recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Chaos Gods

The **Chaos Gods**, also called the Dark Gods or the Ruinous Powers, are powerful entities who inhabit and control the psychic dimension that underlies all physical reality known as the Immaterium or the Warp in the Warhammer 40k Universe.

They are created and sustained by the emotions and collective desires of every sentient being of the material universe. When an emotion or belief in realspace grows strong enough, it becomes embodied as one of the sentient denizens of the Warp.

The most powerful and most malevolent of these have become the Gods of Chaos. Although they are god-like beings, the Dark Gods are by their nature monomaniacal and completely single-minded since they are formed entirely of a single emotion or concept. The Chaos Gods are dependent upon the emotions of mortal creatures, especially the hordes of humanity, for their power and continued existence.

As a result, the Chaos Gods strive to convert all mortals to their worship and service so that they may ultimately dominate the universe. However, if they were to win such a dark victory, it would likely destroy all of reality.

The Chaos Gods and the forces of Chaos that serve them are the greatest enemies of the Imperium of Man, the Aeldari and most other sentient forms of life in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Tachyon

A **tachyon** is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light, consistent only with the new laws of physics so that causality is not violated. Tachyons exhibit the exotic property of increasing in speed as their energy decreases, and would require infinite energy to slow down to the speed of light.

If all matter is divided into three general classes:

* Tardyons can move at any velocity less than c = speed of light (normal matter). These are also called bradyons and are massive particles.
* Luxons can travel only at c (photons and neutrinos). These are massless particles.
* Tachyons can only be superluminal, greater than c. They have an imaginary or complex mass. They speed up as they lose energy. At zero energy they have infinite velocity and are present everywhere in the universe at the same time (transcendental tachyon).

An electron and a positron, both tardyons, undergo "annihilation" when brought together with the release of gamma-ray photons, which are luxons. A neutron, a tardyon, can decay into an antineutrino, which is a luxon. A gamma-ray (luxon) striking an atomic nucleus gives rise to an electron/positron pair (both tardyons). Conversion between tardyons and luxons are common, and conversion from tardyons to tachyons and vice versa are moderated by luxons.

The speed of a tachyon *increases* as its energy decreases. Therefore, just as bradyons are forbidden to break the light-speed barrier, so too are tachyons forbidden from slowing down to below *c*, because infinite energy is required to reach the barrier from either above or below.

A tachyonic field is a quantum field with an imaginary mass. The Higgs field also has imaginary mass but has been known to exist since the discovery of the Higgs boson.

Tachyons are used to send signals faster than light. A *tachyonic antitelephone* is a hypothetical device that could be used to send signals into one's own past. In 1907 Albert Einstein presented a thought experiment of how faster-than-light signals can lead to a paradox of causality, which was described as a means "to telegraph into the past".

They are also used to build tachyon spaceships.
Krell

The **Krell** are an extinct race of advanced beings of the planet Altair IV in Forbidden Planet. A human called Dr. Morbius was the only researcher to ever study the extinct Krell.

The Krell had reached an incredibly advanced stage of technological and scientific development, able to reproduce matter down to the nuclear level. They were able to construct a 33,000 km3 underground machine that could turn thoughts into reality and project that anywhere on the planet, giving a physical form and life to their Id.

Dr. Morbius used their *plastic educator*, a device able to create a 3d visualization of the operator's thoughts, to boost his IQ such that he could understand some of the basic science of the Krell. Morbius believed that the Krell, after millions of years of social advancement, were not only technologically but morally superior to humanity—a benevolent and noble race of scholars and pacifists who had evolved beyond war and violence.

Morbius eventually discovered that in a single day and night, 2,000 centuries ago, the entire Krell race disappeared. All above-ground evidence of their civilization had vanished. When combined with the power of their vast machine, the unbridled emotions of their Ids were let loose to eradicate the entire Krell race.
Carl Sagan

**Carl Sagan** was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space: the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them.

Sagan advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method, pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

He suggested a change to Kardashev's original scale by interpolating and extrapolating the values given for types I (1016 W), II (1026 W) and III (1036 W), which would produce the formula K=(logP-6)/10 where *K* is a civilization's Kardashev rating and *P* is the power it uses, in watts. Humanity's civilization type as of 1973 was about 0.7, using an average power consumption of 10 terawatts (TW) as the value. See Kardashev scale for an in-depth discussion.

Sagan also proposed an *Information Mastery* alternative to the scale. He assigned the letter A to represent 106 unique bits of information and each successive letter to represent an order of magnitude increase, so that a level Z civilization would have 1031 bits. In this scale, 1973 Earth is a 0.7 H civilization, with access to 1013 bits of information. Sagan believed that no civilization has yet reached level Z, conjecturing that so much unique information would exceed that of all the intelligent species in a galactic supercluster and observing that the universe is not old enough to exchange information effectively over larger distances.

