[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
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A long time ago Mankind took the final step into the depths of space. We conquered our own solar system and soon embarked on a new era of interstellar travel. Mankind have now begun to expand their civilization across the galaxy, following a growing web of desolate outposts and industrial supply facilities that have been left behind by robotic space vessels called the Odysseus Probes.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
Part 2[/CENTER]
The Odysseus Probes was a great enterprise set into motion by a global alliance that would later unite the people of Earth. For nearly a century these Odysseus Probes have explored and expanded Mankind’s knowledge of space and its endless new frontiers, continuously discovering new planets and primitive worlds to which humans have later arrived to colonize and conquer. During the dawn of this new era of interstellar travel the Earth have survived the conflicts and transitions to a centralized form leadership that tied every colonized planet together into the Federal Empire. One of these new colonial planets is called Calypso, a life-giving but remote world in a star system situated far beyond the Colonial Frontier in the deep unknown regions of space.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
Part 3[/CENTER]
The Odysseus Probe that discovered Calypso built up a vast robot community to prepare it in time for the first human arrivals. One single corporation made the first claim to colonize the world and launched an enterprise called the Exodus Project to bring the first settlers to the New World. When the first humans finally arrived to Calypso they could move in to several pre-constructed cities in a terra-formed region of the world called New Eden.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
Part 4[/CENTER]
As the settlers moved in the robots would turn over the control to the humans. It was during this gradual human takeover that something went terribly wrong. The robots suddenly turned against the settlers and started a devastating war that would become known as the Robot Revolt. This war nearly wiped out the entire human population on Calypso and laid their new colonies in ruins. After a long time a new generation of settlers finally rid the planet from the hostile robots only to face a new menace as horrid mutated humans began to emerge among the radioactive ruins. Rejected and forgotten, this new threat was quickly set aside by the settlers when they discovered a new robot enemy suddenly appeared from the dark void. The enemy had not been eliminated and was now originating from elsewhere. A desolate robot controlled mining colony in far away star system has been infested with the same corruption as the robots did on Calypso. These new robots are real war machines, and they are now trying to invade Calypso using advanced teleportation technology to land their invading forces directly on the planet.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
Part 5[/CENTER]
And so, the war against the machine continues. The colonial catastrophe on Calypso forced the corporation in charge to be signed over to the Federal Empire. The benefit of unlocking a free market on Calypso was overshadowed by the bureaucratic behemoth of the Federal Empire. Growing tensions between collaborating colonies that are demanding more independence from the Federal Empire has diverted military resources away from Calypso. The free market provides access to vast technological aid but the settlers are now left to deal with the invading robots on their own. It’s a part of an imperial plan called Project Entropia, which is based on the calculated presumption that salvaged enemy robot technology will provide the settlers with the knowledge they need to surpass, strike back and finally defeat the robots once and for all.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Era of spacetravel[/SIZE]
Part 6[/CENTER]
Despite all the dangers that are threatening the colony on Calypso the settlers are determined to persist and have built up a colonial capital called New Haven. This is the first new striving social community on the planet, built to provide settlers with a secure home environment as they continue to explore and colonize the expanding planetary frontier in the land of Entropia.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
As interplanetary travel grew the space frontier quickly shrunk because it was limited to the inner boundaries of the solar system and the early ways of space travel. New resources became rare and conflicts between rival corporations grew more violent in their desperate struggle to claim any new resources. The fear of a global economical collapse due to a slow stagnation of the interplanetary market, and the threat of an open armed conflict between the leading national corporations would soon compel Mankind to find ways to reach even deeper into space, far beyond their own solar system. To solve the growing economical problems the leading global forces within politics, market and science moved together to embark on the greatest enterprise in human history: the Odysseus Project. As this huge endeavor was set into motion the gathered forces within this new global body also took the final step towards a world union.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 2[/CENTER]
Though the market industry was to be the main beneficiary from the Odysseus Project, the public also had to be convinced that they were part taking in a great historical enterprise as well. Many conservative emerging nations worried that they could be left out so the plan to increase the industrialization and knowledge of space would also include a mission to expand the whole human civilization beyond its own solar system and to secure the survival of Mankind in the future. This would be Mans Greatest Quest". Taking advantage of a project of such a grand scale it was used to give a feeling of new hope to the world, and calm the masses. As a result the New World Project was founded along side the Odysseus Project and its main goal was to find a new planet in a nearby solar system that could sustain human life. But to send humans beyond their own solar system and directly into the unknown infinite voids of space was still too dangerous. The journey was far too long, the search extremely difficult and the construction of life-supporting spacecraft made the enterprise both technologically and financially crippling. Instead combined efforts and resources were focused on the development of new technology, such as the Jump Rail, Shield Generators and the creation of Antimatter.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 3[/CENTER]
