Summary[]
The United Galaxies is the name given to the latter stage of The New Empire. Originally formed from an alliance between the descendants of the Asteromorphs, Terrestrials, the New Machines, the various descendants of the Subjects, and the Amphicephali.
The name “The United Galaxies” implies The New Empire was able to continually expand beyond the Milky Way and surrounding nebulae to other galaxies, forming countless alliances with unknown numbers of alien galaxies and species. These species are mentioned but never elaborated on.
Eventually, the United Galaxies cradled their suns with artificial shells, crisscrossed interstellar space with wormholes, and made travel a thing of the past.
During its existence, the United Galaxies was able to defeat the Qu. Whether this was by annihilating the species, or by bringing them into subjugation, is unknown.
By the end of the book, the empire of the United Galaxies is gone. The Author speculates that perhaps humanity eventually went extinct through war or the empire slowly falling apart, leaving single colonies to meet their own fate. On the other hand, it may have advanced so far as to have left this plane of existence altogether. No definitive answer is given.