History DarkAge
2.1 Circa 2000-2010 CE - World War III
Circa 2000-2010 CE: Humanity peaked sociologically in the early 1960s, CE. Since this point, we began a slow slide downhill towards a dark age. Early in the twenty first century, this Dark Age finally came upon us. The details as to its inception are not entirely known to us. The devastation during this age on our centers of learning and knowledge storage was severe. What we do know is that some time early in the twenty first century, a rash of extremely violent terrorist attacks began to sweep the nations of the Earth. At first the civilized peoples of the world united in a stand against this barbarism. However, before too long the old rivalries began to kindle descent between the recently united governments of the world. Because of this infighting, certain terrorist groups were allowed the time to acquire and position biological and nuclear weapons in many of the major cities of the industrialized world. An object lesson was made of Boston, USA. A 10mt thermonuclear fission weapon was detonated, laying waste too much of the downtown and bay areas. The radiation cloud blew inland, over many residential areas. The death toll was in the millions. Rather than capitulate, the civilized nations of the world united and began to cut this cancer from the world, but it was too late. Shanghai, Moscow, Greenwich, Berlin, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, and New York were all obliterated in rapid succession by nuclear and biological weapons that had been positioned in their most densely populated areas. The world gave in. The terrorists seized control over the resources, wealth, and people of the bulk of the first and second world. Some nations, such as the USA, UK, and China, absolutely refused to buckle under. The slaughter in these nations was severe. They eventually gave in when it became clear that if they didn’t there would be nobody left alive to surrender.
2.2 Circa 2010-2060 CE - Second Dark Age
Circa 2010-2060 CE: The second Dark Age griped the people of Earth. After gaining control of the major economic and military powers of the world, the leaders of various terrorist regimes declared themselves rulers for life. Within just a few months of gaining power, the purges of “unclean and unfaithful sinners” began. It didn’t matter your religious faith. If you didn’t support the psychotic religion of the moment, you were tortured or simply executed. Whole populations of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Taoists, Atheists, Protestants, Catholics, and anyone else whom these people could get a hold of died, many times horribly. The new leaders of the world began to be distressed at this. If all their subjects were eliminated, then whom would they rule? Who would create their wealth? What good would his or her power be with no one to lord it over? Political leaders in these new nations began to crack down on the more extreme of their religious brethren. These extremists were some of the oldest supporters of the terrorist organizations, and had personally known many of the members of the now ruling parties of the world. New battle lines were drawn, between religious and secular leaders. Additionally, several of the new secular states that had come into being were controlled by peoples and individuals who had old grudges against one another. These two rivalries blossomed into open warfare using their recently secured nations as power bases. This was one of the darkest and most violent periods of Human history to date.
2.3 2062 CE
2062 CE: Ironically, the extremists could not expunge the one thing that they professed was their greatest enemy: major international corporations. These economic entities became vital to the financial survival of these new nations. Even amidst all out warfare between these terrorist states, the corporations maintained their power. Even the religious zealots recognized that to topple the foundations of your economy was to extinguish your ability to make war on each other. Adding to this was the fact that most of these secular and religious leaders who professed a hatred for corporate culture and grown fat and rich off of wealth extorted from the same corporations they claimed to wish to topple. The corporations, however, were fed up. They had seen their loyal employees die by the literal truckload. They had seen their profits become smothered by the senseless destruction. They had seen the progress humanity had been making towards a better tomorrow crushed under the boot heel of madmen and tyrants. They had seen enough. On September 21, 2062, the first meeting of the Global Corporate Council was begun. The GCC was sold to the world leaders of the time as a way to “better facilitate global trade and economic growth”. How the GCC planed to do that was not revealed to the madmen in charge of the world. It was the determination of the Council that the current state of affairs of the world was too costly in terms of “manpower, resources, trade, lives, and progress”. The GCC began a covert mission to end this once and for all.
