Hope and Fire
As introduced in Cruel Dusk: Sun Maker Book Four
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Listen to us, Temperance and his Empire. Hear us well. We are exhausted. We are weary. We are wrathful. You have ignored us for far too long. No longer.
From this moment on, my name is Animus. That is all you need to know. You knew me once. No longer.
I am the leader of the Execrate, and our purpose is to destroy the one who calls himself Temperance.
No longer will we attempt at establishing peaceful relations with the Empire’s current government. For this reason, we voice our dissent in the Month of War.
Out of this wrath of dissent and the desire to destroy the greatest oppressor of our time, the following manifesto will be made known to the Universe.
Temperance, or he who calls himself Temperance, has ruled for nearly a hundred thousand years.
He has cultivated an autocratic theocracy around himself, claiming that he is a god-emperor. He is wrong.
The Execrate hold that the power of Temperance does not entitle one to force the entire Universe to bow and worship one as a god.
Those who have refused to worship Temperance have been systematically destroyed. The Execrate holds that this is wrong.
The autocratic theocracy currently in power on the planet Gene has claimed that Temperance has created an Empire without inequality and poor. The Execrate holds that this is a lie created to perpetuate Temperance’s rule.
At least twenty percent of the Empire’s citizens across hundreds of worlds are impoverished. The mortality rate has spiked in recent years. The wealthy remain wealthy as the poor are forgotten.
My sources come from the Worlds themselves, not from Gene. The statistics are not what Temperance and his ilk would have you know.
All communication between the Worlds of the Empire must pass through Gene. Those who have attempted to bypass Gene’s strict communication laws have been systematically destroyed. The Execrate holds that this is wrong.
Temperance claims to respect free will and agency of human beings, and yet the heavy control he has upon our people crushes the weakest of us.
Temperance cannot claim godship if there are those under his rule who do not find his laws and practices fair for all. The laws of Temperance suit only the privileged and wealthy.
The kings and queens who rule the Worlds support Temperance because of their high stations, which are passed down to blood-heirs, creating dynasties of excessive wealth.
There is a galactic difference between the rulers of the Worlds and the commoner who must carry the weight that those in power place on them against their will. Ever has it been—and the Execrate holds that this is wrong.
There are many more injustices imposed upon the citizens throughout the Empire. Now, we will show you a Universe without Temperance.
Without a centralized government entity, the Worlds will be free to rule themselves, deal with their poor, their wealthy, their revolutions and regimes.
How the Worlds govern themselves, the Execrate does not concern itself, only that freedom returns to the hands of those who deserve it.
It matters not what kind of Universe emerges after Temperance, only that it exists. The Execrate will see to it that it does.
With the destruction of his corrupt Empire, freedom can and will return. Nothing else matters until this transpires.
Temperance has said that a great Ruin will fall upon the Empire. We are that Ruin.
It will not be a Ruin upon the citizens. It will be a Ruin of Temperance’s rule, a Ruin of Corruption, a Ruin of Tyranny, a return of Peace, a return of Liberty, and a return to power of all autonomous governments.
Temperance has said that he will choose an heir. The Execrate holds that this is proclamation is inherently contradictory to the immortality claims of the theocracy.
The Execrate shall see to it that there is no heir.
Temperance has said that his Enemies will fall. The Execrate will see that his Enemies can only rise.
His Enemies will stand on his corpse.
The Execrate shall see to it that the so-called prophecies of Temperance in his narcissistic scriptures are burned and forgotten forever.
All that Temperance has said will come to naught—for he is no god. He is only a dying ember.
It is said that the most extreme measures are taken in the most desperate of circumstances. Make no mistake, we are the hope and fire of the wretched and despairing.
We are the wish in the dark, the breath of dreams.
We will summon our Wrath and Temperance will rue his arrogance. If we must burn down the Universe to achieve our ends, we will burn.
Temperance’s rule must come to an end.
—Pages one to four of Hope and Fire,
Broadcasted to the empire on the third day of War, 99991T