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Description
Many xenobiologists assert that humanity and its contemporary sapients are extraordinary in one important way: they have opted not to become a Dysonian civilization during their early stages of development. This is attributed to several factors, some romantic - such as the natural inclination of modern starfaring species to explore and push past the boundaries of existence - and some more pragmatic - the unique development of faster-than-light travel among these species, or their rejection of hedonic engine technology in the early stages. Whatever the reason, humans and other sapients such as the dyn, zadrovzh, avza, opheln and oktyan have become starfaring species, while most never left their home system. These are the Dysonian civilizations, and hundreds of them are found and destroyed by humanity every year.

A Dysonian civilization is a civilization that has reached a level of technological mastery that allows it to manipulate the resources of an entire star system. While this is a trivial matter for modern starfaring civilizations, Dysonian civilizations are restricted to their home system, mostly due to their lack of faster-than-light capabilities. Sometimes, civilizations opt to be Dysonian because they see no need to expand beyond their home system. Rather than using the resources of their home system to expand further into the galaxy, Dysonian civilizations instead create massive megastructures for themselves in their home system. While few have created Dyson spheres - most Dyson spheres in the galaxy were built by the Second Empire - most can build large orbital stations, ringworlds, Dyson swarms, and other megastructures designed to maximize the capture of their home star's energy. As megastructures require immense amounts of resources and time, these civilizations are often just as old as human civilization, and have consequently developed artificial intelligence and hedonic engines. The megastructures of most Dysonian civilizations exist for the sole purpose of powering their hedonic engines and their fleets of automated drones. With their every conceivable need catered to by their hedonic engines, these civilizations stagnate, ignoring the wider universe entirely.

While isolationist almost by nature and with access to paltry resources when compared to a galactic civilization, Dysonian civilizations are nonetheless marked for destruction by mankind and the other starfaring species of the galaxy. A Dysonian civilization may be isolationist now, but there is no guarantee that it would remain this way in the future. With the advanced technology that Dysonian civilizations possess, it is not inconceivable for one to direct its energies to conquest, raising a robotic army from the raw materials of an entire star system. While such an attack does not pose an existential threat to a galactic civilization, it would be enough of threat that important assets from elsewhere in the galaxy would need to be recalled to stymie it, thus damaging the astropolitical situation of a major galactic power and possibly causing a galactic power vacuum that leads to general warfare across the entire Milky Way. After all, less efficiently-managed civilizations have damaged civilizations exponentially more powerful than theirs; one only need look at the Yrrakis War as an example. If a Dysonian civilization gains access to neighboring star systems, then the galaxy could quickly have an artificial intelligence-managed interstellar civilization to contend with. Thus, it is prudent for the entire galaxy to nip these civilizations in the bud, before they can become a threat. Further, Dysonian civilizations are breeding grounds for a possible analogue to a Cog Lord, and the simulation matricies of Dysonian civilizations may knowingly or unknowingly harbor Cog Lord scrapcode. The possibility of a Cog Lord imparting Second Empire-era technology upon an alien species and unleashing it on the Milky Way is too great a threat for the galactic community to ignore.

The protocol with Dysonian civilizations is the complete destruction of the entire civilization, its constituents, and its technology. The last part is of particular importance; nobody knows if an alien technological artifact contains a hostile intelligence, which may later hijack the attackers' computer systems and turn their own machines against them. This edict is strictly enforced by the Protectorate and its member states. Fear of another War of the Cog Lords is so pervasive that even anti-Protectorate and anti-human civilizations participate in these crusades. The Dynic Hegemony has issued similar edicts to all of its member states, and the Solarians do not consider Dysonian civilizations to be oppressed, but rather oppressors in the making. To the galaxy's relief, there have so far been no Dysonian civilizations capable of withstanding an attack from a starfaring civilization, but experts on the topic fear the day that an interstellar Dysonian civilization is discovered and not immediately and thoroughly destroyed.

Description
Many xenobiologists assert that humanity and its contemporary sapients are extraordinary in one important way: they have opted not to become a Dysonian civilization during their early stages of development. This is attributed to several factors, some romantic - such as the natural inclination of modern starfaring species to explore and push past the boundaries of existence - and some more pragmatic - the unique development of faster-than-light travel among these species, or their rejection of hedonic engine technology in the early stages. Whatever the reason, humans and other sapients such as the dyn, zadrovzh, avza, opheln and oktyan have become starfaring species, while most never left their home system. These are the Dysonian civilizations, and hundreds of them are found and destroyed by humanity every year.

A Dysonian civilization is a civilization that has reached a level of technological mastery that allows it to manipulate the resources of an entire star system. While this is a trivial matter for modern starfaring civilizations, Dysonian civilizations are restricted to their home system, mostly due to their lack of faster-than-light capabilities. Sometimes, civilizations opt to be Dysonian because they see no need to expand beyond their home system. Rather than using the resources of their home system to expand further into the galaxy, Dysonian civilizations instead create massive megastructures for themselves in their home system. While few have created Dyson spheres - most Dyson spheres in the galaxy were built by the Second Empire - most can build large orbital stations, ringworlds, Dyson swarms, and other megastructures designed to maximize the capture of their home star's energy. As megastructures require immense amounts of resources and time, these civilizations are often just as old as human civilization, and have consequently developed artificial intelligence and hedonic engines. The megastructures of most Dysonian civilizations exist for the sole purpose of powering their hedonic engines and their fleets of automated drones. With their every conceivable need catered to by their hedonic engines, these civilizations stagnate, ignoring the wider universe entirely.

While isolationist almost by nature and with access to paltry resources when compared to a galactic civilization, Dysonian civilizations are nonetheless marked for destruction by mankind and the other starfaring species of the galaxy. A Dysonian civilization may be isolationist now, but there is no guarantee that it would remain this way in the future. With the advanced technology that Dysonian civilizations possess, it is not inconceivable for one to direct its energies to conquest, raising a robotic army from the raw materials of an entire star system. While such an attack does not pose an existential threat to a galactic civilization, it would be enough of threat that important assets from elsewhere in the galaxy would need to be recalled to stymie it, thus damaging the astropolitical situation of a major galactic power and possibly causing a galactic power vacuum that leads to general warfare across the entire Milky Way. After all, less efficiently-managed civilizations have damaged civilizations exponentially more powerful than theirs; one only need look at the Yrrakis War as an example. If a Dysonian civilization gains access to neighboring star systems, then the galaxy could quickly have an artificial intelligence-managed interstellar civilization to contend with. Thus, it is prudent for the entire galaxy to nip these civilizations in the bud, before they can become a threat. Further, Dysonian civilizations are breeding grounds for a possible analogue to a Cog Lord, and the simulation matricies of Dysonian civilizations may knowingly or unknowingly harbor Cog Lord scrapcode. The possibility of a Cog Lord imparting Second Empire-era technology upon an alien species and unleashing it on the Milky Way is too great a threat for the galactic community to ignore.

The protocol with Dysonian civilizations is the complete destruction of the entire civilization, its constituents, and its technology. The last part is of particular importance; nobody knows if an alien technological artifact contains a hostile intelligence, which may later hijack the attackers' computer systems and turn their own machines against them. This edict is strictly enforced by the Protectorate and its member states. Fear of another War of the Cog Lords is so pervasive that even anti-Protectorate and anti-human civilizations participate in these crusades. The Dynic Hegemony has issued similar edicts to all of its member states, and the Solarians do not consider Dysonian civilizations to be oppressed, but rather oppressors in the making. To the galaxy's relief, there have so far been no Dysonian civilizations capable of withstanding an attack from a starfaring civilization, but experts on the topic fear the day that an interstellar Dysonian civilization is discovered and not immediately and thoroughly destroyed.