(no subject)
No, audience, those were not memes flying through the void from the husk of a stillborn empire, though they were "mind viruses" of a sort.
For a billion years the tiny packets containing all that remained of power unimaginable sifted through the darkness of space. The firstborn were proud, and would not endow their greatest gift to one who was not worthy. Thus, the shards of hope drifted.
The first, it is now said, came to rest in a baby boy, the only child of a king and queen of a nation under attack from a power to whom peoples were mere pennies thrown into the well of an endless war. As the child stretched his tentacles perhaps his parents noticed a subtle gleam in his eye, a token of the destiny to follow.
Some say this was not the first virus to come to rest, that another fell onto a land where adults go to school and the great eye watches. Others say this is total BS.
In any case, you were probably wondering what I meant by tentacles. All will be explained when you learn of the strange background of this infant king.
In 1850 C.E. by earth's reckoning, or year 0 in the revised Zorganath Calendar, the home of the Zorganathians was in a state of chaos. Politically the world was divided into the battlegrounds of three great empires: Rustov, Lascovri, and Ananbard. Rustov, the oldest and biggest, could probably be compared to the earth's Russia, in that it had a cold, inhospitable landscape and a government to match. Lascovri was a corporate paradise, a land where net worth was constitutionally defined as power and parliament was a board of shareholders. Ananbard eked it's existence out of a huge peasant population kept under control by a few soldiers and a lot of propaganda. In between were frightened mini-states, the remains of once proud countries now fallen into groveling obesiance before the major powers.
As I have indicated earlier, the Zorganathians, or Zstrro-Gan'ats as it might be more accurately pronounced, are not exactly human. They can be visualized as more like octopi, standing on four stiffened tentacles with a limber fifth in front for manipulation. Above a sad, intelligent face rise what appear to be feathered wings. Too small and inefficient to carry them aloft, they still allow Zorganathians to fall more slowly and glide for short distances.
The particular Zorganathian that forms the focus of this story seemed early on to be no different from his friends, yet as he grew older the cleverly designed virus began to do its work. Soon he was the most popular child in his school, commanding respect and admiration beyond that due to him as a prince of the realm. He was not just a bully either. He had skill at leading beyond mere popularity, skill at knowing just the right plan to help his friends get what they all wanted. If there was a fight it would stop as soon as he spoke. If there was an emnity he would magic it away. As he grew older even the most byzantine of relationships became an open book to him. Thus the first of the seeds of civilization did its work.
Upon his succession after the death of his father in the wars, his country rejoiced at the golden age he promised to usher in, never questioning his power to accomplish any goal in existence. In order to fullfill his promises he set out into the international arena, where he encountered what on his world was a rare innovation: democracy. It resided in a country just north of his borders, a fellow fringe state of the mighty empires. As he had done throughout his life he studied this new system, and within a year he had mastered it, and was elected president of his neighbor to the north.
With two nations under his belt the still young prodigy began to attract the attention of the powers that were. At the same time he began to gradually notice them. One thing that he quickly realized was that, while the three controlled much of the world, the remaining nations if united could easily form a fourth power to challenge the current world order. After aiding another nearby nation in retaking half of its lands from Ananbardese masters, our hero began to rally the oppressed nations of the world to his banner. While he started building an alliance solely on his own home continent of Zaibor, he swiftly attracted aid from other continents as well. Each country had something to contribute, from a mastery of strategy to a knack with rocketry to almost anyting else you could think of. Swiftly he overtook the empires of the world, earning a three front war that was made only marginally easier by the aid of nation after nation awakening from despondency.
Yet despite opposition from his world's greatest powers, his leadership skills pulled him through. Lascovri was the first to fall, and thousands of former slaves marched in the streets. Next, peasant revolutions sprung up in Ananbard, and the country was forced to revert to popular control. Finally only Rustov was left.
Rustov, which means "many peoples" in the old tongue of the Zorganathians, was the toughest nut to crack. Though gradually nation after nation was freed, it was a slow and painful process. Eventually, with its capitol surrounded and its territories under self government, Rustov surrendored.
At this point it was 1900 C.E., and our hero, given the title of Eacaz Zorganath, or "king of mankind", was only 50, remarkably young for a race that could reach 400 if healthy. At this point, done with war, he proceeded to show his skills at peace. To the surprise of anyone who knows anything about history he instituted fully democratic elections, and even more incredibly was able to keep his post based solely on his merits as an orator, a mediator, and a leader. He loved by everyone, even the anarchists, who were given their own "anarchist preserve" where they could live without government. The world rejoiced, and society entered a stage of rapid technological development, inspired by their glorious leader.
Tune in next time for a look at the results of the other viruses, and the unveiling of what is probably the most important character of the setting.
