Eusan Empire

The Eusan Empire is a faction in the Signalis universe. It is at war with the Eusan Nation, which formed as a result of a Revolution within the Empire.

Little is known about the Empire but it seems to be a more religious state that places great spiritual focus on bioresonance and idolizes its founder, the Grand Empress. However, by the events of the game, it is presented as being in a state of decline, controlling only a subset of the planets it once did.

History

The foundation of the Empire and the Grand Empress

The Empire was founded by a woman of vast bioresonant powers who united humanity, started the conquest of space and created the first Replikas, as described in Songs of the Gods, a book that is forbidden in the Eusan Nation:

Her immense will bent humanity into the Empire of Eusan and lifted us to the stars. It was her power that imbued life into the first of the machine-servants that now carry the weight of the Empire on their carbon-steel backs.

It is likely that using her powers she was able to klimaform Buyan in order to build the Imperial Palace.

The Empress and the Icon of Knowledge

Within Nowhere there is a shrine to an empress. In the game's code, this is known as the Icon of Knowledge. Since there is only one known Empress in the lore, the shrine is likely dedicated to the Grand Empress.

If so, then the note entitled The Empress' Hand can give us some clarity about her rule.

On the first day she was crowned,

On the longest day nothing was done,

On the next day she was wed,

On the last day she took her life.

This document helps LSTR-512 solve the puzzle of the shrine using three rings, rewarding her with the Plate of Knowledge. If this document is to be believed then the Grand Empress did nothing for quite some time after being crowned, married someone and finally committed suicide.

This is quite a confusing turn of events for whom is known as one of the strongest bioresonants in the lore. However, her death could be a factor in the Revolution that gave birth to the Eusan Nation. It is not known whom she married.

The civil war

Likely some time after the Empress' death the founders of the Nation rose up in a civil war against the Empire. The Nation colonized Rotfront, Leng and Heimat, the latter becoming their capital. The Empire remained in control of Buyan, Kitezh and Vineta.

Battle for Vineta

There was a battle for Vineta, the homeworld of humanity. In visions of LSTR-512's Gestalt life, a bright object can be seen falling from the sky onto the blue sea. Similar events are described in the And a star fell note:

and a great burning star fell from the sky,

and a mountain fell into the sea and the water turned to blood, and the

moon and stars and sun turned dark

The mountains falling into the sea would explain why Vineta is an ocean world.

It seems the Nation came out victorious. Indeed, in an alley in Rotfront Sektor C, a newspaper can be found that describes an imperial blockade against Vineta, implying the Empire has lost control of it. However, this victory for the Nation may have come at great costs, seemingly including the destruction of the planet's moon.

Current state of the war

The Nation, now in control of Vineta, is attempting to rebuild it. According to the above-mentioned newspaper article, diplomatic efforts with the Empire are under way but the Empire's fleet is destroying supply lines, causing the starvation of millions of Vinetans. It is not clear whether the newspaper can be trusted since the Nation practices extensive censorship and propaganda.

Lore

Propaganda against the Empire

The Eusan Nation spreads much propaganda against the Empire. Information gathered on the Empire through this propaganda may therefore be unreliable beyond demonstrating the depth of the conflict.

The banned Imperial Series

The Imperial Series is a series of books that are banned in the Eusan Nation. Ariane's mother owned several tomes in the Rotfront Interplanetar Station 06, where she worked. The same books can be found in Ariane's bedroom in Rotfront Sektor C. One can assume she took them with her when she left the radio outpost to study at Mandelbrot Polytechnische Oberschule. The books are therefore a strong symbol of Ariane's free spiritedness and rebellion against the Nation.

Additionally, the books' covers reveal details about the Empire:

Millenium Königin ("Millennium Queen")

The cover depicts a long-haired woman wearing red armor, with the night sky, a scarred planet and its moon in the background. The woman also has a halo around her head. Since the Grand Empress of the Eusan Empire is assumed to be represented in Nowhere as the Icon of Knowledge which has a halo around her head as well, it is likely the woman on the cover is the Grand Empress.

One can speculate that this red armor is an imperial uniform and that the scarred planet with a moon is Vineta (the in-universe analog of Earth). It is not clear what caused the scar on the planet. During a cutscene, LSTR-512's Gestalt memories show a fragmented moon in orbit of Vineta. If the book cover does depict Vineta, then one can infer that the book was written before the war on Vineta caused the destruction of its moon. One can surmise that weapons of such power could scar a planet as large as Earth.

Die Jäger des Sternennebels ("The Hunters of the Star Nebula")

The cover depicts an imperial spacecraft engaged in a turning maneuver. It might commemorate imperial fleet activity in a far away nebula or it could be science fiction, which would reaffirm that the Empire was more tolerant to creativity and the arts.

Views on Bioresonance

The Empire's view on Bioresonance can be gathered from the Song of the Gods book:

There exists a connection between all of us that few are fully aware of. A song that we all dance to, but few can hear. This deep vibration of the cosmos can not just be heard and felt. We all resonate in harmony with it, shaping it, deforming it around us. Those select few who can consciously perceive it often fear it. Too oppressive is the sound of the stars, too invasive the noise of the unaware around them, polluting the song with their fickle emotions. But every once in a while, some are born that cannot only hear and play this music of the worlds, but who can conduct it. Gifted individuals capable of manipulating the essence of the world around them.

The Empire regards Bioresonance as a spiritual force that shapes the universe. Some gifted individuals can hear it, and rarer still, some can manipulate it.