Kaeolian Empire

The Kaeolian Empire was one of the most powerful organized governments to ever occupy the Triangulum Galaxy, and the third great intergalactic civilization in the recent history of The Cluster. Formed and occupied almost exclusively by the Kaeolians, the Kaeolian Empire dominated their home galaxy through conquest and suppression of dissent.

First Steps: The Early Kaeolian Golden Age (350,000 - 346,000 B.C.E.)
The Kaeolians had it easy when it came to their early years as an interstellar civilization. They were not driven into space by runaway pollution or alien attack, as their planet was actually in quite a good state of affairs prior to their first steps outside their home system. The Kaeolians, by nature, were curious and power-hungry creatures, and so it was their natural inclination to develop interstellar travel and spread outward. Following extensive research into quantum mechanics and development of their first Swapper Dynamos, the Kaeolians quickly became ready to colonize new star systems. They rapidly colonized new star systems, forming the Kaeolian Empire as a unifying political body between their interstellar holdings. Things progressed smoothly for about 4000 years, with the Kaeolians experiencing an economic boom like none they had ever seen before, brought on by rapid population growth and additional resources from their new colonies. The Kaeolians entered a golden age of peace and prosperity that provided them with incredible new technological breakthroughs and methods of expanding their power over the Triangulum Galaxy.

Competition: The Taselvian Empire (346,000 - 333,000 B.C.E.)
Much to their eventual dismay, the Kaeolians were not alone in their galaxy. The Taselvian Empire, a much larger and much older interstellar civilization, also occupied the galaxy, and it was only a matter of time until the Kaeolian encountered them. At first, diplomacy was practically nonexistent. The Taselvians thought that the Kaeolians were largely below them and did nothing to foster relationships between their two species. The Kaeolians, though still full of vigor for more exploration, also left the Taselvians alone for a short while, not wanting to jeopardize the safety of their empire. Though they pretended to be strictly neutral, the Kaeolians secretly began a massive military buildup to destroy the Taselvian Empire, which would allow the Kaeolian Empire to dominate the Triangulum Galaxy uncontested. Though much larger than the Kaeolian Empire, the Taselvian Empire was old and stagnant, and its standing army was vastly underdeveloped compared to the Kaeolian's rapidly growing military forces. The Kaeolians did their best to hide their military development from the ever-present Taselvians, but were eventually discovered. After seeing their large standing army, the Taselvians became slightly fearful of the Kaeolians and threatened to use their technologically superior military if they did not cease their militarization. Diplomatically, the Kaeolians agreed, but they never actually stopped building up their military, though they did become much more keen on hiding it from the Taselvians.

The Taselvians slowly became more and more paranoid of a potential attack by the Kaeolians. Compared to the aging Taselvians, the Kaeolians were younger, faster and more ambitious, which meant that they could easily overpower the ancient Taselvian military if they actually attacked. The Taselvians scoured the galaxy for allies that could help protect them in the event of a war. They asked the emerging Cotith Collective for help first, who, due to their strict isolationist attitudes, immediately turned them down. They then went to the Drantavax Federation for help, who possessed a powerful standing army that they had once used to ward off an attack by the Triangulum's local Cleanser Swarms. The Taselvians told the Drantavax about the rampant military buildup of the Kaeolians and encouraged them to declare war on the Kaeolians, hoping that the Drantavax would be able to destroy the Kaeolians without the Taselvians having to intervene. They offered the Drantavax an agreement in which the Taselvians would provide military support if the Drantavax military proved to be too weak to defeat the Kaeolians on its own. The Drantavax reluctantly agreed, and declared war on the Kaeolians shortly afterward. The Kaeolians were exhilarated, seeing the encroaching war with the Drantavax as the perfect opportunity to test their military might. The war was extremely brief, with the Kaeolian military easily overpowering the Drantavax. The Taselvians did not fulfill their agreement and refused to provide any military support during this war, resulting in the total destruction of the Drantavax Federation. The Kaeolians now had access to new technology and large swaths of new territory, accelerating the rate at which their power grew. Shortly after the war with the Drantavax was concluded, the Kaeolians realized just how powerful their military really was, and quickly turned their sights to the Taselvians, who they had originally planned to destroy. No longer doubting their own power, the Kaeolians declared war on the Taselvians, initiating the Kaeolian-Taselvian War. Though the Taselvian military proved quite a challenge, the Kaeolians were eventually victorious, establishing the Kaeolian Empire as the dominant sovereign nation in the Triangulum Galaxy.

