5/9/2069
This day, a spear of light would pierce the darkness shrouding the outside world from the oppressed subjects of the Supreme Authority. The day began as normal, in most places with piercing sirens at 0600 hours. At 1218 hours, a hacktivist group calling themselves the "Nightingales" succeeded in penetrating the ultra-secure SA intranet and accessing the emergency public address subsystem. Although the Unconventional Division would quickly shut down the connection, nearly 57 seconds of their initial message was beamed to nearly every civilian hologram projector and info display in the entire SA, in the SA's own civilian language.
Despite the SA's infamous stranglehold on information and free speech, at least some SA subjects had previous experience with 'enemy' propaganda. Especially those near the border, who would occasionally hear a snippet of a Radio Free SA, TRB, or some other propaganda broadcast before it was quickly squelched by Morale Monitor jammers. Or stumble on the occasional leaflet airdropped by drone, balloon, or even rocket, promising 'fr**d*m', 'l*b*rty', 'd*m*cr*cy', or some combination of the above. Or a fragment of foreign literature smuggled into the SA by the suicidally brave (nearly always with no living relatives subject to retribution). But such 'discoveries' were quickly suppressed. Exposed subjects knew in no uncertain terms to keep the messages to themselves. If such information was particularly well-known or seditious (such as a Bible), local police or Morale Monitors may even conduct a localized purge.
But today's revelations were of an entire new order. In an instant, over 80% of the Supreme Authority civilian population became aware of some of the nation's deepest, darkest secrets. Everything from the brutal realities of SA pediatric military training to the inhuman treatment of SA's lowest slaves. But even this paled in comparison to the revelation of the Council. The faceless, all-knowing, all-powerful Overseer was unmasked as a cartel of twelve tyrants, too cowardly to leave their underground bunker.
Of the Nightingales, little was known. Outside researchers believed that the group was linked to Skyhooked, possibly even based in the semi-anarchic commonwealth. Volkmacht and Arctica-Aleutia were also suspected of providing covert assistance to the Nightingales, though no such link could be proven. But infosec researchers within and without the Supreme Authority agreed on one fact: the hack would have not have been possible without exploiting a backdoor, most likely set up from the inside.
5/10/2069
Industrial production was at its lowest level in fifteen years, even when compared to the Mitteleuropean invasion of 2061. That morning, some subjects simply refused to report to their assignments. The Overseer, the object of their tireless loyalty, service and worship, had been revealed as a fraud. A much higher than usual number of summary executions quickly remedied the sudden truancy, yet many subjects now lacked any motivation beyond fear. Doubts even began to grow in many of the guards. If they were not serving the Overseer, who did they serve? This man named 'O-1', the Supreme Authority, or themselves?
8/16/2069
The past three months had been trying for the Supreme Authority. Though the Council had been able to largely restore order and productivity was trending up, the entire nation remained on edge. Without the Overseer persona, O-1 through O-12 were forced to rule openly. Knowing that the SA system of government depended on a central governing figure, SA's propaganda machine and Morale Monitors had scrambled to instill unconditional obedience to O-1. Needless to say, the rest of the Council were less than pleased with this arrangement.
But today would be a landmark in the history of the Supreme Authority. On this day, Factory Master F017F74D, head of Production Complex Beta-D-21, declared her independence from the Council, beginning by personally shooting and killing her Council-appointed minder. She was in as good a position as feasible for such a move; her factory was one of the SA's main Food production centers. Despite the unpalatable product, F01 had earned a reputation as a relatively even-handed official and an adept administrator, able to maintain consistently high production with far fewer torture sessions and executions than most of her peers. Given Beta-D-21's location near the SA border, the necessity of Food, and her sterling reputation, she had been entrusted with a larger-than-usual defense contingent. In addition, the complex spanned hundreds of square kilometers of megafactories, farms, and smaller structures. It was also heavily fortified against outside attack.
