“History of the Aniverse, Part 2”

By Dennis Rowarr


This history has been approved by the United Animals Coalition and the 
worlds of Aldebaran and Atlantis


INTRODUCTION

Following the Evil Death that spread across the Aniverse between 1250 
and 1270, the Aniverse began to slowly emerge from it's dark 
depression, and into a new age of discovery, innovation and war. This 
age is one of the four that will be covered in the second-half of "The 
History of the Aniverse".


CHAPTER ONE: THE RENOVATIO (REVIVAL)

After the spread of the Evil Death, Aldebaran became the first to act 
to avoid a second plague from arising in the near future. In 1275, 
Queen Elsa the Noble decreed that Aldebaran should begin a mass 
cleaning operation of it's water and drainage supplies, and to have all 
the streets cleared of refuse.


"All the streets of the cities and towns of the planet Aldebaran are to 
be cleansed of all waste and refuse, and for all the houses and streets 
to be cleaned thoroughly of any form of dirt. The councils of the towns 
and cities are to impose this act or suffer a heavy fine of 5,000 
simoleons..." (from the Public Health Act of 1275, courtesy of the 
Aldebaran Archive)


As time went on, more and more measures were taken to ensure public 
health was vastly improved, and whole teams of bacteriologists and 
chemists were put to work in finding an antidote for a possible second 
attack. Francois Sour of Noctur III was among the first, using the 
then-new digital technology to electronically "purge" his right arm of 
any strains of disease. The details of the process survive in Sour's 
medical journal:


"By placing the arm inside a slot in the machine, and wrapping the paw 
around a metal bar at one end, every bone, muscle and vein in the arm 
is electronically scanned and the information fed to a computer. Using 
this information, the machine identifies the poisions in the body, and 
injects each required antidote individually at seperate intervals so 
that one strain can be destroyed before the next..." (from "The 
Complete Works of Francois Sour", 2198)


Whilst these "Second Medical Revolution" was underway (see Chapter One 
of "History of the Aniverse Part I" for the first revolution), a new 
age of discovery was also beginning. The inhabited worlds had begun to 
colonise the uninhabited worlds partly as a means of population 
control, and partly to exploit mineral wealth and other resources just 
as Canis I once had. The two main worlds of particular interest, at 
least according to Sir Francis the Drake in his report "The New 
Worlds", were:


"...the planet christened by the Raccoons and the Hares as "Conva", a 
barren, hostile world with scarcely enough resources for a handful of 
men... The other planet appears more profitable, and the Hares have 
since christened it as "Genus"..."


Out of the two worlds, Genus brought the most attention. In 2193, Sir 
Francis had merely viewed the planet from a distance, and learned of 
it's wealth from the native inhabitants, the Genusians (a race of 
primitive coyotes) who had made a settlement on the planet's moon. The 
first landing on Genus came one year later by Nigel Nebraskus from 
Canis II. Nebraskus was able to secure a peace with the native 
Genusians, and opened up trade between the two planets; the Genusians 
were provided with modern technology, and the Canisians were given an 
extra food supply. Unfortunately, the peace was only temporary, due to 
recent changes in the political climate.


Since the beginning of the Renovatio period, the royalist system had 
come under attack on some of the outer planets. On Warren, the monarch 
had been starved of power by the new Parliament, and on Noctur III, the 
last monarch, Gerard XI, had been usurped in the Nocturian Revolution 
(2189 - 2199), and an oligarchy imposed by the conspirators. Even the 
most bizarre of systems were preferred over the age-old monarchial 
systems; the Leopards on Fartus Minor went so far in 2200 to overthrow 
their queen and became the only planet in history to impose a 
Pornocracy, which perhaps led to the planet's reputation for 
licentiousness still in place today.


Nonetheless, due to the strong abolitionist feel of the period, an 
anti-imperialist feel came with it, and the foreign settlers on Genus 
began to fear that the trade between Genus and Canis I would be the 
beginning of a second Galactic Empire, and so in 2206, the settlers 
began to resist against Canisian "rule", finally claiming independance 
after two years of vicious fighting on either side. The settlers then 
appointed Gareth Wilmington as the first president of Genus, who in 
turn opened up Genus to other abolitionists wishing to flee from 
monarchist countries and settle there. From 2207 - 2225, Wilmington 
began to establish Genus as a self-reliant planet capable of dealing 
with it's own matters.


