The Age of Temperance
***Warning: This article contains some spoilers for The Sun Maker Saga.
At the beginning of the Sun Maker Saga, the being known as “Temperance” was dead. He was the god-emperor of the universe for 100,000 years and had formed an empire the likes of which had never been seen nor ever would be.
Many think he’s a legend or a well-kept lie. Some think he was different rulers taking on the mantle of “Temperance” with each passing generation. What they don’t know is that he was very real, and his reign spawned a wave of hatred so pure and volatile that his enemies were willing to summon another god to kill him.
Origins on Torne
Central, the capital of Torne
The story of Temperance begins approximately 388 years before the founding of his empire, in the age of Creche. A planet remembered as “Torne” was discovered at that time. Humans were already an interstellar species and had perfected terraforming (‘forming) more than 800 years earlier. The ‘formers, as they were called, brought Torne to life and made it habitable.
Over the next 272 years, a great and powerful society thrived on Torne. They valued above all else progress and advancement, literature and science. Hundreds of thousands of people came to live at the capital of Central.
Slowly, the people realized that the government was funding secret experimentations and that anyone associated with them were disappearing. What scientists had discovered was a way to transfer a soul from a dying body into a younger body.
They had effectively invented immortality.
The Central government began compelling its people to transfer their souls when they grew older. Death became illegal, and after each transfer, the citizen wouldn’t remember that they’d been transferred, though they would be the same person with the same memories and personality.
Eventually, a few scientists discovered this plot and rebelled through suicide. Their sacrifice began a chain reaction that led to rebellion and bloodshed over the next century.
However, the immortality projects didn’t end.
In the final years of Torne’s existence, a secret society was formed. This society was composed of scientists, philosophers, soldiers, and bureaucrats who craved the immortality they’d won. Their plan was to deviate from the original design (one soul to one body) and begin gathering many souls into only a few.
But this group was filled with the jealous and the scheming, and amidst betrayal and jealousy, one man triumphed above them all.
The souls they’d stolen (which numbered in the tens of thousands) eventually became the immortal power of Temperance. The man who possessed this power had a name that has since been lost to history, but it was he who laid the foundation for his legacy as god-emperor.
The Rise of Temperance
Illustration of an Ur-Ship
Sixty-four years before Temperance rose to power, humans had invented the dilation drive. This new technology had the power to fold space. Before this, humans had to travel at sub-light speeds in generation ships. Now, humans could fold outside of their galaxy and explore the universe almost instantaneously.
Temperance knew he needed to control this new technology. He and his followers took control of a few key shipyards on a newly colonized planet called Gene. He then took the newly constructed ur-ships and equipped them with dilation drives. From that point on, it was only a matter of propaganda and conquering.
Despite many attempts to kill him, Temperance could not die. Once the colonies eventually faced this reality, it didn’t take long for Temperance to create his burgeoning empire. A new time system was set in place, effectively ending the “age of humanity’s creche.”
The Mandala of the House of Temperance
But instead of becoming a tyrant and oppressing his new subjects, Temperance brought technological advancement and peace. Conflicts were settled without war, and a free trading system helped the worlds prosper. This concord between colonized worlds became known as “the Civilizations,” and they were happy to pledge loyalty to Temperance in exchange for the god-emperor’s protection, mediation, and untold wealth.
Each Civilization was essentially left alone, given ur-ships, and encouraged to explore the universe, ‘form new planets, and expand Temperance’s empire. But ‘forming was incredibly expensive and was eventually abandoned in favor of spending resources searching for already habitable planets.
The Discovery of Aether
Representation of Aether
With science and experimentation at the forefront of each Civilization’s priorities, it wasn’t long before they discovered* a new element and energy source.
The discovery of an invisible energy that permeated reality shook the scientific vanguard to its core. They called it “Aether” and immediately searched for a way to harness it. Temperance was very interested in this new energy as well, sending representatives called Messengers to provide oversight in their research.
A growing movement of philosophers discovered to harness Aether without the use of technology. This method required meditation and practice, and the followers were able to siphon Aether from their homeworld’s core into their very bodies. Temperance’s Messengers learned the techniques for themselves and then secretly murdered their teachers, making their deaths look natural. Temperance needed to control this power through technology, not mysticism.
