7th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls fourteen million systems, 71,083 AD
Establishment of the class of Hyperlords, 6654 Dashian Dynasty replaces Som Dynasty, administrative coup, 6987
8th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls eighteen million systems, 72,140 AD
Composer Aiasin, 7028 Emperor Kassam-the-Farsighted, 7763-7775 Runs affairs by Mysteries of the Navigators Empire strengthens Ragmuk in preparation for war, 7770 Wars Across the Marche begin, 7774 Battle of Thirty Suns, 7775 Execution of Kassam’s confidant Cundy Munn Execution of Emperor Kassam Admiralty has mystical Navigators tortured, 7776 Treaty of Sanahadra with 1000 Suns of Helmar Rift ends Wars Across the Marche, 7981 GE Oversee founded to pursue hostility to Empire by covert means.
Count Ism Notkin rules on Treaty of Sanahadra, 7992
9th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls twenty-one million systems, 73,197 AD
Beginning of Time of Troubles: Oversee works from hidden bases
Stars&Ship Navy becomes supreme arm of Emperor Emperor Krang-the-Blind, 8025-8036 Emperor Takeia the Happy, 8625-8653, orgies, deposed by Navy
10th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls twenty-four million systems, 74,254 AD
Emperor Stanis-the-Careful, 9103-9110, deposed by Navy
Emperor Ammenetik-the-Great, 9456-9504 End of Time of Troubles Helmarian Oversee survives in hiding Emperor Maximoy the Polite, 9700-9725 tradition of the Valodian Lament
Pax Imperialis; 9892
Splendid Wisdom declares suzerainty over Galaxy complete
11th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls twenty-five million systems, 75,311 AD
Emperor Hagwith-the-Ingenious, 10,232-10,268 invents robot Danny-Boy
12th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom consolidates power, 76,368 AD
Emperor Manwell-the-Bloody, 11,134-11,144
Emperor Zankatal-the-Pious, “the Noose,” 11,907-11,925
Emperor Sarin-the-Gross, assassinated by bodyguards, 11,926-11,931
Stannelle-the-Peaceful, assassinated by bodyguards, 11,985-12,010
Founder bom on Licon in Nora’s Toes, 11,988
Future Emperor Cleopon-the-First bom, 11,988
13th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom cultural and organizational decline, 77,425 AD
Emperor Cleopon-the-First, 12,010, assassinated 12,052. benefactor of psychohistorical research
Emperor Agile-the-Quintessence, 12,052-12,066 impotent tool of feuding clans
Founder gives 8th Speech to Group of Forty-six, 12,061 plots Faraway project
Emperor Dalubbar-the-Pliant, 12,066-12,100 coronation when four years old, tool of deceptive advisors
Fellowship set up on Faraway, 12,068; 0 FE
Founder dies, 12,069; 1 FE
Precinct of Nacreome revolts successfully on Periphery, 12,116
beginning of Interregnum collapse First Psychohistorical Crisis, 12,118; 50 FK Faraway balances local power vacuum Second Psychohistorical Crisis, 12,148; 80 FE
Ambitions of local warlords constrained by religion based on technical magic
Oversee takes on hidden task of protecting the Thousand Suns, 12,170
Regent of Emperor Tien-the-Young seizes power through boy, 12,216
Viceroy Wisard of distant Sewinna plots usurpation of throne, 12,217
Loyalist local rebellion against Wisard, 12,219
Tien crushes Wisard and revenges himself cruelly on Sewinnese.
Massacre of Sewinnese by new Admiral-Viceroy Tien-the-Young, his Regent, advisors, and concubines assassinated, 12,222
Exiled father of Cleopon II seizes throne, 12,222-12,238
Third Psychohistorical Crisis, 12,223; 155 FE Religion vs Trade; Merchant Princes of Faraway dominate
Faraway begins economic conquests independent of religious power.
