2401.7
The Alteri had explored many systems in a short time and had found many new worlds with great promise for their future. Rapidly expanding through the universe they had not even the barest of inkling that they might not be alone in the universe. While most other races had contact with other species from the very beginning of their evolution, even if non-sentient species, the Alteri had always been alone. In their billions of years of sentience not once had they seen a thing that was not one of them. Not once had even the smallest microscopic organism fallen under their gaze. The brief studies they had engaged in on their own bodies had yielded few results as the Alteri internal biology was 100% sterile. No parasites, no diseases, no symbiotic organisms. The Alteri where 100% self contained organisms without any contact of any kind with any other living thing. They knew for a fact to the core of their being that they were completely and utterly alone, this had never bothered them because this is they way they had evoloved and the only way things had ever been. This was such basic knowledge that nobody ever questioned it. It was known. A very few early memories seemed to indicate that once this was not true, but the memories were so old that they were determined to be faulty. The universe was empty and waiting for the Alteri and it had always been so.
While the Alteri had since expanded into the universe they had as of yet to land even a single probe on a planet with any life. This was for a very basic reason. Due to the very makeup of the Alteri almost any atmosphere would be lethal, instantly, and very painfully. The nature of the Alteri was such that when there was no need to risk life, life was not risked. Study of such hostile places could be delayed until some future time, perhaps after more friendly planets had been exhausted. It also happened that none of those planets had any sentient life. The automatic transmission of thought waves that thinking creatures give off is exponentially increased with sentience. In non-sentient life an Alteri would have to be within a few miles to come into thought synchronization and become aware of the life form. Thus the Alteri still believed themselves the only living things in the Universe.
In a single instant that changed.
The Alteri exploration vessel Kioun moved toward and then through the unexplored wormhole leaving system Kractecved. The ship exited the worm hole in system Gothrujoz and instantly every Alteri mind was buffeted with sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and over nine million indepently thinking minds each without any contact of the other minds surrounding it, without any true understanding of those others, without any unified control or pattern. The Alteri had no sense of sight, sound, scent, or taste. These images were nonsense, pure gibberish with no meaning. Only a weak pattern of touch had any coherence to it at all, but those were overwhelmed by the rest. The Alteri were instantly paralyzed with the jumbled chaos of so much with so little sense.
For several hours the bombardment continued until a few managed to erect a filter. Those thoughts that had no coherence were filtered out. While this still left a thin stream of physical touch pouring through, this was within the realm of Alteri understanding and could be handled.
The Firsts recovered first and rapidly calmed the rest of the population as best they could. Order was restored and a select few Alteri were chosen to attempt to unravel and understand these new thoughts that had intruded upon the Alteri.
I know I said I would have the first characters here... but that will have to wait until the first diplomatic contact.