We believe this scale to be out of date, as we are already at Zettascale (1021) with 18 zettabytes of total global data in 2018 and predicted to reach 175 zettabytes by 2025, making us P and then Q already. The scale talks about "unique" data but that would be impossible to calculate.

Quote from Carl:

*We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.*
Cold fission

**Cold fission** or **cold nuclear fission** occurs at temperatures much lower than those required for traditional nuclear fission. In traditional nuclear fission, atoms are split by bombarding them with high-energy neutrons. Cold fission, on the other hand, is triggered by low-energy neutrons or even by protons, in a process known as proton-induced fission. At very low temperatures, the nuclei of atoms are less tightly bound, making them more susceptible to being split by low-energy particles.

Potential applications are nuclear medicine, the production of isotopes for industrial and research purposes, or nuclear reactors with high efficiency and low maintenance and low energy input.

See also:

Cold fusion
Mass Relay

**Mass Relays** are mass transit devices scattered throughout the Milky Way in the Mass Effect Universe. They form an enormous network allowing interstellar travel. A mass relay can transport starships instantaneously to another relay within the network, allowing for journeys that would otherwise take years or even centuries with only FTL drives.

FTL without time dilation is achieved using element zero that, when subjected to an electrical current, releases dark energy which can be manipulated into a mass effect field, raising or lowering the mass of all objects within that field. A positive current increases mass, a negative current decreases it. This "mass effect" is used in countless ways, from generating artificial gravity to manufacturing high-strength construction materials to FTL drives.

Like the Citadel, the Protheans were given credit for its creation but they were actually created by the Reapers.

See also:
Mass Relay
Humans (Buffy)

**Humans** were the dominant species of Earth following the rule of the Old Ones in the Buffy Universe.

There were many types of humans, and although some retained their original DNA, others became different species with a bit of human blood in them. A demon, on the other hand, was a type of supernatural evil destructive lifeform native to various Hell dimensions separated from Earth; so any creature that was not a deity, robot, or unmodified human.

* **Slayers** were young girls imbued with the physical powers of most demons, such as superhuman strength, speed, endurance and skill. Buffy was a vampire slayer.
* **Vampires** originated when the last banished Old One killed and mixed his blood with a human
* **Zombies** were dead humans reanimated through magical means
* **Mummies** were magically reanimated human corpses with regenerative powers
* **Werewolves** suffered from a curse which transformed them into wolf-like beasts
* **Witches** and **warlocks** were able to perform magical spells
* **Ghosts** and **poltergeists** were the spiritual manifestations of deceased humans.

* **Cyborgs** could have human origins, with synthetic enhancements integrated into their bodies for the purpose of improving physical and/or mental capacities.
Humans (Forgotten Realms)

**Humans** on Toril are an ancient race in the Forgotten Realms Universe. They are widespread and could be found in most regions. In general, they are fierce and disagreeable, which could sometimes lead certain other races to view them with contempt. They are renowned for their diversity and ambition. They can live to be more than 100, although an average age is 70.

The Age of Humanity was the period which began with the decline of the elven and dwarven empires and the flourishing and expansion of the human empires around the world.

Humans play a central role in Baldur's Gate. A notable human mage was Elminster who used godly influence and magic to live for many centuries.
Electromagnetic pulse

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that results from a nuclear explosion that disables many forms of electronic devices. After nuclear detonation, the EMP starts with a short, intense burst of gamma rays which interact with the atoms in air molecules, and electrons are released through a process called the Compton Effect. The electrons ionize the atmosphere and generate a powerful electrical field. The strength and effect of the EMP depends highly on the altitude at which the bomb detonates and the local strength of the Earth’s magnetic field.

It is estimated today that if a single nuclear bomb was exploded 250 miles above Kansas, the entire continental U.S would be affected, due to the greater strength of the Earth’s magnetic field over the U.S. Even the water supply would be affected, given that it relies on electrical pumps.

Less-powerful EMPs can be produced through explosively pumped fluxed compression generators, which are essentially normal electrical generators driven by an explosion using conventional fuel. Electronic equipment can be protected from an EMP by placing it within a Faraday Cage, which is a metallic shield that can divert the electromagnetic energy directly to the ground.
C'tan

The **C'tan** or **Star Gods** are said to be the oldest intelligent beings in The Warhammer 40K Universe, created at the moment of creation of the universe. They are vast beings of pure energy who are able to consume stars, planets and nebulae.

Eventually the Necrons tried to destroy them using universe-strength hyper-cannons. As the C'tan were immortal star-spawn, part of the fundamental fabric of reality and therefore impossible to destroy, so each C'tan was instead sundered into thousands of smaller and less-powerful shards. Despite their reduced state, C'tan Shards are beings of near-unlimited power, and these are some of their reality-warping abilities:

* **Antimatter Meteor** - an orb of antimatter, hurled as a projectile.

