Summary
The present story begins when the protagonists are pulled out of stasis aboard the Phantom Epoch and thrown into a struggle they barely understand. *1
The story begins with a dreamlike vision of possible futures and a synthesized voice insisting that the outcome can still be changed. The protagonists awaken aboard the Phantom Epoch, break free, and begin following the Voice's commands, with stasis damage and incomplete understanding shaping the opening mood. The crew begins in confusion rather than mastery. *2
This event establishes the Phantom Epoch as headquarters and the Voice as the first guide through the setting. It also frames the story as a struggle against a future that has not yet been fully prevented, which is why so many later threads in the wiki trace back to the ship, the Voice, or the warnings recovered after this awakening. *2
SpoilerThespara-5
A later Time Chamber revelation reframes the awakening entirely. The sleepers aboard the Phantom Epoch were engineered as successors in the likeness of the peoples the Vanished watched over, then prepared with the memories of champions chosen by Tiya so they could defend the galaxy without knowing their artificial origin from the start. *1