In the final years of the 21st century the nations of Earth began taking their first
few steps in earnest to expand their presence in space.
Permanent settlements were established first on Luna then Mars until eventually even the
asteroid belt was home to tentative human colonies and outposts.
But even as the spread of humanity across the Solar System accelerated, the situation
on Earth grew dire.
The effects of global warming had become more frequent and pronounced, while the rampant
overpopulation and shifting economic fortunes threatened to tear human society apart.
In an unprecedented display of global unity, the nations of Earth ceded their last remaining
sovereignty to the increasingly powerful United Nations.
The Security Council transitioned into the executive branch of the new world government,
while the Secretary-General was granted the responsibilities of it’s head of state.
With tremendous economic, industrial and political power invested into the UN, a series of ecological
recovery programs successfully prevented or reversed the greatest threats posed by climate change.
The dangers presented by overpopulation and dwindling resources however remained a blight
upon the Earth.
Colonization efforts on Luna and Mars continued but progress remained slow.
Mankind had seemingly reached the limit of its expansion with even the most powerful
spacecraft incapable of sustaining prolonged colonization efforts outside of the Belt.
Tensions grew between Earth and Mars.
The Martian colonial government pressed for greater sovereignty as calls for total independence
were published in secessionist manifestos.
More than once UN ships burned for Mars, before negotiations resumed and the seemingly inevitable
conflict was again postponed.
The balance of power between the two worlds underwent a dramatic shift with the Martian
invention of the Epstein Drive, a powerful new method of spaceflight that could break
the barrier imposed on human expansion.
With the military superiority of the United Nations now in doubt, Mars finally had the
favorable circumstances it needed to break the status quo.
In exchange for Martian independence, the UN received the specifications necessary to
construct its own Epstein drives, finally bringing the remainder of the Solar System
within reach and setting the stage for a new cold war.
The United Nations, together with the newly formed Martian Congressional Republic, swept
across the Belt and the outer planets, competing for resources, influence and power.
On Ceres, Eros, Ganymede and a multitude of other minor planets across the system, new
colonies were established to support new industries and commerce.
Life in the outer planets was difficult as hundreds of thousands worked to eek out a
living for themselves in some of the most inhospitable conditions.
In time, this population was altered by their new environments and dehumanized by those
born of Earth or Mars.
Even their local dialect changed, becoming an amalgamation of influences and contributions
derived from a dozen other languages, slang and physical gestures.
Millions across the belt and outer planets languished in poverty while the fruits of
their labor were taken back to distant Earth or Mars.
There arose a great will among belters to win their independence, a cause given form
in the Outer Planets Alliance.
It is a movement stymied by factionalism however.
While the inner planets view the O.P.A. as single cohesive group, in reality it is a
loose confederacy of political idealists, anarchists, criminals, provocateurs and terrorists.
Such calls for independence are fiercely suppressed by Mars and the UN, and the violent reprisals
against secessionists like the massacre on Anderson Station, live on in the memory of
belters as a bitter reminder of how far Earth and Mars are willing to go to protect their supremacy.
The Solar System stands on a knife-edge as rising tensions between Earth and Mars endanger
their coalition and threaten the fragile hegemony they impose over the outer planets.
Across the belt, piracy and terrorism radicalize the population as opportunistic factions exploit
the situation for their own gain.
All it will take is a single spark for this delicate peace to come crashing down.
In Overview, the Templin Institute investigates the history and major factions of alternate worlds.
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