Line #173 Literature/TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy


1	[[quoteright:311:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51rtmon0fql.jpg]]
2
3	''Expansion: The History of the Galaxy'' ("Экспансия: История галактики"; ''A History of Our Galaxy'', according to the author's English website) is a [[LongRunningBookSeries long-running Russian science fiction book series]] written by Creator/AndreyLivadny. Unlike many other series, Livadny's novels rarely include the same characters. For the most part, each novel focuses on one or several characters being thrust into extraordinary events at some point in the universe created by Livadny, spanning a timeline between the 23rd and the 39th centuries.
4
5	Unfortunately, the novels are plagued by CanonDiscontinuity, which could have been [[HandWave explained away]] by [[UnreliableNarrator Unreliable Narrators]], if not for the ubiquitous use of the third-person viewpoint. It should be noted that the novels were not written in the chronological order of the Expansion universe.
6
7	The eponymous history of the galaxy is, for the most part, focused on humanity's expansion into the stars. Aliens only come to play in much later novels (according to the universe's timeline). Even then, there are surprisingly few alien races shown in the novels. However, this can be explained by the fact that humans have only explored a tiny part of the galaxy (despite the name of the series) and have only colonized slightly more than 200 worlds. In fact, the entire series tends to be human-centric, most prominently displayed by the so-called Galactic Wars, which only occurred in several dozen systems and without alien influence (aliens have not been discovered yet).
8
9	While most novels are of the MilitaryScienceFiction variety, especially the ones dealing with the above-mentioned Galactic Wars, the author likes to go into the many moral issues arising from technological advancement, such as artificial intelligence and mind-machine interface, as well as other issues such as human-alien interaction.
10
11	It should be noted that all alien species in the novels can be classified as {{Precursors}}, as most of them are several million years old, and some have stopped counting at several ''billion''. They left a number of ruins and artifacts, although only one is known to have been as far as Earth, but that was way before humans evolved.
12
13	[[folder:Works in the Series]]
14	''Note: The works are listed by the series' internal timeline, not the original publishing date.''
15	* 2197-2214, novel ''Blind Punch''
16	* 2217, novella ''Target''
17	* 2217, novel ''Escapee''
18	* 2217, novella ''Gemini Sign''
19	* 2607, novel ''Dabog''
20	* 2607-2608, novel ''Exclusion Zone''
21	* 2608, novella ''Return of the Gods''
22	* 2608-2670, short story "Fort Stellar"
23	* 2609-2717, novel ''Isle of Hope''
24	* 2617-2720, novella ''Assault on Felicity''
25	* 2624-2635, novel ''Serv Battalion''
26	* 2635, short story "Earth, the Eternal City"
27	* 2636-2641, novel ''Omicron''
28	* 2636, novella ''Repeated Colonization''
29	* 2637, novella ''VR''
30	* 2637, novella ''Natalie''
31	* 2637, novel ''The Last Frontier''
32	* 2634-2647, novel ''Mercenary'' (''Mercenary'' trilogy, book one)
33	* 2648, novel ''Mercenary: Flame of Hope'' (''Mercenary'' trilogy, book two)
34	* 2650, novel ''Mercenary: Edge of the Possible'' (''Mercenary'' trilogy, book three)
35	* 2717, novel ''Black Moon''
36	* 2907, short story "A Meeting with God"
37	* 2943, novel ''Special Assignment''
38	* 3699, novel ''A Rose for a Cyborg''
39	* 3705, novel ''Paradise Lost''
40	* 3727, novel ''Galactic Vortex''
41	* 3750, novel ''Demeter''
42	* 3771, novel ''Transport to Beezelbub'' %The misspelling is intentional%
43	* 3774-3794, novel ''The Third Race''
44	* 3782, novel ''Orion Nebula''
45	* 3785, novella ''Raven''
46	* 3787, short story "Natural Selection"
47	* 3790-3800, novel ''Spiral''
48	* 3801, novel ''Flight 618'' (''Living Space'' trilogy, book one)
49	* 3802, novel ''Living Space'' (''Living Space'' trilogy, book two)
50	* 3805, short story "Black Oasis"
51	* 3807, short story "Relic"
52	* 3809, short story "True Superiority"
53	* 3820, novel ''Edge of Reality''
54	* 3825, novel ''Dream of the Mind''
55	* 3827, novel ''The Bridge over the Abyss''
56	* 3828, novel ''A Maverick's Soul''
57	* 3830, novel ''Dawn over Arax''
58	* 3840, novel ''Cyberspace'' (''Living Space'' trilogy, book three)
59	* 3841, novella ''Purgatory''
60	* 3845-3867, novel ''Crimson Skies''
61	* 3847, novel ''Outpost''
62	* 3848, short story "Outcast" (a later adaptation of the short story "Your Name")
63	* 3855, novel ''The Cold Flame of Erigon''
64	* 3860, novel ''The Last of the Immortals''
65	* 3865, novel ''The First World''
66	* 3867, novel ''Reserve Spaceport'' (''Mechanoforms'' duology, book one)
67	* 3867, novel ''Absolute Enemy'' (''Mechanoforms'' duology, book two)
68	* 3868, novel ''Abyss''
69	* 3869, novel ''Dispacer'' (''Separated'' trilogy, book one)
70	* 3871-3881, novel ''Autonomous Mode'' (''Separated'' trilogy, book two)
71	* 3881, novel ''Mobilization'' (''Separated'' trilogy, book three)
72	* 3887, novel ''Warrior from Ganio''
73	* 3875-3990, novella ''Rain''
74	* 3895, novel ''Forbidden Contact''
75	* 3895, novel ''Isolation''
76	* Undated, novella ''World on the Palm''
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	The author has moved on to what he called the next chapter of "history", a setting he calls ''The History of Worlds'', which appears to involve an intersection of five separate [[AlternateHistory Alternate Histories]], one of which flows from this setting and the rest are partly based on his unrelated works.
