Man of the Future

My name is Arthur Hyperion. I was born on the planet Tetrarch in the twenty third century. The First Son of Clan Hyperion. Descended from the legendary Alexander Hyperion, Progenitor of the Evolved People. We who are descended from genetically enhanced men and women from ancient Earth. We who have conquered the stars and proven ourselves more than capable of leading humanity to its glorious destiny. As I come into power and become the Overlord of Clan Hyperion, Ruler of one billion genetically enhanced men and women living on seventeen colony planets, I shudder under the weight of responsibility. It's not easy for anyone, even a superhuman like myself, to rule the universe at the age of twenty two.

The realm I must rule is rife with treacherous politics. The people I must rule are genetically designed to be superhumanly strong, fast and smart. Extreme longevity is also programmed into their DNA. Unfortunately, not a single one of them has any humility. I rule worlds where each and every man and woman see themselves through princely eyes. We are the Evolved. Genetically enhanced supermen and superwomen. We are black, white, Asian, Latino and every other race you can think of. Myself, I am of Caucasian and African origin. I stand six feet ten inches tall, lean and muscular, with long black hair, light bronze skin and pale brown eyes. My father was Caucasian, and my mother was of African descent. They ruled the Universe before my time came. I inherited an empire where turmoil and disarray are commonplace. Everyone wants to be a ruler. You see, we believe ourselves to be living gods. And we do look the part. Average height among our men is six feet five inches. Average height among our women is six feet two inches. No genetically enhanced human being has ever fallen beneath these physical standards in centuries. We safeguard against unpleasant mutations. We can live up to two hundred and twenty years. We are tall, good-looking, intelligent, strong and proud. The rightful rulers of the universe.

Ordinary humanity despises us for this. Humans have always feared what they don't understand. We evolved among them, through science and strife. We conquered humanity in the latter days of the twenty first century. We ruled the planet Earth, and moved into deep space. We mastered the cosmos. We've always conquered anything that stood in our way and what we can't have, we destroy. That is our motto. The humans despise us. That's okay because they're an inferior breed. Their lives are shorter. Their talents are few. Their strength and speed are laughable. They're not worthy of respect. They're beneath us. We delight in reminding them of their inferiority at every turn. Even when we lived among them, we were the brightest scholars and the best athletes in their universities. We were also the best soldiers in their armies. How could we not rise against them and rule them? Homo Sapiens rose against Homo Erectus and the Neanderthal Man. We've risen against Homo Sapiens, and conquered the universe. The Age of the Superior Man has begun. Let me tell you how we came about.

In the year 2067, there was a war. This was resulted in the death of sixty percent of all human beings on the planet Earth. It also marked the end of the United States of America. The survivors called this war the Total War. It opposed the United Conglomerates, made up of the United States, China and Japan to the Supreme Powers, made up of a powerful gathering of the strongest Middle Eastern nations. This war was the last great war in human history. Shortly before the war, a scientist named Joseph Nestor created a powerful drug called The Evolver. It was supposed to be used for military applications by enhancing the strength and stamina of ordinary men and women from the United States Army. Forty eight thousand men and women from the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines were enhanced with the Evolver. They fought during the Total War. Unbeknownst to the scientist is the fact that his serum altered the subjects at a genetic level. These changes were passed on to their descendants. The descendants of these genetically altered men and women were called the Evolved. In the aftermath of the Total War, they took over the world.

The Evolved spread and multiplied while ordinary humans stagnated. Since they were stronger, faster and more intelligent than normal humans, the Evolved thrived in the new world. One of them rose to great power. His name was Alexander Hyperion. Hyperion was the son of U.S. Army Captain Jessica Alton, a genetically enhanced soldier, and James Hyperion, a wealthy and powerful post-Apocalyptic warlord. He came onto the political and military scene at the age of 21, in 2099. He gathered many followers, known as the Universal Army. The Universal Army took over the remnants of the United States of America. By 2109, he controlled all of North America. He declared himself Overlord of North America, a dictator for life.

