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The Zeroth Age |
"As the probe entered the galaxy, its transmission relay went silent. The Q-Dex it had encountered was incompatible with its peripheral systems. It was therefore unable to avoid the collision. Hurtling forward, it crashed into the asteroid at near relativistic speed. The probe ricoched off in a new direction. Damage from the impact was negligible.Unsensed by either, a minute quantity of matter had been transferred from one to the other - living matter." A century later... "The probe found itself unable to resist the gravitational attraction of the planet. Its mission was fulfilled; it had no need to avoid the collision. It shut itself down." "Minutes later, the probe sat in a crater half a kilometer wide. A strange, uneven glow illuminated one small portion of its exterior. The matter which had clung tentatively to the probe for so long had been aroused from its dormant state by the heat of atmospheric entry. Overhead, a small young star lit the sky. Below, in the crater, cell reactions began to resume." Two million years later... "The rock accelerated slowly as it headed toward the new system. It had done so countless times before, only to hurtle through and carry on into the void beyond. This time was to be different, however. A it neared the fourth planet out from the [star], it would have become apparant to an onlooker that the rock was fated to end its journey. Due to the composition of the rock, it did not ignite as it tore down through the atmosphere of the unsuspecting planet, but absorbed incredible amounts of energy. Smashing into the rocky surface and sending out waves of force which caused the ground to ripple as if a stone had been absently dropped into a lake, it threw huge amounts of dust into the air. This was soon arrested by the high gravitic pull of the planet. As it cleared, anyone present would have witnessed a dim glow coming from an otherwise dark, smouldering boulder. Fortunately, no life had ever evolved on this planet and there was no one to interfere." |
The Age of Thought |
750000 la: The Galax gain consciousness. 749500 la: The Galax start to study the universe through its radiation. |
The Age of Awakening |
738397 la: Psionic powers begin to appear among the Galax. 738254 la: First occurrence of 'Dead Memory'. 'Dead Memory' is so called because of the Young Ones' phrase 'in living memory'. It is memory which has not been lived through but has been passed on from the last generation of Galax. Sometime shortly before he dies, a Galax will share his memory with another, younger Galax, often a descendant, but not always. This imparts all of the elder's knowledge, experience, views and beliefs. Thus it is ensured that no knowledge is ever lost to the Galax as a whole. This has allowed the Galax to avoid the setbacks which often plague the Young Ones' civilizations' developments. 735491 la: The Galax begin to plan for exploration beyond their own world, Galax. 733448 la: All Galax have acquired psionic abilities at this point. 729501 la: The Galax begin construction of their first extraplanetary vessel. 729498 la: Construction of vessel completed. 729497 la: First interplanetary vayage sucessfully conducted. This voyage took place between Galax and Galaxus Prime, on which the Galax discovered a few primitive microbes. 729493 la: The Galax finish construction of 3 more interplanetary vessels and begin to explore their home system of Galaxus. |
The Age of Enlightenment |
720184 la: Galax master psionic control of Gravitons. 709460 la: The Galax discover a ring of dark matter circling at the outskirts of the Galaxus System. This was not detected by Watchers since it gives out no radiation. 708927 la: A method for integrating dark matter with normal matter is devised. This will require a massive gravitational field to accomplish. 706274 la: The Galax begin construction of their first interstellar vessel. 706259 la: The brown neutron star, Praxis, is discovered by Watchers. A proceedure for meshing dark, heavy and normal matter into a single compound is theorised. 706258 la: First interstellar vessel is completed and launched - destination Praxis. 706256 la: Praxis is reached. Heavy matter is extracted from the Neutron Star and held in control. 706254 la: Heavy matter is returned to Galax. Construction of the first FTL-capable vessel begins. |
The Hyper Age |
706251 la: First FTL craft is lauched. After a successful test flight, it travels to Praxis and construction of a freighter vessel capable of carrying Terratons of heavy matter is begun in orbit around Praxis. Matter and Galax are brought from the Galaxus System. 706248 la: The freighter is completed. Dark matter is brought in bulk from Galaxus to build a fleet of exploratory vessels. 706244 la: Widespread exploration of the Universe begins with the completion of the first of a fleet of 5 FTL exploratory vessels. 706236 la: Removal of vast amounts of dark matter from the Galaxus System is found to have radically altered the pattern of its solar bodies. New dark matter is imported from another, lifeless, system and the motion of the planets is restored by a cooperative effort of all Galax. |
The Age of ReUnion |
