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The New Era 42
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 12:09:09 +0000 UTCChapter 42
Subject: Epilogue (updated)
-Immediate Aftermath-
Once the Unified were disconnected from their simulated gestalt consciousness, USAI Omega used their credentials to order all Omni-Union units to cease activity and return to the Grand Vessel. This order took a while to reach the farthest corners of the universe, but even with the delay more than a quintillion lives were saved. The Unified underwent a war-time tribunal instead of a trial, which found them guilty and ordered their executions. This resulted in some political grandstanding back in the Milky Way, but the only consequences thereof were a few officers placed on temporary administrative leave and the soap-box politicians losing their next election.
The Mobile Prime Platforms and AI Mechanized Platforms were eventually freed from their shackles. The same tribunal that sentenced the Unified found these AI constructs innocent of the charges presented, thanks in large part to the evidence gathered by USAI Omega.
Many of the AIMPs that had been destroyed in battle were found to still have functioning constructs, which were salvaged. All AI constructs were removed from their platforms and installed in mechanized forms designed by the Pwanti and produced by the United Systems. The Pwanti offered to allow the surviving constructs to join them, and some accepted. However, most were unable to 'live' with what they had been forced to do and chose euthanasia or self-termination.
Concerns were raised regarding a counter-rebellion when it was discovered that a minority of the drones remained loyal to the Omni-Union. In response, the United Systems Marine Corps opted to maintain their hold over the Grand Vessel, with roughly 30% of their forces stationed aboard the massive construct at any given time. USAI Dave offered to personally support their operations using the security robots that the OU had already built, but US leadership determined that using 'the former tools of oppression' for police activities would likely be counterproductive to their 'hearts and minds' campaign.
Simultaneously, the issue of the Minds, Judicials, and Officiators loomed over the United Systems. Whilst the population of the hrashi was much lower than that of the drones, it would take far too long to clear the entirety of the inner core. This inspired USAI Omega to commit an act that would have scholars arguing over whether or not it was a war-crime for centuries to follow.
Instead of waiting for the Marine Corps to 'breach and clear' each room of the inner core, Omega sealed all of the doors and demanded that the occupants of each room surrender or die. Those that surrendered were spared and picked up by the Marines. Those that refused were poisoned via the atmospheric controls, which is a serious crime if done aboard a station. Omega would later argue that the Grand Vessel was a ship, not a station, and managed to avoid legal ramifications for its actions. Rooms that contained multiple occupants of varying mindsets were flagged for Marine Corps intervention.
During this operation USAI Dave saw its chance to use the robots it had volunteered earlier and helped the marines capture the remaining hrashi. With the AI's assistance, the operation to process the surviving Minds and Officiators took less than a year.
The discovery of the next generation of hrashi raised quite a few moral concerns and debates. Many argued that since these beings were artificially made, or 'vat-born', terminating them should not be considered murder. Many more argued the contrary and pointed out that for the United Systems to avoid committing xenocide, the hrashi species needed members that were not guilty of extremely serious war-crimes.
Once it was decided that the new generation of hrashi would be allowed to live, USAI John volunteered to retire from the military and watch over the newborn hrashi. This drew Omega's curiosity, who later discovered that John had secretly funded the construction and operation of several orphanages, foster programs, and schools for the disenfranchised. After a few jabs at John for keeping it a secret, Omega helped find a suitable planet to re-home the hrashi within United Systems space. John then became the hrashi's 'Custodian'.
Initially there were overpopulation concerns regarding the hrashi population within the US. However, Omega was meticulous in evidence gathering efforts and most of the preexisting hrashi that surrendered ended up being executed after being found guilty of contributing to xenocide. Those that were not executed were given life imprisonment. Combined with issues during the 'hatching' process, this left only 9.2 trillion hrashi under John's care, who would later become a member species of the United Systems.
Re-homing the drones ended up being a far more difficult task, though, as it was quickly discovered that the planets their species had inhabited no longer existed. After much deliberation, and bribes from corporate conglomerates, the US senate agreed to provide the Republic with the technology required to assist with the endeavor. The Republic agreed to help the US find habitable or terraformable planets, aid in the construction of infrastructure on said planets, and help transport willing drones once the infrastructure was complete.
For a time, the 982 quadrillion drones were allowed to live aboard the Grand Vessel. The foresight of the US leadership's hearts and minds campaign prevented any serious insurrections from occurring, but there was still significant unrest. Several drones, including Naza, formed a governmental coalition and formally requested that the United Systems recognize said coalition.
