Empire of the Common Mind

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Attequol and his Successors
1. Attequol Imperial Year 1 to 2,418 The Empire's Founder. He was a native of Tywoshak but made Lal his capital because it was the most massive planet in the Empire. The mythical Princess Lala was supposedly his wife and the mother of Aturon. He was also Head of the Circle and founded the Mindsea Academy. Expressions such as "Stripes' stripes!" or "That planet is Attequol's armpit!" were inspired by Attequol's tattoos, each of which signified a planet of the Empire. According to legend he died trying to rescue victims of a disaster on the planet Kyma.
2. Aturon 2,418 - 10,492 Attequol's son. Despite the length of his reign, he has the reputation of a slacker. Said to have spent most of his time searching for new planets to add to the Empire, he vanished on one such mission. Legends persisted for millennia afterwards that his ship The Amber Sun had been sighted, usually headed for beyond the galaxy's rim.
3.Quokisa 10,492 - 10,958 Descendant of Aturon. Before becoming empress, she was famed as a thief and duelist. She revived the belief that humble folk as well as the wealthy and educated could tap the powers of Patternistics, unsettling the aristocracy that had entrenched itself in the capital during Aturon's long absences.
4. Agas 10,958 - 11,614 The first of the blue emperors, born on Wamatu. She was a granddaughter of Kofu, whose son Rathax would also become emperor. She studied in the Mindsea Academy under Quokisa.
5. Giomau 11,614 - 14,290 Family unknown. Another protégé of Quokisa, he let himself be controlled by the Empire's bureaucrats. He is blamed for letting the Empire lose the technical knowhow bequeathed by Attequol and revived by Quokisa.
Rathax and his Wake
6. Rathax 14,290 - 18,108 Son of Kofu of Wamatu. He is famed for tearing down Attequol's temples, closing the Mindsea Academy, and erasing historical memories, ushering in an era of technological backsliding. Although reputed to have had many offspring, only one reached the throne.
7. Xave 18,108 - 19,161 and 19,882 - 21,020 Daughter of Rathax. Instituted a reign of terror. She was overthrown by Janisoa, a mindsea, but managed to effect her rival's legal termination and returned to power.
8. Janisoa 19,161 - 19,882 The last descendant of Aturon to occupy the throne, she was accused of favoring plant life over human life.
9. Feno 21,020 - 21,710 A descendant of Kofu (father of Rathax) and graduate of the Mindsea Academy, he led the opposition to his cousin Xave's rule, but was unprepared for the job of being emperor himself. He alternated between retreating into meditation and rushing to deal personally with troubled worlds, and was finally murdered.
10. Rotopo 21,255 - 26,734 Another mindsea descended from Kofu. He saw ruling the Empire as a sacrifice that took him away from the gardening he loved. He believed that non-interference with planetary matters was the best policy, although he enforced strict requirements for reproductive rights.
11. Gonuko 26,734 - 27,022 Son of Rotopo. His romantic nature and love of mysteries and mutations led him to revoke his father's restrictions on reproductive rights.
12. Watik 27,022 - 27,031 A descendant of Kofu. Attempted to lead with a firmer hand than her predecessors, but hers was the Empire's shortest reign before the Contested Era.
13. Goiget 27,031 - 30,342 A descendant of Kofu. She applied scientific principles to maintain control over her realm.
14. Ugesiv 30,342 - 33,556 A great-grandson of Goiget. He was a civilized and scientific ruler, but had to give way for his cousin Semul, who had mindpowers.
15. Semul 33,556 - 41,847 A descendant of Goiget. He was a complex character. Although some maintain that mindseas cannot enjoy the effects of alcohol, he was a connoisseur of wines and produced a palace vintage. He revered the Empire's founders as gods. He believed that an emperor should be above reproach, and punished himself in secret for his failures. His was the Empire's longest uninterrupted reign.
16. Xepeklu 41,847 - 41,961 Daughter of Semul. A patron of the arts, she beautified many planetary capitals. She was said to be physically grotesque.
