Curious and aggressive, the Rao developed space travel nearly 9,000 years ago (according to their data records) and became a truly powerful interstellar society within a small isolated pocket empire near “the Jambles”, a vast network of unstable wormholes. They have also begun colonizing the remarkable "Rishii Maze", a series of dozens of planets connected by a "roadway" and a rotating black hole transit system. -7,396 BC Rao begin slowboat colonization of nearby stars utilizing cryonics -31 BC Last global war on Rao ends, planet unified 544 AD Kallista race discovered, wars begin 788 AD Rao invent Jumpgate technology, begin exploring nearby stars 1145 AD Rao stumble upon the Jambles, explore alongside it in space (but not INSIDE it), robot probes sent, discover the unstable WP network 1875 AD Rao discover the Rishii Maze, colonization immediately begins 1997 AD Tenth Rao world colonized in the Rishii Maze 2193 AD Kallista Wars end with Rao victory 2240 AD Twentieth Rishii world colonized by the Rao, Troma Roa population reaches 1 trillion 2306 AD Rao discover an alien race inside the Jambles for the first time: the Bolgers (a low-tech race) 2377 AD Rao Jumpgate Network at largest size 2455 AD Rao Center Worlds consolidated (at the height of their empire the Rao Center Worlds numbered nearly three dozen planets, with every nook and cranny inhabited by large numbers of Rao. ) 2460 AD Troma Rao bombarded from orbit, Rao fleets destroyed, robotic occupation troops land on Troma Rao, Rao empire is decimated (only the Rishii Maze worlds escape destruction) 2461 AD Humanity meets the Rao (the Rim peoples), PSU introduced by Rim to the Rao 2462 AD Humans learn of the Rishii Maze, meet the "Friends" and "Elves" 2464 AD Humans offer Rao alliance (under consideration), Rao reconstruction under way, Admiral Knox fleet sent to Rao Center Worlds for support