Her declaration was largely welcomed throughout the complex. Especially by the slaves, whom she freed at once. Most of her military personnel pledged their support, with those few who remained loyal to the Council expediently dealt with. After ordering Beta-D-21's anti-missile and anti-air defenses to high alert, she sent a public message to the Council, demanding concessions to civil rights in exchange for continued Food supply. The remainder of the SA reacted with substantial concern.
8/17/2069-8/25/2069
Despite O-3's pleading with O-1 to be allowed diplomacy, O-1 chose to place O-5 in charge of the operation to retake Beta-D-21. As expected, he reacted with considerable force. After all, Supreme Authority had several years’ worth of Food in its reserves, plenty of time to ramp up capacity in other Food factories. Airstrikes pounded the outskirts of Beta-D-21, although the factory's anti-air defenses were able to keep them at bay from the main facilities. Meanwhile, several armored divisions were ordered to Beta-D-21, along with substantial artillery, several regiments of infantry, and four Slayer squads. When F017F74D learned of this, she attempted to request outside assistance from any foreign power she could contact. But the SA had anticipated this, with precision airstrikes against Beta-D-21's communications facilities and broad-spectrum jamming of any radios that remained, along with its complete disconnection from the SA's computer networks and satellites.
After two days, the loyalist contingent had massed near Beta-D-21. Artillery rained down day and night for days, until most of Beta-D-21's static defenses and anti-air batteries were reduced to rubble. O-5 then ordered an invasion in force. Despite the valiant efforts of Beta-D-21's security and defense forces, the factory would fall in under two hours. Making matters even worse, the loyalists had taken higher than expected casualties. The rebels had also managed to sabotage what was left of Beta-D-21's major infrastructure and production equipment, rendering the entire complex virtually impossible to repair. In addition, the Council was forced to withdraw many of its forces from foreign bases around the world, to be available for pacification of the homeland.
As for F017F74D, when the Slayers broke into her office (now transformed into an ersatz bunker), they discovered her dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, most likely to avoid the Abyss. They immediately threw her remains into one of the few intact Food production vats to be digested, and abducted the next female subject they encountered, who would be passed off as F01 in the Abyss.
12/4/2069
Factory Master D74653DA, commanding official of the weapons factory Epsilon-A-57, was pacing nervously in his study. He had just received news that his friend and fellow Factory Master A2F4AD94 had been killed in the most recent purge. Ever since F01's abortive attempt at rebellion, all of Supreme Authority's Factory Masters found themselves under substantial scrutiny, even more so than the usual surveillance endemic to the totalitarian dictatorship. D74 knew that with A2F's death, he would find himself on an even tighter leash and under a more powerful microscope than ever. And he knew that somebody, be it the Morale Monitors, the Unconventional Division, or even the Castigators, would undoubtedly find something or other that would seal his fate. He had to act. Reaching through the various secret, unofficial channels known only to high Supreme Authority officials, D74 notified as many Factory Masters as he could trust (a number countable on one hand) to "prepare for trouble, possible tr**s*n or r*b*ll**n."
Many Factory Masters indeed began to marshal their forces during the months to come. Ostensibly to "crush fr**d*m" and "root out s*d*t**n and tr**s*n", but also to save their own skins should the grip of SA's iron fist further slip. As for D74, he was found dead two weeks later, crushed by a bookcase in a freak accident.
2/12/2070
O-1 and O-8 knew that they could not continue purging high Supreme Authority individuals indefinitely. It was a well-known fact among the Council that the most skilled and productive subjects often tended to be the most independent. Up until now, loyalty and fear had served to maintain the regime's hold on even those citizens most endowed with initiative. But the Council's revelation had severely shaken the first of those two pillars. The purges of the last several months had kept the rest in line by fear thus far, and none had attempted treason even remotely comparable to F017F74D. Unfortunately, the purges were beginning to unacceptably impair the available qualified manpower for high-level official positions. After much thought, O-1 decided to send O-12 to tour the most vital SA factories and meet with several Factory Masters. He hoped that a Council member's appearance in the flesh would serve as a living reminder of the Council's rightful rule over all of Supreme Authority and its subjects.
