Andromeda Beacon
The Andromeda Beacon is an unmistakably-artificial signal emanating from a point in the inner regions of the Andromeda galaxy, some two and a half million lightyears from the Milky Way and Starweb Space. The signal is extremely simplistic in light of the suspected technological level of its senders, being a short transmission of prime numbers and other basic pieces of information.
The identity of the civilization(s) which constructed the transmitter megastructure remains unknown; in popular media and scientific literature they are often dubbed the "Beacon Builders". The surrounding regions of space show no other evidence of an interstellar society, lending credence to the idea that the Beacon's builders died off long ago (in which case, why did such an obviously artificial construct escape destruction?) or traveled from a far-away location to construct it there. As for the builders' motivations, most xenologists tend to speculate it is a form of "cosmic lighthouse" signaling the presence of intelligence and nothing more—no information about the builders' culture, or technology, or motivation. Therefore, some view it as a light of hope to observers across the universe, showing that spacefaring civilization is indeed possible, while others see it as an intergalactic honeytrap set up to lure curious civilizations out to meet it, and their doom as well.
The first wormhole to be sent towards the Beacon's source, later in the Second Interstellar Period, was destroyed by a terrorist group known as the "Preservers of Humanity" on the claim that it risked delivering a ready-made invasion portal to potentially-dangerous aliens far in advance of Starweb civilization.
Origins
The Beacon transmission originates from not far outside Andromeda's core. Observation using data integrated from gravity-lens telescopes across the Starweb reveals the presence of an unmistakably-artificial structure, a black sphere of a size similar to a gas giant, but thought to be hollow or otherwise lightweight since its gravitation does not much effect other nearby objects. The signal is transmitted from the sphere's surface, apparently in all directions, using power produced from an unknown source.The identity of the civilization(s) which constructed the transmitter megastructure remains unknown; in popular media and scientific literature they are often dubbed the "Beacon Builders". The surrounding regions of space show no other evidence of an interstellar society, lending credence to the idea that the Beacon's builders died off long ago (in which case, why did such an obviously artificial construct escape destruction?) or traveled from a far-away location to construct it there. As for the builders' motivations, most xenologists tend to speculate it is a form of "cosmic lighthouse" signaling the presence of intelligence and nothing more—no information about the builders' culture, or technology, or motivation. Therefore, some view it as a light of hope to observers across the universe, showing that spacefaring civilization is indeed possible, while others see it as an intergalactic honeytrap set up to lure curious civilizations out to meet it, and their doom as well.
History
The Andromeda Beacon was first detected early in the Second Interstellar Period, though it is thought it could have been found much sooner, perhaps even before the Wormhole Rush, if astronomers had known what to look for. Monitoring projects since then have detected no changes to its endlessly-repeating message, only small Doppler shifts likely brought on by the relative motion of the signal's source and observation sites in Starweb space. Any wormhole dispatched towards it, even at the highest ultrarelativistic velocities attainable today, would take many thousands of years to arrive, rendering the prospect of contact with the Beacon's builders a proposition (and concern) for the far future.The first wormhole to be sent towards the Beacon's source, later in the Second Interstellar Period, was destroyed by a terrorist group known as the "Preservers of Humanity" on the claim that it risked delivering a ready-made invasion portal to potentially-dangerous aliens far in advance of Starweb civilization.
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