Known Space

"Known Space is a great and mysterious region of the galaxy which our ancestors once visited in their flight from Old Earth. The only reason we call it "Known Space" is because we still honor the journey of those who perished in their attempts to shed light upon an otherwise dark region that is best left unknown to all."

Known Space is the total extent of Maikalian knowledge of the space around their homeworlds in the Virgo Cluster. Everything beyond the cluster known to, but not settled by the Maikalians, can be immediately referred to as "known space", though the same can be applied to the worlds within the cluster they inhabit as well. Known Space extends for some two hundred lightyears around the Virgo Cluster, though unlike the cluster itself, it is home to very few habitable worlds, worlds too hot or too cold for even the Xanians and the Nyr to inhabit themselves respectively. As far as the Maikalians have been able to find, there exist no known civilizations within the partially-explored regions of Known Space, and all worlds discovered in the region are highly radioactive, even by Xanian standards.

History
"I don't know why we should even keep calling it a "known" anything. You know how ships disappeared trying to explore that place?"

- Xavier Madora

Known Space was originally explored by the Exiles, the ancestors to the modern-day Maikalians of the Virgo Cluster. They entered into the region around 12 ATE, seeking to find a world they could settle after their expulsion from Old Earth in 1 ATE. Many ships of the Exiles' fleet were destroyed in the process of the Great Voyage, as they ran into countless spacial anomalies and radiation fields that overpowered even the most formidable of their number. They succeeded in discovering the Virgo Cluster in 21 ATE, which was located near the center of the hostile region, something that the Exiles had not counted on as they were preparing to flee the area. Several centuries after their settlement of Xania in 21 ATE, the Maikalian Empire, formed as the then sole government of the Virgo Cluster, sent ships out to rediscover Old Earth, and check up on the world's population and progress.

In doing so, many Maikalian vessels, unaware of the old anomalies their ancestors had to circumvent, were lost as they ran directly into pulsars, black holes, neutron stars, and other terrifying stellar phenomenon unknown to the Maikalians of that time. After a while, the pile of ships that didn't return from their journey began to grow to such a point public opinion and political forces decried the losses, stating that the costs outweighed the benefits, leading to an end to unified Maikalian attempts to explore the regions of Known Space, as they continued to call them. Following the collapse of the Maikalian Empire in 171 ATE in the wake of the Maikalian Civil War, saw a long-lasting disinterest in trying to explore Known Space, and more interest in surviving the dark ages that had beset the worlds of the newer, harsher Xanian Empire, which had succeeded the Maikalian Empire.

As of the recent decades, with a renewed period of peace following the Sixth Hyperion Conflict, the nations of the cluster began their rebuilding efforts as well as attempts to explore new ways of combating their enemies in preparation for a renewed series of conflicts. This resulted in a renewed interest in exploring Known Space. Hundreds of ships from the Xanians, Nyr, Metians, and Kordanians were sent out into the void of Known Space, many expected never to return, as they encounter the same obstacles as their forefathers did during the age of the great Maikalian Empire. However, the benefit of discovering something that could give them an edge over their opponent, more importantly, the Xanian Empire, is considered well worth the risk. Many ship classes have since been developed with the intention of making them more able of surviving the threats beyond the safety of the Virgo Cluster.

Regions of Known Space
"From what the survivors of the expeditions have told me, they've seen the kind of stuff that if you were to look at, it's likely that you would start screaming and never stop. Of course, we had to stop them from screaming when we found them to get that tidbit of information. Rather helpful don't you think?"