Age of Disorder (333,000 - 323,000 B.C.E.)
With the Taselvian Empire defeated, the Kaeolians were free to expand as quickly as they wanted throughout territory previously occupied by the Taselvians. The Kaeolians expanded at an exponential rate during this time period, gaining considerable wealth and advancing further in technology. The Kaeolian Empire reached the apex of its territorial control during this time, controlling over 200,000 different colonies. The empire's government and bureaucracy expanded to accommodate these new colonies, and though it remained functional during this time, it was unable to keep up with the empire's expansion completely, and became somewhat inefficient. As colonies stemmed out from the Kaeolian core territory, the independence of individual colonies increased dramatically, decreasing the overall unity of the empire. Genetic engineering had become widespread during this period in the empire's history, leading to new breakthroughs in body modification. This combined with the independence of distant colonies to create an event known to the Kaeolians as the Great Divergence, in which numerous subspecies of Kaeolians appeared on border colonies due to widespread genetic engineering technology. This upset the Kaeolian government greatly, as, up until this point, the Kaeolian Empire had attributed its stability largely due to its unity. The only major inhabitants of the empire were the Kaeolians themselves, and all Kaeolians looked similar to each other, making them a highly unified species. The Great Divergence threatened to undermine the core principles of the empire, and so the Kaeolian government went to extreme measures to ensure their society remained unified. Using the same genetic technology that was tearing the empire apart, the Kaeolians stitched their civilization back together by sending out specialized "Unity Divisions," large groups of field scientists that genetically engineered the populations of distant colonies back into "pure" Kaeolians, often against their will. This triggered violent retaliations from these colonies against Unity Divisions, forcing the Kaeolian government to use military force to suppress insurrections and allow Unity Divisions to do their work.

In response to the excessive violence wreaked upon the inhabitants of Kaeolian colonies by Unity Divisions, representatives from various Kaeolians subspecies gathered together and formed the Tylah Brotherhood, a resistance organization dedicated to fending off attacks from the Kaeolian government on genetically modified Kaeolians. The Tylah Brotherhood established its own military presence on numerous colonies, using its advanced genetic technology to engineer its followers into powerful killing machines. The Kaeolian military responded in kind, substituting Unity Divisions for full-scale military assaults on planets occupied by the Brotherhood. Though their attacks were fierce. the Brotherhood was able to evade and survive Kaeolian assault for a considerable length of time, using their genetic technology to stay one step ahead of their opponents. As the Brotherhood gained more followers all across Kaeolian space, the Kaeolian government grew worried that they may be subverted by the rebel organization if they continued to attract support at such a rate. The government desperately sought a method of dispatching the Brotherhood once and for all. They pursued research into robotics and cybernetics in an attempt to counter the Brotherhood's technological dominance. Though they were well-prepared to retaliate with a mechanized counter-attack, the unexpected intervention of a third party interrupted the conflict.

The Last Flight of the Cleanser Swarms (323,000 - 312,000 B.C.E.)
Unbeknownst to both the Kaeolians and Brotherhood, the Cleanser Swarms occupying the Triangulum Galaxy were due to reawaken, emerging from their underground hives to wreak havoc on any intelligent life occupying the galaxy at that time, which, unfortunately, just so happened to be the Kaeolians. These cyborganic creatures attacked Kaeolian territory from all sides, striking at their border colonies first. The Brotherhood was now fighting both the Cleanser Swarms and the Kaeolian military at the same time, and when the Kaeolians realized this, they withdrew their forces from their border colonies and fortified their core colonies, allowing the Cleanser Swarms to continue fighting unfettered. They assumed that, since the swarms were significantly more powerful and relentless than the Kaeolian military, they would be able to dispose of the Brotherhood more effectively than the Kaeolians. This prediction proved to be correct, as, though they put up impressive resistance, the Brotherhood was ultimately destroyed by the Cleanser Swarms, who left the border colonies absolutely ravaged in their wake. The swarms were weakened after destroying the Brotherhood, but they continued to push further into Kaeolian territory, prompting the government to respond with military force. No longer preoccupied with fighting the Brotherhood, the Kaeolian military was able to overpower the dwindling swarm forces, destroying their hives and permanently removing the Cleanser Swarm presence in the Triangulum galaxy.

With the Cleanser Swarms destroyed and the Brotherhood in ruins, the Kaeolians were free to retake their border colonies and reestablish their interstellar empire, but under a new code of unification. The Kaeolian government produced a decree that rendered all extensive genetic modification of Kaeolians illegal and punishable by death. With a new law enforcement division dedicated to ensuring the genetic unity of the Kaeolians, their empire was no longer divided, and could expand as a unified society once more.