2.4 2066 CE
2066 CE: It took over three years and a mammoth investment of capitol and manpower to get all of their pieces in place. Never the less, on February 18, 2066, the GCC was ready to take the reigns back. At 00:01:00 GMT, the GCC shut the world off. At once, every power station, every communications station, every fuel pump in every vehicle, every computer, every anything that they had been able to introduce their control circuitry into, was shut off. What little remained of the world’s economy ground to a complete halt. At the same time, certain equipment that was directly operated by the GCC was spared this blackout. Covert and elite strike teams had been moved into position. As these Para-military forces struck at the current leaders of these tyrant nations, word was spread using carefully placed operatives in communities all over the Earth. “Join us, liberty is at hand!” was the message spread throughout communities on the Earth. At first slowly, and then with growing momentum, the people of these villages and cities took up whatever weapons they could find against the corruption occupying their nations. While they were an unorganized mob, they were a very large mob, directed at the enemies of the GCC. On August 26, 2066 at 14:23:17 GMT the last of these rouge nations fell under an impressive weight of civilians and corporate forces. The GCC moved immediately to consolidate and codify their power. On September 2, 2066 at 18:02:49 GMT they ratified the Corporate Powers Act and made the GCC the ruling body over Earth.
It was immediately apparent that the Earth would need to be rebuilt. What wasn’t apparent was exactly how this would be accomplished. The calculated requirements for resources were immense. If manual labor was to be used, then a great deal of time would be required to build up the appropriate levels of population. If it were to not be used, then major resources would have to be invested to create machines with which to build up Earth’s infrastructure. Regardless of which path they would pursue, it was obvious to all that Earth could no longer support humanity the way it once had. The levels of chemical, nuclear, and biological contaminants had rendered much of the Earth uninhabitable. Global population had been depleted to just under one billion persons. Still, the GCC would do what it could to repair what damage it could while searched for the solution to its answers.
2.5 2068 CE
2068 CE: Plague and infirmity continue to grip the majority of humanity. In the face of dwindling populations, and a reduced workforce, the GCC decides to start an ambitious “cleanup project”. Using information recovered from some sundered pre Dark Age data stores, the GCC is able to compile an accurate map of the human genome. To allow for humanity to survive better on their damaged home, the GCC begins a project of gene therapy on the populous. Participation is not optional. Early in the project, it is realized that Humanity still does not posses the necessary knowledge or experience for massive modification. Too much deviance from the base genome begins to yield unstable results, creating life forms that are not viable for survival. However, small modifications are fully within our grasp, as is the ability to repair some of the damage that had been done to Humanity from radioactive and biological fall out. By the end of 2068, over 95% of humanity has undergone gene therapy. The end result is that Humanity is granted a slightly enhanced immunity to disease, the reduction or removal of inherent genetic diseases, and an overall reduction or elimination of such maladies as myopia.
2.6 2084 CE - Global fusion becomes a reality
2084 CE: After a major scientific and industrial effort, final breakthroughs are yielded in the harnessing of fusion power. Fusion reactors begin to be built in key locations on Earth to provide power to homes cheaply. While this may seem counter to the normal practice of businesses milking their customers for all they can get away with, the GCC is willing to take a reduction in profits in order to better insure that large numbers of population can be supported for labor and trade.
2.7 2090 CE
2090 CE: Project Atlantis establishes the first undersea habitation on Earth. This fully self-sufficient base was located on the pacific basin, just north of the Solomon Isles. It is a major success, and houses over 25,000 people comfortably. Additional habitats are planed for the rest of the globe. By 2100 CE, over 60% of the world’s population lives below the surface of the ocean. Still, much of the ocean floor and water are contaminated from the Dark Age. Populations continue to stay stable around 1.5 billion people, most of whom are children. This begins to create a food crisis on Earth. The GCC beings to step up its efforts to find a solution to Earth’s problems.
2.8 2118 CE
2118 CE: The answer to the world’s problems would come from on high. The newly established Space Development Organization made a shocking discovery. At 02:15:12 GMT on June 6, 2118, the SDO discovered a stellar object approximately eight months away from possible impact with the Earth. About 62 km in diameter, this solid chunk of rock would pass within just a couple of thousand kilometers of the Earth. Damage estimates were such that they already weakened biosphere would be rendered uninhabitable by Human life.
Two massive projects were launched. The first was to establish environmentally sealed colonies on Luna and Mars to insure that in a worst-case scenario some remnant of Humanity would survive. The second was to find some way of averting the disaster all together. It was determined that the combined remaining stockpile of Earth’s nuclear and conventional weapons would be insufficient to deviate the course of this rock, now dubbed Ragnarock. The entirety of the Earth’s scientific and industrial capacity was directed to solving both of these issues.
