The Agreement of the First Cartographers

Origins of Document and Purpose of The Agreement

The Agreement of the First Cartographers was first drafted before the expedition to map the galaxy was officially launched. It was written in the last phases of preparation for the expedition, and each member of the cartographers had a hand in what would eventually be included. After several drafts, the agreement was ratified by the group, and each agreed to follow the guidelines found within.
In the final document was a list of principles, and agreed-upon terms of exploration, that the cartographers had agreed to each follow during their exploration and mapping of the galaxy. And with many years of work ahead of them, it would actually take a few generations of cartographers, in the end, it was important to the cartographers that these rules be followed strictly for the good of the people, and themselves, that they may encounter along the way.

These principles mainly comprised of the following:

1. Communication between the cartographers and newly discovered sentient life is allowed. However, the species must be at an agreeable level of development in order for the interaction to occur. If the species has not reached a sufficient level of advancement, especially in the realms of technology, then the interaction is forbidden as undo shock to cultures that do not understand space travel and advanced technology may undergo undue panic or even become hostile.


2. No cartographer must interfere in the advancement of these growing civilizations whether directly or indirectly, and must not conduct any sort of trade with them, especially of technology they may not understand. As well, it is required that any trade that is conducted with technologically advanced species is done with caution. No technology should be traded that the species does not have an equivalent to already as to not affect their natural progression or cause potential harm to themselves, their environment, or the cartographers in their shared regions.


3. Give each new discovery an equal level of respect and awe as any other. Respect all races and cultures, do not judge them based on the standards of your own upbringing.


4. All explorers and cartographers must record every single piece of information of their journey, including locations, routes, and planetary and system information.


5. Once charting of a given sector is complete, a long-range beacon must be installed in the sector in order to signal that work has been completed in that region of space. Once all beacons are lit, all cartographers (or their descendants) must meet at the central most beacon and compile their information into one large database. If this is not possible, ensure that information can be sent to the central location through secondary means. 

As far as historians understand the vast majority of cartographers and explorers that went about this journey of charting the galaxy successfully followed these standards. It is an agreed-upon fact that they did complete their mapping, with most of them meeting as agreed and compiling the first detailed database of galactic information. 
This database included planetary and system information, and the first-ever compilation of interstellar routes essentially creating the first road map of the entire Delta Space. Plus or minus a few thousand hidden pockets that still remain to this day. Nobodies perfect. This mapping information would go on to form the first active trade routes in space, thus creating the beginnings of intergalactic trade and commerce.

---

Current Status

While this agreement is no longer followed by most spacefarers, especially merchants and businesses that trade on an interstellar level, it is still considered historically important for the galaxy. Despite its origins being more focused on respecting the growth and development of growing races the work of the cartographers eventually lead to the sprawling economy of current day Delta Space. 
The original database has long been lost, however, the information that was held within especially the mapping information is still used today though copied a million times over and adjusted to systems shifting and changing over time. The agreement itself, even back then, was primarily a digital document copied and installed on the ships of each explorer where they could access it at any time. No original file is known to exist as the vast majority of the ships used by the cartographers have long been lost to time.
However, there is a legend that states that a physical copy was drafted before it was digitized and transferred to each of the explorers. Many have claimed to be in possession of this hand-written copy, but they have all been proven false. But many still claim that it is still somewhere out there, preserved for someone to eventually discover. Other rumours persist as well, with one stating that actual footage of the cartographers working on the draft of the agreement existing. Another rumour talks about the possibility of a recorded video of the principles being read aloud by one of the cartographers existing, having been recorded but eventually discarded after it proved to take up too much file space on the explorer's ship's drive.

Type

Treaty, Diplomatic

Medium

Digital Recording, Text

Authors

• The First Cartographers