80
81	Currently, the following works have been translated into English and are available for purchase: ''Blind Punch'', ''The Shadow of Earth''. The third novel ''Servobattalion'' will be released on October 22, 2018.
82
83	----
84	!! The novels contain examples of the following tropes:
85
86	* AbsentAliens: played straight for the first half of the series (in-universe chronology). Other races discovered later and play an important part in the second half of the series. Even more races are discovered on the so-called Necklace worlds at the center of hypersphere.
87	* AbusivePrecursors: the Shvergs were an ancient, expansionist race responsible for several genocides. Humanity has yet to meet them, if they are still around.
88	* TheAgeless: the human colonists on the planet Doom stop aging around 30. It turns out that the planet is the site of an ancient Harammin bio-warfare research lab abandoned during the conflict with the Insects. The resulting microorganisms are designed to turn humanoids into various living weapons. Immortality was just an unintended side effect. A quarter of the colonists remain essentially human but unaging. They call themselves the Chosen. The other three quarters have mutated into three HumanSubspecies: Shadows (who can [[InvisibilityCloak turn invisible]], [[VeinOVision sense neural networks]], and [[HealingHands heal by touch]]), Metamorphs ([[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]]), and Emglans ([[TheEmpath empaths]]). ImmortalProcreationClause is in effect as well. New births were few and far in between. By the time the LostColony is rediscovered, there have not been any births for 200 years. At the same time, a 302-year-old woman is ashamed to admit how young she is by the local standards. A visitor who is only 30 years old is treated as an infant, despite the fact that he has more combat experience that most of the colonists put together.
89	* AIIsACrapshoot: a damaged photonic computer created by the Insects millions of years ago witnesses a devastating battle between SpaceMarines and [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters radical separatists]] (who managed to obtain an [[WaveMotionGun antimatter weapon]]) and decides to destroy humanity. Does a HeelFaceTurn after the novel's protagonist repairs it (i.e. sticks the crystals that fell out back into their slots).
90	** For a series that focuses so heavily on AI, this trope is surprisingly rare. This is not to say machines don't attack humans, but they are usually war relics who are simply following their programming. After all, since their side lost, everything they see will be classified as enemy.
91	* {{AKA47}}: The ARG-8 assault rifle is a low-maintenance Great Exodus-era firearm with built-in RagnarokProofing (yes, this includes ammunition). It's a reliable weapon that can function pretty much anywhere after centuries of laying around. It can be typically found in caches of colony ship supplies, since most of them date back to that era. It's pretty rare to find them anywhere else, since firearms have long since been replaced by MagneticWeapons. It does, however, offer several advantages over the more modern weapons, such as better penetration and complete immunity to any means of electronic jamming or hacking.
92	* AlienAmongUs: very rare, as most aliens look nothing like humans. One novel had an example where a Harammin disguised himself as a human by using portable holographic generators (ironically, a human invention).
93	%%* TheAlliance: Free Colonies.
94	* AncientAstronauts: the Delphons and the Logrians are mentioned to have visited Earth in the distant past, leaving only myths of their visits. The only problem with that is that the last time they visited was 3 million years ago, so it is unlikely that the early hominids would pass on any stories to us. It is also implied that the Logrian genetic experiments on artificially impregnating human women were partially successful. They left behind some machinery for doing this and then extracting the genetic samples. Also, "iezuz" is a word in Logrian meaning "artificial conception" or "genetic experiment". DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?
95	** The Logrians from the First World have also visited Earth during the Middle Ages to "recruit" slaves for menial labor, their utterly alien shape (including two snake-like heads) possibly inspiring myths of dragons coming from the stars.
96	* AntiMatter: the LIGHT annihilator is a WaveMotionGun that works by forcing the target object to create anti-matter particles via fusion. The result is an EarthShatteringKaboom (sometimes, literally) that takes out the object and everything around it.
97	** Additionally, the new generation of modular {{Space Fighter}}s introduced in ''The Backup Spaceport'' is powered by an anti-matter reactor that utilizes a mix or tritium (hydrogen-3) and anti-tritium, which is described as being the only anti-matter particle that only annihilates if it encounters a tritium particle and none other.
98	* ArbitraryWeaponRange: [[JustifiedTrope justified]] with the use of missiles as primary weapons for ship-to-ship combat (they constantly weave and dodge to avoid being intercepted). Played straight with [[EnergyWeapon lasers]], plasma guns, and [[MagneticWeapons mass drivers]]. On the other hand, ground-based missile weapons have ridiculous ranges, some even able to hit a target in orbit when launched from the surface.
99	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: the Emulotti survivors had to ascend to escape the Shvergs. A human was also forcibly turned into energy by a piece of Emulotti machinery.