Age of Unity (312,000 B.C.E. - 300,000 B.C.E.)
With the simultanious destruction of the Brotherhood and Cleanser Swarms, the Triangulum galaxy was now free of outside threats to the Kaeolian Empire, allowing them to enter a new golden age for their species, commonly referred to as the Age of Unity. During this time, the Kaeolian Empire was at its peak in terms of technological and sociological progress. Having retaken its border colonies, the empire was larger than ever, spanning a large portion of their galactic arm. Immense resources were at their disposal, and their technology was supreme among the inhabitants of Triangulum. Thanks to changes made to their law enforcement and genetic engineering regulations, the Kaeolians were brought together as a single species once again. It was, more or less, the greatest time to live in the empire.

Of course, that was only if you happened to live on one of the core colonies. After their conflict with the Brotherhood, the Kaeolian Empire had become much more authoritarian than before, going as far as to relinquish political involvement from their outer colonies completely. Normally, this would have led to further insurrections from these areas, but the reinvigorated police force of the Kaeolians ensured any potential dissent was dealt with swiftly and thoroughly. Meanwhile, the core colonies became increasingly hedonistic, having access to virtually unlimited resources thanks to them being the centers of economic and political power. Extensive propaganda campaigns encouraged apathy towards the border colonies on behalf of the core colonies, while the Kaeolian law enforcement worked tirelessly to keep the potential of revolution low. Overall, the system of oppression and negligence appeared to be very unstable, but thanks to their extremely powerful law enforcement and advanced technology, the Kaeolians were able to maintain this system of subservience for many thousands of years.

Doom of the Empire (300,000 - 200,000 B.C.E.)
See First Cluster War

Technology
Being such a long-lived civilization, Kaeolian technology is some of the most advanced in the entire Triangulum Galaxy. This is mostly due to the mentality that exists within the Kaeolian empire of Kaeolian superiority. Since they believe that their society is superior to that of any other civilization in existence, the Kaeolians also believe that their technology should follow suit. As a result, they are very reluctant to accept technology developed by other alien civilizations as better than their own, and perform scientific research fervently just to stay ahead. Even after the conquest of the Drantavax and Taselvian civilizations, the Kaeolians refused to adopt most of their technology, preferring to develop it on their own. As a result, Kaeolian technology is very unique in both design and functionality. As evident by the massive political controversy it caused, Kaeolian genetic engineering is extremely advanced, so much so that the Kaeolians are capable of designing a creature for virtually any specific purpose from scratch. This includes creating lifeforms that are able to survive in environments inhospitable to most other organic lifeforms, such as Astral Maulers and Nyuuvians, who are capable of surviving without the need for an atmosphere of any kind. Even after the Kaeolian government outlawed extensive genetic engineering on themselves, minor, government-approved modifications were gradually distributed among the Kaeolian populations in some situations, usually to combat various diseases. The physical appearance of Kaeolians was never altered considerably, however, ensuring no threat to the unity of the Kaeolian Empire.

In addition to their genetic technology, the Kaeolians were also very proficient with robotics and cybernetics, as was common with many civilizations inhabiting the Triangulum Galaxy. Since there were no regulations on cybernetic augmentation, many Kaeolians augmented themselves heavily using cybernetic technology when genetic technology was outlawed. Though they could often take on frightening appearances that only vaguely resembled a normal Kaeolian, the government still considered them "pure" and did nothing to curtail cybernetic augmentation. Cybernetics and robotic assistance became especially important during the First Cluster War, as these were some of the only tools the Kaeolians had that they could use to elevate their troops to the same level of combat prowess as the Zetylians, who were biologically superior to the Kaeolians in every conceivable way. The Kaeolians made major breakthroughs in AI to aid them both on and off the battlefield, creating entire races of artificial beings to do their bidding. Wealthy Kaeolian core colonies could often afford to have robotic servants perform all menial labor on the colony, enhancing the hedonistic lifestyles that existed on these colonies in the later millennia of Kaeolian history.

Though not as prolific as their mastery over genetic and robotic technology, the Kaeolians also made developments in hyper-scale construction, as well. Kaeolian Dyson Spheres were marvelous constructions, but unlike Coalition Dyson Spheres, they were usually focused towards industrial facilities, and not residential ones. Due to their inherent economic importance, the few Kaeolian Dyson Spheres that were built were all destroyed by the Zetylians, preventing future civilizations from studying them. These spheres were some of the only examples of Kaeolian hyper-scale engineering, however, as aside from a few unique superweapons, Kaeolian spacecraft and infrastructure usually remained more modest in size due to the efficient nature of Kaeolian technology.

