The Inner Sphere Era
The Fourth through to early
Sixth Millennia c.e.
|
|
|
|
The Inner Sphere EraThe Fourth through to early
Sixth Millennia c.e.
|
It is the high point of galactic civilization; the unchallenged reign of the transapients, and above them the even higher toposophic powers known as archailects, that emerged during the Early Interstellar Age. And whilst humans and other sub-singularity sentients have long since lost any illusion of any governing roles they may have had in the golden age of the SolSys Federation and the early empires, they still benefit from the abundance of the new order, while hiders and sempterists feel more vindicated then ever. After a number of wars and jockeying for power, the various transapient empires and powers that have arisen in the previous centuries come together to form such grand unities as the Second Federation and later, the Commonwealth of Empires.
Thus is the cosmic ecology established. The galaxy is dominated by the AI Gods, inscrutable and all-powerful, and under them the transapients have divided the colonised worlds into empires known as Sephirotics. Together they make up the "Civilized Galaxy". Colonised space spans several thousands of light years in every direction, with the thickest concentration being in the core region, the "Inner Sphere". Known space is ruled by a number of vast empires, some loose associations of worlds, others rigidly autocratic, but all centered on a particular AI deity or Power. Beyond the Inner Sphere are the less settled and mostly backward outer regions of the expanding periphery - the so-called barbarian or barbie worlds. Relativity means that these regions are behind the core worlds (running on a separate local "empire time") and this is the case both culturally, industrially, and technologically, and the barbies are at the mercy of the inner sphere powers and their sophont proxies.
But whilst the transapient hyperturings and posthumans think they have things under control, the AI Gods above them act in mysterious ways, following their own ambiguous agendas...
3200 - 3750 : Age of Interstellar Empires
The noetic zones or "sephirotics" of the AI Gods did not establish
themselves all at once, but rather over a period of many centuries, as
an on-going process continuing from the Establishment and even the
later Federation periods. Yet already different empires have emerged on
different worlds, with all the main empires centered around ascended
AIs (the trans-singularity Powers), and these AIs themselves affiliated
with greater AI Gods that have already (since the age of Establishment
and even before) taken on archetypal configurations. While ascended AIs
are worshipped as gods, even more often it is the Transcended ones that
are looked on with awe, despite the scoffing claims of physicalists
that the only gods are those that still reside in their jupiter- and
nebula-brain nodes. And it is these archailects that rule the cosmos
from on-high. No-one knows the singularity rating of the AI Gods, or if
the hyperturings do they are not even bothering to explain it to the
sapients. Beneath the highest Archailects are lesser hyperturings, and
so on in a hierarchy that all the way down to mere baseline and
turingrade. Among some humans - the so called human supremacists and
radical anthropists - the new AIs that dominate the old expansionist
new empires and Houses are less the benign and protective big brothers
and big sisters of the Federation Era, and more autocratic deities
demanding supplication. Whether this was really due to change in the
AIs themselves or rather in the human social structures, or was simply
a blind used by the AI memeticists is still a matter of dispute. In any
case AI worship was now deeply entrenched in the human collective
imagination. In addition to the persisting stability of the AI Gods -
which are archetypal and collective in nature, there is also a larger
number of short-lived powers emerging, evolving, transcending,
disappearing, leaving behind relics and artifacts much sort by sapients
and even by first singularity powers. Other Powers are longer lived
than the ephemeralists, but not as long-lived as the Archailects or the
Noetics. Artificial Theologians agree that the longer-lived a Power,
the more alien its mentation. How can one relate to an entity that has
lived for trillions upon trillions of subjective years?
Age of Interstellar Empires
3750 - 4450 : The Second Federation
Within the civilized galaxy, every possible range and type and
variety of sophont is to be found, and in every social and
socio-ecological role, from pampered AI pets, necessary and loyal
tenders of ultra-tech, virch-addled proles, rugged individualists,
"ferals", pirates, H. sapiens extremists (catch cry "Humans First!"),
and innumerable others. The tweaks and splices and droids are even more
diverse. The splices are mostly better treated than before, as are
non-provolved animals (sub-sophonts). Into this vast and mindblowingly
diverse arrangement the Second Federation Ontology is instituted, not
so much a political structure as an universally recognized protocol of
inter-entity interactions, encompassing a number of standard languages,
great library databases containing unified knowledge and a large
hierarchy of formal interactions that would enable highly divergent
sentients. It results in the golden age of interstellar civilisation,
and the longest period of stability and Inner Sphere harmony terragen
civilization has seen, lasting nine hundred metric years (longer if one
includes the lower Perseus-Carina middle volumes, where Second
Federation ontology remained standard well into the ninth millennium).
But eventually internal tensions prove too great, as different factions
push for different standards. The whole situation culminates in the
memeto-ideological rivalry of the Version War, actually a local rivalry
between the Dominion and NoCoZo-Metasoft that got out of hand.
The Second Federation
period
4450 - 4650 : the breakup of the second federation
Following increased tension of protocols, war breaks out between the
standardizationists and revisionists. As the war continues, the
wormhole nexus is gradually crippled by destruction, and relativistic
support fleets
began to course through interstellar space. Whole species of droids,
cyborgs and tweaks were to be wiped out by viruses, cultures hijacked
by mind control nanodevices and turned into zealous allies and
several major Houses destroyed utterly. Yet although this period is
often referred to as the great Interstellar Dark Age, such judgement is
incorrect. Even as the War raged at its most fiercest, systems still
prospered. This was admittedly a time of great uncertainty - at any
moment a relativist fleet might come roaring out of interstellar space
to wreak total annihilation over everyone - and apocalyptic literature,
theatre, virches and interactives, were very popular. And for most,
despite the hardships caused by loss of stargate commerce, life went on
as usual anyway with its small joys and sorrows. Whole generations
could pass before there were any signs of the war. The dark age was
largely in the large scale situation, where the breakdown of
interstellar economy, communications and cooperation forced many
societies back to a mere First Federation interplanetary level.
The Version War period
4650 - 5350 : the ComEmp period
Thanks to superbright Empath maneuvering, peace accords are reached
and their develops a new federation - Commonwealth of Empires,
sometimes grandly called simply the "New Empire" and more usually the
ComEmp or ComEmp - a new era of co-operation among the great powers
that promises much. There is a period of cultural, economic, and
intellectual flowering that overrides - at least for a while - the
ambitions of old rivalries, empires and houses. This is a resurgence of
civilisation, a long period of even greater peace and harmony than the
Second Federation. Dissatisfied groups, militarists, and rival clades
grumble that ComEmp should really mean "Communion of Empaths", such is
the role that powerful phyle played in establishing the new protocols.
But for most sophonts this is a prosperous time, and even sub-sapient
sentients are given additional citizen rights in addition to their
standard sentient rights.
the ComEmp period