100	* BalkanizeMe: after over a 1000 years, many people get fed up with the [[TheFederation Confederacy of Suns]] and its fleet, due to the lack of any external threats and unequal planetary rights. The Confederacy is dissolved for about 30 years. Then several external threats are discovered, and it is quickly reformed.
101	* BrainUploading: a common theme in later novels with the discovery of logrs and the Logris. Each logr is a powerful alien mini-computer capable of holding the consciousness of a sentient being and using the being's memories to create a personal virtual world when "plugged" into the Logris, an enormous super-computer composed of billions of logrs. This adds a major philosophical issue to the storytelling, as being able to do this and then download the consciousness into a cloned body makes a person effectively immortal. Interestingly, the concept of soul is never brought up.
102	** Even before the logrs, the "Maverick" AI modules were designed to directly interface with the minds of the SpaceFighter or [[RealRobotGenre Real Robot]] pilots in order to draw on their experience. This usually resulted in parts of the pilot's personality imprinting on the Maverick, sometimes "reviving" the consciousness of a dead pilot in the Maverick after his physical death.
103	* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: before the invasion of Dabog by the Earth Alliance, the ''Golden Eagle'' is the last surviving [[AMechByAnyOtherName servomachine]] from centuries ago, originally built to help terraform the planet and currently serving as a museum exhibit. Also see SuperweaponSurprise.
104	* BugWar: Insects vastly outnumber humans and have a completely different [[HiveMind mindset]].
105	* CombiningMecha: Averted for servomachines, but capital ships are designed to split into multiple sections if forced to land on a planet, with each section having independent controls and drives.
106	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: too numerous to count. One even stages an attack on TheFederation after he is threatened with jail time.
107	* TheCracker: futuristic hackers with brain implants are a major plotline of several novels.
108	* {{Cyberspace}}: separate from virtual reality. Every electronic device is perceived by certain people with multiple brain implants, allowing them to remotely interface with the devices. In contrast, VR is rendered by software for the user's benefit.
109	* DeadMansSwitch: during the last years of the First Galactic War, the Earth Alliance set up automated outposts in systems surrounding the territories of the Free Colonies. Should Earth ever be successfully attacked, the outposts were supposed to launch a massive mechanized attack on the unprepared colonies. However, the admiral in charge of the Earth defenses deliberately disabled this system in order to save humanity. After all, if both Earth and the colonies fall, who's left?
110	* DeadlyDodging: during the first encounter between the ''Aquila'' and the Alliance servomachines, two Alliance vehicles try to attack the ''Aquila'' from opposite directions. The ''Aquila''[='s=] AI makes the servomachine fall on its back, and the two Alliance servomachines shoot one another. One of the pilots survives, though.
111	* DefectorFromDecadence: Andrey Roschin ([[DubNameChange Andrew Groves in the English translation]]), who refuses a direct order to kill an unarmed civilian woman on Cassia and then stops his superior officer from doing the same. He ends up helping to fight the Earth/Terran Alliance invaders.
112	* DoNotTouchTheFunnelCloud: tornado missiles are used by Confederacy of Suns forces to destroy old Earth Alliance automated military bases, most of which are underground. Once the general location of a base is known, the ship in orbit launches missiles that detonate in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropopause tropopause]] (that is, if the planet has one), starting several tornadoes that naturally seek out hidden air shafts and proceed to destroy everything in the base.
113	* DubNameChange:
114	** The English translation of ''Blind Punch'' changes the name of the protagonist from Ivan Stozharov to Max Bourne. Several other names are changed to their equivalent in English (e.g. Yekaterina -> Catherine).
115	** This is continued in ''The Shadow of Earth'' (which is also an example of a CompletelyDifferentTitle), where the mech ''Golden Eagle'' is renamed ''Aquila'' (probably to keep the one-word name, as it is in Russian). The character of Andrey Roschin is also renamed Andrew Groves, which is a direct translation, for once (the Russian word ''roscha'' [роща] means "grove").
116	* DysonSphere: the Insects built one around their star in order to both provide plenty of living space and solar energy but also to protect their race from the oncoming [[PlanetEater Forerunners]]. The project lasted nearly a 1000 years and was partially successful. Unlike a "traditional" Dyson sphere, the Insect version was flattened at the top and bottom and, from the side, looked more like a rugby ball (or a football, for Americans). It was heavily damaged but not destroyed by the Forerunners and remained in a state of disrepair for 3 million years until humans found it.
117	* ElectronicTelepathy: [[TheCracker cybreakers]] can enter another person's mind via a brain implant that present in most humans. They can sift through their memories, conduct MindRape, or fry the victim's brain. Only specially-trained people called mnemonics are able to fight off cybreakers.
118	* TheEmpire: Earth Alliance (or Terran Alliance, as the official English translations call it).
119	* EndOfAnAge: the collapse of the first Confederacy of Suns is seen this way by some, considering it was in existence for nearly 1000 years.
120	* EnemyMine: a number of novels involve former enemies working together against a common goal or a bigger threat. One such example is in the novel ''The Last of the Immortals'', where Ivan, a pilot in the Confederate fleet, is forced to work with Faizullah, a Ganio pirate lord, against [[spoiler:a Harammin]] who has set up both of them. Say what you want about Ganians, but they do have their honor.
121	* EnergyBeing: the "God" being is one, as well as the Evolgs. The [[HumanAliens Emulotti]] became these after the Evolgs helped them AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. The Forerunners are between this and primitive biological beings.
