Great Fall

The Great Fall, also the Great Extinction, or derisively the Great Vanishing Act, is the term used to describe the hypothetical extinction of past intelligent lifeforms in the Emorian galaxy.

Originally proposed by members of the Insular Movement, who doubted the veracity or possibility of the commonly-accepted theory that the Emori themselves were the only intelligent species to evolve in their home galaxy, the Great Fall has since become relatively commonly accepted by members of the Insular Movement, though it is neither accepted nor particularly well-known outside of insularist circles.

The Great Fall has been described in various ways by different proponents. Originally, the term was meant to describe a natural event which precipitated the fall of a hypothetical ancient civilization or several civilizations, leaving the ancient Emori alone. Early proponents suggested disease, technological, social, or cultural decay, or natural disasters as potential causes. Such proponents suggested various dates for the Fall, both before and after the advent of Emorian FTL-capability.

More recent proponents have alternatively characterized the Fall as the result of warfare or other intentional means, sometimes attributed to the ancient Emori. Such recent proponents have typically preferred the terms Great Extinction or in more extreme instances, Great Extermination, to emphasize the violent nature of the proposed events. Dates proposed by these more recent proponents range from 20,000 to 16,000 years ago. One proponent has suggested that the Extinction may have corresponded with the invention of subspace traversal and the jump drive by the ancient Emori, achievements which are believed to have been made 20,000 and 16,000 years ago respectively.

Those outside of the Insular Movement who were aware of the hypothesis typically considered it a conspiracy theory. When it was suggested to Thomas Greene as a possibility, he rejected it as "absurd". Newt Isaacs has described the hypothesis derisively as the Great Vanishing Act, referring to what he described as the complete lack of evidence to support the conclusion of ancient civilizations.