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1.68% Interstellar Age / Chapter 8: The Various Levels of Interstellar Civilization

Bab 8: The Various Levels of Interstellar Civilization

On the other side of the planet, a man who appeared middle-aged sat within a large office. The room was surrounded on all sides by windows which displayed the giant city that was an entire world, and the busy happenings of its citizens.

The man in question had short grey hair and a few wrinkles, which showed off only the slightest amount of age. And while the man appeared as if he were in his late forties, he was in reality three hundred years old, and was none other than the second Supreme Leader of the Germanic Star-Empire.

Hans Epp sat in his office chair, as he gazed upon the holographic projection of what appeared to be a young man no older than twenty dressed in his military uniform, this man had distressed expression on his face as he bowed his head in submission, before apologizing profusely for his son's scandalous actions.

"Please, Supreme Leader, forgive my son. He is a young, and foolhardy. I doubt he could resist the temptation of that Oni temptress. You know better than I do about her skills in the art of seduction. A young boy has no chance against such a voracious tigress."

A slight scoff escaped from the Supreme Leader's lips as he spoke about the potential punishment for the crime of miscegenation, which was among the most heinous crimes one could commit in the Germanic Star-Empire.

"Your son is already an adult, and he has committed a disgusting and heinous act by sleeping with a foreigner. He did not even command his NeuroLink to temporarily sterilize himself for the duration of his sinful deed.

What if a half-breed is born of this unholy union? Would you then have him take responsibility for his actions? The only reason your son's head is still attached to his neck is because the foreigner he slept with just so happens to be the aunt of the Oni Emperor.

If not for her pulling some strings with her nephew, demanding that the boy be spared of his rightful punishment, then I would have had him executed on the spot! But my hands are tied. The Oni are a valuable ally, one which I cannot afford to offend with a matter as petty as this. Discipline your son on my behalf and ensure that he does not make such an error again!"

Before Heinrich could even thank the Supreme Leader for his benevolence, the line was cut, where Hans sat in his office with a frown on his face, as he voiced his disgust at Erich's actions.

"Fucking mutants! They have no respect for our way of life! I don't know why we even spare any of them!"

---

Entirely unaware of the quite literal bullet he had just dodged, Erich slept through the night with a peaceful expression on his face. When he awoke in the morning, it was at the crack of dawn. An audio recording of a bugle resounded across his room, thus waking him from his sweet dreams. Without a second thought, he climbed into the shower and got himself dressed for physical training.

Upon adorning his t-shirt over his chiseled body and looking in the mirror, Erich noticed something peculiar. The hexagon on his shirt had a number digitally displayed, one which shocked the young man to the core of his being.

From only half a day of school, Erich's rank on the leaderboards was already at 1,250,000. Evidently he had perfect scores on all of his first assignments, which bumped him up well into the top 5% of the twenty-five million students which attended the Naval Academy on Germania.

Even though the Empire's population was in the trillions, few men were selected for officer roles in the military. Most were enlisted personnel. And while the Naval Academy on Germania was the largest of the Naval Academies in the Empire, there was one on every habited planet. Meaning there were one hundred naval academies in total.

Still, to be within the top 5% of cadets after a single day of classes, this was quite an accomplishment. Even then, it just meant his life would be even more difficult if he wanted to reach the top 1% or even the top spot. Thus, Erich resigned himself to pushing himself past his limits during the Physical Training which he was about to endure.

PT was no joke. Even though many of these men would not go into the Star Marines, the minimally accepted PT score was set to the minimum of the elite infantry unit's standards. To receive a perfect score, one had to be in astounding shape. Luckily, Erich had been injected with an experimental Grade S gene serum when he was in his mother's womb, and thus, he scored higher than most Germanic men in nearly all attributes.

However, this was not something that was unique to Erich. Millions of fetuses each year were injected with an experimental Grade S serum, and only a small portion of them were ever mutated.

If he had to guess, then the top 5% of cadets attending the naval academy on Germania had been given the same serum as him, no, considering the academy on Germania was the most prestigious school, this meant that it was likely that ten percent if not more of the students had received a Grade S serum.

