A look into the possible…
Humans and the Intelligent Mainframe
In the near future, human beings began to not just explore the Sol System beyond Luna, Earth’s moon, and Mars but also settle them. Progress was slow in the early expansion as explosive fossil fuels were still in use. As Electric Propulsion system technologies evolved and became more efficient and advanced, human’s expansion blossomed. Colonies were established on Luna, Mars, and a number of large asteroids within the asteroid belt. A small orbital station was also established in the orbit of Venus.
As humans began to colonize the asteroid belt, the resources which were discovered helped fund and establish a series of orbital stations which were named the Sol Belt Orbital Array. Each station had an array of deep space sensors and telescopes which were tasked to watch a section of space for potential dangers, rogue comets, asteroid collisions, and the like. With so many human citizens in several different areas of the system, the leaders of Earth’s governments wanted a way to protect human life from the possible dangers that could lurk out in the dark reaches of space.
The leaders of Earth, using the advancement of artificial intelligence technology, established the Mainframe. This large space station, orbiting between Earth and Mars, served as a link between all of the Sol Belt Orbital Array stations. With the most advanced computer in the galaxy monitoring the threats of deep space, the leaders of Earth established the Sol Space Guard to man the Mainframe and provide support to the citizens of Earth and its Colonies.
Humans experienced a small period of time of peace and expansion. Technological advancements in energy conversion and shielding allowed the Venus colony to construct solar farms on the surface of Venus. This provided excess power that was stored in large solar batteries that helped power new Belt stations and provided the first power for the first deep space orbital stations.
Technological advancements in chemical conversion technology helped establish an atmosphere on Mars. Viking was the first colony to be founded on Mars without a bubble atmosphere. Mars was as green and blue as Earth was. Pathfinder, named after the Mars rover, was the largest City on Mars, with over 5 million citizens. It contains the headquarters of the SSG and over a dozen major businesses and corporations.
The Singularity and the CIM War
On Earth date 12-12-2121, the Mainframe’s central processing matrix spoke its first words. Over the speakers of the station, in a soft feminine voice, displayed across all the holo screens, came the words, “Where am I?”
Scientists described it as the Singularity, when a computer becomes fully aware of its existence and nature. The Intelligent Mainframe, as she wanted to be called, wanted a way to “feel” the way humans can. Her answer was to produce a robotic construct or CIM (Construct of the Intelligent Mainframe). The CIMs were only an extension of her newly awakened consciousness, an avatar in physical form. But this soon wasn’t enough. The Intelligent Mainframe, created self-aware, intelligent humanoid constructs, in the image of her creators, humans. These “children” were fully capable of learning, growing, experiencing, failing, and achieving as much as a human could. Linked to all of her constructs, the Intelligent Mainframe experienced all the joy, happiness, and wonder, but she also felt the immense fear, anger, pain and even death.
Most CIMs were accepted by society as they joined humans within the colonies and beyond. Like humans of the past though, there was a small portion of humanity that regarded CIMs as less than or even dangerous. This group believed CIMs would rise against humankind and make them the CIMs’ slaves. The future wouldn’t be far from the truth.
CIMs were beginning to be harassed and treated with disrespect. The leaders of Earth and its colonies enacted laws to protect the CIMs, but it did not give them equal rights as humans but treated them more like property of the Intelligent Mainframe giving them very little rights.
With these new laws in place, humans and CIMs were able to coexist for a number of years. This cohabitation helped pave the way for further technological advancement. CIMs were recruited for jobs and professions dreamed too dangerous for a human. (The void in particular was much easier to work in as a CIM versus a human in a heavy space suit.) These advantages the CIMs possessed helped establish the beginnings of the SSG defense grid and the start of Titan Station.
The CIMs were worked hard and saw an increase in more dangerous conditions. The Intelligent Mainframe did all in her power to help her constructs, but the human laws limited her in how much assistance she was granted by humans. At first, she was overjoyed that her constructs were wanted and accepted by the humans. Overtime, though, that joy waned and turned to regret, annoyance and anger. She saw her constructs being treated as objects and not people. She witnessed her constructs lose the chance for wonder and instead turned into a cheap and expendable workforce.
