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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Human Time Line 999 808 - 999 850 Cathartic Age The Rapture
999 808 Few would have believed, in the last days of the Human race, that events would take place that would shake the very foundations of the universe itself. That a race, once an infant & now an adult, would evolve into a specie far more powerful than any junior race could ever imagine. It was not, however, totally without warning. Over the eons, philosophers & scientists had often theorised as to the evolutionary future for Homo sapiens sapiens. Many of these theories had been proven wrong, while others appeared down right crazy. In truth, no one really knew what the future held. In fact one could be forgiven in thinking that nothing much had changed in over 900 000 years. To be sure, technology had reached amazing levels. In fact in several sciences, it had become impossible to improve upon current levels. Yet, even with such technology, not even the entire Milky Way Galaxy had been explored. Currently, only about 60 percent of the Galaxy had been charted & not all of it was friendly. Few civilisations, however, were openly hostile to the Federal Galactic Commonwealth of Planets (FGCP). In fact the name was rather misleading, regardless of its unrivalled power, as only 25 percent of the galaxy were members of the FGCP. Like its ancestor, the United Federation of Planets (UFP), the FGCP was a democratic, multi-specie civilisation in structure. Like the old UFP, the Humans were the key behind it. Although several races had either faded away or died out over the millenniums, the Humans had just grown from strength to strength. Several other species came along for the ride, & like the Humans, enjoyed prosperity & growth. Peace, sadly, was not always constant, although no enemy really poised a threat to the FGCP since the barbarian days of the Fourth Age. But everything was about to change. The prophet preceding this step to a higher existence was the Unis philosopher & medical doctor Malcolm Duncan. Like thousands before him, he argued that the Humans & several other species were about to go through, what he termed, the Catharsis of Existence. In the prestigious New England & Commonwealth Medical Journal, Duncan meticulously set out his theory. Needless to say, he was ridiculed like all before. No one, except a few religious & like minded intellectuals, believed him. That did not stop Duncan. He challenged President Susan Lylindous of Lyonies to commission the Unified Health Service (UHS) to follow up his claims. This, of cause, President Lylindous rejected as a waste of funding. Here had been too many "End of civilisation" theories dating back 1 000 000 years & Humans were always working overtime on such futile theories. Not everyone, however, dismissed Duncan instantly. Professor Mary Xander at the University of Locus decided to pick up Duncan’s theory. It would not be the first time the University of Locus had conducted such research. It had gained a reputation of excellence for investigating the unusual & many "crack pot" theories that in the end had been proven as fact. The break through on organic ship building, even though it took some 500 000 years to perfect, is still spoken of with full respect. It also ensured that private funding, especially from New Generation Weapons/Warships (NGW), permitted independent research on anything. 9809 When the Xander Research Team got up to speed on the Duncan Project, as it was called, most in the academic community still considered it a waste of time. A few more open minded individuals, however, became more interested in Duncan’s theory, particularly when the prestigious university had decided to explore his thoughts. Yet it took two diverse & somewhat opposite agencies to stop the insults over the project. The first was the University of Locus’s economic backer NGW. Over the eons NGW had always been at the forefront of technology. They had always, as a result, been at the forefront of controversy. So new, & importantly powerful technology, was a major interest to this organisation. It was also a fact that NGW had not developed or discovered anything substantially new in well over 10 000 years. The other organisation was the great Unified Planetary Explorations (UPX). Like its ancient predecessor, United Planetary Explorations, its role had not changed much over the eons. It had, however, grown massively to become the largest of all the agencies & services of the FGCP. Even so, due to the Milky Way Galaxy being so enormous (100 000 light years in diameter), 40 percent of the galaxy was still uncharted. Still, exploration was at its heart & now that the University of Locus had taken Duncan’s theory as serious science, so too did they. So while NGW supported the Xander Team, UPX set up their own research team at their University of Ganymede. Catharsis Team, as it was know, involved the best minds that both UPX & The University of Ganymede had to offer. Soon, like on Locus, they were up too speed as well, examining Human DNA & brain wave activity. No evidence, however, by either Team supported Duncan’s Catharsis Theory. 9810 At the Galactic League Convention, the arguments of the previous centuries simply re-emerged as strong as ever. The various civilisations continued with their claims & counter claims regardless of the reality. The most annoyed of all were the Ancients. The few that even bothered to show treated the Junior races with contempt. Even the Senior races of the FGCP were treated like children, which did not go down well. The Zargah & Humans, in particular, found the arrogance of the Ancients disgusting. Only the Nazzer really had an open relationship with the FGCP & it was they who caused the latest up raw. Recently the Nazzer had agreed to sponsor several of the FGCP species to be classified as Ancients. Considering many had reached the 1 000 000 years mark, & all had shown great efforts in creating a marvellous inclusive civilisation, it was hard to argue against the move. Many of the Ancients, however, did not want to accept these applicants. The Humans, in particular, were seen as undesirable. Many of the Ancients still claimed that they were no better than when they first left their planet so long ago. In fact the Vargary historian, Doss Va’Videra not too long ago agreed. He stated, when comparing the FGCP to the early days of the UFP: that "… the curtains may have changed, but the house is still the same". Having said that, the Nazzer were also somewhat on the outer. It was not the first time either. Their tinkering with the Nazzernich DNA more than a million years ago got them into much trouble with the other Ancients. The Humans were even worse. The Ancients discovered, to their horror, that they did not wait for the Nazzer to modify their DNA. They had actually gone back in time & altered it themselves. Furthermore, few things had actually been discovered by the Humans through their own efforts. Their ability to travel the stars came from captured Blurgiss technology during a long forgotten war. Likewise their time travel technology was stolen from the planet Essence. The Essence Ancients, however, had gone "beyond the vale", as it was called, & had not been heard of for almost 2 million years. Still, although all the civilisations argued, no one was at war. Then again it was just as well. Then enormous weaponry that the major civilisations had, which included the "Junior" FGCP, was unimaginable. Furthermore, at least half of the Ancients had nothing to do with the Junior races. The oldest ones (of at least 6 million years), the Delquine, had not even been seen by any of the other Ancients for at least 500 000 years. No one knew were they where. And as stated, several had gone "beyond the vale", which no Junior race knew what that meant. The Galactic League, which had been an initiative of the Humans, was in reality more or less useless. In fact many viewed it as counter productive. In stead of the mature Junior races getting to know the Ancients better, the Ancients used it to manipulate the Juniors. As had happened before, when it became knowledge that the senior races of the FGCP wanted to become Ancients, the members of the Commonwealth would start squabbling among themselves. Congress often became a verbal battlefield for months after a League Conference. The Ancients, thus, needed no other reason to reject all applications to the frustration of the applicants. 