17. Fotrii 41,961 - 42,448 Youngest child of Semul. Like her father, she tried to rule wisely, but fear of making mistakes undercut her authority.
18. Kuspu 42,448 - 45,072 Son of Fotrii. Strengthened the Empire's bureaucracy.
19. Klaxaru 45,072 - 48,065 Daughter of Kuspu. An irresponsible soul, she was murdered after a long, stagnant reign.
20. Zuediku 48,065 - 52,488 The last descendant of Semul to occupy the throne. He was a product of the Mindsea Academy, an energetic, unkempt man. He enjoyed building robots and tried to promote more robot labor throughout the Empire. He was killed during an uprising on the planet Amugro.
The Traditional Epoch
21. Abla 52,488 - 54,272 From an unknown, but talented family. Maintained a large network of secret police, using them and alien allies to cow his enemies.
22. Madugo 54,272 - 58,574 Son of Abla. Changed sex early in life. When not devoting herself to hairstyling, she tried to erradicate planets' native cultures. She had ten children, and was overthrown by a descendant, Bunei.
23. Bunei 58,574 - 59,265 Promoted industry at the expense of planets' natural beauty. His nickname was "goo-maker". His response to troublesome groups was to deactivate their anti-aging genes.
24. Zana 59,265 - 59,338 Granddaughter of Madugo. She tried to beautify planets left in ruins by Bunei. Otherworldly and fat, she was overthrown by a cousin, Ruaslip.
25. Ruaslip 59,338 - 61,632 Great-great-graddaughter of Abla. She was caught up in her own mindpower and magnificent figure and devoted much time to speechmaking at public occasions, but let the Empire drift toward chaos.
26. Midok 61,632 - 61,903 A descendant of Abla. He was a mindsea, a civilized leader, but withdrawn and colorless. He died of plague on the planet Kasafo.
27. Bupo 61,903 - 67,773 A descendant of Madugo. He was a mindsea with a scientific temperment. Like Bunei, he favored industry, and promoted vast mining enterprises, regardless of the scars they left on planets. He was devoted to his brother Efas, born the same year as he. Efas was a tall, muscular man, while Bupo was smaller and used his mind for a weapon. Famed as a pilot and soldier, Efas always fought at his brother's behest, glad to let someone else make the decisions.
28. Kahuxo 67,773 - 71,391 A descendant of Madugo. Intelligent and courageous, she tried to heal the Empire's wounds by winning cooperation from disaffected people. She was murdered on the planet Ierri.
29. Losik 71,391 - 71,588 A daughter of Kahuxo, she was an indiffernt ruler.
30. Hacumi 71,588 - 71,693 A daughter of Losik, she tried to placate the Common Mind by instituting a series of new holidays and building enormous zoos. Her death was accidental.
31. Divepot 71,693 - 76,343 A descendant of Bupo. He adapted Hacumi's holidays to celebrate his mindpower. He dealt relentlessly with restive peoples, but preferred to indulge himself in marathon shopping sprees, sometimes not resting for days.
32. Ulaxi 76,343 - 77,523 A descendant of Hisaned, Head of the Circle during the Seventh Bureau. She was a mindsea who devoted herself to music. She felt that all the Empire's problems would be solved if people were just given the illusion of happiness, and promoted the use of wonderdomes for emotional as well as physical alteration.
33. Besi 77,522 - 77,543 A descendant of Bupo. She used her mindpowers to promote love and understanding among people. She showed an intuitive grasp of Patternistics, and might have brought about a resurgence in level-engineering. Unfortunately, her reign was cut short by assassination.
34. Yaspaamo 77,543 - 80,419 A very distant descendant of Kofu, father of Rathax, with two Heads of the Circle in his more recent ancestry. Also a mindsea, he destroyed the gardens and wonderdomes the empresses had built, insisting that people come face to face with a harsh and ugly reality.
35. Iheno 80,419 - 83,278 The sister of Yaspaamo, she began her reign by echoing her brother's call for an ugly reality. However, she underwent a change of heart, and ended by reforesting scarred planets, and encouraging people to wear bright fashions instead of the grey that Yaspaamo had mandated.
