Two years after the resolution of the Precursor crisis, Earth had transformed into something unprecedented in galactic history: a center of innovation and synthesis. The planet had become the home of a unique form of intelligence that combined the worst and best of all the species that had contributed to its development.
Barry moved through the corridors of what had been renamed the Institute of Integrated Understanding, a facility that had been established jointly by human, Architect, Convergence Coalition, and Precursor entities. His hybrid mind allowed him to perceive the multiple layers of activity happening simultaneously.
In one chamber, human artists and Precursor consciousness fragments were collaborating on a visualization of how the galaxy's evolution might proceed over the nex