9811 After being quiet for a couple of years, Malcolm Duncan once again got everyone stirred up over his Catharsis Theory. Again, in the New England & Commonwealth Medical Journal, he elaborated on his original paper. This time, not only would the Humans go through the "Catharsis of Existence", but so too would the Vargary, Lyonies, Unis, Zargah, Nazzernich, Terran & a "… few of the senior races still to be determined". Once again Duncan was ridiculed by most. But the two teams researching his claims took his paper very seriously. By now, the media had begun an interest in this eccentric doctor come philosopher. In an interview on the "Galaxy Today" holo-program, Duncan set out his theory for the public of the FGCP to view. Although a sceptical interviewer, not to mention several callers, were somewhat hostile to Duncan, billions of others showed some concern. Soon citizens wanted to know more about the Catharsis Theory. More importantly, millions of citizens wanted to know why their race was not on the "Catharsis List". Discussion over the issue soon became even more serious, when it came out that the University of Ganymede had been conducting a major research project into Duncan’s theories. Not long after this revelation, it came out that the University of Locus had a similar research project under way. Soon the media, not to mention members of the public, were hounding both institutions in order to get the latest findings. Both universities gave out no specific details as there really was none. That, however, only captivated all involved & soon government got involved. At first, President Lylindous, like everyone else, had scoffed at the Catharsis Theory. Now, due to the enormous public interest, she no longer could. This was particularly so when two prestigious universities had become involved. Due, however, more so of the latter, the President demanded a briefing of the research to date. Neither research team could reject such a demand, considering both teams came under the hegemony of two powerful government agencies. After the joint briefing, the President was said to appear very pale. 9812 The Presidential election campaign was all about the Catharsis Theory. Issues over the Ancients & the internal arguments that likewise followed fell into insignificance. All this was besides that fact that relationships with the Ancients, & not forgetting other Junior civilisations, were very tangible & above all important. The Catharsis Theory, meanwhile, was pure conjecture. Nonetheless, the public foresaw that the Catharsis Theory poised the biggest threat to the FGCP for eons. If there was even the slightest chance that Duncan was correct, then fundamental planning for that future date must be set in place. The public concerned turned into a frenzy when someone at the University of Ganymede leaked a team status report that clearly indicated that recent evidence supported Duncan. Needles to say, the entire Commonwealth was stunned. The President was both stunned & furious. Immediately the two research teams were placed under Ultra Secret security. Furthermore, a ban was placed on the media in regards to the work of the two universities. When the public found out about the ban, an even more furious electorate denounced the President’s actions. They saw it as an attempt to hide from them the "Truth". Concerns over who was or who was not on the "Catharsis List" was soon forgotten. When the election was finally held, amidst all these "scandals", few really believed that the President had a chance. In fact she did not. The Humans, however, were more concerned about the Catharsis Theory & let the debates over media censorship & so on to the others. The Vargary & Unis, likewise, shared the same concerns as the Humans. Thus, with the combined vote, the Human candidate Linda Kopalos from Nirvana became the next President of the FGCP. 9813 The new President immediately demanded & got a briefing on the Catharsis Theory. Like everyone else who heard the evidence previously, President Kopalos was stunned. Unlike the previous President, however, President Kopalos did not remained that way for long. In fact her briefing was even more thorough than President Lylindous’ was considering a year had gone by. President Kopalos immediately called in the Cabinet & explained, as best she could, Catharsis Theory. Many did not believe her, even though, like her, most were also stunned by this possible future. The President, though, did not view it as a possible future. She had become convinced that it was the future. This was besides the fact that the combined teams insisted that, although the evidence so far appeared to support the Catharsis Theory, nothing was conclusive. Nonetheless, the President demanded that the Cabinet Ministers begin planning for the changes. These would impact upon all aspects of life within the Commonwealth. Particular care would have to be shown to the junior members of the FGCP, least they be terrified out of their minds. Public education programs would have to be developed in order to explain to all citizens what was going to happen. The most frustrating part was, no one really knew when it would: but it would be soon. The public were in a similar mood to the President. They wanted to know things now. They wanted to see things done. Yet it was too soon. Not only was there not enough evidence to confirm the Catharsis Theory beyond a reasonable doubt, but no one really knew what these changes were. The biggest danger at present was panic. The last thing the FGCP was having billions of its citizens going into a wild panic attack. In order to address this real & tangible danger, President Kopalos embarked on a series of "fireside chats" with the citizenship. Instead of grand speeches in front of grand buildings on Epsilon, she would sit beside an eloquent fireplace in the Presidential Residence & calmly, with little officialdom, address the people of the FGCP. Soon public fears dwindled. Rationality returned to everyday life. 9814 Considering the mounting evidence being collected by the Xander Research Team, it was not surprising the NGW would eventually get involved directly. On their secret base on the planet Enigma another Catharsis research group began operations. Actually to call the secret NGW Enigma base a secret one was these days a joke. For millenniums, the NGW base had become common knowledge throughout the FGCP, just like the famous one at NGW D1 & its mirror base at NGW Oracle. Nonetheless, like all NGW bases, it was off limits to all but NGW personnel. And like NGW had always enjoyed, its technological resources were second to none. Likewise was its funding. Considering the massive impact that the Catharsis of Existence may have upon the FGCP, few in higher places were not surprised that NGW had now become fully involved. This was besides the fact that the technological break throughs that this event may bring forth would also guarantee NGW’s own future existence. 9815 The next Galactic League Conference was like nothing before. The Nazzer, who were the only Ancients to have full diplomatic relations with the FGCP, had been keeping a careful eye over the Catharsis Theory developments. As they watched quietly, they had kept the other Ancients informed as to these developments. Many of the other Ancients believed it to be pure rubbish. A few even accused the Vargary of pulling one of their legendary practical jokes. The Nazzer, though were adamant that massive change was about to occur. First for the Humans & then several of the others. Some of the Ancients concurred with the Nazzer, but like them were deeply concerned as to the outcome. Until now the Ancients had been, in truth, unrivalled by the Junior races. Even though the FGCP was technologically advanced, in fact in many cases equalled some Ancients, it was always kept in its place for the most part. But all that could now change. Two of the more senior Ancients, the Bennigious & the Xixaho, when convinced that the Catharsis of Existence was about to occur to several of the junior races, were out ragged. They could not believe that these races, especially the Humans, could achieve such a level in so short a time. Nonetheless, even though their anger was a concern, they were also wise enough to know what to do. With little warning to their fellow Ancients, they declared that they were going "beyond the vale". They suggested that the others should join them, but none did. The FGCP delegation to the Conference knew that something was up with the Ancients. The Humans noticed it more than the others. When President Kopalos asked the Nazzer about it, their Ambassador quietly admitted that they had informed the other Ancients about the Catharsis business. "You really don’t know what is about to happen to your race do you?" The
Ambassador stated more than questioned. As with the previous Conventions, nothing really was achieved. But after President Kopalos’ quiet conversation with the Nazzer Ambassador, the other Ancients were surprised when the FGCP President withdrew the application for Ancients membership. Afterwards, Congress was likewise surprised. Instead of the debates over "How dare you Humans & your lap dogs consider yourselves to be Ancients", few really knew what to debate over the Convention results. 9816 The Millennium Instrument & Computer Corporation (MICC) commissioned the latest in its range of organic computers. As always the computers were not expensive & above good quality. The latest features included telepathy input that no longer required the operator to wear anything at all. It was a substantial breakthrough by the mega-corporation. Amazingly little had changed at MICC over the eons. As other corporations came & went, MICC had quickly grown since its humble beginnings to become the largest corporation in the known galaxy. Unlike other corporations, MICC was not really private. Almost the entire citizenship owned MICC shares. In particular were MICC staff. The result was, that the corporation was run more like a cooperative rather than a typical public company. The company’s profits were thus shared throughout the FGCP. And the MICC not only produced cheap computers for use by the general public. In an ongoing relationship with NGW, super computers had been supplied for various projects. In fact few sectors of FGCP were unaffected by MICC computer technology. Even their main competitor, Intergalactic Computer Machines (ICM), modelled their computers after those of MICC. NGW now, though, place a very special order for a very special computer from MICC. NGW’s research into the Catharsis Theory had reached its limits. Similar problems effected the other research teams as well. What they needed was the most powerful computer yet built. It would have to be twice as powerful than current ones. What NGW did not tell anyone, was that they were really planning for the next big project - the "Vale & Beyond". The Ancients did not know it, but it was really they that were about to be challenged to be Ancients. It was not the reverse. 