Legislature
The Kaeolian government is primarily controlled by the Kaeolian Emperor/Empress, who acts as the chief official of the entire civilization and oversees most major decisions, such as war declarations. Upon death, a new emperor is elected by a majority vote from all Kaeolian citizens (following the end of the Great Divergence and destruction of the Tylah Brotherhood, inhabitants of Kaeolian colonies that fell below a certain threshold of infrastructural and economic development were completely barred from the voting process). While ruling, an emperor must nominate 10 different candidates that the public will vote on to replace them after they die, and though there are no rules as to who the emperor can nominate as a candidate, the privilege is usually only afforded to direct descendants of the emperor or other highly influential figures. The emperor has full sovereignty over all subdivisions of the government, though their actual function in government is limited to making war declarations and acting as the figurehead of the Kaeolian Empire during diplomacy. If the need arises, however, the emperor is able to overrule any decision made by a government subdivision.

Below the emperor, the Kaeolian legislature is controlled by a large collection of ministries that handle higher-level decision making for various aspects of the Kaeolian Empire. At the height of Kaeolian civilization, there were 15 ministries in total, the largest of which were the Ministry of Imperial Safety, Ministry of Imperial Finance, Ministry of Imperial Research, and Ministry of Imperial Manufacturing. These ministries are each comprised of numerous levels of bureaucrats and overseers that work together to come to compromises concerning their ministry's particular field of specialization. Ministries hire all of their own administrative workforce independent of each other, neglecting the need for public vote. Ministries are responsible for making most of the large decisions that influence the operation of the empire as a whole, such as research, colonization, diplomacy, finance and manufacturing. Ministries can make decisions completely of their own accord, but it is usually expected that ministries will check with the Kaeolian Emperor before making major decisions that could affect the overall operation of the empire. Ministries will often work with each other when making decisions in order to ensure a beneficial outcome for all. For instance, the Ministry of Imperial Colonization will often collaborate with the Ministry of Imperial Finance and Ministry of Imperial Exploration in order to select lucrative planets on which to start new colonies. Most ministries try to maintain a positive relationship with the Ministry of Imperial Finance above all else, as this ministry is responsible for deciding how much funding each ministry receives on a regular basis. Another important function of the imperial ministries is their ability to pass laws and regulations that influence the lives of civilians. Kaeolian civilians are allowed to manufacture their own goods, perform their own colonization and research and create their own organizations, but any and all activities performed by civilians fall under the regulations and laws passed by the ministries. For example, the Ministry of Imperial Manufacturing, in addition to managing the construction of imperial infrastructure and spaceships, sets regulations that civilian-owned manufacturing organizations must follow. Not following the regulations of imperial ministries is considered a criminal offense, the severity of which depends on the extent to which the disobedience occurs.

In order to manage their large civilian populations, the Kaeolian government goes to immense lengths to control most aspects of society. Many factories, laboratories and other infrastructural components are considered imperial property, and are directly controlled by their respective ministries. This is most prevalent in Kaeolian core territory, in which very little of the infrastructure is civilian-owned. Further away from Kaeolian core territory, civilians are afforded slightly more autonomy, as although local colonial governments established on newly-colonized planets are under the control of the Kaeolian imperial administration, they are able to control the development and safety of the colony mostly on their own. Once colonies reach a certain size, however, they are considered imperial property, and are put under the full control of the Kaeolian government.

Military and Law Enforcement
The Kaeolian military is under the complete control of the Ministry of Imperial Warfare, which manages all space and ground warfare during wartime, performing all of the necessary enlisting, organizing and tactical planning. The upper bureaucrats of the Ministry of Imperial Warfare are actually generals that coordinate Kaeolian forces during conflicts, performing most of the major tactical decisions. Since it usually makes use of government-created military units, the Ministry of Imperial Warfare almost always collaborates with the Ministry of Imperial Manufacturing and Ministry of Imperial Research in order to stay on the industrial and technological edge during a conflict. As a result, all of the military assets used by the Kaeolian Empire are owned by all three ministries simultaneously. When not directly involved in combat with another civilization, the Ministry of Imperial Warfare continues to encourage military research and manufacturing in order to keep the Kaeolian standing army strong and ready for conflict at any time.

