Timeline

 
 * T-~5,000,000,000 Y: Lamprey's estimated formation of L-II.
 * T-~4,600,000,000 Y: Estimated formation of Sol System.
 * T-~4,500,000,000 Y: Estimated origin of single-celled life on L-II.
 * T-~3,800,000,000 Y: Estimated origin of single-celled life on Earth.
 * T-~3,250,000,000 Y: Major crater formed on L-II. 99%+ multicellular life extinct.
 * T-~3,000,000,000 Y: Amino-acid-bearing asteroid formed. Fell to L-III-V around T-~5 Y.
 * T-~2,800,000,000 Y: Major crater formed on L-III-VI.
 * T-~1,100,000,000 Y: Two major craters formed on L-II. 99%+ multicellular life extinct.
 * T-~630,000,000 Y: Major crater formed on L-II. 99%+ multicellular life extinct.
 * June 3, 2031 : First successful high-fidelity human consciousness upload.
 * April 20, 2037: Mars War, opening hostilities.
 * May 5, 2037: Mars War ends.
 * Jan 7, 2043: Uploads outnumber biological humans.
 * June 15, 2052 : Alpha Centauri colony mission launches.
 * December 9, 2077 : Epsilon Eridani colony mission launches.
 * January 1st, 2106 AD: Science Supercluster begins operation on Luna.
 * June 2nd, 2132 AD: Science Supercluster hits peak consumption of 26.8% of Sol's gross system product.
 * June 2nd, 2132 AD: Science Supercluster resource use capped at 8.33% GSP.
 * Nov 30, 2161 AD : Gliese 581 colony mission launches.
 * July 1st, 2194 AD , T-~50,000 Y:  Audacity  launches.
 * April 21st, 2229 AD: Science Supercluster project shut down. Largest recorded mass suicide in history.
 * T-~47,000 Y: Uploads in simspace outnumber uploads in realspace.
 * T-~47,000 Y: The Long Peace begins.
 * T-~30,000 Y, D -~3000 LY: Loss of contact with Sol.
 * T-~71 Y, D -~7.1 LY: Backbreaker Hill born.
 * T-~70 Y, D -~7.0 LY: Windsong of the Lake born.
 * T-~67 Y, D -~6.7 LY: Lamprey Great War
 * T-~63 Y, D -~6.3 LY: Riverwards Huntmaster born.
 * T-~43 Y, D -~4.3 LY: Contemplator of God XXVIII born.
 * T-~30 Y, D -~3.0 LY: First detection of alien radio. Max-speed flyby probe launched at Lamprey-II.
 * T-~28 Y, D -~2.8 LY: Virtual receiver constructed. First image of Lampreys.
 * T-~27 Y, D -~2.7 LY: First Lamprey language cracked
 * T-~26 Y, D -~2.6 LY: Colour television receipted.
 * T-~25.5 Y, D -~2.55 LY: Second Lamprey language cracked
 * T-~25 Y, D -~2.5 LY: Two more max-speed probes launched, one for Lamprey-III and one for Lamprey-IV.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: Third Lamprey language cracked.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: Radar received.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: Rockets shown.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: First digital signals.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: First encrypted signals.
 * T-~24 Y, D -~2.4 LY: Spreadsheets shown.
 * T-~23.5 Y, D -~2.35 LY: Fourth Lamprey language.
 * T-~23.5 Y, D -~2.35 LY: Jet aircraft in public service.
 * T-~23.5 Y, D -~2.35 LY: Lampreys put a satellite into Low Lamprey Orbit.
 * T-~23.5 Y, D -~2.35 LY: Worries about Lamprey population explosion.
 * T-~23 Y, D -~2.3 LY: Fifth and sixth Lamprey languages.
 * T-~23 Y, D -~2.3 LY: Fourth colour band added to TV broadcasts.
 * T-~23 Y, D -~2.3 LY: First high-energy particle accelerators.
 * T-~22.5 Y, D -~2.25 LY: Seventh through eleventh languages.
 * T-~22.5 Y, D -~2.25 LY: Lampreys have lasers.
