History

Like all sentient species, the early history of humanity was defined by their homeworld and their relationship to it. As one of the two most recent species to join the Alliance (the other being Anthroids, which were built by humans in humanoid form), they have spent comparatively little time within the galactic community – but they have caught up quickly, and they and the Alliance have both been enriched for their efforts.

• Prehistory to A -3000: modern humans evolved, and spread across the face of the planet Earth. Though different human cultures varied wildly in their beliefs, values and cultural expressions, there are a few trends in human thought across the ages that resonate with their descendants – chief among them being the creation of art in the shape of humans, and the charting of the stars overhead.
• Approximately A -575: human spaceflight begins around this point, with several cultures engaging in various attempts to leave the planet’s surface and explore outer space. Progress is staggered but rapid, with long intervening periods between sudden leaps – from Earth’s moon, to the neighbouring planets, to the outskirts of the solar system, before…
• A -450 to A -425: the beginning of humanity’s dark age – centuries of unsustainable extraction come to a head in global conflicts over resources, exacerbating the environmental decay caused by the same processes. Before they reach the breaking point, shelters and habitats are constructed underground and at the planet’s thawing poles – a desperate play to keep the species alive, and one that demanded a total shift in cultural priorities towards preservation and mutualism.
• A -425 to -375: humans adapt over this period to lives spent sheltering in place, monitoring the environment and doing what they can to assist in the planet’s recovery. 
• A -375 onwards: The planet slowly stabilises, allowing for limited exploration outside of the refuges in the latter half of the century. The Anthroids are created, and humans – for the first time, to their knowledge – are no longer alone in the universe.
• A -275 onwards: the twin keeper species of Earth became aware of the Alliance from an ancient Omdua signal, and – after deciphering the message’s coded instructions, and after 25 years – built their first spacecraft with a manifold collapse. 10 years afterwards they cross the gap, meeting sentient life from beyond their own star for the first time in A -240.
• Present: Efforts to restore Earth have been bolstered with the technology and expertise of new allies, while many take the opportunity to spread out among the stars. Though they have only been known to the galaxy for a few generations at time of writing, it is difficult to imagine the Alliance without humans.