A Galaxy of Mysteries
By the 23rd century, faster than light travel was still a dream. The world was faced with the combined threat of over-population, famine, and widespread unrest. The sciences had advanced on many fronts, both biological and technological. It was the combination of these that finally provided a solution.
In 2478, Joshua, the first of the treeships, launched. A biologically modified redwood tree was turned into both supercomputer and shell for an interstellar generation ship. Outfitted with an ion drive, it was launched toward the stars. in the following years, others followed. While the Earth's condition steadily declined, these ships found new worlds, some welcoming, some harsh, and seeded mankind throughout the stars.
The far-flung settlements were cut off from each other after they were founded and the treeships moved on to other worlds. Within their local star groups they could at least communicate via long-delayed signals, but this was generally only used for the most important messages. Many generations passed between the treeships leaving and the founding of the final colonies. Calendars shifted with the stars, and the orbits of planets, and dates became lost. Each planet had their own independent calculation. Then, again, everything changed.
On one world, an ancient device was discovered which let small amounts of matter be transmitted to another linked device. Suddenly, the web of humanity was reconnected. Because of this, in the current year, 331 AC (After Contact), colonies flourish on many worlds, while most of the original treeships still sail through space, manned now by the descendants of those crew that never wanted to settle back onto a planet, finding security in the vacuum of space.
But, even as these worlds are being cultivated by man, mysteries are arising. More vast ruins are discovered. Artefacts that do not match any known workings of science are found within. And questions arise. Who were these Engineers? What made them leave? Where have they gone?