122	* EnergyWeapon: heat lasers are used in ground, air, and space engagements, although MagneticWeapons are usually preferred over them.
123	** On the other hand, lasers do not require ammo, just energy. If you have a working reactor, then you can fire as much as you want. Apparently, overheating or the need to replace the gas/crystal is not a problem in the future.
124	* EverythingIsOnline: the giant Interstar network is the evolution of modern-day Internet with most systems plugged into it.
125	* ExplosionsInSpace: averted, as the main threat from an explosion in space is debris flying everywhere at high speeds.
126	** Played straight with the use of [[WaveMotionGun antimatter weapons]]. Their first use in battle saw the complete annihilation of a moon and two armadas... from one shot.
127	%%* TheFederation: Confederacy of Suns.
128	%%* FishPeople: the Delphons.
129	* GeneralRipper: We have three admirals that fit the bill: Alliance admirals Alexander Nagumo and Tiberius Nadyrov and colonial Admiral Vorontsov. All three are ruthless in achieving victories at any cost. The former two are responsible for turning Dabog from a pleasant world into a radioactive wasteland because the colonists refused to give in. Vorontsov willingly sacrifices his own fleet (and his own son on one of the ships) to destroy the enemy's, and then turns around and blames the Alliance for his son's death.
130	* GenericanEmpire: the Confederacy of Suns, the Star Caliphate.
131	* HeavyWorlder: The Norls are large humanoids from a world whose gravity is at least double that of Earth. One is shown to be able to easily grab a huge rock and toss it aside. Their [[HandCannon handheld weapons]] can easily take out an armored vehicle or a [[RealRobotGenre Real Robot]].
132	%%* HeroicSacrifice: plenty.
133	* HiveMind: sufficiently large Insect clans establish a telepathic field that serves as this for them. While it is initially stated by the Insects themselves that their cities with their unique architecture are necessary for such a field, this proves to be a BatmanGambit on their part which, ultimately, fails.
134	* {{Homage}}: the story of the Delphons appears to be one to Christopher B. Rowley's ''Starhammer'', which also features a device capable of destroying a star, developed by an aquatic race to combat highly dangerous lifeforms. One novel even features a character named Christopher Rowley.
135	* HumanAliens: only two alien races are humanoid. The rest are very different.
136	** The Delphons are often described as aquatic humanoids, although they should probably be classified as FishPeople.
137	* HumanSubspecies: the colonists who arrived aboard the ''Hope'' to a planet they later named Doom are subjected to microorganisms developed millions of years ago by Harramin scientists in an attempt to develop bio-weapons for their war against the Insects. About 3/4 of the human arrivals are turned into three types of mutants: Shadows are capable of [[InvisibilityCloak turning invisible]] (but not their clothes), [[VeinOVision sensing neural networks]], and [[HealingHands healing by touch]]; Metamorphs are capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting (including imitating another person); and Emglans can [[TheEmpath sense other people's emotions and general state of mind]]. The remaining colonists, calling themselves the Chosen, are virtually unchanged. However, all four groups become TheAgeless. Many mutated colonists have gone insane, unable to cope with the physical changes, and fled into the wilderness. The wild Metamorphs continue to attack the City and anyone who steps outside the Boundary. Within the City, the four groups have formed clan-like social structures called "satts" (after Satt Valtorn, the captain of the ''Hope''). The Shadow, Metamorph, Emglan, and Chosen satts are all exclusive to their particular subspecies. The Warrior Satt, however, is made up of members of the others satts who have chosen to defend the City at the Boundary.
138	* HumongousMecha: nearly ''every single novel'' features battles involving "servomachines" - 20-60 metric tons of death on legs piloted by a human and/or an AI, depending on the model. After the end of the Galactic Wars, the basic designs settled on three models: the 60-ton (metric) [[http://livadny.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Falanger.jpg Phalanxer]], equipped with long-range missiles and rocket-propelled artillery but poorly suited for close-range fighting due to low maneuverability, although the missile racks can be discarded after firing to lighten the load; the 40-ton Raven, a rare medium variant used either in pair with one of the other models or independently; and the 20-ton [[http://livadny.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hoplit3.jpg Hoplite]], a light (for a HumongousMecha) and maneuverable variant equipped with close-range weaponry, usually to protect its big brother the Phalanxer but often used as a scout and/or spotter.
139	** Interestingly, after defeating the [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]], the newly-created [[TheFederation Confederacy of Suns]] adopted the Alliance servomachine classes instead of its own Golden Eagles (Aquilas in the [[DubNameChange English translation]]) used during the war. Then again, many useful Alliance inventions and designs were borrowed by the colonists after the end of the war due to their effectiveness.
140	* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: the Hypersphere anomaly/dimension is, for all intents and purposes, empty. It is complete and utter darkness (except for a small area at the center). Navigating it is difficult on the best days and impossible without proper equipment. Dive too deep, and you get crushed by intense energy "pressure". Emerge from it without proper calculations, and you could end up inside a star or a planet.
141	* IKnowMortalKombat: during the First Galactic War, the [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]] recruited a battalion made up exclusively of teenagers playing a mech simulator MMO in booths secretly set up by the Earth Alliance military. These gamers proved to be formidable opponents due to their unorthodox and unexpected tactics, especially when fighting machines. For example, no machine would ever think of reprogramming surface-to-air MIRV missiles to act as ballistic missiles.
