Deltana Ascension
an excerpt

Regicide. In any other civilization, this would be a crime of the highest order. But when you have citizens with birthdays well into the 200s coming up, voluntary retirement is one of the few ways imperial government can keep itself from going stagnant.

Except, of course, that power is addictive, and few, if any emperors or empresses have given up their thrones voluntarily. For a while, this didn't become a problem until a ruler was well into their eighties- imperial succession laws mirrored that of ancient China for a while, and the sons and daughters of concubines and lovers weren't considered. But the Fleet “pressured” the royal government- at cannonpoint- into accepting all heirs... and going so far as even forbidding the use of contraceptives.

What the empire needed was a strong central government. Not a strong central godhead.

The empire was built upon a foundation of bones and betrayals.

Sheng Yu thought this was perfectly acceptable. Things are less... boring this way.

He moved another Go piece, black obsidian swallowing a small contingent of red rubies.