About My Universe

Hi, my name is Dmitrii. Today I decided to tell you about the hobby I've been pursuing for almost twenty years.

Back in the 2000s I was still a child, and that's when I became seriously hooked on science fiction. Mostly it was adventure sci-fi: "The Star Kings" by Edmond Hamilton, the fiction of Poul Anderson and Harry Harrison, the books of Stanisław Lem, the worlds of the Strugatsky brothers, and many other works of the genre. But simply reading wasn't interesting enough for me, so alongside it I began building a fictional universe of my own.

At first it was very naive and simple, and in many ways it essentially copied the world of "The Star Kings", which back then, at around twelve, I truly loved. But I grew up, and my love for science fiction and for inventing my own worlds never went away. I kept coming back to this universe again and again over many years. In that time I completely reimagined it several times, and by now it bears little resemblance to that early source of inspiration. It has become far more original — and it's this world that I want to share today.

Of course, over all these twenty years I wasn't working only on this universe: I have a steady job, and there wasn't all that much time for creative work. Sometimes I abandoned the project for months, even years. But in 2020, when we were all sitting in lockdown, I came back to it again — with new enthusiasm and new energy.

The era of humanity is already over. The events unfold in another galaxy, in an age where humanity long ago ceased to be the only great power. More than ten thousand years ago there was the dawn of humanity, when it occupied most of the galaxy and possessed incomparable military and scientific might. But that is now in the distant past: the Great Ancient Empires, the human empires, perished in the fire of a terrible war, and much technology was lost.

Today, ten thousand years after the war that effectively destroyed humanity and set its development back by millennia, we face an entirely different galaxy — far more diverse and far less uniform.

Humans — once masters of the galaxy, now a numerous and extremely diverse race: they live across many powers and remain the main force behind extragalactic expansion.

During the age of the Great Ancient Empires it was humans who ruled the galaxy — but only memories remain of their former unity and might. Today humans are scattered across many states: they are the titular race of the Horde, hold important positions in the Empire of the Golden Suns, and the Infinite Alliance was originally created by humans in the first place. That said, many have reshaped their minds and bodies so heavily that these Novolyudi can hardly be called human in the old sense.

If human societies had to be described in a single phrase, it would be extreme diversity. Humans live in almost every corner of the galaxy and remain the main driving force behind extragalactic expansion: the Horde's project "Distant Shores 2" is devoted to colonizing distant galaxies and building outposts beyond its edge.

And although the era of humanity is long past, in the eyes of many humans still remain a potential threat: many fear that something like the Great Ancient Empires might one day be recreated. Few besides humans themselves would wish to see it return.

Kiorns — warlike bird-like beings with a culture of duels and honor combat; at the same time advanced scientists whose internal feuds are sometimes fiercer than their wars with outsiders.

Agatylais — a race close to humans with sharp sexual dimorphism: the women are almost indistinguishable from humans, while the men stand out with a large nose and heavy brow ridges. For a long time they were subordinate to more powerful races, but now they are trying to claim their own place under the galaxy's sun.

Marihays — widespread humanoids for whom the meaning of life lies in conspicuous consumption and the pursuit of money. Wealthy thanks to technology, numerous and arrogant, they consider themselves champions of freedom — yet fail to notice that their institutions of power have long been controlled by banks and corporations, and that the electoral system they take pride in brings to power only those who can secure greater profit for this race's real masters.

Emans — a race close to the Zhaks and fairly widespread: mid-height humanoids (about 170 cm) with a tail and a venomous spine on it. Pragmatic, excellent soldiers, and fanatically devoted to the society they live in. Like the Agatylais, they spent many years as a slave race and will do anything never to return to it. For them the end always justifies the means, and alliances with other races and states are merely a temporary measure on the path to dominance.

The Surditar Dynasty — an ancient warlike race of rulers from the south of the galaxy. They are few, but with an iron hand they hold their satrapies and vassal worlds under the cult of the supreme ruler Shyytar: practical, warlike, and infamous for their cruelty.

The Furdan Dynasty — those mistaken for good-natured fat folk. In truth they are calculating and vindictive masters of genetic engineering: they breed slave races and wage long wars of "softening up," where control over a society is taken gradually rather than through military campaigns.

The Empire of the Golden Suns — a large and still formidable power, even if technologically behind its neighbors; it embodies the splendor and inertia of the old imperial tradition. The empire is governed by three races: the emperor is elected in turn from humans, lion-like Baarni, and humanoid Binkrissy.

The Star Wanderers — began as an ideology in another galaxy; they sought to unite all races into a single society under the Supreme Council and to build a society of universal well-being and equality. But it all fell apart after a civil war, where supporters of maximal technological development and supporters of biotechnology and life in harmony with nature clashed in a terrible war. Now their society is trying to recover.

The Galactic Union of Races (GUR) — a conglomerate of many peoples gathered into a single supra-racial state. A society where its best members can become immortal by transferring their consciousness into a network of interconnected constructs.

Besides drawings and texts about races, states, and historical events, I also released a short visual novel of a few hours, which came out on Steam. A year ago it became a kind of important milestone for me, because it was the first relatively complete and public embodiment of my universe.

Like many visual novels, it didn't win much popularity. Naturally, the development costs weren't recouped, but the costs themselves were relatively small: essentially they were the expenses for an editor and a translator, while everything else I did myself. The novel was made over a few months in my free time, and on the whole I'm happy with the result — for someone who had never developed games before, it was a genuinely interesting experience.