Shennong
Contents
Shennong
Inspiration
The Father of Herbalism
Shennong was born somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 BC. He was raised in a small farming village in a mountainous area of China where food was scarce. Rice was the staple of the diet, but it could only be grown in lowlands near rivers because of its need for water. An innate connection with plants enabled Shennong to revolutionize agriculture through two innovations: first the idea that hills could be terraced for agriculture, and second an irrigation system to deliver water to these terraces, enabling the cultivation of rice over almost any landscape. He tapped this same ability to recognize that some plants which had no nutritive value could be ingested for medicinal purposes. By inventing tea, he was the founder of herbal Chinese medicine. Such accomplishments would fill more than a single life of a normal man, but as Shennong traveled the country teaching his wisdom, he appeared a man only in his early twenties.
The First Emperor of China
He became known and respected throughout the land and eventually was appointed to positions of leadership under the local warlord. This was a time of chaos and constant warfare between the petty warlords of China. Disgusted by the constant futile conflicts that punished innocent peasants more than the ruling classes, Shennong set out to put an end to war. He vowed to unify China; there would be peace under a benevolent king. He raised an elite army, training them personally in his own martial arts techniques. They conquered many of the surrounding provinces around the city of Yanshi and established the Xin Dynasty. It was a bloody, dirty war, but after watching friends, wives, adopted children (he seemed unable to father any of his own) all grow old and die, he had become indifferent to the suffering of others. Eventually there was peace, and over the years, Shennong descended into decadence. He lost touch with the happenings of the world, indulging in concubines and royal feasts. After 200 years of passing rulership from “father” to “son”, Shennong’s one man dynasty was overthrown by the Shang in 1,800 BC.
Rejuvenation
An exile, Shennong fled to the countryside in shame. Finding a cave during a storm, he took shelter, and then next day found it difficult to rouse himself. After foraging for some nutritious berries and honey, he returned early to the cave to sleep. The next day he had no energy to leave the cave at all, and sat staring into the darkness. Finally he slept and did not wake up. Time passed. 200 years later, emaciated, he was found by a boy who led him back to the world of the living. His face was long forgotten, though his legend lived on. The boy’s family took Shennong in and nursed him back to health. He taught them farming and herbal medicine, and in return, they taught him the value of life, which he had lost so many years ago. It was bliss to rejoin the world of the living, and to rekindle his spirit of charity.
He rose again into the ranks of power over the next 200 years. He was able to think in terms of generations, rather than months or years – a unique perspective that led him, as high minister to emperor Qin Shi Huang to propose the building of a great wall to keep the Mongol raiders out of China forever. At the cost of millions of lives, he lived to regret his foresight. The burden of guilt weighted heavily on his spirit, only lifting after another 100 year hibernation.
The cycle continued: of charity and innocence with a love for life; rising popularity and renown as a scholar; then power followed by decadence, decay and ultimately hibernation, which renewed his spirit to begin again. The details changed: politician, herbalist, emperor, priest, engineer, monk, doctor.
Modern Times
The arrival of democracy was a beacon of hope for mankind. Finally, the people would rule themselves, rather than being oppressed. Shennong knew it would take time, to work perfectly, but he was drawn to the United States of America in the 1700s to see this experiment come to fruition. Humanity was making great strides both socially and technologically, but war was ever present and worsening over the years. The bloody american civil war, the world war, and finally the second world war, culminating in the detonation of the atomic bomb. It was too much. Too much death. He forsaw the possible spread of the nuclear bomb across the globe and there would be terrible devastation in a third world war. Shennong had been awake for nearly 200 years, and he had not the energy to fight this tide. Rest…. He needed to rest. Maybe things would get better…
After an unusually brief hibernation of only 40 years, he awoke in 1985. The world had changed in stupendous ways. Nuclear holocaust had been averted, there was peace across the world. Medical and technological advances progressed exponentially. For the first time, Shennong regretted sleeping as he had missed the day that man first walked on the moon. He tried his hand at joining the burgeoning computer industry, but found he lacked the knack for it. He learned modern medicine, and worked his way into the pharmaceutical industry. The wonders of the modern world made him shrug of a strange undercurrent and forgive a certain amount of abuse of the environment. Finally, in the early 21st century, he was at the height of power as the head of PfizerGlaxoMerck.