Whilst Wilmington was establishing Genus' place in Aniversial history, 
the other worlds began to show resentment to Genusian "independance". 
In 2212, a meeting was called between the remaining monarchs of the 
Aniverse from Canis I, Aldebaran and Noctur IV, nicknamed "The 
Conference of Kings" by contemporary writers. Nothing came of the 
meeting, but the biggest issue was the settlers who were heading 
westward across Genus. There had been reports made by spies that 
prominent soldiers, who had since vanquished the colonial powers, were 
now turning on the native Genusians themselves, and the range of 
evidence available to modern eyes makes these allegations difficult to 
argue. Writers ranging from military sources like Admiral Lord 
Trafalgar and political ones like Dr. Emmanuel Hudson (creator of the 
first Galactic Dictionary) all give vivid accounts of these attacks 
which are too graphic to be reprinted.


It is said that, when Wilmington heard of these atrocities against the 
Genusians, he "...flew into a thunderous rage, furious at the thought 
that his comrades were just as brutal and bloodthirsty as the very 
kings and queens Genus protected them from..." (from "The Life of 
Gareth Wilmington" by Dr. Jane Fox). The soldiers responsible were 
court-martialled and executed for genocide (the total death figure of 
Native Genusians amounts to about 33,000,000), and began to run 
security checks on those wishing to emigrate to Genus. Despite these 
measures, the native Genusians still remain a minority today, and their 
percentage of the total population has not increased since. But even 
these figures cannot match the atrocities under another tyrant of the 
age, whose name is forgotten by all but the inhabitants of the world he 
once ruled.


The Renovatio is the overall name for this period, but it was still a 
Dark Age for the planet Kanopis IV, the home of the Eagles. For much of 
this period, the Eagles were under the harsh rule of Dago Von Hamburg 
Dusseldorf (2105 - 2210), known by several other aliases including: 
Dago the Kanopian, Dago the Sadist, Dago the Butcher, Dago the Damned 
and Dago the Vicious. Such aliases give only a slight insight into the 
nature of his 86-year reign. From his ascension to the throne in 2124, 
Dago embarked on a massive purge of dissidents and opponents not seen 
since the era of the Dark Sabbath (see "History of the Aniverse, Part 
I", Chapter 3). The opening speech from the 3220 historical film "Dago" 
perhaps best describes the cruelty under Dago the Kanopian:


"...Upon a mountain of bones, within a castle of agony, I sat upon a 
throne of pure evil. My advisors were the demons of Hell, and my 
jesters were the torturers of the innocent. There, I drank blood from 
my chalice, and the howls of pain from my victims were my music..." 
(from "Dago", copywright 40th Century Fox, used by permission) 


But the Genusian question drew the attention of much of the Aniverse, 
and so when Dago was murdered in a bloody revolution in 2210, few took 
notice. Despite living to 105, Dago was still strong enough to refuse 
death, and was executed by a mixture of shooting, stabbing, poisoning, 
suffocation, hanging, drowning and beheading. Even today, the cruelty 
under Dago is overshadowed. Compared to the 33,000,000 native Genusians 
slaughtered under the nose of Gareth Wilmington, the total number of 
Eagles murdered under Dago the Kanopian totals 1,230,000,000 for the 
total 86 years of his reign. But like most events in history, it is 
overshadowed by the events of the Genusian revolution and it's 
aftermath.


CHAPTER TWO: THE IMPERIAL ERA

Even as Genus was finding it's feet, a new power had emerged in the 
Aniverse that threatened most of the worlds that had once been colonies 
of the Phrasians or the Canisians. This new power, which lasted no more 
than 100 years between 3000 and 3100, is known by scholars today as the 
Rigellian Empire, as it originated on Rigel V, home of the Koalas.


