The Arcturans believed the Rigelan Plan and their expansion to be a break from the natural order and resisted the Rigelans due to their control of the Rigel sphere which was crucial for continuing the ascension cycle. Created by the First People, the Dyson Sphere of Rigel was part of the massive network of spheres that enabled the civilization-wide ascension process. According to the Arcturans by controlling this sphere, the Rigelans had held the entire galaxy hostage.
The Arcturans first resisted Rigelan control through diplomacy. The First Galactic Council was initiated by the triumvirate: three of the most powerful civilizations: the Arcturans, Kralsacon, and Ytrib. Concerned with Rigelan aggression and expansion they attempted to reach a peaceful settlement. The council consisted of members of each space-faring species. After a long dispute, representation in the council was determined by total population. One species, the decentralized massive organism Jhal was a concern to the council as the Rigelans and Arcturans could not determine if it constituted a single individual and one vote or votes representative of the dozens of worlds it occupied. This nearly resulted in an armed conflict within the Arcturan power bloc as the Arcturans were concerned about Jhal loyalty to the Rigelans while the Ytrib insisted on equality in the council to avert war. Although the Rigelans abstained from the vote and any debate regarding the Jhal, it was clear that their influence was used to try to divide the fragile coalition formed by the Arcturans. In the end it was determined to grant the Jhal multiple votes.
While the council deliberated on ascension and the key role that the Rigel Dyson Sphere had in initiating the process, the Rigelans armed themselves. According to the Arcturans, Ytrib scouts were the first to detect Rigelan superweapons constructed deep in hyperspace. The council was outraged and shattered overnight, each species retreating to their respective homeworlds to begin constructing defenses. What they had failed to realize is that the Rigelan preparations for total war had been in progress for centuries. The Rigelans claim that the Arcturans massed a fleet under a flag of truce and attempted to seize their Dyson Sphere. Regardless of who began the war, within hours the homeworlds of the Ytrib and a dozen other species were shunted into alternate dimensions, a fate the Rigelans considered a mercy. Other species such as the Jhal vanished overnight. Some believe that the Rigelans ascended them, others that they went into hiding. The Elder War had begun.
Although the council was disbanded, at the end of the Elder War the Rigelans wished to reinstate it to impose their will on the younger species that they hoped to guide by giving them faster than light technology. With the return of the Arcturans, the council has been reformed and stands as one of the last hopes to prevent a second great war.
Join us next week as we discuss the Synth!
