[Erax]

Transcript from a presentation by Dr. Buchler (Nalros University) to Imperial military and scientific personnel on Berlin III, SGY 2403.3:

Good evening. I would like to thank Chief Ambassador Reima for having invited me here. There is much that the Empire and the Alliance can learn from each other. We have only recently discovered space travel, while you have been travelling among the stars for thousands of years. We have lived in this part of the Galaxy for as far back as we can remember, while you are recent arrivals.

Imperial scientists tell us this region of space is unlike any other they have ever heard of. The planetary systems here are linked by a web of warp points, or as you call them, hyperconduits. Communication with the rest of the Galaxy is impossible. Your science cannot explain any of this as natural phenomena. It is understandable, therefore, that you should want to know what theories our scientists have concerning the warp points.

I'm afraid that the warp points cannot be explained by our physicists any more than they can be explained by yours. Our theories about them come from other sciences - history, archaeology and anthropology. The study of our myths - and those of the alien races we have met - provide some fascinating hints as to the nature of our star systems. This presentation is only a brief overview of the subject, but we hope to bring other Alliance scientists here to present you with all our findings. Much of what follows is tentative, but it is the best explanation that fits the evidence we have found among the stars.

We believe this part of the Galaxy was inhabited by an incredibly powerful alien race, which most of us call the Ancients. The warp points were only one of their achievements. They were so advanced that they could create and destroy planets, nebulae and even stars. They could open and close warp points as desired. They could live on any planet, or change the characteristics of a planet to better suit their needs.

They also enjoyed studying other intelligent races. They travelled the Galaxy - and perhaps to other galaxies as well - in search of intelligent species from which they would take samples. These beings would be placed on worlds engineered to be as similar as possible to their original homes and their development would be observed from space. It is possible that some of these races were eventually adopted by the Ancients as servants or pets.

Then, for some reason, they vanished. There are many different stories concerning this event. In some legends, war broke out with another incredibly advanced species; in others, it was a civil war among the Ancients themselves. Other stories say the Ancients simply left, leaving their servant races to fight over their systems.

We may never know the causes of this disappearance, but we know force was involved. All the myths we have studied tell of a great war, although the particulars of who did the fighting and why are always different. Our recent discovery of a 'bLasted' system - random clouds of asteroids drifting around the core of a destroyed star - supports the theory that this Great War actually happened and involved destruction on a scale inconceivable to us.

After the War, the myths converge again. The Ancients left or were destroyed, leaving the warp points behind. Their servants survived, but couldn't maintain what was left of the Ancient empire. They began to backslide to pre-starfaring technology. Two of those races fought a second war at this point. It wasn't as terrible as the Great War, but still involved widespread death and destruction. One race set up an energy field around this part of space - a barrier that may be failing, since it sometimes lets ships through - and tried to destroy all other intelligent species inside it so that they would be the only heirs to the knowledge of the Ancients. The other race tried to prevent this. Meanwhile, on their own planets, the non-starfaring species began to explore orbital space and found the spying devices left in orbit by the Ancients.

At this point, legend gives way to history. The Alliance interstellar program began when we discovered the satellite around our homeworld. we plucked it from orbit and studied it, gaining hints about propulsion and guidance systems, new materials, new manufacturing techniques and even new weapons. We know for a fact that the Yakrin have a very similar story, and that explains why their spaceships - unlike yours - have essentially the same engines and weapons as ours.

So what can we conclude about what is out there waiting for us ? The Ancients no longer exist, or if they do, are not likely to return. Their two servant races - the ones our legends call the Light and the Darkness - may still be out there, locked in their ancient struggle. There may be other races using technology similar to ours to explore the Universe beyond their warp points. There may be newcomers such as yourselves. The Universe is a vast adventure, waiting for our two people to live it, if we can learn to work together.

Thank you gentlemen, and good night.

[ May 04, 2003, 16:08: Message edited by: Erax ]