The new colonies were picked almost at random, as the Domain had confidence that their great industry and logistics could deliver the required biomass to the sector as it was needed. However, the vast technological superiority of the Domain meant that even a planet considered a barren rock by men today, could be nurtured to become such a breadbasket. It was Domain policy that one in five settled worlds should become a farming world, given time and proper terraforming. Most of the colonies that were already established at the time were not yet self sufficient in their food production. The conflict that almost consumed the entire sector began as a simple resource fight. Initially, there was no great disturbance in the daily lives of the colonists, it was assumed the gates would be reopened by the Domain, and communications reestablished. All communication links to the Domain were severed. Exactly 206 cycles ago, all gates in our sector went dead at once. The records and stories only tell us bits and pieces. No one knows for sure what caused the end of this paradise. The sector was truly a heaven that we can now only dream of, hoping we go to a place like it when we die. The populations of the planets in our sector were still giddy with the initial excitement that every new venture brings. Some worlds in it had only been settled for 20 or so cycles before the great calamity. Our sector was relatively new on the scene. Resources were nearly limitless, growth was not bound. Spanning hundreds of thousands of worlds in the Milky Way, ruled by the Ecumenical Benevolent Council, with its seat at Old Earth… It is told that one could travel the stars in the blink of an eye through gates constructed by the men of the Domain. They described a vast galactic nation – the Domain of Man.
What we know is what survivors recorded or told us. Not much is known about the ancient past. Since we do not even know where Old Earth is anymore, and cannot reach it – we use a new way of telling time, the sector cycle. It is pointless to cite large numbers that remind us how far we had come, and how far we have fallen. The Now is what the ancients would call “year 3126.” We do not call it that anymore.
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