Warp Point (Known Space)

Warp Point is my personal space opera universe. I love space opera series like Star Wars and Mass Effect, but I’ve become frustrated with how both franchises are being handled. So I set out to create my own universe with blackjack and hookers. It’s one part space opera, one part cyberpunk, and one part satire.   In the 21st-century, human scientist Anthony DiAmico sent out a signal into deep space, hoping to contact an extraterrestrial civilization. Years later his message was received, and the Earth was visited by the Jihari people in a peaceful encounter. They invited humanity to join galactic civilization and travel the stars. A grand gateway was built near the edges of the solar system, using gravity to manipulate the forces of space and time. Scientists call it a gravitational tear, but it is more commonly known as a warp point. Centuries in the future, first contact has been made and the Earth has been quarantined to clean up pollution. Humanity now lives on colony worlds and has joined space society alongside 3 alien species. The various planets of known space are connected by artificially-generated wormholes known as warp gates. The warp gates were created by a long-gone race known only as the Precursors who have left various other ruins and artifacts behind.   Biotechnology is widespread throughout known space, and is preferred to mechanical augmentation. Psychic powers are a widespread phenomenon and can form in many species, though little is known about just how they manifest. The gravity manipulating tech of warp gates has been reverse engineered to provide artificial gravity to ships, barriers, and stasis fields.   Warp Point is a universe of gray morality. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys", just people doing what they think is right, even if that brings them into conflict with others. There are plenty of factions, each with different goals, beliefs and types of technology. A few brave individuals belong to no faction, and carve out a living as bounty hunters or mercenaries.   There’s a lot of exploration of race and gender, and what either of those even mean in a society where you can change both with biotechnology. Tribalism is a big part of the setting, individual cultures are at risk of being lost as humanity expands. Can a unified spacefaring society ever work, or are the cultural differences just too great, even among our own species? The main theme is that no matter how much technology advances, there will still be conflict, and people will still have differences. The key to improving society is to recognize this rather than trying to label everything that makes us unique as a social construct. There’s also a lot of fanservice because why not.