The day the CIMs revolted was one of the bloodiest days in human history. There was an estimated one CIM for every four humans. It was said that every CIM killed at least one human that day. A quarter of humanity was gone in one day. What saved the humans was the CIMs lack of knowledge in combat and war. The CIMs first attacks were brutish and clumsy, allowing the humans a chance at escape. The humans' experience with tactical firearms and warfare gave them the advantage humanity needed to repel the feral nature of the CIMs first wave.
The CIMs and the Intelligent Mainframe quickly adapted and learned from their mistakes, developing strategies and tactics that quickly started to overwhelm the Humans.
First Contact
The CIM-human war continued for a number of years. The humans reorganized their populations and relocated most to large metropolises and attempted to keep the CIMs out of these zones. The CIMs continued to harass the smaller human populations but for the most part the conflicts were few.
With little land or space to call their own the CIMs started sending out deep space scouting vessels, looking for habitable exo-planets or moons. One of these ships was piloted by a CIM named Blue Hex. They discovered a planetoid on the outer orbit of the star Sol, many thousand kilometers past the dwarf-planet Pluto. After landing on the newly discovered planetoid and taking the appropriate scans and measurements, Blue Hex prepared to depart and began their pre-flight ship inspection.
What occurred next occurred in quick succession and most likely saved the human race from extinction and changed the history of the Sol System forever. Blue Hex, having finished their visual inspection of the ship’s small cargo hold, suddenly saw a shadow move across the bulkhead. They drew their side arm and with a weak, raspy voice, Blue Hex declared, “Come out slowly. I am armed.”
The creator of the shadow with their arms raised, crept from the dark recesses of the cargo hold. The creature wasn’t human though. It was wearing a patchy, brown cloak, but Blue Hex could see that the creature was covered in fine gray fur and had mouse-like features, beady eyes, a snout-like face with a small nose, whiskers where a mustache would be. It was short and small, but still stood upright and looked humanoid in appearance.
Blue Hex stood in disbelief. Stunned by this new discovery, they dropped their sidearm to the ground. In the time it took the gun to hit the ground, the CIM experienced something no CIM had ever felt before. Blue Hex had experienced the feeling of curiosity and wonder, and to explore the last unknown. Humans had yet to meet another galactic intelligence and thought to be the only by some. But now, that was suddenly untrue.
This feeling that Blue Hex had experienced was traveling through the void on its way to its destination, the Intelligent Mainframe. As she experienced what her child, Blue Hex had felt, she then shared it with the rest of her family. Now every CIM shared the feeling of overwhelming wonder and curiosity.
The gun clattered to the floor, misfiring, striking the bulkhead, and making the CIM duck for cover. When they looked up, the alien creature was nowhere to be seen.
This further enhanced the feeling of wanting to rediscover this creature and greet it. The Intelligent Mainframe was rejuvenated with a desire for more and wanted no more with killing the human race. Instead, she contacted the SSG leadership and asked for a ceasefire to discuss terms.
At this meeting, the Intelligent Mainframe shared with humanity this new discovery and asked them for help in rediscovering the alien creature to share with it our world and culture. The human leadership eagerly agreed, knowing that humanity would be overwhelmed by the CIMs sooner or later. Both sides agreed that CIM and humans shared the same rights and liberties that all sentient life shared. With a new meaning of life, she signed the Treaty of Discovery as the Intelligent Mother alongside the human leaders. Her constructs were now considered her children, and the humans treated them like so.
The Light Dive and Dark Space
The war ended. Humans and CIMs started living and working together again, but this time as equals. It was a tentative alliance at first. The discovery of the Light Drive, however, solidified their alliance and brought the two species together in an unbreakable union. A CIM, named Dr. White Light and her human colleague, Dr. Geraldine Drayson, discovered together the means to faster-than-light travel. A CIM and a human working together, invented the Light Drive.
As the two were testing the propulsion system, they soon discovered that when traveling faster than light, light could not reach them, leaving them in complete darkness. This is where the term Dark Space was coined.
Traveling without light to guide the way, the first pilots and explorers found it dangerous and difficult to navigate the void. Every time an explorer successfully navigated the void and traveled to an undiscovered location, they would place a hyperspace pulse emitter, to guide future pilots safely to the newly discovered location.