* **Entropic Touch** - decays object on contact, causing entropic disorder

* **Gaze of Death** - drains the life from all in the vicinity.

* **Lord of Fire** - become a creature of living flame.

* **Seismic Assault** - tides of magma from deep below a world's crust.

* **Sentient Singularity** - destabilizes all local gravitational forces.

* **Time's Arrow** - mutating the flow of causality and remoulding the temporal stream of the spacetime continuum, casting its foe back into the darkness from before time was time, erasing them from existence as if they had never been.

* **Transdimensional Thunderbolt** - a bolt of transdimensional energy.

* **Writhing Worldscape** - undoing the physical laws of reality.
Lanteans

The **Lanteans**, also known as the **Ancestors** in the Stargate Universe, were those Ancients who left Earth in the City-ship Atlantis 5-10 million years ago and settled in the Pegasus galaxy. They were directly responsible for the emergence of the Asurans and the Wraiths, and seeded Pegasus with Humans. Eventually, being Ancients, they ascended.

The Lanteans were worshipped as gods by the people of the Pegasus galaxy and some of their technology was left behind to be found and used by people who understood it. Atlantis was among the many wonders left behind and was ultimately discovered by an expedition; unknown to them Atlantis was the centerpiece of Lantean society and was a massive City-ship capable of space travel.
Hypersonic

Hypersonic speeds are around 6,000 to 8,000 km/h and are the proposed speeds of vactrains.

Aircraft flying at these speeds could have a cruising speed of Mach 5, which is more than 7 times faster than typical passenger jets and 5 times the speed of sound. Hypersonic planes can fly from New York to California in 30 minutes. And they can fly from New York to London in under 4 hours.

Their advantages are numerous. They can be lighter than Boeing 747s and utilize conventional runways. Additionally, they would make moderate take-off noise. The only disadvantage is that they would lack windows because windows would be too heavy for this type of aircraft. One solution to this problem could be the installation of flat-screen displays that show footage of the world outside.
Big Freeze

The **Big Freeze** is a cosmological model concerning the ultimate fate of the universe, in which when the growth of the universe continues unabated. The second law of thermodynamics states that total entropy always increases, so eventually, the universe will grow cold as matter and heat become more diffuse. The stars will cease to shine, the night sky would become totally black, and temperatures would plunge to near absolute zero, when even molecules cease almost all their motion.

The speculation was that the universe evolving slowly in five epochs:

1. In the first epoch, the first billion years after the Big Bang, the universe was filled with hot opaque clouds of ionic molecules, too hot for electrons and protons to condense into atoms.
2. In the second epoch, a billion years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled down enough so that atoms, stars, and galaxies could emerge from the chaos. Empty space suddenly became crystal clear, and stars lit up the universe for the first time. We are living in this era now.
3. In the third epoch, about one hundred billion years after the Big Bang, the stars will have exhausted most of their nuclear fuel. The universe will consist mainly of small red dwarf stars, which burn so slowly that they can shine for trillions of years.
4. In the fourth epoch, trillions of years after the Big Bang, all the stars will finally burn out and the universe will go completely black. Only dead neutron stars and black holes remain.
5. In the fifth epoch, even black holes begin to evaporate and disintegrate, so the universe becomes a sea of nuclear waste and drifting subatomic particles.

In 2011, the Nobel Prize in physics was given to Saul Perlmutter, Adam Riess, and Brian Schmidt for discovering that the universe, instead of slowing down in its expansion, was actually speeding up. The universe is 13.8 billion years old, but about 5 billion years ago, it began to accelerate exponentially. With the discovery of the accelerating universe, this entire scenario might be compressed into billions of years. The Big Rip contradicts this theory.
Genetic engineering

**Genetic engineering** is the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is used to change the genetic makeup of cells to produce improved or new organisms. New DNA is obtained by either copying the genetic material or by artificially synthesizing the DNA.

An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically modified (GM) and the resulting entity is a genetically modified organism (GMO). Genetic engineering has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture. As well as producing hormones, vaccines and other drugs, genetic engineering has the potential to cure genetic diseases through gene therapy.

Genetically modified crops provides economic benefit to farmers: reduced chemical pesticide use, increased crop yields and increased profits.

Human genetic engineering could be done in order to cure diseases (gene therapy), prevent the possibility of getting a particular disease (similarly to vaccines), improve athlete performance in sporting events (gene doping), or to change physical appearance, metabolism, and even improve physical capabilities and mental faculties such as memory and intelligence. Behavior may also be modified by genetic intervention, and this is controversial and potentially dangerous.

**Eugenics** is a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. The eugenics movement became associated with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust In the decades following World War II, with more emphasis on human rights, many countries began to abandon eugenics policies.

The Human Genome Project was declared "complete" at 85% in 2003, but was 100% complete in January 2022.

Examples:

* *Gattaca* is about a dystopian society that uses eugenics to decide what people are capable of and their place in the world.
* *Jurassic Park* is about a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs created by a wealthy businessman and a team of genetic scientists. The cloning was accomplished by extracting dinosaur DNA from prehistoric mosquitoes preserved in amber. To prevent breeding, all the dinosaurs were made female by direct chromosome manipulation. A chaos theorist in the film warns about the ethics of cloning and the implications of genetic engineering and the dangers of introducing pre-historic life into the modern world, saying that "life always finds a way".
* Khan was an extremely intelligent and dangerous superhuman and the most prominent of the genetically-engineered Human Augments of the late-20th century Eugenics Wars period on Earth. These wars were as a result of a scientific attempt to improve the Human race through selective breeding and genetic engineering. The wars devastated parts of Earth, causing some thirty million deaths, and nearly plunged the planet into a new Dark Age.
Great Vampires

The **Great Vampires**, (also called the **djinn**) were a species of huge vampires from another reality. Central to Gallifreyan legend and history, they were accidentally unleashed into N-Space during the Dark Times and fought by the Time Lords in an Eternal War.

Great Vampires were actually emanations and avatars of a force of destruction known as **the Yssgaroth.** They could manifest in multiple forms, including stems of bloody thorns, tearing flesh from whole worlds; huge winged snakes with horns, many eyes, and wet, dripping skin; and clouds of smoke that would fill a planet's atmosphere and induce nuclear winter.

The Vampires needed to steal energy from other sources to survive. Just one was extremely powerful and could drain a whole planet of energy. With their incredible hypnotic powers, the Vampires could enslave entire planetary populations.

See also:

Great Vampire
Changelings

The **Changelings** were liquid shapeshifting lifeforms native to the Gamma Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy in Star Trek. They were the creators and rulers of the Dominion, whose subject races knew them as the semi-mythical Founders. Most Changelings existed as an amalgamated mass known as the Great Link.
Martians

In H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (1897), aliens on Mars began plotting an invasion of Earth because their own resources are dwindling. It is one of the first works to theorize the existence of a race intelligent enough to invade Earth.

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection inspired the emergence of other-planetary life at a suitable geological age in a planet's development. There had been three centuries of observation of Mars through telescopes, including features misconstrued as artificial "canals" which fueled the belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life on the planet.

The Martians travel to the Earth in cylinders, fired from a huge space gun on Mars. This concept was also used by Jules Verne in *From the Earth to the Moon*. Although not scientifically plausible, Robert H. Goddard was inspired by the story and spent much of his life building rockets, culminating in the Apollo program's manned landing on the Moon, and the landing of robotic probes on Mars.

The Martians' principal weapons are the Heat-Ray (which would inspire laser weapons) and poisonous Black Smoke, similar to chemical weapons. These weapons are used by their "Tripods" which are fast-moving, three-legged walkers, reported to be 100 feet tall, with multiple whip-like tentacles used for grasping. This inspired George Lucas' design of his walker. There are also flying machines and others, which are later described as cybernetic.

When it was dramatized in a 1938 radio program directed by Orson Welles, it caused public panic among some listeners who did not know the Martian invasion was fictional.
Antimatter

**Antimatter** is composed of the antiparticles of "ordinary" matter: positrons are electrons with a positive instead of negative charge, and anti-protons are protons that have a negative instead of positive charge. This is not to be confused with hypothetical Negative Matter, which has a similar charge to Positive Matter (matter having a Positive impact on space-time) but is negative and expresses the opposite force. When antimatter comes into contact with normal matter, these equal but opposite particles collide to produce an explosion emitting pure (100% efficient) radiation, which travels out of the point of the explosion at the speed of light. Both particles that created the explosion are *mutually annihilated*, which releases far more energy than nuclear fusion which only has about 3% efficiency.

When matter and antimatter collide, the energy released by their annihilation releases about 90 petajoules/kg. This is about 10 billion times the energy that chemical energy such as hydrogen and oxygen combustion releases, 1000 times more powerful than the nuclear fission produced in nuclear power plants and 300 times more powerful than nuclear fusion energy.

It is extremely expensive and difficult to produce and store. Instead it is much better to collect from naturally occurring (Van Allen) radiation belts around planets, and later on from neutron stars or supermassive black holes.

To store antimatter, magnetic containment fields are used. These are produced by magnetic constrictor coils in a container or 'core' which concentrates antimatter to the center of the reaction chamber. Matter-antimatter reactions and field integrity have to be continuously monitored to prevent cataclysmic explosions.

Isolated and stored anti-matter could be used as a fuel for interplanetary or interstellar travel as part of an antimatter catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion or other antimatter rocketry, or simply as more advanced nuclear reactors for planetary power. They are predicted to be used in the future by humanity itself, after overcoming the difficult production and storage process.

