In the wake of Starfall, the focus of those who studied Echoes became not simply understanding the Echoes, but figuring out if Starfall was an event that destroyed Second Shem (thus making it Third Shem, and creating a situation with Echoes from Second Shem), or if it is simply a cataclysm on Second Shem. Thus far, no definitive answer has been made either way. Halford is the world's leading authority on the subject.