Splendid Wisdom accepts with relief strong Emperor Cleopon II, 12,238
Fourth Psychohistorical Crisis, 12,263; 195 FE
War organized by banished general against Faraway Successful general recalled to Splendid Wisdom and executed by Cleopon-the-Second, 12,264 Revolt against Firm hand of Cleopon II; he is murdered, 12,278
General time of troubles and retreat for Splendid Wisdom
Sack of Splendid Wisdom, Cainali Invasions begin, 12,338 Era of warlords Cloun-the-Stubbom bom, 12,351
Tuned-probes built by Helmarians for Lakgan pleasure houses, 12,370
Cloun begins rise to power within Lakgan, using probe, 12,371 Technique not covered by psychohistorical parameters
Cloun takes over Lakgan as First Citizen by mental coercion, 12,378
Fifth Psychohistorical Crisis, 12,379; 311 FE Civil War between Faraway and Traders, mispredicted
Cloun Conquers Faraway
Emergency action by Pscholars restabilizes Founder’s Plan, 12,383; 315 FE
Cloun dies, last years as enlightened despot, 12,388
Faraway breaks Lakgan rule, reestablishes economic sphere, 12,389
The Pscholars, having revealed themselves to Faraway during the Cloun crisis, make long range plans to go into hiding by pretending they have been destroyed, sacrificing 50 martyrs, 12,419-12,446; 351-378 FE
Pscholars provoke a six month Lakgan and Faraway war, which they know Faraway will win, to restore Faraway confidence in their destiny, 12,445; 377 FE “Violence is the last refuge of the competent”
Tamic Smythos and forty-nine others are captured at the end Lakganian War to deceive their Faraway hosts into believing that the capture of fifty psychohistorians based on Faraway is a clean sweep. Exiled to barren Zural, 12,446; 378 FE
Tamic Smythos is smuggled off Zural by corrupt Chancellor Linus, 12,454
Period of Coalescence, 12,820-13,000
Slow but general acceptance of quantronic familiar
14th Millennium GE:
Second Empire comprises twenty million systems, 78,482 AD
Formal establishment of Second Empire, Pax Pschol-aris, 13,157; 1089 FE Rebuilding of Splendid Wisdom begun Pscholars induce power shift from the Periphery back to galactic core
15th Millennium GE: Splendid Wisdom controls twenty-eight million systems, 79,539 AD Kargin Linmax bom, 14,650 Jars Hanis bom, 14,703 Hahukum Kon bom, 14,707 Kikaju Jama bom, 14,726 Rigone bom, 14,762
Nejirt Kambu and Hiranimus Scogil bom, 14,765 Eron Osa bom, 14,778 GE, watch 328, hour 7; 80,362 AD, 3rd februan, 2nd hour
Frightfulperson Otaria of the Calmer Sea bom, 14,784 Petunia Scogil bom, 14,797
Story begins 14,790 GE; 80,374 AD; 2722 FE
Appendix
C
ANCIENT RITHIAN MEASURES
From the Cathusian Excalifate’s Compendium of Ancient Metric Documents:
Surviving Fragment of an Article on Ancient Metrics by Donald Kingsbury, (probably written before the Great Die-off).
[Basic Instrument:]
...commonly acknowledged that we use the time-reckoning devised by ancient astronomers of the Mediterranean. But few of us are aware that the foundation of the linear measures and weights that drove this ancient economy also rests upon that same time framework, the length of the pendulum that completes a full cycle in one sidereal-second, moving to-and-fro 86,400 times while the stars rotate back to the same position in the sky that they held the previous evening.
The ancients might have developed an escapement to keep their pendulums powered but we can’t make such an assumption without evidence—however, it is plausible that the priestly team which counted swings either by tossing pebbles in a pot or by flipping beads on an abacus could also be imposed upon to man a small bellows. Puffing at the bob would not compromise the timekeeping as long as the swing angle of the pendulum was controlled.
The one second pendulum is not of constant length, primarily because our planet is a flattened sphere and gravity becomes stronger as we move toward the poles. Pendulum length decreases as the latitude decreases from pole to equator, decreases with increasing altitude, decreases as the swing angle increases, and will depend upon how much air and rock lies below the pendulum. We can expect a normal value well inside the range 0.246 to 0.248 meters. In spite of its variability, the length of the pendulum was the most stable of the lengths available to the ancient geometers.