weakening. By 515AU, numerous worlds across Old Phyrria (by then the name widely in use for the Phyr Dead Zone) were either openly pro or anti ‘deviance’. On many others, the practice of bodily or genetic modification was grudgingly tolerated. This conflict, like few before it, soon grew to encapsulate every aspect of Respublican society. After all, it was a fight over the Nature of Man, and the most basic elements of what it means to be human. The state found it difficult to intervene directly. Elder Delmunde was a weakling – to put it bluntly. In fact, a succession of inept rulers was perhaps the overriding factor in the mortal peril then facing the Second Respublica. When it came right down to it, they were unwilling to make the hard choices, and Codexia as a whole would suffer because of that.
The Rise of the Tyrant would, therefore, take place amidst a sea of uncertainty. The scope and incidence of internecine violence was steadily expanding across the human sphere. On Sand, the ideological scuffle between the norms and the transhumans took on a vicious character just as this extraordinary being was reaching maturity. Sand’s planetary authority had been questionably authoritative at the best of times. When open fighting erupted between transhuman and norm political groups in 518AU, the struggling world found itself playing host to an incredibly bloody mutual slaughter. Thousands died, as both sides turned to extreme measures to push their respective worldviews. No detailed account of the Sand War is necessary, at this time. Suffice it to say that - in the end - it was not an even struggle. Though the norms were superior in number, better resourced and generally wealthier, the transhuman Freedom Army extremist group/militant faction had a unity of purpose, unique human material at hand and... the Tyrant.
The latter’s ascent had been meteoric. A lieutenant during the early street battles with norm rioters, the Tyrant of Sand was an off-the-charts genius. His ability to store, recall and process information became legendary. As did his instinctive anticipation of human folly, and his willingness to exploit it. This was a man who could orchestrate the destruction of a battalion of Intervention Police with but a demi-company of poorly armed and poorly trained transhumans – and managed to do exactly that in May 519AU, in one of the more famous episodes of the war. His mental capacities defied belief. Of course, he had been genetically engineered and vat grown. We don’t know by whom, or under what pretext. What we do know is that he became the pivot on which the Freedom Army turned. And especially so after the assassination of its wizened leader, Carabolo, in 520AU. Before the Tyrant, the Freedom Army was the militant wing of a nascent political movement. Under the Tyrant, it became something much, much more grandiose, and something far more dangerous.
Events on Sand unfolded in a stilting, unsettled fashion. The street battles of 518-519AU were replaced by a more-or-less open civil war in 521AU. The Respublican government hastily intervened in the spiraling fracas, but managed only to staunch the flow of blood. The wounds themselves remained. Its ability to control the situation was, by this time, fairly limited. Sand was not the only world on which the ‘battle for the human soul’ was being waged. Civil strife wracked dozens of planets. It had even permeated the core worlds themselves. Ground Force was committed to such an extent across so many operational theaters that only an emergency strategic reserve remained on hand, as a contingency. Analysts generally point to this period as the time when the 2nd Respublica lost the Mandate of Heaven.
Meanwhile, the Tyrant loved every minute of it. He was an ambitious man, after all. Communicating with trans-human leaders on other worlds (especially in Old Phyrria), he began coordinating efforts and exporting his brand of ‘revolution’. It did not take long to settle things on Sand. After he replaced Carabolo in 520AU, the Tyrant solidified his grasp on power. But he did not do so in the tradition of so many revolutionary leaders before him, by purging the ranks of the faithful. Rather – and this was one of the most terrifying aspects of the Tyrant’s true ability – he inspired fanatical devotion, even in the advisers and lieutenants who might have sought to usurp his new found power. The footsoldiers of the Revolution, for their part, saw him as a living God. He knew when to reward success, and how to admonish failure. This was not simply a genius in a general sense, but rather a genial analyst of the human condition. He knew what made people tic.
By 523AU, he won the Sand War and forced the planetary representative for the Respublica to acknowledge his political supremacy. It was an incredible loss of face for the government, but, in many ways, became necessary. The crisis elsewhere was by then reaching a boiling point. This would prove a seminal time for the Respublica.
Ground Force is committed, our grasp on many worlds is becoming tenuous at best and our political legitimacy may be at stake. Decisions must be made.
Option One
Do you... rescind the Reformation Accords? We must have a free hand to deal with this crisis. The autonomous planetary governments are preventing us from acting directly, and re-establishing Respublican authority. Rescind it, consequences be damned. We can then put a stop to this nonsense by bringing the freaks under control, which will give us both the support of the church and the majority of the norm population. Do it NOW.
OR
Do you... call for a Plenary Congress of Representatives, seeking agreement on jointly regulating bio/gen/tech modification once again? Even the errant planets will have to fall in line or risk censure (or worse) if they lose the vote. This way, at least, we will govern by consensus. This situation needs rescuing.
OR
Do you... institute martial law on affected worlds and bring in the cavalry? We can see the first signs of separatism and irredentism taking root on many of our worlds. Let us rip those roots out. Ground Force will require heavy investment, and some time to expand. We will need to raise planetary militias to support our actions in the field. Firm action is required, here, gentlemen.
Option Two
Dealing with Sand, its stellar region, and the Freedom Army is of vital importance to our sovereign authority. The right man must co-ordinate that effort for the Respublica. Who shall it be?
Do you appoint... Governor General Marc Luis Ferrero? A gentleman of the old code, Ferrero is cultivated, intelligent, charismatic and decisive. He personifies the finest aspirations of modern Codexian governance. Not afraid to apply force when it is absolutely required, he will look at every alternative means of conflict resolution in the interim. A man of the Core Worlds, he has relatively few connections in Old Phyrria, but we have no doubt that he has the ability to forge his own path quite quickly, given the opportunity. His only obvious weakness is his ego.
OR
Do you appoint... General Wayne Hamilton? Brash, bold, ballsy... Hamilton is a military man, through and through. He has no background in governance or diplomacy, but he is intimately familiar with negotiation at gunpoint. And he was born in Old Phyrria – a local, if you will. His bullish approach to governance would be invaluable in breaking down resistance to Respublican authority. Hamilton has a strong work ethic and almost boundless energy. He will fight tirelessly for our cause, until the end. He is also loyal, almost to a fault. On the flip side, he can be quite... blunt. And his propensity to enforce authority at the end of a gun has previously escalated situations that did not need escalating.
OR
Do you appoint... Governor General Oleg Brandt-Holstein? Brandt-Holstein is a political animal. He will do what needs to be done. Regardless of what that entails. Equally comfortable with finesse, with guile and with force, he is a flexible answer to a difficult question. On the other hand, his ability goes hand in hand with an acute ruthlessness and ambition. He has some connections in Old Phyrria, though they are mostly with those firmly entrenched in the ‘norm’ camp. All in all, Brandt-Holstein is a blade; pen-knife, dagger and longsword, all in one. But he can cut both ways.
***
Longest update to date, by a stretch. It was required, though, to 'set the scene'.
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in space.
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