But this was to possibly prove the worst decision of O-1's career.
2/20/2070
O-12 began his tour at Epsilon-A-57. During the past two months, the new Factory Master, AE951C7E, had transformed Epsilon-A-57 into a model of Supreme Authority efficiency and oppression, which would have rivaled even the crown jewels of yesteryear. O-1 had chosen this site deliberately, in hopes that O-12 would have a positive example to share with the other Factory Masters he would meet with during the next two weeks. He was also most confident of O-12's safety in Epsilon-A-57, especially after last December's purge at that facility.
Later that afternoon, after his meeting with AE951C7E, O-12 stepped out wearing his pristine blue jumpsuit onto a balcony overlooking Epsilon-A-57's largest parade ground, to the cheers of the assembled subjects. He was flanked by four Slayers from the Alpha-1/Overseer's Shadow Chapter. But soon after he began his speech, the event took on an entirely different character.
A loud bang echoed throughout the parade ground, from stolen explosives concealed under the balcony. O-12 and his guards fell nearly twenty meters. O-12 was knocked unconscious. However, the unfazed Slayers stood up and unloaded their Impalers into the crowd on full auto, mercilessly cutting down hundreds of men, women, and children in the space of seconds. But this was not the only portion of the conspirators' plan. From nowhere, a makeshift-armored mixing truck plowed onto the parade ground at top speed, spewing quick-dry concrete at the Slayers. It was quickly destroyed, but not before the Slayers were covered in thick layers of rapidly setting industrial concrete. Even their gene-enhanced strength and power armor proved insufficient, and the Slayers were rendered completely helpless.
By now, the survivors of the Slayers' massacre had been joined by hordes of angry subjects. The rampaging mob quickly turned on the immobilized Slayers, prying off their armor with power tools and improvised weapons, and beating to death the superhumans inside. O-12 was soon pulled out the wreckage and immediately dismembered. His head and torso were then dragged through the streets.
As for the guards, police, Morale Monitors, and other law enforcement, many of them had already begun to seriously question the Council's rule for some time. O-12's death was the last straw; indisputable proof, right before their eyes, that the O's could bleed and die like any other mortal man or woman. Many of the guards even joined the mob. Those few who attempted to uphold the Council's rule fared quite poorly in the rapidly spreading riot.
2/21/2070
O-1 was simultaneously crushed and indescribably angered at the news of O-12's ignominious death. After screaming invectives and profanities for a rather undignified period of time, he ordered the latest rebellion crushed with maximum force. But after the napalm-bearing bombers were in the air, he began to receive reports of other rebellions breaking out throughout the SA. After briefly conferring with the remainder of the Council, he came to the conclusion that he could only hope to restore SA to its former tyrannical glory with a clear, graphic and vulgar act of absolute power.
O-1 ordered a tactical nuclear strike.
But during the few minutes between the missile's launch and imminent impact, he realized that the strike would also force those civilian officials and military officers on the fence of loyalty to pick a side. Though he suspected and hoped that most would choose to remain loyal (for survival if no other cause), he knew that the nuclear blast could reveal traitors within the SA military as well. Therefore, he reluctantly ordered O-2 to send a telegram to the Iron Alliance.
- Code: Select all
URGENT
From: O-1, Overseer of Supreme Authority
To: The Iron Alliance
Encryption: high
Honored Alliance,
I salute your many contributions to multiversal oppression and tyranny during the past years, and am always heartened that there are other noble dictators who stand firm against the darkness of fr**d*m and d*m*cr*cy. But of late, I find myself in need of assistance. An*rch*c rebels have unfortunately grown in number and threat. Due to foreign meddling by the filthy d*m*cr*cies, I am unable to place my full trust in my armed forces. Therefore, I am hereby requesting any governmental or military assistance you may be willing to provide, to fortify the Supreme Authority until such time as our full power may be restored.
We are unyielding! We are unbreakable! We are IRON!
In tyranny,
O-1
