The Four Horsemen

Plausible Deniability...

The Four Horsemen were thought to be a footnote in the record of our history, but it seems they may be so much more. Earth seemed to have some sense after all, choosing not to play with fire too close to home. They developed four classes of cruiser, gave each ship a task, and sent them into the void to conduct dangerous experiments in secret.
Should the experiments bear fruit, the ships would return to improve the lives of those on earth, at least in theory. If it ends in failure, it can simply be forgotten. No harm, no foul. Earth remains protected, and whatever threat the experiments posed would be someone else's problem, just another distant danger in the depths of space.
A lucky find revealed a method behind the madness of our ancestors. There are some implications to this discovery, something we can’t ignore if we are to learn from their mistakes. Perhaps they were smarter than we thought. It certainly seems they were more advance than we realized.

What Are The Four Horsemen

There are four horsemen, four distinct classes of scientific cruiser. Each individual ship was designed with a specific purpose, a single problem to overcome. Their research focused on this goal in a predetermined location in space, those aboard placed in cryogenic stasis during their long journey.
Some of these vessels traveled for centuries before reaching their destination, never knowing that their experiment would be for nothing. By the time most of these vessels began their experiments, the earth was already gone. They worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those who were long dead.
This was the extent of our knowledge. The archive had little information on the subject, All other data was either omitted or actively removed. This was how it was for years. Recently, The Wayfarers managed to find one, and what a find it was.

Class And Research Focus

• Mortem Class: The Mortem class is composed of ships named after religious icons symbolizing death. Despite the connection to death, Mortem class cruisers are given tasks that are meant to prolong life. Their experiments tend to focus on medicine, genetic modification, and other improvements to humanity’s quality of life.

• Bellum Class: Bellem Class cruisers take the name of religious icons symbolizing war. Like the Mortem Class, This implies the opposite of their goals, but that doesn't make it just. Bellum Class ships research ways to eliminate war, focusing on methods that would be ethically questionable, at best. From civilian pacification, to forced sterilization, anything is permitted if it promotes peace in the long run.

• Inedia Class: Inedia Class cruisers are named after religious icons of fertility and agriculture. Despite the class being named after famine, and hunger, these ships focused their research on producing, replacing, or enhancing resources. Being an interplanetary civilization, humanity needed resources in abundance. Lab grown food, alternatives to fuel, and more are included in their projects.

• Victorum Class: The Victorum Class, named after religious icons of justice, peace and order, focused their research on psychological pursuits. Despite being named after conquest, these projects tended to focus on retaining power over territory already controlled. We know the origin system had moments of conflict, and these vessels were meant to find a solution. Mind control, propaganda, and other methods of manipulating the mind were all considered in achieving this goal.

Missing Pieces

The findings aboard The UEN Azrael by The Wayfarers leave much to be desired. They fill in some missing information, but reveal just how big the puzzle truly is. The Horsemen were long term projects. They were also meant to be a last resort. These were expensive ships, with great minds among their crew.
Those who sent them into the void knew they would never see these projects achieve their goals in their lifetime. Those who left aboard these ships knew everyone they ever knew would be long gone by the time they returned.
It begs the question: Which came first? Did they send these ships of their own initiative, or were they a response to the coming end? Did they know the earth would fall before it did? Did they seed the galaxy with our greatest minds to spare them from the earth's fate? Without more data, we may never know.