Imagine, if you will, mankind’s expansion into space. Humans gradually fill up the galaxy, settling thousands upon thousands of worlds. People build, terraform, create, and trade among the stars. Old political systems take on new forms, theoretically new forms are experimented with. Conflicts arise. Coalitions, alliances, syndicates, and empires appear, mingle, coalesce, mutate. Wars blaze in the abysses between systems. Planets burn. Yet other empires and unions appear from the ashes. A truly pan-galactic civilization of a sort develops. A golden age perseveres for centuries. And then, inevitably, conflict and entropy take their toll. Planets, just one or two at first, cease to communicate with the greater galactic polity. More and more go dark. The process covers generations, centuries. Worlds upon which the existence of a galactic civilization, of even the notion that there are other worlds inhabited by men, become commonplace, eventually growing to the majority. Isolated from outside contact, these worlds evolve bizarre customs or revert to barbarism. Other, brighter spots remain, worlds and systems in which commerce continues to flourish. The decline, however, grows obvious. The number of interconnected worlds diminishes, the value of trade falls. The knowledge and ability to create faster-than-light drives becomes increasingly rare. Some worlds are barely capable of minimal repair of the complicated workings. The galaxy has entered its twilight.
The tales that can be set against such a backdrop are countless. I have written three. The first novel of the series, Twilight Galaxy: Dekason is now available from Raconteur Press. Here is what the publisher has to say about it: