| abstract
| - 2006-2031: In the midst of increasing ethno-political tension lobbyists have begun an effort to build a lunar base in the hopes of fostering human life on another planet. March 21, 2029 the lunar colony ‘Unity’ is finally sealed and inhabited with a 29 man crew. Within 2 years the crew blossoms into 150 after massive quantities of H3 are found just below the surface of the moon. A resource not readily available on Earth it begins the first steps toward a massive expedition to mars. 2029-2059: International tensions reach a climax when oil reserves are all but depleted, and no counterpart is in sight. Corporations take advantage of the political instability and the genesis of the commune-society or ‘wage-state’ is born. Over the next 30 years massive changes occur to the world’s political landscape. The United States, Canada, South America and numerous smaller nations are ‘communized’ into the UAC, or United Americas Coalition. Meanwhile corporate entities in China, Indonesia and a few in the Middle East combine into a single mega corporation. Although never officially named it is simple referred to in text, and slang, as the Chinese Confederacy. Lastly Russia and many of its former soviet satellites re-organize into what is simply known as the conglomerate. Unlike the USSR the new system proved to be a quite effective free-market system that encouraged a brutal kind of business politicking. 2059-2070: The burgeoning mega-powers finally being to stabilize their collective identities and keep boarder wars to small skirmishes. This lull gives them time to look skyward at the possibility of off world expansion. With new technology hastily researched to replace the now-defunct fossil fuel tech interplanetary travel is possible. In response the UAC places 3 Leviathan class missile silos next to the now 600 person Unity lunar base as a show of force. 2072: The Confederacy begins a race to create what will be the first of many colony ships destined for mars. Mobilizing its massive labor pool the confederacy will experiment with difference methods of transport, and will send the largest number of personnel to mars, but will also suffer the largest percent of en-route casualties. (est. 241mil colonists launched, 31% casualty rate +/- 3%) 2073: The UAC and the confederacy also begin construction of their first transport vessels. The UAC constructs its first craft much like the Confederacy with the intent of having a massive vessel transport its colonists and supplies all at once. The first UAC craft transported approximately 80,000 people in a primitive form of suspended animation with roughly 75,000 reaching the Martian surface alive. Utilizing the resources of their lunar base the UAC was able to achieve such a high success rate. Meanwhile the Conglomerate engineers preferred a more intricate method based on a kind of ‘sub-contracting’ scheme. Small crafts were sent in pairs, the first having only supplies and equipment being sent via orbital slingshot a year in advance of the personnel crafts which carried anywhere from 20 to 6,000 individuals. In this way they greatly reduced their overall capital. 2091: At 20:43 EST in UAC territory the secure information sub-department received a message saying that one Leviathan class missile had been launched at Earth, and was on a course for Confederate territory. All attempts were made to stop the missile but it impacted at 21:04 EST. unguided it struck northern Laos destroying all of North Vietnam, North Laos, large parts of Thailand, China and Burma. Roughly 5.1 million died on impact and the resulting fallout is still felt today. More to continue
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