|
|
ComStar History
Part 1: Introduction
ComStar is dedicated to fulfilling a single, divine mission: to preserve the glorious Star League's technological legacy in order to prevent a new Dark Age. Founded in 2788 by the Blessed Jerome Blake, ComStar guards and maintains the hyperpulse generator communications network and other valuable technologies developed during humanity's golden age, knowledge that might have been lost forever were it not for the foresight of our Blessed Founder.
Blake recognized two great responsibilities in the wake of the collapse of the Star League: preserving as much of the currently available technological knowledge as possible, and preventing the Successor States from seizing the interstellar communications network and misusing it to destroy each other.
In 2788, Blake took control of Terra and declared it a neutral world. He offered secure interstellar communication to all Successor States that would pledge to respect the neutrality of the hyperpulse generator stations and personnel. The Inner Sphere leaders recognized that open communications were crucial to their survival, agreed to Blake's demands, and the blessed Order of ComStar was born.
Blake created a rigid religious hierarchy, which he headed in the capacity of Primus, along with the First Circuit Precentors to administer ComStar's affairs, and a secret brotherhood among ComStar's members in order to keep the secrets of the Star League safe from outside harm. Realizing that the Department of Communications was no longer a suitable name for the new organization, Blake chose to adopt the name of ComStar, a blend of Communications Enterprises Inc. and Starlight Broadcasting Ltd., which had formerly sold their services to the Star League.
Part 2: Blake's Vision
Jerome Blake's leadership of ComStar lasted 31 years. During that time he laid the groundwork that would define the philosophy, operations, and structure of ComStar for centuries to come. One of his deepest beliefs was that ComStar must retain its purity by remaining somewhat isolated from the "outside world", and he used the organization's hierarchy and technology to accomplish that goal. Any member who discussed even the most mundane technology with outsiders was severely punished and could be expelled from the organization. Blake believed that the decline of civilization was a form of punishment that humanity was suffering for its sins.
It was also obvious by this time that the scope of the destruction of the wars being fought around him would eventually destroy civilization completely unless some individual or group undertook to guard precious technological and scientific knowledge. This Jerome Blake considered to be ComStar's highest purpose: the maintenance and preservation of human knowledge at all costs. Thus, ComStar has become a haven for all manner of technicians, prospering while the rest of interstellar society is tearing itself to shreds.
Under Blake's leadership, the First Circuit, now the absolute governing body of ComStar, barred all but its own members from it meetings and established the strong, secret brotherhood among members of the Order. An internal security force known as ROM was formed in 2811 to help prevent leakage of technological information to the outside and to help thwart defection of ComStar personnel to the Successor States. ROM quickly became respected and feared throughout ComStar.
One of the longest-lasting branches of service Blake founded was the Mercenary Review Board. (available in more detail in a separate section.) Developed as a means to monitor and control mercenary contracts, the project might have seemed beyond the traditional scope of ComStar at the time, but each of the House Lords responded with enthusiasm to Blake's proposal for such a board.
Jerome Blake, meanwhile, continued to be visionary. The war raged around him and his world, a conflagration that Blake foresaw would continue for several generations and that would destroy most of the high technology perfected in the golden age of the Star League. In Blake's own words, "ComStar is the only hope of preserving the future of human beings in the Inner Sphere."
Part 3: Early Primuses
After Blake's death in 2819, Conrad Toyama of Dieron succeeded Blake as Primus of ComStar. He helped to further solidify and bind the Order together as one. During this time rituals were adopted for operation of the vast HyperPulse Generators and other technological wonders, to help remind each and every Acolyte and Precentor of their sacred duty to humanity as a member of ComStar. In addition, the belief was fostered and spread outside the Order, reinforcing the fact that the sacred magic of HPG transmissions could only be wielded by ComStar adepts, and ensuring that no Successor State would attempt to take control of the Star League's technological legacy.
Primus Toyama's handpicked successor, Raymond Karpov, took over as Primus in 2837 when Toyama suffered a massive stroke. Primus Karpov continued Toyama's work to strengthen Blake's vision for ComStar. Though many of his enhancements were minor, they have endured for over centuries and have had a powerful symbolic impact. Karpov suggested, for instance, that all members of ComStar wear white robes instead of the gray jumpsuits used by techs since the Blake era. In his own words, "white represents the purity of Blake's vision and of ComStar's intent." Often, the robes are adorned with mathematical symbols taken from the holy scriptures of an ancient science journal or technical readout.
Other subtle additions included the establishment of nightly indoctrination sessions at each HPG to discuss the theology of ComStar and its role in the fate of the Inner Sphere. Raymond Karpov stepped down as Primus in 2875, due to his failing health, but remained semi-active within our blessed Order, administering the Blake Medical Center in Europe, until his death in 2880.
Part 4: The Office of Primus
Including Blake and his two immediate successors, there has been a total of 14 Primuses:
Jerome Blake (Minister of Communications) 2788-2819
Conrad Toyama (Precentor Dieron) 2819-2837
Raymond Karpov (Precentor Alpha C) 2837-2875
Andrea Marteen (Precentor Arcturus) 2875-2901
Dwight Kurstin (Precentor Caph) 2901-2902
Gregori Hartford (Precentor Procyon) 2902-2910
Kari Marie Marshall (Precentor Procyon) 2910-2930
Hollings York (Precentor New Earth) 2930-2947
Adrienne Sims (Precentor Oriente) 2947-2979
Yin Takami (Precentor New Earth) 2979-2994
Allen Rusenstein (Precentor Alpha C) 2994-3006
Julian Tiepolo (Precentor Atreus) 3006-3029
Myndo Waterly (Precentor Dieron) 3029-3052
Sharilar Mori (Precentor Dieron) 3052-present
Part 5: Summary
Each Primus has made his or her own contributions to the office and to the Order. The early Primuses were responsible for laying the groundwork for the heavy burden ComStar carries for the fate of humanity.
Jerome Blake single-handedly saved the Inner Sphere from complete and utter destruction after the Aramis Coup and Kerensky's Exodus, by restoring and taking command of the vast HPG network that the Star League Department of Communications had built throughout known space. His Proclamation to the House Lords of ComStar's neutrality set the stage for the Order to accomplish its sacred mission. Blake showed tremendous talent in technology, foresight, political savvy, economic planning, and leadership. In all these areas Blake achieved absolutely incredible feats during ComStar's foundation.
Primuses Toyama and Karpov continued Blake's work, drawing strength from his divine vision for the Order, to build ComStar into the sacred and benevolent institution it is today. Of significant note in later years, Primus York was responsible for the formation of our very own standing military, the ComStar Guards and Militia; and Primus Sims initiated the Explorer Corps, founded to scout out and map the worlds beyond the Periphery. The background of each of these is detailed in a its own section.