700000 la: The Galax cross their first quantum front. Such a phenomenon had been theorised, however, and theoretical proceedures for dealing with alternate realities were readily put into practice by the vessel's crew. It is in this zone that the Galax come into contact with the Primeans. The two races, seperated before evolution, spawned of the same organic matter, reunite to become one - The Galax. The more numerous Primeans discard their own, comparitively disorderly, culture and embrace the utter tranquility offered by the Galax. Together they explore the Primean System. The 4 other interstellar vessels are completed. 3 are sent to the Primean System, while 1 is left in orbit around Praxis. The Primeans teach the Galax to use magic and the Galax help the Primeans to develop their natural psionic abilities. These had been all but ignored in favour of zone-specific magic. 699993 la: The new Galax begin construction of a new fleet of ships, which are to be better designed to propogate through the majority of realities. |
The First Withdrawal |
684935 la: Having crossed thousands of fronts and endured thousands of realities, the Galax discover a race of biological sentients. They have a primitive interplanetary society, with no FTL evident. First contact does not go according to plan. The Galax land on their capital planet with the expectation that all sentient life would be logical and peaceful. Both assumptions are incorrect. The resulting incident led to the Galax rethinking their relative position in the universe and the inception of the Galaxean Ethos - a collection of guide lines governing behaviour. The Galax withdrew and let the race to its own devices. Having observed the race from a distance, the Galax become concerned. The creatures committed acts for which the Galax had no words. These they learned to be crimes - acts by which one party involuntarily suffers so that another party benefits. This experience makes the Galax question whether contact with other races is desireable. The conclusion is no and the Galax cease exploration of space, instead concentrating on intellectual discovery. They still watch the stars, but their ships stay within the Domain. 653760 la: It was during this age that the Galax attempted to subdue the very fabric of the universe. An ambitious project was undertaken to create a stable wormhole across a quantum front. Warping reality in all ten dimensions, the Galax used the power of two stars to break through the quantum barrier in each of two zones. Unfortunately, the resulting fissure was uncontrollable. The Galax broke off the attempt and both stars collapsed under intense gravitic and quantum forces. The resulting black holes are a reminder to the Galax of their gravest error, and a warning to others who would attempt the same. |
The ReEmergence |
A lone craft flew through the star-void at exactly c. Its mystic sails strained with the force of the wind in this part of space. Within, the crew were going about their mundane tasks as the had done every turn for the past 17 orbits. The first officer, stared out the main portal at the stars, which appeared to be drifting slowly over the bow. He was proud to be on this long voyage, his people's first to another star, but night watch was always a chore. For 17 orbits he had exchanged this chair with his captain every half-turn. He sighed and shifted position slightly in an attempt to shake the drowsiness he was currently experiencing. He opened his mouth to ask the seer something when the ship lurched to his left. 'Helmsman! What in Naar was that?' The helmsman never got the chance to answer. The cabin's rotation, which was producing the ship's artificial gravity, stopped at exactly the same instant that the mystic wind became erratic. The ship lurched and heaved about, throwing its inhabitants about wildly. Objects which it was never thought necessary to secure became lethal weapons as they were hurled across compartments, crushing and impaling panicking crewmembers. Those on the bridge fared no better, being thrown against the square edges of control tables. After the jolting stopped, the first officer regained his voice. 'Report!' 'Hull integrity breached. Auto repair system seems to be offline.' replied an ensign who floated over the scryer he was clinging to. 'What do you mean "seems"?' snorted the first officer. 'I want facts!' 'Sorry sir, its just that... well, I can't see anything.' The seer broke in, 'The magic's gone Gill, it's not working anymore.' The first officer attempted unsuccessfully to spin round and face the seer. 'Not you, Kirchem, you're the last person I'd expect to succumb to space m...' His words died off as the seer dragged himself into his field of vision. A seer should be able to levitate easily in such an environment and yet Kirchem gripped the command chair as if his life depended on it. Look into his eyes Gill saw something he'd never have thought possible of Kirchem - unbridled terror. As the seer grasped Gill's outstretched appendage and pulled him back into his command chair, Gill started yelling at the crew again. 'Systems! What have we got? Is anything still operational?' 'I can't tell, sir, the scryer's dead. So's the interface. I'd say we're looking at a TSF, sir.' A Total System Failure was not something Gill wanted to think about. It was as if someone had somehow disenchanted the entire ship, but they were the first to leave their sys... A horrific thought struck Gill; suppose that there was life out here. A child's tale, he knew, but at this particular moment in time he was grasping at straws anyway... A voice behind him broke his trail of thought. 