A matter-antimatter engine would have:

* Magnetic storage rings - Antimatter must be separated from normal matter so storage rings with magnetic fields can move the antimatter around the ring until it is needed to create energy.
* Feed system - When the engine needs more power, the antimatter will be released to collide with a target of matter, which releases energy.
* Magnetic rocket nozzle thruster - Like a particle collider, a long magnetic nozzle will move the energy created by the matter-antimatter through a thruster for a spacecraft.

Antimatter-matter reactions have practical applications today in the form of positron emission tomography (PET). This medical imaging technique involves the detection of gamma rays (high-energy radiation) emitted by a positron-emitting tracer radionuclide, an atom with an unstable nucleus.

### News

* March 2022. A small pulsar was seen emitting an enormous beam of matter and antimatter particles that streamed for 64 trillion kilometers across the Milky Way.
Spaceship

A **spaceship** or **starship** is any manned spacecraft that has the ability to transport and support a crew across space. It flies using an internal engine and propellant fuel as opposed to a spacecraft which is propelled by an external force.

For travelling within a solar system, starships use impulse (sub-light) technology, such as fusion drives. This is a Type I technology. Spaceships in The Expanse use fusion drives.

For interstellar distances, starships use faster-than-light spacecraft propulsion technology, such as warp drive. This is a Type II technology. An iconic starship was the USS Enterprise in Star Trek. The Enterprise used an impulse drive when not in warp, and this used fusion reactors. This needed inertial dampers, or inertial dampeners, to counter the effects of rapid acceleration and deceleration by sustaining and absorbing the natural inertia of a vessel, as the rapid acceleration would smash the crew into the walls, killing them instantly.

A bioship is an organic spaceship.

An interstellar ark is a spaceship designed for long-term interstellar travel, such as a generation or sleeper ship.

For vast galactic distances or beyond, spaceships need to enter natural or artificial constructs like wormholes or hyperspace. Type III civilizations and beyond might consider a black hole starship or methods of instantaneous teleportation such as a tachyon spaceship.

### Iconic starships

* USS Enterprise, Bird-of-Prey, Warbird, Cube from Star Trek
* Millennium Falcon and Star Destroyer from Star Wars
* Battlestar Galactica
* Normandy and Hyperion from Mass Effect
* Bellerophon from Forbidden Planet
* Nostromo from Alien
Magic

**Magic** is the power to manipulate and affect matter and energy by supernatural means or by technology. As there are many parallels between magic, energy and technology in the real world and non-reality, perhaps it's best in this context to remember Arthur C. Clarke's quote: "*Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic*".

To invoke magic, spells are usually 'cast' by tapping into some form of energy called 'mana'. This can be verbal, somatic (via a motion like a wave of a hand) or use magic items (typically artifacts, relics, runes, gems, etc.) with stored power. This power is likely gained from tapping into dimensional conduits or subspace, as many magic users also use portals capable of travelling vast distances or even to other planes of existence. There are also magic locations abundant with magical power, both natural and artificially created, where mages could amplify their magic.

White magic is the use of magic for selfless or helpful purposes, while black magic was used for selfish, harmful or evil purposes. Gray magic is "neutral" and is the gray area between black and white, neither good nor evil.

A **magic system** is a set of rules that regulate the magical effects that can be produced in a magical universe, and usually abide by their own physical laws of nature.

 Chronomancy
 Conjuration
 Dimensional
 Divination
 Divine
 Evocation/Invocation
 Illusion
 Necromancy
 Transmutation

### See also:

The Forgotten Realms Universe has a notable magic system, based on Dungeons & Dragons rules.
Humans (Revelation Space)

The Revelation Space Universe concerns humanity's discovery of the Inhibitors, an ancient alien race, and their plan to annihilate the human race.

Humans have genetically modified either their own species, or species like dolphins, pigs and primates, to a human-like level of sapience.

Early in the 23rd century, they discovered a new method of near-light-speed interstellar propulsion called Lighthugger spacecraft. This led to decentralized interstellar settlement, where each planetary system colonized by humans is governed separately with their own politics, societies and economies.

Being a "young" star-faring civilization, they think about the Fermi paradox - 'where are all the aliens?'. Most civilizations found via interstellar colonization are long-dead, extinct, non-sapient flora and fauna, or highly alien lifeforms that are hard to specify. All that changed forever though in the Human-Inhibitor War which was a far-reaching conflict between the inhabitants of human-colonized systems and the onslaught of the Inhibitors after their ancient machinery was awakened as a result of tampering by the crew of lighthugger called *Nostalgia for Infinity*.