Meaning he would have to rely on more than just his genetic gifts to reach the top 1% of all cadets. Thus, he pushed himself beyond the limits he thought he had, and by the end of the class, he saw that his rank had increased ever so slightly on the leaderboard.

After training for two whole hours, the cadets entered the showers, where they washed off the sweat and grime from their bodies before attending their courses. Everything from advanced mathematics, physics, chemistry, and any number of basic courses, to more specializes lectures like strategy, tactics, and survival, everything required to become an exemplary military officer as well as a productive member of the civilian sector was provided by the academy.

Just after lunch, Erich found himself back in Galactic Politics, where his teacher, Colonel Vernik Ekberg, had fulfilled his promise to teach Erich and the others about the classifications of civilizations.

The room was practically an amphitheater, even if it was mostly empty, and it had windows on all sides, which displayed the city below, if one got distracted they could easily watch the citizens of Germania go about their daily lives for the entire lecture.

In the center of the room stood the instructor, who activated a large holographic projection, which displayed the information he was talking about. With a cigarette in one hand, and a mug of coffee in the other, he spoke about the classifications of Interstellar Civilizations.

"By now you should all be aware of this material, but since it is only the third day of your first semester, I decided that I will give you all a brief review.

Now, who here can tell me what classification the Empire has on the galactic scale of civilizations?"

Erich raised his hand. The more questions he answered correctly in class, the more his score would raise, and thus he was quick to raise his hand before all others. Seeing that the new arrival was so eager to participate, the colonel smiled before choosing him.

"Alright, Silber, go ahead."

With a proud smile on his face, Erich displayed the knowledge which was quite common in the Germanic Star Empire.

"Our Empire is considered a tier one regional power!"

Vernik smiled and nodded his head as he took a drag from his cigarette before posing another question to Erich.

"Correct, but can you tell me what that means?"

This was a far more difficult question, but Erich was just as prepared to answer it as he responded with a confident smirk on his face.

"An interstellar civilization is judged upon several factors, including but not limited to the number of systems in its territory, the number of worlds colonized, their military strength, their economic prowess, and their technological development. The Germanic Star Empire ranks at the bottom tier of the Regional Power classification, specifically because of the miniscule size of our Empire.

We only have thirty-six systems, and one hundred colonized worlds. This is dwarfed by even the smallest of Minor Powers, let alone those in a similar ranking such as the Great Oni Empire, which has over ten thousand star systems under its control.

However, while our Empire is relatively small when compared to our peers, we have supreme military and economic strength, as well as advanced technology. If we had as many star systems as the Great Oni Empire under our control, then we would likely be either a tier three regional power, or perhaps even a tier one sub-galactic power. Which is one of the reasons why the Alfheim Dominion has decided to vassalize our great race!"

Vernik smiled and nodded his head, as he confirmed what Erich said to be accurate, before adding more information about the classification system which the Galaxy used to determine the rankings of different civilizations.

"You are once more correct in your assessment. There are four major classifications for an interstellar civilization and for each category, there are also three tiers. On the bottom of the scale, we have the minor powers. Which are civilizations with anywhere between 100 and 1,000 star systems and planets under their control. The fact that we are ranked a regional power, without even meeting one of the minimum requirements to be considered a minor power, is a testament to the strength, intelligence, and ingenuity of our great race!

I won't go into too much detail about the various capabilities of each classification since it is a relative scale, but for the sake of review just know that minor powers are vastly inferior to our civilization in practically every way, aside from the number of star systems they own, and how many worlds they have colonized. They also tend to be vassalized by regional powers.

One thing that needs to be noted before I move onto the regional powers is that interstellar civilizations like the Confederation of Human Worlds are so insignificant on the galactic stage that they do not even qualify as a minor power.

Okay, moving on now, the next group we are looking at would be regional powers, which is what we are classified as. Most regional powers have a between one and one hundred thousand star system under their control, either directly or through vassalization.

