The Arduous Universe

Science Fiction

Empty and Dark

This is where our story starts:

There are five Ages in the days since Dry Earth.

The Ages are as according:

There is the Age of Drown. In the initial throes of Wet Earth, many new factions were forged out of the wreckage of old ones. The Russian Federation, its forces decimated from the resource wars, collapsed into a motley collection of nation-states that had not been seen for three centuries. Very quickly, the newly-founded nations in the west were absorbed into the Afripean Union while the ones in the East were annexed by the People's Republic. The Afripean Union lost control of most of its solar colonies during the final resource war due to the need to recall military forces to the homeworld. These colonies went on to form the predecessor tribes of what are now considered lost worlds and neoviking war-bands. Once the revenue and supplies gained from planetary mining was cut off, the Afripean Union found itself overextended and forced to concede territory to the Commonwealth and the Estados Unidos. In the East, the People's Republic maintained a firm grip on its populace through the use of cybernetic implantation, thought policing, and propaganda. The few colonies outside of Earth that flew the Republican flag obeyed under the threat of immediate annihilation and many historians agree that they actually become such skilled producers and laborers in an effort to make themselves invaluable to the People's Republic. On Earth, however, dissident movements began to form on the mainland continent of the Republic as a few brave souls disconnected their intercranial devices and tried to defect to other nations. The glassing of the Taiwan region warned most away from thoughts of rebellion, though the People's Republic became shunned on the global stage.
The Commonwealth retreated to its pre-empire borders of islands around the planet. The exception here, of course, were the D-zones in the Caribbean. Their economy suffered drastically as they could produce very little that others wanted. As a result of this, the unofficial national product became known as human trafficking. Very little could be done by the Commonwealth to prevent its own citizens from being taken by scrupulous "investors" and it was because of inabilities such as this that the Commonwealth disbanded and surrendered to the three remaining super powers around the middle of the Age of Drown. The Estados Unidos became several crippled as the ice caps melted. Most of the coastlines within their control disappeared under rising ocean levels. Because their technological progression lagged so far behind the other super powers, the Estados Unidos could not compensate for the high tides and lost multiple settlements to the waters. The politicians on both the North American and South American continents agreed that the priority of the Estados Unidos needed to be the citizens. The space program rose to its former glory with the intention of establishing solar and potentially extrasolar colonies. However, an automated defense satellite for the Afripean Union mistook the very first launch of a rocket as a dangerous preemptive strike. Millions of manhours and a working crew of fifteen hundred scientists and engineers were evaporated in a kinetic strike. This, combined with heightened paranoia from the resource wars, led to the Estados Unidos to initiate sarin bombings along the South African coasts. The resulting war lasted twenty three years until the Northern Sea Ceasefire. By now, the Earth suffered from both the excess water of the melting ice caps and the tectonic movements caused by Afripean experimental weapons. The map of the world changed drastically. The seven percent of landmasses still above the waterline were largely uninhabitable due to radiation or chemical saturation. Having won most of the African continent in their recent conquest, the Estados Unidos began building expansive, floating habitats using the metals and ores left behind by the Afripean Union. The wounded Afripean Union opened its borders to any who would come, even though the entire region was in chaos.

