Directives

Through Project Insight, the truly relevant Directives placed by the Shiplords have been narrowed down to the following:

• You shall abandon the First Secret.
• You shall abandon the Second Secret.
• You shall not go beyond your star.
• To linger in the spaces between stars is unwise.
• Look deeper into the Void at your peril.

With that said, however, there are races that still appear to be Tributaries that have access to First Secret FTL, and have with it gone beyond their star and created extra-solar colonies without being subjected to War Fleet extermination. Thus, the Directives appear to be more than just one set of rules, and how a race discovers it is no longer subject to certain of them is unknown. Presumably the Shiplords simply tell you, but you can't be certain. Likewise, the fourth point appears to be more of a warning than a death sentence if you do not comply. Tributaries have unlocked other Secrets and not been wiped out for it.

The exact meaning of the first point has modified to deny research of the First Secret, but not the use of FTL drive system. There is a warning against lingering between the stars, in the same manner as looking deeper into the Void, but the reasons for it remain unclear.