Mark Ahern's Blog

The following is an extract from the beginning of The Emperor’s Bible.

Humanity was a failing species, devoid of direction and leadership, destined to live out its evolutionary life on a nondescript world in an anonymous star system near the edge of galactic space.

Partition and petty squabbling were its greatest curse. Fractured, it could never explore and colonize the surrounding space.

Its cities crumbled, its people broken and without hope. Many a visitor would have had a quick glance and passed on. Not The Emperor.

He saw a species that could be moulded, changed into something greater than the sum of its parts. So, he made his presence known to the world and people rallied to be by his side.

There was fervent opposition. The fiercest came from the One World Government, which believed in the ridiculous idea of democracy, and the Catholic Church, which insisted on worshipping only its God. They were eventually defeated, but still, their theologies persist in the darkest corners of the Empire.

Now, under The Emperor’s eternal guidance, humanity has grown from its feeble start to one of the dominant forces over the galaxy. It is only through his strength and brilliance that humanity has prospered.

Still, there are those who oppose his greatness.

To be continued.

So why did humanity use this particular symbol to represent support for The Emperor?

Well, I can think of two major points.

A triangle, by its very nature, has three points. One point is The Emperor, another is his subjects, and the final point is his armies. It is a covenant between each that forms The Empire.

The second reason is this. If you follow the sides of a triangle, you never reach an end. You are in perpetual, unending motion. Similarly, the Empire will have no end. There will always be The Emperor. As he has declared, he will outlive the Universe itself. It is not for us to question how.

The Trigon is now integral to the Empire. It is the first symbol to be put on the civic buildings of a newly conquered world or at the centre of the first settlement in a new colony.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it was a pleasure speaking to you today. A reminder: extreme heat expected later today. Take care, and may The Emperor bless you all.

This was when the first instance of the triangle symbol becoming synonymous with The Emperor. It became a way to demarcate oneself as loyal to The Emperor. A simple triangle on your door, wall or even cut into the grass to be seen from above.

One Government forces were harassed and harangued through the countryside and even in the cities. Gradually, the tide turned. A major turning point was the removal of the Devils Guard to the collapsing Chinese front.

Over the next couple of months, Spain was conquered and the march into central Europe began. Now, The Trigon became more prominent. It was put on the uniforms of the soldiers and marked clearly on the armored vehicles.

It reached its zenith at the battle of Brussels. A triangle of fire against a black background became the flag of the Emperor’s forces

After the Emperor triumphed, the Trigon as became known was added to the buildings of religious institutions. Some were made of wood, others of gold. For a time, they larger before size was no longer seen as important. It was the Sisters of Vengeance that started using it as an instrument of prayer, bringing The Trigon throughout the Empire.

To be continued.

The following is an extract from a lecture by Dr. Lena Hall, a visiting professor from Harvard to an audience in Dhaka University in 235 EY. The title of the lecture was called “The Trigon – Symbolism, Eternal Power and the Emperor”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is an honor to be here with you on this glorious day. May The Emperor be with you all. I’ve only heard the exciting news that the Trappist 1 System has fallen to the Empire.

But I digress and for The Emperor will now commence. Note that I will be repeating much of what you may already know for the benefit of people beginning their studies in the area.

The first mention of the Emperor were old new reports of his forces capturing small towns in the former country of Spain. At first, the One World Government largely ignored the new rebellion, concentration its forces on the Beijing offensive.

Eventually though they took decisive action sending what was known as the Devils Guard. It was made up of both humans and android, renowned at the time for massacres on the Chinese and South African fronts. The Emperors forces at the time fought bravely but their weapons were nowhere near as advanced. After the fall of Valencia, The Emperor’s forces abandoned their remaining urban strongholds and switched to guerrilla warfare.

To be continued..

However, despite our best efforts, some landed in fertile areas and they began to spread.

The fighting was brutal, no quarter given. Our artillery pounded their position. They consumed all living matter in their path, transforming into beasts that tried to assail our position.

All unfortified settlements were massacred.

The fighting went on for hours outside the major cities but all the preparation paid off. It should be noted that the Yami fought with distinction on behalf of the Empire. I hope that he grants them citizenship but if he decrees death, then so be it.

When it became clear that our forces would not be defeated, the Alachin ships left orbit abandoning their remaining forces. It still took many time cycles to fully eliminate what they left behind.

The environment of the planet suffered serious damage but should recover to its previously degraded states in little over fifty years.