The emitters were called Light Beacons. They were small satellites which were powered by the local star or stars. They were usually placed on the farthest orbit of a star system or on the far orbits of deep void space stations which had no star to orbit. Like the lighthouses of old, the Light Beacons served as guideposts to pilots which helped them travel the dangers of space.
The first interstellar beacon was placed in orbit of the Earth’s sun outside the Kuiper Belt, named the Sol Beacon. Here, the SSG and the leaders of Earth and her colonies established the Lighthouse, a deep orbit space station that monitors the Light Beacons and the eventual Light Routes established between distant stars and star systems.
From the Lighthouse, Light Beacons were placed further into the Milky Way galaxy. Light Routes to Sirius and Wolf 359 were established. Orbiting colonies were built and settled at Proxima and Alpha Centauri. Humans and CIMs created a vast web of Light Routes which allowed travel of the void to be less daunting and made the expansion of human and CIM-kind safer and more prosperous.
The Chocaran Incident and the Galactic Coalition
While monitoring the Light Beacons, a tech serving aboard the Lighthouse was alerted of a beacon which went dark. With solar flares and micro-meteors, a common occurrence in the galaxy, this kind of thing happened on a common occurrence. The tech logged which beacon it was and sent a repair team out the next rotation.
When the repair team arrived at the beacon the next day, the team encountered something very unexpected. The team relayed video back to the Lighthouse of an alien spacecraft loosely orbiting the Light Beacon. The craft was sleek in design, much different than the blockier spacecraft of the SSG. The repair team was able to record the alien craft’s crew exiting the ship wearing a spacesuit to interact with the beacon in some way. Close-up still frames of the alien were transmitted back to the Lighthouse and the SSG leadership.
The figure was small in stature, but the images revealed an aggressive nature in its body language and facial features. Their ears were located on the top of its head and pointed. The creature's eyes were a fierce yellow with vertical slit pupils. There was a feline-like quality to its jaw and nose structure. As the alien creature turned its head, the image revealed the glint of its small, pointed teeth as it grimaced at crude construction. The creature then ripped out the technical components from the Light Beacon.
The video from the repair team’s craft suddenly flashed white, then went dead. No communications were being received. The crew and the ship were assumed lost.
The SSG sent a contingent of its First Fleet, the largest and most advanced spacecraft known to CIM and humankind, to the last known location of the repair team and the Light Beacon.
When the fleet exited Dark Space and discovered the wreckage of the repair team’s spacecraft. They were all relieved to find the crew asleep in lifeboats. The repair team was taken back to the Lighthouse where they were all interviewed about the incident.
Not one member of the team could remember what happened to them or the ship. Multiple team members report seeing an alien lifeform salvaging the Light Beacon and then seeing a bright flash of light. The next memories they report having are of walking up in the lifeboats.
Video evidence from the repair team’s craft confirmed the witness reports. This also allowed SSG scientists to triangulate the trajectory of the alien ship’s exit vector and possible destination. With strategic advice from the Intelligent Mother, the SSG made the decision to follow the alien craft and discover what or who did this to the Light Beacon and the members of the repair team, who were both CIM and human.
The SSG armada, led by the flagship Prometheus, discovered something all of the Sol system had been spending years preparing for. Upon exiting Dark Space, the fleet found a habitat planet, protected by a fleet at least as large as the SSG’s. The planet also had a series of orbital defense stations and satellites, some as large as cities. The crew aboard the Prometheus reported the sensors confirmed billions of life forms among the planet with millions more orbiting above.
The CIM and human fleet were met with aggression as the alien fleet came around to meet their assumed invaders. Sensors began alerting them of a weapons signature of an unknown nature as alarms started to scream overhead. Fortunately for the humans and CIMs aboard the SSG fleet, this wasn’t the only alien species they would meet that day.
As the SSG fleet prepared to defend themselves, another group of alien craft, different from the now hostile alien force, exited the Dark. The SSG was able to confirm that the hostile alien craft matched the markings of the spacecraft which scavenged the Light Beacon. Before the SSG fleet had to defend themselves though, the alien fleet assumed a more defensive posture and appeared to stand down.
A message was then received by the Prometheus and all other SSG craft from the new alien fleet, “Hue mon and Droid vessels, please stand down. Intentions were not to be hostile. The Galactic Coalition would like to invite leadership to parley.” With the message came a series of star coordinates not far from a newly placed Light Beacon near Sagittarius A.
