I woke up and chose violence.

As an aside, the air nomads wondered if maybe they should tell the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation what the satellites in space, the moon and sun, were really like. It was decided that the other nations would eventually acquire space travel or, at least the ability to probe the cosmos. Ultimately, the elders decided to withhold this information, reasoning that the FN and the WT should discover these answers for themselves. To give them these answers would have been to deprive them of the joy of discovery.

The ability to "drift" into space came at a price. Some airbenders experimented with this ability alone. They'd wander off to a secluded spot, and drift into space where they'd lose track of time. Without the physical body to remind them to sleep, eat, and take a bathroom break, they didn't get the biological reminders of time's passing. Their curiosity become such a distraction that it was easy to forgot to keep track of how long they'd been disembodied. Without someone with them to watch over them and help bring them back, they would just drift through space, completely unaware of what was happening to their physical bodies. When some of them tried to return, there was nothing to return to because their bodies had died.

There were also unforeseen psychological effects from drifting.

Many drifters were overwhelmed by the sheer enormity and emptiness of space, the size of celestial bodies, and the astronomical distances between them. They felt small, powerless, even helpless when they understood that the objects flying at astonishing speeds through space could wipe out all life. Suddenly, that theory about what killed the proto-dragons and the other prehistoric creatures looked a lot more plausible, a fear that was compounded by the sight of ancient craters that pocked the moon's and the planet's surfaces, clearly visible from space.

Others experienced a sense of dread that came from extreme isolation when they'd travel into deep space only to find nothing but more emptiness. Many went looking for spirits; some went looking for gods. They found none. The elders suggested that spirits take many forms--that space itself could be a spirit. "Space is vast," some of them would say. "Maybe we just haven't traveled out far enough to find them. Or maybe they don't want to be found." This brought little comfort to airbenders who were seeking answers from higher powers, and it drove home a sense that they were alone in the universe.

Still, others traveled in another direction, their mind settling on a star in the distance, orbited by several planets. Their spirits were transported across thousands of light years in mere moments to discover an alien world at war, strange, intelligent beings killing each other with weapons of mass destruction on a scale no one on their planet had seen, and they'd witnessed suffering on an unprecedented scale. The sheer ruthlessness and violence of space and everything in it was too much for some of them to bear.

And there were other things hiding far off in the void with forces so powerful, they could be registered on a spiritual level. Something at the heart of their own galaxy was bending space itself, sending subtle invisible waves outward, through the galaxy, rippling off into the wider universe. But they were unable to see the mysterious phenomenon shrouded by dust and clouds and a blinding ring of light. Approaching the anomaly seemed to alter their perceptions of reality, causing confusion, instilling panic. This region became known as The Badlands. It was recommended that only scientists and researcher go there until they had a greater understanding of the forces at work and the what or the who behind them.

But others were fascinated by the unknown. They'd seen things beyond their wildest imaginings, and they wanted to fill every minute of their lives staring at mysterious things, thinking about possibilities, falling down the rabaroo holes of the universe in the hopes of finding more unknowns. The thought of returning to the temple to train their bending, meditate, and resume their mundane lives sent some airbenders into a spiraling depression.

Rules surrounding drifting were established. Students wouldn't be introduced to the technique until they were older and, in many cases, already airbending masters. It was recommended that no one, not even the greatest of masters, should ever attempt to drift alone. Always be sure you have at least one designated anchor who can watch over you and bring you back after a day in the drift so that you can eat, sleep, and take a proper shit. (Bathing was optional. :b ) Drifters and their tethers should also alert the elders to let them know they'll be drifting, especially if they leave the temple. This was a precaution in case the drifter and their tether failed to return because they were attacked.

Group drifting was a coordinated gathering of air nomads from all four temples who connected spiritually and drifted together to distant places in the universe. Drifting became a tool for scientists and scholars to study the cosmos and observe their findings in a group setting. But social drifting was also quite popular. Many airbenders met each other on the drift and formed friendships through drifting. When they traveled the world, they would often meet their drift buddies in places like Shuhon Island or Gaoling or the Southern Water Tribe.

Like many aspects of Air Nomad culture, drifting was a closely-guarded secret. Airbenders were told that no one from the outside should know about it. "They wouldn't understand," the elders would say. Others were more honest when they said, "It's none of their business." The air nomads were notoriously stingy with their knowledge.

Eventually, they wanted more from exploration. It wasn't enough to merely observe space in their non-corporeal forms, they wanted to interact with it. They'd already deduced that space was a vacuum. The air thinned out at higher elevations. It seemed logical that, if they went up high enough, there would be no air. They also observed how the planets in their system closest to the sun were scorched and charred. Some planetary atmospheres were thick with gases that painted their skies up yellow, white, red, and green. Their oceans were sulfur and methane. Space …was deadly. If they were going to explore it in their flesh and blood forms, they needed to know more about it, and they needed to think about ways to protect themselves from it. They discussed probes, and tried to figure out what they would need to construct one, and how it would gather information. They drew up plans for space suits and flying machines which had to be operated by mechanical means rather than airbending. It would be decades, maybe even centuries, before they could acquire space travel through conventional means since the technology and the ability to develop it didn't exist. They were a patient people, and secretive, keeping their plans away from the rest of the world. If the world knew about their scientific achievements, they would surely use that knowledge to wage even deadlier wars.

When the Fire Nation found their writings about their exploits in space, as well as elaborate plans for various machines and contraptions, they assumed the air nomads were all on the cactus juice. However, scientists and scholars in the FN recognized that they were on solid scientific ground, giving the FN a lot of working theories their scientists and engineers could use to advance the Fire Nation. The stories of alien civilizations were dismissed as pure fantasy. And, of course, what the Fire Nation didn't use, they destroyed. The rest of the world couldn't know that the air nomads were far more advanced than the rest of the world, and that they were possibly on the verge of several scientific breakthroughs, not when the Fire Nation was propping itself up as the most advanced civilization in human history.

It took years for Aang and his acolytes to track down and acquire some of his culture's relics, art, and writings. Some wealthy benefactors like Piandao (because Sokka asked) and Toph's father (because he didn't want stinky ex-FN general Piandao getting all the credit) donated considerable wealth to aid Aang in his cause. Among the things recovered were the writings and illustrations from some of the air nomads' keenest minds who had basically drawn up blueprints for how humanity could one day venture out into space.