A Dark Story - started as a collaborative challenge issued by Milton Davis. It tells the tale of the fall of an Empire led by a family dynasty called Cassad. The last of the Cassads has been taken into custody in the twenty-third year of the Interregnum and the revolutionary fall of his empire. Can the last Cassad escape with loyalist help to recover his empire? Will the revolutionaries replace the empire with something better, or will it degenerate into anarchy? Will cool and alien dominions attempt to absorb the momentarily leaderless empire into their own governments? Or will a new Emperor rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the old? This rousing tale of treachery, deceit, back door dealings, and revolutionary pograms is awaiting the next pen bold enough to add to it. You can add to the story at this link.
The story has already be enhanced with the stylish writings of Night Manager, Ronald T. Jones, and Whiyahyul & Diop Malvi. This document was created as an aid to help me formulate where I might go in my additions to the story. No one is required to utilize this aid. Feel free to tell your story, your way and add to the legend of the Empire of the Cassads. I have included a compiled version of the story in a single Microsoft Word 97-2003 compatible document with each section marked by its creator and original time-stamp. All minor corrections are mine, made purely for readability's sake. Any implications or inferences within this document are purely my speculations, they do not have to be true, real or even correct assumptions. You can read the story in its original format at the included link. Or, you could stop reading and just write!
A. The anchor date was February 12, 23rd year of the New Regime
- no official year has been established
- Still using the calendar of Old Earth, since the month of February is named
- No name is given for the Old Regime likely the Cassad Empire (if they were particularly vain)
- Nor is there a full name or title for the final known Cassad
- Currently the Empire has been renamed the Interregnum until a new form of government asserts itself.
- 23 years have passed since the revolution which toppled the primary controlling family of the Empire, the Cassads.
B. Humans have been space-faring for quite some time, at least two thousand years. ("Cassad would be forced to pay for his family's "thousands of years of oppression"")
- Implication - It is not mentioned how early spaceflight changed the human condition on Earth, or for that matter whether Earth and the Sol system still exist.
- Story Seed - How they acquired the technology for fast interstellar space travel is unknown.
- Story Seed - Perhaps its acquisition allowed the Cassads to cement themselves into the seats of power in the first place.
- Story Seed - The speed, capacity or capabilities of such travel have not been determined specifically, nor has it been made clear, if there are aliens with different or better technologies available.
C. There are three hundred and fifteen habitable worlds, asteroids and dust belt systems.
- Implication - There are also likely thousands of habitable space stations, moons and other habitat systems as well. The Empire's fleet had to be fast, powerful and efficient to control as many worlds as it did. Likely not a conscript army.
- Story Seed - No mention of the remains of the Cassad Empire's Fleet. Was it destroyed in battle or did it retreat into hiding until told when and where to strike?
- Implication - Since there would have to have been vast fleets of significant ability to control the empire, they are also likely to be densely populated or utilizing vast robotic fleets of ships if effective AI technology is available.
- Implication - If robotically controlled fleets are available, control codes, interface codes and security code technology needs to be integrated, routed, controlled and protected against outside influences or internal treachery.
D. There are at least 105-150 star systems within the confines of the Empire (assuming at least two-three habitable planets in each system). This is an Empire equal to the size and number of planets of the Star Trek Federation's Alpha Quadrant. (Incredibly large and allowing for numerous continuous threads.)
- Implication - The number of star systems indicates a fairly vast Empire considering the Milky way is not an easy place to find a star capable of supporting or maintaining human life let alone other forms of life
- Implication - The Cassad Empire would have to be comparable in size to the Federation's Alpha quadrant, covering about 8,000 light years.
- Implication - Since aliens are present in the storyline, there are likely to be a variety of alien races, some with more or less capability than the Empire. (Added in the last Chapter by Whiyayul & Diop Malvi)
- Implication/Story Seed - Those stronger alien races with more power but may live too close to the center of the Empire to strike out directly could finance operations against the government. They may also pretend to be either less powerful or be on the same side as the Royal family until it suits them to stop pretending. They never present a direct threat or would be summarily destroyed or at least attacked.
- Implication/Story Seed - It is likely that other strong nations or planets who did not bow and were close to the center of the Empire were destroyed as an example. Weaker nations who resist are likely blockaded or occupied until the planet was pacified.
- Implication - Such a vast empire would require faster than light drives of some quality otherwise the distances would be too great to maintain the empire past the point of the drive's ability to reach that empire in time.
E. There was likely a governmental bureaucracy underlying the Ruling Family to maintain the day to day operations of such a vast empire. This government agency would be rife with spies working for the royal family.
- Story Seed - There were also likely planetary governors and planetary defense fleets loyal to the Empire and necessary for its function. Rebel commanders were likely recruited from these ranks.
