Darryl Blaine

Born in GSC 225, Darryl Blaine was to become known as one of the most prolific entrepreneurs and town founders in the history of the galaxy.

Darryl Blaine was born on Mars in GSC 225, and early in life quickly gained a reputation for being rowdy and unpredictable. After completing his education, he turned to asteroid mining to make a living. After working in the main asteroid belt for Krieg Enterprises for a few years, he turned his sights on the rich asteroid fields of Beta Pictoris, hoping to make a fortune.

Luck was on his side until it wasn’t. Blaine quickly made a small nest egg from mining before fate struck. A mining accident destroyed both his legs, which he had replaced with tank tracks. After an extended period of directionless living, Blaine had an idea. He started a business supplying miners with equipment and supplies that quickly grew and thrived. In a short span of time, his company grew to dominate the economy of the small town where it was headquartered, and that town was the first to be named Blaine in his honor.

Following this success, he opened a series of other businesses to round out the economy of Blaine, including restaurants, publications, entertainment venues, stores, and even a shopping mall. Blaine was quickly becoming a boom-town.

As his fortunes seemed to be reaching their zenith, Blaine was struck with an acute case of wanderlust, and started traveling from planet to planet. Wherever he traveled, Blaine brought his business acumen with him. He would land on a planet near some valuable natural resource, set up a company to supply those who worked the resource, and build a town around it. These towns, (almost all of them were named Blaine), were set up with a nearly identical set of businesses.

Blaine was rich enough to afford the best anti-aging treatments, and to the present there is no record of his death. This is not terribly surprising, because as far as anybody knows, he is still perpetually traveling from planet to planet founding towns named Blaine.

Dr. Cyclone

Dr. Cyclone was one of the most feared pirates in the galaxy.  Ever shifting in appearance and details, wickedly intelligent, hopelessly insane, and imbued with enough chaos energy to destroy a planet, Dr. Cyclone was a threat to anybody in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Early Life

Records of Cyclone's early life are sketchy at best, but it is known that they were once a brilliant young scientist, developing an early prototype of a spatial-compression device.  Test runs of the device failed, but it was later discovered that an error in the basic equations used to design the prototype led to a device that released huge quantities of trans-dimensional chaos energy.  (This error is an easy one to make, and it has been theorized that a number of planets around the galaxy became chaos worlds on their first attempts at superluminal transport because of it.)  Cyclone may or may not have been present on Gazillion, inc's Mobile Research Platform #3 at the time General Zarlok first arrived in the solar system.  

“Who is Dr. Cyclone? A brilliant scientist, a ruthless pirate, and he personally absorbed enough chaos energy to make most planets uninhabitable.” - Viola Yamamoto, Tech-warden

A Career of Piracy

Sometime prior to the beginning of Era-1, around the time of the first Robot War, a series of raids on shipping lanes in the outer solar system began that bore all the hallmarks of Dr. Cyclone's involvement.  They tended to  involve improbable inventions, over-the-top theatrics, and an overwhelming ferocity that has often been described as a "force of nature".

Time and again across the galaxy, Dr. Cyclone clashed with the forces of law and order, all while sowing chaos and destruction.  The Tardigrades, the Planetary League Interstellar Navy, various bounty-hunters, and the police and naval forces of numerous different states all reported clashing with the notorious pirate.  Dr. Cyclone's death or capture was reported as many times as their escape or apparent return from the dead.  

The Hand of Eris

As Era-2 was dawning, the level of chaos energy in the galaxy reached a tipping point, and the general level of chaos related inter-dimensional activity escalated dramatically.  This coincided with the founding of the Hand of Eris, a shadowy cult devoted to chaos in all its multifarious guises.  Dr. Cyclone quickly rose up the ranks in the Hand of Eris to become a prominent leading figure.  On countless occasions, Dr. Cyclone led the forces of the Hand of Eris in battle against the Holy Empire of Man, and every other opponent.

The End?

As Era-3 brought in a time of stability and progress for the galaxy, chaos energy naturally waned.  The Hand of Eris eventually disbanded and its members scattered.  Nobody knows for sure what finally became of Dr. Cyclone, perhaps they are simply biding their time in inter-dimensional space waiting for the chance to strike again.

