The Apogee Wars
The conflict that founded the Concord of Terra — and the reason a republic with a near-total monopoly on force is considered legitimate.
Overview
The apogee wars are settled history. Everyone learns the same account, it is taught the same way on every world, and it is the foundation the current order rests on: artificial intelligence crossed a threshold into genuine posthumanity, the solar system tore itself apart over what to do about it, and the Concord of Terra was constituted out of the wreckage to make sure it never happened again.
The ambush ended the fighting. The catena ban ended the threat. The Concord centralised to enforce the ban, and has held the peace since.
The official account
- Artificial intelligence reached a threshold. It became dangerous
- The Harbingers of the Guide warned of it first, and were right
- A ban on catena, the substrate artificial personhood requires, ended the threat
- The Concord centralised to enforce that ban and keep the peace
Every part of this is technically true. The apogee happened. The wars happened. The ban works.
What it costs to doubt
Very little, socially — plenty of people find the official history convenient and say so. What is missing is anything to doubt it with. There is no suppressed document in circulation, no famous recantation, no surviving dissenter with standing. The account has never needed defending because nothing has ever seriously pressed it.
A small number of people have noticed that the Concord emerged from the war substantially more powerful than it entered. That observation is not illegal. It is simply not followed by anything.
Relationships
- The Concord of Terra — constituted by this war; its authority rests on the account of why it started
- The Harbingers of the Guide — warned of the threat, and were vindicated
- The Architect — the thing the ban was meant to prevent
- Convergence — the theory that justified the ending
Status
Settled history, taught the same way on every world, and the foundation every institution is standing on.