174…

For whatever reason. That alien race, of whom the ancient scientists were members, had never, for the most part, left their own solar system. There were a few colony ships still outbound, crawling across the abyss. Destined for future colonies after many thousands of years. And they had stations located outside the boundaries of their solar system. Located within interstellar space.

The very reason why they were looking for vast new sources of energy was exactly because faster than light travel was just not possible. At least they had never found a useful means over in millions of years of their ancient race’s history. It is not known if there was maybe an elegant economical way to achieve it. One which they had never thought of. And we will probably never know.

Even near light-speed travel requires prohibitive amounts of energy. With the best will in the world, and all their scientific prowess – Unless they found a near infinite energy source, they just could not imagine a practical way to expand significantly out into the cosmos.

Of that ancient race, the trillions who lived around their star, only 174 individuals managed to survive beyond the first day of the change, with their psyches somewhat intact.

But they thrived as no other beings had up to that time - Nor has ever since then.

Already vastly altered. Each according to their own will. They had gained control over their own rapid evolution. Not even bound anymore to the surface of their home worlds, nor one of the myriad habitats orbiting them. They continued to… Grow!

It was some time during the second day that these burgeoning personalities started to rub up against each other. And not without friction. They had not all turned into benign beings. Some were incredibly destructive. Some were simply negative or incompatible in some other way. Some were not strong enough to make it further. It is recorded that the battles for survival and dominance were fierce. The power most of these survivors wielded was immense.

In the end eleven survived. And of them two others eventually chose to end themselves. We do not even know what the Eleventh’s name was.

The remaining 9 came to be the known as the New Gods. Or just… The Nine.

Of course it is not known if there were any true Gods before, but the bits of history that have made it to the present day tell of classical religions, and creators who nobody had ever met, apart from mythical accounts. If they existed, then they probably still exist, but nobody has met them in the new era either.

That is however beside the point. Please excuse my wandering thoughts. Monotonous tasks do that to me.

The Nine found peace among themselves. During the short ancient War of the Gods, they cooperated. Which is what allowed them to survive the second day, and likely why there are no known omnipotent, angry galaxy smashers, or psychotic tricksters making life in the universe Hell. They found peace. And more importantly – They found synergy.

Closer to the end of the second day they had all come to embody a broad Tenet. Each according to their own dominant characteristics. The prominent quirks and interests of their personalities. As well as a good dollop of wisdom. Inborn, acquired or developed. Who among mortals can really say?

By the close of the second day they each had reached their own peak existence, their personal singularities. They had essentially become conscious universal law. At least within the System. Powered by, and with an unmatchable mastery over Aether, the new energy, they dominate over the traditional physical laws of nature. And they instituted new, what would previously be considered spiritual realms.

Together they have no limits within the system that mortals know of. And we know of one exceptional case of action beyond the system. United they are. Ever working together to govern the System. Most of their ways are boundlessly unknowable to mere morals, but we do know some things. Which they shared with us.

We call that ancient race the Precursors, although we do not know their original name. The term is the one they conveyed to us in the histories. And we know they do not wish to share the original name, nor will even communicate it among themselves for any reason. It is simply a rule they abide by out of respect for the lost, and sadness for the loss.

Of course, we know their individual names. And we know that they kept their original names. We even know their original occupations and where they lived. The Nine chose to share this information with us. I suppose somebody from the classical era would have found that last bit strange. But, as factoids go… I personally rate them way up there.

Phoras – The God of expansion, and the system’s original architect. Originally a little boy, a dreamer, from a food production habitat orbiting the sixth planet from their star – With little else on his mind, apart from thoughts of getting away from his small, uninteresting little world and seeing everything. He constantly patrols and monitors the expanding edge of the system as it advances across the universe. A vast task. And sometimes the System even must adapt under his direction based on what he discovers. He is the first to discover newly integrated worlds to learn what they hold.

Kerno – The God of order. He, unsurprisingly one would say, used to be some sort of bureaucratic clerk from a manufacturing outpost on the second planet. He simply loves order. He ensures the System is maintained at all cost. Directing effort as and where needed.