Technologically, militarily, and economically, the overwhelming majority of regional powers are inferior to the Germanic Star-Empire. With at most tier three regional powers being able to compete with our military might. Regional powers also tend to be vassalized by sub-galactic powers.

After the regional powers, are the sub-galactic powers. These are the second rarest level of interstellar civilization. They are extraordinarily powerful and hold large swaths of the galaxy within their sphere of influence. Nearly all vassals of a major galactic power are of this classification. However, we are the exception to this rule.

Finally, there are the Galactic powers, which there are technically six of, but only four of them are considered the major galactic powers.

As previously discussed, the Alfheim Dominion, the Svartalfheim Federation, the Asura Cabal, and the Ennead Theocracy are all Galactic Powers, and these four powers combined are in control of the entire galaxy either directly or through a series of vassalizations. However, there are two other galactic powers, which you need to be aware of.

There is the Ghimderi Trade Union, a race of goblinoids, who control the galactic economy. Unlike the other galactic powers, they have less territory than even our Empire. However, their military strength is formidable, despite their more pacifistic nature, and, as I previously stated, the galactic economy is almost entirely under their control.

It is because of this fact that the Ghimderi Trade Union often acts as the mediator between the four major galactic powers. Using their economic influence to compel more powerful nations than their own to do their bidding. Truly despicable!

For most, it is considered a sign of prosperity and prestige to host a Ghimderi Bank within their Empire. But our civilization will never hand over the reigns of our economy to any foreign nation, even if they came to our doorstep demanding that we do so!

Finally, there is the Naraku, who has no home world to speak of, not that we know of at least, and live entirely in massive Hive Fleets. The Naraku are classified as a devouring swarm and are the most powerful of such species. They are hostile to all other civilizations and are powerful enough to contend with the four major galactic powers entirely on their own. It is a miracle they have not consumed all life in the galaxy already.

Oh, look at the time, well this concludes our lecture for the day. Tomorrow we will begin a more in-depth study of Galactic politics, so I hope you are well prepared. Have a good rest of your day, gentlemen."

With this said, the bell rang, and Erich had departed from the lecture, thinking about how much of a testament it was, that their race had progressed to a regional power in less than half a millennium after reaching the interstellar age.


Bab 9: Entering the Simulation

Two weeks had passed since Erich first began attending the Naval Academy on Germania. By now he had gotten used to the cadet life, it was hardly different from the Youth Corps he was forced to attend as a child. However, even though it had already been two weeks into the semester, Erich and his fellow mutants had yet to be permitted to take part in what was arguably the most exciting aspect of life at the academy.

That was until today. Currently, Erich stood inside a large and empty room that was practically a warehouse of considerable size. He was dressed in a flight suit, and looked around, waiting for the arrival of his fellow cadets and their instructor. However, just when he was about to leave the room, which he was given the coordinates to in advance, his surroundings suddenly shifted before his very eyes.

What was previously an empty warehouse was now a flight hangar, filled with people and starfighters. Immediately, a smile lit up on Erich's face as he realized what had just happened. This was the holodeck, a building used to simulate combat environments for the cadets. And while Erich would not lay hands on an actual starfighter until after he graduated from the Academy and entered flight school, he would still be required to learn the basics of flight inside the simulation which he now stood in.

It was at this moment that Erich realized he was in line with a bunch of other pilots, who he did not recognize. The flight suits they wore were the same as his own. It was a stone grey in color and had the flag of the Germanic Star-Empire on the right biceps, which was a red background, with a black sun in the center.

Aside from a life support system built into the suit, there was also a helmet in his hands that had a large transparent face shield. At the moment, a wing commander was speaking to him, and the other pilots which stood by his side, all of which were part of the simulation.

"Men of Germania, a Nakaru Hive Fleet is no less than twenty light years away from our borders! I won't lie to you. Many of you will die today, but you will die for the glory of the Empire, and the lives of its citizens! So go out there and squash those fucking bugs!"

