Solar Storms

"And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3, 4-5 (KJV)

Half a million years ago, humanity learned the secret of fire. Setting themselves apart from the animals that surrounded them, mankind took its first step out from under the oppressive thumb of Nature.

Seventy thousand years ago, humanity learned to speak. Though they were able to communicate before, no longer were they limited to nasal grunts and clicks of the tongue. From Africa, they conquered the Earth.

Twelve thousand years ago, humanity learned to harvest. Where once there were thousands, in time, there would be billions.

Six thousand years ago, humanity learned to write. Where once the knowledge of previous generations had to be endlessly repeated, it could now be known for all eternity.

Not so many decades past, humanity unlocked the power within the atom. For good, and for ill, even the most ignorant amongst the masses could not help but respect the smallest of things.

In the dawning decades of the 21st century, humanity laid bare the secrets of aging, and Science found for mankind the Fountain of Youth. The secrets of fusion were finally unlocked, and the first artificial sapiences were created.

During the 22nd century, humanity began to leave Earth, and conquered the Solar System. Mars was terraformed, and the process was begun for Venus and the Jovian moons. Probes visited nearby stars, and missions were launched to colonize those terrestrial worlds found orbitting them. Exomatter and tachyons were discovered, enabling mankind in ways only theorized before.

The developments of the 23rd century cannot be so curtly summarized. At the start of it, the tiny flicker of mankind's power threatened to become an inferno, consuming the Galaxy in one swift storm.

It was not to be, for forces numerous, ancient and mighty were arrayed against the nascent power, seeking to end the people of Sol.

Though their sun no longer adds its light to the Milky Way, many have survived the Purge, scattering across the Galaxy to ensure the survival of the species in a great diaspora.

Centuries later, though there are many ashes, some glowing embers of the human spirit remain.