He was a sarcastic analyst who spotted what no one else did. That got him recruited into a program that doesn't officially exist by a woman who then vanished without a trace. They told him he's the only one left who can hear what the universe is saying. What it's saying is that something out in the dark has been erasing civilizations for longer than his species has had fire. So now they have to teach him to how use what's awaken inside him.