 * T-~22 Y, D -~2.2 LY: Lampreys discover L-III-XVII
 * T-~22 Y, D -~2.2 LY: Religious analysis complete.
 * T-~22 Y, D -~2.2 LY: Lamprey Business Machines starts selling computers.
 * T-~21 Y, D -~2.1 LY: Lampreys figure out genetics.
 * T-~21 Y, D -~2.1 LY: Lampreys put satellites into Lamprey Synchronous Orbit.
 * T-~19 Y, D -~1.9 LY: Plans for nuclear plants make news.
 * T-~19 Y, D -~1.9 LY: Windsong of the Lake becomes leader of the M/I-2 Church.
 * T-~18.5 Y, D ~-1.85 LY: Nuclear accusations start flying.
 * T-~18.5 Y, D ~-1.85 LY: Contemplator-of-God XXVIII becomes the open ruler of Ha'Aretz (E3 ).
 * T-~18 Y, D -~1.8 LY: Lampreys begin arms build up
 * T-17.7 Y, D -1.77 LY: NE detonate first nuclear device.   Equatorial side promptly countertests. Estimated yield on both devices comes to around 40kT each.
 * T-17.4 Y, D -1.74 LY: Personal computers make a splash.
 * T-17.3 Y, D -1.73 LY: Period-matching, always on radar signals crop up.
 * T-17 Y, D -1.7 LY: Equatorial Lampreys crash-land probe on inner moon.
 * T-17 Y, D -1.7 LY: Space Treaty proposed between NE and Equator.
 * T-16.9 Y, D -1.69 LY: NE side puts probe in orbit over inner moon.
 * T-16.9 Y, D -1.69 LY: Signal count plateaus.
 * T-16.9 Y, D -1.69 LY: Equator tests undeniable thermonuclear bomb, 200kT yield.
 * T-16.7 Y, D -1.67 LY: NE side soft-lands probe on inner moon.
 * T-16.7 Y, D -1.67 LY: Equatorial side puts probe in orbit over inner moon. T-16.7 Y, D -1.67 LY: First nuclear power plant begins operation, in NE.
 * T-16.5 Y, D -1.65 LY: Equatorial side puts probe in orbit over outer moon. NE side does the same.
 * T-16.5 Y, D -1.65 LY: Space Treaty adopted. T-16.5 Y, D -1.65 LY: NE tests a low-yield thermonuclear bomb.
 * T-16.2 Y, D -1.62 LY: Full thermonuclear bomb test by Equator. 13 MT.
 * T-15.2 Y, D -1.52 LY: First Lamprey in space. Equatorial.
 * T-15 Y, D -1.5 LY: First NE Lamprey in space.
 * T-14.6 Y, D -1.46 LY: Probe launched to Lamprey-I by Equator.
 * T-14.1 Y, D -1.41 LY: Probe arrives successfully in orbit and starts mapping Lamprey-I.
 * T-13.9 Y, D -1.39 LY: Probe goes defunct. Both sides launch followup probes to Lamprey-I.
 * T-13.8 Y, D -1.38 LY: NE Lamprey orbits inner moon.
 * T-13.6 Y, D -1.36 LY: NE Lamprey orbits outer moon.
 * T-13.5 Y, D -1.35 LY: Equatorial Lamprey orbits outer moon.
 * T-13.2 Y, D -1.32 LY: Equatorial Lamprey lands on outer moon.
 * T-13 Y, D -1.3 LY: Equator Lampreys launch flyby probe to Lamprey-III and thence to Lamprey-IV and V. Launch is done to take advantage of gravitational slingshotting due to the gas giants coming into closer proximity.
 * T-12.2 Y, D -1.22 LY: Short-duration thermal blooms observed in atmosphere. Consistent with high powered lasers.
 * T-11.8 Y, D -1.18 LY: Tensions between NE and Equator spike due to oil strikes in small countries between them. Equator sends in troops via ocean.
 * T-11.7 Y, D -1.17 LY: NE threatens counter attacks and positions navy outside disputed zone.
 * T-11.6 Y, D -1.16 LY: NE and Equator come to diplomatic solution. NE and Equator split oil-bearing region approximately half-and-half, with neutral zone between.
