In the short story "At the Core", Beowulf Shaeffer, who made the discovery about tidal forces five years previously, in "Neutron Star", discovers that the Galactic Core is exploding. This news prompts the Puppeteer Exodus, where the Fleet of Worlds flees the galaxy at just under light speed for the Magellanic Clouds, in the hope that by the time the explosion reaches the Fleet of Worlds, the Puppeteers will have found a way to protect their civilization. This exodus prompts a major stock market crash in human society. In 2864, the Fleet of Worlds leaves Known Space.