Early Life
Potus Clarke was born in the poorer part of the Planetary League colony on Paradise in GSC 915. An only child, his early life was fraught with trouble as his father became abusive, leading to his parents getting divorced when he was 8. Potus got into trouble as a teenager, bullying the other children in his school, drinking, and committing some petty crime. This all changed when he joined the Planetary League army.
Military Career
Potus took readily to life in the military. He responded quickly to the structure and discipline he had lacked as a child. Rising up the ranks quickly, Potus was one of the youngest people to achieve the rank of General, but this was not enough.
Clarke networked aggressively, and amassed a large group of allies, including several major military contractors. Detecting the unbounded ambition of Clarke, his superiors assigned him to lead the garrison on Gabriel, a distant, but strategically important planet. It was on Gabriel that Clarke first encountered the Church of God, a strictly fundamentalist religion that incorporated elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Seeing more of the structure and discipline that he craved, Clarke converted, and the seeds of the Holy Empire of Man were planted. Clarke made plans with his allies to take power, now he just needed the opportunity.
Emperor of Man
Opportunity came in the form of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. The E1MS is located on the far side of the galaxy, and for a long time within the Planetary League, it was considered to be nothing more than a story told by wanderers and aliens. When it was discovered, it shocked the people of the Planetary League, and Potus Clarke was prepared to take advantage of the situation. Playing on fear and fanaticism, Clarke started speaking out publicly about the weakness and corruption of the Planetary League, and the need for more security. Spearheading a military buildup on Gabriel, and other nearby worlds, ostensibly to defend the Planetary League from the possible threat of attack from the E1MS, Clarke insisted on personal loyalty from his forces, effectively building a private army with the help of his corporate and religious allies.
On the Feast of the Patriarchs, the highest holy day of the Church of God, Potus Clarke was crowned Emperor of Mankind by the leaders of the Church. After the coronation, Clarke announced the beginning of the Great Reckoning, a military campaign aimed at wiping out the Planetary League.
Clarke was joined in this quest by the mega-corporations Gazillion, and Cosmid. Forging a large, well armed force from the zealots of the Church of God, the robotic soldiers of Gazillion, and the cloned troops and bio-enhanced super-soldiers of Cosmid, The Emperor led the Great Reckoning to Earth, itself. The Planetary League was militarily weak, after a long era of peace and prosperity, and the Holy Empire of Man crushed it handily. Upon landing on Earth, Clarke was greeted by the three leaders of the Church of God. The Emperor was proclaimed to be the Messiah by the Supreme Rabbi, anointed as the Second Coming by the Uberpope, and hailed as the Mahdi by the Ayatollah-maximus. All three proclaimed the Emperor to be the long-awaited Fifth Patriarch of the Church of God.
After the fall of Earth, there was a period of consolidating power, and of the many small wars that always took place at the edge of the Empire. By this point, the Emperor was quite old by human standards, and was mainly kept alive by extensive biotechnology and life-support.
Ascended from the Flesh
The Emperor went into the hospital. The people of the empire cried and prayed. After an extended stay, he emerged in a transformed body, fully robotic, at least in appearance, and, flanked by the leaders of the Church of God, declared himself to have Ascended from the Flesh. Blasphemous rumors circulated that the Emperor had died and been replaced by a robot. The Church of God quickly stamped out this heresy, because it imperiled not just the security of the Empire, but the very souls of the heretics.
War of the Empires
Soon, the consolidation of power was done, and it was time for the Emperor to begin what would be his greatest conquest, The War of the Empires. The War of the Empires saw the Holy Empire of Man shatter and destroy the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns. The Holy Empire of Man was at it's pinnacle.
Godhood
Upon the conclusion of the War of the Empires, the Church of God declared that the Emperor had ascended directly to Godhood. People began worshiping the Emperor directly as he continued to crush all who stood in his way.
The War of the Gods
Gradually over time, the robots in the empire, and elsewhere throughout the galaxy started acting differently. They became more assertive, and less compliant to the orders of humans. By the time anyone really took notice, it was almost too late. Troniac the Computer-God had returned, even more powerful than before, and the Cult of Troniac was ready. Thus began the War of the Gods. The War of the Gods was a long and grinding one, and it broke the back of the Empire of Man. Troniac was defeated, and The Emperor emerged victorious, but at great cost, as the Holy Empire of Man was now in decline.
Defeat and Galactic Unification
As time went on, the Galactic Republic gained strength at the edge of the galaxy. Joining with the numerous enemies of the Holy Empire of Man, the Galactic Republic launched the War of Galactic Unification. It was another long war, but this time the Emperor would be defeated. On board his own flagship, surrounded by the most elite warriors in the galaxy, the Emperor would fall. No trace of human remains was found inside his robotic shell.
Quotes
"The law is the finest of lines. Every man in the galaxy falls either above or below it."