The Evolved continued to grow in power and influence. These genetically enhanced men and women reproduced only with their own kind. Their unions with normal humans seldom produced fruit. They multiplied until they became twenty percent of the total human population of America, which numbered four hundred million in the twenty second century. The Evolved were organized into Clans. A Clan was a group of genetically enhanced men and women who shared similar beliefs. They could number from dozens to hundreds of members. A Clan was ruled by a Magister, who was often the smartest and strongest of the Clansmen. The Evolved believed in a balance of power and the Clan was also overseen by a Matron, who was selected among the wisest and strongest women of the Clan. The Magister had the duty to control the Clan and increase its power and strength. The Matron's duties were many. She had to look after the welfare of the entire Clan. In some matters, her authority superseded that of the Clan's Magister.

Alexander Hyperion founded the first Clan in Evolved history. Clan Hyperion was the most numerous and powerful. They were established in Massachusetts. They helped rebuild and reopen the state's schools which had been closed since the Total War. They also created factories which fed the starving populations of ordinary humans, in exchange for their fealty. The Clan's Throne was established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an institution which Alexander Hyperion's mother attended in the days before the Total War. Alexander Hyperion married a woman named Luna Titan, daughter of genetically enhanced U.S. Navy Seal Leonard Titan. They had two sons, Thor and Lucas, and a daughter, Athena.

Thor Hyperion was trained as a warrior as he grew to adulthood and became the Regent of Massachusetts. He had his brother Lucas assassinated when he feared he might threaten his power. He would have gotten rid of Athena Hyperion as well, but she escaped with the help of her bodyguard, an Evolved guardsman named Kyle Horus. The two of them escaped to Canada, where very few genetically enhanced human beings lived. Athena and Kyle were not like typical Evolved, who believed themselves superior to humanity. They believed that human beings from all walks of life deserved the same rights. It was for these beliefs that Thor Hyperion sought to have his sister executed. They traveled to Ontario, which had been nearly destroyed by the Total War. The two of them joined the Federation For A New World, which endeavored to bring the world out of chaos and restore civilization.

Athena and Kyle convinced thousands of genetically enhanced humans to join the hundreds of thousands of ordinary humans who were helping the Federation. The genetically enhanced humans shared the same ideals as the Federation, but didn't like working alongside ordinary humans. For a decade, they helped rebuild Canada, as well as other parts of the world. In 2120, they announced their decision to split off from the Federation. Athena Hyperion and Kyle Horus convinced the Evolved to join their newly formed Clan, Clan Horus-Hyperion. Most of the genetically enhanced humans in Canada joined the Horus-Hyperion Clan. Kyle Horus and Athena Hyperion became Lord and Lady of the Clan, co-chairs and joint rulers. The Horus-Hyperion Clan increased in number and became a dominant power in Canada. Unlike the genetically enhanced humans of the United States, who ruled the country, the Horus-Hyperion Clan members lived as loyal citizens of the Federation For A New World, of which Canada, France, Brazil, Germany and Australia were members.

Thor Hyperion continued to rule the United States of America. His son, Hercules Hyperion, fearing that his father might see him as a threat to his rule, left the USA and took off for Mexico with seventeen thousand followers in 2127. The Mexicans did not welcome the genetically enhanced American refugees, and instead treated them like second class citizens. Nevertheless, the followers of Hercules Hyperion lived as loyal Mexican citizens until 2134. in 2134, Hercules Hyperion married Maria Gonzales, daughter of Mexican President Hector Enrique Gonzales III. The ceremony was interrupted by an assassin, who nearly killed the bride and groom. The followers of Hercules Hyperion rose up in rage. Thus, a war began between the Mexican Army and the followers of Hercules Hyperion. Hercules had his chief scientist, Dr. Gloria Michaels devise a means to subdue the rebellious Mexicans. Dr. Michaels unleashed a virus known as the Cleanser, which killed ordinary humans but left genetically enhanced people unscathed. After five hundred and fifty thousand Mexicans died, the President sought out Hercules and his followers to negotiate for peace. Hercules took advantage of the peace negotiation to force the President to abdicate power. He declared himself Imperator of Mexico, and formed the Hercules Clan in 2136. The Hercules Clan dominated Mexico and the numbers of genetically enhanced human beings living in Mexico increased like wildfire. Hercules continued to rule as a dictator. His daughter, Maria Hyperion took over as Empress of Mexico in 2167. She was a ruthless, terrifying ruler. In her time, she publicly executed more than sixty thousand men and women to make an example out of those who defied her. The genetically enhanced humans lived as the ruling class of Mexico. They had become a force to be reckoned with.

