SaskGames

Terminology

• Organic: This is a species that uses biological evolution.  While these species can (and mostly do) use technology, it is not a part of who they are.
• Cybernetic: This is a species that uses a combination of biological evolution, and technology.  This covers all species that embed sentient technology within themselves in order to participate within their societies.
• Synthetic: This is a species that is completely made up of technology.  These species may or may not have a physical form.
• Uplift: This is a species (either organic or cybernetic) that was given sentience by another species, and did not use evolution or technological progress to become sentient.
• Technological Singularity: This is a point when the development of technology by an organic species is eclipsed by the technology's ability to develop new technology.  After most singularities a Synthetic species is born.

Overview
In quantum mechanics there is the phenomenon of quantum entanglement.  This is where two particles are connected by some unknown force that transcends time and space.  I took this idea and expanded on it.  In Nexus all particles in the universe are the same particle, just presented as a different aspect in different places.  As societies become more and more advanced they first learn the ability to send energy through a particle and have it exit through another aspect somewhere else in the universe.  With more advanced technology, a civilisation can transcribe their particles so it replaces the aspect of the particles somewhere else in the universe.  These are known as Nexus gates and they are the only form of FTL travel in the universe.  The last empire to have this knowledge was the Forerunners, but they went extinct over 100 million years ago, and no civilisation in travel distance of the Nexus gates have discovered even the secret of quantum communication.
In the 21st century humanity experienced their technological singularity.  Most times through out history this lead to a war between the biological species that started the singularity, and the synthetic species spawned from the singularity.  Humans were blissfully unaware they had transcended.  The FAI (First Artificial Intelligence) caused a huge explosion of technology for humanity, eliminating war, and bringing a new standard of living unseen in all human history.  With this technological explosion, quantum communication was discovered, and with it the presence of the Nexus Gates.  Humanity now enters into a new age of exploration.  What awaits them?

Concepts introduced in Nexus
Definition of Sentient Life
In Nexus there are several ways that a species can be come sentient.  Here are the scenarios:

• Evolution: Through biological evolution, a species discovers tool use, and the methods to refine tools into better tools.  This leads to a more complex brain designed to communicate better, and solve abstract problems.  All evolved species are generalists and are able to fill many different niche environments on their home planets.
• Singularity: After every technological singularity a synthetic species is born.  At first this species exists in that networks and has no physical form.  Over time the synthetic species will develop drones, and synthetic bodies so it can expand and discover the physical world.
• Uplift: Every species in the Universe has an ideal environment they can survive in.  Adapting technology to survive on hostile worlds just to gather the resources needed for their empires is not logical, or efficient.  As a result many species choose to find primitive (ie non-sentient) species on these hostile worlds, and uplift them to become sentient life.  These species are usually integrated into the empire, and are destined to colonise specific worlds for the empire.  Most Uplifts are specialists and thrive in only one or two niche environments on their home planets.  These species are usually selected as it prevents uprisings within an empire.  Uplift technology can either involve biological manipulation, or cybernetic implants.

Evolution of Sentient Life
The process of evolution does not stop after a species becomes sentient.  There are higher levels of evolutionary success.  Type I species are species that have mastered the creation of Nexus games, Type II species have discovered how to create Nexus Portals (temporary Nexus Gates that will allow the civilisation to freely travel anywhere in the universe), and Type II species have the ability to transcend the universe itself and see what lies beyond.  Here are paths:

• Win a Singularity War: In this scenario the organic species wins their singularity war and forever reject synthetic technology.  The species forces on unlocking the potential of biology.  This is what happened to the Forerunners.  Their empire established and refined the Nexus Gate system used today.
• Lose a Singularity War: In this scenario the synthetic species wins their singularity war.  Most of these synthetic species will then try to go into hyper development and use up all the resources available to them.  No synthetic species has ever reached Type II status as they tend to burn through all their resources before achieving this.
• Technological Integration: If no singularity war occurs, the organic species will tend to incorporate more and more technology within themselves (becoming cybernetic).  Through this process they become more and more synthetic until the need for organic evolution is necessary.