9817 For all the sound & fury of the previous Presidential elections, these ones were rather sedate. President Kopalos had continued with her fireside chats on a weekly basis. On every occasion, a little more was released about the Catharsis Theory. The President deliberately conducted this method even though she was kept fully briefed & knew much more than she let on. To the general public, however, it appeared as if they were getting the latest up to date information. Slowly, many became bored over the issue. Day to day issues soon replaced that which was still only a controversial theory. Having said that, many stated to question the reforms that had been introduced over the previous fives years. Notably was the "positive discrimination" that witnessed several of the junior races brought into high levels in government agencies. This, of cause, was at the expense of the main races, which incidentally on the Catharsis List. Numerous complaints from Humans, Vargary, Zargah & the others filled the debates. This was besides the fact that several education programs had endeavoured to explain the requirements for such reforms. The overall results, however, of the election surprised no one. Even though the main opposition candidate put up a good show, the popular President Kopalos was returned to office. Her clear management of the issues involved with the Catharsis Theory ensured that the citizenship remained calm. Simply, the President was the only person who could deal with the uncertain future of the FGCP. 9818 The Unified Defence Forces (UDF) detected, using Nazzdorra, that the Sassnorah had began aggressively patrolling their border with the Phillis. It was not the first time that the Sassnorah Empire had caused problems with their neighbours. The Sassnorah, however, were not overall overly disagreeable, but they were not the most friendly of societies either. They were also relatively young too. They were also the farthest of the known civilisations & were the most distant from the FGCP. The Phillis Union were not much better, but had displayed little interest in the affairs of other civilisations. This also meant that any expansion of territory avoided any disputes with other civilisations territorial claims. Having said that, a strong streak of racial superiority often angered, not only the FGCP, but anyone else that they had dealings with. Neither civilisation, however, had any dealings with the FGCP, other than at diplomatic levels. Neither were even members of the Galactic League. That had not stopped the FGCP from being the galactic policeman & intervention in disputes had often been conducted by the UDF. President Kopalos, though, had other concerns & instead of ordering the UDF to keep the peace, the President ordered that the intelligence of Sassnorah military movements be forwarded to the Phillis. The Phillis, for their part, ignored the warnings of the UDF. Interestingly, the Sassnorah did nothing other than parade their forces along the border. It was almost as if they wanted some aggressive reaction from the FGCP. Having noticed this, the UDF got authorisation to send some spy probes into Sassnorah territory. These would be undetectable & their organic brains & construction would mean they were autonomous. Even their Nazzdorra & Enigma2 systems were automated. 9819 After a few years of intensive work, MICC was more than happy when its latest super computer became operational. NGW was impressed. Surprisingly it involved little revolutionary or new technology. Rather it involved the linking of several brains to a manager brain. The manager would delineate to each of the computer brains a task & then coordinate their calculations. Although at first it appeared highly inefficient, it nonetheless doubled the programming speeds of the current super computers. NGW immediately put the new super computer to work. Calculations regarding the Catharsis Theory were put to the test, but the results were disappointing. When NGW gave President Kopalos a secret briefing on their project, she too was disappointed. However, she remembered the Nazzer Ambassador’s comment that it was more about spiritual matters rather than science. This advice she then forwarded onto the NGW team. Although sceptical, they decided to apply it to their work. The results of the spiritual approach were encouraging. The super computer, by its very nature of being several entities rather than a single one, was able to approach the analysis as if it was a team of coming from several academic back grounds. Its analysis was furthermore enhanced by the organic construction. The organic computers could think like a sentient creature. This permitted such computers to include the spiritual as well as the logical side to any examination. 9820 The UDF once again noticed that the Sassnorah were playing up. Unlike the previous time, the UDF had spy probes which were on the spot. The intelligence thus gathered was invaluable. It seemed that, although the Sassnorah were clearly ready for battle, the manoeuvres of the various fleets indicated that they had no intension of crossing their border. All this made Admiral Tromp, Chief of Staff of the UDF, only suspicious. Although not a paranoid man, any rational explanations could not explain the conduct of the Sassnorah military. His suspicious only deepened when it was noted that, yet again, the Phillis ignored both the warnings that the UDF forwarded to them as well as the obvious Sassnorah activity. It took little encouragement from him to order a full investigation into the situation. He demanded answers. President Kopalos, after being briefed by the Joint Chiefs, agreed that something strange was going on with the Sassnorah. Her first concerns was that the Sassnorah had gotten word about the Catharsis Theory & were preparing their forces for action after it. Much was still unknown about what would be the after effects of the Catharsis of Existence. Thus, there was no coincidence that the "positive discrimination" reforms witnessed races who were not on the Catharsis List taking over or sharing positions up to now the usual domain of the Catharsis List races. 9821 NGW finally got the final answers from their MICC super computer. It was confirmed. The Human race within the next twenty years would cease to exist. For all intents & purposes, the entire Human race would go through the Catharsis of Existence. Afterwards, the Homo sapiens sapiens would become Homo spiritous. Before NGW would inform President Kopalos of this finding, NGW wanted confirmation. As such, the NGW team approached the two university teams with their findings. In order to confirm them, however, MICC supplied both universities with a super computer. By the end of the year, they had confirmed the NGW conclusions. UDF continued to investigate the actions of the Sassnorah. Although they had little external contact, the investigators were thus surprised to see alien technology being employed by the Sassnorah. Significantly, this technology was mostly in weapons. Annoyingly, it appeared to be of Ancients origin. Nothing, however, could be concluded by such a discovery. It could be that the Sassnorah had come across the technology as the FGCP had done several times. If one of the Ancients were supplying the Sassnorah, convincing proof would be required before any accusations could be made. 9822 President Kopalos faced two problems in her final year as President. She jokingly stated that she was not up for re-election as the Catharsis business & the Sassnorah issues were enough for anyone. Now, however, that the Catharsis Theory had been confirmed beyond doubt, a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. It no longer, thanks to the certainly, appeared to be the huge danger that it first feared to be. The Sassnorah situation was another matter. Although no direct proof had been discovered of Ancients involvement, further intelligence gathered by the spy probes clearly showed that the Sassnorah had gained greatly from Ancients technology. President Kopalos, in one of her last acts in diplomacy, contacted the Nazzer Ambassador to the FGCP. He, though, new little about it but did confirm that the technology shown him from the spy probes was of Ancients origin. He even stated that it probably came from the Wellous. Little was known about the Wellous, except that they led the Ancients opposition to the FGCP. In the past they had done a number of things in order to break up the Galactic League. Needless to say, they always stopped any attempt by the senior members of the Commonwealth to be granted Ancients status. It came, however, as a surprise that they might be having direct & important contacts with any of the junior races, let alone the Sassnorah. Admiral Tromp, after hearing of this, suggested that it could be more complicated than it first appeared. After some of the spy probes Enigma2 systems had intercepted unknown communications, the UDF then applied the little that they knew of Wellous communication systems. It was not long, hence, when the decoding programs began to decipher much of the messages. Although none of them gave definite evidence of Wellous military support, they did indicate Wellous involvement in Sassnorah affairs. Further evidence also indicated that the Phillis were aware of the Wellous-Sassnorah alliance. The outgoing President decided to keep quiet publicly on both matters. The UDF, however, were placed on "ready alert", & although a few eyebrows were raised, few really pursued the reasons why. The Sassnorah activity (although not the Wellous alliance) had become common knowledge within the FGCP, so placing the UDF on "ready alert" appeared prudent to most. The Presidential elections were a rather quiet affair. The full information of the Catharsis Theory had been kept secret from the general population. President Kopalos had taken the decision not to announce NGW’s conclusions & thus making them an election issue. This decision would be left to the incoming President who happened to be her Vice-President Angus Grassick of Earth. 