The scenario which had been inserted into the simulation was one where the empire was under a full scale invasion by a galactic power, this was how the Empire trained its combatants, to experience the horrors of total warfare from the very start of their life as cadets. It was a no-win scenario, one designed explicitly to bring the best out of cadets, by squeezing every bit of potential for a possible victory.

Because everything in the holodeck was realistic even to the touch, if Erich was shot down in the simulation, he would understand the pain of death, even if he would not actually die from the experience. Thus, he was sweating bullets, as he realized he would effectively be sent into battle, without the slightest idea in how to fly the spacecraft.

Before Erich could even figure out what was going on, one of the simulated pilots behind him pushed him towards his starfighter. Without even thinking, Erich climbed into the cockpit and attached his helmet onto the neckline of his flight suit, sealing off any air from escaping, and thus pressurizing his body for the vacuum of space.

Just as Erich was about to call out to the AI to suspend the scenario, he found that a tutorial screen projected itself into his vision via the HUD display that automatically downloaded itself onto his NeuroLink. Immediately, a synthesized voice entered his ears as the AI which was designed to assist him in flight began to speak to him.

"My name is E.V.A. which stands for Enhanced Virtual Assistant. I will be your flight instructor today. The scenario you are about to experience has been set on recruit level difficulty after taking into account that this is your first time flying.

Like in real life, you only have one life, so I suggest you complete the scenario with survival in mind. For the record, if you die in the simulation, it will affect your score on the leaderboard. Good luck, and remember to follow my advice at all times."

E.V.A.'s voice continued to speak to Erich as the artificial intelligence helped the young cadet navigate the controls of the starship. The starfighter which he was given in this scenario was the most commonly deployed design, known by the nickname of the "Dagger", the starfighter was designed to be capable of contending with starships above its own weight class, so to speak.

It was a fast and nimble fighter, with serious firepower on board. Not only did the dagger have a total of three laser repeaters attached to it, but it also made use of a plasma cannon and was outfitted with twelve antimatter missiles.

Despite the fact that the dagger was a fast and powerful starfighter, its defenses were severely lacking when compared to other starfighters employed by the empire, and its foes. In other words, it was a glass cannon. This was one of the reasons why so many starfighter pilots lost their lives in the line of duty.

However, when deployed in massive numbers, the dagger was a serious problem for the enemies of the Empire, and it was one of the reasons why, despite its lacking defenses, it was considered the primary starfighter in use by the Germanic Star-Empire.

After getting a feel for the controls, Erich launched his ship out of the carrier and entered into the simulated space. Where he and his fighter wing of simulated pilots were flying headfirst into a devouring swarm, which would not hesitate to rip them out of their spacecraft and eat them alive.

Erich could not believe his eyes when he first witnessed the Naraku Hive Fleet in person. Its ships were living biomechanical engines of destruction that were practically the size of entire planets. And the fighters which they deployed were living beings, specifically bred to survive in the vacuum of space.

When compared to the fleet of Imperial Warships, it was as if they were ants fighting against titanic monstrosities. For the first time in his life, Erich felt a true sense of fear overcome his heart as he gripped onto the joystick of his aircraft, perhaps a little too fiercely.

What kind of horrific monsters were these? And what civilization could possibly contend with such reckless evil? These were just a few of the thoughts that flooded Erich's mind as he heard the AI speak to him once more.

"Hostile targets directly in front, approximately 13,000 kilometers ahead. Prepare for combat, and good luck…"

For a split second, Erich thought he could hear a sense of pity in the otherwise robotic voice of the artificial intelligence which assisted him in flight. Staring down at what was most certainly the personification of death, Erich gulped down the saliva which was pooling in his throat, and activated his missiles, as the HUD display connected to his NeuroLink locked onto the target nearest to him.

Immediately upon entering the combat zone, the Naraku drone began to spit a corrosive acid at their imperial adversaries, as if they were Gatling guns. And while the simulated pilots of Erich's wing nimbly dodged the attacks, Erich's fighter had taken a direct hit on its left wing. No doubt due to his inexperience in piloting the spacecraft.