The emergence of Rigel V's power did not appear overnight, as most 
historians would have us believe. In fact, Rigel V's power had been 
slowly building up since the end of the Evil Death. During that time, 
Rigel V boasted some of the finest healthcare available, and smaller 
planets invited Rigel the leadership of their worlds if only to receive 
medical treatment, a friendly pact that helped to lay the foundation 
for colonial expansion.


When the Empire was "declared" in 3000, the feelings were mixed. Some 
felt that Rigel V's easy-going nature made the planet an unlikely 
candidate for controlling a galactic empire, whilst others felt 
threatened by the emergence of yet another colonial power so soon after 
the brief expansions made by Warren and Canis I. The majority, however, 
were of the opinion that Rigel V posed no threat and may perform well 
as a good-natured colonial power:


"Concerning the Rigellians, I see no reason why we should fear them. 
After all, it was they who comforted the sick and dying during the Evil 
Death, and the Koalas are a quiet race who have yet to be held 
responsible for war..." (Queen Minnie of Aldebaran, speaking at a 
conference on Noctur IV in 3002)


It was because of such appraisials that the Rigellians were able to 
secure a firm alliance with Aldebaran, whose ruler Queen Minnie (Queen 
from 2969 - 3005) had been a strong advocate of Imperialism. Indeed, 
some surviving documents have shown her hopes of creating an "Aldebaran 
Empire", which never came to fruition, but her kind leadership and 
strong oratory brought many admirers from both Aldebarans and 
Outsiders.


However, it was also through it's alliances that Rigel eventually 
collapsed. After the death of Queen Minnie and the coronation of Queen 
Foxglove, matters escalated out of hand. Queen Foxglove was far more 
politically active than her predecessor, but she saw Genus as a "haven 
for scum and infidels" (quoted from "Queen Foxglove: A Royal Biography" 
by Sister Clementine of Aldebaran). Unfortunately, it was around this 
time that Rigel had sought an alliance with Genus to try and put the 
fears of colonialism to rest.


The unusual rectangle tore the Rigellian Empire apart. As time passed, 
tensions between Genus and Aldebaran grew, and the Rigellian Empire 
itself was split between supporters of Genus and supporters of 
Aldebaran. There was little that the Koalas could do to heal the breach 
due to their outspoken nature. Civil wars became common on some of the 
inner planets, and the Rigellian forces were unable to stop the rising 
tide of aggression. Even when tension between Genus and Aldebaran had 
relaxed, Rigel V had been left with a hopeless situation.


By 3100, Rigel V had withdrawn from all of it's colonies, exhausted 
from so much conflict, and ordered the colonised planets to sort out 
their own squabbles. Curiously, it was only after the Rigellians had 
retreated that matters were finally solved. But even as one enemy was 
vanishing, another was not far beyond the horizon.


CHAPTER THREE: THE FIRST TOAD WAR

During the conflicts within the Rigellan Empire, the Toads had tried to 
model their society so that it rivalled that of Rigel. The Toads had 
deposed their monarch amidst the revolutions of old, and had installed 
a military oligarchy where the planet was ruled over by a single 
general. In 3187, that general was a man named General Vilestrom, a 
brash old man with a penchant for military life. While Genus was 
preparing for the Boar War (a small conflict against the Boars in the 
outer regions of the Aniverse), Vilestrom began to build up his armed 
forces on the Toad Homeworld, hoping to create an empire of his own.


This de facto empire consisted purely of the Toad Homeworld and it's 
moon, for the revolutions and colonial expansions had left little left 
for conquest. Vilestrom had made his preparations too late, but he was 
not ready to back down. His warmongering streak meant that he wanted a 
war regardless of who was friend or foe, and attempted to capture Gaul 
I, a dead planet that was used solely for the mining of radioactive ore 
by several planets under the Gaul Treaty of 3125.


Outraged, Genus (who was one of those with mining rights to the planet) 
for the first time allied with it's former enemies, Warren, the Canis 
system and the Noctur system, against the Toads whose only allies were 
mercenary soldiers from the planet Rott. The planet withdrew from the 
war after only two years, when a communist revolution on the planet 
(which ended in a sickening bloodbath of all those in the upper and 
middle classes) led to the formation of a communist dictatorship, which 
would eventually die out of another space-plague, and the survivors 
became nomads until their extermination by Toads many years later.


