The Council

Historical governing body of Ikaanos colony. It has been through several incarnations, eventually morphing into The Senate of today.

First created to administer the Ikaanos Colony from it's founding in 2230, managing the transition to independence in 2282, then overseeing its transformation into a Republic with democratically elected representatives in 2283, the Councillors' 50-year plan for colonization of the rest of the Irendorian continent was scuppered by the Severance of 2290 and the "Great Chaos" that followed it. The (First) Republic Council lasted only five years before collapse rendered all civic structures powerless.

There was then a seven year period of anarchy and civil war (2295-2302), which ended when a group of influential people, also calling themselves "The Council", seized control over the orbiting space-station USS Seneca and used its ion cannons to eradicate what was left of the Republic forces, plus any other factions they saw as their enemies. The remaining Great Families immediately swore allegiance to this new Council. However there was another 13 years of chaos until the Great Houses had properly established their power, and with the newly formed Space Marines plus threat of orbital bombardment, were able to force the entire populace to obey the will of The Council. The once-thriving Republic had now transformed into a feudal kingdom.

This constituted the end of The Great Chaos (2315), and the beginning of what is now known as "The Dark Age". This was 125 years of slow deterioration, a difficult period, slowly choking what was left of Earth's humanitarian views, and forming Ikaanos into the unstable society we see today. Ikaanos' decline was in no small part because the The Council members took the easy option of retreating into lives of ease in the luxurious space station which met all their needs, insulating them both physically and psychologically from the hardships on Raana's surface below. As their rule became more brutal and their lives more decadent, those below began referring to them as the Spheremasters, and the space-station as "The Mastersphere", or just "The Sphere".

This period is deemed to have ended five decades ago in 2240, after stabilization brought about by the ambitious Spheremaster Mordecai Adler. He became Chancellor in 2416 at "only" 66 years of age, and, driven by a religious fervor to "spread humanity's influence beyond the Beryll Mountains", executed a series of machinations to consolidate power for the Council, and particularly for himself. These moves included, in 2244, ending The Council itself - in name, anyway. He re-declared Ikaanos and its Sphere as a second Republic, and reconstituted the Council into a Senate to make this organization more explicit.

Unlike the first Republic though, the Second Republic does not feature democratic representation - The Senate preserves the oligarchy entrenched by the preceding Council: control by the rich & powerful, particularly the heads of Ikaanos' Great Families. And with greatest power wielded by the Chancellor, who ultimately controls the Mastersphere with its ion cannons, and the space marines. So this change in Ikaanos' governance was mostly just a change in name only.