They are searched for, and if found, they are trained.
Given access to the peak of technology and to the deepest parts of themselves.
They become Commanders.
And Commanders make war.
On behalf of Armada.
On behalf of Cortex.
On behalf of any and all in need of engines of annihilation.
The few people still living in the Line Worlds, a no-man’s land dividing Armada and Cortex space, shiver as scattered skirmishes merge, growing into battles that threaten to reignite full-scale war. Armada forces shift their focus from scientist to soldier, as Cortex citadels emerge, layered in steel and stone.
In the Terminal Verge and the Nomadic Reaches, the far expanse of known space, the two great empires clash with Independent factions, with each other, and with darker things besides.
Armada is growing ever more split between the meticulous Scholarborne scientists, and the fanatical Evermarch zealots. Should the past anchor the present, or be cast aside as dead weight? Tempers flare as they debate the best path forward for humanity.
Cortex too bears the weight of division. Those who hold to the doctrines of the Divinitas Mandate place unwavering faith in lesser AI. They worship the All-Father and seek nothing less than his resurrection. In opposition, the Echelon Concordat, who see AIs as artificial constructs, limited by their nature and, by necessity, subservient to humankind. This deeply embedded disagreement strains the Chain that anchors Cortex society.
While the struggle for dominance and internal control keeps the two corporate giants interlocked in battle, their focus shifts too far away from what is lying beneath the stars. And from beneath those stars, others are rising.