'First Sharack, what have you done to my ship this time?' Twisting his head around, he saw the captain standing between the half-opened doors at the back of the bridge. From the formality of his address and the tone of his voice, Gill deduced that he was not in a good mood. 'Sir! Err...' 'I've just come from the lower deck. They've a hull breach down there. Managed to seal off the compartment, but we've lost a lot of atmosphere. I hope you've got good news for me, Gill.' 'How much atmosphere, sir?' 'I'd say a good quarter of the ship's volume. It's not a problem, Conjuration will replace it...' 'No sir, they won't. We've got a TSF and according to Kir, the ship's been disenchanted.' 'That's not what I meant', put in the seer. 'The magic isn't just repressed, it's as if it was never there in the first place. Even worse, I can't see with my second sight. It's as if we sailed past the edge of space. Naar, I can't even levitate about in this weightlessness. We're in serious trouble, Jerf.' 'No kidding, Kir. Has anyone sent a call of distress?' 'Not possible, sir', piped the sender. 'I can't even communicate with anyone onboard.' The captain look out the main portal at the stars beyond. They seemed very far distant all of a sudden. About him, his crew awaited his decision. He didn't have much to decide. 'Gill, have the entire crew gather on the upper deck. I want everyone... accounted for. Inform me when it is done.' 'Aye, sir.' A hundreth of a turn later, he stood before his assembled crew on the mid-deck. The bridge was deserted. What was the use in manning it? They were adrift with a limited atmosphere and a TSF, further from home than anyone else had ever ventured. He'd said that the council was mad, sending them out to Shi'rana, the star closest to their system. What was the point? Everyone knew there was no one out there. Was it not written that Ji'Kaan had created the world for them alone? He had not realised how lonely creation was until a short while ago. They were never meant to come to this forsaken place where there was no life; only a slow death awaited them now. He drew breath to speak and realised that it was going to be one of his last. 'Fellows, you all know our current situation. We are adrift, helpless, with limited atmosphere. We can not call for help, but even if we could, we are orbits away from home. There is no chance of salvation; even the magic has died.' The crew waited with the resolve of those already dead. The captain cleared his throat and continued: 'I would like to take this opportunity to give you the praise that know I have neglected during this long and tedious voyage. I know we've all gotten on each other's nerves over the past 17 orbits, perhaps no one more than me, with the exception of Sender Kurzeth, of course.' A couple of half-hearted sniggers from the crew. 'I want each and every one of you to know that everyone on board this ship is the best in their field. I know we were all individually chosen for this mission, but I feel that never, in all my previous commands, have I had a crew so committed to each other. You went out of your way to help each other. Each of you should be proud of your efforts. Is it not written: "Not in the success, but in the struggle is the soul forged." And so I wish each of you swift passage to the next life, for surely the trials we have undergone are among the greatest of our people. So long are we have our faith, we are not abandoned. Trust in Ji'Kaan.' 'Trust in Ji'Kaan!' came the response. *Who am I fooling?* thought Jerf, as he watched several members of his crew breaking down before him. *The magic's deserted us; Ji'Kaan wouldn't let that happen.* Just as he was about to give in and leave the tears he'd been holding back flow, he heard a voice: *You are not alone* 534782 la: The above event reintroduces the outside galaxy to the Galax. Upon discovering that organics are not inherently destructive, merely inherently chaotic, the Galax once again start exploring the universe. Their ships pass beyond the Domain in search of others. |
The Age of Patience |
526490 la: The Galax are disappointed to meet only a handful of void-faring sentient races. Practically all of these were non-corporeal beings which had evolved in highly irradiated nebulae. The Galax decide that life will take far more time to become widespread than they had anticipated. They discontinue actively searching the galaxy for new life, waiting for it to emerge of its own accord. During this age, the only Galax to leave the Domain are the pairs of ambassadors assigned to each race that the Galax are in contact with. Whenever a new void-faring race appears, a new pair of ambassadors is sent to make contact and to stay to learn of that race. A few new ships are built as needed. |
The Age of Life |
135746 la: In the few billion years that they were untravelled, planetary systems had spawned and evolved a plethora of different life forms. After the start of this age, void-faring races start appearing more frequently. The Galax refer to these new races as the Young Ones. |
The Second Withdrawal |
3 la: Abruptly, the Galax withdraw for a second time. Ambassadors are recalled without reason and all contact with the outside is discontinued. Probes entering the Domain cease to function as soon as they cross the border and no race is willing to mount a manned expedition. Gradually, the Galax fade away into myth and legend as more interesting developments in the galaxy distract the Young Ones. |
Note |
la = lifes ago 1 life = 10000 years |
