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.

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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.

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

Sarnak the Immortal

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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.