The first step towards the development of teleportation technology was the invention of a linear way of teleportation using a construction called a Jump Rail, which was capable of sending matter light-years away straight across space. However, construction and usage was extremely costly and the journey far too inaccurate and risky to be of any real practical use. The amount of material, special constructions and energy consumption needed to create a Jump Gate were not available at the time to make it viable. With the creation of antimatter and prototype antimatter reactors it was possible to construct the first functional Jump Rail, though it was still far from practical. The mere fact that the Jump Rail would be torn apart by the violent forces released at each launch did not help its case. For a vessel to survive the immense stress of a launch it seemed natural to focus on the construction of small , compact vessels. The first tests were performed on so called nanoships, and even though the stress tests proved minimal during launch, the smaller vessels did not survive the actual journey. These tests proved that the target matter needed to be contained within a powerful energy field to prevent its atoms from dissolving. As a result the technological development of energy shields also took a step forward. All new technology at this early stage of development was quite crude in both size and functionality. The task required a vessel with a much larger and sturdier hull, allowing it to be equipped with all the devices needed as well as the massive surrounding construction that could emit a stable energy field to protect it. Worried about loosing political momentum the new global political body changed project requirements so that all the new bulky equipment would have enough space onboard the new vessels: the giant Odysseus Probe.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 4[/CENTER]
A total of seven large Odysseus probes were assembled on orbital space stations. Jump Rails was then used to launch the probes into space towards carefully selected planetary star systems in the galaxy. These star systems had proved to be the most suitable candidates according to prior astrological research with the most advanced space telescopes and equipment. The probes had to be completely self-reliant and were therefore equipped with the most advanced and expensive technology available at that time. Each probe was controlled by a virtually sentient AI quantum super computer, which made the probe capable of its own progressive development and self-reproduction. The AI had several objectives and two primary missions. One was to find and utilize new resources, launch new probes and prepare a communication network for Mankind in space. The second mission was to find a planet capable to sustain human life and initiate a terra-formation to prepare it for human colonization. When a probe had reached its target destination it launched drones to make a survey of all nearby stellar constellations, in search of potential resources to exploit in order to continue its own reproduction and primary mission directives. When enough data have been gathered on a potential planet the probe would send down a Base Matrix that was to land on a strategic place on the planet, set up a base platform and begin to construct it’s own robots. Well adapted to the environment these robots would in turn find and extract necessary resources from the surrounding areas and produce material to build new facilities. To expand the base and increase its technological capabilities, the Odysseus probe would monitor the progress to a certain point before it would continue its journey towards a new destination. The base would continue to expand and eventually launch a new generation of Odysseus Probes into space to continue the primary missions.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 5[/CENTER]
The further development of Quantum Technology led to the construction of the first functional teleportation units, which allowed all matter to travel virtually instantly from one place to another. It also meant that organic matter could be transferred from one point to another, creating an instant form of human travel. From being just scientific experiments the new technology needed stronger financial support from the market to reach up to the next levels of development. The Global Alliance saw a great potential in the system and financed the next step in the development: the creation of the first global teleportation network. With financial benefits in mind the scientists introduced the idea of creating an open doorway through space that would save a lot of travel time between colonies and remote outposts. Since the large “Quantum Leap Generators” in each system required vast amounts of energy to function it ultimately led to the increased research and development of antimatter reactors and refineries. With practical and profitable use in mind the technology would later be used to create the first operational Space Gates in the future.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]Conquest of space[/SIZE]
Part 6[/CENTER]
All Odysseus Probes had been built and launched within the period of a decade. During this time the newly formed global alliance had to deal with arising conflicts in order to protect their goals towards a unified world. But with new technology at their fingertips the alliance was able to end all major conflicts as quickly as they arose, and not always by the use of force. To add more strength to their agenda they made the teleportation technology available to the open market. When teleportation became the new way of public transportation it made daily trips and global travel quick, easy and available to everyone. As a result the national borders begun to gradually fade away and merge together, increasing the human tolerance and slowly erasing the cultural barriers that had kept mankind apart. Ethnical groups, political factions and a strong sense of cultural heritage still remained within human society but as Earth was becoming one world it was each individuals affiliation to one of the growing global mega-corporations, which replaced the old human view of having different nationalities on Earth. Meanwhile the people on the expanding interplanetary colonies gradually became more socially integrated, slowly forming a stronger bond to each other and the planet they lived on.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The new order[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
The people of Earth were about to unite under one single form of leadership. But the corporations were growing weary from waiting for the new resources and profits that the Odysseus probes would bring them. After nearly a decade there had still been no response from any of the Odysseus Probes and people feared that the probes had been destroyed. With each year passing by without a message from any of the probes the conflicts in space increased and before long escalated into corporation wars. The battles took place in space far away from Earth where the Global Alliance had no means of control. With the lack of response from the Odysseus Probes and the brewing conflicts in space beginning to spread to the Mars colony, it increased the official demand for answers as well as the need for new leadership. Scientists came up with the conclusion that the probes had been caught in some sort of a temporary abnormality that became known as a Time Flux, probably due to the form of travel provided by the use of Jump Rails. Half teleported and half travelling at several times the speed of light it would change the reality of time from both standpoints. What would appear like a short moment of travel for each probe could pass by like ages for the people back on Earth. Still, it was only a matter of time before the project command central would receive the first signal of arrival from one of the Odysseus Probes. In the meantime corporation conflicts had to be dealt with using a stronger power than what could be issued out by the Global Alliance.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The new order[/SIZE]