9823 The new President was already aware of the current issues. President Grassick considered the Sassnorah-Wellous alliance to be trivial at best. Admiral Tromp disagreed with the President, but both agreed that it was probably a move by the Wellous to give them an excuse to attack the FGCP. Just as the Commonwealth acted as a policeman, so too did some of the Ancients. It was unknown if any of the other Ancients were involved with the Wellous. Likewise, it was unknown why the Wellous had decided to pursue such action, but it was assumed that they feared what the Humans were about to become. Although the NGW work had confirmed that the Catharsis of Existence would occur, curious minds wanted to know what would actually happen. President Grassick was also reluctant to give full details of the forthcoming event & like the previous President, only gave out a little at a time. Behind the scene, NGW was ordered to see if they could accelerate the Catharsis of Existence on volunteers. Thus when it could be clearly demonstrated the exact details of what was to come, the President & others could ensure the public that there would be nothing to fear. NGW immediately set up a special laboratory at Enigma. Considering the importance of this project, experts from both the University of Locus & Ganymede were also brought in to work on the project. Professor Mary Xander declined to work on the project. Alternatively, she demanded to be one of the test subjects. Overall, there would be twelve suitable volunteers. All were Human. No one knew whether the Catharsis of Existence could be accelerated, but the data that the three research teams had developed suggested that it could by a few years. 9824 UDF spy probes in Sassnorah territory, as before picked up Wellous communications. When decoded, the message was confirming the arrival of the latest shipment in weapons. Immediately, the UDF dispatched spy probes to the location mentioned & recorded the arrival of the Wellous ship. The real damaging evidence, however, was the clear recording of the transfer of the weapons to the Sassnorah. Such evidence ensured that the next Galactic League Convention was a lively one. President Grassick inquired with the Wellous delegation about it relations with the Sassnorah. Naturally they stated they had none, except at the diplomatic level. Knowing that they were lying, the President then made public all that the UDF had collected about the Sassnorah-Wellous alliance. The Wellous were outraged & demanded an apology. President Grassick refused to give one. Although the Wellous made threats of war, none of the other Ancients offered any support to them. Although evidence could be faked, after scrutiny by other groups, it became clear that the Commonwealth leader spoke the truth. Although only the Wellous really knew what they were up to, it was clear that it was dubious at best. The Convention broke up with the usual results - none. 9825 While NGW continued with the Acceleration Program, NGW Oracle commenced with the "Vale & Beyond Project". MICC had supplied NGW with an updated super computer that was even more powerful than the first one. Little was known about what the Ancients called going "beyond the Vale". What was known was that all the Ancients appeared to know about it. There were several "Vale" theories. UDF clandestine activity was the only source for information. All theories agreed that it meant level the Milky Way Galaxy. Again they agreed that it nothing to do with the Catharsis of Existence. But after that the theories differed. The two leading ones are typical of how radical & different they were. The first argued that it meant travelling to other galaxies & exploring the universe. This would require a major breakthrough in space travel technology. The second also required a major breakthrough in technology, but was a lot more radical in nature. Instead of leveling the Milky Way Galaxy to explore the universe, it meant leaving this universe & travelling to another dimension. Whether that permitted to journey to other distant locations in this universe was considered possible. NGW Oracle would research into both of these theories. 9826 UDF was pleased to notice that Sassnorah military activity had drastically slackened off. The spy programs also reported that all Wellous communications with the Sassnorah had finally stopped. Whatever the Wellous was up to with the Sassnorah, clearly they had pulled out of their alliance. The results, however, meant that the Sassnorah had been able to refit their entire fleet with Ancients weapons. The Joint Chiefs still recommended to the President that the UDF should remain at current "ready alert" status. As was still the main job of UPX, its explorer & scout ships were busy exploring the galaxy, both in time & space. Thousands of ships constantly journeyed out in all directions. These missions could take years to complete. As always, these ships were filled with the latest in technology. And the UPX Homer was one such ship. While out on the rim, the UPX Homer’s mission was to chart an area of space past the Sassnorah Empire. Its mission had been held up for a few years until it was deemed safe to venture near Sassnorah space. It probably was not necessary, considering the cloaking & stealth technology that UPX & UDF ships employed, but safety was always a major consideration. The last thing the FGCP wanted was an unfriendly power getting their hands on Commonwealth technology. Although the area of space soon turned out to be rather dull, the Homer nonetheless continued with its mission. No civilisations or inhabitable planets were discovered. Nothing was discovered other than the usual assortment of sun, planets, rocks & empty space. Thus everyone was excited when the Homer’s BigEar sensors identified promising signals some 800 light years away. Even though it would mean drastically changing their mission profile, the ship’s captain knew it was the only thing worth investigating. UPX back on Ganymede agreed. 9827 NGW’s Acceleration Program began to produce results. Although none of the test subjects had gone through the Catharsis of Existence, the combined team calculated that next year appeared hopeful. President Grassick was kept fully informed of these developments & confirmed, just in case he would lose the election, that the program would continue to its conclusion. His concern came about due to a restless public. For fifteen years now, little substance had really been made public. Now that public demanded to know more. All sorts of rumours were floating around over the Catharsis Theory. Yet President Grassick wanted definite answers from the Acceleration program before going public. Having said that, the government’s programs in preparing the Commonwealth for the massive changes that would come were quietly progressing. Again these changes were kept quiet, although not deliberately hidden from public view. As the UPX Homer approached the location of the signal that had been identified by BigEar, nothing significant could be found. Scans of the location showed nothing but dead planets. There appeared nothing special about this solar system at all. The only thing that appear unique was a dark cloud that seemed to hover around the third planet. After reporting their disappointment to UPX Ganymede, the captain said that they would investigate the dark cloud & then return to the original mission. Nothing was ever heard again from the Homer. The issue of the missing UPX ship had no bearing on the Presidential elections. The two main issues were over the intentions of the Sassnorah & the Wellous, & the re-emergence of concerns over the Catharsis Theory. President Grassick was at one stage in serious trouble as he continued to dodge questions over the latter issue. It was, however, handed to him by the leading opposition candidate from Blurgiss. When Conbin Beeceess stated that all the races on the Catharsis List should be quarantined, regardless of the impossibility of such a task, President Grassick gained instant support by those on the List. He was returned to office with a comfortable majority. 9828 And so it began. NGW had some warning of the forthcoming completion of the Acceleration Program. The twelve test subjects were placed in a special room & monitored twenty four (standard) hours a day. The data collected when into the MICC super computer for analysis. This analysis was supplemented by hundreds of members of the combined team as they wait withed anticipation of what was to take place. Without warning the scanners went hey-wire. One moment the data indicated regular Human activity, the next they were off the scale. The MICC super computer could not take in everything that was occurring & had to shut down many of its functions so that it would not melt down. Only basic holo-images were recorded for the moment. But the members of the team could not care less for the super computer’s problems, they were hypnotised by what they witnessed. All twelve test subjects, Humans from various backgrounds of life, began to glow. It was a faint glow at first, but it became brighter & brighter. It would be fair to say, all were scared, but as the Catharsis of Existence took place, a feeling of calm soon replaced their anxiety. As the team members looked on, the brightness radiating from their skin soon became their skin. The colour then shifted from a golden colour to pure white as the brightness became impossible to watch to the naked eye. Soon, even the monitors could not filter out the bright light that now filled the room. Then each mass of light exploded in silence. At first everyone looked in horror, thinking that they theories were wrong. But as their eyes & the monitors got used to the dullness of the room, twelve distinct clouds of white mist could be seen hovering were previously bodes once stood. Soon, the various activities that had been required of the twelve commenced. An old race of Humans had just died out: a new race of Humans had just been born. Then without warning, the twelve mists began to condense into corporeal form.