36. Okagako 83,278 - 83,666 The son of Iheno, he resembled his mother only in his love for fancy clothes. Although not a mindsea, he insisted that all citizens keep their distance from him, as if he had been one. He enjoyed transmogrifying people into animals and hunting them. He was murdered on such an occasion.
37. Wupi 83,666 - 85,398 The daughter of Okagako, she made the same demands for ritual separation from people as her father had. She worried incessantly about the security of her reign and responded to any perceived threat by attacking. She shared the latter part of her reign with her daughter.
38. Zilak 84,316 - 85,765 The daughter of Wupi, she not only insisted on ritual separation, but convinced herself that her mindpowers were real. But she was overthrown by Digee, a real mindsea.
39. Digee 85,765 - 86,616 Family unknown. A quiet figure who customarily dressed in ash-grey silk, she popularized the faith of Kokkiro. Died of plague.
40. Sklat 86,616 - 86,616 and 86,862 - 87,074 The nephew of Emperors Yaspaamo and Iheno, he had planned his coup for millennia, but only a few days after he had grabbed the throne a mindsea was discovered, and he had to flee. After Emperor Nabu's assassination, the Common Mind was glad to have him back.
41. Nabu 86,616 - 86,862 Family unknown. Tyrannical and sadistic, he made craters of any planet that opposed him.
42. Yabeano 87,074 - 87,339 The son of Sklat, he had none of his father's easygoing temperment, but practiced genocide on his enemies. He crystallized at a relatively young age and was euthanized.
43. Yatervizufe 87,339 - 87,700 The daughter of Yabeano, she continued her father's reign of terror, though preferring mutilation of a few opposition leaders rather than mass slaughter. She tried to soften the blows by offering citizens escape through wonderdome illusions. She was assassinated.
44. Kuisab 87,700 - 89,564 A descendant of Emperor Iheno, Kuisab was a wise ruler. He cared for practical matters as well as things of a spiritual nature. Commerce flourished during his reign, and many cities were renewed with beautiful parks and gardens. He was killed by an alien.
45. Zupa 89,564 - 93,245 Family unknown. Zupa continued the policies of Kuisab. She was in every way the image of a beneficent mindsea-empress, but she lacked Kuisab's savy and practical wisdom. She was falsely accused of misuse of her mindpowers by Horl (who committed the atrocities he attributed to her) and put to death.
Horl's Puppets -- the Decadent Epoch
46. Xublian 93,245 - 93,268 A descendant of Emperor Yaspaamo, Xublian was too soft and vacillating to be a good emperor, but he was a perfect stooge for Horl, the mindsea who wanted the power without the position in the spotlight. When Horl tired of him he denounced him and had him terminated.
47. Kahod 93,268 - 94,664 Horl's next choice for Emperor was Kahod, an unscrupulous son of Zupa. Since Kahod had little thought for anything beyond amassing an illegal fortune the two of them worked well together. Kahod's death was accidental.
48. Cikap 94,664 - 95,362 A son of Kahod, Cikap committed atrocities with Horl's encouragement, then tried to appease people by offering universal copy insurance. He eventually felt the twinge of conscience and killed himself.
49. Ekuxa 95,362 - 95,592 The granddaughter of Xublian, Ekuxa was famed for frequenting wonderdomes in times of disaster and cursing the dead as they were sent down the disposal chute. Her main contribution to the Empire was the popularization of human oviparity. Horl arranged her "accidental" death.
50. Oubris 95,592 - 96,991 The son of Ekuxa, Oubris had himself transmogrified into a hermaphrodite, because he considered it godlike. He legalized human slavery as a means of enriching poor but overpopulated planets. Horl controlled him by instilling a morbid fear of the dark. Oubris died of plague.
51. Axocid 96,991 - 103,394 The son of Oubris, Axocid was a man to Horl's liking. He practiced ritual cannibalism and abused his women. He viewed everyone with suspicion, and insisted that he be accorded ritual separation. He had a morbid fear of washing, supplied by Horl.