142	* ImmortalityImmorality: the Harammins were obsessed with immortality at any cost. They finally did it by using clones and consciousness transfer. However, this turned them into decadent aristocrats with no respect for life.
143	** This is precisely why the Logrians refuse immortality, despite inventing the technology.
144	* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: after the liberation of the Logrians from Harammin rule, they give humans some of their technology, including the logrs (tiny crystalline computers capable of holding a person's mind), the Logris (a massive space-based computer composed of billions of logrs), and the light-bending gravity generators.
145	** An inverse example includes human hyperdrive technology, later adopted by the Insects and the Logrians.
146	* ImprovisedWeapon: while not a clearcut example, the LIGHT antimatter weapon was originally developed as a new type of engine for spacecraft.
147	* InstantAIJustAddWater: AI chips are '''mass-produced''' for both civilian and military use. Several AIs have attained a certain level of self-awareness, although an archaeologist in one novel claims there will never be a "true" AI (i.e. an AI that evolved without help from a human or due to programming). All AIs are programmed to learn at an incredible rate. Those [[UnusualUserInterface interfacing with humans]] absorb human memories and incorporate them into their own, often developing their own personalities.
148	* InvisibilityWithDrawbacks: can be partially achieved using full-body suits with chameleon coating. Also, an ancient Harammin experiment resulted in a virus that mutates anyone exposed to it into one of four types. One of these, the Shadows, are able to hide themselves from visible detection, although this [[InvisibleStreaker doesn't affect their clothing]].
149	* LoveAtFirstSight: most novels feature characters meeting and falling in love ridiculously quickly. In fact, some characters' inner monologues indicate love at first sight when they remember first meeting the other person, but there was nothing in the novel itself to indicate this, which is similar to what many people in RealLife claim (memory is a fickle thing).
150	* MacrossMissileMassacre: when missiles are used in space, they are usually launched in ridiculous numbers, usually to counteract equally numerous [[PointDefenseless point-defense]] systems on enemy ships. A dedicated missile frigate is stated to be able to simultaneously launch up to 100 missiles at 50 different targets; however, they are not very effective against heavy cruisers, as those can easily shrug off the hits.
151	* MagneticWeapons: except for [[CanonDiscontinuity one novel]], EM weapons play an important role on any battlefield. All handheld weapons (except antiques) fire tiny metallic balls accelerated to extreme speeds by a magnetic field. They are, however, not very effective against armored targets. In these cases, "ancient" weapons firing bullets provide significantly better penetration than EM weapons, which are designed for anti-personnel roles. Larger versions of these are mounted on fighters and capital ships but can be countered by thick armor.
152	** Regular firearms are used by humans on Insect planets in order to prevent them from obtaining advanced weapons.
153	** In one novel, EM weapons are specifically referred to as Gauss guns.
154	* AMechByAnyOtherName: mechs are either called "servomachines" or "walking machines".
155	* MegaCity: ''Blind Punch'' deals with Earth before humanity has spread out throughout the Solar System. The four global superpowers ([[ExpandedStatesOfAmerica United America]], [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain Russia]], [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld New Asia]], and [[UnitedEurope European Union]]) are centered around giant cities, whose skyscrapers reach the clouds. There's a joint project to build the Antarctic Megacity in order to offload the billions of people living below the safe breathable levels, who are forced to spend their days in "inmodes" - self-sustaining life support pods with a virtual reality hookup. At that time, Earth's population is double what it is now.
156	* MegaCorp: many novels, especially later in the timeline, deal with various corporations on the Periphery of colonized space. As usual, they try to skirt the laws of the Confederacy. The largest corporation of all time is Galactic Cybersystems, although it collapses when its ruling family is all but wiped out. The chronologically first novel ''Blind Punch'' has four megacorporations (Rimp Cybertronics, Genesis, Megapool, and Cryonics) essentially ruling the world, after taking the power away from the superpowers and establishing a OneWorldOrder. To be fair, those superpowers were on the brink of starting WorldWarThree and were stifling technological progress. It's because of those corporations that Mars is eventually settled.
157	* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: no one ever brings up the idea of going to another galaxy. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], due to only a tiny fraction of the galaxy being explored by humans and other known races. Also, the nature of Hypersphere seems to indicate that it does not stretch beyond the Milky Way. It is possible that every galaxy has one, but it doesn't exactly help matters.
158	* MindRape: can be done either by the telepathic Insects or through ElectronicTelepathy by [[TheCracker cybreakers]].
159	* TheMultiverse: With the introduction of the larger ''The History of Worlds'' setting, it's revealed that this setting exists alongside four other settings, some of which have existed as completely separate works by the author until then. The author typically names the universes based on key novels featuring them:
160	** ''Another Mind'' Universe: humanity is still at the early 21st century level of development. Hyperspace has not been discovered. Earth is attacked by Xenobians.
161	** ''Life Form'' Universe: humanity is settling the Solar System with plans for STL exploration of the galaxy on indefinite hold. Hyperspace not yet discovered. Alien artifacts are discovered on various planets in the system.
162	** ''Contact'' Universe: Earth is a CityPlanet, hyperdrives allow humanity to explore the stars, AI is ubiquitous. Archaeological discoveries on Ganymede reveal the existence of multiple alien races.
