Timeline of Galactic Series

2019 A.D. Nigel Walmsley encounters the Snark, a mechanical scout.

2024  Ancient alien starship found wrecked in Marginis crater, on Earth’s moon.

2041  First signal received at Earth from Ra.

2049  First near-light-speed interstellar probes.

2060  Modified asteroid ships launched, using starship technology extracted from Marginis wreck.

2064  Lancer starship launched with Nigel Walmsley aboard.

2066  Discovery of machine intelligence Watchers.

2067  First robotic starship explorations. Swarmers and Skimmers arrive at Earth.

2076  Lancer arrives at Ra. Discovery of the “microwave-sighted” Natural society.

2077  Lancer departs Ra.

2081  Mechanicals trigger nuclear war on Earth.

2085  Starship Lancer destroyed at Pocks. Watcher ship successfully attacked, with heavy human losses.

2086  Nigel Walmsley and others escape in Watcher ship, toward Galactic Center. Humans launch robot starship vessels to take mechanical technology to Earth.

2088  Humans contain Swarmer-Skimmer invasion. Alliance with Skimmers.

2095  Heavy human losses in taking of orbital Watcher ships. Annihilation of Watcher fleet. No mechanical technology captures due to suicide protocols among Watchers.

2097  Second unsuspected generation of Swarmers emerges.

2108  First in-flight message received from Walmsley expedition: “We’re still here. Are you there?”

2111  Final clearing of Earth’s oceans.

2128  Robot vessels from Pocks arrive at Earth carrying mechanical technology. Immediate use by recovering human industries.

2175  Second mechanical-directed invasion of Earth, using targeted cometary nuclei from Oort cloud. Rebuilding of human civilization.

2302  Third mechanical-directed invasion of Earth. The Aquila Gambit begins successive novas in near-Earth stars. Beginning of Ferret Time.

2368  First mechanical attempt to make Sun go nova. Failure melts poles of Earth.

2383  Second nova attempt. Continents severely damaged.

2427  Fourth mechanical-directed invasion of Earth. Rebuilding of human civilization.

2593  Fifth mechanical-directed invasion of Earth. Diplomatic ploy thwarted.

2763  Fifty-seventh Walmsley message received: “Are you there?”

3264  First expedition launched toward Galactic Center from Earth.

4455  First appearance of fourth chimpanzee species; clear divergence from host, Homo sapiens, the third species.

FLIGHT OF HUMAN FLEET TO GALACTIC CENTER “THE BIG JUMP”

29,079  Formation of added geometries to Wedge space-time around the central black hole. Old One manipulation of local Galactic Center space-time, apparently in anticipation of further mechanical-Natural violence. Mechanical forms carry out first incursions into Old One structures.

29,694  Walmsley group arrives at Galactic Center in Watcher craft.

29,703  First human entry into Wedge. Some communication with Old Ones.

29,741  Arrival of Earth fleet expedition at Galactic Center.

29,744  Meeting of Earth expedition and Walmsley group.

30,020- The “Great Times” of human development. Unsuc-34,567   cessful search for Galactic Library. Successive conflicts with mechanicals. Development of higher layers of mechanical “sheet intelligences.” Philosophical conflicts within mechanical civilizations. Formation of mechanical artistic philosophy.

34,567- Chandelier Age. Humans protected themselves 35,812   against rising mechanical incursions. Participation of earlier humans from the Walmsley expedition. Some collaboration with Cyber organic/mechanical forms. Discovery of Galactic Library in the Wedge.

35,812- The “Hunker Down.” Exodus from the Chandeliers 37,483   to many planets within 80 light-years of Absolute Center. Includes High Arcology Era, Late Arcology Era, and High Citadel Age as human societies contract under Darwinnowing effects of mechanical competition.

37,518  Fall of Family Bishop Citadel on Snowglade, termed the “Calamity.”

37,524  Escape of Family Bishop from Snowglade in ancient human vessel. Clandestine oversight of this band by Mantis level mechanicals.

37,529  Surviving Bishops reach nearest star, encounter Cybers. Defeat local mechanicals. Adopt some human refugees.

37,530  Bishops leave, escorted by Cybers and cosmic string.

37,536  Bishops reach Absolute Center, enter Wedge.

37,538  Temporal sequences become stocastically ordered. Release of Trigger Codes into mechanical minds. Death of most mechanical forms. Intervention of Highers to rectify damage done by excessive mechanical expansion.

Preservation of several human varieties. Archiving of early forms in several deeply embedded representations.

Beginning of cooperation between Higher mechanically-based forms and organic (“Natural”) forms. Decision to address the larger problems of all lifeforms by Syntony, in collaboration with aspects of lower forms.

Beginning of mature phase of self-organized forms.

END OF PREAMBLE. LATER EVENTS CANNOT BE THUS REPRESENTED.