Major investments in fusion technology were made for both plans. The results of this were twofold: first came the development of the first Atomic Fusion Engines, allowing a ship to make the journey to Mars in just two weeks. Second, new Fusion Torpedo weapons were developed which allowed the projection of an active nuclear reaction suspended inside of a decaying magnetic field, which was maintained by a small control module. These torpedoes would have their warhead supplied by a cache of deuterium on board the vessel, which excited it to a state of fusion in a specialized reactor before containment in it’s field mere micro seconds before launch. While the low mass of this weapon allowed it to have great speed and ammo capacity, it’s limited range made it unsuitable for use by an Earth based weapon for attack on Ragnarock. By the time the asteroid would be in range, it would be too late. Additionally, numerous problems with maintaining the stability of the torpedo field existed, causing the field to occasionally collapse prematurely.
Construction on two ships, Hope and Genesis, was started in orbit before the Fusion drive technology was even developed. So quickly were they built, that their construction scaffolds were actually completed two days after these vessels were ready for initial system tests. It took three months to complete and outfit both vessels, but on October 30, 2118 both the Hope and the Genesis left Earth orbit for their destinations.
Hope was set on course for Luna, where automated construction systems had been working for the last four months. After the initial population was deployed, it would return to Earth for continual ferrying of population to the new Luna base. New personnel on Luna would throw themselves into the construction process for their new home.
Genesis was a one-time use vessel. She was much larger than her sister ship, Hope. Her total passenger compliment was eight thousand; four times that of the Hope. Additionally, her hull was designed to be broken down for the initial colony base, making her journey a one- way trip.
Both ships performed remarkably well in their assigned duties. Neither had any major system failures, and completes their missions on time. All told, the Hope was able to move 12,000 people to the Luna Dome, and the Genesis was successfully disassembled into the Mars Dome 16 days after her launch.
In secret, the GCC had been playing a major gambit. In stationary orbit over the North Pole, the GCC had been working on a ship construction yard for the last year and a half. Designated Bifrost Station, it was originally designed to build long range probes and colony ships to the rest of the worlds in the Sol system for possible use in the rebuilding of Earth. Now, she had a different mission. Hoping for the best, the GCC decided to build a torpedo warship in Bifrost Station’s births. Designated the Guardian, this ship was specifically designed to get to Ragnarock and deliver as much weapons fire as possible in the hopes of diverting it’s path. Small by today’s standards, her crew of twenty-eight pledged to keep the asteroid from hitting Earth, or die trying. She was launched on November 21, 2118 at 20:04:00 GMT.
2.9 December 6, 2118 CE - Guardian's first attempt to destroy Ragnarok fails
December 6, 2118 CE: The Guardian reaches her target at 02:16:31 GMT, and settles in for firing solution. Careful consideration is made as to the angle of attack. Unbeknownst to the Guardian’s crew, a flaw in the manufacturing process for the initial reaction catalyzer was not caught during manufacturing or installation. When she goes to fire her first torpedo, the reaction refuses to start. A second torpedo is readied, again to the effect of just venting gas. The third attempt successfully created the torpedo, but lingering hydrogen gas in the initial reaction chamber causes the forming torpedo to be just a few degrees over the thermal threshold of it’s field generator. Immediately upon exiting the Guardian, the torpedo prematurely detonates. It is a miracle this did not destroy the ship outright, as no time had been allowed to provide her with combat rated armour, not that combat rated armour had been invented yet. While her internal systems were undamaged, the launch tube exit port was mangled too badly for further torpedoes to be fired.
2.10 December 7, 2118 CE - Guardian collides and self destructs with Ragnarok
December 7, 2118 CE: Several attempts are made to push Ragnarock using the Guardian’s engines. They prove far too weak to make any kind of appreciable change in the asteroid’s vector. At 09:54:12 they send a simple message to Earth, “We give our lives for the lives of Humanity. May you all see better days.” Shortly there after, the Guardian explodes in a massive uncontrolled fusion reaction, consuming all of her torpedo and engine fuel in one cataclysmic blast.
2.11 January 4, 2119 CE - Ragnarok misses the Earth
January 4, 2119 CE: Ragnarock misses the Earth by 22,000 km. It’s vector sufficiently altered by the sacrifice of the Guardian and her crew, she angles past the Earth, and heads straight towards Venus. Upon reaching the shrouded planet, it skips right through the edge of Venus’s atmosphere. Its size, combined with its unusually high-density, drags a significant quantity of Venus’s atmosphere away from the planet, reducing the overall pressure to just five atmospheres. Ragnarock passes Venus, and dives straight into Sol. It is thereafter dubbed Prometheus.
