The first starships that passed beyond the confines of the Solar System carried with
them the questions “Where do we come from?”
What is our purpose?
…”What happens when we die?”
For a moment it seemed like all the answers might be out there.
And armed with profound insights into their own nature and a new clarity of purpose, mankind
might truly build better worlds.
Yet the interstellar frontier turned out to be much the same as those that had come before
and what few answers were found there, were not enough to transform human nature.
Planets and star systems were merely another kind of territory to be claimed.
And they were quickly divided between rival governments or used as leverage in games of
corporate brinkmanship.
Yet amidst the growing empires and superpowers that dominate human space, the Union of Progressive
Peoples stands apart.
Like many interstellar nations, the roots of the UPP lay in the tumultuous early decades
of the 22nd century.
The opportunities and demands of colonization, while extraordinary, had destabilized the
geopolitical order that had existed on Earth in one form or another for centuries.
Old alliances were shattered and new ones were established to take their place.
Spain and Germany, two nations struggling to recover from the collapse of the European
Union, found an eager, if unusual partner in Russia.
Like Russia, these countries had been gripped by neo-socialist movements, and their similar
ideologies were enough to spark talks of a supranational union.
Both the United Americas and Three World Empire opposed the creation of a new interstellar
political bloc, but after a disastrous civil war on Torin Prime in 2108, both powers were
humiliated and became distracted by domestic concerns.
The Union of Progressive Peoples was formally proclaimed as a new sovereign nation that
same year, claiming territories both on Earth and across interstellar space.
Its creation was heavily supported by the Chinese/Asian Nations Cooperative, or CANC,
which sought ideologically aligned allies.
In the years that followed, the UPP quickly expanded, attracting nations and colonies
that had grown disillusioned with the runaway corporate influence rampant across Earth and
the frontier.
The Union of Progressive Peoples was gradually recognized as the new head of the interstellar
socialist revival movement, claiming the title from the CANC, whose own colonization efforts
remained limited.
By 2120, the UPP had grown to include many former nations of Eastern Europe, Central,
and Southeast Asia.
It had also both founded and absorbed many colonies, particularly those in the Outer
Veil that had been ruthlessly exploited by various corporations.
Some of these colonies had once been part of the Three World Empire or United Americas
and their secession and annexation into the UPP, though legal under international law,
contributed to the start of a new cold war between the powers.
For the remainder of the century, the Union of Progressive Peoples competed for new colonies
across human space.
Its efforts were driven by growing overpopulation across its territories on Earth, forcing the
UPP to become more aggressive in both its diplomacy and use of force.
In multiple instances it supported socialist movements on independent worlds, sparking
proxy wars, while in others, it has confronted the United Americas and Three World Empire
directly, with open war at times only narrowly avoided.
In the current era, the Union of Progressive Peoples is one of the three primary superpowers
within human space.
Officially a federal republic, executive power is divided between the President, who serves
as head of state, and the Premier, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the nation.
Though technically reporting to the President, the Office of the Premier often possesses
greater political connections and can be the more powerful position.
In practical terms however, both offices are expected to implement policies set by the
ruling party, which retains control over the nation’s direction.
Both the President, Premiere, and most major state institutions are headquartered on Earth,
with the administration of extra-solar colonies appointed to key figures within the party
and military.
First and foremost an ideological state, the Union of Progressive Peoples is ostensibly
organized under the principles of “socialist progressivism”.
An evolution of earlier Marxist and Leninist doctrinal thought, it advocates socialism
as a means to acquire liberty, security and autonomy.
Though elements of capitalism are tolerated and the UPPs economic system might be described
as mixed, the principal aim of the state is to curtail the worst elements of private wealth
and ownership.
Much of its modern writings are increasingly concerned with the emancipation of humanity
from the grip of pressing material necessity.
Yet the utopian ideals of the UPP remain a long way from being implemented universally
across its population.
In certain aspects, the Union can be even more oppressive than its rivals and its Ministry
of Security in particular, is infamous for its far-reaching domestic and foreign intelligence
operations.
State Security operatives are said to be everywhere, though to what extent the rumors and whispers
of their activities reflect reality, are classified at the highest levels.
While the average citizen of the UCP might enjoy fewer political freedoms compared to
those of the United Americas, the absence of megacorporations influencing the reigning
government means many possess greater economic freedom.
Wealth inequality, uncontrolled across most of human civilization, is far less severe
within the Union of Progressive peoples.
The average standard of living however, still remains below that of its main rivals.
Technologically, the Union of Progressive People’s is considered to be trailing the
United Americas by a few years, and as much as a full decade behind the Three World Empire.
This is partly due to the Union’s ideological opposition to the existence of megacorporations,
who have leveraged their technological innovations for government influence in most other countries.
As a consequence, most UPP colonies are less sophisticated.
Atmospheric Processors remain rare and expensive, and on worlds hostile to human life, settlements
will most often be built underground or within fully enclosed structures.
While some of these colonies might eventually be terraformed in the same manner as those
within the Three World Empire or elsewhere, for most it remains a distant possibility.
The major exception to the UPPs technological lag, is its military forces, which have benefitted
from sustained government attention and investment.
Not every branch is on par with their foreign equivalent in rival countries, but its Space
Operating Forces, the elite of the Union’s military, is among the most capable in human
space.
It is divided into several large fleets, each capable of conducting a large-scale planetary
landing operation with its accompanying transports and army elements.
Humans still represent the majority of UPP military personnel, but combat synthetics,
believed to have been reverse engineered from Weyland Yutani models, are slowly being incorporated
into front-line units.
As the Union of Progressive People’s enters the final decade of the 22nd century, the
nation is faced with enormous problems and opportunities.
Despite decades of reforms and investment, the country has not yet completed the transition
to a true interstellar state.
Its economy, institutions and power structures are riddled by inefficiencies and the burden
of its archaic practices are disproportionately placed on its colonists who toil on the frontier.
But the citizenry of the Union is also fiercely determined.
Its overcrowded billions on Earth have a rapacious demand for new colonies and its government
is more than willing to take them by force, if unclaimed worlds are not forthcoming.
Its intelligence operations, meanwhile, have been some of the most successful in human
history.
Though the UPP lags behind the innovations of Weyland Yutani, or Lasalle Bionational,
these megacorporations are rife with corruption, and especially vulnerable to Union operatives
and assets.
And most critically, the Three World Empire and the United Americas have finally recognized
the Union of Progressive Peoples as their equal, an admission of capabilities with the
potential to stabilize or destroy the entire frontier.
A single spark is all it will take for the long-simmering Cold War to go hot, and rumors
persist that this might have already occurred.
Communications across the network are always unreliable, even in the best of cases, but
on every ship and station, in the dingy bar of every shake and bake colony, the same story
is being told.
It’s said that on LV-426, a minor American holding in the Zeta Reticuli System, an entire
settlement has been destroyed, together with its accompanying, and immensely expensive,
atmospheric processors.
The official word is that a technical malfunction was responsible, but those who claim to know
better say it has all the markings of a Union spy plot gone wrong.
Other, stranger stories have drifted across the Network, but whether or not the Union
is truly responsible might not even matter.
LV-426 was a small incident on the universal stage, but on the frontier, big things often
have small beginnings.