Lafjag
We first became aware of the Lafjag in 3295. They reside on the wet planet Lafjaq in the Lufjaq system. They are fearful, elegant, and proud.
The Lafjag have developed a simple system of writing, which they use primarily for storytelling.
The Lafjag have begun to watch the skies and recognize patterns in the movements of stars, which they use to navigate over great distances and keep track of time.
The Lafjag use stone tools for many things, including when hunting the wild xafjaq.
Despite a few early mishaps, the Lafjag have mastered the control of fire. They use it to cook their food, and to light their villages at night.
The Lafjag have begun to cultivate crops. One especially popular crop is gafjag, a kind of sour root.
The Lafjag have begun to construct permanent dwellings and other structures, making especially extensive use of stone as a building material.
The Lafjag have domesticated a species of small furry animals. The pets assist their Lafjag owners with hunting in exchange for food and shelter.
The Lafjag have learned how to catch water-dwelling creatures such as the lafjag, which is now a staple part of the Lafjag diet.
In 3406, a rapidly growing religion known as Lafjag became the official religion of the largest Lafjag state. Adherents of Lafjag wear intricately patterned hoods to mark themselves as believers.
The Lafjag have discovered how to forge molten metal into jewelry, tools, weapons, and armor.
The Lafjag have developed a sophisticated understanding of basic mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.
Some of the Lafjag have begun to experiment with alchemy, systematically searching for new ways of combining and manipulating ingredients to yield useful chemicals, compounds, and medicines.
The Lafjag have begun to make use of more sophisticated construction techniques, relying on sturdy structural elements such as arches and buttresses to support larger and larger buildings.
The Lafjag have discovered a way to manufacture gunpowder, which they primarily use for explosive mining.
The Lafjag have developed a simple printing press, and mass-produced versions of important texts have begun to circulate widely throughout the world. Tales of heroism are especially popular.
The Lafjag have begun to use lenses and mirrors made from polished crystal, glass, and water to redirect and focus light.
In their efforts to understand the motion of planets in the sky, free-falling bodies, and projectiles, the Lafjag have developed a new branch of mathematics which is immediately recognizable as calculus.
The Lafjag have built elaborate pipe and sewer systems to supply their larger settlements, such as Lafjag, with fresh water and a hygenic means of waste disposal.
Through systematic observation and categorization of the various living things on Lafjaq, the Lafjag have begun to develop a more sophisticated understanding of biology. Some theorists have even put forth the idea that dramatically different-looking organisms, such as the xafjaq and the lafjag, may in fact be descended from a single common ancestor.
In 3570, many of the warring Lafjag tribes were united under a single banner by an individual known as Xja. The resulting empire has its capital at Lafjag and rules over approximately 25% of the entire Lafjag population. Unusually for the Lafjag, it is governed by a hereditary monarch.
The Lafjag have learned how to build ships and sail them across the oceans of Lafjaq to explore and trade over increasingly greater distances.
The Lafjag have begun to construct wind and water mills, which redirect the forces of the natural world to perform repetitive mechanical tasks such as grinding grain and pumping water.
The Lafjag have developed a practical and cost-effective steam engine, which can be fueled with wood or coal.
The idea that diseases are caused by microorganisms has begun to catch on among the Lafjag, leading to the widespread adoption of public health policies which have greatly reduced the spread of disease.
The Lafjag have begun to develop rockets.
The Lafjag have arrived at a sophisticated understanding of genetics, which has enabled them to craft new forms of life by deliberately modifying the genes of existing organisms.
The Lafjag have successfully tamed electricity, and are now beginning to deploy it throughout society. Electric lights are widespread, electric motors are used to drive factories, and the growing need for electric power has led to the construction of power plants near every major center of Lafjag population.
The Lafjag have begun harnessing the power of electricity to send messages across very great distances with unprecedented speed. Due to the overhead of encoding and decoding messages, long-distance communication remains far from instantaneous, but it is now possible for individuals on opposite sides of Lafjaq to exchange several messages over the course of a single day.
The Lafjag have discovered that electromagnetic waves may be used to transmit information, enabling the development and widespread deployment of media for audiovisual broadcasting.
In 3747, the Lafjag population reached 25 million individuals. Many of these dwell within permanent cities, the largest of which is known as Lafjag and has a population of 15,000.
The Lafjag have developed flying machines which can carry them into the skies above Lafjaq.
With the development of the transistor, the Lafjag have begun to construct more sophisticated electronic circuits.
Due to its role as the birthplace of several major Lafjag religions, including the especially prominent Lafjag faith, the city of Lafjag is regarded by many of the Lafjag as a holy site. Leaders from all around the world journey to the city in order to curry favor with the leaders of their people's religion of choice.
The Lafjag have developed an accurate model of the internal structure of the atom, which has also enabled them to understand the phenomenon of radioactivity.
In 3784, the Lafjag successfully detonated their first prototype nuclear weapon. It remains unclear whether the Lafjag scientists who worked on the bomb understand the sheer destructive potential of the weapon they have created.
The Lafjag have begun to build general-purpose programmable computers.
The Lafjag have begun to connect their computers into a single vast network, enabling communication and collaboration on a truly global scale.
In 3829, a single nuclear weapon was deployed in an attack on a large Lafjag city. The incident did not escalate into a full-scale nuclear war, but the city was almost completely obliterated, resulting in the deaths of some 202,000 Lafjag.
The Lafjag have begun to understand quantum physics.
In 3867, following decades of negotiation, the various sovereign Lafjag nations came to an agreement concerning the establishment of a unified planet-wide government for all of the Lafjag.
The Lafjag have taken their first tentative steps into space, launching craft capable of supporting several individuals into orbit around Lafjaq before retrieving them safely.
The Lafjag have developed a form of artificial general intelligence which rivals many of their own intellectual capabilities.
The Lafjag have constructed their first cost-effective quantum computers, dramatically improving their collective ability to perform certain types of calculation.
Through their investigations of quantum phenomena, the Lafjag have discovered a means of sending and receiving messages which travel at speeds exceeding that of light itself.
The Lafjag have begun to experiment with the use of "intelligent materials", in the form of swarms of programmable nanobots.
The Lafjag have begun to establish permanent colonies on worlds other than Lafjaq. Although still largely unable to travel outside of the Lufjaq system, the distribution of Lafjag civilization across multiple worlds greatly reduces the risk that they will collapse due to any crisis of merely planetary scale.
The Lafjag have successfully tested their first faster-than-light starship. No longer are they trapped within the gravity well of the Lufjaq system: they are now free to take their place alongside us as fellow wanderers among the stars.
In 3975, the Lafjag joined us.
I (they) DID IT