The Last Evolution, by John W Campbell Jr. (1932)

> John W. Campbell, Jr.’s "The Last Evolution" (first published in Amazing Stories, August 1932) is a highly influential piece of early hard science fiction. It represents an important conceptual milestone: it is *one of the earliest stories to explore the idea of a technological singularity*, the peaceful retirement of humanity by its own creations, and the evolution of machines into forms of pure energy.

not on our timeline, but.. still a fun/quaint read.