Forever and a Half

A sequel to my alternate history China hyper-wank, seen here. This one has been sitting on my hard drive for a while.

The year is 5011 (2313 AD in OTL calendar) and the Chinese empire which ruled Earth has truly become Celestial. With the help of stutterwarp drives (engines which generate a wormhole in front of the vessel allowing it to constantly fall into it, achieving super-luminal speeds) humanity has managed to settle among the stars. The Chinese Celestial Empire has full control over the 'dragon's breath' spaceships, and so it has managed to control a large portion of settled space, with at least 50 systems under their control. However they have not managed to retain control over human space to the extent they have back on Earth.

The largest of these states is the People of the Fire, 2.5 meter tall brown-skinned humans who live among space habitats and harsh environments. Said to be formed by a former Emperor's favourite slave who escaped on his personal starship, this loose federation keeps the Empire at bay with their comet-engines and weaponised stutterwarps. Always on the cutting edge of technology to keep their edge over the Empire, most of the People's citizens live their lives in A.I-powered simulations, the simulations themselves powered by moon-sized solar servers.

Another human state that manages to stay relevant is the Chengdu Republic, founded far galactic north away from the eyes and guns of the Celestial Emperor. The Republic was founded by Chinese political dissidents, who were disappointed that the technological revolution did not bring the social upheaval to bring down the Imperial system. Direct democracy is practiced in Chengdu, while a rotating board of directors has de facto control. While far away and their presence negligible, they keep their edge with their excellent intelligence network and espionage skills, stealing trade secrets and new weapon designs from both the Empire and the People.

Finally there are the Red Spawn. While many say they are alien some paranoid voices say they are mutated Chinese experiments go wrong. Whatever they are and wherever they come from, they are here to stay. Seemingly a race of crab-like drones that are determined on military conquest, they prevent Chinese expansion galactic east. While apparent discovery of alien life is phenomenal, information available to the Chinese public is sparse, and could be a breakaway human state for all they care. The constant cold war with the Red Spawn has helped keep the Chinese public docile and the Empire's weapons research up-to-date, so no loss to the Emperor.

Inside the Celestial Empire proper, life has changed completely, yet not at all. To the average citizen 200 years ago, today's inhabitants appear to have superhuman powers, with nanite cybernetics allowing the Chinese to fly, slip through walls and mold themselves into any bipedal form. However, any militant appropriation of this technology against the government is strictly forbidden, and a kill switch is easily activated if someone should not heed the rules. Constant surveillance by the government also occurs, with all materials used having been embedded with surveillance nanos that not even microscopes can detect.

The Empire, despite setbacks by the People and the Red Spawn, doesn't seem to have any intentions of slowing it's growth. Of course, whispers are heard in the Quantum Palace on Dadu that the Emperor is concerned of a new threat, one invisible even to the anti-baryonic telescopes...