Peril and Perfection (2014-08-08)

CD5K > FU > arc > unenders

The Unenders originally hail from an alternate universe. In their timeline, the Omniscient never spread beyond Tesepa, which allowed the Sapian Ministry to grow powerful enough to oppose the Novian Astral Confederacy.

A group of Novian scientists began operating under the creed that Synonymous's version of perfection was preferable to that of the Sapians. They used their knowledge of the cyborg collective's technology to adapt it to their will. The nanobot code for reshaping neural pathways was modified to leave a person's previous memories intact. Captured Synonymous drones that were being kept in stasis were revived and instructed to absorb the planet's population.

Much like how Synonymous originally repelled the Argossans back on Clash, this change was what was needed to stop the invaders in their tracks and secure a future. After the battle was won, some people of this new collective had ideas for experimenting with the technology they found their bodies riddled with. Over many iterations, the Synonymous Novians gradually became more and more robotic until they fit the classic interpretation of cybernetic life forms; mechanical bodies controlled by the organic brains they housed.

This developed further until they also learned how to simulate the brain. Programmable replacements were created that rearranged their neural pathways based on the data they were given, and memory mapping was used to bring back those who had exausted the limits of their biology. This made them better than ageless; they found a way to un-end lives, and restore to full working order those that were previously thought lost.

While their status was grand, the way there had taken its toll on their system and planets; resources were scarce. The war against the Sapians had reduced their colonies to smoldering wastelands, and they never fully recovered from it. The decision was made to invent time travel, and warn the past Novius of the impending threat. When they arrived, it already seemed as if they were too late; the planet's population was greatly reduced from what it should have been. But, they decided to make the most of the situation, and assisted the Novians in rebuilding, developing, and expanding.