163	** Omni Universe: Earth is a radioactive wasteland following a mutually-destructive war between humans and [[InsectoidAliens Fokarsians]] (whose homeworld has been destroyed as well). A small enclave of surviving humans try to rebuild the biosphere, but they are in constant conflict with the surviving Fokarsians and a race known as the Skelkhs.
164	* NonindicativeName: the so-called Galactic Wars took place in a few dozen star systems and, in the grand scheme of things, was nothing more than a localized conflict (even though it lasted over 30 years) that only involved humans.
165	** The ''Phalanxer''-class [[AMechByAnyOtherName servomachine]] does not fight in a phalanx formation.
166	** The Insect DysonSphere is not actually a sphere but looks more like a rugby ball from the side.
167	** One of the names for the inhabited planet at the center of hypersphere is First World. There doesn't seem to be a reason for the name. This world is actually the last one to be sent into hypersphere (although the only one to remain habitable) during the joint Insect/Logrian experiment.
168	* NegativeSpaceWedgie:
169	** The imprint of the galaxy at the center of [[SubspaceOrHyperspace hypersphere]] emits powerful electromagnetic fields that have an EMP-like effect on most electronics. It also somehow amplifies human energy potential, sometimes allowing a consciousness to exist separate from the body. Scientists have no idea how this is possible, but given that there's an entire artificial star system located deep inside hypersphere, their bafflement is understandable.
170	** In ''Blind Punch'', when the first extrasolar colony ship ''Alpha'' engages her engines, everyone watches in horror as ''something'' darker than space itself appear behind the ship, sucking in the plasma streams from the ''Alpha''[='s=] three fusion engines, and then pulling in the ship itself. It wouldn't be until decades later that the phenomenon of the hypersphere would be discovered.
171	* NeglectfulPrecursors: the creators of the mechanoforms end up unintentionally unleashing a self-replicating menace on the unsuspecting galaxy. The same menace ends up destroying them first.
172	** Other races also occasionally leave artifacts lying around that have bad consequences. However, in their defense, they were escaping the [[PlanetEater Forerunners]] at the time.
173	* OldSchoolDogfight: fighter/bombers are the primary means of space combat.
174	* {{Panspermia}}: one of the novels reveals that all biological life in the galaxy is a side effect of mass migrations of the Forerunners, primitive semi-organic creatures created by an ancient EnergyBeing as vessels for its consciousness.
175	* PerfectPacifistPeople: the Logrians don't like to fight, which doesn't stop them from developing powerful weapons and defenses. The Emulotti also don't like to kill, but only because they don't want to feel bad afterwards. They even separated themselves into "quarter-entities" to fight the enemy. Needless to say, it [[GoneHorriblyWrong didn't work out]] as they planned.
176	** The Logrians also have no problem with going to primitive worlds and bringing back slaves to do the menial work, as the Logrians are more thinkers than laborers.
177	* PhysicalGod: One of the novels has humans encountering an EnergyBeing that is indirectly responsible for the creation of all biological life in the galaxy (possibly, the Universe).
178	* PlanetEater: the Forerunners were a massive swarm of non-sentient beings which consumed all matter in their path.
179	* PlanetTerra: the official English translations of the novels use the term Terran Alliance for Earth Alliance (they probably wanted to avoid any comparison to ''Series/BabylonFive''). Earth is still called Earth, though.
180	* PlasmaCannon: used as area-of-effect weapons in ground combat. Frequently mounted on [=PCVs=] ([[TankGoodness planetary combat vehicles]]), although handheld version are also used. However, for a soldier to use a plasma weapon at anything close-range is suicide, as it's the equivalent of shooting a grenade launcher at a target two feet away. Also mounted on capital ships for space combat, but they don't have a lot of range.
181	* PopulationControl: in the years prior to the First Galactic War, Earth was overpopulated (60+ billion people). As such, strict population control methods were employed. Only those with child licenses were allowed to reproduce. Punishments were truly draconian in nature, including jailing the children of those, who reproduced illegally (as if it was their fault they were born). One character of the novel ''Dabog'' (''The Shadow of Earth'' [[CompletelyDifferentTitle in English]]) spent most of his life (since the age of 5) in a prison mining camp on a Jovian moon for the crime of being born and only released on the condition that he would enlist into the Alliance military.
182	* PortalNetwork: the [[BugWar Insects]], [[StarfishAliens Logrians]], and [[HumanAliens Harammins]] created these in order to quickly move between planets and systems. Since all portals are using the same principle and technology, there is no way to limit access to undesirables. This became a problem during the Forerunner Crisis 3 million years ago, when billions of fleeing Insects practically invaded Harammin planets through their own portals. Portals can exist in various sizes, from small ones for people to humongous ones for spaceships.
183	** Each portal is, basically, a primitive version of the hyperdrive used by humans, consisting of two generators: a low-frequency generator to "submerge" objects into hypersphere, and a high-frequency generator for "surfacing". These races just never developed a portable version of the generators. On the other hand, humans went straight for hyperdrives and never developed portals, which are generally safer to use.
184	* PoweredArmor: when not piloting HumongousMecha, SpaceMarines wear this.
185	* ThePowerOfLove: present in some novels, where love is enough to overcome any obstacle. For example, a gynoid reprogrammed as an assassin remembering an android she met before and overring her programming upon seeing him in the sniper rifle scope.