- Implication - There may have also been a secret police (common in fascist governments) or spy network providing intelligence within the government as well as without. Spy networks may have included merchants, manufacturers, diplomats, military members, elite members of society and the criminal underground.
- Implication - They are likely to be very skilled and dangerous operatives utilizing the best technology possible within their ranks. Spy technology may vary significantly from world to world, but likely the Empire would have superior technology simply because it would need it to be able to maintain its hold on planets who are far from the center of the Empire.
- Story Seed - They would also likely be the same agents who would help the Royal family return to power, if possible.
F. There also needs to be a faster than light communication system. Any empire is only as large as their ability to communicate effectively across it. Short range communications between ships are liable to use tight-beam lasers or narrow cast radiation emission systems such as microwaves that can be discerned from the background of space. Fleets that are separated by millions of miles using light or radiation based communications can take several minutes to several hours to complete. Common SF Types include:
1. Subspace Communications Technology: using a faster than light carrier wave, similar to warp drive, a signal is embedded in the under-layers of space-time and moves at faster than light speeds.
- Benefits: much faster than light, a rate needs to be determined however, can be used on ships in motion.
- Disadvantages: Vulnerable to jamming, affected by natural phenomenon such as stars of immense gravity or singularities.
2. Tachyon Pulse Emissions: bursts of synchronized tachyon energy encoded and squirted from one tachyon relay station to another. Best done planet to planet since compensation for planetary movement is slight and can be calculated for.
- Benefits: significantly faster than light, messages require decoding to use; highly-advanced technology would be of significant advantage in coordination of resources and known fleet activity, would not likely be shared if the advantage could be kept away from lesser technologically advanced cultures.
- Disadvantages: Will occasionally experience black out periods due to alignment issues, requires sophisticated equipment to utilize such technology, not able to receive in motion, since signal would be faster than any ship, ship would need to be a stationary target to receive.
3. Ansible Comm Matrix: utilizing quantum-entangled particles to transmit data instantaneously between two points;
- Benefit: communication is instantaneous, regardless of motion or location; extremely advantageous technology, not likely to be shared if it can be avoided. Requires significant monitoring systems and technology, low tech species need not apply.
- Disadvantages: require multiple entangled locations or computer systems for each area to be communicated with, since entanglement will usually only work with one entangled pair at a time; Will probably have an ansible relay network since entangling particles would take time and effort for every ship that needed them. Fleets might be entangled to each other with relay ships embedded within each fleet for fleet to fleet communications.
- Very expensive technology: likely supplemented with other lesser communication technologies for short range communication.
4. Psycho-graphic Systems Array: more a prediction system than an actual system of communication. communicating between two intelligence computer interfaces and two profiled humans, using theoretical models, two AIs predict communications between two points based on psychological profiles of the transmitters and receivers. Basically, these predicted conversations would be based on previous potential orders, data, behavior and response protocols on file.
- Benefits: instantaneous, unaffected by movement or distance; Cannot be intercepted since no actual data is being transmitted. System is supported with a slower means of communication which will compare actual orders with potential orders for comparison and updating as necessary.
- Disadvantages: margin of error based on variability of environments, lack of coordination of information resources, requires regular synchronization of computer systems which would likely occur using the slower communication system but that system is has to still be faster than light for it to work for an empire the size of Cassad's.
5. Telepathic Network: using human psychics to transmit messages from location to location; since sending telepathy between the stars is a great distance, there may need to be significant augmentation equipment within the ships required to receive. Powerful psychers may need less supporting equipment or are able to send more significant information as a result of their mental prowess.
- Benefits: messages may include emotional content, depending on universe parameters speed varies from instantaneously to months
- Disadvantages: communications quality may depend on distance, state of mind, barriers, also requires a living telepath.
- Notes: Can also be done with telepathic equipment allowing for the temporary transfer of minds from body to body; this is a very advanced technology, likely alien and forbidden or with strange unforeseen side-effects.
6. FTL message capsules: These are simply message capsules ala Pony Express. They are equipped with the fastest FTL engines possible and used to send message packages (data crystals or other storage mediums); If they are fast enough, even a human or two could be shipped in some sort of stasis or cold-sleep. These ships would be equipped with the most sophisticated astrogation equipment, highly shielded against all types of radiation and space debris and likely have no equal when it comes to moving at FTL speeds. They would need to be one of the fastest things in space.
- Benefits: can send physical materials limited by mass of delivery system, Complex information can be sent;
- Disadvantages: Delay time in comparison to other mediums, can only be as fast as the fastest ship or drive system, subject to interception if communication routes are known.
Thaddeus Howze
ebonstorm@gmail.com
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