This is the new backstory for my game Delta Spire. It's meant to be open-ended enough to explain why there are so many different races, powers, etc available within the game. Please let me know if you have any feedback, thanks: Eons ago there were the Sil. A race that completely dominated the known universe through superior technology and a ruthlessness that can only be described as sadistic. Utilizing a planet-sized construct known only as The Nexus, they crafted wormholes scattered across its landscape in locations called Spires. It was through these portals that the Sil journeyed to countless worlds, enslaving each race they encountered. With each conquest the Sil acquired more technology and knowledge. They were almost invincible. Almost. The Sil used nanotechnology capable of repairing damage at the cellular level. These nanites facilitated the healing of wounds in battle, provided a longer lifespan, and protected the Sil against diseases indigenous to the worlds they traveled. But no one ever considered what could happen if they came in contact with a disease that attacked the nanites themselves. Within weeks of an expedition to what would later be dubbed The Abyss, the Sil were all but eradicated by the very technology that had kept them alive. Some managed to enter cryosleep in hopes that they could one day be cured. It is widely believed that they still slumber somewhere waiting to make a triumphant return. In the Sil’s final hour, the wormholes were shut down. The secret to their activation was lost with the Sil, trapping all of the inhabitants on The Nexus. The various flora and fauna that had been brought from alien worlds reshaped the planet’s surface. An odd ecology if the universe ever saw one, knit from the technology and magical energies of its denizens. Which brings us to present day. An excavation team at the location known as Delta Spire has uncovered what it believes to be one of the Sil’s cryochambers. Word spreads quickly of the discovery and soon war ensues. The possibility of unleashing the Sil onto the universe and reactivating the Spires looms on the horizon, determined by the outcome of the most pivotal conflict the universe has ever known. Whoever controls the fate of Delta Spire wields the power to reshape the future forever.

It reminds me of some SciFi I read a while ago, possibly by Philip Jose Farmer, but I am not positive on that point. It was about a nexus world made from hexagonal tiles, each tile containing its own ecosystem (including sentient lifeforms) from a specific place in the universe. Some extinct master-race had conquered the universe, and transplanted samples from every sentient planet there.

But all in all, yours creates a nice, open rationale for a very diverse environment.

That's really weird about the hexagonal tiles since my game originally used those. I didn't recognize the author's name until I googled it and found that he wrote one of the books I read about 20 years ago, "Gods of Riverworld". I'd be interested to go back and re-read that just to see how much that story may still be influencing my own work today.

Quote: Original post by darkpegasus
That's really weird about the hexagonal tiles since my game originally used those. I didn't recognize the author's name until I googled it and found that he wrote one of the books I read about 20 years ago, "Gods of Riverworld". I'd be interested to go back and re-read that just to see how much that story may still be influencing my own work today.

Riverworld has some similarities, but it wasn't what I had in mind. Looking through the list of Farmer's publications on wikipedia, I don't see anything that matches, but hopefully I can remember the name and author, but I am afraid it is a side effect of reading entirely too much science fiction [smile]

If anyone knows of an online resource for researching science fiction by major elements (as opposed to genre or author), I would love to know...