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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 3094588" data-attributes="member: 1165">Okay.The aliens and humans were so different that the aliens weren't even aware of the existence of humans - it's a little odd how they didn't notice their existence when co-opting them, but then again they are very different. When the aliens discovered humans through contact, they declared war on humans because of their differing philosohpies. The aliens simply couldn't stand the thought of a species that alter the environment in a large scale way. Humans do that all the time and can't stop. That's why the humans had to evac and nuke.And to answer any other questions, the Alien theory was two-fold:One, aliens can't get along with other aliens. [spoiler](This was proven to be untrue as a big part of the novel. Rather, it's usually true.)[/spoiler] The Chixchulub (named after the crater in Mexico) tried to wipe out all life using von Neumann machines. This was used to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs. (They would create asteroids and attack any life-bearing planets. Over time, random radiation damage causes programming changes, basically neutering the von Neumann machines. Also, the machines didn't read a lot of planets properly, because they allowed Earth to still have life after the attack. Of course, it delayed the evolution of intelligent life, or so the Chixchulub probably thought.)Two, aliens eventually lose their sentience (the reasoning was a bit contrived, IMO) or they split into subspecies which drift apart and then go to war because of #1 and usually wipe each other out. That is slowly happening to humans in the novel. Effectively, every sentient species will go extinct. The humans are attempting to apply "Permanence" to their own species, preventing speciation, but it's doomed to failure.Humans discovered that dark dwarf stars can host light, although any humans living in such an environment (frequently a space station) would be light-sensitive. They travelled through slower than light vehicles.Later, humanity discovered FTL travel... but it requires heavy stars, not dark dwarf stars. As a result, there were now two human subspecies, since contact is so limited. The FTL society is obviously more powerful, but suffers from rebellion against it's ultra-capitalism, and they're not going to wipe out the other subspecies. [spoiler]Wait, maybe they are![/spoiler]</blockquote>

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