The Initiative

"What can be done to reduce these hunger pains?" you asked.

"Based on these readings, it might be possible to create something to suppress that sensation, but it would take some time to refine and test it," the doctor answered. "A simpler solution is to resolve it directly with your next meal." You didn't have to ask what that meant.

The doctor then returned to the nearby console, seeming eager to further document his recent discovery. Before he became too engrossed in his work, you asked, "Can you recommend something I could read to become more familiar with the Starpoint or it's mission?"

"You can find information from various publications available on your MPAD unit," replied the Grey doctor. A good starting point might be the Intergalactic Exploration Initiative, and from there you can peruse its various references for further details on a wide range of related topics."

"Thanks, I'll check it out," you replied. "I'll be back for supper." You weren't surprised that the doctor didn't reply, and you headed back to your room. Once there, you sat down at the small table and began to scan through various publications via MPAD-24's text interface. The Intergalactic Exploration Initiative (IEI) was an extremely long and ponderous read. It had apparently been updated continuously over the millennia to add and refine its contents. Although other races had contributed to it, the main authors were Grey.

As you continued perusing it, you came to the conclusion that the IEI was almost like a bible for the Grey and possibly several other races as well. At it's core, it described fundamental guidelines that advocated virtues such as truthfulness, honesty and avoiding harm, not unlike the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, or the ten Yamas of Hinduism. However, instead of being a spiritual doctrine, the IEI formed the basis for an adaptive and ever-growing universal system of knowledge founded upon continuous exploration and scientific discovery. It also served as a mission statement for the Starpoint.

You detected a lot of common ground with certain scientific principles used on Earth, but this took it to levels far beyond as it expanded to cover a myriad of other topics such as ideal forms of government, finance, business, agriculture, and even art. It's breath and scope transcended anything you'd considered before. Documenting and understanding the secrets of the universe were merely stepping stones to asking an even greater set of questions that had not yet been fathomed. One of the current observations was daunting: the more we learn, the more we realize how much more we don't yet understand. Yet the amount of information in the universe is bounded physically, and is thus finite. As a result, there must be a tipping point where what is known about the universe finally eclipses the amount that is not yet understood. However, at the current rate of discovery, that is likely still a long ways away.