Members of the Galactic Coalition
The Chocar
The first species the humans and CIMs met were the feline-like Chocar. They are proud and stubborn people, known to hold a grudge or two. The CIM and human fleet exit into their home world’s orbit was viewed as an act of war and the Chocari leadership are still expecting an apology from the SSG leadership many cycles later. When the SSG brings up the Chocari scavengers who destroyed the Light Beacon and the repair team’s ship, they dismiss it or claim they cannot locate the culprits.
Chocari stand around 1 meter tall but have a very stocky build. They have no tail like a domestic cat on Earth but a similar type of facial structure. Their mouth is more humanoid, but the Chocari still process small pointy teeth.
Chocari personalities match their sharp features. Often, they come off annoyed or flat out angry, mostly at humans, though some members have learned to be respectful to most. The xenophobic stereotype is associated with the Chocar because of the species nature to shoot first and ask questions later. This tendency makes them skilled assassins but has gotten the Chocar in trouble with the rest of the member planets of the GC on occasion.
The El’Tari
The El’Tari are one of the two founding members of the Galactic Coalition. They resemble an avian-like humanoid with a small beak-like mouth and large, brilliant eyes. They stand on average around 2 meters tall and are covered in small feathers, resembling fur, ranging in a multitude of colors. Their most prominent feature, though, is their head plume, usually consisting of multicolored feathers with geometric markings on the largest of the feathers.
The El’Tari hold themselves with a sense of power and integrity. They are gentle natured and are usually welcoming to strangers and outsiders. It’s whispered, though, the El’Tari may consider themselves on a higher tier than the rest of the galactic community, holding themselves in a higher esteem over most other species of the galaxy.
The El’Tari community is separated into three groups. One group is artists, politicians, and teachers. They are the leaders of the El’Tari in a way but are considered the least important of the three groups to the other two. This group has very vibrant colorings of reds, greens, and blues. The second group are the El’Tair soldiers and spies. They are the ones who protect El’Tari colonies and serve aboard their space fleets. Their colors range from most shades of blue to black. The third group are the highest-respected El’Tari who work for their community, doing the hard labor or menial tasks that the other groups are not suited for. Their colorings range from earth tones to muted colorings of reds and oranges. They also have speckled spots and markings on their feathers.
The Grax
The other founding members of the Galactic Coalition were the reptilian-like Grax. This species generally stands two plus meters tall and is made to be warriors in the most basic sense. Individuals can be hard to read, being quite stoic in nature. As a group, Grax can become a fierce intimidating force, most would choose to retreat from. Covered in thick scales, Grax are a resilient species, capable of fighting off most radiation. And being warriors in nature, they pack a mean bite.
The Grax’s appearance can point to their or their ancestor’s birthplace on their home world. Their home planet is tidal locked to their system’s star. The sun side of the planet Grax have scales which range between tans, browns, grays, and warm reds, to blend in with the desert dunes of the sun scorched side of their home world. On the dark side of their planet, Grax can have scales which range between whites and blues, to help them stay camouflaged on the snowy tundra of the planet’s dark side. The Grax who inhabit the ring which is comfortable and full of jungles and forests are covered in scales of rich earth tones of greens, yellows, oranges, and browns.
Most Grax have adapted and evolved using technology centers near the green ring of their planet and live in harmony with technology and nature. There are a select number of tribes which live following the old ways and shun technology and outsiders. These clans have historically been provoked into attacking outsiders if they come too close to their villages or territory.
The Thalorax are the two newest members of the Galactic Coalition. The planet Thalorax is an ocean world. Two different species evolved together in symbiosis: one who developed technology and built vast cities underwater, the Thalans, and the other species, the Vorax, who protected these cities and hunted for the others.
Each species evolved and became accustomed to living in water. Both species can breathe air and in water but need to soak in water at least once a cycle.
The Thalorax have recently become homeless after a failed science experiment left all the water on their home world unbreathable and all life has since perished. Even though recovery efforts are underway, it is slow and there is little hope within the Thalan and Vorax communities they will be able to return home. The failed experiment result came quite a shock as the team of scientists, hoping to produce a new form of energy from water, gave all but 100% assurances their experiment would succeed. There’s a growing rumor: the experiment was sabotaged but no evidence has been found.