186	* PredatoryBusiness: in ''Blind Punch'', the four largest corporations on Earth end up at odds with one another. Rimp Cybertronics seeks to build an extrasolar colony ship. Genesis wants to terraform Mars, turning it into an ecological paradise. Megapool wishes to turn first the Moon and then Mars into an Earth-style CityPlanet. Cathy Rimp convinces the head of Genesis to help her build the colony ship in exchange for supporting his bid to keep Mars away from Megapool's greedy hands. When the CEO of Megapool learns of this, he determines to destroy Rimp Cybertronics and Genesis by having them pour trillions into the colony ship project and then sabotaging it. The sabotage is partly successful. However, the overloaded fusion engines don't blow up the craft as they were supposed to. Instead, the sheer force of the engine output ends up tearing a hole in space-time, eventually leading to humanity discovering hypersphere.
187	* PresidentEvil: President John Winston Hammer ordered an Earth Alliance strike fleet to make a surprise attack on one of the more prosperous [[LostColony Lost Colonies]] in order to put all the others in their place. As ordered, the strike fleet opens the conflict by nuking two major cities on Dabog.
188	* PreventTheWar: ''Blind Punch'' starts with the [[SpaceFillingEmpire four global superpowers]] ([[ExpandedStatesOfAmerica United America]], [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain Russia]], [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld New Asia]], and [[UnitedEurope European Union]]) on the brink of WorldWarThree. The four largest {{Mega Corp}}s (Rimp Cybertronics, Genesis, Megapool, and Cryonics) have banded together in order to destroy the military [=AIs=] of each superpower and force the creation of OneWorldOrder.
189	* PsychicPowers: all Insects are telepathic, capable of both mental communication and MindRape.
190	* PyrrhicVictory: the first use of the [[WaveMotionGun LIGHT antimatter weapon]] in battle was supposed to be a trap for the [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]] fleet. The [[LaResistance Colonial]] fleet assembled in a system a few jumps away from Earth in order to provoke an enemy response. Their intention was to surround the enemy fleet and herd it near a planetoid that would be the target of the weapon. Unfortunately, the Alliance used a new jumping technique to ambush the Colonial fleet with ''two'' armadas. The Colonial admiral had no choice but to fire the weapon anyway. The resulting explosion vaporized the planetoid, also destroying the Alliance and Colonial fleets. Only 8 Colonial ships survived, and the weapon itself was lost. So not only did the battle result in a Pyrrhic victory, but it left the colonies almost completely defenseless.
191	* RagnarokProofing: the centuries-old battlefields are still full of machines that continue to roam and attack "enemies". In some cases, the machines have been known to cannibalize other machines to keep themselves running.
192	** The ancient PortalNetwork built 3 million years ago by the Insects, Logrians, and Harammins is still functioning. All that needs to be done is to find a way to activate a particular link.
193	** The Insect DysonSphere, built around the same time, is still mostly intact, despite having been hit by the Forerunner swarm. The photonic computer built to run the Sphere is reactivated by humans millions of years later with no worse for wear. To be fair, though, when one builds something the size of a Dyson Sphere, one builds it to last. Otherwise, what's the point?
194	** None of this compares to the ancient Emulotti/Evolg devices that still function after over a ''billion'' years. That's about a quarter age of the Earth!
195	* ResearchInc: the Galactic Cybersystems Corporation
196	* SpaceIsAnOcean: subverted, for the most part. While the author tends not to focus much on space battles, the few that are described do not really go into much detail and mostly focus on a single fighter pilot rather than a fleet. Fleet officers use a ranking system loosely based on Russian naval ranks with the addition of the "Galact" prefix (e.g. Galactlieutenant, Galactcaptain), although the prefix is only used during introductions and as a form of formal address. It should be noted that the fleet and the SpaceMarines are considered to be the same branch of the military.
197	* SpaceAgeStasis: Partly played straight, considering the setting spans about 1500 years of human space exploration. While there are technological advancements, there are also centuries where nothing appears to change much from the time before. This is surprising, considering that some novels are focused on radical new technologies and their effect on society and warfare. And the argument about "everything has already been discovered" doesn't apply as a number of Precursor races and ruins have been found whose level of technology vastly surpasses that of the humans (i.e. there is room for a lot of improvement). Basically, you can pick up a book set in 2607 and one set in 3867 and see a good number of the same pieces of technology with little in terms of improvement.
198	* SpaceMarines: for some reason, it's pretty common for marines to also act as SpaceFighter and [[AMechByAnyOtherName servomachine]] pilots besides the usual ground-pounder roles. Likely done to avoid having a large cast.
199	%%* StandardSciFiHistory
200	* StealthInSpace: possible with the use of jamming equipment, especially if controlled by a [[TheCracker cybreaker]]. Also, the Logrians invented extremely powerful gravity generators and used them to hide an entire '''star cluster''' from the rest of the galaxy for 3 million years. Smaller versions have later been adapted by humans for use on ships, although their operation requires the use of a skilled [[TheCracker cybreaker or mnemonic]] in order to constantly adjust settings to match the changing environment.
201	* SubspaceAnsible: most civilized human colonies have giant automated HF (Hypersphere frequency) stations in orbit, allowing instantaneous interstellar communication. They create stable HF channels and carrier waves. Ships are also able to do this but to a lesser extent.