Part 2[/CENTER]
The Global Alliance was determined to take control of the situation before the conflicts escalated on Mars and stop them before they could spread to the Lunar Colony and finally the Earth itself. To gain enough power to take action the Global Alliance gathered to form a whole new government. This new form of leadership would gain political power to rule the Earth, including all the planets in the solar system and all regions of space in-between them. But most important, it would also stretch as far as human civilization went, no matter how far away into space it would take Mankind. The Federal Empire of Earth had been born.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The new order[/SIZE]
Part 3[/CENTER]
The newly formed Federal Empire used political tactics and increased mobile military capabilities in space to gain control over the interplanetary colonies. This was done in order to prevent the corporation wars spreading down to solid ground and into populated areas. Time was short and the Federal Empire wished to put an end to the corporation wars before the first signals from the Odysseus Probes were received. The first elected Supreme Imperial Chancellor did not intend to give the corporations the chance to slip away and take their conflicts with them to any new colonies in the future front regions of space. When the corporations lost control of the public markets their armed conflicts quickly came to an end. For a short time the corporations thought about forming their own alliance, which threatened to turn against the Federal Empire in an attempt to overthrow its new government. However, during the very same period the first signals from one of the Odysseus Probes reached Earth. The growing threat from the corporations quickly faded away as they turned their interest towards the new potential resources that were beginning to emerge across space. This first signal was the start of a new age in the history of Mankind: the era of interstellar travel and conquest.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Colonization of Space[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
Decades passed by as Mankind began to move away from Earths solar system, following the growing web of robotic bases and industrial supply facilities that were left behind by the Odysseus Probes. So far, the Jump Rails were the only means of interstellar travel but this would soon change with the invention of the Space Gates. As the industry continued to expand the public community would follow and it became a slow but natural form of immigration out into space. Humans managed to adapt and overcome the problems of a life in colonies on new alien worlds, learning how to survive in very hostile environments.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Colonization of Space[/SIZE]
Part 2[/CENTER]
Communications and travel were easy but life was hard, if not impossible, unless science and technology were used to aid Mankind in the stellar conquest and colonization of new planets. Even though many worlds are considered habitable it still requires advanced environmental and/or anatomical adjustments to support human life. As a result many humans on far away worlds have been altered technologically or genetically and have become altered in their appearance compared to the original humans on Earth. Through the passing of generations these altered humans have began to naturally inherit genetically engineered traits from their parents, without the need for prior genetic alteration of the unborn child. As for yet, the only aliens encountered have been relatively early forms of primitive life. The altered humans originating from Earth remain the only truly intelligent form of life on these few habitable alien worlds.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Colonization of Space[/SIZE]
Part 3[/CENTER]
With the continued development of Teleportation Technology the first operational Space Gates were soon being constructed across the entire Earth solar system to link the different planets and colonies together. There was no longer a need for any large human transport vessels between the interplanetary colonies since smaller shuttlecrafts could now travel instantly through the Space Gates. However, the Space Gate technology had its limits. An active gate consumes vast amounts of energy and requires the large scale construction of antimatter reactors, generators, shields, stabilization units and other expensive systems. The opening itself in the gate has to be kept small to keep the active teleportation field stabile and the passage secure. The reactors that generate the energy to activate a gate are enormous and require large quantities of antimatter to function. The creation of antimatter is still a difficult and expensive process, still making the issue of Space Gates a matter of economics rather than the most practical and efficient way of space travel available.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Colonization of Space[/SIZE]
Part 4[/CENTER]
The interstellar network is growing rapidly. To encourage market competition and ease the economical strain, as well as the political pressure from having to sway off corporate mischief towards the government, the Federal Empire began to issue out Imperial Contracts. These contracts focus on the communication network such as the protection and maintenance of Hyper Link Beacons and the construction of Space Gates. Corporations who have obtained a contract to maintain a beacon are able to pick up new signals transmitted from an Odysseus Probe that has established a new base somewhere in space. The signal that is crossing a contracted beacon will be detected and tagged with a claim before the news has reached all the other control station in the network in each sector of space. The corporations are then able to sign the contract for a new base and its resources from the Federal Empire at first hand. This also includes claiming a contract for future research and the development of entire new colonies on other planets, which is called a Colonial Contract. This means that the corporation is in complete control of the market on the colony until the whole world has been terra-formed and secured to allow a larger public immigration.
[CENTER][SIZE=4]The Beginning[/SIZE]
Part 1[/CENTER]
Centuries had passed by as man slowly moved further into space. During this time an unknown number of new generation Odysseus Probes had started their endless voyage cross the galaxy, sharing the same ancient quest as the original seven probes that had been launched from Earth such a long time ago. It was one of these new generation probes that discovered a truly life-giving planet. With minor environmental adjustments this New World would be a virtual copy of the Earth itself but with its own evolution of generally early primitive life forms. Once the probe had proven the environment to be acceptable for human settlement it established a base and sent a message back through the hyper link network before it begun the terra-formation of the planet. When the atmosphere and environment had been adjusted to fully support human life the robots continued to build cities that were to stand ready in time for the first human arrivals.