Golden Age

The Golden Age refers to the prosperous bygone era in the history of Humanity during which human civilization spread far beyond the confines of Earth and expanded throughout the Solar System.

Origins
Shortly after the present day, Humans observed an object traveling to Jupiter, Mercury and Venus. Each time the object arrived at a planet, the planet underwent drastic climate and environmental changes.

Humanity tracked the object to Mars and began an expedition to communicate with it. Astronauts Mihaylova, Qiao and Jacob Hardy were chosen for the mission and left aboard a ship called Ares One. They arrived on Mars through the turbulence of terraformation. They had a script prepared for communication, but weapons ready in case of a confrontation. The event was broadcast live back to Earth.

Changes of the Golden Age
After initial contact, Humanity began to call the object "The Traveler." The Traveler shared its knowledge and technology with humanity, completely overruling laws and truths previously held as universal. An age of relative peace and prosperity ripe with technological innovation began, allowing humanity to triple its lifespan, terraform planets and moons, and expand its civilization beyond Earth and throughout much of the solar system.

Numerous human colonies and settlements were established on these newly remade worlds. A research colony was formed on the Moon. Mars and Venus became homes to great cities. Mercury became a garden world. Old records indicate cities existed on Jupiter, but some in the City believe these claims to be only metaphors. The asteroid belt was discovered to be an untapped treasure trove of wealth, and an asteroid mining boom began.

List of Known Technological Advancements

 * Colony Ships used to colonize terrestrial planets.
 * Engrams, encrypted matter held in a crystalline structure.
 * Exos, mysterious humanoid robots shaped in humanity's image.
 * Fusion-powered directed energy. This technology was later used in the City Age to power Fusion Rifles.
 * Glimmer, programmable matter that can be transmuted into almost anything.
 * Helium-3 fusion reactors.
 * Jumpships, spacecraft capable of initiating a warp displacement field.
 * Warminds, AI supercomputers able to connect to defense networks across the Solar System.
 * Warp Drive technology used to allow ships to attain faster-than-light travel. (possibly)
 * SIVA

The Collapse
At some point during the Golden Age, an ancient enemy of the Traveler called "the Darkness" arrived and drove The Traveler back to Earth. The Traveler made its last stand to defend the endangered human race and somehow sacrificed itself to save humanity. The demise of the Traveler effectively signaled the "Collapse," the end of the Golden Age. The last survivors of the terrible conflict banded together and built a City immediately beneath where the Traveler hung over the Earth.