In the end, Aether came under Temperance’s control in both respects; his Messengers passed on the techniques of physically controlling Aether with their bodies while the rest of the universe needed his technology to draw Aether from the universe.
In the age of Creche, humans used electrical generators for power. With Aether, there were no apparent harmful effects on the environment, and they had a seemingly endless supply. With Temperance’s blessing, the Civilizations could now expand faster and cleaner than ever before in the history of their race.
The Decline of Temperance
Ptolis Genexeve, capital of Gene
Temperance’s empire would last exactly 100,000 years. There are many reasons for this age-long phenomenon, but these are the main ones:
The Civilizations were blessed with exceeding prosperity and wealth, and there was no reason to change. Yet.
Temperance apparently never died, and as god-emperor, his power was enough to curtail any thoughts of resistance.
But that didn’t mean everyone was content.
The Rise of the Execrate
At the height of Temperance’s empire, a movement of resistance grew among the lower classes of the Civilizations. It was disorganized and random at first, but over thousands of years, this movement became more focused and systematic. Despite their prosperity, there were divides between the wealthy and the poor. Although the true ratio of poor to rich is heavily debated, the truth is, over time, wealth could no longer be evenly distributed.
There were many factors contributing to this, but the main reason was that the human race had expanded so much, it was nearly impossible to conduct an accurate census. With hundreds of worlds inhabited by their race, it’s estimated that the population had reached the quadrillions. The opportunity for wealth that Temperance had provided was no longer able to reach every soul.
Temperance attempted to alleviate this problem by empire-sponsored mining projects that paid well, where the miners could keep whatever they discovered. Not everyone was granted this sponsorship, however, and it only provided twelve months of stipends and lodging. Temperance would pay these miners for information about their discovery, and after the deadline passed, imperial ur-ships would swoop in and collect whatever bounty was left.
The Execrate Summoning Wrath
This program did not have the effect it intended. Corruption and theft abounded. For hundreds of years, Temperance tried different ways of managing the problem, but none of them had the lasting effects he needed.
Soon, a clandestine organization calling itself “the Execrate” gained notoriety as it began attacking imperial ur-ships and stealing the mining bounties. Temperance did his best to stamp out this fire, but could never control it—not even with his newly invented Arrows.
It was around this time that Temperance seemed to change.
Heir to the Power of Temperance
The Heir
Although it was a subtle change that took place over a few centuries, many noticed Temperance become more reclusive and less outspoken. His drive to destroy the Execrate slackened, and he made proclamations about an heir to his throne.
In an unprecedented move, Temperance took wives and fathered two sons. One of his sons, he proclaimed, would inherit the power of Temperance. These proclamations only cast fuel on the Execrate’s fire—for how could a god-emperor give up his throne to an heir?
Unless he wasn’t truly a god?
One of Temperance’s most famous proclamations was entitled Commands and Oaths, given between the months of Gateway and Purification, 99991T—just 9 years before his fall. In response, the Execrate released Hope and Fire just months later on the third day of War, which stood as a stark antithesis to the former declaration and threatened to summon the god-like being,“Wrath,” to strike Temperance down.
Where Commands sounds more like a prophecy, Hope is doubtless a threat against Temperance’s life. But in the 100,000th year of Temperance’s rule, life, and empire came to a brutal end. Ironically, the Execrate was also never heard of again.
To fill the enormous power vacuum left behind, an organization known as the Vine would step in to provide order to the Civilizations. Although they never succeeded in controlling every world, the Vine would play an important role in the next 600 years of human history as well as perpetuate the idea that Temperance wasn’t a single immortal man, but many…
The legacy of Temperance casts a long shadow. The Sun Maker Saga is a story that takes place 600 years after the fall of Temperance and how his legacy’s fallout would affect the very nature of the universe.
If you’d like to read more, the series is now available on Kindle Unlimited, beginning with Ruin Star: Sun Maker Book One.
I hope you enjoy it!