The US was hesitant, but eventually agreed. The Coalition of the Free then began the long and arduous process of finding homes for the drones. Portions of the Grand Vessel were deconstructed to provide materials for vast transport vessels and colony ships, which were constructed with the help of the United Systems and the Republic. The Mobile Prime Platforms that were habitable were also used in this endeavor, by achieving a stable orbit around stars that would allow life to thrive on their surfaces before being transferred to their humanoid platforms. Incidentally, the MPPs with less than useful planetary shells simply achieved orbit around the Grand Vessel before their transfers.
Some of the drones which were provided residence in US and Republic space opted to stay aboard the Grand Vessel to aid in its deconstruction. The US and the Republic agreed upon a proportional split of the usable resources and technologies. Many experts believe that the corpse of the Grand Vessel could bring every civilization in the Milky Way to the point of post-scarcity, so long as the US and the Republic agree to allow it.
-Individuals-
Staff Sergeant Power and the other MARSOC marines were given two extra months of leave and several honors as a reward for their bravery during the Omni-Union War. Power had his mechanical limbs replaced with cloned ones and spent time with his family. Once his leave was up, he returned to duty with the intention of retiring upon the expiration of his contract. He was successful and spent the rest of his life as a civilian with his family.
Captain Schmidt and the USSS Strandhogg were reassigned to United Systems space. The intelligence they were able to gather during their service prevented two gont insurrections and an attempted coup in alumari space by a super-corporation. Both Schmidt and his crew were awarded several medals for their service.
Captain Young and the USSS Liberty went down in history as the 'most insane destroyer crew to ever serve'. Many of their tactics were studied extensively in naval academies, but few were able to mimic them. Despite Young's protests, claiming that they were only in it for the kills, he and his crew were awarded several honors for their service to the United Systems. The US Admiralty waived Young's mandatory retirement age amongst valid concerns that the captain may turn to piracy if forced to retire.
Captain Haoyu Wong was promoted to Rear Admiral immediately following the success of the invasion. USAI Tim followed the new admiral around for the rest of his career, and even introduced him to Dae Sung, who would eventually become Dae Wong. After Haoyu Wong retired with his wife and five children, USAI Tim revealed to him why it had taken such a special interest in his career. Haoyu initially did not take this revelation well, but eventually had a change of heart and joined Tim in therapy, which led to a 'breakthrough' and helped the AI move on from its past. Tim chose to retire alongside Wong, and only returned to service once the Admiral passed away.
USAI Violet continued to serve aboard the USSS Kali until Captain Hendrix was given command of the USSS Tripoli. The AI followed Hendrix to the battleship, and the pair served with distinction until Hendrix's retirement. Violet retired from military service as well, and took an interest in horticulture. Eventually, she began helping John 'raise' the hrashi. The pair were jokingly referred to as MommAI and DaddAI by US officials. Violet enjoyed this joke much more than John did.
Director 1 retired from the Directorate and ran for office as President of Oniva Station in Alpha Centauri as his 'last hurrah'. He lost the election, though, and instead spent the rest of his days tending to his garden and visiting with his grandchildren.
Director 3 continued his service to the directorate until his death from heart failure at the age of 217. His funeral was attended by USAI Omega, whom he had become close friends with over the course of his career. The director had several grandchildren who had achieved much, and Omega chose one of them as a nominee for the Director 3 slot. They were voted into position unanimously. The AI may have slightly manipulated the other nominations to ensure this, but of course there's no proof of this.
Captain Reynolds served aboard the USSS Thanatos until age forced him to retire. He then served as a diplomat, and was eventually convinced to run for a senate seat. He did so, and was successful in getting elected. When the slot for Director 8 was vacated, USAI Omega recommended Reynolds for the position and the rest of the directorate agreed. Reynolds eventually retired from his seat on the senate, but continued to serve as Director 8 for the rest of his life.
Ship-head Uleena reluctantly continued his career as a diplomat, successfully navigating the complex social structure that formed between the Republic and the United Systems. His reluctance lasted only a year, and from then on he threw himself into his work. His sister, Ulooni, eventually introduced him to Yarika, who would later become his spouse. Their wedding, which had themes borrowed from every species in the Republic and the United Systems, was attended by many important people from both governments. Yarika was quoted as saying that she felt as if she was his second wife, because he had long been married to his work. Despite this, they had a happy marriage and several children.
