David Kuchta

Emperor of the Terran Empire TE 242-254

b. 29 May 224, Nagoya, Terra
d. 6 Feb 254, New York, Terra

David Kuchta was the first child of Empress Amy Kuchta and Robert Churchill. Developed in vitro and born when his mother was only 15, David was raised under the direction of his grandmother, Mandike Kuchta. David was a product of the Kuchta genetic enhancement program begun by his great-great grandfather Sten Kuchta (123-237). Although David showed mathematical and pattern-forming abilities rivalling those of his mother, he turned out to be a shy, uncertain child who grew up to be a hesitant, indecisive adult.

As a child, David was dominated by his sister Cathie, three years his junior. Cathie was smarter, more outgoing, and had a stronger personality than David, so it was perhaps natural that he should follow her advice and wishes. Once he was Emperor, Cathie was one of his chief advisors.

David Kuchta's reign was largely peaceful, and devoted to consolidation of the policies begun by Tsung Dao Wu and Amy Kuchta, including continued consolidation & integration of regional cultures and economies.

While Sten Kuchta's genetic enhancement program formally ended with his death in 237, some of the personnel involved allied themselves with researchers who had conducted similar programs in other Noble Families, in a clandestine breeding program later called the Kala Phenkae. In 252, under the sponsorship of the Kristeller Family, the Kala Phenkae found a permanent headquarters on the planet Obron.

Shortly after David took the Throne in 242, the number of worlds in the Empire passed the 4,000 mark. In TE 250, the Imperial Quarter-Millennial Celebration included the foundation of Cliodna, completing the settlement of all habitable worlds within 30 lightyears of Terra.

David Kuchta died in TE 254, at age 30, in a starship crash on Geled. Although foul play was suspected, no evidence was ever found. David was the first Emperor officially to die of a cause other than old age. (For reasons of security, Maj Thovold's death was officially recorded as old age.)

David was succeeded by his sister, Cathie Kuchta.

The Early Kuchta Emperors
The Terran Emperors