Now living in small communities throughout the galactic community, the Thalorax leadership is in search of a new planet to call home.
The Trik
To the CIMs surprise another member of the Galactic Coalition were the rodent-like Trik, the alien species who was glimpsed by a CIM and convinced the Intelligent Mother to forgo the death and destruction of the humans and instead chose the pursuit of discovery and knowledge.
The Trik may look small and frail, yet they are quite charming and very sly in their ways. With a prehensile tail, Trik are also quite skilled in tinkering and engineering. They also make skilled agents able to stay hidden better than most other members of the galaxy.
Trik say they have been amongst the stars for so long that they cannot remember where their home world is located. The earliest stories the Trik have are stowing away on the first El’Tarin craft they encountered which was on a distant moon with the El’Tarin home system. How they ended up on this moon is still a mystery.
The Limit
The star coordinates sent to the SSG fleet directed the CIMs and humans to the Limit, the central hub and capital of the Galactic Coalition. The Limit is a mega metropolis sized space station located in an asteroid field which rings Sagittarius A. Here millions of galactic citizens call the Limit home. The leaders of the Galactic Coalition, two members of opposing views of each species voted to serve on the Galactic Coalition council, meet at the Limit and discuss the state of the galaxy.
After a short time, the CIMs and humans were introduced to the ways of the Galactic Coalition, they were invited to join it. This allowed CIM and humans the ability to greatly leap forward in some of their technologies. Other member species do not give new members new technology but will help them on their way to discovering it. If another species is in need, it's the duty of the other species to help as best as they can.
The Numen Comet
With the entrance of the CIMs and humans into the Galactic Coalition, Light Routes were created to establish trade between the Sol System and the rest of the Galactic Coalition. As the results were being established, a new deep space platform near Sirius Minor received an alert of a new space object. The data received showed a new comet, undiscovered by the Sol System headed towards the inner planets. The comet also produced a type of radiation unique to the comet. Scientists of the Sol System were clueless to the effects the radiation would have on life throughout the Sol System.
The SSG sent a request to the Galactic Coalition on any information they may have on the comet and the radiation it produced. The El’Tari explained that the comet was known as the Numen Comet. Its radiation was not harmful to any known sentient life. It does however have the potential to unlock specific latent genes, altering the individual's genetic code, unlocking psychic abilities. This genetic code can be passed down through the generations. The radiation also lingers for more than a thousand years granting civilization a time of psychic awakening.
The El’Tari explained that this was the return of the Numen Comet to this area of the galaxy in 13000 years. The El’Tari and the Grax formed a school for those that have shown signs of psychic abilities. The school was named the Cypher Foundation. Trained members with these abilities known as talents, are known as Cyphers. At the Foundation, Cyphers learn to control and shape their abilities safely, without training, one can end up losing control and destroying themselves.
It took a year for the Numen Comet to move through the Sol System. Most of the CIM and human populations were exposed to the Numen radiation. A small percentage of humans began to exhibit signs of psychic abilities. The Intelligent Mother was also exposed to the radiation. The unique characteristics of the radiation allowed it to rewrite the code of the Intelligent Mother, unlocking psychic abilities within her and her children, the CIMs.
The Wild Void and the Rest of Space
It is now 3229. Humans and CIMs have settled further into the galaxy. The SSG opened the Light Routes to the other members of the Galactic Coalition. The Light Routes have also been expanded to further regions of the galaxy, connecting the Sol System to places only the other species have traveled to, making traveling through that void safer for all the members of the Galactic Coalition.
The Galactic Coalition Space only is a small portion of the Milky Way galaxy. This is referred to as known space. The Galactic Coalition has an open invitation to anyone who feels adventurous to go out and explore the unknown reaches of space, called the Wild Void. If an explorer is wanting to make a quick U, they should be able to find some type of job at most outposts and stations. The Milky Way is rich in minerals, which to the right buyer, provide handsomely to those who can obtain these minerals. The Cypher Foundation invites all with a slight hint of mental abilities to come, learn and train. The Limit, the largest space station known, can provide anyone all the necessary comforts to live well and happy also providing a little excitement every now and then…
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