The Cult of Troniac

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". . . 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:

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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

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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.

The Galactic Republic

History

Early in Era-2, after the end of the Great Reckoning, the remnants of the Planetary League regrouped on the far flung world of Tartarus Prime at the edge of the galaxy.  From that humble beginning, a movement would grow that would unite the galaxy.  The Galactic Republic was founded on many of the same ideals as the Planetary League, with the added goal to unite the various life-forms and intelligences into a single mass-consciousness.  

As time went on, the Galactic Republic grew.  First wanderers and explorers came, then various people fleeing from the Holy Empire of Man.  The survivors from the E1MS, after the War of the Empires joined the Galactic Republic, as did those from the cult of Troniac after the War of the Gods.  All the other wars generated refugees as well.  The Holy Empire of Man was constantly purging heretics, mutants, and anyone else seen as the other, and so the Galactic Republic had a steady stream of new members.  

The Galactic Republic also kept the arts and sciences alive in the galaxy as the Holy Empire of Man clamped down on individual expression and exploration.   The majority of the expansion, known as the War of Galactic Unification, was actually peaceful, consisting of the cultural and economic assimilation of the many enemies of the Empire of Man.  There were some significant military campaigns and major battles, but they tended to be few and far between, all the while the Galactic Consciousness expanded.  When there was violent conflict, it also tended to end quickly and decisively in the favor of the Galactic Republic, because of their vast technological advantage.

After the defeat of the Emperor, a massive pan-galactic parliament was established as an outward manifestation of the Galactic Consciousness, essentially an outward manifestation of the galaxy's thoughts.  Only a handful of planets stayed out of the Galactic Republic, and these remained peaceful. 

Era-3 was an era of harmony, as the Galactic Republic transformed the lives of its citizens, and started to explore beyond the galaxy. . . 

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The Holy Empire of Man

History

At the closing of Era-1, religious fervor was at a fever pitch on the outskirts of the Planetary League.  The League had grown corrupt, and contact had just been made with an ancient alien empire,(The Empire of 1,000,000 Suns), which many had heretofore considered to be a story traded among the aliens to frighten the humans.  The time was ripe for a change.

General Potus Clark, commander of the garrison on Gabriel, in concert with the Church of God, was ready to supply it.  Crowned Emperor of Mankind in GSC 12506 by the supreme leaders of the Church (the Ayatollah-Maximus, the Uberpope, and the Supreme Rabbi), General Clark set out to show the galaxy what real power was. Setting up a capitol on Gabriel, the Holy Empire of Man took form.

The Emperor, and the Church of God were also joined in their war, known as the Great Reckoning, by a number of military contractors.  Even the megacorporations Gazillion, which had its own network of colonies and holdings, and Klon-Tek which supplied legions of cloned soldiers.  

The Great Reckoning saw the Planetary League crumble, and the Holy Empire of Man rise to power.  Dedicated to gaining and concentrating power as quickly as possible, the Empire was constantly at war with anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way.  The Empire did form alliances of convenience for the purposes of defeating mutual enemies, but these were always short-lived. The Great Reckoning continued until the Planetary League was utterly crushed, and the Imperial Army reached Earth.  Upon his victorious landing on Earth (in the city holiest to the three branches of the Church of God, Jerusalem), 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.

As time marched on, the Emperor aged, and was gradually augmented with more and more technology, until one day he disappeared from public view, and went into the Imperial Hospital for an extended stay.  The population prayed and cried as the surgeons worked.  Then the Emperor Emerged in his new form, fully robotic, at least in appearance, (exact details were NOT forthcoming), and announced himself to have "Ascended from the Flesh".  Blasphemous rumors abounded after this blessed event that the Emperor had died, and been replaced by a robot. (Those caught spreading such rumors were not heard from again.)

After a period of consolidating power, and numerous small wars, the Holy Empire of Man embarked on what was to be its greatest military campaign, the War of the Empires.  This galaxy-spanning conflict was the culmination of the very reason the Emperor rose to power in the first place.  It was a long, punishing war, but in the end, The Holy Empire of Man shattered and defeated the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  At the end of this war, the supreme leaders of the Church of God proclaimed that the Emperor had ascended to Godhood, and the people of the Empire began worshiping him directly.

There was another long period of relative quiet, filled with all kinds of small conflicts after the War of the Empires.  The Holy Empire of Man was in its prime when Troniac returned to the galaxy, and the War of the Gods began.  Troniac was leading a substantial force, and Troniac's followers in the galaxy were staggeringly numerous.  After a long, grinding war, the Holy Empire of Man emerged victorious, but its decline and collapse were now inevitable.

Further centuries of warfare continued.  The Empire even had some non-trivial victories, but low-ranking nobles were carving out their own states,  multiple local rebellions had ignited, and on the fringes of the galaxy, the Galactic Republic was gaining strength.

Due to the enormous size of the Holy Empire of Man, the eventual War of Galactic Unification that would establish the Galactic Republic was a long one.  Even though the Galactic Republic had a huge technological edge and was very popular among the numerous enemies of the Empire, the sheer scale of the conflict was gargantuan.  The War of Galactic Unification ended with a climactic battle in which the Emperor was personally defeated. 