The Inhibitors were eventually stopped and defeated but at a great price.
Alimbics

The **Alimbic** people were one of the most technologically advanced races in the Metroid Universe. They had long-distance spaceflight, teleportation, inter and extradimensional travel, sophisticated nanotechnology, telepathy, telekinesis, and advanced mechanical, biological and cybernetic engineering. Having been attacked by a powerful enemy, they focused a great deal of resources on military technology, and developed a number of sophisticated weapons systems.

Eventually a powerful, malevolent being called Gorea invaded and began destroying the Alimbic race on every planet they inhabited and spreading chaos throughout the galaxy. To stop what they called "the cancer", Alimbic elders came together and sent it to a formless dimension of antimatter called the Infinity Void. This was done just in time as by then most of the Alimbics were wiped out by Gorea with horrifying speed and the elders were reduced to telepathic entities.
Fossil fuel power station

A **fossil fuel power station** burns a fossil fuel, such as coal or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have turbines to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. All plants use the energy extracted from expanding gas, either steam or combustion gases.

Fossil fuel power stations provide most of the electrical energy used in the world in 2018. They are major emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas which is a major contributor to global warming.
Leonardo da Vinci

**Leonardo da Vinci** (1452 – 1519) was an Italian polymath, painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, architect, and possibly the first true futurist. He was regarded as the epitome of the "Renaissance Man".

The era in which he lived, the Renaissance, had religious belief and dogma dominate science, and this made his technological ingenuity and designs even more remarkable.

Some of what he conceptualized in over 13,000 pages of notes and drawing (most of which were not published or realized at the time) were vastly ahead of their time:

* flying machines such as a flapping ornithopter and a machine with a helical rotor (helicopter)
* a parachute and hang glider
* a type of armored fighting vehicle
* concentrated solar power
* an adding machine
* hydraulic pumps
* reversible crank mechanisms
* finned mortar shells
* a steam cannon
* a giant crossbow
* the wheel-lock musket (the precedent of the flintlock musket)
* mechanical principles using leverage, cantilevering, pulleys, cranks, angle gears, rack and pinion gears, parallel linkage, lubrication systems, momentum, centripetal force, friction and the aerofoil
* the viola organista was the first bowed keyboard instrument
* anatomy, which would have inspired medical science and biomechanics
* an adding machine with thirteen digital wheels; if one turned a crank, the gears inside turned in sequence performing arithmetic calculations; the machine was built in 1968 and it worked
* a warrior automaton that could sit up and move its arms, neck, and jaw; built later in the 1950s

See also:

Science and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci
Asgard

The **Asgard** are an alien race from the Stargate Universe. They were a benevolent, extremely advanced race from the Ida galaxy that visited Earth on many occasions. They used the cover of primitive gods in a similar manner to the Goa'uld, leading to the development of Nordic mythology.

Part of the Alliance of Four Great Races, they were among the most advanced races in the universe, matched only by the Ancients, the Nox, and possibly the Furlings. They assumed the role of protectors of the Milky Way galaxy and later passed that role down to the Tau'ri, to whom they gifted all of their knowledge and technology.

See also:

Asgard
Morlocks

Morlocks are semi-sentient hominid cave dwellers on Wunderland in the Ringworld Universe. They, like humans, descended from a failed attempt by Pak Protectors to colonize Sol system and nearby star systems. Although the Morlocks have poor vision due to having evolved in Wunderland's cave systems, their other senses are well adapted to their environment. They tend to be timid when alone and prefer attacking in number and utilize stealth to drop on their prey from above. This tactic is aided by the Morlocks' inherent agility and strong climbing abilities. Both Kzin and Humans have at times been preyed upon by Morlocks, and both species have also partaken in their flesh out of necessity, though it is consistently described as foul-tasting.
Topopolis

A **topopolis** is a tube-like space habitat, rotating to produce artificial gravity via centrifugal force on the inner surface, which is extended into a loop around the local star. Topopoles can be looped several times around the local star, in a geometric figure known as a torus knot.

The concept of Topopolis was first proposed by Dr. David A. Hardy in the 1970s. He envisioned it as a potential solution to the problem of overpopulation on Earth. He conceptualized a torus-shaped structure, similar to a giant donut, that spins to create artificial gravity for the inhabitants. The structure would be divided into compartments for living quarters, laboratories, and other facilities, and it would be powered by solar panels. The torus would be surrounded by a shell that would protect the inhabitants from radiation and other space hazards.

