The compiled knowledge of the 89 species in the Galactic Confederation of Intelligences has never been a priority for earthbound scholars. Our collective ignorance has metastasized ever since the Declaration of Terran Egress, which has now kept us in isolation for a full 100 years. With our retreat from after Confederation came the effort to suppress all access to galactic knowledge in a vain attempt to reestablish a distinctly and purely human society. It was a defensive measure which I believe has been the primary cause of our cultural and scientific stagnation.
We of the Jesuit order have been unwavering in our advocacy for transparency and universal access for all scholars to the work of our galactic brethren in our tradition of scientific study in the service of God. However, my hours locked away with the Encyclopedia of Sentient Species
have forced me to appreciate the reticence of our various leaders to open the galactic library to human study. Like windswept seeds, I fear the motes of this knowledge will take root as an invasive species in our collective psyche.
The newly accessible histories of the GCI have stimulated a glut of reports from our order as we search for lessons that humanity can draw from the Confederation. The Confederates’ scientific prowess is transparently instructive, but so too are the hierarchy of and partnerships between member species. My colleagues have since published reports on these and other notable features of the GCI. Some have noted the enduring opportunity for all member species to self-determine, which is largely self-evident given the ease of the Terran Egress. Others focused on the incredible diversity among the species, with sentience appearing in systems we would not consider biological in our classical—if limited—definition.
The publishing boom on galactic knowledge came and went close to a year ago. I have delayed releasing my report because I fear its consequences. My goal was to scrutinize our galactic companions to inform our own morality. I have studied the carnivores, herbivores, and mineralivores. I have reflected on the warmongers and pacifists. Among them I
