In the now-legendary days of the mid-1990s, a trio of enthusiastic
young comic book artists banded together to form a creative alliance
the likes of which had not been seen before or since. The young
artists were named Bruce Lewis, Tim Eldred, and John Ott. Their
alliance was called Studio Go, and they were delighted to spend
two years and a few months of their lives bringing you the Star
Blazers comic book series from Argo Press, a division of Voyager
Entertainment, Inc. This series was long overdue, graciously received
by Star Blazers fans, and thoroughly enjoyed until it finally succumbed
to the fickle whims of the American comic book market and could
no longer be profitably published. We all mourn its loss, but now
it belongs to the ages.
Anyway, this article and those that will follow over the next few
months aren't about the comic book or the trio that produced
it. Instead, it's a look at one of the more interesting side-effects
of this venture. Because the Star Blazers comic book series
consisted of both adapted stories and original stories, it was
decided that a detailed and integrated history should be written
that would take into account all the places, people, and major
events that culminate in the Star Blazers saga.
The history was written by Bruce Lewis and a circle of fans called "The
Iscandar Project," all of whom had a love for Star Blazers
matched only by their love of exploring a good story. Their work,
which will take several installments to present in full, was
an attempt to create a history for Star Blazers rather than Space
Battleship Yamato, and this gave everyone a freedom of expression
they might not have otherwise enjoyed. As you will see, this lead
to some fascinating concepts. So without further ado,
BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO:
A non-human intelligence evolved on a distant world. In time, this
Elder Race devised the means to manipulate matter at its most basic
scale, that of pure spirit, and rebuilt its homeworld
(called Akwaar) into a travelling worldship in order to search
the Universe for other intelligent life.
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Desraa
and Iscandaa
|
These beings entered our local group of galaxies and began to spread
throughout the milky way and its satellites. Twin worldships were
created and moved into orbit around the star Sanzar to serve as
a new home for the Elder Race: Iscandaa, a world of light and life
intended as a place of celebration and joy, and Desraa, a stark
planet of groundquakes and emptiness intended as a place of solitary
contemplation and purgatory. Equal and opposite, these two artificial
planets were placed into orbit around each other as a titanic symbol
of the Elder Race and its dedication to the principle of Balance
in the Universe.
Exploration groups were established on seven additional worldships,
including the flagship Akwaar, and an intensive search for life
in the local group of galaxies began.
4 BILLION YEARS AGO
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Akwaar
|
The worldship Akwaar discovered a cooling planet near a G-type
yellow star on the Galactic Rim. Noting conditions there, the
decision was made to "seed" the planet in hopes of
bringing forth a new species of life there. Complex molecules
were introduced
to the primordial seas of this new world. The life that evolved
from them would carry the spiritual essence of the Elder Race
within itself. The new race would eventually become the human
race, and
they would call the planet Earth.
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO
During the intervening centuries, life of Earth evolved (with
help from the Elder Race) into the first human species. Meanwhile,
the
Elder Race evolved past the need for matter and into pure Spirit
itself, incorporating its collective consciousness into the essence
of each of the worldships, leaving behind their advanced technology
in subsurface caverns. Each guarded by its own Spirit, the worldships
were parked into orbits around sun-like stars in preparation
for the next phase of the Elder Race's plan.
The Elder Race that became the Spirit of Akwaar decided that
the new human race was its fitting spiritual heir and decided
to spread
humanity throughout space. To this end, human colonies were planted
on each of the eight remaining worldships, which became known
as "daughter
worlds." These colonies in time grew into the Eight Daughter
Races of the Universe: the Iscandaa, the Telezaa, the Galman, the
Bolaa, the Shalbaa, the Bimeraa, the Lugaru, and the Deziliaa.
The Ninth Race, the Aquariaa, was the Human Race itself, which
was left on its world of origin. Akwaar was placed into a hyperdimensional "orbit" that
would take it into and out of the Universe once every 10,000
years.
10,000 YEARS AGO
The Daughter Races across the galaxy grew and progressed. The
first race to achieve starflight was the Iscandaa, who now called
themselves
the Iscandarians. The Iscandarians created a "spiritual science" based
on both physical research and the principle of "love for
all life." Based on ancient legends of an advanced "elder
race," they conducted research into the nature of physical
reality. This research lead to the discovery of Wave-Motion physics,
and of a Warp engine based around the element Iscandarium, of
which their planet was in large part composed. Using the Wave-Motion
engine, the Iscandarians sent out great ships of crystal and
copper
and explored the galaxies, eventually visiting each of the Daughter
Worlds in turn and exchanging people and knowledge with them.
Using Wave-Motion technology, Iscandar was remade into a paradise
world.
