Roots of the Second Terran Empire

from Preface to Imperial History by Zuri Hoister, Terra-Prime Publishing Corporation, 21,467 H.E.

Each of the three main Galactic regions provided important elements to the Second Terran Empire, founded in 20,724 H.E.

Credix supplied the mystical foundations: the moral/philosophical system of Lorecanism; the Old Empire cults of Kaal, Brandix, and Meletia; and the all-important legitimacy inherited from the First Empire.

Borshall/New Sardinia provided the head and heart of the Second Empire: the brains, the technology, and the culture that would hold it together.

And Geled...which had learned warcraft through centuries and millennia beseiged by neighboring hostile states...Geled  supplied the force, the might, the Armies and Navies to unify the Galaxy.

All it really took was us to supply the spark....

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copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Scattered Worlds Ebooks

Three Scattered Worlds titles are now available in Kindle ebook format (see the links to the right).

You don't need a Kindle to read these ebooks. The free Kindle app is available for iPhone, iPad, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android...so go crazy!

Weaving the Web of Days:

Maj Thovold has led the Galaxy for three decades, a Golden Age of peace and prosperity. She is weary and ready to resign, but two pieces of unfinished business remain. The first is her choice of a successor; the second, an old enemy that only she has the power to defeat. The last battle will take place on the strangest battlefield known: a web of living tendrils that stretches across interstellar space. A web where Maj's enemies wait, like spiders, for their prey....

A Voice in Every Wind:

Imagine a world where creatures communicate by scent and taste as much as sound and sight, where meaning lives in every rock and stream, and every breeze brings a new voice.... A pair of linked novellas introduces us to the planet Kaa and its alien inhabitants. From the viewpoint of a remarkable alien, Dleef, we witness a world alive with sensation and emotion; and we meet a Human explorer, Treyl, who is witness to a powerful and profound transformation. For on Kaa, consciousness and sapience are new experiences — and Treyl is present at nothing less than the birth of intelligence and culture on Kaa. Sixty years later, with the Human galaxy convulsed in war, Kaa’s fragile and beautiful society is menaced by the arrival of a notorious war criminal. Standing in his way is Captain Le Galvao of the Terran Empire. But Le is opposed by the Human inhabitants of Kaa. For in the depths of the forest, a secret project is underway, a project that could alter the future of Humanity....

A Rose From Old Terra:

LIBRARIANS IN SPACE 

A single yellow rose summons Jedrek nor Talin back to Old Earth. A decade ago, he served the Terran Grand Library as one of the guardians of Humanity's collected knowledge. Now the last Librarian has called together the memrbers of Jedrek's broken work circle to protect the Library from its greatest threat. Four millennia after the Terran Empire fell, the Galaxy's communications system is breaking down. Jedrek and his coworkers set off into deep space to repair ancient Imperial equipment. But the aren't the only ones.for the warring remnants of the old Empire have also dispatched ships on the same mission. Suddenly, a peaceful settlement becomes ground zero in a clash of Galactic cultures-and a bare handful of Librarians are all that stand between the Galaxy and disastrous interstellar war.

Watch for more Scattered Worlds titles coming to ebooks very soon.

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copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Imperial High Court

The High Court was the judicial arm of the First Terran Empire. The Court itself consisted of a panel of nine High Justices (one from each Province and Special Territory). The High Court also managed several thousand lower courts: a Circuit Court for each Province, Planetary Courts for each planet, and Local Courts for settlements and smaller political divisions. A formally-defined appeals procedure led upward through the various levels of Courts, with the High Court being the ultimate voice.
High Court decisions could only be reversed or altered by the Emperor acting in combination with the Imperial Council.

High Justices were appointed by the Secretary-General/Emperor and confirmed by the the Imperial Council, and served for life (or until removed from office, which took a three-quarters vote of the Council). Once they assumed office, High Justices became completely anonymous. They were seldom seen, even during hearings; when appearing in their official capacity they went hooded, masked, or otherwise obscured. Their voices were altered to preserve anonymity. Decisions from the Court were announced simply by vote totals, i.e. "Six Justices concurring, three dissenting." Published Court opinions and rulings followed a strict written format aimed at reducing the chance of identifying a particular Justice.

Nominees were extended the same anonymity, their identities concealed from even the Imperial Council.


In practice, this system of official anonymity often broke down under the scrutiny of dedicated Court watchers. In most cases, the identities of particular Justices could be determined with a high degree of confidence.

As a result of this official anonymity, High Justices were often able to carry on "normal" lives under a variety of aliases. It was customary (and expected) for Justices to spend time with "regular" people.

Officials of the High Court wore dark red uniforms.

Clerical support for the Courts was often supplied by the Bureaucratic Corps.

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copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
Find out more on The Scattered Worlds site
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