It was the twelve test subjects once again, but appearing somewhat different.
All appeared renewed. All appeared overjoyed. President Grassick was at one point overwhelmed when he saw the holo-vision of the event, while at the same time concerned. Although he now had the information to go public, not enough was still known about the new Human species Homo sapiens spiritous. But that was a lesser problem, the larger one was how would the Ancients react when they found out about the transformation. 9829 Word got back to the twelve Homo sapiens spiritous that President Grassick had sat on the information. All reacted with disgust that no announcement about the Catharsis of Existence had taken place. Furthermore, strict guidelines had been issued, forbidding the twelve from leaving the NGW base. This was rather ridiculous in reality, because nothing could contain Homo spiritous (short version of name). Being made up of spiritual matter only, walls meant nothing to them. Flying was also possible as well as space travel. The data, finally analysed by the MICC super computer, revealed stunning results. Homo spiritous could travel almost to the speed of light. It did not matter whether it be in an atmosphere of a planet or in the vacuum of space. Although travel between solar systems would take years, the time between planets would only mean days. Humans were truly finally free. Although the NGW research team tried to hid these & more findings from the twelve, they already knew what they could do. Thus when they discovered that the MICC super computer had finished analysing the data & that a report of this was sent to President Grassick, all hoped that the truth would finally come out. But in his weekly report, little was said. Thinking they were deceived, the twelve went to work. Being able to telepathically communicate with each other while in non-corporeal form, they would act. Thus when it was time for their next non-corporeal activities, they left these & immediately headed for the communications room. Travelling at the speed of light, no one knew what had happened until data started flowing from the MICC super computer to various media agencies. Security tried to intervene, but were held back effortlessly by white mists. Nothing could stop the twelve. The media immediately broadcasted the salient points of the Catharsis of Existence. Billions of FGCP citizens watch on in fascination. The Humans in particular watched on witnessing their future. President Grassick, meanwhile, was furious that this information had leaked out like this, but too his credit he came clean. Latter in the day he apologised for holding back these details & then set out his explanation. Top of the list was how many of his fellow citizens may react with a sudden overload of information, while the second was how their enemies & the Ancients would likewise react. In a sign of maturity, many in the electorate agreed with the President. But react many did. It started on the "Discuss The Issues" program on holo-vision #1. In a throw away line, Congressman Martin Douglas from Australis, stated "I wonder what I’m going to do with my classic Mustang convertible"? The answer came from the Zargah stock exchange. Immediately, stocks in all sectors began to sell. Prices started to drop. The realisation came that some time shortly, 30 percent of the marketplace in the FGCP was about to disappear literally. The stock exchange crash soon began to spread to other exchanges in the Commonwealth. This economic panic, however, had been foreseen. As part of the Catharsis Emergency Act, the Economic Emergencies Agency acted accordingly. When the stock exchange sell-off was clearly linked to the Catharsis business, all trading immediately ceased throughout the FGCP. Prices would remain as they were until "… the forthcoming societal changes had run their course." No one knew how long this might be, but it ensured that the Commonwealth would not be facing economic meltdown. 9830 President Grassick greatest concern was the reaction of the Ancients. In particular, how the Wellous & their allies react to the Humans transforming into Homo spiritous. Now that the entire known universe had been made fully aware, it came as a surprise when nothing was seen or heard from the Wellous. The Nazzer were, however, highly impressed. They knew what was coming, but now it had become common knowledge, the Nazzer wanted to be on more friendly terms. This included full diplomatic, friendship, trade & even military relations. Surprisingly, some of the other Ancients also changed their diplomatic stance with the FGCP & in particular with the Humans. It appeared that finally, the Humans had at least been accepted as defacto Ancients. 9831 Although the economic futures of many companies were guaranteed under the Catharsis Emergency Act, many companies in the effected sectors had little choice but to commence downsizing. The most effected industry was transport. The requirement for land, air & solar system transport vehicles would shortly drop by 30 percent. Companies like Ford, GM, Toyota, VW, Vargtrans, LyonVeh, & Zargah TS (to name but a few), began laying off employees. Other subsidiary industries followed. Soon, unemployment levels of 6 percent were record. This figure had been unheard of in 100 000 years. Again the Catharsis Emergency Act had to come into force. Not only was social welfare required to cover this difficult period, but a sudden drop in customer spending would ensure that economic depression would soon follow. President Grassick authorised major government contracts in order to create jobs. It was just out of coincidence, or so he said, that the chief benefactor was the UDF. Behind the scenes, the President was concerned by the inactivity of the Wellous. These concerns were also shared by Admiral Tiller the Chief of Staff. These concerns were somewhat reinforced when the UDF spy probes indicated Sassnorah military activity. Although not of major significance, the loss of the UPX Homer beyond Sassnorah territory, coupled with the fact that nothing was found of the ship, likewise played on Admiral Tiller’s mind. As an afterthought, Tiller also wanted to know what the Phillis were up to. Although no real proof had been discovered over their involvement in the Sassnorah-Wellous alliance, their involvement was always suspected. Tiller thus ordered spy probes to be sent to Phillis in order to keep an eye on them as well. 9832 The Sassnorah continued to conducted their military manoeuvres, little intelligence was gather as to their intensions. Even Nazzdorra could not discover anything interesting. Likewise the spy probes that were sent into Phillis territory could discover anything of substance. Having said that, however, it was noted that the Phillis military activity had also increase. No evidence, though, was discovered linking this with Sassnorah activity or anyone else’s for that matter. Although the Catharsis Emergency Act ensured many fears over the economic future, & thus prosperity, of the FGCP were eased, this did not mean that concerns of the near future were totally appeased. As before, the Catharsis of Existence was in the debates. Soon the Humans would undergo this transformation, & although it was clear the Humans would still be around, the junior races still express concern about their place in the Commonwealth. Even the twelve got involved in the debates, trying to ease their concerns, but this was only partly successful. Congress also got into the act as did the retiring President. Many of the other races concerns were rather valid. What if the transformation occurred during a time of crisis. Although the Commonwealth would be temporary paralysed, it would mean any attack by their enemies could be successful, especially if senior members of government, as well as the President, were not around. As a compromise, it was agreed that no Human would run for president. It would be an historic first, but a political necessity. After a long & hard campaign, Titus Andronicus a Unis, became President with a small majority. 9833 President Andronicus was quickly brought up to speed on the affairs of the FGCP. His first act of government was, however, highly controversial. The President decided to appoint Mary Xander as his Vice-President. A large number of citizens disagreed with this appointment, but they did so out of ignorance & hence fear more so than out of rational thought. Clearly, if the Catharsis of Existence was about to take place, it would be extremely beneficial to have an expert on hand in order to advise the President accordingly. After all, only twelve Homo spiritous really knew what it was all about. It was the Sassnorah that let the secret out. Over the years, UDF spy probes had become well versed in Sassnorah methods. This had become even further enhanced, when UDF began running the latest MICC super computers. Yet too their credit, the Sassnorah were more cleaver than first thought. Discovered in the Sassnorah routine communications, were hidden messages. Soon Enigma2 began concentrating on the hidden messages, which although gave little away, enough was decoded that gave a suspicious location in Phillis space. This was all that Admiral Tiller needed. Immediately he issued orders for the spy probes in Phillis space to head for the location. As an afterthought, a lieutenant on Tiller’s staff began to run Phillis communication signals through the same process that had discovered the hidden messages in Sassnorah communications. Again, hidden messages were discovered that mirrored many of the Sassnorah messages. Importantly, the same location was also mentioned in the Phillis ones. Upon arrival at the secret Phillis location, few ships other than Phillis ones were identified. But that was not what concerned the UDF. At the location was an enormous military base which could support at least 1 000 combat ships. Furthermore, its advanced design, let alone its size, ensured that neither the Phillis or the Sassnorah, even combined, could not have constructed it. Only a civilisation as advanced as the Commonwealth or the Ancients could have done it. Considering it was not the FGCP or their new Ancients allies, that could only mean the Wellous & theirs. Admiral Tiller personally briefed President Andronicus on this latest finding. Although Tiller admitted that no evidence was discovered that indicated a threat to the FGCP, the simple fact that it was there was danger enough. President Andronicus, however, refused any offensive military action. Tiller, likewise agreed, adding that more surveillance would be required. This the President authorised without hesitation. Furthermore, without any requests from the Admiral, the President increased the UDF budget, as permitted under the Catharsis Emergency Act, to construct more ships. This would have the double effect of keeping unemployment down while ensuring that the UDF was ready face whatever danger might arise from the current tensions. 