The Scream

Content Warning: Mass death Mass destruction Intense pain Brain damage

The Scream was a catastrophe unlike anything humankind had seen before or has seen since. It killed untold trillions, destroyed all advanced technology, and ended spacefaring for all humanity. Though we've rebuilt much in the centuries since, the Scream remains a permanent scar on our history.

The Event

It's been described in many ways, from "metadimensional power surge" to "faster-than-light psionic emanation". It happened in 2665. With no warning, on a day like any other, the Scream took minutes to end the golden age we'd spent millennia building.

It killed everyone with psionic abilities and destroyed psionic-based technology. In its wake, it left shattered communities, decimated populations, and isolated planets as all means of interstellar travel were nullified in an instant. To this day, it still marks a dividing line in our history, for the pre-Scream galaxy must have been an entirely different place.

The Cause

The cause of the Scream is unknown. No existing documents refer to similar events, no lab has breached faster-than-light travel, and no psionics testing has created anything resembling the effects of the Scream. The prevailing theory is that the instigating event occurred in and traveled through metadimensional space. This would explain why it only affected people and objects tied to metadimensional energies through psionics and how it traversed the galaxy so quickly.

Religious groups have filled in the blanks scientific theory has left in its wake. Though there are hundreds of recognized religions in the sector, and thousands of sects within each, the two primary ones are sects of the Church of the Great Mother. Both groups believe the Scream relates to the Great Mother.

The Scream must have been a cry for help from the Mother, and it's up to us to figure out how to help Her.

The Scream must have been punishment from the Mother, and She won't return until psionics are eradicated.

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Information

Date of event

2665 June 25

Estimated duration

7 minutes

Death toll

unknown trillions

Lead to

The Silence, a period of interplanetary isolation

Cause

Undetermined

Frequency

Unknown

The Effects

Immediate

Psionic Death

Every psion gripped their heads and cried in pain as if subjected to a sound no one else could hear. The surge killed most instantly, liquifying portions of their brains. Others turned Feral and began killing those around them.

Psitech Destruction

Psitech overloaded, some devices failing while others caused fires or explosions that devestated regions. Disabled life support and other vital systems killed settlements and colonies in otherwise uninhabitable reaches.

Colony Collapse

Other colonies died slow. Without jump gates, they failed without access necessary materials and medicines they couldn't make themselves. In other cases, they'd lost the technology or population required to survive.

Long Term

Lost Knowledge

We've redeveloped interstellar travel and psionic institutions, but humanity's former glory remains out of reach. We can't recreate psitech or other pretech, and psions can't practice without the risk of brain damage.

Lost Connections

We've no way to know what became of the Earth, nor any of the innumerable interstellar colonies. What is the fate of other human colonies? Could they be allies? Or are they more like the Emerald Legion?

Lost Trust

Many cultures developed a deep fear of psionics, especially those that previously had a high psionic population. These cultures destroyed any material relating to psionics, contributing to the current lack of information.

Tell me, do you think about the Scream anymore? No, of course not. It happened centuries ago. Did you know some idiots say it never happened at all? They should think more, I think. Of those who do have brains in their skulls, we should consider two questions that many are too afraid to ask:

First is could the Scream have happened before? We wouldn't know, would we? With no psionics before 2240 and no spike drives before 2100, we'd be unaffected by older occurances. Left blissfully unaware.

Secondly, and most worryingly, if it's possible the Scream happened before, then is it not also possible it could happen again?

— Scholar of protaphilosophy