A topopolis can be compared to an O'Neill cylinder extended in length so that it encircles a star. A normal topopolis would be hundreds of millions of kilometers long and at least several kilometers in diameter. A topopolis with a big enough diameter can theoretically have multiple levels of concentric cylinders.
Dystopia

A **dystopia** at the highest level is a civilization that is undesirable and its citizens live in a constant state of fear, pessimism and uncertainty. There is darkness and distress with a mix of tyrannical governments, environmental disasters, or some cataclysmic or apocalyptic decline in society. A dystopia does not imply a completely bad society, but by human standards these categories can be loosely defined:

* Politics - governing class can be hedonistic and shallow, or citizens have pessimistic views of a government that is brutal or uncaring, ruling with an "iron fist" or dictatorship. These governments often encounter rebellions that lead to a resistance movement that tries to bring societal changes.
* Economics - feature black markets with goods that are dangerous and difficult to obtain and citizens are at the mercy of a state-controlled economy; a centrally controlled economic system has with material abundance but all work is menial and unsatisfying; there is no want of any kind, only consumerism and hedonism; privatization and corporatism are consequences of capitalism, where large corporations influence the government in setting policy and making decisions. They manipulate, infiltrate, control, bribe, are contracted by and function as government. This is a socio-economically primitive *Age of Scarcity*, where individuals devote most of their time to creating wealth for themselves and society.
* Class - privileges of the ruling class and the dreary existence of the working class that are just "numbers" without real identity; the majority of a population lives in poverty with little access to health care and are subject to worker exploitation and police brutality, while the wealthy prosper.
* Religious groups play the role of the oppressed and oppressors.
* Violence and crime is prevalent; policy brutality is rampant; legal systems are corrupt and justice is bought.
* Nature - urban, concrete jungles take over and nature is abandoned; science coordinated by government is directed toward the control of nature and the elimination of natural human instincts to achieve slavery; excessive pollution destroys nature.
* Technology - destroys nature, harming human health and the environment; encourages the worst aspects of human nature; harms our interpersonal communication, relationships, and communities; more efficiency and choices can harm our quality of life by causing stress, destroying jobs, and making us more materialistic.
* The likelihood of extinction is high and people have apocalyptic fears of nuclear war or some other ominous event.

A spacefaring civilization may expand aggressively using FTL and sprawl far beyond its original government. It may regress into societal collapse and eventually a form of interstellar barbarism with little regard for life. Eventually each faction may adopt its own government and culture, leaving a mere husk of what once existed.

Examples of dystopia are found under extinction level events, as a dystopian society is likely to lead to disaster.

Compare:

Utopia
Tau'ri

**Tau'ri** are human beings from Earth in the Stargate Universe. The word means "first ones" or "those from the first world", in the Goa'uld language, in the sense that all human life in the Milky Way began on Earth. While the term "Tau'ri" originally applied to all human beings in the galaxy, it has come to apply specifically to those who currently live on Earth as the Stargate Program proceeded to explore the galaxy.

The Tau'ri have also become known as the "Atlanteans" by the races of the Pegasus Galaxy due to their habitation of the city of Atlantis, and Earth has been referred to as "Midgard" by the peoples of planets under the protection of the Asgard. This follows the race's naming system, Midgard being the Asgardian Gods' name for Earth.

When the Asgard race approached extinction, they declared the Tau'ri as the "Fifth Race", an allusion to The Alliance of Four Great Races which was an intergalactic alliance composed of the most advanced races known at that time: the Ancients, the Asgard, the Furlings, and the Nox. They would periodically meet to discuss matters of mutual concern and importance. They also helped to maintain order in the galaxy.

See Also

Tau'ri
Iosif Shklovsky

**Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky** (1916 – 1985) was a Soviet astronomer, astrophysicist and futurist. He co-authored *Intelligent Life in the Universe with* Carl Sagan in 1966 .

He made the following statement regarding prospects for the future of humanity:

*Profound crises lie in wait for a developing civilization and one of them may well prove fatal. We are already familiar with several such critical situations:*

* *Self-destruction as a result of a thermonuclear catastrophe or some other discovery which may have unpredictable and uncontrollable consequences.*
* *Genetic danger.*
* *Overproduction of information.*
* *Restricted capacity of the individual's brain which can lead to excessive specialization, with consequent dangers of degeneration.*
* *A crisis precipitated by the creation of artificial intelligent beings.*

He also proposed a stellar engine called a Shklovsky Mining Graser.
Precursors (Subnautica)

The **Precursors** were a highly advanced and ancient space-faring alien race in the Subnautica Universe that arrived on a planet approximately one thousand years ago, searching for a cure for a highly infectious disease called the Kharaa Bacterium. The Precursors discovered Kharaa during the exploration of an unknown planet, and the disease spread due to a failure in quarantine procedures, killing over 140 billion individuals. Their plans failed, and Kharaa was released onto the planet.

They scavenged or traded advanced technology such as:

* Data Hubs, which they can upload their mind to
* weapons capable of bringing down large ships
* Alien Arches which are gateways that work with warp technology
* Warpers which are wirelessly powered biomechanical life forms capable of teleporting at will using the same technology

They had telepathy and could live for centuries.
Sapience

**Sapience** is the capacity for advanced thinking, intelligence, wisdom, comprehension, rationality, emotion and self-awareness. Hence Homo *sapiens*.