9834 Anxiety among the Homo sapiens sapiens had almost reached breaking point. Everywhere it was noted that every Human appeared tense. Many, it was said, had almost aged ten years over the last few. The knowledge that soon, great change would come to them, was a burden many now did not want. Many commented that they had never discovered beforehand that anything was going to happen. In desperation in trying to calm 30 percent of the Commonwealth, the President turned to his Vice-President. She too could feel the anxiety endured by the Humans. But unlike them, she knew it was very close. When asked by the President "How close?", she simply replied, "Next year". She could not explain how she knew, she just did. President Andronicus was in a difficult position. He could go public, announce that the Catharsis of Existence would take place next year, thus giving the knowledge to those that need it. Or keep quiet over the information, which his Vice-President or one of the twelve was bound to leak anyway, but keep this knowledge hidden from their enemies. Admiral Tiller pointed out, that once the date was announced, the Wellous & their allies were bound to move. After much consideration, the President decided to go public. In the most important speech in eons, President Andronicus addressed the citizens of the Commonwealth: "Next year, the birth of a new species will be upon us all. We will witness a new born child. Many of us will be transformed into this new light. And as always, the Humans will lead the way. They, as many times before, have always been our friends, protectors & above all equals. I see no difference now or in the future. Let those of us who must wait our turn, fear not. The twelve have already shown what marvellous things await. And these things; soon we will all share. We should be joyful that, after thousands upon thousands of years of struggle, we will now become what the dreams of our forefathers could only imagine. Peace be with you all." For many, the President’s speech brought tears. For many others, their anxiety left. Many Humans broke out in celebration & invited the day to come. Unfortunately, many of the non-Catharsis List races saw nothing to celebrate about & Congress erupted in arguments. The Wellous & their allies took special note of the reactions to President Andronicus speech - especially the negative ones. 9835 It did not take long before the UDF spy probes at the Phillis base identified the on coming ships. Almost 1 000 ships of Ancients origin arrived over a period of a few weeks. Among the arrivals included a large number of Wellous ships, as well as ships from the Minmorin, Yetcoll, Dezlaylac & Opsaren. All were Ancients. All were extremely powerful. Making up a secondary support fleet were ships from both Sassnorah & Phillis. Enigma2 was working overtime trying to intercept & decode the high rate of communications traffic. Much of it was impossible to decode, but one thing was certain. It was a race between the Catharsis of Existence for the Humans & an all out assault by the Ancients. This was confirmed when the Nazzer sent warnings that the Wellous were up to something. They did not know what, but they assumed it was an attack on the FGCP. Without hesitation, the Nazzer offered what help they could. President Andronicus thankfully accepted the Nazzer help, but did not pass on the information about the base in Phillis territory. The UDF, needless to say, were on full alert but remained within Commonwealth territory. It was an Enigma2 interception of a Wellous communication that let on their true intensions. They feared that the transformed Humans would become a threat to their very survival. Homo spiritous would become immensely powerful; much more so than them. thus it was their intention to exterminate as many, if not all Humans, before the Catharsis of Existence. This was genocide on a galactic scale. President Andronicus & all else who discovered the plans of the Wellous were stunned - terrified even. All but Vice-President Xander. She seemed unaffected by it. When asked about her apparent lack of reaction, she merely dismissed the question. President Andronicus then asked "How powerful are you?", Mary just smiled rather innocently & answered in one chilling word: "Immensely". After a silent pause, she then added "We have nothing to fear; they are too late". Just as the combined Ancients fleet left its secret base, the Catharsis of Existence commenced for the Humans. Not everyone was transformed at once, but over a period of a few days the entire Human race had been transformed into non-corporeal beings of immense power. All were linked spiritually. Humanity was now truly one. Few had problems adjusting to the change as education programs had prepared all for the transformation. The few that did panic were quickly calmed by the caring of the others. But the time for enjoying their new existence would have to wait. The duty of the Homo spiritous was to defend their fellow citizens. The Combined Ancients fleets were on the way, & if they could not kill off the Humans, the several other races that were on the Catharsis List that would not have a chance. Yet, in all reality, the Combined Ancients now had no hope. It was they that were now the juniors. The Homo spiritous in the UDF immediately took charge & the Commonwealth fleets intercepted the Combined Ancients as they reached the border. But instead of the UDF ships opening fire, white mists appeared from these ships & headed for the Ancients ones. Within minutes, these white mists were battling the Ancients on board their own ships. Unfortunately, hundreds of Ancients & their junior allies died in the struggle, but not one Homo spiritous became a casualty. Finally, the surviving Combined Ancients surrendered knowing that all was lost. 9836 President Andronicus called for a meeting of the Galactic League. The Combined Ancients at first refused to go, but after threats of intimidation, they grudgingly partook. They had little choice. After it was made public that the Combined Ancients were out to commit genocide, the majority of the other Ancients, led by the Nazzer, sided with the FGCP. The Convention soon became a verbal battleground that almost became a physical one. The Humans displayed little tolerance for the Wellous & their allies. Charges of "Crimes against Humanity" were leveled at the Combined Ancients leadership & evidence after evidence was place before all & sundry. It was beyond doubt what the Wellous intended. The Humans, for their part, displayed much restraint. As they had displayed at last years defeat of the Combined Ancients, their power could sweep them away with little effort. The other Ancients were aware of this & were impressed by the Human’s behaviour. By all rights, & many of the other Ancients agreed, the Humans could have wreaked vengeance akin to a divinity against the Wellous. Even if the Combined Ancients could put up some defiant struggle, the Sassnorah & the Phillis had no chance whatsoever. As a reward, the Ancients Council invited the Homo spiritous to join them. Although many of the Ancients still held deep concerns over the Humans, none could deny their current level of existence. In fact many silently understood that the Humans had evolved beyond them all. Only a handful of other species had reach the level similar to Homo spiritous. What was even more annoying for them, was that several other species of the FGCP would, likewise, undergo the Catharsis of Existence. 