Kaeolian law enforcement is handled by the Ministry of Imperial Safety, a division of the government that both serves as the legislative body for behavioral regulations of the empire, and as a police force that maintains a presence across the entire Kaeolian Empire. The Ministry of Imperial Safety uses government-owned paramilitary assets to keep order across the entire empire, the concentrations of which shifted based on the political environment of the empire at any given time. Prior to the Great Divergence, most imperial police had been concentrated in Kaeolian core territory, as these colonies had the most densely-grouped populations. Later on, police forces were shifted towards keeping the disenfranchised outer colonies in check, maintaining order in Kaeolian core territory only through extensive propaganda campaigns. This is another core ability of the Ministry of Imperial Safety: its management of the Kaeolian media. Even civilian-owned media outlets are surveyed and managed by the Ministry of Imperial Safety discreetly, sometimes censored completely if they contain particularly sensitive information. This is done more heavily in Kaeolian core territory, where news can spread extremely quickly. The Ministry of Imperial Safety carefully collaborates with other government ministries when it comes to censorship, curtailing information that might endanger the public's view of the government. Individuals that threaten to release sensitive government secrets to the public are treated with the same level of severity as a violent criminal, and are swiftly dealt with, sometimes by expertly-trained Darkcode Operatives, a special division of the Ministry of Imperial Safety that can discreetly "remove" unfavorable elements of society, if the need arises.

Research
Most Kaeolian research is performed by the Ministry of Imperial Research, a large technology combine that regulates and controls almost all scientific investigation done by the empire. Technologies developed by the Ministry of Imperial Research are immediately shared with other appropriate government ministries, who implement them into the empire. For example, if the Ministry of Imperial Research develops a new factory robot, that technology immediately goes to the Ministry of Imperial Manufacturing for implementation into government-owned factories. Following the Great Divergence, the Ministry of Imperial Research was allowed to control what technologies the public is allowed to access and use for civilian enterprises, and constantly observed the empire's populations to ensure no unregulated research was taking place. Often, other government ministries come to the Ministry of Imperial Research and inform them of potential innovations that could be made to various aspects of the Kaeolian Empire. The Ministry of Imperial Research pays special attention to suggestions made by the Ministry of Imperial Warfare and Ministry of Imperial Safety, as cutting-edge military technology is one of the most important advantages the Kaeolians have against criminal activity or hostile alien empires.

Since they have complete leverage over virtually all doctrines of science, the Ministry of Imperial Research often takes whatever risks necessary to make scientific breakthroughs. They frequently perform atrocious actions in the name of science, such as bioweapon testing on unsuspecting colonies and experimentation on live Kaeolians. However, thanks to the work of the Ministry of Imperial Safety, these actions are never revealed to the Kaeolian public. The Ministry of Imperial Research is also known to have covered up information they collect on certain unique alien artifacts, but the exact reasons behind this occasional secrecy is unknown to other government ministries.

Culture
As is to be expected of such a regimented and authoritarian society, the culture of the Kaeolian Empire is constantly monitored and scrutinized to ensure maximum compliance from the subjects of the empire. On Kaeolian core colonies, there is a dominating sense of humility and subservience to the empire, especially after the propaganda campaigns and social reforms that followed the Great Divergence. The inhabitants of most Kaeolian core colonies are seen as hedonistic and cowardly to other subjects of the empire, as all of their needs are provided for by the government, making them absolutely reliant on it. Further away from Kaeolian core territory, this subservience to the empire is less pronounced, and many inhabitants of extremely distant Kaeolian border colonies don't see themselves as part of the Kaeolian Empire in any significant way, even though these colonies can still fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Imperial Safety. This ideological schism became even greater after the Great Divergence, with Kaeolian border colonies denied the ability to vote on new emperors. As a result, dissent is commonplace outside of Kaeolian core territory, though the intense suppression of revolts done by Kaeolian law enforcement prevented any sort of reemergence of a new rebel faction after the fall of the Tylah Brotherhood.

One unifying trait that most Kaeolians share, at least after the Great Divergence, is the concept of Kaeolian superiority. No matter their view of the dictatorial government, almost all subjects of the Kaeolian Empire believe that their species is the single most advanced race in existence. This ideology is backed by the rigorous technological and military advancement the Kaeolian Empire constantly experiences just to stay ahead of other civilizations. Of course, this ideology does not always apply to the Kaeolians as a species, as, following the Great Divergence, the Kaeolians were unable to bring themselves to the same level of biological strength as other alien races. This was especially true during the First Cluster War, as the Zetylians proved to be vastly stronger and more intelligent than the Kaeolians, forcing them to rely on cybernetics and robotics to set their abilities equal in combat. Though genetic engineering is off-limits, the Kaeolians are no strangers to excessive cybernetic augmentation, and will often go to any lengths necessary to ensure they are always the dominant lifeforms.