 * T-10.8 Y, D -1.08 LY: Joint colony agreed to on outer moon as goodwill gesture.
 * T-10.4 Y, D -1.04 LY: Flyby of Lamprey-III successful, ditto gravity boost. Probe proceeds towards Lamprey-IV.
 * T-10.2 Y, D -1.02 LY: Construction begins on lunar colony.   It's done as a goodwill gesture.
 * T-10 Y, D -1.00 LY: Lamprey population hits 4 billion.
 * T-9.4 Y, D -0.94 LY: 300millionth PC sold.
 * T-9.1 Y, D -0.91 LY: Lamprey probe flybys Lamprey-IV.
 * T-9 Y: First stealth aircraft (est.)
 * T-8.9 Y, D -0.89 LY: Lampreys launch 2nd probe to Lamprey-III.
 * T-7.8 Y, D -0.78 LY: Lamprey probe flybys Lamprey V and heads off into interstellar space.
 * T-7.3 Y, D -0.73 LY: 1st Nuclear Reduction treaty proposed by Equator.
 * T-7.2 Y, D -0.72 LY: Telecoms start offering wide-area networking.
 * T-6.5 Y, D -0.65 LY: First stage of lunar base (scientific station/com relay/docking point for ships) complete.
 * T-6.1 Y, D -0.61 LY: Second Lamprey probe arrives around Lamprey-III. Placed in orbit.
 * T-5.3 Y, D -0.53 LY: Expansion of Lamprey-II-II base begins, for testing micro-gravity mining.
 * T-5.1 Y, D -0.51 LY: Equator and NE agree to reduction in nuclear armament.
 * T-4.5 Y, D -0.45 LY: By joint agreement, Equator and NE publically acknowledge anti-ballistic-missile research.
 * T-3.8 Y, D -0.38 LY: NE and Equatorial inspectors confirm compliance with nuclear reduction treaty.
 * T-2.4 Y, D -0.24 LY: Lamprey population stablises at 5 billion.
 * T-1.8 Y, D -0.18 LY: Lamprey-II-II colony sends back first locally processed steel.
 * T-1.5 Y, D -0.15 LY: 2nd Nuclear Reduction treaty proposed by Equator.
 * T-1.3 Y, D -0.13 LY: Existence of stealth aircraft declassified
 * T-1.2 Y, D -0.12 LY: Lamprey Positioning System made available to public.
 * T-292 D, D -29.2 LD: Equator and NE agree to further reduction in nuclear armament.
 * T-115 D, D -11.5 LD: mkire-I flys by Lamprey-II . Picked up on radar at 3 LS. NE ASAT laser shoots at it three times, at 4 light-seconds distance (following point of closest approach).
 * T-105 D, D -10.5 LD: Results of mkire-I flyby receipted.
 * T-90 D, D -9.0 LD: NE Overwatch commander suspended.
 * '''T-23.3 D, D -2.33 LD: Drive Ignition.
 * T-21 D: Lampreys see the light of your drive.
 * T-20 D: News begins to leak about your arrival. Rumours fly. Militaries worldwide go on alert.
 * '''T-18 D: Aggregated Groups (E1 ) announces to the world that you are artificial extrasolar travellers. International conference formed to communicate with you. Governments begin locking down unapproved transmitters.
 * T-17 D: You receive your first message from Lamprey-II. It says, literally, "Hello", and is cut off after several hours. You respond.
 * T-16 D: Receipt of audiovisual transmission from Ha'Aretz (E3). Anchorwoman Lamprey discusses religion and the Ha'Aretz (E3) government's flaws, and is interrupted by an apparent Ha'Aretz (E3) soldier who shoots the recording device.
 * T-16 D: Receipt of a laser message from the leader of MI/2. She asks you what you are doing.
 * T-15 D: Your return signal to the Hello signal is received on L-II . The entire planet goes under EMCON as far as possible.
 * T-10 D: The Contact Conference sends you a message, the periodic table through to uranium.