9837 There were mixed results for the FGCP by the Human transformation. The negative ones were already anticipated. The transportation industry, & its subsequent subsidiary ones, were the largest hit. No Human required any means of transport, except for that between the stars. Likewise, food production was no longer a requirement for Human existence. These industries, however, had already prepared for the changes in demand, & were in fact operating as efficient as ever before. Fundamentally for the Humans, though, it meant that the acquisition of material wealth was now meaningless. The benefits, more importantly, outweighed the negatives. Strain on planetary environments was no longer an issue were Humans lived. The burden for Earth, for example, of supporting 8 billion inhabitants dropped dramatically. Now only 1 billion humanoids contributed to environmental impact. This, the Earth, could easily endure with happiness. Although the saving in environmental damage had been expect, other areas came as a pleasant surprise. Law enforcement gained considerably. Over the eons, the Buckhoo had always enjoyed the unenviable reputation of being the best thieves of the galaxy. It was an unwanted label, as most Buckhoo were actually law abiding citizens. Some were even master spies for the UDF. Others, however, enjoyed a life of crime. But now that Humans could go undetected in their non-corporeal form, Buckhoo crime gangs everywhere, who had often gone undetected for years, were now undergoing a period of legal intervention. Soon, virtually no crime could be successful without an arrest by a Human police officer. All these rapid changes became issues in the Presidential election. Some of the non-Catharsis List races complained about, what they claimed to be, a Human take over. Certainly "colourful" Buckhoo citizens were particularly demanding that Human activity within the Commonwealth be restrained. President Andronicus was quick to counter that these Buckhoo leaders "… should restrain their criminal activities first, before successful law enforcers should restrain their legal activities & obligations to the broader community…" Nonetheless, the elections were close. President Andronicus was only returned on preferences. 9838 As life settled down across the FGCP, the fears of what would happen to the structure of the Commonwealth slowly dissipated. Although they would not admitted it, many of the FGCP races fear that once the Humans would be transformed, they would leave & never return. But few did. Some, who for them the enjoyment of the sudden freedom did. As their lives were now almost immortal, a few million did depart to explore space through their own means. Such was the freedom to be Homo spiritous. Seldom did they revert to their only corporeal forms. Many Humans remained, however, & settled back into their lives as before. Although all Humans took advantages of their new non-corporeal forms, most would continue to keep contacts with the other races of the Commonwealth. In doing so, they would have to revert to their old corporeal form. When the other races witnessed that it was clear that the Humans were not going to desert them, the arguments over who was or was not on the Catharsis List finally wanned. 9839 Although the loss of the UPX Homer had become an old issue, the new Chairperson ordered a new investigation. The recent changes in FGCP society appeared to bring more vigour to issues such as the loss of the Homer. A sense of justice seemed to be the motivating factor behind Chairperson Margaret Perigord’s interest. She suspected that the ship’s fate had nothing to do with an accident, as a previous investigation conclude, but foul play instead. It was, though, only a feeling. Various studies into Homo spiritous had revealed little about the new species. The common response to many inquires, especially about "How did you know that?", was often "I just did". Although this frustrated inquiring non-Human minds, to Human scientists it was about the best way to sum it up. This was only more frustrating to the non-Humans. But, it was the same behaviour with all Humans now. Although they may not have the exact & full answer, they could "feel" that something was this, that, or something else. Although annoying to the non-Humans, when other Humans were asked to investigate matters, such as the fate of the Homer, no further explanation was required. It was as if some telepathic meaning, far more detailed than what was spoken, was transmitted between the two. 9840 NGW Oracle decided that it was time that the first preliminary tests of the Vale & Beyond project could begin. The work so far had been difficult. Few actually expected the first test to work at all. Others, meanwhile, predicted that a massive explosion would occur destroying the first prototypes. As a precaution, a secluded location was selected just in case. Security was also high at Oracle, which was to be expected. That, however, did not stop Homo spiritous members of Greenpeace arriving unannounced delaying the test. Naturally their concerns were over the impact to the environment & the overall danger that this technology imposed upon the Commonwealth as a whole. After NGW security’s attempts were futile in chasing the white mists around Oracle & its solar system, Human members of the UDF were called in to deal with the problem. Soon the Greenpeace members were rounded up by other white mists who escorted them out of NGW space. No one was hurt in these incidents, but NGW security pride was bruised. Clearly the Humans could cause much mischief, more so than ever before, if they so wanted. Greenpeace fears, unfortunately, were verified when the test was a disaster. As some of the scientists predicted, the prototypes exploded. Thanks to the secluded location, no emergencies or damage was caused. It was back to the drawing board for NGW. 9841 As part of the ongoing UPX Homer investigation, the UDF Intrepid began to patrol the space at the last known location of the UPX ship. Like the Homer, the Intrepid discovered nothing remarkable. Unlike the Homer, however, the Intrepid could not identify the black cloud that the captain of the missing UPX ship had mentioned in his last report. Upon approaching the third planet, some evidence did come to hand that suggested that the Homer had crashed on the planet below. Although a UDF spy probe had been sent years earlier to look for the missing ship, apparently it had missed this evidence. A UDF survey team soon arrived on the planet & located the remains of the UPX ship. It appeared, to all intents & purposes, that some malfunction had occurred which resulted in a dreadful crash. Little was left of the ship. There was no sign of survivors. When Chairperson Perigord of UPX received the information, at least part of her question was answered. The fate of the Homer was now know. But the explanation of how the ship crashed was rejected. Although accidents, even fatal ones, had always been part of UPX life, each ship would automatically eject a distress beacon in such an event. Homer’s beacon never activated. Then there was the matter of the black cloud. It had disappeared. As far as Perigord was concerned, Intrepid’s findings only raised more questions. 9842 None of Perigord’s concerns had anything to do with the Presidential elections. President Andronicus, although not overly supported by all, had nonetheless oversaw a tremendous decade of radical change for the FGCP. In doing so, he had gained respect by even his most stern opponents. But even he was glad that he would be retiring soon. In President Andronicus’ place stood Vice-President Mary Xander. Now considered to be the defacto leader of the Humans, few political observers were surprised went she stood as a candidate for the top job. Her candidacy, however, clearly split the various members of the Commonwealth. This divide had, unfortunately, been growing over the previous decade, even though a few years ago, the other races at first did not want the Humans to leave. Now, after noting that the Humans became more & more powerful, fears once again returned. But until now, the split had been rather fluid as events developed. Now the two sides had began to become more structured. In one camp were the Humans. Their transformation was the cause of the rift in the FGCP. With them, although support varied accordingly, were the other species on the Catharsis List. The other camp was basically made up of most of the other species. This included the other senior species of the Commonwealth as well as many of the junior ones. Although few feared a break-up of the FGCP, the debates in Congress & elsewhere had certainly developed a clear disturbing theme. Such was the atmosphere of the elections. Instead of an election of inclusion, it became one of exclusion. The Humans, almost as a whole, voted for Xander. Similarly a large number of Unis, Zargah & Vargary gave Xander their votes. But almost the entire non-Catharsis List species voted for the Buckhoo candidate Chun Oosusa. Due to the fact that popular Lyonies & Terran candidates were also running, the results were confusing at best. Like with the previous election, it got down to preferences & recounts. Finally, Mary Xander was announced as the successful candidate. 