Preface to Requiem Eternam: The Chronicles of Coren Slade

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

Et lux perpetua luceat eis

Lord, please grant them eternal rest

And shine your eternal light on them

- Excerpt from the Requiem Mass, Introduction

When the good people at Argon Books first approached me about writing a preface to this volume, I hesitated. Is yet another book about Coren Slade necessary, I asked myself. What is there possibly left to be said about him? Aren't we already steeped in enough Corenism to fill the galaxy and overflow into the great emptiness beyond?

When the company indicated that this collection of documents would include a Coren Slade autobiography, I gasped. How could they have obtained such a manuscript? Is the man still alive? Or, down through all those years, did he scribble his thoughts in some heretofore hidden journal?

I needed to know the source of the autobiographical sections. They, of course, could not divulge it but did assure me of the text’s authenticity.

This became quite a dilemma for me. If I accepted the material as real and wrote the preface, I would lend my name to the book and possibly put my reputation for scrupulous honesty on the line. If I declined, I would miss an opportunity to be part of something new and fresh, perhaps something able to calm the revolutionary storms which wrack our civilization.

As I read it, however, the words rang true, and I decided on the former: I believe this book contains a true description of Coren Slade’s life, described by the man himself. Argon Books has assured me that one day—perhaps long after I am dead—but one day, when certain conditions are met, all will be fully explained. If, over the course of time, the autobiographical portion of this book is proved false, I beg forgiveness.

Coren Slade.

He represents so many different things to so many different people.

Those who admire him point to his peaceable nature and to his heroics, to his generosity and self-sacrifice. I believe these people are in many ways correct. He was not necessarily born with the courage and determination he would later show, but at many places along his journey, he chose a path which has helped shape what humanity is today. For that, I would argue, we owe him a debt.

On the other hand, those who despise him—who have attacked his actions and tried to prevent them—denounce what they see as his authoritarianism and lack of respect for all life, no matter its origin. Apart from their overtly violent actions, I believe these people are largely correct as well. In my opinion, this aspect of him can be attributed partially to the era he originated in, and partially to the experiences he survived. He was a man from a different time, and his sensibilities are not our sensibilities. The violence of those condemning his disregard for different life forms is, of course, hypocritical. However, as someone once asked about double standards: when did we ever get down to two?

These contradictory aspects are all part of Coren Slade, just as they are a part of all humans, albeit with much less impact on history. The mistake we make is in judging the entirety of the man by today’s standards. Instead, we should judge the man by the standards of his day; in doing so, I believe we can see he lived an honorable life. If, however, we assess the consequences of Slade’s actions according to today’s norms, we find much to condemn. This distinction between the man and his legacy are crucial to reconciling the bitter factions which war over him.

The themes of his life and those terrible, turbulent times are clear in retrospect, and I will not enumerate them here. Those of you familiar with Slade will already know many of them, though you may find a few surprises in the latest material. Those of you unfamiliar with the particulars and with exactly how so many people died should be allowed to discover these wonders and horrors for yourselves.

I mentioned that this is partially an autobiography. I mean “partially” in three different senses.

First, this tome only covers the earlier parts of Slade’s life. As to whether he has written more about himself, that remains to be seen. I will be overjoyed if Argon Books contacts me to write volume two’s preface.

Second, the autobiographical sections are interwoven with a more standard depiction of this history as seen through the experiences of a less well-known soldier. These sections are not like the thousands of accounts we have describing events as they unfolded on Galvus or Earth or Mars. Instead, we get a look at the inner workings of the Forces as they prepared for—and arguably lost—their most significant challenge ever.

Third and finally, we have the newly decrypted communications we have all spent so much time reading of late. Had we known their form and content early on, we might have avoided the destruction, and books like this one would not be necessary. I have placed these communications where I believe they fit chronologically so we can examine both sides of the conflict as it approached.

Cor, Corey, Coren; PAPA, soldier, Slade; friend and confidante; hero and martyr; heretic and destroyer: these are how he is known. I hope that by reading this book, you will understand him better and perhaps see him in a new, more human way. We have known such destruction, and we struggle to get back to where we once were. It is my fervent wish that this book will promote a dialogue between the bastions of pro- and anti-Corenists.

Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Here, then, along with the other documents, is the story of Coren Slade, in his own words, for the first time.