Second Imperial Period

The Second Imperial Period was a 1,500 year era of Maruleegi history spanning from the establishment of the Second Empire following the Turbulent Period to its fall preceding the Second Dark Period.

Beginnings
Towards the end of the turbulent period, many Maruleegi scientists were taking the concept of developing superintelligence seriously as a solution to the various coordination problems that had given the turbulent period its name. Three main paths were investigated: emulation through uploading Maruleegi brain scans, artificial general intelligence, and genetic modification. Following the Em riots, most research in that direction stopped; though there was some theoretical progress, the scanning equipment required never became available on the scales needed. AGI research also reached a dead end, with the techniques used achieving modest results but never creating accurate enough world models to achieve generally super-Maruleeg performance.

Genetic modification provided much better results. Due to flaws in the process not fixed until later, many of the early genetically modified Maruleeg were not viable, failing to develop. Some others, though, were able to grow to adulthood, where the average intelligence was on the order of the greatest Maruleegi scientists of the turbulent period, and random variance meant many were more intelligent. These enhanced were generally functional, though were often plagued with psychosis and sensory issues.

When the technology was proven to be feasible, many factions engaged in an arms race to produce the most and best genetically modified Maruleeg. In the meantime, the first generation of enhanced Maruleeg entered governance and science, and rapidly outcompeted the naturally-born Maruleeg working there, being responsible for a lot of output despite being only a tiny proportion of the population.

Initially, the second generation was planned to be much larger than the first, with work done by the enhanced ensuring that the procedure was cheaper, more reliable and had better results. However, increasing tensions from the genetic modification arms race had lead to various political complications, so the size of this population was smaller than expected. Many of the enhanced engaged in their own private agendas, too; some of these included their own programs of genetic modification, kept secret from each other and the general population.

This continuation of genetic modification increased tensions further, with many nations closing borders and engaging in sanctions to try to limit the potential of others. Eventually, the world looked like a war was about to begin, when a group of enhanced Maruleeg proposed a solution: a single world government, able to mediate disputes and solve coordination issues on a global scale. Many of the world leaders, being enhanced themselves and coordinating on this project, immediately supported it; the rest were eventually forced to submit due to economic and social pressure.

Second Empire
The government, named for the earlier Prescuu Empire, was almost immediately beset with corruption. Some enhanced leaders realized that they had more to gain by keeping their position of genetic superiority above the general population; most others saw this as being vastly unethical, and took steps to try to stop this, but were themselves stopped by militias, often formed from natural-born Maruleeg who saw the enhanced as being the cause of the recent political instability

They also saw the pre-existing systems as inefficient, and set to work replacing them, sometimes with disastrous results as delicate economic equilibria were broken with the influence of the Second Empire preventing a natural resolution. Eventually, much of the world economy was replaced with centrally-planned systems, often relying on continuous surveillance and management by the government to operate. This was considered a feature by the ideological loyalists; it meant that the government was inextricable from the life of all ordinary citizens.

By the end of a few decades, all ideologically rebellious leaders were eliminated, leaving a small core of loyalists who would only use genetic modification technology to enhance their own group. Advancement in genetic modification was stalled, in order to keep the natural-born population ignorant, leaving the psychosis and sensory issues of early generations intact through the entire Second Empire.

Fall of the Second Empire
Over time, the genetic diversity of the enhanced leading group dropped, as successive generations of genetic enhancement aggressively selected for certain traits; typically intelligence and loyalty, though the exact mixture varied throughout the Empire's history. This lead to a massive exacerbation of the initial issues with first-generation genetic modification, as well as reduced lifespans and physical capabilities.

To handle this, the ruling group delegated more of the tasks of rulership to the people, creating prediction markets for running economic and government functions. In addition, the parts of the government that the ruling group did act on directly was increasingly mismanaged, leading to huge famines and crises in areas that weren't under the influence of the prediction markets.

Eventually, in a confused stupor characteristic of the very latest rulers, the council made an announcement that there would be no governments and the markets would rule freely. This was quickly retracted, but the population, already resentful of the government, took the opportunity to topple it, violently killing the members of the council and destroying the ancient genetic engineering equipment.

Without a government, factions that the Maruleeg had created to sway parts of the prediction markets (that at this point decided everything from ethical principles to food supply) run freely, claiming territories and trying to skew the predictions of other factions. This corporate feudalism was characteristic of the Second Dark Period, which lasted over the next 5000 years.