The other Daughter Races soon began their own progrms of exploration
and colonization.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the blue-skinned Denguil Empire arose in
Mesopotamia. This was a time of extreme drought, and the Denguils
developed
an aggressive warrior culture in order to survive. Their "Sky
God" religion centered on prayers for life-giving rain. At
this time, the worldship Akwaar reappeared in Earth's skies,
and this time the Spirit of Aquarius decided to improve humanity
by subjecting it to a severe test. Akwaar was moved near to Earth,
and resulting floods were interpreted by the superstitious Denguil
as punishment for impiety.
By coincidence, a spacecraft from Lugaru (now known as Lugal) was
investigating the Solar System when this occurred. Tutored by the
altruistic Iscandarians, the soft-hearted Lugal accepted the entire
Denguil population as refugees and saved them from the flood. Akwaar
(now known as Aquarius, or the Water-Bearer) disappeared, leaving
the rest of Earthbound humanity to survive the disaster as best
it could. A few tribes did, and the experience lead to the familiar
Flood story in ancient legends. Humanity had passed its first test.
5,000 YEARS AGO
The population of Denguil within the Lugal Empire continued to
grow. The aggressive, territorial Denguil adopted the technology
of their savior race and used it to create their own sphere of
power. Finally, civil war broke out as the Dezahl Dynasty of Lugal
was overthrown by the Denguil warlord Uruku. Uruku crowned himself
as Lugal Dezahl I and established a new Denguil Empire.
Over the next few centuries, the new, aggressive philosophy of
Denguil came into conflict with the peace-loving ideals of Iscandarian
culture. Soon, battle-lines were drawn. Forming the so-called "Yang
Alliance" on the side of Denguil were the Bolaa (now called
the Bolar) and Deziliaa (Dezarium) Empires. Forming the equal and
opposite "Yin Federation" on the side of Iscandar
were the Telezaa (now called Telezart) and Shalbaa (Shalbart)
Empires.
The agricultural Galmans and insectoid Bimerans (or Bee People)
remained neutral as a 20-year Galactic Civil War began. The hive-dwelling
Bimerans established a haven on a little-known planet between
galaxies. The Galman Exodus fled from Dezarium genocide to establish
a new
home on Iscandar.
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Bolaa
|
The destruction was immense, but eventually the war ended. The
Yin Federation managed to beat back the Yang Alliance, reducing
the Denguil to a primitive existance on Lugal itself. The Bolar
were simply forced to retreat to a solar system in the Galactic
Core region, although their original homeworld was lost. The
Dezarians, who had attempted to exterminate the "inferior" Galmans
during the war, were sentenced to banishment, their homeworld warp-shifted
into an empty, neighboring universe called the "Galaxy of
Light." Guarded by a huge, gaseous nebula, the interdimensional
pathway between our universe and the lonely Dezarians' remained
an impassible barrier for five millennia.
In the years after the war, the "Inward Turning" began.
Sickened by the killing and cruelty which they had practiced during
the war, the victorious Yin civilizations based on Iscandarian
culture withdrew from galactic civilization and concentrated on
spritual cleansing. The many colony worlds established by them
drifted away from their motherworlds and began to forget their
origins. Spaceflight fell into disuse as the Iscandarians and their
allies began to explore "inner space." An exception
to this rule was the Galman colony on Iscandar. The vigorous, agrarian
Galmans, disgusted by what they saw as a cowardly retreat from
reality on the part of Iscandarian culture, seceded from Iscandar
and established their own unique civilization on Iscandar's
twin planet Desraa, renaming it New Galman.
4,000 YEARS AGO: THE GALACTIC DARK AGE
The final phase of the Iscandarian "Inward Turning" began
as the inhabitants of that world destroyed their spacecraft and
became a race of pastoral philosophers and craftsmen. Cut off
from trade with Iscandar, the colony on New Galman was forced
to adopt
harsh measures in order to survive on their unstable planet.
Gang warfare broke out as groups competed for scarce water and
other
resources. A centuries-long period of warfare began as the gangs
became tribes. Over time, the Galmans forgot their galactic origins
and came to call themselves by a new name: the Gamilons.
The Shalbart Empire collapsed as the Wars of Succession splintered
the realm. Soon, the colony worlds were left on their own. By
the time the house of Guardiana established the Mariposa Throne
on
their homeworld, Shalbart civilization had been reduced to Bronze
Age levels. As sole possessors of the Scrolls of the Ancients,
the Royal Family began a program of selective breeding and spiritual
discipline that, in time, lead to the flowering of their immense
psychic powers. The colony worlds were left to make it on their
own. Eventually, memories of the Shalbart and their power coalesced
into legends of godlike royalty with weapons and tools beyond
human comprehension. These legends became a religion known as
Guardianity,
based on the worship of the Goddess, "Queen Guardiana."
The Telezart retained a small local presence in their solar system,
with some space travel and a leisure-based civilization based on
antimatter-powered technology, but were gradually reduced to a
pre-industrial existence.
On Earth, recorded history began.
CONTINUED...
