From the introduction: Your species has united, reaching out from their primitive origins within your home system formerly wrought with conflict and waste, now seeking to venture the grand frontier of the Stars. With the advent of Faster than Light technology your empire can go further than what was ever thought possible before, access resources considered fiction or fantastical, fight wars on epic scales, and meet new alien life. It is now your chance to either conquer the stars and bring them under your heels, or unite them into one paradise fit for everyone.