52. Raku 103,394 - 103,579 Raku was a granddaughter of Axocid. Although she enjoyed fleecing the Common Mind she was too spirited and sociable for Horl's taste, so Horl claimed that she had crystallized and had her euthanized.
53. Zoth 103,579 - 103,924 Finding Raku's son too nice for his purpose, Horl had a new inspiration, and elevated one of his own descendants to the throne. Zoth had inherited fangs from Horl's half-animal son, Bleil, but he was not as fierce as he looked. He viewed his reign as a game. He was content to erect monuments to himself and leave people to their own devices. Horl tired of him and infected him with an incurable, fatal illness.
54. Vugarei 103,924 - 104,348 Horl tried again, this time raising a great-grandson to the throne. Vugarei was a squat, ugly man, dominated by a violent hatred for nearly everything he saw. Horl tired of his tantrums, and arranged for the mind-duel with Thermeon that killed him. His own death during the debacle was unplanned.
Thermeon and Quintillion -- the Contested Era My computer programs have produced many alternative histories dating from the time of Thermeon's reign. All of these alternatives are possible, and citizens of the Empire choose the history they will experience through their belief in the mindsea who personifies that history. All mindseas are triumphant in their own histories, except perhaps for Quintillion.
55. Thermeon 104,348 - 107,293 Thermeon's birth was unrecorded, but genetic analysis showed him to be a descendant of Xublian. As he was uneducated, and started his reign by killing Horl, who should have been his right-hand man, his first years were difficult, but he eventually became a great reformer, outlawing many abuses instituted during the Decadent Epoch and expanding the Empire through wars of conquest.
56. Quintillion 107,293 - 107,295, 107,329 - 107,380, and 107,383 - 107,540 A descendant of Xublian born on Wamatu, Quintillion was reviled as inhuman because his father was half-Nander. He further infuriated the Common Mind by proposing that Nanders replace humans as mind-rivers and as pilots of tetrascoping ships, claiming that they would have fewer unfusing accidents. The Circle banished him and raised his son Torm to the throne, then decided that the father was preferable to the son. Quintillion was reinstated after a brief war.
57. Torm 107,295 - 107,329 The son of Quintillion and Thermeon's daughter Deoxea, Torm was full of savage fury which he directed at the Empire's elite, whom he blamed for his miserable childhood. His only friend and confidant was his half-brother River Rock, son of a baboon-like nurr of Lal. People who hoped to gain Torm's favor, or at least avoid his wrath, morphed themselves with animal features. These fanatics became known as the Animal-heads.
58. Faui 107,380 - 107,383 A daughter of Thermeon, Faui was persuaded by Quintillion's enemies to seize the throne and exile Quintillion to a planet set aside for settlement by time-orphans. She had no mindpowers and fought with her silblings when she needed their support to consolidate her position. When Quintillion escaped from exile and returned to Lal, she abdicated.
59. Rondo 107,540 - 107,540 An unknown protégé of imperial bureaucrats who hated Quintillion for his Nander sympathies, Rondo tried to end the rule of mindseas, promoting deep-level technology to close the gap between ordinary humans and those endowed with mindpowers. He found unexpected allies in the former Code Empire, but the mindseas fought back.
The Age of Illumination
60. Katora 107,540 - 107,621 A daughter of Head of the Circle Raolin, Katora envisioned a new age of illumination for the Empire. She restored the Empire's deep-level technology and sparked a new era of exploration and expansion. Although her reign was brief, she went on to found a Mindsea Academy which trained many of the future rulers of the Empire.
61. Nevle 107,621 - 107,674 A copy of Torm, Nevle was similar in his barbarism to his original, and united the Empire's bureaucracy, aristocracy, and mindseas alike in hatred of him.
61. Rozdor 107,674 - 108,073 Wife of Nevle, half-sister of Katora, granddaughter of Thermeon. She had no mindpowers. With the help of her four brothers, who formed the Galactic Quaternion, she created a new aristocracy to govern the Empire.