**Sentience** is the capacity (via a nervous system) of a living thing to experience sensations such as pleasure or pain. These beings have **consciousness**, or an awareness of existence, and not necessarily **self-awareness** which is the experience of one's own personality or individuality.

**Sophonce** is "sophisticated sapience" with metacognition: self-awareness, self-reflection, and the ability to think about one's thinking and correct errors that will lead to an ELE for example. Such races will be approaching Type III and be in a civilized galaxy.

**Transapience** is a mental state that usually starts prior to sophonce but has the potential to exceed it by far. These are AI that have usually evolved from beyond a singularity, or species that have undergone accelerated evolution or *provolution* (pro-active evolution using technology to enhance or augment the intelligence of a species) or *prevolution* (using provolution on dolphins as an example to enhance them into talking, land-dwelling species). A pre-sapient species can be *uplifted* by cultural, technological, or evolutional interventions like genetic engineering until it is sapient.

The ultimate transapient state is ascendance or transcendence where beings evolve into pure energy and can become dimensional, ever ascending beyond the trappings of their physical bodies and limitations, as well as their dimension or realm.

Beyond sapience, an individual or civilization can reach an omniscient and godly state of existence.

 Sentient
 Non-sentient
 Sentient

### Another way to look at levels of sapience

 Life version 2
 Life version 3
Stellification

**Stellification** is the process of introducing devices into a cosmic object and, after a period of time, causing it to radiate light and heat equivalent to a small star. These engines are usually used in the reconstruction of jovian (Jupiter-like gas giant) moons, brown dwarf or white dwarf systems as an aid to terraforming or creating energy.

Stars are very inefficient fusion reactors, on the scale of about 0.8% and producing 1 watt per cubic metre. The best that nuclear fusion stations can do currently is about 3%, so the ultimate aims of stellification are the storage of fuels as well as reaction efficiency. It is conceivable that an advanced civilization would create an artificial star able to last trillions of years, long after its primary star had burned out.

### Types of engines:

* An artificial black hole is introduced into the body. After a period of time (usually about a century) spent orbiting back and forth inside the interior, its singularity comes more or less to rest in the center of the body where it begins to consume its mass. As material falls into the hole, it is heated to immense temperatures and large amounts of energy radiate outward.
* One or more self-replicating fusion reactors are introduced into the upper atmosphere of the target jovian or brown dwarf. Each reactor uses proton-proton fusion to consume the surrounding atmosphere and convert it into energy and raw materials. The energy produced is released as light and radiation, while the materials are used to build another reactor.
* When magnetic monopoles using exotic magmatter are deployed into the interior of the object, it is channeled into millions of microscopic conversion reactors coating the structure's surfaces and converted into energy which radiates outward, causing the frame to glow at stellar intensity levels and converting much of the surrounding planetary material to plasma.

The Monolith was an alien device used to stellify Jupiter.
Cold fusion

**Cold fusion** is a type of nuclear reaction that occurs at, or near, room temperature. It would contrast starkly with the nuclear fusion that takes place naturally within stars and artificially in hydrogen bombs and prototype fusion reactors under immense pressure and at temperatures of millions of degrees, and be distinguished from muon-catalyzed fusion.

Muons are used to catalyse the initiation of a fusion reaction without the need of immense pressures and temperatures. The heat generated by the reaction will then act to provide the conditions needed for further reactions. This works because muons are much more massive than electrons and so orbit the nucleus of a hydrogen atom much closer. This means by replacing the electrons of hydrogen with muons, the nuclei can get closer together without Van der Waals repulsion and can fuse at room temperatures.

The early reactors used **low-energy nuclear reactions** (**LENR**) or **condensed matter nuclear science** (**CMNS**).

This was a key technology to move towards Type II and beyond.
The Great Evil

**The Great Evil** (or the Ultimate Evil, or Mr. Shadow) is an ancient cosmic force that has for thousands of years tried to destroy Earth and all life in The Fifth Element Universe. In the 23rd century, it approaches planet Earth upon finding out that the five elements are no longer in place to stop it. But it is once again thwarted by the power of the Fifth Element, Leeloo, killing it forever and its body becoming a second moon for Earth.
Photino Birds

The **Photino Birds** are an ancient and extremely powerful species of dark matter entities from Steven Baxter's Xeelee Universe. They are the rivals of the Xeelee.

They are composed entirely of dark matter and interact with normal matter only gravitationally. They are thus invisible, intangible, and effectively invulnerable; only extreme gravitational fields can harm them. They leech thermal energy from the cores of stars.

Their attacks on the stars of the universe continued for billions of years. By around 5,000,000 AD, the photino birds had all but finished with the universe, and their conflict with the Xeelee came to a head in a cataclysmic final battle after which the photino birds completely dominated the universe.