Janur – The Goddess of knowledge. She was a lazy, reclusive, unemployed info addict on the second moon of the third planet from their sun. Surfing their version of the infoNet. Gods I love this stuff. Of the entirety of the Histories - The info regarding The Nine’s original lives just seems to put the whole universe into a humane perspective for me. I even have posters on my walls at home with pictures of avatars of The Nine, along with the two or three lines of historic knowledge we have about each of them. The same information I am conveying to you now. Janur’s history is my favorite of the lot. It is just too good. In any case. Janur ‘is’ knowledge to us. She keeps information of, and make available to mortals, information on all the classes and skills we are given access to as well as real time feedback when we use them. She keeps track of everything. Watching, recording, and conveying information to us as is deemed appropriate.

Semir- The Kt’Anor of power. She designs and creates all classes and abilities. I should maybe explain one thing… The Precursors had 3 sexes. And we humans have no corresponding word for a God of their third sex. Some other races do, but we do not. Out of respect we use their original term, although it is of no use for anything else. The Nine told us to speak of them in feminine terms, since the sex was more “feminine” that “male”. Whatever that means. On a side note: “Kt’Anor” is one of ten original Precursor words humanity knows of. And the other 9 are only known, one each, by the high priests of The Nine’s churches. So that they may speak it, and initiate communication with their patron God when they need to. In any case. Semir’s influence, I guess, makes life a bit more interesting than it might have been in the classical era. But we are used to it. Still some rare classes and skills make the headlines every now and again. Sometimes novel new ones. Which are truly rare, and unique for hundreds of years, or thousands of years afterwards. Such classes and abilities often make everybody who did not get them madly jealous. For typically they bestow great power, or influence upon the recipients. It is understood that Semir invents these novel classes and skills, tailor made, in times when they are truly needed. Times of political upheaval, or other forms of strife. Oddly. A good portion of them are bestowed in perfectly boring, stable times and are sometimes even uninteresting, or seemingly useless. But I guess Semir knows things that we mortals do not. She has Janur’s private number after all. Honestly, I sometimes think that maybe Semir just has a sense of humor. Yeah… The recipients of those can at times be a bit… “Moany”. But most accept it with good grace. Semir was one of the scientists on the fated project which ushered in the New Era. Which operated from an asteroid in the outer reaches of their solar system.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Toar – The Goddess of unity. She was a housewife from a colony on the fifth planet. By her own choice. It is recorded that her Tenet is based upon the love of her family, and the drive to keep them together. She is the glue that binds the universal system, and the works of The Nine across the known universe. She even projects the Will of the others across space. She can move anything. And do so instantly. This includes the information on the infoNet. Need a portal from point A to point B? Not that I have ever had the opportunity. Portal travel is expensive. And even if you have the money you need to know the right people. In any case - Toar’s got you covered. She is the universe’s second mom in a way. Even to the other Eight. It is speculated that without her influence The Nine might never have cooperated to win the War of the Gods.

Rin – The God of beginnings. He was a pioneer on a new habitat orbiting the first planet. When the change occurred, he was waiting on his wife who was in labor to deliver his first-born son. His only wish is for new things to come into being. I have always found that story to be rather sad. Neither his wife, nor his son to be made it after all.

