Russia’s Quantum Curtain. The Great Firewall of China. All over the world, those networks that survived only did so because of the firewalls that closed them off to the other networks. By the time we returned to space, humanity’s networks were riven into over a dozen separate systems. No American computer could talk with a Chinese system because the physical and software links no longer existed. It has been over three centuries and our networks are still divided.
The Cowboys fought hard against the Chinese and the Shang during The War. The Russians didn’t enjoy our time with them either. The Hyades Cluster citizens saw us as liberators in the first few years of Peace. They listened when we showed up. And when we weren’t there they began to call us. We helped arbitrate disagreements. And we weren’t afraid to take arms when that didn’t work. We never claimed to represent the law. We just kept Peace. As well as it could be kept. That’s the genesis of the reputation we enjoy now.
The first season of Twilight dealt with the former Rogue AI’s expanded involvement in the Cybernetic Wars raging throughout America at the time. It set a darker tone than Dixie, and visited many of the cities and States where central government had fallen beneath the threats of depression and terrorism. And then of course there was Twilight. She was not the bubbly and giggly cheerleader that Dixie played. Twilight dressed up in Goth gear and listened to grind metal. Everything about her and the show was just darker than Dixie. The tone worked.
The Second Great Depression threatened the economies that linked the world. The Islamic Jihad killed millions of people who did not ascribe to their radical beliefs. And the Cybernetic Wars threatened the communications networks that brought us together. Many nations avoided one or two of those threats, but at least one of them affected every society on Earth. And that formed the foundation of the divided Earth we live in now.
I spent a lot of time in the Hyades Cluster after The War ended. I saw a lot of planets and a lot of people. Most of them just wanted to live. Some wanted to live large and in charge. Most just wanted to be left alone. Some wanted to be in control. I spent a lot of time figuring out who was who and nailing down the ones who just weren’t playing kosher. A lot of my fellow Cowboys did the same. That’s how we got our reputation.
Forge of War on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon
