The First Golden Age is built on one central premise. What if the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel weren’t really lost? What if they were scooped up by an alien species of Angels to fight in an ancient war in the depths of space? What if, having won that war, the Tribes became the center of human civilization in the galaxy? The entire setting flows from this premise. The Exodite culture is the Tribes, uplifted and relocated by the malakim. They face off against a myriad of aliens to defend Angelic space, and humanity. But as the Angels grow more distant, some in the Exodus question their relationship with the malakim. The galaxy is more than just the Exodus, though. It’s full of sapient species. Many of whom have created artificial life to assist them, or changed themselves into sub types. Most species in the galaxy are starfish aliens; creatures so different from life on Earth that it defies easy categorization. The strangeness of the galaxy’s life includes species that communicate with infrared pulses. Or species that reproduce by consuming genetic bulbs grown by their consorts, before budding. And a species that evolved in liquid ammonia instead of water. Whose approach to adapting to other environments has been to genetically modify themselves into new creatures. The malakim take this a step further, having uploaded their minds into their technology. Malakite society is made of gestalt intelligences, with each malak being a nation unto themselves. Each Angel is centered on a dyson swarm or similar structure. And each commands technology beyond the grasp of any other species. Their minds move freely. Between their technology, what organic forms they retain, and the massive j-brains floating within their space. To engage with a malak is to speak to the legion itself. Exodite humanity has modified itself twice over since coming to the stars. The first, and most common, modification is the dybbuk. Dybbukim are human minds that have been downloaded into robot bodies. They serve as the soldiers of Exodite culture. Dybbukim are found throughout Exodite space. The second modification is the Unfettered. These are humans who have followed the same path as the Angels. Unfettered have formed gestalts of human minds and technology. Each Unfettered is a gestalt of multiple human minds, forged into a cluster. They favour organic clusters. The Unfettered Fleet stands in opposition to human subservience to the malakim. Including humanity and the malakim there are nine sapient species in the galaxy. These include the alkresh, an eusocial species that the Exodites were uplifted to fight. Alkresh stand on two legs, and have four arms. A much smaller pair of manipulators grow from the sides of their faces. Alkreshim also have two pairs of eyes. One of which is set looking forward, and another which grows from stalks. They have three sexes: a consort who produces a genetic bulb, a matriarch that consumes it and buds new alkresh, and sterile workers. The [builders] are a quadruped species that evolved in geothermal caverns. Their planet is distant from its star, and all life survives in the warmth of the caverns. [Builders] communicate using infrared pulses, and have no verbal language. The [builder] body has four legs attached to a long body. A pair of arms grow from the top of their body to interact with tunnel and cave roofs. There’s a large “mouth” at the front of their body. This mouth consumes stone and converts it to a sludgy material that is used in [builder] construction. The true face of a [builder] is located on a long, prehensile tail. [Builders] sense their environments using several organs along their bodies. They use these organs for echolocation within the caves. [Builders] have also created the artificial species known as rhallim. Rhallim are small robots that burrow into other creatures and attach to their nervous system. A rhallim takes control of its host body and controls them, usually for the benefit of the [builders] that created them. Edija are an insectoid species native to an arid planet. Unlike Earth insects, however, edija possess both an endo and exoskeleton. Edija have six limbs, which variously serve as arms or legs. They have a pair of wings and elytra. There are three types of edija, named for the Earth bugs they resemble: Ant, beetle, and mantis. Infant edija hatch from eggs as grubs and don’t take on an adult form until after they pupate. What adult form they take depends on the genetics of their parents. Edija can have dozens of parents contributing to their egg’s genes. Edija live symbiotically with massive colony plants. This symbiosis with their colonies was the basis for the creation of the xarcan. Xarcan are a species of artificial life. They are made from the same plant as an edijan colony. A xarcan, however, is sapient. Xarcan serve as soldiers, scouts, and xenoformers for the edija. The ♪♪, also known as the singers, are a species of large cephalopoid aliens. The singers evolved on a world of vast freshwater lakes and seas. A ♪♪ has a main trunk where its organs are located. This trunk is topped by a large cap. The cap is superficially similar to a mushroom’s. The cap has a ring of eyes on top for finding threats and predators. Another ring of eyes along the bottom of the cap searches for food. Below the trunk are twelve limbs. Four are tentacles, while the other eight are arms. ♪♪ are herbivores and are highly social. There are many varieties of the avian species known as the kyreni. While they vary in size, colour, and form, there are some constants across them. Every type of kyreni has two wings that are most their body mass. They have two legs, ending in grasping claws. Manipulator limbs in the form of tendrils extend down from their wings. Their heads have a flat, almost human, face. Their teeth are bony projections of their jaws. Kyreni are covered in chitinous growths similar to feathers. The kyreni are notably aggressive, even amongst themselves. Varans are a large species that evolved on a planet of ammonia swamps. Their world has notably higher gravity than Earth. They are amphibious. Their name means “the people” in their language. Varans have two pairs of legs and two pairs of arms. They also have three pairs of fins growing along their back and tail. A fourth fin is located at the tip of the tail. A varan’s feet and tail-tip are webbed, while its hands are not. Varans have four forward-facing eyes on a short and thick face. A varan’s body is thick with muscle and fat, and they are significantly stronger than humans. In order to compensate for their reliance on ammonia, and their evolution in high gravity, varans created two subtypes of their species. The satavarans, whose name means “the people who transcend”, are a subtype created for lower gravity environments. Satavarans lose most of the bulk and length of a varan. Instead, they are taller and narrower. They use only one pair of legs for walking, and keep only one pair of arms at full size. The second pair of legs becomes a smaller pair of arms. The second pair of arms, likewise, is shrunk down as a secondary pair of manipulator limbs. Their back fins are modified into wings they can use to maneuver in low or zero-g. Their tail loses its fins and becomes prehensile for added environmental manipulation. Satavarans are the subtype most commonly encountered by other species. Hadavarans, whose name translations as “the people who descend”, are a subtype created for life in non-ammonia mediums. They are significantly larger than their varan cousins. Varans are closer to hippopotami, but hadavarans are like a humpback whale in size. Their back fins have become large wings that they use to swim with, which also protect their underwater breathing organs. The tail is narrower, as it’s used primarily for balance. Their rear legs are skinnier compared to their body, but retain the webbed feet. The second pair of legs has become smaller, acting to protect their vulnerable bellies. Their first pair of arms is modified to be much larger, able to smash through rock, or carry their bulk easily. The final pair of arms is smaller, acting as manipulator limbs. Hadavarans make up most of the varan planetary colonists. One of the youngest of the interstellar species are the yamuna. These hulking creatures are disquieting for humans, to say the least. The yamunas are herbivorous and social creatures. They live in herds and prefer the company of other creatures at all times. Yamuna have four limbs and can stand on any two of them. They sometimes move on all fours. Yamunas have no head. Instead, they keep all organs within their torso. A yamuna senses its environment by extending small stalks from its skin, through which it can see and hear. Yamunas have two primary layers of their skin. The inner layer produces a thick mucus, while the outer is easily torn and healed, and allows the mucus to pass through. A yamuna’s mucus protects it from damage, but can also help it absorb and digest materials it consumes. Yamunas communicate by humming to each other. They can also speak in the human style. To do this, they force bubbles into the mucus of their outer skin and pop them. This creates individual sounds. Galactic politics are driven by the urge to expand that seems universal. Each polity that reaches the stars sets its eyes on new worlds. And each polity seeks to protect itself from annihilation by its peers. These two factors are the balance that stops the galaxy from tipping over into a churn of constant war. They’re assisted by the rarity of habitable planets, called paradise worlds. These planets are the rare few that sit within their star’s habitable zone, possess an atmosphere of the appropriate gases, and have a magnetic field. The polities of the galaxy have agreed to respect certain laws of war because of their rarity. No tactics that can irreparably harm a paradise world are allowed. This includes the use of FTL bow waves to destroy worlds, or mass planetary bombardment. Because of the need to protect the paradise worlds, many conflicts are fought planetside. Another major driver of galactic politics is the speed and risk of faster than light (FTL) drives. The Alcubierre warp drive is the only method available to the galaxy. This method of FTL is slow when compared to the FTL of other settings. It can take months to go between inhabited systems. And the warp bubble creates a dangerous FTL bow wave capable of destroying entire planets when it pops. This bow wave forces ships to exit warp at a safe distance and heading from star systems. They then approach at slower than light (STL) speeds. The approach into a system can add months, or even years, depending on where a ship must exit warp. Because of the slow transit time between major systems, the military balance in the galaxy favours systems that have robust defenses. Every colony knows it can be years before help arrives. This has encouraged the inhabited worlds to develop independently of one another. Trade, aid, and communication are all slow and deliberate affairs. The galaxy is less an interconnected web of easily reached hubs, and more a series of islands in a vast dark ocean. For humanity, politics is conducted through the Exodus Fleet and the Commonwealth. The Exodus Fleet is the military arm of Exodite culture. It stands as an independent political organization, but is allied with all human groups except the Unfettered. The Fleet controls a dozen developed systems of its own. It takes volunteers from any allied polity, transferring their minds to dybbuk bodies. The Commonwealth of the Womb was founded by the Tribes after being uplifted by the malakim. Each Commonwealth world is populated by a mix of clones and natural born humans. It takes its name from the artificial wombs used to clone most of its populace. All humans are welcome in the Commonwealth, even those Unfettered willing to renounce their cause. Earth has fallen under Commonwealth protection since the Unfettered invasion. A rudimentary unified government, the United Nations Space Authority, was forged to interact with the galaxy at large. The UNSA has undertaken the task of developing Sol with the aid of Commonwealth resources and technology. Earth, and Sol, remain a backwater of no relevance to human or galactic affairs. Other major polities include the four great malakite powers that still interact with the other species: The Song Whose Sound is Glory, The Spreading Light of Civilization, She Whose Voice is the Fire of Creation, and Her Words are the Order of Life. The Remen Occupation Authority governs the alkreshi homeworld on behalf of the Exodus Fleet. The Star Song are the valiant explorers of the ♪♪, welcome in all areas of the galaxy. Polities from all species populate the galaxy, interacting freely, if not always peacefully, with one another. The galaxy of the First Golden Age is teeming with life. It balances between flourishing as its nations spread, and the silence of the void. Travel between the stars is slow and difficult. Yet the drive to expand, to explore, and to build is strong. What was thought lost, the Tribes of Israel, have become the foundation of a humanity that prospers without thought of the bigotry festering on our homeworld.
Author: woerm