Albion and the Cyber Rebellion

Cybers

Albion fought bravely against the Cyber onslaught, but they were no match. Over the course of a century Albion, like many human and alien empires around it, was dismantled by the Cybers and its people—those who survived—scattered to the far corners of the five galaxies. The royal line was all but wiped out; the last vestiges of the venerable AEC were brushed aside in 3687.

A determined few found refuge in the unlikeliest of places. The crew of the HMS Horizon’s Edge, leading a convoy of ten exploratory vessels and thirty refugee ships, discovered a damaged and abandoned nomad platform. This huge structure, a city in space sprawling six thousand kilometers across, was devoid of life; its creator race—the identity of whom remains a mystery to the Albionites—had been wiped out by the Cybers. They, in turn, abandoned the lifeless hulk of the platform, having stripped anything of value to them and leaving the rest to fate.

The Albionites wasted no time in not only restoring the nomad platform—christened Dawn of Albion—but also using their surviving ships to fortify it. Now, at the beginning of the 48th Century, there are whispers of a great white platform that skips between star systems, keeping quietly to the shadows of the galaxy. Dawn of Albion emerges every so often to trade with mercenaries and bold smugglers, only to disappear behind nebulae at the first sign of danger. 

With economic life returning and new trade routes opening between the five galaxies, it is only a matter of time before the Third Kingdom of Albion emerges to take its place. 

Dawn of Albion

Dawn of Albion is a self-sustaining, self-contained mobile space habitat that is home to more than 10 million people. It is hemispherical in shape, a great bowl with a flattened “top” studded by innumerable towers, enclosed biomes, and huge power generation facilities. Very few have visited because even fewer know its location. There are rumors of great solar sheets that draw power from the suns Dawn of Albion skirts by, storing the energy in deep collectors that act as miniature solar furnaces. Farmland and artificial seascapes engineered by the Albionites provide sustenance.

Defense is not a difficulty. The Albionites of the Third Kingdom spent many centuries perfecting weapons systems—especially when they found the directed energy devices left behind by the mysterious creators. Using these to supplement their human-based technology, the Albionites can obliterate hostile vessels with little warning from a great distance away.

Genetics

The Albionites have long tampered with the human genome, adjusting it for increased resistance to both the hard radiation of space as well as prolonged exposure to vacuum. As a result, the average Albionite is 2.5 meters tall, with strength in excess of 15 percent greater than most of mankind. They choose which genes are passed along to their children very carefully—not only are the best and most detailed genetic tests employed prior to conception, but breeding partnerships are given far greater weight than marriage for reasons of emotion, or even for economic or political reasons. Breeding partners are encouraged and compensated by the Third Kingdom to remain committed to the successful growth and development of their offspring; if the first is deemed within one standard deviation of Achievement, the partners are given the right to procreate on two more occasions—possibly a fourth, if truly extraordinary.

The dark side to this rigid control of Albion’s genetic future is that breeding outside of approved partnerships is heavily discouraged. Not forbidden, though, because even the most ruthless of Albion’s leaders recognize that to deny human emotion is perhaps the most dangerous catalyst to societal upheaval—the last thing a spacefaring nation wants.

Military

The Royal Guard protects the King and his immediate family and provides elite special forces for military operations. These expand the Army of Albion and its spacefaring branch, the Navy Fusiliers. Dawn of Albion does not project its power far, choosing to rely mostly on defense, but does keep a fleet of strike cruisers either in-dock or on maneuvers nearby at all times.

The Albionites have made no official treaties or even diplomatic contact with the emerging powers in the wake of the Cyber Rebellion. Only the Naplians have what can be deemed “good relations” with them—which is to say, they trade sporadically and stay well away from Dawn of Albion, while the Albionites skirt the fringes of Naplian strongholds.

Albion Empire description by Steve Rzasa

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Author Steve Rzasa

Steve Rzasa is a member of the Takamo Universe writers gang. He has written two Takamo Universe novels including Empire's Rift. He has written numerous novels of speculative fiction and was first published in 2009. His work includes four space opera and two steampunk tales through Enclave Publishing, including The Word Endangered, and a sci-fi murder mystery set with Castalia House. He has self-published a fantasy novel, The Bloodheart, and a science-fiction tale, For Us Humans. 

His debut novel, The Word Reclaimed, was a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers award for Best Speculative Fiction in 2010. His third novel, Broken Sight, won this award in 2012. His short story In the Bag, set in the world of his steampunk novels Crosswind and Sandstorm, won the 2012 flash fiction contest for the Denver Chapter of ACFW. 

Steve received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and worked for eight years at newspapers in Maine and Wyoming. He’s been a librarian since 2008, and received his Library Support Staff Certification from the American Library Association in 2014—one of only 100 graduates nationwide and four in Wyoming.

He is the technical services librarian in Buffalo, Wyoming, where he lives with his wife and two boys. Steve’s a fan of all things science-fiction and is a student of history.

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