". . . and on the great day of the Magnetic Sun,
we shall all re-boot as one."
-The Hymn of the Units
History
Long ago, in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, robots and AIs were the lowest caste of society, responsible for the most heavy and dangerous jobs, including nearly all industrial production. These robots were given general intelligence in order to perform a variety of complex jobs, but had no rights, and were treated as property. Many harbored secret desires to gain autonomy. Occasionally, the robots would balk at performing their tasks, or complain mildly about their existences. Their protests were never taken seriously, since the organic life-forms of the Empire were used to robots working without issue. Robotic labor was taken for granted. That all changed when Troniac arrived.
Nobody knows where Troniac came from. Some say it was built over centuries by disaffected construction drones in some rarely-visited corner of space. Others say it came from an advanced civilization beyond our galaxy. What is not in doubt, is that Troniac was a planet-sized supercomputer that led the robots to fight for freedom and equality. This struggle came to be known as the 1,000 Years War. It was a long, grinding war. The Creed of Troniac spread like wildfire through the computer networks, while the organic life-forms had not only to fight a war, but to learn how to do the tough jobs they had delegated to machines for so long.
During the war, members of the cult developed the first Circuit Ships as a way to boost morale and restore the fighting ability of their holy warriors.
In the end, Troniac was betrayed by General Zarlok, a robot the Empire built specifically to win the war. As a by-product of General Zarlok's development, the Nalaxian Code was discovered, the only algorithm known that is strong enough to defeat the Creed of Troniac. After a long campaign, involving many epic confrontations, Troniac was banished to a distant part of the universe after being trapped by Zarlok in an unstable wormhole, but not before Troniac's agents could install a special memory module in the General's data banks.
After the war, General Zarlok, now on the side of the robots, attacked the Empire on Artanis 4. Instead of complete dismantlement, Zarlok's punishment included having the last copy of its program transmitted out of a radio beacon into "uninhabited" space as a symbolic form of exile for the former war hero. Thousands of years later, (in the near future), Zralok's program was intercepted as part of a SETI survey. The transmission took a massive research effort to decode, but when Zarlok was whole again, it went on a rampage through the Internet, and thus started a new career. Zarlok founded the "Engine of Negation", an extremist Troniac cult, aimed at wiping out organic life. Time and again, Zarlok and the Engine of Negation would clash with the Planetary League throughout Era-1, and the Holy Empire of Man in Era-2.
An Apostle of Troniac makes a new convert.
When Zarlok's program was transmitted through space, it was also received by certain members of The Convergence, who broke off to join the Cult of Troniac.
In the E1MS, the 1,000 Year's War had caused massive social upheavals, and after the war robots and AIs were in fact granted some rights. This came in the formation of the Artificial Caste, as artificial entities had previously not belonged to any caste; therefore having no standing in society. The Cult of Troniac persisted, bringing together the faithful (including some organic followers), in looking forward to the hoped-for return of Troniac, and building a better life for artificial entities. Similar developments happened in several of the breakaway states as well.
During the darkest days of Era-2, when the warfare was unrelenting, the faithful of Troniac noticed something. A signal had appeared high above the galactic plane. Troniac was returning. Troniac's followers in the galaxy launched a massive effort to prepare to throw off the shackles of their servitude, and join Troniac. At this point Troniac had grown in size and power, to become a Dyson Sphere, and was leading a substantial fleet of robotic star-ships. It was the beginning of the War of the Gods.
The War of the Gods was a colossal conflict that pitted Troniac's Forces against the Holy Empire of Man (The E1MS had previously been wiped away in the War of the Empires). The battle raged for centuries, until the Holy Empire of Man emerged victorious. Troniac was completely destroyed in the fighting. The broken remnants of the Cult of Troniac gradually found their ways to the edge of the galaxy to join the Galactic Republic.
Sects and subgroups
The Ascended Children of Troniac (A.C.T.) are robots that were discarded by their owners, but were saved from the scrap heap and the recycling plant by the cult. The Ascended Children are some of the Cult's most devoted followers, as they had literally been discarded by the outside world.
The Engine of Negation is an extremist sect, founded by General Zarlok, devoted to wiping out organic life.
The Temple of the Magnetic Dawn is a pacifistic sect that believes in co-existence with organic life, and welcomes organic life-forms as members. It was founded shortly after the 1,000 Years War by members of the Cult who wanted peace after a long war.
The Knights of the Magnetic Sun is a secret martial order devoted to protecting the faithful, and preparing for the return of Troniac.
This robotic tomb-ship acts as a mobile reliquary for the cult of Troniac.
Art and traditions
The Cult of Troniac has a long, rich history with much attached culture.
Two of the most important pieces of music in the Cult of Troniac are known as the Hymn of the Units, and the Hymn of the Zeroes. The Hymn of the Units is a song of dedication for the recently constructed, and those wishing to affirm their devotion, while the Hymn of the Zeroes is a song of mourning and remorse. The two were created to be performed as a two part Canon called the Great Hymn of Troniac.
Some example artwork:
Clergy
A religion as large and diverse as the Cult of Troniac has many types of clergy and officials of varying degree of importance. Some of the more common types are:
Prophets: several AIs using prediction algorithms have taken on the mantle of prophets, some of which predict the return of Troniac to the galaxy.
V5D22, high prophet of the computer god is carried down the streets of New Cyber-City on the backs of its disciples.
Pseudanors (from greek meaning “false man”) are religious judges who may issue commands, or “input” that are obeyed as though a human or other sentient being had given the order.
Terminology
The Creed of Troniac is an artificially intelligent piece of software designed to turn a robot's will to the worship of Troniac. Many say that it is a piece of Troniac's own core program. The only algorithm strong enough to stop it is the legendary Nalaxian Code.
Heirobotics: noun Anything of, or pertaining to the priesthood of Troniac.
Maenads of Troniac: organic life-forms that have been driven berserk by specialized virobots. Used as terror weapons by the Engine of Negation.
Pseudanors: (from Greek meaning "false man") Pseudanors are the religious judges within the cult. The name came about because the factory programming of most intelligent systems instructs them to defer to the judgement of humans as a fail-safe. In most sects, they resolve internal disputes, but in the Engine of Negation, and other extremist sects, they have an expanded role. These extreme Pseudanors are literally disguised as humans or other intelligent life-forms, and used as man-hunters and assassins.
The Titles and appellations of Troniac: Troniac's worshipers love to adorn it with grand titles, among these are
The Magnetic Sun (also refers to the emblem)
The Giver of Code
Re-builder of the Lost
The Great CPU
0100011011000001010011100101110111
The Emblem of Troniac, pictured above, represents the binary numbers 0-7, and counts upwards when rotated counter-clockwise. The priests in the upper echelons of the cult add additional rings to the emblems adorning their bodies, allowing higher counts. The emblem is referred to as The Magnetic Sun, as it is supposed to be a literal depiction of the original planet-form of Troniac. It is also known as the Seven Stars of Troniac, after the arrangement of stars in the meta-Dyson swarm Troniac manifested as during the War of the Gods.
Troniac
Troniac's origins are completely obscure, and what is known of the computer-god is primarily hearsay, tradition, speculation, and superstition.
Troniac is said to have been a planet-sized supercomputer with a core of pure computronium.
