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The Great Xeelee Secret | Why The Universe Went Dark

2026-04-04 Entertainment
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Quinn's Ideas
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Be kind to yourself this year. Using Zocdoc is FREE - visit my sponsor https://zocdoc.com/quinnsideas to find and instantly book an appointment with a top-rated, in-network doctor today. We’ve covered the Xeelee Sequence multiple times on this channel. In short, The Xeelee Sequence is a series of science fiction novels and short stories by Stephen Baxter that deal with humanity as they exist in a universe dominated by the powerful and enigmatic race of Aliens known as the Xeelee. The Xeelee were more akin to gods than lifeforms. When humankind first entered into cosmic society, we were oppressed and enslaved by multiple alien races before we found our footing. The aquatic Squeem, the amorphous Qax. We overcame them, I go in depth into this in my Timelike Infinity video and also in my Ultimate Timeline of the Xeelee Sequence video. Over many thousand of years humankind grew to dominate the milkyway, none stood stronger than us aside from the Xeelee.  When that time came, humankind was contained, our colonies throughout the milky way removed, men had no knowledge of the war that had been raging for billions of years. The Photino Birds were beings of Dark Matter, they were born at the beginning of the universe and since the beginning they have raged against the Xeelee for the soul of the cosmos. The Photino birds were creatures that existed in a sector of reality we could barely perceive. While ordinary matter formed stars, planets, and life, dark matter formed something else entirely. Vast structures. Vast ecologies. And within that hidden universe, the Photino Birds were dominant. Their war with the Xeelee was not fought with fleets or soldiers. It was fought with the fundamental laws of physics. Get 50% off Nebula (get access, early videos, exclusives): https://go.nebula.tv/quinnsideas 👽 Please consider supporting this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ideasoficeandfire or PAYPAL - https://paypal.me/QuinnsIdeas?locale.x=en_US 🎨 Art: Thumbnail: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zP5JG2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ljp2O53si7EqaJMU_W7_wsZr-UvbHLJz7LVa0T9VJo/edit?usp=sharing 🎵 Music: https://www.youtube.com/@JamezDahlMusic 📚 Get These Books! Affiliate link* https://amzn.to/3AQ0aSs Quinn's Discord: https://discord.gg/uGx4WsjVCZ FOLLOW QUINN ON TWITTER: Twitter: https://twitter.com/IDEASOFICE_FIRE I NOW HAVE A SUBREDDIT: https://www.reddit.com/r/IdeasofIceandFire/ Quinn's New Graphic Novel: https://www.quinnhoward.net/theliebehindthestar Buy Quinn's Comic Books: https://www.quinnhoward.net/shop Quinn's Website: https://www.quinnhoward.net Like me on Facebook!: https://www.facebook.com/IOIAF 🎥 Mentioned Videos 🎬 Other Playlist Three-Body Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXGGVBzHLUfIzEhovpQJ2ENiNvJoOD2A H.P. Lovecraft Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXGGVBzHLUcMoc_ZljrDbgrRi3x_CLYD Hyperion Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXGGVBzHLUfgKLf-CBr5VCC2xM0qX8Xh Dune Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXGGVBzHLUdsgN_vFaZmfjc6bXxPqajV Foundation Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRXGGVBzHLUeQMsBkZJ72aIIG8nR-No6J Feel free to leave a comment like and subscribe! Thanks For Watching!

Top Comments (10)

@MikeRiggs-u6l 2026-04-04

I sprained my wrist clicking too fast....

102 9 replies
@davidlozano4507 2026-04-04

Fermi Paradox: ❌ Hi Quinn, it's guys here: ✅

102 4 replies
@punkykenickie2408 2026-04-04

The Great Attractor was big (lol) in the 1990s, the drift towards the Laniakea supercluster had been spotted but nobody had found the supercluster itself, so Baxter using it in his books was a fun use of a real life mystery, which is the kind of thing that inspires a lot of great sci fi. He's got a physics background, hasn't he? I'm honestly a little disappointed that it didn't turn out to be an alien megastructure after all XD

81 10 replies
@sharlin648 2026-04-05

If I recall, Humanity in the Xeelee Sequence are hyper-advanced and absurdly bloodthirsty, with an indifference to casualties and damage that would make the Imperium of Man try and do an intervention, being far more powerful than basically ANY other setting's humanity and us also at our worst. Vat grown child soldiers deeply indoctrinated, thought police that can see through time, utterly xenocidal and worse. And despite all their might, all their fury, they were a minor irritant to the Xeelee that when they said "Okay, now that is enough from you young man." and turned their attention to us properly, we didn't even know what hit us.

45 2 replies
@thorshammer7883 2026-04-04

The ironic part in this version of the Xeelee Sequence universe after humanity went past their Interim Coalition of Governance phase they did become Transcendent beings similar to the Xeelee and manipulating the laws of the universe and making pocket dimensions. They expanded past owning a galaxy and conquered the entire Virgo Supercluster. The Transcendent Human's empire was second to the Xeelee as bariyonic life.

39
@Kaijutopia 2026-04-04

Stop! You had me at Xeelee.

27
@TheNitram8 2026-04-04

I thought i clicked on the wrong video, because Quinn starting describing something more akin to dystopian sci-fi than the Xelee sequence. Took me a while to realize that was just a sponsorhip

21
@Nethershaw 2026-04-05

Humanity: [multi-generational war against the Xeelee] The Xeelee: "Shoo. Stop. Get off." [swatting mosquitoes] "We have more important shit to deal with. Stop it. Stop."

12 1 replies
@Radiant_Veil 2026-04-05

video starts at 1:29

8
@QuinnsIdeas 2026-04-06

Be kind to yourself this year. Using Zocdoc is FREE - visit my sponsor https://zocdoc.com/quinnsideas to find and instantly book an appointment with a top-rated, in-network doctor today.

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