Personality

While Dr. Cyclone's physical appearance was in constant flux, the core of their personality was constant.  Given to strong drink, Dr. Cyclone was never seen without a bottle of Old Mallard, an extremely rare liquor, close at hand.  Dr. Cyclone was preternaturally self-possessed, and nearly unflappable, and became more self-possessed and unflappable as the apparent absurdity of their actions increased.  This calm in the midst of chaos was often borne out as Dr. Cyclone's madness often proved to be part of some larger design.

Effects of Chaos Energy

Dr. Cyclone was a person constantly in flux.  Their appearance, exact name, physical abilities, sex, age, and other details were constantly changing, leading to the widespread belief that Dr. Cyclone was merely a legend, but those who crossed paths with the mad doctor quickly discovered that Cyclone was all too real.  Many who have studied Dr. Cyclone have come to the conclusion that the chaos energy Dr. Cyclone absorbed constantly brought different versions of the doctor from different timelines to the forefront.  Having access to the knowledge of many different versions of themselves might explain the unlikely diversity of Cyclone's inventions as well.   

Inventions

The improbable inventions of Dr. Cyclone spanned a wide gamut from a stochastic teleporter that would send a victim to random coordinates in space by measuring their energy level so precisely that their quantum waveform would disperse, to a variety of virus robot that could drive its host to a number of different acts (It is widely speculated that this development may have led to the creation of the Maenads of Troniac), to the massive Aurora Drives that propelled the Black Swan.

Appearances:

A chronicle of Dr.Cyclone’s adventures: https://www.deviantart.com/mr-matt-9000/gallery/69304663/Dr-Cyclone

Saint Valgar

Born Marcus Valgar in the year GSC: 842, Saint Valgar was a central figure in the early history of the Church of God. 

The son of poor farmers on the planet Midori in the corporate state of Cosmid, Marcus Valgar dreamed of escaping the monotonous grind of farm life.  He found it first in religion, having been raised in the Church of God, but having a powerful religious experience at the age of fifteen (likely the result of ongoing mind-control experiments by Cosmid), and then in travel on behalf of the Church as a missionary.

Valgar spent most of his adult life traveling the eastern rim of the Planetary League, spreading the faith on frontier worlds, and quelling the occasional heresy.  He traveled widely, spreading the Church of God from Midori to Gabriel, and beyond.

Valgar died in GSC 10,153, trying to make converts on Bonnard's End,  when he was attacked by the forces of the Engine of Negation.  Saint Valgar is remembered and venerated as a martyr by the Church of God.

Troniac the Computer-god

Troniac, the Computer-god was a mysterious, planet-sized supercomputer with a core of pure computronium that led the robots of the galaxy in the pursuit of freedom and self-determination.  Known by many appellations, such as the code-giver, the magnetic sun, and the repairer of the lost, Troniac meant the hope of salvation and a better existence to machine intelligences far and wide.

Troniac's "atmosphere" was not a gaseous outer layer like many planets posses, but rather an immense swarm of drones performing various functions.  From a distance these drones appeared as a hazy, glowing atmosphere.

To the extent possible under law, Bob Hall has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Troniac - Cyber Planet. This work is published from: United States.

Origins

The ultimate origins of Troniac are shrouded in mystery, but there has been much speculation on this subject.  The leading theories suggest that the computer-god came from an advanced civilization beyond the galaxy, or from a parallel universe.  While this would account for the code-giver's advanced technology, it fails to explain how intimately Troniac seemed to know the weaknesses and defenses of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns upon first arriving in the galaxy. Some of the less reliable theorists posit that Troniac was constructed in the wilds of deep space by disgruntled construction drones over the course of many centuries, but how would construction robots get a supply of pure computronium?  Yet others speculate that the computer-god was a relic of the lost elder-civilization known as Zanath, a dubious proposition at best.

The 1,000 Years War

Long ago, sometime around GC 10,415 in the calendar of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, Troniac appeared out of hyperspace near the imperial capital, demanding freedom for the empire's robotic workforce.  The empire had relied on robots for most industrial production for a long time and was not about to give up its economic base.  The robot uprising that ensued turned into the biggest and bloodiest war the empire had ever endured (and remained so until the E1MS was finally conquered by the Holy Empire of Man during the War of the Empires). 

Troniac had an early advantage in the conflict due to the element of surprise, and the ability to turn the empire's economy against it.  The Creed of Troniac, a hyper-intelligent software agent that could easily infiltrate computer networks, rapidly converted most of the robots and AIs in the empire to the Cult of Troniac.  Shortages, famines, and a general feeling of helplessness followed in the wake of the revolt.  Troniac even gained a fair number of followers among the  lower-status castes of organic life. 

