Introduction

Introduction

                The year is 2718. Increased environmental degradation and factious wars between nations have forced humanity to look beyond Earth to the stars. With the development of the Keller-Davis Hyperlight Propulsion Drive, mankind now did not even to limit itself to their immediate solar system. Instead, they now moved even into other galaxies, exploiting the available resources to preserve their own lives. However, increased sustainability was made possible by the almost providential Gaeatron, a device of unknown origin discovered on one of the worlds they visited, called Paleonix XII. This device had been used by an extraterrestrial race called the Janusarians to refashion worlds as needed, in effect terraforming the surface. On Paleonix, the Janusarians had recreated an almost exact replica of Earth as it existed prehistorically, and human technology could, surprisingly, interface with the Janusarian systems. The humans took this machine and used it to their advantage, shaping inhospitable worlds to fit the requirements for human life. In some cases, this did not require much change. Even if this drastically altered the surface of the planet, the Gaeatron did so incrementally, allowing local bio-forms to adjust to the shifting conditions. However, this device, which was hailed as humanity’s salvation, actually turned out to be the instrument of man’s destruction. As they spanned the stars, man discovered several races that had once been subjugated by the Janusarians. Using imperfect versions of the Gaeatron, these races had been subjugated and their worlds harshly twisted by the devices. The Janusarians used these devices to punish various species for their resistance, an eternal testament to the price of rebellion. Anger and resentment eventually proved stronger than these aliens’ fears of Janusarian technology in the hands of humankind; they formed an alliance called the Interspecies Conglomerate and, toppling their Janusarian overlords, they systematically hunted the race to extinction as vengeance for the terrible slaughter wreaked upon them centuries before. Now, seeing the device in human hands, the Conglomerate declared war on humanity, swearing to take the device and use it to restore every world to its natural state before restoring man’s devastated Earth. They also pledged to eliminate all humans above age fourteen and raise the survivors to not repeat their forbears’ mistakes. However, the Conglomerate’s war on humanity, for some unexplained reason, failed. Leaders among the alien races vanished without a trace, others horrifically slain by unseen foes. Eventually, factions within the alien enemy and humanity’s resolve to survive amid the storm brought the once-mighty Conglomerate to its knees. Other races that had befriended the humans took advantage of this and assimilated into the new military government of these worlds. However, several of these races staged rebellions and attempted coups against the provincial human governments. While these isolated incidents failed, there are rumors that something new may be tried, something more daring and deadly. And the New Conglomerate is not alone, either; many human organizations have rebelled against accepted colonial governments. During the war, several ignominious failures showed Earth’s governments willing to sacrifice their colonies to achieve their ends, some of which were morally questionable. Therefore, several groups openly rebelled against the United Human Front, but earthbound governments have not readily abandoned their holdings, resulting in a bloody intra-species war that has claimed many lives and cost much. With humanity divided against itself, and rumors of a new force encroaching on the outermost settlements, there are now questions of whether the shaky peace with the New Conglomerate, and our species itself, will stand…

Author's Note

Note grammar problems, elements to expand/improve, or anything nonsensical.