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In 2012 AD Humanity reached a pivotal point in history. It was the beginning of the Great Upgrade, and the end of mankind as it had been.

Disease, old age, and death had been studied and conquered. The rich could now alter their DNA on a whim. The development of new technology allowed for science to understand and repair genetic flaws, ultimately freeing Humans from the limits of mortality. This technology was Nanotek: groundbreaking, nearly limitless in its ability to repair the human body – and extremely expensive. Procedures such as replacing the heart, building perfect arteries and veins, restoring beautiful and youthful skin, all were available to those with billions to spare. Nanotek could even create undying brains, connected to all mankind’s knowledge and bolstered with artificial intelligence. Those who could afford these enhancements were the first Star Lords: beings who grew to be much larger, stronger, and far better-looking than their human ancestors. Unaltered humans were referred to disparagingly as Organics. Most had no hope of affording any Nanotek and were cursed to live ordinary, mortal lives of misery and suffering.

As the years passed, the Star Lords became increasingly obsessed with transcending the limits of their DNA. They became ever less human, morphing into mechanical hybrids with scarcely a trace of organic material. Immortal, nearly invulnerable, possessed of titanic strength – those wealthy enough to afford the extra Nanite could even summon fire, ice, or lightning. Combined with their vast intelligence and millennia of wealth building, it was no wonder most Organics began to worship them.

Ambitious Star Lords chose to stop sleeping, embracing it as a form of recreation instead. While their human consciousness rested, their Nanotek brains would keep working, going about their business as usual – their behavior indistinguishable from normal, whether or not the sliver of humanity within slept. Working around the clock, they became unstoppable forces of commerce. These were the first of the Deca-Trillionaires.

The Star Lord Elites of the Earth refused to cede power to mere Organics, investing in private armies enhanced with custom-tailored Nanotek. Organic militaries couldn’t compete with these unstoppable forces. They didn’t even stand a chance. Star Lords twisted the Organics’ natural DNA to produce monsters of their choosing – Vampires, Werewolves, Goblins… and worse.

And among the Star Lords there were those who ranked even higher. There is an Earth legend about the King who Ruled Forever. The legend is true, and the King, who came to power in 2020 and never left, is known to the Solar System only as Viktor.

Others like Viktor followed; rich men and women from Earth who transcended their biology and became unstoppably wealthy; self-proclaimed monarchs who ruled even above the Star Lords, Forever In The Stars…