b. 16 September TE 167 Odoniad. 19 March TE 235 New York, Terra
Tsung Dao Wu, son of Tsung Kun Wu and Mowra Cinq-Mars, was born nearly three months after his father's death. His father was Planetary Governor of Odonia, and his mother was a former delegate to the Imperial Council and regional supervisor for Rockwell Interstellar. When the boy was six, his mother was promoted to Operations Co-ordinator for Sol Province, and the family moved to Terra. In New York, London, and Peiping, Tsung Dao was raised in an atmosphere of corporate and Idara intrigue. By the time he passed his adulthood tests at 16, the young man was quite at home with the Terran political scene.
In TE 185, at age 18, he was appointed to the Imperial Council as respresentative of Rockwell. In the Council, Tsung Dao was one of a group of young populists known in the press as the Knights of the Round Table.
In TE 189, at age 22, Tsung Dao was apprehended on Kybos and tried for fomenting rebellion against Imperial rule. He was deported to the Tarantula Nebula. While in Tarantula, he founded several enclaves for mutual co-operation. He ruled for a time (TE 194-196) over a "state" of about 10^5 cubic kilometers, until he was thrown out in a dispute over breeding policies.
About TE 201 Tsung Dao was contacted by Brin Lutken & Catherine Leonov, and he began running tachyon vesicle pickups to an uninhabited system near Deletia. He was put in charge of logistics for Tarantula Fleet construction in TE 208, and appointed Internal Security Minister of the Tarantula Rebel State in TE 212.
About this time, Tsung Dao began to have a change of heart about Brin & Catherine and tried to establish ways to get around them. He developed schemes to remove them if and when when the Empress was overthrown.
In TE 219, he was closely involved in the Tarantula Incident in which Maj Thovold defeated Brin & Catherine. Tsung Dao was rather surprised to find himself named as Thovold's chosen successor.
In TE 219, when Tsung-Dao Wu was fighting to consolidate his Imperial power, he gained support among Idara Lütken and Idara Kasmanski by gifting Lütken with the Duchies of Credix and Geled, and Kasmanski with Borshall. Of course, he also angered Chen, Cepeda and Carcopino -- but this move was calculated to cut down the influence of Chen, which had grown very powerful in charge of Credix.
In 225, Tsung Dao became aware of Amy Kuchta, a 16-year-old scion of Idara Kuchta who was starting a quick rise through the Imperial bureaucracy. He took an immediate liking to the girl, seeing in her a reflection of his own early self. Soon, Amy Kuchta became the daughter Tsung Dao had never had, and in 231 he formally adopted her, naming her as his chosen successor.
Tsung Dao Wu died on Terra in TE 235, at the age of 67, and was succeeded by Amy Kuchta.
Find out more in Weaving the Web of Days: A tale of the Scattered Worlds by Don Sakers
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