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.