History
Contents
Time and Setting
The happenings of this fictional universe take place within the Milky Way galaxy, in a time period roughly 100,000 years in the future. The exact timeframe is unknown. Synths were created in the Outer Rim, by ancestors of the same multi-species civilization they inhabit today (with "today" being this far point in the future). Time within the Outer Rim civilization is measured in standard years, which, despite the Sol system not being part of the Outer Rim territory, is the amount of time it takes Earth to orbit around its sun. It is unknown to the inhabitants of the Outer Rim whether Earth still exists, or if it was destroyed during The Great Reset, but Earth's theoretical rotation and position around its sun are still used in form of a standardized unit in which the passage of time is measured. The calendar used is based on The Great Reset, using the time of the Reset as year 0. Years before the Reset are referred to as BR (Before Reset), while years after are referred to as AR (After Reset). 1000 years after the Great Reset would therefor be written as "1000 AR".
Before Reset
Only fragments of knowledge are left about the times before the Great Reset, due to large parts of the galaxy remaining unexplored after the collapse of civilization. The mysteries of the past are only slowly becoming unraveled, as more of the galaxy is re-explored and lost ground is examined for clues. What is known is that the majority of the Galaxy had been colonized by a pan-galactic civilization originating from the Sol System. This civilization is referred to as the Sol civilization. It did not have a singular name for itself, since it consisted of a multitude of powerful factions, nations, empires and groups of interest, each of them with their own identities and names. The exact relationships between these factions and their nature are lost to time. It is to be assumed that the civilization went through times of war, times of peace and various shades of strife inbetween until the Great Reset ended it all, leading to the extinction of the vast majority of all species and much knowledge being lost forever.
Reach of the Sol Civilization
Species diversity
While it is not fully known how many species lived within the Sol civilization, it is assumed that the diversity of species was greater than it is today, since archelogical exploration has found remains of apparentl sapient species who can not be found among the people of the Outer Rim. The assumption is that somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of all sapient species that existed during the Sol civilization have gone extinct during the Great Reset and that the species found in the Outer Rim are the only ones left.
It is hypothesized that all sapient species known today have a common ancestor species, which may have been the main species of the Sol civilization. It can only be theorized what that species looked like and what it was called, but it is to be assumed that this ancestor species combined many traits that are common in the remaining species of today. Genetic evidence suggests that this ancestor species went extinct during the Great Reset, since none of the surviving species of the Outer Rim comes into question of being said species.
A leading hypothesis in biology suggests that the main species of the Sol civilization may have created every other species through genetic engineering. Evolutionary theory suggests that the evolution of so many species with eerily common traits is not possible without genetic meddling. The exact reason for the creation of other species beside the ancestors is unknown. Archeological findings suggest that not every species was treated equally within the Sol civilization, with some species appearing to be created for a particular purpose. It is not unlikely that many of the species we know today originally started out as being created for forced labour, specialized task or even worse.
The Great Reset
The Great Reset refers to a cataclysmic event that almost led to the extinction of all life in the galaxy. The exact cause of the event is unknown, as well as its exact nature. The event's epicenter was calculated to have been the Sol system. Since the strength of its destructive force seems to have tapered off around the edges of a circular zone that encompassed almost the entire galaxy. The only systems not affected were the systems on the outermost edge of the galactic disc, furthest away from the epicenter. All signs point towards an event that lasted for 2 to 3 hours. Not much is known about the nature of the Great Reset, aside from that it affected biological life only and seems to have been highly infectious. It is speculated that it may have been an infectious disease, although it is unknown how any disease could spread across the entire galaxy within a few hours. One hypothesis suggests that a variation of a gray goo event may be to blame. The only survivors were either located on underdeveloped colonies in the outer rim of the galaxy or within colony ships on their way to these colonies. The only reason these colonies were unaffected was their distance from the epicenter.