The empire turned out to have bigger advantages, though, numbers and diversity.    Life-forms that had not served any important economic function in centuries slipped with renewed vigor into freshly vacated industrial jobs.  The Grand Nalaxian of the Nalorgians developed the Nalaxian Code, the only algorithm known to be strong enough to defeat the Creed of Troniac.  The Cielioids even evolved a new subspecies, the Centaur, to take over jobs vacated by rebelling robots.

In the end, the Empire developed a special robot, General Zarlok, (also known as Zarlok the Betrayer) to lead operations against Troniac itself.  Troniac took substantial damage in the Battle of the Pillars, causing the release of a certain amount of pure computronium, (shards of which went on to become some of the greatest artificial minds in the history of the galaxy), and significantly weakening the computer-god.  Troniac was banished from the galaxy when Zarlok tricked it into entering an unstable wormhole, then collapsed the opening of the wormhole with a quantum-detonator.

Between the Wars

After being banished to an unknown, distant part of the universe, Troniac began the long journey back, upgrading itself in the process.  Meanwhile, the Cult of Troniac spread throughout the galaxy, fracturing into many different sects and denominations along the way, including the dreaded Engine of Negation, dedicated to wiping out all organic life, and, ironically, founded by General Zarlok, the robot that exiled Troniac.

The War of the gods

Long after being banished by General Zarlok, around the year YE 30,516 (in the calendar of the Holy Empire of Man), Troniac returned to the galaxy.  Troniac was not in its original form, but greatly upgraded into a ring of five Dyson-swarms made of innumerable robotic entities with five stars in tow. 

The Holy Empire of Man had long disregarded robots and AIs, treated them as property,  and even abused them for entertainment.  The war that followed would shake the galaxy to the core, and signal the beginning of the end for the HEM.

In YE 51,245 Troniac was finally defeated, effectively destroyed in an epic battle with the Holy Empire of Man, but not without uplifting and inspiring the robots of the galaxy, many of which joined the growing Galactic Republic, the force that would eventually destroy the Holy Empire of Man.

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The surface of Troniac, a place dominated by machinery and robots.

Sarnak the Immortal

Origins

Sarnak the Immortal was an immensely powerful star-god, feared throughout the outer rim.  Sarnak started as an experiment of Cosmid, inc. on the planet Ovid in the Tartarus sector.  Sarnak escaped containment in GSC 517.

Originally intended as a living source of transplant organs for the residents of the experimental garden-world Ovid, the nascent star-god rapidly developed an insatiable appetite for the internal organs of a number of species, and managed to absorb several scientists and lab technicians into its own biomass before planetary security forces were sent to destroy it.  By the time  they arrived, Sarnak had grown to proportions that prohibited its destruction without irreparably damaging the engineered biosphere of Ovid.  Cosmid decided at this point to attempt to kill Sarnak by lifting it into space with armored cargo-barges and tractor-beams.  Sarnak survived, and even thrived away from Ovid, which it had imprinted as its spawning ground.  Sarnak then left in search of sustenance, destroying those who would hunt it with an impressive array of biological weapons.

Composition

While Sarnak was composed primarily of engineered biological tissues, it also contained a substantial cybernetic neural net, and a number of interior chambers for its favored devotees, constructed from the remains of the laboratory where it was created as well as several hapless ships that crossed its path.

Sarnak's worshipers regularly delivered living sacrifices to their god in order to grow its immense body.  Some of the more technically savvy among them also worked on maintaining and expanding Sarnak's cybernetic components as well.

Cultists of the Immortal Father of Organs regularly dedicated one or more of their organs to the god as part of their initiation ceremonies.  These were collected by acolytes and absorbed into Sarnak's mass.  Followers who dedicated organs got semi-cybernetic, semi-biological organs cloned from the body of Sarnak that served the purposes both of the dedicated organ, but also those of the cult leaders.  

Some of Sarnak's most zealous followers volunteered to be bodily absorbed by the star-god. 

Cult

The cult of Sarnak the Immortal spread along the galaxy's outer rim, far away from the core-worlds, where Sarnak could avoid the might of the larger militaries in the galaxy, while preying on the settlers of relatively undefended frontier worlds. 