9843 The legitimacy of the Xander Presidency was questioned immediately. Amongst cries of electoral fraud, Chun Oosusa accused the new President of organising a political coup. President Xander replied that, considering "… Chun Oosusa was of Buckhoo, naturally he would know all about criminal activity." This only spurred Oosusa & his hardened followers on. And his followers grew. President Xander’s rather contemptuous reply to Oosusa, however, drew criticism from many allies. Concerns that the Humans now considered themselves to be far superior to the other members of the FGCP, appeared to have merit for the first time. Clearly the politics of the Commonwealth had turned ugly. No longer was tolerance & patience the common currency. Having said that, if President Xander & the other Humans wanted to smash Oosusa & the others, they could do so at a moments notice. Once again, great restraint was shown by the Humans. Of cause any such move by the Humans would destroy the very society that they had strove 1 million years to build. In building this enlightened society, it in turn had truly rewarded its best soldiers. Nature had, furthermore, rewarded the Humans with the gift of Catharsis. Soon, the other races that had truly sacrificed themselves for the betterment of others, would likewise be rewarded with this gift. But such spiritual matters meant little in Realpolitik. And this was the level that Oosusa now fought on. 9044 At the first meeting of the Ancients Council, although the Humans had clearly earned the right to be present, several of the other Ancients still considered them children. This was despite the fact that the Wellous were hostile towards every word the Human representatives said. President Xander, leader of the Human delegation, easily defended herself with little effort. Enjoying the gifts that the Catharsis of Existence had given to every Homo spiritous, her critics held little sway. This certainly ensured that the Nazzer & the other pro-Human Ancients, were open in their support. By the end of the Ancients Council gathering, two groups had clearly emerged among them. The Humans had become the defacto leader of the inclusive group, while the Wellous had become the leader of the exclusive group. There was a smaller group that remained neutral, but they kept to themselves as the others argued back & forth. 9845 Oosusa by now had gathered a rather large following since the election. These FGCP citizens came from several species as previously mentioned. None, of cause, where Human. Nor were any Unis, Vargary, or Zargah among his followers. Sadly, the Oosusa followers became violent. Where previously protesters would go about their business using peaceful forms of protest, now violence would occur. Police reaction would vary from planet to planet. On some of the planets, particularly on Blurgiss, police intervention was non-existent. President Xander had to do something. Here the President had a Commonwealth on the verge of self destruction. Clearly, Oosusa had to be discredited. His charismatic control, that had clearly excited citizens emotional levels to such an irrational level had to be broken. It was as if the fundamental democratic foundations of the FGCP no longer applied. Thankfully, it was Oosusa who provided the evidence himself that President Xander required. Oosusa's speeches of late had become rather racist in tone, although he was always careful not to break the law. In private meetings, however, it was a different story. Two Homo spiritous police officers, while conducting convert surveillance of Oosusa in their non-corporeal form, were able to record a conversation that ended Oosusa's little rebellion. After stating that: "We will use the others to kick out the Humans, followed by their lackeys the Vargary & all sorts, then we will get back that which was stolen from our ancestors. The Blurgiss Empire will rise again, conquer all those around us, & rule for a million years." Needless to say, this was too good to refuse. The next day President Xander ordered Oosusa's arrest for treason. His trial was a public humiliation. The recording of Oosusa's (he was of Blurgiss ancestry, but lived on Buckhoo) damaging statement was played again & again on all the media. His thoughts of a new Blurgiss Empire, let along his current political activity, was finished. 9846 Oosusa's arrest & successful trial, however, started riots on several worlds. Even though he had lost much support, particularly from non-Blurgiss supporters, his Blurgiss support base was still significant. And it was, thus upon the handful of Blurgiss planets, that the most trouble occurred. Not all Blurgiss, though, took part in these riots. Many had not supported Oosusa in the first place, & after Oosusa’s real agenda became known, more Blurgiss had left his cause. Thus when UDF units had to intervene in order to restore order, few protests were heard. President Xander, however, ensured that the intervention by the UDF, was done by units that included species from over the FGCP. Homo spiritous, for the most part, were absent from these units. The President wanted two issues to be seen here. That the FGCP was still truly a multi-racial commonwealth, & that the Humans were not conducting any racial repression or superiority policy. Regardless of the Humans transition, all were still equal within the FGCP. 9847 The troubles of the past, however, once again returned to influence the Presidential elections. Although Oosusa had been found guilty of treason, & safely locked away in prison, demands for his release could be clearly heard by his supporters. Combined with the Oosusa issue, were economic ones. Again this stemmed from the changes with the Human race. Although the Catharsis Emergency Act had softened the economic impact of the Catharsis of Existence, the economy had become stagnate. Several effects had combined, which were unforseen, that had now effected the general economy overall. Naturally, the President was as good as anyone else to blame. Few saw any improvement for the economy in the near future. Although the Humans had evolved, several other large communities would still go through the Catharsis of Existence. This would only ensure that markets would continue to shrink leading to more downsizing. Just one or two of these problems would have sunk most presidential hopefuls. But not Xander. The President continued to press the virtues of the FGCP throughout her campaign. Above all, she promised that there were no second class citizens & no race was superior to any other. But once again many in the electorate did not agree with her. Although the President was re-elected, this only occurred after several recounts & preferential votes. 9848 Without warning it happened. Although the scientists at NGW thought that the Vargary would be the next to go through the Catharsis of Existence, it was in fact the Unis. The event was similar to the Humans. The first sign that the Unis were next was a gentle golden glow could be seen radiating from the body. Slowly this glow would increase to the point that the bright light obliterated the view of the body. Then the white light became so intense, it was impossible for the naked eye, or any monitor or sensor for that matter, to view the explosion that followed. So intense was the brightness. Like with the Human experience, the transformation was stunning. Again the new species could exist in non-corporeal or corporeal form. And with this transformation, so too did all the gifts & freedom. Some of the Unis, like some Humans, left to freely explore the galaxy around them. Most, however, stayed. After experimenting with their new existence, they settled down. At least the Unis had a midwife the Humans in order to help them with their first steps. Like the Humans, though, most were already aware of their new abilities & existence. 9849 With the transformation of the Unis, the Humans now had a fellow Catharsis specie within the FGCP. The two races had always been close, as it was the Humans who had created the Unis in the first place. Although they were truly their own race, having been given selected DNA from the original members of the UFP, they had quickly asserted an independence, albeit not always popular one, making themselves their own species not under the domain of any other. Once again, however, the Humans had to act as parent. Considering the nature of the new transformed specie, was very clear that they had reached Ancients status. Thus the Humans, seconded by the Nazzer, sponsored the Unis in joining the Ancients Council. As before, the Wellous "group" opposed the application, but it was out of their control. Things became particularly ugly when the Humans changed to their non-corporeal form & tormented the Wellous delegation. Although no one was injured, the scene reminded the Human Ambassador Winston Larkham as a comic routine from an ancient Earth ghost film. The Wellous, though, were not impressed by the behaviour of the Humans. In protest, they boycotted the remainder of the Council meeting. This merely worked to the Humans efforts, wherein the Unis were accepted into the Ancients Council as full & equal members. 9850 After the earlier investigations by UPX into the destruction of the UPX Homer, little further had been discovered after the UDF Intrepid had discovered the wreckage of the ship. Thousands of calculations & theories had been made since then, yet few answers came forth. It all appeared to point towards the black cloud. Since the Intrepid first set off in search of the mysterious black could, nothing had been seen of it. Other ships, both from UPX & the UDF, as well as spy probes, had explored the space around the ill fated planet now called Homer (in respect to the lost UXP ship), but nothing was discovered. The Wellous had continued to become isolated within the Ancients Council.
Although their group had continued to remain in tacked, the neutral group had
more or less gone over to the Humans group. The Humans for their part, had
injected energy into the Council. Previously, the Ancients would discuss why
they could not do things, now it was the reverse. With the Unis & the Nazzer
providing support, the Ancients now had to defend their deliberate alienation
from the junior races against these young, energetic &, above all, powerful
members. Clearly things were about to change. Yet a number of the Ancients did
not want any change.
© 1997-2009 This creative work is the property of David Mark
Atwell.
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