The Golden Ages

Sunny had always been suspicious of golden ages. In his experience, they were usually the calm before storms that made previous catastrophes look like gentle spring rain. This particular golden age, however, was making him reconsider his fundamental assumptions about the relationship between prosperity and impending doom.

A thousand years had passed since the Fourth Generation crystallized from the tri-state harmony. The Inheritance System had worked exactly as intended, which should have been his first warning that something was about to go spectacularly wrong.

"The problem with perfection," Sunny muttered, observing the cosmic vista that stretched before him with the kind of analytical detachment that had kept him alive through countless impossible situations, "is that it makes the universe nervous."