posted 07-04-99 10:02 AM ET        

For more than a hundred centuries the four Emperors sat immobile on their golden thrones. They were the masters of mankind by the will of the gods and masters of a million worlds by the might of their inexhaustible armies.

To be a man in such times was to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. This is the tale of those times, forget the power of technology, science and common understanding, for there is no peace in cyberspace, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of four thirsting emperors.

Mankind had divorced itself from material initiatives and married with the psychic side of the mind. The four Emperors once again waged war this time upon a new enemy. The new age of war, this time without weapons. This was a war of emotion and deep anxiety fought through the immaterial worlds. Minions were no longer needed for the war and the huge armies were disbanded.

Little did the four emperors know that they would be needed so desperately in the dark and opaque future. On this note the four emperors left heir golden thrones and embarked on a mission into cyberspace. They were to become the so-called Newbie Slayers, their quests ruled by the Supreme Being that they never knew existed. They were the forerunners to the Supreme Being who came after the land was conquered.

This tale tells of one of the four vets whom have (after a lot of dispute) come to be known as Aredhran, Nell_Smith, Michaelthegreat and Darkstar.

Originally there were 6 Emperors in the domain however the Supreme Being had dismissed them to be lost souls wandering the forum forever they were to become known as the lurkers. The names of the two lost souls have appeared in some postings in a desperate attempt to purge themselves of the curse placed upon them.

The Supreme Beings hate lay within the surge of newbies that appeared everyday and night. We shall follow the plight of one of our heroes on their quest for glory, Darkstar.

Darkstar was a visionary. During his earliest life he desired to lead his people to a new and better life. When he joined the great SMAC forum against Newbies he transferred this vision to a greater arena but did not abandon it. He wanted a better life for all mankind and an end to the strife brought upon by the collapse of human civilisation at the end of the dark age of technology. He almost certainly knew that he was going to death by going against the mighty newbies and yet he went anyway. He is the most inspiring of all SMAC players and will be for years to come. His endless battling against the newbies became his trademark and his great story telling left creativity standing in its tracks! All hail one of the mightiest posters ever, Darkstar.

Today it is once again a free for all, Helpless vets dragged down by the huge armies of newbies. It is time once again for the Vets to form an elite brigade and go kick some serious newby ASS!