Exterior view of the enormous dyson sphere known as the Shell. The megastructure’s exterior is fully covered in optically phased arrays capable of absorbing nearly all electromagnetic radiation.
0 BBT, a few weeks after the first contact with Denvaria
Pansophont Empire, Tavekhel System
The Shell, the vast protective dyson sphere that kept the citizens of the Pansophont Empire safe from any external threat or hostile observation from the rest of the galaxy, was widely considered by Imperial citizens to be one of the most important objects within the Empire, as it was the physical manifestation of their protection. Being constructed out of diamondoid and magmetter, not even closeby supernovae and direct gamma-ray bursts were able to penetrate the surface of this vast megastructure, and in addition to the physical strength of its materials, the exterior of the Shell was completely covered in optically phased arrays reconfigurable on command: these arrays could either absorb nearly 100% of all electromagnetic radiation on all wavelengths, which over time became their “default” state, or reflect it with the same, near-total efficiency. Through absorbing all incoming radiation, not only did the Shell become completely pitch black to further enhance the system’s secretiveness, but it also acted as an enormous interferometer telescope capable of imaging small objects with clarity from tens of thousands of lightyears away.
Such an instrument, coupled with other large arrays of smaller interferometers in the industrial systems, allowed to Empire to constantly observe, study, chart and catalogue a nearly incomprehensible number of galaxies, clusters, stars and planets with extreme definition: quite ironically, the Empire in which nobody saw the stars at night observed them better than any other.
Despite most of its maintenance, support and data managing systems being fully automated through sub-sapient AIs, groups of Hyper-AIs were often still tasked with controlling the Shell’s structural integrity and managing the vast data flows from the interferometer telescopes. In the last months, the Pansophian Hyper-AI known as Look To The Skies, Flowing Like Rivers, a direct subordinate to Rainbow God in the Hyper Hierarchy, had been chosen by the ruling AI emself to lead this group of caretakers.
It was exactly during one of these monitoring sessions, reading the passing streams of interferometer data, that e noticed the starfaring vessel that had appeared some astronomical units from the corewards section of the Shell. Look To The Skies was left quite surprised. Not even a few weeks had passed since Rainbow God had decided to establish contact with the Denvarian Empire, and a new xenosapient presence to be contacted had already appeared within the Empire.
After activating the Shell’s internal scanner arrays, e began to analyze the ship’s design and matching it with all other designs present within Pansophian records at an ultra-accelerated timerate. Eventually, a match was quickly found: the ship apparently hailed from a small civilization now known as the Home Reclamation Government, located corewards and antispinwards from the Empire’s current location in the galaxy, some two thousand lightyears distant. The Empire’s Eyes had been observing them for some centuries, and according to the records they had recently experienced a highly destructive civil war that destroy most of their previous interstellar society and population. Look To The Skies quickly labeled this ship a non-threat due to the far less advanced technology it carried, the observed cultural tendencies of the Fenans, and due to it being completely alone. After updating Rainbow God and the rest of the HyperAIs on the situation, Look To The Skies asked for authorization to carry out the first contact. Permission was quickly granted.
A message was sent on all frequencies to the HRG ship.
Exploratory vessel of the Home Reclamation Government, you are currently located within the territory of the Pansophont Empire. I am “Look To The Skies, Flowing Like Rivers”, one of the Empire’s ovserseeing AIs. We will not take any hostile action towards you, unless provoked first. Please, state your intentions.