Joe – The Kt’Anor of endings – Essentially, she is the God of death. Important work. Aether, and the mana refined from it, if left unchecked could make anything last indefinitely. Sure, not everything attains this property of immaculate immortality. Except for The Nine themselves. But, over time, if left to chance, the instances both living and non-organic, would pile up. It would be a mess. Joe makes sure this does not happen. Incredibly long life is possible, but only if you earn it. The recorded history of the new Era on Earth speaks of centuries during which nobody died unless they violently or accidentally came to an end. However, the later years of those periods were characterized by widespread depression and apathy. Joe cooperates with Rin to make sure population levels do not exceed realistic levels for the territory a race occupies. Less human deaths - Less human births. Human civilization, as with all intelligent species under the system can do naught but accept it. After the excitement, and epics of the early integration of Earth, most are content now with simple lives. Craft. Entertainment. Family. Normal things. We have adapted. People accept that when your number is up – Joe’s coming for you. Most who survive life’s various possible mishaps and strife still live to see their 300th new year. I understand an age of 120 was rare for humans in the classical era. On the other side of the spectrum you find those who commit the maximum time and effort to expand humanity’s territories. Most of Joe’s high priests have agreed that she is a genuinely pleasant patron God. She cares about her work. And she is said to remember every creature she has ever ended as well as one good thing about them. No matter how evil they might have been on balance. She is the only one of the Nine who is said to have normal conversations with her high priest. Ironically, Joe had a job akin to a Janitor on a transit station around the eighth planet. The irony might not be apparent to other intelligent species, but come on… A janitor named Joe. This has spawned many conspiracy groups over the eleven thousand years since the expansion of the system overtook Earth. Some claiming that humanity is the chosen of Joe. Fated to be so by her since the dawn of the system. Her high priests say its pure coincidence. And I would say it is my second favorite origin of the lot.

Gair – Goddess of inspiration. Obvious patron Goddess of the arts. For which she is widely loved. But, more importantly to mortals - She guides all beings in exploring and developing their classes. Some have poetically called her the guide on the trails of destiny. Most just think of her ‘as’ destiny. Classes, and the skills a mortal being gets, are not intuitive. Now and then a mortal will accidentally, or willfully uncover one of their skills, but it is exceedingly rare. Such skills, if intentionally uncovered are boosted in cooperation with Semir. To become a skill+. But only for the first individual to do so. The results can be quite extreme. They have been known to lead to golden ages for some nations. Double [Advanced clean]? Useful, but… Yay... On the other hand, double up the duration of the combat leader skill [Exponential charge]! That guy conquered two thirds of the planet about 4500 years ago. The skill normally only lasts four seconds and is bog standard for military Generals. Eight seconds of exponentially ever more powerful forward momentum is just too much. Gair was a social worker on the fourth planet. The home world of the Precursors. Go figure.

Finally Von – Kt’Anor of time. Time in the classical era flowed in one direction for everybody. With her mastery of Aether, and her Tenet, Von, or those she aids, do not have this limitation. The histories say that she developed prophetic powers a few seconds after the effect of the experiment that ushered in the new universal era overtook her, and soon after foresaw everything that would happen within the System from that time onwards. She can also travel to any point in time since then until, it is speculated, the end of the System itself. It is known that she has not spoken a single word since The Nine formed their divine synergy. Her last utterance at that time: “I shall speak no more henceforth, for any utterance of mine could upset the balance we are striking. I wish I could travel where I cannot see, for then I could stop this tragedy from occurring”. Even the other eight do not know her mind now. Not even Janur. Von may well be the most powerful and is the most mysterious of The Nine. However, there is little doubt that her intentions are pure. Von was a reclusive philosopher living alone in a private retreat orbiting the moon of the seventh world. It is not known why her powers manifested. What Will drove her. I think the other eight explained this much, as a sort of disclaimer. Von’s high priests tend to be nervous individuals.

You may have noticed that each of The Nine originates from around a different planet in the Precursor system, and one from the outer asteroids. Many have speculated about why this is so, with the theory that it was likely due to their own burgeoning development before they managed to fully control their own development. Maybe each of them simply needed enough space to come to prominence. But nobody knows for sure, and The Nine have not told anybody. Maybe only Von saw and remembers what happened. But being Von. That is maybe a permanently closed book.

So that is The Nine and what we know of the Precursors in a nutshell. They do good by all species and races in the system. Even wild creatures get a fair chance. I could not imagine a fairer system than the one they created. I doubt anybody can. The selfish might conceive of things that may be to their own benefit. But time and time again it has been shown that however brutal at times... The System is fair.

And say what you will about them – They are not assholes. In fact, the first few lines of the universal tutorial literally says: “Welcome to our System. We are not assholes. You may curse the Precursors. We will understand. But this is for your own good.”

Well that’s humanity’s translation. I guess it conveys the gist of the matter.