The fighting of the war was confined solely to Gaul I, where both 
armies were exhausted by their leaders. Commanding the Allied Mammals 
Corps. (the forerunner of the future S.P.A.C.E.) was Field Marshal Sir 
Edward Gaigh, a badger whose military experience ranged from the Boar 
War as well as other minor conflicts from earlier on. Under his 
command, the Mammals pushed against the invading Toad forces and 
eventually won the First Toad War, but at a considerably high price. 
The fighting was restricted to filthy, muddy trenches that almost 
circumnavigated all of Gaul I. Soldiers posted near deposits of 
radioactive ore were invalided home with radiation poisoning, whilst 
others suffered from hysteria and insanity at the state of the war.


For the Toads, the situation was no better. Vilestrom wanted his army 
to resemble and perform like the ancient Rigellians (see: HISTORY OF 
THE ANIVERSE PART 1. CHAPTER 2), and gave severe punishments for 
desertion, surrender or mutiny. At the end of the war, only a handful 
of Toad soldiers remained, and few of them were willing to fight so 
aggressively. At the end of the war, Vilestrom returned to the Toad 
Homeworld a disgraced man, and was said to have been lynched to death 
upon touchdown. Unfortunately, access to the Toad Archives has since 
been blocked following the outbreak of the current Toad Wars.


Between the First Toad War and the current Toad Wars, there were signs 
that matters were stabilising in the Aniverse. The colonial rivalries 
had been wiped out by the War, and all those who participated wished to 
clean up the damage left by the War, especially on the home front. The 
Toads began to trade with Mammalian worlds as their own technology 
prospered following their freedom from oligarchy. As time passed, the 
Toads became the most advanced innovators and technicians in the Delta 
Quadrant, so much so that they created a vast computer system designed 
to run the Homeworld as a planetwide civil service. Endowed with 
artificial intelligence, this system would later become the most feared 
machine in existence, KOMPLEX.


CHAPTER FOUR: THE TOAD WARS

The socialist writer George Doorbell had warned people of the dangers 
of planetwide computer networks in his story, "3284", where the 
Aniverse has been dominated by a planetwide computer network incapable 
of being overthrown. Today, many see Doorbell's work as a prophetic 
vision of what was to come in the Toad Wars, but in the contemporary 
era, many saw "3284" as laughable. To many outside worlds, KOMPLEX was 
seen as an inspiration, and there was one attempt somewhere on Genus to 
try and create their own sapient computer system. Surviving documents 
state that the system was to be called S.A.M. (Sapient Aritificial 
Mechanics) and was to be instrumental in the community services of the 
planet. Unfortunately, poor documentation gives us little information, 
and it can only be assumed that the experiment was a failure. (see 
"KOMPLEX Mark 2" by Peggy Winchell for more information)


Whatever the circumstance, when KOMPLEX suddenly usurped the Toad 
Homeworld, all communication between Mammals and Toads quickly ceased. 
Through the use of Toad TV, the Toad populace was brainwashed with 
anti-Mammalian propaganda and became a militaristic race bent on total 
conquest of the Aniverse, under the banner of the "Toad Empire". The 
development of a space fleet became the highest priority, and all other 
services were rendered secondary. The invasion of Noctur II that 
occurred early on was the very trigger of the Toad Wars, which are 
still raging today, and it was not long before KOMPLEX himself appeared 
on the front-line in android form, although the lack of use often means 
that the brainwashed Toads are the commanders moreso than their master.


At the outbreak of the Toad Wars, the United Animals Coalition, based 
on Genus, became the nerve-centre for the Mammalian resistance to Toad 
rule. The Coalition fleet, the S.P.A.C.E. (Sentient Protoplasm Against 
Colonial Encroachment) has since grown slightly from a single frigate 
to five vessels in total. The S.P.A.C.E. have also recruited a number 
of former superheroes, who had been kept isolated by the previous 
administration, to serve as super-soldiers against the Toads. Arguably 
the most recognisible was the late Chuck Bodgers, a superhero who was 
immortalised by actor Kyle Managua in the six-part movie franchise by 
Bialystock Films. Other notable heroes and heroines include Absurdgirl 
(a singer), Kommandant Kansas and the short-lived hero Captain 
Aniverse, whose brief one-month career saw the demise of the wannabe 
dictator, The Empress of Evil.


