Not your fault...
Kakub
We first became aware of the Kakub in 4487. They reside on the dry planet Nianud Kudkaz in the Kub‑ka system. They are passionate, enthusiastic, and vengeful.
The Kakub have developed a simple system of writing, which they use primarily for storytelling.
In 4514, many of the fractious Kakub city-states were united under a single banner by an individual known as Nuozkud. The city of Kodkad has become the capital of the resulting empire, which rules over approximately 19% of the entire Kakub population. Like many other Kakub states, it is governed by direct democratic vote.
The Kakub have begun to watch the skies and recognize patterns in the movements of stars, which they use to navigate over great distances and keep track of time.
The Kakub have learned how to catch water-dwelling creatures such as the kaudnad, which is now a staple part of the Kakub diet.
The Kakub make extensive use of stone tools for many things. This has dramatically improved their efficiency in hunting the wild nuodnad.
The Kakub have domesticated a species of small fluffy creatures. The pets assist their Kakub owners with hunting in exchange for food and shelter.
The Kakub have developed a sophisticated understanding of basic mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.
In spite of a few initial mishaps, the Kakub have mastered the control of fire. They use it to cook their food, and to light their villages at night.
The Kakub have discovered how to forge molten metal into jewelry, tools, weapons, and armor.
The Kakub have begun to cultivate crops, including a kind of colorful root known as kad‑ko that grows well in the grasslands of Nianud Kudkaz.
The Kakub have begun to use lenses and mirrors made from polished crystal, glass, and water to redirect and focus light.
The Kakub have begun to construct permanent dwellings and other structures, making especially extensive use of sandstone as a building material.
Some of the Kakub have begun to experiment with alchemy, systematically searching for new ways of combining and manipulating ingredients to yield useful chemicals, compounds, and medicines.
The Kakub have built elaborate pipe and sewer systems to supply their larger settlements, such as Kodkad, with fresh water and a hygenic means of waste disposal.
The Kakub have begun to make use of more sophisticated construction techniques, relying on sturdy structural elements such as arches and buttresses to support larger and larger buildings.
The Kakub have learned how to build ships and sail them across the oceans of Nianud Kudkaz to explore and trade over increasingly greater distances.
The Kakub have discovered a way to manufacture gunpowder, which they primarily use in warfare.
In 4736, the Kakub population reached 25 million individuals. Many of these dwell within permanent cities, the largest of which is known as Kodkad and has a population of 94,000.
Due to its role as the birthplace of several major Kakub religions, including the especially prominent Kudkud faith, the city of Kodkad is regarded by many of the Kakub as a holy site. Leaders from all around the world journey to the city in hopes of currying favor with the leaders of their people's religion of choice.
The Kakub have begun to construct wind and water mills, which redirect the forces of the natural world to perform repetitive mechanical tasks such as grinding grain and pumping water.
The Kakub have developed a simple printing press, and mass-produced versions of important texts have begun to circulate widely throughout the world. Religious texts are especially popular.
Through systematic observation and categorization of the various living things on Nianud Kudkaz, the Kakub have begun to develop a more sophisticated understanding of biology. Some theorists have even put forth the idea that dramatically different-looking organisms, such as the nuodnad and the kaudnad, may in fact share a single common ancestor.
The Kakub have successfully tamed electricity, and are now beginning to deploy it throughout society. Electric lights are widespread, electric motors are used to drive factories, and the growing need for electric power has led to the construction of power plants near every major center of Kakub population.
In their efforts to understand the motion of planets in the sky, free-falling bodies, and projectiles, the Kakub have developed a new branch of mathematics which is immediately recognizable as calculus.
The Kakub have developed a practical and cost-effective steam engine, which can be fueled with wood or coal.
Although initially controversial, the hypothesis that diseases can be caused by microorganisms has begun to catch on among the Kakub, leading to the widespread adoption of public health policies which have greatly reduced the spread of disease.
The Kakub have begun to develop rockets.
With the development of the transistor, the Kakub have begun to construct more sophisticated electronic circuits.
The Kakub have begun harnessing the power of electricity to send messages across very great distances with unprecedented speed. Due to the overhead of encoding and decoding messages, long-distance communication remains far from instantaneous, but it is now possible for individuals on opposite sides of Nianud Kudkaz to exchange several messages over the course of a single day.
The Kakub have begun to build general-purpose programmable computers.
In 4948, a massive volcanic eruption filled the skies of Nianud Kudkaz with ash and blotted out the sun. The ensuing volcanic winter threw the planet's delicate ecosystem wildly out of balance, bringing about the end of Kakub civilization.