The Coming Apocalypse
With time, the veneer of glamour could no longer gloss over the grimy underbelly eating at the environment. As he looked into the future, he could sense an imminent environmental and societal collapse. In the mid 21st century, things looked grim. Shennong, as a steward of the land, felt every blow against the earth like a spear in his heart, and it made him sick and sad. He was determined to not let the beauty of this world fail, but working behind the scenes was a slow and methodical process. Not since his direct intervention had cost the lives of millions building the Great Wall had Shennong seized the reins of power. But the need was urgent. He ran for Senator in the US congress, and after 8 years had built sufficient reputation to run for president. Charismatic, he was a wide favorite, but his failing was his faith in the people. Over the last eight years the people cheered his preaching about the evils of technologic advance in the absence of environmental preservation. But their mood soured when he began to talk about sacrifice that would affect their daily lives. Limited automobile driving, decreased power consumption and increased power costs. The people were not ready for reality, and Shennong lost the election, and was exhiled from his previous position of power.
Eventually, the destruction was too great. Strip mining had eroded the lands, over-farming had reduced the entire midwest to a dust bowl/desert, large portions of the ice caps had melted, raising sea levels, global warming had disrupted weather patterns. And that was only the beginning. The sea level problems led to large scale destruction on all island nations. With the loss of america's breadbasket, nearly everyone emigrated from this area. The destruction of 95% of the south american rainforest turned this region into an eroded desert as well. War in the middle east raged out of control, and much of the region was destroyed in a short nuclear exchange. This, of course, limited what little oil supplies were available. the change in global temperatures affected ocean temperatures, leading to a 90% reduction in most fisheries. Disease and war began to engulf africa, and due to global warming, the growth of the Sahara increased to an alarming pace, encompasing 75% of the African continent by 2085. It was around this time that Shennong had seen enough. His limbs were heavy as lead: as if he were wearing great bronze armor from one of his earliest lives. He slept more and walked less, and his mind became sluggish. Shennong knew that from how bad things were, this might be a long sleep. He found a safe place, well isolated from the growing ecological terrors, and slept. He awoke once or twice, smelled the air, and sensing the devastation, closed his eyes agin. His night was disturbed by troubling dreams.
Post Apocalypse
When he finally woke, the world had, as he predicted, been reduced to a husk of its former self, with barely a human in sight. The smell of the air and the feel of the land was permeated with the desolation. However, there was a new undercurrent. The 21st century was bold and beautiful but with a black heart. This new world was dead and desolate, but it had a heart full of promise. Mankind had fallen from grace to rock bottom, from which there was no where to go but up. Shennong was filled with the promise of hope. Perhaps this time, he could teach them right...
Other Tidbits
7 character points spent on "Family History" is:
5 Immortallity: Life Support , Longevity: Immortal
1 Hibernation (sustenance): Life Support , Eating: Character does not eat (3 Active Points); Side Effects: Str Dex Con Body Stun drop by 1 per day to minimum of 1, automatically whenever Power is used (-2)
1 Hibernation (air): Life Support , Self-Contained Breathing (10 Active Points); Extra Time breathing slows over 20 Minutes (-2 1/2), Character May Take No Other Actions (-1/4), Side Effects: Unconscious after 20 minutes, whenever Power is used (-2), No Conscious Control: Unable to Awaken Self (-2), Choses when to activate (+1)
Shennong also saved a bank of music from the era before the apocalypse on his personal ipod, which he carried with him as he hibernated through the apocalypse.
