The Council of Observers Introduction

As we entered the building, a huge plaque on the wall, along with 13 telepathic voices, read:

"We thirteen were born along with the stars.  We watched them grow as we grew.  We reached across the stars but there were no others.  While we were not alone, we were lonely for others.

As time passed, we learned the arts of transformation and transfiguration and the sciences of chemistry and physics.  We weren't certain that time passed at all, but we continued to increase our knowledge.  Still, there were no others.

We experimented on the stars.  We made some stronger and others weaker.  We caused some to burn brighter and we caused others to cease their reactions totally.  Due to the changes, we caused some nomadic bodies to be formed and we called these comets.  Also, we used some of the gases from the stars and the matter from the comets combined to create planets.

As we continued to experiment, single-cell organisms sprang to life on the planets.  We watched as they learned to survive, not so differently than we learned to survive.  They ingested substances and exhausted other substances.  We observed as the organisms learned to cooperate and then, to combine with each other.  Water, metals, plants, and multiple-cell organisms started to appear on the planets.

We marvelled as their desire to survive caused them to replicate but with additions and changes that we had not anticipated.  As they continued to transform matter as a by-product of their digestion, other chemical reactions happened within the planets and cooling began.  As well, other variations of the life forms began to arise from their intricate and infinite combinations.

We observed creatures that were unlike anything we had seen previously.  They seemed to grow from nothing but yet, they had some instinct to survive, much like their more primitive progenitors.  Others became much more like us, reasoning their way through life.

Generation after generation of the results of our dabbling became more boring but we thought that we should continue to observe them.  So, we set upon a plan to meld ourselves with the live on those various planets to create what we would call "The Council of Observers", and they would live amongst those we sought to watch."
The Council of Observers