High Kings of Saturn

The **High Kings of Saturn**, also known the Lesser Brains in reference to the Jupiter Brain, were a group of five Think-Tanks which collectively managed all affairs occurring in and around Saturn.

As a gas giant, Saturn was overlooked during much of early human colonization. Water and minerals could be extracted from its rings, but these could be acquired elsewhere in the solar system. The only outpost on Saturn itself, rather than the moons, was a tiny self-sufficient gas-mining operation. The profit margins were razor-thin, and the five workers there to keep the outpost working were miserable. Debts and fees kept them trapped in a job they had taken out of desperation. One day a group of researchers from looking for desperate people came to them, and made an offer. And so, before even the first legal procedures were performed on Barbiturose, the humans who would become the High Kings became the first Think-Tank prototype.

Although they had been paid both in money and immortality, there were two prices to the deal. The method of making think-tanks was still unrefined, and so part of the time the minds of the kings had to run in parallel. From time to time, they would become a single being. These periods of alternating individuality and unity would come to define their rule as time went on. The second price was secrecy. Performing the operation without oversight or review had been highly illegal, and at the time there were no laws defining the legal status of think-tanks. If the Kings wanted to operate in galactic society, they would need to conceal their nature.

Flush with cash and possessing a mind then surpassed only by the Cystarian superintelligence 3-oxo, the Kings began to consolidate their position. Utilizing the anonymity then-nascent Wormnet to its fullest, they conned, laundered, and traded until they had amassed a small fortune. They then bought out the company they worked for, along with several other small enterprises on Saturn's moons. Gradually, they gained total control of the planet.

Once Saturn was fully controlled and their "body" had been moved to a more secure facility deeper within the planet's swirling mists, the Kings made their dominion known. With the economic might of Saturn's rich moons behind them, they could afford enough mercenaries and personal security to ward off most casual usurpers. It was at this point the High Kings began to be referred to as such, whether sincerely or as mockery.

The Kings became a major player not just within the solar system but on the galactic stage with the invention of optarian metal. The metal could only be produced by the Darklight anomaly, which the Kings had controlled due to its proximity to Saturn. Although this earned the Kings many enemies, it also earned them ever-greater wealth and power.

During the end of the Golden Millenium, as the Remembrance consumed the galaxy, the Kings went missing. As the location of their base within Saturn was never discovered, it is entirely possible they still live. Some seek them at this very moment, though whether they desire to see the Kings returned to power or destroyed once and for all varies.

-Manifold Cloth