Ami Kuchta

Ami Kuchta was the only daughter of Mandike Kuchta (177-290) and mathematician Lisand Vasiliev. From before her birth, her destiny was dominated by her great-grandfather, Sten Kuchta (TE 123-237). Sten, in a bid for more political power for Idara Kuchta, embarked upon a program of genetic enhancement beginning with his daughter Erika (151-232) and continuing with Mandike (177-290) and Ami. Ami's particular enhancements included the strengthening of genetic constellations associated with mathematical ability and pattern-formation.

Ami's education included stays at Harvard, Cambridge, and Harare Universities. She passed her adulthood exams at age 15, and immediately began moving up through the Imperial bureaucracy. At 16 she attracted the attention of Emperor Tsung Dao Wu, who took an instant liking to the girl. She was attached to the Imeprial Court in 227, and in 229 she rose to the position of Emperor's Hand, the Emperor's chief assistant. In 231, when she was 22, Tsung Dao Wu formally adopted Ami, naming her as his chosen successor.

In 223, at age 14, Ami made a dynastic marriage to Robert Churchill. The couple's three children (Datu, b. 224; Calisay, b. 227; and Mandike Kuchta.

For the four years following her appointment as Emperor's Hand, Ami was the instrument of Tsung Dao Wu's administration. She travelled throughout the Empire on various missions, and built a reputation as a stern but rigorously fair person of great practical intelligence.

Upon Tsung Dao Wu's death in 235, Ami ascended to the Throne without serious challenge. Her seven-year reign was mostly absorbed in political machinations aimed at establishing a hereditary succession. It was not until 240 that the Imperial Council approved her nomination of her son Datu as her Heir.

Ami died in 242 at the age of 33; it is conjectured that the daily operation of the Memory Crown conflicted with her brain structure and caused cumulative damage. She was succeeded by her son, Datu Kuchta.