2.12 2119 CE - Interplanetary commerce begins
2119 CE: Interplanetary trade begins in the Sol system. Moral is at a major high point due to the near miss by Prometheus. The celebrations on Earth last for more than a month straight. People find a renewed optimism in the future. The GCC, meanwhile, begins to turn its eye towards Venus. Bifrost Station beings to produce merchant ships, as well as creating two more Guardian class ships, just in case. Scientific efforts remain directed at space exploration and development.
2.13 2121 CE - Eden Project launched on Venus
2121 CE: The GCC decides to use Venus as a test bed for environmental engineering experiments. They reason that if they can make Venus habitable, then they can apply those same technologies and principles towards repair Earth’s biosphere. The Eden project is launched on July 12, 2121. One month later, the second generation of Fusion torpedo technology is created. These torpedoes and launchers have only a 0.0001% chance of failure, and include emergency venting technology to prevent a catastrophe in case of a major weapons failure.
2.14 2122 CE - Independent colonies established
2122 CE: The first independent mining colonies are established in the outer solar system. Additionally, independent asteroid mining bases begin to be constructed in the belt.
2.15 2134 CE - Signs of progress on the Eden Project
2134 CE: After years of expensive and exhaustive research, the Eden Project successfully makes a dent in Venus’s inhospitable environment. While it is a very small step, it is definite progress. Later this year, the merchant ship LaCroix goes missing. The SDO dispatches it’s two Guardian ships to investigate. No trace is of the missing ship is found.
2.16 2178 CE - Prerana Madujula born on Venus
2178 CE: On May 9, 2178 08:25:33 in the colonial medical center, Neo Delhi, Venus, Prerana Madujula is born. While not the first child born on Venus by this point, she will have a lasting mark on history.
2.17 2189 CE - Pirate base discovered
2189 CE: Several decades of vigorous interplanetary trade had passed by this time. Trade routes were well established, and major colonies had been constructed on most of the major worlds in the Sol system. To date, five merchant ships had now disappeared. The LaCroix, Hounds Tooth, Gabrielle, Murmensk, and Yoshiro. Amidst building pressure from the GCC, the SDO conducts a covert operation to determine what is going on. Agents are specially trained and distributed among almost all of the merchant ships of the time. They make a startling discovery when their agent on board the LaSalle reports back that his ship is being boarded and captured by unknown assailants. The homing beacon their agent smuggled on board leads the SDO to a hidden asteroid base being used as a pirate outpost. Here they find not only two of the other missing ships, but a thriving black market. The pirates had rigged up a sort of magnetic rail cannon for their ships, allowing them to fire on other vessels. While significantly less powerful than a torpedo, these weapons allowed them to hit much more maneuverable and smaller targets than a torpedo-equipped ship was capable of handling, as well as a significant reduction in power requirements and greatly increased tactical engagement range. Realizing that their Guardian ships would be woefully inadequate in a battle against such ships, the SDO petitions the GCC have a fleet of six new ships be built. These ships would be based off of the original Guardian hull, but would sport two Rail Cannons and combat rated armour (which was deemed an unnecessary expense up until this point) rather than a torpedo launcher. Approval is given for this, and ten months later the first of these new Guardian ships coasts out of Bifrost Station.
2.18 2190 CE - The first space battle
2190 CE: The first battle between space faring ships in Human space occurs. Leading their force of eight ships, the SDO overwhelms the pirate asteroid. Their new ships engage the pirate ships with much success, while their two original torpedo ships pound the asteroid base to pieces. Disturbingly, however, there is a completely different compliment of ships present. Additionally, two of the new ships seem to be specifically designed for ship to ship battle and are armored with the new combat armour just developed. Fragmental evidence recovered later indicates that there may be as many as one hundred such bases scattered around the system. Two months after the assault, the pirates attack the mining colony on Titan. Most of the miners are killed trying to resist, and all of the ore present is stolen.
2.19 2192 CE - New fighters prove a success
2192 CE: Amidst increasing pressure to secure its outer system bases, the GCC completes work on its aerospace fighter program. Cheap fighters are produced and delivered in large numbers to the outer colonies to aid in security. Pilots are trained from the available colony station employees. The pirates, ever resourceful, create their own fighters shortly there after. However, the GCC is able to produce both the fighters and the pilots much faster than the pirates. Order is established around the outer colonies.
