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Overview[]

The First Systems Commonwealth Civil War was a catastrophic revolutionary action undertaken by one of the Commonwealths' cornerstone races, the Nietzscheans. Because of the attempted overthrow of the Commonwealth, which succeeded and left 3 galaxies in shambles, the Systems Commonwealth, a government that had endured for over 5,000 years, was destroyed. And the galaxy which had been stabilized by a strong centralized government, fell into a period of zero technological growth and many areas fell into total chaos and decline.

Cause[]

The Systems Commonwealth had been in a period of stability for several hundred years, but a race called the Magog began the Magog-Commonwealth War. They attacked the Commonwealth World of Brandenburg Tor, killing over a billion sentients. The Systems Commonwealth fought back, but after several years both sides reached a draw. In order to end the fighting, the Systems Commonwealth and the Magog met and agreed to sign the Treaty of Antares, which was a peace agreement between them. However, in the agreement, the Systems Commonwealth ceded several planets to the Magog because the cost of reclaiming them would be too high. The planets were Nietzschean, and the Nietzscheans saw the ceding of the planets to the Magog as a sign of betrayal. Since the Nietzscheans are extremely self-serving according to their philosophy about Darwinism and Friedrich Nietzsche, they thought that the Systems Commonwealth should be the Nietzschean Empire. So, they began to build up massive fleets and armies, and made secret alliances with the other Nietzschean Prides. They also thought that since the Systems Commonwealth had not detected their planning, that it was a sign of weakness.

The Fall[]

After several years of building up their force, the Nietzscheans staged their fleets in several strategic buildup points. They were supposed to attack in unison at a specific time, but a rogue black hole entered the Hephaistos IV system and threatened the planet. The Commonwealth, being a humanitarian organization, sent all of the closest ships to assist in the evacuation. The Nietzscheans used the black hole as an ambush, and tried to destroy the first ship that responded, the Andromeda Ascendant. However, the Andromeda crew got away and managed to broadcast a signal to the rest of the Commonwealth while the ship itself and its Captain became trapped at the edge of the black hole for 300 years. And with that, the Nietzschean Rebellion took place. It lasted several years and was a bloody, hard fight. Each side actually destroyed planets in the ensuing war, and each side took heavy losses. They both fought to the last man and last installation, because they both had so much to lose and gain, and knew what would happen if they lost. Many of them also had nothing to fight for, which made them all the more selfless in their fighting technique. Fighting continued until two years later at the Battle of Witchhead where a fleet of around 100 Commonwealth ships battled around 500 Nietzchean ships. The result was the Commonwealth fleet was destroyed, but the Nietzchean force was left severely weakened as well. What was unknown to the Commonwealth was that the Nietzcheans had arrived with over 1,500 ships, more than enough to defeat the Commonwealth, but that an "Angel of Death" had intervened and decimated 2/3 (66.667%) of their fleet. The ship responsible for the destruction was unknown until it was revealed that the Andromeda Ascendant from 300 years in the future, thrown back in time in a Slipstream accident, was responsible.

Result[]

As a result, after years of heavy fighting, both sides succeeded in destroying each other. The Nietzschean Alliance was fractured and broken, because the fighting had created opportunities for some prides to seize power, and so infighting began. There was a massive power vacuum, so the galaxies crumbled into chaos because there was no stable ruling force. Warlords and lawlessness took over. There was almost no scientific or social progress made, and in some cases diseases that had been eliminated for thousands of years returned because there were no vaccines. There was also no interstellar police force, so piracy and raiding took over as shipping and commercial space lanes became unregulated. The massive fight between the Commonwealth and the Nietzscheans also caused many critical species to retreat to their homeworlds and become even more insular, like the Than-Thre-Kull and the Perseids. For over 300 years this lawlessness reigned, until the Andromeda Ascendant was salvaged and her Captain, Dylan Hunt, tried to revive the Systems Commonwealth.

Other Names[]

The First Systems Commonwealth Civil War was also referred to by many other names by various races:

  • The Betrayal
  • The Fall
  • The Fall of the Systems Commonwealth
  • The Nietzschean Insurgency
  • The Nietzschean Insurrection
  • The Nietzschean Mutiny
  • The Nietzschean Rebellion
  • The Nietzschean Revolt
  • The Nietzschean Revolution
  • The Nietzschean Strategic Offensive
  • The Nietzschean Tactical Offensive
  • The Nietzschean Uprising

Trivia[]

  • The First Systems Commonwealth Civil War is similar to the below storylines. The key difference is that the genetically engineered Nietzscheans do not revolt to fulfill a perceived destiny. They revolt after the Magog-Commonwealth War ends with the Treaty of Antares.
    • In Jerry Pournelle’s the CoDominium series the Sauron government embraces the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, that “man is something to be surpassed”. They create genetic engineering and eugenic breeding programs to create the super soldiers known as the Sauron Supermen. They then start the Secession Wars between the Empire of Man and Sauron. The Empire of Man has numerical superiority while Saurons have superior combat experience. The Sauron’s arrogance and emotionless calculations causes them to overlook the desperation and emotions of the Empire of Man. The Empire of Man destroys the Saurons, but wins a Pyrrhic victory. They have suffered so much damage that new governments appear and the loyalists are forced to retreat in order to survive.
    • In the “Honorverse” series Mesa and its components are created in opposition to restrictions on genetic engineering. The restrictions are created after Earth’s Final War is started by genetically engineered super soldiers.
    • In S. M. Stirling’s series, The Domination, The Domination of Draka wages numerous wars to fulfill their perceived destiny of conquest. They use genetic engineering to create a “Master Race”. The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche forms the basis of the Draka culture. In this fictional timeline, the real Nietzsche had immigrated to their country rather than stay in the German Empire.
    • In the “Wing Commander” backstory and novels, the Pilgrims started the Pilgrim War after seeing themselves as superior due to their genetic “intuition navigation”. The Terran-Kilrathi War has the difference of the the numerical superior Empire of Kilrah and the technological superior Terran Confederation. The Battle of Earth results in both sides becoming increasingly desperate for victory.
    • In “Star Trek” the Eugenics Wars are instigated when the Augment faction decides to subjugate the world.

Gallery[]

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