In recent times, the current General Assembly of the United Animals 
Coalition has come under fire for a number of reasons. Partly because 
of the lack of enthusiastic funding for the S.P.A.C.E. fleet (which was 
instrumental in the Martian conquest of Genus in early 3226), and 
partly because the Assembly appears more interested in boosting morale 
rather than actually fighting. Far-right groups such as the Imperial 
Party of Genus have cited several minor incidents to this effect, such 
as the short-lived Supertrain (which actually gave birth to a new 
military transport system) and the partial financing of public events 
such as concerts for singer Shirley Squirrel (b.3202) and racecar 
newcomer The Mammal Meteor (alias Richard Nass, b.3203). 


Another note made by these parties is the superfluous declaration of a 
"Mammal Empire", which lasted a mere three days prior to the invasion 
of the Martians. All Councillors on the General Assembly have refused 
to comment on this decision, and the former "Mammal Empire" now remains 
forgotten today, as does the conquest of Genus by the Martians, whose 
invasion was fully completed in the space of a few hours, thanks to a 
lack of planetary defence. However, the death toll was considerably 
low, and Genus was eventually liberated from Martian rule without 
bloodshed.


Today, the Toad Wars continue to rage, and as every minute of every day 
ticks by, information continues to be gathered from across the Aniverse 
that can benefit or hinder those wishing to learn about the past in 
order to learn of what is to come in the future.


FULL BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Hornets - Annastophenes


The Crusades of Good King Albert - Sir Aodh the Wise


On the Miracle of St. Neeblebrox - Augustus de Bedoyer


Chuck Bodgers: From Spandex to Screen - Max Bialystock


The Canisians: Masters of the Aniverse - Dr. Ponsonby Britt OBE


The Imperial Manifesto - Talbot Buxomly, Leader of the Imperial Party 
of Genus


Queen Foxglove: A Royal Biography - Sister Clementine of Aldebaran


Queen Minnie: A Royal Biography - Sister Clementine of Aldebaran


3284 - George Doorbell


The New Worlds - Sir Francis the Drake


The Complete Story of Bobbin Good - Dr. Trevor Farnsworth


The Life of Gareth Wilmington - Dr. Jane Fox


Notes on the Imperial Economy - Grabo


Discussions of the Black Cardinals - Edwin de Grayore


The Tales of Sir Gus the Gassy - Sir Gus the Gassy


The Cavemammals: Primitives or Pioneers? - Prof. Drew Horton


On the Slaughter of the Native Genusians at Patrius Creek - Dr. 
Emmanuel Hudson


From the Front: Stories of the First Toad War - Corporal Issac Kingston


The First Toad War in Detail - Corporal Issac Kingston


Queen Minnie and the Empire that Never Was - Sister Lucy of Aldebaran


Revolution: The Aniverse in Turmoil - Dr. Lukas Neumann


Poems from the Trenches - Pvt. Wilbert Owen


Aegyptian History - Prof. Ludwig Roper


On the Evil Plague - Harold Rosebush


The Aniverse under the Dark Sabbath - Dennis Rowarr


Where did it all Begin? - Rowan Sheridan


Origins of the Toad Wars - Prof. Wendy Sellers


The Complete Works of Francis Sour - Francis Sour


Supermammals: The Super Soldiers of the Aniverse - Spiderminx


The Conquest - Squirrecles


The Annals of Imperial Canis - Tailitus


The Pylasian War - Toothydides


Massacre of the Genusians - Admiral Lord Trafalgar


KOMPLEX Mark 2: The Mammalian Big Brothers - Peggy Winchell BSc


Sorcerers, Saints, and Sinners - Daniel Zellwegger Ph.D