By the way, does anyone know what the dog in my picture is saying? I don't speak German.
For a billion years the tiny packets containing all that remained of power unimaginable sifted through the darkness of space. The firstborn were proud, and would not endow their greatest gift to one who was not worthy. Thus, the shards of hope drifted.
The first, it is now said, came to rest in a baby boy, the only child of a king and queen of a nation under attack from a power to whom peoples were mere pennies thrown into the well of an endless war. As the child stretched his tentacles perhaps his parents noticed a subtle gleam in his eye, a token of the destiny to follow.
Some say this was not the first virus to come to rest, that another fell onto a land where adults go to school and the great eye watches. Others say this is total BS.
In any case, you were probably wondering what I meant by tentacles. All will be explained when you learn of the strange background of this infant king.
In 1850 C.E. by earth's reckoning, or year 0 in the revised Zorganath Calendar, the home of the Zorganathians was in a state of chaos. Politically the world was divided into the battlegrounds of three great empires: Rustov, Lascovri, and Ananbard. Rustov, the oldest and biggest, could probably be compared to the earth's Russia, in that it had a cold, inhospitable landscape and a government to match. Lascovri was a corporate paradise, a land where net worth was constitutionally defined as power and parliament was a board of shareholders. Ananbard eked it's existence out of a huge peasant population kept under control by a few soldiers and a lot of propaganda. In between were frightened mini-states, the remains of once proud countries now fallen into groveling obesiance before the major powers.
As I have indicated earlier, the Zorganathians, or Zstrro-Gan'ats as it might be more accurately pronounced, are not exactly human. They can be visualized as more like octopi, standing on four stiffened tentacles with a limber fifth in front for manipulation. Above a sad, intelligent face rise what appear to be feathered wings. Too small and inefficient to carry them aloft, they still allow Zorganathians to fall more slowly and glide for short distances.
The particular Zorganathian that forms the focus of this story seemed early on to be no different from his friends, yet as he grew older the cleverly designed virus began to do its work. Soon he was the most popular child in his school, commanding respect and admiration beyond that due to him as a prince of the realm. He was not just a bully either. He had skill at leading beyond mere popularity, skill at knowing just the right plan to help his friends get what they all wanted. If there was a fight it would stop as soon as he spoke. If there was an emnity he would magic it away. As he grew older even the most byzantine of relationships became an open book to him. Thus the first of the seeds of civilization did its work.
Upon his succession after the death of his father in the wars, his country rejoiced at the golden age he promised to usher in, never questioning his power to accomplish any goal in existence. In order to fullfill his promises he set out into the international arena, where he encountered what on his world was a rare innovation: democracy. It resided in a country just north of his borders, a fellow fringe state of the mighty empires. As he had done throughout his life he studied this new system, and within a year he had mastered it, and was elected president of his neighbor to the north.
With two nations under his belt the still young prodigy began to attract the attention of the powers that were. At the same time he began to gradually notice them. One thing that he quickly realized was that, while the three controlled much of the world, the remaining nations if united could easily form a fourth power to challenge the current world order. After aiding another nearby nation in retaking half of its lands from Ananbardese masters, our hero began to rally the oppressed nations of the world to his banner. While he started building an alliance solely on his own home continent of Zaibor, he swiftly attracted aid from other continents as well. Each country had something to contribute, from a mastery of strategy to a knack with rocketry to almost anyting else you could think of. Swiftly he overtook the empires of the world, earning a three front war that was made only marginally easier by the aid of nation after nation awakening from despondency.
Yet despite opposition from his world's greatest powers, his leadership skills pulled him through. Lascovri was the first to fall, and thousands of former slaves marched in the streets. Next, peasant revolutions sprung up in Ananbard, and the country was forced to revert to popular control. Finally only Rustov was left.
Rustov, which means "many peoples" in the old tongue of the Zorganathians, was the toughest nut to crack. Though gradually nation after nation was freed, it was a slow and painful process. Eventually, with its capitol surrounded and its territories under self government, Rustov surrendored.
At this point it was 1900 C.E., and our hero, given the title of Eacaz Zorganath, or "king of mankind", was only 50, remarkably young for a race that could reach 400 if healthy. At this point, done with war, he proceeded to show his skills at peace. To the surprise of anyone who knows anything about history he instituted fully democratic elections, and even more incredibly was able to keep his post based solely on his merits as an orator, a mediator, and a leader. He loved by everyone, even the anarchists, who were given their own "anarchist preserve" where they could live without government. The world rejoiced, and society entered a stage of rapid technological development, inspired by their glorious leader.
Tune in next time for a look at the results of the other viruses, and the unveiling of what is probably the most important character of the setting.
By the way, does anyone know what the dog in my picture is saying? I don't speak German.