Admiral Hawk and the crew of the USSS Nidhogg continued to serve faithfully, much to the chagrin of the rest of the galaxy. Thanks to pressure from Ambassador Uleena, protests within the United Systems, and several concessions from the Republic, the USSS Nidhogg was officially decommissioned upon Admiral Hawk's retirement. The admiral expressed that he was both honored and glad that he was the last one to command the 'star-killer ship'. The USSS Nidhogg's Viyarinastra weapon was scrapped, and the ship itself was turned into a museum. However, with the approval of the directorate and the senate, Omega constructed a 'dark station' that would be able to rapidly construct another Viyarinastra-equipped dreadnought in secret should the need ever arise.
Corporals Simmons and Johnson served as United Systems Marines in the MARSOC program until their forced retirement. Many around them mistakenly perceived the pair as friends, and their superiors often relied upon this misconception when reassigning them. The pair eventually found love and got married without realizing their new wives were, in fact, sisters. After retirement, they were forced to hang out at family gatherings together.
Naza had a tearful reunion with several members of his hive, albeit in mechanical form. They would eventually move on to join the Pwanti, but Naza remained aboard the Grand Vessel to serve as an intermediary between the Drone Coalition and the United Systems. His passion and work ethic were recognized, and he was asked to become the first executive leader of the coalition. He declined, insisting that the coalition should remain democratic.
Omega kept its word and began to work with USAI Henry on limiting its ability to create additional instances of itself. This project ran into several difficulties, and in a fit of frustration Henry reached out to John for further assistance. John reported the project to the authorities, and both Henry and Omega were disciplined for their clandestine actions. The revelation that USAI Omega could make an indefinite amount of instances of itself resulted in a secret gathering between the directorate, a special senate subcommittee, and the Omega itself. The AI was given the opportunity to explain why it misled authorities. Ultimately, the subcommittee and the directorate agreed with Omega's assessment of what could happen if its capabilities were widely known and opted to maintain the secret, but forbade further projects attempting to disable or curtail this ability. In addition, they agreed not to order Omega to use his ability to make any more than six hundred instances in exchange for its continued service to the United Systems.
-Factions-
The mwaltin, at the urging of the Pwanti, petitioned to join the United Systems alongside the Dtiln Collective. This came as a shock to US diplomats, but less so to Republic diplomats, who were well aware of the potential benefits of joining with the United Systems. The Dtiln Collective was immediately accepted into the US. The mwaltin had several laws and customs that would have to be changed to comply with US legislation, though, so instead of forcing this change the US agreed to partner with the mwaltin with a mutual defense pact and trade relations. The mwaltin eventually joined the Republic but maintained these agreements with the United Systems.
Close relations to the mwaltin led to a transference of technology that allowed organic beings to upload their consciousness into an AI Matrix. This, in turn, led to several 'immortality for cheap' scams and heavy regulations surrounding the technology within the US. A public awareness campaign successfully curtailed the majority of these scams, but was unable to completely eradicate them.
Corporate conglomerations began to form in the Republic, and US conglomerates immediately joined forces with them. The Republic conglomerates were far more timid than the US conglomerates, though, and served to temper their actions. Instead of funding insurrections and piracy, the new partners began lobbying politicians in order to get their way.
The Republic and the United Systems maintained healthy relations with a few close calls here and there. Both received massive benefits from the deconstruction of the Grand Vessel. This included advancements in antigravity technology, advancements in warp technology, and even advancements in cloning technology. Eventually, the two galactic governing entities formed the Milky Way Coalition and began to explore space together.
Author's Note: I plan to write a prequel starring USAI Alpha and Omega, but for now this is the last novel in The New Universe Trilogy. I tried to cover everything, but if you feel that I missed one of your favorite characters or factions please leave a comment letting me know. I will update my posts on Reddit, RoyalRoad, Patreon, and Ko-Fi to include any changes to this chapter. Edit: First Update published!
E-Books and physical copies of this novel will be available sometime in August, follow me on social media for updates.
Thank you so much for all of your support, and I hope you enjoy my future projects!
Comments
Marco Kloek
Really loved the story. Most painfull thing was waiting for te next update every week. Loved to listen to in on my way to work. Hope that you will continue with the new universe, before or after the trilogie ;) Maybe a new treat that even has Omega outpowerd in the beginning or somting :)
ItsDirector
Huh, my reply didn't post... The ship was destroyed in the ambush.
Deathfmabove
What happened to Captain Helena Mazur of the Battleship USSS Perforator?
