The Ruin of Civilization: A Starfield Prison

When a civilization's desire to survive and expand comes into fundamental conflict with moral ethics and the dignity of life, is so-called "progress" a hymn to civilization or its final elegy?

A highly advanced civilization sealed within a particular star sector launches the enormously energy-intensive "Stargate Project" in an attempt to break through the "Annihilation Zone" and explore the worlds beyond. This triggers an internal energy collapse and rebellions on its colony planets, while also exposing a genocidal conspiracy that uses colonized races as experimental subjects: the "Source Body Project"…