The Flames of Destruction

This page last updated Tue Jun 10 11:45:28 EDT 2003 .

This is basically a compilation of everything I think I know about the "Flames of Destruction."

Ardenti

The Ardenti (My name for them; we don't know their own name for themselves.) are an old and powerful alien race. The creature which has been known to manifest itself as the Great Omphalos Dust Worm is of this race. Omphalos described the Flames as the "great tragedy of my people" and also as "a sentience-destroying wave that sweeps back and forth across the universe." There was an implication that the Ardenti may have (possibly inadvertantly) created the flames.

Omphalos described himself as the force which "created, protects, and attempts to destroy" the Hegemon. (He also said he was mad, and that his madness stemmed from having attacked the Strategos at Sparta. Evidence from the base on Sparta suggests that the encounter might well have driven the Strategos mad too, if he wasn't already.)

The Ardenti have the ability to shield themselves and others from the Flames.

Omphalos said that the Hegemony was founded to focus the power of humanity into three bloodlines to shield humanity from the Flames. Three bloodlines were needed because "a single human soul cannot contain the power necessary, though it can contain one third of it. But a single human soul could never generate that much power in its lifetime." The implication was that the Hegemony and the bloodlines were enginerred by the Ardenti.

Based on my reading of Dr Kandemeer's research, I believe the Tarn Alliance was composed of the humans, the Deciders, and the Ardenti.

The Ardenti are most likely the beings referred to in the puritan Book of the Hegemon as "angels."

The Ardenti are almost certainly the "Other" of Golden Ascension lore as well.

2779.243 - After giving this some thought, I've got some more theories about the Ardenti and the flames.

2779.279 - Vissarion referred to them as "Old Ones."

Brohcoah

Commander Branch and the Brohcoah we spoke with did not seem to know about the Flames. We do not currently know how old Brohcoah civilization is.

2779.273 - The contract embodied in the complete Brohcoahan heartwood [see log] speaks of protecting the Brohcoah from "sentient dissolution."

Deciders

The Deciders have a memory of the last (most recent) passage of the Flames ("the Destruction"). According to the Deciders, the last time this occured was "well over a thousand years ago." When it happened the humans were protected ("resisted"), so they assume that we will be again. The Deciders do not know how the humans were protected the last time.

The Deciders have their own method of resisting the Destruction, but due to previous Decisions which may no longer be undone (that is, due to the loss of certain types of psionic ability from their gene pool due to wars), they lack enough Focus to form a stable gathering over the psionic noise generated by the humans in the dust nebula.

The Ardenti on the Deciders: They are another sentience which deserved its chance to live. When the end of the Alliance came and my kind left, it became clear that you could not easily co-exist, so we separated you.

the Hive

The Hive has been around since before the last passage of the flames. There were more than one hive queen before the last flames, most of them died in the flames. This one only managed to survive by pulling pretty much all the way into the 4th dimension and hiding there, where there was damage but not total destruction, but doesn't expect the same trick to work again, because still too damamged. [Note: I can't be 100% sure of this since I wasn't in the run, this information didn't make the logs, and Sook still hasn't verified it for me.]

The Hive has observed the following about the Flames:

Humanity

The current method by which humanity is meant to shield itself from the Flames appears to involve the three engineered bloodlines doing some sort of psionic gatehring to shield humanity and many other races from the Flames. It appears to require at least two other objects, on of which can be the psi-amplifer quarry on Gateway.

The visions from the device at the North Pole of Juice imply that this method has never been used before, and that it can shield all the other races, except possibly the Deciders. (The visions are decidedly ambiguous on this point.)

2779.279 - According to Vissarion, the hegemonic shield was meant to be something we could do ourselves without help. Also according to Vissarion, it wasn't really designed with the Outworlds in mind.

The Terrans

Apparently, they have their own way of saving themselves from the flames, since they are outside the Linked Worlds, and since they seem to be trying to prevent the linked worlds from protecting themselves.

Tinoori

Tinoori civilization goes back at least 3200 years, which would definitely predate both the arrival of humans in the linked worlds and the last passage of the Flames. Ergo, somehow they were protected the last time. The most likely candidate for this would be the Ardenti.

Night Blooming Wisteria and Moment Before Dawn suspect that the Flames are not known as the Great Destroying Thing That Was Narrowly Averted And Will Return, because if that was known, the Tinoori would probably have considered it important enough for all of them to know about. But it is certainly plausible that if they were perceivable in some fashion, those who considered history important would know of them.

Vertak

The Vertak don't have memory of the flames. Mr V'Dalari is uncertain whether that means that the flames went around them, or if they don't affect the Vertak. Vertak history goes back "longer than the most recent flames."


Questions

Things I sill wonder about the flames...


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