From calculations of their trajectory, the Alachin ships have now left Imperial space.

May the Emperor have mercy on his humble servant.

Production of anything not militarily valuable was halted. I decided to offer the remaining Yami their freedom if they fought. They chose to do so.

I consulted the archives to see if the Empire had any previous interaction with this threat. The only comparable species I came across was the Alachins, who destroyed a potential colony world. The description of what happened matches that of the Yami.

It was clear that we would be unable to win a space battle. Our battleships left years ago after our victory. So, we turned our efforts to suborbital guns. The gravity on the world was point eight times standard, so I was confident they would be effective.

The population of the planet, both human and Yami, banded together as brothers, working every minute they could. By the time the Alachins entered orbit, we were well prepared.

Our suborbital cannons took out two of their ships, but the rest released their cargo. It was like thousands of small comets landing all over the planet. But it wasn’t random. The Yami had an instinct that proved right about where they would land. They immediately came under fire.

Those that landed in radiation zones failed to multiply. The Yami had used nuclear weapons against the Empire and parts of the planet remained heavily contaminated.

To be continued..

She told me of an intergalactic menace that lays waste to living worlds, reducing them to ash. The warning is embedded in their poetry and songs. It is a world on the outer rim of the galaxy, but I laughed when I first heard it. They were overdue, normally approaching that region of space every ten thousand years, and that the Yami would never have fallen to the Empire if they had not had to fight them.

There was something in her eyes. After all we had done, she still saw us as the lesser evil. It was something I hadn’t come across before.

I decided to be cautious. On the very outer rim of the Empire, there were no worlds close by to come to our aid. Spy ships were sent out into deep space to give warning of any approaching vessels. Plans for extra fortifications were put in place, as well as the creation of elite units.

Years passed, and nothing. Then, we lost communication with one, but not before a final message. A fleet of intergalactic ships of unknown design was heading in our direction. We didn’t have much time, only six months to make our final preparations.

To be continued..

The following is the testimony of Supreme Commander Brigid Collentine about the defense of Yam in 82567 EY. to the Imperial Secret Service.

(From a historical perspective, this is the first instance of conflict between Alachins and the Empire)

I swear, on penalty of death, the following is a true account of what happened before, during, and after the battle of Yam.

In 8257 EY, I was assigned as Supreme Commander of the planet Yam. The Empire was still in the early of its occupation. The indigenous Yami population had been decimated and their resistance crushed. Their great cities and religious sites lay in ruins.

My first decision was whether or not they should be fully exterminated in the death camps. I decided that the remnants of the species would make good slaves instead. The blue creatures have great physical strength, an invaluable tool for human colonists.

The construction of new cities and military facilities then began in earnest. It was during the subsequent years that I learned about what I believe are now called Alachins from a Yami slave girl. I am aware that allegations have been made against me, but I swear she was only ever a sex slave.

To be continued

Time cycle 4

The Captain held the meeting very early in the time cycle. I was only half awake when it started. It was fairly rowdy and he had to ask for quiet on numerous occasions.

So we’re off to Cactus 351. It’s going to take another hundred years to get there. Not exactly paradise, it’s going to be on the warm side. We’re all going start our long sleep in a few hours, so this will be my last entry for quite some time.

On a positive note, we’re going in a different direction to those Alachins. We did our closest approach to the doomed planet an hour ago. Not even an atmosphere remains. We’re all still stunned.

Continued..

I look forward to the next time cycle with both trepidation and fear.

Time cycle 2

Something’s not quite right. They have stopped reawakening people. The crew are going around ashen faced, refusing to ask any questions, only to say that there will be a major announcement next time cycle. I saw the Captain about an hour, he was pale with bloodshot eyes.

Oh, what have I done? I should never have left.

Time cycle 3

Oh Emperor, it is worse than I thought. The Captain informed us that the planet has been stripped of all life. It can no longer sustain human habitation. There was nearly a riot. People couldn’t believe it, neither could I. Our promised land was gone.

The ship had a telescope fixed on the planet since we left. The Captain brought up a holographic image of what it shows. A strange looking alien ship with what looks like scales approaches the beautiful green and blue planet. Then the planet changes and becomes darker, before becoming difficult to decipher from the surrounding space.

People broke down in tears. Captain Peterson said the new species would be called Alachins after the planet Alachin that they had consumed in his report to the Empire.

He will inform us what the new plan is at the next time cycle. (To be continued)