 * T-9 D: You receive the CC-1 message. You return signal is stage-2, the introduction of a constructed-logic language.
 * T-8 D: The Lampreys receive the stage-2 message.
 * T-1 D (D 0.3 LD to L-II): The Lampreys send a return message, but they have not figured out the proper encoding. You repeat the stage-2 message.
 * T+3 D (D-0.1 LD to L-II): The Contact Conference tries again, but they've figured out the protocol more thoroughly. With the lightspeed lag down to hours, a flurry of messages follow.
 * T+7.6 D (D-1.5 LH to L-II): Orbital insertion around L-III, orbit radius ~8 million kilometres. Survey of L-III-V and L-III-VI begins. Scoopship begins refuelling operation.
 * T+14 D: Initial survey results come back from L-III-VI . Planet eater deployed.
 * T+20 D: Civil broadcasts resume in Canocha (E2 ).
 * T+25 D: Contemplator XXVIII makes a personal announcement about the Anchorwoman, claiming her to be a member of a violent revolutionary cell.
 * T+26 D: Civil broadcasts resume in Aggregated Groups (E1).
 * T+29 D: Civil broadcasts resume in Borealis (NE2 ). Skepticism is expressed about Contemplator XXVIII's claims throughout the NE bloc.
 * T+36 D: An official statement is made regarding your nature. It's everything you could ask for; based on their analysis so far, they say, they think your actions are most consistent with an automated, reproducing probe. Presumeably the Lampreys have noticed your activities in and around L-III. A signal is sent for the Lamprey probe in orbit around L-III and it begins shifting it's orbit.
 * T+37 D: Civil broadcasts resume in Ha'Aretz (E3). There are reports of unrest in the international media; Ha'Aretz (E3)'s local news downplays it.
 * T+41 D: First spaceflight around L-II on the part of the Lampreys since your arrival occurs, a big rocket into L-II orbit to hang a giant observatory. Images from both that and the Lamprey probe around L-III are broadcast, showing your arrival and current activities (on a time delay). The launch is done under the auspcices of the Coalition. Around the same time, you observe small, <20kT nuclear detonations in uninhabited corners of L-II.
 * T+49 D: Civil broadcasts have resumed in all of the democracies. Oriens (NE7) is the last to do so.
 * T+56 D: Laser thermal blooms occur all over the atmosphere of L-III. It seems to be a coordinated E/NE joint ASAT test.
 * T+68 D: South Ukkei (M4 )'s dictator dies and her daughters fight over the succession.
 * T+73 D: Nuclear detonations in space, conducted outside the orbit of L-II-II . Again, <20kT blasts.
 * T+83 D: South Ukkei (M4) is in anarchy. North Ukkei (M3 ) requests Equatorial assistance; Çaiyad (E4) and Aggregated Groups (E1) oblige, mashing South Ukkei (M4)'s divided military with overwhelming force.
 * T+89 D: L-II-II moonbase successfully fragments a metre-wide iceball meteoroid with a projectile-on-projectile intercept. More attempts occur, with a climbing success rate, as time moves on. The size threshold for intercepted meteoroids drops, too.
 * T+95 D: Another, even larger telescope-- this one a radio telescope with a receiver over a kilometre across-- is completed.
 * T+96 D: Your scoopship has completed the refueling operation. The  Audacity   moves off to explore the asteroid belt.
 * T+102 D: Multiple rockets per day are touching down at the L-II-II moonbase. Four very large (varying between three hundred twenty one metres to five hundred fourty six metres across) bubbles of shiny aluminium are erected on L-II-II, apparently kept from collapse by being inflated with gas. Two similar bubbles are erected on L-II-I.
 * T+122 D: The  Audacity   enters the asteroid belt.
 * T+129 D: The Coalition Conference achieves third-stage understanding, demonstrated in a message. They initiate a planet-wide set of conferences to try and choose the first words Lampreykind will officially send.
 * T+131 D: Order is restored in South Ukkei (M4) under the occupying troops.
 * T+142 D: The Lampreys announce plans for a lampreyed expedition to L-III.
 * T+169 D: The Lamprey probe crosses your original orbit. The probe continues thrusting.
 * T+201 D: The Lamprey probe comes to rest in a rendezvous with L-III-VI.
 * T+205 D: the Lampreys send you a message. Mutual intelligibility through the sandbox constructed language has been achieved. The message reads: "Greetings, visitors. Do you understand us? Please respond. Thank you."
 * T+205 D: You reply with a simple message: "End of automated protocols. Please hold", sent by the FakeBrain communications hub as it starts to manouver its way towards L-III-III . ETA is T+290 D.
 * T+205 D: Your planetary VN unit ceases production on both the Space Elevator and Fake Brain filler materials and rededicates itself to building a second VN unit, while continuing to add to the ~9,500 satellites in L-III space.
 * T+208 D: The next official Lamprey message arrives, and reads "Holding."
 * T+210 D: The Lamprey media in Aggregated Groups (E1), Canocha (E2), Çaiyad  (E4), Borealis  (NE2), Victus  (NE3 ), Princeps  (NE5), Oriens (NE7), Libertas (M2 ), North Ukkei (M3), Herensuge (M5 ), and Occidens (M6 ) say they have been released from the governmental restrictions and are allegedly free broadcast zones once again.
 * T+211 D: Rationing imposed in South Ukkei (M4).
 * T+212 D: Rationing imposed in Aurora (M7 ).
 * T+215 D: Hotspots not attributeable to construction machinery show in some of the aluminium bubbles on L-II-I and L-II-II.
 * T+218 D: Rationing imposed in Ha'Aretz (E3).
 * T+221 D: Quantities of lesser, unencrypted/algorithmically encrypted signalling beginning to climb again. Uncrackable OTP ciphers have started to decline, except in Ha'Aretz (E3).
 * T+224 D: Rationing imposed in Koori (M1 ).
 * T+226 D: More video of the proposed exploration vessel is released. It appears to be the largest chemical rocket ever built. Projections show it being capable of putting over a thousand tne into LLO.
 * T+230 D: Rationing imposed in Mater (NE1 ).
 * T+233 D: Gravitational microlensing event, the first on a line-of-sight between you and Sol in the thirty thousand years since loss of contact. The lensing only lasts for a bit under an hour, but in that time you have everything you can looking around at what Sol was like five thousand years ago.
 * T+236 D: Rationing imposed in NÇaiyad (E4).
 * T+243 D: The Lampreys start to put radar, mass-driver, and laser-mirror satellites into orbits at 2.3 LS from L-II . ROF of antimeteor system up 10% over T+205.
 * T+256 D: Lamprey tonnage-to-orbit hits double pre-Ignition levels and continues to climb.
 * construction machinery.
 * T+261 D: Ha'Aretz (E3) stuns the entire world when it launches a hundred-fifty-thousand-tonne rocket into orbit via subsurface nuclear detonation.
 * T+261 D: Ha'Aretz (E3) announces that it has found the Contact Coalition to be too slow and passive in its approach, and is offering a direct mission to L-III space aboard its new nuclear-propelled spaceship-- which is evidently an Orion-style design.
 * T+261 D: Ha'Aretz (E3)  also  fires a message off to you, asking you to cease production of new materials at once, to approach no closer than 5.4 AU to the Lamprey star, and to reply forthwith.
 * T+290 D: Fake Brain arrives at L-III-III.
 * T+290 D, 4H: PM #1 sent to L-II.
 * T+290 D, 6H: PM #1 receipted on L-II.
 * T+290 D, 12 H: Bombing in North Ukkei (M3) targets occupation troops.
 * T+290 D, 15H: PM #1 message contents leaked.
 * T+290 D, 17H: Reply to message #1 (LM #1) sent by Libertas (M2)
 * T+290 D, 18H: Lamprey message #2 sent by Contact Coalition.


 * T+290 D, 19H: Reply to message #1 (LM #1) from Libertas (M2) receipted by you.


 * T+290 D, 19H: Reply to LM #1 (PM #2) sent by you.


 * T+290 D, 21H: LM #2 received by you.
 * ~T+450 D: Estimated TOC for PVN-2.