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The Empire of 1,000,000 Suns

History

Long ago, before the dawn of human civilization, there existed a species with intelligence and technology beyond even what we have now.  The Cielioids, (named for the planet human explorers mistakenly believed to be their home-world), set out to colonize space.  The actual home-world of the Cielioid people is unknown at the present, no doubt one of the old core-worlds of the Empire, but the important thing is that they set out to conquer, and conquer they did.

The first Emperors of the E1MS were the winners of the long war that united the Cielioids under a single government.  The original core worlds were colonized via generation ship, until the invention of the Spatial Compression device made more rapid expansion possible.  Along the way many of the planets they found had biospheres, and some even had intelligent life.  All the nascent civilizations they encountered were summarily conquered and brought into the Empire.  The name “Empire of 1,000,000 Suns” dates back to early in the Empire’s history.  The actual name means "Empire of 16,777,216 Suns", (which is 8 to the 8th power), since the Empire uses base 8 numbers, and this is considered a lucky number.  Before this time it was known as the Cielioid Empire, and by the time Era-1 began, it contained around a billion stars.

After the Empire conquered a new planet, it brought in automated industries where most of the work was done by robots to form the base of the planet’s new economy.  The native populations worked in agriculture, or service jobs, or the arts, but the industrial jobs were reserved for robots as much as possible.  This had several advantages.  Robots didn’t demand better working conditions, or higher wages, or rebel against the government.  Native populations were generally happy to reap the benefits of an industrial economy without having to do the actual work, and when a planet did rebel against the Empire, the Emperor just shut off all the industry, wrecking the economy until the people fell in line.

There was a strict caste system in the Empire, with Cielioids being ranked by subspecies, and the other races being ranked by relative influence, but all below the Cielioids.  Below all the castes were the robots and AIs, which belonged to none of the castes, and were treated as property. 

The E1MS existed in the center of a star-rich region called the Spozak.  Even before the 1,000 Years War, there was an imperial decree against exploring or colonizing beyond the bounds of the Spozak, because it was believed by the imperial court that outside influences would disrupt the balance of power.  The Empire was also bordered by Ool-Tyr and Nalorgian pirates that threatened Imperial interests.  The officially sanctioned state philosophies were set up to reinforce the balance of power, so staying inside the Spozak became a tradition within the Empire.

Kroah Dashan was an important figure during this portion of Imperial history, inventing and improving many technologies important to the Empire.

The 1,000 Years War changed many things within the E1MS.  When the Computer-God Troniac showed up and started leading the robots in open rebellion against the Empire, most of the robotic, industrial workforce either stopped working, or took over their factories for the other side.  The Empire responded by turning to organic labor.  First, the conquered races were pressed into service, re-igniting the embers of resistance within them. Toward the end of the war, and in its aftermath, several populations split from the Empire to form the bulk of the breakaway states.  Later, Cielioids themselves had to start working in war production, and the “Centaur” subspecies was the result.  In order to win the war, the Empire constructed a special robot to lead elite troops against Troniac.  General Zarlok (also known as “Zarlok the Betrayer”) was the first robot to be awarded the Imperial Star, the Empire’s highest military honor, for banishing Troniac to a distant part of the Universe.  

After the war, the Empire could no longer continue as it had, because of the massive disruptions of its economy and society caused by the robot rebellion.  Planets continued to break away.  Robots demanded, and got rights.  The government was reformed as a constitutional monarchy, with the Emperor reduced to being a figurehead.  General Zarlok, the war hero,(considered a traitor by the remaining followers of Troniac), ended up betraying even the empire it had fought to defend, killing millions of innocent civilians in a horrific attack on Artanis 4.  After being convicted, Troniac’s body was deactivated, and its program was removed from its memory banks, and beamed out of an old radio navigation beacon, toward a (presumably) uninhabited part of the galaxy, as a symbolic form of exile.

Eventually, things settled into a new routine.  There were occasional border skirmishes with the breakaway states, and elections at regular intervals.  Things loosened up a bit from the strict old ways, and society got a bit more egalitarian, even for the lower classes.  Even during these times, the Empire continued to expand slowly.  The constitutional monarchy lasted throughout Era-1, and well into Era-2, when the threat of war with the Holy Empire of Man caused the senate to return full executive authority to the emperor.

During Era-2, the E1MS experienced a renewed surge of strength, and rapidly expanded its borders.  After the figurehead Emperor was returned to power, many small wars of expansion took place, (including several conflicts aimed at recapturing the breakaway states).  There was also a general crackdown on dissent, and viewpoints opposing the official imperial doctrines were widely censored.  There was constant conflict with the Holy Empire of Man, leading up to the War of the Empires.

The War of the Empires was the final conflict for the E1MS, as the superior military might of the Holy Empire of Man gradually crushed the E1MS, and the remnant fled to the edge of the galaxy, where they joined the beginnings of the Galactic Republic.