A rare metalloid, Thalon shows unique properties when exposed to high-intensity. Electromagnetic Radiation, creating a temporary wormhole between two locations distant in space, allowing for vastly shorter travel across interstellar distances. A journey of centuries at subluminal speeds could now be completed in days or weeks and the galaxy itself could be spanned in mere months. Thalon meant that the entire galaxy was open to humankind to explore and they did so with great vigour and enthusiasm. Hundreds of new political experiments sprung up overnight, from corporate holdings to commensalistic communes. The ‘Thalon Boom’ drove expansion ever further until the homeworld was all but forgotten