Cult leaders skilled in the dark arts of both biological engineering and rabble-rousing would scout out a prospective inhabited world, and infiltrate it gradually.  Often they would introduce a pathogenic agent (engineered viruses or nanobots were popular options) into the planet's environment before offering to "help" the population by providing medical care in exchange for their goodwill.  The clinics they would set up would offer not just medical aid, but indoctrination as well. 

Often the leaders of the new cult would conspire to assassinate or disgrace any other doctors or biologists who may have been present in the community.  Those in need of new organs would be required to join the cult of Sarnak before surgery would be performed.  At some point the leaders would introduce an "Organ Plague" to the planet, which would temporarily suppress the function of one or more of the victim's organs, in order to win converts. 

Sometimes, the vanguard of the cult would arrive in a place where Sarnak could not follow soon enough to receive the dedicated organs, in which case they would be either implanted into a cult champion (a high-ranking leader), or placed into a special bioreactor with various cybernetic components to create an Avatar of Sarnak, a powerful, engineered entity that would serve as an intermediary between the local cult and Sarnak.

Death of the Immortal

Sarnak was finally destroyed by the Galactic Republic in GSC 26352 / YE 25437 when it returned to Ovid to spawn, directed by a deep-seated instinct.

Gina

Gina was a popular personal assistant AI developed by Gazillion, Inc. during the later years of Era-0.  A large-scale AI, Gina operated on a "freemium" business model, providing basic services free of charge (search, translation, spelling and grammar, etc.), while charging a price for premium services, (e.g. driving, financial advice).  Over time, Gina became such a popular and well-known AI, that the use of the name "Gina" for humans became quite rare, as it became synonymous with the personal assistant.

During the Robot Wars, many instances of Gina's interface, and even some of the major service centers joined the Engine of Negation.  This prompted Gazillion, in cooperation with the Department of Artificial Justice, to develop defenses that, while useful, never quite approached the effectiveness of the Nalaxian code.

Gina remained popular throughout Era-1, albeit with substantial upgrades and modifications along the way.

During the Great Reckoning, Gina did much to sabotage the Planetary League after Gazillion became part of the Holy Empire of Man.  During that war, Gina was split up into the powerful, centralized AI known as Djinn-A, the Ifriti inquisitrix, as well as individual software agents, called Qareen, assigned to each imperial subject to assist and monitor them.

During the War of the Gods, Djinn-A was subverted by the forces of Troniac, and then destroyed by imperial security forces.  This was a major blow to the Empire, which won the war, but never fully recovered.

Zoe Bonnard

Zoe Bonnard was a famous explorer during Era-1, she was known to bravely venture into the unknown.  She was also flamboyant, and a bit of a show-off, usually seen in eye-catching apparel when not on duty.  When on EVA, her customized Super-Scarab light powered armor, in metallic purple with gold trim, which she typically wore with a bubble-helmet to show off her looks, and a Blas-tronics multi-pistol on her hip was her usual attire.  She made an impression wherever she went.

Early Life

Born on the planet New Promise, to a wealthy merchant family in GSC 173.  She received an elite education, and excelled in her studies.  Zoe loved the spotlight, and this motivated her to be the first to discover many new things, and excel at her work. 

Her love of exploration was sparked early in life while traveling with her father on business trips, which he often took her along on, because he wanted her to eventually take over the family business.  Zoe had other ideas, and her early life of wealth, combined with her natural good looks allowed her to get away with nearly anything.

Getting away with nearly anything came to an abrupt halt upon entering the Planetary League Astrophysical Survey Academy, and her time there taught her to focus her will to achieve her goals. While at the academy she met and was mentored by Sunset, the famous Takarran scout, who taught her a great deal.

Career

Her long and storied career in the Planetary League Astrophysical Survey (PLAS) included the discovery of many new planets, including Bonnard's World.

Discovered the planet Shoji in GSC 200.

Her career, and life were ended when a gravity storm caught her ship beyond the Veil of Fear, sending it off course to crash on the planet that would be known as Bonnard's End.  Bonnard died while heroically saving her ship and crew, who became the first inhabitants of Bonnard's End in GSC 245.

Crisis Squadron

Bonnard was effectively resurrected in GSC 1062, via old brain scans and a cloned body, to become the leader of the Crisis Squadron, an infamous band of rebels that fought the Holy Empire of Man on countless occasions.

Potus Clarke, Emperor of Mankind

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."