The message from the Diaspora sparked immediate alarm across every established civilization in the galaxy. The term "Extinction Event" wasn't a formal designation. It was a name that civilizations had given to something that appeared in the historical records only in fragmentary and contradictory accounts.
Barry convened an emergency council with representatives from every major intelligence faction. The Precursors, despite their limited understanding of recent developments, still had access to historical archives that went back further than any other civilization's records.
"We've seen this before," one of the ancient Precursor entities said, its voice carrying the weight of memories that spanned thousands of years. "Not personally, but in the records. There is a form of intelligence th