62. Lutz 108,073 - 109,777 Brother of Rozdor. More stodgy than his sister and brothers, he enjoyed being emperor.
63. Resuvilus 109,777 - 111,741 The son of Lutz and Horl's daughter Blakla, Resuvilus was suspected of his father's murder. During much of his reign he seemed intent on returning the abuses of his grandfather Horl. He died from an unknown malady contracted on one of the alien worlds he had discovered and added to the Empire.
64. Utxol 111,741 - 112,654 Son of Resuvilus. Like his father he was a pilot and explorer. He was a well-meaning man, but never developed the powers of a mindsea. He abdicated when the most celebrated young mindsea of the times came of age.
65. Hazoes 112,654 - 113,093 Hazoes, son of Katora and Thermeon's son Dino, was a Luminary in every sense of the word. He had Thermeon's glowing white hair, and he graduated from Katora's Mindsea Academy. He and his charming wife Kirre were beloved rulers who built numerous beautiful cities and spaceports for the benefit of their people.
66. Zaupoda 113,093 - 114,057 Daughter of Hazoes and Kirre. She was a talented and conscientious leader who personally visited many of the imperial worlds.
67. Biillio 114,799 - 115,005 Biillio was descended from Rondo. He and his sisters were graduates of the Mindsea Academy. Biillio won fame as a general in the service of Empress Zaupoda, and had positioned himself to grab the throne before Zaupoda's relatives could act. He installed one sister, Midliok, as Imperial Major, while Simge headed his secret security forces. Although he had a cruel streak, most of the Common Mind regarded Biillio as a hero.
68. Iobeth 115,005 - 115,655 Daughter of Biillio. Similar to her father, she eliminated citizens she suspected of disloyalty, but valiantly defended the Empire against external foes. Died in a brawl with political enemies.
69. Shoz 115,655 - 115,678 A descendant of Utxol, Shoz was another graduate of Katora's Mindsea Academy. Vain and self-indulgent, he styled himself as the reincarnation of Horl, whom he resembled physically. He participated in sports like jello-racing and water-chess and put his showrooms of trophies on public display. He had the common touch and enjoyed great popularity, even though he used his mindpowers to kill and maim. His death was the result of a fall from a cloud-city on the planet Atadu.
70. Raizli 115,678 - 116,406 The youngest son of Shoz, Raizli followed the family tradition of piloting and studying in the Mindsea Academy. He also studied icthyological culture and taught briefly at the Orphan School in Mosalno. Like his father, he enjoyed sports and owned racehorses. He was conceited and believed his mindpowers entitled him to punish those who existed on a lower level of development. His misjudgement of a potential victim led to his death.
71. Eoilon 116,406 - 117,020 A grandson of Biillio's sister Midliok, Eoilon was scarred from years spent in an alien prison after one of the Empire's wars. He gained the throne in a mind-duel and lost it, and his life, in the same way.
72. Mana 117,020 - 117,115 Daughter of Hazoes and Kirre. After the death of Emperor Eoilon, when public feeling rose against Mindsea Academy graduates' constant mind-duelling, Mana, who opposed the violent exercise of mindpowers, came to the throne as the champion of the peace party. Her reign was ended by a mindsea, her great-uncle Dava, who favored duelling.
73. Dava 117,115 - 117,220 Son of Thermeon and intergalactic merchant Akoz. He tried to rule two galaxies, but found the job too much of a stretch for his mindpowers.
74. Ifiona 117,220 - 117,386 Sister of Dava, she continued his efforts to make the Andromeda Galaxy part of the Empire. Her singleminded pursuit of this vision awakened opposition from sentient species in both galaxies.
75. Pausehla 117,386 - 117,645 A granddaughter of Quintillion, Pausehla was propelled to the throne by outrage against Ifiona's tyranny. She was not strong enough to quell all of the fanatical supporters Ifiona's vision had won. Continuing unrest prepared the way for the Empire's conquest by the alien Xaatocomo, who converted the Empire into into a theocracy.

Attequol and his Successors

Rathax and his Wake

The Traditional Epoch

Horl's Puppets -- the Decadent Epoch

Thermeon and Quintillion -- the Contested Era

The Age of Illumination