Precursor Race

The Precursor race was a species that lived on planet Skela over one million years ago, alongside at least four other intelligent species. They were responsible for the creation of the first Merine automatons. They are referenced several times in decompiled M-Unit memory banks, which have been organized into a well-known document known as the Merine Comments.

Characteristics
USC anthropologists have used clues hidden in M-Unit memory architecture to derive information about what the Precursors were like. Like the robots they created, the Precursors were bipedal humanoids that stood anywhere from 2 to 2.5 meters tall. They were highly intelligent, capable of creating almost perfect AI and spacecraft that could approach the speed of light. The style and language used in Precursor computer coding reflects a deep appreciation for art and aesthetics. Any earlier records of Precursors before this point are lost, so it is unclear how they evolved (or if they were created by an even more technologically advanced species).

Almost no relics from Skela have survived to modernity, though it is theorized that planet Ophrana is home to the last cache of Precursor artifacts. Without hard evidence on which to base research, any assumptions made are conjecture at best. As of 6079/11, military operations are underway to recover artifacts from Ophrana and gain a deeper understanding of the Precursors.

History and Downfall
Little is known about Skelan culture at large, including any significant historical events or important figures. Only two events are known to have transpired in Skelan history: the Skelan Ignition War and the Exodus. At some unspecfied time before the inception of the M-Unit, a massive war broke out between at least three of the Skelan species, with casualties reaching totals great enough to impact the stability of society. Scholars have theorized that the Precursors may not have been directly involved in the conflict at all, instead supplying arms and vehicles to all sides. The aftermath of the Ignition War saw the Precursors creating artificial labor at an unprecedented scale, which called for a more generalized AI than had been used previously. Based on articles of the Merine Comments, it is believed that M-Units were created as a replacement for less efficient recreational robotic assistants, indicating that intelligent robots were only a recent invention at the time of the M-Units' inception.

While the timeline of Skela's destruction is uncertain, Merine propaganda broadcasts state that the process of converting the planet took two thousand years. As the Merine Comments were written before the M-Units were first activated, they offer no insight into the events that followed. Why the Precursors did not stop the Merine expansion on their planet remains a mystery. Some researchers, such as notable xenobiologist Lemyx Tion, posit that the reduced available workers in the wake of the Ignition War meant that oversight was too costly, and that Precursor roboticists lacked the proper time and resources to test their creations before going to mass production. Others claim that the robots were never intended to work without organic oversight, and so were never given parameters as they would have been defined on-site by an overseer. Both of these theories lack an answer to why the Precursors did not stop the M-Units from destroying Skela.

The Exodus Signal
The Exodus is a topic of heated debate among USC anthropologists. It is an event that may have occurred some time after Merine drilling activity began on Skela but before the planet was destroyed, which is a roughly 1,500 year window. From 4176/11 until 4192/11, numerous hobbyist radio operators in the Asrai constellation reported receiving a strange distress signal from an unknown source somewhere in the Nym constellation. This signal was given the nickname "The Exodus Signal" by enthusiasts. The language used in the signal does not match any known language to species in the USC. Despite the distance between the Nym and Asrai constellations (approximately 950,000 light-years), the signal is remarkably clear, meaning extremely advanced broadcast technology would have been necessary to produce it. Additionally, the distance is close to where a radio signal from Skela would reach in the span of one million years.

The content of the signal has been studied extensively by both governmental agencies and scholarly institutions. Several proposed translations have been put forth. Below is the Kuxar-Welles translation, published by Amryn Kuxar and Vici Welles in 4197/11."'One. Two. Three. Four. [A sequence of one beep, then two beeps, then three, then four.] Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium. Berylium. This is the captain of the world ship Never-Fear. We are stranded in the fifth Lagrange point of the star Calic and the planet Skela. We cannot escape the threat we created. Send military assistance. Message repeats.'"It is likely that the Precursors were capable of creating starships that were capable of transporting large populations safely between worlds. The generally accepted theory is that Merine harvesting drones disabled the Never-Fear before it could leave the system and stripped it for its resources, dooming its organic passengers. However, some fringe conspiracy groups claim that the Never-Fear received its requested aid and escaped the system. No formal proof has so far been presented to this end.

Recordings of the alleged distress signal can be listened to here.