- Joined
- Jan 27, 2011
As civilizations rise and fall, their successors learn from the past. How to grow, what to avoid (most of the time), and whom to rely on for direction and progress. The terms are often very loosely based, as often progress comes in unexpected ways. Sometimes it's all-out war, sometimes it's with the right words at the right time to the right person. And other times it even requires no action by either party.
But as they say, every success is built upon a thousand failures. And this colloquial catch-all phrase rings true in every aspect of life. From getting a job to procreation, from acquiring money and power to stealing a priceless relic. In all cases, it revolved around a singular goal: The acquisition of something of value. Value is what made things desirable, attractive, respected and even feared. Value was the one thing that the Universe provided...But it was up to the right person to find it in whatever it was they were looking for.
Something that the Knights, Freemasons and Illuminati - all those 'fake groups' that supposedly operated from the shadows - understood all too well. They acquired things of value: Land, riches, knowledge and people in all positions of power and walks of life. And as the years progressed, so did their view on what was 'valuable'. History claimed them to be frauds, disbanded and in some cases, raided and executed. This was the furthest from the truth...And in fact, all happened to be one in the same.
They were just different branches of the same group, their agents and power pulling the strings of nations with the skill and deftness of a master puppeteer.
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*YEAR 4999*
Humanity had grown quite a bit since their rocky beginnings. Systems once thought unreachable now could be traveled to in a matter of hours. Stars that people thought they could never see now visible off the port-windows of an interstellar cruiseliner. Wars now took places hundreds of thousands of miles above a civilized planet's surface. And with all these distractions, it made people none the wiser about the underbelly of the world.
And what secrets their governments, and those associated with it, held.
"Sir? Subject A-dash-three-twenty-one is awake; the theta pinch bottle appears to be holding steady."
These words were spoken by a portly man dressed in a navy-blue fullbody biohazard suit, a mad-looking scientist approaching holding what appeared to be a small sphere. It seemed inert, until one surface popped open to display a variety of screens and data readouts. "Vitals appear normal...Good." said the man, his accent heavy with very thick Old World Scandinavian undertones. The room they were in was fairly empty, save for a large energy field that contained the object of their fascination, along with several computers and localized generators that kept the field's integrity. It was a creature of undocumented origin, of unknown physiology...And the lives it had taken their predecessors to procure, sedate and contain it?
Insurmountable...But with this latest round of experiments, they would succeed. The deaths of those who served this great organization would not be in vain! Such a creature would make no one able to oppose them...But the key, the last and absolutely essential component, was deciphering how to harness this power. The things it could do...What secrets it held...They had learned much, but they still had so much more to learn!
"And...In regards to our latest trial?" asked the apparent leader of the this team, a skinnier and taller woman dressed in the same type of biohazard suit as her stouter male compatriot explaining, "The poison A-three-twenty-one emits appears to have no effect on B-two-forty-seven, sir...Nor does exposure to the madness it can induce. Much like A-three-twenty-one, its rarity seems to have given it several advantages against its abilities." The scientist nodded, "Very good. Begin field linking; watch for feedback and make sure the frequency does not exceed two times threshold! We almost lost A-three-twenty-one the last time!"
A scurrying of movement could be heard as the preparations were made, soon a fairly grotesque and bizarre-looking creature emerging. "Well then, A-three-twenty-one...I do hope you feel more cooperative than the last time we tried this. B-two-forty-six was a priceless antiquity, one that can never be replaced...But lucky for you, our trials show us that you have very little to combat this with. Of course...If you feel like sharing, we can make this much smoother for everyone." then said the scientist, his left artificial eye seemed to 'dilate' as the lens focused on the strangely humanoid creature he was attempting to converse with.
But as they say, every success is built upon a thousand failures. And this colloquial catch-all phrase rings true in every aspect of life. From getting a job to procreation, from acquiring money and power to stealing a priceless relic. In all cases, it revolved around a singular goal: The acquisition of something of value. Value is what made things desirable, attractive, respected and even feared. Value was the one thing that the Universe provided...But it was up to the right person to find it in whatever it was they were looking for.
Something that the Knights, Freemasons and Illuminati - all those 'fake groups' that supposedly operated from the shadows - understood all too well. They acquired things of value: Land, riches, knowledge and people in all positions of power and walks of life. And as the years progressed, so did their view on what was 'valuable'. History claimed them to be frauds, disbanded and in some cases, raided and executed. This was the furthest from the truth...And in fact, all happened to be one in the same.
They were just different branches of the same group, their agents and power pulling the strings of nations with the skill and deftness of a master puppeteer.
======================================================================================================================================
*YEAR 4999*
Humanity had grown quite a bit since their rocky beginnings. Systems once thought unreachable now could be traveled to in a matter of hours. Stars that people thought they could never see now visible off the port-windows of an interstellar cruiseliner. Wars now took places hundreds of thousands of miles above a civilized planet's surface. And with all these distractions, it made people none the wiser about the underbelly of the world.
And what secrets their governments, and those associated with it, held.
"Sir? Subject A-dash-three-twenty-one is awake; the theta pinch bottle appears to be holding steady."
These words were spoken by a portly man dressed in a navy-blue fullbody biohazard suit, a mad-looking scientist approaching holding what appeared to be a small sphere. It seemed inert, until one surface popped open to display a variety of screens and data readouts. "Vitals appear normal...Good." said the man, his accent heavy with very thick Old World Scandinavian undertones. The room they were in was fairly empty, save for a large energy field that contained the object of their fascination, along with several computers and localized generators that kept the field's integrity. It was a creature of undocumented origin, of unknown physiology...And the lives it had taken their predecessors to procure, sedate and contain it?
Insurmountable...But with this latest round of experiments, they would succeed. The deaths of those who served this great organization would not be in vain! Such a creature would make no one able to oppose them...But the key, the last and absolutely essential component, was deciphering how to harness this power. The things it could do...What secrets it held...They had learned much, but they still had so much more to learn!
"And...In regards to our latest trial?" asked the apparent leader of the this team, a skinnier and taller woman dressed in the same type of biohazard suit as her stouter male compatriot explaining, "The poison A-three-twenty-one emits appears to have no effect on B-two-forty-seven, sir...Nor does exposure to the madness it can induce. Much like A-three-twenty-one, its rarity seems to have given it several advantages against its abilities." The scientist nodded, "Very good. Begin field linking; watch for feedback and make sure the frequency does not exceed two times threshold! We almost lost A-three-twenty-one the last time!"
A scurrying of movement could be heard as the preparations were made, soon a fairly grotesque and bizarre-looking creature emerging. "Well then, A-three-twenty-one...I do hope you feel more cooperative than the last time we tried this. B-two-forty-six was a priceless antiquity, one that can never be replaced...But lucky for you, our trials show us that you have very little to combat this with. Of course...If you feel like sharing, we can make this much smoother for everyone." then said the scientist, his left artificial eye seemed to 'dilate' as the lens focused on the strangely humanoid creature he was attempting to converse with.