The acid easily ate through the energy shields, draining the power of the starfighter as Erich struggled to gain a lock onto his target. As if playing a game of chicken, Erich and the Naraku sickle continued to barrel towards one another, until finally Erich was able to get off a shot.

The anti-matter missile fired off and quickly followed after the Naraku drone, which tried to dodge out of the way. However, the missile continued to track the beast until it finally collided with its target and blew it to smithereens.

With the enemy destroyed, Erich felt an immediate sense of joy as he turned his fighter around to regroup with the rest of the wing. Still, his spacecraft's shields continued to deplete at a rapid rate because the acidic compound that had hit his fighter's left wing continued to eat away at the shield.

Fearing he would lose all power to his shields in the first exchange, Erich made a single thought within his mind, and before he knew it the energy which supplied his shields rapidly transitioned from the right side of the starfighter to the left wing to prevent the acid from eating entirely through the shields.

While Erich struggled to fight off the acid which was eating away at his shields, two men were watching his first attempt at the simulation with a curious expression on their faces. The Lieutenant in charge of the holodeck exclaimed aloud, as his superior watched by his side.

"Just how did he manage to transfer the energy of his shields to the left wing? That is not a feature of the dagger!"

The Admiral who was watching the scenario unfold with interest in his eyes, scoffed, before lecturing the lowly Lieutenant about Erich's special abilities.

"There's a reason this young man was selected to be a starfighter pilot. He has three exceptional abilities, two of which he inherited from his parents, and one which he gained from the grade S serum he was injected with at birth.

Out of his three abilities, one is quite common, the other is exceptionally rare, while the third is exclusive only to him… In fact, its existence is entirely classified, and thus I can't tell you anything about it. What I can share with you is that this young man is capable of both communicating with others via his mind, while at the same time being able to control machines with his thoughts. With these two abilities alone, he has the potential to become one of the best starfighter aces of this generation."

The Lieutenant, who was in charge of running the simulations for the academy's cadets, was stunned in to silence for several moments before he asked for confirmation of what he believed to have been a misunderstanding on his part.

"You're telling me this mutant is triple enhanced?"

The Admiral did not say a word, and just silently nodded his head, leaving the officer in complete and total shock.

While every Germanic citizen was a genetically enhanced superhuman in terms of physical and mental capabilities, only a fraction of the population had special abilities, such as telepathy. These traits were usually unlocked via the grade S gene serum, which only a minority of the population was privileged enough to receive, and there was a very low chance of that happening. However, because of this, these special abilities could be passed down to offspring, and yet this was even rarer.

Erich had not only inherited one ability from his father, and another from his mother, but he had even unlocked a third ability from the grade S serum he had taken. One which as far as the Empire was concerned exclusively belonged to him.

This meant that Erich was what many commonly referred to as "triple enhanced". In the entirety of the Empire, whose populations was in the trillions there were maybe a million men and women who could claim the same, and they usually went on to accompish extraordinary things in their lives.

Unfortunately, Erich did not live up to the hype. Even using two of his three abilities to navigate the scenario, it was still too much for him to handle. After defeating only three hostile drones, he was finally torn apart by his fourth target.

Erich could feel the razor-sharp teeth of the biomechanical lifeform tear through his fighter's cockpit and the flesh of his body, as he found himself lying on the floor of an empty warehouse while crying out in pain. For a second, he thought he had genuinely lost his life.

It took several moments for Erich to collect his thoughts, where he immediately took a look at his NeuroLink to see that his place on the leaderboard had fallen by over one hundred places. With an intense look of depression on his otherwise handsome face, he sighed heavily, before determining that he would need to spend as much time as possible in the simulations. After all, simulation scores were the number one way to rise through the rankings of the leaderboard.

With this, Erich had not only gotten his first taste of the holodeck, but also of what it was like to die in battle for the Empire. He was beginning to understand why so many men of the Empire did not fear death, because many of them had experienced it a million times before ever stepping foot on the battlefield.


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