202	* SubspaceOrHyperspace: all FTL travel is achieved by entering another dimension (or anomaly) called the Hypersphere (it's an actual sphere with the galaxy "surrounding" it). Most aliens use [[PortalNetwork stationary gates]], while humans and several other aliens created portable hyperdrives.
203	* SuperweaponSurprise: the invasion of Dabog by the Earth Alliance is thwarted by a single three hundred year old servomachine, originally built to help terraform the planet and currently [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece serving as a museum exhibit]]. Even after the Alliance starts buildings it own servomachines, the first models prove to be vastly inferior to the ''Golden Eagle'' (''Aquila'' in the [[DubNameChange English translation]]). Later models to catch up, though, and eventually surpass the serial Golden Eagles.
204	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: the enslaved Insects rebelled against the Harammins. A group of androids began killing their owners on a farming planet. While there are plenty AIs in the novels that go around killing everything they see, they don't fit the trope because they have been '''programmed''' to behave this way (most of these are First Galactic War relics).
205	** One group of 400-year-old androids does decide to wipe out humanity as revenge for having their personalities destroyed for the purposes of war.
206	** The ''Mechanoforms'' story arc deals with self-replicating machines that were originally built eons ago to explore the galaxy and prepare habitable world for colonization (going so far as pre-building cities). However, when the machines returned home centuries later, their rigidly-programmed computers did not recognize their creators anymore and attacked them. Now, they are flying around the galaxy, replicating and attacking anything foreign.
207	* UnusualUserInterface: most humans get a chip implanted into their skull when they're born. This allows them to mentally control simple devices. The military versions allow a pilot to perceive himself as the machine he is piloting. Basically, the pilot of a HumongousMecha only has to think or even get an idea of doing something, the machine's AI will pick up on the thought or impulse and execute it. Can lead to some unorthodox tactics, such as ''ducking'' when fired at with [=RPGs=] (a natural human reaction). The AI also learns during this melding, eventually adopting tactics and personality traits of the pilot.
208	* WarIsHell: a common theme in many novels, especially if the main character is a soldier.
209	* WaveMotionGun: LIGHT antimatter weapon. When first used in battle, destroyed a moon as well as two armadas.
210	* TheWarOfEarthlyAggression: the First Galactic War begins with a surprise attack of the Dabog colony by [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]] in order to force the colonies to allow unrestricted influx of additional settlers from the overpopulated Earth. The most frustrating thing is that President John Winston Hammer simply assumed that the colonies would say "no" and didn't bother to ask. What started with a nuking of two major Dabogan cities and a massive invasion turned into a pitched battle with the locals, who manage to rout the invading forces. In frustration, the fleet admiral nukes the entire colony from orbit. The other colonies band together against the common threat. What was supposed to be a week-long blitzkrieg turned into a 30-year war which nearly spelled doom for all of humanity. The Alliance was eventually defeated, and the colonies formed the [[TheFederation Confederacy of Suns]] on the ruins of the war.
211	* WeHaveReserves: this is generally how the [[BugWar Insects]] fight, given their advantage in numbers compared to the other races. Also, their warriors are usually mindless drones.
212	** During the First Galactic War, the [[LaResistance Free Colonies]] desperately needed ways to successfully counter the extremely deadly [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]] [[AMechByAnyOtherName servomachines]] on planetary battlefields. While the colonists had their own servomachines, they were not nearly as effective as the Alliance ones. As such, two new types of combat drones were designed that could be cheaply produced en masse and have limited tactical capability and the ability to work together. The [=LDLs=] (Large Laser Drivers) were small autonomous walkers armed with powerful lasers (the LDL-55 variant's laser is 200-megawatt) and the MX-300's were treaded RPG launchers. Entire batallions of these were thrown at Alliance forces, and many still walk around the battlefields centuries later.
213	* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: averted for humans, who heavily rely on cybernetics and [=AIs=] to do the menial work for them. Played straight for the Insects, whose individuals can be at any moment turned into mindless drones by the [[HiveMind collective]] whenever a large workforce is required. Individuality can be restored after the task is done. For this reason, the Insects have never advanced in the area of cybernetics, although they are (or were) quite advanced in other areas. Human MiniMecha and robots baffle them. Their advances in computing culminated in the creation of a self-aware photonic computer ([[PowerCrystal powered by crystals]]) designed to run their DysonSphere; however, they have never dreamed of the scale of integration of computers into their daily lives that humans enjoy and how many [=AIs=] have been created by humans.
214	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: this often becomes the moral question when dealing with [=AIs=], cyborgs, and humans whose consciousness has been copied onto a droid or a HumongousMecha. In later novels, the [[TheFederation Confederacy of Suns]] has passed a law granting equal rights to fully-sentient machines, including machines carrying the consciousness of a human. There is still plenty of prejudice, though. However, many new technologies allow a droid to look indistinguishable from a human using real-looking skin, etc.
215	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: theme of several novels.
216	** One such novel involves a soldier ending up on a world that used to be the testing ground of the Harammins. He gets infected with a genetically-engineered airborne virus that turns him into a Shadow (he has {{Invisibility}}, [[PsychicPowers empathy]], and {{Immortality}}). He realizes that if he ever makes it back, he will infect everyone with the same virus, resulting in chaos and mayham (some mutations are of the BodyHorror kind). At the end of the novel, several dozen Ganians also end up infected. Like him, they decide to stay.

Context Literature / TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy