Architects

The Architects, also known as the Precursors, are an ancient, highly advanced race of cybernetic lifeforms. They were originally discovered on Planet 4546B by Ryley Robinson, though they did not originate there.

There is currently only one known living member of this species. This individual, known as Al-An, is responsible for the Kharaa outbreak on 4546B, making him the catalyst for Humanity's first encounter with the bacterium.

Description

The appearance of the Architects before they developed advanced gene-editing and mind-transfer technology is unknown. It is likely they originated as fully organic beings on their Homeworld, possessing opposable thumbs that they used to develop their early technology. Al-An has expressed fondness for opposable thumbs, stating: "It is true. The opposable thumb is excellent. But all corporeal forms are temporary. The ability to be reborn when a body breaks down is paramount."

As they traversed space, they encountered numerous species, some of which displayed traits that would prove beneficial if added to their own genome. At some point, they developed and perfected digital mind-transfer technology, enabling them to transfer their consciousness from one body to another, making them effectively immortal.

The group of Architects located on 4546B appeared to favor a specific body plan. This form resembled a centaur and consisted of a combination of biological and mechanical elements, including DNA from more than 20 sources. Two corpses of this type of Architect were found in Sector Zero. Additionally, this form appears to have been venerated by the 4546B Architect population, as evidenced by two statues depicting it. Whether this veneration was due to it possibly being the most common body type used in their society, or if it was simply designed to resemble their original organic bodies, is unknown.

Architects on Proteus

The extent of the Architects' presence on Proteus is unknown, if they are present at all. A large, monolith-like Rosetta Stone built by the Axum exists on the Overgrown Ruins, constructed to teach the Architects how to speak the Axum language. A message also plays in the Axum Observatory in which an Axum figure asks the Architects to help prevent the World Tree(s) from dying. Unbeknownst to the Axum, it had already been hundreds of years since the Kharaa Bacterium decimated the Architects, making it unlikely that their message was ever heard.

The Architects are a likely culprit for the phase gate network hypothesized by Nahema Nakota to have brought the Cicada to Proteus, with Nahema noting that Architect phase gates were previously discovered on Planet 4546B. However, she remains uncertain on the gate's origins.

History

Background

Prior to the discovery of Kharaa, the Architects were known to have explored and visited countless planets across the galaxy. One of these planets at the time was Earth. Throughout their journey, the Architects would scavenge technology and other relics, including those belonging to species far older than them. A number of these relics would be placed in the Primary Containment Facility for unknown reasons, while others were placed in the Quarantine Enforcement Platform for defense and "doomsday" scenarios. Some of the Architects' relics may have influenced aspects of human culture for years to come, including the Alien Carving.

The Architects' explorations and territorial expansions eventually lead to the discovery of the Kharaa, an alien bacterium which kills anyone coming in contact with it. Due to the interconnected nature of the Architects, the Kharaa spread through countless star systems and wiping out billions of alien life, including the Architects. Desperate for a cure, the Architects established research outposts across the galaxy, some of which were located in Planet 4546B.

The Crater

As part of their research efforts, the Architects constructed numerous facilities throughout the Crater, including the Disease Research Facility and the Quarantine Enforcement Platform, with an Alien Thermal Plant as its power source.

At the time, the Disease Research Facility was their initial main base of operations in Planet 4546B, as this was where the Architects conduct research and experiments on the planet's lifeforms. The facility was also doubled as a bio-mechanical workshop, where the Warpers, which were built to contain the spread of Kharaa, were assembled. In addition, the Quarantine Enforcement Platform was built as another means of containment, albeit in a much greater scale, as the platform destroys any spaceships attempting to enter or leave 4546B until the quarantine was lifted.

As research continued, the Architects soon discovered that the Sea Emperor Leviathan produces a unique form of enzyme that can render them immune to the effects of Kharaa. These enzymes, later dubbed as Enzyme-42, were to be studied in the Primary Containment Facility, located in the deepest part of the sea. At some point, the Architects captured a Sea Emperor Leviathan and its unhatched eggs, but it was soon discovered that the captured subject was too old to produce stable enzymes, rendering them useless as a cure. The research was then turned towards the eggs, deducing that should they hatch, these young Sea Emperors would be capable of producing stable enzymes. Either incapable of understanding or unwilling to hear the Sea Emperor's pleas that they should not be forcibly hatched, the Architects unsuccessfully hatched the eggs prematurely, resulting in the death of at least one baby Sea Emperor.

Extinction

Eventually, the Architects took notice of the similarities between the Sea Emperors and the Sea Dragon Leviathans. In a last, desperate attempt to study for a cure, the Architects captured a Sea Dragon egg and taken it to the Disease Research Facility, hoping that studying the egg would gave them a chance to hatch a Sea Emperor properly.

However, the Sea Dragons are extremely protective of their eggs, a trait that the Architects had underestimated. As a result, one of the Sea Dragons eventually came, ramming the facility repeatedly in desperation for the egg. Unable to withstand repeated rammings, the facility's cables gave in, resulting in the collapse of the facility and killing all Architects within, and the Sea Dragon perished from self-inflicted injuries later.

As a result of the facility's destruction, the Kharaa that was previously contained were released and ravaged upon the planet's ecosystem, resulting in the planet's mass extinction event that wiped out many of the species, including the Sea Emperors. This triggered an emergency quarantine and the Architects were forced to upload their consciousness onto cache data hubs. With the quarantine in place, all teleportation arches were shut down, and the Quarantine Enforcement Platform was activated. With the platform active, any ship that come into the planet's range would be shot down for the next millennium.

Legacy

Sometime after the extinction event, around 250 years ago, the Axum attempted to contact the Architects in a desperate plea for them to save their dying World Trees. However, the Architects never came, as they had went extinct from the Kharaa outbreak before the communication.

In years after the extinction event, rogue Xenoworx employee Robin Ayou received an distress call that would led to the discovery of the last Architect, Al-An. After Al-An was uploaded to a new vessel, the two power the Phase Gate Facility and travel to the Architects' homeworld, unsure of the Architects' survival as a species.

Technology

Architects are masters at nanotechnology, with nanobots capable of constructing ships in seconds.

Much of their technology has been hybridized with and inspired human technology. Examples include ion cube-powered batteries, and the bodyprinting technology that has virtually broken the idea of permanent death.

See Also

• Axum
• Rosetta Stone