The genetically enhanced humans had restored civilization to a post-Apocalyptic planet Earth. However, in the twenty second century, they were the most hated group in the universe. They believed themselves superior, not due to race, gender or sexual orientation but genetic structure. Genetically enhanced men and women lived long and healthy lives. They were also stronger, faster and more intelligent than ordinary humans. They adapted to virtually every situation or environment. They also multiplied like wildfire. The spread of the species was the main mantra of the Evolved. They increased in number until they made up twenty percent of the total human population of the planet Earth, which numbered twelve billion in the late twenty second century.

Various Clans of Evolved were formed. In 2181, ten thousand genetically enhanced men and women left the United States of America, which was still under Hyperion Rule, and settled in England. They quickly became a dominant military and political power in that country. In 2200, these expatriates formed Clan Churchill, named in honor of their leader Rachel Churchill, herself named in honor of twentieth century British politician Winston Churchill. Clan Churchill took over England in 2212 and were thrown out of the Federation, which supported democratic governments and not dictatorships. Clan Churchill was often at war with Clan Hyperion, which sought to control more territory. They finally made peace in 2213, after the death of Thor Hyperion, Overlord of Clan Hyperion. Clan Churchill's First Son, Luther Churchill married Artemis Hyperion, First Daughter of Clan Hyperion. Thus, Clan Hyperion and Clan Churchill were united and Clan Hyperion-Churchill was born.

Clan Hyperion-Churchill became the most technologically advanced and numerous of all Clans living on the planet Earth. They built spaceships and explored deep space. They established a colony of genetically enhanced humans on the planet Erebus, far outside Earth's Solar System. They also established colonies on some of the many moons of the planet Saturn. Other Clans and genetically enhanced humans followed suit, and soon the Space Race began anew. Clan Hyperion-Churchill became the dominant force on the planet Earth. However, the Revolt of the Humans nearly brought it, and many other genetically enhanced human dictatorships down. In 2234, ordinary humans from various countries around the world revolted against the genetically enhanced tyrants who controlled their lives. Soldiers from Clan Hyperion-Churchill marched across the globe, killing millions. However, that didn't deter the humans. Even though the genetically enhanced humans were stronger, faster and smarter than their enemies, they only made up twenty five percent of the population. They were vastly outnumbered.

In 2245, after many wars against rebellious human populations, Overlord Maximilian Hyperion of the Clan Hyperion-Churchill left the planet Earth, along with legions of his people. Before leaving, however, he unleashed a new and improved version of the ancient genetic virus known as the Cleanser. This new virus killed not only ordinary human beings but any organic life-form which wasn't genetically enhanced. Billions of human beings died. As did countless flora and fauna. The humans did not see it coming. By the time they found a cure, the planet Earth had been rendered nearly uninhabitable. Scores of ordinary humans fled the dying planet Earth via spaceship. Thus, the Space Age of the Humans began.

Like the prolific adapters that they were, genetically enhanced human beings conquered the cosmos. Clan Hyperion-Churchill led the Evolved conquest of space. Clans such as Atlas-Igor, Zeus-Furor, Achilles-Saber, Taurus-Chandler and Hector-Jung followed. The genetically enhanced humans tamed dozens of planets and moons, establishing new colonies on them. The planet Tetrarch became the Throne-World of the leading Clan of the genetically enhanced human world, Clan Hyperion-Troy. Clan Hyperion-Churchill split off after internecine wars in 2290. Henderson Hyperion became the Overlord of the Clan Hyperion and formed an alliance with Clan Troy by marrying Janice Troy, First Daughter and Ruling Regent of Clan Troy. The genetically enhanced humans remained a dominant force in deep space.

The ordinary humans continued to expand, however. They established hundreds of colonies on different planets and moons. They were mostly democratic worlds belonging to an all-encompassing collective known as the United Brotherhood of Civilized Worlds, or U.B.C.W. In deep space, genetically enhanced humans numbered five billion. Ordinary humans soon numbered fifty billion. Sooner or later, ordinary humans would encounter their genetically enhanced, superior cousins in deep space. The universe isn't big enough for the both of them. Who do you think will win? The ordinary humans, or the genetically enhanced supermen and superwomen? Place your bets. And please, do what I cannot. And shed a bitter tear for the humans. You see, they're going the way of the dodo. Extinct.