The Ring Builders and Protomolecule versus The Unknown Aggressors are two distinct, yet equally powerful and mysterious, alien species in The Expanse. With The Expanse season 5 currently-airing on Amazon Prime, the critically lauded science fiction show is unfolding with a Belter plot to steal the Protomolecule sample, while James Holden and his team grapple with the consequences of possibly losing it to Belter terrorist Marco Inaros.

Tensions are only meant to escalate in future episodes of The Expanse, as it was revealed that Tycho Station is embroiled at the heart of a conspiracy, as a faction of extremist OPA operatives had been formed without Fred Johnson’s knowledge. Moreover, The Expanse killed off Fred Johnson unexpectedly when chief engineer Sakai shot him, leaving the Belt deprived of a reliable figurehead and diplomat, which could possibly have far-reaching repercussions for all factions involved — not to mention the crew of the Rocinante.

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The Protomolecule has functioned as a bone of contention throughout seasons 1 to 4 of The Expanse, with its complex and powerful nature being leveraged as a means to exert power or betray. Here’s a rundown of the history, along with the murky details surrounding the Protomolecule, and the involvement of the Ring Builders and Unknown Aggressors with regards to the same.

The Ring Builders & The Protomolecule

The Ring Builders were a technologically advanced extraterrestrial species, or alien civilization, who once helmed a vast interstellar empire across the Milky Way. While not much is known about their history or biology for that matter, Elvi Okoye was able to theorize that The Ring Builders functioned as a hive-mind consciousness, and their life cycle consisted of a single mature form. Leveraging their cutting-edge technology, The Ring Builders engineered the Protomolecule, with the intention of spreading a network of Ring gates throughout the galaxy, allowing faster-than-light travel between star systems. The events that transpired on Ilus after the arrival of the Rocinante revealed further about this species and their eventual collapse, including the fact that Ilus was once used for energy generation for other parts of the alien civilization, and that the race had great respect for DNA-based life forms. At some point in history, the Ring Builders were driven to extinction by an unknown entity, termed as The Unknown Aggressors, who were able to shut down the former’s hive-mind consciousness to good measure.

While The Ring Builders left a sizeable amount of technological marvels behind, The Protomolecule is perhaps the most dangerous and coveted among them all, mainly due to its ability to radically alter infected life forms and utilize their biomass in divergent ways. Using ionizing radiation as an energy source, The Protomolecule works in unique ways, such as when the infected Eros Station was able to dodge the incoming Nauvoo without thrust or acceleration, and the incident on Ilus wherein the Protomolecule could nullify nuclear fusion, preventing ships from leaving. In The Expanse season 5, Holden and a crew of Belters board the Rocinante will need to retrieve the stolen Protomolecule sample from Marco, who made a system-wide broadcast saying he would use the sample as a weapon to wipe out the Inner Planets should they not abide by his demands.

The Unknown Aggressor Aliens

As explained above, The Unknown Aggressors were entities that destroyed the Ring Builders, only leaving their technology behind. As per the records accessed by Holden on the Ring Station, these aggressor aliens were able to neutralize the alien civilization’s hive-mind and destroyed entire solar systems in the process. Extremely less is known about the Aggressor Aliens, and their inner motivations, although humanity has encountered two technologies left behind by this species, one being the void bullet in Ilus IV, and a mysterious sphere aboard the Tempest. These artifacts hold unique and unexplained power within the universe of The Expanse, with the void bullet being able to trigger a loss of consciousness across a sol system for minutes and the sphere granting human observers the ability to perceive molecular structures.

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Debopriyaa Dutta
(328 Articles Published)

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Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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