The Next Few Thousand Years

Over the millennia to come, Thera became more and more technologically-advanced while Scrao became more and more inhabitable through terraforming and importation of resources. The nations traveled to other planets and established colonies on various moons. Eventually, various colonies became independent and many formed into the Extraterrestrial Empires. Civilization had split and divided into countless factions scattered throughout the solar system, and with better and better portals and power sources being developed every century, there was no sign of civilization's growth slowing.

Of course, with all these nations and factions, there had to be much conflict and disagreements. Within a century of Thera and Scrao becoming connected with portals, the first interplanetary war had started. Also, most colonies' successions were not peaceful. However, the biggest war recorded was the Solar War, when nearly all planets and moons which had the capability each attacked nearly all the others with nuclear weaponry. Even with all-out nuclear attacks everywhere, however, casualties were relatively few; the portal safeties and nuclear defense grids prevented the bombs from reaching the surfaces of all but 2 planets and 5 moons.

Since the greatest conflict in recorded history proved nukes to be ineffective, better weapons had to be created, and in the centuries to follow, that's exactly what happened. From molecular disruptors to fusion accelerators, the arms race ran. These weapons had obliterative power far beyond that of even the greatest nuclear weapons; while nukes were like fireballs, fusion accelerator bombs went off like exploding stars. If ever such weapons were used in an all-out war, humanity would need to be better dispersed than a single solar system could allow.

Next: Saving Us From Ourselves