There is the Age of Hope. This is generally considered to have started after the downfall of the People's Republic. Though the history leading up to its defeat is lost because of the extreme censorship of the regime's records, it is understood by most scholars that a rebellious group of hackers and youth protesters uploaded a virus to a Republic connection node. The virus crashed the cybernetic implants and vigilant monitoring systems the Republic had in place. While it is estimated that over seventy five percent of the populace died or were driven insane by the sudden disruption of their intercranial implants, the remaining survivors founded the Second Republic and welcomed international diplomacy. Diplomats from the Afripean Union came eager to try and secure support in the form of resources and energy reserves. The initial talks quickly fell into disarray as the less-polite representatives from the Estatos Unidos arrived. Each superpower existed only as a haunting of their former selves. Disagreements arose once more as Afripean and American diplomats began posturing. Naval blockades formed outside of ports around the world and the media watched in fear as both militaries played out war drills. It was in the second year of negotiations that a surprising fourth party arrived. A starship flying the Commonwealth flag arrived in orbit above Earth. They claimed, in separate transmissions to each of the three superpowers, to have numerous resources in a solar system far from Sol. The story went on to unfold that these colonists had lost touch with the Commonwealth (which had collapsed a century ago) and had no one else to share the resources with. Scans of the starship revealed the truthfulness of their statements as well as betrayed its frail and old nature. The Estados Unidos wanted to wait until the ship's decrepit fusion reactor stopped spinning, while the Afripean Union wanted to cooperate. The Second Republic welcomed an envoy from the ship. Negotiations between the four factions met in the Brasilia-Moscow habitat by the equator. These went on for six months with no word to the outside world. What happened next shocked the non-diplomats of the world. Through some magic of negotiations and threats, the three superpowers agreed to unite under one banner with the returning colonists and expand out from the planet. This new faction named itself the Union of Humanity. This was the Age of Hope.

There is the Age of Acquisition. When the Union of Humanity first founded, it took roughly five years to fully unite the factions of Earth. The Second Republic still had to fight the resistance movement spawned by exiled officials of the old Republic. This fighting spanned the entire continent and ended in the infamous sinking of the city Xīn Jīng. Meanwhile, the region formerly known as the Estados Unidos was tasked with the fabrication of new starships. This caused a revival of not only economy but of culture. The common folk-hero became known as the humble engineer. Movies and plays centered around the revolutionizing of space technology. Africa and Europe supported the other two regions by overhauling the decrepit military structures built over the numerous wars and putting up hydroponics, paddies, and hatcheries in their places. While all this went on, the extrasolar vessel that had sparked this change visited the neighboring planets to invite the colonies into the Union. Many of the asteroid colonies had long since either found a way to leave the system or been wiped out by either human hand or cosmic accident. The few planetary colonies left had began to sprawl across their perspective lands. The industrial might of the Martian colonies left by the People's Republic became a highly-valued asset to the Union. The multiple stations orbiting Saturn had immediately thrown off their colonial ties during the first resource wars; when they were first visited, it became known that they had instead formed their own faction and linked all the space stations together in eight million kilometers of living spaces, laboratories, and production facilities. The unified station, known as Saturnalia, resisted the advances of the Union. After a year of negotiating, the Union fired on Saturnalia. In the brief exchange of nuclear warheads, Saturnalia became pushed into de-orbit and fell into the gas giant. All were lost. After Saturnalia, the Union of Humanity released an ultimatum to all human systems: "The Union is our family. And our hope." The vague threat came worded as a plea. To the Union, survival was understood as a matter of teamwork. Resources from the planets were brought together into large ark-ships. Massive, hulking ships that put legends of Saturnalia to shame were christened. As each expedition was sent out into the space, the explorers soon became disheartened at what they found. From multiple accounts arose the name "Empty Dark" to describe the space around them. Some ark-ships, the ones sent out to the Rim, found plentiful and abundant worlds to settle on and began sending resources towards Earth within the decade. However, the ships sent towards the Center began disappearing one by one. At first, time dilation and signal distortion was blamed. But the few worlds that were colonized sent back alarming reports: Objects entering solar systems, changing direction on a dime, and leaving. Convoys vanished in the Empty Dark. On top of that, starships of human design raided and plundered Outer System planets. The Union authorized a naval force to began patrolling their systems. It was at this time that the first ships from the Sapient Council appeared.

There is the Age of Worms. We do not speak of the Age of Worms.

There is the Age of Honor. We live in the Age of Honor. The Colonial Union of Humanity has reigned for a glorious two centuries. Mankind controls well over a thousand planets. Where we are, there is prosperity and hope. Medicine, food, and pleasures of the mind can be had by all. Men and their ladies own a estates freely and even the children smile as our terraformers prepare new homesteads for them. Culture has flourished and our people are one with each other. The war against the Sapient Council is in a stalemate, but the brave officers and enlisted men who walk our stations' ramparts promise it will end soon. Truly, this is an enlightened era.

No Magic. But there are psychically strong species that can manipulate brainwaves.