Among the earliest surviving records of these ancient civiilizations is a laser-cut imageplate radiodated to the beginning of Dr. Arrchibald's hypothesized "First Interstellar Era," with an etching on the reverse face suggesting the year in the local reckoning of "2303."
It appears to commemorate the first report from an interstellar planet's surface to the leaders of a race called "Alkari," with the positions of scout ships indicated, but even this much relies heavily on inference. Meanwhile, another historical image from that era suggests a dangerous, warlike galaxy.
Signs of peace and prosperity do exist however, as research appears to have proceeded apace. The aforementioned Alkari, for instance, had developed terraforming technology within two decades of the start of the era, and hydrogen fuel cells for their interstellar craft by the year called in that era "2326." And in spite of the dangers, interstellar expansion was rampant in those heady early years. Our first hint at its full extent are drawn from this rock-etching - a common art form among the one-time inhabitants of the Argus system - apparently copied from a news report dated 2335.
The strength of the Silicoid empire would continue to grow, and from the six star systems they achieved that year, they would spread continually for years to come. From all indications however, the other races were not far behind, and may even have surpassed the Silicoids at first in technological development - some with a broad-based strategy, others with a more concentrated approach best exemplified by the Alkari, who discovered the means of developing biologically dead worlds as early as 2347, and Irridium Fuel Cells six years later, but as best we can piece together from surviving records, they had not begun work in any other field of technology until that time, and inhabited only a small corner of the galaxy.
This galactic map from that period, preserved in polyadamant, demonstrates the paucity of galactic knowledge with which the Alkari had to work, and of which they were ironically so proud at the time. Its limitations are best highlighted by the alloy-molded maps produced by the Humans just sixteen years later. Note the images of the leaders most important to Humankind in this period: Their own peaceful leader (fragments hint that his name was Strader) is contrasted with Granid's aggressive policies.
A few Alkari ships can be seen flitting like insects across the map, suggesting that the Humans regarded them as minor pests in the south, no doubt thanks to the formation of the pictured Rha colony, but for the most part, Alkari, Mrrshan, Meklar, and Darlok space is excluded from the map entirely, as if to underscore their irrelevance to the civilized galaxy. Even a glance at the map suggests the true reality however: The Humans themselves were as irrelevant as those they chose to leave off of their map. It was swiftly becoming a Silicoid galaxy.
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Next: The Changing Guard
